Instructional Strategies
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Students Prefer Good Lectures Over the Latest Technology in Class?
[social-bio] An article appearing in January’s University Affairs indicated that students prefer a good lecture over technology in the classroom. The article states ‘university students prefer the “old school” approach of an engaging lecture over the use of the latest technological bells and whistles in the classroom’. I have not read the full report of the survey but would like to comment on the article. The survey of 15, 000 students and 2, 500 instructors across Quebec (with 10% and 20% responding respectively) indicated a preference for lecture over technology in the classroom but does not mention learning outcomes. Statements like this alarm me. Most instructors know that student preference…
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Getting Started With Educational Technology
[social-bio] For a number of years I’ve given workshops to faculty (both at the U of S and my previous institution) and I teach an undergraduate course in educational technology. Regardless of the group that I’m speaking with, I always give the same few points of advice and thought it appropriate to share them here. Start small. Pick one or two tools to try out instead of trying to do everything at once. Don’t start a blog, join Twitter, introduce clickers into your class, take a crack at blended learning, and try to redo all of your presentations in Prezi. You’ll only get frustrated and likely won’t stick to using…
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The Power and Confusion of Metaphors and Analogies
[social-bio] By Carolyn Hoessler Personally I enjoy a good metaphor and a good analogy. Just link statistical correlations to dancing partners or history to a play and my interest is peaked. Metaphors, similes, and analogies are about relationships (see 1:45 minute into this definition video for more details). Analogies and metaphors allow the unfamiliar to become familiar by linking the unknown to a known (e.g., cooled earth as a Lindt chocolate, or depression is a dark foggy forest). By drawing on the known we can more quickly describe the unknown, the abstract, and the profound, and make sense of it. I will never be a moon and feel planet’s gravity,…
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Course Learning Outcomes or Course Learning Objectives?
Summary: Clarify the difference between course learning outcomes and objectives. Understand their impact on student engagement and success. Find out how to enhance your course design! Date of publishing: January 14, 2013 What exactly are course learning outcomes and why are higher educational institutions moving in this direction? First, the distinction between course learning outcomes and course learning objectives needs to be established. Course learning outcomes are student-centred and are statements of what a learner is expected to know, understand, and/or be able to demonstrate after completion of a process of learning (Kennedy et al). On the other hand, course learning objectives are instructor centred and explain what the instructor…
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What is Flipped Teaching?
[social-bio] Flipped teaching is a new instructional method that has risen with the proliferation of high-speed Internet connections. Flipped teaching is the process of moving lecture content from face-to-face class time to before class by assigning it as homework. Often this involves students watching lecture videos prior to coming to class. Why would you want to do this? The reason to use flipped teaching is to be able to use interactive learning methods within face-to-face class time. Rather than spending an hour lecturing, you can spend the hour having students working on problems independently or in groups, working on or discussing cases, group discussion, receiving assistance from you…anything you want!…
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The Recipe of Adult Education in Today’s Reality
[social-bio] Is there just one essential ingredient in the field of adult education or should it be considered as one essential process of adult education? Can a recipe be perfected with just one ingredient, or is it a mixture of many: social movements, history, lifelong learning, technological impact, diversity, the recognition of differing learning styles and the role of the adult educator? My opinion is that there are many ingredients in the field of adult education but without ‘respect’ the recipe may not be as appetizing. Respect is required as the foundation to build a learning society. Simultaneously to achieve a learning society, lifeworlds must be provided with the right…
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Google Docs for Teaching and Learning
[social-bio] Google Docs have been around for about five years now and it “…is a free, Web-based office suite and data storage service offered by Google within its Google Drive service. It allows users to create and edit documents online while collaborating in real-time with other users” (Wikipedia) I originally found Google Docs to be very convenient to be able to have access to my files on multiple computers. As I have experimented with them more, I have found them to be extremely useful in an educational setting. I have used them as both a teacher and also as a grad student. Note that once you create a document you…
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Instead of a MOOC, How About a SOOC?
[social-bio] This post was originally published on Heather Ross’s blog on October 3, 2012 There’s been a lot of talk about MOOCs lately. I’ve even written a couple of posts related to them here and here. We were talking about them during a recent staff meeting and the term SOOC came out of my mouth. My boss said I should trademark it, but I’m not sure that A) someone else hasn’t already said or B) trademarking such a term would be in the spirit of what I’m advocating. A SOOC is a “small open online course” (as opposed to the “massive open online course”) and I’m currently building one for…
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Teaching Online: A Practical Guide
[social-bio] The Book Ko, S. & Rossen, S. (2010). Teaching online: A practical guide (3rd ed.) New York, NY: Routledge. The target audiences of this book are post-secondary instructors and instructional designers. It is extremely thorough and covers three main topics of Getting Started, Putting the Course Together and Teaching in the Online Classroom. Getting Started is an overview of online teaching, including answers to many common questions or concerns, reasons why classes should be offered online and also a detailed look at your institution’s level of readiness. At the University of Saskatchewan we fall into the high-readiness category, which bodes well for any instructors that are moving into teaching…
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BE VOCAL: Characteristics of Successful Online Instructors – An Article Review
[social-bio] If I had to recommend just one article for instructors new to online education, it just might be BE VOCAL: characteristics of successful online instructors by John R. Savery (Savery, John R. (2005). BE VOCAL: characteristics of successful online instructors. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 4(2), 141-152). In it, Savery describes many of the best practices that I suggest to instructors and faculty who are designing or teaching online courses in what he calls the VOCAL model. VOCAL is an acronym that stands for Visible, Organized, Compassionate, Analytical, and Leader-by-Example. Visible refers to what we often call “instructor presence”. In an online course, an instructor cannot see their students…