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House of Uhuru Course Report -August 05, 2005
Instructors: Morgan Buchek, Leigh Spriggs, Dwight, David Carlson
Please give a general overview of the course including how well the curriculum worked and what didn't work and how well it served the students and any additional comments. Please include one or two narratives on stories of transformation for both students and instructors. Include also any other stories of challenges and triumph in the classroom. Make a separate report for internal use only, which includes your suggestions on curriculum adjustments and ways to improve the overall program. Send to your team for comments. Please submit this report to the director via email no later than one week after the graduation event.
Having joined the course two weeks into the curriculum and one week absent, I only have three teaching sessions on which to base my report.
Curriculum: The curriculum seemed to fit the needs of most of the students. The Mavis Beacon appears to be the most beneficial in terms if immediate need and immediate improvement, since typing skills in my opinion are of utmost importance in terms of computer proficiency. It is obvious the students like the program because they can improve their skills so quickly, (and typing fast is just plain fun!).
The outline and paper requirement I believe is also vital because it stretches the students to think on their own.
The Computer Discovery terms are essential for building the students' technical vocabulary, and when they hear the terms in the workforce or wherever, it will build their confidence having learned it before.
The Modules are also very informative, although I believe there is room for improvement, explained below.
My recommendations based on my short experience is to provide alongside the Word modules, specific, clear, and detailed tasks to complete. More specifically, (as I attached in an email document), provide in the modules on Word a clear task dealing with fonts, sizing, and spacing (for example: type this paragraph exactly as you see it in this handout). Word is perhaps the most-used computer program, and student progress in this area should not be minimized. Along with their training in Word, the students can incorporate a title page for their paper by following a clear visual representation for what a title page should look like (in terms of spacing, font, etc.) It is my estimate that in printing out a matching title page to the handout example, the students will feel a sense of pride and accomplishment in what they have achieved, no matter how small.
Kathleen has mentioned several times incorporating internet into the curriculum, which I think is absolutely necessary. In doing this, I again feel strongly that we should have clear, specific tasks for the students to accomplish. (For example, create an email account in hotmail using your first and last name, write an email, send an email, and add contacts. . . also, find 3 different job search sites using 1) google 2) yahoo and 3) msn.) By doing this, we are equipping them to use the internet in ways that will be most vital to their success outside of H of U.
I don't really have any stories of significance to draw from.
My only other suggestion would be to encourage an instructor to stand at the back of the room at all times to be able to watch what students are doing on their computers. By doing this, the instructors will be able to identify who is confused, who is distracted, and who is bored, and adjust teaching accordingly. Course Reports
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