Hi folks-
Sorry I missed our last PLC time, I was so sick!
I have been working with Dan to get my students using Twitter this semester. Why? I am teaching a class called Issues and Theories in Art Education and we discuss a great deal about social justice art education and the inequities of the world we live in and how art can be a social agent of change through things like service learning and and community based art projects. This semester my students seem to be pretty clueless in what is happening in our world (current events, educational reforms, etc...)
I was talking to Dan about ways to get them more connected with what is happening and he suggested I have them use Twitter to follow news. I had them all sign up for it and Dan helped me make a list of good folks to follow and my students quietly complied and did it all.
We started following Iowa education news, national news, art educators, and local art teachers, to name a few. It seemed like a great plan. I was enjoying the news and resources I was finding, but I found that my students were not moving any further. They were not sharing resources, or tweeting or even re-tweeting what they were reading. This led me to have a conversation a week later asking where had I gone wrong? I told students they did not have to go out and tweet a bunch of times right away but that they should take time to explore, read, and learn to navigate Twitter. They were pretty honest and most said they had forgotten about it.
I gave the assignment for that weekend to tweet or re-tweet at least 3 interesting finds that connect our class. Dan suggested a rubric that scores them on the quality of their tweeting (not the quantity) but I felt that it was not in my original syllabus and that adding it at mid-term was tricky. Most did the 3 assigned tweets last week so I now my goal is to start talking more about things on Twitter that I am sharing with them. I am still not sure what I want to go with this or what I am exactly trying to achieve with this addition of Twitter to my class, so I am working through it slowly. My class is short and only 2 credits so it seems already packed. I worry I am overloading them with another thing and want more quality and to make less busy work for myself and students. How do I get to that?
I am asking for any feedback. Thanks!
Trying to find the right balance is often a difficult thing to do, especially when there are so many good things you can do. My general rule of thumb is that when you add something to your class, something needs to go. However, there is a point when this isn't really possible any longer. When it gets to this point, I tend to start examining the way the course and instruction are designed. Is the content being disseminated in the most efficient way possible?
ReplyDeleteThis is where I think blended learning can really be helpful. Wendy I know you are already doing some work with Edmodo so this may not be anything new to you, but for the rest of the group it might be helpful.
What I'd do would be to look at everything that I want to include in my course. Put it all out on the table if you will. Then start thinking about what it is that you could do online. Are there components that can be facilitated online, such as discussions, readings, etc. that will reduce the load of your face to face lessons? If so, then start by organizing those components into an online "pile" if you will.
Next, I'd start looking at some of the things that you've done in the past that have traditionally taken place during class. Are there other things like lectures and group work that you typically give your students time in class to do that can be facilitated online? Some of you may be thinking, crazy Dan, doing group work online! As crazy as it sounds, it's actually not that hard and can actually give your students more flexibility. In my master's program (75% online) we did a considerable amount of group work using tools like Google Docs, WebCT (BB9), Skype, and Adobe Connect. And when it comes to lectures, there are a number of tools available that can help make the transition to online. While I don't like lectures, sometimes you just have to lecture, but that doesn't mean you have to do it in class. So as you survey the components of your course for those type of tasks, put them in the online pile as well.
Remember, you don't have to put everything online, but ranking components by importance will help you decide if you can do it online or in class. Once you have gone through everything in your course, you should see all the pieces of your course that you want to do in class. These should be the crucial components of your course: major projects, central methods, etc. You should also see a considerable amount of your course that will be taught online. These are going to be things like discussions, lectures, small group activities (not major projects), videos, etc. These are still important pieces of your course, and by putting them online in no way are you lessening their value. Rather, you are just being more efficient with how you spend your time in your course.
As you go through this process, you'll want to talk with an instructional designer who is familiar with online learning, such as myself. The main contact on campus would be Jason Vetter in ITS-ET. Contacting one of us when you go through this process will help as we will likely provide a different perspective. Remember, my goal here is not to have you simply post your syllabus and readings online. I'm talking about putting major components of your course online to complement your face to face sessions with your students. What I'm advocating for is much more difficult to do at the beginning, but has a much greater payout in the end in terms of the type of learning your students experience and the time savings you can experience in class that allows you to do other tasks with your students.