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
Author: Sheila Hannon
As a Teaching Assistant Developer, Sheila Hannon is responsible for observing teaching events, facilitating workshops and providing feedback for participants in the Certificate in University Teaching (CUT) program. Sheila is excited to have the opportunity to meet and work with grad students from all faculties at UW. A former newspaper reporter, she is a PhD student in the Department of English Language and Literature where her research interests include new media, journalism, and Canadian Literature. She has taught as a sessional instructor and a teaching assistant, both on campus and for Distance Education since 2002.
A World of Friends – Sheila Hannon
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