Comments on: Misadventures in teaching: Technology Begone!

By: Teaching Innovation: Opportunities and Challenges | Arthropod Ecology

Teaching Innovation: Opportunities and Challenges | Arthropod Ecology — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 13:23:32 +0000

[…] When agreeing to give a seminar about my teaching, this caused me to seriously consider why I adopt specific strategies with my teaching, and whether or not these strategies actually work (i.e., impact learning!). This presented many […]

By: Chris Buddle

Chris Buddle — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 22:50:52 +0000

Thanks for the comment! I think the real solution is a smartboard – the perfect combination of all technologies – but darn expensive and not installed in any of the classrooms on our campus.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:58:57 +0000

Props to you for trying. There are other possibilities that could be helpful too. A smart phone can create a wifi hotspot practically anywhere, so you can do what you described in the field so long as you are in a covered area. Here in Saskatchewan, that’s nearly everywhere.
Thanks again for the blog.

By: Jim Thomerson

Jim Thomerson — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 02:04:23 +0000

As I have commented several times, I am so glad I retired in 1997. I did have one student who did a PowerPoint defense of his thesis. He did a good job of it.

By: Chris Buddle

Chris Buddle — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 21:45:14 +0000

Thank you Jennifer, for the very kind comment. I think it’s important to recognize that the chalkboard was once the only tool that was readily available, and now we are inundated with a range of technologies, but we must remember it’s not necessary to use them, unless they help with meeting the objective of effective teaching.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 15:45:34 +0000

Thank you so much for the update! I’m 28, and right on the cusp of the generation that has grown up with technology (as in, our first computer was in our house when I was in grade three, before youtube, facebook, and even before google, and small(er) cell phones were pretty new). I often feel very old-fashioned, happier to pick up the phone or go see someone, rather than write an email, have to force myself to login to facebook, and am still have a confused look when I use twitter. On the other hand, I couldn’t live without some of my apps and documents in the cloud. I love that you tried technology—it is so shiny and exciting and the potential does promise to be endless—and sometimes, simplicity is better. I congratulate you for testing it out, being committed to it, and congratulate you for letting it go when it wasn’t working for you or your students. I’m sure there will be a time when it all flows together nicely (such as us, communicating, without ever meeting), and there’s still a way to go! Great Experiment.