Teddy’s Reflection Log 02.21.2010

Posted by on February 21, 2010 
Filed under Reflections

Teddy’s Reflection Log 02.21.2010

For class session 02.16.2010

Snowy weather is beautiful, but the sound of our 604 class back in session was a glorious anthem to my ears. As we recovered from the inclement weather, it was clear to me that everyone was eager to make-up the two missed classes. Everyone present, seemed ready to get back to work on the  assignments. However, we missed our classmate Jason. He was very sick! Get well soon, Jason! Our professor, Darren  Cambridge, led us in discussing SoTL topics. We shifted to many key points and finally segued into portfolios, after revamping the schedule.

I thought it fascinating that the web content, color schemes and design formats for portfolios could depict attributes of the author. Many of the portfolio offered materials or questions necessary for guided learning. Others, were meer resume’s for the teacher or a useless list of things to do to kill class time and the motivation of learners. In other words, they offered, nor suggested a well thought out plan to enhance scholarly teaching and learning experiences. Deep learning was not an objective! I was extremely impressed by the way Carrie Anne and Aracelie pointed out very powerful components in their open educational resources (portfolios). They were very articulate!  I too, indulged and pointed out important questions. Some of the questions were unusual and to my shock, not normally posed by researchers for investigation or a syllabus. And in some regards, allowed other scholars access to their paths of inquiry.

The use of hot colors was a significant highlight to to help students on assignments. Such a cool and logically ingenius way to guide learning. We talked about this and other aspects of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning as they relate to the content presented on the world wide web to acquire further integral insights about its use, our roles and responsibilities. It’s use as a promotional tool in student recruitment and other possible framings to obtain student participation, deep understanding and learning while building new synoptic connections from new experiences create from new experiences.

Comments



One Response to “Teddy’s Reflection Log 02.21.2010”

  • Darren Cambridge on February 23rd, 2010 5:58 pm    

    I appreciate that you note that the visual and hypertextual design of the teaching and course portfolios you and your colleagues chose to highlight served as a form of reflection and contributed to their meaning and impact. Research on student eportfolios has also shown this to be the case. See, for example, the studies by teams from LaGuardia Community College, Virginia Tech, the University of Washington, and Clemson in the book I co-edited with Kathi Yancey and Barbara Cambridge, Eportfolios 2.0.

Leave a Reply