COLTT 2014 Conference Summary

Guest post by Sally Cordrey, Technology Specialist, ITS Center for Academic Technology, Regis University.

You’re Holding it Wrong: Fixing Lectures Online and In the Classroom, David Thomas, UCD

This presenter has presented at COLTT in the past and he is one of my favorites. He is very engaging, creative, and gives out prizes in his classes!

Abstract: Most lectures are a drag, recorded lectures are really a drag, yet teachers love lectures and students claim to like them. Question: What’s going on? This interactive session explains what is wrong with the lecture, what we can do about it, how to make the lecture work effectively both in the classroom and, more importantly, online.

 What lectures work? TEDTalks – no more than 18 minutes, well-rehearsed 50 times before recorded, experts tell stories, present ideas.

We are experts – how we think, work, act.

The key to a good lecture is modelling – demonstrate those things! How you think, how you work, how you act. Use visuals, objects, tell stories to bring content to life, make it relevant, memorable. Use real-time problem solving, case studies. Think out loud, give the students a peek inside of your head.

Don’t cover the material in the textbook or what is available on the internet and don’t lecture in a closed discussion, make it interactive. Use simple PowerPoints with good quality graphics, photos and few words.

Always answer, “If I had to do it over again, this is how I would do it!”