haiku LMS

Ann Hostetler, Ph.D. teaches English and Creative Writing at Goshen College in Goshen, IN.  She is the author of Empty Room with Light and the editor of A Cappella: Mennonite Voices in Poetry. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. She is also a scholar of American ethnic literature and received a Ph.D. in English from the University of Pennsylvania. Currently she is working on a series of poems about the artist and model Suzanne Valadon. 

We asked her to talk about her experience with teaching and technology and how Haiku LMS  has affected her teaching.

As a teacher of literature, creative writing, and numerous interdisciplinary and theme-based courses at a small liberal arts college, I have found Haiku to be a flexible, user-friendly, and invaluable tool for organizing resources for my students.  With Haiku, I can put files, web links, course information, images, videos, and mp3 files all in one organized, accessible space. 

My students always have access to the most recent version of the syllabus, all course documents, and lecture notes. In turn, they can post their responses to assignments, turn in papers, send me emails, and communicate with each other.  With Haiku, I can post grades and instantly score assessments I've created just for this course.  After using Haiku for over a year now in all of my courses, it's hard to imagine teaching without it!

What is your first recollection of what you would consider "technology in the classroom"?  How did it impact you?

I've been teaching long enough that my first experiences with technology in the classroom were ditto masters and slide projectors.  Being able to copy materials and show images have been important tools in teaching for a long time. 

Powerpoint was the "great leap forward" for many teachers, including me.  Course communication and organization software such as Blackboard or Moodle has now become standard for many college teachers. Haiku enables teachers to combine all of these features in a visually attractive format.

How does technology in the classroom impact you, the teacher, today?  How does it impact the learner?

Even though I use technology frequently, depending on the resources available in the classroom I'm assigned, I still like to organize the learning space and put the human relationships between students and teacher at the center of my classroom.  Tools such as Haiku create access to resources for all students, and help them stay informed outside of class as well as in class.  Haiku discussion boards can enhance and extend classroom conversations, as can the visual interfaces.  When students can access materials on the web through an organizing tool like Haiku, it helps them to feel powerful, but also keeps them on track.  They begin to see connections between the selected materials, and can also contribute to and create materials of their own.

How will technology continue to evolve the classroom five years out?  Ten years out?

I'm certain that technology will continue to be a tool for teaching that extends the classroom onto each student's personal computer. However, I think distance learning has also taught us that human contact and modeling, as well as a live community of learners, is an irreplaceable core of effective teaching.

What are the greatest limitations of teaching with technology? What are your greatest concerns?

The greatest limitations of technology occur when people mistakenly think that a virtual space can replace the rich and multi-layered learning that can happen in a live setting where students can interact through dialog and discussion.  However, there are many ways in which technology can enhance, and sometimes even simulate, to a degree, this interactive environment.

What are the greatest benefits of teaching with technology? What excites you the most?

I like the ways in which a good web interface can give the students a sense that the world is "at their fingertips." Research has become a part of daily life. Because of the nature of the internet, it's also imperative that critical thinking and discernment about sources and their potential biases be taught along with internet use.

What advice or quote do you keep close to your heart as a teacher?

Teaching is above all about respect and listening to others.  Technology has given me the tools for better understanding my students, and has enabled them to deepen their in-class discussions. However, it is the human encounter that is always at the center of the experience. 

"Be the change you want to see in the world."
--Mahatma Gandhi

"Try to love the questions themselves, as though they were locked rooms"
--Rainer Maria Rilke