So, how are we going to get over this substantial hurdle?
Thanks,
Rebecca
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Getting started
I enjoyed the presentation and discussion and am now up and running with a website for my class. Unfortunately, my class does not meet in a smart classroom and I must schedule a time to work with them in a smart classroom. This poses some problems and questions about the efficacy of the e-portfolio plan that, as I understand it, is a college and university wide plan. So, how do we help students get an e-portfolio together who do not have a computer or who are not computer literate when so many of us teachers do not teach in smart classrooms, especially at the public colleges? I think the band-aid approach of meeting once in awhile in a smart classroom will only help temporarily and may not help many students at all. I think we will have to consider the economic issue here of providing teachers and students with adequate access to computers both in the classroom and in their offices. For example, I can not do this kind of work at a computer in my office because the computer in my office is a dinosaur. Thankfully, I have a great system at home (all provided at my own expense, though). I cannot, however, say the same for my students.
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2 comments:
Hey Tim,
I'm finally finding time to read and contribute....sorry for the extreme delay. You know how inspring I found your presentation. Indeed I bragged to Foothill President Judy Miner about it -- she remembers you well from DeAnza, BTW -- and hope to have you over to Foothill sometime soon to present for us too.
My reaction to this post is an odd one: despite using ePortfolios, Blogs, etc. in my own teaching, I never ever use "smart classrooms" at Foothill -- for precisely the reasons you describe at CSM. There are simply too few, and they are simply too much 'in demand,' for me to bother with.
Instead I just bring my Smart Classroom with me wherever I go. I accomplished this little miracle-- admittedly at some considerable cost out of pocket -- by investing in a portable projector (about $1000) for my laptop in combination with a universal wireless internet access card from Verizon ($50 per month). Armed with these two tools, plus my trusty laptop, I have the makings of a Smart Classroom anywhere and everywhere, every single day.
Specifically, I am able to show students how to log in, display webcontent (including sample eportfolios), project handouts, guide class discussions by taking "on screen notes," or demonstrate virtually anything else I can store, do, or demonstrate on my laptop. The greatest boon, of late, is the ability to instantly download and project YouTube videos (an unending treasure trove of wonderful, educational "clips" searchable in the blink of an eye, all completely free of charge and with no AV-equipment-I-ordered-didn't-work-again hassles).
Admittedly, the students don't get a "hands-on" opportunity to try this on that their own. That has to come as homework. But I have not actually found this to be a big barrier to access for two big reasons.
First because the falling prices of laptops, the spread of universal access, and the availability of open campus computer labs means that most students do, in fact, have ample computer access.
Second, because I always do provide a "paper only option" for those students who feel too tech-challenged, or financially challenged, to log on.
However, I must report that less than 5%, at most, of my students ever choose the "paper option" anymore, precisely because working with the computers is so much easier (even if they have to do so by using the campus computer labs).
Ideally, of course, I'd love to teach in a 100% networked classroom with a computer for every single student, every single day. With wireless access, eBooks, and a Laptop-for-every-child in the future, that day may come. But for now I honestly feel empowered and effective -- and excited -- to be teaching with my little portable Smart Classroom setup instead.
Yes, I lug a few more bags to class with me each day; but I also spend much less time standing in line at the xerox machine, or carting around huge bags of "pulp non-fiction" (i.e. student "papers" which aren't yet in digital form).
Hi Drscottie,
Thanks for the info. about portable "Smart Classrooms." That is very cool. What kind of portable projector do you use w/your laptop?
Lucia Olson
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