At our campus, teacher\u2019s offices adjoin the main teaching area, with a 2-way mirrored window in the wall separating the spaces.\u00a0 With a 2-way mirror, you see yourself in your current situation with the surroundings behind you, and simultaneously you see through the glass to the space ahead.\u00a0 The life of a teacher is an endless swirl of tasks that require immediate attention, but I\u2019ll take this opportunity for reflection on where I am and where I\u2019ve been, and also on what\u2019s ahead and how this affects my work with students.<\/p>\n
All of my work in this course has had direct applications to my work as a teacher.\u00a0 As I approached each assignment, my thoughts were not \u201cwhat would I do if . . . ?\u201d but rather \u201chow will I . . .?\u201d\u00a0 There is no \u2018break\u2019 after this course ends.\u00a0 The same questions, the same challenges and the same opportunities will be there on Monday.<\/p>\n
In case I might ever forget it, my students and my colleagues act as reminder that I am not an educational technologist \u2013 I am a teacher who uses educational technologies.\u00a0 A necessary point of reflection is to consider which technologies are most appropriate.\u00a0 Sections [1] and the Seven Principles [2] are particularly helpful for selecting useful approaches, and with practice, I will become more skilled at using these frameworks before making choices, rather than using them to understand what went wrong!\u00a0 The criteria that resonate most with me are the ones that focus on students and teaching\/learning, although the ones dealing with organizational issues certainly shape (or limit) my choices.<\/p>\n
Is there some rule that the things we push against, initially, are the ones that turn out to be most valuable?\u00a0 I\u2019ve noticed, in myself and in others (colleagues, students), there can be resistance to trying something new (\u201dI\u2019ve never done this, this will be difficult, I don\u2019t have time, why do I have to do this?\u201d) can be followed by enthusiastic adoption, \u201cThat was great, that wasn\u2019t that hard, I love doing this!\u201d\u00a0 The two tasks that I resisted the most, the digital story and designing web pages, turn out to be the ones that I\u2019ve enjoyed the most.<\/p>\n
All of the assignments have been relevant and\/or interesting, to varying degrees.\u00a0 Among the surprises was the LMS proposal, which was a valuable exercise in considering educational technologies from an administrator\u2019s point of view.\u00a0 This is a change from my usual perspective, and I\u2019ve found it has changed the way I discuss plans for courses and technologies.<\/p>\n
There are a few problems associated with learning to use new tools.<\/p>\n
Sometimes it\u2019s a problem just to know what tools are available.\u00a0 Before this course started, I was looking for an LMS with communication tools, for connecting our isolated learners, and of course I\u2019ve found it, in Moodle [3].<\/p>\n
The toolkit exploration was helpful in providing a survey of available tools, and I\u2019ll use the toolkit as a resource if or when I decide to use a particular tool in my teaching.\u00a0 Of course, the tools I\u2019ve become the most familiar with are the ones I have used the most.<\/p>\n
Another problem is that when you have a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.\u00a0 Sections [1] and the Seven Principles [2] will provide the framework for making a judgement about whether a favourite tool will be the most useful or helpful in a particular situation.<\/p>\n
The main problem of learning to use a tool is really just a problem of finding, or making the time.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t found a solution for this.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy am I doing this?\u201d\u00a0 There have certainly been many times that I\u2019ve asked that, during this course.\u00a0 One thing about taking a course, that always turns out to be valuable, is that I am reminded of the experience of being a student.<\/p>\n
A large part of my experience in this course has been the weekly discussions.\u00a0 I have been really impressed by my classmates\u2019 input and have enjoyed the interactions.\u00a0 The class discussions were more enjoyable than those in other online courses I have taken, and I wonder if this might partly be due to the fact that this course is part of a program, so that relationships formed in this class may extend beyond the limited timeframe of this course.\u00a0 I\u2019m also interested in the role the digital story assignment, which gave insight into the personalities and interests of classmates, may have had in building relationships within the class.<\/p>\n
However, sometimes the discussions weren\u2019t focussed on experiences that are most relevant and current for me, or didn\u2019t follow the path that was most interesting to me, hence the blog posts.\u00a0 There were experiences or observations that were so compelling to me that I couldn\u2019t help but write about them, in order to process them.\u00a0 Some of these became blog posts. However, there were so many interesting questions to pursue that some didn\u2019t even get blogged.<\/p>\n
For example, Boris and his poor students who had to memorize the periodic table.\u00a0 This problem is highly relevant to me (in our Math department, we are having similar discussions about reviewing basic skills), and I tried building several tools to deal with Boris\u2019s problem.\u00a0 The obvious one, a sort of programmed learning using the lessons tool in Moodle, would take ages to set up, and minutes for the students to work through.\u00a0 A second solution, a database of review questions that students build seems more manageable for the teacher and more valuable to the students.\u00a0 By the time I had done all this, it simply didn\u2019t feel necessary to blog about it \u2013 I had processed the problem and arrived at a solution that makes sense in my context.<\/p>\n
Learning website design, creating and planning layout, writing the material and doing all of these things simultaneously, using an iterative process \u2013 I thrive on this.\u00a0 It has been a long time since I\u2019ve done this type of work, and I had forgotten how much I enjoy this type of thing.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next?\u00a0 In the short term, I have to \u2018use the tools\u2019 and include Differentiated Instruction and Universal Design for Learning [4] in the SNC1P lessons.\u00a0 I have been talking with the department head about this course, and plan to show it to a VP very soon.\u00a0 Developing the course site wasn\u2019t just an exercise.\u00a0 I really see it as a way to help our students by providing a richer experience and teaching them skills that they need for the future.<\/p>\n
A priority at our school is to provide students with opportunities to demonstrate learning from several subject areas in a single assignment.\u00a0 For example, a student could plan an ecotour to demonstrate their mastery of concepts from Math, Science and Geography.\u00a0 Last week, a colleague was describing an activity she had planned for kinesthetic learners who are studying cell cycles.\u00a0 Her plan is that students build and manipulate models, and take photographs of the stages of the cell cycle.\u00a0 She was thinking about how students could present their work, and I showed her some of the digital story tools.\u00a0 This led to a conversation about how much time it takes students to learn to use tools like this, and whether this leads to improved learning.\u00a0 Some students are very interested in learning to use software tools, and the skills they develop as they work on course assignments should count as credit towards a communication technology or media studies course.\u00a0 Currently, we don\u2019t have either of those courses at our school, but I will be exploring the idea sparked by our conversation. (Is there a rule about this?\u00a0 Do all ideas develop from conversations?)<\/p>\n
The tool I need to explore more (it began by gently calling my name \u2013 and now it is practically shouting for attention) is video.\u00a0 I do some very basic videos to demonstrate concepts for my Physics class, and rely on pausing the camera, and multiple re-takes, to get a video that has few enough errors that I feel I can post it.\u00a0 A colleague has asked me to help her get started with doing this (next week), and this is motivation for me to become more familiar with editing.<\/p>\n
For my online physics class which starts in February, I want students to build a resource they can use for study and review.\u00a0 I will probably use a wiki for this purpose, and I\u2019ll definitely be looking for ideas on how to provide a structure for the assignment, and how to help students develop skills for working effectively using tools for online collaboration [5].<\/p>\n
[1] 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<\/p>\n
[2] Chickering, A.W. and Gamson, Z.F. (1987).\u00a0 Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education.\u00a0 American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39 (7), p. 3-7.<\/p>\n