Sometimes Educators can be their OWN Worst Enemies.

   
I am an associate professor of Learning Technologies at the University of Northern Iowa. 

One of the classes I teach is an educator preparation course where we prepare future teachers to use technology to support learning in their classrooms. This course is provided in a T-Th 50-minute session format. 

A couple of years ago, we changed our class into a blended format. We provided the weekly lectures online so we only needed to meet for 2 days to work in our labs.  The learning strategy was that our students would read, watch, or listen to the foundational material for the week and then watch the video lecture which was between 20 - 40 minutes long. On Tuesdays, the students would break into their working groups of 3-4 individuals and discuss what they learned in preparation for this class session. 

At the beginning of the semester, this worked well. Most of my 35 students followed the learning strategy and came to our Tuesday class prepared to discuss the topic at hand.  It might be Global Collaboration, Digital Citizenship, Systematic Instructional Design, Classroom Computing, or any of a large selection of topics. 

Today's Discovery

Today, I noticed the discussions seemed strained and asked how many of my students had read the material and watched the lecture. Only 6 students raised their hands. I asked why, and they told me that they did read and watched the content after our Tuesday class. They learned a great deal in the lecture/discussion I held on Tuesday so they could use that knowledge as background for their learning.

I examined how I had run the Tuesday classes.  Instead of asking my students to provide the content for the discussions, I was providing an overview of the content in a slideshow.  This provided a source for content other than the aforementioned resources . This meant that I was completely undermining the classroom discussion pedagogy because my students were not coming prepared.  

Having realized the problem, I discussed the situation with my students.  I made it quite clear that I was not criticizing them or blaming them for the situation.  I pointed out that this was an example of a teacher working against themselves. They needed to pay attention to situations like this when they have their own classrooms and are organizing their learning environments. 

From Here Forward

One of the things that my students liked was discussing content with their group. I pointed out that if they didn't prepare for the discussion properly, they wouldn't have anything to discuss. I didn't want to deprive them of their discussion.

    

Before we moved on to the rest of the class, I told the students that I would be changing my teaching strategies for the rest of the semester. I would no longer present the content material but rather discuss the content with them after they had had a chance to discuss it with their group members. 

I look forward to next Tuesday to see how the discussion goes and whether or not their quiz scores have increased.   Will keep you informed.

Z

                                                                                image: pxfuel

    

    

    

How Does Watching/Listening Faster Affect My Learning?

OK, having read my previous posting, Learn Faster by Watching Faster, and asked "How does faster watching/listening affect learning?" How can my brain comprehend content that is faster than the typical human speaking pace?  

Good Question.  The answer is - It all Depends!  Some research supports accelerated watching/listening.  Some research found that students do poorly on tests after watching/listening to videos 2x times the regular speed. The problem with these studies is that they approach it as an either/or situation.  They have students listen to content at 2x and then test them.  

Success with this process is a personal outcome. It depends upon:

• Content of the video/audio. 
• Your ability to understand the audio language. 
• How much attention you are paying to the audio track. 

People typically speak English at about 150 words per minute (wpm).  (I would assume that this applies to other languages as well, but I didn't find any research on that.) Our maximum rate for comprehension is about 450 wpm.  This means that we might be able to triple (3x) the speed of discourse and still understand it. 

What Will Work for You?

I must admit that I usually keep my listening at a 1.5x or 1.75x rate. I have tried 2x but don't find that comfortable. Your choice must be based upon what works for you . . . but what is that magic speed?

The Oxford Online English center suggests a short test to identify which speed works best for you. 
Oxford Online English - How to Understand Fast Speech.

Begin by finding an audio track (maybe on a video) containing the type of information you typically need to learn.  Wouldn't make sense to listen to a highly-technical medical video if you will be listening to lectures for typical education videos.  It will work best if you have a transcript of the piece, but not necessary.

1. Warm up by listening to a few sentences in the video.  Try to remember what they said.
2. Listen to another sentence.
3. Try to type/write out the sentence exactly.
4. Repeat this for 2 more sentences. 
5. Compare what you typed/wrote to the transcript (or listen to it again.)
6. How many mistakes did you make?  Every missing, wrong, or forgotten word is a mistake. 
7. You are only allowed 1 mistake.  Any more, then you need to slow down your speed and try again.
8. If you got them all right, try it again at a faster speed. Continue until you find the speed you want to use.

What worked for you?  I had a couple of errors at 1.75x - but I plan to get better.

Pay Attention!

The most important part of understanding rapid speech is to PAY ATTENTION!  It's too easy for us to try to multitask while watching a video.  The problem is that we often don't remember what we just heard because our minds had drifted to something else. That means that we have to listen to watch/listen to it again. 

You have to pay careful attention if you are speeding up your videos. If you speed up a 12-minute video to 1.5x, you will be able to watch it in 2/3 of the time, or 8 minutes.  If you try to multitask while listening, you may have to watch it again and extend it to 24 minutes - it's YOUR CHOICE.

Watching/Listening Faster

Watching faster can mean a big difference in how much you can learn in a short period.  This can be a great boon to your students' learning as well. Chances are that many of them are doing this already, but they may think it is cheating.  Let them in on this secret.  Try doing it in class so they can see how it works. 

Introduce your students (and yourself) to another way in which you can understand the world.

Have you been speeding up your watching/listening?  Leave a comment about what you have accomplished.

Z

BTW, Speeding up podcasts to make listening more efficient is called PodFasting.  It's a great way to catch up on the podcasts that you missed. Check it out.

Inouye, M. (2016) Can We Speed Listen and Still Understand?

Do You Discuss with your Students to Check or Create Understanding?

click on image to increase size +

Are you discussing with your students to Check for Understanding or Create Understanding?

It seems to me that these are not mutually exclusive.  I would submit that you would want to begin with Creating Understanding and then integrate questions throughout the discussion to "check for understanding."

I could see that it would be of value to share this chart with my students at the beginning of the semester and to use it as a guide for discussion throughout the semester (and for the rest of our lives.)

What do you think?

After the Election . . .

Commons.wikimedia.org

I don't know how you have been handling your students' feelings after the election, but I discussed it in my class on Friday.   I began the discussion by saying 

I have been reading a number of things about teachers asking their students about how they feel after the election, and I just wanted to open up the discussion to you.  After 9/11, I didn't know what to do so I just taught my lessons and didn't even discuss the incident.  Students came to me saying that they felt cheated because they didn't have a chance to share and deal with their feelings.  I don't want to do that this time so do any of you have feelings that you want to share?  This isn't a discussion about politics.  It is about feelings.

Some of my students shared some deep feelings of fear and anxiety.  Some of those who didn't feel threatened still felt anxiety. Some students felt that some of the reactions we heard about on the news (i.e., closing down a college so that students could deal with the results of the election) were not the reactions of adults and that we just had to deal with it.  

It was a good discussion and we talked until they had nothing else to say.  I shared that I was available if anyone wanted to talk. I think that it was a positive experience.

I was prompted to write this email after reading a posting on Jennifer Gonzalez's blog, The Cult of Pedagogy. She decided that the best thing to post a "To Do List" of things that teachers can do in a situation like this.

I recommend reading, After the Election: A To-Do List, and maybe sharing it with your students.  BTW, this is a wonderful blog filled with posts, podcasts, videos, and teaching materials that you may find useful in your everyday teaching - I know that I have.

What are your experiences?  

What suggestions do you have about dealing with these emotions?

Share them in the Comments section below.

TERRORISM: How to Talk to Your Students, Say This, Do Not Say . . .

http://www.jackstreet.com/jackstreet/WECM.Berkowitz.cfm

In this ever-changing world we need to consider how to talk with our students about terrorism.  Not only must we deal with what is coming through the media, but we must also discuss with our students the possibility of that happening in our own schools.

Recently, Vicki Davis (CoolCatTeacher) interviewed Dr. Steven Berkowitz at the University of Pennsylvania about how teachers can respond to this.

Click here to listen to Vicki's 11-minute discussion about Terrorism.

The Benefits of Blogging in the Elementary Classroom

This is a wonderful 4-minute video by Linda Yollis and her 2nd/3rd grade students provides a realistic examination of how blogging in your classroom can turn writing projects into communication projects.   

Mrs. Yollis shares how she has used it to change how she is teaching and her students share what they are learning.  I especially like how the students talk about how they rate their comments on other people's postings.  They rate them using 1 or 2.  The 1 comment responds to the posting but the 2 comment asks questions and continue with the discussion.

I know that I will be using this in my Using Digital and Social Media class.  What about you?  Is it benefiting your blog use?

Z

Please respond with a 2-type comment below.

Are YOU a Helicopter Professor/Teacher?

What do you do when you decide to move from "Sage on the Stage" to "Guide on the Side?"  Typically, you spend a GREAT deal of time setting things up so that you can create a learning environment where students learn by researching and doing new ideas instead of listening to you telling them these ideas.

A part of being a Guide on the Side is that you may feel like a 3rd wheel while you watch your students work together in class.  It's ironic that the best way for your students to learn can be to learn on their own with you "out of the loop."  You may not be directly involved in their learning experience, but you are guiding them through the learning process. You are taking a different role in the classroom.

This is an example of Teacher Lead - Student Driven

I just read an article in Faculty Focus where Berlin Fang is suggesting ideas that will provide your students with the "proper balance of challenge and support."  

Six Suggestions on How to Avoid being a Helicopter Professor

1. Allow Chaos
2. Embrace Desirable Difficulty
3. Increase Accountability
4. Reduce Redundancy
5. Remove Crutches
6. Mix Push and Pull

Dr. Fang introduces some interesting concepts in these 6 suggestions. He discusses Free-Range Assignments that are individualized competency-based challenges. He suggests that we should help students but don't teach helplessness. This sense of self-efficacy is accomplished by starting with scaffolds to support new learners, but methodically removing them so that students can learn to stand on their own.

What do YOU think?  Did that article hit the button with you or are you still a Helicopter Educator?

How to Avoid being a Helicopter Professor

Photo: Mark Ludy

Using Digital Learning to Promote Deeper Thinking

Digital Learning is NOT about computers.

Digital learning IS about incorporating the new access to information and tools that is available through technology.   This increased access provides learners with an opportunity to make learning meaningful. It enables them to feel as though they are integral in the learning process.

GettingSmart.com has created the infographic below to demonstrate how a variety of tools create opportunities for students to become involved in deeper learning.

Getting Smart also has released a 28-page report of How Digital Learning Contributes to Deeper Learning. This report is downloadable and it is FILLED with suggestions and resources for making learning meaningful to students. This is a MUST READ report for educators who want to make learning more than memorizing facts.

Related articles

• Connected Learning and Implications for Libraries as Spaces and Mentors for Learning
• E-Learning Design Matters (4): Small steps to walk the learning talk
• Building Higher-Order Thinking Skills
• Culture Shift: When the Learner Owns the Learning

1-to-1 Pedagogy: Curriculum for the 21st Century Classroom - Hot Topics Webinar

What is this 1-to-1 curriculum all about?

Dr. Ping Gao and I will have an opportunity to share our ideas about Curriculum for the 21st Century with you in a Webinar that we will be giving on April 26, 2012 at 4:00 CST.

We will be discussing the need to rethink how education should be framed and explore some tools for making the changes.

Here are some links to the resources we have shared.  If you don't find something important here that you think should be included, just add it in the comment section below.

Watch our hour-long webinar. We have participants from Oklahoma, Arizona and around Iowa.

Watch this Slide Show on SlideShare

1-to-1 Computing: Curriculum for the 21st Century

View more presentations from Leigh Zeitz

Included Videos:

• 21st Century Video - Greg Whitby talks about the curriculum DNA.
• Van Meter Social Media - Interview with students about how they have used Social Media in their learning.

Included Resources:

• Iowa Universal Constructs - The universal constructs identified following an analysis of the competencies and habits of mind needed for future successes in careers, college and citizenry.
• Technology Integration Matrix  - Florida Technology Integration Matrix creates a 25-cell table that integrates 5 types of Meaningful Learning Environments (Jonassen et al) with 5 levels of Technology Integration (Apple Classroom of Tomorrow).  Filled with 100 short videos of best practice examples for Math, Science, Social Science and Language Arts.
• TPACKing for a Wild Learning Trip - This is a link to a resource page that I created for my students when they were studying TPACK. It is filled with a plethora of resources about the Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPaCK) model.
• Book: From Fear to Facebook  by Matt Levinson  Pub: ISTE
  Exceptional book where a school administrator chronicles his many adventures while directing a school into a 1-to-1 paradigm. Must read!!!

What ideas or accomplishments or resources would you like to share about 1:1 curriculum?  Please share them in the comments section below.

Z & G