It
is amazing to think of how much we rely on our basic communication technologies
to enhance our learning experiences. When I first started classes at MSU, only
one or two of my classes each semester were connected to Blackboard. Now, every
class I have is automatically connected to Blackboard, and I would say that
about 80-90% of my professors use Blackboard on a regular basis. Blackboard is
a communication technology that was specifically designed for academic use;
however, many professors use other communication technologies, such as eMail,
to keep their students up to date. When I was in high school, I rarely needed
to use eMail to receive communications from any of my teachers. Now in college,
I need to check both of my eMail accounts various times each day in order to
receive all the information and updates that I need to keep up with my schedule
of classes and ensembles. Some of my music professors even communicate via text
message to send out last minute updates and schedule changes.
I
think that this closely knit relationship between communication technologies
and educational technologies has both positive and negative effects on
learning. The main positive effect is that it enhances the classroom experience
by a great deal. As an example, my Choral Methods professor provides a huge
amount of auxiliary information to our class via Blackboard. For every unit of
our class, she post up a PowerPoint presentation of about 20 slides as well as
5-10 additional documents covering various specific topics. Although this seems
like a large amount of material to read and/or keep up with throughout the
semester, I think that much of it will come in handy as future resources. When
the class is finished, I intend to create PDF files of every single document
she has posted on Blackboard (by that point there will probably be around 40)
and keep them in a folder on my computer for future reference. Keeping students
up to date by using mass eMails is also a great way to enhance the classroom
experience. Conveying information through eMails instead of as announcements in
class saves class time. In addition, sometimes there may be important
developments that students should know about in between classes, especially for
classes that meet only once a week.
The
negative effects of the close relationship between communication technologies
and educational technologies are also very evident. The unfortunate truth is
that technology often fails or does not work as planned. In addition, the types
of communication technologies that we rely on today are reliant upon
electricity in order to function. As many of us witnessed over the past week or
so, natural occurrences in nature are more than capable of taking away
electricity from us for up to a full week or more. Without electricity, we are
left with very limited ways to keep up with eMails, Blackboard, and other
communication/educational technologies. Even those of us who were left with
power during hurricane Sandy probably realized that communicating with others
via technology became slow or difficult. I think that as teachers, we need to
be very sensitive to situations like these. Although it may be tempting to try
and stick to the syllabus or expect that students make up all of their work
according to the original deadlines, the truth is that these would be unrealistic
expectations.
According to my
experiences, when the lights went out, it became increasingly difficult to keep
up with school work and communications, as I had to travel to school every time
I wanted to use my computer online (or to receive electricity to charge my
computer and phone when their batteries were running low). Luckily some of
campus had power throughout the storm’s aftermath, which allowed me and many
others to do this. If this had not been the case, I could not imagine how much
more difficult it would have been to keep up. After living without electricity
for a few days, everyday issues started to become more and more prevalent. Many
of us probably dealt with issues such as how to create light during the dark,
how to stay warm during the cold, where to do our laundry, where to go for hot
water, and of course how to get where we are going to do all of these things.
When many of these issues came up for me, worrying about keeping up with schoolwork
became almost impossible.
I think that the
best things that teaches and professors can do to help ease their students’
minds in a situation such as hurricane Sandy are (1) do not sent out any
updates related to classes that would require students to do or think about
work in advance or any extra work. If anything, (2) do the opposite and send
out updates assuring those students who are able to receive your communication that
they will have extra time to complete any upcoming assignments and that the
course schedule will be adjusted as necessary. In addition, (3) share any
information with the students that you can that may be helpful in ways that do
not relate to the class. For example, up to several days after the hurricane,
my Language and Literacy professor sent out eMails to the class on information
such as power restorations, locations with an ample supply of heat and WIFI,
and news on the gas shortage. Lastly, (4) use the unfortunate event as an opportunity
to incorporate current events into the class when the students return. My
Language and Literacy professor did this as well, and those students who were
able to attend class that day responded to it very well.
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