Mind + Technology! (1799-11)

It has been a great experience to take a course during vacation. Even though some parts got quite overwhelming with a lot going on at the same time, yet the overall learning and the opportunities afforded by this course were great. It taught me a great sense of work ethic as well. What is human life if it is not spent in mindful activity? I got quite a few chances to apply my mind as well as technical expertise to put learning into practice.

My illness caused me some stress regarding completion of assignments and the quality of work, but the instructor’s prompt response, flexibility and understanding got me flowing smoothly. Holistically speaking, I have derived a lot from this course. There were a variety of things to choose from and to do (as opposed to one reading after another), lots of healthy and invigorating discussions and a great vent for creativity through website designing.

As I get ready for my next endeavour to learn some research methodologies, I hope I can stay close to constructivism and make holism a part of my teaching-learning process in the real sense.

Finally.. Relaxation [the Individual Project] (1799-10)

Illness kept me away from the computer for a few days. However, it did not prevent me from thinking constantly about the course. Particularly of interest to me was the Individual project. Before starting it, I had several thoughts:

• - Maybe a collection of technology resources, it might help me down the road in the resource type of position that I have;

• - How about something for my own and/or other teachers’ professional development – a compilation of audio-visual content as well as powerful journal articles;

• - I could set up something for my students that would save me time in the next year.

After a lot of thought, I completely changed my mind. An aid in this decision was Selia’s domain AstralSite. I noticed that a professional’s profile did not have to be limited to their professional prowess and what resources they can provide to the world. A little bit of one’s own personality is also an essential component. I have to say though that I salute Selia’s effort of compiling everything from lifelong learning resources, course-specific pages, educational sites, portfolios and presentations to explorations, contemplation resorts, oases and much more thought-provoking and pleasurable resources.

With the Internet a commonality in everyone’s daily life, some intellectual relief also needs to be provided in some corners of the World Wide Web. So, I decided to create a thought-provoking, relaxing spot on the internet that would reach out to the depths of the human mind. It is not my professional prowess at stake here. This is a judgement of the application of my mind and spirit to the world of information technology. I wanted to weave in emotions, poetry and thoughtfulness into this website. Images and words always inspire me and bring me solace. I wanted to make all this a part of my individual project. After all, it is my individual project – something that is in matching with my personal values, my sense of being, my personality and my spirit. And thus came into being, “ThinkDreamLive” (available at http://www.wix.com/nitashori/thinkdreamlive).

Variety, followed by consolidation (1799-9)

This course has meant a lot in terms of technological learning. Lots of external websites that are useful in the present and hold potential benefits both as an educator as well as a student are:

• Etherpad (experienced its efficient working for a couple of different collaborations, including copying the chat transcript),

• Webs as a web-builder for group project

• Wix as a creative web-builder for the individual project

In addition, there is large collection of external links that Selia has provided to aid in general teaching as well as specific to using instructional technology.

A great ‘treat’ we were given was a compilation of all the resources collected during the term of the course. Since we were using two different platforms – Blackboard and C2C, this consolidation was very helpful.

I sometimes hear educators saying that they are not required to do certain things and that they have a life and that they need to balance and work and home etc etc. However, I often see how a little bit of extra effort on the part of the educator makes things so much easier for learners. Noble professionals sometimes just have to reach out to make the difference that they can!

21st century technology [Emphasis on Critical thinking] (1799-8)

One of the forums in the All-Class Discussions centred around technology in the 21^st century. There was mention of the widely popularized video “The Shift Happens”. It ties in well with the article I read in Week 2 on using online classes to improve students’ critical thinking skills. The author had quoted Dillon (2006) as stating, “Understanding how technology works, both for and against you, is an integral part of information or media literacy” (Shenkman, 2011). This is especially important when technology is not a novelty, but a need, a way of life.

I am really glad that for our partner assignment, my partner and I created a resource for teaching critical thinking through media literacy. It gave me a chance to take an in-depth look into the topic.

I hope to use this blog post as a resource where I can continue to compile resources for teaching critical thinking:

Papers:

Bullen, M. (1998) Participation and Critical Thinking in Online University Distance Education. Journal of Distance Education. 13(2): 1-32. Retrieved from: http://168.144.129.112/Articles/Participation%20and%20Critical%20Thinking%20in%20Online%20University%20Distance%20Education.rtf

McCoy, Martha and Scully, Patrick (2002) ‘Deliberative Dialogue to Expand Civic Engagement: What Kind of Talk Does Democracy Need?’, National Civic Review 91.2: 117– 35. Retrieved from: http://www.ncl.org/publications/ncr/91-2/ncr91-2_article.pdf

Shenkman, A.G. (2011). Online classes: improving critical thinking skills. Proceedings of the Teaching in the community colleges online conference http://etec.hawaii.edu/proceedings/.

Websites:

http://professionalpractice.asme.org/MgmtLeadership/CriticalThinking/8_Components_Critical.cfm

http://www.criticalthinking.org/resources/k12/the-art-of-redesigninginstruction.cfm

Videos:

http://www.criticalthinking.org/articles/young-students.cfm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0JSwr_Ib7Q

http://youtu.be/6OLPL5p0fMg

http://youtu.be/BJRQAyw2_Ls

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