Dr. Harland’s Hangout

I’m a neophyte when it come to blogging. (Less than a year.) But when I was approached to be part of a panel discussion during ISU’s 2009 Teaching & Learning Symposium, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share how blogging has changed my view of teaching and learning.

I have seen the power of blogging when used with college students, and now can’t imagine how I did without it. I like blogging for one main reason–Its student-centered. More specifically, It allows the  voice of each student to be heard. In my personal experience I find that students reflect on a more personal level and are better able to apply what they learn when they express it to their peers. Students are more likely to admit what they are confused about, what they disagree with, and how the course has helped (or not helped) reduce their fear about becoming a teacher. Blogging, whether its the extra time students have to construct their ideas, or its the camaraderie students feel while online, I don’t know, but it gives me access to students in a way I’ve never had before…and for that I am thankful!

Here are 2 google documents I will be using during the presentation.

Blogging with students handout:

The handout includes the subheadings of: What is a blog?, Blogging works great for a 3-week summer school course, Training students to use the blog site appropriately, Assessing students’ blog entries, Logistical issues, and Tips for Great Educational Blogging.

Blogging Rubric

This is a rubric, that I modify every semester, that has helped me keep on top of the assessing student blogs. I not only put in their point total, but I also indicate which blogs I’ve posted responses to, so that I can be sure to post reponses to everyone at least once!

I’m pissed! Sorry for the foul use of language. But since I made the move from high school teaching to university teaching, I’ve realized how much I should have been doing–and all the opportunities I had that I didn’t take advantage of. My Ph.D. is in educational technology, but in the time I was designing, collecting data, and writing my dissertation, then teaching for 2 years, I got behind. Then even when I was done, I was isolated. I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t get any support from my administration to pursue what I loved–which is integrating technology into the classroom. I was one of the few teachers who had a projector hooked up to her computer…that was high tech! But I wasn’t using it to its full potential. I should have known better.

I’ve spent several hours today getting twitter contacts and as I read blogs of you all, I have to say I’m impressed. Where do you get the energy? Planning is hard enough already! But there is a big group of you out there that really are doing some AMAZING things. I’m diigo’ing your sites, and hope to share these with my future teachers in the fall…meanwhile, I’m feeling guilty. I have so much I could have done with my high schoolers but I just didn’t have the support or connections to do it. I was unfamilar with the new ways to connect with like-minded individuals/educators on the web. Man-oh-man, I’m going to make sure my future teachers don’t make the same mistake I did! The high school classroom can be so isolating! But with the www, and Web 2.0, it isn’t that way any more!

I had an ISU student that I had 4 years ago as a biology and English high school student come by my office today. She had studied abroad (England) and will be working in France, teaching English this fall! While we didn’t have a whole lot of time to talk, she did mention that it was a comment that I made to her her senior year in high school that encouraged her to pursue a career in English. I do remember this, but didn’t know it was that much of a turning point for her in her own life.

When I was a high school student I had a photography teacher pull me aside, and tell me that I had a natural gift for composition, and an understanding of basic photography, that others in my class did not have. I was so surprised. If it had not been for her taking that moment out of her day, to let me know this, I would have thought that everyone had the same skills I had, because it came naturally to me. I guess, this is what I did for this former student. I pulled her aside, and let her know that her writing and insight to literature, was above someone her own age, and wondered if she’d ever considered “going into” the field of English. Apparently, until then, she didn’t even know how far advanced her answers were to her peers. I am just so pleased that I was able to do for another student, what a teacher had done for me!

Most of us (teachers) assume our students can see with the clarity we have. But they don’t. So when I see those moments…I seize them!  Its just nice that every once in a while, a student comes back to say “Thanks!”

Also…if you have had a teacher influence you in this way, please let them know!

I just read Karl Fisch’s post titled, “Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?” This post won “Most Influential Post of 2007.”

You can read the post http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/09/is-it-okay-to-be-technologically.html

I consider my self new to the educational technology community, and I’m still getting used to hearing people say the things I’ve observed and never had the guts to say (or had anyone to say it to for that matter!). Like, Karl I was often offended when parents would say “Well, I never did well in Biology either, so I wouldn’t expect my kid to like it either.” It was as if they were giving their kid permission to give up and settle for mediocrity. All teachers–no matter the content area–are most likely offended by this statement. So why do we give teachers a pass on their ability to use technology?

Students use technology in every aspect of their life and they thrive on multitasking. When they come to school and are forced to sit through a lesson that could just as well have been taught 30 years ago, its no wonder students are bored and don’t see the connection of what they’re learning to their personal life. As one student so eloquently said, “I have so much to learn, and I’m stuck here in this classroom!”

On the other hand, future teachers often don’t see the power of the same technology they use for socializing in the professional world. Therefore, if even the young teachers coming up, keep technology compartentalized and out of their teaching life, we are doomed and students will continue to be bored!

The problem may be with how we teach future teachers, or the types of individuals who are attracted to education in the first place. Very few college students I’ve had in my courses have had high school teachers (or college for that matter) model the effective use of technology in their courses. If future teachers don’t see technology modeled well, they won’t use it. We can talk about how to use technology (just like we can talk about using cooperative learning, instead of modeling it) but if they don’t see it seamlessly used as part of the educational process, technology will continue to be viewed as “something else” a teacher has to do.

Frustrated but trying to make a difference!

I was asked to teach a Literacy in Secondary Education summer school course. While I was apprehensive for several reasons–never having taught the course and it being condensed into 3 weeks–I have come to throughly enjoy the students and the content. I chose to integrate the use of a class blog site at 21classes.com. My original intention was to give students a place to “flesh” out what they’re reading and discussing in class. I knew that the amount of content we were having to absorb would be lost if they didn’t have time to reflect. I encouraged students to personalize their space, and spent a lot of time discussing what quality blog posts look like. (Being the organized crazy person that I am, I developed a check list for myself, to keep track of each student’s postings.) I read AND responded to the first night’s posts for each student, giving them feedback on the content and quality of their post. It did not take long for the students to take it over. It has become an extension of our class. Students often say, “I loved your blog.” And within 3 days, students were becoming a very tight-knit group. This is an incredible side effect I had not really expected. The students, used to social networking sites for their personal lives, really took to the use of a blog for professional purposes. They encourage one another, spur discussion, and show amazing reflection on what they’re learning. I’ve overhead students talking before class about how much time they’ll spend reading the posts. One even laughed as he was sharing with some friend that he got to “blog-for homework!” I know many of you out there have been using blogs for a while, and this is old news. But I’m telling you, I have goose bumps as I read these entries. It’s like I’ve hit the jackpot–the jackpot of reflective teachers and its AWESOME!

My beginning education students created digital stories of their teaching philosophies. I’m amazed at how the media allowed some students to really share their teaching beliefs in a real and relevant way. Take a look at Kyle & Don’s digital story as well as Danielle’s.

http://ci212.wikispaces.com/21-25

and at Curtiss’ story too!

http://ci212.wikispaces.com/6-10

While I didn’t make these digital stories, I will take credit because these are are my students! The future teachers of America!

I worked on my dissertation from 2003-2005, and was so sick of it, I thought I’d never want to talk about it again. I remember someone telling me that the dissertation process is unique because you have to get excited about such a specific, specialized topic, that MAYBE 5 other people actually care about your results. So you can imagine my excitement, when I got a check from UMI letting me know that several individuals purchased pdf copies and one person bought a soft-bound copy! Wow–am I famous yet?

My dissertation title is “Relationship of Myers-Briggs Personality Types and Learner Participation in Face-to-Face and Asynchronous Classroom Discussions.”

For the rest of the individuals who may care about the study, here is the abstract:

This quantitative/qualitative study used the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI) and Bloom’s Taxonomy to see whether students of specific personality types perceive and actually participate differently in face-to-face (f2f) and online discussions. The study also compared how participants viewed sense of classroom community in the two learning environments. Surveys and event recordings of f2f and asynchronous online discussions were used to gather data regarding student participation in courses within an associate business degree program.

The results demonstrated that feeling types preferred to answer difficult questions f2f, while thinking types prefered to answer these questions online. Differences were also noted between the perceiving/judging, sensing/intuitive, and extraversion/introversion dichotomies. No certain MBTI type was more likely to answer questions at the analysis, synthesis and evaluation levels, respond to peers more frequently, or initiate new topics of discussion more frequently in f2f or online discussions. Neither did certain MBTI types perceive classroom community significantly differently f2f versus online. However, significant differences were found between the extraversion/introversion dichotomy in their actual participation and in how they perceived sense of community.

A comparison of data from students who were both a part of the survey and observational groups showed that the perception that most MBTI personality types had of their classroom participation matched their actual participation. The exception to this was the extraversion/introversion dichotomy in regards to peer-peer interaction and initiating new topics.

I’ve recently made the jump from teaching high school to the university and I’ve noticed quite a few differences–some obvious and others not so much. As you will learn about me, I like lists. So here are my observations categorized–as all good thoughts are!

The obvious

• The bells don’t run my life anymore
• Reduced F2f time with students

The less obvious

• I can go to the bathroom when I want
• Maturity level of the students NOT that different
• Camaraderie among the faculty at the university is refreshing

Technology-wise

• Its easy to access all sorts of technology at the university
• My pre-service teachers think they will have access to the same technology they’ve gotten used to at the university (ha)
• Informality of students with their professors. A pet peeve of mine is when individuals email, skype etc.. and use super casual/IM language. Where has our sense of proper grammar gone? Snicker if you like, but still enjoy capitalization and punctuation!

Most surprising to me

• While my student contact hours have drastically been reduced at the university level-the preparation and grading is as much or more than it was at the high school level
• The university student’s belief that instructors should be available 24/7 for questions (that are clearly answered in the syllabus!)
• I feel like a first year teacher all over again, trying to keep my bearings of deadlines, who to contact when etc…

Well, I’m here! I officially have my own professional blog site! I look forward to becoming a member of the ed tech community! I’ve taught biology and English in the Illinois public school system for 12 years. I’ve just recently made the move to the university. I took a year sabbatical from my high school teaching job to teach in the Curriculum and Instruction department at Illinois State University. I was worried that I would miss teaching high school students, but I’ve found working with future teachers quite rewarding. I miss my content area, but love having time to get up to date with the latest technologies.

A San Fransisco Chronicle article published on March 7, 2008 titled, “Homeschoolers’ Setback Sends Shock Waves Through State“, brings up several huge educational issues. California just decided to uphold laws that have been on the books for decades regarding the laws that determine what constitutes a “school.” Apparently, parents in California do NOT have a constitutional right to homeschool their children.

The article says that unions are “pleased with the ruling” which isn’t surprising, because these homeschooled children, who will be considered truant if they don’t attend public or private (accredited) schools, have the potential to bring a lot of money back into the school system, and more jobs for teachers. Some homeschooled students are taught by well-educated parents who act as their teachers, being an active component in their learning. However, other students are taught by outdated distance learning techniques (videos taped in the ’80’s) that leave it to the individual to learn on their own, if they have the motivation. As an educator, I morn the later, wondering how much these students could enjoy the camaraderie of a classroom. As the member of a teacher’s union, I do believe that if parents want to educate their children at home they should be required to have some sort of educational training.

On the other hand, there are enough problems with the public educational system the way it is now, it seems understandable that parents believe that they can do better than what is offered to their children. I have come to believe that although teachers are some of the hardest working people I know, that it as a profession, attracts people who like education the way it is, not individuals who want to change it. For that reason alone, maybe parents, with little educational training can educate their children better than the school system the way it is.

There’s a lot more I could say, but that’s enough for now…