I attended an educational session on teaching and learning styles today. During the session, we completed several assessments. I found myself regularly struggling with some of the choices - several of the assessments required ranking or choosing among alternatives. Unfortunately, or maybe interestingly, my choices were often between opposites: logical versus creative; intuitive versus reliance on facts. I kept thinking: sometimes I do do that....and other times I do the other that.
I began to consider that through the years I have already made some compromises and adjustments to my natural learning style - to account for how information is presented and how others seem to perceive things. I like to get a view of the whole picture - sometimes - but other times I want to feel completely grounded in one step or stage before I move on. I found myself, over and over thinking: it depends.
0 Comments
Yesterday I was able to set up a new iMac in my campus office. As I took this 'selfie,' - my first ever of this type since I generally use the built in Mac camera for self portraits - I noticed that it was difficult and a little awkward to hold the camera. "Is this part of the appeal of the selfie trend?" I wondered to myself. "Seems like this is what the self-timer was invented for."
I have had experience with a few different academic online content management systems. By content management systems, I mean the programs through which online coursework is provided, or online support for information sharing in live or hybrid courses is made available.
The pluses: I like posting a syllabus online and not printing out paper copies. In fact, I like not printing out paper copies of anything for courses I teach. If students want to print syllabuses/syllabi, readings, or pictures of slides, they are free to do so - using their own printing resources. I do wish there was a way to easily deliver exams without relying on paper, but the only solutions that I think work for me involve having access to large enough computer labs (and probably blocking internet access), which has never been realistic. So I still print out pages and pages of paper when I give in class exams. One disclaimer - I am not teaching a fully online course so my experiences just reflect use of this software as support for live courses. The needs and priorities for online courses are obviously very different. I am using a (for me) new program called SAKAI. It is really not that different from the others I have seen. One definite advantage is that it is possible to 'copy' a course. This was not as easy with other programs, at least not as implemented in universities I have been in. But as I spent the better part of 3 days last week setting up my course information, I realized that an awful lot of what I was doing had nothing to do with what I think technology should do. |
AuthorI am Sheryl L. Chatfield, Ph.D, C.T.R.S. I am a member of the faculty in the College of Public Health at Kent State University. I also Co-coordinate the Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Research and I am a member of the Design Innovation Team at Kent State. Archives
February 2024
Categories
|