Teaching in Higher Ed

Five faculty members share how they are spending their breaks and what recommendations they have for how to take a break… Podcast notes Ten things to do instead of checking email, by Natalie Houston (guest on episode #034) How to take a break David Pecoraro from the Student Caring podcast Heading to Fresno for son’s swim meet Reading: Building social business, by Mohammed Yunus Christine – teaches part time. Fighting with insurance companies over the break. Dealing with snow days. Nicholas – teaches in Doha, Qatar  (pronunciation of Likert scale) “My spring break is already over, but I spent it learning how to use ScreenFlow so I can help my MA students learn to use Zotero better.” Doug McKee from the Teach Better podcast Two week break from teaching at Yale Microsoft Word in review mode PDF expert 5 on the iPad Screencasting with Quicktime on the Mac (record screen and do light editing) Sandie Morgan from the Ending Human Trafficking podcast Engaging with others in diverse communities to combat human trafficking Expand circles of influence Connect app Recommendations BusyContacts David Allen on the Coaching in Higher Ed podcast Closing credits Please consider rating or reviewing the podcast via your preferred podcast directory. It is the best way to help others discover the show (gotta love algorithms). https://teachinginhighered.com/itunes https://teachinginhighered.com/stitcher

Bonni Stachowiak shares about a few things she’s doing over Spring break to recharge. Spoiler alert: It is mostly all about getting caught up and staying caught up for me. Podcast notes Differing perspectives on Spring break a) give assignments for students to work on over the break b) grade student work c) recharge/refresh for the rest of the semester Efficiency Sign ups Doodle The Best Day Time Trade Google forms Grading Mac Power Users episode 240 TurnItIn iPad app Answering student questions Forum set up just for Q&A (invite students to post questions there) Screenshots (SnagIt) Screencast (Tapes app – beware the 60 minute monthly limit, SnagIt, Screenflow or Camtasia) What about you? Recharge, refresh for Spring break? Leave a message at: 949-38-learn. Recommendations Recharge – Kindle Voyage Closing credits Please call 949-38-LEARN to record a message about your Spring break recommendations and / or ideas beyond what I spoke about on this episode.

Steve Wheeler joins me to share about Learning with ‘e’s… PODCAST NOTES Steve Wheeler Bio Learning with ‘e’s Origins of Learning with ‘e’s 2007 started blogging Learning using digital technologies… Incorporates comments from people into the book  eLearning 3.0 If Web 1.0 was the ‘Write Web’ and Web 2.0 is the ‘Read/Write Web’, then Web 3.0 will be the ‘Read/Write/Collaborate Web’. Coined by Tim Reilly of O’Reilly media – progression or evolution of the web Web 1.0 – the sticky web Web 2.0 – the participatory web Web 3.0 – the read/write/collaborative web Digital natives/immigrants vs residents/visitors Mark Frensky – coined the phrases digital natives and digital immigrants in 2000 / 2001 – The Horizon Digital natives Digital immigrants Net Generation It’s not about age; it’s about context. -Steve Wheeler Residents and visitors – coined by David S. White and Alison Le Cornu Challenging to find a universal digital literacy tool Every individual’s context is unique. -Steve Wheeler I know what I need to do with the tools that are available to me and so do my students. -Steve Wheeler We learn best when we are curious. We become curious when we don’t know the answer to something. And we don’t know the answer to something when we get challenged. Problem based learning is probably the most powerful method you could possibly use. -Steve Wheeler Twitter Initially got interested in the backchannel chatter happening at a conference. @stevewheeler account – started with that, though his more popular account to follow is… @timbuckteeth – avatar – Dave, the astronaut on the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey Twitter for me is probably for me the most powerful tool for communicating I’ve ever used. -Steve Wheeler Lack persistence – You need to give it time. [Twitter] is not about the content; it’s about the conversation. -Steve Wheeler The practice of blogging If [professors don’t blog], how else are they going to express themselves? -Steve Wheeler Professors normally express themselves through closed, academic journals. The academic capital that most universities currently subscribe to… That’s going to change. Why Steve knows that blogging is much more effective: Wrote an article in 2005: wasn’t published for nearly three years; revised. 36 academic citations. At the same time, wrote another article, sent it in to an open-access journal; five people instead of two… Not only did they publish it within six weeks. The way forward for disseminating… 550k views; Almost 1,000 citations. Blogging. People are actually reading it. Could be much harsher in their criticism. Reflect on practice more deeply. 3,000 views in a day. Don’t know how he could possibly get that kind of exposure through traditional academic journals. US Jim Groom (edupunk) (on Twitter) George Siemens (on Twitter) Steven Anderson’s blog – web 2.0 classroom (on Twitter) Sherry Terrell (on Twitter). Amy Burvall Hawaii History Teachers channel Audrey Watters Alan Levine (on Twitter) UK Martin Weller  (on Twitter) David Hopkins‘ blog Don’t waste your time (on Twitter) Helen Keegan (on Twitter) Privacy Audrey Watters on Teaching in Higher Ed podcast Death of privacy – all surveilled; all followed; difficult to be a private citizen The death of privacy has happened. It’s very difficult to be a private citizen these days. -Steve Wheeler The law is running to catch up Difficult question to answer School systems differ; social contexts differ; social norms differ Steve’s addition How the maker movement is moving into classrooms Taupaki School in Aukland – principal of the school, Stephen Lethbridge (on Twitter)- primary plus school. 5-13… through making things. Papert’s Constructionist theories. Learning the curriculum subjects in a fun, challenging, exciting way. Makey Makey Arduino Rasberry Pi Recommendations Bonni recommends: Doug McKee’s kids’ books recommendations Hope for the Flowers by Trina Paulus A story about a catepillar …partly about life, partly about revolution and lots about hope – for adults and others including caterpillars who can read. Steve recommends: Don’t Change the Light Bulbs: A compendium of expertise from the UK’s most switched-on educators  

This podcast delves into the complexities of defining critical thinking, explores different theories and taxonomies, and suggests practical strategies like inverting the classroom and providing practice in ambiguous situations to enhance students' critical thinking skills.

Ken Bain discusses effective teaching methods in higher education, emphasizing asking engaging questions to spark curiosity. The importance of creating an environment for deep learning and fostering student growth through meaningful engagement is highlighted. The podcast also explores the impact of Eric Massure's transformative teaching methods and includes a discussion on typos, teaching exercises, and book recommendations.

Doug McKee talks about eliciting and using feedback from students. PODCAST NOTES Guest: Dr. Doug McKee [ CV ] [ BLOG ] WORKING OUT LOUD John Stepper’s book about Working Out Loud Studied his own teaching and determined that those who came to class and those who watched via video did equally well in the class I feel like I’m just breaking through now. I remember what it was like at the beginning. ELICITING FEEDBACK Waiting until the end of the semester to get input from our students is too late Evaluations are valuable; but it only helps you the next time you teach the class The Hawthorne Effect Formal, anonymous surveys * Customized end of semester surveys * mid-semester surveys * discussion boards https://piazza.com * in person: * talking to students after class * office hours * regular lunches with students * Reporting back about what you learned what your changing to respond http://ictevangelist.com * Department-wide early warning systems—We’re trying this this year to give students in all our classes a chance to air concerns to the department early enough so we can do something about them. RECOMMENDATIONS SpeedDial2; ultimate tab page for Google Chrome (Bonni) Piazza (Doug) Forgetmenot (Doug) Finn Family Moomintroll, by Tove Jansson (Doug) Doug’s blog: teachbetter.co

Natalie Houston discusses practical productivity in academia. Podcast Notes Guest: Dr. Natalie Houston Twitter Blog ProfHacker posts Opposition to the term productivity Productivity defined Productivity, to me, is not about doing more things faster. It is about doing the things that are most important to me and creating the kind of life I want to have… To do something with ease is to bring a kind of comfort and grace to the task. It can also be more room [in your life]… Living a life with more ease… Challenges and approaches for faculty Blurring between work and non-work time Protect quality time for your most important work/projects Creating appropriate boundaries Schedule blocks of time to let Commit to avoiding digital devices before bed Establish a bedtime for ourselves Articulate an ideal weekend/Saturday Enlist partner’s support in fulfilling that ideal day The idea of a sabbath day in many spiritual traditions is to set aside a day for rest. Create transition rituals to help acknowledge the move between work and personal time Don’t force yourself to use digital tools, if analog work better; perhaps a hybrid system might work well, in some cases Todoist Email Multiple touch points Challenge with accessing email on our phones Taking breaks Set an alarm A timer is my most important productivity tool. You can use a timer in so many parts of your day. Timing a break enhances the relaxation of that break. Recommendations How to manage references with Zotero, by Catherine Pope (Bonni) IDoneThis.com (Natalie) The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance, by Stephen Kotler  

Bonni and Dave Stachowiak talk about how to make your PowerPoint (or other) slides more effective. Podcast notes 2010 headlines: “US Army makes the world’s worst PowerPoint slide” “We have met the enemy and he is PowerPoint.” Conflict in Afghanistan: Why developing a clear strategy was challenging. PPT in the crosshairs Edward Tufte (2006 publication) The cognitive style of ppt: There’s no bullet list like Stalin’s bullet list. Can create bad PPT on tools besides PPT Problems in higher ed In the classroom In online modules (flipped classroom) At academic conferences In the online magazine, Slate, Schuman expressed her views on just how bad it has become with PowerPoint use in education in an article called PowerPointless. She writes, “Digital slideshows are the scourge of education.” “For class today I’ll be reading the PowerPoint word for word.” –every professor, everywhere. @collegegrlhumor “College basically consist of you spending thousands of dollars for a professor to point at a PowerPoint and read the bullets.” @deliNeli “Being a college professor would be easy. Read off a PowerPoint you made 10 years ago and give online quizzes with questions you googled.” –blazik “srsly sick of all these power points. anyone can be a professor. all u need to know is how to run a power point.” @ChrisraMae17 “Y’all ever sat in a class, copied every word down of the power point, and still not kno a damn thing the professor said?” @BlkSuperMan Richard Mayer’s research shows if students w/out visuals 75% vs 89% re: bike pump PowerPoint Slide Recommendations Use PowerPoint slides for their intended purpose: to enhance your presentation, not deliver it. Put less on your slides and use relevant visuals Change your media focus at regular intervals B key Caffeine (for the Mac) Caffeine alternatives (for PC/Windows) Employ a non-linear slide structure Choose your own adventure (episode 25 re: large classes w/ Chrissy Spencer) Today’s meet (requires laptops/smart devices) Recommendations Slack (Bonni) Tapes  |  Screenflow  |  SnagIt  (Dave)

Bonni and Dave Stachowiak talk about how to capture it all, so we can have lower stress and not have things fall through the cracks. Podcast notes Guest: Dr. Dave Stachowiak What is capture? David Allen’s Getting Things Done Why capture? Other-generated capture Inboxes Have as many as necessary and no more Academics inboxes Email Phone- office line Phone-other Inbox office Inbox home Inbox bag Students after class Tools Drafts Evernote Soundever Scannable Zero inbox David Allen’s folders Self generated capture Roles Projects Tools David Allen’s templates OmniFocus RTM Post its plus Mindnode Recommendations Paprika recipe manager app (Bonni) Amazon Fresh (Dave)

On today’s episode, I talk about all that cannot be seen. Photo by Jim Frazee of Southwest Search Dogs. Used with permission (he’s my Dad).   Podcast notes Mystery commercial that I really hope someone can find and send to me Augmented reality How Stuff Works explains augmented reality Mashable’s augmented reality stories Yik yak chat service (For reasons explained in the podcast, I would rather not link to this particular app/service) [EDIT: 1/15/15/ at 10:20 am]: Right after recording this episode, I listened to episode 9 the Reply All podcast by Gimlet Media. I have even less certainty now about whether or not we should stay far away from Yik Yak, or get in there and spread some positivity and make our presence known. I welcome your thoughts either privately, or in the comments, below.   Southwest Search Dogs Online forum introductions Our perceptions really do matter Our expectations can shape outcomes in others… This American Life previewed Invisiblia on an episode called: Batman Especially the beginning re mindset on This American Life NPR Science reporters Alix Spiegel and Lulu Miller explain to Ira Glass how they smuggled a rat into NPR headquarters in Washington, and ran an unscientific version of a famous experiment first done by Psychology Professor Robert Rosenthal. It showed how people’s thoughts about rats could affect their behavior. Another scientist, Carol Dweck, explains that it’s true for people too: expectations affect students, children, soldiers, in measurable ways. (6 minutes) Invisibilia Invisibilia is a series about the invisible forces that shape human behavior. The show interweaves personal stories with scientific research that will make you see your own life differently. Assume the best… and talk through the gaps… Episode 14 on Dealing with Difficult Students in Higher Ed Our diverse students Recommendation Coach.me