Wider reading

Yesterday I had a bit of a rant at my level 4 students.  They have started work on a group project, but as yet I have failed to see any evidence of research and wider reading.  I didn't intend to have a go at them, but when I turned up to class, and many of them were late, I felt I needed to remind them that reading takes time and can't be done the night before an assignment needs submitting.

I demonstrated how it could be done.  Last week I spent 20 minutes retweeting information relevant to our subject on Twitter.  It wasn't difficult - I skimmed through the last few hours of posts, clicked on any interesting looking links, skim read the text and then retweeted if appropriate.  It meant that the following day I was able to review my own tweets and add links to the articles in question to our college Moodle pages for all the students to see.  These links can now be reviewed at their leisure any time up until the assignment deadline.

Having just marked a set of assignments, it's clear how beneficial wider reading is.  It teaches the students how to write academically, how to quote text or embed references, but overall, it gives them a much greater breadth of knowledge to draw on, which dramatically improves their understanding.  I think I made an impression on them, as I noticed a few had started posting messages up on a shared resource since yesterday.

Now all I need to do is resume my own wider reading for my dissertation.  It's rather a case of do as I say, and not as I do at the moment!!

Online collaboration v research

For the past few months, I've wholly believed in the power of networking and the benefits that collaborative working can bring.  For example, being able to connect to other educators via the internet - and in particular Twitter - has meant that I'm frequently exposed to, or directed to, tools which may enhance the learning experience for my students.  On an almost daily basic, I'm clicking on links to educators' websites or blog posts which help me think about how I teach and what I could do differently.  This is highly valuable to me, and I don't doubt will continue to influence my teaching and own learning for some time.

However, starting back on my MA course this month, and being involved in a course delivered under the UHOVI project has reminded me how essential it is for me to read reports and publications from key bodies within the industry - such as BECTA (abolished earlier this year), JISC and so on.  Whilst my online colleagues can provide me with instant examples and ideas, as well as workable solutions to problems and an insight into what has worked for them, there is no substitute for the critical, in depth reading that is available from bigger organisations with a wider remit.

Today I have read (and thoroughly enjoyed) "Emerging Technologies for Learning" published by Becta in 2006.  It hasn't given me immediate ideas for the classroom, but it has given me a broad overview of some of the key areas of growth.  As it is some years old now, I can see how Becta had a thorough view of what was to come and how many of their suggestions (such as the BBC's then non-existent iPlayer) are already mainstream now.  It's provided me with much food for thought, and taken me away from the immediate question of 'how can I make this interesting' to thinking more broadly about teaching strategies and how education is changing in today's world.

So, note to self:  "continue to read beyond what might seem necessary, and search out those interesting articles to broaden my own understanding of changing pedagogy in a digital world".

Be careful what you Tweet

I'm following with interest the story as it unfolds regarding a guy called Chambers who tweeted that he would blow up an airport if he didn't catch his flight after a heavy fall of snow.  Stephen Fry has given his support to Chambers' appeal, joining many others in saying that the tweet was taken out of context and was clearly meant as a joke.

Not sure if I agree or not - on the one hand we should all be allowed to joke, but on the other hand, we all have a responsibility to censor our 'comments' as appropriate.  There are some things I would say in front of my husband that I would never say in a classroom, and there are some things I would say to my friends that I would never say in front of my husband.

What do you think? http://bbc.in/gcy09m

Twitter chat

Well tonight I followed (well, tried to follow!) a Twitter chat on EdChat.

Just about kept up, but it's definitely a skill which could be improved.  Some interesting thoughts on Shared Decision Making, and I'll try and follow others when I can.  A sort of virtual meeting I suppose with people from all over the world.

The Power of the Retweet

A few of the publications and links I've been reading have mentioned the importance of Retweeting to attract more followers on Twitter.

So, as an experiment, I retweeted the link to the "Those who can, tweet" article that I mentioned in my previous blog post (retweeted from @MoodleMcKean).

24 hours later, I have another 5 new followers.  This, after having only a trickle of followers since I properly started Tweeting back in November time.

My conclusion, therefore, is that the Retweet is a most powerful tool if you wish to gain followers....

And if you're not following me already, please do ;) @clareontherun

Those who can, tweet

Like this article from TES Those who can, tweet.  It summarises a lot of what I've been reading lately, and how useful I'm finding Twitter as part of my own personal development and as an aide to my Masters in Education.