Wednesday, August 27, 2008
HELP!
This semester I'm focusing on providing learning opportunities that address a new dynamic in classroom instruction that focuses on collaborative knowledge and student engagement with new social technologies. Being fairly technology saavy, I see the value in this and tend to embrace this dynamic. However, as an advocate for instructional technology on my campus, I do realize that others may not be as comfortable with embracing technology.....especially "social" technologies. Depending on past learning experiences and educational philosophy, faculty may or may not see the value of a different learning structure that focuses on collaborative knowledge and a more social atmosphere. I "get" that, but also realize that it makes my job pretty tough. I have many subscribers to this educational philosophy, but I would like to get more! How do you do this? I have some general ideas, but would love any suggestions that those of you have out there! HELP ME!
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2 comments:
L,
I think the best way to do this is to show faculty actual "real world" examples of how these social technologies really connect and engage students in all aspects of learning. I know when I develop web tools or interactive media projects no one seems to get really excited about the tool itself until it's being used in an actual classroom or instructional setting.
We can all go to a million workshops and conferences but if they don't show you real examples and how to apply the technology itself it doesn't seem to lead to any real development.
Of course I am in the business of actually creating the tools itself more than your responsibility of finding out what faculty actually need or if they need any technology itself. Just an opinion from a developer's point of view.
Sam
There is a great emphasis on tailoring instruction to learning styles. What seems to often be omitted is that there's a learning style that's non-social -- should those students be forced to change? and what of the non-computer-literate student? He may now struggle with the computer literacy aspect of social networking when literacy is not the focus of the class. I can't believe either is conducive to learning.
Identity theft is rampant these days, especially in Maricopa County and in higher ed, and social networks provide fertile ground for "social engineering." I believe that the colleges have a responsibility to provide a safe learning environment. We should be educating students regarding the dangers of posting too much information online. And we should be providing our own, non-public/campus-only social networking technologies instead of requiring or encouraging students to reveal personal information in a public venue.
I know I would be much more willing to embrace social technologies in my classes if I could find satisfactory answers to these issues. (For the record, I am extremelly computer literate and this is my teaching field. :-)
An MCCCD faculty member
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