Posts Tagged ‘collaboration.’

29
Jul
2018

social media adoption education

categories: collaboration and creativity, Digital literacy, distance learning, distributive learning, e-learning, educational technology, information technology, instructional technology, pedagogy, social media
Arshad, M., & Akram, M. S. (2018). Social Media Adoption by the Academic Community: Theoretical Insights and Empirical Evidence From Developing Countries. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 19(3). Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/3500
Building on the social constructivist paradigm and technology acceptance model, we propose a conceptual model to assess social media adoption in academia by incorporating collaboration, communication, and resource sharing as predictors of social media adoption, whereas perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness act as mediators in this relationship.
According to the latest social media statistics, there are more than 2 billion Facebook users, more than 300 million Twitter users, more than 500 million Google+ users, and more than 400 million LinkedIn users (InternetLiveStats, 2018).
although social media is rapidly penetrating into the society, there is no consensus in the literature on the drivers of social media adoption in an academic context. Moreover, it is not clear how social media can impact academic performance.
Social media platforms have significant capability to support the social constructivist paradigm that promotes collaborative learning (Vygotsky, 1978).
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technology acceptance model (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_acceptance_model):
  • Perceived usefulness (PU) – This was defined by Fred Davis as “the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her job performance“.
  • Perceived ease-of-use (PEOU) – Davis defined this as “the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would be free from effort” (Davis 1989).

Venkatesh, V., Morris, M. G., Davis, G. B., & Davis, F. D. (2003). USER ACCEPTANCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: TOWARD A UNIFIED VIEW. MIS Quarterly, 27(3), 425-478.
http://login.libproxy.stcloudstate.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3daph%26AN%3d10758835%26site%3dehost-live%26scope%3dsite
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proposing a Social Media Adoption Model (SMAM) for the academic community

Social media platforms provide an easy alternative, to the academic community, as compared to official communications such as email and blackboard. my note: this has been established as long as back as in 2006 – https://www.chronicle.com/article/E-Mail-is-for-Old-People/4169. Around the time, when SCSU announced email as the “formal mode of communication).Thus, it is emerging as a new communication and collaboration tool among the academic community in higher education institutions (Roblyer, McDaniel, Webb, Herman, & Witty, 2010). Social media has greatly changed the communication/feedback environment by introducing technologies that have modified the educational perspective of learning and interacting (Prensky, 2001).

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Theory of Reasoned Action : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_reasoned_action
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the Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) and the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989) have been used to assess individuals’ acceptance and use of technology. According to the Technology Acceptance Model, perceived usefulness and perceived ease are the main determinants of an individual’s behavioral intentions and actual usage (Davis, 1989).

Perceived usefulness, derived from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), is the particular level that an individual perceives that they can improve their job performance or create ease in attaining the targeted goals by using an information system. It is also believed to make an individual free from mental pressure (Davis, 1989).

Perceived ease of use can be defined as the level to which an individual believes that using a specific system will make a task easier (Gruzd, Staves, & Wilk, 2012) and will reduce mental exertion (Davis, 1989). Venkatesh (2000) posits this construct as a vital element in determining a user’s behavior toward technology. Though generally, there is consensus on the positive effect of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness on users’ attitude towards social media, it is not yet clear which one of these is more relevant in explaining users’ attitude towards social media in the academic community (Lowry, 2002). Perceived ease of use is one of the eminent behavioral beliefs affecting the users’ intention toward technology acceptance (Lu et al., 2005). The literature suggests that perceived ease of use of technology develops a positive attitude toward its usage (Davis, 1989).

Collaborative learning is considered as an essential instructional method as it assists in overcoming the communication gap among the academic community (Bernard, Rubalcava, & St-Pierre, 2000). The academic community utilizes various social media platforms with the intention to socialize and communicate with others and to share common interests (Sánchez et al., 2014; Sobaih et al., 2016). The exchange of information through social media platforms help the academic community to develop an easy and effective communication among classmates and colleagues (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). Social media platforms can also help in developing communities of practice that may help improve collaboration and communication among members of the community (Sánchez et al., 2014). Evidence from previous work confirms that social media platforms are beneficial to college and university students for education purposes (Forkosh-Baruch & Hershkovitz, 2012). Due to the intrinsic ease of use and usefulness of social media, academics are regularly using information and communication technologies, especially social media, for collaboration with colleagues in one way or the other (Koh & Lim, 2012; Wang, 2010).

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more about social media in education in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=social+media+education

01
Apr
2018

collaboration creates mediocrity

categories: announcement

‘Collaboration’ Creates Mediocrity, Not Excellence, According to Science

Far from being a productivity panacea, a collaborative culture will drive your top performers away.

A recent study published in Applied Psychology has now confirmed that a collaborative work environment can make top performers–the innovators and hard-workers–feel miserable and socially isolated.

The problem is that rather than seeing a top performer as a role models, mediocre employees tend to see them as threats, either to their own position in the company or to their own feelings of self-worth.

Rather than improving their own performance, mediocre employees socially isolate top performers, spread nasty rumors about them, and either sabotage, or attempt to steal credit for, the top performers’ work. As the study put it: “Cooperative contexts proved socially disadvantageous for high performers.”

open-plan offices, with all their interruptions, distractions, and noise pollution, are productivity sinkholes. My note: and if these sinkholes are avoided, the PSEUDO-democracy of faculty meetings can assure the ostracizing of those who think differently and assert the rule of meritocracy in a “democratic” way.

This is not to say that teamwork is a bad thing, per se. Indeed, most complex projects require a team to successfully complete. For teams to be effective, though, they need leaders who can swiftly squelch any attempt to isolate or denigrate a top performer.

25
Sep
2017

teaching and assessing soft skills

categories: learning, teaching

Teaching & Assessing Soft Skills

Posted on September 13, 2017 by Catlin Tucker
http://catlintucker.com/2017/09/teaching-assessing-soft-skills/

Communication in Person & Online (available in PDF format here: Communication in Person Online Rubric)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16JVAivizIysXdmUVXzC2BP2NiclbJ21N9cOZQ6NdqxU/edit

1 2 3 4
Limited, to no, participation in discussions.

 

Does not come to discussions prepared. As a result, fails to support statements with evidence from texts and other research.

 

Few attempts to ask questions or build on ideas shared.

 

Frequently violates the “dos and don’ts of online communication.”

 Limited participation in discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with various partners.

 

Does not consistently come to discussions prepared. Limited preparation and inability to support statements with evidence from texts and other research reflects lack of preparation.

 

Limited attempts to ask questions, build on ideas shared, or invite quieter voices into the conversation.

 

Hesitant to respond to other perspectives and fails to summarize points or make connections.

 

Occasionally violates the “dos and don’ts of online communication.”

 Participates in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners.

 

Comes to discussions prepared, having read and researched material. Draws on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic.

 

Attempts to drive conversations forward by asking questions, building on ideas shared, and inviting quieter voices into the conversation.

Responds to diverse perspectives, summarizes points, and makes connections.

 

Respects the “dos and don’ts for online communication.”

 Initiates and participates effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners.

Comes to discussions prepared with a unique perspective, having read and researched material; explicitly draws on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic.

Propels conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate to the current discussion. (Adds depth by providing a new, unique perspective to the discussion.)

Responds thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarizes points of agreement and disagreement, and makes new connections. Leans in and actively listens.

Makes eye contact, speaks loud enough to be heard, and body language is strong.

Respects the “dos and don’ts for online communication.”

Critical Thinking & Problem Solving,  (available in PDF format here: Critical Thinking Problem Solving Rubric)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fjlODmLvrVZyrKnzz54LbVa7CqfbAJvLfb98805fjuY/edit

1 2 3 4
Reflects surface level understanding of information.

 

Unable or unwilling to evaluate quality of information or draw conclusions about information found.

Does not try to solve problems or help others solve problems. Lets others do the work.

 

Does not actively seek answers to questions or attempt to find information. Does not seek out peers or ask teacher for guidance or support.

 Attempts to dive below the surface when analyzing information but work lacks depth.

Struggles to evaluate the quality of information and does not draw insightful conclusions about information found.

Does not suggest or refine solutions, but is willing to try out solutions suggested by others.

Asks teachers or other students for answers but does not use online tools, like Google and YouTube, to attempt to answer questions or find information.

 Demonstrates a solid understanding of the information.

 

Evaluates the quality of information and makes inferences/draws conclusions.

 

Refines solutions suggested by others.

 

Attempts to use online tools, like Google and YouTube, to seek answers and find information.

 Demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of the information.

 

Effectively evaluates the quality of information and makes inferences/draws conclusion that are insightful.

 

Actively looks for and suggests solutions to problems.

 

Uses online tools, like Google and YouTube, to proactively seek answers and find information.

 

 

Collaboration & Contributions in a Team Dynamic  (available in PDF format here: Collaboration Contributions in a Team Dynamic Rubric)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ucjgylXWz8nOM5Vq8FpTByur8smsbov3mR8pX-7n1SE/edit

1 2 3 4
Fails to listen to, share with, and support the efforts of team members making accomplishing a task more difficult for the team.

Frequently inattentive or distracting when team members talk. Requires frequent redirection by team members and/or teacher.

Body language does not reflect engagement in the process. Focus on leaning in, asking questions, actively listening (e.g. make eye contact).

Rarely offers feedback. Frequently becomes impatient, frustrated, and/or disrespectful.

 

Limited attempts to move between roles.

Does not use resources to support the team’s work.

 Attempts to listen to, share with, and support the efforts of team members are limited or inconsistent.

Does not always listen when team members talk and requires redirection by team members and/or teacher.

Body language does not reflect engagement in the process. Focus on leaning in, asking questions, actively listening (e.g. make eye contact).

Occasionally offers feedback. At times, becomes impatient or frustrated with the process making teamwork more challenging.

Limited attempts to move between roles.

Does not consistently use resources to support the team’s work.

 Listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of team members.

Listens when team members talk.

Attempts to engage in group tasks; however, body language does not consistently communicate interest or attention. Body language reflects engagement in the process, but there is room for improvement.

Offers feedback and treats team members with respect. At times, becomes impatient or frustrated with the process making teamwork more challenging.

Attempts to be flexible and move between roles; at times dominates a particular role. This is an area of potential growth.

Uses resources to support the team’s work.

 Consistently listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of team members.

 

Leans in and actively listens when team members talk.

 

Body language communicates interest in team tasks and engagement in the process.

 

Offers constructive feedback, treats team members with respect, and is patient with the process.

 

Creates balance on the team moving between responsibilities without dominating any one role.

 

Uses resources effectively to support the team’s work.

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more on soft skills in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=soft+skills

21
Mar
2017

Susan Grajek at Bryan Alexander on IT and education

categories: announcement, information technology

Susan Grajek at Bryan Alexander on IT and education

Forum takes a deep dive into higher education and technology. On Thursday, March 23rd, from 2-3 pm EST we will be joined by Susan Grajek, the vice president for communities and research at EDUCAUSE

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Top 10 IT Issues, 2017: Foundations for Student Success

Susan Grajek and the 2016–2017 EDUCAUSE IT Issues Panel  Tuesday, January 17, 2017http://er.educause.edu/articles/2017/1/top-10-it-issues-2017-foundations-for-student-successThe 2017 EDUCAUSE Top 10 IT Issues are all about student successTop 10 IT issues

EDUCAUSE supports early adopters in this area through the Integrated Planning and Advising for Student Success (iPASS) grant challenge, a program in which EDUCAUSE helps develop models for the field by working closely with a small number of institutions that are pioneering iPASS systems.

Issue #1: Information Security

Developing a holistic, agile approach to reduce institutional exposure to information security threats

That program should encompass people, process, and technologies:

  • Educate users
  • Develop processes to identify and protect the most sensitive data
  • Implement technologies to encrypt data and find and block advanced threats coming from outside the network via from any type of device

Who Outside the IT Department Should Care Most about This Issue?

  • End-users, to understand how to avoid exposing their credentials
  • Unit heads, to protect institutional data
  • Senior leaders, to hold people accountable
  • Institutional leadership, to endorse, fund, and advocate for good information security

Issue #2: Student Success and Completion

Effectively applying data and predictive analytics to improve student success and completion

Predictive analytics allows us to track trends, discover gaps and inefficiencies, and displace “best guess” scenarios based on implicitly developed stories about students.

Issue #3: Data-Informed Decision Making

Ensuring that business intelligence, reporting, and analytics are relevant, convenient, and used by administrators, faculty, and students

Higher education information systems generate vast amounts of data daily (including the classroom/LMS). This potentially rich source of information is underused. Even though most institutions have created reports, dashboards, and other distillations of data, these are not necessarily useful or used to inform strategic objectives such as student success or institutional efficiency.

Issue #4: Strategic Leadership

Repositioning or reinforcing the role of IT leadership as a strategic partner with institutional leadership

CIOs have two challenges in this regard. The first is getting to the table. Contemporary requirements for IT leaders position them well for strategic leadership.18 Those requirements include expertise in management and business practices, project portfolio management, negotiation, and change leadership. However, business-savvy CIOs can alienate some academics, particularly those opposed to administrators as leaders. Worse, not all CIOs are well-equipped for a position at the executive table.

Issue #5: Sustainable Funding

Developing IT funding models that sustain core services, support innovation, and facilitate growth

Two complications have deepened the IT funding challenge in recent years. The first is that information technology is now incontrovertibly core to the mission and function of colleges and universities. The second complication is that at most institutions, digital investments and technology refreshes have been funded with capital expenditures. Yet IT services and infrastructure are moving outside the institution, generally to the cloud, and cloud funding depends on ongoing expenditures rather than one-time investments.

Issue #6: Data Management and Governance

Improving the management of institutional data through data standards, integration, protection, and governance

Data management and governance is not an IT issue. It requires a broad, top-down approach because all departments need to buy in and agree. All stakeholders (data owners as well as IR, IT, and institutional leaders) must collaboratively develop a common set of data definitions and a common understanding of what data is needed, in what format, and for what purposes. This coordination, or governance, will enable constituents to communicate with confidence about the data (e.g., “the single version of truth”) and the standards (e.g., APLU, IPEDS, CDS) under which it is collected.

Institutions often choose to approach data management from three perspectives: (1) accuracy, (2) usability, and (3) privacy. The IT organization has a role to play in creating and maintaining data warehouses, integrating systems to facilitate data exchange, and maintaining standards for data privacy and security.

Issue #7: Higher Education Affordability

Prioritizing IT investments and resources in the context of increasing demand and limited resources

Uncoordinated, redundant expenditures supplant other needed investments, such as consistent classroom technology or dedicated information security staff. Planning needs to occur at the institutional or departmental level, but it also needs a place to coalesce and be assessed regionally, nationally, and in some cases, globally, because there isn’t enough money to do everything that institutional leaders, faculty, and others want or even need to do. Public systems are making some headway in sharing services, but for the most part, local optimization supersedes collaboration and compromise.

Issue #8: Sustainable Staffing

Ensuring adequate staffing capacity and staff retention as budgets shrink or remain flat and as external competition grows

As institutions become more dependent on their IT organizations, IT organizations are more dependent on the expertise and quality of their workforce. New hires need to be great hires, and great staff need to want to stay. Each new hire can change the culture and effectiveness of the IT organizations

Issue #9: Next-Gen Enterprise IT

Developing and implementing enterprise IT applications, architectures, and sourcing strategies to achieve agility, scalability, cost-effectiveness, and effective analytics

Buildings should outlive alumni; technology shouldn’t. IT leaders are examining core enterprise applications, including ERPs (traditionally, suites of financial, HR, and student information systems) and LMSs, for their ability to meet current and future needs.

Issue #10: Digital Transformation of Learning

Collaborating with faculty and academic leadership to apply technology to teaching and learning in ways that reflect innovations in pedagogy and the institutional mission

According to Michael Feldstein and Phil Hill, personalized learning applies technology to three processes: content (moving content delivery out of the classroom and allowing students to set their pace of learning); tutoring (allowing interactive feedback to both students and faculty); and contact time (enabling faculty to observe students’ work and coach them more).
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more on IT in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=information+technology

07
Mar
2017

WordPress and Google Docs

categories: Digital literacy, educational technology, instructional technology, online learning, social media, technology literacy

WordPress.com for Google Docs lets you edit in Docs and publish in WordPress

by MIX —

This means that you’ll no longer have to deal with nerve-wracking copy-and-paste headaches since all formatting preferences from Docs will automatically be applied to the copy in WordPress.

But more importantly: You’ll also be able to edit pieces with partners and colleagues simultaneously and follow the changes they make in real-time.

The nifty integration will be available for any WordPress.com blog as well as any WordPress.org website equipped with the Jetpack plugin. All you have to do to enable it is authorize the add-on with access to your blog by signing up to your WordPress account.

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more on social media in this blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=social+media

14
Dec
2016

collaborative whiteboards

categories: collaboration and creativity, Digital literacy, educational technology, instructional technology, mobile learning, Project Based Learning, student-centered learning

Collaborative Whiteboards

Practical Ed Tech Tip of the Week – Three Free Collaborative Whiteboard Tools

NoteBookCast is a free whiteboard tool that will work in the web browser on a laptop, iPad, Android tablet, and Windows tablet. NoteBookCast is a collaborative whiteboard tool. You can invite others to join your whiteboard by entering the code assigned to your whiteboard. You can chat while drawing on NoteBookCast whiteboards. In the video embedded below I demonstrate how to use NoteBookCast.

Web Whiteboard makes it easy to include a whiteboard in your Google+ Hangout. In the video embedded below I demonstrate how easy it is to use Web Whiteboard in a Google+ Hangout.

Stoodle is a free collaborative whiteboard tool hosted by the CK12 Foundation. You can use text chat while sharing your whiteboard. Registration is not required in order to use Stoodle. In the video embedded below I demonstrate the features of Stoodle.

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more on white boards in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=white+boards

07
Mar
2016

engagement and contemplative practices

categories: announcement, contemplative computing, contemplative pedagogy, Digital literacy, student-centered learning

The On Course National Conference

http://oncourseworkshop.com/national-conference-overview/

has several sessions of interest:

Padlet Possibilities – Using Their Phones to Keep Their Attention in Class
Presenters: Kathy Magee and Paul Phillips, Faculty, Occupational Health and Safety, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
Summary: Tired of fighting your students’ phones for their attention? Maybe it’s because the phone is more interesting than the lesson (or worse, than you). Why not use those phones to encourage participation in the day’s classroom activities and keep the on the learning and lessons you have planned. This session will have participants using their Ipads, tablets, and phones to access Padlet in order to identify, discuss, and adapt ways that this free software can be used in multi-disciplines.

Using PBL, and Active and Collaborative Techniques in Science Teaching
Presenter: Stamatis Muratidis, Faculty, Chemistry, Palo Alto College, TX
Summary: Participants interested in tips for successfully involving students by developing Active and Collaborative Learning (ACL) techniques will be engaged by use of a variety of topics, models and tools. Most of the workshop will take place in a collaborative group format and best practices for forming, molding and nurturing collaborative groups will be emphasized. Along the way the presenter will be promoting data-driven best practices, while identifying and mitigating some of the common pitfalls of implementing PBL and ACL activities.

Relax, Reflect, Relate: 3 R’s of Contemplative Practice
Presenter: William H. Johnson, Jr., Student Success Coordinator/Personal Development Coach, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC
Summary: Is life moving too fast? Are you busy beyond belief? Well, slow down! Would you attend a session that allows you to take the time to relax and be still, reflect on your life, and relate your thoughts and feelings to others? If you answered “yes” to at least one of these questions, then this workshop is for you. Research has shown that people applying some type of contemplative practice in their lives are likely to be more engaged, and are healthier and happier in life. Attendees in this session will participate in two forms of contemplative practice – meditation and reflective writing – that enhance personal growth. By the end of the session, you will learn strategies to quiet the mind, engage the spirit, and connect with others!

Study Smarter, Not Just Harder!
Presenter: Amy Munson, Director of Instructional Design, United States Air Force Academy
Summary: The United States Air Force Academy Science of Teaching and Learning program is conducting a study on how students learn about their own learning. The research team hypothesizes that students learn more from peers than from “outsiders” such as faculty members and has set out to develop a peer training and messaging program alongside a faculty training and messaging program using the same three highly successful learning/self-management strategies. On Course structures and strategies were implemented for the training components as researchers shared the benefits of practice testing, spaced practice and successive relearning as defined in Dunlosky and Rawson’s meta-analysis of learning strategies. This workshop will give participants an opportunity to learn more about those three strategies while also learning about how to implement a student “train the trainer” program.

 

10
Mar
2015

digital portfolio

categories: announcement, Digital literacy, technology literacy

Digital Portfolios: Facilitating Authentic Learning and Cultivating Student Ownership

presented on Tuesday, March 3, 2015.

Steve Zimmerman (charter school director), New York

digital porfolio software: open source. Google Sites – free, but too laborious for teachers

must be student owned and intuitive interface (you cannot say this about MN eFolio)

assessment rubrics

easy sharing and feedback

accessible form mobile devices (you cannot say this about MN eFolio)

easy integration with other applications (you cannot say this about MN eFolio)

Tina Holland

she is not a test person. good for her.
writing, critical thinking, creative thinking, soft skills (communication, collaboration, negotiation). team players, problme solvers, prioritize,

education is moving from traditional teaching methods, to inquiry based. self-directed learning. from summative to formative assessment

21st century learning competencies

#DigitalPortfolio

the presentation is now available on-demand at: http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=936737&s=1&k=93DDFD3EB35B18A080B8EB13DD8FA770.

More on digital portfolio in this blog:

https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/?s=digital+portfolio

08
Nov
2013

Online Learning: MOOC – resources and ideas

categories: mobile learning, mooc, MOOC, online learning, open learning, student-centered learning

http://chronicle.com/section/Online-Learning/623/

A MOOC Platform Based on Engagement:
http://campustechnology.com/articles/2013/11/06/a-mooc-platform-based-on-engagement.aspx

COLLEGE UNBOUND: THE FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR STUDENTS

Posted on November 5, 2013 by 
http://www.knewton.com/blog/knewton/education-technology/2013/11/05/college-unbound/