I have been taking T-525 Connected Teaching in the Digital Age this fall and I cannot say enough amazing things about this course! I am here to share my experience with the course and point out a few components that make this course phenomenal.
First, it is the professor. Barbara is not only brilliant but genuinely cares everyone single one her students. She is open to suggestions from students and creates a positive learning environment. In addition to her kind and supportive nature, the class is clearly and logically organized week-to-week with guest speakers and classroom activities that help us better understand the concepts. We have had the CEO of The Learning Accelerator and the Co-Founder of Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation as guest speakers just to mention a few. We also have various classroom activities that are extremely engaging. We even get to use arts and crafts to explain our idea!
Justin Reich, Assistant Professor, MIT and Director, Teaching Systems Lab as a guest speaker
Classroom activity representing solution using available arts and crafts materials
There are plenty of courses where online discussion posting is a part of the course. But in this course, you get an opportunity to put on a professor hat and create your own discussion question and facilitate an online discussion with your group rather than simply answering a question that your professor already came up with. I realized how much thought goes into creating these questions. You do not even have to stick to using the traditional method of posting on Canvas. The group that is facilitating the discussion have the power to choose any medium they want the responses in – Twitter, Facebook, Flipgrid, anything!
You also get a chance to set up your goal in the beginning of the course and reflect on your progress throughout the semester. In my previous courses, I was so busy just keeping up with weekly lessons that I forget to reflect on how I am doing until the course is over. By taking the time to ask myself the important questions, it has been helping me better understand my strengths and weaknesses and things I can do to better achieve my goal.
The project is a great opportunity to apply the different approaches and modules you learn throughout the semester to a real-world setting with an organization that does meaningful work with schools and districts. The great thing is that there is a range of project options for you to pick based on your interest. I am currently working on a project with The Learning Accelerator and I get to work directly with the Partner of the organization, Jennifer Wolfe, to ask complex questions and solve the challenge. On top of all the strong support from Barbara and project supervisor, all the teaching fellows are there to help you as well. Susan is the teaching fellow who is helping out with my project and she has provided some great feedback.
If you are looking for courses to take in the fall semester, I highly recommend this course. There is a perfect balance between guidance and freedom to help you achieve your goal with full support no matter what your background is. Just come in with an open mind and excitement to explore new models of connected teaching in the digital age!
Curious about this class? Check out this YouTube link for the inside scoop!
Blog written by Melina Kim. Photos provided by Melina Kim.
Melina Kim is an Ed.M candidate in Technology, Innovation, and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Master of Bioethics candidate at Harvard Medical School. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in East Asian Studies with a focus on Economics and minored in Visual Arts. She works at the Office for Sponsored Programs at Harvard University, where she is responsible for coordinating research funding across the Harvard campuses. She also serves as the Vice Chair for Diversity at the Harvard Graduate Council.
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