Month: October 2009

Technology in Today’s Classroom

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As a college writing and communications instructor, I frequently utilize resources from YouTube, iTunes and Hulu in my classes. Today’s students demand media’s integration into the classroom.

Gone are the days when instructors lectured with slides or even more recently Power Point. Watching an instructor read every word on a 68 slide Power Point presentation is just as painful as sitting through an instructor ‘s lecture as he or she stands behind a podium and reads notes for more than an hour. Students don’t want to be talked at, they want to spoken to and then invited to discuss. Traditional lectures leave little room for student participation or discussion and have fallen out of favor with today’s students. Plus, they are just boring.

Modern classrooms are equipped with laptops or desktop computers, Internet access, SMART Board interactive whiteboards, overheads and LCD projectors. All this equipment begs to be utilized. Instructors must be up for the challenge of frequently updating their course materials and the best ones do just that.

I teach in a specific program tailored for working adults returning to school to earn their associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees. The program is accelerated and the students are highly motivated. Each class has to have real world application. I’ve found that weaving carefully chosen media into my lessons helps achieve my goals–to educate and entertain. There are those who find fault with the combination of education and entertainment (edutainment), but I think it makes perfect sense. How can you educate if you haven’t succeeded in engaging your students? You can’t.

When teaching students about the power of persona in persuasion, I show a clip of The Oprah Effect from the MSNBC special. Then we read the famous essay by Judy Brady entitled, I Want a Wife. Afterwards, I facilitate a discussion and ask for other examples. Students understand persona much better this way than they would if I just lectured about persona.

There are almost as many resources out there as there are opportunities to use them. I recently spoke with Dennis Carter, assistant editor for eSchool News about teacher resources that help instructors make education much more interactive and entertaining.

Click here to read the article.

A Link Between Educating Women and Fighting Terrorism

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Could it be that a key to fighting terrorism is to educate women?

Oprah recently did a show on the topic and it was both moving and thought provoking. In the past, I’ve always tuned out coverage of the atrocities women face in developing countries because it was too horrible for me to hear about it when there was nothing I could do. Something about this particular show and the teaser about a link between women’s education and terrorism drew me in. I was awed by the hope in this piece.

Through the profiles on Oprah’s show of women in Africa where rape is used as a weapon and women in India where male oppression suffocates and objectifies females as rule, there are women who emerge as heroes. With only small assistance, many women emerge as survivors and leaders. I learned that when one woman is educated, she teaches her community. Additionally, I was intrigued by the concept of how small loans, called micro loans, often as little as $65 could change lives.

Perhaps these problems I thought were hopeless are solvable, however. Many of these women are not people to pity, but to admire. Despite relentless oppression and abuse, these women persevere. Investing in the education and health of women worldwide is the key to making a difference. Change happens on the local level.

An August New York Time’s article entitled Saving the World’s Women: The Women’s Crusade focused on the connection between educating women and fighting terrorism. While many have argued that Islamic teachings have encouraged and justified the disproportionate amount of terrorism in Muslim countries, a closer look reveals that a lack of female education and lack of female participation in the labor force are the common factors. Male dominated cultures create a breeding ground in which terrorism flourishes. Empowering women helps to stop the spread of terrorism.

As a woman and a teacher, I find this prospect most exciting.