MY DECADE OF MISTAKESFour Things I Did Wrong as an OL

Teacher

Alyson Indrunas

Director of eLearning & Instructional Design

Everett Community College

IGNIS Webinar

February 5, 2015

Presenter’s Ethos: You’ve Been

Warned

Google Doc. Invitation

1. Are you so comfortable with Collaborate that you could teach somebody else how to use it?

2. Do you live to multi-task?

3. Do you bomb chat windows with ideas when you attend webinars?

If you answered NO to any one of these questions, stay here. The Google Doc. will be there later. Sip your coffee. Listen.

If you answered #YessyYesYes!! then click on the link Alissa will provide in the chat.

#TrueConfession

I have several degrees

from WA state. AA, BA,

MA, M.Ed.

My adjunct era is

beautifully summarized in

more optimistic terms than

I can tell it by Josh Boldt.

(Linked on the Google

Doc.)

Vitae’s “How I Got Out:

One Adjunct’s Journey

From Freeway Flyer to

eLearning Director”

10 Years Ago…

“We need people to teach online, and nobody

else wants to do it. I’m getting desperate.

Interested?”

“Just put all of your handouts online and write

lectures to connect them. Shouldn’t take that

long. You’re a writing teacher, right?”

Five Years Later…

I never got bumped as an adjunct. “Bumped” is

a euphemistic scheduling term that we use to

describe being outranked. None of the full-

timers wanted to teach online when I started,

and many to this day still do not.

I was very lucky during an unlucky era. It’s

tough to get a foot in the door at some

institutions. See Hint For Adjuncts on Google

Doc.

Two years ago…

Now…

Note the multi-tasking smile.

The ungodly high heels.

C’est moi!

Reflecting On Work

Really. This is more like it.

How *Most* Teachers Feel About

Educational Technology

Mistake n.

1. an action or judgment that is misguided or

wrong.

Used in a sentence:

“Thinking I have all the answers for improving

OL education is a mistake.”

Synonyms:

error, fault, inaccuracy, omission, slip, blunder,

miscalculation, misunderstanding, oversight,

flub, goof

Where I Started

I Had A Lot To Learn

Mistake #1: Oversight

Solution #1: Be Creative

Try course redesigns in three week

or unit chunks. In one year, you’ll

have an entire course.

Split the labor with a like-minded

colleague and accept that you

compete in the same job market.

Find a cool full-timer who is bored

of the departmental drama.

Work together in a Canvas master

course. Ask your eLearning

Director.

Collaborate with a librarian.

Always remember, you’re not alone. Ask Jen,

Alissa, or anyone at the SBCTC. They can help

you connect with other teachers.

Mistake #2: Error in Practice

“I signed up for your hybrid

class, Ms. Indrunas, because

it seems like your OL students

hate you.”

~Former

rateyourprofessor.com

Researcher

I decided to start anew, to strip

away what I had been taught.

~Georgia O’Keefe

Mistake #2: Fault

Mistake #2: Inaccurate

Perspective

Solution #2

Establish a personal learning

network.

Show your students how you

use the Internet to research.

Guide them in your discipline

through eFlood of information

on the Internet.

Think of your students as

citizens and not just people

you’ve been hired to teach.

Be honest with them.

Mistake #3: Miscalculation

Mistake #3: Goof

Solution #3

It’s okay to say:

Someday, just not today.

Do one thing to improve.

Always take the time to look around to

connect with like-minded people.

If you do one thing experimental, do it in

one section.

Take note of what’s difficult and make

friends with somebody who has figured it

out.

Mistake #4: Blunder

Always remember you’re the content expert.

You are providing the materials for students

to create their own meaning.

You can give them patterns to practice.

Mistake #4: Misunderstanding

Solution #4

Put your students to work!

Have them make checklists of the activities

that you would like them to do each week.

Ask that they share their study guides.

Use what they write in your teaching. Creating

one short recording summarizing their

contribution to the course goes along way.

Share with them why you love your discipline

when they discover a “new thought” that

excites you.

Don’t miss the joy and fun of learning.

Thank you, IGNIS!

Alyson Indrunas

aindrunas@everettcc.edu

Twitter: @AlysonIndrunas

Blog: https://spokeandhub.wordpress.com/

EvCC Humanities Lecture

ATL Winter Retreat

ATL Pre-Conference Workshop

WHETC Conference

NISOD Conference

Institute for New Faculty Development