My semester started two weeks ago for three sections for me and I have embraced two of the ideas that I thought could be of immediate impact in the classroom:
1) Giving a Facebook account and Twitter account as contact options to counter the lonely office hours I've had. So far no bites, but it is still early days. I haven't been so bold as to make it mandatory - it is still new to me as well, so I'm still working on a sales pitch.
2) Giving out videos of topic material first and directing the readings to focus on the highlights. This is also new as the official line has always been "you are responsible for the material in the textbook." When I draw a line between the "will this be on the final?" question and teaching what is worth learning, would I really ask a question on a final if I thought its sole purpose was to be trivia?
As I tinker further, I will jot down my thoughts - I have noticed the classes have gone a lot faster since embracing this mindset...
Thursday 29 August 2013
Thursday 15 August 2013
Creativity and the structures we follow
One of my favourite TEDtalks is from Sir Ken Robinson, who discusses how schools kill creativity. This has been a favourite since he mixes humour with the reality that with the wrong environment, schools can drain children of the creative instincts. While this focus on school children, I couldn't help but connect this with the material that we are learning.
Two ideas he conveyed that hit home for me is that we are preparing our children for a world we cannot currently grasp and the idea that if we are not prepared to be wrong, we will never come up with anything original. The common thread I drew between those points is that if do not teach students to learn and be adaptive, their knowledge will be rooted in whatever book at whatever point in time they happened to read it. I can identify with that, as that is how I learned to learn through some of the courses I took; learn the material well enough to pass the test and get a degree.
In fairness, this was not every class - I can recall a leadership class I was very fond of. Instead of focussing on reciting the human resource theories of the day, we were asked to consider the theories as they related to the leadership style of George Patton. The interesting piece was that we watched the movie as opposed to reviewing history books and had to focus on specific points, such as General Patton slapping someone he thought a coward. I cannot recall anything from my statistics class that semester, but I can recall a vivid discussion on Theory X versus Theory Y managers.
This then leads me to consider how to use classroom time most valuably - I have had the reflection that I need to focus more on the application of the knowledge I wish to impart on my students, as opposed to recapping a chapter. While I despair at the idea of rewriting all my lesson plans, I get excited about the prospect of having my class recalled with the same fondness that I hold for my favourites from my education.
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
Two ideas he conveyed that hit home for me is that we are preparing our children for a world we cannot currently grasp and the idea that if we are not prepared to be wrong, we will never come up with anything original. The common thread I drew between those points is that if do not teach students to learn and be adaptive, their knowledge will be rooted in whatever book at whatever point in time they happened to read it. I can identify with that, as that is how I learned to learn through some of the courses I took; learn the material well enough to pass the test and get a degree.
In fairness, this was not every class - I can recall a leadership class I was very fond of. Instead of focussing on reciting the human resource theories of the day, we were asked to consider the theories as they related to the leadership style of George Patton. The interesting piece was that we watched the movie as opposed to reviewing history books and had to focus on specific points, such as General Patton slapping someone he thought a coward. I cannot recall anything from my statistics class that semester, but I can recall a vivid discussion on Theory X versus Theory Y managers.
This then leads me to consider how to use classroom time most valuably - I have had the reflection that I need to focus more on the application of the knowledge I wish to impart on my students, as opposed to recapping a chapter. While I despair at the idea of rewriting all my lesson plans, I get excited about the prospect of having my class recalled with the same fondness that I hold for my favourites from my education.
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
Friday 9 August 2013
Food for thought about the use of technology as a helping hand
In this article, Cindy Matthews, an educator in Waterloo, Ontario, raises a few points I found interesting. The article revolves around the elementary and secondary schools, but as I am acutely aware, the students finishing grade 11 in 2013 will be in my classroom in September 2014. I do not anticipate any material change in outlook from a 16 year old to an 18 year old, save for the removal of the safety net of public school. So what piqued my interest in this article?
When reading the Teaching Naked book, I became very aware that I am a "textbook teaching" kind of instructor, which doesn't necessarily bring the point of the material home. When considering the technology available, particularly apps, podcasts, and videos, I wondered if I am lowering the engagement level in my classroom. To paraphrase Ms. Walker, lack of engagement isn't because there is something wrong with the students, it's because the material isn't being presented in an engaging way.
The other thought I had when reading this is the parallel Ms. Walker draws when comparing students with technology to students requiring wheelchairs. While a bit dramatic, I considered the amount my own children learned about the periodic elements from a game on the iPhone versus sitting down with a chemistry book. With the level of computer access provided by the college to my students in addition to their own PC's and smartphones, I would agree that there is no compelling reason why I would consider not making use of the available technology.
To quote directly: "Let’s not permit fear of change to limit the potential of our students but rather let’s embrace what modern technology can do to motivate students to do what they are there to do: learn."
Matthews, C. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://snow.idrc.ocad.ca/node/227
When reading the Teaching Naked book, I became very aware that I am a "textbook teaching" kind of instructor, which doesn't necessarily bring the point of the material home. When considering the technology available, particularly apps, podcasts, and videos, I wondered if I am lowering the engagement level in my classroom. To paraphrase Ms. Walker, lack of engagement isn't because there is something wrong with the students, it's because the material isn't being presented in an engaging way.
The other thought I had when reading this is the parallel Ms. Walker draws when comparing students with technology to students requiring wheelchairs. While a bit dramatic, I considered the amount my own children learned about the periodic elements from a game on the iPhone versus sitting down with a chemistry book. With the level of computer access provided by the college to my students in addition to their own PC's and smartphones, I would agree that there is no compelling reason why I would consider not making use of the available technology.
To quote directly: "Let’s not permit fear of change to limit the potential of our students but rather let’s embrace what modern technology can do to motivate students to do what they are there to do: learn."
Matthews, C. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://snow.idrc.ocad.ca/node/227
Thursday 8 August 2013
And so the 3240 adventure begins!
As I continue on my path towards the Provincial Instructor Diploma Program certification, I am now participating in PIDP 3240: Media Enhanced Learning. This blog is to keep track of my progress and insights I have while working through the course. Part of progress is, as the name suggests, to pull me - kicking and screaming at times - into the current world of social media.
My background is fundamentally the same since entering the program, although the milestones are constantly being updated. My initial foray into teaching was with online courses through Royal Roads University, where I had to become comfortable with Moodle (which continues to be an extremely valuable resource to me). When I began teaching face-to-face fulltime at the beginning of 2012, my mission was to just get through the class with the amount of sweating, stuttering, and panic minimized. After a year and a half, I have a solid grasp of the material I am teaching - admittedly not always the case - and am looking to make my classes a bastion of engagement.
Which brings me to 3240. I am active Facebook user, have a Twitter account which I use in a pinch, and have a blog. So it makes me wonder: why do I find a course on this so intimidating?! It could be that aside from the blog, I haven't used these tools in a non-personal situation. This is where I feel I'm missing a tremendous opportunity - if my students are avid Facebook users, am I trying to fight the tides by not embracing this as a valid communication method? Where I find this all very interesting is that my next wave of courses start next week, providing me with a good testing ground for my ideas. I will put a link through to the pages when I have them built and can then dissect and analyze how things are going.
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