Too Much Media
Hi
There has to be a boundary between what is acceptable as far as using outside media and what would consider too much. I know of instructors that during an hour chat turn on some presentation that they have downloaded and sit back and add nothing to the experience. This is lazy and unprofessional in my opinion and does not afford the students a change to grow. It is so easy to get caught in that trap. What would be a good mix?
Bill Becker
Yetunde,
We all like resources! Students love them as well. The more we give them, the more they will absorb.
Shelly Crider
Media presentation should be used as an additional resource not the main lecture.
Hi Bill-
I completely agree with you. Personally, I find the main benefit of the synchronous chats at AIU Online is the interaction with the students. Playing them a recording (of me or someone else) is going to interfere a lot with that interaction.
Classes and lectures need to be fluid, in my opinion, meaning that they are able to be altered "on the fly" to meet the needs of the students. Using a lot of pre-generated outside media would definitely interfere with that.
I agree that using someone else's presentation and just sitting there while it plays is incredibly lazy. It would be more useful to add it as a link that students could access some other time while you use the live time to present the material.
With that said, I use recordings that I have made myself. Maybe it is a little lazy that I sit there while it plays. It saves my voice, but at the same time, I am assured that I have covered all of the points I have wanted to make, I am still available for questions during the presentation, and I am guaranteed that the sound quality is good. One problem I see all the time in live sessions are glitches with the sound -- it goes on and off, it is scratchy or too soft, it does not record well. All of these affect the student's experience.
How much is too much? If you have an hour chat and use more than half of it with some presentation (even one you have made), then I would say that is too much. One 20 minute presentation or a couple of shorter ones is fine.
Donald,
Check this link out......www.youtube.com/user/teachers.................I think you will like it!
Shelly Crider
While I create all of the presentations I use in my classes, I also firmly believe that there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Where have you found this work, Shelly??
With regard to media, I like to utilize appropriate YouTube clips in both the asynchronous environments and in live chats. With the latter especially, we can then discuss what we watched and it gives the students a break from sitting there and listening to me :)
I like media, but I do feel it can be to much. I would say that I try to aim for no more than two 10-15 minute meida piecs a week. I look for more interaction as many students today take themselves to media on the web a lot as it is.
William,
There is really no "perfect" formula as each class is a bit different. We can have the perfect media/student fit for one term and the next term could be way off balance.
Shelly Crider
Claire,
It is nice to show students your own work as we want to see their own work. I have seen some really nice work out there though!
Shelly Crider
From my perspective if an instructor is showing a presentation they found online they are not doing their job. The information should be supplementary to their knowledge and provided as ancillary resources to help the student complete an assignment and/or gain more insight on the topic.
