Posted by
in
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Jan 13th, 2006
Every teacher has been there: the brilliant lecture you've spent all night preparing suddenly interrupted by the ringing of a cell phone, the beeps of portable video games, the hum of music from an iPod.
If you can't beat them …join them?
That's the attitudes some teachers and professors are taking now, in regards to potentially ' disruptive' technology.
From USA Today:
Now that school has resumed after the holidays, teachers are finding themselves awash in a flood of technology.
When they turn their backs on the class, students are switching on their new tiny Apple iPod Nanos, which were a sellout gift at many stores and websites.
Others are popping out new cellphones to text-message their friends. Some are whipping out portable game players.
high-tech gadgets have become some of the biggest nuisances at schools in recent years, especially right after winter break. But slowly, surely, instead of shunning such devices, some teachers are finding ways to use them in the classroom.
They're part of a small but growing movement where educators strive to use the language and media of today's tech- and Web-savvy kids to teach.
I always love to see a negative turned into a positive, and teachers, known for their flexibility and creativity, are always a group you can count on to do just that.
(Photo courtesy of USA Today)
Posted by
in
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Jan 13th, 2006
And the debate rages on.
With online classes increasing at such a rapid speed, many educators posit that we will soon see the decline of the traditional classroom.
And people just can't seem to decide: they praise online education for its convenience, yet condemn it for its shortcomings. Will we ever make up our minds?
From The Oracle:
Despite some misgivings, the educational system seems to be shifting toward online classes. Online classes abandon the traditional classroom setting. Instead of sitting through lectures, students learn by doing research and reading online, completing digital assignments, taking online quizzes and participating in discussions boards. Professors often communicate via e-mail or a group Web site such as Blackboard.
Many embrace this new phase of education, because online classes offer flexibility and Accessibility.
" (My online classes) were very convenient,&lrquo; sophomore Chase Dafnis said. " You could do your class work whenever, wherever and, if you are really daring, in the nude.&lrquo;
This form of long-distance learning can benefit those who otherwise couldn't receive an education, be it because of transportation or other obligations.
Proponents of online classes point out that the lack of student-teacher and student-student communication often causes problems.
" You can't just walk to their office and work the problem out on the white board,&lrquo; junior Sarah Koh said.
Students who procrastinate or have a hard time managing their time could have difficulty adjusting to this new method of education. In addition, students may often have trouble with the technological parts of the course.
(Picture courtesy of Think Quest)
Posted by
in
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Jan 10th, 2006
It's always inspiring to see the limits of online education pushed in a way that produces new benefits and possibilities.
Many students studying ' dead' languages may wish they could easily find people who speak them. Without a time machine, this is impossible. But Princeton University has provided the next best thing: the Classical Language Instruction Project.
Students-or those who are simply interested-can sign on to hear clips of famous philosophers/scholars' works spoken in greek and Latin, in three pronunciation styles.
Looks like online education is not only revolutionizing the future; it's also revolutionizing the past.
Posted by
in
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Jan 9th, 2006
It is perhaps the last place you'd ever expect to see a college classroom: on the front lines during a war. But when your classroom is online, anything is possible.
Boston.com
reports:
Not many college students can say they have done schoolwork while standing guard with an M-16 automatic assault weapon in the middle of a war zone. Skip Spoerke, a 29-year-old Army Reserve sergeant, can.
In an example of what might be called extreme long distance learning, the Brockton resident has spent 14 months serving in Iraq and the last few overlapping months studying at the Berklee College of Music via computer.
Spoerke — a trumpeter who in civilian life is a member of the East Bridgewater-based band VMF (Various Musical Forces) — just completed a Music Business Specialist certificate, a three-course, nine-credit study of the music industry. He did so by taking advantage of high-speed Internet connections to further his studies through the Army University ACCESS Online program at eArmyU.com.
A number of online universities have begun to cater to those in the military, offering MBAs, professional certifications, and even law degrees to people who can't attend school in person, full-time. According to the eArmyU.com website, more than 60,000 soldiers have enrolled in programs at 29 accredited colleges and universities through eArmyU.com.
Posted by
in
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Jan 8th, 2006
Online education is praised for its convenience and the hope it offers to students who cannot maintain attendance in a traditional classroom.
But one researcher asks: what abOUT the unintended consequences? Namely, how is the abbreviated, rushed style of internet ' chatting' and communication affection writing skills?
This is a an excellent question, and one I've encountered as I'm forever correcting common abbreviations and online ' lingo' is my students' papers.
Katrina Meyer's study forces us to confront the issue:The literature is rife with predictions about the potential impact of online learning. What do we know about predicting unintended consequences that might result from using the Internet for educational purposes?
This paper reviews several conceptual frameworks that guide those who believe that technology influences who-we-are as humans and what we can become. It then reviews various predictions of unintended consequences that could result from using the Internet for students and their learning, language acquisition and emotional health, their sense of community, control, and self.
Another section discusses predictions for the impact of the Internet and online learning on higher education institutions. Several lines of research are described that could provide important " canaries&lrquo; to warn us of unintended consequences prior to their becoming a reality and a danger.
Posted by
in
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Jan 8th, 2006
More and more students are choosing keyboards over chalkboards.
According to data collected by public universities in South Dakota, the demise of the traditional lecture hall seems imminent. I'm not sure if it will ever come to that, but the article is quite thought provoking.
From Argus Leader:
A rapidly growing number of college students are avoiding lectures and early morning commitments by taking classes online through South Dakota's public universities.
So many in fact, that the number of credit hours delivered electronically in 2004-05 is 36 percent higher than the previous year.
More than four out of 10 of those students are even living on campus, but for one reason or another choose to take classes over their personal computers.
"Frankly, we were surprised by that," Board of Regents President Harvey Jewett of Aberdeen said.
Sheila Aaker, extended services coordinator at Black Hills State University, said some students have jobs that conflict with class times. Others might just prefer the Internet to taking a class at 9 or 10 a.m. Some enjoy hearing a professor lecture and some don't.
"I think there are more demands on students' time, both traditional and nontraditional," Aaker said. "They're looking for ways that will allow them to keep doing what they're doing. If they can 'attend' class online, they don't have to be in a seat at a certain time. For me, it's a bit of a puzzle, but when my son needs information, the first thing he does is go online."
Posted by
in
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Jan 5th, 2006
With an online influence so predominant in higher education, it's no surprise that blogs (short for ' weblogs') are the new classroom trend.
Much to the delight of students and philosophy professors, the often-feared subject of philosophy lends itself perfectly to the blogging format.
From Academic Commons:
Students taking their first philosophy course often express surprise when encouraged to use " I&lrquo; in their papers. Unlike academic writing in most other disciplines, philosophical writing frequently and strongly states the " I&lrquo; because philosophers have to develop and defend their own positions. They cannot weasel out of taking responsibility for their views, and thus the assertion of the " I&lrquo; means that they are willing to stand or fall with their expressed position.
This is one reason why blogs are so effective for teaching students how to debate in philosophy. Blogs were initially developed as online diaries, and most college students still associate blogs with their own inward monologues. The blog medium softens students' resistance to using the philosophical " I&lrquo; in their writing, since they are accustomed to bloggers expressing their own views and taking personal responsibility for such. Blogs bridge the personal " I&lrquo; of a diary with the philosophical " I&lrquo; of an argument offered in public debate. Once these public debates are posted online, the ease of using " I&lrquo; — and meaning it — makes students more confident that they are capable of having their own views.
The effectiveness of blogs for philosophical debate increases when each student has his or her own blog. It is better to give each student a blog than to have all students participate in a single blog; not only do students write more, but they argue more creatively. When students have to post a blog that is in competition with other students' blogs, students become attentive to which blogs attract and generate the most interesting and heated debates in the course. They scan the various blogs posted by other students and keep returning to the blogs that have the best debates. When commenting on others' blogs, students not only aim to make their points in those debates but seek to entice readers back to their own blog. Students spend more time and thought on their individual blogs in order to keep it popular, and they also take care when commenting on others' blogs because they want reciprocal visits to their own blog.
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Jan 3rd, 2006
Not a day goes by without reading that another college or university has adopted ' podcast'-styled lectures. Every type of institution, from large state schools to small private colleges, have jumped on the podcast bandwagon.
What does this mean, besides the dawning of a new educational trend? By adding so strongly to the popularity, institutions of higher learning have had a significant effect in the naming of ' podcast' as New Oxford American Dictionary's Word of the Year for 2005.
This really does serve as a strong example of how colleges are not tucked-away ivory towers, but powerful institutions with the ability to influence our world.
From the Orlando Sentinel:
The editors of the New Oxford American Dictionary have validated the sudden spread of podcasting by naming "podcast" the Word of the Year for 2005.
"Podcast," defined as "a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player," will be added to the next edition of the New Oxford American Dictionary.
The word originated as a play on the word "broadcast" using the name of Apple's popular handheld digital music player, the iPod.
Apple's iPod made its debut in the fall of 2001, but podcasts didn't come of age until last year. As late as the fall of 2004, according to the Toronto Star, a Google Internet search for "podcast" returned zero results, and Google asked, "Did you mean: broadcast?"
One year later, Googling "podcast" turns up over 77 million results.
Posted by
in
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Jan 2nd, 2006
Karen L. Bosley was recently fired from her position as faculty advisor, a decision that enraged both students and fellow teachers at Ocean County College. In perhaps the strangest reason ever cited for an employee firing, board members named Bosley's use of Macintosh computers .
From the Asbury Park Press:
Despite impassioned pleas from her supporters, the Ocean County College board of trustees voted unanimously Monday not to reappoint Karen L. Bosley as faculty adviser to the student newspaper, a post she has held for 35 years.
Kanouse and other teachers and students charged that Bosley's termination at the Viking News was in response to the newspaper's periodic criticism of college President Jon H. Larson and his administration's policies. The administration flatly denied the accusation.
abOUT 20 teachers, students and other supporters of Bosley and the three other teachers crowded into the second-floor boardroom of the school's Administration Building to protest the administration's recommendations, and the board meeting lasted nearly three hours. Several of them charged that the three teachers – Karen Veselits of the English Department; Patrick Mitchell, Mathematics; and Cathy Hoult, Social Sciences – also were being let go, not because of lack of merit, but because they had run afoul of the administration.
Bosley rebutted the two reasons she was given for not being renewed as newspaper adviser – that the paper contains too many errors and that student staff, because they use Macintosh computers, are not being prepared for the real world.I wonder what Apple would say about this?
