Apparently, yes, really! ProfHacker at the online Chronicle of Higher Ed lays out a nifty set of ideas and guidelines (and links to other resources) for using Twitter to facilitate out-of-class discussion threads, micro-journaling, and other forms of low-stakes writing that might be applied to a wide range of disciplinary and classroom contexts.
Rather than reproduce the article here, I'll just post the link, as there's lots of visuals that I can't migrate over here. So just check it out!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Take it slow, Joe!
I must be all about correctives today... but here's another online Chronicle piece, this one from the ProfHacker columns, on how to introduce tech innovations into the classroom gradually, rather than in one fell swoop. The key:
As many of you will know from your own experiences with kids, we were told to introduce different foods slowly, one type at a time, leaving several days in between each type of new food. Because our boys tried each new food separately, if they had experienced any negative consequences—such as an allergic reaction—we and their doctors would have had a good idea of just what food caused the bad reaction.Click the link to the Chronicle page, for a version of the article with links to loads of ProfHacker suggestions for tech in the classroom. The full post, after the jump:
Another country heard from...
At our faculty retreat on Tuesday, during a session on the possibillities for blended learning I was leading, a colleague who teaches literature expressed concern that using extensive pre-class online student work with couurse material before the in-class lesson might lead students to draw ill-prepared conclusions, and that the lecture time in class was really valuable to set up the discussion to follow. There are several ways to address that concern, but one my BLI colleagues made at the time was that the decision to use technology inn a pedagogical blend needs to be driven by the goals and needs of the class... and it's not always useful, or even appropriate.
Now comes a piece from today's online Chronicle that addresses just such a point -- featuring the voices of teachers who argue that a low-tech pedagogy can have unique value, and in some cases might be superior to a blend with online technology.
I agree... it's key to remember that our initiative is being driven not by the imperative to use tech because, or by the need to compete with online educators. Rather, this excerpt from the piece sums it up nicely:
The article, after the jump:
Now comes a piece from today's online Chronicle that addresses just such a point -- featuring the voices of teachers who argue that a low-tech pedagogy can have unique value, and in some cases might be superior to a blend with online technology.
I agree... it's key to remember that our initiative is being driven not by the imperative to use tech because, or by the need to compete with online educators. Rather, this excerpt from the piece sums it up nicely:
Mr. James is not antitechnology—he said he had some success in his composition courses using an online system that's sold with textbooks. But he is frustrated by professors and administrators who believe that injecting the latest technology into the classroom naturally improves teaching. That belief was highlighted in my College 2.0 column last month, in which some professors likened colleagues who don't teach with tech to doctors who ignore improvements in medicine.
Many low-tech professors were extremely distressed by that charge of educational malpractice. (They told me so in dozens of comments on the article and in e-mail messages.)So, if we keep the objective of effective student learning outcomes in a liberal arts context at the forefront (which isn't a fad, but has been what most of us have always done), then we can consider the possibilities of when online tech can enhance and transform our in-class pedagogy -- and when it might not.
After interviewing a few of them this month, it seems to me the key debate between the tech enthusiasts and tech skeptics is really over broader changes in colleges, and anxieties about the academy being turned into just another business.
The article, after the jump:
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Examples of shifting lectures online
Well, loyal readers, after some hiatus, I'm back. Greetings to those of you checking this out for the first time after the Augustana Faculty Retreat yesterday! How timely -- this article from the "Wired Campus" section of the online Chronicle of Higher Education describes three examples of faculty across the country who are shiting their lecture content online so that they can spend more time in-class on active learning pedagogies. These are primarily big universities, but you can imagine how the method might be tailored for our small campus environment... the concept and processes are still the same, and our ability to interact actively with smaller class sections is even better.
The article, after the jump.
The article, after the jump.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Implementing a case-base e-learning environment in a lecture-oriented anesthesiology class: Do learning styles matter in complex problem solving over time?
Choi, Ikseon, Sand Joon Lee, and Jeongwan Kang. “Implementing a Case-Based E-Learning Environment in a Lecture - Oriented Anesthesiology Class: Do Learning Styles Matter in Complex Problem Solving Over Time?” British Journal of Educational Technology 40.5 (2009): 933-47.
Choi, I., Lee, S. J., Kang, J. (2009). Implementing a case-based e-learning environment in a lecture-oriented anesthesiology class: Do learning styles matter in complex problem solving over time. British Journal of Educational Technology, 40(5), 933-947.
Abstract
This study explores how students’ learning styles influence their learning while solving complex problems when a case-based e-learning environment is implemented in a conventional lecture-oriented classroom. Seventy students from an anesthesiology class at a dental school participated in this study over a 3-week period. Five learning-outcome tests and two course-satisfaction surveys were implemented during the case-based instruction using a blended approach (online and face-to-face). The results of one-way ANOVAs with sensing-intuitive, visual-verbal, sequential-global) did not influence students’ learning experience and learning outcomes during the implementation of case-based e-learning. However, the pattern of the students’ performance graph and further analysis with a liberal approach implied that the active-reflective learning style may influence learning outcomes slightly at an earlier time during the case-based learning implantation; however, as time passed, this learning style no longer influenced their learning at all. Thus, learning styles may be considered important or may be considered only during the early stages of instructional implementation in order to facilitate the students’ transition to the new case-based learning environment. It is more efficient to encourage students to adapt to different learning environments than to design adaptive systems in order to embrace diverse learning styles.
Summary
Choi, I., Lee, S. J., Kang, J. (2009). Implementing a case-based e-learning environment in a lecture-oriented anesthesiology class: Do learning styles matter in complex problem solving over time. British Journal of Educational Technology, 40(5), 933-947.
Abstract
This study explores how students’ learning styles influence their learning while solving complex problems when a case-based e-learning environment is implemented in a conventional lecture-oriented classroom. Seventy students from an anesthesiology class at a dental school participated in this study over a 3-week period. Five learning-outcome tests and two course-satisfaction surveys were implemented during the case-based instruction using a blended approach (online and face-to-face). The results of one-way ANOVAs with sensing-intuitive, visual-verbal, sequential-global) did not influence students’ learning experience and learning outcomes during the implementation of case-based e-learning. However, the pattern of the students’ performance graph and further analysis with a liberal approach implied that the active-reflective learning style may influence learning outcomes slightly at an earlier time during the case-based learning implantation; however, as time passed, this learning style no longer influenced their learning at all. Thus, learning styles may be considered important or may be considered only during the early stages of instructional implementation in order to facilitate the students’ transition to the new case-based learning environment. It is more efficient to encourage students to adapt to different learning environments than to design adaptive systems in order to embrace diverse learning styles.
Summary
How student satisfaction factors affect perceived learning
Lo, Celia C. “How Student Satisfaction Factors Affect Perceived Learning.” Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 10.1 (2010): 47-54.
Lo, C. C. (2010). How students satisfaction factors affect perceived learning. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 10(1), 47-54.
Abstract
Data from students in two sections of a general education course offered at a research university in spring 2009 were used to explore whether student satisfaction factors are associated with perceived learning as rated by students. A list of 22 elements in the learning environment was explored. The 22 were used in creating 3 satisfaction factors related to the roles of student, instructor, and policy. The study showed all of these satisfaction factors to be associated with higher rates of perceived learning, measured via students’ expectations of academic success. The finding’ implications for practice are briefly discussed.
Summary
Lo, C. C. (2010). How students satisfaction factors affect perceived learning. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 10(1), 47-54.
Abstract
Data from students in two sections of a general education course offered at a research university in spring 2009 were used to explore whether student satisfaction factors are associated with perceived learning as rated by students. A list of 22 elements in the learning environment was explored. The 22 were used in creating 3 satisfaction factors related to the roles of student, instructor, and policy. The study showed all of these satisfaction factors to be associated with higher rates of perceived learning, measured via students’ expectations of academic success. The finding’ implications for practice are briefly discussed.
Summary
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