One of the bedrock concepts of designing residential curricula and learning plans is the ability to write effective learning objectives. Writing effective and measurable learning objectives, however, is often more difficult than it may seem. The deeper one delves into learning theory and curricular design, the more nuanced one realizes these concepts are. One of... Continue Reading →
In doing my research I often come across great tutorials on social and digital technology as well as excellent examples of their use in higher education. Rather than keep them to myself, I decided to post them publicly to help others "get up to speed" on these tools and their uses. I've been doing this for... Continue Reading →
All too frequently, we become enamored with the bells and whistles of technology without taking a step back to examine our goals for using it. Bill Ferriter, of the Center for Teaching Quality, created the following image to demonstrate how learning to use technology can be conflated with learning what technology can enable us to do. It provides... Continue Reading →
In the practicum course I taught in the Merrimack College Higher Education program this semester, I had the students experiment with the creation of online portfolios. Online portfolios can be an excellent opportunity to promote reflective practice as well as give students a leg up in the job search. They can follow you throughout your... Continue Reading →
I had the pleasure of presenting with Dr. Susan Marine, one of my fellow faculty members at Merrimack College, on concepts of classroom flipping. What is flipping? Here's a useful definition from Wikipedia: Flipped classroom is an instructional methodology and a type of blended learning that delivers instructional content, often online, outside of the classroom and moves activities, including... Continue Reading →
The following post comes from Laura Pasquini which shares an excellent model for determining how one should go about integrating digital technology into course content and deciding what are the most appropriate approaches given the content and context. Tony Bates’ SECTIONS model is a practical and useful tool to have in your digital teaching arsenal. Read on…
With so many possibilities for digital learning, selecting media and technologies for appropriate course instruction is a very complex process. Although there are a wide range of options in the ed tech realm, pedagogical considerations should always come first. Instructors should reflect on the learning objective and desired outcomes for their subject matter before identifying identifying technological applications for the course.
The SECTIONS model, developed by Tony Bates (2015), is a pedagogical framework for determining what technology, specifically how this technology will be appropriate for instructional approaches. This might include identifying and determining pedagogical characteristics of text, audio, video, computing, and social media. With this framework, Bates (2015) asks five critical questions for teaching and learning for technology and media selection:
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The following post originally appeared on the ACPA Digital Task Force's website. I have been proud to serve alongside some amazing colleagues on the Task Force this year and the following represents the initial draft report of the group. Please consider giving your feedback on the original post so we can improve it. Video from ACPA... Continue Reading →
One of my fellow faculty members in the Merrimack College Higher Education Program, Susan Marine, and I collaborated to create a session about the concept of flipping learning environments. Susan is using an example from her teaching and I created an example for a training event. It is appropriate for both faculty and professions. Come join... Continue Reading →
The first ever National Adjunct Walkout Day was this past Wednesday, a day I also happened to be teaching as an adjunct faculty member. I didn’t walk out of my class, but I did use the first few minutes of class to highlight an issue that I think is important: the benefit-less extremely low pay... Continue Reading →
From the first ACPA PechaKucha session, to its adoption as a conference-wide event, a number of faculty have begun to utilize the presentation style as a class assignment for their students. For a few years, I have avoided assigning this to my own students. I thought it was just too hard. That it required too advanced a... Continue Reading →
For my first Wednesday spotlight, I wanted to showcase a tool I personally use in my teaching and presentations, Poll Everywhere. Poll Everywhere allows individuals to create quick polls, quizzes, and interactive message boards that can be integrated into presentation software for gathering feedback on the fly. Individuals can access and answer the polls via... Continue Reading →
The viral rise of the ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) Ice Bucket Challenge on social media has started a lot of discussion about what social media activism campaigns mean and what they truly achieve (or don't). The ALS Challenge isn't the first of these types of campaigns to go viral and prompt discussion around these topics... and... Continue Reading →
Being an instructor in the Higher Education Master’s programs at Boston College and Merrimack College, and as former Res Lifer, I’ve always been interested in how to advance student learning outcomes through the use of technology and social media in classroom and training environments. I’ll have the opportunity to present on both at the upcoming... Continue Reading →
This semester I am collaborating with one of the Boston College Higher Education faculty members, Ana Martinez Aleman, on a new technology e-learning project called “MediaKron” for her Higher Education in American Society course. MediaKron is an online multimedia platform that was developed at Boston College as a means of presenting and enhancing course content.... Continue Reading →
I had the privilege of doing a teaching observation of a colleague this semester. I always love the opportunity to learn from other’s approaches to the learning process. I thought I would share some of my reflections and observations hoping it may help you too. The instructor and I both share an approach to teaching... Continue Reading →
It’s that time of year! Time to train the staff, open the halls, and start welcome week. I wanted to share one of my favorite tools, Poll Everywhere, and give you some suggestions on how to use it in creative ways with your events, student staff trainings, educational sessions, and in the classroom. Poll Everywhere... Continue Reading →
< Return to my Teaching Portfolio For me, teaching is a calling. From my earliest childhood memories, I remember loving to play “school.” This love of the entire process of learning has followed me throughout the changes in my career path. In any role, regardless of whether I am acting in the formal roles of... Continue Reading →
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