Results from the classroom assesment.

I've posted a a pretty comprehensive summary of the comments to the classroom assesment on the wiki. Say what you want about them, with a wiki you can post things and make them accessible.

We might discuss the comments in class - though that needs to be considered. One person asked for more time on procedureal issues and 2 people asked to spend less time on it. One of my strengths is my flexibility - but that might not always be optimal. We don't want to use procedural discussions as a way to avoid talking about the reading. We might not be able to get 100% agreement on anything.

As a class, you aren't afraid of writing more formal papers or do presentations. A majority feel at least vaguely positive about blogs, but I'm going to work out an option for those who flatly don't like them. We will drop the requirement to comment on each others' posts. Someone cited research that said people write more (and better) when posting comments is optional. Where is that! I need to read that. Tell me in the comment to this post. Regardless, enough people provided enough responses to convince me the comment requirement was bogus.

One reason I don't flatly contradict or "correct" you (note in 1.iii) is that an amazing variety of opinion exist - and that's why more than one article is attached to supplement the book. They shouldn't seem redundant. There is controversy. SLA theory is an active place. For me to dictate one correct "truth" in a theory class would be to institute a dangerous orthodoxy. A teacher's role in a university setting is to provide an enviroment conducive to learning and stimulate discussion and thought. I may play devil's advocate at times, so don't interpret my questions or comments as the endorsement of a particular theoretical view. None-the-less, I may have been avoiding conflict. If you accessed my personal blog the first few weeks you should understand why. I might oughtta touch on that in class.

The variety of suggestions for role play, student presentations, etc. are promising - and since you would be creating the content it would be active learning. The presentations themselves would satisfy the rest of the classes' desire for passive learning. We could also cover a lot of content fast that way. The true educational value of flashcards, powerpoint presentations and the like comes from the process of creating the activity.

Maybe also we should watch some of the videos I've posted for you. At first I worried it was an inefficient use of time, but a) some have an aversion to the wiki b) some can't access youtube from their school accounts c) some (like me) have highspeed access at school but little time or a slow access from home.

Regarding the reading:
The majority of class are vocal about it being 1) too long or too much 2) too difficult and 3) the online reading being difficult to read on line and expensive to print.

We've already cut one book - significantly reducing your costs and reading. We can't cut any more. I have some ideas - actually several of you had an idea - on how we can cover the readign in more depth by working together. I'll go into details in class.

It can be dense - but you have to bring your intellectual "A" game. This is an 800 level class.

I don't read much text on line. I print it out and read paper copies I can highlight and make margin notes in. I expected you to do the same. If you have a big enough monitor - some poeople can allegedy read effectively online. You may consider looking farther ahead than the next week reading, and sharing print outs - thereby benefiting from the notes and highlights of classmates....

When you consider the money you spend in other classes on books, the cost of printing is a lot lower in this class.

class notes 1-30-8

First off - fantastic class discussion. The small groups I attended had great questions and the open class discussion really took off.

There was a very small number who participated in the whole class discussion in a limited way, which is one reason I think our blogs will be so fruitful. Some students hold back due to influences of native educational culture, affect (sorry for the jargon - but the usage isn't too uncommon, and you'll hear it in professional educational/medical/psychological discussions. I wonder if the usage might come from the trouble some people have it saying "emotion"), etc. I experienced this in a big way teaching in Asia.

Regarding The advantages of blogs over Blackboard. (Great questions - whoever asked that). Last year, when I used blackboard, it was not equipped to use blogs or wikis. I heard some talk about the next version encorporating or importing these technologies - but it would be bringing outside programs in - and questions of compatibility and the added steps necessary to make it work gave me pause.

Threaded discussions incourage short responses - and you can't see much of the content without a lot of clicking. Blogs are journals. Several of the graduate courses (at least 3) that I took required a teaching or learning journal of some kind. Posting journals online offers several advantages. I've written about this in more depth at http://gdixon.edublogs.org/what’s-in-it-for-you-purpose-and-audience/ The savings in paper and costs - not to mention trasportation and the reduction of clutter - are substantial.

Were we to do this through a Learning Management Software (such as Blackboard, Angel, Web CT or other) who would own your work? What would happen to your work at the end of the semester? How might someone else use your work? You might be surprised what's happening.

Re: security. While people can share your address (we may need a modicum of trust in our classmates) - I don't think your blog can be found unless someone knows what they are looking for. None-the-less, using a psuedonym rather than your own name, or an avatar (click for definiton) is always an option. Just tell me in class what your psuedonym is.

Do you keep your completed assignments for future reference - or do they go pretty much straight into the trash? What is better and why?