"I feel I'm incredibly fascinating and this blog bears witness to that simple fact. Friends, from far and wide, are often pestered to keep abreast of my life and opinions. I offer my most sincere greetings to random visitors as well."
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Sunday, December 02, 2007
Neither Snow nor Sleet ...
Upon registering for a course at BCIT, one is automatically assigned a life-time email address. The beauty of the system is an instructor can send a message to his /her entire class by clicking a single link. When I take on a new class, I send a welcoming message before I've even had a chance to meet the class face-to-face. There's no need for me to enter email addresses in order to communicate with the group. Of course, this ease of use means that I frequently post message. After getting home, I sent this one to the students I met with today:
I'd like to thank those who braved the snow today in order to meet. I appreciate your determination. I hope everybody I saw today arrived home safely. By the time I left, it was turning to rain near BCIT, but when I made my way to New Westminster, the roads were in very poor condition.
It seems that three students were unable to make it to their oral presentations. I will expect we can listen to them next Saturday as we'll be in the computer lab. I will schedule the presentations for AFTER the final exam.
Remember, your final exam takes only three hours. We will be doing review work and course evaluations in the morning. (I am sure you have already checked the files area and have seen the daily schedules, right?)
It probably doesn't make a lot of sense to review for the final exams by re-reading the entire modules. There are important pages in most of the modules that did include the 'special sentence structures' though. You might find it useful to review those. Also, you should review your returned assignments. Did you fill in the error-correction sheet which held all errors for Assignments 1 to 5?
I want you to remember to write clearly and concisely on your final examination. Give examples and clarifications. Also don't forget to showcase the things we learned in the COMM 0004 course. Don't translate phrases from your language but keep your plans and sentence structures in English only. Lastly, finish very early, so you'll have time for useful review. If I need to grab the paper from you at the end of the time, you will not have had the chance to read through and locate your errors. I'd rather you find them and fix them, before I see your papers!
Good luck. Have a good week.
==Dennis
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Papyrus?
I rather looked forward to writing something here today. It's now Thursday afternoon. I'm sitting at the teachers' workstation and my students are making use of the comfortable environment in our computer lab. Nevertheless, they are writing midterm examinations with pen and paper.
For at least a decade, I've been waiting for the day when a larger portion of my classes will be via a network. I started teaching Communication classes for ESL students at BCIT ten years ago. From those first classes, I received occasional student work in electronic form. I can remember using class sets of floppy discs. When was the last time I handled one of those? Nowadays, a much larger portion of classroom management occurs online because of myBCIT. They do assignments in specialized message board areas, write email, and share files.
Yet on those dreaded days of midterm and final exams, it all goes back to an exam booklet and a pencil. Will we still be stuck in their weird anachronism in 2017?
This fuzzy scan is one decade old and shows some students
from one of my first classes at BCIT in the autumn of 1997.
For at least a decade, I've been waiting for the day when a larger portion of my classes will be via a network. I started teaching Communication classes for ESL students at BCIT ten years ago. From those first classes, I received occasional student work in electronic form. I can remember using class sets of floppy discs. When was the last time I handled one of those? Nowadays, a much larger portion of classroom management occurs online because of myBCIT. They do assignments in specialized message board areas, write email, and share files.
Yet on those dreaded days of midterm and final exams, it all goes back to an exam booklet and a pencil. Will we still be stuck in their weird anachronism in 2017?
This fuzzy scan is one decade old and shows some students
from one of my first classes at BCIT in the autumn of 1997.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
My Blog; My Pedestal.
When a new course starts up, the writings in my eJournal and images tend to be a little more abbreviated. When I have lots of extra paperwork to do, I have a bit less time to devote to this blog. I also might be a little more myopic than usual but this, of course, is open for discussion.
At the start of every term, I again find new appreciation in how the web has made class organization and administration easier. I'm sure if you search, over the past few years I've mentioned myBCIT here a number of times.
I truly appreciate my colleagues, yet I cannot understand why none make use of this wonderful resource. It makes things easier! I can pester students with facts, documents, and assignments at any time of the day or night. Over the years, I have come to realize I really am a very special breed. Generally social people keep away from technology like the plague and nerdy folks play only with machines. I'm a rare combination as ...
I have extraordinary talent with both!
At the start of every term, I again find new appreciation in how the web has made class organization and administration easier. I'm sure if you search, over the past few years I've mentioned myBCIT here a number of times.
I truly appreciate my colleagues, yet I cannot understand why none make use of this wonderful resource. It makes things easier! I can pester students with facts, documents, and assignments at any time of the day or night. Over the years, I have come to realize I really am a very special breed. Generally social people keep away from technology like the plague and nerdy folks play only with machines. I'm a rare combination as ...
I have extraordinary talent with both!
Labels: blogging, feelings, myBCIT, software, technology
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Making (and Saving) the Grade
From my first class at BCIT, I've used MS Excel spreadsheets to track marks. Right from the onset, I knew that making a few cell formulas would be easier than sitting with a calculator at the end of the term. This is because there are a number of marks to calculate. For example, here are the COMM 0004 components:
Although I started at the BC Institute of Technology in the autumn of 1997, the first .xls file I could quickly put my hands on is from September of 1998.Weekly Writing Assignments 45% Midterm Examination 15% Oral Presentation 10% Quizzes and myBCIT Message Board 5% Final Examination 25%.
Chang, Chiao-Yun (Joey)I could still check each of their grade components. I wonder where those students are today? I'll include them so if they Google themselves, they can drop me a line!
Chiang, Tai Hsien (Lisa)
Cho, Kyung Hoon (Kelvin)
Kang, Hyun Joo (Jeannie)
Kim, Tayleen
Kunitate, Ricaco (Rica)
Lai, Hung-Jui (Jim)
Lau, Pui (Elizabeth)
Lin Jiao (Vivian)
Lin, Yu-Wen (Tina)
Song, Hong Jin (Jin)
Tai, Fang Chi (Debbie)
Wan, Han Tsung (John)
Won, Sat Ching (Carol)
Wong, Tze Ming (Jasmine)
Wu, Yueh His (Brian)
Yen, Tsung Heng (Louis)
Monday, August 15, 2005
A Little Respect
I find myself relying more and more on the web interface of myBCIT to communicate with my students. It's especially useful for weekend courses as there's a long period between classes. With nearly 100% Internet access in homes and libraries, I can be assured of 'being in the face' of each student during the week. I've gone into a variety of details in this blog over the last few years.
Your Weekends Belong to You (Again)
Sent on August 14, 2005 by Dennis Hurd
This is just a quick note to say that teaching your class seemed very
special. I think generally several students drop out of classes during
a term but not this one! Yours was also the first class in which
there was nearly perfect attendance. (It's okay King ... we're not
angry.) This goes to show that, as a whole, you were a hard-working
group of individuals. Although you come from a variety of backgrounds,
it was a pleasure to see your dedication. There's not a single student
that I'm not proud to have met.
Message boards free us from paper and allow classmates to read each other's responses. A grade book feature allows each student access to their data online whereas that information used to exist only on a worksheet in my briefcase. I can upload files and photos for sharing. The security factor is very important as the information is available to no outsiders.
An announcement feature shows information right on their screens after login. This is a perfect way to add a homework reminder, restate a key point, or just provide a group message without resorting to email. I can't help but take each course very seriously, and luckily, most other BCIT instructors do too. The first words of this entry 'were announced' after arriving home from yesterday's final class.
Friday, July 15, 2005
New Becomes Necessary
It's amazing how quickly we adapt to changes in technology and then would find it difficult living without. For example, think of banking. Do you remember when you had to stand waiting for a person in order to get your money out?The image to the left is a slice of a computer screen shot. It shows just part of a page for the current Communication class I'm teaching. How did we function as an educational institute before instantaneous email? The system is exceedingly efficient as students are automatically granted access as soon as their data hits the BCIT registration system. Furthermore, only these students are allowed access to the information at our course homepage. I'm making a determined effort to completely use the facilities this term. Already, I can't imagine living without it.
a) The announcement feature is very important this summer as we only meet on Saturdays and Sundays. This allows me to keep them informed of important schedule changes or just about any important news.
b) Why photocopy an information sheet when I can upload the original file which can be read online? My class has 100% Internet access from home.
c) Instead of writing down a useful URL on the blackboard, it's much easier and more efficient to add it to the links on myBCIT.
d) I remember collecting portfolios in which I would get the students to write a series of short answers on different topics. I had to collect the binders at the end of term to look them over. Now, it's all there, online, under a message board area. I type in a question, they write the answers, and we all can read the results.
Thursday, May 06, 2004
Using Technology in Teaching: myBCIT
I will be teaching a summer course at BCIT. Although it doesn't begin until next Monday and I've never met the class, I have just sent each student a welcoming letter!
British Columbia Institute of Technology has provided a web portal for a few years now. It is very convenient as data from various sources are unified under a single interface. As soon as a student registers in a class, the name appears in a class list which I can view. As instructor, I'm able to prepare an email for the entire group with a single click. In addition to email, myBCIT includes a useful calendar function which again is pre-completed with information from the institute's scheduling system. There is a location for the instructor to add interesting links. Also, there's a message board and online chat which are directly tied to our course.
Lastly, myBCIT also acts as a universal gateway to other BCIT online systems. Designed for staff, instructors, and students, it offers functions as diverse as department announcements, room scheduling, and a way for students to check grades.
Click here ----> Screen Shot of myBCIT's E-Mail Interface
(In addition, please note my previous reference to myBCIT on March 13, 2004.)
British Columbia Institute of Technology has provided a web portal for a few years now. It is very convenient as data from various sources are unified under a single interface. As soon as a student registers in a class, the name appears in a class list which I can view. As instructor, I'm able to prepare an email for the entire group with a single click. In addition to email, myBCIT includes a useful calendar function which again is pre-completed with information from the institute's scheduling system. There is a location for the instructor to add interesting links. Also, there's a message board and online chat which are directly tied to our course.
Lastly, myBCIT also acts as a universal gateway to other BCIT online systems. Designed for staff, instructors, and students, it offers functions as diverse as department announcements, room scheduling, and a way for students to check grades.
Click here ----> Screen Shot of myBCIT's E-Mail Interface
(In addition, please note my previous reference to myBCIT on March 13, 2004.)
Saturday, March 13, 2004
Computers and Communications Courses
I have taken students into computer labs since the days when PC's had just 640K of RAM. I still schedule an hour of lab time every week. I tend to encourage students to use computers as more of a research and work tool than for computer-assisted instruction.
Doing useful things in the lab is easy because of the Internet and a tool offered at BCIT. I frequently make use of myBCIT, a web portal for the Institute. As soon as a student registers in class, he / she is provided with access to the portal and an accompanying email address. Most school paperwork and documentation can be provided though an electronic pipeline. When logging on, students are presented with their class lists and an accompanying work area for each class.
I have easy means to add links, supervise a class message board, initiate an online chat, add to our course calendar, or email the entire group in one step. That is a whole lot easier than when I needed to collect email addresses during the first scheduled class! Computers greatly impact our private lives, so it should not be considered unusual that they affect how we teach and learn.
Labels: computer lab, Internet, myBCIT, software, students
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