Notes from Talk & Tech: Discussion – Talk Session 9/13/12

How could lecturing fit in with discussion?

• Lecturing when they ask for it – if it comes organically out of discussion
• Lectures used sparingly are welcome.
• Balance between conveying content and having interaction – adding discussion doesn’t mean you have to abandon lecture.
• Wanting class to be varied  - not wanting to do only one thing (e.g. discussion only or lecture only, etc).
• Moving to online content delivery can be difficult because it can be hard to find resources (e.g. videos)

Students and tech-savviness

• We can’t assume students know technology. They are very good at using very specific technologies. But they often have a learning curve when they learn something new.
• Students have a very low frustration threshold; often they will assume that the technology doesn’t work when they simply aren’t getting the right answer.
• It might be useful to teach students have to use technologies and then give them some time to play with them.
• Discussion Boards were worth the investment of time in learning a new technology.

Getting student buy-in to learn new technology

• Time investment for the student in learning new software can be useful to them down the road.
• How do we get student buy-in to learn new technology?
• Why are we using technology? Transparency will help with student buy-in. Tell them why they have to learn the tech for whatever reason – part of the grade, for the future, for convenience, etc
• See TED Talk - Math Teacher Dan Meyer talks about how he gets students to "buy-in" to learning math:

• Students will skip the materials and the assignments they think they can get away with skipping.

Issues with facilities – when tech goes awry

• Facility issues can make it difficult to use technology in the classroom.
• When technology doesn’t work, students may assume faculty don’t know what they’re doing, as opposed to the technology just not working. It’s important to explain to students that you know how to work the tech.

Discussion, tech and the teacher

• Discussion board – good for communication to large course
• Allowing students to take over the conversation – if the teacher absents themselves, students will have to take on the responsibility for keeping things going.

Suggested Exercises / Activities:

• Adapting the “Hatful of Quotes” exercise for the science classrooom: use quotes from different periods in scientific history to illustrate the way science changes.
•  Have students work on problem / thorny issue in groups, come up with a solutions, then give the solution to another group to critique.