Gina Bennett

Hi Wendy,

I am delighted to see a fellow STFX person here! I graduated with my MAdEd from STFX in 2003: John Reigle (sp.?) was the editor then. The Master's of Adult Education at STFX is still one of the iconic distance programs in Canada IMO. That program, more than anything else I think, demonstrated for me the power of self-directed learning: the 'self-directed, online informal PD' that Christine Horgan refers to in another thread.

Enjoy your hot & sunny afternoon in Antigonish! It won't last long
Gina

Hi Nancy,

As someone who was a part of the original BCcampus group that recommended the 'collaboratory', I am delighted to see this discussion thread in SCoPE! I coordinate distance learning activities for College of the Rockies, a small rural college in the southeast corner of BC. I also assist the college with curriculum development for both online & 'traditional' programs.

I feel somewhat isolated -- both geographically and professionally -- in the work I do so I try to be proactive about my own professional development. I rely heavily on the internet to help me learn about new professional development activities. My most-used sources for PD information are a) listings in trusted online communities (e.g. BCcampus's ETUG/ETOC site), b) direct recommendations from colleagues, & c) google searches for specific topics, activities and documents.

Gina

Terri's point needs to be emphasized! It seems obvious to say it, but Canada is a BIG country. As long as we insist that our citizenry move to urban centres for any advanced education (as we mostly still do), we are fueling a social movement that is (in my opinion) not good for Canada. The incredible expense of having to live in the city in order to attend university is like a huge education tax for us rural people. Studying so far from home & support systems is an added stress. And when I last checked, research indicated that students who move out of rural communities for university often don't return. So the investment is lost & the benefits of that advanced education do not enrich that community.

Either we continue to force urbanization on a low-density, vast country, or we extend educational opportunities to the other 90% of Canada (& we do it better). That's why e-learning is crucial for Canada.

My 2 cents!
Gina

I've been leaving this discussion forum to lie fallow for a week & give us all time to reflect on new ways of teaching science.... OK, ok: actually I've been 'way too busy & just didn't get around to posting a wrap up until today! One of my emerging talents is the ability to make oversights look like strategies

I really appreciate the involvement of all the wonderful SCoPE-ers out there. So many of you presented great links, insights, & reflections on what it means not only to re-think the teaching of science, but to generally re-think traditional teaching in a number of ways. As I mentioned at the outset, the teaching of science has been near & dear to my heart since I first set foot at the front of lab classes for Bio. 150 at UVic, many years ago... And especially since becoming involved with our BCcampus- & Inukshuk sponsored Web-based Associate of Science Program Development Project.

If, indeed, you have been reflecting on this thread over the past week, or if some even-marginally-related notion occurs to you later, please post here again!

And once again, thanks for your contributions.

Gina

Thanks Judy (another loyal ETUG participant!) The NY Times article is 'right on' with respect to this discussion. I found the comments of the College Board to be very interesting. I tried to figure out exactly WHAT they felt was deficient in the lab simulation activities. The only reason offered was the one presented by Dr. Fleck at the end of the article. His criticism was that “You don’t get the look and the feel and the smell”. I agree that you don't get the feel & the smell, & that the 'look' you get with a virtual lab is bound to be different (although maybe better). I just don't know that such a lack is sufficient to truly label the science educational experience gained from virtual labs as 'markedly inferior'.