Meredith - Reading Notes #2

I was particularly interested in Lang’s discussion of “digital natives” (p. 44). He pointed out that despite what they use to do it, students will have to read, write, and speak in order to demonstrate their understanding of course content (p. 45). I agree with him that it is somewhat futile to focus specifically on how, in terms of using various technologies, instructors and students are accomplishing course objectives but instead, to concentrate on making sure that those objectives are in fact being met. This concept tied in with Lang’s later discussion about how much technology to use for a course (p. 59-61). I thought his suggestions about using what is comfortable for you as the instructor the first time and then easing into more advanced technology were very relevant. However, as Davis pointed out, technology may need to be relied upon more if instructors are teaching large-enrollment courses (p. 136). This would be an interesting topic to discuss in terms of the types of technology that might be most appropriate for the class size but also for helping to assess that course objectives are being met.

On the topic of lecturing, I appreciated Lang's comment, “there is no one right way to lecture…” (p. 64). I agree that as an instructor, it is our responsibility to identify our strengths and weaknesses when it comes to lecturing and to use that knowledge to be the most effective lecturer each of us can be. When presenting lectures, Lang’s suggestions included making purposeful movements (p. 72), summarizing, highlighting, and clarifying, but not regurgitating material (p. 73), changing how material is presented even within the same class period (p. 76-77), and building in “discussion moments” (p. 79). I feel the topics of planning and presenting lectures deserve further discussion since we all will be doing this for our teaching demonstrations in this course and most likely, in our future careers. If possible, I think it would be helpful for all of us to reflect on what we personally feel is most challenging about lecturing and discuss specific techniques we could use to overcome this obstacle. 

Davis included specific suggestions when using chalkboards and white boards (p. 436-439), overhead projectors or document cameras (p. 443-446), and PowerPoint presentations (p. 453-456). I felt the advice he provided was helpful, especially in regard to PowerPoint presentations. I agree that PowerPoint is often overused and, in many cases, not appropriate or effective for presenting certain information. I thought Davis’s comment regarding “eye-candy” was particularly poignant – “Instead of trying to jazz up uninteresting content, choose interesting content” (p. 455). I continually see, and am sometimes guilty of including, uninteresting (and subsequently unnecessary) content on slides. I feel the topic of using presentation tools/visual aids in the classroom deserves further discussion because using such tools inappropriately can really distract from effective teaching and learning. I personally would like to discuss more about how to make the most of these tools (and new ones such as Prezi) to help, rather than hinder, my teaching.