Lesson plan activity
I chose to create a lesson plan outline on typography. First I would use a combination of the YouTube videos to break the ice on typography, see below. Students will then use the social media site Pinterest to create visual boards of serif and sans serif fonts. Pinterest will allow students to share pins by repinning and to comment on classmates pins.
The second part of the lesson will include a research component using fonts already installed on the computer and the site dafont.com to draw inspiration. Each student will create their own original font on paper and then transfer the font into the computer software, Illustrator, using a drawing tablet and image scanner. The student will then solidify a working type font. The student will also provide a reflection paper demonstrating an understanding of the history of typography and explaining how their research inspired their original font creation.
How we can improve student learning...
Where do I begin! There are so many methods to creating interactive and engaging learning environments with and without technology. I have always been an advocate of doing while learning "a la practicum style". If anyone is familiar with Babson College you will understand what I mean. Babson encourages the use of practical applications of education towards entrepreneurship and global studies. This means that students are just learning about what to do when they graduate they are actually doing it prior to graduation. It's a mind frame and technology is there to assist the process.
We can take a business marketing approach to education. Students are customers. If this is true, why are we not going to them and instead expect students to conform to us? Education is not water. A great education is a privilege and therefore more like soda. As a soda maker I am not expecting students to line up out of necessity and I am more likely to be meeting students in their space. What is their space? It is on Facebook, Twitter, in blogs, on YouTube, outside, at work, in the evening at home, etc. A traditional classroom is not their space. Education must balance the integrity of the curriculum and embrace the needs of its customers, ehrm... learners. In the first video multiple students admitted to not using their laptops in class for class related objectives. So give them something to do online during this period of time. Too many texters? Encourage text-to-tweets for a classroom backchannel. This way yes, the student is texting, but they are more likely to be texting for the class and engaging with classmates. This seems like a better outcome than them texting pictures of my backside covered in chalk to half the university while sitting stadium style with over a hundred people they've never met.
Two videos for your pleasure regarding education and human behavior...
The Pleasure of the Tweet
Changing Education Paradigms
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