My name is Amy Severson, and I"m currently an Instructional Designer/ Educational Consultant/ Ed Tech person at Simon Fraser University.
I seem to have plenty of librarians in my life (family and friends), and in another life, I might have been one. I feel that there are many opportunities for the two groups to collaborate more and I hope that this course will help jump start my brain, so I cane make more explicit some of the intrinsic beliefs that I have.
I've never been a part of a MOOC (did I get that acronym right?) and I'm a bit cautious about it. I'm uncertain how I"ll balance all the different locations effectively. I suspect that I'll pick up some ideas though experience and my fellow course-attendees.
Amy Severson
Posts made by Amy Severson
Lately I've been thinking about autonomy as a motivating factor in the workplace, and while I've not read up on it, it must be a motivating factor in learning as well*.
While my knee jerk reaction is that autonomy is a bigger deal for adults than it is for younger students, I bet I'm wrong :-) Autonomy gives us permission to care about a subject or community, encourages us to think creatively and deeply and to reflect on our learning.
SO while there are many motivating factors (some pleasurable, some not so much), autonomy is something I wish to foster in the learning environments I work in and with.
Here is a quick link to a You Tube video with audio and drawing that makes a compelling case:
* I just did a fast online search, and indeed there are plenty of academic references to this correlation.
While my knee jerk reaction is that autonomy is a bigger deal for adults than it is for younger students, I bet I'm wrong :-) Autonomy gives us permission to care about a subject or community, encourages us to think creatively and deeply and to reflect on our learning.
SO while there are many motivating factors (some pleasurable, some not so much), autonomy is something I wish to foster in the learning environments I work in and with.
Here is a quick link to a You Tube video with audio and drawing that makes a compelling case:
* I just did a fast online search, and indeed there are plenty of academic references to this correlation.
I had nearly forgotten, but we experimented with online program-based portfolios with two different departments a few years ago.
The students bought-in in both cases because it was part of the final project or a degree requirement.
We used the same platform in both, and there was resistance for two very very different reasons. The platform was a very structured one, and for one program (call it program A), it was too onerous to navigate and manage. It had a new vernacular to understand which was not related to their day to day activities. A staff member ended up adding many of the portfolio items for the users. For the other program (we'll call it program B), which was more technically oriented, the platform was far too restrictive - they couldn't customize it to their needs or design objectives.
The resistance was in part due to the structure of the online platform, but it would be interesting to explore more how the ideas of portfolios were introduced. Program B had a long history of using print based portfolios in their courses, and depending on what they did with their degree, an industry expectation of a portfolio. The industry expectations would be wide ranging, implicit, not explicit and would vary in different companies, for different jobs and would be expected to evolve as societies use of technology changed. It's no surprise to me that these students would resist using a proprietary, structured system that did not fit with what they were learning about and what they expected to do after graduation.
Program A has an industry expectation for portfolios, but one that is far more structured and rigid. So the portfolio in that scenario is a drudgery, perhaps, where you can't express your personality, but just check of the job requirements.
My involvement with each program ended at the end of the experiment with that online platform, so I'm not sure what direction the program portfolios went in....
Cheers,
Amy
The students bought-in in both cases because it was part of the final project or a degree requirement.
We used the same platform in both, and there was resistance for two very very different reasons. The platform was a very structured one, and for one program (call it program A), it was too onerous to navigate and manage. It had a new vernacular to understand which was not related to their day to day activities. A staff member ended up adding many of the portfolio items for the users. For the other program (we'll call it program B), which was more technically oriented, the platform was far too restrictive - they couldn't customize it to their needs or design objectives.
The resistance was in part due to the structure of the online platform, but it would be interesting to explore more how the ideas of portfolios were introduced. Program B had a long history of using print based portfolios in their courses, and depending on what they did with their degree, an industry expectation of a portfolio. The industry expectations would be wide ranging, implicit, not explicit and would vary in different companies, for different jobs and would be expected to evolve as societies use of technology changed. It's no surprise to me that these students would resist using a proprietary, structured system that did not fit with what they were learning about and what they expected to do after graduation.
Program A has an industry expectation for portfolios, but one that is far more structured and rigid. So the portfolio in that scenario is a drudgery, perhaps, where you can't express your personality, but just check of the job requirements.
My involvement with each program ended at the end of the experiment with that online platform, so I'm not sure what direction the program portfolios went in....
Cheers,
Amy
I am an Instructional Designer at SFU, and I have not taken a science course since, oh, 1993 when I took Biology 100 at UBC.
I do however, want to be able to talk to faculty members in the sciences, and so I'd like to explore and discuss the unique challenges and opportunities here.
I do however, want to be able to talk to faculty members in the sciences, and so I'd like to explore and discuss the unique challenges and opportunities here.
Hi Alice,
When an idea causes me to slap my head and say "of COURSE" then I know that I'm going to do some serious learning. What a great way to get students involved (taking more responsibility for their learning) and get the feedback flowing between faculty and students and the T&L Centre. I would love to read your summary of your presentation - will you post it here for all of us?
Do other Centres consult with students, and what unexpected things did you learn?
I've noticed that some Teaching and Learning Centres provide both student and faculty support in learning. I wonder how that circle of feedback changes the learning opportunities, and what impact it has on the T&L staff. Is that a better way of participating in the larger loop of teaching and learning?
When an idea causes me to slap my head and say "of COURSE" then I know that I'm going to do some serious learning. What a great way to get students involved (taking more responsibility for their learning) and get the feedback flowing between faculty and students and the T&L Centre. I would love to read your summary of your presentation - will you post it here for all of us?
Do other Centres consult with students, and what unexpected things did you learn?
I've noticed that some Teaching and Learning Centres provide both student and faculty support in learning. I wonder how that circle of feedback changes the learning opportunities, and what impact it has on the T&L staff. Is that a better way of participating in the larger loop of teaching and learning?