“Right now” v. back then
student learning, teaching, toolbelt February 15th, 2008I just read a great post by Melanie McBride about Twitter, del.icio.us, and participatory learning. I recommend reading it if your curious about a how one professor took the plunge and began ‘doing’ engagement technology. Read her post - she has a few stories from the trenches including an interview with one of her students.
February 15th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Hey thanks - apologies about the length (verbosity is an occupational hazard of teaching…). but hopefully there are a few things in there that have some value for somebody. I wish I could have included more of the student perspective but I didn’t want to make them even more uncomfortable.
BTW - please don’t edit “professor” out (I just love reading it). I’m actually just a college instructor (if only these titles actually reflected the giftedness of individual educators … alas
February 16th, 2008 at 12:07 am
[…] “Right now” v. back then I just read a great post by Melanie McBride about Twitter, del.icio.us, and participatory learning. I recommend reading it if your curious about a how one professor took the plunge and began ‘doing’ engagement technology. Read her post - she has a few stories from the battlefield including an interview with one of her […] […]
February 16th, 2008 at 6:41 am
Hey Melanie, “Professor” or not you’re doing some amazing things in your classroom :-)!I’m very fortunate to work with gifted educators at Keene State many of whom are instructors/adjuncts/lecturers. It seems these folks are open to try new engagement pedagogies which often have an element of risk associated with them (new, untested, not ‘academic’, etc.). Kudos to you for diving in and sharing with the rest of us!
Jenny
February 17th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Thanks JDarrow: You hit the nail on the nose with the words: “open to try” …
That’s really all we’re talking about here isn’t it? That seems to be the one key difference between those who get somewhere with new things (technology and new ideas alike) and those who resist. I keep telling my students “yes, it IS overwhelming, but pick one thing and just play with it … break it, make mistakes, start over, fool around until suddenly, voila, it has meaning for you.”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, those who have the artistic spirit of play and exploration and fearlessness will go further with these new models of education than those who are stuck in the past (submission to the gatekeeping models of authorization, approval and hierarchies).
I was a back of the class student all through high school even though I was creative, capable and smart. I was at the back for a variety of reasons not all of them the teacher’s fault. But I was bored. And I did feel that who and what I was wasn’t validated in that space.
Our students bring so much richness and sophisticated to our classes. Unfortunately, many of them don’t feel validated (especially at-risk low achieving students) … their experiences and identities are simply not reflected in the curriculum. Youtube, YLive, Facebook, MySpace, etc gives us a chance to tap into those lives and cultures (however highly mediated and produced).