There was a forum yesterday sparked by a faculty listserv discussion about low attendance. This has also been covered in the Contra Costa Times and Chronicle of Higher Ed.
Coursecasting was often the bugaboo. There was even confusion about whether or not the forum was about coursecasting.
There was also a lot of media there. So far, a video from KPIX news and a very good summation from The Daily Californian.
There is an MP3 of the event. This might explain why faculty attendance was low…
Update: 10/31/06 – “Send Webcast Back to the Stone Age” – Daily Cal editorial.
October 27, 2006 at 4:11 pm |
I like, is nice!
October 27, 2006 at 4:42 pm |
I really found the “Disappearing Students” Faculty Forum post an absolutely fascinating discussion. However; in so many educational dialogs the most important factor was missing: “What did the students learn: what did they know before they took the class? What did they know after taking the class? What is the nature of knowledge? Did they just memorize content and shoot it back on the tests? Can they apply the information presented in other contexts and situations? Can they conduct self directed research based upon the content from the class and further expand their knowledge or is it just garbage in; garbage out—-forget this stuff by next semester? Focusing on class attendance and filled seats begs the central question by diverting a meaningful discussion about teaching and learning; to an anxiety filled discussion on process rather than outcomes.
Cheers,
Henry