San Diego 2010

Originally uploaded by dr.coop

Well, I haven’t blogged in a while, so I’m just going to try and see if I can still do it. I went to the SITE (Society for Information Technology and Teacher Ed) conference last week. C was able to tag along since she can work from anywhere, and what better place to work from than San Diego in spring. So we hung out in the late afternoon and evenings, and I attended the conference sessions during the morning and afternoon.

There wasn’t much special about this conference. It was interesting, however, just a bit different from the usual conferences I attend. This one focused on teacher education and the use of technology in those programs. I’m not in teacher education, but most of the topics the sessions covered were relevant to regular education as well. I can say that I learned a few new things, but this was a bit of a stressful trip.

The biggest thing that stressed me out was being away from school for so long and not having internet access. Sure the conference had wifi and the hotel did as well, but my school doesn’t pay for internet access when on trips likes this. So basically that means as an online instructor, I have to cancel class for the week or pay out of my own pocket. $15 x 4 days = $60. On principle I refused to do that. If my college feels that not being in contact with the students and work for a whole week is the best solution, why not give it a shot.

Let me just say not answering an email (I get them on my phone) from a student is akin to just walking by someone in a grocery store who has just dropped a bunch of oranges. You just have to stop and help pick them up. Normally if I’m busy, I will just hold those emails until I get in front of a computer, but I had to answer on the phone or while I was at the conference since that is when I had wifi on my netbook. It was a pain in the butt. I couldn’t really concentrate on the sessions because I had a constant stream of email. I tried to ignore them, but I couldn’t. So much for me proving a point. I ended up losing all around on that deal. Stressed the whole first day and night I was there, and then eventually broke down and spent my own money on wifi access to work for two days. Skipped half a day of the conference to work the fourth day. Seems so pointless for the school to pays hundreds of dollars for me to attend a conference, but not pay for something as essential as wifi and parking.

Yeah, don’t get me started on parking. I spent $60 on shuttles and cabs, which the school will reimburse, instead of just parking at the airport for $24. That extra $36 could have paid for 2 days of internet in San Diego. Come on GCC. It’s 2010. We teach online and hybrid classes now. You pay for subs for regular teachers, but you make me pay to teach while I’m away? That’s so not fair.

I had a little trouble getting logged into my desktop computer, an old iMac. I had to have my perfectly working password reset, and then my eGCC account reactivated, and finally there was a lot of poking around on the computer by four different people before I was all set there. I even went in and changed my default password, something I didn’t do for 11 years while at South. In fact, to this day my password is still “nothing” over there. Eleven years. Anyway, everyone was so helpful with getting me setup. I did find myself beginning every introduction with “I’m a new faculty member…” because if I don’t they all assume I’m a student. That’s going to get old quick.

So I have a phone and a new number. I don’t know what it is, although it was given to me in an email. I still need to set up my phone so that my name shows when I call people, which is something I will never do – call people. In fact, for the last two days the most frustrating thing has been calling people. I’ll need something and the person will say, “Oh, you need to call so and so.” Then they will rattle off 5 digits as I stand there with my cell phone in my hand poised to dial. I type in the 5 numbers and then the person is gone. Excuse me, what are the rest of the numbers? Talk about fast learning. I learned that in one day. Type in 6-2-3-8-4 before you get a number from anyone on campus. They also seem to prefer that you call on a phone on campus. Why? That requires going back to my office to make a call when I can just do it right that instant on my cell. But I guess the person answering won’t get a warning as to who it is if I don’t call from a campus phone. But my phone doesn’t tell that yet anyway, so that’s a mute point. So that’s on my list for tomorrow.

All and all the transfer is going well. I’m sure I’ll continue to see some major differences in the colleges, but differences don’t make one any better than the other in most cases. It’s just a matter of making adjustments and adapting to a new way of life.

Mali is so passionate about his message in his poems, and I love the message in this poem. Teacher’s make a difference. Yes, indeed we do.I did a little research to find out more about Mali tonight. Okay, I know Googling someone is not research, but it sounds so intellectual to say I did research. Anyway, I visited TaylorMali.com and learned about this phenomenal poet. He is actually a teacher and “vocal advocate of teachers and the nobility of teaching.” I’m a teacher, and was inspired. So I’m just sharing a little Mali love. Check him out if you don’t already know about him.

People in education are always saying that the today’s students are the millennials, digital natives, born on technology and live on technology. Well, I’m here to say, it ain’t so. At least not my students. My students don’t have computers at home. They don’t text. They don’t chat. And email is not the necessity that it should be for a group that is touted as digital natives. I just don’t see it.

Here’s an example that really befuddles me – my own step son. Yep. He lives in my house and none of my techno savvy(ness) has rubbed off. How many 16 year olds do you know that don’t have a MySpace account? or an email address? I know; it’s unbelievable, but it’s true. Nada. I created an email account for him so he could use iTunes to buy music, but I’m pretty sure he’s never sent or received an email other than the iTunes Tuesday thingy that everyone gets. My bet is that his mail box is full of those. But I digress. What was this post about anyway?

Ah Yes, recreating me because my students just don’t get. I’ve been creating screencasts, podcasts and vodcast of my lectures and in class demonstrations, showing students how to do everything from check messages on the course network to how to do and upload an assignment. I can’t decide if this is a service or a disservice though. I mean I get the strangest questions from students.

Here’s what happened yesterday. I lectured for an hour about how to do the first two assignments. I walked them through the process of how to do it and how to use the technology  del.icio.us & Bedford Bibliographer). I mean I went through step by step. Then I showed them where the screencast was that would demonstrate the same principles in case they missed or forgot something – a recreation of me. Then today I get a phone call from a student who asked me two questions that were clearly explained in both the in class lecture and the screencast. Was she not listening? Was she even there? I had to ask. She said she was in class.

Sometimes I feel like I’m spoiling students by being too accommodating. Should I have responded that the student should go back and watch the screencast. I mean I did create it for that purpose. But I’m sure the problem is the technology. This student doesn’t have a computer at home. She can’t watch it. Others just don’t want to bother. It’s too complicated, so they say. I don’t have this or that. Digital natives my ass. I just don’t see it. At least not at my school. So I’ll just continue to recreate myself and hopefully someday those digital natives will show up and appreciate the effort I’ve made to create a technology rich environment in which to learn.

Today’s new revolution is Internet TV. 2007 was a big year for Internet TV. Yes, we all know that YouTube is king, but it has it’s limitation. For one, you’re not going to to find the latest episodes of your favorite primetime shows. So that gem of a program that you’re hoping to show your students is probably not available. And good luck trying to show only a piece of a YouTube video. But lately the Networks have changed their tune about Internet TV. Yes, there’s iTunes, but I don’t want to go broke buying shows I only want to show pieces of, and there’s just something odd about spending money to educate. It should be free for education. That’s my motto. Anyway, some of the major networks are bailing on iTunes.

So the networks are experimenting with offering their shows on the web. Read more about that at Last.100.com – Internet TV: 2007 Year in Review. I’ve personally tried NBC Direct, and I just didn’t get it. What I do get is Hulu. They offer network shows in full length with short 15 second commercial that can’t be skipped. Yes, I tried . The commercials are so short you can’t even get up to go to the bathroom in that amount of time. Anyway, what I like most about Hulu is that you can embed the video anywhere you like, including your course blog or Blackboard. And, I love this part, you can choose only the clip you want to show when you embed, so your viewers (students) don’t have to watch all of Jay Leno. See below. I clipped only the part of the Tonight Show where Jay shows what a horrible job teachers in America are doing. How about that for a tease.

The whole show shows up, so viewers can watch the rest, including the commercials, if they want. Hulu is in private beta right now, but I’m sure it will open up soon enough. It will be interesting to see how much content they will be able to get on the site. So far NBC, Fox and Bravo are the big names. Quality is good too.

So the next time you’re watching a television program and you think it might be appropriate for your students to watch, check out Hulu and see if it’s there. You’ll have it posted on your site in no time.

Enrollment is down, so classes aren’t filling up, and everyone is in a tizzy. That pretty much sums it up. I’m in a department that has 80% of its courses taught by adjunct, so if my classes don’t make, there are plenty of courses left to choose from. I guess others aren’t so lucky. I don’t know. I just have a hard time taking anyone seriously when I believe I’ve had the answer to our problems for years, and the college is slow to take action. So as they moan and groan about “our students” and lack of classroom space, I just smile and go about my business. I’m a little tired of preaching hybrid and online and no one paying attention.

Best part is they want me to be Faculty Senate President for next year. Right? I don’t agree with the faculty or the administration. Some president elect I’d be.