Henry Brzeski (cdds03@strath.ac.uk)
Fri, 24 Jul 1998 12:12:20 +0100
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From: "Henry Brzeski" <cdds03@strath.ac.uk> Subject: [ifets] An introduction Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1998 12:12:20 +0100
Dear All
My name is Henry Brzeski and I teach at the University of Strathclyde in
Glasgow, Scotland. I am leaving this position in one weeks time and will
move to the University of Hertfordshire, in England to a post involving
distance learning.
I teach topics concerned with Molecular Biology ie using DNA technology t=
o
understand living systems. At the moment we Molecular Biologists are
sequencing the DNA of anything that moves (sorry we also sequence plants
which don=92t move) and it is necessary to keep all this data in a centra=
l
source for access by anybody. This part is *relatively* simple and the ne=
xt
stage will involve finding out what these sequences do and this will be t=
he
more challenging task. This is all achieved by having central databanks
which allow access over the internet, primarily using the WWW. My job
involves training undergraduates to access and use this data. At present =
I
have been trying to develop course ware which uses the world wide web as =
its
delivery medium for two reasons, firstly because the data is available on
the WWW so it is relatively straightforward to build tutorials to help
access it and secondly as the web and browsers mature they are no longer
simply display oriented but, with plug-ins and javascript, it is possible=
to
make them truly interactive. However, it is obvious to even me, that some
students thrive on this approach but many are deterred by it. A point whi=
ch
has been made far more eloquently and convincingly by many of the previou=
s
responders.
Enough of this rambling. From what I have said above I hope you can see t=
hat
1) I feel that there is a future in using computers in teaching but the
problems of computer-phobes must be addressed.
2) We need to keep the distinction of teaching and learning clear in our
minds then the users of the systems we help to design are clear that they
need to do more than read the text. To paraphrase a learned Chinese perso=
n -
to see is to forget, to hear is to remember, to do is to understand!!!
3) I would like to feel that the systems we help to develop are easily
accessible (ie ideally they should be web based)
4) As previous responders have mentioned it will be necessary to make the
developed courseware =91approachable=92. I am quite happy to talk to my c=
omputer
but many students need a human face. Computers can be used to provide the
monotonous teaching, until you AI guys get things on stream, but then it =
is
time for us humans to come along and provide the tutorials and ask and
answer questions, which is also an important part of learning.
5) The poor performance of computer technology is almost always a due to
students who can=92t cope with the new technology and fail to learn (or a=
t
least that=92s what many of us say). We need to remember that the member =
of
academic staff sitting in the next office to us is probably just as
computerphobic as many of our students and so we need to extend this
crusade not only vertically but horizontally as well. The teaching method=
s
should be easily understood by students AND STAFF.
I am looking forward to some interesting discussions in this group where =
I
can learn about the theories of teaching and how I can use these theories=
to
improve my practical teaching.
Henry Brzeski
University of Strathclyde
31 Taylor Street
Glasgow
G4 0NR
Tel 0141 548 3727
Fax 0141 553 4115
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