e-Coaching and The Pedagog Blog
Once I returned from Japan, where my wife and another friend started blogging and showing me the ropes, I began my Bachelor of Education at UBC. Not only did each teacher candidate have to figure out WordPress for our e-portfolio by the end of the program, but I was hired by the Teacher Education Office as an e-Coach, helping both students and faculty with technological issues, such as figuring out what an e-portfolio is (some are still a bit hazy on the project, even after publishing it). This position was a great opportunity to learn about on-line resources, and in my first term had a crash course in Ning, set up by one of the instructors, and soon found it to be a useful forum for classroom discussion.
Banner for my e-portfolio
During the one-year program, we were introduced to wikis, wordles and all sorts of sites that could be brought into the classroom for student projects. During my practicum, I attempted to get the whole class working on a Canadian explorers wiki for social studies, only to discover that the spirit of wiki was indeed strong, but the classroom wifi was weak. Finally, for my final term, an instructor hired me as an e-Coach to help him design the Pedagog Blog, a discussion forum for his class with over 270 students registered. It was a big project, especially as invitations to join the Ning site I created had to be sent out individually, and it was surprising how many classmates, this late in the game, still did not know how to use the class site. I didn’t mind helping out as best as I could (I was a student in the same class, but hired to help as many as I could – thanks for billable hours, TEO!), and the experience taught me that once you figure out a on-line resource doesn’t mean that everyone who signs in has the same level of knowledge, or even interest, with the resource. Certainly gave me confidence I need to stand in front of a classroom and make it seem like I know what’s happening on the Internet.
Detail from the Pedagog Blog banner
Juliana 5:32 pm on October 18, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for your insights! Sending out the invitations individually? Wow! That must have taken a while. You probably would have lots to say on this, but is there anything that the blogging platforms could have done to improve their usability? Also, do you think that the blogging endeavour was successful? Did many people start intereacting on the blogs?
Juliana.
kstooshnov 9:59 pm on October 18, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Juliana,
When I think about the repetitive task of inviting classmates to blog, I think of the stories about a young Bill Gates at Harvard with all those IBM punchcards – the longer you perform any task (10000 hours seems to be the magical number) the closer you become to being an expert at it. Similar to the design wiki for ETEC 510, the more practice you get typing out HTM instead of using copy & paste, the easier web design becomes.
For the Pedagog Blog, still in use for the most recent EDUC 420, I’m sure cloud computing will make a difference. It would have been one way to improve upon weekly posts and discussion threads if it were easier to respond on any device. I am quite pleased that our ETEC 522 blog shows up nicely on my iPhone, even uses the red-circled numbers to let me know how many new responses a post received. As much as I miss being in a lecture hall hearing classmates discuss a topic, I noticed with the Pedagog Blog there were more students willing to contradict others (politely) on-line, which makes for a far more lively discussion.
I look forward to reading more of your team’s ideas on blogging – are we supposed to go through AdVentures in Blogging day by day, meaning that Tuesday will be the only time to discuss Use of Blogs?
Kyle
Juliana 5:18 pm on October 19, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Kyle,
You can participate in one discussion topic + the “blog market” topic. We decided to give everyone a choice of the discussion topic (ie. day 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5) that they wanted to participate in, but we did want everyone to participate in the “Blog Market” discussion topic, which talks about what needs to be done to move blogs from good to great.
We decided to split the topics up by days, but you do not need to be restricted by the schedule. If you would like to move on ahead, please feel free.
Juliana.
bcourey 7:46 pm on October 18, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
So do you prefer wikis to blogs? I hear mixed opinions on this!
Deb Kim 9:15 pm on October 18, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Wikis to blogs… I’d like to hear your opinion as well, Kyle. 🙂
Deb
kstooshnov 9:34 pm on October 18, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Brenda and Deb,
If the whole class is on-board and willing to mix things up with the way they learn, wikis can be fun, but can also be like getting blood from a stone if the class isn’t into them. I prefer blogs for their personal, presentational aspect; ideal for student-centered projects.
How ’bout youse?
Kyle
Julie S 10:47 pm on October 18, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I can definately relate to the blood from a stone comment on the wikis!
Deb Kim 9:12 am on October 20, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I agree with you that blogs are ideal for student-centered projects, but it’s also ideal for class discussions just like Wiki.
I wonder if Wiki can be ideal for both student-centered projects and class discussions.
Deb