For those who know me - they also know that I like music and have very eclectic tastes in music. For the most part my tastes go towards the music that I am exposed to - and I am not a radio listener (at least not much). Most of my favorite songs; ranging from Pete Townshend (Slit Skirts), Rush (Manhattan Project, Red Barchetta), Supertramp (C'est Le Bon), The Alan Parson Project (Don't Let it Show, One More River, Siren Song), Elvis Costello (Veronica) are not going to show up in any top ten countdown. These are the songs I find both inspiration and enjoyment in - and they have not been overplayed by any radio station.
One of the reasons for why music inspires me is I play music (primarily guitar - but I can play most C based instruments). But it goes beyond that - in music your mind makes the translation and finishes the story. Most of my favorite songs tell part of a story - but leave just enough to allow your mind to fill in the blanks. Those blanks are the source of inspiration - I am free to fill them in any way we wish depending upon my current mood. Good music tellls a story, pleases the ear, creates an emotion, and leaves with your mind just a bit more stimulated than before you started listening. A story that is concluded may be satisfying - but the story left unfinished is much more stimulating - because you become part of the story in order to bring about the conclusion.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006
Honors Seminar - Post 1
I am really enjoying teaching the UCF Engineering Honors Seminar. I've diverged some from the original class - which had a more rigid structure of teaching and lecturing on research methods. Each day the class actively engages in discussion - and I was surpirsed to learn how few classes at UCF had previously placed the students into an active discussion format where they were allowed to control the flow and direction of the discussion. The students are doing a great job of running the class - and I am bringing in the guests that allow them to start taking different perspectives of their degree and education - while at the same time learning the basic material.
During the course of the semester I hope to be able to see some of the truer personalities of the students in course. For them - the light at the end of the tunnel (graduation) is getting pretty close. The decisions that go with that, (small business, corporate America, grad school, ...) are also getting pretty close. For many these decision are shaped only by the opportunities that present themsleves "the loudest". When these students finish - they should have the skills necessary to pick out, what for them is the best opportunity.
During the course of the semester I hope to be able to see some of the truer personalities of the students in course. For them - the light at the end of the tunnel (graduation) is getting pretty close. The decisions that go with that, (small business, corporate America, grad school, ...) are also getting pretty close. For many these decision are shaped only by the opportunities that present themsleves "the loudest". When these students finish - they should have the skills necessary to pick out, what for them is the best opportunity.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Where are we going - publishing?
Publishing Revolution – the next change?
The basic print and picture media (aka books) have traditionally dominated education. Even the internet with its ability to provide rich multi-media content has not shaken the hold that the traditional print form of media has had in education. This is because the ability to produce the rich content has been relatively difficult and inaccessible. This is changing slowly and rapidly at the same time. Software that allows the creation of video and interactive content has become easier to use and less expensive. Even though this has started a slow revolution in the delivery of education – the true major change is yet to come.
First, let’s look at the much maligned e-book. No company has hit the magic formula of form, cost, and content to make the e-book a popular and common piece of equipment. All while the ipod and other devices have become common. At some point the magic formula will be reached and the e-book or some form of it will become a common appliance. The purpose of this article is not to guess on what form this will be – but really look at the impact of a technology that is inevitable.
With the combination of the ability to create rich content, and also the ability to deliver this content conveniently – we have all the makings of a content delivery “revolution”. I am not predicting the demise of the written word and the traditional book – quite the contrary, I love books and have collected many. What I am really talking about here is a change in the ability to deliver education.
Looking at this from the viewpoint of a parent and an experienced user of the internet, here is a story. My 9 year old child needed to learn about China – she was studying it in school. Of course to learn about China the best thing to do is visit the country – but unfortunately time and budget make that difficult. So we sat down with my laptop computer and her Social Studies books and did some research. We looked at panoramic pictures of the Great Wall, and listened to Chinese speech. We saw pictures about Chinese history – and learned a lot about China – a lot more than we could learn from her Social Studies text. So what kind of text would really do the job of teaching a 3rd grade kid about China? What if that picture of the Great Wall allowed you to touch it and get a video and real information about it? What if the picture of Confucius was accompanied by audio and a video presentation about the period in which he lived? Why do I think these things will happen? – because they can and parents will want their children to have these types of resources.
So where are we going? Well its not always easy to see the full road ahead, but it is always a safe bet to put your money on convenience. Never underestimate the resources that parents will bring to bear to give their children an advantage. And mostly never underestimate the ability of engineers to invent those things that will make all these things possible.
The basic print and picture media (aka books) have traditionally dominated education. Even the internet with its ability to provide rich multi-media content has not shaken the hold that the traditional print form of media has had in education. This is because the ability to produce the rich content has been relatively difficult and inaccessible. This is changing slowly and rapidly at the same time. Software that allows the creation of video and interactive content has become easier to use and less expensive. Even though this has started a slow revolution in the delivery of education – the true major change is yet to come.
First, let’s look at the much maligned e-book. No company has hit the magic formula of form, cost, and content to make the e-book a popular and common piece of equipment. All while the ipod and other devices have become common. At some point the magic formula will be reached and the e-book or some form of it will become a common appliance. The purpose of this article is not to guess on what form this will be – but really look at the impact of a technology that is inevitable.
With the combination of the ability to create rich content, and also the ability to deliver this content conveniently – we have all the makings of a content delivery “revolution”. I am not predicting the demise of the written word and the traditional book – quite the contrary, I love books and have collected many. What I am really talking about here is a change in the ability to deliver education.
Looking at this from the viewpoint of a parent and an experienced user of the internet, here is a story. My 9 year old child needed to learn about China – she was studying it in school. Of course to learn about China the best thing to do is visit the country – but unfortunately time and budget make that difficult. So we sat down with my laptop computer and her Social Studies books and did some research. We looked at panoramic pictures of the Great Wall, and listened to Chinese speech. We saw pictures about Chinese history – and learned a lot about China – a lot more than we could learn from her Social Studies text. So what kind of text would really do the job of teaching a 3rd grade kid about China? What if that picture of the Great Wall allowed you to touch it and get a video and real information about it? What if the picture of Confucius was accompanied by audio and a video presentation about the period in which he lived? Why do I think these things will happen? – because they can and parents will want their children to have these types of resources.
So where are we going? Well its not always easy to see the full road ahead, but it is always a safe bet to put your money on convenience. Never underestimate the resources that parents will bring to bear to give their children an advantage. And mostly never underestimate the ability of engineers to invent those things that will make all these things possible.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Teaching Statement of Philosphy
Teaching Statement of Philosophy
With over 20 years of classroom experience, and even more as a student I have had the opportunity to learn what does and does not work in effectively enhancing the learning achieved by students. I classify the learning experience into three distinct categories;
Learning Category and Examples
Passive Learning- Reading, Lecture, Video
Interactive Learning - Discussion, Group Meeting, E-mail, Bulletin Board, Chat, IM
Experiential Learning - Laboratory, open-ended assignments, group projects
Each of these categories has unique characteristics and students are unique in the combination of each category used to effectively learn and retain material. The best way to teach so as to optimize learning is to use the most effective combination of these categories and the specific elements contained within each category. A good teacher is more than just someone who can lecture well and organize a class – some of the classes that I retained the most information from were taught by what would be considered poor teachers by just these standards. It must involve a deeper understanding of how students learn and an ability to apply the correct combination of these elements to create a learning experience for the student.
Assessment
No discussion of teaching would be complete without also a discussion of assessment. As teachers and professors we fulfill two roles; to teach and to assess the students ability in the subject taught. The traditional method of assessment is the exam, and this is likely to remain so. However, the exam is a poor indicator of how well any person will perform in a real workplace setting, and if the ultimate goal of a college education is to prepare the student for this environment – we must do a better job of preparing them and assessing them. Exams and homework grading should not be the only means of assessment used to determine student grades. Other measures such as project performance, participation, and teamwork, among others do have a role in student assessment.
With over 20 years of classroom experience, and even more as a student I have had the opportunity to learn what does and does not work in effectively enhancing the learning achieved by students. I classify the learning experience into three distinct categories;
Learning Category and Examples
Passive Learning- Reading, Lecture, Video
Interactive Learning - Discussion, Group Meeting, E-mail, Bulletin Board, Chat, IM
Experiential Learning - Laboratory, open-ended assignments, group projects
Each of these categories has unique characteristics and students are unique in the combination of each category used to effectively learn and retain material. The best way to teach so as to optimize learning is to use the most effective combination of these categories and the specific elements contained within each category. A good teacher is more than just someone who can lecture well and organize a class – some of the classes that I retained the most information from were taught by what would be considered poor teachers by just these standards. It must involve a deeper understanding of how students learn and an ability to apply the correct combination of these elements to create a learning experience for the student.
Assessment
No discussion of teaching would be complete without also a discussion of assessment. As teachers and professors we fulfill two roles; to teach and to assess the students ability in the subject taught. The traditional method of assessment is the exam, and this is likely to remain so. However, the exam is a poor indicator of how well any person will perform in a real workplace setting, and if the ultimate goal of a college education is to prepare the student for this environment – we must do a better job of preparing them and assessing them. Exams and homework grading should not be the only means of assessment used to determine student grades. Other measures such as project performance, participation, and teamwork, among others do have a role in student assessment.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Initial Post
The purpose of this Blog is to capture the day to day ins and outs of what goes on as a researcher and a professor at a major University. I will post ideas, proposals, occurrences, and other items to this posting as they occur.
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