Vance Stevens

I'm perusing Hala Fawsi's workshop wiki at http://uofkworkshop.pbworks.com/.  I've just written an introduction to social networking for our students and my teaching colleagues here at Petroleum Institute and I'm amazed yet not all that surprised actually at how our teaching points intersect.  I am planning to put my materials online shortly.  But I'm still struggling with that one last lesson, as I explain here: http://advanceducation.blogspot.com/2009/08/social-networking-for-students-and.html

 

Interestingly I published this post on Aug 27. Then on Sept 1 Russell Stanard wrote in Times Higher Education exactly what I was getting at in that last lesson.  Who was it that said that Blogs are always works in progress since you can go back and edit them any time?  I think it's so cool that I can write something on the 27th and come across something published on the 1st and improve your original "publication" based on emerging information.

 

These technologies are so exciting yet so difficult to get across not only to students but especially to one's colleagues.  That's the real choke point, but when approached correctly, not condescendingly but in a spirit of assistance, and when they are ready, colleagues might just come around.  How do we improve our world? One person at a time.

 

It's a real challenge to write materials that are approachable to both these cohorts, teachers and students (where is my mind today? Who just completed a survey asking 10,000 teens why they were turned off to Twitter?). 

 

I've turned a corner on my own personal work situation just by having been given the opportunity to articulate some of these concepts in curriculum.  Initial feedback from colleagues is positive, one told me he learned a lot from my materials.  With that attitude he's in an excellent position to convey his new enthusiasm to students.  However, my materials have students and colleague examine social networking as observers, a step short of doing it.  Will it take?? Recidivism is a big problem with weekend converts to new technologies.  It will be interesting to see if Hala's workshops actually bring about a change in people's teaching in Sudan.

 

Meanwhile, I'll be referring my colleagues to Hala's workshop for additional information since our topics intertwine so well: http://uofkworkshop.pbworks.com/

 

Good work Hala! And I can't wait to share my materials with everyone