Negin, great post! really interesting to read. Just goes to show how much of a difference an invested and great instructor can make. He provided the class with many tools and opportunities to grow and learn, so naturally you guys reciprocated with effort and dedication. A great example.

Raymond, great post! You bring up good points. I agree that giving leeway results in better grades because students decide to write about things they care about. I feel this grading dilemma would be much easier to figure out if the reality wasn’t classrooms of 100+ students and faculty that are not passionate about teaching. It would take someone very dedicated, I think, to sit down and negotiate grades with students.

Aislinn, great post! However, I do agree with Negin that defining what you mean by task makes a difference. For example, I find that listening to music while cooking, cleaning, and showering etc. all enhance my life. BUT when doing schoolwork this same music can be distracting, even then I can change the type of music to something that’ll help me focus.

I like the example you gave with the two tasks you had to do in class. I have many students that think they can be on Facebook and pay attention to the lesson….

You make some very good points I hadn’t thought of after watching the TED talk. Thanks for your thought provoking perspective!

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Great post! I really enjoy conversing about history and such with people outside of the classroom, that is when it really sticks. When we apply some kind of emotion and reflection to what we learn in class. Often we can make a connection between the past and the present, helping us to understand both better.

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.

Susan,
I have the same hesitation when blogging and simply publicizing my opinions. Indeed, there will always be someone that is better informed on a subject but there is value in different opinions. We all have different perspectives, experiences and even information to give. This fear of being wrong, or sounding “uneducated”, I feel is what keeps students from speaking up in class, and what probably keeps them from networked learning too. This hesitation that we share about blogging, I believe somehow connects with the misconceptions of what it means to learn. Mistakes are part of the learning process, but why have students (and myself included) become afraid of making honest mistakes? Perhaps, it has to do with the traditional grading system, we all learn differently so why are we all being tested the same way?

Great post! I agree that as educators we should better try to understand the different ways that our students learn and retain information. The web provides us with an endless amount of tools, that we should most definitely integrate in the classroom. Our students lives revolve so much around their use of the web, integrating it into the classroom seems to the be the obvious next step. They’re already networking online, having them take part in networked learning via platforms they are already active on I think can bring back some of that joy into learning.