A semester is ending and a new semester is beginning. I am not trying to rush the semester that is ending but I am beginning to think about strategies, methods, and technology tools that will make my courses next semester even better than this semester.
In each of my classes, whether it is an educational theory class or an instructional technology class I integrate technology tools throughout, especially Web 2.0 tools. I find the tools themselves to be conducive to collaboration and community as well as provide opportunities for each of my students to begin publishing and thinking about a global audience.
The idea for my adult students to begin thinking about self regulated learning is a key component to my courses. I attempt to help students build knowledge and self awareness in order for them to monitor their understanding and overall cognitive processes. This I find is very important in both my online and face to face courses.
Twitter is a tool that I find to be interesting. I have implemented this into some of my classes attempting to get students to share thoughts and ideas…I see that others are looking into this tool as well
I also like Diigo a tool that allows students to annotate, write notes, and share with a collaborative group. Here is a group on information literacy that is in its infancy but may give you a good idea of its possibilities.
I was moving around TED this morning catching up on talks that I have missed and I came across this talk about the sixth sense by Pattie Maes, a researcher at the MIT Media Lab. The research of Maes focuses on human-computer interaction, intelligent interfaces and ubiquitous computing. This particular TED talk identified how Dr. Maes and her students are discovering wearable interactive technologies that use meta data to help its user interact with the environment around them in order to make informed decisions.
This wearable mobile technology allows anyone to interact with and communicate with information (meta data) that surrounds them in meaningful ways. Let’s say you go to the bookstore and pick up a book. This mobile technology can recognize the book, access Amazon.com and provide you, the user, with reader reviews, expert opinions, and videos highlighting main ideas of the text. This sixth sense provides seamless information with a simple touch.
Imagine this technology in our schools. Imagine how schools could integrate this technology in lessons. Imagine.
We have a long way to go. In our classrooms we want to teach our students to ask good questions about our content and topics. Memorization is old school. Students now need to think about our course topics and ask great questions about them. This is not a natural occurrence. We as a people do not naturally ask good questions. Instead, we must be taught how to critically think about our world around us, our role in this world, and then how to ask good questions about this world and role.
Asking good questions, working in small groups, and challenging the members of the small group by asking good questions are important. I would say that students should even challenge teachers. This is uncommon in many of our classrooms. Teachers on average do not like to be questioned or even challenged.
But companies are changing and we in education need to begin preparing our students for this brave new world. We need to teach our students to engage customers to determine their specific needs. We have to teach our students to understand problems relating to our content and ultimately to think critically about that content by asking important questions of it.
Standards are terrific. Testing is important. But we need to not teach to the test but for critical thinking. Our students need to have structured opportunities to think about our curriculum that is wrapped around standards. Thinking and teaching our students to ask good questions should be a central goal in our classrooms.
I wanted to share this video I found on TED after reading a twitter post from Gardner Campbell. The importance of this video is multifold. It identifies as well as demonstrates the need for students to have the opportunity to try, to think, to fail, and to succeed. There is no set curriculum, yet learning is obvious and deliberate. The idea of information literacy in this digital and ever changing world shines brightly in Gever Tulley’s presentation about the Tinkering School. This is a place where students are given all types of tools, real tools. Next, they are encouraged to explore and experiment. They are encouraged to discover knowledge and then develop new ideas. There are facilitators to help in this process. A process that involves many successes and failures. Kids are excited to try and to learn. They are thinking and planning. They are changing paths with each step. It is messy but it is important and necessary.
This school is a week long experience for students. It be great if it were longer.
My goal this semester is to explore further simulated learning experiences that can be integrated into a classroom environment. This is not a new idea. Many researchers have begun this task of exploration and have provided many good models for the masses to follow. The MIT Teacher Education Program and Harvard Education Program, particularly the research of Chris Dede, are two very good places to begin any research of learning and teaching in the digital age. Both of these schools explore different and interactive ways to use technology tools with the goal of engaging learners. Just looking at the different learning games and simulated experiences on these two Web sites begins my brain cells moving and shaking. I like how each activity, on each of the above Web sites, utilizes the benefits of technology tools, collaboration, and active learning. The learning experiences have the potential to add a multitude of engaging and interactive possibilities in any classroom setting all tailored around specific content.
My goal is to review these games and explore both the strengths and weaknesses of them. While I do this, I will introduce these learning experiences in my classes to my students. I want my students to take a close look so they can determine if these learning experiences can be integrated into their classroom setting with their students. The next step is to branch out and begin exploring other games and simulated experiences. Ultimately, the goal is to begin creating learning experiences such as these to meet my student’s specific needs. A lofty goal indeed.
If you are intrigued take a look at a couple of more learning experiences
On each of the Web sites listed in this posting you will experience a variety of technology innovations from augmented reality using a hand held computer to virtual learning environments using any desktop or laptop computer. Amazing and exciting.
What must you include before a community is developed? Possibly buy in, interest, and motivation. How about connection to the content or theme. I have begun dabbling in this idea. My goal is to create a professional learning community. A community of learners around the education programs at UMW. A place for faculty, students, even community members to go, settle down, and participate. So far, not working. Of course this project is in its infancy. I am still only learning about the drupal infrastructure and have not been able to sit down and spend the necessary hours in the development of the community itself. Presently, it is as static as both education Web sites (CGPS and CAS). There seems to be no difference in the sites themselves (umweducation.org).
I would like to set up a new design/theme. I feel constrained. I also want private areas for faculty to discuss and work through issues or ideas. I have not yet figured that function out. What about community members outside of the program such as schools. My question, why should they visit? Next, I need to develop a draw, information that individuals must have to keep them coming back. Finally, possibly not finally, I want to provide incentive for buy in.
I am not alone in this endeavor. Several programs have begun this process and are well advanced in the design. Take a look for yourself
What does it mean to have a central location on the Internet? Since the Internet is an interlinked entity …can there be a central spot on it? Hmm…A question that I am not sure has an answer but one that I will attempt to create.
I am setting up a space on UMW Blogs. This space can be found at http://coffman.umwblogs.org/. This will be a work in progress. Keeping in mind, any Internet site is a work in progress. I will attempt to catalog information that is important to me in this central spot. Hopefully, allowing the information to be shared with others easily.
Will this be interesting or worthwhile for the Internet community at large….maybe but maybe not. Only time will tell.
I am beginning to think about the summer session. I will be teaching two courses and both courses will be online. I usually place my content into a container such as blackboard and integrate tools such as blogs, wikis, and video. This semester, I plan to move from blackboard and into a blog. I thought of this before but changed my mind in mid step. I do not plan to change my mind this time.
Many faculty at UMW are using blogs as course starting points and seem to be doing just fine. Of course, blogs do not have many of the benefits a course management tool such as blackboard has but at the same time… the same can be said about blackboard.
I hope students seamlessly move through this new container and are successful with its design and overall implementation. Time will tell.
I have decided to delete my former blog, Instructional Technology Ponderings, and in its place create a new blog. I felt the words, images, sounds, and video on this earlier blog had become static on the page. Yes, each post incorporated links across the Internet but it just seemed each post had become stale. Do ideas online become tired and old? Should we delete blogs and start a new? I am not sure. All I can say, for a second time, I did. Now, for my new attempt.
As I was thinking about this new venture in blog writing I ran across this post VizThinking on Jay Cross’s blog, Informal Learning. On Jay’s blog, he shares a recent online conversation that used both Skype and Vyew. As the discussion proceeded, images from the participants were incorporated. I thought as I was reading Jay’s post, ‘wouldn’t it be great to have students participate in class discussions using text and visuals to share their thinking – in real-time’. Just think, as the teacher and students explore concepts – image representations of these concepts can be displayed for everyone to see. Could this display of visual thinking push the overall level of thinking, understanding, and ultimately learning to new levels within the class?Could students and teachers become empowered by these visual representations of ideas?
Educators presently encourage students to think visually through comics, graphic novels, and concept maps (just to name a few ways). I have not heard of many teachers displaying in real-time visual representations created by students during a class discussion. Could this be beneficial in a classroom? Could it be beneficial for students to publically connect ideas and concepts during a class discussion in real-time? Could teachers bring students into the ‘visual Gestalt of thinking’ while a discussion is taking place? Is there a way to get a stream of graphics from our students as we are presenting information?
