PicLits is a site for finding creative writing prompts. PicLits aims to provide inspiration for writing short stories. PicLits tries to reach this goal by providing users with images upon which they can build their writing.
think about what has been your traditional way of having the students create something. Do you feel, when you look at their final product, that they are mostly all the same? If so, then using one of the digital tools available is your answer.
Keep the same requirements but give the students some choices by offering a variety a presentation tools and let them teach you some new things about technology. Also, let them drive their learning, become more engaged and as a result inspire others to do the same.
Digital storytelling encourages creativity; having that choice inspires curiosity and will help to diminish the fear of trying something new.
This synchronous online course will introduce school administrators to the multitude and complexity of educational technology issues. Through group discussions and exercises, the course will focus on the development of knowledge, skills and depositions to effective professional practice in educational leadership. The goal of the course is to develop knowledge and understanding of appropriate application of technology in the teaching and learning process and in the management of educational programs.
Information and experience in the course will include review of the latest trends in technology. Familiarity to acquisition of expertise will be sought in understand and use of Web 2.0 and Web 3.0, as well as social media, multimedia and interactivity and how it affects school life as well as the role of the educational leader. Specific attention will be paid to the importance and ability to develop and maintain policies, which reflect the ever-changing world of technology. Auxiliary, but no less important issues such as legal issues, copyright issues, ethics and other forms of digital citizenship will be discussed.
Course Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this course the student will:
Course Objective
Knowledge
Skill
Disposition
Impact
1. Demonstrate knowledge and the use of related technologies appropriate to the management of a school #
o
o
2. Demonstrate knowledge and the use of related technologies appropriate to the instructional program of a school #
o
o
3. Demonstrate knowledge and the use of various types of related technologies for supporting the instructional program of the school #
o
o
4. Demonstrate knowledge of planning and management procedures and policies for the appropriate use of technological resources to serve the mission of the school #
o
o
5. Demonstrate knowledge of common computer and related technological applications #
o
o
6. Identify gender & diversity issues related to technology in education
o
o
o
7. Demonstrate knowledge of adaptive technology devices for individuals with special needs
o
o
o
o
8. Demonstrate skill in the use of technology for materials preparation, presentations, record keeping, computation, communication, information / data collection and management, and the effective use of the Internet
o
o
o
9. Demonstrate an understanding of legal issues, including copyright issues, related to educational technology
o
o
10. Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of ethical practice in the use of technology
o
o
11. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of administrative policies and procedures that promote appropriate utilization of technology by school personnel
o
o
o
12. Demonstrate familiarity with appropriate professional standards related to educational leadership and technology
o
o
o
o
13. Demonstrate an understanding of the digital age learning culture, digital citizenship in particular
This course seeks hands-on experience in integration of educational technology into the classroom. Students will learn to select opportunities for application [or not] of technology in education. The course will provide a hands-on experience for educational leaders to understand the application of technology in the curriculum process. Topics of consideration include instructional design, media and formats, devices, telecommunications and social interactivity. The course will provide an opportunity to apply technology knowledge and experience in hands-on exercises for curriculum management as well as monitoring student achievement progress. Further discussions and practical approach will include modern, effective and efficient ways of communications among parents, students, faculty and administration. The course offered in synchronous online mode and F2F mode.
Objectives/Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course the student will:
Understand the impact of technology on the teaching and learning process.
Understand the principles of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and National Educational Standards for Students (NETS*S) and their application in the curriculum process.
Research and assess the opportunities for technology to be integrated in the classroom.
EDAD ??? Technology as an Integral Part of Successful Educational Leadership
1 credit, Summer 2016
Course Description
Course Description
This class will support teacher leaders and school administrators in reviewing and systematizing the fast aspects of modern electronic technologies. Based on a foundational better understanding of how technologies work, future educational leaders will develop skills and practice the application of ideas, tactics and methods for better integration of technologies in the teaching and learning process as well as the creation of better policies and procedures.
The course is designed to bring research and analytical skills and build structure in the process of resolving technology issues, which educational leaders face in modern schools, including hardware and software problems, networks and computers, curriculum and teaching and learning methods.
The course will offer discussions as well as practical solutions such as social media (e.g. Twitter) for professional development, online tools for teacher evaluation, online tools for collaboration and creativity, immediate and future trends, which already impact education and educational leadership.
The course offered in synchronous online mode and F2F mode.
Objectives/Outcomes
Students will be able to identify and update sources for information to keep current their technology knowledge
Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of technology leadership standards.
Student will demonstrate an understanding of how to create, promote, and sustain a dynamic, digital – age learning culture that provides a rigorous, relevant, and engaging education for all students.
Students will demonstrate understanding of how to promote an environment of professional learning and innovation that empowers educators to enhance student learning through the infusion of contemporary technologies and digital resources.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of how to provide digital – age leadership and management to continuously improve the organization through the effective use of information and technology resources.
Students will understand and apply knowledge of how to model and facilitate understanding of social, ethical and legal issues and responsibilities related to an evolving digital culture.
Students will demonstrate knowledge of technology as integral part of facilities and resource management
Students will be able to describe and use budget planning and management procedures related to educational computing and technology.
Students will be able to describe and maintain current information involving facilities planning issues related to computers and related technologies.
Students will be able to design and develop policies and procedures concerning staffing, scheduling, and security for managing computers/technology in a variety of instructional and administrative school
PowToon is Web-based animation software that allows users to create animated presentations by manipulating pre-created objects, imported images, provided music and user created voice-overs.[4] Powtoon uses an Adobe Flex engine to generate an XML file that can be played in the Powtoon online viewer, exported to YouTube or downloaded as an MP4 file.[2]
Videomaker, Presentation tool, storytelling tool.
templates versus starting from scratch
having a plan (or a story, or a screenplay)
narrate with voice over your video. can’t edit recording, but can re-record
This session will present results from an evaluation of the integration of RealizeIT adaptive learning technology into three fully online courses: General Psychology, Pathophysiology for Nursing Practice, and College Algebra. Presenters will discuss the impact on students, faculty, and the university.
Adaptive learning systems provide each student with a personalized learning experience, adapting the presentation of the content, and possibly the assessment to the individual ability of the student
==============================================
Co-developed by Learning Technologies and the Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Indiana University, a digital badge pilot (badges.iu.edu) was launched to support faculty professional development and growth. This session will cover the competency levels, topics of study, and the badging platform to document levels of achievement. Outcomes: Understand the basics of a three-tiered framework for digital badges * Review the online badging platform * Explore topics for faculty development
Mozilla Open Badges 101: Digging into Badges (a webinar)
personalized learning or competency-based does not resolve it. GPA does not respond to employers search
regimenting credentials. digital representation of of skill or achievement. represent achievements on the web. social status (foursquare). granular, evidence-based and transferable. badge ecosystem (across multiple areas), this is why open badges; open system. Open Badge Standard: issuer information; earner information; criteria URL; evidence URL; Standards Alignment; Taxonomy Tags
=============================
Data Visualization: The What, the Who, and the How
Data visualization tools are becoming much stronger and are now targeted at a much wider audience. This panel will explore what we should be trying to do with data visualization, who will be doing it, and how we might support and steer it. OUTCOMES: Identify multiple opportunities for use of data visualization * Learn about multiple user communities, including those not centrally managed * Explore ways to support users and steer them toward good practiceshttp://www.educause.edu/sites/default/files/library/presentations/E15/SESS029/Data%2BViz%2BEducause%2B151028%2BFINAL1.pptxslides 7: What works well for technically savvy developers may not work for faculty or staff without those same credentials.
Data Wrapper
Raw
Infogram
Tableau
Oracle suite of OBIEE (Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition) has been very successful for CSU
Cognos (IBM) is another tool that is very popular for developers and has been used by USG central office
D3 (For Data Driven Documents)
Fusion Charts
Chart js
Google Charts
slide 11: Two primary design goals supported through Data Visualization:
Discovery and Exploration
–What story is the data telling you
–Identify patterns and exceptions
Decision-making
–Compare, contrast, choose
–Explain, make a point, decide
slide 15:
qTo communicate
qPresent more clearly or more forcefully than would be accomplished with text or tables
qReports, dashboards, infographics, etc.
qTo discover
qAllow us to see what would be difficult or impossible to see if not presented in a useful visualization
qRealm of research but moving into the mainstream
qCan same visualization serve both purposes?
======================
iPad, You Pad, We All Pad: Transforming Teaching and Learning
California State University Northridge, Lynn University, and Jackson State University have all deployed one-to-one iPad tablet initiatives, with the objectives to increase student engagement and learning, improve the quality of teaching materials, and decrease student costs. This session will discuss the transformational educational opportunities afforded by the iPad and highlight technology and pedagogical lessons learned. Outcomes: Learn about the transformational impact of one-to-one iPad initiatives in the classroom * Understand the need for extensive faculty development and faculty adoption strategies * Appreciate deployment and support challenges====================
The Avalon Video and Audio Repository for Libraries and Beyond
The Avalon Media System provides an open-source streaming media solution, based on Hydra/Fedora repository technologies, focused on delivery of library media collections, but it is finding other uses, including support for publication, teaching and learning content, and digital scholarship. As a result, new features enhance support for additional research and instructional use cases. Outcomes: Understand the problems Avalon solves * Understand the extended use cases addressed with Avalon, both present and intended future * Learn how best to engage with the Avalon project.========================
The Karuta Open Source Portfolio, currently under incubation by the Apereo Foundation, offers dramatic flexibility for designing portfolio workflows with rubrics to assess learning outcomes. Karuta is LTI enabled for integration with the LMS for easy access and transfer of evidence of learning. Subsequent releases will add functionality for showcasing as well as reporting. Outcome: Learn how Karuta can flexibly support your programs and institution through leveraging its functionality
=======================
Supporting the Discovery and Adoption of Open E-Textbooks
The California Open Education Resources Council comprises faculty from the three CA higher education systems working together to identify open textbooks for high impact courses. The selected open textbooks are in the process of being peer reviewed and curated in the CA Open Online Library. Outcomes: Identify quality open textbooks for general education, high-impact courses * Learn how to interpret textbook peer reviews with a faculty-created rubric * Understand how to reference these resources for the discovery of quality no- or low-cost materialshttp://www.educause.edu/sites/default/files/library/presentations/E15/PS58/COOL%2BEducause%2BPoster%2B2015.pdf
====================
Seminar 12P – Six Secrets for Evaluating Online Teaching (separate registration is required)
What makes online teaching different from face-to-face teaching? How can we tell when it’s done well? Faculty members, administrators, and IT leaders will learn six evaluation “secrets” from the authors of the new book Evaluating Online Teaching. You will leave this seminar with use-them-now strategies, tools, and templates to take back to your campus. OUTCOMES: Distinguish online content and practices that “count” as teaching behaviors * Design self-, peer-, and administrative-evaluation analytic tools * Develop a 6-stage, campus-wide program for evaluating online teachinghttp://www.educause.edu/annual-conference/2015/seminar-12p-six-secrets-evaluating-online-teaching-separate-registration-required
Learn how the University of Pittsburgh is creating a scalable classroom model for active learning on a traditional campus. Administrators, faculty, and instructional technologists and designers recently collaborated to reimagine legacy large-enrollment lecture halls. The focus of this session is on the learning space design process across the disciplines. Outcomes: Identify and apply the principles of active learning associated with learning space deign * Understand the design process * Assemble an effective learning space design teamhttp://www.educause.edu/annual-conference/2015/reimagining-learning-space-design-across-disciplines
==============================
Thinking Digitally: Advancing Digital Literacy with Personalized Learning Tools
The session will outline a scalable framework for integrating digital literacy in higher education curriculum, supported by tools that allow for active and personalized learning. Research and examples from Georgia State University’s experience implementing a pilot program will be used as a catalyst for interactive discussion and idea generation. Outcomes: Understand the value of incorporating digital literacy into curriculum * Select from emerging personalized learning technologies to support digital literacy across diverse academic scenarios * Adapt a methodology for developing partnerships to advance digital literacy across the organizationhttp://www.educause.edu/annual-conference/2015/thinking-digitally-advancing-digital-literacy-personalized-learning-tools===============
A discussion of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and drone activities that either take place on campus or impact a campus from the outside. The state of federal aviation regulations and guidelines for drones will be covered. Attendees can share their experiences with official and rogue drone activities at their institutions. Outcomes: Learn about the drone devices in use, from miniature to massive * Understand the impact of drones on academic institutions, for better or worse * Learn what drone activities are legally allowable, banned, or discouragedhttp://www.educause.edu/annual-conference/2015/whats-droning-overhead
Resources – Higher Ed Drone Policies
The Ohio State University
Iowa State University
Indiana University
University of Kansas
Penn State University
University of New Mexico
The Association of College and University Policy
Administrators (ACUPA, acupa.org)
Join this lively discussion and discovery of innovative and functional uses and support for mobile computing. We will explore creative ideas for projects using mobile devices in teaching, learning, and administration. Topics may include hardware, applications, tools, special uses, wireless and mobile connectivity, web services, support issues, and security.
LITA and The EDUCAUSE Blended and Online Learning Constituent Group have a discussion regarding e-conferencing tools (online meeting tools) and browser problems related to them:
BlackBoard Collaborate: https://youtu.be/UWX2kRazC-s has difficulties working on Google Chrome and Windows 10 Edge browser, since they not support Java.
WebEx, Canva. Adobe Connect, Zoom, Ultra
From:lita-l-request@lists.ala.org [mailto:lita-l-request@lists.ala.org] On Behalf Of Tyckoson, Mary Ellen Sent: Friday, October 02, 2015 9:51 AM To:lita-l@lists.ala.org Subject: RE: [lita-l] Free teleconferencing options?
We’ve been using https://www.freeconferencecall.com/ for years. It offers a record feature that allows you to download the call later as well as a report of the numbers that called in and the duration of their connection to the conference. Generally the call clarity is pretty good. The only time we had a problem seemed to be on the end user’s side. I think they also offer some free online meeting services, but we’ve never used those. The down side if that they are able to offer it for free because they are toll calls (usually to some number in a sparsely populated area – at least one of the numbers we use is out in the Mojave desert.)
Regards,
Mary Ellen
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Mary Ellen Tyckoson
Library Program Manager
San Joaquin Valley Library System
2420 Mariposa St, Fresno, CA 93721
559-600-6285
From: The EDUCAUSE Blended and Online Learning Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:BLEND-ONLINE@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of J. Patrick Whitaker Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2015 2:09 PM To:BLEND-ONLINE@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [BLEND-ONLINE] Online meeting tools
We have Ultra available – albeit in a “not quite ready for prime time” format (i.e. no recording, polling, etc.). We can assign it by course so some faculty are using Ultra for office hours. It’s much easier for students in particular.
Patrick Whitaker, PhD
Associate Professor, Assistant Coordinator,
Center for Distance Learning
Sargeant Reynolds Community College
PO BOX 85622
Richmond, Virginia 23285-5622
804-523-5612
“Education is what people do to you; Learning is what you do to yourself” – Joi Ito
We were told the release will come mid-semester and because we are in a system-wide environment shared by over 50 campuses, we will go at that time. I would much prefer to do it in January.
I have seen Collaborate Ultra (briefly) and agree it is completely different (in a good way). Last spring I was told by our account exec that it would be available to us beginning of fall. Haven’t heard anything yet and I’m not holding my breath… 😉
Scott Scott Robison, Ph.D.
Director, Learning Technologies and Online Education
Co-Director, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
Plymouth State University
Plymouth, NH
603.535.2262
“All courses are online courses; it’s just a matter of
how much time you meet face-to-face.”
One thing to consider with Bb Collaborate is that, since it is Java driven, there may be problems for users whose browsers no long support Java (Chrome, for one, and I think Windows 10 Edge browser too?).
“Java applications are offered though web browsers as either a web start application (which do not interact with the browser once they are launched) or as a Java applet (which might interact with the browser). This change does not affect Web Start applications, it only impacts applets.”
This is not a deal breaker because BbC doesn’t run in a browser (it just downloads the starter app). But the subsequent error message could throw some participants off.
There is a an HTML5 version in the works, I hear (haven’t seen it yet). But keep the Java aspect in mind, as it appears to me at least (FWIW) that Java is the new Flash — moving towards disfavor due to potential security issues.
Thx – Steve — Steve Covello
Rich Media Specialist/Instructional Designer/Online Instructor
At SCCC we have gone with Collaborate – largely due to integration to Blackboard Learn and the excellent pricing the SUNY system received. The interface isn’t the most intuitive for presenters, but works well enough. We recently saw Collaborate Ultra which will be launched this fall. The interface was ‘zoomed’ for lack of a better term. It is a huge improvement, extremely intuitive and performs significantly better. That with the Blackboard Learn integration makes any thought of looking elsewhere a non-starter for us.
Regards, Doug —— Doug Kahn
College Assistant Dean for Instructional Technology
We are providing a sandbox type of immersive program for faculty here to explore features of different web conferencing tools. Any information about integration of Training Center in WebEx to Canvas will be greatly appreciated.
Currently, NJIT uses WebEx and I used Adobe Connect at a different institution; we have WebEx set up so that instructors can create their own sessions as they find the need. They are both robust but have their own quirks to them. Adobe Connect had a big learning curve for instructors. WebEx seems a bit simpler just to start but I feel like it has more audio issues when you do VOIP; it’s also very confusing for our users because you have to click on a button after you log into WebEx to turn audio on. That goes for everyone–presenter and participant, no one can hear or be heard until this is done. Even users that have done this for a while sometimes forget this part–I’d say that’s the biggest quirk about it.
I have seen a lot of use of Zoom recently, but I don’t know if it is quite as robust or permits you to do as long or large of a session as WebEx would.
Our university is trying to determine which would be the best online meeting/class tool. We have narrowed our search down to Webex and Zoom. I was wondering if anyone, who is currently using these two tools, could give me some pros and cons for their use.
Darlene Davis
Digital Asset Coordinator
Alliance Life Sciences Consulting Group
From: The EDUCAUSE Blended and Online Learning Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:BLEND-ONLINE@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Rob Abel Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2015 7:23 PM To:BLEND-ONLINE@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [BLEND-ONLINE] Online meeting tools
Ed, et al-
We recently learned about an LTI integration for Connect from eSyncTraining. It is not yet certified LTI – but quite slick – and eSyncTraining recently joined IMS to get it certified.
From: The EDUCAUSE Blended and Online Learning Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:BLEND-ONLINE@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Ed Garay Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2015 7:12 PM To:BLEND-ONLINE@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [BLEND-ONLINE] Online meeting tools
The feedback has been mixed. Some faculty like it, others hate it. Personally, I am disappointed that the java-less version is still elusive, that the LMS integration, albeit certified LTI, is not smart enough for my demanding taste, and that UIC was never able to really effectively and easily use it for non-Teaching & Learning applications. Elluminate Live! and Blackboard Inc. both knew we needed it also as a GoToMeeting-kind of solution, and they never delivered on that. (We had run Saba Centra Web Conferencing for many years before most of these tools ever existed)
My personal recommendation, today, would be to seriously evaluate Adobe Connect (again) and Zoom, …as long as they have an IMS Global-certified LTI integration.
From: Scott Robison Sent: 10/15/2015 3:35 PM To: Edward Garay Subject: RE: [BLEND-ONLINE] Online meeting tools
Ed,
How has the feedback been with Collaborate? We started using it a couple years ago too. There was more excitement for it then than there is now. There have been browser and Java issues and some find it too clunky, quality lacking (audio/video), and for many it is more than they need (or think they need). We are working on getting Collaborate Ultra integrated into Moodle. It is pretty sharp (web-based, clean, but fewer features at the moment). Are you using that, and if so, what do folks think?
Thanks, Scott Scott Robison, Ph.D.
Director, Learning Technologies and Online Education
Co-Director, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
Plymouth State University
Plymouth, NH
603.535.2262
“All courses are online courses; it’s just a matter of
how much time you meet face-to-face.”
I always liked Adobe Connect and thought it was easy to use by faculty, staff and students. We almost got it, a few years ago, but the committee picked up Blackboard Collaborate because it was more Teaching & Learning-friendly, which it was/is.
It would have helped if Adobe had invested in developing an LTI-compliant LMS integration for Connect. They still haven’t, unfortunately, certified or otherwise, I am afraid.
—
— Ed Garay University of Illinois at Chicago
UIC School of Public Health http://www.twitter.com/garay
Our primary online meeting tool is Adobe Connect, but we have been using Zoom for a year as well. The feedback we receive is that Adobe Connect is very “feature rich” and somewhat difficult to use at times, especially for individuals who simply want an easy web collaboration tool. Although some have become very comfortable with Adobe Connect and utilize many of the features and pods, it may be a bit complicated and confusing to use at times.
We have been using Zoom and although it does not have as many of the features as Adobe Connect, the quality is great and it’s easy to use. Zoom offers basic and pro accounts, as well as different meeting room options, SIP, VoIP, etc..
We are providing a sandbox type of immersive program for faculty here to explore features of different web conferencing tools. Any information about integration of Training Center in
From: The EDUCAUSE Blended and Online Learning Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:BLEND-ONLINE@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Ed Garay Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2015 2:55 PM To:BLEND-ONLINE@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [BLEND-ONLINE] Online meeting tools
Please note that there are IMS-certified LTI tools and other “rogue” LTI tools that are not certified. The certified LTI tools go through a rigorous IMS process to ensure they are fully LTI-compliant. We should strive to use certified LTI LMS add-one, exclusively, and require/demand that vendors and individual developers of tools not certified be reprogram to meet full IMS LTI certification.
The IMS Certified LTI Tools catalog currently lists only Blackboard Collaborate and BigBlueButton, i.e. not Zoom, Adobe Connect, WebEX, GoToMeeting, etc. – http://developers.imsglobal.org/catalog.html
The Edu App Center, maintained by Instructure, purports to list certified and uncertified LTI tools. Adobe Connect (for Canvas, I believe) is listed (sans the LMS certification); I cannot find any listing of Zoom, however. – https://www.eduappcenter.com/
I am CCing Rob Abel, CEO at IMS Global, in case he’d like to chime in on the LTI certification or lack thereof.
— Ed Garay
University of Illinois at Chicago
UIC School of Public Health
twitter.com/garay
Currently, NJIT uses WebEx and I used Adobe Connect at a different institution; we have WebEx set up so that instructors can create their own sessions as they find the need. They are both robust but have their own quirks to them. Adobe Connect had a big learning curve for instructors. WebEx seems a bit simpler just to start but I feel like it has more audio issues when you do VOIP; it’s also very confusing for our users because you have to click on a button after you log into WebEx to turn audio on. That goes for everyone–presenter and participant, no one can hear or be heard until this is done. Even users that have done this for a while sometimes forget this part–I’d say that’s the biggest quirk about it.
I have seen a lot of use of Zoom recently, but I don’t know if it is quite as robust or permits you to do as long or large of a session as WebEx would.
Our university is trying to determine which would be the best online meeting/class tool. We have narrowed our search down to Webex and Zoom. I was wondering if anyone, who is currently using these two tools, could give me some pros and cons for their use.
********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
—
Nafiza Akter
Instructional Designer
Instructional Technology & Media Services (ITMS)
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Of course, not all aspects of online course design require a team of specialists, a longer development time, and more funding. Some things can be done quickly, cheaply and by individuals with focused skill sets.
But technology can, when built with a deep understanding of how students learn, meet both of these needs. We can build online courses that provide students with hundreds of opportunities to test their knowledge. Using scientifically-based learning analytics, we can provide each learner with immediate, context-specific feedback. We can build software that constantly responds to each student’s cognitive and educational differences and serves up activities that address these differences.
Educator, technologist, researcher, and innovator in edtech, distance education, and faculty development
“Placing the burden on lone educators with minuscule (or non-existent) funding and who are not hired for their strengths in instructional media development is neither logical, nor fair. But more to the point, it’s a lost opportunity to leverage high-quality course design to drive improvements in learning outcomes.”
I could not agree more with this statement and the remainder of the article. I’ve long supported an instructional design partnership model where faculty occupy a leading role along with other professionals capable of making the interactions, activities, and rich-media meet the quality needs of an increasingly complex learning environment (and world).
We need to start imagining new models for building, acquiring and sharing instructional media.
This has always been an issue. My students love activities that provide them with immediate feedback. I spend extra hours building a wide variety of different activities into each Learning module. It takes time and effort and if I am going to address different learning styles that is an entirely different issue. To create effective interactive learning tools that will not waste my students time and will challenge their skill level consumes more time than planning for a face to face class with different activities. I would love to talk to someone-be able to explain what I want my students to learn, suggest a few interactive choices, and come back later to find age related learning activities that fit different learning styles.
There is going to be a fight because this model is more like a business product that educators contribute to, rather than own. Perhaps this is the true industrialization of education, replacing the craft model of individual teaching with standardized, high quality product?
I have forwarded this article on to members of the course development team within Pearson for their feedback. I am curious to see their impression of the article versus mine, considering I predominantly am a part of recruitment services for Pearson specifically. Within our academic partnerships platform, we do contend with faculty, should they employ our course development team, to this vein because the ownership usually rests with the instructor solely. Editing course content or abridging related material so that it could be received potentially as more either user-friendly or technologically savvy can be a source of major contention with faculty members. I do agree that this is an industrialization of education to an extent, but it also pushes the ownership of traditional education past the instructor, a predominantly sole proprietorship environment, to an completely different team effort. The natural technological growing pains coupled with role expansion and differentiation are also issues needing to be addressed as well.
Suppose one was to take this seriously. What might such a course look like – for a subject like Biology? Could it be built on existing LMS platforms, or is a new platform required?
I think that both individual ownership and team collaboration are important to the development of successful online learning. We (hopefully) use the concepts of group and team learning in our classroom environments. We should not be afraid to open ourselves up to some of the positive opportunities that could develop from participating in these practices. It does not mean giving up our ownership of content and presentation. I see it as a marketplace of choice where instructors can decide what kinds of activities, helps, prompts, extra materials, and resources they want to add to their class content. The choices could be categorized by learning styles or how they fit into learning paradigms. I think we must face the reality that some parts of education will have to be more industrialized than others just because of the delivery method. This does not have to be a negative issue if there are enough choices to help instructors develop the rigorous content they want to deliver without sacrificing their entire life to the project.
With these tips and tools, you’ll be able to get connected with the people that matter most to you on Twitter.
Follow experts: Get useful information from other experts in your field.
Twitterholic: With Twitterholic, you’ll be able to find the most popular users on Twitter.
Make friends with your competition: It may seem counterintuitive, but connecting with your competition can help keep you in the know and well networked.
TwitterPacks: Check out this tool to locate people according to their interest group.
WeFollow: Find people by industry or hobby using WeFollow.
Follow back: When you discover new followers, be sure to follow them back if they are interesting or offer value to you.
Keep your follow ratio balanced: Follow too many people without being followed back, and you will seem spammy, but if you have lots of followers that you don’t follow back, you’ll come off as snobby.
Localtweeps: You can use this tool to filter tweets by zip code.
Participate in Twitter events: Be a part of #followfriday, #musicmonday, and similar events to be a part of the community.
Geofollow: Search for others in your location with this site.
Twitterel: With Twitterel, you can find users with common interests.
Twinfluence: Use Twinfluence to discover users with good reach, velocity, and social capital.
Twellow: Use Twellow to find Twitter users based on category.
Twitter Snipe: Twitter Snipe will auto follow users based on your niche.
Be patient: Amassing Twitter followers doesn’t happen overnight. Be patient, and you’ll build a group of valuable followers.
Search
Put Twitter’s massive amounts of information to work by using these search tips and tools.
Twitority: This search engine offers results based on Twitter users with authority.
TwitterLocal: Search for tweets around a specific area with the help of this tool.
Use keyword tricks: Take advantage of the advanced search option on Twitter.
Use quotation marks: If you’re looking for a specific term, put it in quotation marks to get better results.
Twithority: With Twithority, you’ll find Twitter search results with authority.
Use hashtags: If you come across a useful hashtag, click on it to see what else you’ll find.
Subscribe: Keep up with useful keywords and hashtags by setting up an RSS subscription for them.
Pay attention to trends: Stay on top of the latest in your field by seeking out and participating in trending topics. For instance, students enrolled in political science degree programs may want to follow trending topics related to upcoming local and state elections.
Retweetist: Retweetist shares popular trends, topics, and people using retweets on Twitter.
Tweet Volume: With this tool, you can find out if your keywords are popular on Twitter or not.
Tweetmeme: Check out Tweetmeme to learn about retweeting stats for articles on Twitter.
Twitt(url)y: Find out about hot news with this tool that sorts URLs by how frequently they are mentioned in tweets.
Twackle: With this aggregator, you’ll be able to find news and more in a single destination.
Twitter Sniffer for Brands: Twitter Sniffer makes it easy for you to keep track of conversations about you on Twitter.
Twuoted: Find popular quotes with this site that follows the #quote hashtag.
Tweet Scan: Follow Twitter conversations by keyword and category using Tweet Scan.
Monitter: Stay on top of 3 keywords at once with this keyword search tool.
Pay attention to timing: Monitor the most popular hours for your Twitter followers, then concentrate your most important messages in those hours for more effective tweeting.
Organization
With these tips and tools, you can keep all of your information on Twitter well organized.
Tweetdeck: Make use of this tool to organize tweets from various groups into easy to manage categories.
Don’t try to read everything: You will be on Twitter all day and all night if you try to read every single tweet from your followers-just drop in when you can.
My Tweeple: This tool will help you organize the people you’re following.
Tweetree: See your Twitter stream in a tree with organized conversations using Tweetree.
Make good use of alert tools: Make sure you’re not missing good conversations by setting up alerts that will tell you when friends and other Twitter users discuss keywords you’re interested in.
Tweet Clouds: Analyze your keyword usage with this tool.
Twitterator: Monitor groups of people while staying organized with the help of this script.
Authority Building
Follow these tips and use these tools in order to establish yourself as an authority in your field.
Own your brand: Even if you don’t want to use your real name on Twitter, at least claim it so that no one else can use it against you.
Be retweetable: Share tweets that others will want to retweet.
Use popular tweets as blog posts: If you share a site or bit of information that turns out to be very popular, use it as a jumping off point for a blog post.
Enjoy ambient knowledge: With Twitter, you’ll be able to stay on top of news in your field around the clock.
Listen: Just listen, and you’ll find interesting and useful information.
Promote events: Use Twitter to promote live and virtual events like seminars, sales, and more.
Ask for help: Get instant feedback by asking for help on Twitter.
Meet your customers: Use Twitter as a way to interact with your customers, whether through the service or in real life.
Listen to your critics: Find out what people are saying about you, then respond to it and act on it.
How To Connect With Students On Twitter
Don’t require that students follow your account.
Commit to posting at regular intervals.
Vary the time of day of the posts.
Post links to content that is user friendly.
Know your audience’s interests.
Don’t just retweet, generate original links.
Suggest people, organizations or magazines to follow.
Be personal.
… yet avoid the overly personal comments.
Twitter Rules Every Teacher Should Know
Rule #3
If you’re adding the Twitter logo to some marketing materials, here’s how to properly format it all. Same goes if you’re just adding in the Twitter Bird to other materials. Useful to know.
Rule #4
Always capitalize the T in Twitter and Tweet. Seriously. That’s a little-known rule that basically everyone doesn’t follow but it’s worth trying to remember!
Actually complete your bio. You’ll get more mileage out of your Twitter account if you actually create a profile that says something about you, offering potential followers information about your interests, professional or otherwise.
Learn the basics. Learn the basic terminology for Twitter and the major functions it can perform by doing a little reading on helpful social media blogs beforehand. You’ll thank yourself later.
Get some style. Before you send out your first tweet, decide what kind of tweeter you want to be. The London School of Economics and Political Science offers up three major styles here so you can learn more about the subject.
Learn from others. One of the best ways to learn how to use Twitter is to spend some time seeing how others have set up and been using their accounts. Luckily, there are tons of other academics on Twitter to learn from.
Don’t be mean. The Internet is full of people who are all too happy to say some pretty harsh things, but just because they’re incredibly tactless doesn’t mean you have to be. Never say anything on Twitter you wouldn’t want people to find out about, or wouldn’t say in any other situation. If people are hassling you, ignore them and move on.
Announce that you’ll be joining a hashtag chat or conference. If you’re going to be tweeting more than usual, let your followers know in advance so they can choose to tune out if they’re not interested in your live tweeting or chatting.
Actually respond in a reasonable amount of time. If someone asks you a question or directs a tweet your way, respond as soon as you can, just like with email or any other digital communication, especially if you’re using Twitter in your courses.
Be gracious and say thank you. A little bit of gratitude goes a long way on Twitter. If someone helps you out or shares your research, don’t forget to say thanks.
Make mistakes. No one is perfect, and if you’re new to Twitter you’re probably going to have a few gaffes along the way as you learn the ropes. That’s OK! Don’t let it slow your enthusiasm for using the social site.
Start your own hashtag chat. Twitter chats have exploded in popularity in recent months, so get in on the trend while the getting’s good. Start your own chat on an academic topic, or chime in on other bigger existing chats for a chance to network.
Find and use some hashtags. You’ll make it easier for others to find your tweets if you add a few relevant hashtags here and there.
Do ‘Follow Friday’. Every Friday, Twitter explodes with suggestions on who to follow. Offer up your own and you may just end up in someone else’s suggestions.
Share the stuff you’re reading. Reading a story on a site like Edudemic? Found an amazing article in pop-science about your research field? Share it! If it’s interesting, it’ll probably get retweeted and passed around, and you might just interest a student or two to boot.
Reach out and connect with someone. Not everyone you connect with on Twitter has to be in your field or even in academia. In fact, you might enrich your research and your professional life by reaching out to other fields and professions.
Do some backchannel talks. Whether you have students post to Twitter during class or ask them to share comments during a presentation, these backchannel talks can help facilitate conversation and provide a record of a shared learning experience.
Create your own classroom hashtag. One way to keep classroom tweets organized is by having a shared hashtag that all students use. Just make sure no one else is using it!
Connect Twitter to Moodle or Blackboard. You can help push students to interact using Twitter by adding a Twitter widget to your Blackboard or Moodle site for the class. Follow the instructions here to get started.
Don’t mandate your students follow you on Twitter. Don’t force students to follow you on Twitter unless it’s part of the course. Let them decide to follow or not.
Be happy (see #5 above). You don’t have to be super serious on Twitter to earn students’ respect. In fact, loosening up could just help improve your rapport with your students.
Live-tweet a conference or event (see #6). Share your conference-going experience by tweeting updates about it throughout the day to your followers.
Share some of your lesson plans. Educators and academics can come together to share and collaborate on lesson plans quite easily using Twitter.
Collaborate with other teachers / parents / students. If you find you have similar interests with another academic, use Twitter to work together on research ideas, classroom solutions, and other topics.
Collaborate with other classrooms in your school, district, or another country.Why work alone when you can connect with other college classrooms? That’s just what many college classes are doing these days.
Host reading discussions. Holding a reading discussion over Twitter gives everyone a chance to chime in, even shy students who might not otherwise speak up.
Actually use Twitter for writing assignments. Want to teach your students the art of brevity? Assign them poetry or prose to be written on Twitter.
The Teacher’s Guide To Twitter Hashtags
Are you looking to figure out exactly which Twitter hashtag is the right one to follow? There’s no shortage of options and it can feel overwhelming. Sure, there’s the popular #edchat and #edtech hashtags most of us follow. But what about the more focused tags that you’re missing out on?
#edapp
educational apps
#elearn
I’d suggest using this rather than the longer #elearning
#flipchat
chat platform for flipped classroom educators. See here.
#flipclass
platform for those interested in the flipped classroom.
#flippedclassroom
Obsolete. Use the shorter #flipclass. All about the flipped classroom
#gbl
game-based learning
#globalclassroom
Good for finding global collaboration / connections, sharing #globaled practice. Official chats run monthly over 3 days. Click here for schedule
“I’d really rather work alone. . .” Most of us have heard that from a student (or several students) when we assign a group project, particularly one that’s worth a decent amount of the course grade. It doesn’t matter that the project is large,…
we train students to join the workforce. Team work is key. None of this lone wolf , inner child stuff. You cant be a nurse, a plant worker, someone in business unless you can teamwork……….
if you want to be an academic , even then you have others in your department , you teach . whether they are shy, introverted makes no difference. We humans are a pack type animal.
You can make all the esoteric analogies you want. But in this world , its a we world not an I one.
Professor (Adjunct) at Manchester Community College
With the demographics that I work with, I do not feel that group projects are particularly productive. One thing we must always be sure of before assigning a group project is whether or not doing so supports the objective of the course. That said, a mandatory group project might not be appropriate, say, in an accounting class, where group dynamics and playing well with others is not particularly a focus of the class objective.
For business classes, I give the option of group vs. individual project – but make it clear that the expectation multiplies by the number of group members. Our students work different schedules and all commute to class – the logistics alone can be overwhelming. Who’s going to watch the kids and the dogs?
Historically, group projects can be particularly overly stressful for students requiring accommodations and/or are living with physiological or mental health issues. When a group project is assigned, it is incumbent upon the instructor to ensure any such issues are addressed.
Assigning a group project now also makes us responsible for ensuring that the group functions appropriately, and the role of each group member is clearly identified so that you are able to assess performance. “Free riders” are an inherent reality in group projects, and as with public goods, someone still has to pay the price. (I have used a group project in an economics class – with a student “plant” to demonstrate the “free rider.”)
Overall, I feel that group projects should only be assigned in a controlled structured environment, otherwise someone will always feel left out. I use scheduled group projects only in classes where doing so meets a course objective, as I feel this is fairest to all of the students.
No doubt the ‘lone wolf’ phenomenon is real, and we as educators have created it. Our educational system has reinforced to students that individual performance is supreme, and that is how they have generally been judged. Students have spent years polishing their capabilities to excel individually, and then suddenly we are saying that they need to not only work effectively in teams, but also figure out how to push team efforts to an excellent level so that their individual grade does not suffer due to below-average performance by other team members. So, first we need to be more consistent in our message(s) to students. We should be talking about critical professional skills (higher-level thinking, problem solving, communication, and teamwork) from the time they enter our university. And our curricula and courses should be designed to help them develop these skills. In the meantime, we should do all that we can to help them be successful in their new and unfamiliar teamwork roles. One way I have tried to reduce surprises and conflicts is to require student teams to develop a team charter before they commence any work. A charter lays out goals and methods for the team, along with expectations for team members and agreement on how conflicts will be resolved. I have students start at this link to learn about the benefits and structure of team charters: http://www.clarosgroup.com/jumpstart.pdf.
Adjunct Lecturer at Asia Pacific International University
I was one of those students who hated group work. The reason for me at least was because the group would slow me down. Often when people work in groups accountability goes down and people go off task. I remember being in groups were nobody wanted to do the assignment but wanted to socialize. In the real world this is not as bad because people are being employed and paid money so they have some motivation to work together.
Sadly, there are times were students need to work in groups. However, if I have a student who insist on working alone I tried to make accommodations for them because that student used to be me.
Associate Professor , Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at King Abdulaziz University
Top Contributor
I agree with Alan that team projects should be chosen only if they are required to support the ILOs.However although the course may or may not require the team project we should keep in mind that all graduates are sooner or latter going to work outside the institution with people whom they dont know at all.If they are not encouraged to deal with their own familiar peers (at a relatively more flexible stage of their lives) I dont see how we can expect them to demonstrate standard collegiality later on in their careers.So I think team projects do groom our students with culture, grace , dignity and respect above all.It fosters life long professional relationships in which the team members become invested in each others ” development and well-being”
Yes! a serious challenge to team project is that of ” free riders” because they can potentially annoy and de- motivate delligent students.In my experience there has always been a note of caution in using “team projects ” since team’s performance is difficult to implement which I suppose is about ” performance mangement”.
This can be addressed by choosing the right design for the project that should be designed in a way that individual efforts are observable and measurable keeping the number of students to small.There are different models of team projects .I think “additive tasks where the individual inputs are added together so that the group productivity is determined by the individual contributions of all group members” are the best .The monitoring can be done by the direct supervision of the facilitator or by peers. We may also indirectly stress the potential for reputational consequences for poor individual effort that may work into motivating their engagement next time.
Team composition is an important determinant of team performance. Allowing teams to form autonomously with like-minded individuals who have self-selected into the team knowing who they will be working with are likely to perform better.But as an educator I have experienced that learning outcomes are better met with heterogeneity within the team.
Other way of engaging ” free riders” into teams is by using a mechanism to make the P & P well known to all students at the begining and by continuous monitoring of effort so that at the end they could share in a reward only if there is substantial evidence that they have worked hard enough to deserve it.
1. complicated schedules. I generate groups with catme.org, which will take into account parameters that you determine (schedules, grades, etc.), allowing you to say what should and should not match, and how important it is, in order to come up with groups. I often modify the groups based on what I know of the individuals, but the main thing they help with is sorting the schedules. There is a catme users group on Linked In.
2. loafers. When I grade a group project, 1/3 of the grade is the overall project (and each member of the group gets the same grade), 1/3 is for the individuals’ performance (in presentation, answering questions, etc.) and 1/3 of the grade is peer grades. Every student grades the other members of the group. My assessment of the students’ contrubutions, and their peers’ assessment, is usually very close, but being allowed to grade their co-workers gives the student a little bit of feeling of input that helps to deal with the feeling of unfairness in being burdened with an uncooperative group member.
my group projects , except for one, are all where i can observe.
that being said i hear every semester the “i work better alone or it’s not fair to grade me with a group”
inevitably i ask them what “field” they are going into? we don’t need sole workers in the fields we ready them for.
1. the entire group gets the same grade.
2. all the groups , usually 4 or 5 of 4 or 5 students each, grade each other by student and by group.
3. everyone has same instructions……build a model for the physical folks, make an oral presentation ,3 to 5 minutes each student, in front of entire class and me, and bring it all together with a written report on the subject of a minimum of 20 pages for a C grade.
One of our Profs adds this little tidbit……..if after 2 weeks into the 5 week assignment, the team wants to remove someone for lack of commitment or participation, they can vote them off the team.
BUT they all have to put that in writing AND say why……….AND SIGN IT
the tossed student can then do the entire project all by themselves………BUT they lose one grade. so from an A to a B for example. WHY? it’s a team project and they know it ahead of time……
this isn’t Burger King and NO you can’t have everything YOUR own way in work either….
the other students are harsher graders then i usually turn out to be to….
I have to admit I never liked team projects at first. I would be one that would rather do it myself and on my time, but with the way the world is today that is not a good idea anymore. You have to be able to work on virtual teams. Employers want to know that students have that skill. I always have the teams fill out an evaluation that I only read on their team members.
Former Professor at Georgia College & State University
Mary Bisson’s recognition of two flaws of group work, coordinating schedules and accounting for those who “loaf” through the project, is very real. I hated college committees for a third reason: conflicting learning styles (I’m being polite about the clashes). Some need reflection and contemplation before decision-making, others need visual prompts to facilitate understanding, and still others were more interpersonally oriented and needed to talk it over with someone, etc., etc. The notion that our society is “team” oriented is flawed. Most of our organizations are authoritarian, including the law, education, business, and the military. There is someone at the top who makes decisions–a judge, a teacher, a CEO, a general–and those below must follow. Only about 20% of us, on average, actually participate in one of the few “democratic” group activities: Juries.
My group projects were mainly during class time, during which I broke the large group into smaller ones, conducted an activity, and had a return to the larger group for reporting results.
Brian Murphy is right about our fostering individual success as the prime focus of our educational evaluation, yet working in groups is important. Learning to subjugate the self for a larger goal involving others is an important awareness, and those who cannot do this become outlaws…or CEOs or professors (being facetious here).
Assistant Professor at Saint James School of Medicine
I have observed marked improvement in group projects after providing the students with a workshop session on the Tuckman Stages of Team Development. Once they understand the causes of the Storming phase, they readily adopt the leadership strategies for moving into the Norming and Performing phases.
Former Professor at Georgia College & State University
Tuckman has fun ideas because he rhymes, but the “stage” idea can be misleading since groups don’t always necessarily progress in these phases or the phases overlap. Having taught small group communication at my college, I can say that Tuckman’s (and Jensen) ideas came out of his research in the 60’s and 70’s and have been criticized for “overreaching” when trying to formulate neat stages, but his work has been very influential. Still, consideration of the purpose of the group, its “chemistry,” and the outside pressures guiding it is important. A family discussion at Thanksgiving is very different from small groups of students asked to analyze a short story, or a Senate committee charged with examining a marriage rights bill. Whether they neatly go from Forming to Storming to Norming to Performing is questionable (Tuckman later added “Adjourning” as a fifth stage).
And Ron, I thought I had pointed to Wall Street bankers when I mentioned outlaws.
Biology Professor at Pellissippi State Community College
To David Muschell,
You are incorrect about military decision making. While generals (and colonels and majors) do have to make snap decisions in the midst of combat, the planning for combat operations is a lot more group based than most civilians think. The book “Into the Storm’ by General Fred Franks (co-written by Tom Clancy) describes the degree of collaboration between higher and lower levels of command and between adjacent units. The military understands that the best ideas don’t always come from the top. The lower ranking leader is often closer to the action and able to provide a different perspective.
Former Professor at Georgia College & State University
You have to have extreme admiration for Frederick Franks, but saying that the military structure is not authoritarian may overlook the fact that most of the best authoritarian leaders take input from others, especially those closest to the decision making theater, before making a decision. If a judge doesn’t look at precdents, a teacher at educational psychology, or a cop at the law, we can get bad decisions. The worst authoritarian leaders ignore those below them and dictate.
Professor of Curriculum, Educational Management and Research at UNEFM
I applaud Mary for raising this reflection in the group because it is a reality that we are in our teaching performance and hardly we have strategies, but Rana, Brian and Grace made some interesting proposals that we can apply.
Professor and Founder International Professors Project
Top Contributor
@David …I apologize for missing Wall Street going David.
There many other instances of overvaluing a theory, a law or an idea, since almost no reader or student, or even a professor will check the research design and statistics and logical analysis of all such.
Mallow’s “theory” of personalty was disproved fifty years ago(?), but as the following years rolled by, HR professionals and many other admins were attached to the theory at the hip. It was a nice contribution to use as a subjective guideline for further work, but not to assume the hierarchy postulated almost always works–and even almost perefect does not a theory make–its considered to have been disproven.
Many people have a miserable childhood: physically and/or emotionally, and go hungry but pretty well climb the ladder toward self actualization.
Professor and Founder International Professors Project
Top Contributor
@David …I apologize for missing Wall Street going David.
There many other instances of overvaluing a theory, a law or an idea, since almost no reader or student, or even a professor will check the research design and statistics and logical analysis of all such. Masow’s “theory” of personalty was disproved fifty years ago(?), but as the following years rolled by, HR professionals and many other admins were attached to the theory at the hip. It was a nice contribution to use as a subjective guideline for further work, but not to assume the hierarchy postulated almost always works–and even almost perefect does not a theory make–its considered to have been disproven.
Many people have a miserable childhood: physically and/or emotionally, and go hungry but pretty well climb the ladder toward self actualization.
Biology Professor at Pellissippi State Community College
Yes the military is authoritarian, but Soldiers also have to work in groups. All of my military training courses were taught in the small group style. My work as a staff officer was all done within small groups. And in Gen. Franks book he explains a lot about the reflective nature of his decision making process. How he would have his staff develop multiple possible plans and then not choose one until he had a chance to reflect on it. As he stated (paraphrasing a bit from memory): he often waited until the situation developed a bit and then the best option presented itself.
I think that it is important that students learn that group work of some time is required in all professions. Whether the group gets to make the decision or only pitch a particular plan, they stil have to work together to finish whichever job they are given.
Professor (Adjunct) at Manchester Community College
Not sure how the discussion digressed to military groups – or quoting Tommy Franks as a reliable source – but institutions such as the Army and Marine Corp do operate as small groups. The “basic” in basic training emphasizes the breaking down of individuality and being rebuilt to “all you can be” as part of a “group project.”
No place for that in accounting class.
The use of “small group” or team project instruction permeates throughout the public sector – whether military or civilian. But your added value to any group or organization remains what you contribute as an individual; first you must learn as an individual before you can effectively contribute to a group.
Group dynamics are important, but should not affect the individual outcome if not part of the learning objectives in the curriculum. I spent little time as a staff officer in the Army and never did figure out what the group think was leading to “decisions” that were handed down – and thanks to line officers like James Blunt who think as individuals, and disobeyed orders from General Wesley Clark, that we succeed as nations.
Professor of Psychology at Franklin Pierce University
I use team work in classes where, as Alan mentioned above, a particular goal is enhanced. However, I never make the project worth more than 20% of the final grade because I once saw a stellar student miss out on admittance to his preferred grad school (he was admitted to another) due to one B on his transcript (from a course where the team grade was 60%).
I also believe that equating classroom team work with the world of employment is a terrible mistake. They are just not apples to apples! The people I work with have a lot more in common with me than students in a class room have with each other; and this class room heterogeneity is at it’s worst in the freshman and sophomore years. As for the team I work with, we have identical advanced degrees in the same field. All of us competed during hiring with other applicants, yet we, not those others, got hired. The chances that our personalities would mesh well are not guaranteed, but the odds are a lot higher than randomly throwing together a group of students.
Also regarding actual employment, there are many jobs that do not require team work, and shy people or those with Asperger’s, for example, tend to self-select and gravitate to these positions. One example is a family member who works at the American College of Surgeons in Chicago. He sits in an office all by himself editing manuscripts and may see his boss once a week. Though this is not my idea of a fun time, he loves his job.
Assistant Professor Process Technology at College of the Mainland
Question: if you go into a workplace right out of College , what are you?
answer: A freshman in the workplace. A lot of book learning maybe, but damn little practical experience.
Teamwork is a requirement for the majority of folks outside Academia. You don’t have to like the other, you sure as heck don’t have to have the same outside interests.
But you do have to work together. The Team will have type A’s and type B’s and folks who play well with others and folks that don’t. There for sure are no guaranties, but i know of none except death and taxes anyways. There is a valid reason for teaching teamwork. It has a function in life and in the workplace.
and i see the “Asperger’s clause too. Which just in last few months has been called into question, if it even exists. If 5 % are that way, we modify everything and NOT teach or lead the other 95%? I modify my entire class for the same percentages? (and i know you can argue whatever that % should be and miss the point)
We do student NO service by NOT getting them out of their comfort zone in this regards.
Assistant Professor at Univ of Manitoba, Inner City Social Work Program
Top Contributor
I use group work for several classes and find that my students are apprehensive about this style UNTIL I explain that although it is “group” work they will ONLY be graded on their portion. For example, when I have the 4 groups go out to do a community assessment on the 4 sections: demographics, community characteristics, community services, and strengths and challenges, I have each student take a portion of their section and present their 4-5 page paper, as a poster presentation, in which they are quizzed about their poster and the information they gathered on the community for their particular section. Each student in each group has their section to present and defend, while at the same time they must all work together to ensure that their section is accurate! And I make sure to reinforce this grading system every class until the poster presentation, which is usually the last class before the final exam. I find that when this is explained properly, at the beginning of the class, and reinforced when the assignment is discussed, then there are fewer questions/problems. Students need to learn the importance and value of teamwork.
I have personally always hated group work – whether as a student or as an employee. Quite frankly, working with others lowers the quality of the work I could do on my own. Either that, or I end up doing all the work myself, anyway, because I have lazy group members. However, I also accept that I have to do it, so when required, I do it, and “we” produce a mediocre outcome. When I’m allowed to work alone, I get excited about the possibilities, get creative, excel, the product is better, and it’s delivered faster.
I don’t blame students for hating group work. When they say they hate group work (when I DO assign it, and I DO), I tell them that hating something is no reason not to learn to do it and no reason not to do it and do it well. “For example,” I tell them, “I also really hate doing the dishes.”
Assistant Professor at Saint James School of Medicine
It can be very difficult when individual group members simply do not have any competencies relevant to the group assignment. However, working in teams in which individual members contribute their highest level of expertise or talent to the project generates outcomes that are greater than those that could be produced by a single person working alone.
Assistant Professor Process Technology at College of the Mainland
and BINGO !!!!!!!!!!!!! Rana Thank you very much. That is EXACTLY why we should do teams in college.
BTW………….rarely in 30 + years in 5 different sets of Plant experiences have i ever been asked if i wanted to join a group. I was assigned.
I was not the lead in the group more then i was. When i was leader, i was “graded” on how the team did. The sum of the parts is most often better then just 1 part. This ” I excel when i am working alone” besides being egocentric is most often NOT true in more Industries and careers then it is.
Steve Jobs , Bill Gates, et al might be really impressive individuals no doubt, but Apple, Goggle, Microsoft, and every top 500 company is team work oriented.
Here’s what I would see…the high achievers didn’t like group work because they ended up carrying the lesser achievers. The lesser achievers didn’t like group work because they were unveiled as lesser achievers.
Assistant Professor Process Technology at College of the Mainland
maybe, but that is the real world isn’t it? Sometimes i was the high achiever , some times not so much……….It isn’t us vs them………..it’s how do you work in teams to get the “job” or “assignment” done? and maybe more importantly how do i feel about the job i am doing?
and with peer grading input, every one in class knows who is who just like in real world.
I was turned down for a promotion once early on in my career field. The Boss 2 levels up said he couldn’t afford to lose me cause i was such a great member of the team……….
Boy did i hem and haw and get bent………..then my direct boss came to me and asked me if i trusted him and his boss or not?
i had to say yes since that was the truth………i got more of a raise and moved into a more visible spot on other teams then the fella who got promoted.
Assistant Professor at Univ of Manitoba, Inner City Social Work Program
Top Contributor
I agree with Rana and Wethington! I know that my wife has standards and she told me of one bad experience where she had to expel a member of her group and then explain to the prof why. After receiving a 1 page group assignment, which was due the following week, one group member choose not to submit anything until 10pm the night before the assignment was due for the 8am class. This was after repeated phone calls and emails asking for her input! So the next morning, this group member was told that her name would be removed from the next assignment, with a handwritten explanation that she had not contributed to the assignment and the prof was also given copies of the unanswered emails for the week! The funny thing, the assignment was on Humanities and covered free will. My wife told the prof that the other group members and she were using their collective “free will” and asking this student to be removed from the group. It was done, as the prof used his free will and placed her in another group — where she caused them havoc for the rest of the semester! The problem with group work stems from conflicting personalities rather than one person maybe not wanting to do “real” work to get the job done.
But she knows that she can be hard on group members and tells them in the beginning. If you tell students that this is about teamwork and the ability to show respect for others talent, time, skill, etc, and communicate your feelings in a non-confrontational way, then group work can be amazing.
Currently my wife is helping to mentor my 4 groups writing their portion of their class community assessment, so she is helping to reign 24 different personalities and working/writing styles so that these students individual papers can be edited into one cohesive paper. Yes, group is challenging for some, as trying to overcome the need to control everything can be exhausting.
Assistant Professor at Univ of Manitoba, Inner City Social Work Program
Top Contributor
Michael – maybe the “lesser achiever” did not appreciate the demeaning tone used by those who thought they were the “higher achievers.” I know that once group members start to label others, then that shows a lack of respect. While there are (many) times that group members may not contribute what they need to the group as a whole, it is up to the instructor to be made aware of this “problem” and let the students know that there is a solution to the situation of one or several members of a group not pulling their weight and doing their job to get the project done. That is why I grade on individual work within the group assignment- that way, the students still need to work together in order to ensure that the group project is well covered/presented and at the same time one member is not carrying the academic work load for the entire group. Group work is team work!
Associate Professor and Program Director at Paralegal Program, Kapi`olani Community College
Having the group spirit falter because one member doesn’t show up consistently can negatively impact the final project. However, in the real world for which I am preparing my students, they will run into good teammates and bad teammates, and they will need to produce the best work they can, despite any slackers. This is my strategy.
I give only one group project as semester (and not in each course) in recognition of the difficulty that students have in collaborating with each other in a non-residential community college setting where 75% of the students work. I assign a maximum of three people per team and I give them a description of the three roles that are important on this team – the coordinator, the scribe, and the document preparer – and each team gets to decide who gets which role. This gives them a structure right from the start and helps manage expectations.
In addition to the rubric for the project, I also provide them, right from the start, with a team member rubric that allows them to rate their team members as participating at a 100%, 80%, 60%, 40%, 20% or 0 level. I tell the students that if one of their members is slacking, that they will have to pitch in and do the work so that they produce a quality product, but that their teamwork multiplier will be applied to their colleague (so that if the team product receives 25 points, the two dedicated members get 100% of that, or the full 25 points, while a somewhat less productive member could get an 80% rating and thus earn only 20 points, or a real slacker get 40%, or 10 points). I reserve the right to make the final judgment in case of conflict.
So each student knows that they cannot coast with penalty – the individual grade they get will be adjusted according to their peers’ perception of them. So far, I have not had many team member downgrades, and no challenges to a group’s decision to downgrade the contributions of one of its members.
I agree that it helps to reinforce that they will be evaluated privately to me from their group members. I guess there will never be a perfect situation in teamwork; but when it works the members of the team can learn from it. The real world workplace will have obstacles along the way and the more practice the better.
I have had students say well if I was working in the workplace with this team I would quit. I try to explain to students that is not always an option. Working with team members is here to stay.
Professor (Adjunct) at Manchester Community College
In my function as an employment counselor, I would never consider recommending a customer take a position or place a client in a job where they are not comfortable. There is a job out there for everyone, that they will enjoy as part of their own fulfillment. If someone is uncomfortable with group work, we would not attempt to place someone in such a position, that could very well be paramount to failure.
Working with team members, as an overpowering concept, is overrated. That goes to the current warm fuzzy that people are happier if they socialize with the people they work with. Another not so bright idea – effectively, it breaks the workplace into age groups. Let’s face it – the years I worked as a ski instructor, my “peers” (and I do hate that term) were almost young enough to be my grandchildren. Not only did we not socialize outside of work, but a lot of folks probably would ave thought it was creepy for me to be hanging around with teenage boys and girls!
While at work, we may have to suffer participating with others for a project, there are usually some major differences than in the classroom. Most likely, the team has been chosen because of the unique skills they bring to the project. Their will be a designated arbitrator or team leader, and it is not just a random group of people who may or may not ave similar goals. Although we mean well in academia, are we really satisfying the need for any particular skills or are we blindly following our own “intuition.”
Having been to faculty and staff meetings that may take weeks just to come up with a mission statement, one must question whether or not we are helping or hurting students by having them participate in our personal version of group dynamics. I don’t teach HVAC – I leave that to the experts. Same with group dynamics – let’s have the black belts (re: General Electric) take the lead. Better yet – maybe we should send faculty to Six Sigma Certification. http://www.ge.com/sixsigma/SixSigma.pdf
The root cause for all maladies in executing any large sized projects in any Country lies in this very basic ‘hatred’ to get associated with group tasks or assignments by the students. It may sound strange, but it is true through empirical proof. The very fact that Chinese are very successful in their ventures, be it the Olympics or in delivering mega projects, with a spectacular finish are all linked into their cultural inheritance to consider themselves as a part and parcel of a large family at all times and in all places. The elements of Guanxi (establishing personal rapport with one another), the Mianzhi phenomenon (influence of Face), and their indomitable ethnographic bonding (‘minzhu de jing mi jie he) all play predominant roles in their work environment. In contrast to Chinese, people in other parts of the world are all influenced by their ‘self centric’ attitude and the desire to excel and compete with peers as an individual rather than as a group. Where ever there is a cohesion between the team members, as in the case of sports / games, the clear results of success can be easily discerned due to synergy creation. If the culture of group work is indoctrinated into the young minds right from their preliminary schooling days, by designing mini projects involving team participation, we as teaching fraternity can really transform our society in a great way!
professor at Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology
First, the “theory” –
In schools, colleges and universities, students are mainly graded on their individual competence as demonstrated in examinations of one sort or another. Assessment of personal performance and individual accountability for achievement are – like it or not – endemic to the liberal tradition (broadly defined) that has been increasingly part of Western culture since the early political theories of possessive individualism articulated by Hobbes and Locke. They are also essential to Western concepts of fairness, to what’s left of the idea of a “meritocracy,” and to concepts of unfairness such as collective punishment for the bad acts of a few (never mind coercion in the interest of creating “snitches” – as in “you’ll all get a detention until you ‘rat out’ the kid who hit the teacher in the back of the head with a piece of chalk … or a snowball”).
Group work (along with group-think and group-speak) may well be the order of the day (or the day after tomorrow) in the organizational-cum-corporate society (never mind that all members of the group are ready and willing to stab their colleagues in the back at an opportune moment and to win some sort of reward/promotion for doing so); however, we must at least acknowledge that an undiminished sense of personal responsibility and a complete dedication to teamwork are fundamentally contradictory – the potential problems this poses for employees’ mental health are enormous, if only in terms of issues of cognitive dissonance.
Now, the practice –
We all know (or should know) that assigned group work is mainly a farce. For example, tasks are almost never equally shared. The “smart kids” do the work and the dullards ride the coat-tails … especially if the smart kids are also easily intimidated and the dullards carry weapons. In any case, when all members of the group receive the same grade for an allegedly collaborative accomplishment, the ones who were mainly responsible for whatever success was achieved will inevitably feel resentment and the laggards will feel empowered for having “gamed the system.” Neither is a commendable result.
But, please, don’t get me wrong. I am a tremendous supporter of working in groups … provided that the groups are self-selected. Throughout undergraduate school and at least for my first postgraduate degree, I benefited a great deal from working with colleagues-friends in informal arrangements running from organized “study groups” in preparation for examinations to extended and unstructured “seminars” that could go for hours after a class (with or without libations at a local pub). In fact, I regard these often seemingly endless chats about this or that to have been essential to whatever learning took place for me and, I think, for others as well.
The point?
The trick is to distinguish between authentic “education” and “job training” in the sense of practice for corporate success by mirroring the “labour process” of employment and the “learning process” of education. As with most insinuations of the “business model” into the “academic atmosphere,” the results can be at best ambiguous, often oxymoronic and mostly a sham.
Incidentally, at a near-by university, several students were expelled for “plagiarism” in that they had gathered in a study group (online, I think) “brainstormed” about what was likely to be on the final exam, assigned responsibility for members to come up with answers to one or more questions, shared the information and – when the exam was written – got “caught” for providing almost identical word-for-word responses. So, it seems that not only the students but also the professors and the authorities above them are totally confused about what all of this means and may portend for a very uncertain future.
Self-selected groups are definitely the way to go. I have had very interesting issues, though, where after a time, no one would select a certain person for their group. That person had to wander around the room asking groups to please accept him in the group. Thank you for this wonderful post and the reminder that education is not all “job training.”
I do like team work. It is inspiring, fun, and let you communicate with others and build life-time friendships. Sometimes, group work hold you back, but it pays off when you meet people might need your help. This might release and ignite your mental reasoning, which will make you smarter.
The fact that one uses self – selected teams might work if all were of the exactly same motivation i suppose. I have seen “hi-performance” teams before, doesn’t usually work except maybe in a research environment.
We here select the teams. Why? Because of demographics, mixing the students up. They come to us not from the same demographic , except maybe for ivy-leaquers. We mix races, sexes, ages, family backgrounds, and the students demonstrated or even perceived abilities.
We give them projects including hands-on, oral, written, and presentations on subjects they know little if anything about. We set a timeline and send them off. As a Prof i nudge, cajole, push a little, send in right directions for info, and educate….
Take more time then a lecture? damn sure it does……But the outcome, oh the outcome when a team gets accomplishment that the project works!!!!
I have even seen teams who were successful, turn around and help other student teams reach the finish line. WITHOUT ME ASKING THEM TOO!!!
And they all Cheered and laughed and bonded thru it all……..Their eyes lite up, they hug each other, a sense of accomplishment is born showing how teamwork……..WORKS!!!!!
Anybody ever seen a high school or college debate team win??? WOW……..
I am not as eloquent as Howard. But i teach in a real world . :
“The trick is to distinguish between authentic “education” and “job training” in the sense of practice for corporate success by mirroring the “labour process” of employment and the “learning process” of education. As with most insinuations of the “business model” into the “academic atmosphere,” the results can be at best ambiguous, often oxymoronic and mostly a sham.”
Teams aren’t back stabbing, cut your throat minded or bad things. Neither is business. To even imply such when discussing what i believe we are to do as educators and mentors is ludicrous. You want to develop that side ?
I certainly don’t. It’s always amazing to me what stops Academia from investing in what supposedly is our concerns, the students.
Like it or not students need to go to jobs after college. Most of those jobs will NOT be academic in nature.
I rarely got to “pick” my teams i worked on. In Academia i sure haven’t. In workforce , omg i mean jobs…….GASP….in the “real “world, the same was true.
Doctors work together in surgery with all sorts of specialized training to ensure the outcome, a healed patient. Businesses can’t run without teamwork. The Military , far from what has been said here, may have top down leadership, but you can not fix a jet or ship or tank all by one person.
We tell the students “you can either be an agent for change in your life……or get run over by it”
Founder, Clavester University College Ltd; Clicking Connections; Oh Gracie! Sorrel jelly, wine and short stories
Re grade and plagiarism:
All group members have a collective responsibility where a group task is concerned. One cannot say not me, but the others. The grade is to be the same in my book.
My students are definitely fans of forming their own groups. What I did this semester was let them pick a topic, and also tell me if there were people in class they wanted to work with. For people who had other people they specifically wanted to work with, I tried to accommodate them. For people who did not know the other students well enough to know whom they wanted to work with, I assigned them to groups by the topic they were interested in.
I have a question for those of you who let students form their own groups, though. How do you handle that in a class of, say, 20-30, when the students don’t really know one another yet?
associate professor, faculty of art at Ontario College of Art & Design
At OCAD University in Toronto, i give my students a group assignment as their first assignment. I allow them to form their own groups and intervene when they are uncertain.
The students produce a short performative drawing using old-school overhead projectors and drawings on acetate, creating a narrative or music to accompany the images. I video their performances and later together we review the projects and offer critique based on the predetermined criteria. The project is only worth 20% of their total grade for the course in order to factor in the coasters. The results vary from year to year.
The project is not so much about product, although of course it is an important factor, but rather about learning to work in a group – how to organize themselves and utilize each others strengths to best advantage. Even in the arts, we are dependent on each other to form our ideas and forward them through the creation of exhibition venues for example. Often, after this project, students find peers and friendships emerge which sometimes continue long after they have graduated. In a large university setting is often hard for students to connect with one another, and let’s face it, so much learning comes from informal discussions among peers as from formal lecturing at the front of the lecture hall. And in the professional world, the discussion goes on after a degree is achieved.
Conference program available in PDF and upub format, so I can have it on my laptop and on my mobile device: diminishes the necessity to carry and pull constantly a paper stack.
it is the only conference I know with 6AM yoga. Strong spirit in a strong body. LRS & CETL must find space and instructors an offer mediation + yoga opportunity for SCSU students to disconnect
1:00 – 5:00 PM excursion to Carnegie Mellon – Learning Spaces. LRS interest in Learning Commons.
From the pre-conference workshops, Thurs, Nov 7, 8:30AM – 12:00PM: Linda Shadiow, Connecting Reflection and Growth: Engaging Faculty Stories.
This workshop seems attractive to me, since it coincides with my firm conviction that SCSU faculty must share “best practices” as part of the effort to engage them into learning new technologies.
Kenyon, Kimberly et al, Risky Business: Strategic Planning and Your Center.
This workshop might be attractive for Lalita and Mark Vargas, since strategic planning is considered right now at LRS and CETL might also benefit from such ideas.
roundtables, Thurs, Nov. 7, 1:30-2:45PM
Measuring the Promise in Learner-Centered Syllabi
Michael Palmer, Laura Alexander, Dorothe Bach, and Adriana Streifer, University of Virginia
Effective Faculty Practices: Student-Centered Pedagogy and Learning Outcomes
Laura Palucki Blake, UCLA
Laura is the assistant director http://gseis.ucla.edu/people/paluckiblake
3 time survey of freshmen. survey also faculty every 3 years. can link this date: faculty practices and student learning
triangulating research findings. student-centered pedagogy. which teaching practices are effective in promoting student-center learning practices.
no statistical differences in terms of student learning outcomes between part-time and full-time faculty. The literature says otherwise, but Laura did not find any statistical difference. http://ow.ly/i/3EL77
discussions is big, small group work is big with faculty
in terms of discussions, there is huge difference between doing discussion and doing it well.
this is a self-report data, so it can be biased
there are gender differences. women more likely to use class discussions, cooperative learning same, students presentations same. gender discipline holds the gender differences. same also in STEM fields.
students evaluations of each other work. cooperative learning: it is closer gender-wise.
the more student-centered pedagogy, the less disengagement from school work.
understand on a national level what students are exposed to. lpblake@hmc.edu http://www.heri.ucla.edu/
wabash national data.
ePublishing: Emerging Scholarship and the Changing Role of CTLs
Laura Cruz, Andrew Adams, and Robert Crow, Western Carolina University
LORs are in Kentucky.
CETL does at least Professional Development, Resources, Eportfolios, LORSs. FLCs
Teaching Times at Penn.
model 2: around instructional technology. More and more CETL into a combined comprehensive center. about 9 are paid by IT and 11 by academic center. because of finances cuts this is the model predicted from the 90s. Why not IT? because ater they say how to use it. and how to use it effective. think outside of technology, technogogy is not the same as technology. Teacher-scholar model: research, service, teaching. http://ow.ly/i/3EMJl
egallery and other electronic ways to recognize productivity. Stats and survey software does NOT reside with grad studies, but with CETL, so CETL can help faculty from a glimmer of an idea to presentation and publication. Research Support Specialist.
how and where it fits into faculty development. Neutrality. Should CETL be advocates for institutional, organizational change. Do CETL encourage faculty to take innovation and risk (change the culture of higher ed). Tenure and promotion: do we advocate that epub should count, e.g. a blog will count toward tenure.
a national publication: http://www.sparc.arl.org/resources/authors/addendum
we domenstrate that it is good school. scholarship of teaching will be good teaching.
OER? Open educational resources. SHould CETL host and participate in those? Do we participate in creating resources, which are designed to replace texbooks? Caroline has a state-wide grant to support faculty developing learning resources.
open access is controversial. the right to publish and republish. http://www.sparc.arl.org/
40% of all scholarly articles are owned by 3 publishers
Academic Social Media academic.edu and electronic journals.
CETL is the comprehensive center, the hub where people go to, so CETL can direct them to and or get together stakeholder to make things happen.
the lesson from this session for me is that Lalita and Keith Ewing must work much closer.
Evaluating the quality of MOOCs: Is there room for improvement? Erping Zhu, University of Michigan; Danilo Baylen, University of West Georgia
reflection on “taking” a MOOC and the seven principles. how to design and teach MOOC using the seven principles.
MOOC has a lot of issues; this is not the focus, focus is on the instructional design. Both presenters are instructional designers. Danilo is taking MOOC in library and information science.
Second principle: what is a good graduate education.
about half had completed a course. Atter the 3rd week the motivation is dissipating.
Erping’s experience: Provost makes quick decision. The CETL was charged with MOOC at U of Michigan. Securing Digital Democracy. http://www.mooc-list.com/university-entity/university-michigan
Danilo is a librarian. his MOOC class had a blog, gets a certificate at the end. Different from online class is the badges system to get you involved in the courses. the MOOC instructors also had involved grad students to monitor the others. the production team is not usually as transparent as at Corsera. Sustainability. 10 week module, need to do reflections, feedback from peers. 7 assignments are too much for a full-time professional. http://www.amazon.com/Library-2-0-Guide-Participatory-Service/dp/1573872970 http://tametheweb.com/category/hyperlibmooc/ http://tametheweb.com/2013/10/20/hyperlibmooc-library-2-013-presentation-links/
1. principle: contact btw faculty and student. Not in a MOOC. video is the only source provides sense of connection. the casual comments the instructor makes addressing the students provides this sense. Quick response. Collaboration and cooperation in MOOC environment and bring it in a F2F and campus teaching. Feedback for quizzes was not helpful to improve, since it i automated. students at the discussion board were the one who helped. from an instructional design point of view, how MOOC design can be improved.
group exercise, we were split in groups and rotated sheet among each other to log in response to 7 sheets of paper. then each group had to choose the best of the logged responses. the responses will be on the POD site.
eri week resources
Per Keith’s request
“Why Students Avoid Risking Engagement with Innovative Instructional Methods Donna Ellis, University of Waterloo”
Excerpt From: Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education. “POD Network 2013 Conference Program, Pittsburgh PA 11/7 to 11/10.” iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
A quantitative study. The difficulty of group works. Various questions from the audience, the time of class (early Mrng) is it a reason to increase the students disengagement. Students pereceptions .
The teacher did. It explain why the research and this might have increased the negative perception. Summary of key barrierS.
Risk of negative consequneces
preceived lack of control
contravention of perceived norms.
fishbein and Aizen 2010
discussoon . How faculty can design and deliver the course to minimize the barriers. Our table thought that there are a lot of unknown parameters to decide and it is good to hear the instructor nit only the researcher. How to deal with dysfunctional group members behaviors. Reflections from the faculty member how to response to the data? Some of the barriers frustrated him. Outlines for the assignments only part of the things he had done to mitigate. What are we asking students on course evaluations. Since a lot more then only negative feedback. Instructor needes more training in conflict resolution and how to run group work.
Friday, Nov 8, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
William Penn Ballroom
7 into 15
CRLT Players, University of Michigan”
Excerpt From: Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education. “POD Network 2013 Conference Program, Pittsburgh PA 11/7 to 11/10.” iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
It is a burlesque and theater approach to engage students and faculty into a conversation. 10 plays in 30 min.
Discuses different topics from the plays and seek solutions as a team. How to deal with international students ( Harvard lady said ” safe places” for students) how to deal with technology or the lack of it, missed next one writing this notes and how to reward faculty in innvative things. T. Encoruage innovation, they received a letter from the provost and if they fail, it is not used in their annual evaluation
No videotaping of this performance because the power is in conversation. Is there a franchise, like training people to do that. NSF grant was allowing them but now just pick up the idea. Sell scripts? Can have conversations about strategies how to collaborate with the theater department where to start these short vinniets. If come to campus and bring performance do they do also the follow up.
Is anger or hostility a reaction during after these presentations. How to handle it. Hostility can be productive and make sure that it is told that it is productive. Getting difficult things out there is what the theater is trying to do in a distant way. This is not a morality
how develop the work? How come up with issues. Faculty bring issues, followed by interviews, draft created we heater identifies the problem and address the issue. Preview performances with stakeholders who confirm . There are more then. Sufficient ideas, so the organizers can choose what they see most pertinent
ecrc committee went to their meeting instead of lunch to see if I can particpirate for next year activitities. Ecrc is the acronym for the tech committee. Web site is one takes of this committee. Word press site , how the groups work, how forms work, how to connect with people and most importantly how to start communicating through the web site and cut the listserv. An attempt to centralized all info in the website rather then scattered across universities.
what is BRL? Google apps and Wikipedia as a wiki for another year until figure out if it can be incorporated in the web site. Reconceptualize how do work in the process. To groups in ecrc. Wikpaidea and web page. And then social media with Amy? Ecrc liaison in every POD committee to understand how to set up the committee web presence. Blackboard collaborate to do meetings and this is what liason explain to committee members. Tinyurl.com/ECRC2013
Designing Online Discussions For Student Engagement And Deep Learning Friday, Nov 8, 2:15 PM – 3:30 PM, Roundtable
Parkview East
Danilo M Baylen, University of West Georgia”
pit must be asynchronous discussion
What is the purpose and format of the discussion. Assessment. How the online discussion is supporting the purpose of the curriculum to the students learning
About five discussions per semester all together. Behaved part of the class culture
Format of the assignment
asynchronous discussion list. Series of questions or a case study. Is the format a sequence of responses or invite a discussions
checklist which stifles a creative discussion or just let it more free
purpose – must be part of the syllabus and it must be clear.
Meeting learning objectives.
duration
interactivity – response to other students. List of 6 different options how they can reply. what format the interactivity takes Is important issue, which has no textbook
assessment- initial posting are critical, since it gives and idea what to work on. How much points as part of the bigger picture. Yet it is the ground work for the assignment, which gets most points.
metacognitive not evaluative , give students examples from the pro regions class what a good discussion is And explain students how to. Evaluate a good discussion entry
how the question is worded and use the threaded discussion for them to reflect how they think, rather then only assess if they read the chapter. The research about online discussion is very different.
What is the baseline.
Online course must must be set up ready before semester starts or not?
reflection for the end of the semester
SteVn brookfields critical questionaire
meet thISTI and qr standards
is reflection on the content or the process
students reflect on their own reflections
what have you learned about yourself as online learner and look for consistencies for both negative and positive reflections
2. Social media – in community with other students , faculty, organizations
3. Resume builder
eportfolio is. Prt of the assessment. Conversation on campus. Some depts use exportfolio extensively but not happy. Programmatic academic e portfolio to collect data
use Sakai open portfolio system
12 drepartments and six more second year. to speak the same language, they developed a guideline, conceptual framework ( see snapshot of handout)
Curriculum mapping ( see the grid on the. Handout) took much longer then expected.
the role of CETL. The provost at Kevin’s institution charged CETL to do the portfolio gig.
The big argument of the CETL redirector with the provost is that portfolio not only to collect data for assessment and accreditation but to provide meaningful experience for the students. EDUCAUSE report horizon, learning analytics Scandalous headlines of students suing law schools. bad deductions made on big data. The things that matte for students must be in the portfolio and they get used to use the portfolio. Pre reflection entries by the students, which shorted the advising sessions. The advisor can see ahead of time. The advisers. Will. B the. Focus point, The. Advising portfolio Is becoming
portfolio must be used by faculty not only students.
Whats the by in for students. Presentations portfolio part of. Marketing purposes. Google sites so when students leave the institutions students can ” take” the portfolio with them as we’ll go multimedia. attempts failed because platforms which can be cutozmized we’re not used Digital identity As CETL director not technology expect and how to learn from the faculty and that was very
documenting and learning with eportfolios.
faculty to demonstrate reflections to students and how enter into portfolio. Using rubrics. Faculty are using already tools but connecting with. Reflections.
STAR: Situation , tasks, action, response
Writing skills differentiate, but even good writers got better on reflection
how one polish a portfolio before bringing to an Employer. Student Working with career services to polish and proofread.
How much the university is responsible for an individual portfolio. How many levels of proof reading.
Poor student work reflects a poor faculty attention.
“Groups Inform Pedagogies Friday, Nov 8, 3:45 PM – 5:00 PM, 35-Minute Research Session A
Carnegie III
Rhett McDaniel and Derek Bruff, Vanderbilt University”
Teaching Online and Its Impact on Face-to-Face Teaching Friday, Nov 8, 3:45 PM – 5:00 PM, 35-Minute Research Session B
Greene & Franklin
Lorna Kearns, University of Pittsburgh”
Freedom to Breathe: A Discussion about Prioritizing Your Center’s Work
Andy Goodman and Susan Shadle, Boise State University
Connecting, Risking, and Learning: A Panel Conversation about Social Media
Michelle Rodems, University of Louisville. Conference C 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM
The use of social media in higher education
Conference C 9-11:15 AM
Panel of CETL directors and faculty. The guy from Notre dame uses word press the same way I use it. Collect questions and after the 3rd one creates blog entry and answers the next q/ s with the URL to the blog entry NspireD is the name of. The blog
the OHIO state UCAT guy is a twitter guy. Program coordinator who manages wordpress and web site. Intersect with FB and twitter. Platforms are inteGrated, so be did not to know the technicalities. The graduate consultants are setting up. ciirdinator tried to understand how the mesh together. Can be used as conversation starters or to broadcast and share info. Use of hashtags how to use them appropriate in twitter and FB to streamline .
Scsu problem. W don’t build it they will not come. a Tim burton version of the field of dreams.
Rachel CETL assist dir at U of Michigan. She is out there personally likes it. Very static web page. Drupal as a content management system so the blog is part of the web page. So 2 times a week entries. One of the staff people is an editor and writes blog posts, but vetted by a second CETL staff. Auto push for the blog to the twitter. Screencasts for YouTube channel with screencasts. Comments on the blog minimal from faculty and stat. What about students? About 1000 followers on the twitter. What do analytics say. Hits on home page, but no idea how much time reading. The time people spend more time and using the tags . the use of blog is less formal way to share information. recycling in December and August a lot of material.
does anybody subscribe and do you promote RSS
the separate blog for a workshop requires interaction and that is a success
for faculty development U of Michigan is using blog recruited 50 to follow the blog. TSam of 3 using. WordPress For a semester and then survey. Focus group. Huge success, between 6 and 30 comments. Community with no other space on campus
how are u using social media to promote connections. elevate voices of others on campus by interviewing faculty. At U of Michigan there was no interest to learn about what other faculty are doing. So they trashed that initiative but starTed a video narration about faculty who innovate. Videotaped and edited no hi Qual video , tagged and blog posted and this approach created more connection, because it is not text only.
What have been the obstacles and indoor failure and what have you learned?
convincing the administration that CETL than do it and it does not have to be the same quality as the web page and the printed material. Changing the mindset. No assessment, since nothing else was working and they were ready for radical step such as blog
Same with the twitter. Taking the risk to experiment with the hashtags. Tweets can’t be approved. Need to time to build an audience, one month will not have an impact. Start with the. Notion that you are building a reposIvory noT a foRum
one of the panelist has a google spreadsheet which has information of allCETL social media sites There are resources on how to deal with negative outcomes of using social media. Working with librarians, the Norte dame said! they will give you twenty sources. No no, no, he siad, give me your best three.
U of MichiGan more grad studns blog guest posts almost no faculty.
Have you considered giving them more then guest blog, but no facilitator? Let faculty once a semester do a blog post. It is not moderated but more like lead to how to do a good blog. Interview based approach is unique and does not show up somewhere elSe.
Insitutional background important in these decisions.
How often refresh the wordpress page. How often one person is voicing and it takes a log of journalistic skills. Use the draft option to publish when there are several ideas coming at once.
Mindshift of CETL is to decrease the standards. Make it more informal. Blog post can be always fixed later. To avoid faculty false perception that this is not scholarly needs to be references. So causal tone + references.
Blog ” from students perspective” is repurposE
Risking Together: Cultivating Connection and Learning for Faculty Teaching Online
Michaella Thornton, Christopher Grabau, and Jerod Quinn, Saint Louis University
Oliver 9-11:15 AM
Space Matters! and Is There a Simple Formula to Understand and Improve Student Motivation
Kathleen Kane and Leslie A. Lopez, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Riverboat 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM
The Risks and Rewards of Becoming a Campus Change Agent
Dr. Adrianna Kezar, University of Southern California
William Penn Ballroom 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Branch campuses, students abroad, to more with less, completion from profit institutions
students work more but this is a good reflection on learning success
provost might ask to consolidate prof development opportunities for faculty and students instead of faculty only.
If administration is genuine understand transparent Administration more about persuading not listening. Respect, not assuming that faculty will not accept it. If faculty will sacrifices what will faculty see the administration sacrifice on their side. Leading from the. Middle , it means collective vision for the future. Multilevel leadershup, top down efforts dont work and bottom top are fragile. Managing up is less preferred then powering up. It is difficult to tell administration that they miss or misunderstand the technology issue.
Four frames. Goal multi frame leadership http://www.tnellen.com/ted/tc/bolman.html. Vey much the same as Jim Collins good to great right people on the bus right trained http://www.afa1976.org/Portals/0/documents/Essentials/Creating%20Organizational%20Learning%20and%20Change.pdf
How to build coalition, different perspectives, aknowledge the inherent conflict.
The Delphi project
It Takes a Campus: Promoting Information Literacy through Collaboration
Karla Fribley and Karen St. Clair, Emerson College
Oakmont 1:45 PM – 3:00 PM
Most of the attendees and both presenters were librarians
The presenters played a scatch to involve the particppaints
Curriculum mapping to identify which courses are the stretigic ones to instill the non credit info litreacy
acrl assessment in action
Risky Business: Supporting Institutional Data Gathering in Faculty Development Centers
Meghan Burke and Tom Pusateri, Kennesaw State University
Oliver 1:45 PM – 3:00 PM Roundtable
Exploring Issues of Perceptual Bias and International Faculty
Shivanthi Anandan, Drexel University.
Heinz 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM Roundtable
Why do we need it and onoy regarding international faculty don’t in Kim Lisa wolf-wendel
susan twombly. Pointers for hiring and retention. Performance is both teaching and living. Sanitary effect. sanitary issues not only pay rate. FLC all tenure track without citizenship they are worried about their tenure. Funding agencies, very few will fund you if you are not a citizenship
Diane Schafer perceptual biases, graffiti. Cathryn Ross
Averting Death by PowerPoint! From Killer Professors to Killer Presenters
Christy Price, Dalton State College
Riverboat 4:45 PM – 6:00 PM
How to create effective mini lectures checklist for acting palnning
engage and leave lecture out. The reason why can’t move away is because some people lecture as performance art
Make lectures mini. How long mini should be. 22 min, the age number of the person.
Emotional appeal, empathy.
Evoke positive emotions with humor. Always mixed method research, since the narrative Berk, r. (2000) and Sousa (2011)
ethical. Obligations and emotional appeal
acknowledge the opposition
enhance memory processing with visuals and multimedia
use guided practice by miniki zing note taking
presentationzen is a book! which need to read http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/presentation-zen-garr-reynolds/1100391495?ean=9780321525659