H800 week 8 activity 1
As an associate lecturer, the course design has been done for me. However, I do interpret the course content and attempt to construct learning activities which will enable a range of students to access the ideas and concepts in the course. I do this in three ways:
· By constructing activities for face to face tutorials. These can be whole group, small group, paired or individual activities.
· By constructing activities for students to complete online. These mainly ask students to read papers/chapters or carry out online searches or small observation activities, to report back and to comment on other students’ contributions.
· By giving individual guidance to each student on which aspects of the course they need to develop a better understanding of.
Getting new ideas and accessing resources and support is done in several ways:
· Tutor forum discussions
· Through resources on the Tutorhome website
· Associate Lecturer development days and meetings
· Social networking such as twitter
· Through membership of the Higher Education Academy
· Through various journals
· Through my own study
New technologies are always going to have some effect on teaching and learning and how we construct activities and courses. When I first started as high school teacher, pocket calculators were not used at all. We became reliant on them to such an extent that GCSE Maths exams now have a calculator and a non-calculator paper. Several other subjects are moving towards online assessment in high school. In ten years will we be having the same reliance on other handheld technology?
These few quotations might help to illustrate the point[1]:
“Students today depend too much on hand-held calculators.” (Anonymous, 1985)
“Ballpoint pens will be the ruin of education in our country. Students use these devices and then throw them away. The American virtues of thrift and frugality are being discarded. Business and banks will never allow such expensive luxuries.” (Federal Teacher, 1950)
“Students today depend upon these expensive fountain pens. They can no longer write with a straight pen and nib, (not to mention sharpen their own quills). We parents must not allow them to wallow in such luxury to the detriment of learning how to cope in the real business world, which is not so extravagant.” (PTA Gazette, 1941)
“Students today depend upon store bought ink. They don’t know how to make their own. When they run out of ink they will be unable to write words or ciphers until their next trip to the settlement. This is a sad commentary on modern education.” (The Rural American Teacher, 1929)
“Students today depend too much upon ink. They don’t know how to use a pen knife to sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil.” (National Association of Teachers, 1907)
“Students today depend upon paper too much. They don’t know how to write on slate without chalk dust all over themselves. They can’t clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?” (Principal’s Association, 1815)
“Students today can’t prepare bark to calculate their problems. They depend upon their slates, which are more expensive. What will they do when their slate is dropped and it breaks? They will be unable to write!” (Teachers Conference, 1703)
