EDUCAUSE - Sustaining the Integration of New Technologies: Using Collaboration to Support Teaching and Learning

Mary Balkun & Mary Zedeck - Seton Hall   
Sarah Baker - George Mason

Changing English classroom from the traditional to the 21st Century.
See: 21st Century Skills Map 
Used: Digital Stories, Course wiki, projects in Second Life

Student-Generated Digital Stories (freshmen English)

• Changing English classroom: students are expecting a more collaborative and interactive class
• Goal/Purpose: create digital stories to serve as instructional resources for faculty and new first-years students in writing program --- made for the use by next year's class

          -    helps with key first-year writing concepts
          -    stories based on student's personal experiences

• Results: produced great resources for first-year writing students and instructors

          -    high level of satisfaction

Student-Generated Course Wiki

• Began as sharing resource for students.
• Developed into vehicle for peer review.
• Further developed into online text.
• Ongoing resource for future students to utilize and contribute in subsequent semesters.
• Course materials based on research and class discussions.
• Students were excited to participate.
• No paper!

Student-Generated Projects in Second Life

• Hands-on approach to literary analysis, material culture theory and literary genres
• Students were to turn their research into SL activities demonstrating their knowledge of the text, theory, time period, and genre
• House of 7: ongoing resource for future students to utilize and contribute to in subsequent semesters
• Allowed for collaboration and constructivism

Sustaining Faculty Integration of New Technologies

• Integrate new technologies with the standard of teaching English
• Why Collaborate: sustainability of projects (unhappy with projects/workshops).
• Technology has changed writing... not all faculty have adapted.
• Move to projects around a common teaching problem.
• Writing was a common teaching problem.

Structure of the program (for interested faculty):

• Introductory workshop
• 7 face-to-face bi-weekly meetings

          -    structured curriculum
          -    some readings
          -    a technology assignment per meeting

• Final projects

          -    collaborative brainstorming

• Workshop/event presentation

• Created a Facebook page, blog, wiki, some did Twitter --- just to dabble with personal versions of the technologies without a particular purpose in mind.

Highlights:

• Level of excitement
• Metagenres article - pulled them back from daily teaching to reflect on what else they could do to change teaching
• Thinking about affordances
• Early signs of community and openness to mentoring
• Strong reflective work

Lowlights:

• Dropouts
• Balancing other responsibilities
• Desire for more guidance and structure

Adapting for next time:

• Shorter into workshop
• Reduced f-to-f to 4 or 5 times

Note:
IUP is considering admissions, recruiting, orientation in Second Life; students preview and choose dorm rooms via SL.