So my new favorite word for something that has long been my favorite thing?
Crowdsourcing
Basically, what this means for me, particularly in my teaching, is that I have always learned a lot from being willing to ask a lot of questions, from expecting a lot from my students (in terms of what they have to contribute), and from displaying a kind of hyper-enthusiasm (that, truly, is completely authentic) for all things organizing/advocacy/policy/politics related that people either get swept into it or just feel sorry for me, so that we have great discussions and generate a lot of new thought around the topic.
And, now that I’m engaged in redesigning the Advanced Policies & Programs course for the mixed-media format, I’m using crowdsourcing to solicit ideas for how to structure the class and finding that some crowdsourcing-type principles are working their way into its design, as well.
Here’s what I’m thinking so far for the course outline. I don’t teach it until Fall 2010, but I have to make podcasts of some lectures and redesign the syllabus and all of the assignments, and familiarize myself with some of the technology for the chat rooms and discussion boards, so it’s really going to be here before I know it.
Podcasts of some of my lectures–I just can’t see people wanting to watch me on video; as my students know, I am incapable of standing still when I talk, and I think that sitting down in front of a computer to watch me talk about regulatory policy for 90 minutes would be punishing, but the thought is that having a podcast that students could either listen to while doing something else or use in conjunction with a PowerPoint presentation timed to advance with the audio would be helpful.
Some additional handouts, and PowerPoint presentations with not only key concepts but also some examples and application of the concepts–particularly with some additional visuals (since I am guilty of excessive words on slides!) I’m looking for some video to use where I can–for example, as examples of policy presentations (both effective and not).
Blog posts from me, weekly, about the topics that we’re covering in the course, with students commenting on those in order to create a kind of conversation–so, for example, when we’re studying local policymaking, I’ll attend some city council/county commission meetings and blog about not only the substance but also the form of that type of government, and ask for student contributions and reflections.
Lots of use of chat rooms and discussion forums–I’ll be starting conversations about such topics as “the use of discretion: social workers as policymakers” or “barriers to policy change within nonprofit organizations”, and students can either log in at specific times for a live chat (which, I think, would be particularly helpful for those who want to ask questions and/or feel that they are developing a relationship with me as their instructor) or visit at their own convenience to offer their comments
Virtual group projects–a lot of them! I’m thinking that students will work in groups to create a policy guidebook, on a specific type of policymaking, for a specific organizational audience (so, for example, Guide to Regulatory Policy for homeless shelters–where they’ll talk about where to find proposed regulations, how regulatory policy impacts shelters, examples of successful advocacy, resources…) and work together on those, using some of our in-class time but mainly the discussion forums and Google Documents to share work. I’m also reworking the final session of the course, so that I’ll provide some statistics and background information on the major trends impacting social policy and student groups will do presentations that discuss the implications for their practice/our profession.
REALLY dynamic in-person classes. Our consultant for the mixed media classes pointed out that, when students receive much of the course content online, the in-person classes have to be really terrific for them not to think, “I could have done this from home on my computer!” So I’m planning two panels of guest speakers (policymakers, organizations engaged in influencing policy), student presentations, small group work on policy-related dilemmas…trying to figure out how to make those sessions maximally engaging.
What do you think?
Here’s what I need from all of you (my crowd, so to speak!):
Have you participated in online/distance learning before? If so, what worked about those courses, and what didn’t? What did you wish that the teacher had done/provided to help with your learning?
What would help you the most in figuring out how to engage material around policymaking and policy analysis in a mixed-media/online format? What is your learning style, and what kind of distance learning activities/materials do you think would help most?
What do you think about what I’ve outlined here? Anything sound too bizarre or too boring? Students who took this class with me, what ideas do you have for how to organize the delivery of this content?
Crowd, please, source away!
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Multi-media classes
So my new favorite word for something that has long been my favorite thing?
Crowdsourcing
Basically, what this means for me, particularly in my teaching, is that I have always learned a lot from being willing to ask a lot of questions, from expecting a lot from my students (in terms of what they have to contribute), and from displaying a kind of hyper-enthusiasm (that, truly, is completely authentic) for all things organizing/advocacy/policy/politics related that people either get swept into it or just feel sorry for me, so that we have great discussions and generate a lot of new thought around the topic.
And, now that I’m engaged in redesigning the Advanced Policies & Programs course for the mixed-media format, I’m using crowdsourcing to solicit ideas for how to structure the class and finding that some crowdsourcing-type principles are working their way into its design, as well.
Here’s what I’m thinking so far for the course outline. I don’t teach it until Fall 2010, but I have to make podcasts of some lectures and redesign the syllabus and all of the assignments, and familiarize myself with some of the technology for the chat rooms and discussion boards, so it’s really going to be here before I know it.
What do you think?
Here’s what I need from all of you (my crowd, so to speak!):
Have you participated in online/distance learning before? If so, what worked about those courses, and what didn’t? What did you wish that the teacher had done/provided to help with your learning?
What would help you the most in figuring out how to engage material around policymaking and policy analysis in a mixed-media/online format? What is your learning style, and what kind of distance learning activities/materials do you think would help most?
What do you think about what I’ve outlined here? Anything sound too bizarre or too boring? Students who took this class with me, what ideas do you have for how to organize the delivery of this content?
Crowd, please, source away!
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