Sunday, March 1, 2015
Planning for Neomillennial Learning Styles
Link to article (By Chris Dede)
"Shifts in students? learning style will prompt a shift to active construction of knowledge through mediated immersion"
Rapid advances in information technology are reshaping the learning styles of many students in higher education...Over the next decade, three complementary interfaces to information technology will shape how people learn:
- The familiar world to the desktop interface, providing access to distant experts and archives and enabling collaborations, mentoring relationships, and virtual communities of practice. This interface is evolving through initiatives such as Internet2.
- Alice-in-Wonderland multiuser virtual environment (MUVE) interfaces, in which participants? avatars interact with computer-based agents and digital artifacts in virtual contexts. The initial stages of studies on shared virtual environments are characterized by advances in Internet games and work in virtual reality.
- Interfaces for ubiquitous computing, in which mobile wireless devices infuse virtual resources as we move through the real world. The early stages of augmented reality interfaces are characterized by research on the role of smart objects and intelligent contexts in learning and doing.
Based on mediated immersion, these emerging learning styles include:
- Fluency in multiple media and in simulation-based virtual settings Communal learning involving diverse, tacit, situated experience, with knowledge distributed across a community and a context as well as within an individual
- A balance among experiential learning, guided mentoring, and collective reflection
- Expression through nonlinear, associational webs of representations
- Co-design of learning experiences personalized to individual needs and preferences
Many faculty will find such a shift in instruction difficult, but through professional development they can accommodate neomillennial learning styles to continue teaching effectively as the nature of students evolves..."
Yes, this is another explosive article promoting multiuser virtual environments (MUVE) in education, which we should digest to the fullest. Utilizing MUVE can facilitate a more experiential, interactive, and dynamic e-learning environment, enabling us to interact and collectively learn and construct knowledge with people (avatars) or experts from every corner of the earth. For me, I would first like to discuss some issues with Chris Dede (author of this article) or his avatar, so I can learn from his research about MUVE (beyond this article). Then I will go after Bill Gates and ask him point-blank, "why dont you participate more in the open source evolution, and make your Microsoft Office products open source and free (at least to all schools, colleges, and universities around the world), etc.
Yes, I am already getting immersed! Lets research this area collectively and make Malaysian higher education truely immersive!
Teaching Habits That Inspire You Out of Learning Part 1
- Link to ZaidLearns Del.icio.us Teaching Links
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” - William Arthur Ward
Can anyone become a great educator (teacher or lecturer)? Or is it gift that we are born with (Nature)? Or can we become a great educator through learning, practice, feedback, reflection, etc. (Nurture)? Or perhaps it is a combination of Nature and Nurture? Or perhaps it is neither? What are the characteristics of a great educator anyway?
WHAT GOOD TEACHERS SAY ABOUT TEACHING?
"At the University of California at Berkeley, the Distinguished Teaching Award was instituted in 1959 to recognize and reward excellence in teaching. Since the inception of the award, over 150 faculty in forty-eight departments have been honored...although these essays (by the award winners) were prepared independently over a number of years, there are striking similarities about what good teachers say about teaching. On at least ten propositions, the contributors are in near or total agreement (Source):
"At the University of California at Berkeley, the Distinguished Teaching Award was instituted in 1959 to recognize and reward excellence in teaching. Since the inception of the award, over 150 faculty in forty-eight departments have been honored...although these essays (by the award winners) were prepared independently over a number of years, there are striking similarities about what good teachers say about teaching. On at least ten propositions, the contributors are in near or total agreement (Source):
- The teachers main task is to guide students through the learning process, not to dispense information.
- The goal of teaching is to help students read, speak, write, and think critically—and to expect students to do these things.
- Learning is a "messy" process, and the search for truth and knowledge is open-ended.
- Good teachers love their subject matter.
- Good research and good teaching go hand in hand. Students engagement with the subject is enhanced by knowing about the teachers own research, and the interaction with students often provides new insights into the research.
- The best teachers genuinely respect students and their intellectual capabilities.
- Good teachers are rarely satisfied with their teaching. They constantly evaluate and modify what they do.
- Good teachers usually had good teachers, and they see themselves as passing on their own teachers gifts to a new generation of students.
- Good teachers treasure the small moments of discovery in the classroom and the more enduring effect they have on students lives.
- Good teachers do not see teaching as separate from other activities; rather, they see their lives as remarkably integrated."
The interesting thing today, is that we increasingly have access (if we have Internet!) to all sorts of content about the art of excellent teaching (A short list). In addition, we can also study and reflect amazing lecturers through video lectures and podcasts from many of the most respected Universities around the world, including MIT, Harvard, Yale, Oxford and Cambridge (YouTube Channels, Podcasts and OpenCourseWare).
So, why cant we inspire all our students to learn (if you can, please share your secret!)? That is a tough question beyond my intellect, knowledge and experience (I suppose because it needs two to tango)! However, lets play a bit with this question, and instead ask, "what were the least inspiring teachers we experienced during our student days?" Or more specifically, "What were the teaching habits that inspired us out of learning?"
5-PART SERIES?In this 5-part series (which might evolve into a 10-part series!), I will reflect specific teaching habits practiced by some educators that I experienced personally during my 20 years career as a student (I suppose when I do my PhD I can add another 3-4 years). I am not interested in witch hunting any particular educator (I am really bad with names anyway, so that is not a problem!). Instead, I am trying to reflect back and learn from their teaching habits (and perhaps avoid them!) that made me wonder: Are you kidding me? Is this guy for real? This guy needs a life! What is wrong with him? Cant he see that we are sleeping! Dont teachers undergo training on how to teach and facilitate learning? Perhaps he doesnt care!
Since I have had the privilege to experience educators from every major continent of the world during my 20-year career as a student, I suppose I will have some very interesting teaching habits to share with all of you. Whether they are bad teaching habits or not, I will leave that for you to decide. But one thing is for sure, these teaching habits certainly inspired me out of learning.
Finally, before we begin this unlearning journey, I have to admit I have never been an easy student to deal with. During my primary and secondary school I was rude, noisy, and spent a lot of time in detention. I literally slept through high-school, and just managed to scrape through. Once, one lecturer threatened to kick me out of class if I didnt stop sleeping, and even placed me in the front row to ensure that I didnt sleep. It didnt help much! When you are tired, and have to sit through a boring lecture, what do you expect! I suppose if I had taken more vitamin supplements, given up on football, stopped having fun, and slept earlier, things would have been different. I suppose it is a learning process!
Then I moved to Malaysia, and the power of faith (Islam) brought the passion back to learn in me. During my undergraduate and graduate days, I forced myself to sit in the front row until it became a habit I am proud of. Not only did I sit in front, I also become the ultimate annoying student that always asked questions. I became the kind of smart-aleck I used to despise in my younger days. In a nutshell, that is my story as a student. Now, lets move on to the real point of this 5-part series.
WHITEBOARD AND I ARE ONE!
During my undergraduate studies, I had a very interesting statistics lecturer, which I will name Dr. Woody (woodpecker) for the name protection sake. Dr. Woody was a multimedia encyclopedia of statistics, and he certainly did not need to refer to any book or notes during his lectures. He had perfected every lecture he conducted. In addition, he was a caring guy and always smiled. So, what is the problem! Yeah! Hmm, got a point there!Interestingly, I had two different statistics (cant remember the names!) subjects with Dr. Woody that semester, and we only had a 10-minute break in-between the two 90-minute sessions twice a week (6 hours a week with Dr. Woody).
Dr. Woody was always punctual and so was I. I remember, he would always be stressed at the beginning of each class and would be eager to start as fast as possible, so that we could complete the syllabus on time. As soon as he began teaching, he would face the whiteboard with his markers, and begin the magic statistics writing adventure. And you know what, he would just go on, and on, and on, and on, like a dog hunting a fox. His urgency to do his thing (teach!), gave him no time to turn back and assist the helpless students in shock! We managed to complete 50% of the syllabus within the first 3 weeks of a 14-week semester. Of course it was impressive to see Dr. Woody practically write the book on the whiteboard, doing it at a speed that even Ferrari would not be able to match.
My fingers (and brain) used to be really exhausted after two consecutive 90-minute sessions (twice week) of nonstop writing (15-25 pages of notes each time!), trying to capture everything that Dr. Woody wrote on the whiteboard. Thank GOD many lecturers today use PowerPoint, or provide some form of course notes. However, we have to keep in mind that taking notes itself, is a skill that all students should master. Because in most working environments, there probably wont be any books or notes to rescue us, and solve all our problems.
REFLECTIONIt was only after I discovered notes taken from his previous students that I realized how amazing Dr. Woodys memory was. It was as if he had imprinted the notes and formulas in his brain, and simply repeated it again and again every semester. Even a photocopy machine would be proud of such perfection. Although, we got to experience him do his thing (process flow!), it was kind of overwhelming, and I believe most of us had problems dealing with the information overload. I suppose if we could replay the lecture in slow motion (many times!), it would be more useful.
Interestingly, when I revised the notes I had taken from Dr. Woodys lectures, I couldnt even remember that I had written them. Did I really write that! I suppose I had no time to think while taking the notes.
Overall, Dr. Woody was knowledgeable, skillful, caring, experienced, and an expert in his subject area. However, I am not sure I learned much about statistics from him. Actually, I didnt! Though, since I had the passion to do well, I managed to do quite well anyway.
But, what is important to keep in mind here, is that being an authority in a knowledge domain, does not mean that we are fit to educate and facilitate learning. Even worse, some educators have an amazing ability to make you sick of a subject (They might argue that it is self-inflicted!). Is that a natural gift, too?
Although, it is important to learn new ways to improve our teaching, it is also important to reflect our own existing teaching methods, and perhaps unlearn those that really inspire people out of learning.
Until Part II, lets explore our own teaching, and try to point out to ourselves (at least!) a few habits that might turn students off learning.
"That student is an idiot! I have told him a 100 times and he still doesnt get it!" :)
5-PART SERIES
- Part 1 - Whiteboard And I Are One!
- Part 2 - I Have Bragging Rights, Because I Am …
- Part 3 - Is PowerPoint Evil?
- Part 4 - No Stupid Questions! I am Serious!
- Part 5 - Show Up to Throw Up! 21st Century Thinking?
How to Make Your Text Small Caps
Ive designed a few wedding invitations for my friends and this tip definitely came in handy since I could use any font I wanted and make it look exactly the way I wanted!
Unfortunately this tip doesnt work in PowerPoint, but it does work in Microsoft Word! (And if you want to put it into PowerPoint, you can copy/paste from work and it will keep the formatting.) I have no idea why it does work directly in PowerPoint though!
I hope you can find some uses for this in your classroom projects... Id love to hear from you if you do!
Read more »
Unfortunately this tip doesnt work in PowerPoint, but it does work in Microsoft Word! (And if you want to put it into PowerPoint, you can copy/paste from work and it will keep the formatting.) I have no idea why it does work directly in PowerPoint though!
I hope you can find some uses for this in your classroom projects... Id love to hear from you if you do!
Infographic on Steve Jobs Amazing Life Genius!
Check out this awesome infographic by Infographic World exploring Steve Jobs incredible accomplishments over his 56 years of existence (Amazing Genius!):
Created by: Infographic World
The only issue I have with this infographic is the latest stats on Apples value, product sales, downloads, and usage info, which are already kind of outdated. For example, Apples market cap today has already surpassed 400 Dollars, which makes Microsoft look even worse in comparison.
Whatever it is, Steve Jobs did an amazing job to transform Apple since he returned after being kicked out (which he ironically co-founded with Steve Wozniak). It will be interesting to see how Apple will be doing in 5 years time.
As I am writing this post on my MacBook Air (having also an iPod, iPhone and iPad), I am certainly one of those (millions) that have been influenced tremendously by his innovations. Steve Jobs might not be around anymore, but his ideas, achievements and innovations will live on for ...
As I am writing this post on my MacBook Air (having also an iPod, iPhone and iPad), I am certainly one of those (millions) that have been influenced tremendously by his innovations. Steve Jobs might not be around anymore, but his ideas, achievements and innovations will live on for ...
THANK YOU!
GENIUS... AND JERK, TOO?
Well, I suppose it is not good to find fault and criticize a dead man (no chance to rebut!), but I suppose we should know that Steve Jobs also had a darker side (ignored mostly here to show respect), which was originally purposely left out.
But, I suppose having a more balanced view (as Maurice Ward commented) of a man like Steve Jobs is important. Surely, we would love to inspire innovations like him, but perhaps not in manner he did it (or Apple did it!). In other words, the output was great, but the process of getting there could certainly have been done in a more humane manner.
GENIUS... AND JERK, TOO?
Well, I suppose it is not good to find fault and criticize a dead man (no chance to rebut!), but I suppose we should know that Steve Jobs also had a darker side (ignored mostly here to show respect), which was originally purposely left out.
But, I suppose having a more balanced view (as Maurice Ward commented) of a man like Steve Jobs is important. Surely, we would love to inspire innovations like him, but perhaps not in manner he did it (or Apple did it!). In other words, the output was great, but the process of getting there could certainly have been done in a more humane manner.
"Even in death, Steve Jobs can sell us anything, including the story of what a complete and complex jerk he could at times be. "- Judith Timson
"One thing he wasnt, though, was perfect. Indeed there were things Jobs did while at Apple that were deeply disturbing. Rude, dismissive, hostile, spiteful: Apple employees—the ones not bound by confidentiality agreements—have had a different story to tell over the years about Jobs and the bullying, manipulation and fear that followed him around Apple. Jobs contributed to global problems, too. Apples success has been built literally on the backs of Chinese workers, many of them children and all of them enduring long shifts and the specter of brutal penalties for mistakes. And, for all his talk of enabling individual expression, Jobs imposed paranoid rules that centralized control of who could say what on his devices and in his company."
- Ryan Tate
Yes, it would have been good to have an infographic illustrating a more balanced view of Steve Jobs.
And the winner is
I used random.org to generate a random number from 1 to 22 (excluding my two replies to the comments)... and the winner is Jillian at Just Tinkering Around!
Jillian, Ill be sending you all 4 of the Uno Sight words games for free... Primer, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, and 3rd Grade! Congratuations! For anyone else who is interested, you can find these games on my TPT store below!
For today only, all of the Uno games will be 20% off, so pick up your copies today!
Read more »
For today only, all of the Uno games will be 20% off, so pick up your copies today!
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