Having spent a few days reflecting about the 2013 eLearn conference, I've come away with some further insights on my own instructional practice, my blooming research skills, and some general observations. Let's start with the first, shall we?
1. Pedagogy over technology was a sentiment voiced by many folks at the conference, and which certainly resonated with me. I found myself questioning further my own uses of technology in teaching, and thinking of ways I might better engage my students. For example, would it serve to better connect, in a human-contact sort of way (not that way, you sickomonkey) if I gave audio comments to students on papers? I may try this, as I have a round of papers I'm giving feedback on right now.
2. I need to rework some PowerPoints. My god, a lot of people tried to ppt me to death. Make the hurting stop, folks...make. the. hurting. stop.
3. The academy is ridiculously stuffy. I heard two keynotes by greybeards that drove me nuts. The one about the Victorianweb was a joke in terms of design, engagement in and of itself...and the presentation was an hour of my life I won't ever get back. Again, let the hurting stop.
4. Perhaps most importantly, I was reminded how far ahead of so many people the LT program is, and even my limited skillset is capable of building things like 26ers, which is consistently blowing people away. Remember how good that feels, when the crunch time hits, ok?
5. MOOCs are being seen as a panacea, and few of them have any effective pedagogy behind them. The concer was voiced that MOOCs are around because they'll make money for the people hosting and maintaining them, which I agree with. Further, I think the danger in data mining them is very real, and somthing we educators shouldn't take lightly.
Ok, as a researcher: There is a real need to build good graphics out of data, through infoviz. Too many times, I saw data that conveyed little information, and certainly didn't help me build up knowledge or wisdom. Ick.
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