Duolingo Test Drive

I tested Duolingo to brush up on my Spanish language skills. I was impressed with how user-friendly the interface was and how quickly I was able to begin practicing Spanish. I would think that could be useful for social work students who are going to be engaging with Spanish-speakers but may not want to take formal classes any longer. This would be an easy thing to incorporate in to a learning module if it were appropriate. The other tools looked interesting as well and the flashcard options would be helpful too for learning terminology, vocabulary and theories. I'm wondering how these could be useful in graduate courses?

Guiding reading

I have been convicted in the last year or so to try to be intentional in guiding how my students read. Joe did a good job of shaping our expectations for the reading of Chapter 2 in Conquering the Content  by acknowledging that there are some more outdated aspects that we may not find helpful. However, he also signaled to us what he thought was important about the reading. Once I read that short introduction, I knew how to best approach the chapter--it was a few short sentences and yet it set a clear direction.  In the online setting, I can see how important it is for the instructor to frame or give cues about how the readings fit into the topic for the week. When I think of all of the "casual" framing I do in a F2F class especially at the beginning of the class period, I worry that I would fail to do this to the same level in an online course. But maybe if I'm intentional enough, this framing and connecting that is included in all aspects of the week's module can become even more influential as its reinforced in a number of settings--video lectures, assignments, expectations for the reading assignments, etc.

Identify yourself

Focusing on the student's learning should be fundamental in all discussions about teaching. It's surprising, though, how easy it can be to lose sight of that. To focus on ourselves as teachers or on the content, and we momentarily forget to focus on student learning.

As I reflect over my own teaching experience, and having seen many student course evaluations for other professors over the years, I am beginning to realize that many of us miss the boat in clarifying our own role in the classroom. Instead, we rely on assumptions about teaching, education and students. For example, if I view myself as a facilitator  for student's developing practice skills in a course, I will structure a course in which I take on a role more like a coach. If I do not communicate this clearly to students they may become frustrated by me not taking on a traditional "teacher in the front" approach to the course. 

Learning in an online setting is successful when the course design and structure is organized well and is user friendly, and when the professor is clear about their contribution to their role in student learning. Smith poses the question, "What is it that learners can learn from you that they cannot get from any other source?" She urges that the professor communicate clearly about their contribution to the course. The professor is an expert in the content area and can facilitate good learning by utilizing appropriate technologies and pedagogy.