I have a very eclectic background. My teaching philosophy has been forged through lots of trial and error, after reading lots of books and attending classes on what was definitely the “best” way to teach, then experiencing that what was in the textbooks didn’t always translate well to the students. Finally, I found that the way that worked for me was to listen to the students and adapt to their method of learning. I use a lot of questions in working with students and encourage us to go on a “journey” of learning and discovery together, I’m not afraid to be directive at first so the students have a clear idea of expectations, but then I quickly try to “vanish” my direction and let them be self-guided as soon as possible.
My Credentials-
In teaching, the proof is the results of what we do. I always like to point to my students as the proof that something, despite all my mistakes and weaknesses, worked. I was originally trained as a music teacher (I love the arts) and then through a series of events, I ended up home-schooling my four children (a girl and three boys) up to college (over 18 years of teaching). They became- an ER nurse (BSN, CCRN, RN, EMT, FEMA emergency specialist), an attorney (who was a world class classical guitarist, winning the MTNA national competitions in college as a classical guitar major), a supply chain manager (who at the age of 20 was running all of Unilever’s exports to Puerto Rico and is now a fairly high level manager at Crane Engineering (an aero-space firm) at the age of 26), and a 3D graphic designer/programmer (who worked for a few start-up firms as a 3D graphic designer before getting a steady job with Jackson National Life as a programmer). They are all married and I have three grandchildren (2 girls and a boy).
My Professional Profile-
What was originally a promise to my father, while I was taking caring for him as he was dying of cancer, to write his biography, became a journey I never thought would happen. After I went back to school to sharpen my writing skills I found that I loved writing and working in the digital environment. It allowed me to communicate beyond words-- incorporating color, design, interactivity, art, and even sometimes music-- to communicate to people. I started working at the Writing Center at Lansing Community College (LCC) to help pay for my tuition and found that I loved working with the adult student as much as I have always loved working with children. So after completing associate’s degrees in Web Site Design and Creative Writing at LCC, my bachelor’s with a double major in Computer Information Management and Management at Northwood University. Now I am in the Master’s program in the Telecommunications, Information Studies and Media department working in Computer Information Management with a cognate in Internet, Society, and Policy.
I have an assistantship at the MSU Writing Center, work part time for the LCC Writing Center, tutor writing for students at Siena Heights University, tutor a student in Taiwan, have my own Web-Site design firm (Beachcomber Design, LLC), and currently am consulting on a Web-based software project for the Michigan Hospital Association (along with being a full-time grad student). For fun I love to travel, hang out at the beach or by the pool over in Muskegon and Grand Haven, play guitar with a contemporary music band for our church, cook, and most of all play with my grandkids.
Places I Love to Go-
In the Online environment I have learned to really appreciate some tools that I previously dismissed- Twitter can be a great way to keep up on areas that are of interest to me and quickly see if I want to learn more-
My Twitter feeds-
@Ruth@MSU
@2012MWCA (for the Michigan Writing Center Conference I am coordinating in the fall)
@NetworkedTogether (to link with my blog)
My Blog-
NetworkedTogether.com
My Professional Site-
Flipboard- amazing app for iPads and iPhones, their design articles and technology feeds are very good
Wired.com- everything digital, organic, amazing scary stuff (check out Danger Room and try to read it without the music for Terminator or the Matrix going in your head)
WritingCenters.org- great articles
Real Places I love to go to get inspired digitally-
British Library and the British Museum
Salisbury
Musee du Louvre
Apple Stores (this one is in Paris)
Overview of an Article that Reflects my teaching Philosophy-
Build my own app-
I actually would eventually like to build my own app with the help of my son. However, to give it away here would ruin the marketability.
The second thing I would like to do is to be a part of a team to help build a better delivery system for educational material. It would be nice to have a portal like Angel/Blackboard/Desire2Learn that could be a one stop place for the educator as well as the student.
My dream site would have-
- F2F interactivity, like Adobe Connect or Skype
- Responsive chatting
- Content management
- Testing design with various levels of feedback and random question programability
- Visually appealing layout, like Blogger
- Simple interface, like Facebook
- Feeds that update to a mobile device, like Twitter
- Interface with the User in mind, like Apple
--if we could design this, we would be rich
Wow! Thanks Ruth!
ReplyDeleteI had meant for each of these to be a separate post. But perhaps you can expand on them each a bit more as we go along? Especially as the readings we do begin to inform your view of technology, pedagogy, and the ways the two are related.