Monday, February 25, 2013
Synchronous teaching
Last week's tech talks (nice work Star Techies and Team Not Afraid!) introduced some material that I have not had any direct experience with. In particular, I don't think I've ever used a synchronous teaching technology of any kind in class - but it seems like there are lots of possibilities! I especially love the idea of Skyping in an "expert" to give a mini-guest lecture or do a Q and A section about a particular topic. There are so many case studies that are used in ecology classes to illustrate particular concepts or to test particular theories - I can imagine students getting really engaged if, for example, a case study/illustrative example we worked through in class was followed-up by a Skype/hangout/facetime conversation with one of the lead authors of the work. I think that introducing students to particular scientists whose work has helped form the concepts and ideas we discuss in class would really help them make connections between the "textbook" knowledge and the source (the scientists!) who have generated parts of that knowledge. Very promising new use of technology that I hope to implement someday!
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Carrie, I definitely agree and thought of the same potential benefits of skyping people in our field. You're right that there is such a disconnect, especially for young students, between black and white text on a topic and the person that actually wrote it. It would probably make the science and things like career options a lot more tangible to students if they see the experts and even get the chance to ask questions in a laid back classroom setting. As Sherry asked me, would you ever, honestly, use Skype in your own class?
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