Friday, October 12, 2007
Actual Assignments
Ok, I think that we are supposed to put up actual ideas that we have about how to use what we learn in the classroom and apply it. SO...on Wednesday we talked about the Tier's that are in the Kent curriculm and what we could do in order to achieve any of the requirements. I would like to say that i think Vista would cover a large amount of what Tier 1 expects. you can ask students to post their work, they have to learn how to save work in order to post, they can communicate with their classmates via discussion boards, it allows students to email the teacher and have one-on-one time with them, and it provides a place for teachers to place assignments and calandars. If you use Vista in the classroom, especially beginning classrooms, i think that you are enabling novice technology users to start to understand why technology is in a classroom and how it is not nearly as scary as they might think. And for those of us who are not technology advanced, i am pretty sure that Vista has step-by-step instructions in order to help. So, that is my idea for practical application of technology in the classroom. Anyone else???
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5 comments:
I agree that Vista/WebCT does fulfill many of the objectives in Tier 1—and is, in fact, actually one of them! I do, however, think our students—mostly first time freshmen—need an introduction to this system.
My intro to WebCT ideas:
An interactive introduction to WebCT in a computer classroom, followed by the online submission of a “technology” or “writers” autobiography (also in-class).
Personally, I’m not a huge fan of WebCT. This is my first semester using it as a student, and I’m not crazy about the design and I find it a bit awkward. Example: it took me forever to realize that “submitting” wasn’t the same as “publishing” and assignment. There’s an extra step/click involved—who knew?! Then, once you “submit” something, you can’t really resubmit it, which can cause problems if you’ve done something incorrectly or are making changes to an assignment. (To Bob and Melanie: this is why my précis for Craig’s class aren’t there/are unreadable!). I do, however, like that it is essentially a one-stop spot for all of your class info—assignment details, syllabi, email addresses, discussions, and so on. In that sense, I think it is a very valuable resource.
If using WebCT in my class, I believe I would want to have a thorough in-class introduction to WebCT in computer room, so students could access and explore while we discuss. It might only take 15 minutes, and I realize a lot of this we just figure out on our own, but I think that this kind of introduction would help students understand what it is and how to use it. I think it’s safe to say that most students in comp classes—usually first-time college freshmen—won’t have much experience with this kind of system. After the introduction, maybe students could write up their technology or writing autobiography, then submit it to me as an attachment. Since all this is done it class, I can be there to help. I think it would also make me aware of students’ abilities.
Later in the semester, perhaps students could submit and publish a draft of a paper on WebCT, and then groups students could and responded to one another’s drafts through the “discussion” area. In summation, I don’t think WebCT is the best method for first-time students to submit final assignments. I’m foreseeing too many “my computer wasn’t working,” “I couldn’t log in” type problems/excuses. But I do think it’s good for other things.
I like what Becca said about providing an interactive introduction to WebCT/Vista to help students familiarize themselves with it. Similarly, I think many students may need some guidance in their internet research, and having a bit of tutorial in class (or providing them with information about research workshops and other resources they can use outside class) would be really beneficial. One thing our group discussed on Wednesday was providing a tour of the library and handouts of some of the resources and services that are provided. Also, Mel told us about an activity she does with her students, in which they are able to learn how to navigate through Wikipedia and find the creditable websites for research. A lot of teachers, in my experience, have forbidden their students to use the internet as a research tool because they don't want to worry about the students using unreliable sources, but if the students are taught how to do the proper research, they will find that their resources double (triple? quadruple?) when they are able to search journals, articles, etc. So I think I definitely want to provide instruction, either in or out of class, for my students to be able to research, along with the use of WebCT or Vista. One way to do this, if I didn't want to spend class time, is to require students to attend a workshop in the library (I'm not sure what exactly they offer, but something along those lines) that provides tutorial for their research. The time is approaching quickly to start thinking about a syllabus...
I also think that it would be good for students to get an interactive introduction to vista in class. I think we take a lot lot for granted when we teach. We "assume" that people know how to do this or that, but a lot of times they really don't. Or, maybe, they don't know how to utilize something the way that we want them to.
My group discussed using Vista as a message board, which I think is a good idea. It allows students to journal "online," while giving other students the opportunity to read those thoughts. It encourages more of a dialogue, I think, and increases the extent to which students feel connected to each other.
Bob mentioned that Vista is not intuitive, and I agree with him there, but a lot of classrooms are still using Vista, so I think we have an obligation to expose or students to it, even if it isn't our primary use of technology.
just a small thing i noted this week in class. take it or leave it.
we had a convo in my 21011 class on friday about our online discussion board (through google, not vista). my students don't seem to like either online community, but they definitely have some intense hatred for vista. there was a consensus that the google group was a better route. though vista, as i understand, has improved heaps over the years, i think google runs a tighter ship, and of course google's not as boxed off in the ivory towers. my favorite function? the wiki format. we have a class global warming biography that everyone has contributed to.
check it out here: groups.google.com
I think library tour or library workshop, as Jillian mentioned, is also a good idea, particularly for first-time comp students. It’s a big library, after all, and I’m sure it can be intimidating for new students. I, in fact, went to one of the library workshops during ONTAP. I found it helpful, and even though I was familiar with the usual college library system, I wasn’t familiar with Kent. Going just saved me the time of figuring out the details on my own.
As Ashley said, we don’t want to assume too much as teachers. I’m a bit worried about finding a balance, though: I don’t want to patronize my students by over-explaining or taking too many family-type class tours, but I have to realize that most of the resources and systems are new to composition students.
Mel’s Wikipedia activity is an interesting idea. Wikipedia has become a kind of online institution, so I don’t think we should deny it’s there or that students use it, but it is important to show how they can use it—more as a place to get directions, and not really a citable source.
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