Revised Teaching Philosophy.

You know what, I'm not sure yet! I think the impact on my teaching will be much larger than I can even imagine at this moment, mostly because I have been shown a path that I need to take, but one without a destination. Here is one thing I am certain of, and that is I have become a bit more sympathetic to the plight of my online students. During this class I made input errors, misunderstood directions, missed deadlines, just like my own students! I don't like double standards and I will be more understanding of the challenges that an online class presents.
In a larger sense, my educational philosophy is all about writing and critical thinking. I despise rote learning. I believe we do a great disservice to our students when we don't prepare them not only to think with the material, but also to expand their thinking capacity and awareness in general, regardless of the subject. Bells and whistles don't seem to fit well with this philosophy, but this course showed me just how big a mistake that is. It isn't only about flash, but enhanced connection and community. I know this would increase learning. I have already incorporated audio/visual feedback in my classes. A Blog would seem to be a no-brainer for next semester. I will be integrating one of the tools for direct communication, like Skype. I will be moving toward online office hours. This is just the beginning, because before the roadblocks were about complexity, but now I realize it was about philosophy. And mine has been changed.

Final Reflections

This course has been simply fantastic. The commitment and passion of all the instructors was inspiring. The intensity was challenging and I would not have made it without the personal assistance of Todd (and the fact I was pass/fail!) I almost wonder if I should take it again as I know there is much that I was unable to appreciate. This course has shown me a set of tools that I simply would not have found on my own. That is the most exciting part. But there is something more going on here. My whole vision of how to educate has been impacted and I will speak to that more in my Revised Teaching Philosophy post. These tools aren't just bells and whistles but really strike to the heart of enhanced learning and connection. This will require a coomitment from me and a change in thinking that I think I will be able to achieve in light of having struggled with online education now for three years. Old dogs can learn new tricks!

Wow - I wish I would have said that....

The article "Who is afraid of the Big Bad copyright?" is right on. I wish I would have written this. The law is not clear and thus the admonition to seek forgiveness rather than permission resonates with me. I also like the suggestion that our librarians cease to be the copyright police. And it is VERY interesting that there is not one reported case involving educators. Despite the seemingly monolithic language of statutes, it is what the courts say they mean that is the key. It would be difficult to imagine an educator losing a fair use case unless they had crossed the line into the commercial speech realm. With all of our focus in this class on social networking and bolgs, etc., the lines could become blurred. But until the first shot is fired, I say "use!"

SixDegrees.com

1. What was the target audience for this social networking site?
I choose to look at SixDegrees.com since it was the first. This was focused on friends and family, just as some of the popular sites are now.
2. How long was the site in existence?
Four years.
3. Why was it popular? What was its demise?
It was popular, I suppose, because it was first. Its demise is blamed on being ahead of its time, but that doesn’t resonate with me. It did not have the functionality of the successive sites, and the founders did not see the future clearly.
4. Is/was there another competitor in the same market that was more popular?
It did not have a more popular competitor to deal with, and again, appears to have failed due to lack of vision.
5. Would you ever consider creating an account and using it? Explain your reason using a personal experience as an example.
Sure. It looks very much like many of the popular sites now, like Facebook, of which I am a member, albeit a deadbeat.

You're such a Twit!

I am a huge Twitter fan. (Check me out at Bodytalkman.) I have been able to make contact with thousands of like-minded people all over the world in a very short time. My focus has been with the work that I do with Energy Medicine Foundation, but I see no reason why this couldn't work just as well in any context, including education. Indeed, the 140 words or less requirement of Twitter could easily spark some very interesting discussions. And it would certainly meet the attention span and tech savvy needs of this new generation. If engagement truly is the key, and in an educational context I define that as passion, it would be very interesting to see if any students continued on after they were no longer required to post. In the educational context I think content would be key, unless there was some mutual interest or "celebrity" factor, such as the preception that one's ideas were changing the world. I honestly don't see any negatives here, since the Discussion Board is already in place in Blackboard. And Twitter would be so much sexier and more interesting. Bottom line, I just might add a Twitter component to my next online class....

"Social" Networking

There are two things that strike me in Hargadon's blog. First, his argumennt that engagement is more important than the content. Doesn't the content drive engagement? Perhaps not in a social networking context. It would in a blog context for sure. But I gather relationship is the real key in this virtal world. The other comment that I found interesting was that the site should be guided. Again, this was somewhat counter-intuitive to me. Which raises the question, at what point do these sites cease to be social networking sites, and become something else all together? If you are working this hard at something, when does it cross the line into a commercial or business context? From an education standpoint, the content would be critical to maintaining engagement, and of course it would need to be guided. I suppose I would see the key as creating passion, either for the content or for relationship. I am reading the latest bio on Einstein and I wonder what it must have been like to be a correspondent of his. Would we all be interested in his blog? What sort of social network would he create today? And would his celebrity trump some of the arguments of Hargadon? I am an avid Twitter fan and I do see the value in this networking tool, although the sheer volume is a great barrier to effective communication. But I have met several people via tweets and have used their services or saved their websites. but this is where these sites seem to be driven by business relationship or commercial context more than social networking. It is this blur on underlying motivation that holds the key to the future of these sites.

Wiki Me

I like these two links because they are focused on business issues, which is where I teach:
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/economics.html
http://www.khake.com/page31.html
I also liked this site for its information on a variety of places to create wikis:
http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?WikiFarms
I am convinced that I will be developing one of these for one of my classes in the future. The benfits just seem huge to me, now that I am exploring the concept in detail. I am not worried about the negatives of students being able to enter and update entries, and it just seems like a great forum for the interchange of ideas, which is what I think a college class should really be. The key isue is time - not just in developing the wiki lesson plan for a future class, but even answering this very question....

All Wikied Up

After reading some of these great posts and the reading materials, I will try not to be repetitive. Here is the key, I think, and after much thought, I am really warming up to this. It creates engagement, a personal stake, in the dialogue. It means that the students have as much to say as the instructor (something I already encourage in my classes, where there are no "right" answers to the scenarios). It will also mean that the dialogue will follow the interests of the group, much like one would want in the F2F. One post suggested that there could be some concerns with students manipulating or altering posts, etc. This is the same concern with broader wikis. But if people are that passionate about the material, I say right on! That might be a very unexpected, but none-the-less ringing, endorsement of the class. This is particularly so if critical thinking is prized over reaching the "correct" answers. Granted, this won't be true for all classes, but it certainly would be true of mine. My guess is that a detailed syllabus might be a waste of time in such a class, where the course followed the interests and dialogue and controversy stimulated by the wiki. But what an interesting document would exist by class end! Wow. I may have talked myself into this. Is it possible that this sort of flexilbility and passion could stimulate creator involvement and greater interest and curiosity? Yes, for sure. But in classes, like mine, where the ages and abilities of the students vary greatly, we could also see many get left behind or out. I'm not sure at this moment how best to manage that. But this would also be an interesting way to teach a class from the instructor's viewpoint, as well. We, too, need stimulation and passion, and this just might be an amazing way for an old dog to learn new tricks.

Instructional Design

I like the "Androgogy" and "Assure" moels of instructional design.Here is a Wikipedia entry for Androgogy: "Andragogy consists of learning strategies focused on adults. It is often interpreted as the process of engaging adult learners with the structure of learning experience. Originally used by Alexander Kapp (a German educator) in 1833, andragogy was developed into a theory of adult education by the American educator Malcolm Knowles.
Knowles asserted that andragogy (Greek: "man-leading") should be distinguished from the more commonly used pedagogy (Greek: "child-leading").
Knowles' theory can be stated with six assumptions of adult learning:[1][2]
Adults need to know the reason for learning something (Need to Know) Experience (including error) provides the basis for learning activities (Foundation). Adults need to be responsible for their decisions on education; involvement in the planning and evaluation of their instruction (Self-concept). Adults are most interested in learning subjects having immediate relevance to their work and/or personal lives (Readiness). Adult learning is problem-centered rather than content-oriented (Orientation). Adults respond better to internal versus external motivators (Motivation). The term has been used by some to allow discussion of contrast between self-directed and 'taught' education.[3]"
And this entry on the Assure model is as good a description of what I do in my lesson plans as I have ever seen:The ASSURE Model(From Instructional Media and Technologies for Learning by Heinich, Molenda, Russell, Smaldino, 1999)
Analyze learners State objectives Select instructional methods, media, and materials Utilize media and materials Require learner participation Evaluate and revise
The ASSURE model is an ISD (Instructional Systems Design) process that was modified to be used by teachers in the regular classroom The ISD process is one in which teachers and trainers can use to design and develop the most appropriate learning environment for their students. You can use this process in writing your lesson plans and in improving teaching and learning.
The ASSURE model incorporates Robert Gagne's events of instruction to assure effective use of media in instruction.
Analyze learners
Before you can begin, you must know your target audience (your students). You need to write down the following information about your students:
General characteristics - grade, age, ethnic group, sex, mental, emotional, physical, or social problems, socioeconomic level, and so on. Specific entry competencies - prior knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Learning styles - verbal, logical, visual, musical, structured, and so on.
State objectives
Once you know your students, you can begin writing the objectives of your lesson. Objectives are the learning outcomes, that is, what will the student get out of the lesson?
The ABCD's of writing objectives are:
Audience (who are your students?) Behavior to be demonstrated Conditions under which the behavior will be observed Degree to which the learned skills are to be mastered.
Example: Fifth grade social studies students (Audience) will be able to name at least 90% (Degree) of the state capitols (Behavior) when given a list of states (Condition).
Select instructional methods, media, and materials
Once you know your students and have a clear idea of what they should get out of the lesson, then you are ready to select the:
Instructional method that you feel is most appropriate to meet the objectives for these particular students. Media that would be best suited to work with your instructional method, the objectives, and your students. Media could be text, still images, video, audio, and computer multimedia. Materials that provide your students with the help they need in mastering the objectives. Materials might be purchased and used as is or they might need some modifications. You can also design and create your own materials for the students to use. Materials would be specific software programs, music, videotapes, images, but would also be equipment, i.e., overhead projector, computer, printer, scanner, TV, laserdisk player, VCR, and so on. Utilize media and materials Now it's time to do your lesson and use the media and materials that you have selected. You should always preview the materials before using them in a class and you should also use the equipment in advance to be sure it works and you know how to use it. If you use electronic equipment, don't assume that everything will work. Be sure to have a plan B. Hardware and software are created by humans. Humans make mistakes and so software has mistakes in it. Hardware can malfunction. Don't get discouraged if technology lets you down. Make sure that your instructional materials are suitable and working the best you can and then use it in the classroom.
Require learner participation
Remember, students learn best when they are actively involved in the learning. The passive learner has more trouble learning whatever we try to pour into his/her brain. Whatever your teaching strategy, you can incorporate questions and answers, discussions, group work, hands-on activities, and other ways of getting students actively involved in the learning of the content. It is up to you, the teacher, to make sure that all your students have opportunities to participate in the learning activities in the unit plan. Avoid lecturing for an entire hour. Listen to your students and allow them to become aware of the content. Allow them to learn as opposed to trying to "teach" them.
Evaluate and revise
This last stage is often neglected but it is the most important one. Anyone can develop a lesson and deliver it, but really good teachers must reflect upon the lesson, the stated objectives, the instructional strategy, the instructional materials, and the assessment and determine if these elements of the lesson were effective or if one or more of them need to be changed the next time the lesson is done. Sometimes a lesson may seem like it would be great, at least on paper. But then when you actually teach the lesson with a specific set of students, you might discover there were several things that did not seem to work. Your expectations might be too high or too low. The materials used might not have been appropriate for the grade level or the material might not be very motivating. The instructional strategy might not have got students interesting in participation or the strategy might have been difficult for you to manage. The assessment you used might have shown that students didn't learn what you tested for. This might mean that you did not accurately test for the stated objectives, the method of assessment needs to be revised, or the lesson did not permit enough time for the students to master the objectives.
You are not a bad teacher if a lesson does not work. You are a bad teacher if you don't reflect upon your lessons and work on revising elements of the lesson until your students become successful learners."
And the beauty of this explanation, is that it also answered the remaining part of the question for me. Indeed, after each semester of teaching online, I have engaged in this practice and each year have made significant chnages based on my own evaluation of my work.

Ancient Wisdom Rediscovered

I have to say that even on a Friday night, this "constructivist" stuff is fascinating! But my answer to the question is that the technology is not directly driving the changes; indeed, the changes in education are more a reflection of how concepts of quantum physics and esoteric psychology are slowly infiltrating the mainstream. Like it or not, the mind is a mental construct of the ego, fashioned largely from the unconscious, and is the product of one's culture, familial circumstances and surroundings, as well as subconscious belief systems. The world "out there" appears to be a collective illusion, which is quite a challenge to the western concept of reality and learning. One can find as good an explanation of all of this in ancient Hindu and Buddhist texts, and quantum physics seems to be "discovering" some very ancient wisdom.
From a scientific standpoint, we know that all visual date goes through seven synapses prior to arriving at the processing centers of the brain. In each of those synapses, we have discovered chemical neurotransmitters that contain every single one of our experiences and memories. Thus all "knowledge" is filtered through our prior experience! This is a very challenging fact for those of us who aspire to teach critical thinking. The constructivist understanding of learning seems to reflect many of these discoveries, albeit in a still very conventional context.
The problem with quantum physics is it challenges our conventional notions of reality, the ones you and I use to drive to the grocery store, for instance, so completely that most other disciplines simply do not know what to do with it. But in the realm of technology, these discoveries are not constrained by philosophical blinders, and thus change is rapidly coming. But e are not far from computer chip brain implants, and we already have programs and techniques that can "rewire" the brain to lessen learning disabilities, end propensities toward violence, release traumatic memories, etc., etc. Quantum physics drives the changes in technology, and new theories of learning are scrambling to catch up. Constructivism would appear to be poised to be the winner. This quote from The Institute for Inquiry on Constructivist Learning Theory sums things up nicely: "Learning is not understanding the "true" nature of things, nor is it (as Plato suggested) remembering dimly perceived perfect ideas, but rather a personal and social construction of meaning out of the bewildering array of sensations which have no order or structure besides the explanations (and I stress the plural) which we fabricate for them."
Wow! Now give that some thought. We fabricate a personal and social construction of meaning. And if this strikes you as crap masquerading as intelligent observation, consider this: your hand moves prior to your mind thinking of the movement, and your mind then projects backward in time to create the sense that it thought of it first! This is called subjective referral in space. Now, other than the rather interesting question of who or what is actually moving your hand, we have the very challenging idea that even the things we take for granted, movement, for instance, may be a fabrication of the mind. And we may all be particpating in the same collective fabrication. Where does knowledge and learning and thinking all fit into this conception of the mind and the illusion of physical reality? Don't ask me.

Toward A New Definition of Education

I would have picked this blog as one of my favs(www.weblogg-ed), if it wasn't already part of the assignments. I feel like I could have written a few of these entries myself. With teenagers at Prescott High, I have more familiarity with the beaurocratic mindset than I would prefer. Discipline and conformity are elevated above education, and the 18th century model of education is on full display. But my sense is that the real problem identified by the author is that we DON"T have a new pedagogy! We are all just trying to fit these new tools into the old model. I wish I could tell you I knew what shape the NEW model should take. (But surely someone smarter than me needs to get busy.) Creating curiosity and enthusiasm are key, in my mind, to a good learning model. These new technologies give us an incredible opportunity to do so. But we are all constrained by textbooks and curricula modeled on the old paradigm. And the old paradigm is well suited for factory workers and fanatical nationalists, not the free-wheeling world of wikis and blogs and youtube. Part of the problem is that education is so important that it has drawn the attention of the state and politicians. But we have never seen innovation and creativity come from the beaurocratic class. Lets ask why we need a state-wide curriculum for all subjects, centralized approval of texts, standardized tests, etc., etc? Whose interests are we really serving? The home schooling movement is an effective critique of this statist model, and perhaps that is where the technology is taking us, to a very personalized definition of "education." One focused on creativity and curiosity and critical thinking, rather than conformity and routine and structure. Do we really all need to be reading the same books and taking the same courses? Perhaps the technology will force the state out of education, and yet this is an unimaginable result in a modern society. Which leads to the critical question, and that is whether the present system of education is even compatable with the emerging technologies? If not, then it is no wonder that we can't seem to find a new pedagogy. What we really need to be searching for, then, is a new definition of education. One that is as open and daring and free-wheeling as the internet itself, focused more on results and less on going through the hoops. One that celebrates creativity and interests our young people in learning. One that offers something at the end other than the mere qualifications to get a job. And one that doesn't end upon graduation. Amen.
User’s Files

Blog Favs

Well, first of all, I am a bit of a contrarian. I like all of this techno change, even though I am a pitiful practitioner of it. I like Wikipedia, as I have never seen a professor or a book free of error or bias or viewpoint. "Peer-reviewed" is just another name for censorship and conformity and I believe it is one of the greatest impediments to paradigm change in many professions, most notably medicine. Blogs and wikis sidestep the conventional wisdom, and thus offer hope for the future. We need to end an educational system based on the needs of the 18th century. And I am just as convinced English grammar and usage will soon be changing, as well. So I looked for blogs with a similar nutcase viewpoint.
Here is an interesting one with a radical bent, and a recent blog on critical thinking, the one skill that even technology can't alter:
http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/2009/08/06/critical-thinking-2/
I also like http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/, which is focused on the philosophical issues that technology is presenting to formal education, rather on the new tools themselves (for which I have Todd and Ruth et al).
And I like this site mostly because of the off-the wall items and applications that actually look fun, instead of highbrow: http://mmorley.blogspot.com/
This last one isn't a blog per se, but it has some of the only clinically-proven programs for changing brains and allowing for greater learning, particularly for those with ADD, etc.:
http://www.positscience.com/

The letters of my name... psychoanalysis at its best!

In my spare time I head up a Charitable Foundation in Phoenix called Energy Medicine Foundation, and my answers reflect my present journey:
M - Mindful
I - Investigative
C - Conscious
H - Healing
A - Alternatives
E - Evolving
L - Laughter
D - Developing
A - Atomic
V - Vibrational
I - Inquiring
S - Shamanic

Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy is simple and unchanged by technological advances: critical thinking. I think it is imperative that the learner be able to use the material, not just have memorized it. And by "use" I mean he or she should be able to apply the information to a real-life scenario or question in a way that allows him or her to find a solution or to at least reach greater understanding of the problem. The questions are ultimately far more important than the answers. I teach in the legal and business arenas, and the ability to apply the information learned in class to the real world is absolutely essential. Neither I or the book will be readily available in the future. The real value to learning critical thinking is that it will remain with you forever, as it is a way of viewing and responding to the world, with the result being that learning will never end. This sort of approach requires a great deal of writing, particularly in the online world. While I do not believe technology has changed my core teaching philosophy, the manner in which I approach it must reflect these changing times. We traditionalists may someday have to accept that the virtual world will rewrite the rules of grammar and English usage. Learning how to write in long-hand may not be useful in the future (although I suspect it will remain a valuable step in the development of the young brain). I could go on with many more examples. And yet writing in the virtual world is slow and prone to misunderstanding. The lack or personal contact and face-to-face communication greatly alters the learning dynamic. So I see technology altering the manner in which I stimulate and encourage critical thinking. But critical thinking will always look the same, be it in the real or virtual world.

Welcome!

Hello everyone. I'm looking forward to learning with all of you.