Author Topic: Using Escape Artists' Podcasts as teaching material  (Read 28212 times)

Bdoomed

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Reply #25 on: February 12, 2014, 12:28:41 PM
Depends on what kind of meta questions you're asking ;)

Also, would be funny to let the students find this and the rest of the forum on there own and see how much they steal discussion ideas

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


Moritz

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Reply #26 on: February 12, 2014, 04:09:03 PM
Depends on what kind of meta questions you're asking ;)

Also, would be funny to let the students find this and the rest of the forum on there own and see how much they steal discussion ideas

Yeah, I am dreading that, especially because I might need to revisit all my previous posts here...

The questions I have is:
- I need logos, names of the crew, when Escape Pod was launched and so on from an official source. I mean, I could grab all of that info from Wikipedia, but I don't think that's the only source I should use
- it may make sense to forewarn the moderators when course members will show up here and post questions in episode comments of things that ran years ago

By the way, the course is already on our website. Also note we have a seminar named "World of Workcraft"  ::)
http://www.wiwi.europa-uni.de/de/lehrstuhl/mm/ima/lehre/index.html



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Reply #27 on: February 12, 2014, 06:20:56 PM
The questions I have is:
- I need logos, names of the crew, when Escape Pod was launched and so on from an official source. I mean, I could grab all of that info from Wikipedia, but I don't think that's the only source I should use
- it may make sense to forewarn the moderators when course members will show up here and post questions in episode comments of things that ran years ago

1. Pretty sure the Wikipedia entry is updated by folks involved. I just glanced at it and it appears to be accurate.

Quote
Escape Pod is a magazine-style podcast founded by Steve Eley and launched on 12 May 2005 which presents science fiction stories. It has been called "the world's leading science fiction podcast".[1]
About 10 months later Steve Eley created Escape Artists, Inc. to produce Escape Pod and sister podcasts.

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All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”


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Reply #28 on: February 13, 2014, 02:41:46 PM
2. Threadomancy is approved and encouraged, as long as the new members abide by the One Rule.

I love threadomancy.  Sometimes someone will wake up an old thread that hasn't been touched in years and I may not have remembered the story at all until it's brought up again--and can now hear new thoughts about it that bring it back to mind.  :)



Asomatous

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Reply #29 on: February 21, 2014, 06:49:39 AM
I am posting to this thread because I too have an interest in using Escape Pod and other sci-fi to help teach course content. My field is education. More specifically teacher education. I found the recent Escape Pod episode "Inappropriate Behavior" to be particularly insightful as to issues related to communication with autistic spectrum students. I have used a short story by Walter F. Curlie entitled "Billy's Bunter" that appeared in Analog from over a decade ago. I am seeking recommendations (both podcast and written) that might be able to be used to spark thought of give insight into teaching using sci-fi or fantasy genres.

Thanks in advance.



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Reply #30 on: February 21, 2014, 02:50:37 PM
I am posting to this thread because I too have an interest in using Escape Pod and other sci-fi to help teach course content. My field is education. More specifically teacher education. I found the recent Escape Pod episode "Inappropriate Behavior" to be particularly insightful as to issues related to communication with autistic spectrum students. I have used a short story by Walter F. Curlie entitled "Billy's Bunter" that appeared in Analog from over a decade ago. I am seeking recommendations (both podcast and written) that might be able to be used to spark thought of give insight into teaching using sci-fi or fantasy genres.

Thanks in advance.

Any particular topics?  Any writing could probably be used to teach something, but "everything that has ever been written" might be broader of a recommendation than you're looking for.   :)



Varda

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Reply #31 on: February 21, 2014, 03:08:42 PM
I am posting to this thread because I too have an interest in using Escape Pod and other sci-fi to help teach course content. My field is education. More specifically teacher education. I found the recent Escape Pod episode "Inappropriate Behavior" to be particularly insightful as to issues related to communication with autistic spectrum students. I have used a short story by Walter F. Curlie entitled "Billy's Bunter" that appeared in Analog from over a decade ago. I am seeking recommendations (both podcast and written) that might be able to be used to spark thought of give insight into teaching using sci-fi or fantasy genres.

Thanks in advance.
Are you looking for other stories that explore issues in special education and special populations of children?

I think EP# 405 - "Vestigial Girl" would make an excellent introduction to a conversation for educators on speech disorders, and specifically, articulation issues. You could discuss adaptive technology, use of sign language and other forms of nonverbal communication in preverbal children or children whose speech is very difficult to understand due to physical limitations.

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Devoted135

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Reply #32 on: February 21, 2014, 07:52:46 PM
I would also recommend EP314: Movement as an exploration of people who perceive time and the outside world differently.
http://escapepod.org/2011/10/13/ep314/


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Neither yes nor no seems appropriate, so I do not say anything.  Words are such fleeting, indefinite things.  They slip through the spaces between my thoughts and are lost.



Asomatous

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Reply #33 on: February 23, 2014, 12:12:04 AM

Are you looking for other stories that explore issues in special education and special populations of children?


Thank you for asking for clarification. I am interested in all areas of education as an academic discipline. I have used story to help teach challenging content in psychology and philosophy of education. "Billy's Bunter" is specifically about the difference between active rather than passive engagement in the educative process.

I concur that Vestigial Girl is another good example that can be used. Thanks for the recommendation.

I also appreciate Devoted135's suggestion of "Movement." That might be an episode I missed.

Thank you.



matweller

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Reply #34 on: February 23, 2014, 12:53:25 AM
I think you could find themes in almost any episode that would be applicable if they fit your lesson plan. The Homecoming (http://escapepod.org/2012/05/10/ep344-the-homecoming/) is full of interesting themes: dealing with special populations; overcoming anger with patience; descrimination.

I had another in mind, but I lost it. Point is, if you tell us the themes of the lessons, we can probably find you a story or five to fit 'em.



Asomatous

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Reply #35 on: February 24, 2014, 03:48:44 AM
Point is, if you tell us the themes of the lessons, we can probably find you a story or five to fit 'em.

There are a number of concepts I find potential teachers have difficulty grasping until they have been been teaching 5+ years. One is how language is very much a social construct. Watching the interaction of children and how they correct one another's use of language is one way of helping this but a strong story might help the recognition emerge more quickly. Another challenging concept relates to understanding Piagetian developmental differences between adults and children. I have had a very difficult time getting pre-service teachers to understand that concrete operational thinking is not just primitive or inferior to abstract thought but a valuable and needed process humans should go through. A third challenge is getting pre-service teachers familiar with basic philosophical concepts such as existentialism so they can evaluate if such a system of thinking should form the basis of their own teaching philosophy. I used to employ a viewing of a Stat Trek Voyager episode to try to help with this but then students had trouble transferring the ideas presented in the episode to their teaching philosophies. Given that most teachers tend to be overly literal in their interpretation of stories, finding a narrative that piques their imagination has been challenging.

Thanks for your willingness to help.



Moritz

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Reply #36 on: February 27, 2014, 12:33:47 PM
Hey, Asomatous, cool ideas. Maybe when you did do your course we could collaborate on a paper about our teaching experiences  ;D



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Reply #37 on: February 27, 2014, 03:02:48 PM
Asomatous,
I'm not totally sure I grasp what you're looking for, but I don't think that's a flaw in your explanation, I'm just having trouble boiling it down to something that I can easily rattle off a list of episodes for (a one-word like "economics" is easier in that sense)

But I'll take a shot at one episode, in regards to the basis of language as social construct, as self-promotional as it may be:
http://pseudopod.org/2009/11/20/pseudopod-169-the-disconnected/

My story The Disconnected which takes place in a future society where people are heavily networked via phones from the time of their birth, and can see through each others eyes, feel each others emotions, and communicate directly through the medium.  Rare accidents can separate a person from their phone, which leaves them unable to communicate with the general populace so that they have to invent their own language from scratch as adults.



matweller

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Reply #38 on: February 27, 2014, 04:32:33 PM
An extension of that theme would be Feed by MT Anderson -- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003KVKW9U/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B003KVKW9U&linkCode=as2&tag=matweller-20

Of course, 1984, Farenheight 451 and Equilibrium are also all variation on that theme.



Asomatous

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Reply #39 on: March 07, 2014, 04:35:15 AM

But I'll take a shot at one episode, in regards to the basis of language as social construct, as self-promotional as it may be:
http://pseudopod.org/2009/11/20/pseudopod-169-the-disconnected/

My story The Disconnected which takes place in a future society where people are heavily networked via phones from the time of their birth, and can see through each others eyes, feel each others emotions, and communicate directly through the medium.  Rare accidents can separate a person from their phone, which leaves them unable to communicate with the general populace so that they have to invent their own language from scratch as adults.


Thank you so much for the suggestion. I admit I have yet to engage in cross fertilization possible by listening to the other wonderful Escape Artist podcasts. (There are just not enough hours in the day, I tell you.  :'() I will dip my toes in and let you know how I fair [sic?].



Moritz

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Reply #40 on: May 21, 2014, 04:33:45 PM
And the course is over. We have rather short semesters  ;D

So it went rather well. One issue was that as there were no grades, some presentations were rather simple (e.g. didn't really use theory), but in general they engaged with the stories well. Today, during the last lesson, I let the remaining students fill out a questionnaire. This means I have 16 valid questionnaires, which are a bit few for any statistics, but I can check some general tendencies (e.g. "where do you listen to podcasts", "did you listen to any other Escape Artists podcasts during the course", "do you like Science Fiction stories" etc.)

I mentioned this forum today and it seems like none of the students got the idea of checking out the discussions here. I think I will offer this course in the future but might include stronger incentives for active participation. This was a test run with no grade and few credits (3 ECTS), which I can expand, now that I know that in general, the format works and students can deal with it.

"I first thought it was weird to have Science Fiction stories in class. Then I listened to my group's story and it actually all made sense!"



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Reply #41 on: May 22, 2014, 01:50:54 PM
Did you assign particular stories?  Which stories did they listen to?  :)



Moritz

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Reply #42 on: May 22, 2014, 07:35:23 PM
Week 1: From Babel's Fall'n Glory We Fled... (Michael Swanwick), Escape Pod
Week 2: Accounting for Dragons (Eric James Stone), Podcastle
Week 3: Nano Comes to Clifford Falls (Nancy Kress), Escape Pod
Week 3: The Tamarisk Hunter (Paolo Bacigalupi), Escape Pod
Week 4: Dragonomics (Lance Shonberg), Cast of Wonders
Week 4: The Cambis and Lord Iron (Daniel Abraham), Podcastle
Week 5: Anakoinosis (Tobias Buckell); Dunesteef
Week 5: Special Economics (Maureen F. McHugh), Clark's World
Week 6: Anda's Game (Cores Doctorow), Podiobooks
Week 6: Patent Infringement (Nancy Kress), Escape Pod
Week 7: Just Do It (Heather Lindsley), Escape Pod
Week 7: Tk'tk'tk (David D. Levine), Escape Pod

Week 1 was just as an excerpt, because the story features a short part on supply/ demand, the very short Accounting fro Dragons in Week 2 was used to show how to edit stories in Audacity. I've since found a couple of more stories which might be included in future versions (e.g. EP 242: The Love Quest of Smidgen the Snack Cake).
Students could self assign for the story and week (groups of three), I told them the general economics/ management topic beforehand.



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Reply #43 on: May 29, 2014, 01:12:51 PM
Ooohh,  if you teach another class like this I remembered another very relevant story, "How I Crippled a World for Just 0.01 Cents"
http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/06/25/drabblecast-247-how-i-crippled-a-world-for-just-0-01-cents/

A major component of the story is a change to patent law that would allow scientific discoveries to be patented by their discoverers so that anyone who used those discoveries for further scientific advancement would have to pay royalties, and the effect this would have on future scientific advancement.



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Reply #44 on: June 11, 2014, 03:50:05 PM
Here's Moritz's thoughts about the class posted on Diabolical Plots:
http://www.diabolicalplots.com/?p=6779



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Reply #45 on: July 28, 2014, 05:47:33 PM
This obviously wouldn't be suitable for listening in a class, but I'm reading Charles Stross's novel Neptune's Brood right now, which has a lot of worldbuilding based around economics of an interstellar civilization and I've found it really interesting. In particular, how to deal with communications limited to lightspeed without cheating.  There are no ansibles, no wormholes, no anything else to work around it.  They just have to deal with the lightspeed limit.

I am not educated enough in economics to know if it's plausible but it all seems very reasonable and is explained at a level accessible to a layman like myself.



Moritz

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Reply #46 on: September 18, 2014, 06:10:23 AM
Here's Moritz's thoughts about the class posted on Diabolical Plots:
http://www.diabolicalplots.com/?p=6779


If anyone is going to the European International Business Academy's annual meeting in Uppsala, Sweden this December, I am also giving a talk about it there (I just got the confirmation on Tuesday).