Is this forum still alive?

[Dan.Morrill]

Hello Everyone,
So I do teach at a couple of colleges, one full-time and one part-time, and both are heavily CompTIA A+, N+, and Sec+. Like all colleges I've seen lately, it's all Cengage and Jill West all the time.
If this forum is still alive and anyone is interested, do you want to compare notes?

The biggest challenges I'm seeing right now are having students do the labs, which can take 20 minutes to an hour (ACI Labs), depending, and in a world of TikTok-induced ability to focus, that might be an issue.

If not, just saying Hi!
Dan

 

[Jill West]

Hi Dan! I'm alive and would love to compare notes

 

[Gregory Childers]

Hello Everyone,
So I do teach at a couple of colleges, one full-time and one part-time, and both are heavily CompTIA A+, N+, and Sec+. Like all colleges I've seen lately, it's all Cengage and Jill West all the time.
If this forum is still alive and anyone is interested, do you want to compare notes?

The biggest challenges I'm seeing right now are having students do the labs, which can take 20 minutes to an hour (ACI Labs), depending, and in a world of TikTok-induced ability to focus, that might be an issue.

If not, just saying Hi!
Dan

If they can't focus, they may not be cut out for this line of work.

 

[Dan.Morrill]

If they can't focus, they may not be cut out for this line of work.

Yah, but we don't get much of a choice on who we teach, we just have to teach them to the best of our ability. And focus is a thing, do you have any ideas on how to improve focus for students? Could they put on some lo-fi concentration music, maybe from YouTube?

 

[Shea Bennett]

If they can't focus, they may not be cut out for this line of work.

Exactly! Someone with focus will eat their TikTok loving lunch while they watch their videos and complain how long the Food Bank line is...smh

 

[Shea Bennett]

I start my class with a slide of two lines.

One line is going into a Food Bank/Homeless Shelter and the other is at a Job fair. I then say your ability to have discipline, focus and finish your education will determine which line your going to stand in.

 

[Rick Butler]

Yep, we're still going out here. Probably not as much chatter as of late, but I still check in generally once a day, as others do.

Would love to get some more chatter going, of course. Real stuff, not noise...etc etc....

Happy Tuesday masquerading as a Monday (at least for the US and a few other places....)

/r

 

[Gregory Childers]

Yah, but we don't get much of a choice on who we teach, we just have to teach them to the best of our ability. And focus is a thing, do you have any ideas on how to improve focus for students? Could they put on some lo-fi concentration music, maybe from YouTube?

I tell them they have two choices:

Focus and work hard, or AI will take your job

 

[Laurie Seeder]

Yah, but we don't get much of a choice on who we teach, we just have to teach them to the best of our ability. And focus is a thing, do you have any ideas on how to improve focus for students? Could they put on some lo-fi concentration music, maybe from YouTube?

Hi Dan,

I teach college as well and yes, they have trouble focusing. Many of my students are on the spectrum and many have ADD or ADHD, so I feel your frustration. I've some on the spectrum that once they 'get into it' their focus is good; others get so frustrated they quit (mostly because of the theory courses like SAD). In my face-to-face classes when they are doing the labs, I do play concentration music from YouTube. Some I let listen to their own music (as long as they are continuing to work) with headphones or earbuds, but it has to be so that I can't hear it. I've usually learned their habits and abilities by the end of their first semester and know who can listen to their own and who can handle the YouTube music. I play the classics (Mozart, Beethoven, etc); by the third semester they might request music (no lyrics of course) and as long as it's not heavy metal or hard rock, I'll play it. I've also found 'programming' music and other tech concentration music. When there's a challenging lab, we do it as a class (or whoever needs to do it with help).
Hope this helps.

 

[John Munjoma]

Hi Dan,
It's easy to see how this has become a widespread challenge for instructors. Student engagement now requires more than delivering content. It requires relevance. I usually connect lab activities to real job adverts so students can clearly see how each skill is demanded and how it applies in the workplace. By linking labs to actual job descriptions, students shift from passive learning to understanding how their work prepares them for employment. It takes extra effort to do things this way, but it significantly improves motivation, focus, and real-world readiness.

 

[Brandon G]

Yah, but we don't get much of a choice on who we teach, we just have to teach them to the best of our ability. And focus is a thing, do you have any ideas on how to improve focus for students? Could they put on some lo-fi concentration music, maybe from YouTube?

Excellent remark. You have the play the cards you are dealt. I've taught traditional and non-traditional students in higher education and proprietary schools. From a focus standpoint, you have to meet them where they're at. For me, it asking about their majors or interest in the IT field. During lectures and labs, I've used their interests to zero in on specific areas. Their attention is drawn in and maintained because it ties into current goals, and aspirations.