crito's reflections on technology in education

After reading Chickering & Gamson’s (1987) Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education, I began to think about my experiences as student, f2f teacher, and digital age teacher and how, if at all, each experience might have influenced the next.

Encourage contacts between students & faculty
as a Student…
I did not experience this until I entered the faculty of education. That said, not all of the instructors encouraged contact.

as a Teacher…
All of the ESL schools I worked at in Vancouver, as well as the schools in Japan where I worked, encouraged/promoted contact between student and teacher both in and out of the classroom.  This had its challenges, as most exchanges were not related to any of the specifics of what was taught in the classroom, but more related to social interaction (which, more often then not, ended up being a question answer session as many students, as much as they wanted to practice their English, had no idea what to talk to their teachers about  – or the language skills – in a social context).  Thankfully, there was a teachers’ room where teachers’ could prep for their classes (read: hide) that was, for the most part, off limits to students.

as a Digital Age Teacher…

Teaching online allows me to invite instructors and other guests, such as experts in different fields (particularly business) to ‘drop in’ and comment, question, or share knowledge on any topic or discussion that goes on in the ‘classroom’. I encourage my students to assemble a ‘team’ in Canada to assist them in their cultural, experiential and academic learning. This team includes:  instructors, a Canadian family (usually their host family), and industry ‘experts’ in their field (usually fount at their host company)

Develops reciprocity & cooperation amongst students
as a Student…
Again, this did not happen until I entered the faculty of education. While I did experience some group (mostly partnering) work in the odd science class, most instructors really encouraged independent thought & work. Reciprocity, peer reviews & cooperation were something that if they did happen, happened outside the classroom and was initiated by the students, as opposed to being encouraged by instructors

as a Teacher…
As an f2f language teacher, I highly encouraged group work as it really lowered the stress of students having to ‘perform’ in front of an entire class.

as a Digital Age Teacher…
One of the key points of teaching online for me is that it allows me the opportunity to create a community for my students where they can share their experiences guided by content and questions that I provide.

Uses active learning techniques
as a Student…
I do not recall any ‘applied learning’ activities from days as an undergrad. I do remember my teaching practicum from my days in the Education department, as well as a few of the research projects I did that took me outside the classroom and allowed me to apply my learning in a real and practical environment.

as a Teacher…
Teaching ESL in Vancouver would make little sense if I did not use the city as a classroom. Sending (or taking) the students out to go grocery shopping, or to a restaurant, for example, were some of the many ways in which I connected learning to their real lives.

as a Digital Age Teacher…
Much of what I teach revolves around what the students are currently experiencing and how that might compare to it happening in their own culture. Being able to teach online, asynchronously really complements their on site experiences as well as introduces them to concepts they can observe, interact with and respond to.

Gives prompt feedback
as a Student…
The only two instructors that really gave prompt feedback – verbal & written – were my linguistics instructors – one from the Education Department & one from the Language & Literature Department. This was valuable for me and both validated and inspired me.

as a Teacher…
As a language instructor, f2f, I was able to give immediate feedback (e.g. assessment). I was always clear about when I would be giving feedback, as well as what kind (e.g. grammatical, pronunciation, content) and how I expected students to respond.

as a Digital Age Teacher…
Teaching content online, the promptness of my feedback depends on how often I log in though I have the site set up to email me everytime someone posts. The type of feedback I give varies from encouragement, to probing questions, to assessment. There are also tools in Moodle that help track assignments and grades so students can view their own progress (so long as I am on task with the grading!)

Emphasize time on task
as a Student…
I don’t recall ever having this explicitly stated by any instructor. I usually found myself with a calculator trying to figure our how much time was required/available to spend on each course/task at the start of each semester, once I received the reading list & course schedule.

as a Teacher…
This seemed to come naturally in a f2f language teaching situation. If nothing else, it prompted students to get started on their task more quickly than if left open ended. I think it also helped to give students ball park numbers on how much time an assigned task (i.e. homework) would take so as to alleviate stress (and whining) and help them understand and evaluate how effectively and efficiently they are spending their time on task.

as a Digital Age Teacher…
I have found from personal experience that students really value this, and I think it is particularly important when students are working online as they can sometimes become so immersed in a task, they lose track of time. I do set time frames for tasks as well as expectations. Both are negotiable and often something I do with students both as a group and individually.

Communicates high expectations
as a Student…
The strongest memory I have of this was in History 400. Perhaps this was because many students took this course thinking it was a breeze (as it was a 400 level course that did not have any pre-requisites whatsoever). Needless to say, it was not a breeze: our instructor made that clear to us from day one. In fact it was one of the most challenging courses I took as an undergrad and one from which I gained the most insight into culture, art, literature, philosophy, economics and history.

as a Teacher…
As much as the curriculum was set and reviewed with the class at the start of a course, I also had the students write their own expectations as to what they wanted to learn and what it would take to do so. We would then work together as a class to come up with a learning contract for the course.

as a Digital Age Teacher…
These are outlined at the beginning of the semester. There are also posting policies that the students must agree to with regards to the style of writing, the content, and the length of their posts and responses. In addition, there are activities that require the students to compose content and discussion questions for other students to read and respond to.

Respects diverse talents and ways of thinking
as a Student…
My undergraduate coursework consisted mostly of readings, lectures and the research and writing of papers: pretty old school (but then again, I was studying English Literature in the 80’s).  For the most part, my courses in the Education dept were taught in a way that reflected the content (teaching theory & methodology, particularly as it relates to Teaching English as a Second Language) so respecting diversity was, for the most part inherent.

as a Teacher…
When I was teaching f2f I enjoyed incorporating a variety of media into my lessons. I also discussed different learning styles with my students based on my experience and understanding of learning experiences in other cultures and tried to work together with each class I taught to meet their expectations of how a class should run as well as both their individual as well as cultural needs as students.

as a Digital Age Teacher…
While I believe I would do this regardless of what I am teaching, my current situation demands it. I am working with students from diverse cultural, academic and economic backgrounds to say nothing of their individual ways of thinking and doing. In addition, these students are also relating the experiences they are having in the real world (their internship experiences) in very different industries/sectors and different positions within those industries/sectors. I find this a great opportunity for students to learn from each other and encourage all participants to share both their knowledge and their experience in the classroom activities I have designed. Using technology allows me to more easily incorporate visuals and be creative in how I represent text (e.g. add hyperlinks). Still there is more I can do.

These are my ramblings and reflections around my choices and uses of technology for teaching, both current and future, using the SECTIONS framework from Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education, (Bates & Poole, 2003)

Students:

Demographics: 3rd & 4th year undergraduate students from diverse cultures, linguistic backgrounds, fields of study (marketing, graphic design, communications, business administration, engineering [mechanical, electrical, industrial, chemical, IT], software programming, architecture, psychology [human resources development, developmental], film, culinary arts), socio economic backgrounds
Access: 95% come with their own laptops and are put into or find accommodations with high-speed internet; those who do not have their own laptops are put into accommodations where computer/internet access is available.  That said internet speed varies.
Student Differences with Respect to Learning Technologies: all have computer/internet experience both in and out of the classroom and claim to be highly skilled technology users (particularly with the internet & with MSOffice software; 50% have experience with online learning; the majority of this group has experience with more of a distance education model then an interactive model; student expectations of teaching styles differ; student expectations of student participation differ

Ease of use (at the moment, I am the only instructor so my comments are about the students)

Computer Literacy: medium to high
Orientation: course site [set up in Moodle] opens 3 weeks before course starts; students are given an orientation package/handbook and are invited to ‘play’ at the site to ensure that they are able to access the elements of the site they will need
Interface design: linear; text driven with side bar menu; very few ‘bells & whistles’ (i.e. graphics, videos, pop-ups)
Reliability: so far, so good (touch wood).  Moodle has been very reliable & user (both student and instructor/designer [me] friendly) with great support though I have really only scratched the surface as to what it can do and my usage of it thus far has come from playing with it more than perusing the copious amount of documentation and assistance available at the site.

Costs

Drivers of costs: Managed & manageable.  I work, on contract, to design (which has been completed overall – properly referenced, but requires updating [links & feeds] prior to each deployment as well as an annual content review & revision) and teach the course (approximately 15 hours a week on average including grading assignments).  Some of the grading is ‘outsourced’ to other staff members or instructors.  Ideally, I would like to be able to contract out the teaching, particularly when there is more than one class/section in a semester and have, I believe, designed the course to be taught by another instructor.
Teacher student ratio: 1 to 16-24

Teaching and Learning*

Epistemology: a mix of information (business theories & principles) where some graphics are used, case studies, and ‘learners drawing on previous knowledge and the experience of others and creating new meanings or knowledge through dialogue & discussion’ (Bates & Poole. p. 96) for which discussion forums are used.  While Bates & Poole suggest video for both information transmission and case studies, I have yet to incorporate these.
Content and Skills: insofar as I can tell, there seems to be a good blend of presentational variety.  Students are encouraged to respond with text, graphics, or images (i.e. in a PowerPoint presentation).  Research (and proper referencing) is not required, per se, but is also encouraged along with a list of potential resources (with a note that Wikipedia not be used as a primary resource because, … it isn’t)
Assessment: For the most part, students are asked to analyse the company that is hosting them and try to make recommendations to this company partially based on their expertise (academic knowledge) and on their analysis (so it could on be anything from branding to a manufacturing process).  This analysis is delivered in the form of a presentation (usually in PowerPoint) that includes text, graphics and images but could come in the form of or include a video (which some have done) to be presented at an f2f gathering with instructors as well as host company representatives present.  This could be done as a webcast which would save time, money, scheduling & other logistical issues, or the students could post these so invited guests could view them (propriety knowledge issues).

Interactivity

Interation Between Learners and Learning Materials/Learning as Social Activity: Moodle provides the opportunity for all 3 types of interaction, as well as that between student and materials.  I use asynchronous communication and the email function (all students and instructors [me] are notified by email when someone posts to a discussion); students can also email me from the site, or speak ‘individually’ with me at the site.

Quality of Interation: One of the, perhaps odd (to some), benefits I find about asynchronous forums is that we can have several ‘discussions’ going on at the same time.  Because everything is recorded in text, we can go backwards, forwards, sideways, connect different threads and so on.  Students are also able to participate without being interrupted, which I find particularly useful for my students as their cultural differences with regards to oral communications, especially in a classroom setting, can sometimes interfere with whole class interactivity.

Organizational issues

This is, I believe fortunately, not a concern for me.  The company I am contracted to work with, I also work for as the general manager.

Novelty*

The greatest ‘reward’ for me in teaching is seeing learning happen – a light goes on, a shift in thought occurs- as a result of the student interacting with the content and his/her environment and experiences.  If a ‘novelty’ will help facilitate a better learning experience, then I  would be interested in developing or learning how to deploy it (which is in many ways why I am taking ETEC565).  Still, my focus is on improving my use of not only existing technology, but the technology I am currently using.

Speed

Change, in the context of updating and revising content, is relatively simple at the moment, but that is due, at least in part, to my having set up a pretty simple course layout (very few bells & whistles).  I collect and design new lessons, or revise old ones with new links, readings, and so on with Moodle in mind.  I have had some of my staff load the materials to the site on occasion, but for the most part I have done it myself.

Backstory, in a nutshell:

At this point, my primary engagement with technology in teaching, aside from static applications, is with LMSs, particularly Moodle.  The choice to teach online is more practical than anything else as I work with international university students that  my company has brought to the lower mainland to complete the internship portion of their academic degrees at their home universities.  Their majors vary (engineers, marketing majors, architects, graphic designers, communications, etc.), but their linguistic competence in English has been assessed at an advanced level.  Prior to their internship, the students go through a 3 week f2f program that helps prepare them for their placement in a Canadian business.  My course picks up from there, attempting to help them engage with their work environment, comparing and contrasting business styles and cultures.  Doing this online, through an LMS gives them what I consider the ‘typical benefits’ of online learning: a sense of community (which I believe is especially important for what these students are going through as most are scattered across the lower mainland and may not be able to have much f2f contact with their peers) and the flexibility to ‘attend’ classes at their convenience.  With that in mind, I will now try to address/assess my use of learning technologies (ie. my competence as a digital-age teaching professional):

Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity: 8/10.  The context of their learning is with the real world.  What I have and am always trying to do is to get them to do is observe, connect, think and reflect.  Much of what I ask them to observe revolves around business theory and cultural comparison.  The students are encouraged to talk to the staff at their host companies to complete the exercises and activities they are given which in turn helps them understand their surroundings as well as create professional and social bonds.

Design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments: 5/10.  I don’t think I incorporate as many digital tools and resources in my teaching as I could.  While I encourage and point students to use varied resources to enrich their learning experiences – interviews, articles from varied online sources (text & video), as well as varied forms of presenting their findings – text, audio, video, slides (PPT), graphics – I tend to stick to a pretty simple ‘lecture’, readings, activities and discussions in my use of technology.  I think I am fortunate that the nature of this learning experience is very individual so I do not have to do a lot to ‘customize & personalize learning activities…’.: the students have to do most of that on their own.  Because the goal of my course is to get them to engage, the ‘learning’ that takes places really varies from student to student.

Model Digital-Age Work & Learning: 7/10.  Because my students are from different cultures and from different socio-economic backgrounds, their use of technology in general is varied both in skill level and purpose.  I present a ‘Canadian model’ of technology use in work and learning, if there can be said to be one.

Promote & Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility: 7/10 I tend to address this case by case.  Legal & ethical use of digital information and technology varies from culture to culture which has been quite a challenge.  I’m still learning from my students what is acceptable in their cultures and how to address this within the context of my own, as well as well globally.  I review this in my course introduction – e.g. evaluating and using resources, plagiarism, documentation etc. – but am constantly being tested by my students as to ‘how seriously’ I take infringements to the ‘rules’ I have set.  The same can be said for digital etiquette (e.g.  I have had students who communicate using all caps, and those who sign off their communications with ‘hugs & kisses’).

Engage in Professional Growth & Leadership: 5/10.  Aside from dabbling in social book marking and holding the requisite facebook account and other such social networking accounts, I am currently trying to get my mind around twitter all in an effort to gain a better understanding of social networking, its general as well as educational uses.  As far as pro-d is concerned, I do attend conferences – both in person and online, but not as many as I could.  I spend a fair bit of time reading research on technology in education and about technology in general, but I think as a digital immigrant I tend to feel like an outsider.