I’ve seen a few people recently posting on Facebook about their first 7 jobs. Being a techie for as long as I can remember, I thought that listing my first 7 computers would be more appropriate… then I couldn’t remember much past my 5th computer, so here we go with my first 5 computers! Read more ›
Rich McCue v4.0
My Thoughts on Technology & Education…
Rich’s Way-Back Machine: My First 5 Computers
My MA Thesis: Flipped Learning for Information Literacy
Now that I have completed my Master of Arts degree in Curriculum and Instruction, thought that I should provides some links to it in a few different formats for your reading pleasure. The full title is: Exploring the Learning Outcomes of a Flipped Learning Methodology for Post-Secondary Information Literacy Students: A Mixed Methods Approach. Here it is in the format of your choice:
- Google Doc
- EPub (for iPad & Kobo readers)
- Mobi (for Kindle reader)
A PDF version of my thesis can also be found in the University of Victoria institutional repository.
If you have any questions about my thesis, or flipped learning in general, I’d be happy to talk to you.
Here is the abstract of my thesis:
The concept of flipped learning has received significant attention in recent years. In a flipped learning methodology, students view instructional videos and complete related assignments before class, so that face-to-face time with the instructor can be spent applying the knowledge and skills they were introduced to in the pre-class assignments. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of a flipped learning method for teaching information literacy (IL) skills to undergraduate students compared to a traditional teaching method where the majority of face-to-face time is spent instructing. To evaluate this, a mixed methods research design was used, where results from qualitative interviews helped explain findings from test data, assignment completion data, and major paper rubric data. The IL tests resulted in a small but insignificant test score improvement for flipped participants. Interviewed flipped participants reported mainly positive feelings toward flipped learning, whereas all flipped ESL interviewees related strong positive feedback towards flipped learning.
Thesis Defence Presentation: Exploring the Learning Outcomes of a Flipped Learning Methodology for Information Literacy Students
Here are my presentation slides from my thesis defence, and the Abstract from my thesis:
Abstract: “The concept of flipped learning has received significant attention in recent years. In a flipped learning methodology, students view instructional videos and complete related assignments before class, so that face-to-face time with the instructor can be spent applying the knowledge and skills they were introduced to in the pre-class assignments. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of a flipped learning method for teaching information literacy (IL) skills to undergraduate students compared to a traditional teaching method where the majority of face-to-face time is spent instructing. To evaluate this, a mixed methods research design was used, where results from qualitative interviews helped explain findings from test data, assignment completion data, and major paper rubric data. The IL tests resulted in a small but insignificant test score improvement for flipped participants. Interviewed flipped participants reported mainly positive feelings toward flipped learning, whereas all flipped ESL interviewees related strong positive feedback towards flipped learning.”
Tagged with: education, flipped learning, information literacy, research
Posted in education, Uncategorized
Posted in education, Uncategorized
Book Review: Emergence and Innovation in Digital Learning – Foundations and Applications
Edited by George Velestianos, Emergence and Innovation in Digital Learning – Foundations and Applications, is an insightful survey of emerging technologies and practices in digital education. Technology is not neutral, and as such the creators of educational software embed in their programs a host of implicit assumptions about how students and educators will act and interact while using their software.
I especially appreciated the chapter on “Designing for Open and Social Learning,” where an example is given of a course where students use open platforms, like blogging software and twitter, to learn in public, publish public artifacts of their learning, and create their own personal learning networks.
I recommend this book for anyone interested in the intersection of education and technology.
Undergraduate Information Literacy Curriculum Materials
As part of my MA in Education thesis, I’m publishing the teaching materials I used for the flipped information literacy instruction that I was studying under a Creative Commons BY-SA license. Below are six units that were integrated into an undergraduate first year research and writing class along with a 40 question pre- and post-test that was used to try to evaluate student skills and knowledge gain.
The materials below are in Google Doc format for easy review:
- Information Literacy Pre-Test / Post-Test
- Module 1: Introduction to the academic research paper
- Module 2: Research Questions and Strategies
- Module 3: Assessing and Incorporating Research Sources (in library if possible)
- Module 4: Citing Sources
- Module 5: Thesis Workshop
- Module 6: Annotated Bibliography: So What? Who Cares?
Here is the above materials in a Moodle package.
The above materials in MS Word format (zipped up).
If you have any questions, or problems accessing the files, please email me at: rich@msys.ca.
Posted in Uncategorized
12 Years of Student Technology Ownership Surveys: Trends & Today’s Opportunities for Richer Learning Experiences
Thanks to Will Monroe, PhD, from Louisiana State Law School, who presented with me, on our student law school technology surveys. We conducted an informal survey of CALI conference participants on their personal technology ownership during the conference, and as promised, here are the responses: https://goo.gl/1a1SYw Here is the video of the presentation including the slides (the audio quality improves after 2 minutes):
And, here is the session outline from the conference website:
For the past 12 years the University of Victoria Law Faculty & Louisiana State Law Center have surveyed incoming students on their personal technology ownership and usage in order to better understand the technology devices students are bringing with them to law school and how we can leverage those devices to provide a richer learning experience for students. In 2004 student data was gathered on laptop ownership and internet access. Questions were added over time, and we now collect data on the ownership and/or usage of: laptops, cell phones, tablets, email, collaborative document editing, desktop video, note taking, file backup, printing, and social-media. Current project goals include:
- Discover technologies students were bringing with them to school and their use.
- Explore ways to use personal technology for research and engaging instruction.
- Identify means to provide equitable access to technologies for students who cannot afford to purchase it for themselves.
By the end of the session participants will have a clear view of the technologies law students bring with them to school, as well as some potential ways those tools can be leveraged to provide more engaging instruction and better services to students.
Flipped Classroom: K-12 ProD Presentation at GNS
I had the chance to speak to a great group of educators at Glenlyon Norfolk School at their ProD event about the Flipped Classroom teaching method. There were a number of excellen questionsGood questions and a good discussion followed. Enjoy!
Photo Credit: Jillian McCue
Adopting a flipped classroom approach can free up valuable in-class time by using videos and exercises that students watch and complete as homework, or “pre-work.” This allows teachers to more easily differentiate their instruction and allows students to learn at their own pace. Teachers can typically spend more one-on-one time with students who are struggling during class time, and allows for more student selected project based learning to engage students. This talk includes an overview of the flipped learning model, a demonstration of one approach to flipping a classroom, and discussion of where flipped learning works and does not work well—along with equity issues to keep in mind when implementing.
Tagged with: Creative Commons, education, Flipped Classroom, Pedagogy
Posted in education, Open Source
Posted in education, Open Source
