Clickers In The Classroom

One of the Pilot Programs we will be initiating at BMCC is the use of Clickers in our classrooms. Classroom Response Systems are one of the latest tools instructors are using to assess whether or not students are grasping key concepts. Use of clickers allows instructors to appeal to multiple learning styles as well as generate enthusiasm for the topics discussed through immediate feedback loops. Most who use them say their students' level of engagement goes way up as they become more active participants.

There are many brands of clickers available. For our first pilot project we went with GTCO CalComp. It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

Blogging in Academia

I just got back from the Pacific Northwest Great Teachers Seminar held at the beautiful Menucha Retreat & Conference Center in Corbett, OR. It was an amazing five days that I will carry with me for years to come.

All too often people participate in conferences, workshops or other learning opportunities only to forget most of what they learned once caught up in the fray of re-entry in day-to-day work load. In order to prevent that from happening, the participants from our conference will be staying in touch via a blog where we can share ideas and resources, as well as just keeping up with one another's triumphs and trials.

This peaked my interest in various ways that blogs can be used in an educational setting.

In addition to my day job at Blue Mountain Community College working with the Title III grant, I also teach online sociology courses on an adjunct basis for Wenatchee Valley College. Over there the College President has a running blog for communicating with faculty, staff, students and the general community. More and more instructors are incorporating blogs into their courses, such as this one by an Assistant English instructor at University of Missouri.

I decided to start this blog to provide a central place to store links about educational resources that could be easily shared with others.

I'm sure it will evolve over time...but for now, this will do.