Module 3 (Week 04) - What about my students?

Ideally, I would say that the learners are the ones who can use/connect what they know and what they can do to real-life situations, but that would be difficult to observe and measure.  On the surface, I would consider those who do well on the exam as the learners.  However, I would be impressed with those who can remember course material weeks after the exam not only as it may mean they have good memory but also as it may mean that they actually learned something…and not just studied to do well on an exam.

I believe there are various reasons why my students learn or what makes them make the effort:

• go to college, be with friends, and hopefully learn something on the side
• get a degree that will help them land a job or get higher salary
• earn good grades and try to do better than classmates
• know more about something—this would be especially true for those who have an idea about their major (e.g., networking, multimedia, applications development, etc.)
• be prepared for work after graduation

At HCT, all courses are designed to include learning outcome.  In the past, even sub-outcomes were included, but I think they have now been removed to give instructors leeway on what topics to cover.  Furthermore, the HCT curricula are designed to reflect graduate outcomes:

• communications and information literacy
• critical and creative thinking
• global awareness and citizenship
• technological literacy
• self-management and independent learning
• teamwork and leadership
• vocational competencies
• mathematical literacy

The main ways that students learn are through lectures, demonstrations, group work, presentations, field trips, reading assignment, and competitions.  There is definitely a lot of memorization (and hopefully understanding), but there are also many hands-on work for students:

• installing software, hardware and networks
• creating databases, Web pages, computer programs, and multimedia files
• using various application software to produce documents and other course work

On the other hand, projects, research papers and case studies often require synthesis and analysis.

Lastly, IT students often demonstrate what they have learned through finished products:

• configured software, hardware and network
• computer code that works
• finished Web page, program, video file, audio file and image file
• diagrams and flowcharts
• project plans, etc.

In addition they have a set of measurable software skills to master and theory to know.  Quizzes and exams would definitely not suffice.  Presentations and interviews are essential to ascertain if students really learned or did something, especially in group work.

Module 2 (Week 02) - Technologies for the Project

I think I'd like to use a combination of different education technologies:

1. electronic portfolio


One of our college goals this year is to focus on students through their use of portfolios. Suggested actions are: a) investigate portfolio formats; and b) encourage students to develop e‑portfolios in pbworks or develop their own Web sites. I'd like to be able to help meet that goal.

2. Microsoft OneNote


I have attended a professional development session on this one, but I have yet to try it myself. I know that many English teachers are now currently using this one, so as an IT teacher, I feel that I should not be left behind in the use of newer technology.

3. smart boards


I'd like to explore more of the advanced software features of the interface, and I want my students to try smart board features while they give presentations in class.

Module 2 (Week 02) - Personal Learning Network

I think one of the things I would need to completely overcome is the shame of asking for help, and this could partly be cultural and personal. First of all, my upbringing is to be self-reliant and independent. Second, I generally do not wish to appear ignorant or weak. So, there's a lot of room for improving and expanding my personal learning network (PLN) or professional development network (PDN).

Mailing Lists and Groups

During my college years in the early 1990s, I often subscribed to various mailing lists usually through Listserv and Majordomo as a way to keep abreast on different subject matters.  If you remember, this was the time when the Web was still developing and growing in popularity.  (I was actually using Gopher a lot.)  Right now, I am just subscribed to one mailing list, Tomorrow's Professor.  I actually don't participate or read the posts much, but I'm keeping my subscription just in case I have more free time and am later able to mine information I might find useful.

As the World Wide Web grew, mailing lists metamorphosed into groups, and I had joined several ones in Yahoo! and MSN.  I have since unsubscribed from several groups, but I might once again join those in Business & Finance and Computers & Internet.

Electronic Newsletters

Since I also teach business courses even if I'm in the IT department, I have subscribed to the e‑newsletter of the American Management Association.  I would say that this is akin to reading about the latest trends and theories in Harvard Business Review.

Employment Web Sites

I visit job sites to see what IT and business skills & knowledge are currently needed in the market.  That then gives me an idea on which areas I need to improve on or what new things I have to learn.  In jobstreet.com, I have signed up to get good job matches by email.

RSS Feeds and Bookmarks

Since I use Microsoft products extensively, I have employed RSS feeds to become aware of various tips and tricks.  I keep in Outlook the messages which serve as bookmarks to articles that I want to keep track of as references.

I also do bookmark sites that I often use as references.

Online Reference Materials

Although I have a thesaurus and dictionary on my desk, I more often use webster.com for the convenience.  I used to enjoy Reader's Digest's Word Power, so I also subscribed to Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day.  (At least I get to build my vocabulary one word and one day at a time!)  Of course, I also visit Wikipedia as a starting point for information on many things.

FAQs and Downloadable Manuals

I often visit company Web sites to get more information about their products.  More specifically, I visit FAQs and download product manuals.  For instance, I wanted to learn more about the education technology hardware inside our new classrooms, so I searched for and downloaded the manual for the switcher.

Colleagues

Finally (and most importantly), my co-workers are a big part of my personal learning network.  In my old workstation where I was for 6 years, I sat near non-IT teachers so I inevitably became their immediate tech support.  I had invariably learned from their many computer-related questions and problems,

Moreover, hardware and networking are not exactly my forte, so I was glad that other IT teachers in my department were open to sharing thoughts, ideas, references, and class materials (BBVista stuff, exercises, assessments, etc.)   It was somewhat easy for me to ask help from them as we had built some rapport as we had worked together in various committees and events.

Module 2 (Week 01) - Course for the Project

This semester, I am currently teaching two courses:

• Business Essentials II [BUSI 1250] — Diploma-level; 2 sections, 48 students
• Information Systems in Organizations and Society [CIS 1003] — Bachelor-level; 3 sections, 65 students

I'm choosing CIS 1003 for my project for these main reasons:

1. it's an IT course, so it looks very fitting to implement various education technology
2. it's more of a theoretical class (as opposed to hands-on), so education technology should help make it more interesting and/or interactive
3. there are more students taking it, so the project would impact a greater number of learners

Module 2 (Week 01) - Introduction and Educational Technologies

I’ve been caught up in many things, so it’s only now during the spring break that I can finally concentrate on Module 2…

Introduction

Anyway, my official title says that I am a Business faculty member at Al Ain Women’s College (AAWC) campus of the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), but I work under the Computer and Information Science Department.  I’ve been teaching business and IT courses at the women’s campus for more than 6 years, and I also taught an IT course at the men’s campus for the first time last semester.

 

Classroom Hardware

 

Practically all classrooms in Al Ain Colleges (i.e., both the men’s and women’s campuses) are equipped with a teacher’s computer (either a laptop or desktop PC), smart boards, document cameras (a.k.a. visualizers) and video projectors that I have all used extensively.  The setup also allows us to easily plug in our laptops, so that we can use our own computers and easily access our files & programs. 

Before working for the HCT,  I had been accustomed to creating transparencies and using the low-tech overhead projector.  So, I found the document cameras a novelty and a welcome change.  Now, I could just directly place my notes or even a book under the document camera, and presto!  An image of the paper or book is projected on the smart board.  I have also used the camera to show images of various objects, such as computer hardware and cables.

As for the smart boards, they allow me to much more easily give software demonstrations and PowerPoint presentations, and this directly relates to Reason #2 ("depth of understanding").  For one, the smart board becomes like a large tablet and the students can follow my hand as I point and click.  And when giving PowerPoint presentations, I can simply tap on the smart board to advance the slides, so there's no need to click on the mouse or use a remote control.  In addition, I can use the smart board interface to write on the screen.

BlackBoard Vista and WileyPlus eBook

I have used BlackBoard Vista extensively for several subjects; WileyPlus, for a single computer course.  They have both exemplified/personified Reason #1 ("expansion of time and place"), Reason #7 ("individual pacing and sequence"), Reason #8 ("weight"), and Reason #10 ("lower cost").

When materials and assessments are online, students can do more things outside the classroom:  study at their own pace, submit work at their convenience, and take diagnostic tests at any time.   It also means that that there is less need for paper and better book inventory management, thereby reducing costs.

...

With so many education technology available, my main concern is being able to keep up with developments, especially when it comes to finding the time to evaluate them and to learn new things.

Module 1 (Week 02) - My Most Memorable Learning Experience

My most memorable learning experience would have to be when I took the COBOL programming class with Dr. Mel Franz at Central Missouri State University (now known as the University of Central Missouri).  At the beginning of the semester, he made sure that we took the time to get to know at least the name of our classmates.  His rationale was that we should care enough about knowing colleagues whom we may need to turn to for help in the future.  It was my introduction to the importance of networking with people.

Back in the 1990s, it was already a common practice of our professors to place copies of their old exams in the Reserve Section of the library.  That meant that they would pretty much have to create new assessments every semester as they cannot simply recycle old assessments.  Of course, I often took advantage of looking at previous exams, and I thought it was great that:

1. we could see the assessment style of our teachers
2. have an idea of what kind of questions to expect and what subject matter to concentrate on

So, in short, there was no secrecy and there were hardly any surprises when it came to taking exams.

What set Dr. Franz apart was that his exams were "open books, open notes"...and we were even allowed to bring in pre-typed computer code that we can cut, paste, and modify as part of answers to his exam questions.  Of course, if we did not understand a topic, it would not help being able to look at our book or notes as we would simply run out of time digesting material instead of answering questions.

I thought that taking Dr. Franz's exam was like tackling real-life situations in a business environment.  For example, at work, people are not be expected to remember everything.  That's why we have reference materials that we can consult.  (This goes back to the "open books, open notes" part.)  Also, when it comes to solving problems, it does not make sense to re-invent the wheel.  We can take existing knowledge and resources and adapt it to our current situtions.  (And this goes back to the part where we came to exams with pre-typed computer code that we used as needed.)

Moreover, Dr. Franz's programming assignments were similar to the real-life situation of having programmers needing to be in close contact with their clients, so as to be able to meet all of the software specifications.  We are given a set of input that we are supposed to turn into some form of output based on the instructions given.  In many cases, the information we had were either ambiguous or incomplete.  We were expected to communicate with our professor for clarification such that there was a constant need for us to check our e-mail regularly for updates that may have impact on how we write our computer code.

As the process of coding programs was time-consuming, we had to learn how to manage our time wisely. (The computer labs were open from 8am to midnight, but we could dial in for mainframe access 24/7 if we had our own computer and modem.)  We also needed to be sensitive to detail as a single misplaced period could change the programming logic completely.  And in order to produce the desired results (output), we had to analyze our problem/assignment at hand from different angles, so that we will not miss any important detail.

Even if I did not get an A in the class, I was nevertheless satisfied with what I experienced and with what I learned.

lynda.com

I've heard things about lynda.com, so I thought I'd give it a shot.  I just completed completed my registration today....