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nelliemuller said:

The iPod is a great device.

Tatjana said:

ha, Nellie, thank you again! I do think so and wish to offer ipods in lessons … still not ready, technically … Do you practice ipods for online/live-lessons already?

Tatjana said:

or do you mean c r e a t i n g ipods? sure … this I guess takes to long to get results …

nelliemuller said:

I managed to get a video going but only I can see it for some reason. Hmmm.

Watch the video and let me know what you think.

hcraig said:

I can’t comment on the use of iPods in the k-12 learning environment, but I know a number of university professors who are recording their lessons and then uploading them as podcasts. This allows students access to the lesson after the fact – a fantastic tool for students with learning disabilities which hinder their ability to quickly copy notes, or students who have trouble concentrating on long lectures.

Mind you, it has also increased the number of students who skip the in-class lectures sine they feel they can catch up on whatever they missed in class simply by listening to the Podcast.

Andrew Brown said:

This isn’t a lesson but a discussion. Our course bought every student a video ipod and we used it in our classes. We also had a demo reel with ipods and youtube and won an award from youtube.

One of my teacher is looking into or is teaching using iTunes University.

nelliemuller said in response to:

Andrew,

Can you provide me with more information? I would be interested in learning more about your experiences with iPods and the course you took. My doctoral research will be researching instructor use of audio and video for instruciton and learning.

nelliemuller said in response to:

Heather,

Is it bad that students are skipping classes? What is the value of a face-to-face class if it is boring and the material can’t be learned outside the classroom? I would increase the online distance learning options. What do you think?

Tatjana said in response to:

I know lectures created cooperatively (CL), so that the learning process is socialized/accelerated! I would prefer joining such a lecture/lesson, than listening to an ipod at home alone. Both would be perfect. Activating lectures/lessons/talks and back-up-material like ipods in addition, like Heather mentioned positivly. Also I would like to work like Andrew discribed, students creating their own ipods.

hcraig said:

I would say it depends a lot of the style and subject of class. Since I attended a liberal arts school, many of my professors used the Socratic (or similar) method of teaching – if there is no one to have a conversation with that method won’t work very well.

Subjects that are fact based (stats comes to mind – which, frankly, I skipped all the same) didn’t require the same amount of student engagement for course delivery. The numbers didn’t change whether I was there to copy them down or not.

hcraig said:

Sorry, forgot one point:

If classes are being skipped out of boredom, I don’t believe podcasts will help – how is listening to dry subject matter better on a tape then in person?

As for online education; as I’ve mentioned above, my education background is in liberal arts and even when I did online classes, I found I learned more in the classes that had a high level of student involvement/engagement on the message board and chat rooms simply because different opinions being expressed got me thinking about the subject matter in different ways.

nelliemuller said in response to:

I need to be engaged whether face-to-face or online. I have been learning on my own since high school. I found it very hard to listen and learn without any interactions. Discussions are a great way to learn if there aren’t too many members in a face-to-face class. With online classes it doesn’t really matter; the more, the merrier. I think changes must be made or teachers will find themselves in empty classrooms.

laurellion said in response to:

That is very true nelliemuller…. That fact still remains that a student who still even attends a physical school and sits at a desk isn’t learning any better than staying at home and not paying attention to a screen. What learning always boils down to is the students own will, dedication and will to initiate the learning process for themselves. And as for the teachers, their communication level with students has been changing already over the years and must continue to adapt as technology advances and opens up new lines of communication.

rkotay said:

iPods have a place in post secondary education. No school district in the Kansas City, MO area permits electronics in the school building. Students use iPods to watch music video, listen to music, and watch film, not educational material. I see some students using podcasts to listen to missed assignments, but not many. Not too many students in middle school are inclined to listen to lessons. I just keep “throwing” different technologies at the kiddos until I find something that they seem to enjoy, but more importantly, use to learn. I tried blogging with a Literacy class last year. It wasn’t successful. No one would post anything unless they received a grade for their post. I believe that technologies that are interactive and “live” will provide me with the best opportunities to engage my kiddos with educational opportunities w/technology.

rkotay said:

I went back and read the file regarding the positive use of iPods in the K-12 arena. Very good ideas. I will try some to see if any of the kiddos will use their iPods during their out-of-school time to learn and study.

vpitman said in response to:

Well, sorry if this sounds harsh, but it sounds like you are blasting kids with a ‘technology shotgun’ instead of employing technology for sound pedagogical reasons. I also deal with a school system where electronics of any sort are strictly forbidden, unless a teacher explicitly states that students may listen to music (ONLY—no phones, cameras, iPhones in Airplane mode, etc.), and several students were suspended from school during the first week for simply pulling a cell phone out (come on, just back from summer break, and you’ve spent two and a half months checking your phone every time you turn around… It’s habitual! But, I suppose you could claim that our administration is breaking bad habits).

Sorry, back to your comments. When you say you are throwing stuff at them and searching for stuff they enjoy, it almost sounds like you are hunting for games they’ll enjoy instead of integrating activities that will support your lesson planning and goals for student performance. For example, I had my students post to a discussion board (old-school, plain graphics, looks like a ten year old BBS), and they weren’t thrilled about it, but I ‘primed the pump’ by giving them a grade AND having them post paragraphs that they had prepared for an oral exam topic. Each student had to post a paragraph on one of three topics, then they had to read and offer suggestions, to help each other improve their answers. Once the second posts started going up, and they were helping each other fix mistakes, students started posting their other answers, so they could get help with them, too. I got a lot of mileage out of this relatively simple assignment, and so did my students: repetition in writing improves recall (since this was preparation for an oral exam, and they couldn’t use notes during the exam, it raised their comfort level with the topics and enhanced recall), it got them writing and editing, and that just builds and reinforces literacy skills, when they started editing, they moved beyond Application to Analysis and Evaluation (you may make the argument that they were at the Synthesis level when writing, but I would completely disagree. Lower level foreign language classes typically consist of limited vocabulary groups that students arrange and re-arrange to communicate-this early in the year, anyway-which puts them squarely at the Application level when writing), and finally, this was cooperative learning. I wasn’t playing sage on stage. I simply directed them to do two things and provided them with a forum to work. They helped each other and built a common idea of what a ‘quality’ answer should be (it was based on my guidelines, but they ran with it). After the fact, a lot of them complained about the web site, but I didn’t hear, directly or indirectly, a complaint about the assignment. Whether explicit or implicit, kids understand the purpose and goal of a lesson. Even if you don’t tell them what your goal is, they will figure it out. the only thing they’ll have to go on is the lesson you present, so if your lesson doesn’t match your goal, your sending the wrong message. If you want an eye-opening exercise, get yourself a stack of index cards the next time you try out some new technology with your students. At the end of the lesson, hand out the cards, erase any goals you may have posted, don’t give them any hints (this is the hardest part for most people), and tell them to write down what your goal or purpose was in using the technology. Tell them it’s their ticket out the door, and if you want, you can ‘prime the pump’ by telling them you’ll give a few extra points, give a ‘get out of homework free’ card, or some similar reward to whoever has the best answer (not RIGHT, just BEST, because you want to see what they come up with). Keep your mouth shut and wait. In five minutes, you’ll have a fistful of answers.

Sorry if this sounds like I’m down on you. I’m actually thinking about a teacher I work with complains about things not working but doesn’t listen to suggestions from other staff members. It’s not you. Really. Your comments just triggered the train of thought… I’d just erase, but maybe this leads to fruitful discussion.

vpitman said:

Laurellion, I’m going to disagree with you. Certainly students need will and dedication to achieve, but I would counter (from my own experience as both a student and teacher) that the most significant factors for most students are engagement in the material and a teacher who makes the student feel that their presence and work matter, even if the student isn’t doing top work.

I’ve been in physical classes where the instructor never knew if I was there or not. I’ve been in lecture courses with over 200 students and had professors that make students feel significant and welcome. I’ve also been in an online course that I never once laid eyes on the professor, but I felt challenged and knew my input was expected. I’ve also seen online courses where I’d be lost in the interface. Engagement and relationship with the instructor were always key factors, for me.

At our school, we talk a lot about relevance, rigor, and relationships. We are charged with illustrating for students why the work is relevant, maintaining rigor by setting the bar high and expecting our students to perform, and by building relationships with students, their friends, families if possible, and so on. I mentor several students officially, and I mentor all the rest unofficially, just because of my experiences.

nelliemuller said:

Vance said: At our school, we talk a lot about relevance, rigor, and relationships. We are charged with illustrating for students why the work is relevant, maintaining rigor by setting the bar high and expecting our students to perform, and by building relationships with students, their friends, families if possible, and so on.

Hi Vance,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the value of emotional intelligence in the learning process. However, while I agree with you, is it the same remedy for all? Do all learners and teachers the same? Do they all have the same learning styles, multiple intelligences, life experiences, prior learning, and motivation to learn?

Here is a recording of a live WiZiQ session, PowerPoint slides, and another recording on learning effectively and efficiently that learners may find of interest.

Warm wishes,

Nellie Deutsch

Wikieducator Profile

vpitman said:

Nellie, I’ve taken a similar inventory before, and I tried this one. As typically happens, I fall near the middle on all these scales. In fact, I was dead center on all four axes, when I just re-took it. For me, there are times that I need to work through problems on my own, but there are times when I need to work in a group and bounce ideas off others. It’s not that I have no strong preference in any of those domains. It’s more that I discreetly utilize each of these approaches/attitudes at different times and in different situations. There are certain situations when I am so sequential it drives others crazy, but in other situations, I’m so global that I don’t want a single detail, until I understand how the system works. I am still undecided whether this is a sign that I have developed my learning skills, or whether this is a sign that I simply do things in different ways, at different times. I have a similar problem with Personality Type profiles, which I see as related types of exams. Depending on when I take them and what I’ve been doing most that day, the scores vary quite a bit.

Back to your comments, I think I understand why you took that meaning from my post, but I wasn’t referring to emotional intelligence in the presentation of material, with those comments. I was talking about an environment of student involvement and engagement. Certainly, we need engagement during the presentation of material, but, as you are suggesting, the type and nature of that engagement varies with the student’s personality and learning style. That’s why it’s important to present material in a variety of ways. Speaking and listening skills are often easier for those students that are verbal learners, but we can help the visual learners by providing them with visual cues or graphic organizers to help organize their thoughts. We can balance reading and writing skills between the active and reflective learners by having them read or listen to material, then having them create one-act plays, presentations, or similar projects. I think it’s also extremely important to remember that this is not a continuum of two types, but a balancing act with 4 axes. So, you may have two students who are both visual learners, yet one is global and one is sequential, and that’s just two axes. We have to provide variety in presentation and practice, so each of our students can has opportunities to connect well with material.

I think that brings us back to my original post. My perception was that ‘rtokay’ was searching all over for technology and activities that his students would like, rather than looking for uses of technology that addressed specific needs for his students. Trust me, none of my students were jumping up and down about the online tutoring session I held earlier this evening. They logged in, because they had specific questions about an upcoming exam. But, the response was excellent, and every student sent me a message to say how much the liked it. My response: Great, glad you liked it, but more important, it met a specific need that each of them had; it allowed me to meet casually with students without anyone having to go to campus or meet somewhere; and it exposed all who participated to another effective use of technology (that’s an underlying theme in my courses, but it helps address relevance, at a time when many of my colleagues are using old methodologies that students have trouble relating to).

nelliemuller said:

Great post, Vance. I enjoyed reading your ideas.

Thank you.

rkotay said:

I haven’t been here for a long time. I am a little loose with my language when I write in social networks and such. ”. . . throwing different technologies. . .” does sound like I’m rapid firing technology at my kiddos. I am, in fact, using very few. Presently I have a moodle, nothing else, for my students to use when they miss a class or want to do some extra prep for tests, etc. . To date, I had two or three students use the moodle.

I am always searching for new ways to entice my 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. I strive to make my lessons as enjoyable as possible for my kids.I have my kiddos do learning activities they may not want to do almost every day. There’s always someone who doesn’t want to do something.

The class I teach is self-guided. I introduce the kids to the “system,” demonstrate how to use it, and “turn them loose.” The student is responsible for regulating his or her own time. This is very difficult and threatening for 10, 11, 12-year old students.

I do almost all one-to-one teaching in this environment. If someone is truly not understanding the lesson, and can’t come to understanding after discussing the lesson with his or her partner, I am available. Before I intervene, however, the team must make efforts to learn the material themselves.

My previous experience with on-line tech and students wasn’t very successful. The students did receive a grade for the required assignment. With the exception of a few, the students did the absolute minimum for the assignment. That doesn’t mean I stop using this tool. It means that I review and reflect on ways to improve the assignment to make it more relevant for my students, and if I am able to make it an enjoyable activity, so much the better.

By the by, my middle school’s motto is, in the order of importance, Relationships, Relevance, and Reading.

I would like to write more, but I really have to go—and, Vance, don’t worry about any criticism or suggestions “thrown” (there’s that word again) my way. I am always open to constructive criticism and learning new ways to do things.