How can andragogy help our work with growing cohort of retirees as learners AND AS RESOURCES? In 2012 and beyond?

What can we learn from/about andragogy to guide our work with the rapidly growing cohort of retirees in 2012 and beyond?  See "Recent Retirees as Resources to Faculty, Staff, Students" Open Mic, Virtual Brown Bag Lunch Discussion;  Preparation for TLT Group’s 1st Winter Symposium, Feb, 2012.

Friday, Dec. 16, 2011 at 1:00 pm ET - free to all.   Host, Steve Gilbert, TLT Group - excerpts below.

Following excerpts from Wikipedia

"Malcolm Knowles.... asserted that andragogy (Greek: 'man-leading') should be distinguished from the more commonly used pedagogy (Greek: 'child-leading'). ...  Knowles himself changed his position on whether andragogy really applied only to adults and came to believe that 'pedagogy-andragogy represents a continuum ranging from teacher-directed to student-directed learning and that both approaches are appropriate with children and adults, depending on the situation.' [4][5] 

...
Knowles' theory can be stated with six assumptions related to motivation of adult learning:[1][2]

1. Adults need to know the reason for learning something (Need to Know)
2. Experience (including error) provides the basis for learning activities (Foundation).
3. Adults need to be responsible for their decisions on education; involvement in the planning and evaluation of their instruction (Self-concept).
4. Adults are most interested in learning subjects having immediate relevance to their work and/or personal lives (Readiness).
5. Adult learning is problem-centered rather than content-oriented (Orientation).
6. Adults respond better to internal versus external motivators (Motivation)."

Above excerpts from:  Andragogy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Following from tlt.gs/retireesVBBL
The number and qualifications of recent and projected retirees offer new challenges and new opportunities for higher education (and for the rest of society).  This rapidly growing cohort can both complicate the next crises and provide new resources for addressing them.   Retirees can be

• a vital resource to faculty, staff, and students at institutions – as mentors, advisors, consultants, shepherds.

• a growing population of nontraditional students with new needs and diverse backgrounds.

CRISIS LURCH CRISIS LURCH stability CRISIS LURCH CRISIS LURCH  stability CRISIS LURCH CRISIS LURCHFor the foreseeable future,

New retirees + infotech + education = excuse & means for dealing comfortably & constructively with transformation?

Living comfortably & constructively with transformation?

We need to do better than

CRISIS LURCH CRISIS LURCH brief stability 

CRISIS LURCH CRISIS LURCH   brief stability 

CRISIS LURCH CRISIS LURCH brief stability ....

“Education can provide the excuse and the means for transforming society...for better or worse.

“Information technology can provide the excuse and the means for transforming education...for better or worse.

“Retirees can provide the excuse and the means for finding new ways to live comfortably and constructively with transformation.”   

Join extra FREE "open mic" pre-FridayLive! discussion re new retirees, pseudo-retirees, etc.  Friday, Dec 16, 1pm ET  Register  Login
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Truth vs. Proof - Godel, Logicomix, and Beyond - See extraordinary "family movie" of Godel, Einstein, et al.

Read Logicomix and see YouTube video of "Family Movie" of Einstein, Dirac, Godel, Selberg, Harish-Chandra in Princeton 

Godel's Proof - mostly ignored - destroyed mathematics' perfection & changed my life. Graphic novel Logicomix makes this great work accessible & adds human/historical context (Bertrand Russell et al). I hope it works for you. SteveG
PS: Pre-Logicomix, more self-revealing description of the impact of Godel's work on me

Logicomix could have changed my life in 1960. That's when I first read _Godel's Proof_ by Nagel & Newman, which destroyed my beliefs about mathematics' purity, integrity, and completeness. Ever since, I've been puzzled and frustrated that so few people - even so few mathematicians and philosophers - recognize the brilliance and historical significance of Godel's Proof. Logicomix provides the historical, philosophical, and human context for the monumental intellectual achievements of Godel, Wittgenstein, Russell & Whitehead, and others in the early and mid-20th century.
"...Einstein told people that he went to his office “just to have the privilege of walking home with Kurt Gödel.” Part of the reason, it seems, was that Gödel was undaunted by Einstein’s reputation and did not hesitate to challenge his ideas. As another member of the Institute, the physicist Freeman Dyson, observed, “Gödel was . . . the only one of our colleagues who walked and talked on equal terms with Einstein.”

Too much turkey? Tips for a healthy diet beginning right after Thanksgiving!

Health Tip: Holiday Diet

If after Thanksgiving you feel somewhat defeated by your diet, it’s no reason to wait until New Year’s Day to start over. It is possible (and important) to maintain an healthy and nutritious diet through the holidays, while still enjoying all of the feasts and festivities.

All text above and below quoted from sources: Web MD, LifeWork Strategies and Washington and Shady Grove Adventist Hospitals. The Health Tip of the Week is for educational purposes only. For additional information, consult your physician. Please feel free to copy and distribute this health resource. Full text available 20111123 http://www.clarksburghospital.com/uncategorized/holiday-diet/

A study by the New England Journal of Medicine found that most people gained about one pound between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. Although it doesn’t seem like much, the problem is that we often don’t loose that pound and they accumulate over the years. In addition, high stress during the holidays can lead to increased food or alcohol intake, and can have serious long-term health consequences.

Try some of the following tips to maintain a healthy diet during the holiday season:

· During the week, distance yourself from office goodies. The further away you are from treats, the less you will eat. Stash healthy alternatives at your desk.

· Avoid eating late at night. Allow your body to rest and repair itself and balance blood sugar. Oftentimes holiday parties cause us to eat later than we should. On most days, try to follow the “7pm rule” and cut out late night snacks.

· Make a Plan & Stick to It. Having a plan will help keep you in control, so try writing down on a piece of paper the number of hors d’oeuvres you’ll have that night. Decide ahead of time whether or not you’ll have dessert, and how many bites you’ll have.

· Live healthy the day of a holiday party. A good strategy is to have something to eat before you go to the event, so that you’re not gobbling your way through the dessert table. A cup of soup can be very filling, and acts as a perfect healthy deterrent for over indulging. Drink plenty of water and make time for exercise before the party.

· Find a party buddy. Recruit an ally who shares your goal for a healthy holiday. Share your plan with them and hold each other accountable when you are tempted to have a second dessert!

· Help yourself to the healthy hors d’oeuvres. Give yourself permission to fill up on veggies, healthy proteins and fats. Use this as an opportunity to consume some of your recommended five daily servings of fruits and vegetables.

· Lighten up your favorite dishes. There are lots of ways to prepare holiday foods with less fat and salt. Mash cooked sweet potatoes with orange juice instead of butter. Roast vegetables, such as squash and carrots to bring out their natural flavor. Make a black bean dip flavored with lime juice and cilantro instead of salt.

· Converse! As humans, we tend to nonverbally mimic behavior. So if you’re standing around the chip dish and one friend starts munching, you may have an overwhelming desire to munch too. To help avoid the chip dish, keep your mouth busy by using this time to chat with friends and family.

Thanksgiving Day 2011 - As Good As It Gets! Fundamental Questions - For Thanksgiving, For Everything, tlt.gs/fqfi

I hope you don't read this until tomorrow or next week because you're enjoying Thanksgiving so much.

Light Small Candles - Be Personally Happy, Publicly Useful

I intended to post/publish this message earlier this week, but instead of finishing, I decided to catch up on sleep, prepare for this day, or spend time with my family.  I was right.  


Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, but last night already topped my expectations.  Our 3 children and their significant others, including our daughter-in-law visibly pregnant with my first grandchild, were sitting together in our living room.  [Oops, I'm trying to learn not to think of it as "my grandchild," but I frequently slip.]   The evening was so satisfying, so loosely fun, and so saturated with comfortable love that I even resisted my usual urge to take pictures.  No one wanted to interrupt the flow.  Dozing was permitted, because we know in this kind of gathering, to fall asleep demonstrates that person feels at home and accepted - and probably tired.  


FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS 
As I was thinking this morning about today's Thanksgiving activities, my mind briefly slipped into the keynote I'll offer at the 10th Annual CUNY IT Conf in NYC next week.  I saw how our "Fundamental Questions" could serve both.  So, today I'll see if we can take a few minutes together to think and talk about these powerful questions, especially after this tough year:
As we think about our future together,
1. What do you most want to gain? [Regain?]
2. What do you most cherish and want not to lose?


AAHESGIT & OTHER THANKSGIVINGS
A couple days ago, Chuck Ansorge, who has become a real friend through our work together and long-time connections, sent me an email reminder of my Thanksgiving message from 1996 when I was running the unpronouncable but valuable AAHESGIT listserv.  Because of Chuck's prompt, I include that message below along with a few other excerpts and links from my past Thanksgiving messages.  


PREVIOUS THANKSGIVING MESSAGES, MATERIALS - see  tlt.gs/TnxgvngCmunty

THANKSGIVING 1996

I'm thankful for love and humor and hugs.  I'm thankful for

good ideas and good people with whom to share them.  I'm

thankful for my family, friends, and a "career" that keeps

bringing me together with so many people who are trying to

make the world a little better, especially with those

dedicated to teaching and learning.  I'm thankful for all the

opportunities for me to teach and learn. 

More Thanksgiving excerpts, links...

There's an App for That - Kaufman, Lombardo 9:30AM Nov 18 Follow #lilly11 See: http://twubs.com/lilly11 Lots of good apps for iPad, android, Chrome browser

There's an App for That - Kaufman, Lombardo 9:30AM Nov 18 Follow #lilly11 See: http://twubs.com/lilly11

From Evernote:

There's an App for That - Kaufman, Lombardo 9:30AM Nov 18 Follow #lilly11 See: http://twubs.com/lilly11

There's an App for That - Kaufman, Lombardo 9:30AM Nov 18

Follow #lilly11 See: http://twubs.com/lilly11  

 

Many Apps avail for installation and use in Google Chrome browser!

 

Favorite faculty apps (from survey done at Ashland Univ:

 

ProLoQuo2Go -  high $180!  but good for people with disabilities/special needs  - almsot equivalent to Dynavox http://www.dynavoxtech.com/default.aspx?ctt_id=7788395&ctt_adnw=Google&ctt_ch=ps&ctt_entity=tc&ctt_cli=2x15384x64064x1558033&ctt_kw=dynavox&ctt_adid=9369188230&ctt_nwtype=search&s_kwcid=TC|16134|dynavox||SM|e|9369188230&gclid=CJzvwKe2wKwCFUdn5Qod6GersQ

 

Brain Pop - app is free, but "in app" downloads have fees

Short videos, quizzes, - mostly aimed at elem, middle schools

 

Android market more difficult to find good equivalents to iPad apps - so many unregulated options difficult to sort through - but if find good iPad app can search on same devloper and tilte within Android market.

 

Dragon Dictate - free version has max of 5 minutes;  fee version has no limits?  can say punctuation and have it often correctly "typed"

 

Apps avail from/within LMS platforms;  e.g., BlackboardLearn app allows students to access Bb course from mobile device

 

 

Holy Bible - multiple languate, translations, audio readings

 

Molecules - show moving 3-d appearing images of selected molecules

 

Louvre - Free - digitized versions of most of art work within Louvre - with commentary, can be used to accompany 

 

WATCH COMMENTS BEFORE DOWNLOADING APPS BECAUSE SOME APPS INCLUDE INACCURATE INFO

 

Geomaster - free - geography info - quizzes/games 

 

NOT REALLY AN APP:  join.me  for tech support and beyond!   join.me on web from computer;  only 2 options:  "share" (my screen - get 9 digit number)  "join"  view someone elses computer screen - enter the 9 digit number 

Can be used with any computer, any mobile devices

 

Dropbox - free shared cloud storage - well-integrated with other apps;  can show slideshows ; has search feature!

 

SOS  first-aid avail from American Red Cross - avail for Android (not yet for iPad?);  includes triage series of questions and gives advice for various situations;  includes video demos  

  

Google Translate - Android - voice input;  text response in other language or voice response

 

i.clickrlite??? and keynote - presentation apps

 

GOOGLE CHROME APPS

 

When open new tab in Chrome browser, click on "Chrome Web Store" 

Google Books - download entire books for reading on computer - free public domain books.  Can buy non--free books  

 

[can get free app blio to read books aloud] 

 

Que onda Spanish - app for learning Spanish

 

Biodigital human -  renders full 3-d image of human body, subsystems, etc.

 

skaufman@ashland.edu  & tlombard@ashland.edu

 

-------------

TURNING OFF APPS - go to current app menu, hold until wiggle, click little red x in left corner to turn off (not to delete)

 

PUsh and hold bottom right keyboard button for docking, splitting options;  if you push and hold individual key will see other options to select from 

 

iPad secrets

 

Teacher pal 

 

Prezi Viewer

 

[Can produce zip file for any Prezi, can upload that to Bb, Moodle, etc...] 

 

Lilly 2011 John Zubizarreta Opening Plenary: How counter misleading bad press for Hi Ed? Follow #lilly11 See: http://twubs.com/lilly11

From Evernote:

Lilly intl 2011

Lilly 2011  John Zubizarreta Opening Plenary:  How counter misleading bad press for Hi Ed?

Follow #lilly11 See: http://twubs.com/lilly11 

 

thurs nov 17  

 

recommends CASE US Prof of Year process

Meeting the award program's demanding criteria is not easy. As a result, not every eligible state and jurisdiction will have a winner each year. In 2009 for example, there were winners in 38 states, the District of Columbia and Guam (this includes both national and state award winners)."

-  http://www.usprofessorsoftheyear.org/Nominations.html   

" Judges will rate entries for extraordinary work in undergraduate teaching using the following criteria:

• Impact on and involvement with undergraduate students (25 percent)
• A scholarly approach to teaching and learning (25 percent)
• Contributions to undergraduate education in the institution, community and profession (25 percent)
• Support from colleagues and former undergraduate students (25 percent)

Important: meaningful connection w students who are NOT in his courses 

 

 

Showed NEGATIVE responses to chronicle's ref to "students in charge of learning" description of prof of year!

 

lots of grad students [still] don't get any training in teaching.

 

Showed funny compelling video produced by free online tool XTRANORMAL

http://www.xtranormal.com/ "go viral in style" 

" student discusses his grade with his teacher" in www.youtube.com

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/results?q=student%20discusses%20his%20grade%20with%20his%20teacher

 

need Transformation of TL   [ Teaching & Learning ]

What exactly are creative & active T&L?

Reflection - learning not only what, but also why &how  ...students learning about and thinking about HOW they themselves learn.  see work of Jennifer Moon in learning journals 1999 p.23  

 

see:   SETs = Student Eval of Teaching - k. a. Feldman 

Brookfield 1995p.115 classroom critical incident questionnaire 

 

What does it demonstrate when plenary speakers include personal info  about  

themselves and not seek or share comparable info about others in the room?   

 

 

some students like online, some don't.. response to response to Bunge article

Thank you, Steve.  I read Bunge's article in the Chronicle.  I just figure that some students like online learning and others don't.  It depends on what they're used to and how closely they need to relate to flesh-and-blood person.  All the best,  Linda   Linda B. Nilson, Ph.D., Director Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation Clemson University, 445 Brackett Hall Clemson, SC 29634 Tel.: 864-656-4542 nilson@clemson.edu * www.clemson.edu/OTEI RESPONDING TO EMAIL Linda Nilson - Here's a test email excerpt one recent post from my blog TLT-SWG, I hope you find it interesting, useful and, perhaps, provocative.  - Steve Gilbert -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Online" can mean many different things in different contexts.   Bunge’s article omits too much.  It seems to explain how she tried to add an online component to a course, why that failed, and why she will “no longer teach online.”  But her interpretations of students’ responses, her conclusions, and her implied recommendations are not supported by her article.  Her experience was too narrow. She did not adequately answer the questions below.  Clear answers to these questions would also provide useful context for a description of an experimental introduction of some online activities to improve any undergraduate course that has previously had none.   For other excerpts from Bunge’s article and my responses, see tlt.gs/bungeresponse.   Also, see below for full citation/link for her article. I share Bunge's hope that our colleagues will "keep evaluating technology's impact, perhaps they will eventually find a way to invest its processes with the sense of shared humanity that binds together students and teachers in successful classes."  And  I hope she shares mine that our colleagues will continue just as avidly to try to achieve those successful classes - with or without online activities...By using whatever available technologies, supporting resources, pedagogies, etc. that seem worthwhile and well-matched to their own abilities, to the characteristics of their students, and to the purposes of those classes. QUESTIONS 1.  How did online assignments differ from other assignments in the course? How were course assignments communicated?   How was students' [text-only?] work examined, guided, structured and graded?   Were students permitted, encouraged, or required to do their thinking and writing in any ways for the "online" assignments different from how they did their thinking and writing for other assignments?   Were students permitted, encouraged, or required to read the passages for the online assignments in any ways that differed from other reading assignments? What was the nature of the online assignments, activities?  The most common option would be to use the institution's Web-based course management system to enable and require students to participate in an asynchronous threaded text-only online discussion during which the instructor intervenes occasionally. That certainly wouldn't be my recommendation for achieving Bunge’s stated goals.   2.  What was the course schedule and how did it change?  Did the course usually include 3 face-to-face class meetings per week?     a.  Was the schedule changed to include only two such weekly meetings with some kind of online activities provided instead of the third weekly meeting? or     b.  Was some kind of online work added instead of substituted for class meetings? 3.   What was the purpose of the online activities?  In what ways, if any, were their purposes different from other course activities? Above comments, questions, refer to:  "Why I No Longer Teach Online," by Nancy Bunge, "...professor of writing, rhetoric, and American culture at Michigan State University." The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 6, 2011 Part of:Online Learning: The Chronicle's 2011 Special Report BROWSE THE FULL ISSUE: News, Commentary, and Data IMAGE Photo of "Laundry hanging on clotheslines between buildings, New York City" ca. 1900 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/A_Monday_washing%2C_New_York_City%2C_1900.jpg/500px-A_Monday_washing%2C_New_York_City%2C_1900.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/A_Monday_washing%2C_New_York_City%2C_1900.jpg This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1923. By Detroit Publishing Co. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Photochrom print by the Detroit Photographic Co., copyrighted 1900. From the Photochrom Prints Collection at the Library of Congress THIS IMAGE is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3g04167.

ADVICE TO JEN Experienced/successful prof to teach 1st online course: Ask for help; PlanB; Be clearer; Use feedback

Online?

1. You are not alone!  Ask who can help you.  Ask what resources are available to you.  Ask what you can defer until you teach your 2nd or 3rd online course.
2. Prepare for technological disaster.  Always have a Plan B, C, ...
3. Plan even more and provide even clearer, more explicit explanations and instructions.
4. Find Low-Threshold Applications and free resources.
5. Collect just enough use-able student feedback.
6. Consider “course choreography”: sequence, pace, and opportunities for interaction as you plan “presentations,” activities, and assignments.
7. Think about the “little stuff” that can be essential for creating and sustaining a positive supportive environment for your online students.

Above is a summary of responses to this question that I asked Beth Dailey, Jane Harris, Ilene Frank, during our weekly ad hoc “Keeping Up” conversation this morning:
"What advice do you have for someone in Jennifer McCrickerd’s situation?  She is our guest presenter today on FridayLive!  She is already a highly successful teacher, highly respected colleague, a good sport about technological disruptions, and willing to describe her efforts to prepare to teach to teach her first fully online course this summer.  NOTE:  My 3 colleagues have taught many online courses quite successfully and helped many colleagues to do so as well.


Here's a slightly organized version of the chat transcript from which those 7 items were extracted

"My goal is to cover everything" says Salman Khan, the ultimate panupholsteraphile! He’s no anupholsteraphobe!

Panupholsteraphilic or Anupholsteraphobic?

For years, too many teachers have lived quietly with their anupholsteraphobia: "fear of not covering the material"  See: tlt.gs/anupholsteraphobia.

Now there is hope.  A new way to cover it all!  From Salman Khan, the ultimate panupholsteraphile! the messiah of autodidactic polymaths! the self-proclaimed antithesis of anupholsteraphobes!
When asked on his own Website:
 "What topics do you plan to cover?"
He succinctly replies:
"My goal is to cover everything."
- from Frequently Asked Questions, KhanAcademy Website 20111109

Since KhanAcademy is so successful, and Khan's energy so great, we can be relieved that he is striving only to cover the world, and not to rule it!  

[Learn a little more about the KhanAcademy below.]

Finally, as if you hadn't yet noticed: 

Higher education in the United States today is like the old Wild West! 

In the latter half of the 19th century the "boomers" and "boom towns" kept pushing the frontier ever westward and inventing new ways of working and living.  

Now, "boomers" are just trying to keep up, and most of us are failing at that.

Most of us can't even see where the frontier is and what direction it's moving.  We don't know whether we want to be on it, behind it, or ahead of it!

So, the next time someone tells me about a new gizmo or a new way of teaching or publishing or communicating or delivering the content, or covering the course material.... I'm just going to yell " Ti yi yippee yippee yay!" ... 

Actually, what I'll really do is use some new device to "YELL" into this blog's successors like this: 

"TI YI YIPPEE YIPPEE YAY!"

More... about KhanAcademy:

Students can learn effectively from working on "real-world" problems. But “Ender’s Game” is NOT a good example!

"Whatever your gravity is ...the enemy's gate is down"

"...when do teachers admit they don’t know? Rarely. When do we let children work on real-world problems with no correct answers? Only in Ender’s Game." - excerpt from "Design Program Launch" a blog posting from Andrew B. Watt's Blog 11/5/11
I would NOT cite Ender's Game as an implied exemplar!  For a better, different kind of example, learn about Jennifer McCrickerd's approach to teaching online for the first time.  See below and join a free online FridayLive! session 11/11/11 at 2PM ET.


I've actually read and enjoyed Ender's Game - the short story and novel as well as several of the sequels.  Andrew Watt's description of "Design Thinking" in the blog posting mentioned above is quite appealing, and I share his belief that  problem-based teaching/learning can be highly motivating and effective. But not in Ender's Game.  The author, Orson Scott Card, describes a future form of education in which children certainly do "work on real-world problems."  However, Card takes this approach far beyond where most of us hope to go, and immerses the reader in compelling descriptions of the profoundly troubling consequences.  

But you can judge for yourself!  The story and the first 2 novels in the series won almost every award given in the science fiction genre.  
Full Disclosure:  We're planning an online discussion of educational/technological implications of Ender's Game, so I hope you read and enjoy one of the following and join our online conversation in 2012:

• Summary of "Ender's Game"     SPOILER ALERT:  IF YOU ARE LIKELY TO READ THE STORY OR NOVEL SOON, DON'T READ THE SUMMARY FIRST BECAUSE DOING SO MIGHT REDUCE THE IMPACT OF THE ENDING. 
• Full text of original short story "Ender's Game" (free, online at Card's Website)
• Novel Ender's Game (available from Amazon & elsewhere) 

Meanwhile, for an example of an effective, experienced classroom teacher who is comfortable admitting when she doesn't know something, join FridayLive! 11/11 2pm ET for our FREE Webinar: "Wading into On-Line Teaching - Trying to convert a successful face-to-face class into a successful on-line class by paying attention to the research and embracing mistakes." Jennifer McCrickerd of Drake University will explain her own approach to preparing to teach fully online for the first time this summer. She has been a quite successful teacher and is especially well-equipped to explain how and why she and other competent professionals can accept the risk of teaching online. McCrickerd offers a constructive way of accepting and building upon teachers' inclination to admit when "they don't know" - a variation on Watt's point. For more info, resources, see the homebase Web page for FrLv 11/11. 

"Wading into Online Teaching” FREE 2pm ET 11/11. Good reminder 90 people “waded into” TLT Roundtable 11/11/94 in DC!

Join FridayLive! 11/11 2pm ET Free Online "Wading into On-Line Teaching"

"Trying to convert a successful face-to-face class into a successful on-line class by paying attention to the research and embracing mistakes" with Jennifer McCrickerd, Drake U.  More info, resources - homebase Web page for FrLv 11/11  

A discussion of the fear and trembling frequently associated with starting something new and ways to think about new ventures that can decrease the anxiety and increase enthusiasm.  Using the decision to teach an on-line class in an upcoming term as an example of moving out of one’s comfort zone, the presenter will discuss how she is using her knowledge of learning theory and experience teaching face-to-face classes to think about teaching on-line and how she is using her understanding of students’ vulnerability in the classroom to address her own insecurities about moving out of the classroom.  Participants can expect some ideas about how to deal with related issues in their own teaching and also to share their own experiences and insights to help others.

How could colleges and universities be more hospitable to failure?  Especially under current conditions of increasing workload and tenure/promotion pressures?  Especially when many faculty members are feeling pressed to make a transition from mostly face-to-face courses toward mostly online courses?


See also TLT-SWG posting ""Why I No Longer Teach Online" Bunge article, Chronicle Hi Ed; Candid, Potentially Misleading, Potentially Helpful"  

Twitter Glossary - Demystifies those peculiar terms like Hashtag, DM, handle, retweet,...

Images as confusing as Twitter handles?

And re-mystifies some... You thought you already knew what "public" and "private" meant? In Twitter world something can be NEITHER public nor private!  I might finally understand the difference between what happens when I "reply" to someone's Tweet and when I send that person a "Direct Message"!  

Here's what I just learned from the Twitter Glossary about:

1.  Handle/screen name/username  vs. "name"
You can chose and change your Twitter "name" within your Twitter profile rather easily and often.  That will not have much, if any, effect on your official Twitter address or identity, which is known as your handle, your screen name, or your username.  Those 3 terms refer to the same thing.  But your Twitter "name" may be completely different from them.
"A user's 'Twitter handle' is the username they [sic] have selected and the accompanying URL, like so: http://twitter.com/username."

2.  Message/Direct Message/DM

"People you follow can send you a direct message [within Twitter]

"In turn, people you follow can send you a direct message.

"You cannot send a direct message to a user who is not following you.

More about DMs

"Why I No Longer Teach Online" Bunge article, Chronicle Hi Ed; Candid, Potentially Misleading, Potentially Helpful

"Online" has Many Meanings

"Why I No Longer Teach Online," By Nancy Bunge - full citation below.  

Prof. Bunge has been candid and generous in describing her attempts to improve an undergraduate course through additional online activities.  I hope many will emulate her willingness to explore, evaluate, and share intermediate results with colleagues who might benefit from her experience.   I offer below some suggestions for clarifying this article and making it even more useful.  I include questions to help others describe online course improvements more fully.

Some of Bunge's conclusions, especially those implied by the title and by the sentence that was extracted as a highlight, are not justified by the full published text of the article.  

"I told my classes I could add online work if students requested it, but not a single student of the 147 enrolled in all my classes asked for it."  This highlighted sentence is probably misleading.  It seems to suggest that students are rejecting online options, and by implication, so should teachers.  But without further explanation, it seems more likely that the undergraduates were responding exactly as Bunge should have expected would happen if she told students in ANY class that she could add more work (of any kind) if they requested it.   

Perhaps a more accurate, but less provocative title for this article would be "What I Hope to Improve in My Teaching - and How My First Exploration of Online Activities Fell Short."

A more appropriate conclusion than suggested by the article's title is that adding a certain kind of online assignment  was unsatisfactory for the students and the teacher in this course.  The article suggests (but not explicitly) that it was unsatisfactory because

a.  too many students reported that they  "struggled to complete the course requirements" 

b.  too few students reported or demonstrated that they "engage more deeply with texts"

c.  too few students reported or demonstrated that they "learned more and were more challenged intellectually"

d.  too few students "talked about my enthusiasm, respect for their opinions, and obsession with making sure they understood the texts and assignments"

This a-d list above, extracted from Bunge's article, provides a good start for developing, evaluating, and selecting among various ways of improving undergraduate courses - whether online or otherwise.  

Clear answers to the following questions might help others benefit from any candid description of an experimental use of online activities to improve an undergraduate course.  In particular, to understand what Bunge had attempted and why, some of the following information would be essential:

1.  How did online assignments differ from other assignments in the course?

• How were course 
assignments communicated?  

• How was students' [text-only?] work examined, guided, structured and graded?  

• Were students permitted, encouraged, or required to do their thinking and writing in any ways for the "online" assignments different from how they did their thinking and writing for other assignments?  

• Were students permitted, encouraged, or required to read the passages for the online assignments in any ways that differed from other reading assignments? 

• What was the nature of the online assignments, activities?  The most common option would be to use the institution's Web-based course management system to enable and require students to participate in an asynchronous threaded text-only online discussion during which the instructor intervenes occasionally. That certainly wouldn't be my recommendation for achieving her stated goals.

2.  What was the course schedule and how did it change?  Did the course usually include 4 face-to-face class meetings per week? and

     a.  Was the schedule changed to include only three such weekly meetings with some kind of online activities provided instead of the fourth weekly meeting? or

     b.  Was some kind of online work  added instead of substituted for class meetings?

3.   What kinds of online activities were included in efforts to "use online work to coax students to think through texts on their own"?

Bunge said "I wondered why students gave me good evaluations the first time I attempted online teaching. Perhaps my blundering won them over. I made many mistakes as I learned to use the technology, so I e-mailed them frequently and anxiously monitored their reactions. They may have appreciated the same thing that students in my traditional classes liked: my concern for their learning." Are we intended to infer that these frequent emails and other interactions so effectively demonstrate that she cared about the students' learning that they produced some of the hoped for motivation?  If so, could that frequency of email and attention be achieved without the goad of initial "technological ineptitude"?

Also, in what ways was Bunge's initial goal of getting students to "engage more deeply" characteristic of (or different from) the "approaches that genuinely work" that she learned about during the Wisconsin conference mentioned in her article? 

Bunge also said: "The most interesting contrast shows up in the comments: Those who liked my course with the online modules praised its organization, while students in the course with no online component talked about my enthusiasm, respect for their opinions, and obsession with making sure they understood the texts and assignments—all traits beyond a computer's reach." Why does Bunge believe in these limits? No one familiar with computers expects them to engender enthusiasm, demonstrate respect, or obsess about students' understanding. However, like textbooks and other resources, computers can be used effectively by teachers for these admirable purposes.

Finally, I share Bunge's hope that our colleagues will "keep evaluating technology's impact, perhaps they will eventually find a way to invest its processes with the sense of shared humanity that binds together students and teachers in successful classes." And I hope she shares mine that our colleagues will continue just as avidly to try to achieve those successful classes - with or without online activities. By using whatever available technologies, supporting resources, pedagogies, etc. that seem worthwhile and well-matched to their own abilities, to the characteristics of their students, and to the purposes of those classes.

TweepDiff -Allows comparing followers associated with Twitter accounts Tweepdiff.com

1. Enter 2 or more Twitter usernames (e.g., our Twitter username or screen name is  "tltgroup", usually mentioned or referenced within a Tweet as "@tltgroup"; similarly, Derek Bruff uses @derekbruff as one of his Twitter usernames/screen names)
2. Indicate for each username whether you want to compare the associated list of usernames who are FOLLOWING that one or the list of usernames who are being FOLLOWED BY that one
3. Press the "Compare" button
4. Get a count and a list of usernames common to all you have entered.  

"TweepDiff is a tool that allows you to compare the friends or followers of two or more Twitter users to see who they have in common. For example, a common use for TweepDiff is to compare your own friends and followers to see who you follow that doesn't follow you back or vice versa. Another use is to compare who you follow with someone else to see if they know of people that may be interesting to you."
- above excerpt from http://tweepdiff.com/about

Why?
"If you think someone else is a good judge of Twitter usefulness, you can diff yourself with them to discover new people to follow."
"By entering your name in both boxes and choosing friends for the first box and followers for the second, you can see who is following you, that you aren't following back, or who you are following that isn't following you back. This may help remind you to follow people, or it may remind you to unfollow someone who is no longer following you."
- above excerpt from http://signalsready.com/products/tweepdiff/

IMAGE

Photo of "Die Zwitscher-Maschine (Twittering Machine);  Watercolor and ink; oil transfer on paper with gouache and ink borders on cardboard. Group of birds shackled to a wire attached to a hand crank." Date 1922;  Image hosted at <http://www.waggish.org/2010/paul-klee-twittering-machine/> by Paul Klee

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Die_Zwitscher-Maschine_%28Twittering_Machine%29.jpg/500px-Die_Zwitscher-Maschine_%28Twittering_Machine%29.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Die_Zwitscher-Maschine_%28Twittering_Machine%29.jpg

Permission  "This work is in the public domain in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years or fewer. 

By Paul Klee [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

TweepDiff - Find Out Who You're Missing On Twitter

"Assessment" still a dirty word? Is it: A. Decisive B. Confirming/Refuting C. Acclaiming D. Appeasing, E. Wasteful?

Assessment lightens or adds burden?

[Multiple Choice]  Assessment is:    


[   ] A.    At best (ideally?) DECISIVE:  Information that will help decide among viable, appealing options when available judgment, wisdom, and leadership cannot.
[   ] B.    At best (politically?) CONFIRMATION/REFUTATION:
Confirm what's obvious to us;  refute what's obvious to them.
[   ] C.    At best (most powerfully?) ACCLAMATION :  Overwhelm the need for other evidence by acclaim.
[   ] D.    Too frequently?  APPEASEMENT:  What's the least we can do to get them off our (my) back?
[   ] E1.   Worse UNNECESSARY:  Additional evidence will be ignored - no longer needed;  e.g., studies of benefits/harm of wordprocessing in 1980s.
[   ] E2.   Worst WASTEFUL:  Decision will be made before results are available.
[   ] E3.   Worsest HYPOCRITICAL:  Decision has already been made secretly and study is superfluous

Tomorrow 11/4 2pm ET FridayLive: update TLTRoundtable for transition to hybrid/online courses tlt.gs/frlv Free Reg

Change IS Possible!

From On-Campus to [More] Online

CCI and FQE

Counter-Counter-Implementation (CCI) Strategies

Steve Gilbert’s Fundamental Questions Extended (FQE)

    Conversation     

Steve Gilbert, TLT Group with Jane Marcus, Stanford Univ.
Friday, November 4, 2011 2:00 pm (ET)

For more info: Home Base (Google Doc) Web Page: tlt.gs/CCIFQE1104

Friday Live! Registration - Free

At most colleges and universities today, many people feel pushed toward online education -- faster and with less clarity of purpose than they find comfortable [understatement?].  

Steve Gilbert and Jane Marcus discuss how to “innovate” more comfortably and effectively  when pressed to move from courses that are mostly campus-based toward courses that have more online elements.  They will explain their emerging approach and apply it to a case study.

They will recommend strategies and activities based on their combined experience with several colleges and universities - from inside, and as consultants - and by adapting and extending their previous work:

• TLT Roundtables:  Guidelines, resources, and lessons learned - new question:
  “Who should be at the table?  Now?  At the next stage of our planning and deliberations?”; Fundamental Questions - newest versions; Frugal Innovations;  Small Collaborative Groups
• Counter-Counter-Implementation Strategies - work of Peter Keen, et al.  tlt.gs/counterimp
• Marcus’ doctoral and related research:  "Diffusion of Innovations and Social Learning Theory:  Adoption of the Context Text-Processing System at Stanford University” "...adoption is a function of available resources, the perceived value of the innovation, and communication with other adopters. Her [Marcus’] dissertation research provides empirical evidence in support of the model, indicating that social/contextual variables are as important as resources in encouraging adoption of technology" - from “Creating a Campus Culture to Support a Teaching and Learning Revolution,” by Dorothy A. Frayer,  CAUSE/EFFECT journal, Volume 22 Number 2 1999.

Innovation and Players

They’ll describe the innovation that is being considered and then identify who the key players are who need to be at the table to be part of the project.  They’ll ask participants to explain why they believe the “players” identified as needing to be “brought to the table” are or are not essential, could be omitted, and those who might, in fact be missing.  

Public and Private - Values, Goals, Agendas - “Loyal Opposition” vs. Subversive Counter-Implementation
They’ll examine the values that must/can be part of open, “public” discussion, as well as the values and other info that is likely to remain “private” or part of the “sub-text.”
They’ll consider how to elicit and build on the public statements of institutional [and less widely held and/or applicable] values for each of the representatives at the table as well as the private/personal/political goals of the various participants.  The interplay between these two perspectives determines who serves as legitimate, loyal opposition or truly subversive "counter-implementers" during subsequent implementation.

For more... tlt.gs/CCIFQE1104    Friday Live! Registration