Reflections

Participating in the 9x9x25 blogging adventure has been a rich experience. I have grown as a teacher, learner, and writer. For example, when writing the first blog on new student orientations, I finished and was pleased with the results. Then I counted the sentences and realized I only had 15. So I had to return and write more, which in and of itself caused me to dive deeper and add more specific details, and isn't that what I keep telling my students? By the end of this experience, I had to count sentences to hold myself back.

Then I wrote about the Ning thing. I had been wanting to write about that experience for quite a while, and this venue gave me the opportunity and an audience to listen. Thanks for the privilege! One blog never got published even though I had spent at least six hours crafting it. The title was Big Business, Big Government. I never seemed to get the right blend of what I wanted to say in a way that was not too political. I decided that was not where I wanted to go as a writer.

Reading comments from other faculty gave me ideas for teaching without going to an expensive conference or driving to Prescott for an Institute. However, I will say that going to one conference a year and/or attending both Winter and Summer Institute are outstanding opportunities. Yet, it is nice to have another way to gain new ideas, and virtually for free.

And when our blogging developed outside interest from other institutions, excitement grew. We read blogs from other institutions of higher learning and gave these faculty members' feedback on their blogs. When we received comments back, that was moving and delightful. Yes, Karly, I was sure you were right as soon as I had read the email you sent out. I saw that I had received a comment right after your email arrived.

But the best thing that blogging has done for me is getting me to write again. I have made a commitment to myself to keep blogging. I have been invited to write blogs for a writer who wants to take five weeks off for Christmas, and I feel ready to dive in. I also dug out the papers I had saved from my Creative Writing classes and want to revise and publish anything worthwhile. So, thanks for the challenge and the blessings that have come from the entire experience.

And thanks for the Ben & Jerry's, the certificate, the book, the hat, the USB drive, the cookies, and more. Good job, Todd and family! Hey, maybe I will have my students write a blog, and then have it be a reward. Why not!

Gearing Up for a New Semester . . Soon

Every semester when I see things winding down, the faithful students seeking to finish well, I think, wow, my work is almost done here. But then it hits me . . .  Think again! Now is the time to start building for the new semester.

So what process do instructors go through to prepare for a new semester? Instructors receive a new Course Management System (CMS) shell to build new content. That means we don't just copy the course from last semester and change the dates. Why not, you may ask? Each semester instructors find ways of teaching the class that they can improve upon. Often I write notes right onto the syllabus of the face-to-face classes to help me remember what changes to make. In online classes, I sometimes change the assignment the week after the students finish it so it is already ready when I do roll over content into the new Blackboard shell.

But I thought you said you don't copy the course. Well, since I am a limited human being, I do copy the main portion of the course, especially between fall and spring, and then I do the major rewriting during the summer . . . when I am off contract. But I still change textbooks, content, assignments, the way the directions are written to improve clarity, and so on.

Instructors also go to conferences and develop new ideas. In addition, most instructors network with other faculty at their campuses to gain insight into new and better ways to deliver instruction. We also network to make sure that students taking a particular course are getting a similar experience regardless of which section they take.

In fact, blogging here in this TeLS 9x9x25 challenge has become one more way for instructors, both locally and around the country, to similarly learn from one another and to network. I was pleased to get a great idea from a professor of writing from another institution today that I will definitely incorporate. And with funding for professional growth shrinking, we as instructors need to turn to the Internet for more and more ways to learn from one another.

One important point I would like to make about developing an online course is to write into it your conversational voice. Use proper grammar and punctuation, but write your personality into the course. Be warm and open in the voice you present to the students, and they will find you to be inviting. They will be more likely to contact you when they have trouble. The first time I taught online, I inherited a course from a professor at Northern Arizona University. I spent most of the rewriting just changing the information into my voice. And as Matt Pearcy taught us at the last Summer Institute, be sure to make your syllabus friendly for students.

And all throughout that semester, when students sent me an email asking to clarify directions, I was logging into the CMS to see how I could improve them. Each semester I seemed to have fewer emails with students having difficulty. If one student had an issue, I didn't consider it to be a problem, but as soon as I heard from two, I figured that a lot of others probably had the same issue, but didn't have the courage to ask or hadn't gotten to that point in the lesson yet. That is when I made sure I got into the course and changed things.

So here it is, November. Time to get started with Spring semester courses. Let's get our fingers nimble and go to work. After all, isn't that what Thanksgiving vacation is for? Well, at least after filling ourselves with turkey and thanking God for all of his many blessings, but seriously.

Signing off . . .

Intelligence and How to Get It

Here is one article I found in Facebook that I can't get out of my mind: There's one key difference between kids who excel at math and those who don't. The article states, "While American fourth and eighth grades score quite well in international math comparisons--beating countries like Germany, the UK and Sweden--our high-schoolers underperform those countries by a wide margin." The authors go on to say that "some influential voices in American education policy have suggested simply teaching less math--for example, Andrew Hacker has called for algebra to no longer be a requirement. The subtext, of course, is that large numbers of American kids are simply not born with the ability to solve for x. And how will that help America compete in a global marketplace?

Ever since teaching GED classes here at Yavapai College, I have been listening to students tell me, "I'm just not a math person." So why do I care? I teach English. Yet, the students who are good in math transfer this thinking into "I'm just not good at writing."

So what if you have trouble getting math concepts right away? Not all brains are created the same. We have multiple intelligences. Howard Gardener wrote books on the subject, and I even wrote a thesis on it. For anyone who really wants to dive into Gardener's theory, here is a list of his books: The Disciplined Mind (1999), Leading Minds (1995), Creating Minds and Multiple Intelligences (1993). For those of you who teach English or who wonder why I like to use collaborative learning, you can read my thesis.

But even if one student has more trouble than another in learning math or how to write, does that mean the student should shrug his or her shoulders and give up? Maybe in America, but certainly not in foreign countries. According to this article, students who have more trouble learning in other countries learn to work hard. What a concept! I remember my oldest daughter having such a struggle in college calculus. She told me that she was determined that no matter how many times she had to take Calculus II, she was going to pass the class. And she did. Eventually.

So how do we create a more dynamic educational system in our country, a system where people dive in when the going get tough? Where the challenged keep striving for excellence and intelligence in all we say and do? We as the adults need to change our language. We need to set the example. Don't say that we ourselves can't remember the times tables and dig out our cell phone calculator, for example. Don't tell our kids that mommy or daddy weren't good at writing papers in high school and then send the kids off to bed without at least trying to talk them through some basic ideas about a topic they are supposed to write about for homework.

That isn't to say we shouldn't also point them in the direction of a tutor, teacher, or friend who is good at the subject. But let us set the example of people who are willing to try, willing to strive for success, even when it is difficult.

To Dream Again

First, I had gone to school to be a medical secretary. Yes, we still used the word "secretary" in 1976. My parents thought that was the perfect career for a young woman who wanted children. I took Medical Transcription and Medical Office Procedures at Pima College.

After working a few years doing accounting, secretarial work, and other odd jobs working for the government and private industry, we got a break financially, so I went to college and earned a one year Certificate of Accounting. I really liked the whole way numbers worked together and came out even, if I didn't make any mistakes. So I worked in accounting for a number of years, and my husband went to college to pursue his dream: becoming an Elementary School Teacher.

A few years later our family of two grew to three, then four, then five, and then six as our children were born. My dream of being a stay-at-home mom had become a reality. When the baby went to kindergarten, I decided I no longer wanted to work with numbers, but with words. My dream to be a writer was born. Yes, I even published a poem and a cover story in a magazine.

With all of this sudden success, I panicked. I didn't want to be a good writer, I wanted to be a great writer. I started taking English classes and other general studies classes right here on the Verde Valley Campus. My instructors were folks you know: Ginny Chanda, Terrence Pratt, Di Dwan, Paul Ewing, and Jon Frericks. I felt like someone had given me the world. And eventually I was asked to apply for the All USA Scholarship and received it. The whole family said, "Go, get your education." I couldn't tell if they were encouraging me or trying to get Mom out of the house. Either way, I went. Four years later I returned to Yavapai College asking for work, and I was rewarded.

First I worked for Terrence Pratt as an English adjunct faculty member as well as for Northern Arizona University. Next, Barbie Duncan hired me to run the Learning Center half time. Then I was hired as the Verde Campus GED Coordinator and had a great time working with the students. Finally, Connie Gilmore hired me to be English faculty. What a ride! I was so excited, and I still love my job.

But it is time to dream again. No, I am not saying I want to stop teaching. Heaven forbid! I am saying I still want to write. Writing these blogs has been great fuel for the fire. I have also been working with a woman in Prescott Valley editing her children's book. Seeing her go through the process has been a delight. And reading about Karly's book and having another gentleman I know give me a copy of his second novel last week, well I think there is a message in here.

If any of you have a hidden dream, start polishing the metal in your spirit and go for it. I don't care if it is hiking the Grand Canyon, flying a helicopter, getting a degree. Whatever your dream is, pursue it with all of your heart. Who knows what great things lay ahead for those of us who dive in and believe. Wishing you all the best as you too, dream again.

Writing Curriculum: The Experience

This month I have been working on curriculum for a new English class here at Yavapai College. I have been trying to create a meaningful 200-level linguistics class, ENG220: Grammar and Usage, to help English majors get more variety in their second year. Currently we offer second year creative writing and literature classes.

The purpose of this new class is to give students confidence in grappling with phrases, clauses, sentences, and grammar in general. Students will also study dialects, history of the English language, and a few other topics to prepare them for the university environment.

Potential students for the class will not only be those who want to gain more confidence with writing, but also those who need a 200-level linguistics class when they transfer to Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University. The class may also transfer to other state university programs. We also hope that some students will take our course who attend other schools since the class will be offered online. Why would we put this class online? So we can draw from the entire county as well as from our own students who have transferred to a four-year school and who feel the need for some fortification of their writing once they arrive.

First I searched the Web sites of both Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Arizona State University (ASU) thinking these were the two most likely places our Yavapai College students would go. Neither site gave access to outside individuals to see their Course Outlines. I could find some program-level information as well as a list of classes offered at least for the next semester, but that is not what I was looking for.

Next, I contacted one of my former professors at NAU, and she referred me to a linguistics professor  there who taught the equivalent course at that school. The professor sent me a copy of his syllabus. I also contacted the NAU English Department, and the office personnel sent me a syllabus from his course as well as that of another professor. Now I was in business.

After having such a positive experience with the NAU English Department staff member, I contacted ASU and found that English department helpful as well. I received a syllabus for their equivalent class. When I had these three syllabi, I started creating Course Content and Learning Outcomes as a blend of what these professors' courses offer. I also wrote a Course Description.

Then I sent out the draft of the Course Outline to Burt Coffin, our ATF representative; Keith Haynes, English faculty assisting with developing new classes; Joani Fisher, Faculty President; Dean Holbrook, Division Dean; and Laura Cline, Curriculum Committee representative. These interested parties gave me feedback, and I continued working on the outline. Laura also told me that I would need to fill out the curriculum form, and I chose to use the Permanent Course Proposal since I would like this class to count as a Written Communication course in General Education.

While writing the Permanent Course Proposal, I decided to see if I could find a similar class offered at the University of Arizona (U of A). This time I called the English Department without doing an extensive search of the Web site and was emailed Course Descriptions the same day. I included the course number of the most similar class offered at the U of A into the Permanent Course Proposal and hope that the new ENG220 class will articulate.

After rewriting the Course Outline and creating the Permanent Course Proposal, I sent the two files to both Laura and Dean. Laura sent me a message saying that I needed to check one of the verbs to make sure it was on the approved list for Learning Outcomes, and I did make the change. She said that I could send it on to Patti Schlosberg to get the articulation with other universities taken care of.

The Course Outline and Permanent Course Proposal have been sent on to Patti, and now I can sit and wait to see how the course is received, how it will articulate, and to see when the new class can be developed. I look forward to a positive reception from our Yavapai College English Department for this new class, and I wish the first instructor well as s/he develops this class online. Blessings! Tina

That Ning Thing

A number of years ago I took a great class from Yavapai College's TeLS staff, ENG255, and in that class I found a tool that I thought would transform the online experience for my students. Its name: NING. Also, I was so glad that I got the domain I wanted: Thinkingcritically.ning.com .

For years all of the ENG140 students created their own pages here. Students had access to Critical Thinking videos, pictures of charts for the Elements of Thought, Intellectual Standards, and Intellectual Traits. Students also had a link to Richard Paul and Linda Elder's Critical Thinking site where they could see even more electronic tools to help grasp the concepts for critical thinking, download further books, and have access to other material available to instructors.

One day Ning decided that FREE wasn't going to continue. Ning decided to charge for this service. Suddenly FREE was converted to $2.95 per month. Along came Pearson who decided to pick up the tab for deserving educators. I was one of the blessed. For the next few years, Pearson paid the fee for Thinkingcritically.Ning.com as well as a number of other educators' sites to remain up for the students.

And then it happened. Out of the blue I was sent a message that I had a bill of $5.90, and that I would be turned over to the creditors if I didn't pay. I was informed that I had been sent a number of bills and reminders, and that I needed to pay up. A few days later, ZAP, right after the students posted their pages for the semester, Thinkingcritically.Ning.com went down.

In the next few weeks, I pondered what to do. During the last few months, not only had I NOT been told that Pearson had pulled its funding, but at the same time, I was getting bombarded with all kinds of requests for all kinds of people with weird email addresses and addresses from around the globe, literally, to join the site.

Seriously, I did not want a bad credit rating, but would anyone deny loaning me money to buy a car just because I hadn't paid a $5.90 bill for Ning??? Seriously??? And how could they do that anyway since I hadn't agreed to anything personally.

I talked to Todd about it since he also had a Ning account, and I found out he was having a similar situation. Previously, he had told me how to change the settings to the account to limit the visibility of my site, so I had already taken care of that issue. No new strange people were sending me requests, which was in fact becoming a burden to this online instructor who gets plenty of email every day anyway, especially at the beginning of the semester. I would personally rather focus on my students.

Since his previous advice had worked, I asked for more. Todd encouraged me to talk with Dean Holbrook, which I decided to do. Dean was gracious and is covering the $5.90 previously billed along with the $2.95 through December so my current students can enjoy their Ning site. Yeah! No more threats of destroying my credit, and my students can see their site again! However, at the end of the year, the site will go down permanently, and all of the students who have taken the class all of these past years will lose access to all of this information. Their pages will go away.

So what. Really. Did the students actually go use the site after class ended? Did they ever go in and look up old classmates and reconnect? Did the students taking the class find it useful? Honestly, I didn't do the research. It just seemed like a great idea at the time. It was a great way to preserve some of the learning we did as a class, which was shared with later classes. And it was awesome to have something left of my students after the class was over.

The best part of all is that students had a place to post images of themselves, their families, anything they wanted to share so we learned more about each other than just a name in a Blackboard shell. Was the Ning thing worth all of my time and effort, and that of the students? You decide.

Signing off. Tina

Constructivist Theory and Web 2.0 Technologies

Constructivist Theory (http://tip.psychology.org/bruner.html) focuses on a way of learning where students construct meaning by going beyond what they are taught. The new Web 2.0 technologies that are emerging today certainly can  facilitate constructivist thinking and learning. The students and teachers are responsible to create this reality for themselves and their classrooms respectively. Learning will not likely take place regardless of the learning tool without desire, discipline, and dedication. Each of the Web 2.0 tools we read about in Handbook of Emerging Technologies for Learning by George Siemens and Peter Tittenberger create the connectivity to allow for better teaching in hybrid, online and the face to face environments.

Social learning can be greatly enhanced when using Wikis. Barb Davis created a vocabulary Wiki for her class last semester. The students chose their own words they came upon while reading The Kite Runner and loaded them into this Wiki. At the end of the semester, the instructor used these words for the Vocabulary Final Exam. Matt Pearcy created a Facebook account to give his students a creative way to access him throughout the semester. I created the http://thinkingcritically.ning.com/ site to allow students to access diverse resources to support learning the Critical Thinking terms and concepts from Richard Paul and Linda Elder's materials. Since this information is housed at Ning, it continues to be accessible after Blackboard closes its doors for the semester.

Situated learning can be enhanced using YouTube videos. Many instructors create these videos to demonstrate how to complete assignments. Artists can show students how to paint, draw, sculpt, and so on. English teachers can show students how to write various types of papers, and math teachers can demonstrate solving various math equations. Tegrity and Camtasia are other video tools that have even greater potential since the students can view the demonstration as well as a slideshow to narrate the main ideas.

Reflective learning is another benefit of Web 2.0 technologies. I have personally polled my own students asking them how they feel about using discussions in college online courses, and the majority prefer these over face to face discussions. The more quiet students have the time to think and reflect on what they want to say without being in “competition” with those for whom words come quickly and easily. Many students feel they have more time to give a well considered response and to listen to their peers. Very few students actually would confess to preferring the classroom situation where they can jump in and “monopolize” the discussion.

Multi-faceted learning relates to Multiple Intelligence Theory where proponents believe the more options instructors give students to access curriculum, the more likely students are to gain understanding of the material. When we add the visual aspect of video and other computer-based graphical interfaces, the aural aspect of recorded messages and text readers, and the kinesthetic aspect of interacting with a computer through the keyboard, mouse, and various drawing and selection tools, we can only increase the likelihood that students will engage in the material being presented. How much more interesting is it to study and learn while watching, listening, and keying into a computer device over reading a textbook! Oh, did I really say that?

I have purposefully created this learning situation in the GED classroom. Students would come into the room and work out of textbooks for part of the class time, listen to a short lecture, and then participate in groups. Finally, students would get onto a local computer to study through software programs, computer math games, and more. Students who were mostly playing with their pencil during the first part of the class period still found the program worthwhile because they knew that more engaging activities would follow. Students who preferred working in the book often returned to the book refreshed after the various activities as well. Indeed emerging technologies deserve our attention as serious tools to enhance learning for students of the 21st Century.

Contacting Students by Phone

Call me, don't be afraid, you can call me. Maybe it's late, but just call me. Tell me and I'll be around. Okay, so as faculty, we're not Nancy. Yet, students tell me over and over again how glad they are that I called them when I haven't seen them in class or heard from them in awhile.

One time in the semester students appreciate a phone call is the first week of class. Especially in the online classes, students are out there struggling to get their textbooks, to learn how to receive college email, and more importantly figure out how to navigate our Blackboard courses. Each one of us has a different set up, and that frustrates some of them. So why not call a student who has not logged in yet or sent in an assignment?

After reaching students on the phone, often I will hear them say that they are okay and will log in by the end of the day to get started. But many others will tell me that they can't figure out what to do. "How do I send in an assignment?" is one of the most repeated phrases not only via email, but also on the phone. It only takes a few minutes to have them get to a computer, follow along with phone instructions, and achieve success.

So what about all of the videos we create in YouTube and/or Jing to help them learn how to do this on their own? These are great for most of the students, but for the students who need a helping hand, the phone and email responses are still necessary. Let's face it. Some students haven't taken the time to locate the Announcements tab, and perhaps that isn't obvious to them either.

If you wonder why I take the time to call students, I have taught GED in the past, and part of the job was to call any student who missed class for a week to check up on them and encourage them. When I moved into this faculty position, I still find myself working with the newer students to campus and feel the same treatment serves to support the students and improve retention. Oakton Community College Research agrees.

So what effect has calling students had? I have had students who were dealing with death in the family tell me what was going on. Then I was able to work out a plan for them to catch up. Another student had a child in the hospital in Phoenix in a life or death situation for a few weeks. She realized that someone out there in cyberspace from Yavapai College actually cared and wanted to work with her. The student did finish the course. Other students have been overwhelmed with work, life, and other situations. Just calling them gave them motivation to carry on.

Okay, enough of the emotional reasons, right! It is just plain good personal relations for the college to call our students. When we capture the moment when a student is trying to decide if s/he should continue in the class, we can retain that student. Then we will have more students moving on to further semesters here at the college filling the higher level courses as well. We will also create a more supportive, positive atmosphere on our campus, and students will likewise share about us as a college that we are a more supportive, positive place to go to school. And we know that students have choices. Let's encourage them to come here, and to stay.

Effects of New Student Orientation

Each decision a college makes effects change within the institution. Some have profound effects that can be seen immediately. Others take years to realize. Last year the Developmental Education committee studied research and learned that new student orientations often make no real difference. Although students stated that they felt more prepared for college, these same students had the same drop out rate and did no better in the long run.

But then our college sent a group of advisers and faculty to the First Year Experience conference in Florida. Experts there claimed that new student orientations do make a difference. Our Student Services director became excited about the concept as well as the others who had gone. The director also was able to share statistics with positive outcomes to administration, and they likewise supported college involvement in these new orientations.

Realize that this does not mean that our college has never offered orientations. We have. But now we have decided to blend faculty and staff involvement to create a stronger support for the students. Student Services also decided to coin the phrase "mandatory for students success" as part of the launch. Although the orientations would not be mandatory, we felt all students would desire success.

So this summer a larger group of staff and faculty developed a series of orientations to be held at various locations across the county. Faculty and student services personnel met weekly and designed a general session, three concurrently running breakout sessions, and set up resource tables for students to browse between sessions. The cost to organize and run these orientations are as follows: weekly or biweekly staff meetings, faculty giving up personal time without compensation, office space and utilities expense, prizes and packets.

The rewards measured so far include: over 300 new students came to these orientations voluntarily, anecdotal reports exist of students coming to class the first day on time. Some classes actually had all students in their seats ready to learn the first day of class. In my online classes, I actually had more students logging in and getting busy at the beginning of the first week.

Can all of this positive change be due to the new student orientations? Or are other factors involved? One that occurs to me is that the college has better management of financial aid fraud. Perhaps we have more motivated students. Either way, it appears that new student orientations will be mandatory next year, and then we will be better able to measure the value of this new shift in the environment here at Yavapai College.