Free Access to Education

Going into university, I had a clear idea of what I wanted to study and the job I hoped to have upon finishing—major in English Literature, followed by Teacher Education, and a permanent job teaching high school English.  There was space in my first year schedule for a lot of electives, so I studied Linguistics, Psychology, Religious Studies and even Mathematics, along with my English courses. I ended up with a minor in Psychology but I completed enough courses in Math to qualify for a teachable. University was my first opportunity to explore fields of study other than those offered in the high school curriculum, and I am still surprised by some of the courses I ended up enjoying.

A few years ago, iTunes introduced a new category of content that made it easy to explore education-based content, at an ideal price—free. Some universities and colleges now use iTunes U as a platform to post course content, including lectures and podcasts. In university, I would search the site for audio versions of novels I was studying. I would listen to them on the bus because the 45 minute trip to school was valuable time that couldn't be wasted when I had to read a new novel each week.

This free access to educational material has started an interesting trend that could potentially have a huge impact on both the education system and the work force. By posting lectures and educational videos, schools are essentially giving everybody the opportunity to study at prestigious schools, like Harvard, and explore subjects that interest them at the post-secondary level.

The Nerdwriter , a vlogger and writer, discusses pacing in stories and life, as a way of introducing  his audience to iTunes U. 

As a teacher, I support the effort to make information widely available, and I like that it encourages people of all ages to explore subjects that interest them. However, I wonder what place these courses, and others that will be developed in the future, might eventually come to have in our professional lives.

Traditionally, an education from schools like Harvard suggest a certain level of intelligence or prestige. One day, will we be considered for promotions because we downloaded lectures from sources like iTunes U, and completed a course or program? Further, will we be able to list these courses under headings like "Additional Qualifications" on our resume?

Even in a university setting, some students will attend all lectures, listen attentively and complete all assignments, and they will still not pass the course. If education is going to shift in this new direction, we will need to find some way of evaluating how much people are actually learning.

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Allison Godin

is a student, teacher, and life-long learner. She currently teaches high school with the Ottawa Catholic School Board. Allison studied English Literature and Education at the University of Ottawa. If she won the lottery she would spend her time tutoring and volunteering in a second-hand bookstore.

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The Classroom as Art (pt.2)

In "The Classroom as Art (pt.1)", I introduced "The Pedagogical Impulse", a creation-research project that is looking at the incorporation of art in education. Hannah Jickling and Helen Reed were artists-in-residence with a classroom project that has come to be known as "Multiple Elementary". While the structure and direction of the project evolved throughout the process, one of the ultimate goals was to create an "art project" with the class by the end of the 6 month period.

One of the topics the class explored was the process of making chocolate — a subject that is inherently interesting for kids. Each piece of chocolate bought in stores is a multiple of an original design, essentially art. The class visited two factories that produce chocolate, Cadbury and Chocosol. In preparation for these trips, the students learned about the chocolate making process; including where the beans are grown, what is considered fair-trade, and the child labour concerns in cocoa production — all concepts that can be tied to the Social Studies Curriculum. At the factories, they listened to presentations, participated in workshops and even helped make some dark chocolate. Because the students were so well prepared, they were even able to stump the presenters with some informed questions.

For their final "art project", each student designed and crafted a mold and used it to make ten chocolate multiples (about the size of the palm of your hand), called "Ask Me Chocolates". The designs reflected some aspect of the 6-month project. The packaging featured write-ups, written by the students, explaining why they chose their design, and interesting information they had learned during the project.

Students and teachers from the school were invited to come to a "sale" where they could make a trade for the chocolate. Just like the Bliz-aard Ball Sale (1983) inspired snowball experiment they participated in at the start of the project, the students determined what they considered the value of their art to be. Some traded for objects like a light saber, while others offered less tangible payment such as skateboard lessons. However, one teacher tried to trade an old birthday hat and an orange for the students' chocolate — surprisingly there were no takers.

Many teachers have turned to technology to engage students, but this project is a great example of the other methods that are available. The supervisors of this program were able to discuss curriculum concepts in a context that was interesting and meaningful to the participating students.

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Allison Godin

is a student, teacher, and life-long learner. She currently teaches high school with the Ottawa Catholic School Board. Allison studied English Literature and Education at the University of Ottawa. If she won the lottery she would spend her time tutoring and volunteering in a second-hand bookstore.

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The Classroom as Art (pt.1)

My elementary school art class was a welcome break from times tables and science lessons, and often produced seasonal decorations for the classroom (poppies, multi-coloured leaves, snowflakes etc.) or cards to give to our parents on upcoming holidays. Yes, a certain amount of creativity was encouraged but, ultimately, students were being asked to reproduce an object. When I got to high school, Visual Arts was the course I selected, out of three or four options, to fill the Grade 9 arts credit required to graduate. We had more freedom to experiment, but the focus of the assignments was mastery of determined techniques.

Modern theories of learning emphasize the importance of engaging students and encouraging them to explore aspects of a topic or issue that interests them. While many teachers now try to engage their students through the incorporation of technology, the role of art in education is also being explored.

"The Pedagogical Impulse" is a creation-research project, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), looking at the relationship between art and education. Artists Hannah Jickling and Helen Reed shared their experience participating in this project at a presentation on September 28th, 2013 hosted by the Carleton University Art Gallery. "Multiple Elementary," as this particular project is now called, was a collaborative art project with a Grade 6 class in Toronto.

Since this project took place during class time, those involved felt that it was necessary to draw links to the Ontario curriculum. They used the Social Studies strand, "Canada's Links to the World," as a starting point. Beyond this, there was no schedule or determined goal for the time spent at the school. The plan evolved as they explored ideas that interested and engaged the students.

They started their exploration by considering a performance piece by David Hammons, titled Bliz-aard Ball Sale (1983). In this piece, he made and sold varying sizes of snowballs on the streets of New York City, in the middle of winter. This led to a conversation on the real and determined value of art. The class recreated this experience by making their own snowballs and trying to sell them on a Toronto street. This required the students to determine a value for their product and consider what a valid payment would be. While they did manage to find people willing to pay money for their snowballs, others offered trades for objects in their pockets, such as gum or buttons. Ultimately, the transaction considered to be most valuable (and enjoyable) by the students was the trade of a snowball for a dance.

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Allison Godin

is a student, teacher, and life-long learner. She currently teaches high school with the Ottawa Catholic School Board. Allison studied English Literature and Education at the University of Ottawa. If she won the lottery she would spend her time tutoring and volunteering in a second-hand bookstore.

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The Flipped Classroom

Desktops to tablets. Blackboards to SMART boards. Lecture to discussion. These are just some of the ways that learning has changed in the short time since I was a high-school student.

If your math classes were anything like mine, you will remember copying notes off the chalkboard or overhead projector. The teacher would go through sample problems as a class, then assign questions to complete on your own at home. Usually the first few would be simple enough, but eventually the questions would get more difficult, requiring you to manipulate equations and solve problems.

While I appreciated the predictability, other students use words like "mind-numbing" or "terrifying" to describe their high-school math courses. These negative associations likely come from not fully understanding the material that was taught and, as a result, struggling through the courses. So, if class time could be used to tackle those more difficult questions, it would allow students to work with their peers and ask their teacher questions, if they need further explanation.

It is this idea that has prompted some teachers to shift to a new learning structure, referred to as "The Flipped Classroom." In this model, students spend "homework" time being introduced to the topic, using resources provided by the teacher. Then, in class the next day, students can spend valuable time with the teacher, asking questions and collaborating with other students.

How the students are learning the concept is also very important. Some teachers create their own tools, but others use resources that are becoming more widely available online. I was introduced to Khan Academy while watching a TED Talk, from 2011, given by the founder, Salman Khan. For anyone unfamiliar with this popular website, Mr. Khan started out making videos of math concepts to help tutor his cousins long-distance. Other people started watching his videos and sending comments. Teachers told him that they had begun assigning the videos for homework. This way the students learn the lesson portion of the class at their own speed. Students are able to pause the video to take notes on the lesson, and they can also rewind it if they missed something or simply want to hear it again.  Khan Academy now features more than 2,000 videos covering a broad range of subjects.

Click here for more information on "The Flipped Classroom" and Khan Academy.

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Allison Godin

is a  student, teacher, and life-long learner. She currently teaches high school with the Ottawa Catholic School Board. Allison studied English Literature and Education at the University of Ottawa. If she won the lottery she would spend her time tutoring and volunteering in a second-hand bookstore.

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