-
Research Update
Our research team is planning an update. My dissertation advisor has organized an Open House to disseminate our findings. This coincides with my Syracuse trip for graduation ceremonies. Here are the details, crafted by my advisor, Prof. Marj DeVault: It’s a mostly informal event where we’ll chat/sign. I’m looking forward to catching up with friends from both the hearing and Deaf communities in Syracuse. I’ll share more as the event unfolds.
-
Magically Imperfect Groupwork
Team Limitless Project Prototype. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeRIMO3Gwkg Group work in Tina Seelig’s MOOC was a rewarding high-impact learning experience for me. In this post, I describe why it was so. We faced quite a few odds. Communication was a significant problem along a few dimensions. Night is day to my team mates. I want to sleep and they want to discuss potential project solutions. We used Whatsapp for synchronous and asynchronous communications after our MOOC message boards failed dismally. [I noticed that Whatsapp is popular with my international friends, but not so…
-
Listening with Care
One of my work duties involves observations of learning interactions in an experimental classroom, the Learning Studio. Until I completed the Listening Differently assignment in the Creativity MOOC, I hadn’t realized how I had seen the Learning Studio with my eyes, but hadn’t captured a lot of other interactions with my ears. The scope of my observation had been limiting and limited. Julian Treasure’s video is a fabulous resource to review (Thanks again, Tina Seelig!). He is right; “we are losing our listening.” When novelty ceases to be so, we…
-
What does Vulnerability in Learning Look Like?
The word vulnerability in learning surfaced in a recent discussion about teaching in the open world wide web. It’s the topic of my visual journal entry for the day. My reflections on this topic come in the form of questions as these ideas swirled in my head: 1. I’m glad that someone has stood up for vulnerability and recognize that it is a valid emotion that should not be frequently stigmatized as being shameful to own. Megan Boler’s book (1999), Feeling Power, focuses on the politics of emotions. In it,…
-
Oblique Strategies to Overcome Mental Blocks
Applicants to All Soul’s College at Oxford were required — until recently — to write essays in response to a single-word prompt within three hours. These essays were used to gain insight into prospective students’ ability to be imaginative and leverage their existing knowledge to make connections (Seelig, 2012, cited in Tina Seelig’s MOOC, Creativity: Music to My Ears, 2014).In a recent meeting, the word “vulnerability” in learning surfaced. I was inspired to associate the word with several books I’d read and some life experiences — akin to how “oblique…
-
Desiring to Learn is Not Enough by Itself
I’ve enrolled in numerous MOOCs and finished just one — so far. I think I may have found another that I will complete: UQx: Think 101x The Science of Everyday Thinking. Up to 80,000 people are taking part in this MOOC run by the University of Queensland.It’s Week 2 — the instructors organize the units into Episodes — and I’ve completed all assignments (except one) in Episode 2, on the very day it was made available. I’m astounded by my effort. What is it about this MOOC that has me…
-
TyRuben Ellingson: Digital Pragmata Brown Bag
TyRuben Ellingson delivered an outstanding talk today at the Academic Learning Commons 4100. I took some sketchnotes for reflection. Two major throughlines for this presentation, as I see it, are: How do you become really good at doing something? What fosters creativity? I read and think about deep learning and effective learning — constantly. TyRuben’s talk adds to that mashup of ideas from print and nonprint resources. I see a pattern in learning that is necessary for one to become an exquisite and consummate artist (or an expert in any…
-
Border Crossing: In a Constant State of Negotiation
In my “new” workplace, I’m quite often told a few things that are “normal” in my former environment. As these comments became more of an occurrence, I began to reflect on them a little more as self-checks.1. I have animated facial expressions. In the hearing world, I’m considered expressive because I include facial expressions to enhance communication. I have acquired this ability through learning sign language. It has become automatized in my mind; I don’t think about whether I’m doing it. Yet, in the Deaf world, I’m not sufficiently expressive.…
-
3 days at Sloan-C ET4Online 2013
As an instructional systems designer/education researcher, I attended sessions at the Sloan-C Emerging Technologies for Online Learning with the goal to inform my professional development. In some organic fashion, my interests somehow coagulated into three main areas: 1. How do people learn: what’s the latest in educational psychology and how is it applied to online education? 2. How is instructional design and development enhanced by new technologies? 3. Scholarship of online learning and teaching: What interesting research is being done? Using what methods or instruments?Instinctively, I feel that these topics…
-
AERA 2012: Lessons Learned
Against the backdrop of the spectacular Vancouver Harbour, the AERA 2012 proceedings unfolded. Picture courtesy of Angi Shelton My schedule was very full and so, regrettably, I had limited opportunity to take in the magnificent sights, sounds and tastes of Vancouver. However, I can attest that what I saw this time around – I was in Vancouver in 2007 — was an improved Vancouver; cleaner, with a subway. My reflections that follow on AERA 2012 are attempts to think of how future conferences can be improved and what I take…
-
What’s ice-skating gotta do with grad school?
I’ve often referred to the metaphor of competitive ice-skating to describe the PhD journey. Michelle Kwan was mentioned in my PhD personal statement. “Michelle Kwan, one of my favorite figure-skating athletes, has always said that “Life is not a triple lutz.” She was a world-class competitor, but even when competing, she knew it was temporary, and not her final destination. Skating to her was about the journey, not the destination, hence her ability to forgo the pursuit of the Olympic gold medal that eluded her. Doctoral studies, like world-class figure…
-
In Celebration of Last Access Class for Spring 2011
The students had a great time showing off their final products — Ann with her brochure for Deaf patient advocacy; Tara came later but we got to see some awesome video clips starring a few Deaf individuals, and one created by Mj herself. Hers was really funny. We plan to use these videos for Deaf Awareness Week. In this project group, I find humor, intellect, compassion, and many other good stuff. I feel happy to watch researchers enjoy each other’s company, turn goofy sometimes, collaborate and show the way for…
