Keith Dorwick and I are proposing a pre-conference workshop similar to
the one led by Karen Schwalm, et. al., in Milwaukee: a workshop aimed at
people who are on campuses equipped with computers, and who need some
ideas about what they can do with the darn machines. Here's the proposal
that Karen floated last year; ours will be modelled on it:
Several years ago, faculty members who wanted to teach with
computers spent much of their time and energy arguing for
resources, making decisions about hardware and software, and
convincing colleagues to join them in this new teaching
environment. That situation has changed. Now, many institutions
have well-equipped, technology-rich classrooms, furnished with
powerful hardware and software, often networked locally or
connected to the Internet; yet, while faculty members are eager
to teach in these environments, they may not know exactly how to
get started.
This workshop will address three configurations of computer
classrooms: those containing free-standing computers, those on a
local area network, and those with access to the Internet. The
facilitators will offer three kinds of activities. First, they
will share their course syllabi, fully elaborated and annotated
to include not just what they do during the first two weeks, but
also the pedagogy that informs it. There are many ways to
structure courses in these environments, and we will present a
variety of methods, each informed by theory. Second, the
facilitators will teach mini -class sessions, demonstrating for
the participants how teachers pace themselves and interact with
students in these different environments. Finally, the
facilitators will lead roundtable discussions focusing on some
over-arching issues in all computer-based teaching environments:
managing student collaboration, doing some creative scheduling
and general pacing, becoming a learner once again, and dealing
with insecurity.
At this point, we're looking for a bunch of people who are interested in
helping to facilitate this workshop. We'll set up some forums
so that we can discuss the nuts and bolts of the thing as the convention
draws closer.
If you're interested in signing on, either send e-mail to me
([log in to unmask]) or to Keith ([log in to unmask]).
Marcy
References: <[log in to unmask]>
