Before I Take My Classes Online (1 of 3) Posted on December 9, 2014 by A+ Brooke Lester, CuratorIt may be that you’re already excited about the possibilities of online learning, or maybe find yourself compelled while yet skeptical. Perhaps you have been invited to teach online for the first time…or have been coerced by some means into doing so. Perhaps you have had some experience with online teaching, and it hasn’t worked out well. Whatever your trajectory to this point, you stand at the start of a trek into a foreign land. I frequently tell my learners that reading the Bible is always a cross-cultural experience. Here, I invite you to see online learning and teaching too as a cross-cultural experience—but into a foreign land in which you might elect to establish a permanent residence. Think of it as a second home. Venturing into this foreign country, you’ll naturally be drawn to grasp at any practices or ways of thinking that promise as little change as possible…
“Do I Do It on My Phoooone?” The Twitter Post! Posted on March 13, 2014 by A+ Brooke Lester, CuratorLook, I get it. You’re a serious educator. And you have serious questions about Twitter. (No, yeah. Click through that link. I’ll be here when you get back.) If you’re already rolling your eyes about the idea of using Twitter, then STOP! Yes, the name sounds silly, but I’m willing to bet that hasn’t been a deal-breaker for you concerning “Google.” This post is your chance to do your homework (I’m talking especially to you, reader with a research degree!), so that if you choose not to start using Twitter, then you can reject it like an adult. But I don’t think you will…
Scarcities 2: Online Learning Platforms Posted on November 4, 2013 by A+ Brooke Lester, CuratorMy first forays into online learning were projects undertaken to address the “scarcities” of the face-to-face classroom. These were “embellishments” on the classroom that I discussed at the time in terms of collaboration, diffusion, and asynchrony. The “flipped classroom” stands too as a widespread attempt to address the scarcities of the brick-and-mortar learning space. This is why I find myself approaching “online learning” with an attitude different to some of my colleagues. Where some view the online platforms as threatening to “take away” goods associated with the face-to-face classroom, I had first turned to the online platforms seeking relief from the traditional classroom’s scarcities. In a previous post, I wrote about the face-to-face classroom and its scarcities (particularly time, space, permeability, and malleability). This week, I describe two kinds of online learning space and their own scarcities.
Put it Out There: Publicly-Performed Course Work Posted on September 30, 2013 by A+ Brooke Lester, CuratorEngaging strangers on Twitter. Teaching an adult-education session in a church. Blogging an interview with a high-profile scholar. When learners accomplish their course work by means of public performance, the common student refrain, “What will I do with this stuff?” becomes “Let’s examine what I’ve done with this stuff!” Publicly-Performed Course Work: Jennifer Shepherd writes this week about “being heard,” particularly outside the classroom…
The Second Naiveté of Online Learning Posted on August 5, 2013 by Timothy SnyderIncreasingly, online learning is a part of theological education. And yet, the vast majority of current professors were trained in traditional classrooms. Many of us are finding ourselves teaching in settings we ourselves have never had to learn in. How can educators embrace a second naiveté towards online learning? While I was working on my master’s degree, I remembering attending a workshop on “developing a teaching philosophy.” I was in the early stages of applying to doctoral programs so I thought it would be a good chance to learn how many of my professors reflect on their vocation as teachers.