Category Archives: education
by jennymackness
As others have noted – most recently Bon Stewart in her Inside Higher Ed article – everyone seems to be jumping on the MOOC bandwagon at an alarming rate.
This week the JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee, UK ) has jumped on it with a webinar entitled
What is a MOOC – JISC Webinar 11-07-12
Four speakers were invited. Here is the programme and here is the recording
12.00 Definitions of MOOCs (Martin Weller)
12.10 Tutor perspective (Jonathan Worth)
12.20 Learner perspective (Lou McGill)
12.30 MOOCs and online learning (David White)
12.40 Q&A
Martin Weller presented a useful overview of the history of MOOCs and some thoughtful ideas about the benefits of MOOCs and the associated concerns in …
The Benefits and Risks of Academic Opennessby jennymackness
Yesterday Frances Bell made a presentation to FSLT12 MOOCon
The role of Openness by Academics in the Transformation of their Teaching and Learning Practices
This was a thought provoking session. Frances didn’t throw content at us, tell us what to think or how to think, but challenged our thinking with the questions
- How can openness benefit my practice?
- What risks are presented by open academic?
- What impact is your participation in #fslt12 having on your personal network?
- What role can openness play in learners’ practice?
Of course there are no right or wrong answers to these questions. It’s all a matter of perception. Frances states
#fslt12 public professional reflective profile statement continuedI prefer to think of openness as a default option that can be
…
by lucysjcreativeducator
In the previous post I described briefly what some of the experience was like as a teacher of Media Studies at Bishop Challoner Catholic Collegiate School. I am aware that I have not provide a ‘critical analysis’ from a ‘number of perspectives’-such as my own, the learners involved, my colleagues and indeed, the literature.
My personal view was that the specification for Media Studies tended to be somewhat dated. For example there was no inclusion of Social Media, Twitter, Tumblr or anything like that (Facebook was actually banned by the school filtering system). So there was no chance for the students to engage critically with any of these technologies. Cyber bullying was an issue-incidents would flare up and then die …
#fslt12 Brief public professional reflective profile statementby lucysjcreativeducator
Ten years. That is how long I taught for at Bishop Challoner Catholic Collegiate School-when I started I seriously wondered if I would last the day-let alone a decade. It was a fascinating period. When I started it was a girl’s school, pretty rough, in London’s East End. The harder (I mean more difficult, more disruptive) students were pretty difficult to connect with and if they were feeling particularly malevolent, could be downright cruel. Somehow I got through the first few terms. The grand project was a forty-two million pound rebuild of the entire institution-where it would be amalgamated with Blessed John Roche, the local Catholic boy’s school, due to close after failing successive inspections.
At times it was unbelievably …
#fslt12 MOOC Week 1 starts today, 21-05-12by jennymackness
The MOOC is off to a really good start. We have around 120 people registered on the WordPress and Moodle sites and about 16 interested in being assessed. And there are likely quite a few more following the course without registering.
Activity in the Moodle forums last week, particularly in response to the question ‘What is learning for you?’indicates a real interest in the issues surrounding learning. Discussion has covered aspects of the process and product of learning, transformative learning and threshold concepts – worth reading if you haven’t already visited the Moodle site (you do have to enrol in the Moodle site though, if you want to add to discussion). See http://openbrookes.net/firststeps12/moodle/
This week the focus is on …
Teaching and learning introby Barb Pierce
I have been a classroom teacher for about 13 years. I teach social work and am a tenured associate professor. Typically, I teach first generation college students who have gone to under-resourced schools in the deep south of the US. This means they are poor and have not have the best educational opportunities. They come to university with many deficits in their basic knowledge or skill sets. Specifically, they have multiple deficits in writing skills and advanced math skills. Since I teach a variety of courses I must find ways to help students cope with all of their deficits. For example, since I teach statistics, I have to make sure we review basic algebra and math. Sometimes, honestly, I have …
What is learning for you?by elenizazani
The Greek Primer, 1955-1978,
The longest standing Primer of the 1st Grade of the Greek Primary School. It has been characterised as the “Primer of the Primers”
The above image represents the first school years of many generations of Primary School children in Greece, myself included. This book was the one we loved most, and even now after so many years it brings many memories to mind; from the characteristically blue school uniform to the long-gone polytonicGreek language (katharevousa, Greek: Καθαρεύουσα, [kaθaˈrevusa]). Most of all, it brings to mind my first steps into learning!
When George Robertsopened the pre–course activities of the “first steps in learning and Teaching in Higher Education” MOOC by asking us “what …
Blog conversation on FSLT12by George Roberts
The feeds are starting to come in to the FSLT12blog aggregator. And it is already a rich source of information and potential conversation. Questions are being asked about what makes a good teacher, and what makes a bad one! Jenny Mackness addresses the issue of blog aggregation generally in a MOOC. We are struggling with this and will be making changes to the template so that syndicated feeds only show the first 100 words or so.
But my question is more about the nature of conversation in this context. I will need to locate references, or ask if anyone has any to support my assertion, here. I wonder if this new epistolary form may be going a bit …
How to be a good lecturerby elenizazani
Source: Screenshot from the Higher Education Network Live chat
(click on the image to visit the article and live chat)
I thought to post a quick note here about the forthcoming live chat on “How to be a good lecturer“ . The chat officially starts tomorrow Friday 18th of May at 12 BSTin the format of posting comments at the end of the page and of posting tweets with the hashtag #goodlecturer.
The chat is organised by the Guardian’s Higher Education Network and facilitated by a 6-member panel consisting of lecturers.
“Its aim is to bring together the latest insight, comment, advice and best practice for professionals working in and with higher education.”
Although the chat is practically starting tomorrow, the …
Reflection – What makes a bad teacher?by elenizazani
3#
In contrast with the good memories of caring teachersthere were many instances of teachers who were:
- Distant
- Alienated from the class and the societal changes
- Full of prejudices wherein the diverse or different did not fit
- Without any sense of humour
- Without any spark for teaching
Activity – What makes a bad teacher
I can recall a specific teacher, during the end of Lyceum (the equivalent of college for A Levels). She was teaching History of Art from an amazing glossy, full of illustrations handbook. Initially, we couldn’t grasp what was wrong with her, but after the second lecture, we realised that she had memorised the exact text. The lecture was taking place in an amphitheatre where A/V …