wk2: 人多意見多，但這是好事 (part1)

note: part1 是研究所的課 part2是大學的課

Okay, another interesting week.
Four new students.
Another chaotic week.

But we have to embrace chaos; it is part of the process 混亂是過程的一部分
However
I don't know if everyone is on the same page 但是我不知道是否大家有共識?

With 4 new students joining in from different locations, situations arose. 狀況很多. Not sure why but there were lots of echos. 義斌 said "現在好像武功高手在對話...隔空傳音又有迴音" You know, a sense of humor always helps. Several times people just suddenly disappeared. Really like 武功高手, 來去自如. However, the truth is, we are really not 來去自如. Easy to disappear, hard to come back.

Based on the experiences from the past 2 weeks, what can we do to help easy some of these distractions?

Several issues were discussed or discovered this week.

Issue 1 English

I realized that English is probably more difficult for students than I originally anticipated. I still think they need to try harder to read English articles but I also think I certainly could do better in picking the article.

For example, I asked them to read elearn Magazine's 2007 prediction about elearning and it did not go as planed. I can see why afterwards. Initially I thought the list has a who-is-who and students can get some name recognition. But it turns out there are just too many terminologies thrown together without any contextual information. It makes sense if they were lost. Need to do a better job of choosing an article.

So the next week I picked K–12 Online Learning: A Survey of U.S. School District Administrators. I even made an intro Google video (導讀,) to help them grasp the big concept better. The article is well written and well organized. I think they will do better this time.

Another thing about English relates to the expert interview. I was pleased that students were willing to give it a try. I will get their feedback next week. However, I already have some ideas as to how I can make this easier for them.

It is difficult to ask people to prepare a ppt just for you. It is easier to ask them to just show up and have a conversation with me. That is what I did with Melissa. She did a wonderful job answering my questions. However, I think it would be much better if they are more prepared. Students only need a few main points and I should iron those out prior to the interviews. This means I might need to get with them and discuss. Georgette suggested that I can cut the interview into shorter clips. I am also thinking to make a video with callouts to help with keywords. I have some ideas but I want to see what the students have to say. I am glad at least 佩貞 and 鳳英 appreciated my hard work. :-)


Issue 2 Connection/Distraction
I think we need to have some policy. This is basic. I should not even need to say it. No cell phone. No phone calls. Need a quit place. 如果台東大學下次再做,肯定需要一些規定的,否的大家太隨性

Issue 3 Student Commitments
My American students say to me: I work full time, have 2 young children at home, and take 18 hours. I do not have time for homework.

My Taiwan students told me the same. Well, almost.

There is only 24 hours in a day. If you choose (選擇) to spend more time on A, you will have less time on B. We make choices in life. There are certain commitments required for each action we take. 請對自己的選擇負責．If you want to take the class, you have to do the work. If you have less time to do the work, you don't learn as much, and your work shows. Period. 一分耕耘,，一分收穫，這還需要我說嗎？不要忘了，我白天也要上班，這兩堂課是我下班時間教的．

Issue ４ Technology difficulty
Ｍore than I had expected, sign up issues, etc. I still don't know why. I asked students for feedback and I have not yet to receive any. However, I did learn one lesson. Should introduce one new thing each week instead of all at once. A mistake.

Issue 5 Fluid structure
Since this is the first time teaching something like this, many things are not clear and we just have to make adjustment as we go. I am not if Taiwan students like this very fluid structure, the idea of me learning with and from them. 老師與同學共同學習．I introduced some new tools (wiki, google group, blog) and they might wonder why. I want to find out how we can use them effectively for a class. Since all software are free, after this class, they can continue to use them. Their learning does not have to end once the semester is over. Are these the best tools? Probably not. But the process of figuring out how to best use them is the very skill they will acquire at the end of semester - being a critical user of technology.


Issue 6 Social Construction of Knowledge
Don't I love it when this happened!!! I dont' have all the answers but WE do. :-)

• example 1: 偉堯 suggested that we should establish an order in talking online. Love it love it love it when students takes the initiative to problem solve an issue.
• example 2: when we were discussing about the best way to listen to the English expert interviews, both 義斌 and 佩貞 offered help "自己可以透過軟體放慢速度" and "錄音黨可以自行調節播放速度"
• example 3: 博忠 suggested that students could divide up the reading and discuss it together
• example 4: 義斌 and 雅琇 offered information about using rss reader to subscribe too all blogs

Issue 7: what does silence mean?

I don't think students are used to using a discussion group at all. I am actually pretty surprised. They pretty much disappeared after class and resurface in the next class. Why do they not answer my questions? Why do they not interact with their classmates online? Isn't this an online class? Or maybe a cellphone call is much easier? I want to know more about their reasons of using or not using certain technology.

Overall, time went by quickly too. I predict, maybe another week, in 4th week, the novelty effect will rub off and students will pay more attention on the actual content. I also think I should start using the Poll tool to encourage interactions.

See you next class!