Learning Curves

As with any new technology, there is a learning curve...how do we adapt or actually learn the new technology? Most of the time we simply abide by the trial and error method...a favorite of mine. However, my frustration this week comes from working on my thesis and data...and well...I am clueless as to how to manipulate my data in a stats program. I know they are out there, and I know they can do magnificent things with data, saving time and brain cells. Yet, there is a large learning curve, and when you have never used it before...well, the training manual doesn't make much sense to be able to help out either. Thus, trial and error and now thankfulness for a professor who understands the software to help out...time to put this learning curve into high gear! OK...rant over and I can now return to my data. Yet, this thought process does make me wonder, where does the responsibility lie within the classroom regarding new technologies? Is it the students responsibility to 'figure it out'? Or, is the instructor responsible for at least providing a primer of the new technology?

Clicker thoughts

Props to the clicker group presentation! I found it very interesting to learn about clickers and how they can be used in the classroom. I have never had the experience of a class over the size of 50 students (as a student), and most courses I will potentially teach will be capped at 25-35 students. So, I have never really considered the use of a clicker. After the presentation, I can see how it would enable more engagement and interaction among students, as well as give some great 'in-the-moment' feedback to the instructor. However, I left class wondering 'what version of a clicker is next?' Would students get frustrated with compatibility issues or various 'versions' of a clicker as they continue to develop, get smaller, etc.?

Wiki Connections

As our group was researching the use of wikis, I found it so interesting the many uses - both in and out of the classroom. A couple of the articles I had the opportunity to read looked specifically at collaborative learning and utilizing wikis for group projects. Now, to many people this may just be another use for wikis in teaching and offering students a way to communicate and build documents together for their project. However, the combination of my fascination of group work and currently being up to my eyeballs in research around group work in the classroom as I am doing revisions to my thesis literature review send my mind spinning. Student perception of group work in the classroom vary greatly - would adding technology improve their perception? If a student could effectively manage a group project via technology tools such as a wiki for documents, etc., would employers find that a beneficial skill? Would using/requiring wiki technology for group work increase a student's conscious awareness of their contributions to a group? Would the technology help or hurt a student's focus on learning the process of group work (or would it simply encourage contribution to have their name posted?)? Woudl technology driven group work help or hurt an individual when technology is taken out of the equation; could that individual facilitate the same collaboration in person? Hmm...maybe I have found my dissertation topic...or just another side project?

Remember when...

Holidays...regardless of what they are...always take me on a trip down memory lane. So for Valentine's Day, I like to reminisce about the little Valentine mailboxes from grade school and how fun it was when one of my friends got a secret message. The whole thought and process that went in to that little boy sending that message is quite amusing and sweet. To savor a message and the thought that goes in to it...it seems a concept that gets lost in the shuffle today. It amazes me to think how our concept of urgency when thinking about messages has evolved...from a phone rining and knowing someone will call back later if I don't pick up the phone at that moment to the answering machine taking a message for me to call back later to now...when we feel that every message is of utmost importance and we lose our attention on anything else of importance until we suffice that need to respond instantaneously to whomever sent that text. I feel like the cell phone - although it has been very beneficial in many ways - has hindered the learning process. It is such a distraction for students who bring them to class! Maybe this post is coming out of frustration that one student was sitting in my class...in the front row....with his phone out texting like it was completely acceptable. AND...even after I asked him out right to put it up...a few minutes later it resurfaced (albeit this time in his lap) to text some more. To me that is SO incredibly rude...I know my class is one of your electives, but is there something SO urgent that can't wait another 45 minutes for you to address? Sometimes I wish there were a button I could push that would automatically interfere with all cellphone signals in my classroom so that there would be no point in checking for messages every 5 minutes during class...maybe then students could focus more on learning than figuring out what to do for lunch...

Where is the focus?

The notion of moving from theory to practice simply fascinates me! I get SO excited when students make the connection of theories discussed in class to real life applications! However, my observations have lead me to believe that our increasingly connected society through technology is beginning to lead to focus on the quickest possible way to get to the end product rather than the process itself of discovering the best solution. Sure efficiency is important, but is the purpose of education not to learn the process of getting to the end product rather than the end product itself?
Yet, it seems as though the loss of process focus has also lead to a disconnect between theory and practice or application of content - a sort of compartmentalization between a student's educational experience and the rest of their life in college. Is technology hindering or helping the connection between theory and practice - the process of application? Is it the responsibility of the instructor to reach out to ensure the connection is being made between course content and 'real' life? Or, is the student supposed to take the initiative to do so? Although I would like to say it is the student's responsibility to make connections, I think it is ultimately up to the instructor to pose the questions to provoke thought toward making those connections.

Also, my apologies for the rambliness of this post...my thoughts are not all together on this topic, but it is one that fascinates me to figure out new ways to help students make genuine connections between course content and their real lives (maybe technology could be a way to help facilitate discussions of this nature with students)!

To Use or not To Use...Google Sites

After playing with Google Sites last semester a bit for one of my classes, I found the ease of creating a site and potential for still being in the 'innovative zone' rather appealing. Thus, this semester I am contemplating using Google Sites for the final assignment in my Introduction to Leadership and Service course. Ultimately, we have a great group of students, many who are seniors. My thought process was to switch it up and have them create an online portfolio using Google Sites, as it would be applying the leadership content and reflection for the course while serving as a practical tool on the job market.

However, one debate I am having with myself is: do I require all of my students to have a Google account to create this site? Is this too much to ask for an undergraduate elective? Would students actually utilize this site when applying for jobs to showcase their leadership thoughts and experiences?

Teaching Perspectives

In leadership we do many personality tests and have quite a few instruments based on various leadership theories; each assessment showing where you fall on the grid or categorization of leadership or personality types. So, I enjoyed the teaching perspectives inventory. As with many leadership assessments that I tend to be pretty balanced with one or two categories that just do not fit at all, such was the case for the teaching perspectives inventory. Apprenticeship was my top area, with Developmental and Nurturing not far behind; Transmission was a little lower and Social Reform was my bottom score.

I definitely related to the Apprenticeship area - and quite appropriately being in the agriculture and leadership fields where experiential learning is a key component of education. As a teacher in this area, it is crucial to know the students and their abilities to be able to adapt lessons to their skill levels. It is my duty to guide and direct them along the journey of developing skills through various experiences. I see this come through in a current class I am teaching - Introduction to Leadership and Service - as we utilize a service-learning project for students to apply leadership concepts in a service capacity. And, when a true experience is not possible, we utilize multi-media to offer a common situation for all to discuss a particular topic.

Developmental and Nurturing perspectives also are easy to relate to for me, as leadership is a continuous process of development. In the classroom, I find reflective questions and discussion among the students to be a great asset in challenging assumptions and promoting further reflection and deeper thoughts on processes and human interactions relating to leadership. Sharing experiences is also helpful for all students to gain a broader perspective and tool box of scenarios. As an instructor, adaptability is key to roll with the experiences and stories that students share, finding ways to connect them back to course content. Along the journey, I can not help but be encouraging and supportive of the students' efforts, as that is simply a part of who I am. I believe that positivity is an important ingredient in the leadership classroom, as creating a space that is safe and trustworthy for students to share their experiences is of critical importance!

Overall, I feel like my teaching perspective focuses primarily on the student or learner, then how to connect their experiences with content and finally how can I share an experience that may tie all together around the ideals and context of the particular topic we are discussing. Throughout the educational journey in the leadership classroom, I think it is so important for educators to have feedback and give feedback to students. I think this was a great instrument and summary article to provide a spring board of ideas to think about which perspective or combination of perspectives each has when approaching the classroom.