Month: June 2016

OTL3Post 6

This whole course, for me, is about trying to lose some fear of technology. Inquiry based learning is not new, it isn’t different, and it is clearly part of university work. It is also part of Kindergarten. Inquiry is how learners become engaged with learning. So….I am using this course to “inquire” sort of….to try to feel some ease with technology, to build some tolerance to failure, to identify a couple of competencies, and to continue on….and on….it’s been good.

otl301Post 4

Continuous entry courses are tricky. In leadership programs, it is known, through research, that cohort is incredibly predictive of the program success. Yet, we face an economic situation where cohort may not ever be established or maintained. In our executive leadership program we are trying to solve this through a combination of instructor and coach…and creating an online presence for each individual that is robust enough that they become “known” fairly quickly.

otl301post3

Learning Outcomes:

Learning Outcomes

When you have completed this unit you should be able to:

  • identify two or more personally relevant educational and other experiences that have shaped, and continue to shape your educational philosophical orientation
  • identify how two others relevant educational and other experiences shape their educational philosophical orientation

Activity 1

Introduction

Our educational philosophy is connected to our own educational experiences. Identifying what has shaped us, in terms of education, will help us identify our own values and beliefs about education.

Instructions

Read Chapter 1, pages 1-9 of the text. Prepare a script for your own educational biography. Select several artifacts or exhibits that are important symbols for you and explain why they are important.

  1. Record a performance, not a reading, of your script and upload this to You Tube(the private section). Post a link to the video in the Discussion Forum so your colleagues and Open Learning Faculty Member can view it. The recording should be between 7 and 10 minutes in length.
  2. Save the script that you have written. This will be useful to you when you complete the final assignment in the course.

Activity 2

Introduction

World events, and our interpretation of these events, also provide ways of understanding ourselves and our educational values.

Instructions

Think about what you see as significant international or national/provincial/local event(s) that shape our educational story. In a paragraph explain why you see this event as significant and post this to the Discussion Forum. After all your colleagues have posted, review them all and feel free to comment on them. Do you see any themes emerging? You may want to identify a theme or two, and mention the theme in your reflective journal.

Activity 3

Introduction

Sometimes it is helpful to consider the experiences of others, and how those experiences could shape their story and their understanding of the world and its relationship to people.

Instructions

Watch the National Film Board production “Living Stone”. What is the role of aboriginal world views, storytelling and thinking in today’s world? Investigate some of the philosophical thinking related to one “original peoples” culture of interest to you describing an aspect of that view. Would the educational philosophy of someone living in this time and place be different than your own? How? Why? Reflect on this in your Reflective Journal when you consider how time and place shapes our world view, and our understanding of what matters in education.

 

Lesson 1 Summary

We have thought about our own narrative in several ways: by looking at our own significant educational events, by considering the influences of the larger world, and by thinking about the situated knowledge that is part of being human. In Module 2 we will start thinking about the Ancient Philosophers, and how their time and place influenced their thinking about educational philosophy. They may have influenced the institutions and experiences we have had in education.

References

  • Gutek, G. L. 2011. Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Education: A Biographical Introduction. Toronto: Pearson.

 

[insert Assignment Signpost] I don’t know what this is… No worries. This a tag for our Production people.

Assignment

It is now time to complete the Assignment 1 Reflective Journal question. Assignment for Reflective Journal: What do you think might have been some philosophical or educational values for the Inuit based on the movie Living Stone? What do you think matters most in education today? Does what matters most relate in any way to your educational experiences you identified as part of your educational biography? Does it relate to current events in our world? Does it relate to historical or original ways of knowing?

Your response should be between 250 – 300 words.

Activity Checklist

Here is a checklist of the learning activities you will be completing in Module 1. You may find it useful for planning your work.

þ Activity
1. Create an educational biography video
2. Post about a world event dialogue
3. Watch “Living Stone”
4. Write your Reflective Journal response

 

otl301Post2

I am a teacher. I have been a teacher over 30 years. Shocking. Not only am I a teacher, I’m a teacher of teachers….on it goes. What I have learned in this course is that I have to sit in my own panic and try hard to not be overwhelmed. Sometimes the technology actually does not work, it is not that I am unbelievably stupid….although, stupid may well play into it to some degree. Mastery learning is critical to me succeeding in anything. Critical. Far more critical than feedback, although I would argue that mastery learning has feedback loops that are essential. Trust was the topic of my doctoral dissertation….don’t get me going on that. Let’s stick with the above.

course three post one

Working with technology is one of the most terrifying experiences I have, on a regular basis, in life. I regularly experience what are very close to panic attacks. When I was much younger, I was afraid of needles. I was desensitized to this fear with the help of a health professional, and found that it was interesting to think about the paired response of Skinner…in terms of how I had paired my emotional reaction to an object. I overcame it, I can give blood, needles are no longer an issue, and haven’t been for a very long time. But I see many similarities between the needle and the technology. I don’t know that I’ll ever overcome my fear, but I may be able to lessen the emotional load, with incremental successes. The key ingredients are positive experiences paired with incremental successes.

course two, lesson three, post 6.1

there. I’m getting it.

I don’t know what question I am answering, because, as I said in a previous post I editted, I don’t know how to get to the main course…but, the criticism is that the post was very short, and I am able to type…so, I’ll type a bit more.

Clearly, I am trying to master technology, not content. There is a need for me to master technology. Every time I try the technology changes, talk about frustrating. On the other hand, I know PhD’s who do not know how to use tracked changes….and some of them have been on thesis committees!! So, there is some technology I can handle. I do, actually, have some struggles with Excel that have never really resolved themselves. I think if I used Excel more often this would help, much as using this system would help resolve the various issues that I struggle with.

 

course two post three.3

Learning activity two is meant to help me learn to post in the right place at the right time, without messing it up. As simple as this sounds, believe it or not, I have spent 30 minutes trying to get to the home page of this online teaching and learning site, so that I can edit these posts so that they are longer. This is now much longer, but I have no idea how I got to this spot. So. Progress in some ways, no progress in important ways – but, the typing is not too bad.