Thursday, December 4, 2014

Fluking....diving right in.

What have I accomplished so far?
  • I have been working diligently to make my classrooms more student centered.  This semester I adopted a flipped classroom where literally 80-85% of all the material was flipped, and I was just as uncomfortable as I was when I first started teaching.  Some of the activities went as planned,  some went okay, and some fell short.  Most of the students loved the approach and a few disliked it.  I have adopted a flipped classroom approach for various aspects of the semester before, but never to this extent.  I view the entire experience this semester as a learning process, and I will tweak where tweaking is needed and change up what needs changed/improved.
  • As I have stated before - the change from the textbook has not been challenging.  Next semester will be my first "text-free" semester, so it will be interesting to see how the students react to it. 
What challenges have I overcome?
  • I will be utilizing an open source textbook next semester, mainly for reference purposes for the student.  We will also be heavily using Moodle, which is a norm for me, and various other open sources. As was stated in an earlier post, I foresee some students having issue with home internet/computer availability.  On the first day of class I plan to conquer those issues by making note of all the places a student may go if they should experience such issues, ex. computer labs, local libraries, etc.  I consider this particular challenge "closed" and conquered.
  • Time and sanity issues.  In a previous post - I discussed concerns with finding the time to make this transformation.  But I find that if I set aside just a few hours a week to strictly work on this new adventure in teaching - it is a lot easier to handle.  So far, so good.
  • I suppose so far I have not had any major challenges...I am lucky to teach in a discipline that has a treasure trove of fantastic online sources.  
 What remains in order for me to meet my goals?
  • Quite honestly, I have areas of the course that I would like to tweak.  Some of the activities we did in class were not as successful as I imagined them to be.  But that's okay.  Some activities did work, and the feedback was very encouraging.  I need to make sure to stay on top of my work to ensure it is completed by the next deadline.  

Friday, September 19, 2014

Thoughts after our first OERCI faculty meeting...

Since we just finished our first OERCI faculty meeting - I decided to post a quick update....

Overall, it seems like everyone was as excited as I am....and holds the same reservations as I do...in regards to a text-free course.  But the further I dive into the actual building of my class using only open resources, the fewer reservations I actually have.  For example, since I am already utilizing so many open resources in my classes - the transition seems to be much smoother than expected.  This also means less time spent researching...which has been a surprising but welcome finding.

As already covered in Jill Johnson's blog, found HERE, one fantastic open resource website can be found at the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science.  I already incorporate a good number of case studies into my classes, but the opportunity to integrate more, or even "rediscover" cases, is exciting to me.  For example, when we cover research methodology in my introduction to sociology class, one of the case studies that I cover is the Tuskegee study.  One simple search and poof: http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/detail.asp?case_id=371&id=371.


Thursday, August 28, 2014

Foraging...I have to start somewhere.

Going textbook-free is both exciting and scary.  Every semester I hear the frustrated comments regarding the price of textbooks from the students, which makes me reflect back to my own experiences.  I vividly remember paying $1200 one semester for textbooks, which greatly impacted what little budget I had for the entire semester for things like gas, food and necessities.  So needless to say, when I started hearing discussions from other faculty about embracing the open resources available on the internet, I was excited.  This blog will not only follow my journey into the open resource world, but it will also mark my successes and, well, failures.  So let's get started.

Goals:
  • Shed the textbook - adopt an online/free textbook that is of good quality that hits upon all the areas that I go over in my classes.  
  • Create a more student-centered learning environment.  The days of constant lecture and note-taking are coming to an end, and I need to more fully embrace the idea of a flipped classroom approach.
  • Ensure that all of my sources/documents are ADA compliant.
  • Embrace this new approach yet still put MY fingerprint on it.  I don't like cookie cutter approaches.  Even when I first started teaching, I never relied on the material that was given to me, by the publishers, to present to students.  To me, it's boring, lacks warmth and doesn't have that "connection".  So I want to ensure that the material I present represents my unique teaching style.  
Challenges:
  • With online classes, one has to have constant access to the internet.  Without a constant, reliable source, it makes completing such a course nearly impossible.  But with my adoption of an open-source textbook in my traditional classes, I have to assume everyone has the same reliable, constant access to the internet.  Which I have learned is not always the case.  Keep in mind that our district is very large, so driving to campus is not always an easy option.  This makes doing the background work, which includes using the textbook to prepare for class, more challenging. 
  • "But I love the feel of that textbook in my hands" mentality.  Look, I'm a bibliophile myself...I understand the passion of holding a physical textbook in your hands.  But at the same time, why pay a colossal amount of money to physically hold a textbook that you can obtain for free online.  
  • Time.  I have three kids aged six and under.  My husband works odd hours which results in my being home alone to chase after them, and little time to myself.  So time is something that I don't have a lot of.  
  • Sanity.  Change is never easy.  At least BIG change is never easy.  But for me, having a good product for the students is worth the challenge.  
This first post is really just me putting my thoughts down on paper.  I have already reviewed a textbook and plan to adopt it in the spring of 2015 semester for my Introduction to Sociology classes.  Interested in the link?
Here it is: https://openstaxcollege.org/files/textbook_version/low_res_pdf/10/col11407-lr.pdf

In my next post - I hope to outline my approach to teaching, as well as how I plan to use my newly adopted *free* online textbook in class.  -H