Hi to all in the 13 Things project. I met four colleagues last night who are also participating in 13 Things and we had some good (f2f) discussion. Who else is out there? Would you like to say hello and say what experience you have to date using blogs?
Maybe I should go first, I have tutored via distance learning via the Open University but that was through telephone and email on a 1:1 basis. The blog was not an option at that time but I can see how that the use of a blog to promote discussion and reflection on course content would work well to keep the course dynamic flowing.
Of course it takes courage to start posting, and I suspect (from looking at Facebook) that some enjoy the process much more than others.
But what should I be blogging about? Back to the instructions:
1) What your experiences are with curriculum design
I studied Education and Computing in my first degree and followed on later with a PGCE.
I was involved with the development of the ICT Diploma for 16-19 year olds that was introduced in 2008 and was part of the pilot run of this course in 2007.
I have also taught for Hertfordshire University in Computing and participated in the curriculum design process there.
2) What you would like to get out of the programme.
I would like to evaluate the various tools available that can be used for teaching and learning, my job role at Cambridge involves supporting other course givers as well as giving a range of IT courses myself.
But where are you, fellow bloggers?
Lynn
Hi Lynn,
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit sceptical about the usefulness of blogging divorced from the original "diary" or "news" element. I can see that for a lot of disciplines it might be very beneficial for the students to have updates and notes about real research in progress and what their supervisors do when they are not teaching undergraduates.
Rosemary
Hello Rosemary
ReplyDeleteGood to have you visit!
My personal opinion is that blogs have the potential to be effective when people want to discuss a specific topic, or, in the context of a course, to ask a question for clarification.
They seem to have little value when trivial comments are made and even less when they disintegrate into an online fracas!
I also think that they feel slow and cumbersome when attempting dialogue, so I am totally with you on the success of the diary and news application of the medium.
For distance learning or 'blended learning' the blog is better than no contact with other students or lecturers. As for us, how much easier it would be to have the discussion in the office!
Lynn
FYI:
ReplyDeleteLecture in cloud computing Tuesday 5th April 6 - 7 pm
http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/whatson/detail.shtml?uid=1c140c63-775f-32eb-951b-ecba6c311bf7
*waves*
ReplyDeleteHi Lynn! Nice to have you on board for 13 Things too!