I keep changing my layout... I guess I like to see something different every time I log on. :-P
It was brought to my attention today that in 30 days, we will be in our classrooms. Holy. Crap. This summer semester has flown by, I can't believe how much has happened in the last 5 weeks and how much is going to happen in the next 11 months. Whew, I'm exhausted just thinking about it.
I have to say that I really enjoyed the idea of our virtual conferences last week. I talked to Mary Jane Mielke in an internet chat with a few of my fellow MACers and got to hear (read, actually) about her experiences in the Wayne-Westland Community School District and their use of technology throughout the district. She taught us all a thing or two about newer technologies like CPS systems. It was great to speak with someone who has had a real impact on a school system's adoption and implementation of new technology in their classrooms, and to hear about how well it's been received.
In terms of the chat itself, I thought the tool was really useful in connecting a group of people together to discuss a topic. It was nice to be able to participate in the comfort of my own home. I can see how this could be useful in connecting my students to students across the country or the world to come together and learn about one another. I can also see the benefit of being able to connect and collaborate with other teachers through this method of interaction. Maybe after we all graduate we can organize MAC chats :) I am excited to try this again, and to try the phone conference as well.
However, there were some things that I would change about the chat. I thought there were a few too many people and that we overloaded Mary Jane with questions; every time she answered something, two or three of us thought of new things to ask. I think she felt a little overwhelmed. I also didn't really feel very connected to her as a person; since I couldn't see or hear her, I was lost on body language and voice tone. But I still think chats are a good way to integrate technology in certain ways.
For example, I have been thinking about creating a chat name for myself either on AIM or some other provider so that my students have the ability to contact me outside of school if they have questions about homework or class material. I can be at my apartment working on my own homework, but be available on the internet if any of my students need a question answered. This will depend, of course, on my students' access to the internet at home. But it was just a thought.
In other news, I'm excited to start filming tomorrow's 30-second clip... :)
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3 comments:
Caroline
Very thoughtful reflection on the virtual conferences from last week. All valid points that you make about the chat environment. I think both Jeff and I agree with you (and some of the other MACers who raiseed the issue) about the number of people invovled in the online chat. It is difficult once the number is above 6 or so, unfortunately we could only get monitor 6 conferences at once. In the future I think we would probably do more conferences but at different times during the week, so Jeff and I could be more involved. In addition, when you finally get your laptops you could do video conferencing with iChat, which might eliminate some of the distance you felt with Mary Jane.
I am a big proponent of your idea of having "virtual office hours" (within reason of course). I also think that today's youth might feel more comfortable chatting with their teacher about a question or issue in a secure environment rather than calling on the phone (might be too personal for them).
Caroline,
I had similar feelings regarding last week's online chat with our various 'expert technology teachers'. While I am a bit reluctant to jump on the 'technology bandwagon', I have begun to see the numerous possibilities mediums like Wikis, online chat forums, and imovies might have in a secondary classroom. Linking my students to students in other countries to discuss a particular current event, a historical perspective, or scientific discovery may be a useful way to involve technology into a meaningful experience. As you mentioned, technology may also be useful in answering student's questions on an assignment. Regardless of our feelings toward technology and its current flaws, I believe it will be an inherent aspect of education in the decades to come.
Caroline,
I really like your idea about creating a "school" IM name so the students can reach you while you're doing homework too. Multi-tasking :) This had not occurred to me and now it's something that I'm going to give serious consideration. I think that is not only a good way to be available for questions, but as Liz mentioned, it gives students another avenue to ask questions. I know as a high school student I would have been more comfortable instant messaging my questions than calling my teacher at home. In fact, I can't think of a single teacher who provided us with their home phone number. IM is a good way to be accessible without being too accessible. After all, you can always end the "office hours" by signing off. Great idea! Thanks for sharing!
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