Considering some new tools for teaching
All-day MIT retreat – January 8, 2013
Agenda:
“The Crisis in Higher Education”
Fishbowl discussion
Presenting some tools
Lunch
Trying out a tool or two
How was that?
Next steps
The Crisis in Higher Education
by Nicholas Carr
MIT Technology Review
v1.12.10.24
In “crisis” there is opportunity!
Some selected swings of
education’s crisis pendulum …
• Home study and correspondence
courses
– 1920s – ‘30s
• T.V. and distance learning
– 1950s and ‘60s
• MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)
– as we speak
Selected on-line institutions
Name
Founded
Enrollees
Coursera
2012
1.5 million
Udacity
2012
739,000
edX
2012
155,000
W.G.U.
1997
35,000
U. of Phoenix
1976
364,000
Open University 1969
264,000
ITunesU
What makes MOOCs different?
What are some potential problems?
Long Range Planning Process
• Know your subject area;
• Select your learning targets;
• Develop your assessments;
• Develop your instructional activities;
• Evaluate the quality and equity of the process.
Backward Curriculum Design
Wiggins & McTighe
What are some potential problems?
Need a graphic here that is symbolic of the computer’s limitations
in facilitating opportunities for authentic engagement
What are some potential problems?
What are some opportunities?
example #1
http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/bending-light
What are some opportunities?
example #2
I will make and link to a screencast of some simple process such as adding a
YouTube link in a Wiki page.
What are some opportunities?
example #3
Still need suitable graphics here
What do we make of all this?
Opportunities in the MIT program?
“Whether massive open courses live
up to their hype or not, they will force
college administrators and professors
to reconsider many of their
assumptions about the form and
meaning of teaching. For better or
worse, the Netʼs disruptive forces have
arrived at the gates of academia.” Nicholas Carr
A few tools
•
•
•
•
Canvas
Collaborate
Screencasts
Narration in Power Point and QuickTime
In the afternoon we will have time to work on trying out a tool or
two in the context of one of your MIT sessions.
We will conclude with a discussion and consideration of next
steps.