Import Test : Teaching and Technology

Cast Your Pod to the Wind

Matt Scales — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 04:18:53 GMT

The following links are resources for the Massachusetts Colleges Online conference presentation Cast Your Pod to the Wind, June 13, 2006 at Middlesex Community College:

Horizon report: http://www.nmc.org/horizon/ (Emerging educational technologies)

Podomatic: http://www.podomatic.com/ (Easily create and post podcasts)

ActiveWorlds: http://www.activeworlds.com/edu/index.asp (virtual 3D worlds)

Muzzy Lane Software: http://www.muzzylane.com/ (educational gaming software)

Serious Game Summit: http://www.seriousgamessummit.com/ (conference on educational use of games)

Games, Learning & Society: http://www.glsconference.org/default.htm (conference on educational gaming)

Educational Arcade: http://www.educationarcade.org/ (MIT -University of Wisconsin joint project on educational gaming)

Best of Web 2.0 Software: http://web2.wsj2.com/the_best_web_20_software_of_2005.htm (review of Web 2.0 software)

Just In Time Teaching

Matt Scales — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 16:11:16 GMT

The excerpts below were taken from the editorial "Just in Time Teaching" by James Rhem featured in the Tomorrow's Professor mailing list. Rhem's editorial highlights presentations by Scott Simkins, professor of economics at North Carolina A&T and colleagues from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) at the inaugural meeting of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

A quick and dirty description of "Just In Time Teaching" (JiTT) compares it to putting the "Study Questions" once found at the end of textbook chapters up on the Web. But there's a lot more to it. For one thing, the affect generated by JiTT differs markedly from that associated with a student pondering study questions alone in the dorm. The questions and exercises posted for students on the Web before each class meeting become the grist for that class meeting, not a quiz per se or a tidying up of understanding before getting on with the dispensing of another huge chunk of content. In this pedagogy, student questions, student understanding (and misunderstanding), student learning become the focus of instruction, and dialogue replaces lecture.

..."This approach lets us get into students minds," says Simkins, "it helps make their thinking visible." "It changes the character of the classroom," he continues. "The comments we are responding to are 'their stuff,' not my stuff from lectures or stuff from the book; so there's a different kind of involvement and a different level of involvement."

To view the entire editorial follow this link: Just In Time Teaching

Welcome "Bridging" Members!

Matt Scales — Tue, 18 Jan 2005 19:15:00 GMT

Here are some points we hope to cover in the next 10 minutes or so regarding the use of a blog to support the online component of an educational community of practice:

Framing the presentation in a larger context: "The communication tools of the future"
Tour of the COPPER Blog
Description and brief history of the COPPER Cluster SoTL Community
Development of the blog over time - growth, new directions, and current challenges

Additional issues should time permit:

Open versus closed (password protected) sites
Blogs versus threaded discussion boards
Thoughts on using blogs with students

Useful Blog links:

Blogs in Education:

http://mywebspace.quinnipiac.edu/PHastings/bac.html

http://awd.cl.uh.edu/blog/

Create a book from your blog:

http://www.blogbinders.com/default.asp

Feel free to use the comments area below to pose questions, offer reactions, and share "blogging" experiences with the entire community. You're welcome to return at any time to participate in our ongoing discussions and sharing of ideas and resources.

Bridging Community to Visit Blog

Matt Scales — Sat, 15 Jan 2005 15:45:00 GMT

Members of the NLII (National Learning Infrastructure Initiative) Bridging Community will be paying a visit to the COPPER Blog on Wednesday, January 19, for a brief presentation on the use of blogs as a collaborative tool as a part of their series of online professional development events. NLII is a division of Educause, a nonprofit association focusing on the effective integration of technology and education. The Bridging Community is a virtual community of practice bringing together instructional designers, faculty, information technology experts, and learning science researchers to act as institutional change agent teams whose purpose is "to ensure the most appropriate and effective use of technology to promote learning."

Having participated as a member of this community over the past year, I can strongly recommend the value of involvement in any of the Educause initiatives, conferences, publications, and virtual communities to educators interested in the role of technology in learning. They are truly on the cutting edge of an important transformation in our educational process, and provide the opportunity to be exposed to new ideas and creative people engaged in this transformation.

Western Civilization Webography Project

Matt Scales — Thu, 09 Dec 2004 11:00:00 GMT

Mills Kelly (George Mason University) describes the "Western Civilization Webography Project" in the following excerpt from his presentation abstract at the International Society for SoTL conference:

"The Western Civilization Webography Project addresses a constant complaint by historians that their students are ill-equipped to find quality websites. Students who use the Project learn how to select and review websites containing historical sources. Already, the Project database contains more than 500 student reviews of websites and later this summer the Project will be made available to teachers at other institutions. In subsequent semesters, a World History and U.S. History version of the project will come online and will be made available for wider use as well. The database offers teachers one tool to address a pressing classroom challenge, but also offers researchers a valuable resource for the SoTL. As the number of entries in the database grows researchers will be able to examine how different students reviewed the same websites in different (or similar) ways, revealing potentially very interesting patterns in student thinking about online resources."

To view and make use of the resources that are publicly available visit the following site:
http://chnm.gmu.edu/webography/search.php

Enhancing Student Interaction with Online Discussion Boards

Matt Scales — Thu, 04 Nov 2004 15:24:38 GMT

Mónica Torregrosa of HCC has forwarded the following request for ideas regarding the use of online discussion boards to support student interaction: I have been developing a website for my Intermediate Spanish course using WebCt. Besides posting documents of use to my students, I have required them to post answers to weekly discussion questions. My goal is to increase their fluency in Spanish by providing a way to communicate and use the language outside of class. Sometimes oral class discussions are based on the same topics on which they have posted answers. I would like to communicate with other faculty using WebCt to find out how they use the bulletin board. I am looking for a way to enhance this feature and encourage students to respond to each other. Any feedback will be appreciated. Mónica Torregrosa Holyoke Community College

Concept Maps

Matt Scales — Fri, 15 Oct 2004 18:27:22 GMT

Concept maps and mind maps have received considerable attention in recent years as useful tools for faculty and students alike in organizing their ideas in a visual way. These graphic organizers can be created by hand (or by using specially designed software) to take notes, brainstorm ideas, solve problems, and show relationships among concepts. The links below offer further information on this tool, and suggestions for creating effective concept maps. What are Concept Maps - a nice introduction to concept maps and their structure. Could be used as a tutorial to introduce students to this tool. Concept Maps - a brief introductory article on the use of concept maps as a teaching tool. Although aimed at a high school teaching audience several of the suggestions and the links provided are useful for higher ed as well. The Theory Underlying Concept Maps - a more in-depth article on the theory and process of constructing concept maps by Joseph D. Novak of Cornell University who is credited with having originally developed and researched the concept map approach. Teaching and Learning Resources - a rich source of annotated links on a range of active learning strategies from Concordia University in Montreal. Included are several links on the use of concept maps. Inspiration - a popular software tool for creating concept maps and other graphic organizers.

Using Technology in Psychology Courses

Matt Scales — Thu, 07 Oct 2004 10:00:00 GMT

Michael Rodman, Chair of the Behavior Sciences Division at MCC, forwarded the following summary of a recent presentation at Middlesex on the use of technology in Psychology courses. ACTIVE TEACHING LEARNING IN PSYCHOLOGY WORKSHOP On Friday September 17th the Middlesex Community College Behavioral Science Department hosted a workshop on using computer—based technologies to teach Psychology. The presenters, faculty and staff from Prince George’s Community College, shared examples of projects they had developed as part of a five year Title III Grant. Dr. Robin Hailstorks highlighted the goals of the grant and described how it had evolved over the previous five years. These goals had included strengthening institutional capacity to use new technologies and providing training and support for faculty to incorporate such approaches such as video, the internet, web pages, powerpoint, and distance learning to teach within their disciplines. Marjeni Kane-Morris, an Instructional Technologist, described how technological capacity and training had grown over the course of the grant. She presented examples from a variety of disciplines that showed the creative ways that faculty goals had been realized. Two psychologists, Dr. Diane Finley and Dr. Sherry Lynn Kinslow shared wonderful concrete examples of how they had incorporated technology—based projects to teach Psychology. These included specific examples of online courses, a Divisional Homepage for Psychology, a Website Resource with links for Topics in Psychology, and an accessible website for students with disabilities. The examples that they shared with us were both practical and creative. They showed how technological resources can engage students actively in learning about Psychology. Below I have provided links to their work for interested faculty and staff. http://academic.pg.cc.md.us/title3/ this website links to information about the Title III Grant. By clicking on the Faculty Team Phases you can review the wide variety of projects created by faculty over the five-year period of the grant. http://academic.pgcc.edu/%7Eskinslow/title3_project.htm this links to Dr. Sherry Lynn Kinslow’s website of topics in Psychology entitled “So You Really Want to Know”. As part of the project students had to select approved topics, critique websites they searched, and provide three web documents from good sites. http://academic.pgcc.edu/~dfinley/title3index.htm this links to Dr. Diane Finley’s psychology site, which includes websites relevant to topics in Introduction to Psychology and the Psychology Collegian Center. http://academic.pgcc.edu/instech/trc.html this is a link to the Technology Resource Center. It has examples of projects in different disciplines that used video, PowerPoint, and web-based technologies. http://academic.pg.cc.md.us/instruction/ these websites are links to the technology instructional services available to faculty at Prince George’s Community College. http://academic.pg.cc.md.us

Computer-Based Technologies for Psychology

Matt Scales — Thu, 30 Sep 2004 18:50:58 GMT

ACTIVE TEACHING LEARNING IN PSYCHOLOGY WORKSHOP On Friday September 17th the Middlesex Community College Behavioral Science Department hosted a workshop on using computer—based technologies to teach Psychology. The presenters, faculty and staff from Prince George’s Community College, shared examples of a variety of projects they had developed as part of a five year Title III Grant. The dedication and enthusiasm of the presenters was clear to those in attendance. Dr. Robin Hailstorks highlighted the goals of the grant and described how it had evolved over the previous five years. These goals had included strengthening institutional capacity to use new technologies and providing training and support for faculty to incorporate such approaches such as video, the internet, web pages, powerpoint, and distance learning to teach within their disciplines. Marjeni Kane-Morris, an Instructional Technologist, described how technological capacity and training had grown over the course of the grant. She presented examples from a variety of disciplines that showed the creative ways that faculty goals had been realized. Two psychologists, Dr. Diane Finley and Dr. Sherry Lynn Kinslow shared wonderful concrete examples of how they had incorporated technology—based projects to teach Psychology. These included specific examples of online courses, a Divisional Homepage for Psychology, a Website Resource with links for Topics in Psychology, and an accessible website for students with disabilities. Their commitment to and appreciation of technology-based applications was very evident. The examples that they shared with us were both practical and creative. They showed how good experienced faculty can use technological resources engage students actively in learning about Psychology. We would like to thank the presenters from PGCC for sharing their stimulating projects with us. Below I have provided links to their work for interested faculty and staff. We look forward to seeing Robin and her colleagues again in the future. http://academic.pg.cc.md.us/title3/ this website links to information about the Title III Grant. By clicking on the Faculty Team Phases you can review the wide variety of projects created by faculty over the five-year period of the grant. http://academic.pgcc.edu/%7Eskinslow/title3_project.htm this links to Dr. Sherry Lynn Kinslow’s website of topics in Psychology entitled “So You Really Want to Know”. In her presentation Dr. Kinslow described how she developed this lab component in her Introduction to Psychology course. Students received instruction in using the Internet and using Blackboard. As part of the project students had to select approved topics, critique websites they searched, and provide three web documents from good sites. http://academic.pgcc.edu/~dfinley/title3index.htm this links to Dr. Diane Finley’s psychology site, which includes websites relevant to topics in Introduction to Psychology and the Psychology Collegian Center. continue http://academic.pgcc.edu/instech/trc.html this is the link to the Technology Resource Center. Marjeni Kane-Morris talked with us about how the Technology Center staff provided training and support to faculty to help them realize their project goals. She showed us examples of projects in different disciplines that used video, PowerPoint, and web-based technologies. http://academic.pg.cc.md.us/instruction/ these websites are links to the technology instructional services available to faculty at Prince George’s Community College. http://academic.pg.cc.md.us

Help Me Fred, I'm Drowning...in a sea of papers!

Matt Scales — Mon, 03 May 2004 10:00:00 GMT

He might be able to help, if "Fred" is the name you've given your computer. The end of the semester finds many of us who teach writing intensive courses with piles of essays, research papers, and final exams to grade. Might our computer be capable of assisting us with the grading process? At first blush, the notion of a computer grading essays seems far-fetched and easy to dismiss. How can a computer program determine the difference between words on a page and actual understanding of material and concepts on the part of the student (a judgment we often make when grading essays)? Can a computer discern evidence of critical and creative thinking, and interpret subtleties in language? For the moment, let's withhold final judgment and play with some possibilities. Are there any kinds of essays that might lend themselves to using a computer in the assessment process? Do we sometimes use a rubric looking for mention of certain key terms, bits of information, and concepts that could be incorporated into intelligent software? Do we grade consistently, so that as we get to the bottom of the pile and the hour is late we assess the latest paper with the same rigor as we did the first (a computer is very consistent)? Might the computer be useful in providing immediate feedback on a student's first draft, while we read and evaluate the final version? Could a computer program minimally correct and provide feedback on the paper's spelling and grammar (much like word processors already are capable of doing)? Still not fully convinced? I'm not either, but that doesn't mean the idea is pure fiction. There already are a number of essay grading software programs in operation. Discussion and debate on the merits and limitations of using a computer for this purpose have been ongoing for several years. The following article from the American Psychological Association's Monitor describes an example of the development and the experimental use of such software: "The latest techno tool: essay-grading computers" Edward Felton, in his Blog Freedom to Tinker provides an interesting response to a New York Times article that cites research indicating that "computers are surprisingly good at grading -- essentially as accurate as human graders, where an "accurate" grade is defined as one that correlates with the grade given by another human. To put it another way, the variance between a human grader and a computer is no greater than between two human graders."

A University Is Not a Business (and Other Fantasies)

Matt Scales — Mon, 26 Apr 2004 10:00:00 GMT

For those of us who are both products and supporters of a liberal arts education, Milton Greenberg's article in the current issue of the EDUCAUSE Review, A University Is Not a Business (and Other Fantasies), may prove difficult to digest. Representing a perspective that has already had an impact on higher education (and is difficult to ignore), I found the article thought-provoking and at times unsettling. Your comments on the ideas presented here are welcome. A few excerpts from the article: "...colleges and universities could use simple technology (i.e., a CD) to provide students with presentations by truly outstanding lecturers of regularly taught courses, with on-campus faculty serving as tutors and discussion leaders." "I suggest that in light of the demographic and technological changes in academe, the academic calendar is irrelevant, the credit hour on which higher education values learning at fifty minutes per credit per week for fifteen weeks is irrelevant, and the personnel policies, the administrative structures, and even the physical plants—which rest on the calendar and the credit hour—are irrelevant. Whatever purposes these systems serve, there is certainly no demonstrable relationship to what and how people learn." "Liberal arts, the staple of bygone years and part of the romantic tradition, now serve mainly as handmaidens to undefined "general education" components of technical or professional degrees." "Each institution, in cottage-industry style, thoroughly decentralized, insists on doing what every other institution does: ignoring specialization or cooperation and ignoring technological applications to learning and other potential economies of scale." "The technology revolution may indeed spell the end of the tenure system as it is presently administered." "If higher education is to lead its own renewal, it must think about its people, its property, and its productivity in business terms."

Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks

Matt Scales — Thu, 25 Mar 2004 14:08:13 GMT

Two cultures clash a bit when one realizes that the majority of educators (and adults) are probably most comfortable communicating online using asynchronous methods (e-mail and threaded discussions), while most of our students and the majority of young people prefer synchronous communication (chat) which is live and more spontaneous. While each method has its advantages and disadvantages, can these two cultures meet? And for those of us that work directly with students, can we become more comfortable and adept in using a live medium which requires more speed (faster typing), use of shorthand forms of speech (chat talk), and multitasking? And the final question may be, will we have a choice - or like many of the current connections between technology and education (e-mail, Internet, etc.) will we find ourselves expected to make use of this emerging technology? The most widely used form of synchronous communication is the Instant Messenger phenomenon which has grown enormously. If you have had a teenager around the house in recent years you're probably very familiar with this medium. Because of the sheer numbers of people that are using IM, the tool itself has become more powerful, and offers multiple methods to connect people and share information. In addition to text chat, many IM services offer audio chat (a free phone call), live video exchange, and file exchange. The sophistication and power of this medium will only increase with time. Already some businesses are making extensive use of Instant Messaging technology, which has replaced some of the previous functions of e-mail . Can education be far behind? Below are a couple of links to online articles which deal with the pros and cons (and the probable future) of real-time communication and Instant Messaging in education.