This is a hard blog for me to write. I don't like to preach (although I invariably end up doing so) and I try to tread the fine line that distinguishes venting from complaining, but this blog will probably end up sounding preachy and whiny. For those of you who choose to read on, I apologize in advance.
I have to begin by saying that I did not want to attend today's class. I reviewed the syllabus to find out what the attendance policy is for this class and didn't see anything, so I emailed Jeff and Kris. In this communication, I explained my dilemma and asked to be allowed to submit an end-of-course reflection and excused from class. Jeff emailed me back, saying that he expected to see me in class.
I respect Jeff. I enjoy his teaching style and he models the type of instructor that I hope to be. Additionally, I really want to learn how to teach with technology. So I came to class. I came to class with the expectation that maybe today I would leave class with a tangible skill.
For the fifth and final time this summer, I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong. I walked away with some things to think about and a couple of websites to investigate, and that has substantial value. Yet I still walked away thinking: "I am not getting what I expected from this class." That thought led me to deeper questions. What do I expect from technology in education? What benefits am I expecting and exactly who is the greatest beneficiary, me or my students? What did I really expect from this class?
These are my answers:
I expect educational technology to save time.
I expect educational technology to work.
I expect educational technology to encourage creativity.
I expect educational technology to enhance communication.
I expect educational technology to provide a window to worlds my students might otherwise never see.
Students and teachers gain equally from using technology in the class room, but I believe that teachers pay a higher cost. Technology does not always save time nor does it always work. Technology can sometimes frustrate creativity and communication. Technology opens up so many new, exciting and interesting worlds, teachers sometimes end up competing with it, rather than teaching with it.
At first, I expected this class to give me tangible skills that I could use with current educational technology. At this point in the game, I guess I should have known better. This is a graduate level course....so all they plan to do is teach me how to THINK about technology? Nah, we do get exposure to some usable skills but the knowledge is very shallow. I understand now that we are expected to play around with the applications, you know, failure-based learning and all that. Ok. I'll put that on my list. Sure thing.
Ok, so no hard skills are really going to be gained from 504. Ok. So I focused in on our instructors to give depth and meaning to this course. I wasn't disappointed there. Jeff and Kris have dynamic and engaging teaching styles and I gain from hearing them speak, but I can't help but think that we are missing opportunities to gain more.
For example, we could have skyped today's meeting. Or used a podcast, or chat session. We could use some of this technology that we spend so much time talking about. Hey, wait, the whole course could even be online huh?
Or maybe I expect too much?
You raise many thoughtful ideas here, but today is probably not a day where I can respond to them with the merit they deserve, for reasons I articulated in class. :)
ReplyDeleteHowever, your post does remind me that we did not respond to your question regarding attendance. If you look inside CTools -> Assignments -> Class Participation, the blurb there articulates that attendance is wrapped into the class participation grade. I apologize that we left that out in last night's correspondence.
I'll add that I also appreciate your candor, SS. Even though you're critical of what went on (or perhaps what didn't go on) in class, you are respectful in what you say and how you say it, and for that we both thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'll just say that that this class reflects a good faith effort to strike a balance, SS, a balance that reflects a desire to wed exposure to and teaching about tools with talking about the related teaching and larger educational issues. We're pretty adamant that the course have this balance, so that it be practical in a number of ways. This includes teaching hard skills like podcasting, webinars, and screencasting, although our goal is always to put them in a broader context.
You list some things that you expect of educational technology and your "wish list" certainly makes sense (even though we can't promise that technology will always work). Otherwise, I feel like the class is oriented very much in the direction of the items on your list, and if that isn't readily apparent to you at this point, we'd ask that you trust that we'll get there in the fullness of time. You're right that the course could be taught virtually, and perhaps this in the future for 504, but we'll give you a taste of that as well, while we hold on to the old school modality.
Thanks again for your comments.