Lutz 7-A-1

Big Shifts

I enjoyed reading about the Big Shifts in our textbook. I think I use “Teaching is Conversation, Not Lecture” a lot in my classroom. Many of my students are working and have important things to add to our conversations about computers. I do still lecture some but like to make it more conversational whenever possible.

I also use the “Know ‘Where’ Learning” in my classes. I never give a student a direct answer to a question. I ask “Where might you go to find that information?”. I also have the students sit at the lab computers and look up information on the subjects we are discussing. This keeps them more engaged, and they seem to enjoy learning this way.

One of the ways that I feel that these shifts will affect me in the future is the “Open Content” shift. One of my coordinators for my online class, Internet Essentials” has talked about getting rid of the textbook. The text changes so frequently on the subject of the Internet that we need a new version every year. This makes me very nervous as I will need to build the content.

My views have changed on “Open Content” since I have taken this class and the “Educating the Net Generation” PLS class. That class didn’t have a textbook. Everything comes from the Internet. I has given me new hope in how I might design my online classroom.

I would also love to change my tests according to the “Mastery is the Product, Not the Test” shift. It seems, however, that all of these shifts require much more of my time!

I can use technology to find and build my online classes. I will research to find some new “products” instead of tests for my Intro to Office Support class. I do fee, though, that I need to give the old-fashioned tests to find if they know the terminology that is so important in our field.

I enjoyed this section of the book—it does make sense to me, I just need to shift my thinking.