In this section, I provide sample data collected from course evaluations, reflections from former students, and professional reflections on my own practice.
Sample Student Comments
Student evaluation data received from my students has consistently shown strongly positive ratings in areas of instructor expertise, course impact, and teaching. Data extending back to 2000 are available by request, but I have included statements below that are consistent with the majority of student feedback.
The following are from 2007 ECMP 355 student evaluations.
“This course was probably the most relevant class I have ever taken.”
“The best course I have ever taken. Great job Alec!”
“I especially enjoyed how this course allowed me use my creativity through technology.”
“An amazing class. Hope to take another course w/ Alec in the future.”
“I loved the atmosphere, the tools provided, and found Alec’s approach very encouraging.”
“Alec rocks, we need more positive, open-minded, down-to-earth teachers like him.’
“I really enjoyed this class. I have learned so much and I can’t wait to use it in my classroom.”
“Alec is an excellent prof who is very knowledgeable and very willing to help.”
“This class was excellent … the one I raved about all semester. Thanks.”
“I have learned so much about technology and how it can benefit us in the classroom. I came into the classroom with little to no experience and am leaving quite confident with my skills.”
“Thank you for helping me see the importance of technology in the classroom.”
“This course has been life-changing for me. I feel much more confident to use technology now.”
“Alec was a great prof. Very approachable and helpful. He was very knowledgeable about technology & provided us with an abundant list of resources and technology tools. He made the class fun and interactive.”
“Great Job. I will come back for more classes with you even though I am graduating!”
And these statements are taken from 2008 EC&I 831 course evaluations:
“This course had a huge impact on my teaching. I have definitely changed the way I teach and have incorporated many more technology tools to my lessons. It has also allowed me to teach my students the importance of online safety.”
“Yes, this course has absolutely influenced the ways in which I think, teach and learn. My teaching, networking, reading, learning practices involve far more use of technology and read/write web technologies than they did before taking this course.”
“It has furthered my knowledge and exposure to tools/learning styles available to me. This course has broadened my ability to help students to learn, and reinvigorated my ability to interest them in learning.”
“Invaluable. This course offered new techniques that everyone should be exposed to.”
I have also earned a strong reputation for teaching excellence outside of my institution. In July 2009, I was a invited as a visiting scholar by UBC-Okanagan and taught EDST499K (Social Media & Connected Learning). Below, I have included my raw teaching evaluations. Some notable comments include:
“Alec is fantastic and we would be lucky to learn from him again. Bring him back PLEASE!”
“EXCELLENT! This has been the most relevant, connected, & interactive course in my masters program thus far.”
“Outstanding”, “Unbelievable”, “Hope Alec comes back again next summer”
“The variety of material & content was extensive & the long term extension activities associate with further learning is invaluable.”
“Alec was the best prof I’ve had in all of my education training by far! You should do all you can to convince Alec to move to Kelowna and teach at UBC-O”
“The instructor is the most real, relevant, inspiring and respectful person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.”
The following are samples reflections from students after they have completed course requirements.
One of the important goals of my courses is to foster extended learning beyond the typical course/semester (time-served) period. In this audio segment, a student that I taught in EC&I 831 (Winter 2007) speaks about the course six months after completion. – Seibel-ECI831Reflection (click link for audio).
I also encourage students to reflect on their learning in ways that are relevant and authentic. After ECMP 355 (Fall 2009), one of my students composed, sang, and recorded a song as her final reflection. You can listen to it here.
Finally, many students find new and innovative ways to reflect on their learning. These skills often do not emerge from anything specific I teach them. Rather, student immerse themselves in play and experimentation and will find technologies that allow them to express themselves through digital texts. This student from ECMP 355 (Fall 2009) uses a combination of screencasting and video to tell her story. See the video below.
Blog Reflections:
Since 2004, I have maintained a professional blog that I use, among other things, for reflection and dissemination. Below, I have included links to two posts I wrote in Winter, 2009. I believe these posts help to demonstrate how I use my digital space to reflect upon and improve my teaching strategies in full-view and with cooperation of peers & colleagues in my network.
Visualizing Open Networked Teaching – The posts includes visuals and the beginning of a framework for open teaching that I later used in peer reviewed publications. Note, that there are over fifty comments, and the conversation at times feels ‘heated’. However, this type of discourse and disagreement is common in similar online, academic spaces, and can provide very insightful and productive long term thought negotiation.
Visualizing Open Networked Teaching: Revisited – Due the numerous comments, rich feedback, and time for reflection, I improved the framework in the original post. I believe that between these two posts, it is demonstrated how academics can reflect in open spaces, receive feedback from one’s network, and go on to improve a theoretical framework and practice.
Evaluation & Reflections
In this section, I provide sample data collected from course evaluations, reflections from former students, and professional reflections on my own practice.
Sample Student Comments
Student evaluation data received from my students has consistently shown strongly positive ratings in areas of instructor expertise, course impact, and teaching. Data extending back to 2000 are available by request, but I have included statements below that are consistent with the majority of student feedback.
The following are from 2007 ECMP 355 student evaluations.
And these statements are taken from 2008 EC&I 831 course evaluations:
I have also earned a strong reputation for teaching excellence outside of my institution. In July 2009, I was a invited as a visiting scholar by UBC-Okanagan and taught EDST499K (Social Media & Connected Learning). Below, I have included my raw teaching evaluations. Some notable comments include:
EDST499K – Course & Teaching Evaluation
Sample Student Reflections:
The following are samples reflections from students after they have completed course requirements.
One of the important goals of my courses is to foster extended learning beyond the typical course/semester (time-served) period. In this audio segment, a student that I taught in EC&I 831 (Winter 2007) speaks about the course six months after completion. – Seibel-ECI831Reflection (click link for audio).
I also encourage students to reflect on their learning in ways that are relevant and authentic. After ECMP 355 (Fall 2009), one of my students composed, sang, and recorded a song as her final reflection. You can listen to it here.
Finally, many students find new and innovative ways to reflect on their learning. These skills often do not emerge from anything specific I teach them. Rather, student immerse themselves in play and experimentation and will find technologies that allow them to express themselves through digital texts. This student from ECMP 355 (Fall 2009) uses a combination of screencasting and video to tell her story. See the video below.
Blog Reflections:
Since 2004, I have maintained a professional blog that I use, among other things, for reflection and dissemination. Below, I have included links to two posts I wrote in Winter, 2009. I believe these posts help to demonstrate how I use my digital space to reflect upon and improve my teaching strategies in full-view and with cooperation of peers & colleagues in my network.
Visualizing Open Networked Teaching – The posts includes visuals and the beginning of a framework for open teaching that I later used in peer reviewed publications. Note, that there are over fifty comments, and the conversation at times feels ‘heated’. However, this type of discourse and disagreement is common in similar online, academic spaces, and can provide very insightful and productive long term thought negotiation.
Visualizing Open Networked Teaching: Revisited – Due the numerous comments, rich feedback, and time for reflection, I improved the framework in the original post. I believe that between these two posts, it is demonstrated how academics can reflect in open spaces, receive feedback from one’s network, and go on to improve a theoretical framework and practice.
Finally, for the 2008 K12 Online Conference, I created a 20 minute, multimedia reflection on my first offering of EC&I 831. The presentation uses humour, history, & reflection to present my pedagogical framework for the course.