Thing 19: Using Communication Tools in the Classroom

My opinion regarding the use of the use of Skype in the classroom, is very much on the same lines as my opinion regarding the use and eventual abuse of video tutorials. In brief, whilst I appreciate the benefit which can be gained in certain situations, I am very skeptical of the possible abuse of these methods, as I would hate to know that students are actually relying on this mode of class communication, rather than physically attending class.

Of course, there may be situations where Skype can be very useful in the classroom, and in the past academic year, I had a student who needed to be hospitalised for a whole week and did not wish to miss any classes.  In this case I agreed to allow the student to follow the lesson over Skype and all in all, the experience was a positive one. Once we found the correct angle to position the IPAD, so that the whole white board and projection could be viewed by the student, all went well.  The added benefit of Skype over video tutorials, is , of course, the fact that student at the other end of the connection can actually interact with those present in class.  The disadvantage of Skype over a physical presence is that the Skype connection depends on the consistency of the internet connection (which we do have back in Malta, but I know that there may be some issues in some parts of the world).  Also, my experience showed me that the student sitting in hospital could not always see my economics models clearly on her computer screen or the annotations I made to mark certain relevant points on the model.  This, of course, in my subject, proves to be a major drawback. I can also share with you that one of my colleagues uses other platforms other than Skype such as Google Hang Out and Appear.In. These are alternative platforms to Skype, and perform very much the same functions as Skype or FaceTime would (though FaceTime is only limited to Apple users).  One particular colleague likes to give students the possibility to connect with him at a particular time in the evening should they be facing any challenges during their study time at home. Both he and the students find this function very useful.

I have no experience at using Kwiksurveys, but I have used Google Forms and Survey Monkey to draw up questionnaires and whilst I have found them both to be very easy to use (remember that when I get stuck I like to get help form the online video tutorials available) I tend to prefer using Survey Monkey as I seem to have got accustomed to its features and style.

The subject I teach, Economics, has recently introduced a Multiple Choice section in the examination paper, which means that now I need to get my students to practice their skill at answering this type of question.  I have been looking for an easy- to-use and cost-effective software which allows me to launch MC tasks in class and somehow receive the results in real time (using ‘clickers’, but I am sure that in today’s world smart phone and dedicated apps can be used instead)  whilst projecting the results for everyone to see on the white board.  I have seen this in use, but cannot remember what it is called and have never managed to find it.  I would really appreciate some ideas and suggestions, should anyone of you have come across anything like this. It would add some spice to the MC exercises 🙂

Thing 18: Collaborative projects with students – using Wikis and google docs

The Power of Collaboration

Anyone who works with me knows that I have discovered Google docs and that I like them! Google docs and myself really became inseparable about 12 months ago  🙂 (I know, I arrive a little late to most scenes, a type of laggard, that’s me!).

I use Google docs mostly for administrative purposes to store and maintain student tracking records and reports.  This platform is particularly useful when the documents need constant updating by a number of different parties, and which need to be shared and viewed by others, in their latest version. I have also used Google forms for some surveys which I have done, but recently I have shifted to using a different platform (Survey Monkey, which I know will be discussed in a dedicated Thing, soon). I do not really used my G drive to share documents with my students as at College we have a dedicated platform (our e-learning platform) which is recommended for this purpose. I have however, shared  documents with other colleagues on this platform and find it to be easy and reliable also, especially when the documents I wish to share take up considerable file space and cannot be transferred via email due to file space limitations. The added advantage of sharing documents on the G drive is that collaborators can edit the file (if given editing rights) and the latest version is always available.  This saves me the trouble of having to email the latest version of my collaborators each time it is edited.

Collaboration is vital to enhance learning, especially at higher levels, where the sharing of ideas, interpretations, opinions and findings, and the discussions around these can only enrich the learning experience.  I like to use collaboration in the form of group work, when I ask students to solve different cases in groups and to go away to the library to discuss the scenario I set them and come back with their joint interpretation.  When I do this, in fairness, I am hardly ever interested in the end result or answer which the students present, but more the thinking process and the dynamics of the group and the level of interaction achieved amongst the group members. I have seen many students flourish as a result of group work experience, and this makes me very happy. Unfortunately, so far, I have only used collaboration of the mode explained above, and have never tried to launch a wiki. I think I need to think more about this, before I decide how and when to use this.  What I have tried to launch is the function of online virtual fora over our e-learning platform , and in fairness, I found it rather challenging to achieve an acceptable level of engagement and participation amongst students, and I know that several of my colleagues have also experienced this.  Perhaps this is due to the fact that our student cohort have the luxury of meeting each other face-to-face on a daily basis and therefore consider virtual interaction with their class mates an added burden.

Thing 17: Going beyond Powerpoint: Prezi and Slideshare

Like most of us, I have been using Powerpoint for several years, and my skill at using this software has developed over time.  I have now the skill to include different themes, animations, to insert a voice over or music, to include a video or hyper link, to change the powerpoint into an automatic video and many more features.  I am sure that I am not impressing anyone here (and it is not my intention to do so, either),as the more you use a particular software, the more you become confident and familiar with its features, and the more you are ready to experiment with it.  This is what we all have experienced with Powerpoint, since we have been using it for a number of years.

Prezi, on the other hand is a software I can across about 18 months ago, when I attended a business conference.  I must say, that it immediately captured my attention and impressed me – however, I remember commenting to my colleague, who was sitting besides me, that I was feeling dizzy, as the presenter proceeded with his zooming in and out from one frame to another (I must tell you though, that I have always suggested from motion sickness, even as a little girl, and I am sure that this is related). I felt rather intimidated by the users of this software and looked up to them in awe.  I was very impressed, when the marketing team at College, prepared a Prezi for our marketing endeavours…so Prezi was getting closer to me.  Recently, I decided to rise to the challenge and when asked to present some findings to my colleagues, I decided against Powerpoint and in favour of Prezi. I only needed to be indicated the starting point of the process of Prezi presentations by a loyal and patient colleague and honestly, I did the rest on my own steam, whilst occasionally referring to one of the online video tutorials for those who are new to Prezi. My first (and only attempt so far) was  quite successful 🙂

My concern is, however, that too many Prezi’s many lose their impact, and perhpas deter students from the main aspect of the presentation – the content (rather than the visual).  So my intention is to use Prezi occasionally, and still remain loyal to Powerpoint, which I find has been really designed with the classroom context in mind (with the different printable versions in note form etc).

I must admit that I have only used Slideshare occasionally really, so my experience here is rather limited. I must experiment a little bit more with this feature before I can make my comments. The concept behind Slideshare is one which I like, as the sharing of valid material, especially in an academic context, is to be encouraged.  Of course, the challenge here probably lies in finding the material which is appropriate and of good quality – so perhaps sometimes, I would prefer to save time and actually do my own research and prepare my own work. Would I be ready to upload my work to Share would be  the next question, and I have to be frank and say that probably I would have some reservations about putting up my work, and that I would be selective in what I share publicly. I would be interested to hear the views of others on this.

Thing 16: Video making tools

Yes, I definitely agree with your comment about the risk of over reliance of students on the recorded videos as a substitute to class attendance, in fact I share this concern. For this reason I do not record full lectures and make these available, but instead limit myself to record what the students consider as ‘sticky’ bits so that they can be used for revision purposes. This means that during tutorials, instead of asking me to repeat bits of explanation of the actual theories, we can devote the tutorial time to the application of the relevant material and problem solving.

princyjain

The task assigned is to explore various video making websites and tools.

I did Google search for video making tools and came across this article form American Express Open Forum that brings to you various video making tools and gives small explanation of each tool telling how it is different form other tools.

Creating my own video and making that a part of my lectures would definitely be an interesting element for my class. But yes, I need to think hard for ideas for such videos in my subject. One idea that spurs in my mind right away is to make a video for various forms of market structure in Microeconomics. I can simply think of examples of different market structures which are easy to approach and then make of video of buyer and seller interaction. To me this idea seems relevant because my students always complain of missing out…

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Thing 16: Video Making Tools

I find that this task links very well with the task in Thing 15, where not only did I establish that it is essential for teachers and lecturers to vary the tools they use in the classroom so as to maximise on the attention spell of the students, but also that I am a confirmed disciple of this.  Videos offer an excellent tool for varying class activities.  I find that a couple of important rules need to be adhered to when using videos:

1. Classroom videos should be short, if they are to be effective;
2. The lecturer must have a number of questions readily available to students in order to check  understanding;
3. Videos should not simply be used for the sake of variety, but they must be clearly crafty and woven into the fabric of the lecture so as to enhance learning.

In Thing 15 I have identified a number of IPAD applications which I have found useful when preparing video aids for students (Doodlecast Pro, Explain Everything, Notability).  These applications provide a very user-friendly platform with which to produce teaching aids for students.  These video clips are not only cheap to produce but their production is not at all time consuming.  The beauty lies in the speed with which the lecturer can produce video clips in order to respond to students requests and difficulties.

Although I am already using the platforms which I have identified above, I am always keen to try new methods and I have had a go at using Animoto.  I found this also to be very user friendly and easy software to use, which I am sure that I will be using during my class preparation.

Please have a look at this short clip which explains the mathematical derivation of a a function in micro economics – the Marginal  Revenue Function for the Monopolist.  This is an explanation I usually need to go over several times, as students find it confusing, so I decided to create this video tutorial.  I used DoodleCastPro on my IPAD to do this and that is all the equipment I needed.

This is my little experiment with Animoto, I really like this software and found it extremely simple to use.

Video Making Tools

I have had the opportunity, as have my colleagues, to preview some of your customised video tutorials, and personally, I think they are fantastic! Well done!
I know that your team has been concerned with the editing time involved in the preparation of this material though, so I understand that this is a lengthy process. I know that you have read some of my previous blog posts, in particular my post on blog 15, where I have indicated some Apps which allow for the less formal preparation of customised tailor-made video clips. These can come in handy until we are in a position to say that we have a full library of professional videos prepared and should only focus on updating .

Dunstan's Blog

This discussion complements well the previous discussion in Thing 15. In that discussion I expressed my belief on the importance of including multimedia content as part of our lectures. This is strengthened even further when the lecturer creates his or her own videos to create content which is tailor made for the needs of the lesson.

The creation of one’s own videos is far more effective as the student can definitely relate more to what the content. Maybe one can even consider including students to them also … that would definitely create a more lasting impression! A second important advantage of the creation of such videos was outlined in the discussion question. Students can re-visit this video time and time again when they need to revise particular material. This is convenient for both the student and the lecturer, who will avoid repeating a particular example or concept time and time…

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Thing 9: Exploring Social Networking

In principle I do not engage in publicising my private life and matters on social media platforms – I do not feel comfortable doing so; personally I feel that these platforms can become addictive, time wasting, and eventually end up being highly intrusive. For this reason, although I have set up a Facebook and a LinkedIn profile I use both with utmost discretion and hardly ever divulge any details pertaining to my private persona…that’s just me!

Let me start with my LinkedIn profile. I have set this up years ago, and update it every so often, but if I have to be very honest, I do not access it regularly, and I do not even really use it extensively to network.  Perhaps this could stem from the fact that I live on a small Island, with total population of less than half a million people, so really, locally, we do not need to use any social platform in order to find each other up or to see what the other has achieved professionally – we do still tend to meet up and chat, face-to-face (thank God!).  Having said that, I do like the way that LinkedIn allows one to network with people overseas, whom perhaps, it is much less easy to meet up.  I also like how LinkedIn allows for the endorsement of personal skills as this really acts as professional reference. I also like the feature of Linked In which allows you to subscribe and  follow other groups which may be of interest to you.  I have also noticed how some Linkedinners use this platform to publish posts, opinions, or job vacancies and although I feel that this takes getting used to, I am sure that these features can be very useful.

I usually do not entertain connections invitations from students who are still currently studying at the Institute (this is where I feel I need to draw a line), however, when I know that the student concerned has neared the end of his studies and has nearly completed his degree, I then accept the invitation and also seek to endorse the student for his professional qualities, as I feel that this may help him when he is seeking employment.

Now to Facebook… now this, for me, is a completely different cattle of fish…. I consider Fb to be 100% socially-focused network …the place where to catch up with all the virtual gossip which would have otherwise taken place at the corner store (time permitting!) …and that is just NOT my cup of tea 😦   I am of course conscious of the fact that Fb is also used by organisation purposes for promotion, and in fact, that is how I use my Fb page, entirely to promote the Institution where I teach and its activities, as I said earlier, I am not one to post photos of family or trips and outings…and I definitely do not engage with students on fb on a social dimension for as long as they are still studying at the Institution. Using FB for marketing purposes however, goes far beyond the simple task of uploading a post, and if one intends to use this marketing tool well and effectively, than my advise would be to seek the support of an IT specialist who can help with the interpretation of the analytics of the results of the marketing efforts. Marketing today is indeed very digital, and marketers need to be quite IT literate, otherwise they are just out of the market! I also know that some of the other staff members at my College use fb with their students by creating closed Groups, which allows them to discuss certain concerns and share ideas.  I find this very clever as, although a similar feature exists on our elearning platform, experience has taught me that students do not like to engage much with the latter, perhaps because it does not sound hip enough! I have noticed that posting short video clips goes further than simply posting an image or text…again pointing to the fact that today’s students do have a certain degree of resistance to reading.

When it comes to Academia.edu, I think that this is a brilliant platform to allow young and not so young researchers to publish and share their work, but personally I have never used it.  I intend to experiment with this site and upload an article in the coming weeks. I would also like to mention that I have come across a programme called Mendeley which is really a free reference manager – brilliant one in fact, to organise all your journal articles for ease of use.  I have noted that this platform also allows for the sharing of articles amongst its users, so I am sure that other platforms exist which allow researchers to share their work easily.

Thing 13: Exploring Flickr and other photo sharing sites for finding images for teaching

photo taken by Bhupinder Nayyar on July, 2, 2014.

…So finally here I am! I have managed to find my way around Flickr, opened my account, uploaded one image and downloaded another image relating to the Stock Exchange, a topic I like to talk about to my students.  I must say that my Flickering has not been a smooth experience, and in the end I did have to seek the support of one of my domestic digital natives (and we all know how that usually goes….) .

I did come across many valid images (Creative Commons) about the topic I researched, but there were only a handful video clips and these were all inappropriate for the classroom context.

I still cannot claim that I know how to use Flickr, or that I will immediately resort to Flickring in the future, but I will give it time, and perhaps bring this Thing back to the discussion table with my colleagues at the College as I do have several unanswered questions, some of which I will articulate below perhaps someone can attempt enlightening me please !

1. Are all Flickr images automatically viewed on a Google search?
2. How does one set privacy settings on Flickr?
3. Can I just use Flickr as a private repository for say my holiday pictures and be sure of privacy?
4. How does one upload and share themed pictures?
5. I noticed that a Flickr blog is possible also – how dies this work? Is it a substitute platform to the one we are currently using?

Help, anyone please????  🙂

On a final note, I also know that at the office, in a more commercial context, we use Tumblr to upload photos, which are then immediately made available on our corporate website. Of course, the IT people set all this up, but I am wondering whether Tumblr has the same use as Flickr, although, a first browse through it seemed that the themes were rather  more mundane.

Thing 15: Finding Scholarly videos and podcasts for teaching

I am a firm believer that in order to capture the attention of my audience for as long into the duration of the time I have with them, then it is essential that I use a mixture of techniques, media and activities.  I am not new to podcasts or videos and have used these in a number of lectures and in a variety of ways.

You Tube offers a great source, for example, of interviews which I like to show students snippets of and then discuss. It’s one thing to hear say about Michael Porter, day in, and day out, and it is another to actually follow a interview given by the man himself.  My experience at using these media however, has taught me a few tricks:

1. A video is by far better than audio only as it is very difficult to remain focused if you cannot see something to complement what you are hearing.
2. When a video clip is used in class, it must never be longer than a couple of minutes – the shorter the better, in fact!
3. I ensure that students are not ‘zooming out’ by taking the habit of stopping the short clip mid way and even at that stage asking the students to give me their thoughts and reflections – I was quite surprised the first time I did this trick, but then managed to keep students glued to what I was showing them 😉
4. Never use a video or pod cast for the sake of using a different medium, it must always be well related and woven into the lesson plan so that it becomes an essential part of the lecture.

The University of London International Programmes is also extending the provision of dedicated video casts in some subjects.   These are short videos prepared specifically for the students as an introduction to a particular area or content. At times, there are also longer videocasts on the UOLIP-LSE VLE which delve deeper into a particular zone of the content, this especially in the EC1002 syllabus.  The students like these, and I feel that they are a valuable tool as a revision aid, as in my opinion, nothing beats face-to-face interaction!

I have also tried my hand at preparing my own videocasts using my IPAD.  My students had pointed me to the direction of a number of IPAD applications, all very easy to use, such as Notability, Doodlecast Pro and Explain Everything. I have experimented with the three of them and found them useful, especially when I realise that students are struggling with a particular concept, then I prepare a ‘homemade’ video for them, specifically targeting their difficulty and make it available to them on the College e-learning .  This, they can replay as often as they want and them come back to me with further comments or difficulties.  I have found this a useful tool.  The advantage of these applications are that they are very quick to use and teachers can actually respond to the students need immediately.  You can even connect the IPAD to an Apple TV (not the screen, but the little black box) and record the lesson ppt, with any markings you may wish to make on it as you explain, together with your voice over during the lesson,   and then upload the whole thing on the e-learning platform, without really requiring any sound or recording equipment. Recently, I have also discovered that all this can also be done with the use of an Interactive White board, so really the IPAD applications are quite superfluous if in class you are equipped with these.