Drape's Takes - Latest Comments in Why I Share

Re: Why I Share

dissertationhelp — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:49:49 -0000

Hi,
I learn constantly from reading this blog. My student's benefit everyday from the information and resources gathered here. Thanks for being such a great support.

Re: Why I Share

Austin Walters — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:22:20 -0000

What are your thoughts on the idea of micro-lectures facilitated by better informational technology? It was fascinating to read about the concept of microlectures in the chronicle of Higher Education several months ago – I think it’s a powerful concept that sits right at intersection of the wikipedia/youtube model.

I’ve always felt that traditional classrooms were a fairly inefficient way of learning. While they’re convenient in some ways such as providing 6-8 hours of ‘baby’sitting during the day, school lunches, some physical activity and some educational value, they simply don’t do any of these things efficiently.

In a typical 40-minute class, I’d estimate that 10-15 minutes are lost to inefficiencies such as class disruptions and winding up/down, a further 5-10 minutes are lost to unnecessary review of materials and another 10 minutes lost to in-class studying or practice questions that should really be tackled by the student outside of the class environment

What does that leave – maybe 10 minutes of ‘Pure’ teaching, of which 2-3 minutes are the inspirational’ kind of teaching, and the other 7-8 minutes are the repetitious, ‘demonstrate by example’ kind of teaching, which while useful for some, is not always needed by all

With this in mind, I’ve always felt that a great lesson could be boiled down into a 2-3 minute video containing just the essential and inspirational ‘nuggets’ at the heart of a concept. This is the reasoning behind Guaranteach, a new product that my colleagues and I are developing to teach mathematics with bite-sized math videos. Check us out at www.guaranteach.com and let me know what you think.

Austin

Re: Why I Share

Matt T. — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 07:54:45 -0000

You spoke of your 'route' to and through academia and the blogosphere. I dabbled in reading blogs about half way through a masters degree in curriculum and instructional technology. At first, I was "bored" with many of the posts as many seemed to be relatively "thin" compared to Freire and even peer-reviewed articles published over the past three to five years. From the "PD" perspective, which I think is where I think your proposal is tilted towards, the ability to interact with the Ferriter's, Draper's, and the like make it much more appealing. I'm less likely to enter into even a short back-and-forth conversation with some of those currently publishing. The real joy in this "open PD" model is finding someone who is interested in doing both publishing in journals regularly and online. In those few instances, the world seems quite a bit smaller and we have access to refined thoughts in both mediums with opportunity to push back, learn and converse. Good luck as your push forward, Darren.

Re: Why I Share

plugusin — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:54:51 -0000

Darren wrote:

Sure enough. Too often, the conversations taking place in the blogosphere seem to be far too disconnected from the conversations conducted throughout the literature - and this fact alone is highly unfortunate.

This one's got me thinking, Darren, only because I think our definition of "literature" is slowly changing----and while I agree that easy publishing has made it possible to stumble across heaping piles of trash online, I'm wondering whether we'll start to see more and more refined thinking online over time.

The place that blogs hold in our access to quality information is still developing, isn't it?

Here's to hoping that they will eventually become something that even old codgers embrace! (Otherwise, we'll have a generation of underinformed people, won't we?)

Rock right on,
Bill

Re: Why I Share

Darren Draper — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:10:38 -0000

Thank you, Donna, for your thoughtful feedback.

By the phrase "explicit topics at hand" I mean the curriculum specific
to the course itself. In other words, if it is a digital photography
course, then the topic at hand is photography -independent of the
methods used to teach photography and independent of whether or not
the course is open or closed.

I also appreciate your observation about the varied research
questions. I'll need to think this through further, but I can
certainly see the value in limiting the focus of the study.

Again, thanks for your feedback.

Re: Why I Share

Donna Baratta — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:16:14 -0000

Dan,
Really enjoy your blog and tweets.
As someone who will begin this journey in one year, appreciate your efforts. I will also be looking at PD though need to narrow to a particular focus.
I think your chapter one looks great, but have a question regarding Purpose item number 3: What exactly do you mean by "the explicit topic(s) at hand"? I think the "at hand" will prove to be a slippery slope. Perhaps re-word to make more concrete/measurable?
I am also unclear, is the purpose of your study to examine teacher efficacy or teacher attitudes in relation to tech pd? I think consistency from the start is key.
Looking forward to the rest of your work! Super idea using us as "critical friends"!

Re: Why I Share

Darren Draper — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:57:20 -0000

I don't have a problem with the Ed-tech canon, either - in fact, I'm a
firm believer. :)

That said, I also think it's important to find balance in all that we
do as well as live in such a way to consistently put first things
first. While there is definitely value and great insights to be found
in the writings of Shirky, Christensen, and Chris Anderson (of late,
with his free book called "Free"), I just think there is a tremendous
amount of worth in exposing ourselves to the more measured ideas found
only within the writings of academia.

Call me old fashioned. Sheesh, *I'm* even starting to think I sound
like a grumpy old codger.

Re: Why I Share

Ben Wildeboer — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:53:03 -0000

I'm working on my Master's Project this summer which includes a piece on a professional development model for teachers. I thank you for posting the full references- I'll definitely check lots of them out, as there seem to be many that might be applicable to my work.

I've made a point this summer to start reading (or re-reading in some cases) the "most basic in academic literature," as I realized that at most I've only read excerpts and works based upon the ideas from people like Dewey. While I don't have a problem with the "ed-tech canon" per se, I think your disgust in the general level of ignorance many people (myself included) have upon the academic basics.

Re: Why I Share

Darren Draper — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:41:59 -0000

Thanks for stopping by, Dan.

I look forward to seeing how you react to doctoral work and am anxious to compare your experience to mine, particularly in light of the fact that you've been immersed in the blogosphere for so many years now, previous to your formal exposure to the world of academia as a doctoral student.

My situation was slightly different. I began blogging as a doctoral student. In an early class back in 2007, one of my professors told me that the best way to could prepare to write a dissertation would be for me to "write more than anyone would ever read." And so my blog was born. Even though I haven't written more than anyone would ever read, I can definitely attest to the value of writing on a regular basis - and owe at least some of my success in graduate school to the writing I have done here and in comments elsewhere.

Additionally, I'll be interested to see how your opinions of what is written throughout the blogosphere change as you're exposed to more refined thought. Honestly, I've found myself reaching a level of disgust as I read so many of the more popular bloggers that have certainly read the ed-tech canon (i.e. The World is Flat, A Whole New Mind, Disrupting Class, etc.) but have failed to read even the most basic in academic literature (i.e. Paulo Freire, Howard Gardner, and even John Dewey).

Re: Why I Share

Dan Meyer — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:29:47 -0000

Flagged "read later." I think I'll be jogging down some similar trails as I start my own doctoral program this next year. Thanks for sharing.