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Enhancing Learning
Capturing Learning Moments Digitally
2/20/2008
To maximize the potential of the technology in the learning process, capturing student comments, evolving ideas, and collaborative thinking, then distributing that to the whole group and archiving it online for future use with the same group or future groups of students means that thinking is not confined to one learning space or group. Thinking becomes both critical and dynamic and is owned by more than one person. Students feel more empowered in the process and their ideas become valued. When students' ideas are valued, then they are more likely to stay active in the learning process.
Tip: Moving Faculty Beyond Central Control
In moving faculty past the PPT projection-only scenarios, encourage faculty to locate one slide in the presentation that generates the most discussion in class. Provide faculty with a preparation sheet that provides opportunity for them to outline the discussion points and how they tie into the learning outcome. Then the faculty member should meet with a technical support or instructional design support person to practice drawing the outline on the designated slide. Then capture and e-mail back to instructor's own e-mail. Once this has been practiced several times, the instructor will feel more comfortable using the same feature in front of a class of students.
If you use white boards to capture discussion, think about other "captures" it could accomplish for you; e.g. concept maps, project designs, production designs.
Note: The more students become "producers" of knowledge, the more they will realize the value of what they are learning and see the application to their own real life contexts, thus supporting transformative learning outcomes in the process (Mezirow, 1997).
Wikis and Blogs
These online tools provide direct access to publishing opportunities for students, both collaboratively and cooperatively. That is, students can actually contribute to a document or content resources via a Wiki, and the results of their work are immediately visible. Cooperatively, students can work within a learning community using a blog. That is, blogs can be used not only as an individual journaling tool, but within the "blog ring" of the whole class, a group within the class, or beyond the class. I have written already on how using blogs in instruction can encourage engagement with students and how the kinds of statements produced can demonstrate learning achieved (Reynard, Campus Technology, 2005).
Tip: Overcoming Obstacles
Faculty usually do not embrace blogs or Wikis immediately because they do not understand exactly what is going on with these tools. Who sees this? How does it work? Will it mean more work for me? Can I edit my posts? These, among other questions, often prevent faculty from moving forward. Once faculty realize that blogs and Wikis can be secured to their student group only, they are more inclined to embrace the technology. Additionally, faculty should be provided with tips on how to evaluate student comments and how to prompt students throughout a course to participate (Reynard, 2005).
Recommended Reading
- Sun, Stanford Working To Archive History
In May in San Francisco, experts from leading universities, libraries, and research institutions around the world met as part of an ongoing effort to address a pressing issue: archiving the world's history, right up to today.
- The Quilt Coalition Rolls Out XO Communications for High-Capacity Network Services
The Quilt, a coalition of 28 regional network organizations, has added XO Communications Services to its authorized vendor list. The Quilt represents 200 universities and thousands of other educational institutions across the United States. With this new relationship, Quilt members can purchase XO's high-speed IP transit and network transport services at competitive rates.
- Wimba Classroom 5.2 Expands Classroom Capture Support, Adds MP3 Downloads
At the NECC 2008 conference in Texas this week, Wimba launched a new version of Wimba Classroom, the virtual classroom component of the company's Collaboration Suite. The new 5.2 release expands options for classroom capture and adds a variety of other functional and ease of use features.
- Automation Chimera: Education Is Not Management
The lure of automating workflow online so human intervention is minimized is continually reinforced in the minds of higher education administrators by examples of automated campus systems such as financials, student information systems, and other enterprise systems. But what's good for management is not always good for learning.
- Cognos Releases BI Software for Linux-based IBM System z Mainframe
Cognos, which IBM acquired in January, has released an update to its business intelligence software that will run on the Linux operating system on IBM System z mainframes. IBM Cognos 8 BI was being developed by the two companies prior to the acquisition, but assimilation of Cognos into IBM accelerated development.
- Facebook and Collegiality: A Serendipitous Social Niche
Facebook is a way to greet a colleague as if she or he is on your own campus: a wave at a distance, a hello at the corner burrito place, a honk as you both leave the campus parking lot. Informal collegiality has been extended over the miles.
