The 2008 ISTE NECC conference in San Antonio Texas was a very rewarding experience. More than 19,000 teachers from the USA and 50 other countries came together to share and experience the latest in technology for education. In addition to presentations, student showcases and research posters I attended several vendor and book dealer presentations.
I explored the new NETS for Teachers with a focus on how teachers are designing digital age learning and assessment tools. Several of the posters I attended were from HP Grants in Action and they included such titles as Throw Away the Keyboard- Enhancing Learning with Tablets, Modeling Our World, Math in the Real World: A Virtual Math Community. Math in the real world was abiout Teachers at James River Elementary who used technology to guide students in a journey through the entire 5th grade math curriculum. Students built a virtual math community, highlighting the manner in which the skills they learn will be applied in the professional world. http://tinyurl.com/64vyge
Students experienced real life examples in mathematics outside the classroom and had an unique opportunity to connect with professionals and service providers in our local area. Projects and experiences were shared with the community at an evening "Math in the Real World" Exhibition, as a capstone event for the International Bacclaureate Primary Years Programme (IBPYP).
One of the more interesting concurrent sessions I attended was Wonderful World of Wikis
This presentation discussed the effective uses of wikis in educational settings. Beginning with fundamental editing and basic principles of using wikis, VP of Wikispaces Adam Frey talked about basic wiki editing principles.
Another interesting session was Blogging Communities in the Classroom: Creating Engaging Learning Experiences. One of the focal areas of the presentation was its emphasis on literacy development and the positive impact of online communities of writers on student literacy skills.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Creating the Learning Environment of Tomorrow
Drexel University Nursing Education Institute: Creating the learning environment of tomorrow
The College of Nursing and Health Professions of Drexel University sponsored its annual nurse educator’s conference in Atlantic City, NJ on June 27-29, 2008 at the Sheraton Atlantic City Convention Center. I was privileged to have attended the conference on 28th and 29th. Although I have attended nurse educators conferences before, this was the first time that I have gone through CETL to do so and hope that I will be given the opportunity to attend more in the future.
Each day the conference sessions began by 0645 and was over at 2pm which allowed plenty of time for leisure activity. The Sheraton Convention Center provided nice rooms and had several other accommodations such as a day spa, 2 restaurants, exercise room, free wireless on a designated floor and more. The best part was that it was conveniently located to shopping, food, and fun all within walking distance so there was no need to catch a taxi anywhere.
Now for Lessoned Learned
There were so many sessions to choose from that the worst part of the conference was deciding which session to enter. Every hour there were 5 to 6 concurrent sessions to choose from, fortunately a CD was provided that included all PowerPoint’s from all presenters for future reference.
The first session I attended at 0630 on Saturday morning was titled Using electronic resources to foster geriatrics in prelicensure nursing programs. The presenters of this session discussed how to incorporate technology currently being used in healthcare settings in the classroom. One example used was a software program that many hospitals use to determine the risk level of falls for patients, the same technology could be applied in the classroom when teaching assessment skills.
The plenary session that followed was on profiling violence. The speaker Paul Clements provided tips to consider when disciplining students, signs to be aware of such as subtle statements made by students such as “you do what you have to do and I’ll do what I have to do”. He also advised that office furniture should always be arranged so that the student is not between the professor and door in the event a quick exit is needed and if so plan student meetings in an alternative setting when there is a need to give bad information to the student. This was something I had never considered but will take it into consideration this fall when planning student meetings.
I attended three other sessions this day the topics were enhancing critical thinking skills of the baccalaureate nursing student; evaluation of students in the clinical setting; and the use of film as a teaching strategy. The session on use of film was very innovative. The speaker discussed how she would take clips from movies and apply it to the topic of discussion. For example, when she is teaching depression she would find movies that had characters with depression, after the students would watch a clip of it the professor would then start a discussion by asking a question like… “What classic signs of depression did the character display?” The goal is to help the students relate to something in order to retain the material longer.
Day 2 of the conference I attended three sessions prior to the closing plenary. Although each of the three sessions I chose to attend had different speakers and different viewpoints, all three were related to teaching strategies that promote learning when teaching the millennial generation. All presenters discussed the importance of using a variety of teaching strategies in the classroom with very little lecture. Youtube clips seem to the fastest growing strategy followed by virtual excursions and simulation.
This conference was very useful especially for me, a novice educator. I learned several strategies that I will gradually incorporate into my lesson plans. I look forward to attending this same conference next year and possibly being a presenter myself even if only a poster presenter.
Thanks again CETL for providing me with this opportunity.
Leslee Shepard
Division of Nursing
The College of Nursing and Health Professions of Drexel University sponsored its annual nurse educator’s conference in Atlantic City, NJ on June 27-29, 2008 at the Sheraton Atlantic City Convention Center. I was privileged to have attended the conference on 28th and 29th. Although I have attended nurse educators conferences before, this was the first time that I have gone through CETL to do so and hope that I will be given the opportunity to attend more in the future.
Each day the conference sessions began by 0645 and was over at 2pm which allowed plenty of time for leisure activity. The Sheraton Convention Center provided nice rooms and had several other accommodations such as a day spa, 2 restaurants, exercise room, free wireless on a designated floor and more. The best part was that it was conveniently located to shopping, food, and fun all within walking distance so there was no need to catch a taxi anywhere.
Now for Lessoned Learned
There were so many sessions to choose from that the worst part of the conference was deciding which session to enter. Every hour there were 5 to 6 concurrent sessions to choose from, fortunately a CD was provided that included all PowerPoint’s from all presenters for future reference.
The first session I attended at 0630 on Saturday morning was titled Using electronic resources to foster geriatrics in prelicensure nursing programs. The presenters of this session discussed how to incorporate technology currently being used in healthcare settings in the classroom. One example used was a software program that many hospitals use to determine the risk level of falls for patients, the same technology could be applied in the classroom when teaching assessment skills.
The plenary session that followed was on profiling violence. The speaker Paul Clements provided tips to consider when disciplining students, signs to be aware of such as subtle statements made by students such as “you do what you have to do and I’ll do what I have to do”. He also advised that office furniture should always be arranged so that the student is not between the professor and door in the event a quick exit is needed and if so plan student meetings in an alternative setting when there is a need to give bad information to the student. This was something I had never considered but will take it into consideration this fall when planning student meetings.
I attended three other sessions this day the topics were enhancing critical thinking skills of the baccalaureate nursing student; evaluation of students in the clinical setting; and the use of film as a teaching strategy. The session on use of film was very innovative. The speaker discussed how she would take clips from movies and apply it to the topic of discussion. For example, when she is teaching depression she would find movies that had characters with depression, after the students would watch a clip of it the professor would then start a discussion by asking a question like… “What classic signs of depression did the character display?” The goal is to help the students relate to something in order to retain the material longer.
Day 2 of the conference I attended three sessions prior to the closing plenary. Although each of the three sessions I chose to attend had different speakers and different viewpoints, all three were related to teaching strategies that promote learning when teaching the millennial generation. All presenters discussed the importance of using a variety of teaching strategies in the classroom with very little lecture. Youtube clips seem to the fastest growing strategy followed by virtual excursions and simulation.
This conference was very useful especially for me, a novice educator. I learned several strategies that I will gradually incorporate into my lesson plans. I look forward to attending this same conference next year and possibly being a presenter myself even if only a poster presenter.
Thanks again CETL for providing me with this opportunity.
Leslee Shepard
Division of Nursing
Thursday, June 5, 2008
The Teaching Professor Conference - Kissimmee, FL
Having attended my first Teaching Professor Conference in May really made me think...
Why didn't I know about this conference before now?
This conference was extremely interesting and helpful in so many ways. First, let me start by saying that the hotel - The Gaylord Palms - was extraordinary! The rooms were spacious, the decor was breathtaking and the service was first-class. The only problem I encountered was that it was a resort hotel. Being a resort hotel, it was in a fairly remote section of Kissimmee. If you wanted to save the $26.00 for the buffet dinner by grabbing something quick, you couldn't unless you wanted to catch a cab to the nearest grocery store.
Getting past the high prices for the food and shopping, we move to the conference.
The conference itself was very well organized. The conference staff was couteous, kind, obedient, cheerful...almost like Boy Scouts.
I attended a session on Friday titled "Saving Time in the Grading Process." I thought, "Hmmm...this should be interesting." It was facilitated by Dr. Barbara Walvoord - the same Dr. Walvoord that will be here at Ol 'SU in August. She talked about how to handle assignments students turn in and how to quickly return those assignments so the students receive timely feedback. She really confirmed many of the practices that I use in my classes.
On Saturday, I attended a few sessions. One was titled "Youtube and Facebook in the Classroom." Once again I thought, "Hmmm...this should be interesting." It was facilitated by Kathy Yamachita. More than anything, she explained terms to us that many of the participants were not that familiar with such as: Web 2.0, Metatagging, Viral Video, etc. Her presentation was very well organized, but did not seem to speak to using youtube or facebook across other disciplines. She gave us tips on how she uses youtube in her Art courses, but just using that example made it difficult to see how my colleagues could use the same technology in English, Landscaping, Engineering, Chemistry, etc.
The next session was titled "Integrating Technology to Engage the Student." If you can't see it by now, I am all about the use of technology for effective teaching. Upon reading the title of this session, I thought...well, you know what I thought. The facilitators were Kristina Drumheller and Gregg Lawler from West Texas A&M University. The bulk of this session focused on the use of a software called "Camtasia." This recording software allows instructors to teach in more of a virtual setting. Instructors can demonstrate how to apply certain concepts by recording the actions on the computer (along with voice) and even highlighting or creating tips for the students as they are watching. The information was good, but the session title was a little misleading.
The final session I attended that day was "Increasing Student Participation." This was yet another session that dealt with the use of technology in the classroom. The session was facilitated by Dr. Ken Alford of the National Defense University. The bulk of this presentation focused on another piece of software called "QuizShow." This is a Jeopardy-style application that allows instructors to hold review sessions, do concept quizzing, and invoke class participation by making a game of it. The class got a chance to participate and it was very entertaining. This was by far the most beneficial to me as I visualized how I could used this in my classes.
I was returning to Winston-Salem on Sunday, so I did not attend any sessions Sunday morning. Overall, the conference is something that I would recommend that many professors/instructors attend. It may seem as though the conference is for teachers who have not yet defined their teaching philosophy/strategies or that it is for teachers who seek guidance in their careers, but it is not that. If anything, it acts as reinforcement for beliefs and strategies you already employ. Particpants of this conference have the opportunity to get away from the stress of work, learn some new tricks, and be able to overly utilize the phrase "Hmmm...this should be interesting."
DMCureton
English & Foreign Languages
Why didn't I know about this conference before now?
This conference was extremely interesting and helpful in so many ways. First, let me start by saying that the hotel - The Gaylord Palms - was extraordinary! The rooms were spacious, the decor was breathtaking and the service was first-class. The only problem I encountered was that it was a resort hotel. Being a resort hotel, it was in a fairly remote section of Kissimmee. If you wanted to save the $26.00 for the buffet dinner by grabbing something quick, you couldn't unless you wanted to catch a cab to the nearest grocery store.
Getting past the high prices for the food and shopping, we move to the conference.
The conference itself was very well organized. The conference staff was couteous, kind, obedient, cheerful...almost like Boy Scouts.
I attended a session on Friday titled "Saving Time in the Grading Process." I thought, "Hmmm...this should be interesting." It was facilitated by Dr. Barbara Walvoord - the same Dr. Walvoord that will be here at Ol 'SU in August. She talked about how to handle assignments students turn in and how to quickly return those assignments so the students receive timely feedback. She really confirmed many of the practices that I use in my classes.
On Saturday, I attended a few sessions. One was titled "Youtube and Facebook in the Classroom." Once again I thought, "Hmmm...this should be interesting." It was facilitated by Kathy Yamachita. More than anything, she explained terms to us that many of the participants were not that familiar with such as: Web 2.0, Metatagging, Viral Video, etc. Her presentation was very well organized, but did not seem to speak to using youtube or facebook across other disciplines. She gave us tips on how she uses youtube in her Art courses, but just using that example made it difficult to see how my colleagues could use the same technology in English, Landscaping, Engineering, Chemistry, etc.
The next session was titled "Integrating Technology to Engage the Student." If you can't see it by now, I am all about the use of technology for effective teaching. Upon reading the title of this session, I thought...well, you know what I thought. The facilitators were Kristina Drumheller and Gregg Lawler from West Texas A&M University. The bulk of this session focused on the use of a software called "Camtasia." This recording software allows instructors to teach in more of a virtual setting. Instructors can demonstrate how to apply certain concepts by recording the actions on the computer (along with voice) and even highlighting or creating tips for the students as they are watching. The information was good, but the session title was a little misleading.
The final session I attended that day was "Increasing Student Participation." This was yet another session that dealt with the use of technology in the classroom. The session was facilitated by Dr. Ken Alford of the National Defense University. The bulk of this presentation focused on another piece of software called "QuizShow." This is a Jeopardy-style application that allows instructors to hold review sessions, do concept quizzing, and invoke class participation by making a game of it. The class got a chance to participate and it was very entertaining. This was by far the most beneficial to me as I visualized how I could used this in my classes.
I was returning to Winston-Salem on Sunday, so I did not attend any sessions Sunday morning. Overall, the conference is something that I would recommend that many professors/instructors attend. It may seem as though the conference is for teachers who have not yet defined their teaching philosophy/strategies or that it is for teachers who seek guidance in their careers, but it is not that. If anything, it acts as reinforcement for beliefs and strategies you already employ. Particpants of this conference have the opportunity to get away from the stress of work, learn some new tricks, and be able to overly utilize the phrase "Hmmm...this should be interesting."
DMCureton
English & Foreign Languages
Online Teaching
This was my first TLC conference. On the up side, many intersting topics. On the down side, too many concurrent sessions -which meant I couldn't attend everything I was interest in.
The sessions I did attend included Teaching and Engaging Underprepared Sttudents, Supporting Online Learners, Top 10 Tips For First-Time Online Teacing, Classroom For Clickers, Using Card-Sort Activities, and Simple Movements To Revitalize Teaching And Learning.
The sessions about online teaching will be helpful when I develop my first online course this fall. The session on clickers has motivated me to incorporate the use of our clickers into at least 2 of my classes. I have requested templates from the Card-Sort presenter and believe there may be an application in some of my classes. The Revitalizing session presented several simple exercises that actually improve focus and attention.
As a first TLC experience, it was enjoyable and informative. I hope to fit more of these into my schedule.
The sessions I did attend included Teaching and Engaging Underprepared Sttudents, Supporting Online Learners, Top 10 Tips For First-Time Online Teacing, Classroom For Clickers, Using Card-Sort Activities, and Simple Movements To Revitalize Teaching And Learning.
The sessions about online teaching will be helpful when I develop my first online course this fall. The session on clickers has motivated me to incorporate the use of our clickers into at least 2 of my classes. I have requested templates from the Card-Sort presenter and believe there may be an application in some of my classes. The Revitalizing session presented several simple exercises that actually improve focus and attention.
As a first TLC experience, it was enjoyable and informative. I hope to fit more of these into my schedule.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Managing difficult dialogues and confrontational moments in classrooms
Last month, I had an opportunity to attend The Teaching Professors conference at Kissimmee, FL, USA (May 16-18, 2008). Conference (http://www.teachingprofessor.com/) was organized in the beautiful settings of Gaylord Palm Resort (http://www.gaylordhotels.com/ ). The conference was very well organized and provided opportunities to choose sessions of your choice from various concurrent sessions. A few presentations such as Preventing and Managing Challenging Class Room Situations, Saving time in the Grading Process, and No More sage on the Stage: Strategies for Active Learning in Blended Face-to Face and On Line Courses were very informative.
I took a liking for the presentation “WARNING-This Material is Intended for Mature Audiences: Managing Difficult Dialogues in the Large Lecture Classroom” by W. Mick Charney, PhD from Kansas State University. Dr. Charney dealt with issues of religious, cultural and social sentiments of students on controversial subjects or topics in his classroom. His discussion on “Why do challenging materials create difficult moments in the classroom” was thought provoking. The nature of strong stimuli, disrupted code deciphering skills, unrefined analytical tools and non-monolithic student populations were put forward as reasons for creating difficult moments. He provided a few tips as strategies to effectively manage such confrontational moments. For our reader’s benefit I am representing a few of those tips. They were;
1. Anticipate the types of negative reactions
2. Embed touchstone concepts or recurrent themes
3. Issue warnings and disclaimers
4. Open up clear lines of communication with administrators
5. Use clear and precise language
Overall conference was very enjoyable and provided opportunities to learn a new or reinforce our own concepts in effective teaching.
Dinesh K. Singh, DVM, PhD
Department of Life Sciences, WSSU (6/2/08)
I took a liking for the presentation “WARNING-This Material is Intended for Mature Audiences: Managing Difficult Dialogues in the Large Lecture Classroom” by W. Mick Charney, PhD from Kansas State University. Dr. Charney dealt with issues of religious, cultural and social sentiments of students on controversial subjects or topics in his classroom. His discussion on “Why do challenging materials create difficult moments in the classroom” was thought provoking. The nature of strong stimuli, disrupted code deciphering skills, unrefined analytical tools and non-monolithic student populations were put forward as reasons for creating difficult moments. He provided a few tips as strategies to effectively manage such confrontational moments. For our reader’s benefit I am representing a few of those tips. They were;
1. Anticipate the types of negative reactions
2. Embed touchstone concepts or recurrent themes
3. Issue warnings and disclaimers
4. Open up clear lines of communication with administrators
5. Use clear and precise language
Overall conference was very enjoyable and provided opportunities to learn a new or reinforce our own concepts in effective teaching.
Dinesh K. Singh, DVM, PhD
Department of Life Sciences, WSSU (6/2/08)
Friday, May 30, 2008
Validation
The workshop on 3 Step Lesson Plan was validation for me. The presenter shared a method of lesson delivery using 20 minute segments of highly student engaged activities. The focus on student involvement and accountability provided easy applicable ways to immediately incorporate this system. The instructor uses this method to conduct classes lasting one hour. My method is a seven step lesson which covers my four hour classes; I too create lessons that allow students to be accountable and engaged in twenty minute segments. The students emerge as truly active and responsible for their learning which achieves the learning outcomes for the courses.
Another workshop that I attended called Misperceptions of Teaching and Learning was very insightful. This presentation looked at a survey that matched faculty perceptions of what faculty perceived as teaching and student learning with students' perceptions of what good teaching is and what constitutes learning. The reason for the survey is to better align the perceptions of the faculty and students. A discussion about the results of the survey between faculty and students needs to occur to clear up misconceptions, usualluy undertaken at the beginning of the course.
I would highly recommend this conference to all who teach in higher education.
Another workshop that I attended called Misperceptions of Teaching and Learning was very insightful. This presentation looked at a survey that matched faculty perceptions of what faculty perceived as teaching and student learning with students' perceptions of what good teaching is and what constitutes learning. The reason for the survey is to better align the perceptions of the faculty and students. A discussion about the results of the survey between faculty and students needs to occur to clear up misconceptions, usualluy undertaken at the beginning of the course.
I would highly recommend this conference to all who teach in higher education.
Teaching Professor Conference, Kissimmee, Florida
I recently had the pleasure of attending The Teaching Professor conference in Kissimme, FL. The conference is designed to improve the teaching skills of professors in all disciplines, in both face-to-face and online teaching.
The conference opened with a welcome address from Barbara Walvoord on Saving time in the Grading Process. Dr. Walvoord's address reminded participants that as professors we should not spend more time grading work than student's have put into creating it! She also spoke about how to not get caught in a trap of "micro-grading", that is spending so much time correcting every grammatical error, etc., that when students turn in rewrites they have just fixed the errors, but not addressed any major writing issues. Her address started the conference out on a very positive note, and I am looking forward to her visit to WSSU on August 11 -12, 2008, for the Action Research Institute.
I attended a workshop by Keith Whittington from Rochester Institute of Technology called Simple Active Learning Activities Designed to Increase Student Learning and Satisfaction. Dr. Whittington shared with a very large group several activities designed to increase classroom interaction and to get accurate feedback from students. One activity he shared was to have students write down anonymously one thing they learned or one thing they liked the most or least about class or readings. He emphasized making it one thing, and providing absolute limits to help students focus their answers. You can collect them at the end of class, and structure your next lecture around the areas that are still unclear to students. A lot of the information he shared was based on research done by Angelo and Cross (1993). He also did a very interesting card activity in which he gave out cards from a deck randomly, grouped people by fours, and had us work on an assignment. We worked on the assignment by having one person start the answer, and we just kept passing it and adding on to it. It was a very non-threatening way to brainstorm, and it requires that everyone participate. When it was time to share, he chose cards from another deck to randomly select people to answer the questions. The audience really enjoyed this method, and I could see how this could be very effective with a large group.
I attended several workshops on how to create communities in online classes. One session, done by Lynda Nauright called No More Sage on the Stage: Strategies for Active Learning in Blended Face-to-Face and Online Courses, emphasized that faculty (and administrators) need to recognize that as our student population changes, so does the role of faculty members. She spends a lot of time trying to make sure her online classes work collaboratively, and when she places them in groups she tells them that their peers can decided to remove them from the group if they don't participate. If this happens, they are automatically removed from the course. This has only happened one time, but you can imagine what a discussion it started in our session!
Another session done by a very lively Economics professor, Dr. Ngoc Bich Tran, gave us How to Succeed in First-Time Online Teaching: Top Ten Tips. They are:
10. Enjoy it
9. Offer student support
8. Be patient and considerate to students
7. Keep open lines of communication
6. Provide clear and consistent instructions and feedback
5. Provide enhancement materials
4. Use available online content resources
3. Motivate your students
2. Be organized by planning and developing the course early
1. Be open-minded and enthusiastic when committing to teach online course
Her co-presenters also emphasized using the support of your institution's instructional designers and any offices with expertise in distance learning.
Finally, I learned a lot about my co-workers as part of this conference. WSSU had a strong presence, and having the opportunity to spend time with other faculty will allowed for increased chances for collaborations and increased collegiality.
I am grateful to CETL for providing this opportunity, and encourage all to utilize CETL as a resource to enhance your professional development.
The conference opened with a welcome address from Barbara Walvoord on Saving time in the Grading Process. Dr. Walvoord's address reminded participants that as professors we should not spend more time grading work than student's have put into creating it! She also spoke about how to not get caught in a trap of "micro-grading", that is spending so much time correcting every grammatical error, etc., that when students turn in rewrites they have just fixed the errors, but not addressed any major writing issues. Her address started the conference out on a very positive note, and I am looking forward to her visit to WSSU on August 11 -12, 2008, for the Action Research Institute.
I attended a workshop by Keith Whittington from Rochester Institute of Technology called Simple Active Learning Activities Designed to Increase Student Learning and Satisfaction. Dr. Whittington shared with a very large group several activities designed to increase classroom interaction and to get accurate feedback from students. One activity he shared was to have students write down anonymously one thing they learned or one thing they liked the most or least about class or readings. He emphasized making it one thing, and providing absolute limits to help students focus their answers. You can collect them at the end of class, and structure your next lecture around the areas that are still unclear to students. A lot of the information he shared was based on research done by Angelo and Cross (1993). He also did a very interesting card activity in which he gave out cards from a deck randomly, grouped people by fours, and had us work on an assignment. We worked on the assignment by having one person start the answer, and we just kept passing it and adding on to it. It was a very non-threatening way to brainstorm, and it requires that everyone participate. When it was time to share, he chose cards from another deck to randomly select people to answer the questions. The audience really enjoyed this method, and I could see how this could be very effective with a large group.
I attended several workshops on how to create communities in online classes. One session, done by Lynda Nauright called No More Sage on the Stage: Strategies for Active Learning in Blended Face-to-Face and Online Courses, emphasized that faculty (and administrators) need to recognize that as our student population changes, so does the role of faculty members. She spends a lot of time trying to make sure her online classes work collaboratively, and when she places them in groups she tells them that their peers can decided to remove them from the group if they don't participate. If this happens, they are automatically removed from the course. This has only happened one time, but you can imagine what a discussion it started in our session!
Another session done by a very lively Economics professor, Dr. Ngoc Bich Tran, gave us How to Succeed in First-Time Online Teaching: Top Ten Tips. They are:
10. Enjoy it
9. Offer student support
8. Be patient and considerate to students
7. Keep open lines of communication
6. Provide clear and consistent instructions and feedback
5. Provide enhancement materials
4. Use available online content resources
3. Motivate your students
2. Be organized by planning and developing the course early
1. Be open-minded and enthusiastic when committing to teach online course
Her co-presenters also emphasized using the support of your institution's instructional designers and any offices with expertise in distance learning.
Finally, I learned a lot about my co-workers as part of this conference. WSSU had a strong presence, and having the opportunity to spend time with other faculty will allowed for increased chances for collaborations and increased collegiality.
I am grateful to CETL for providing this opportunity, and encourage all to utilize CETL as a resource to enhance your professional development.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY
The most invigorating session for me was "Using Technology: Thou shalt and Thou shalt Not," led by Dave Yearwood, a professor of Technology in the Business School at University of North Dakota (http://business.und.edu/dept/technology/faculty.cfm). His basic message was that technology should enhance, not dictate, our classes.
Some key points from the discussion:
1) Question: When was the last time you saw a politician using PowerPoint? If you want to connect with your audience, maybe Powerpoint is not the best way.
2) Having students write their ideas down rather than just viewing bullet points on a screen is more helpful in retention and learning process.
3) Is technology helping or hindering learning? Do you really need to use technology?
4) Studies show that "online burnout" occurs at an alarmingly high rate in college courses. (70% of respondents in a survey reported burnout). So, minimize the amount of technology introduced into a course. (Recognize, too, that students have their own technological distractions/issues going on during class.)
5) Some audience members may expect/need a PowerPoint slide to make it a presentation complete. Consider ways to use PP to provoke emotion, draw attention, and start a conversation. Maybe show a picture or graph at the beginning of class, but shut off the projector and don't let the PP be the whole class.
6) There is not (or should not be) such a thing as "PowerPoint Presentation" any more than is a "Chalkboard Presentation" or "Overhead Transparency Presentation" or "Flip Chart Presentation." Technology should not become the center of attention.
Yearwood kept coming back to PowerPoint because it is the most pervasive hi-tech tool used in classrooms today, and just about every textbook comes bundled with PowerPoint slides. He suggested that instructors learn some effective and efficient ways to create and integrate PP and other technol. into their courses, but should be willing to forego tech tools that don't add value to the class.
Coming from a professor of technology, that's sound advice.
Some key points from the discussion:
1) Question: When was the last time you saw a politician using PowerPoint? If you want to connect with your audience, maybe Powerpoint is not the best way.
2) Having students write their ideas down rather than just viewing bullet points on a screen is more helpful in retention and learning process.
3) Is technology helping or hindering learning? Do you really need to use technology?
4) Studies show that "online burnout" occurs at an alarmingly high rate in college courses. (70% of respondents in a survey reported burnout). So, minimize the amount of technology introduced into a course. (Recognize, too, that students have their own technological distractions/issues going on during class.)
5) Some audience members may expect/need a PowerPoint slide to make it a presentation complete. Consider ways to use PP to provoke emotion, draw attention, and start a conversation. Maybe show a picture or graph at the beginning of class, but shut off the projector and don't let the PP be the whole class.
6) There is not (or should not be) such a thing as "PowerPoint Presentation" any more than is a "Chalkboard Presentation" or "Overhead Transparency Presentation" or "Flip Chart Presentation." Technology should not become the center of attention.
Yearwood kept coming back to PowerPoint because it is the most pervasive hi-tech tool used in classrooms today, and just about every textbook comes bundled with PowerPoint slides. He suggested that instructors learn some effective and efficient ways to create and integrate PP and other technol. into their courses, but should be willing to forego tech tools that don't add value to the class.
Coming from a professor of technology, that's sound advice.
STUDENT ATTITUDE
One of the pleasures (or pains) of attending a "teaching" conference is that every session forces you to reflect on your own philosophy and practice. Some sessions can make you feel hopeless and guilty; others make you want to say amen to every point the presenter makes; and there are some that cause you to immediately start rethinking/rewriting your syllabi.
The session entitled "Learning from the Learners" featured a panel of undergraduate students that shared their views on the classroom experience. Keep in mind that these students would have been more motivated than their peers to attend the conference. ["Dude, you attended a teaching conference with professors?!"] OK, throw in a mouse and some rides and they'll gladly take the trip...
Anyway, here are some points and tips they shared:
(1) Students don't come to class to LEARN; they understand that they need the degree to get a decent job so they "play the academic game." They know that most of the stuff they're learning they won't need in the real world.
(2) Professors should show a positive attitude ("even fake it") when they come to class; students can tell if professors don't want to be there.
(3) About 99% of students won't turn off their cell phones when asked to. It's their security and lifeline.
(4) It's more important to learn communication and teambuilding skills than all the information that's packed into the course. Much of the material will be forgotten after the exam, anyway.
(5) Writing is key to thinking and learning the material. Give students opportunities to write.
(6) Challenging courses, especially math and science courses, should be taught more creatively -- applied to real life situations as much as possible.
-----
The students' views fit the conventional profile of Generation Y or Millennials (born after 1982): impatient, coddled, multitaskers, IMers, me-oriented, etc. So I wondered about how I could redefine "learning" to attract student interest: Maybe integrate their favorite technolgies into my classes to provide the comfort and security they need and crave. Maybe allow them to wear earpieces and use cell phones ("You may text or make your calls discreetly."). I could give them more opportunities to have "fun" and write about it. The ideas kept coming...
Yet I am torn between teaching for the moment (the next laugh, the end of term student evaluations) and teaching for life (which was the philosophy I had adopted as a teaching-in-training 25 years ago). I know that those students on the stage will come back to the teaching conference in 5 years and say how they wished they had "learned" more, just as students who left my class hating all the useless writing they had to do ("busy work") and then came back after an internship or year of work to say that it was the best preparation for their jobs!
I keep looking for a middle ground.
The session entitled "Learning from the Learners" featured a panel of undergraduate students that shared their views on the classroom experience. Keep in mind that these students would have been more motivated than their peers to attend the conference. ["Dude, you attended a teaching conference with professors?!"] OK, throw in a mouse and some rides and they'll gladly take the trip...
Anyway, here are some points and tips they shared:
(1) Students don't come to class to LEARN; they understand that they need the degree to get a decent job so they "play the academic game." They know that most of the stuff they're learning they won't need in the real world.
(2) Professors should show a positive attitude ("even fake it") when they come to class; students can tell if professors don't want to be there.
(3) About 99% of students won't turn off their cell phones when asked to. It's their security and lifeline.
(4) It's more important to learn communication and teambuilding skills than all the information that's packed into the course. Much of the material will be forgotten after the exam, anyway.
(5) Writing is key to thinking and learning the material. Give students opportunities to write.
(6) Challenging courses, especially math and science courses, should be taught more creatively -- applied to real life situations as much as possible.
-----
The students' views fit the conventional profile of Generation Y or Millennials (born after 1982): impatient, coddled, multitaskers, IMers, me-oriented, etc. So I wondered about how I could redefine "learning" to attract student interest: Maybe integrate their favorite technolgies into my classes to provide the comfort and security they need and crave. Maybe allow them to wear earpieces and use cell phones ("You may text or make your calls discreetly."). I could give them more opportunities to have "fun" and write about it. The ideas kept coming...
Yet I am torn between teaching for the moment (the next laugh, the end of term student evaluations) and teaching for life (which was the philosophy I had adopted as a teaching-in-training 25 years ago). I know that those students on the stage will come back to the teaching conference in 5 years and say how they wished they had "learned" more, just as students who left my class hating all the useless writing they had to do ("busy work") and then came back after an internship or year of work to say that it was the best preparation for their jobs!
I keep looking for a middle ground.
Friday, May 23, 2008
What Technologies Are They Using?
Another TLT session I wanted to mention briefly was one presented by Karen Smith-Gratto, Barbra Mosley, and Alecia Jones of North Carolina A & T. They were reporting on a study that asked students about what technologies (hardware and Web-based applications) they actually use. They were interested in finding out whether A&T students' technology use is similar to that described in national studies of college students' technology use or whether there are significant differences. (Unfortunately, I came in just late enough to miss the citation for the national study.) Among their findings were these:
- About 40% of A&T students (as opposed to 20% in the national study) use instant messaging.
- Whereas Boomers almost never use text messaging, the current generation uses it daily in overwhelming numbers. (Gen X also uses it.) You can tell I'm a Boomer--I'm sitting here wondering whether text messaging and IMing are the same thing!
- Students didn't report much use of social networking sites, but the investigators suspect that they didn't understand what the question was asking about.
- Overall, students may be less advanced and use fewer technologies than we think--but it is also possible that they are using some technolgies socially and do not want us invading their space! This reminded me of the looks of alarm I see on my students' faces when I mention that I have a Facebook page.
This struck me as a study it would be very interesting to replicate here. It would be particularly useful to know whether our students are really as technologically sophisticated as we sometimes think they are, and it would also be useful to have a clearer idea of how much their knowledge of technology varies. I suspect it varies a great deal--even some of the young students seem unfamiliar with word processing, while every class seems to include (thank goodness) at least one student who can help us get our technological tools to work.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
