Earlier this term I read a one page article, The Importance of Stupidity in Scientific Research. The article proclaims the importance of – nay – the imperative of learning from mistakes as a valuable education path. The author describes his astonishment that a very bright fellow PhD student gave up a career path because it made her feel stupid. Continue reading Failures, mistakes, stupidity – foundations of success in academia
Month: October 2009
More about using Pop-Ups for Educational Purposes – Mark Morton
A while back, I posted a note on this blog about a method I had devised for creating pop-up “roll-overs” for text-based web pages. In other words, the method allowed users to put their mouse cursor over a word in a web document, causing a small pop-up window to appear containing more information. My reason for doing so was related to second-language study: for example, an instructor could upload a page of, say, a German text, and every word on that page could have a pop-up associated with it, which would not only define the word in question but would also clarify the relevant grammar. My method of creating those pop-ups was a bit cumbersome, so it’s fortunate that I recently upgraded from Dreamweaver CS3 to Dreamweaver CS4, and discovered that the later version of that program includes a feature for easily creating text-based pop-ups. The feature uses something called Spry Tool Tips, which is an Ajax-based web-development framework.
With Spry Tool Tips, you can easily create any number of pop-up roll-overs, without having to look at even a smidgeon of HTML or Java code. Moreover, the pop-ups can contain hyperlinks to other web resources (something my previous method couldn’t do), and can also include images. You can also easily control the size, colour, and placement of the pop-ups. All in all, it’s a great tool for instructors who are interested in creating teaching resources for their students.
You can see an example of Spry Tool Tips in action at a page that I’ve made here. Just roll your cursor over some of the Arabic words on the top right side of the page, and pop-ups with explanatory text should appear.
Bookstore Digital Platform – Shawn Gilbertson
Just over a year 
ago, the University of Waterloo Bookstore and over 20 other member bookstores of the Canadian Campus Retail Associates supported the development of a digital content platform. The generic site, Campus E-Bookstore, can be accessed by students at UW through the Booklook search engine. For example, by searching “Bronte” in the Author/Title search field, you will see an embedded link to the site under the title “Jane Eyre”. The first phase of the platform allows students to download popular public domain titles in the open epub format. These ebooks, known as digital study versions offer students high quality alternatives to traditional course materials. Most important, they are free and can be viewed on many mobile smart devices and epub friendly e-readers. Further development of the site will take place in phases in late 2009 and early 2010 which will offer students and faculty more options to traditional content…
CTE and the 6th Decade Plan — Donna Ellis
I was recently asked to document how well CTE’s activities and services meet the university’s 6th Decade Plan. At first this seemed like a pretty straightforward task since there is only section in the Plan devoted specifically to teaching. And yet, as I re-read the Plan, I recognized that our work fits with numerous recommendations as well as the overall orientation of the Plan, which calls for “excellence, pursued and supported in all activities” (p.4). We are the “Centre for Teaching Excellence” and we take our name very seriously. We strive to model the highest standards in our programming, resources, and support services.
So how do we fit with the Plan? Naturally, we provide programming and support to help faculty members and graduate students develop “enhanced teaching skills” (p.6). But we do much, much more than that. Here’s a sampling…
- We support faculty members who want to commit to and demonstrate excellence in teaching through offering events like the Instructional Skills Workshop and the Teaching Excellence Academy where our own faculty members show leadership by co-facilitating.
- Our activities marry teaching and research through our own research work and that of the faculty and staff members in the Teaching-Based Research Group.
- We engage in innovation in teaching and support others in their quest to try new ideas with regard to teaching, whether they involve learning technologies or more traditional instructional methods.
- We also support the development of aligned, innovative curricula as we work with an increasing number of departments.
- We help to celebrate Waterloo’s great teachers through the university-wide teaching programs.
- We help provide great learning experiences for students by hiring them into our office, assisting with campus learning projects such as e-portfolios, and supporting internationalization efforts.
As well, we have an amazing team of staff members who think strategically, collaborate endlessly, and give 110% everyday to help support teaching excellence at Waterloo.
So the exercise of mapping our activities to the 6th Decade Plan clearly showed that we’re on the right track. But it also reminded me how proud I am to be part of something so good. As a support unit, we often downplay our contributions. I see that we really shouldn’t because we have a lot to offer. If you haven’t checked out how CTE can help you, please view our website, contact one of our Liaisons, or drop by one of our offices. We’re here to help!
Screen Idols — Trevor Holmes
I’m not late — I’m in fact right on time — but the only seats left are close to the front and strangely they do not afford a very clear view of the screen at all. The chairs themselves are decades old and make my back hurt almost immediately. When things start up, I crane my neck upward and slump way down in my seat with the broken arms, hoping to be able to focus on the unfolding of the next hour and a half while people around me text, eat, have side conversations.
Contrast this with the following evening. When I am ready, I open a laptop and click “play.” I’m surrounded by loved ones — my cat and my spouse — and I spend an hour focused on the screen. We can pause to go back or pause if we need to make a comment, or reflect a bit. After it’s over, there’s a willing conversation partner to help analyse what I just experienced.
If you’re reading this blog entry from the CTE website, you could reasonably assume that I’m describing the difference between a large lecture hall and online learning. Perhaps you surmise that I’m a fan of online learning, and feel that lecture halls are bad places for learning, both cognitively and somatically. However, I’m actually describing my experience this past weekend of going out to a movie versus watching a downloaded TV episode (paid for, on iTunes, just to be clear). But when I think about it, I have to wonder if there is a connection to be made.
I’ve long been a proponent of the lecture , done well, as a great way to teach and learn. It’s a craft that can be honed, and my own lectures (according to me anyway) are universally adored while being chock full of memorable brilliance (jokes and useful theory).
Thinking back, though, on my weekend, I guess I am reconsidering my position a bit. Can self-paced, high-quality learning online be better for minds and bodies? You bet! Can it replace the social dimension of dozens or hundreds of people coming together and the (occasional) “aha” moments that arise? Sometimes, yes. I’m not going to stop holding lectures, but this weekend reminded me, again (it takes me lot of reminders), that how we use lecture time and space needs to be thoughtful rather than assumed.
Welcome from the new Admin Assistant – Shelley Bacik
My name is Shelley Bacik and I am the new Admin Assistant at the Centre for Teaching Excellence (replacing Marta Bailey, who has a new position with the Grad Studies Office). I am enjoying getting to know all of the great people at the CTE and am really looking forward to working with such a great team! I know it won’t be easy to replace Marta in this position as she certainly is admired by everyone here (including me for all the help she has given me in my first few weeks).
Please feel free to contact me for any questions you may have and I will be happy to help you out if I can even though I may still be in a learning curve for a while yet! Thank you to everyone at the CTE for making me feel welcome during these first few weeks!
Student Laptop Use in the Classroom — Mark Morton
The Centre for Teaching Excellence has nearly a hundred succint, pragmatic, and evidence-based “Teaching Tips” on its website. Moreover, we continue to develop new Teaching Tips as the need arises (and as resources permit). Down below is a Teaching Tips document that I recently drafted, pertaining to students using (or misusing) laptops in the classroom. I’ll eventually add this document to our “official” list of Teaching Tips, but I thought I would first post it here, and invite anyone who is interested to give feedback on it. Continue reading Student Laptop Use in the Classroom — Mark Morton