Images of good teaching
Footage online
Archives of classroom lectures, experiments and teaching activities have been created through a number of initiatives. New faculty members can use these in a number of ways, including as examples of how they might approach a topic, or to watch and analyze with colleagues for strengths and weaknesses, or even as a link for students to watch as part of a larger unit of instruction. Whatever way they are employed, these collections offer access to images of instruction that help us develop as university instructors.
Instructors in the movies
New faculty members can begin to craft an image of themselves as instructors by watching others teach. Numerous movies have been made about teachers or set in classrooms. By analyzing teaching styles and the impact on student learning we are able to hone in on ourselves as teachers, whether identifying strategies we wish to emulate, or those we would never use. Instructors in the movies enable us to begin this dialogue with ourselves and our colleagues.
Online Archives of Teaching
YouTube Edu
Logging on to the Ivy League, Time Magazine (April, 2009)
YouTube launched this education hub in Spring 2009, dedicated to official channels created by more than 100 schools.
iTunes U
More than 170 schools offer content free since 2004.
OpenCourseWare Consortium
This online content attracts prospective students, keeps alumni connected and encourages innovation.
AcademicEarth.org
Lets users give lectures letter grades, this small closely edited site assembles playlists of related lectures like “wars throughout history.”
TED.com
This site broadcasts talks given by innovators in the fields of technology, entertainment and design.
Research Channel
Consortium of reading institutions
A consortium of leading research and academic institutions share with the public more than 3,500 videos produced by its members.
Videolectures.Net
Jozef Stefan Institute in Slovenia
This site offers video lectures by distinguished scholars and scientists at conferences, seminars and workshops, with a decidedly international feel.
Webcast.berkeley
University of California Berkeley
This site offers recordings from lecture halls and classrooms equipped with video or podcast capture systems. It includes lectures, debates, symposiums and other events.
Harvard@home
Harvard University
This site features more than 60 multimedia-rich programs on topics ranging from stem cells to Beethoven.
Nobel Prize Winners
Nobel website
This site is packed with interviews and lectures by some of the world’s smartest people.
University of Maryland Medical Center
University of Maryland
This audio/video library includes interviews with UMMC experts, patient success stories, and surgical webcasts.
History.com
History Channel
This online counterpart of the History Channel has a comprehensive video library.
Professors Portrayed in Movies
Great Movie Teachers? Class is in Session
Forget Mr. Holland, Johnny Castle is much better at showing you the moves.
The Professor’s Tenured Position at Hollywood U
Hornaday, A., Staff writer (April, 2008). The Washington Post
This article examines the images of professors portrayed in a number of movies.
Teaching and the Movies
Howarth, M., Lalor, S. & Davidson, L. (November, 2005). Curriculum Leadership, an electronic journal for leaders in education.
Three pre-service teachers at the University of New England write papers reflecting on the representation of teachers in popular films.
Six Great Films about Teaching
Thornbury, S., Six Things, a Miscellany of English Language Teaching
This award winning author shares six films about good teaching, which he asserts are rare. Often Hollywood tends to either caricature or sentimentalize teachers and classroom interaction as in Dead Poets’ Society or The History of Boys.
Four Example Lecture Picks from Life Section of Time Magazine, April 27, 2009:
Physics: Classical Mechanics
Lewin, W. MIT. Available on: YouTube Edu, iTunes U, Academic Earth
Highlight: a death-defying wrecking ball trick.
English: The American Novel since 1945
Hungerfor, A., Yale University. Available on: YouTube Edu, Academic Earth
Highlight: Musings on Jack Kerouac’s mystique.
History: Geography of U.S. Elections
Lewis, M., Stanford University. Available on: YouTube Edu, iTunes U
Highlight: a dissection of red and blue states.
Statistics: Debunking Third-World Myths
Rosling, H., Gapminder Foundation. Available on: TED.com
Highlight: a cool-looking statistics slide show.
Online Courses
Learning Center
Hewlett Packard, online courses
Acquire many skills from mastering Google desktop to organizing your time. Each class offers up to ten lessons, with interactive demos, assignments and quizzes.
BBC Learning
BBC
This site offers audio and video courses for beginners and intermediates for more than two dozen languages.
Case Studies of Teaching
MERLOT Elixr Initiative
Center for Distributed Learning, California State University System
This digital case story repository of institutional topics identified as important to faculty development includes: understanding our students, course design, teaching with technology, and assessment.
Some of These Links Come From:
A Collection of Online Learning Tools, AARP Bulletin (January / February, 2010) Vol. 51 No. 1
