Hi Connor!

That is a great point as well, but I think if we would just focus on the learning, we should provide the designed games to students and have their feedback instead of waste the time in letting them design it especially if they are kids and do not have enough idea of using softwares, applications, and technologies. Thank you though for participation in this post.

Hani,

That’s a great example of schooling on the far side of the spectrum. My concern with Montessori is that there can be a lack of direction, specifically for young people who aren’t self-motivated, but I think we need to swing back more in that direction.

That’s the first time I’ve had someone call my writing dark. I can check that one off the bucket list now. Thanks!!!

To your point, I think there is a difference between what’s expected of K12 schools and universities. I’m not sure if there should be or not, and if not where that line is.

Hani,
Thanks for the comment! AND! thanks for teaching me about popular media resources for instruction on creating digital educational content. I will definitely check out the two (Pasted below) that you referred me to. Like we discussed in class, university authorities don’t seem to have a knowledge problem as much as a problem with the delivery of that knowledge. This is where technology can help. Explore new, modern delivery methods in order to make content easily consumable while maintaining the quality of the message. The end result will be that learning resources will be more accessible, lower cost, provide equal experiences, and improve the quality and consumability of the instructional material. It is my belief, which I can support, that online learning and delivery can assist with this. Thanks again for the post. I can tell you spent time thinking and delivering it.

Popular Media Resources (YouTube)
Destin@SmarterEveryDay https://www.youtube.com/user/destinws2
Veritasium (youtube) https://www.youtube.com/user/1veritasium

Tim,
Great post! I agree that there should be a balance in the classroom when it comes to technology. I let students use their laptop for certain activities in class, but other times I just want them to close them and actually engage with me/their classmates. I teach Spanish so I really try to get them to actually communicate face to face. That being said, I agree that play can enhance the learning process. But once again, there has to be a balance, not always play, not always lecture etc.

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Maha,
Great post! I agree that individual motivation plays an important role in the learning process. I always say that…you can be the most talented, well-spoken, best prepared educator but if the student lacks motivation/interest chances are they will do poorly, or at least just do what they need to “get by” in the classroom.
As for the issue with the screens, I also wondered about how being in front of a screen all day cannot be good.

Deborah,
Great post! I agree that educators should strive to make coursework more relevant to student’s lives. This way they are more invested in what they are learning, because they feel it actually matters when it applies to real life! I like your suggestions on how to make class more engaging. I find that splitting students up to tackles a problem works well, as they want to keep up with their peers.

Hello!
20 years in industry! I’m super curious to hear more about your background/experiences/thoughts on what it was like returning to a university context like that!

” I could not believe that I wasn’t offered any guidance in how to teach (literally nothing!). Then I realized than most of my colleagues received little to no teaching teaching during their PhD programs ”
^^^ THIS BLEW MY MIND. I was sitting there in the GTA training, and just… nothing? What I’ve heard from MLAs in English is that they had pretty substantial training in how to run a course- classroom, assignments, assessment, leading discussion, etc. For me, in Mechanical Engineering? “Here’s how you don’t violate FERPA, now go meet with your professor starting the friday before the semester starts and do whatever they say. Good luck!!” I wasn’t even provided with *links* to resources about creating assignments, or running a lab section, or grading, or writing tests. The only training I received beyond legal compliance was a fairly basic tutorial on how to use Canvas’s interface. I just happened to be extremely lucky and jump aboard a course that had already been seeing active development by an extremely organized instructor for several years, so we had a day-by-day schedule spreadsheet, all the labs from last year, the keys, etc. My first ever hour-long lecture that I’ve *ever* given in my life was to a room of ~80 paying undergrad and grad students.

It’s staggering, to be quite honest.

Also, oh my lord, 400 students in ONE lecture?! Even just noticing a student has a question must be a battle at that point!

That’s the goal!

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I’ve had the same experience with creatively searching while younger colleagues get tied up. Is it the analog training we had? Did it prepare us to ‘go outside and play!’ when it came to research?

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