|
Volume 1 Issue 3 July/August 2006
Teaching and Learning at Penn State
York
Best Practices,
Teaching Tips, Ideas, Resources, What's
NEW!
Thanks to all who were able to attend one or more of the summer professional
development offerings!!
There were over 165 hours of professional development time
logged by
- 24 full & part-time
faculty members
- 11 staff members
Thanks for attending and as always, please
continue to
share your ideas and feedback with me!
Link to a
Cartoon
What's
New?
1. ANGEL Gradebook is HERE!
Beginning in fall 2006, faculty members will have the
opportunity to use the new ANGEL Gradebook instead of the grade report. The new features of the gradebook allow
faculty to:
-
Calculate grades as points or percentages
-
Report individual, ongoing, and final grades to
students throughout the semester
-
Report grades for all assignments, even those that
aren't graded using ANGEL lesson tools
-
Award extra credit points
-
Assign different weights to assignment categories
-
Publish grades in an eLion compatible format
In the fall, you can still choose to use the old grade
report or the new gradebook, but beginning in spring 2007, only the new
gradebook will be available for use within ANGEL.
***NOTE: When you
log into your fall courses and access the Gradebook tool, you will be given
a one-time opportunity to choose either the current grade report tool or the
new gradebook for your course. Once you choose, you cannot change options
without contacting ANGEL Help.***
Workshops and supporting documentation on the new
gradebook tool will be available
in late summer/early fall 2006.
Thanks to those who shared their grading schemes with
me this summer so that I could become familiar with the tool in advance.
2. Resources for New Faculty
There are teaching resources available for
new faculty at
http://www.personal.psu.edu/scs15/newfaculty/ on topics such as creating
a learner-centered syllabus, lesson planning, using technology in
instruction, assessment, fostering a positive classroom climate, and
classroom management.
Return to Top
Social Computing is a term gaining in popularity in
both educational and corporate lexica.
The 2006 Horizon Report, a
research-based publication that seeks to identify, describe, and track
emerging educational technologies, describes social computing as one of the
key trends likely to be adopted widely on most college campuses within the
next year.
In short, social
computing is the use of technology to support interaction and collaboration
among users. You are more than likely already using some sort of social
computing tool or application in your classes. E-mail,
discussion boards, chats, blogs, wikis, online meetings, and writing
collaboration tools are all examples of social computing
applications. In each, users are interacting with each other and/or
collaborating to build new knowledge using a technological interface.
What's so important
about the social computing trend? According to The 2006 Horizon Report, the
following are the most important ways that social computing impacts groups
(in corporate, educational, and personal settings):
-
the potential to
connect people more easily at a distance around a common interest
-
the ability to
contribute easily and across distances to a
group workspace
-
the portability and
cost effectiveness (often free) of the venue
-
the knowledge that is
generated by workgroups regarding process, description, and
manipulation of the new knowledge
Social computing
use/tools are growing in both academic and non-academic settings. This
article will briefly summarize social computing in both
settings...
Finish the article HERE….
Return to Top
Q & A
I imagine that if one person
has a question or comment, others probably do as well, so I'll gather them
as we go and share them here (with permission of course!)
Dr. Charles Gaston writes....
Too often, I fear,
"technology" is used more for its own sake than for its effectiveness in
education or communication... Using the very latest computer capabilities
usually means that only those with the very latest computer capabilities are
compatible.
There are two really
important points in this commentary that educators should keep in mind when
developing learning activities:
1) Make sure that the
technology you plan to use is integrated with and supports the attainment of
your learning objectives. If it doesn't serve the learning, then it has no
business being in the plan. The flip side of this coin is to take a look at
your learning objectives. If technology can support or enhance what you are
doing, then by all means, give it a go!
2) Keep the digital
divide in mind. Make sure that when appropriate, you aren't excluding
learners from planned activities because of the technology you plan to use.
Offer alternatives when possible. As an example, think about professional
video clips that are available on the web now. Often, providers furnish a
variety of download choices depending on the user's connection speed. Test
your product/process in different browsers, with different software
versions, and at different connection speeds to iron out potential glitches.
As Dr. Gaston points out, sometimes the simplest format is the best - it can
reach the greatest number of users with the fewest potential problems.
Thanks, Dr. Gaston!
Return to Top
Book Review -
We Make the Road by Walking: Conversations on Education and Social Change
by Myles Horton and Paulo Freire
Are
you looking for something a little bit different and very uplifting to read
this summer? Two giants in the adult education world, Myles Horton
(Highlander Research and Education Center) and
Paulo Freire (champion of
activist literacy education in Brazil) were brought together in December of
1987 to discuss their ideas, lives, and work before a live audience of
academics, community activists, students, and friends just two short years
before Horton's death. The audio tapes of their conversations were
transcribed verbatim and edited to provide a thematic framework while
retaining the flow and feel of the original conversation.
The
conversations offer a deeply meaningful and energizing glimpse into the
lives and work of two men who came to many of the same conclusions about the
nature and purpose of education while working in two completely different
cultures and parts of the world at about the same time in history. If you
are feeling a bit tired and overwhelmed by teaching, or if you just need a
shot in the arm to get re-motivated, take a stab at this wonderful account
of two dedicated intellectuals and educators who inspire by the dignity they
afford those in their educational charge - their learners.
The
book ends with a poem recited by Horton that epitomizes the educational
philosophy held by these pedagogical greats that enabled them to touch and
transform so many lives in the direst of situations:
MYLES: I'm going to read a short little poem here. You can figure out who
wrote it. "Go to the people. Learn from them. Live with them. Love them.
Start with what they know. Build with what they have. But the best of
leaders, when the job is done, when the task is accomplished, the people
will say we have done it ourselves." Who wrote that? Who could have written
it?
THIRD PARTY: You could have written it. Paulo could have written it.
MYLES: It's taken a long time for people to come to these ideas hasn't it?
This was written in 604 B.C. by Lao Tzu. Isn't it wonderful? That's a
translation of course, but the ideas are exactly what Paulo and I've been
talking about. That's wonderful.
The
book is wonderful! Step into their world and be refreshed!
Horton, M. & Freire,
P.; Bell, B., Gaventa, J., & Peters, J. (Eds.). (1990). We make the road
by walking: Conversations on education and social change. Philadelphia,
PA: Temple University Press.
Page 1 2
| 
