My Web 2.0 Experience

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Well my Web 2.0 experience is coming to a close.  And while that excites me (hey aren’t we all excited when we actually complete something), it also provides the perfect time to reflect on what I’ve learned through this experience.  

Penny: That's thinking ahead.
Sheldon: The alternative would be to think backwards…and that's just remembering.

The Web 2.0 exercises have uncovered many different technological techniques and tools to use when teaching.  I really feel that it is necessary to use technology in the classroom.  My students are constantly immersed in a wireless world and in order to provide the best learning experience possible, I must adapt to the current technologies.  Instead of having cell phones, laptops, smartphones and iPads be a distraction in class, I should utilize them as a catalyst to involve students in active learning.  

While all of the Web 2.0 sessions have been useful in one way or another, there are a few that have stood out to me which I hope to implement in my teaching immediately:

• Class blog: At the very least I will be creating a class blog where I can post instructions, updates, articles and links of interest to my students to supplement the material on Blackboard.
• Twitter: I really like the idea of using Twitter as a means of getting student feedback and questions during lectures, and also as a replacement for expensive clickers for in-class questions and class exam reviews. 
• Wikis: I want to encourage my students to create a wiki for collaboration on group projects.  I hope that this will help facilitate group work and reduce the issue of coordinating multiple schedules. 
• Podcasts:  This is the one that excites me the most.  As soon as I got into this topic, my mind exploded with all of the different applications for Podcasts in the classroom and lab.  I want to use Podcasts to show techniques (i.e. a proper dissection and the structures students should be looking for), to supplement lab manuals and summarize instructions, as lab safety videos, and maybe even as a visual exam review session. 
• YouTube: One of my favorite things to do when teaching is to supplement a lecture with a video. I like to choose clips that reiterate what I’ve been explaining or bring about the same point in a unique way.  This is also an effective way to relate things they don’t know to things they do (like The Big Bang Theory).  I love making these connections for my students and I find it really helps them to understand new information.  

Throughout my Web 2.0 experience I have been gleaning ideas, tools and knowledge to improve my teaching and create more of an active learning environment in my classroom.  It has definitely been a worthwhile endeavor and I encourage everyone to go out and try some of these new tools.  I can guarantee that you (and your students) will be very excited with the results!

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed my blog!  I know I’ve had a blast creating this blog and infusing it with all of The Big Bang Theory-isms and Sheldon related goodness.  And do not fear, for even Dr. Sheldon Cooper, as awesome as he is, could still use some effective teaching techniques!

Sheldon Teaching in the early episodes

 

Though Sheldon may not use tools like Flickr, Twitter and YouTube for effective teaching, his students definitely use them for effective criticisms! 

But he is learning! Check out his use of a personal journal (can anyone say research blog???). 

Sheldon Teaches Penny Physics 

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 I’ll leave you with one final Sheldon quote!

Sheldon: I was expecting applause but I suppose stunned silence is equally appropriate.

Week 10: YouTube

I came across an amazing quote by John Orlando on the use of videos in teaching, "The modern teacher is (or should be) more an aggregator than a producer." Basically if the information is out there and it is an effective communication, you should use it!  Whatever will successfully enhance a students learning experience.  He goes on to mention that some teachers are hesitant to use videos because they are not directly contributing to 100% of the lecture.  Well, if Sheldon Cooper uses YouTube to help his understanding, I'd say the rest of us can too (see "The Pants Alternative").

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Penny: OK. Well, then, there's a couple of things you should probably know.

Sheldon: I have a master's degree and two doctorates. The things I should know, I do know.

Its was mentioned that perhaps students could create vlogs, or video logs.  They could use their webcams, digital cameras, iPhones, smartphones, etc.  My only reservation with this, is that once again we are eliminating the need for students to write.  I really think that this could be detrimental.  While some presentations, projects and progress reports outside of academia could utilize vlogs, in science academia most information is transferred in a written format.  As such, I think I could best serve my students by making them write more often, say with a written blog instead of a vlog.  That being said, I would use vlogs in certain circumstances, such as creating lab safety videos, or having a group present their methods in a video format. The video below is pretty corny but you get the idea.

I really liked Aaron Sams and Jonathan Bergmann's idea of flipping the classroom in that all of the lectures are given in a podcast (i.e. video) form and the classtime is instead used to work through problems, have discussions, and work on assignments while having access to one-on-one teaching time with the professor.  This may not work well in classes with 100 plus students, but I really like the idea of flipping the classroom to provide more one-on-one time and creating opportunities for students to ask questions and get them answered.

 

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While I'm trying to focus on using YouTube to teach effectively, there are many other uses.  Sheldon definitely uses it to its full potential, even if its for evil revenge on Kripke.