Horizon Report

I thought it was exciting to read about emerging technologies in the Horizon Report. Our group was assigned iPads/tablets for use in the classroom, and I think this could definitely be incorporated into my teaching. We discussed using the iPad in laboratories, where they could be mounted on walls and play short videos on lab techniques for students. I think this was an idea presented in the report.

I was thinking this might be helpful in our research lab, as a place to keep routine recipes and protocols. Also, there is a lab in my department currently using iPads as their lab notebooks, so that when they leave, the PI has immediate access to their research notes and results, rather than having to sift through dusty binder notes.

What are some other thoughts on using the iPad in the classroom?

Flipping the classroom - post-discussion

It's important to consider the length of podcasts that you assign to students, and critical to design activities that are challenging enough to make students want to listen to the lectures and be able to contribute when in class.  I think this teaching method may naturally lend itself to some classes that require mastering a certain skill.  Furthermore, getting rid of the textbook and replacing it with videos may not be the best idea.  If I were to teach a class, I would flip the classroom for certain topics and leave others to traditional lecturing.

What I think about flipping the classroom

Flipping the classroom can be a good teaching method to implement in the classroom, but I think the degree to which it is successful depends on the discipline.

Google Slides and Prezi

One assignment in intro microbiology lab is for students to find a journal article and prepare a powerpoint presentation about the article to their class.  Today, I was checking out how Google Slides and Prezi work, and I think Google Slides would be more helpful for my students. 

Students have to find time outside of class to get together and prepare powerpoint slides, or each person sends their slides to one person in the group who then merges them together, which I feel is okay, but I find that some students don't spend the time to make sure all the slides run smoothly as one continuous presentation.  They don't re-group to discuss.  Using Google Slides would allow them to add and edit slides on their own time and add comments, similar to our class wiki.  It would encourage collaborative work.  

Also, I really like the idea of Prezi - using more visuals to tell a story, but I think it will be more challenging to use when presenting data from scientific journal article, although I'd like to see what students could come up with.  Has anyone in science classes used Prezi?   

Social Bookmarking in a Microbiology Classroom

Every semester, I get a student or two who sends me an article they found in the news about a topic we studied in class.  It's very rewarding to see students making connections between the classroom and their world.  An idea to encourage more of this would be to start a Delicious account and have students share interesting articles they find. This could lead to classroom discussion groups. 

One idea for Pintrest could be for students to find and pin photos that depict microbes in everyday life.  Another idea could be for them to post their own photos from lab as sort of a study guide for practical exams.  

Some challenges with both of these could be getting everyone on board to participate.  Perhaps trying it out as extra credit for the first semester could be a good trial for the instructor to see how apt students are to participate.  This could give an initial measurement of how much students are really interested in the class.  If points are associated with this assignment and it is required, maybe some students will post lousy articles. (But is all homework that great anyhow?) 

Could the opinions of other faculty members be considered a challenge for implementing these social media tools in the classroom? 

Skype

I was doing some online research about using Skype in the classroom and, at the same time, trying to think of ways to tie biology/microbiology into the picture when I found some inspiration! Here is a blog by a biology professor who uses Skype to help supplement his online labs: http://onlinescienceeducatorbylabpaq.com/2012/04/06/using-skype-as-a-tool-to-teach-online-science-labpaq-laboratories/ I really like his idea to use Skype to bring in guest speakers. 

First post

Assignment: Make your first post on your blog. You might talk about your reasons for taking EDHI9040, experiences teaching or learning with technology, or your preconceptions of blogging.

I 'm really excited to be taking this course! My use of technology as a teaching tool has been limited to powerpoint presentations, and using eLC as a means for students to turn in assignments. This is dissatisfying to me as a teacher, since I want to get creative and incorporate new and emerging teaching methods into the classroom, including different technologies.

When I was an undergraduate, I took an online course in medical ethics and I remember the experience being mostly a positive one. Learning the material was fun, but contributing to discussions was difficult for me in terms of usability.  I remember the threads being somewhat confusing to follow.  This was in 2008, I think, so I'm sure there's something out there easier to use than we did at that time.

This was my first time blogging, and I enjoy it!