Fear of failure

At the end of next week i am going to a conference. My idea was to use Prezi for the presentation instead of MS PP. Am a bit afraid though, that it will be a negative experience.
1. Technical problems, computer hangs or something, since everything is set up for pp
2. People getting annoyed with all the zooming and panning, me coming across as a show-off
3. Overall giving the impression that it is all too flashy, PP is boring, but by using it, the tool itself becomes invisible since it is the norm.

Will still make a shot though, but takes some energy thinking about backup solutions. I always bring plastic slides to important presentations in case the projector starts burning or something. Maybe this time I will bring the Prezintation, plastic slides AND a few PP-slides on a stick as well. Just in case.

Maybe I should have my key points printed on a t-shirt too, if everything goes havoc, I'll just start unbuttoning my shirt...

Tools for teaching

The department is launching new online courses, and therefore a day of learning is required for all teachers unfamiliar with Camtasia and Marratech. We'll see how it goes.

Computers versus teachers?

In Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter Malin Siwe has commented on the idea that shools should have a minimum ratio of computers-pupils. Although her rhetoric is kind of coarse, I most heartily agree with the idea that the ability to analyse meaning is more important than knowing how to cut and paste in MS word. Tools are tools, be they computers or pens and books. Its a tricky question though, knowing ones' way round computers is also a social skill these days, and forming students into able citizens also means enabling them to live with success in the technology-immersed society that is ours.

http://www.dn.se/opinion/signerat/skolan-behover-inte-it-plan-1.935098

Twitter: 40%Pointless babble, Documented

An American company has analysed the content of twitter messages and found that 40% is "pointless babble" of the type "I am eating a sandwich". Is that "research" by any norm? I wonder what the rate of babble would be for the sms-messages sent by those with a flat-rate fee-structure.


http://mashable.com/2009/08/12/twitter-analysis/

Learning platforms: 3, Ping Pong

No picture of this one, since it is the one we're using on the course. To me, this one seems the most intuitive, it's easy to add elements and administer results. I am not sure, but I think there is a decent statistics module, making the mechanics of being a course administrator easier. It seems most geared to web 2.0, with the integration of blogging and other fancy stuff. If I had to choose I think I would pick Ping Pong. On the other hand it is a bit unfair since this course is done by people specializing in these kinds of things. Maybe the impression would be different if the example course was a strict course in physics done by someone uninterested in social media.

One aspect I have still to come to terms with, is the role of TEXT within these platforms. The concept promotes a click-approach to learning, which is good because it stimulates interest. A reading-approach, if we may call it that, on the other hand, means you have to accept a linear structure imposed by textual course material. Depending on the learning objective this could be a good or a bad thing. As a historian, you are supposed to be good at digesting large amounts of text. I am not sure if this could be learned efficiently through a platform structure, which promotes accessing and reflecting on chunks of texts, but not longer coherent narratives.

Learning platforms: 2, WebCT

The second platform I have worked with is WebCT, which is the tool of choice for Mid Sweden University. Here I was on the other side of the process, acting as a teacher. At first I was amazed by how easy it was to create a course. Everything just fell into place, pick modules, set dates and add to the course. The course I was working with actually had a ready-made material residing on an external site, so, all we did was package the student experience with reflective questions and assignments. Come to think of it, no group activities were included, which was a shame. The effort put into the course estetically was not so great. I think design really matters, and I am not sure how to customize looks and to what extent it is possible to create a visually appealing impression in WebCt. In retrospect, I would have liked to include more audiovisual material, to engage the students emotionally. Whereas Moodle is opensource, WebCT is not, which is of no actual importance for the single user as long as someone else pays. On a larger scale, however, the cost aspect makes moodle a better alternative.

Learning platforms: 1 Moodle

So, have been swamped the last few weeks, will now try to get back on track with the course. Today: Learning platforms. I've tried three and will try to make a short comparsion. First out: Moodle.

Encountered Moodle as I took a course in English writing at Kalmar university college. Was actually a bit disappointed with the whole set-up, at least technologically speaking. Basically the usage of moodle was limited to displaying a number of pages with text. Some with example material, others with questions and assignments. In part the lack of functionality was related to the teacher beeing uneasy with the platform concept, so we delivered all assignments via regular e-mail. The dates set in the platform thus were more or less arbitrary since no upload slots were closed or anything like that.

What was really good about the course, was the group conferences in Skype. The class was divided in groups of four and we were required to hold skype seminars once in a while, discuss topics and present a joint document in Word. Actually this worked excellent, created a group atmosphere conducive to learning. Two times during the term the teacher scheduled skype meetings to see how the groups were doing. I participated in one from the train, but that worked so-so.

To sum up: 1. the usability of a platform is dependent on the teacher to a large extent. 2. Conferences where you hear each others voices add to the feeling of beeing present together.