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Helen Maynard

Students Slog through College, Don't Gain in Critical Skills - 4 views

seattletimes.nwsource.com/...3970569_collegelearning19.html

#EDUC251

shared by Helen Maynard on 19 Jan 11 - No Cached
  • Helen Maynard on 19 Jan 11
     
    In today's Seattle Times, A3 section - interesting article which followed over 2,000 US students from 2005 to 2009. 45% made no significant improvements in their critical thinking, reasoning or writing skills during first 2 years of study. After completing 4 years, 36 % showed no significant gains in "higher order" thinking skills. Article also states some contributing factors, many students work part-time, however, most students only spent 1/5 time on their studies and 51% on socializing & extra-curricular. I have a strong hunch the internet is a big contributor to the socializing factor. When I read such statistics, it makes me ponder if on-line learning can truly change this social/educational trend. I am enjoying many readings on the diigo, both from Jennifer and others, however, I'm not sure I would design an on-line class which designated a considerable amt. of time to short readings and discussions. Your thoughts on this?
  • ...8 more comments...
  • Helen Maynard on 19 Jan 11
     
    . . . and Jennifer, this isn't criticism of our course structure. I think I understand your reasoning for being introduced to diigo and using this "application" (is that the right word?) to respond to and communicate with our fellow students. I'm simply thinking about what kinds of course activities and applications really challenge students to read, research, analyze and CREATE some original thinking and student work products which can help change these types of findings, especially in higher-ed.
  • ann stephens on 19 Jan 11
     
    Someone observed once that when television first started, the people writing for tv came from a "reading book" age and we had shows like Twilight Zone, Perry Mason, etc. - shows with real stories. Now, although there are some of these, much of our tv is "reality" tv - where the focus is quick stories with emotions and that writers now grew-up watching television for entertainment. So, my connection here, is that perhaps education might need to de-emphasize some on-line usage tools and emphasize others, to balance students so they do get the critical thinking skills. I know with my math tutoring, that when the audio is not operational and they have to use a chat box, they learn more spelling and English. I purposely "chat" in full sentences and will often provide feedback on their chats. Hear and here, for example, is often incorrectly used.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 19 Jan 11
     
    Helen, it's important that you're recognizing that one tool or method won't work for all situations. For an online class, it's hard to predict what your students will do. There's a certain amount of control we have over design, but once things get rolling, there's a lot of improvisation. I didn't figure on Diigo playing such a prominent role so early on, but since several students felt comfortable writing here, I latched onto it for early community-building. We will definitely be creating more as we move forward. If we had a larger class, we'd do smaller group projects, as well. One of the big challenges in online teaching is the fact that so many of us are used to being motivated by grades. We've grown up in systems where we perform and receive a reward. Unless a student finds something to spark their interest and desire to learn, we risk a teaching and learning environment where learners only do the bare minimum. I think the short readings and conversation help learners discover what's in it for them. And, honestly, sometimes there might not be anything in it for them. I try to find something for everyone, but in a society that values certification/degree more than the learning experience, many students are forced to take classes that just don't interest them.
  • Joy LaJeret on 19 Jan 11
     
    It would seem to me, given my comments on Bloom's Taxonomy, that creative and critical thinking can be stifled by Universites and colleges. If this is happening, maybe they need to re-assess the whole concept of teaching and learning. I think that process has begun in the US. Had my professors been able to guide my learning, as we are beginning to learn in our reading materials, I may have finished that Ph.d and written the theory I began to write or not. Who knows. It is a question yet to be examined.
  • Mary Ann Simpson on 20 Jan 11
     
    I read this article too, Helen. It is indeed interesting to contemplate the reasons for very little forward progress in students' critical thinking skills, but you may be on to something with on-line socializing as a possible contributing factor. Since the wave of education today and into the future is focused on a combination of hybrid and on-line learning, I think it's very important that we as educators take the lead in changing our coursework to emphasize more critical and creative thinking as well as problem solving. After all, these are some of the 21st Century Learning skills that CAN be applied to digital technology and teaching. As for a series of short readings as proposed by Jennifer, I would be inclined to take part and enjoy discussions centered around them. Does anyone else have an opinion about this? Jennifer, I agree with your point that not all tools and ways of teaching things fit each learner in a given community, but considering learning styles and differentiated instruction, instructors (on-line) can create a community that is dynamic and viable. Have you ever thought of offering a "CHOICE of activities" focusing on different learning styles, all of which would meet a particular learning objective? Students could engage according to their own interests and preferred learning modes.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 20 Jan 11
     
    Mary Ann, all the portfolio activities will be your choice. You can get an idea of it if you skip ahead and skim the content for next week. I do as for a "cognitive presence" post, but you can use whatever medium you like. Next week we've got a collaborative document where we'll be adding potential activities. As far as learning styles are concerned, I'm not a big fan of how that theory is promoted and distorted. I'll share some resources about it, and you can tell me what you think.
  • ann stephens on 21 Jan 11
     
    I wanted to further Mary Ann's comment about this study making a case for the importance of elearning as tool for delivery of education. I understand elearning is in the early stages, but the internet lends itself to the written word and certainly has the flexibility to be molded to learning needs.
  • Susan Kolwitz on 21 Jan 11
     
    Helen: Very interesting article with compelling statistics. Statistics don't always tell us the true story, however. I say this after reading in our textbook about 'understanding' and 'misunderstanding' and learning how to determine how to express content so the student understands. Now, on the other hand, I agree that students spend more time with extra-curricular activities rather than their studies.
  • Colleen Dixon on 24 Jan 11
     
    I too found the article interesting - thanks! I do wonder about the types of classes students completed especially in their first two years. The might be a marked difference in skills acquisition if students were completing many required large class survey classes to meet initial requirements vs. small, more focused classes in their areas of interest.
  • Joy LaJeret on 25 Jan 11
     
    I am still trying to get the picture of "slogging" through studies! Is that what I am doing when reading all this material in Diigo? I don't think so.
ann stephens

Bloom's Taxonomy - 4 views

www.odu.edu/...blooms_taxonomy.htm

shared by ann stephens on 17 Jan 11 - Cached
  • ann stephens on 17 Jan 11
     
    This is an overview of a guideline for how learning occurs and how as teachers we can focus our lessons to this guideline. It is relevant in on-line education, as the on-line environment allows us to have different modes to provide information to our students. We can utilize everything from video to chat rooms.
  • ...6 more comments...
  • Mary Ann Simpson on 17 Jan 11
     
    This was so interesting, Ann! I was trained in Gifted Education and we used Bloom for all of our curriculum creation--I find the new version very appealing. It should also be easier to understand for people new to the taxonomy. I totally agree with your connection of its relevance to on-line learning.
  • Joy LaJeret on 17 Jan 11
     
    I found that fits with the animated video concepts about changing paradigms. Also, neither my youngest daughter or I finshed high school in the same way. I tested out after the 10th grade. She was unable to graduate after the 10th grade, even though her course work requirements were completed. She spent one year going to college and one year as a foreign exchange student before she could graduate, since she had to wait until her class did.
  • ann stephens on 19 Jan 11
     
    Mary Ann - I hadn't realized the Bloom taxonomy had been revised and am not sure of the changes, but very much like the scaffold. I must admit, that it has taken me a while to use better questioning. It is more responsive to test information. Joy - Your point about how the education process was different for you and your daughter is interesting. Many students go for a foreign experience.
  • Joy LaJeret on 19 Jan 11
     
    The real difference in my educational experience was my total boredom with school and cliques. It was not relevant to me, so I dropped out after my tenth grade year. I did a GED test and passed. At 33 years of age, I began a nine year journey in universities. This ended after completing my course work on a Ph.d. When my professors in my doctoral committee told me they could not really direct me, since I was ahead of them on the material I was researching. I see now that someone has stumbled upon my thesis and completed a book on conflict theory. Slightly to the left, it was not acceptable in the 80s but is relevant today, almost thirty years later.
  • Joy LaJeret on 19 Jan 11
     
    Post Script-I was building a theory in a Pol Sci mode on the issue of the ill defined word terror and global attacks. If you can't properly define it, one might want to reexamine the current theories and definitions for the behavior...which is was what I was thinking at the time. Hence, I began a doctoral thesis on Conflict Theory and Transnational Terrorism. Looking deeper you may see how this ties into the Bloom Taxonomy concept and why I aborted the thesis project completely! You can deal with ignorance through education; but it is difficult to deal with the lack of desire to learn.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 19 Jan 11
     
    Joy, people always tell me, it's never too late! I also didn't go back to finish my BS until after I had my daughter, when I was 29. I do not do well with traditional university classrooms, and made my way through my degrees by talking my instructors into letting me do alternative projects. I'm lucky I knew to do that, and had instructors who were open-minded enough to accept it. Your thesis sounds like something that would have been quite valuable. with your interest in relationships, technology, and communication, I'd imagine you'd thrive in a program studying network clustering coefficient in an identified population. There are stunning statistical modeling and visualization tools that just blow my mind. Thanks for sharing so much of your interests and background with us!
  • Jennifer Dalby on 19 Jan 11
     
    Ann, do you have any tools or taxonomies that have helped you develop those questioning skills? And have you got any experience using the SOLO taxonomy?
  • ann stephens on 21 Jan 11
     
    I have not had experience with SOLO - Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes - but from the bit of investigation I have done, it is similiar to Bloom's in that it is based upon the notion that a studen'ts ability to grasp more abstract concepts, is based on more fundamental understandings and that you need to make sure you are not too advanced for where the student is. It reminds me of Piaget's concept that you can only learn something that is slightly more advanced than where you are (my paraphrase). As for my experience with help in developing questioning skills, which I feel is an excellent example of elearning, is that my company had us first take an interactive tutorial on Bloom's taxonomy. The "final" was taking a math problem and providing questions for each level of the taxonomy. We posted this on a dedicated discussion, with the teacher providing her response for everyone to see and learn from. We have since started another topic where teacher can post specific questions they are using and have tried and this will eventually be collected into a reference document. For example, one idea that was shared was that you after you have tested your student on a fundamental, you can ask them to give you a problem. My experience is that I often get back something I didn't expect. Like if adding decimels, they will return with a problem that might be in the millionths rather than the tenths. What I found most useful was not these specifics or having a question for each level, as much as the consciousness raising it did for me to think more creatively in helping the students. I have found that an elearning platform is very helpful in this regard. For example, they might take a lesson on adding or subtracting fractions and another on adding or subtracting decimels. I will then give them a problem in adding both - example - 1/2 + .25 = . By having an interactive whiteboard I can see how they convert the fraction to a decimal to add them and offer guidan
Joy LaJeret

Final Portfoilo #10 Blog Post Relecting on Learning - 16 views

joystechtool.blogspot.com

blog post

shared by Joy LaJeret on 21 Jan 11 - No Cached
  • Bruce Wolcott on 20 Feb 11
     
    Joy, Your posts are quite sobering, regarding your own experiences working towards completing your university education. I strongly agree with the following quote in your post: "In sum, it is time for educators to make college and higher learning relevant to their students. It is not about us, it is about them. We are the facilitators of their learning. We must prepare them for the world they will find themselves in when they leave the protected walls of our colleges and universities" I found the recent events in Cairo to be fascinating, where large numbers of people suddenly rose up against an authoritarian and out-of-touch government. This largely peaceful uprising was fueled by the same Web2.0 technologies that are underpinning this class. It's possible that many traditional schools will soon find themselves in a similar situation to the Egyptian government, where students pass them by in favor of lower cost and more relevant educational experiences - many of them available online. Bill Gates recently came under fire for making the statement that valid online college degrees may soon be available for $2000. He may have said this to exaggerate a point, but the evidence of a growing number of online low cost educational resources can't be ignored. One of them is the Khan Academy - run by an MIT graduate who has created a large free archive of mathematics courses that are used by students all over the world - many who claim they are better than their university courses. Colleges and universities ignore this development at their own peril. It's not clear yet how we'll make this transition to relevancy for students, but the next decade will be very interesting...
  • ...3 more comments...
  • Helen Maynard on 20 Feb 11
     
    Hi Joy (and fellow classmates) - we were out-of-town for a week. Internet was available, but for a price $.75 per minute. I had planned on using some of our vacation time to work on this course without the hassle of juggling work commitments. At a price per minute, this idea didn't pan out. To get caught up, I checked out our Diigo communications and visited your blog. I like the way you insert YouTube videos to add dimension to your ideas! The two I looked at addressed the LMS system - Canvas. I was particularly fascinated with the young techy who ended his presentation, asking his audience about how they might define the role for SOCIAL MEDIA in both course structure and as a learning tool. Interesting how our course materials (and we) have also been pondering this same issue! Thanks for finding and sharing a very relevant presentation. I also enjoyed your thoughts as well.
  • Joy LaJeret on 28 Feb 11
     
    Today our senior population is aging at a rapid rate. Is it possible we, as a society, are sending them to an early end of life dead line because of our attitudes and out moded beliefs regarding aging in America? Can we not help keep their minds alive and well by changing some of our society's institutions...of higher education?
  • Mary Ann Simpson on 28 Feb 11
     
    Joy, I just finished reading your blog posts and viewing the videos. I agree with Bruce. . . they are quite sobering. I am angered that there is so much age discrimination out there, excited that Japan has such a unique way of addressing the needs of its aging population, and frustrated that a college degree does not necessarily translate into a job. My own daughter is in that position--she has a teaching degree earned two years ago and no prospects of a job anytime soon. Her income is earned through subbing in the Sultan School District and managing a horse stable. All of this translates into 7 days of work per week, a very minimal income and burnout. She is 37 years old (not quite a senior, but in line with the unemployed GWU grads shown in the video you posted). Your passion definitely comes through in all of the blog postings, Joy. What you say about assessment aligns with my beliefs as well. I have never been a proponent of grades--to me, they are just part of a hoop that must be jumped through in order to achieve a goal. With that in mind, I was overJOYed when authentic assessment came onto the education scene as it offered a way to monitor and guide students in their learning, not just give them a letter or number that was supposed to signify that they had "learned" the course content. In my experience, most students who memorize course content for tests within a given course, will not retain it once the tests have been taken. There is simply too much competition for good grades at all levels of education and not enough desire for a true understanding of ideas and concepts.
  • Joy LaJeret on 01 Mar 11
     
    Thanks you for your comments Mary Ann...the bottom line reads, we may be killing off our aged population by sentencing them to give up and give in to old out-moded concepts!
  • Susan Kolwitz on 04 Mar 11
     
    Joy: I've been following your blog postings for some time now and have been meaning to let you know I always learn and find your postings valuable. Keep the information coming our way.
Jennifer Dalby

MoMA Online Courses - 2 views

www.moma.org/...courses

#EDUC251 eLearning onlinelearning teaching arts

shared by Jennifer Dalby on 20 Jan 11 - No Cached
  • Jennifer Dalby on 20 Jan 11
     
    This one's for Helen. I thought you might like to see what they're doing for online art courses.
  • ann stephens on 21 Jan 11
     
    I thought it was interesting that most of the classes were sold-out, indicating the need and interest for the information. Since these courses are not part of a curriculum, the participants will be motivated.
  • Helen Maynard on 21 Jan 11
     
    Thanks for sharing this. Yes, many are SOLD-OUT and it makes perfectly good sense to take these courses on-line where you can view videos, artwork and read a wealth of information from the museum archives & library. I took a class from Lincoln Center Institute about 3 summers ago where we even did some hands-on creative work, scanned our creations (to share on-line) and then collectively reflected specifically about the "process of creating." It worked quite well and I definately plan to incorporate that type of activity into my on-line course.
ann stephens

You Digital Presence - 9 views

www.geek.com/...e-before-they-are-born-2010108

#EDUC251 presence online

shared by ann stephens on 26 Jan 11 - No Cached
  • ann stephens on 26 Jan 11
     
    Jennifer's email to us was a catalyst for this post to inquire about your digital prescence experience. I, like Jennifer, have aliases that I use on social networks. It is a challenge, though, to manage multiple presences and even when I do, often have a feeling of unease about the information. For example, in this course a suggestion was for us to update our profile. Although I don't feel secrative that I am taking a course at Bellevue College, the email/signature I use for this course is also the one I use for some other professional endeavors (such a technology consulting). I is not something that is a "need to know" by everyone. I chose, in this situation, not to update my general profile. When we are conscious of what/how we are posting and putting up, is one thing. Often though, I get on a mailing list, that I have no idea how I was included, as I probably forgot to check a "do not include me" box on something I have bought on line. This article was particularly interesting to me, as it talks about a survey that 23% of children get a digital presence even before they are born - having a lasting imprint.
  • ...9 more comments...
  • Mary Ann Simpson on 26 Jan 11
     
    Ann, the information contained in this article (digital presence sometimes even before birth) was a bit shocking. The lasting imprint you refer to is definitely a reason to instruct our children/grandchildren/students to carefully consider what they want broadcast to the world before they publish it! Thank you for this reference.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 27 Jan 11
     
    Articles like this are designed to be shocking. My children have had a digital footprint before they were born. They also both have their own domain names. But my grandparents and great grandparents also have digital footprints after they've passed on! In my opinion, it won't be long before there is so much content online, that the information about individuals will be of little interest to any of the people we currently worry are concerned about it. More importantly, I hope it brings awareness of what it means to be human. We all make mistakes. Most people aren't 100% good or bad. I would prefer more people to put more stuff online so it becomes irrelevant. The way I see it, only those with privilege and access even have the choice about what to put online. If we put too much value on it, the only people who will benefit are the people with privilege, access, and either the foresight to keep their online presence squeaky clean, or the money to clean it up afterward.
  • Bruce Wolcott on 27 Jan 11
     
    I used to think that my name was off the beaten path enough that there wasn't anyone else with the name Bruce Wolcott - but I was mistaken, and was glad that I laid claim to brucewolcott.com. Over the past few years, I've slowly been working to build an online presence. A few years ago, the my top reference on the Web was at ratemyprofessor.com , which I've found in the past to have favorable reviews, but also some student reviews I felt were retribution for getting poor grades. I wanted to build a presence that I thought was fair, represented my true interests, and a way to quickly let people know about my background. After developing my website and blog, it turns out that Google has put the information I'm most interested in having out there, at the top of the list. I see this as a long term project, and something that I will be building consistently and gradually over time. After Jennifer's comments regarding Facebook, I'm having second thoughts about what kind of presence to be projecting there.
  • ann stephens on 27 Jan 11
     
    I was thinking of the direct experience with the first grandchild in the family. Her facebook is limited to family (I have an alias email for this) and friends, but you never know when something is really forwarded. She recently had a some minor illness - ear ache, slight temperature. This has now been posted on facebook. We often think of medical things as private and yet this was easily shared as a way for us to know what was happening.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 27 Jan 11
     
    Ann, the medical thing is a good point. I had a Twitter conversation with Howard Rheingold the other day, about the kinds of things we put online. He felt he didn't put too much personal stuff. I thought it was pretty personal that he had a cancer blog and a separate Twitter account for his butt :) He explained a little about why he did that. Read from the bottom to the top. https://skitch.com/injenuity/rmqq1/twitter-your-favorites
  • ann stephens on 27 Jan 11
     
    Howard's cancer post exemplifies the uneasiness I feel. Having a blog for an illness is a wonderful way to stay connected, get advise, not feel isolated, etc. However, when we do that we are thinking of family, friends, and a community we want to connect to, but we have no control of where this information goes and what the consequences of that might be as happened in this case. We all know now that Howard had cancer. I have personal reaction to this information - what type of cancer, reminds me of personal experiences, current friends, the medical system, etc.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 27 Jan 11
     
    One thing to think about is the reality of community to an individual. An outside observer might analyze and decide there is no real community. But if a participant perceives it as community, do they then reap the benefits of community? Could there be health benefits in believing there are people who support you and are there to listen?
  • ann stephens on 27 Jan 11
     
    I agree that there is a benefit to on-line blogs and support groups. The question for me is how do I get that benefit from the people I am targetting it to? So, for instance, I have used online support groups for a medical challenge I went through. It was helpful and beneficial to both them and me. However, that is different from having a digital footprint of the interaction. Maybe an employer or someone who would use the information judgementally, for example. So to Howard's example, did he realize that people that only tangentially are even aware of him, now know something intimate about his life. He probably doesn't care on one level, but it is the "unconsciousness" of this footprint that I think about.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 27 Jan 11
     
    I think he cares and just wanted to have control of it himself, rather than let other people decide what's out there about him. The optimist in me hopes what will happen is we'll start to discover we have more in common with people that we ever thought possible. I blogged through the loss of my baby, and that's online forever. Years after the fact, at least 4 men in my online professional network have told me how much they appreciated being able to see that, because they went through the same thing, but didn't feel dads had the right to that kind of grief. It's very rewarding to go a thousand miles away to a conference and get the biggest hugs in the world, simply for being open about a personal experience. I drop off line all the time. I delete accounts. I stop blogging. Every time I do it, people contact me to tell me how much they miss my interaction, and how they've been touched by my sharing. When I feel like I'm not making a difference, people always tell me I don't know that, because it's not something I can see. A lot of times I've written blog posts that go against the wisdom of my colleagues, yet I receive many private messages from people thanking me for saying the things they've been afraid to say. I think it's all a matter of choice, and I want to encourage people to stand up for their right to change their minds. People thought I was nuts deleting my facebook account, but I've never regretted it. I do say, though, that when people tell me I never know who I might be helping, I have to consider whether I have a moral obligation or not, to continue to share. I certainly won't be bullied into it with that argument, but I do believe it's an important consideration.
  • Susan Kolwitz on 27 Jan 11
     
    Good article to bring things into perspective about 'online presence.' I found a similar article that compared statistics relating to age and online presence. 92% of children by age 2 have online presence thanks to parents and grandparents. As Jennifer mentioned in her discussion of facebook -- maybe we don't want the world to see what we did in our high school days...we were 15/16. Can we separate a personal online presence from a business profile...
  • ann stephens on 28 Jan 11
     
    I do separate my profiles by having different email aliases. There is overhead in having multiple ones, however, so not ideal.
Mary Ann Simpson

Five Basic Types of Questions - 10 views

www.uwsp.edu/...quest2.htm

shared by Mary Ann Simpson on 14 Jan 11 - Cached
  • Mary Ann Simpson on 14 Jan 11
     
    Teaching on-line or in a classroom requires the ability to ask good questions. I found this article to be useful--I hope you will too.
  • ...5 more comments...
  • Joy LaJeret on 14 Jan 11
     
    Interesting article. Rather similiar to the way lawyers are educated to question people in a court room, wth the exception of questioning to inspire well thought out answers of an academic nature.
  • Bruce Wolcott on 15 Jan 11
     
    I always like these condensed lists of pointers for making life easier: One of the biggest challenges for me is coming up with a decent topic of conversation for online discussions - which is usually posed as a single question or series of related questions. This list is very useful for thinking about types of questions to ask.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 15 Jan 11
     
    This is a great starting point for thinking about online discussions. It's not easy coming up with the right questions to stimulate discussion. Sometimes I tell myself that if there's a "right" answer to the question, it probably won't work for a discussion.
  • Helen Maynard on 15 Jan 11
     
    I loved this site! The home page is very concise, informative with good examples. And, "yes" we should do some additional sharing, research and practice regarding what types (structure) of questions illict good, reflective responses (let you know the learner has synthesized course material). In clicking around to other links on this site, I noticed Leslie Owen referred to educator/author H. Lynn Erickson as a man. Not that it's a big deal, but, HL Erickson is a woman and is a curriculum consultant who lives locally. Seems like we all struggle with this aspect of teaching - good questions for discussion. Perhaps we could come up with a simple exercise where we post questions we might use which address our course readings? What ya think?? Thank you Mary Ann for this great teaching resource.
  • Mary Ann Simpson on 17 Jan 11
     
    Helen, I like your idea of creating some questions around our course readings that we could post and discuss. I also think some of the questions on the new collaborative doc Jennifer just posted would be excellent discussion points. There is so much to think about in that one!
  • Jennifer Dalby on 17 Jan 11
     
    I'm not opposed to a final project that involves students re-developing this course. It could even be a group project. (But I'd probably want to write about you and brag about you all to my friends!)
  • ann stephens on 17 Jan 11
     
    I posted Bloom's Taxonomy, which is a guideline for how people learn and how education should be targetted to that model. It is similiar to the types of questioning one does to reflect where we are in the learning process. I think the same is true of our course. We all seem to have through experience and past coursework some basic knowledge of on-line teaching and learning. My preference, I think, would be to have answers/discussion to some of the questions that are coming up, not just a list.
Jennifer Dalby

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms - 5 views

www.youtube.com/watch

#EDUC251 eLearning teaching edreform RSA

shared by Jennifer Dalby on 17 Jan 11 - No Cached
  • Jennifer Dalby on 17 Jan 11
     
    This animate was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA's Benjamin Franklin award. For more information on Sir Ken's work visit: http://www.sirkenrobinson.com
  • ...11 more comments...
  • Joy LaJeret on 17 Jan 11
     
    Spot on! I have a MS; but have never had a job using my academic skills. In fact, the workplace has penalized me and on several jobs told me I have no skills to obtain other jobs or be advanced. In fact, I have been told NOT to put my academic degrees in a resume. So, I am a honor student with 9 solid years of academic education, and a work force retard. What do you suppose is going on here? Unfortunately, there a several varibles at work in my case. The "glass ceiling," discrimination, ignorance of what education means and is (or maybe a better grasp); no knowledge of what tranferrable skills are and as we brain storm the list goes on, especially as I get older.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 17 Jan 11
     
    I hear you. I turn 40 this year and I can't help but wonder if I'd be better able to support my family if I had a marketable skill, instead of knowledge about knowledge :) I fantasize about raising goats and alpaca and selling soap and sweaters. :)
  • Mary Ann Simpson on 17 Jan 11
     
    Joy and Jennifer--EVERYTHING you shared hits home with me. I find myself in both of your places (as expressed in your comments) so I am now trying to enhance my resume and become more marketable as I age!--I'm already "too old and too expensive" to fit into the traditional classroom in either private or public schools so. . . thanks for being there for me and helping me learn new skills that are so needed in the domain of 21st century education.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 17 Jan 11
     
    I recently submitted my resume for an education software training contract and this was the response. "I read through your resume and realized that most probably our position would bore the heck out of you." I replied that I enjoy working with people and it's always a challenge and not boring. He responded with the other issue; salary. I told him that was very low for this area. His response was, "Most probably I'll be finding someone younger (less experience) or someone older (semi retired)."
  • Joy LaJeret on 17 Jan 11
     
    Ouch that is discrimination! The "semi retired: comment was even worse!!! In the first case he stated you were over qualified; and in the second paying lower wages to "semi retired" people is even more discriminatory! His verbal behavior disgusts me!
  • Joy LaJeret on 17 Jan 11
     
    One resource to join the movement against age discrimination is typing into a search engine...Gray or Grey coalition. http://www.graymatterscoalition.com/
  • Mary Ann Simpson on 18 Jan 11
     
    AMEN, Sisters! I'm totally appalled at what happened to you, Jen--the whole thing was discrimination!! Thanks for the link, Joy--I'm looking into it!
  • Bruce Wolcott on 18 Jan 11
     
    WOW! The RSA Animate visualized version of Robinson's talk is terrific for a variety of reasons - I'm just trying to unpack it all! First the presentation provides an instant visualization of Robinson's talk - a shorthand for thinking and remembering his ideas. The animation is engaging, entertaining and memorable. Since it's on YouTube, you can go back and watch it all, or portions of it. The perspective moves from close up to big picture, and changes on the fly. What's especially powerful, however is the central idea that Robinson is talking about - a real elephant in the room. He says our educational system, which was created for a different time and economic era, is outdated. It's a factory system, arising originally from the Industrial Revolution, that to many students seems irrelevant to their own futures and careers in the 21st Century. It divides students into two camps - academic professionals (ie. "smart people"), and vocationals (blue collar, "not-so smart people"). In one memorable section, he distinguishes between "aesthetic" experiences - which enliven and engage human attention, and "anesthetic" experiences which deaden curiosity and passion. He associates these "anesthetic" experiences with our current educational process. The fact that he delivers these heavy hitting criticisms with such a light hearted, though well articulated sense of humor, is especially powerful.
  • ann stephens on 18 Jan 11
     
    Three points come to mind. 1. Presentation. The way the information was presented was totally engaging had me wanting to believe the message without question. I would have appreciated having the sources of his information indicated. As we've commented on in other posts as well, the verasity of information is always an issue. I tried finding the prescription distribution used in the tape, but could not find specific information to support the claim (although I'm sure it is somewhere on the internet.) 2. Education Model. Although his model definitely resonated with me, I think of education or I should say the educational system as having two goals - to train us to be academics (as he describes) and to prepare us for jobs. Some jobs do require specifc answer knowledge. 3. On-line learning. One of his earlier points about the educational system is that there was a paradigm shift when free, state-sponsored education became a reality. His description of education prior to that seemed to fit what we often see in "internet" learning - more individual driven learning.
  • Helen Maynard on 18 Jan 11
     
    Jennifer - I am so glad you included Sir Ken Robinson in your syllabus. I love his unique perspectives, especially about our educational systems. His talk about the importance of educators fostering creativity in the culture of the classroom is very powerful. I also finished reading Downes article about the role of the educator and I see his points regarding how technology has redefined/redesigned our roles. I find it very exciting. Regarding the value of"divergent thinking." As a teacher, I always encourage and appreciate this capacity in my students. However, I also ask they reflect upon this process of divergent thinking. "What led you to think this might be a possibility?" I often find asking students to be reflective and to articulate about meta-cognition frustrates them. In our overstimulating and quick answer/fix culture, is it wrong to ask how their ideas came about? "Could you follow your train of thought?" Also, (and not directly related) did anyone click on the game Downes referenced called "Evoke." What an amazing on-line game - a "designed, learning community" posing serious, real-life problem solving about starvation in Africa. Wow! I can see how a learning tool such as this would make a course very exciting, but I can also see where some basic geography, social studies and other content should be woven into the syllabus.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 18 Jan 11
     
    Ann, it is completely engaging. I recognize your concerns about sources. When they create the RSA Animates, they do take the talk out of the original context, and also add creative interpretation. It's interesting to see how those things can be mixed together for such a powerful effect. I've never taken the time to dig too deeply into them to find the original context and determine whether there's a publication with sources.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 18 Jan 11
     
    Helen, I like Sir Ken Robinson's stuff, but I do take it with a grain of salt as well. Like Gladwell, he's a good storyteller and can inspire, but everything's got to be taken in context. I love that you ask your students to follow their train of thought. I do that with my kids, and find I often have to explain my own train of thought to others. I like the way you are in tune with the benefits and risks of reflective practice. It can get messy, and it isn't always the best thing for every student. It sounds like you take extra steps to make sure they understand the value of it.
  • ann stephens on 18 Jan 11
     
    Helen, thanks for underlining the Evoke game. I did find it - www.urgentevoke.com - and was impressed by what a great representative of eLearning this was. Organized, engaging, lots of information - but what I liked most was that it led to action - i.e., the gaming playing is not just on the computer - but actions you take or are encouraged to take to make a difference.
Jennifer Dalby

EDUC 251 - Module 1, Behind the Scenes - 8 views

injenuity.posterous.com/251-module-1-behind-the-scenes

EDUC251 eLearning #EDUC251 onlinelearning

shared by Jennifer Dalby on 15 Jan 11 - No Cached
  • Jennifer Dalby on 15 Jan 11
     
    My first "Behind the Scenes" reflection for the course.
  • ...1 more comment...
  • ann stephens on 17 Jan 11
     
    The logistical work that goes into an on-line course is more complex that in-person classes. There are so many options and technology that needs to be lined up. My own experience over the past week or two, where I have been computer challenged and had a delay in class participation. I liked the method that Jennifer used by allowing extra time for the first assignment, so as to minimize her (the teacher's need) for interaction on the daily things that impact our lives.
  • Joy LaJeret on 17 Jan 11
     
    An Interesting read.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 17 Jan 11
     
    When I was planning, I was reflecting on past experiences with that first week. It's always so hectic. It seems if you require the introductions and orientation and also expect engagement with materials, students become overwhelmed. I'm supporting instructors and students in 3 other courses right now. For those, we introduced new technology (Posterous) and expected introductions, a face to face meeting and engagement with the content. We had a lot of frustrated students and instructors, and several students dropped. (We had serious issues with Posterous.) The slower start allowed me to send more messages to the group and work individually with people who contacted me outside the course.
Jennifer Dalby

Metaphorically Speaking - 4 views

www.learner.org/...metaphor

#EDUC251 eLearning EDUC251 onlinelearning Online teaching

shared by Jennifer Dalby on 16 Jan 11 - Cached
  • Jennifer Dalby on 16 Jan 11
     
    This is an interesting interactive workshop on teaching metaphors. You can view metaphors, add your own, or discuss them.
  • ann stephens on 17 Jan 11
     
    I viewed several of the metaphors posted. They were interesting descriptions of how on-line learning roles occur. Cheif detective was a good metaphor, but found it interesting that Cheif was spelled incorrectly in the title. One of the problems with on-line, is that is with you forever. I liked the metaphor of the actress - someone with many hats.
Jennifer Dalby

Blogging Prompts for Teachers - 4 views

docs.google.com/...edit

#EDUC251 eLearning EDUC251 onlinelearning teaching blogging collaboration

shared by Jennifer Dalby on 17 Jan 11 - No Cached
  • Jennifer Dalby on 17 Jan 11
     
    Alec Couros started this collaborative document today, and in no time people were filling it with prompts. Feel free to add yours, or borrow from it for inspiration.
  • ...3 more comments...
  • ann stephens on 17 Jan 11
     
    I thought the questions were thought provoking and resonated with me. For example, the one on whether you should facebook with your students. I teach junior level high school students on-line and although, facebook participation does not come up, I often receive personal questions. Part of this dialog keeps the students interested in staying connected, but both in terms of privacy and needing to stay focused on the lesson, it is something I am conscious of. I find, though, that this type of document that has lots of questions, can be overwhelming. I don't really have the time to think through the issues.
  • Mary Ann Simpson on 17 Jan 11
     
    I read this doc with great enthusiasm--so many excellent questions were posted--I want to refer to this one often so I can better wrap my head around the issues we face with on-line learning in the 21st century.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 17 Jan 11
     
    Here's a bit more about how they put it together. I'm sure there will be hundreds of collaborators, like he's had on other documents. http://educationaltechnology.ca/couros/1956 He just posted the link on Twitter and people jumped in.
  • Joy LaJeret on 17 Jan 11
     
    Another interesting read.
  • ann stephens on 18 Jan 11
     
    His comment about why he wanted this collaboration - to have a focus for his students - put the exercise in context for me in a way that made it more meaningful. I also agree with him that it was great to have everyone collaborate so quickly and thoroughly.
ann stephens

Insurers use social media for information - 6 views

articles.latimes.com/...-fi-facebook-evidence-20110125

shared by ann stephens on 31 Jan 11 - No Cached
  • ann stephens on 31 Jan 11
     
    This was in today's LA Times, indicating how a person's disability benefits were promptly stopped after the insurer saw posts on Facebook. The unintended consquences of information further our discussions regarding privacy.
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  • Joy LaJeret on 31 Jan 11
     
    I think the bottom line here is: tell the truth. There was an example given about having a bad back and then bragging about running a marathon. The truth at the bottom of this issue. If "Big Brother" is watching (and we know that if we have a presence on line) then don't do anything that you would not want "Big Brother" to see. When my last husband told me our phone was being tapped, I had no concern. I knew there had to be legitimate reasons and would say or do nothing that would have caused problems. I do not enter things that I can not defend (I hope).
  • ann stephens on 01 Feb 11
     
    Joy, my father used to say - The true measure of a man (or woman) is what they would do if no one would ever find out. To your point - just do the right thing!
  • Joy LaJeret on 01 Feb 11
     
    Exactly Ann!
  • Jennifer Dalby on 01 Feb 11
     
    I wonder how we can teach that to kids, when so many thrive on the attention they get from doing stupid, or mean things.
  • Joy LaJeret on 01 Feb 11
     
    Well, bullying or anything like it is being stopped in the schools to some degree. Each school is different. I sent mine to a religious school. But, alas, bullying and mean behavior was still okay then. Maybe the best answer is: http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/kids/
  • Joy LaJeret on 01 Feb 11
  • Colleen Dixon on 05 Feb 11
     
    The concept of personal privacy and what to post or not post is such a difficult one for parents and students now. We archive for two years now to comply with the laws and to be able to meet possible public records requests. It is hard for adults to keep in mind sometimes that even an e-mail can be forwarded on to anyone in the world. A different planet from even 10 years ago.
Jennifer Dalby

Sharing & Privacy: Can We Have Our Cake And Eat It Too? - 5 views

www.readwriteweb.com/...ave_our_cake_and_eat_it_to.php

#EDUC251 presence privacy

shared by Jennifer Dalby on 27 Jan 11 - No Cached
  • Jennifer Dalby on 27 Jan 11
     
    "It's often said that services like Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter - you name it - are not the product, you are. Each and every bit of information you share and action you take is used to create a profile of user behavior, which is used then to either advertise directly to you or to people on a whole. But how can we ride the fine line? How can we have great, world-changing services at a price (read: free) everyone can afford without completely selling out the end user?"
  • ...2 more comments...
  • Susan Kolwitz on 27 Jan 11
     
    Quick read. The bottom line one needs to ask, will companies find that balance and then abide it? I am not optomistic that will happen. There seems to be a mentality that it's OK to collect all this personal data. There has been some backlash of late, specifically Google and Facebook appear to be 'trying' to implement some safeguards. It will be interesting to see how things look in 12 months from now.
  • ann stephens on 28 Jan 11
     
    I often wonder how privacy can ever be achieved on the internet. Although there may be more gates, access, and checkpoints added, there will always be a server somewhere that is recording our inputs and gathering data and stored.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 29 Jan 11
     
    I think it's going to have to be redefined. But I also think we're in the process of defining new commodities. We need to decide what we value.
  • Bruce Wolcott on 29 Jan 11
     
    I think this issue of privacy and use of personal information by online service companies is a very big deal. I'm also beginning to make use of some of these cloud-based applications (especially from Google) as part of my standard approach to teaching hybrid classes. Up until this past year, I've relied on the tried and true Vista/Blackboard to manage student projects and interactions, but I've found it to be sort of a dinosaur compared to the speed and ease of use of other Web2.0 apps. But if I'm working outside of Vista/Blackboard, I need to be especially careful of privacy policies and procedures of the companies behind these online apps. In the 'Sharing and Privacy' article, Mike Melanson makes some interesting points. He says: "...the companies themselves - the Googles and Facebooks and Twitters of the world - realize that correctly handling these issues of privacy are center to their continued success." and... ""All things equal, the company that's going to want to win in the next couple years will have the best privacy model." When I was doing my own investigation into this issue last winter, I asked myself, "What are the most conservative and and security conscious organizations using for social networking tools?" So I went up to the US Army website to find out. Certainly they have a heightened need to be careful what companies they choose for their social networking tools. I posted the results of this online research on my Web2.0 Chronicle blog. The results aren't surprising... Google, Facebook, Twiter, Wordpress, Flickr... among others. I see no need to rush into this area, and am willing to wait until the dust settles and user results come back from dependable sources. Jennifer's recommendation of Diigo is a good example of this. For myself, I've already left a significant "digital footprint" over the past 15 years - which is now out
ann stephens

Online Community (Stephens, Activity 7.2) - 3 views

coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewforum.php

#EDUC251

shared by ann stephens on 22 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • ann stephens on 22 Feb 11
     
    This is an online community for people dealing with colon cancer. It is part of my course framework to have my students participate in the community, as a way to have a personal experience with the disease, as well as obtaining additional infomration. This forum is moderated, for filtering of non-topic posts, such as posts that are really advertisement hooks. You can participate as a guest or by signing-in. As someone who participates/has participated in on-line and in-person support group, both are important for providing support and information at a peer level. One interesting difference, though, based on my observation only, is that anger venting seems more prevalent in the on-line groups. My belief is that this is because when people post they are by themselves and can be more reflective rather than reactive to what is immediately being communicated.
  • ...3 more comments...
  • Jennifer Dalby on 23 Feb 11
     
    Good choice. Some things I'd like to point out about this: 1. When you view a forum, check to make sure there are plenty of posts, so you know it's active. 2. Also check to see how recent the posts are. There are a lot of really old forums still up online, but no longer active. 3. Some communities will provide membership numbers, and that can help you get some idea of the size of the group. This isn't always true, but can be helpful when you see something really small.
  • ann stephens on 23 Feb 11
     
    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gYhiSs1Ys7993MD9VnKg-c-Jv75gosaQm8mnlQ4J1ko/edit?hl=en - I started a collaborative document on guidelines and considerations in selecting and participating in online communities. I hadn't thought about applying standards, but its a good idea. It helps reason out what one would want and need. As for this forum - www.colonclub.com, it is a very active one and considered one of the mainstays in colon cancer support. I'm not sure the about the size and how relevant that is in this situation, but there are definitely enough participants to provide diversity.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 23 Feb 11
     
    I added some background to your document and passed the link on to others to see if we can get more opinions on what is important in searching for community.
  • ann stephens on 23 Feb 11
     
    Great additions! I particularly like the introduction.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 23 Feb 11
     
    I tried to share it without the introduction and was questioned about what it was. I think I have a better understanding of collaborative documents, now. You have to have background on the document to invite others in, or it makes no sense :)
ann stephens

Stephens- "jing"cast of Practices of my online teaching class (#portfolio9) - 8 views

www.screencast.com/...0f-089d-4e4a-a364-7bf6a7cb96bc

#portfolio9 #EDUC251

shared by ann stephens on 13 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • ann stephens on 13 Mar 11
     
    This is a jing.video of a 10 Best Practice Assessment for the on-line tutoring class I am teaching. I decided on this portfolio activity because: 1. I wanted experience with jing. Jennifer indicated she uses it all the time for screen capture and I agree with her - an awesome tool! (I felt like I was "on-stage" making a jing-case, knowing everything I was saying and doing on the screen was being recorded.) 2. I wanted to understand Best Practices better by applying them to a good yardstick. 3. I wanted to share my experience as an on-line teacher. As a note, I found jing, easy to install and use, although there were a few "operator" issues - like finding the sun/icon on my desktop. I did not do the tutorials they offered, but it was easy to figure everything out. Also, after you save the jing, to have others be able to view it, you need to save it on screencast. (I downloaded it my computer and then uploaded it to screencast.)
  • ...1 more comment...
  • Mary Ann Simpson on 13 Mar 11
     
    Ann, I just viewed your Jing project and want to applaud you for your work! In addition to Jennifer, you have inspired me to try this with my course framework, but to date, I have only installed Jing and made a copy of my desktop!!
  • Susan Kolwitz on 16 Mar 11
     
    Looked at your Jing presentation...very interesting how the tutoring works. Also, shows great use of the tool. Learning how to use the tools available to make the course material engaging for online classes takes time and patience. Thanks for showing how this tool can be used. I intend to download and begin to learn how to use.
  • Bruce Wolcott on 17 Mar 11
     
    I reviewed your Jing presentation and got a clearer idea of how you interact with students to problem solve math problems in real time on your class white board along with ongoing chat sessions. Thanks for a peek into your online classroom!
Jennifer Dalby

The 10 Best Things about EDUC 251 without link (#portfolio10) - 8 views

Wow! You've got some very useful feedback in here. I appreciate the time you've taken to pull this together. It's been a lot of fun, and I've certainly learned a lot from all of you!

#EDUC251

started by ann stephens on 15 Mar 11 1 follow-up, last by Jennifer Dalby on 15 Mar 11
Helen Maynard

Two-pronged Approach to Designing Rubrics - 1 views

www.insidetheschool.com/...the-pros-and-cons-of-rubrics

shared by Helen Maynard on 16 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • Helen Maynard on 16 Mar 11
     
    How might this process look for an on-line course? I don't think the QM folks would think highly. Do you? A great idea to have a two-pronged approach to the rubric - Make your own rubric while you're planning the unit. Figure out what students need to demonstrate to master the objectives. In class, explain the project. Place students in think-pair-share groups to discuss what criteria they would use to judge the project. Ask for a volunteer to take notes for the class on the whiteboard and take criteria suggestions from the crowd. Circle those items that have more than one vote. Underline those that you have in your own rubric. Talk about the products and how each criterion will be evaluated. Show the class your rubric and add suggestions from the class's discussion. By having this pre-work discussion, students can show their creativity on the front end of the project. They have a say in what distinguishes a successful project from one that doesn't meet expectations. The students have ownership and have begun the thought process that will lead to the project development. This isn't a waste of class time; it's think time. Best of all, when you receive the students' projects, you'll have a rubric to guide you. You won't be surprised with a clay sculpture when you expected a lab write up. And you'll be assured that your lesson's objectives, the students' work, and everyone's expectations all line up.
  • Bruce Wolcott on 18 Mar 11
     
    Helen, I enjoyed reading this article on the value of clearly stated assignment rubrics. As the author Diane Trim says: If students don't know what product they should turn in and I don't know how to grade the random essays I receive, how can I assess whether or not a student understood the material?
Jennifer Dalby

Stephen Downes: The Role of the Educator - 5 views

www.huffingtonpost.com/...-of-the-educator_b_790937.html

#EDUC251

shared by Jennifer Dalby on 02 Jan 11 - No Cached
  • ann stephens on 17 Jan 11
     
    I started a thread in the student discussion area, but realize that this might be a more appropriate place to post. I agree with Downes that the on-line environment broadens the view of what a learner is, but it also brings up the issue of standardization and safety. Students working with a teacher on polar bears collaboratively is engaging and exciting, but how does this fit into education standards, for example.
  • ...4 more comments...
  • Jennifer Dalby on 17 Jan 11
     
    Ann, your comment reminded me of this list of cognitive biases. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases Your point is so relevant. I always worry when I see teachers teaching kids the easy way to search and find things right away. It's scary to think how much we're capable of filtering out of our lives.
  • ann stephens on 17 Jan 11
     
    Jennifer, this goes to your point made in the other article you pointed us to - Crap Detection by Reingold. When you are learning something, your maturity level on the subject is minimal, so filtering what you are learning is difficult and we have a tendency once we have some information to not go further. When I teach, I am not only trying to impart information, but the analytical process for learning and absorbing the information.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 17 Jan 11
     
    I definitely meant to put that comment on the other article :)
  • ann stephens on 17 Jan 11
     
    All this accessibility to information is one of the greatest strength and weaknesses of online technology. You really can explore and be motivated by all the information available, but it can be overwhleming at times. There is a term "data mining" that refers to finding the information you need - mining through all that is available. If I think of the metaphor as someone looking for gold, you can often find "fool's gold", yet the difference here is how do you know what you have is real?
  • Jennifer Dalby on 17 Jan 11
     
    I think part of the challenge is in overcoming ego, or our desire to confirm our own beliefs and stay in our comfort zones. Maybe we need to give students assignments to write about something completely off the wall, but find the sources to back it up. Then they can see how easy it is to confirm just about anything. I'll add some more resources on media literacy and see what everyone thinks.
  • Joy LaJeret on 17 Jan 11
     
    I think confirming beliefs is wrong. If you start with a hypothsis and do not know what the answer will turn out to be, you can set aside your biases and research for an answer. Stats give you a way of looking at data. They are testable at the ratio level and the big T for truth never happens. Only the small t for the strength of the correlation between cause and effect.
Jennifer Dalby

Debunking the Digital Native - 7 views

digitalmigrant.blogspot.com/...igital-natives-references.html

#EDUC251 eLearning

shared by Jennifer Dalby on 12 Jan 11 - No Cached
  • Jennifer Dalby on 12 Jan 11
     
    This is a nice collection of papers debunking the myth of the Digital Native. My personal belief is that this myth has been extremely harmful. If you have a chance to read Selwyn's article, I highly recommend it.
  • ...6 more comments...
  • Bruce Wolcott on 13 Jan 11
     
    I've always been somewhat skeptical of Marc Prensky, who made the original distinction between Digital Natives and Immigrants. The skepticism comes from my impression that he's built a financially successful career out of promoting this distinction. Not to say there isn't some level of truth to it, but I'm not ready to throw the baby out with the bath water. The written word, for example - which has been a cornerstone of stored knowledge and communication - is as important now as it ever was.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 13 Jan 11
     
    Some of the things I believe hurt the most, are when we make sweeping assumptions about access to technology. In many cases, it is the privileged who have the opportunity to be "digital natives." I also think the digital immigrant idea is completely false. I used to advertise to help senior citizens with technology. I found they were some of the most eager and enthusiastic learners, because we learned things that interested them. The digital immigrant idea has also allowed us to write off senior faculty, waiting for them to retire, rather than connecting them with technologies that suit their needs. We're at a point of convergence. You don't have to understand all the technologies in order to use them. One person can compose in email, and the material can be viewed on any kind of device. I just wish the damage hadn't already been done, to so many who now feel they don't have the ability to participate because of their age.
  • Joy LaJeret on 14 Jan 11
     
    Okay I am depressed. If we have been wiped out after being the ones that created this knowledge and technology in the first place, there is no hope for me to ever teach on line!!!
  • Jennifer Dalby on 14 Jan 11
     
    Joy, what we need are people willing to stand up and say that whatever your level of skill with technology, we all need to be able to communicate. We will all need to compromise and sacrifice. That could mean knocking on doors or hanging out on front porches, or it could mean learning a new language, or reduction of a language :)
  • Joy LaJeret on 14 Jan 11
     
    I still don't understand where the labels are coming from. It seems like these labels are simply a way of discriminating against seniors. Now, the truth is, we were using computers before these generations were a light in their parents eyes. Some of us were designing the technology they are using today. Ok, looks like I am going to be on a lot of porches like the neighborhood dog looking for a handout! As for knocking on doors, I might need to invest in a good battering ram! Anyone ever watch the Capital One commercials? Maybe those folks are for hire!
  • Jennifer Dalby on 14 Jan 11
     
    The Digital Native/Immigrant theory came from Mark Prensky in 2001, but there's debate about whether or not he was the first to use the terms. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_native
  • Joy LaJeret on 14 Jan 11
     
    Hmmm...after reading that Wiki explanation, I feel a bit of frustration and anger. White middle class youth are probably digital natives if one wants to put a label on it. But, after reading articles on the subject, many lower income families with high school and college age students do not have the funds for technological devices & services: computers; IPADs; laptops; Kindles and the list goes on. I am even more certain youth in other countries do not have access nor would they have high speed internet access on as broad a scale as we have in the US. I suspect they could not afford it either. So this label probably only applies to a small percentage of millennials or digital learners.
  • Joy LaJeret on 17 Jan 11
     
    Or I should have stated, for those labelled as digital learners...they are only a small percentage of the worlds's millennials and even GenX. Ithink sociological studies would support this conclusion. I prefer using statistics to test hypothesis. Then one can thread these into a theory and test it statistically.
Jennifer Dalby

TEDxNYED - Dan Meyer - 03/06/10 - 3 views

www.youtube.com/watch

#EDUC251 eLearning onlinelearning teaching math TEDx

shared by Jennifer Dalby on 17 Jan 11 - Cached
  • Jennifer Dalby on 17 Jan 11
     
    Dan Meyer teaches high school math outside of Santa Cruz, CA, and explores the intersection of math instruction, multimedia, and inquiry-based learning. He received his Masters of Arts from the University of California at Davis in 2005 and Cable in the Classroom's Leader in Learning award in 2008. He currently works for Google as a curriculum fellow and lives with his wife in Santa Cruz, CA.
  • ...1 more comment...
  • Joy LaJeret on 17 Jan 11
     
    Interesting concepts. I am still standing at the checkoutwith the 19 items, waiting to see if the other line gets done before me. I had the day off!
  • Helen Maynard on 18 Jan 11
     
    Like K. Robinson, Dan Meyer knows how to deliver his message with a sense of humor. I particularly like his suggestion that "the formula for the design of the problem is often more important than finding the answer." Math teachers need to first redesign the problem itself. As an advocate for integrating the arts, using multi-media and videos to teach math concepts and thinking strategies could certainly help to engage the learner. However, watching elementary teachers work with their students (WASL prep) on breaking down a written math problem is an important learning strategy. Seems to me, this deciphering skill has real-world applications, too! Guess I'm "on the fence" about his message.
  • ann stephens on 18 Jan 11
     
    The articulation of math education by "economics" - i.e., our students who are the next generation need to learn math process skills (he separates out this reasoning from math computation) are not relating to government-mandated math education. By use of visuals, he illustrates how to better engage the student in that process, using an example of a ski-lift to explain slope or a curve. I was thinking that internet education could easily be adapated to this, where there are math problems that the students could individually be guided through problems like this.
Jennifer Dalby

Becoming Acquainted with the Digital World & Text-Based Communication - 3 views

blog.cataphora.com/?p=141

#EDUC251 eLearning eHabits digitalidentity privacy texting SMS

shared by Jennifer Dalby on 11 Jan 11 - No Cached
  • Jennifer Dalby on 11 Jan 11
     
    I just finished reading E-Habits, by Elizabeth Charnock, CEO of the company who puts out this blog. It was fascinating (and scary!).
  • ...4 more comments...
  • Colleen Dixon on 11 Jan 11
     
    Thanks for the book reference and the blog - excellent. Last week I had two e-mails from two different high school students that demonstrate points in this blog. One e-mail was one line, two half-sentences, written in 'txt'. The other was two paragraphs, complete sentences, grammatically correct. Both had the same issue but their handling, and my responses, were so very different.
  • Joy LaJeret on 12 Jan 11
     
    I am becoming more and more frustrated with digital text based communication for the reasons the blogger specified. It is increasingly difficult to figure out why my granddaughters use a language I do not understand (text slang) and pictures on Facebook to substitute for a good "old fashioned" conversation. They are all smiles and hugs, leaving me to wonder what is really behind all that texting symbolism. I still prefer body language and the art of conversation and I am wondering where all this is leading.
  • Bruce Wolcott on 13 Jan 11
     
    My experience has been that most students know the difference between online chatspeak / textchat versus writing for formal communication. I may be in a bubble regarding this, but it's an exception, rather than a rule to run into chatspeak like - lol, imho, 4ever, omg, etc. in written assignments.
  • Joy LaJeret on 13 Jan 11
     
    Hmmm Bruce. I think there is a void between chat rooms and classrooms. I think there is something lost and something gained in virtual social spaces. I am from an age where a hug and a kiss is the ultimate sign of intimacy when inter-relating to family members. I want to see a real smile and touch a real body. Virtual reality and cyber space leaves those human face-to-face meetings unavailable. I like body language and reading it. I cannot see, feel, touch and watch other humans in the same way. It frustrates me.
  • Jennifer Dalby on 13 Jan 11
     
    I think there's more of an opportunity for us to recognize that with so many different ways to communicate, the nuances of interpersonal communication are more important than ever. I think the people who will be successful, are the ones who truly learn to connect with their audience and make the digital seem personal. I grew up with a dad who taught English and was an Air Force public affairs officer. My writing style has always been formal, and cold, and I've had to learn to add warmth in digital spaces. I'm still trying to figure it out!
  • Joy LaJeret on 14 Jan 11
     
    My experience with your style is you are very intellectually based in your writing style, while your personal style when dealing with this student was warm and open, encouraging and sharing. Okay, it is one opinion among many, I am certain; but this one is mine. I spent many years with the military as a family member and the mother of soldiers. One has to be careful in the civilian world when it comes to interacting with others, because military directness and crispness can get in the way of showing warmth and interest. Hopefully, I have mastered a more civilian way of speaking over the past several years.
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