my flight path

The numbers have firmed up for ETEC565A: certainly Rob and I shall not suffer from boredom this summer!

I spent much of yesterday assessing the first batch of assignments for the course. Each student prepares a “flight path”–essentially a substantive reflection on what they hope to glean from their ETEC56A experience. They’re encouraged to draw upon the course materials available to date–including, but not limited to, the required readings. More specifically, the assignment is:

Write a proposed flight path during ETEC 565A. Tell us a bit about yourself, your experience, and your goals for this course (or, perhaps, the MET). Explain what you want to learn about Learning Management Systems (LMS), assessment, social software, and multimedia. Give your best estimate (guestimate?) about what resources you would need to master these technologies as a novice professional. Be sure to cite relevant literature to support your decision.

Which got me thinking: what do I hope to get out of this summer’s offerings? Hmm…

My flight path

I’ve been an educator for 20 years now: adult ed, vocational ed, community ed, and mostly higher ed (No Mr. Ed). Most of this work has been in Canada, but chunks have also been in the US, Australia and (briefly) Africa. What started as a means by which to mitigate the costs of graduate school has become a focus of my career: educational technology. My experience, borne out by much of the literature (Chickering and Gamson 1987; Chickering and Ehrmann 1996; Bates and Poole 2003), shows that effectively deploying technology can enhance–dare I say it, amplify–learning. But it’s in the pedagogy and the pedagogical design where the substantive development work must be done. All the toys and gadgets in the world won’t make a lame learning activity…significantly less lame.

I consider myself a skilled end-user and generalist. I have a relatively broad skill set that’s supported by mastery of a few key tools. I’ve a good idea where that skill set ends: time and other resources are often the bariers to broadening it further. Though truth be told I rarely find myself wholly unable to move something forward…somehow. And as the instructor I want to model this, in a way that aligns with the principles we’ve highlighted in the course materials.

• My specific goals this time include:
• Two Moodle live sessions
• Better use of communication technologies, specifically Skype and Wimba Pronto
• Maintain high standards of performance for the students–and me.

References

• Chickering, A.W. & Gamson, Z.F. (1987).  Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education.  American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39 (7), 3-7.
  http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples1987.htm
• Chickering, A.W. & Ehrmann, S.C. (1996).  Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 49(2), 3-6.
  http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples.htm
• Bates, A.W. & Poole, G. (2003). Chapter 4: a Framework for Selecting and Using Technology. In Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education: Foundations for Success. (pp. 77-105). San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers. Available here.
• National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers
  http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_for_Teachers_2008.htm