Archive | Discussions

Technology continues to transform the way educators teach and students learn. In fact, one key trend noted in the 2012 Horizon Report is that individuals “expect to be able to work, learn, and study whenever and wherever they want to” (Johnson, Adams, and Cummins, 2012, p. 4). To this end, the challenge for educators is to stay current with Web 2.0 technologies that allow for more interactive and mobile learning. One way to learn about new technologies is by instituting an on-going program that enables faculty to share new and emerging methods with colleagues. While we all have our own methods and techniques to present course information and engage students, we can be even more successful by a continued open dialogue with other educators. According to Wenger (2006), individuals become a Community of Practice (CoP) when they come together for the purpose of “collective learning in a shared domain” (para. 3).

We will share with our audience a few methods that we employ to provide faculty an opportunity to share best practices college wide, as well as on a smaller scale in our student writing center and Composition Department.

Research has shown that the human working memory is made up of only four subsections. Each subsystem has a limited capacity. Markus Janczyk and Joachim Grabowski (2011) demonstrated the validity of the Working Memory concept and noted that only one subsection can be accessed at any given time. Therefore, a person who is heavily multitasking can lose up to 40% of the information they are seeking.

Providing too much stimulation and too many choices can prove ineffective to learning and is probably a waste of time and detrimental to learning.

Therefore, we must re-think our approach to teaching and learning. Streamlining information may be the key to student retention. Our presentation will provide research support for this theory and practical examples of how we can adjust our teaching methods to best engage our students so they can retain more information.

Interactivity
We will provide examples of the theory in action and ask for audience participation. How do they best engage their students without overloading them with information?

This presentation discusses the emergence of online internships, which are a perfect venue for competency-based online learning! Competency-based online learning is synergistic to experiential and high-impact internship learning classrooms. The U.S. Department of Education (2013) has recently been revaluating seat time measurement in exchange for more 21st Century approaches such as competency-based models, which include by their definition, project and community-based and customized learning opportunities, all of which are ALSO the hallmarks of experiential internships in the online learning environment. At the top of most university’s lists, that have distance education offerings, are increasingly to begin incorporating internships that provides students opportunities for high-impact experiential learning through hands-on working in cooperation with diverse organizations. This presentation discusses these opportunities as achievable in the online learning classroom. Additionally, with the high priority of the department of education, and higher educational institutions all seeking to expand competency-based learning opportunities, this presentation discusses the synergy of achieving both of these high priority goals with the online internship based on an experiential-competency model.

Faculty orientation programs are commonly used to introduce faculty members to institutional practices, establish relationships, and integrate new faculty with institutional culture. Faculty development programs provide opportunities for faculty to learn and apply new skills. These programs can also be an important part of organization change initiatives.

This paper summarizes best practices regarding faculty orientation and development. Principles of organization change and systems implementation are discussed, and a framework is proposed for leveraging faculty orientation and development programs to supporting aspirational goals..

A brief case study of one university’s faculty orientation program is presented. The evolution of the orientation program from a human resources and benefits review to its current format is described. Four specific examples are provided where faculty orientation has been linked with faculty development programs to support organization change initiatives: implementing a new evaluation, tenure, and promotion process; improving teaching and learning with technology; implementing an online system for tracking faculty accomplishments; and implementing an online system for identifying and managing grant opportunities.

Lessons learned from integrating organization change and systems implementation within faculty orientation and development programs are discussed, focusing on discovering and mitigating barriers to change. The paper concludes with recommendations for evolving faculty orientation and development programs and for further academic study.

The School for Professional Studies (SPS) at Elmhurst College was chartered on 07/01/12 with a goal of having online programs offered for non-traditional students by the Elmhurst College Online Center in Spring 2013. Faced with a challenging timeframe for the implementation and set-up of a learning management system and development of faculty training, courses, student orientation, and appropriate processes and policies to support faculty and student success, SPS married best practices in online learning, course development, and student affairs with the mission and core-values of the college to create a high-touch learning experience for students and faculty members.

Interactivity
The session will incorporate the use of polls, a running chat for sharing additional ideas and best practices, the ability to ask ongoing questions, and an opportunity for participants to connect with each other after the event to continue the discussion.

Clear communication is key in educational settings. The implementation of Skype in online classroom provides a venue for clear communication. Implementation begins with an initial post from the instructor during the classroom set up by posting their Skype name with instructions as to how to download the free software. Students are encouraged to do this at the start the course in order to be in communication with the instructor and fellow classmates. The use of Skype in the classroom has proven to be an effective means of communication that helps learners from all over the world feel connected. When teaching in an online venue a tool such as Skype is important allowing learners in this environment to feel a connection with classmates. Creating this “real life” connection for students causes them to be successful enjoying the learning process. Skype allows for seamless transformation of knowledge. Expertise on the part of the professor to implement Skype into the classroom is paramount. Use of with voice and video is best so that the students can actually interact with their professor. This adds the human element to online teaching. Students forget that the individual who is responding to their submissions is an actual professor working to maintain standards of the university. Students are online asynchronously. Skype affords synchronous communication making the online learning experience a perfect blending of interactions. No longer are we educators of the twenty first century we are quickly evolving into becoming educators of the twenty second century.

This paper presents the results of a project to develop an online professional writing course for mid- to late-career nurses enrolled in an online bachelor’s degree completion program. Course design took into account principles of adult learning theories and attempted to provide an online learning experience that promoted self-reflection as well as connections between course material/assignments and students’ prior experience. Additionally, students were provided with targeted discussion prompts to assist in drawing connections between course material and workplace practice. Although students expressed initial concerns over the online learning environment, they eventually evaluated the course as a positive experience, as well as reporting direct connections between course material and its influence on their workplace practice.

This presentation will discuss a real world application of how the power of the Internet, combined with learning centers, can be applied to changing lives and the economy of a Caribbean territory. The U.S. Virgin Islands struggles with poverty, job scarcity, and inadequate educational attainment. Without Internet access and computer skills, those living in poverty lack the tools to better their lives and the lives of their families. Through a government sponsored project and federal grants, learning centers have been developed where Virgin Islanders can go to learn computer skills, use computers, access the Internet, gain valuable educational credentials, and ultimately obtain jobs. This project serves as an example of what can be accomplished with a vision, and it is a developing project that should be watched for results. If successful in the Virgin Islands, the model could be followed in other poverty stricken places. Those involved in education or government entities will find this presentation informative and inspiring. A discussion will follow the presentation, and questions are welcomed throughout.

United States Virgin Islands Bureau of Economic Research. (2009). Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for the United States Virgin Islands. Retrieved from http://www.doi.gov/oia/reports/upload/USVI-CEDS-2009-2.pdf
viNGN. (2012). Welcome. Retrieved from http://www.vingn.com/