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Halfway review

karynromeis — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:13:25 +0000

On Tuesday, we had our last taught session for this academic year. This marks the halfway point for me. In effect, I have completed 5 modules by this point:

Educational Research – module completed – assignment due early September
Reflective Professional Development – module completed, final summary due in with balance of portfolio next Tuesday
Learning & Teaching – module completed and passed
ICT in Teaching & Learning – module completed and passed
Thinking Skills – module completed – assignment due September
Independent studies module – still to be approved – anticipated for completion December 2007
Dissertation (triple module) – topic tentatively selected – due October 2008

Looking back over the year, my favourite bit has been thinking skills. I have been frustrated at the lack of time to put in the amount of reading needed to do each assignment justice. I am also very aware of my tendency to wide and shallow learning, and the fact that it is totally inappropriate for a dissertation. In order to do myself justice, I will need to focus on the material for my dissertation at the expense of much other material that I read, and I am having anxiety attacks at the thought of being out of the loop.

I guess I’m just going to have to bit the bullet and get it done and behind me.

Steven D Krause: The Process of Research Writing

karynromeis — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 21:50:47 +0000

Steven is part of an increasing number of peope who are publishing their text books themselves online where students and other interested parties can access them free of charge. This book is likely to prove useful to me as I come to grips with academic writing, particularly in respect of my dissertation. For those for whom the recommended texts seem pricy, it might be worth considering…

How might education look by 2020?

karynromeis — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 12:20:54 +0000

Karl Fisch is good at putting together no-holds-barred explorations of the relevance (or lack thereof) of the current education system. He collects data and puts it into context. His “Did you know?” presentation a while back was scary! This 2020 vision presentation is designed to take a look at what might change in education over the next 13 years. It is put together as if it is already 2020 and the speaker is looking back over the school careers of the children who will graduate that year. It is true that Karl looks at things from a US perspective, but surely we will be subject to the same drivers here. After all, we are working towards the flat world society, and remote access is likely to mean that our kids will be competing for jobs in a world-wide field, rather than a local one. We can’t afford to get left behind. We can’t afford to continue to teach our children material they will not need or to fail to teach them skills they will need on a daily basis.