Over the past several weeks, students have studied Bacteria and Viruses, creating documents and sharing via Google Drive. My feedback on their work increased considerably, as I've provided anecdotal comments, grading feedback via online rubrics, and more. But I've been left wondering, where is the reckless creativity and originality in student projects that I envisioned when beginning eCampusBiology11? I was soon to discover it was time to shake things up a bit. For the Protist Chapter, it was time to step thing up. What is the best way to learn? The answer is simple - teach. As such, students were asked to assume a teaching role and employ screencasts to teach about one Protist - animal-like, plant-like, or fungus-like. There are many screencast software applications, but the important difference in this chapter is that it was time for students to assume the role of narrator and guide and provide not information, but context as to why information is relevant. Admittedly, students will be out of their comfort zone. And, that is an opportunity for growth. Many of them have requested that their lessons not be published. Apparently they only wish to present to me, their teacher. I respect their wishes and hope they'll eventually desire to share their tremendous efforts with a larger audience. Providing students with new insight and ways to share their work is rewarding. Students appreciate new ideas and ways to pursue projects. Admittedly, introducing new ideas is kind of like a demo-slam at a Google Conference. But, it creates interest, excitement, and provides a new means of expression students may not have considered. It's kind of exciting to introduce new ideas to the millennial generation and learn from the interaction. Where the ideas meet expression is an interesting place indeed.
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November 2016
AuthorWelcome to the eCampusLive blog. I'm Jerry Bleecker. I teach Biology, Science, Information Technology, Computer Arts, and more. It's an exciting year to share our experiences with our flipped classroom endeavour. Categories |