I was quite incensed this morning when I read this article from CBC News, “Ont. Teachers Being Told Not to Tweet with Students”. At first, I was ready to jump down the throat of the Ontario College of Teachers, whom the article states have produced an advisory to their members telling them to “avoid connecting on social media sites.”

I quickly hopped over to the Ontario College of Teachers web site to find the report, and was both surprised and relieved by what I read. The report is not advocating “avoidance” of social media in the classroom. In fact, it clearly states otherwise, and advocates use of social media and technology in the classroom – within boundaries.

The report does state some of the risks of misconduct – privacy issues, even criminal and civil legal implications. But it goes on to provide a comprehensive list of great advice and tips on proper use of technology in the classroom.

The OTC even goes a step further, producing this 6 minute video, talking to teachers and experts about the benefits and risks of using social media in the classroom.

As you can see, the media has gotten this story wrong. Whoever is responsible for the article clearly didn’t read the report, and simply misinterpreted the last paragraph of the article, which states, “Maintaining professional boundaries in all forms of communication, technology-related or not, is vital to maintaining the public trust and appropriate professional relationships with students.”

Let’s hope the CBC and other news outlets who have the story wrong post corrections ASAP.

The bottom line is, the OCT is stating that technology, including social media, when used appropriately in the classroom environment, can be very beneficial to both students and teachers.

And they are absolutely right.

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Note: I’m coming at this from the perspective of a College teacher, where my students are adults. I know there is fierce debate over teachers connecting on Facebook with high school or younger students. I’m not an expert on K-12 education, and can only speak from my own experience in adult education.

This semester, I have about 75 students (about 36 in each of two classes). I get them for 11 weeks.

The first day I go into a new class, I’ve got a whole group of new people I need get to know very quickly. In order to be effective as their teacher, I need to know some things about each of them – how they learn best, how they are motivated, and any issues or difficulties they might have. They have the expectation of me that I’m going to be able to understand what they need. That’s a big challenge, with so many new people to get to know in a very short amount of time.

Unfortunately, what happens in many situations like mine, is that the more outgoing students tend to get more face time in class, and the quieter ones sometimes have difficulty getting involved. It’s an ongoing battle to ensure that everyone is given the time and attention they need to be set up for success.

Social media changes this. You see, the very nature of connecting online allows you to expedite the process of getting to know someone. By extending your connections with students into the online social world, you can find out all sorts of things that can give you insight into what makes your students tick.

In my 1st year video production class tonight, I encouraged my students to connect with me on Skype, and through Twitter and Facebook. I totally gave them the choice to connect with me – I didn’t force it (I think I used the phrase “connect with me on Facebook and Twitter, at your own peril” ;) ). A few have connected with me so far. I’ve gone in, viewed their profiles, and found out information that may seem inane to some, but is actually extremely valuable, and interesting. I found out if they have kids, or dogs, or budgies. I found out what kinds of movies they like, if they are musicians, or artists, or carpenters. I learned a bit about the things they care about, and saw little snippets of how they interact with others. I associated faces (avatar photos) with names. I’ve given them the opportunity to do the same with me.

Those students I’ve connected with so far, I’m going to remember. I’m going to be able to talk with them between classes, and keep a closer eye on their progress, and on the things that may either be helping or hindering it.

Sometimes, teachers are concerned that opening oneself up via social networks breaks some sort of barrier between themselves and their students; that somehow their authority as a teacher is compromised because students know their dog’s name or where they went for dinner last night. Don’t you think we owe it to our students to be connecting with them on a more human, personal level?

Certainly, every teacher has the option to share only as much or as little personal information as they are comfortable with students, classmates, colleagues and even friends. But we have to remember that, we are all just people, with experiences, and lives, and situations, who, for just a few short weeks, will be sharing some space, and time, and knowledge with one another.

By even opening the door a just a crack wider, have an opportunity to get to know our students for who they really are, gain new insights into helping them be more  successful, and ultimately, positively impact our classroom environment.

What say you?

[photo credit: Spencer E Holtaway on Flickr]

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In my part of the world, today is the first day of school for many post-secondary students. Some are heading into their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year – others are walking in the doors for the first time. It’s interesting times in the world of education; technology has enabled us, as teachers, to expand the classroom experience beyond anything most of us could have imagined 10 years ago.

I have successfully used technology in my classroom for many different things – I’ve built online communities where students can connect, used Wikis to share information, created YouTube channels for students to show off their work, and brought guest speakers in via Skype. I’m encouraging my students to ask me fewer questions by email and more questions by Twitter and Skype, because it’s faster and could potentially benefit others. I use tools like VisibleTweets and CommonCraft as visual aids. This year I intend to do all of these things, and more. I’ll be leveraging YouTube to connect with my classes when I can’t be there in person. I’ll be having more Skype-based guest speakers, and playing with CamtasiaRelay to do software tutorials. I’m sure many of you will be exploring similar tools, and figuring out how to best use them in the classroom.

But let’s take a step back for a moment.

It’s really, really easy to get caught up in all the tools and toys and shiny things – there are so many things to learn about and explore. We run the risk of getting so caught up in the tools, that we can start to forget about what our purpose is as teachers.

My job in the classroom (virtual or otherwise) is to create an environment where students feel confident and inspired. I want them to have the courage to try new things, share their ideas, and work together to create good things. In order for them to succeed at this, I need them to be attentive, engaged, and understanding of what is expected of them. If I spend too much time focused on the technology, I’m not focused on them. Somewhere along the way, I need to find a balance. I want to leverage the power of social media and other emerging technologies to improve the experience for my students, but I need to be careful not to let technology get in the way of the learning.

If I’m including technology in a class, I test everything out before I get to the class. If it’s Skype, I make sure I’ve got the person in my contacts. I try a test call on the computer I’ll be using during the class. Even something simple like VisibleTweets should be set up ahead of time, so you can just let it run in the background. Make the technology part of the background of what you are doing, not the emphasis. Use the tools as just that – things to aid you in the process.

Always be prepared for a technology #fail. Even the best of tools go down occasionally. Internet connections are slow, or stop working altogether. With that said, always have a backup. I download videos from YouTube as a separate file so I can run them locally if need be. If my Skype connection fails, I have the speaker’s phone number handy so they can talk via speaker phone if necessary. Remember, the emphasis is on the learning experience – and the experience shouldn’t fail just because the technology breaks. Your students should always come away getting what you promised them, with or without the shiny toys.

Technology in the classroom is a wonderful thing, but remember, it’s not the be all and end all of the classroom experience. Like everything else, education is about people, not technology. Keep the focus on your students and their learning, plan and prepare your use of technology, and the rest will fall into place.

And you? What are your plans to include tech in the classroom this year? How will it enhance the learning experience?

[photo credit: Rego on Flickr]

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It’s that time of year again! I love back to school. I’m excited to meet my new group of students (I always have first-years in the Fall), and look forward to helping some future web designers and developers learn some new skills. Teaching is one of the most rewarding things I do.

With all of the other stuff I have going on – my business, speaking, blogging commitments, and volunteer work – prepping and managing a 6 hour a week course load with 80 students can easily get overwhelming. Fortunately, I’ve found some online tools that have helped to make things not only more efficient for me, but more interesting for my class. Here are a few ways I’m bringing online tools into my classrooms.

Google Docs

One of the major issues I had when I was first starting out with teaching was I was always having to move files around. I’d prep my PowerPoint slides, write my notes and prepare handouts, then I had to either copy them remotely to the college network (which can be slow and unreliable), save them on a USB drive, or email them to myself. It was an extra step that could wind up in catastrophe if I forgot to do it (which I did, once or twice).

Enter Google Docs to save the day! Google Docs, if you’re not familiar, is a web-based word processing, presentation, and spreadsheet suite from Google. With Google Docs, I keep all my class files in one spot, and I can access them from anywhere with an Internet connection (even on my smart phone!). Now, I just do my prep at home, and when I get to school, I call up my documents in Google Docs and off I go. One less step, and less risk I’ll forget something important at home.

The best part about Google Docs is you can share documents with others. So, instead of printing handouts, why not save some paper and share a handouts folder to your class? Or, have them write their assignments in Google Docs, and share them to you for marking? There are plenty of applications. Once you start using Google Docs, I promise, you’ll never go back.

Class Community Sites

Maintaining good communication with your class outside of class can be a big challenge. LMS systems like BlackBoard only go so far, and can be clunky and time consuming to use. I’ve taken my classes to a collaborative space outside the LMS environment, creating a Class Community site around my course. In this space, which is invitation only and not available publicly, I can post announcements, share links and videos (it’s a great place to post the YouTube videos I talked about here), and it provides a forum for dialogue not only between you and your class, but between classmates as well.

My students love the interactivity, and I love the convenience and easy updating. I have used Ning in the past, and am now experimenting with Google Sites. You don’t have to be a web designer to set up a site using these tools. If you can create a Word document, you can have a Class Community Site.

Often as teachers we can feel isolated – we’re not always sure what other things our students are learning in their programs of study. Having a space to connect with other teachers could go a long way towards creating a better learning experience for our students. A Community Site can be taken a step further to a Faculty Site as well. Imagine being able to share with teachers in the same program or department as yourself. You can share tips, ideas, discuss challenges, and help each other out. I think there is huge potential in creating dialogue between teachers, especially teachers within the same program.

Skype Video

My students love guest speakers. A couple of times a semester, I will bring engaging and inspiring folks from industry into class to present and do Q and A. It adds another viewpoint and dimension to the class, and they get a break from listening to me yammer on. Often I bring in local people, but since I’ve been out here on the Internet, I’ve met so many people in other cities and countries who have so much wisdom and experience to share. Since I don’t have a budget to bring them to my class physically, I use Skype Video, and it works beautifully. The students enjoy it immensely and I think my guest speakers get a charge out of it too.

Skype is free and many college classrooms have web cams now. Why not give it a whirl?

Those are just three simple ways you can make your teaching life easier using technology. All of these options are absolutely free and available to anyone online.

What’s in your online teaching toolkit?

[photo credit: AllanCaplan on Flickr]

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I’ve been musing here for over 3 years. It seems like much longer! But, it IS Internet time after all, so that’s like, 15 years, right?

I’ve often thought of my blog as my playground. It’s the space where I can feel free to mess around with ideas and concepts, get things clear in my head, and spend time enjoying the process of writing. I’ve not paid much attention to the so-called “experts” who say one “must have a theme, or topic for their blog”. I have written about everything here, from life to productivity, to work, self employment and creativity. I’ve been fortunate that the topics I’ve covered have opened up new opportunities for me to write for great blogs like Thoughtwrestling and Ottawa Tonite. I’m even exploring some new blog writing opportunities now (to be announced soon!).

It’s time for a change.

As many of you know, I’ve been a teacher in some capacity for much of my 20 year career. It all began back at the cable station, when part of my job as a Producer was to run training workshops for the station’s volunteers in such things as camera, lighting, audio, directing and editing. After I went back to school in ’97, I started work at a training company. I helped to design one of the first Web Design certificate programs offered at Algonquin College, and worked as a program coordinator and course designer for corporate training outside the college as well. During my high-tech hayday, I designed training and awareness programs and wrote help documentation. I spent some time traveling across the United States teaching software at corporations. Then, about 3 years ago, I was hired part time to work for Algonquin college, where I currently teach video production and Web Media, and am designing an online course in Digital Communication.

The best part is…I absolutely adore teaching. Some of the most fun I have is creating learning environments for my students – interesting ways for them to get their hands dirty with new ideas. And the best moment…the BEST moment…is that moment when you see the lightbulb go off over a student’s head. The moment they really GET what you’re teaching them, and they are inspired to move forward with their new knowledge and make things happen. It’s just about one of the most rewarding things there is.

I’m changing things up here on Suzemuse, because I want to talk more about teaching, and training, and education, and how technology plays into all of it. How our experience as both teachers AND students is changing. How emerging technologies are opening up new ways to learn and experience and explore things.

Digital technologies such as social media are rapidly changing the landscape of education. Many teachers and educational institutions are facing big challenges with trying to keep up. Students are demanding more interactivity in their learning environments all the time. The tools are there, and ripe for use inside and outside the classroom, but as educators, we need to figure out the most effective ways to use them. One of the ways I want to do this is by opening up a space where we can all talk – students, educators, administrators, corporate trainers – about ideas, best practices, successes, and failures.

So, starting today, Suzemuse is transforming. I am going to shift the focus of this blog to talking about education and emerging technologies, and I hope to start some interesting conversations around the shifting landscape and the future of education. I’m going to engage with other educators and hope to provide interviews, guest posts, and maybe even a podcast down the road.

This is where I want to be right now. It’s an extremely exciting time and I’m looking forward to exploring this with you.

Thank you for your attention and time and contribution here the past three years. Here’s to next steps!

xo
Suze

[photo credit: Matt Packer on Flickr]

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