How’s the weather? I asked one of my students in an email message.
“Hot and dry – well above 30 C.”
But in the next message, another student complained about the below freezing temperatures.
Somebody obviously needs some remedial help with thermometer reading.
Or do they?
When you’re teaching students via the internet, it’s more than possible to receive such seemingly diverse answers during email small talk. Our students aren’t clustered in a classroom on the UW campus, but spread out around the globe.
Internet education is growing by leaps and bounds – an estimated 20 per cent per year. Continue reading A World of Friends – Sheila Hannon
Personal Brain – Mark Morton
I like maps. This may seem odd, given that I have no sense of direction (either literally or metaphorically) and that I don’t like to travel. But it’s true, I can happily pore over maps of cities that I’ve never heard of and countries that I’ll never visit. Perhaps it’s the illusion of of order that maps provide: everything is in its place, fixed into position by the mighty power of the cartographer’s pen. This may also be why I like concept maps and concept map software. Continue reading Personal Brain – Mark Morton
From Practice…to Research…to Practice – Sally Heath
Struggling to find a topic for my blog entry today, I decided that I’d write about my how teaching practice has informed my research, which has, in turn, re-informed my practice! Last winter, CTE colleague Sheila Hannon and I conducted a survey of all UW students who had taken an English course through Distance Education within the past year. Our motivation for undertaking this research stemmed from our own experiences co-ordinating Distance Education courses within our department. The goal of our survey was to determine whether students were satisfied with their distance learning experiences in the areas of interaction and assessment. Continue reading From Practice…to Research…to Practice – Sally Heath
Notes from a Teaching Developer Conference 2: Universities and New Urbanism – Trevor Holmes
At the Educational Developers Caucus conference I first wrote about a few weeks ago, one highlight for me was a workshop delivered by Erika Kustra and Bev Hamilton from the University of Windsor. While some workshops focus on tips and techniques, and others on current issues, these two critical thinkers facilitated a highly conceptual process that got participants moving around to stations on walls to play with New Urbanism as a metaphor for mapping our institutions (where we are and where we ought to be). Continue reading Notes from a Teaching Developer Conference 2: Universities and New Urbanism – Trevor Holmes
Spring Forward: Circadian and Cognitive Shifts – Nicola Simmons
The spring clock change. For me, it’s a time of shifts and re-framing, some of it good, like stargazing for another few weeks on my early morning walk, and some of it challenging, like waking up an almost 14 year old daughter who’s sure it’s not time yet. There’s no question that it also disrupts our patterns – sleep patterns and cognitive patterns (Kamstra, Kramer, & Levi, 2000; Kuhn, 2001)(if you don’t have a teenager you may have noticed these changes in your colleagues or yourself!). Continue reading Spring Forward: Circadian and Cognitive Shifts – Nicola Simmons
Time flies…things change… – Darlene Radicioni
The CUT (Certificate in University Teaching) program celebrated its 10th anniversary in Fall 2008. I’ve been here nearly that long too (since June 2000).How things have changed!
THEN
In the beginning, the CUT program had one TA Developer working 10 hours a week. Registration occurred upon submission of a response paper after attending a workshop. We were happy to have 14 students in a workshop. Juice, water and sometimes cookies, were provided as additional incentive for participation. Once a student had met the requirements for a course, the Graduate Office would be notified and a grade of CR would appear on their transcript. There were no time limits to complete a course or the program (one student took 27 terms). Continue reading Time flies…things change… – Darlene Radicioni
“If you keep your mind open, stuff will fall in” — Mark Morton
“If you keep your mind open stuff will fall in” — that excellent adage is the invention of Tommy Hunkeler, a grade-six student at Elizabeth Ziegler Public School in Waterloo. Tommy, along with more than a hundred other people (ranging from elementary school students, to undergraduates, to university faculty members), participated in a contest that was part of the 2009 Loving to Learn Day. Continue reading “If you keep your mind open, stuff will fall in” — Mark Morton