Get Your Students Hired
Scott:
What a great point!!! Technology can play a great role in our classes, but it is not the only role. We must use a variety of techniques to reach our students and this opens up a lot of possibilities,traditional means should be supplemented, not abandoned.
I also agree. Blended learning is a powerful strategy. It addresses more learning style requirements. Everyone does not learn the same, so by becoming more diverse with the material presented, the students performance and learning can improve.
Reaching all or even most of the students is always a challenge, so having a number of paths to take will help you as the instructor to do that.
Curriculum that emphasizes interaction amongst students and teachers creates an atmosphere for continued learning. I loved some of the "flipping" ideas I learned on other posts as well. This class is very informative and will help with broadening the classroom experience.
I think in a scenario like this, if the students do their part before they get to you can fill in the blanks, and clarify the information for them they might not understand. The key point is they have to step up.
Blended learning techniques can help my students out by making information more accessible. By using media presentations, I can post them to the portal then the students can go back and look at them to study with on their own time.
Social media can make the students more accessible to me. Students who are generally "not present" while in class, may be more present on social media and possibly participate in blog entries and responses.
It is difficult to match every learning type but i feel if you change up your methods through out the class and ask importnat questions you can more easily gauge the understanding of your students.
Before delivering a lecture, I try to have learning aids lined up that focus on multiple student learning styles. Video for the visual learner. Power Point for the reader. My lecture for the listener. And props for the hands-on learner. The nice part about incorporating all of this is that it helps the students recognize what resources they have available to them and in other cases I find out about new resources available to me too. Win - Win.
As opposed to strictly a basic verbal presentation the use of technology to provide interactive learning increases that ability for the student to internalized the instruction being given. It builds on the verbal instruction with both auditory and tactile learning
I understand and empasize with you. Getting some students to do homework is a bear. I guess it's a habit they picked up in high school.
That is a great idea; flipped classrooms. I am a diesel engine instructor and as much as I like the idea, getting students to "do their part" is something that most likely will not happen. At least not until our curriculum changes. But thank you for mentioning this!!
The more you have to work with the more likely you are to get the point across to most students.
In my experience some students respond more aurally others more visually. A dynamic audio/video presentation whether a slide show, animation or embedded video program which invites comments provides a blanket approach to cover all types of learners.
Brian,
I agree, not all students are wired to succeed in an online environment. I feel it is important not to limit options to online classes only- especially general education offerings, which is a growing trend in proprietary education. Classes such as Algebra or English Comp is often quite difficult for students; having that face to face experience does not come close to the mostly asyncronous environment found in online offerings, where students often feel lost.
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Theresa Schmitt
I couldn't agree more. Our school is in the process of adopting a blended learning curriculum and my fear is that other CEE courses have stressed the importance of catering to different learning styles. Using web based curriculum limits you to a small pool of learning styles. Classroom time is the only way to cater to these students learning styles.
By incorporating technology in the classroom to accompany lectures and practical hands on skills enables us as instructors to keep the attention of this new generation of students who are so technology savvy and who cannot otherwise learn by the old method of strict lecturing. I try to plan and pace my class so that I do not spend long periods of time teaching in the same manner so that the students do not get bored and lose interest. By doing lecture for 15-20 minutes, then making the students get out of their seats and perform hands on practical skills and then show power points or videos I can keep the attention of students better than if I use only one method for the entire class, because the method used to engage them is changing every 15-20 minutes.
There are a lot of things that students can learn from online material. Now that our students are doing that we can focus on more important things like the concepts that they struggle with. When added to some hands on activities it really brings the points home.
Technology must be brought into every lecture, otherwise womp,womp, womp is the outcome. By utilizing video's and powerpoints/slide share etc. the text from the text book comes alive. Even better if homework includes blackboard discussions. The outgoing student will always dominate the classroom but the sideliner will have a chance to shine during out of class discussion. It can also increase retention, with the students ability to access class materials and discussions.
I teach a night course from 5-10 pm, and one of the things I struggle with is keeping attention of the students. I know that utilizing a blended-learning technique would increase their interest in the topic. I am always seeking ways to keep their attention, so that they might better utilize the material.
Blended learning is our best option to optimize student comprehension in a modern classroom. Given the cultural diversity and divegent bacground of our "millenial" students and our traditional learners a "multi-media" approach to delivery is the best way to promote maximum student engagement. Capturing thier attention is the easy part. Keeping it requires all the resouces you can muster.