Questions

http://www.mrlovegrove.net/2011/09/04/questions/

I love this idea: and for those who think this is lazy teaching , try it sometime.....

Skills for study

oh where to begin......?!?!??

I took over leadership of the study skills module this year and began by proposing a few tweaks. Now I am heading for revolution (shakes head in despair).

The modest proposal I first mooted was to change the first assignment for this module from a paper-based journal/photocopying and note-taking exercise into an online search terms/ database accessing exercise, with online submission via the VLE. So far so 21st C.

But still I wasn't happy. Yes I need to show first year students how to use library catalogues and e-searching techniques, but surely they need more? What about social bookmarking as a place to save their web searches?

And instead of a final portfolio in a Word document, how about an e-portfolio? a wiki? a blog?

And if I am going to start telling them about these tools and introduce them to Twitter along the way - well, am I not I really on the verge of describing a PLE???????

So my question is this: is it appropriate to introduce Year 1 students to these tools - will they get it? will they be bored already? will it be just too different given that 99% of the rest of their studies will be based on using libraries, text books, the VLE and handing in their work at 2pm on a Friday afternoon after a lengthy queue to get to the reception window.......

Or are these actually essential life skills?

Anyway I have now pretty much decided on a way forward and though I take this route with some misgivings, I will be blogging as a I go and reflecting on how it turns out.

Last year the task for the first assignment in Term 1 was to find, then contrast, two or three articles on a topic chosen at random from a current issue of a health and social care journal. I then discovered that they do a nearly identical assignment for a different module in Term 1 and another also pretty similar for yet another module at the start of Term 2. I don't feel the task on my module is really adding anything to their learning about techniques for study and writing at HE level.

So this year I have decided to give them as a topic the use of social networking tools for study/learning in higher education. This fits well with some of the key texts we look at in relation to study at HE - for example Study skills for social workers - Stogdon, Chris, Kiteley, Robin, 2010

I have already done some research and put some useful articles in a Diigo group they will be asked to follow/join/add to and I will spend some time talking about and demonstrating this site and a variety of other tools - blogs, Twitter, Google sites, wikis, slideshare, iGoogle etc, which they might want to use to start to build their Personal Learning Environment.

I feel like I am stepping into the unknown: but on my side is my passion and my practical experience of using these tools myself for my own learning and I also know I'll have my personal learning NETWORK to fall back on for advice and support :)

Wish me luck!

Reasons to be blogging - Part 1

Yesterday in the course of doing a bit of preparation for next year's modules (or should that be the modules that start in less than 2 months???), I came across this interesting bit of research on motives for blogging.

Motives for Maintaining Personal Journal Blogs Erin E. Hollenbaugh, Ph.D in the journal Cyberspace, Behaviour and Social Networking (where else?) Vol 14 No 1-2 2011

Basically motives for blogging divide into:

• Helping/Informing
• Passing the time
• Exhibitionism
• Archiving/organizing
• Professionalism
• To get feedback

I started blogging to archive and organize my reflections on learning as a PGC(H)E student; I was encouraged to do this by Richard Hall , but I continued in an effort to bring some additional resources to the attention of my distance learning students.

I think the first of these reasons still holds true for me as I tend now to use my blog as a place to try out ideas - and to keep a record of them - so that at the end of the year I can reflect on how my plans turn out.

I now include a Twitter feed on my blog which adds a bit more of the helping/informing dimension as the feed is from key players in the health and social care sector and often has some great links to articles and websites which I think students might find useful in their studies.

There's a bit of exhibitionism in the mix as I recently added a Flickr feed. And I do love it when I get feedback :) - this is one way of linking into my Personal Learning Network.

Almost never is this a way of passing the time for me as I find it difficult to find time to blog.

What are your reasons for blogging?

And so .... the end is near.....

I have finished teaching for the year and am now on the home stretch as far as marking is concerned.

The reflective assignments from the 3rd year social work students were a revelation. I will definitely re-run this group project next year.

Despite some gripes about the project not being assessed (I am reconsidering this) the level of engagement with the project and with the reflection was tremendous.

Some students clearly started out on this project and on the formation of their groups with the view that the whole process was "fake" and that putting together an online presentation over 9 weeks or so was going to give them very little insight into how groups work "in the wild". Their reflections tell a different story and the sophistication with which some of them have applied theories of group dynamics, team roles and motivation theory has been quite inspiring.

What is more, the projects themselves have provided a legacy - a set of resources about the art and craft of leadership which are going to be invaluable not just for future students, but for me too!

I also feel really inspired by the students' ingenuity - the range of TV programmes and films studied (from Toy Story 3 to Hell's Kitchen) as well as the platforms used (Facebook, Wordpress, Powerpoint) has been enriching and the freedom to be creative is something most embraced eagerly in the midst of a heavy final year.

Some have been troubled by the need to wrangle the technology but the exercise also produced some real "stars" in terms of getting to grips with the on-line platforms.

So what will I do differently next time?

Probably introduce some form of credit for the work actually produced and reduce the amount of reflection to be done alongside the presentation.

Instead, reflection on the group process could be an option for their exam (I HAVE to give them an exam, apparently).

Give them a free choice of platform, film, and even topic (leadership, motivation, group process, team types, organisational culture etc.....)

What I won't do - but would love to - is give them one another's reflections to digest.

The variety of perspectives was dizzying at times and that would be the real way to learn about teams.... however they would (I would!) write very differently if their work was going to be reviewed by peers. But maybe there should be some part of the process where they ARE encouraged to do a group reflection?

Maybe actually all teams should do this from time to time....?

So if you'd like to see the student's work,(with their consent) here are a couple of Facebook Pages (The Beach) (Hell's Kitchen) and a Wordpress site. I'll be adding the Powerpoint presos to Slideshare shortly....

Little footsteps

...it has been a while - sorry, dear blog.

There is just such a lot going on and so many ideas to try and capture...

Firstly, I got my 3rd year leadership students talking about their online projects which focussed on either Avatar or The Apprentice for a discussion of models of leadership. I created a little video about it that I could show to next year's students. I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome - and their enthusiasm for Google Sites and the use of TV/Film sources.

Given how much the social work students are enjoying this aspect of their assessment it is something I will definitely continue with - and be a little bolder next time by giving them the freedom to choose their own platforms and resources.

Ipadio podcasts have been a big hit with the social work students - especially in giving them some tips on the assignment. Again this is something I plan to continue next year and as much of this stuff won't change I'll be able to reuse my podcasts too!

Today I will be starting work on marking the e-portfolios that my second year students are preparing. This has been an interesting process: I didn't make use of the e-portfolio compulsory and I didn't "officially" tell anyone I was using it. That caused some hiccups with school office as I thought I should get students to hand in some sort of declaration in hard copy - and school admin staff just turned up their noses at it! A bit of a chat soon straightened things out. Note to self - consult with the all powerful school admins before trying stunts like that again!

To make the process as painless as possible, I had prepared a template for the students to use (see left).

Responding to a request from the guinea pigs, I set up an extra seminar session in the IT suite to show them how to use the Google Sites tool.

In the end about eight have submitted electronically and the results range from OK (in terms of presentation) to pretty damned amazing.


Oh well - back to the marking now! See you on the other side....