It’s the most wonderful time of year! The Winter school term has begun! 
 
For lots of students, back to school means plenty of early morning classes and late night study sessions. School is busy, and chaotic, and it’s hard to find time to get all your assignments done, let alone spend time online. 
 
But the truth is, there’s a whole world of knowledge and opportunity out here, if you know where to look for it. Social media is transforming the way we connect, communicate and share…but it doesn’t just have to be that way for businesses. Students can benefit a lot from social media. Here are a few ways:
 
Building a professional network has never been easier.
Are you LinkedIN yet? Many students believe that they don’t need to worry about getting their profile up on LinkedIN until after they graduate. But nothing could be further from the truth. You need to get on there. Now. LinkedIN is one of the best places to connect with the kind of companies and people you want to eventually end up working for. And the only way you’ll be able to find and connect with them is to start building your profile there. 
 
Don’t worry if you don’t have a tonne of experience to add in yet. Put the experience you do have, even if it’s not related to your field. I want to know, before I consider bringing you into a client meeting, that you have customer relations skills. I think it’s a good thing that you worked as a plumbers’ apprentice for a year…that shows a sense of commitment and ability to problem solve. And yes, add in your major school projects. Treat those like any other kind of work experience. I want to know that you delivered that client project and they were satisfied, and that you were able to work in a team. Never discount school work as “not real experience”. It totally is.
 
LinkedIN also has plenty of groups you can join and LinkedIN Answers is a great place to post questions and get advice from industry pros. So get in there. Start filling in your profile, and connect with people you know (even those from past jobs, no matter how seemingly insignificant. Also friends and other people you know. Even that lady you used to deliver newspapers to. Who you know is EVERYTHING).
 
Start a blog. 
I would estimate that about 80% of my business leads and work opportunities come through this blog. No joke. Why? Because it’s my online home. People can come here and find out all about me….they see how I write, how I think, and how I interact with people. They can find out about my business and my teaching work, and if they want to contact me, it’s super easy. I leverage other tools like Twitter and Facebook to help drive traffic here. Start building your online home now. Don’t wait till graduation. You can set up a blog for free in about 5 minutes at Wordpress or Tumblr. And you don’t have to be a computer whiz. So do it. Start sharing your ideas with the world. 
 
Building a community around a blog takes time. It won’t happen overnight. But start now. Practice. Learn, and find your voice. Employers will trust you more if they feel like they can get to know you online. If you send me your resume! the first thing I do is Google you. If I find your online home and it’s filled with great stuff, I will be about 99% more inclined to call you back than if I can’t find you at all. 99%. For realz.
 
Just two things. Two really, really important things to start. Start them today, and by the time you graduate, you’ll have that much more of a leg up. And don’t tell me you don’t have time. Because this is your life. Your career. You didn’t spend all this money on school to wind up jobless after. This is what it takes to get there. 
 
Start. Now.
 
[photo by wired_gr]
 

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We are a couple of months into the term now, and I thought it would be a good idea to catch you up on how things are going with my flipped classroom. If you want to know more about why I decided to do this, you can check out my three previous posts on the subject - part 1, part 2 and part 3.

For those of you who may not be familiar with the concept, the “flipped classroom” is a teaching method made popular by the Khan Academy. Traditional classrooms are a combination of long lectures and demonstrations by the teacher, with application of learned concepts done through homework assignments, tests, exams and projects. The flipped classroom turns this model on its head; lecture materials are provided via video and other multimedia, and assigned as homework. Students complete the video lessons on their own time, at their own pace. Then, classroom time is devoted to assignments and projects, and applying the concepts learned in an open, creative environment. The teacher’s role is flipped as well, from instructor and lecturer to facilitator and coach.

When I decided earlier this year to flip my classroom, I admit it was a bit of an experiment. I’d never taught this way before, and I really didn’t know how it was going to work. But I had researched many case studies that showed the flipped classroom as an extremely effective method for retention of concepts and ultimately, that students were ultimately more successful when they were allowed to learn this way.
Here are a few thoughts on how it’s going so far.

A relaxed class means relaxed students.
One of the things I teach in my video production class is Adobe Premiere Pro, a professional video editing software. For the uninitiated, it can be a daunting and complicated tool to learn. There are lots of steps and plenty of room for error if you’re new at it. It can be a frustrating learning curve. I used to teach the software by standing at the front of the class, pointing and clicking at things, while students tried to follow along. The result was usually three groups – the ones who were bored because I was moving too slowly, the ones who were lost because I was moving too fast, and the ones in the middle (usually by far the smallest group) who got it on the first try.

Then I’d set them off on their own to do their homework assignment on their own time, and I’d end up with an email inbox full of questions, students running up to me at the start of class or catching me in the hallways, worried that they were going to fall behind because they were struggling to understand what we’d covered in class.

Now, I provide all of the software instruction in the form of a series of YouTube videos. Each one is between 3-7 minutes in length. I assign the tutorial videos as homework, and students can work through them at their own pace. They can play them on their iPod Touch, computer or smart phone, and then follow along in the software. Then they come to class armed with the skills they need to produce their creative projects.

The result is, I have a nice, happy, relaxed class of students who are achieving more than they ever thought possible after only 5 weeks of training. They understand the software because they have been able to learn it at their own pace. Things like learning disabilities and language barriers are less of an issue, because everyone is working within the parameters of their own personal comfort level.

My students are confident and most importantly they are having fun learning new things. Attendance in class is at an all-time high, in fact many of them are in class and already working when I show up!

Perhaps the best result happened to me today, when a student came up to me and said that he really appreciated this “flipped classroom”, that it’s allowing him to be more relaxed, confident and creative.

Kinda makes it all worthwhile, eh?

[photo credit Hani Amir]

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If you are a regular reader here, you’ll know that I talk often about ways I’m changing the structure of my courses to meet the needs of 21st century learners, while taking advantage of all that new and emerging technologies have to offer in terms of promoting engaged, relevant learning experiences.

I’m often frustrated by the process. It’s not that implementing 21st century technology is difficult (it isn’t, as long as there’s a plan), it’s that often, the educational models are still stuck in the 20th century.

Classroom Setup
We still have classrooms with desks in a row, with a spot for the teacher at the front to lecture. Sometimes, if it’s a computer lab, the computers are set up perpendicular to the teacher, so the teacher can see the students (but the students can’t really see each other because there are giant computer screens in the way). Most classrooms are not set up for collaboration. If students need to work together, they have to crowd around in the narrow aisles between the computer stations, or leave the classroom altogether. There’s not much desk space around their computers, so doing anything on paper or with tools other than a computer becomes challenging.

The 21st century classroom does not have crowded rows of desks. It does not keep most of the space at the front of the room for the teacher. The 21st century classroom is made up of groupings of desks that seat 4-6 students, facing each other. The teacher stands in one corner (where everyone can see) with a smart board. One entire wall of the classroom is a painted on white board. Students bring their own dry-erase markers and brushes, and can use that board whenever they want to work something out.

In a computer lab environment where students don’t need large monitors, each desk grouping is equipped with a laptop and/or a tablet (depending on the needs of the program being taught there). Each desk has a charging station for mobile devices. In labs where students need to work on larger, more powerful computers (like the Multimedia Program in which I teach), the computers are set up around the perimeter of the classroom. The centre of the classroom contains desk groupings, so when students need to collaborate away from their computers, they have a space to spread out and do so.

This is the kind of classroom I dream about. One that is designed for collaboration, student engagement, and freedom of movement and creativity.

Re-visiting Policies
The physical learning environment is one thing. The philosophical learning environment is another beast entirely. There are so many shifts that need to happen here that I hardly know where to begin.

First, we need to re-visit our own in-class policies as teachers. Most teachers still forbid students bringing mobile devices (smart phones, iPods and the like) to class. They forbid use of Facebook, Twitter or YouTube during class time. Some schools block access to these tools altogether. These tools create too much distraction, therefore, many teachers feel the only way to remove that distraction is to eliminate it altogether.

Restricting student access to technology is fundamentally the wrong approach. The solution is to teach appropriate use. I tell my students they are allowed to use their devices in class. I also tell them they are allowed to use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. But I’m very clear on HOW they use them. No texting or phone calls during class unless it’s an emergency, and turn phones to silent always. Browsers closed during lectures unless I say to open to a specific page. I can see everyone’s screens on my instructor station, and telling them at beginning of the term that I can see what they’re doing, usually helps them to comply. : )

But I do encourage use of mobile devices and social networks for doing class work. I tell them to use YouTube to look up videos for inspiration, or tutorials. I suggest they find podcasts related to course material and subscribe and listen or watch to get a better understanding of concepts. I tell them to ask their Twitter and Facebook contacts for their opinions on various things. Students who use these tools on a regular basis are more engaged in learning, and ultimately are succeeding more. It’s that simple.

In the bigger picture, institutions need to start to re-visit their policies as well. They need to implement more professional development for teachers, so there are fewer of us who are afraid to embrace technology and new teaching approaches. They also need to look at the technologies they have in place for distributing course materials, discover what isn’t working, and how new technologies like YouTube, Facebook, WordPress and Ning can be leveraged to deliver content in more effective ways. They need to work with the teachers who are on the front lines of emerging technology to better understand the implications of tech in the classroom and update school policies to reflect the new era.

We have a lot of work to do. Classrooms and policies need to be re-thought, and teachers need the ability to be able to make fundamental changes to the way they do things, without fear of repercussions from their administration. The 21st century student demands that embrace all the potential that new technology holds to create a dynamic, engaged and vastly improved learning experience. And if we’re not ready to meet those demands, then I fear that we risk making ourselves obsolete.

[photo by D3]

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Holy cow, social media is overwhelming!

That’s probably the comment I hear the most from students and clients alike. The information stream has overflown its banks, and the flood is creeping up to our doorstep. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot we can do to stop it, either. As more and more people start to realize the benefits of publishing, and interacting, and creating communities, information is becoming relentless. It sometimes makes us feel like just shutting off the computer and the smart phone and forgetting the whole thing, because if we can’t see the flood, it can’t affect us, right? The problem with turning away from information is that when we do, the information keeps flowing, even in our absence, and suddenly we feel like we are missing out. It’s a tough challenge, to be sure.

What often happens when we get overwhelmed by social media is, we freeze. We don’t know where to start, so we don’t start. Days, weeks, months go by, and we’re no further ahead. We feel like the online world is passing us by, but we are afraid to jump into the stream, for fear the current will carry us away.

It doesn’t have to be like this. There’s a way to dip your toe in the water. And that’s to just pick one thing.

You don’t have to do it all at once. You can just pick one thing, and focus on that for a bit. You can get up to speed, get comfortable, and get your feet wet. You can decide if you like it, if you want to keep going, or if you want to try something else. Here three ideas you can try to start. Pick any one from the list below, and just do that for the next week or so. Then, when you’re comfortable, move on to something else.

Set Up Your Google Reader
I always recommend listening and subscribing as a first step. Subscribing delivers the information you’re interested in directly to you, so you no longer have to go wading around in the busy stream yourself. You can take in the information at your own pace, and to get used to the flow of the conversation. You can get some insight to who the players are in your area of interest, and stay on top of the latest news. Google Reader is the best way to start listening, because it automates the process for you. You can subscribe to blogs of interest. If you’re not sure what is of interest, you can search on keywords and subscribe right from within the tool. Check it out at www.google.com/reader (you only need to set up a free Google Account to get started).

Play with Twitter
Twitter seems to be the one that has the biggest learning curve for people, which is ironic, because essentially, it’s very simple in its premise. On Twitter, you talk about what you’re up to, and share what is of interest to you, and other people do the same. If you find someone who is posting interesting stuff, you can follow them and then you’ll see what they are talking about in your stream. If they find you interesting too, they can follow you back and you’ll show up in their stream. You can talk to each other if you want, or talk to other people. Twitter is a conversation.

The best way to get a handle on Twitter is to just try it. Start by doing some keyword searches at www.twitter.com/search (you don’t need an account for this). Click on profiles you find interesting, check them out. Once you’ve got the idea, sign up for a free account. Complete your profile (including posting a photo!) and search for some folks to follow. A great place to start is to search for and follow people in your city or town (you can do this by doing an “Advanced Search” and completing the “Places” field. Following someone on Twitter is like a handshake – when you follow someone, they get an email notification, so they can then click on your profile and check you out too, and follow you back if they wish.

Post a few updates on your Twitter page. It can be anything from an observation you have, a link to some interesting content, or just saying hello. Twitter is a process, so start small, and spend a bit of time every day following and reading and reply to people if you feel inclined. You’ll soon find that the conversations start to flow!

Start a Blog as a Playground
Seriously. Just go to www.wordpress.com and sign up for a blog (it’s free!). Get that first step out of the way, even if you’re not 100% sure what you’re going to say on your blog. Get your blog account, pick a nice template, and take a look around. Run through these help pages if it helps make you feel more comfortable. The point here is just to get familiar with the idea of having a blog. Then, post something. It can be a few thoughts (maybe your thoughts on your journey into social media!), some photos from your vacation, or a video. It will feel weird to do this, if you’re not used to publishing content. You’ll feel like nobody is going to read it or care. You’ll feel like you’re saying “look at me!”. All this is normal. When I published my first blog post in 2007, I re-read it after hitting “Publish” and promptly took it offline because I felt so silly. Then eventually I put it back. And I did more. And people started to leave comments once in a while. And I got into great conversations, and over time, I connected with new friends, new colleagues and new clients.

Start your own little small space, your little playground on the Web. Trust me, it’s worth it. Do it for yourself, and don’t worry about anyone else right at first. Look at it as a way to learn about the tool, and to learn about how you best express yourself. Don’t strive for perfection at first. And it’s okay to feel a bit silly about it all – that will pass, the more you do it.

There you have it – three different places you can start with social media. Just pick one from the list, and this week, explore that one thing. Dip your toe into the stream. Take it a bit at a time.

And most importantly, have fun!

[photo by: andres.thor]

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Happy first day, everyone!

It’s that time of year, and many college teachers are gearing up for a busy Fall term. If you’re like me, you’ve got plenty to do – multiple courses means plenty of new faces to get to know. I’m teaching a variety of courses from Video Production to Digital Communication to Social Media for Business, to all different age groups too. Add to that some new administrative duties I’m taking on for one of the programs I am teaching in, and top this off with the fact that this is my part time job, and it’s possible to be a little overwhelmed.

When I undertook a higher teaching load this Fall, I knew I’d need to be super organized to make it all work. I’ve been busy preparing myself over the past several weeks, and I thought I’d share a few tips on how I’m planning to manage it all.

Manage Your Schedule
With 12 hours of classroom time per week on my agenda (not including my online courses), I knew it was going to be critical to make sure that I had all of my lesson plans and materials completed in advance, and scheduled out, so that instead of chasing my tail to create or update material each week, I’d just have to look at my calendar to know what I’m supposed to be teaching at any given time. I am using an app called iStudiez Pro, which is actually designed more for students but works well for teachers too. It syncs across my iMac, iPad and iPhone and allows me to poke in schedules, assignment due dates, lessons, lectures and class activities for each class I’m teaching. That way, on any given day, I can simply refer to my iStudiez app from whatever device I’m using, and know exactly what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m also syncing this with my Google Calendar so I’m reminded of any critical dates such as assignment due dates. (Note: I just learned that the people at iStudiez are coming out with a teacher app called iTeacherBook – I’m excited!)

Schedule everything – in fact, over-schedule – because you can always change things around if you need to. If it’s in your calendar, it’s not floating around in your brain stressing you out and it’s not going to be forgotten.

Manage Your Files
If you’re like me, you’ve got course materials coming out your ears. Presentations, video tutorials, handouts, assignments and rubrics – all of these things are critical to a successful class. I used to carry everything around with me on the hard drive of my computer, with a USB stick as backup. I can’t tell you how many times I ended up with the wrong version of something, and I was already at campus so couldn’t fix it. (Remember, I’m a part-timer so don’t have an office or computer on campus – I must do all my prep at home then bring it with me to class.) Then I discovered Dropbox and my life changed.

Now I keep all my files for each course in it’s own neatly organized folder on Dropbox, and I can access it whenever I need it. Dropbox lets you sync folders across computers anywhere, so that means I can review my presentation on my iPad or iPhone anywhere, anytime, and I can call up whatever I need either on my own laptop or on the school’s computer. If you’re not using Dropbox, set it up today. You get 2GB of space for free which is ample, and you’ll never have the wrong version of your presentation again.

Manage Your Students
I just did a tally and I will have about 115 students this term across my full time program, online and hybrid courses. I figure that’s pretty average for any teacher with a part time load like me. Still, it’s a lot of people to manage. Each student has individual needs, learning styles and requires a certain amount of my attention. Often, they seem to all want that attention at once, too!

Rather than get overwhelmed with an influx of requests for help, I do a lot to set the expectations with my students right from the beginning. I hold virtual office hours every week, in which I’m available online for one on one or group chats. I let students know that if they email me they can expect a reply within 24 hours (that helps them plan ahead too). I let them know that if their question is quick they can reach me on Twitter. And I also tell them to post their question (if it’s course-related and not personal) to the class Facebook group or our Discussion Forum Q and A section, so that others can benefit from the response (and in some cases other students are even able to answer the question before I get to it.)

When school is in session, I start every day by catching up on any messages, emails, forum posts etc. that I need to deal with right away. Then I move on to other tasks such as checking student blog posts and interacting in the online community. I usually take about an hour every morning, 5 days a week for that. When it comes to marking assignments, which often takes longer than an hour, I schedule it in my calendar well in advance, blocking off ample focused time to complete the task.

Most importantly, I make myself available before and after class so that students can approach me in person if they have questions or concerns. I deal with each student and issue one at a time, and put all my focus on helping one person (or group) before moving on to the next.

Ultimately, managing the administrative and organizational tasks behind teaching a course will help you to be less stressed and able to focus better on your students and what they are learning. That’s my goal this year, anyway.

What are some ways you stay on top of your school year?

[photo by threephin]

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