Andrea Korens

Sticky notes & Open tabs

Posted on May 1, 2024 by Andrea Korens

I applied for a job recently, and it got me thinking about one of my shortcomings when interviewing with people who don’t know me already. I’m a great synthesizer – I can hear and process many pieces of information, and quickly articulate big-picture meaning in a way that many people have noticed and appreciated asContinue reading “Sticky notes & Open tabs”

The trouble with working in groups

Posted on April 28, 2024 by Andrea Korens

Over the last couple of weeks, my PBL group members and I have been discussing the best ways to cultivate a collaborative learning environment. One concern that came up is how to deal with freeloaders. We discussed this from a teacher perspective, but thinking back on all my experiences with freeloaders (and my own failuresContinue reading “The trouble with working in groups”

Learning a new tool together

Posted on April 8, 2024 by Andrea Korens

I’m embedding the template I’m using to teach FigJam to my PBL group, mainly so I can test functionality and watch how it changes as we play with it. FigJam is very new to me as well, but I find it to be a fun tool so far, Miro-esque with more options for play andContinue reading “Learning a new tool together”

How do gardens grow?

Posted on April 1, 2024 by Andrea Korens

Another of my group members shares my nostalgia for the promise of the early internet, and it has me thinking more about what it was that excited me at the time. I remember poetry, busy background images, card games, forums, and chat rooms. A bit later – music pirating, blogs, early social network sites, skype,Continue reading “How do gardens grow?”

The death of authenticity?

Posted on March 14, 2024 by Andrea Korens

I remember the first time I realized I was interacting with a chatbot customer service agent, rather than a real one. It took a while to figure it out, because many phone/utilities companies outsource their customer service to folks in developing countries, and agents often work from a script – in other words, scripted languageContinue reading “The death of authenticity?”

New learning journeys

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Andrea Korens

It’s always so interesting learning with other educators. I often think about what my fellow learners would be like leading a classroom, as I’m reminded of how different I am as a learner vs. as a teacher. I know I’m a great teacher. My growth trajectory has been to become more learner-centred over the years,Continue reading “New learning journeys”

Final reflection on a Strange Crochet

Posted on May 19, 2021 by Andrea Korens

On brand, I’m running late. But my recent experience with Open Networked Learning in my PBL group has been on my mind. I remember several years back, taking a certificate in online teaching & learning – not a very good program to be fair – one focus was to convince us all of the validityContinue reading “Final reflection on a Strange Crochet”

How are you, really?

Posted on May 12, 2021 by Andrea Korens

On Monday I attended a workshop: “Courageous Conversations” hosted by the East-West Center in Hawaii. “Leaders are often called upon to facilitate meaningful, civil, and sometimes difficult conversations” – and these courageous conversations are more important than ever in an increasingly polarized and divisive society. I see courageous conversations as bridge-builders; the opposite of shamingContinue reading “How are you, really?”

A Strange Crochet Mantle

Posted on May 6, 2021 by Andrea Korens

As the costume designer for our Strange Crochet video production, and taking inspiration from Dr. Marti Cleveland-Innes, teacher as bricoleur, I gathered old materials and brought them together in new ways. Working with these new media, in a different scale, I was clumsy in something that had felt natural to me before. I was forcedContinue reading “A Strange Crochet Mantle”

On Stuckness and Superpowers

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Andrea Korens

Watching the recorded webinar for topic 4 (Design for Online & Blended Learning), I am aware of the privileges I bring from my background area of expertise. Teaching in, and administering an applied program, so many of the principles described explicitly by Dr. Marti Cleveland-Innes are intuitively and implicitly part of my practice. In normalContinue reading “On Stuckness and Superpowers”

Product VS Process

Posted on April 23, 2021 by Andrea Korens

I have been thinking a lot about Product vs. Process in the education world. I find great joy in helping student transcend their results-orientation, if only for a moment, perhaps because I find it so hard to transcend myself. I do this both consciously and intuitively, through curriculum and instructional design, assessment practices, and modeling.Continue reading “Product VS Process”

Focusing energy

Posted on April 18, 2021 by Andrea Korens

Whenever I meet with my group, I feel inspired, refreshed, energized. It’s exactly what I was hoping for, but I don’t have the time to devote myself as much as I’d like – and it leaves me wondering what on earth I’m doing with my time. These days it’s 2-4 evening meetings a week, plusContinue reading “Focusing energy”