Standing at the foot of one of the tiered classrooms on campus can be a daunting experience. As you look up – look waaay up, as the Friendly Giant used to say – you encounter a sea of faces. How can you keep these students interested, engaged, or – at the very least – listening for the next 50 minutes or so? Continue reading Big Can Be Better – Sheila Hannon
Month: July 2009
What I’ve Learned from Being a Graduate Teaching Assistant Developer
In just a few short weeks, my contract as a Teaching Assistant Developer (TAD) with CTE’s Certificate in University Teaching Program (CUT) will be coming to a close. It will be a very bittersweet departure for me, as I’ve grown to admire and respect all of my colleagues at CTE, as well as the graduate students that I’ve been working with for the past two years. As my final blog post, I thought it would be appropriate to reflect on my role at CTE and what I’ve learned from it. Continue reading What I’ve Learned from Being a Graduate Teaching Assistant Developer
Virtual Field Tripping: A “Real” Way to Learn — Mary Power
As a consequence of a grant that I have been working on, I have been reading about “virtual field trips”. These trips are multimedia web-based experiences that take the learner to places that might not be feasibly experienced in “real-life”, due to such practical impediments as accessibility and cost. Although the format is limitless these virtual trips often are comprised of readings, maps, glossary of terms, images, video clips and may include on-line discussions with experts and or the instructor. Together these things can lead the student on an interesting and interactive learning journey. To complete the experience there is usually a (hopefully) thoughtfully designed assignmen, such as a field trip report or on-line quiz to be assessed. Continue reading Virtual Field Tripping: A “Real” Way to Learn — Mary Power
Social Networking (and Peer Tutoring) for Second-Language Learning — Mark Morton
My nephew, who is studying Korean, recently told me about a free website that facilitates the learning of a second language by making use of social networking in the form of peer tutoring. The site in question is called LiveMocha, and it’s like many websites devoted to learning second languages in that it includes content such as flash cards, vocabulary drills, and so on. What makes LiveMocha unique, though, is that its more advanced language exercises require a user to write phrases or sentences in the target language that are then assessed by another user of LiveMocha, one whose first language is the language that you are trying to learn. Continue reading Social Networking (and Peer Tutoring) for Second-Language Learning — Mark Morton