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Let's agree to agree and disagree

By Bonni Stachowiak | June 17, 2016 | | XFacebookLinkedInEmail

Critical pedagogy and data

One of my least favorite sayings is, “Let’s agree to disagree.” What does that even mean? When I read those words in written form, the voice in my head says them dripping with sarcasm and without kindness.

Yet, a slightly-altered version of it was the first thing that came into my head as a potential title for this post, when I sat down to write today.

Sean Michael Morris’ thoughts on Critical Pedagogy in the Age of Learning Management resonated with me. So much so that we had a whole conversation around it on the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast…

  • How did we ever get to the point where posting a Powerpoint, riddled with bullet points with no nuance or sense of the unexpected, got to count as “teaching”?
  • When did we decide that the students of today are so different from how we were when we were in college and therefore are our adversaries?
  • What part of our hyper-assessment culture recognizes just how often learning (and teaching) can be messy?
  • Why did we decide that learning is something to be “managed,” like a poorly-performing employee or an out of control toddler, or that teaching is merely something that can be programed and mechanical?

Where Sean Michael Morris and I might part ways is in the complete lack of interest in student metrics. He writes:

I can safely say that I have no interest in student metrics. They tell me nothing.

… and I find myself wanting to agree to agree and disagree on this point.

First, a little context. I teach at a small, private, liberal arts university. My course load is 4/4, with an average of 30-35 students in each of my courses. That translates to well over 100 individuals per semester that I feel a big responsibility to serve in the best ways I know how.

There are those students who take me up on my offers to meet for coffee, or to go for walks at the beautiful Newport Beach Back Bay… These relationships represent what I consider to be the most important aspects of my teaching and of my sense of vocation.

jamie

Then, there are those students who do not initiate any form of relationship. Our connection could wind up consisting of the minimum common denominator of me learning their name and knowing one thing about them (where they’re from, what year in school they are, if they have served in the military, whether they work full time, or if they’re involved in some sort of extra curricular activity such as athletics or the choir). I’m ashamed to admit that there ever were those courses in which my association with some of the students never progressed beyond that point, but it has happened.

Sean ends his post by stressing the importance of helping students form relationships with him and with each other and that data does nothing to inform any of that. He then writes:

All the rest is up to them.

Here’s where we differ.

To me, those metrics and data do help me see where I may be able to be some small part in helping a student re-engage at a critical part of the semester. In the classroom, we can observe the behaviors of a person whose only presence is in physical form. Over time, we might learn how to better engage people and challenge ourselves to find ways to bring the learners back into the conversation.

Online, with 120 students, I don’t have the luxury of the in-person cues that I might otherwise rely on to improve my own teaching.

The data helps me see whether perhaps the video I posted just wasn’t that interesting, or whether I could have made the course navigation better to guide people through the introduction of the topic better. Over time, I can get better at finding ways to engage students in the dialog in the online portions of the course in the same, or different, ways I might in the classroom. I can expand my thinking about what it means to engage in an online environment, with the particular challenge of finding ways to help students connect with each other.

The data also helps me see where particular students may be struggling. If I can send a text message to a student who hasn’t logged in for a couple of weeks, it could potentially mean the difference between them passing or failing the course. I can try to catch a student for a few minutes after class, after noticing that she's failed the last few online quizzes, or not turned in the small assignments that were meant as scaffolding for an upcoming major assignment.

This doesn’t mean that our students aren’t ultimately responsible for their own learning in a course, but I’m sensitive to the fact that I teach many first generation students who may not have had the luxury of having mentors to teach them how to manage schedules and multiple priorities.

Transitioning from high school to college can be so difficult. If I allow the data to give me lenses to see what I may otherwise miss, I could be some small part in helping them build new habits and disciplines for their learning.

When I’m in a classroom with 30 students, I can usually assess in-the-moment how people may be experiencing the learning. I also know I have the capacity of being completely wrong in my perceptions…

When I’m going in-and-out of the online portions of my courses, I no longer seem to possess this same capacity. If an aspect of my course is poorly designed, I may not notice until the data brings the weakness to light. If someone is being left out of the learning process in some way, I don’t always notice, unless the data brings some aspect of that to my attention.

As I end this post, I realize that this may very well not be a case of disagreement, but more of a weakness on my part and a strength on Sean Michael Morris' part (see Jesse Stommel's tweet, embedded, below).

I will say unequivocally. @slamteacher is the best online teacher I've ever known. PS. He hates the internet. That's probably why. #digped

— Jesse Stommel (@Jessifer) May 25, 2016

It also may be a cultural difference between where Sean has taught and where I currently teach.

When a student has failed one of my courses, there are questions that occasionally get asked like, “Did you talk to him/her about how they were doing in the class at some point? Did you ever reach out to check in with him/her?” While that never changed the outcome for the student, it did change me. I didn't ever want to have an answer in the future that indicated that I hadn't ever done anything to try to bring them back in to the learning community in some way.

Data has helped me be true to that promise in the past, though I know it isn't without its dangers.

Filed Under: Educational Technology Tagged With: data, edtech, lms, teaching

Let’s agree to agree and disagree

By Bonni Stachowiak | June 17, 2016 | | XFacebookLinkedInEmail

Critical pedagogy and data

One of my least favorite sayings is, “Let’s agree to disagree.” What does that even mean? When I read those words in written form, the voice in my head says them dripping with sarcasm and without kindness.

Yet, a slightly-altered version of it was the first thing that came into my head as a potential title for this post, when I sat down to write today.

Sean Michael Morris’ thoughts on Critical Pedagogy in the Age of Learning Management resonated with me. So much so that we had a whole conversation around it on the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast…

  • How did we ever get to the point where posting a Powerpoint, riddled with bullet points with no nuance or sense of the unexpected, got to count as “teaching”?
  • When did we decide that the students of today are so different from how we were when we were in college and therefore are our adversaries?
  • What part of our hyper-assessment culture recognizes just how often learning (and teaching) can be messy?
  • Why did we decide that learning is something to be “managed,” like a poorly-performing employee or an out of control toddler, or that teaching is merely something that can be programed and mechanical?

Where Sean Michael Morris and I might part ways is in the complete lack of interest in student metrics. He writes:

I can safely say that I have no interest in student metrics. They tell me nothing.

… and I find myself wanting to agree to agree and disagree on this point.

First, a little context. I teach at a small, private, liberal arts university. My course load is 4/4, with an average of 30-35 students in each of my courses. That translates to well over 100 individuals per semester that I feel a big responsibility to serve in the best ways I know how.

There are those students who take me up on my offers to meet for coffee, or to go for walks at the beautiful Newport Beach Back Bay… These relationships represent what I consider to be the most important aspects of my teaching and of my sense of vocation.

jamie

Then, there are those students who do not initiate any form of relationship. Our connection could wind up consisting of the minimum common denominator of me learning their name and knowing one thing about them (where they’re from, what year in school they are, if they have served in the military, whether they work full time, or if they’re involved in some sort of extra curricular activity such as athletics or the choir). I’m ashamed to admit that there ever were those courses in which my association with some of the students never progressed beyond that point, but it has happened.

Sean ends his post by stressing the importance of helping students form relationships with him and with each other and that data does nothing to inform any of that. He then writes:

All the rest is up to them.

Here’s where we differ.

To me, those metrics and data do help me see where I may be able to be some small part in helping a student re-engage at a critical part of the semester. In the classroom, we can observe the behaviors of a person whose only presence is in physical form. Over time, we might learn how to better engage people and challenge ourselves to find ways to bring the learners back into the conversation.

Online, with 120 students, I don’t have the luxury of the in-person cues that I might otherwise rely on to improve my own teaching.

The data helps me see whether perhaps the video I posted just wasn’t that interesting, or whether I could have made the course navigation better to guide people through the introduction of the topic better. Over time, I can get better at finding ways to engage students in the dialog in the online portions of the course in the same, or different, ways I might in the classroom. I can expand my thinking about what it means to engage in an online environment, with the particular challenge of finding ways to help students connect with each other.

The data also helps me see where particular students may be struggling. If I can send a text message to a student who hasn’t logged in for a couple of weeks, it could potentially mean the difference between them passing or failing the course. I can try to catch a student for a few minutes after class, after noticing that she's failed the last few online quizzes, or not turned in the small assignments that were meant as scaffolding for an upcoming major assignment.

This doesn’t mean that our students aren’t ultimately responsible for their own learning in a course, but I’m sensitive to the fact that I teach many first generation students who may not have had the luxury of having mentors to teach them how to manage schedules and multiple priorities.

Transitioning from high school to college can be so difficult. If I allow the data to give me lenses to see what I may otherwise miss, I could be some small part in helping them build new habits and disciplines for their learning.

When I’m in a classroom with 30 students, I can usually assess in-the-moment how people may be experiencing the learning. I also know I have the capacity of being completely wrong in my perceptions…

When I’m going in-and-out of the online portions of my courses, I no longer seem to possess this same capacity. If an aspect of my course is poorly designed, I may not notice until the data brings the weakness to light. If someone is being left out of the learning process in some way, I don’t always notice, unless the data brings some aspect of that to my attention.

As I end this post, I realize that this may very well not be a case of disagreement, but more of a weakness on my part and a strength on Sean Michael Morris' part (see Jesse Stommel's tweet, embedded, below).

I will say unequivocally. @slamteacher is the best online teacher I've ever known. PS. He hates the internet. That's probably why. #digped

— Jesse Stommel (@Jessifer) May 25, 2016

It also may be a cultural difference between where Sean has taught and where I currently teach.

When a student has failed one of my courses, there are questions that occasionally get asked like, “Did you talk to him/her about how they were doing in the class at some point? Did you ever reach out to check in with him/her?” While that never changed the outcome for the student, it did change me. I didn't ever want to have an answer in the future that indicated that I hadn't ever done anything to try to bring them back in to the learning community in some way.

Data has helped me be true to that promise in the past, though I know it isn't without its dangers.

Filed Under: Educational Technology Tagged With: data, edtech, lms, teaching

Emerging tools

By Bonni Stachowiak | April 5, 2016 | | XFacebookLinkedInEmail

As I have shared previously, I don't jump on every new tool when it first gets introduced.

Part of the reason is just a question of workload. There simply isn't time. I also don't want to confuse students by overdoing it with technology.

Finally, I want to be sure I allow enough time to properly reflect and strategize on how to best utilize a given tool. That's one of the reasons I find my someday/maybe list for technology tools so beneficial.

Still, I keep my PKM system flowing with emerging tools to consider integrating into my teaching when/if the timing is right.

The possibilities are endless, when you find the right tool for the right situation.

Consider that without collaborative technology, projects like this musical piece put on by musicians from all over the world wouldn't be imaginable, let alone feasible.

Snapchat

If you haven't heard of Snapchat before, here's a good introduction to start with… NPR describes how teachers are using Snapchat, while Jilll Walker Rettberg gives this fabulous look at how scholars can use Snapchat.

I'm tempted to dip my toe in the Snapchat world, a bit less from an educational perspective and more because so many marketers are using it to connect with consumers. These ten Snapchat brands are leveraging the platform in creative ways and I want to understand the ways to engage made possible through Snapchat.

Not as much has been written about Snapchat in higher ed, though articles like this complete guide to Snapchat for parents and teachers are applicable enough to our context to be of benefit.

The Wall Street Journal published the best article I've seen on using Snapchat in a personal/individual context.

Slack

I've written previously about using Slack in my teaching and have shared about it on the podcast. Zach Whalen also provided his notes on teaching with Slack.

A friend recently suggested that I should have a Slack channel for Teaching in Higher Ed and give people a way to engage more as a community together.

This would only make sense to me if there were enough members of the Teaching in Higher Ed community who were already up on Slack and looking for a way to chat more about teaching effectiveness and productivity.

slack

I wouldn't want to try to convince someone to get up and running on Slack just for this one purpose, but rather if a bunch of you were already using Slack for other things and would enjoy this additional means for communication on that platform.

If you would be interested in joining a Teaching in Higher Ed Slack channel, let me know either in the comments, below, or by getting in touch through a private message.

[reminder]What emerging tools are you experimenting with, or considering giving a try in the next few months?[reminder]

Filed Under: Educational Technology Tagged With: edtech, slack, snapchat, socialmedia

My 2015 someday/maybe technology list

By Bonni Stachowiak | November 30, 2015 | | XFacebookLinkedInEmail

someday/maybe technology list

I've talked on the podcast many times before about my approach to exploring new technology that I hear about during the semester. When I discover an educational technology or productivity tool that seems like it might be a good fit for me, I attempt to resist the temptation to dive in right then.

Instead, I place the item on the technology section of my someday/maybe list.

David Allen prescribes the use of someday/maybe lists in his GTD (Getting Things Done) system, as follows:

Activating and maintaining your Someday/Maybe category unleashes the flow of your creative thinking – you have permission to imagine cool things to do without having to commit to doing anything about them yet. – David Allen in Getting Things Done

Someday/maybe technology list

Here's what's on my someday / maybe list under the technology section, to check out during our 2015 holiday break:

Doceri

  • Evaluate Doceri as a possible pencasting replacement, due to LiveScribe's reliance on a proprietary PDF format or app for playing pencasts

Backdraft

  • Check out Backdraft for pre-populating Tweets for a live presentation

Markdown Field Guide

  • Review / re-read David Spark's Markdown field guide

Ulysses

  • Consider switching to Ulysses for podcast interview notes

Mac “Vacuuming” Mail Optimizer

  • Implement Brett Terpstra's vacumming mail script to optimize mail (Mac-specific)

Stanford's Online and Blended Courses

  • Consider taking Stanford's Online and Blended Courses class

FileMaker Pro

Evaluate using FileMaker Pro for tracking Teaching in Higher Ed guest recommendations

IFTTT

  • Explore ways to better leverage IFTTT (especially the new “do” button)

Learn OmniFocus webinars and videos

  • Browse Learn OmniFocus' webinars and videos for unwatched ones of interest

Linky 5.0

  • Learn about Linky 5.0 and evaluate it's use for social media sharing (not quite sure what it does over BufferApp)

[reminder]What's on your someday/maybe technology list that you'll be checking out as the year ends? [/reminder]

Filed Under: Educational Technology Tagged With: edtech, gtd, technology

Top 100 tools for 2015

By Bonni Stachowiak | September 22, 2015 | | XFacebookLinkedInEmail

jane500Jane Hart has released her top 100 technology tools list for 2015.

I always find the list beneficial to help me explore tools that I may be missing to facilitate learning for students.

Jane Hart has done it, again, with contributions from more than 2,000 learning professionals and educators.

My List

Back in the summer, I blogged about my picks for the top 10 tools I use.

Top 100 Tools for Learning 2015 from Jane Hart

Your turn

[reminder]What are some of your top tools? Are there any tools in the list that you think you'll try out this year? [/reminder]

Filed Under: Educational Technology Tagged With: edtech

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