faculty

Faculty and instructional designers take note of the best practices listed here

On 01/06/2011, in adjunct faculty, digital audio, digital learning, digital video, faculty, higher education, instructional design, multimedia, online learning, pedagogy, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

Example excerpts from 2010 University of Nevada, Reno

Best Practices

When asked to identify three best practices achieved by this course, one course reviewer wrote: “In all honesty this course is so well done that choosing three is like saying you have a favourite child. I really can’t do it.”

Organized and intriguing layout

The overall layout of the course is great. Students should not have any difficulty with navigation.
The content is provided in appropriate chunks in both text and as narrated presentations with a text transcript. I think this would appeal students of all learning styles.
Overall organization and consistent,uniform design of modules makes the progression of learning intuitive and exciting. The modules include introductions and objectives, a variety of media, self-checks, and multiple assessments.
Each unit is clearly defined with goals and objectives. The instructor does a very nice job connecting one unit to the next by providing a welcome at the beginning of each unit which recaps the previous unit and introduces the new unit.

Innovative use of technology

The extensive use of video and screencasts is wonderful.
The active use of the Voiceboard tools is fantastic.
The use of voice chats and voice boards make interaction and collaboration more effective than the usual discussion boards.
This course strategically places these tools where they can best be utilized to meet the objectives – this course not only uses great technology, but also uses it in a pedagogically sound manner.
The Soapbox Moment blog is a wonderful tool that allows the instructor to voice his/her viewpoints in the most appropriate place, helping him/her to remain neutral in other discussions and let his/her students’ thoughts flow freely. The soapbox uses current issues that are directly related to the course and allows students to apply what they have learned to real-world situations.

Interesting content

The Getting Started Activities, including a course tour and the use of Camtasia for the first week Assignment, were a really great idea.
The orientation is execellent. The instructor does a great job explaining the course goals and objectives as well as taking time to make students feel comfortable. In the orientation you get the sense that this instructor is available and accessible for students.
The self check exercises and varied assessments are appealling. The proctored exams ensure the integrity of the course.
The interactions and outcomes, reflected in student testimonials, show a community at work!
The inclusion of guest speakers is a wonderful design practice. Students can gain some real world experience by interacting with subject matter experts, who have experience in particular content areas.
I enjoyed the final discussion project, which incorporates the use of peer-review. Students are given the opportunity to engage with classmates, receiving and providing feedback.

Tagged with: adjunct faculty • best practices/tips • Blackboard • digital audio • digital video • faculty • instructional design • multimedia • pedagogy • teaching & learning • teaching online

eLearning predictions for 2011 and beyond — from Web Courseworks.com by Jon Aleckson

Excerpts:

This summer I attended the 2010 Distance Teaching and Learning Conference in Madison, Wisconsin. Some very interesting topics came up in the facilitated Think Tanks, and I wanted to share some of the predictions that were developed from these active group discussions regarding where eLearning will go in the next ten years.

…

Below you will find a table that summarizes the different opportunities and challenges that were predicted to arise in the next ten years by the participants in the conference Think Tanks and by [Jon Aleckson].

	Opportunities	Challenges
*Learner*	Bridging informal and formal education Movement between schools to obtain courses needed for custom degrees Increase in shared knowledge among students and learners Networking and learning from each other Resumes will include informal and formal learning experiences acquired via the Internet	Developing standards to gauge education and competency from multiple sources Providing an authoritative, reliable source for information (e.g. not just Wikipedia) Physical and psychological distance from other learners and instructors. Quality measures for informal and formal professional development attained on the Internet.
*K-12 Instruction*	Reducing barriers to funding, certification, credit and accreditation Increase access to quality education for all students Open “course” concept to new blends of delivery and teaching Providing for more game-based learning experiences and techniques for a variety of learning styles Using new technology in the classroom	Defining online and blended education Development of technical infrastructure, internet access and equipment Maintaining the custodial function of school Acquiring funding for bold Internet delivered experiences for the classroom Allowing use of new technology in the classroom
*Corporate Training*	Just-in-time learning Greater access to information Peer coaching Cloud training Ability to reach those previously unreachable	Intellectual property rights Resistance to using open content Peer review of resources Unknown impact of open universities Technical challenges related to size of offerings and rapidly changing technology
*Content*	Tools allowing for easier collaboration and interaction Richer media experience (videos and simulations) Content repositories & Learning Object distribution and searchability Movement away from static textbooks as primary resource	Growing tension between standard core content and differentiation of content Where will content for curriculum come from? What part will student-generated content play? More copyright issues
*Learning Environment*	Customized learning spaces, i.e. personal learning environments (PLEs) Customization of content presentation and access eReaders and eBooks providing better and more interactive content (just in time) Changing paradigm of “bounded courses” to unbounded courses where learning is a continuous process that can occur anywhere and at any time	Determining fit and purpose of new tools and pedagogical approaches Standards for smart phones/mobile apps Issues with accreditation, privacy and copyrights Universal access to technology, equipment, and the internet
*Faculty*	More involvement and collaboration with online and distance learning initiatives More part-time faculty teaching for several institutions Faculty practices and entrepreneurs Changing role of faculty and PD instructors	What will the primary role of faculty be? Faculty segmentation into master teachers, mentors, researchers, tutors, etc. Changing of promotion and tenure to accommodate different roles Changing pay structure
Administration & Management	Continued growth of open education with some program stabilization Improved learner focus Increased blending/blurring of traditional on-campus with online options More collaboration with other administrators to influence policy makers	Managing and maintaining growth How to blend on and off campus learner programs Regulatory and accreditation issues Student accountability issues (plagiarism/doctoring) Improving faculty/ instructor readiness
*International Perspectives*	Providing access to education even to remote, rural, and developing areas Promote intercultural mixing and diversity through education Improving educational access in segregated societies Sharing resources and co-producing content to reduce cost Serve new growing customer groups Informal learning, sharing own learning with others via internet (e.g. blogs, wiki)	Technological infrastructure of societies Understanding of different people and places Eliminating the “we and they” thinking Illiterate audiences International/cultural conflicts Developing culturally aware curricula Differences in cost of education and fees Selecting suitable types of content delivery Refiguring content for different learner communities

Tagged with: 24x7x365 • accreditation • adjunct faculty • blended learning • career development • content • Content aggregration • content repositories • copyright / royalty-free • corporate / business world • corporate training / universities • customized learning • e-books • e-learning • e-readers • faculty • formal learning • future • future of higher education • game-changing environment • games • global • hybrid learning • informal learning • leadership • learning ecosystem • learning spaces • online learning • open • personalized learning • PLE • strategy • training • trends • ubiquitous learning

Perhaps a part of the future landscape within teaching and learning…

On 12/13/2010, in adjunct faculty, business side of he, change, changing business models, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, economics, elearning, faculty, mathematics, new business models, online learning, online media, religion, science, training / L&D, writing, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
I’m interested in trying to take pulse checks on a variety of constantly moving bulls-eyes out there — one of which is new business models within the world of teaching and learning (in higher education, K-12, and the corporate world). I have no idea whether the courses that this site/service offers are truly great or not. To me, it doesn’t matter right now. What matters is whether this model — or this type of business model — takes off. The costs of obtaining an education could be positively impacted here, as competition continues to heat up and the landscapes continue to morph.

Tagged with: adjunct faculty • business side of he • corporate training / universities • e-learning • economics/business • english • exchanges • faculty • math • new business models • new business models in he • online learning • online media • philosophy • religion • science • teachers • writing

The Rise of the ‘Edupunk’

On 11/05/2010, in adjunct faculty, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, online learning, organizational change, staying relevant, strategy, student-related, universities, by Daniel Christian

The Rise of the ‘Edupunk’ — from InsideHigherEd.com by Jack Stripling

NEW YORK — The “Edupunks” will inherit the Earth … or at least some attention.

Those in higher education who continue hand-wringing over the relative merits of online learning and other technology-driven platforms will soon find themselves left in the dust of an up-and-coming generation of students who are seeking knowledge outside academe. Such was an emerging consensus view here Monday, as college leaders gathered for the TIAA-CREF Institute’s 2010 Higher Education Leadership Conference.

“We’re still trying to fit the Web into our educational paradigm.… I just don’t think that’s going to work,” said Mary Spilde, president of Lane Community College, in Eugene, Ore.

Today’s students are “pretty bored with what we do,” she added.

In a notable acknowledgment of the tail wagging the dog, several panelists alluded here to the possibility that if colleges don’t change the way they do business, then students will change the way colleges do business.

College leaders don’t yet know how to credential the knowledge students are gaining on their own, but they may soon have to, said Mark David Milliron, deputy director for postsecondary improvement at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We are not far from the day when a student, finding unsatisfactory reviews of a faculty member on ratemyprofessors.com, will choose to take a class through open courseware online and then ask his home institution to assess him, Milliron said. Colleges need to prepare for that reality, he said.

Staying Relevant

Tagged with: adjunct faculty • change • colleges • community college • curriculum • engaging students • faculty • future of higher education • game-changing environment • Keeping students engaged • leadership • new business models in he • online learning • organizational change • staying relevant • strategy • student-related • universities

These 12 unique blogs are written by professors

On 11/02/2010, in adjunct faculty, blogs / blogging / vlogging, faculty, by Daniel Christian

These 12 unique blogs are written by professors — from theelearningcoach.com

Fortunately for us, blogging is an excellent channel professors can leverage without going through the rigors of formal publishing. So if you’d like to see what professors of instructional design/technology, education, media and business technology are writing about, here are some you’re bound to find interesting. And for multilingual readers, there’s a bonus Spanish eLearning blog at the end.

Tagged with: adjunct faculty • blogging • faculty

BookBrewer — blog to e-book service

On 10/16/2010, in blogs / blogging / vlogging, e-books, e-readers, emerging technologies, faculty, game-changing environment, innovation, new business models, publishing, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Tagged with: blogging • e-books • e-readers • emerging technologies • faculty • game-changing environment • innovation • new publishing models • publishing • tools • vendors

Web video highlights original and innovative work of a faculty member

On 10/11/2010, in adjunct faculty, digital video, education, education reform, faculty, pedagogy, psychology, publishing, research, sociology, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
First of all, I got this item from:

One Facet of the Future of Educational Publishing — by Jeff Frank

I really enjoyed watching the Strage Prize video, and it led me to think more about the relationship between online video and the publication of educational research. In my role as Managing Editor of the Teachers College Record, I read a very large number of qualitative and ethnographic studies. While the best of these papers give the reader a strong sense of the subjects and the study location (and the author/researcher), after watching the 2010 Strage Prize video, I was fascinating by how much this video added to my understanding and appreciation of Lalitha’s paper.
…

I think having the two together–the written work and the video/podcast–adds something of unique value. I hope more educational researchers and publishers experiment with these kinds of paired works, because I think they offer readers a wonderful educative experience.

Side note from DSC:
Think interactive, multimedia on an iPad sort of device.

Which led me to:

Strage Prize 2010 — by Gary Natriello | October 8, 2010

This video features the work of Lalitha Vasudevan and her paper, “Performing New Geographies of Literacy Teaching and Learning.” The paper focuses on the literacies and digitally mediated lives of youth, and was published in the July 2009 issue of English Education.

The video’s production and publication is supported by the Strage Junior Faculty Prize. The Prize was established in 2009 by Teachers College alumna Alberta Strage and her husband Henry to recognize junior faculty achievement. Alberta also serves on both the President’s Advisory Council and the International Advisory Council for Teachers College. We appreciate both their generosity to Teachers College and support for the work of our junior faculty.

The Prize supports the production of a web video to highlight original and innovative work of a junior faculty member at Teachers College. All currently untenured members of the faculty in tenure-line appointments are eligible to compete for the prize by submitting an article, book chapter, paper, or other original product appearing during the previous year.

Congratulations Professor Vasudevan!

Tagged with: adjunct faculty • anthropology • digital video • education • education reform • faculty • literacy • psychology • publishing • sociology • teaching & learning

McGraw-Hill Education introduces next-generation custom publishing platform: Create

On 10/09/2010, in faculty, personalized/customized learning, publishing, teachers, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

McGraw-Hill Education introduces next-generation custom publishing platform: Create Platform — from Textbook Industry Newswire

From DSC:
Congrats to McGraw-Hill for this innovation! Now let’s team this type of thing up w/ the Chalkboard of the Future!

Create Platform enables professors to design custom classroom content from library of nearly 50,000 sources and receive e-books within hours

NEW YORK, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ — McGraw-Hill Education has brought custom publishing into the 21st century with McGraw-Hill Create (www.mcgrawhillcreate.com), an innovative platform that gives instructors unprecedented control over and customization of higher education classroom content. Gone are the days when professors had no choice in how to assemble content for classroom instruction, or had to wait weeks to receive a customized text. With Create, instructors can produce their own e-books or printed texts by selecting content from a vast library of resources – and receive a digital proof in under an hour.

“McGraw-Hill’s Create custom publishing tool gives me the power to provide only the content that is relevant to how I teach,” said Cliff Thompson, director of Theatre at Freed-Hardeman University. “I can pick and choose what makes the most sense for me and my class, which allows me to be a more effective teacher and cost-conscious for my students.”

Tagged with: customized learning • faculty • new publishing models • teachers • teaching & learning

Educause Quarterly — Learning Environments

On 10/01/2010, in education technology, faculty, IT in HE, learning, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, liberal arts, online learning, pedagogy, play, by Daniel Christian

Tagged with: educational technology • faculty • learning ecosystem • learning environments • learning spaces • liberal arts • online learning • pedagogy

How can we generate a love for learning when there’s so much emphasis on points/grades?

On 09/21/2010, in adjunct faculty, faculty, love of learning, motivation, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

How can we generate a love for learning when there’s so much emphasis on points/grades? — from DSC

I look back to my past…and I look to the present systems…and I look to the courses that I’m taking at the graduate level…and I can’t help but wonder what we can do to in order to instill more of a love for learning…?

When we constantly emphasis rubrics, grades, points, bell curves, SATs/ACTS/MEAPs/standardarized tests — man, it’s no wonder that students don’t connect with school! We enforce what we feel is important based up on what we think they will need to be productive…but it may or may not connect or be important to them at all. And it may not be the skills that are really needed when these folks enter the workplace. We taught them based upon what we needed in our work lives.

I can’t help but wonder how bummed out students become as the downward spiral begins…something happens in life to sidetrack them or they don’t have strong support for their educations in the home in the first place. They receive some low scores for a variety of reasons. Being that competition is so stressed in our worlds, they naturally look around to see how other students are doing. They notice the other students did better. They begin to feel discouraged. This happens a few more times and now they are getting really discouraged…school becomes a major source of stress and discouragement in their lives.

In addition to the stress, they aren’t always allowed to pursue their own passions…their own gifts and abilities; instead, they are told what to learn, when to learn it, how exactly to learn it, etc.

I’m not out to blame anyone; and, in fact, I have an enormous amount of respect for the million agendas being thrown at teachers and professors these days. Can anyone deliver on all of these expectations and asked-for-deliverables?

However, I do hope that we can turn around this drop out situation in the U.S. — 25-30% is waaaaayyyy too high.

What can we do to better address students’ passions? Increase their motivation? How can we better instill a love for learning vs. “how to best compete and win” in the classroom? Funny how the older I get, the more the love of learning sets in…and the competition fades away.

Tagged with: adjunct faculty • engagement • engaging students • faculty • love of learning • motivation • professors • student-related • teachers • teaching & learning

The Virtual Sabbatical

On 09/02/2010, in faculty, by Daniel Christian

The Virtual Sabbatical — from The Chronicle by Paige Chapman
Patricia Easteal took a sabbatical in England last year—without ever stepping foot outside her front door in Australia.

Tagged with: faculty

5Across: Beyond J-School

On 08/31/2010, in education, faculty, journalism, new media literacies, by Daniel Christian

5Across: Beyond J-School — by Mark Glaser
5Across is sponsored by Carnegie-Knight News21, an alliance of 12 journalism schools in which top students tell complex stories in inventive ways. See tips for spurring innovation and digital learning at Learn.News21.com.

Just as traditional media has struggled with disruptive technology and the Internet, so too have the institutions that run journalism education. Most journalism schools and training programs are run by people whose careers were framed by print, broadcast and traditional PR, so how can students get the skills they need in the digital age? We convened a group of journalism educators, a trainer, a student and a J-school dropout to discuss how journalism education is shifting.

Guests

Lea Aschkenas wrote a story about her experiences for Salon. Her post-journalism school career includes a stint as a staff reporter, itinerant freelance writer, and author of the memoir, “Es Cuba: Life and Love on an Illegal Island” (Seal Press, 2006). She has also written for the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and San Francisco Chronicle. Currently, she works as a public librarian and teaches poetry-writing through the California Poets in the Schools program.

Kelly Goff is a senior in the journalism department at San Francisco State University, focusing on print and online journalism. She recently moved to San Francisco from Los Angeles, where she earned her associates in journalism from Pierce College. She is also an assistant events planner with the Journalism Association of Community Colleges.

Jon Funabiki is a professor of journalism at San Francisco State University and executive director of the Renaissance Journalism Center, which conducts projects to stimulate journalistic innovations that strengthen communities. Funabiki is the former deputy director of the Ford Foundation’s Media, Arts & Culture Unit and was the founding director of San Francisco State University’s Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism. As a journalist with The San Diego Union, he specialized in U.S.-Asia political and economic affairs and reported from Japan, China, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and other countries.

Lanita Pace-Hinton is the director of the Knight Digital Media Center, a continuing education program based at the University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. The Knight Digital Media Center offers free week-long workshops that provides journalists with hands-on training on multimedia storytelling and how to use web tools and social media. Lanita has served as director of career services and industry outreach for the UC Berkeley journalism school. She advised students on skills development and how to prepare for their entry into the profession.

Full disclosure: The Knight Digital Media Center is a sponsor of PBS MediaShift.

Howard Rheingold is a prominent author, educator and speaker on technology and the Internet. He wrote best-sellers about virtual reality and virtual communities, and was the founding executive editor of HotWired. He also founded Electric Minds in the mid-’90s. Rheingold has taught as appointed lecturer at UC Berkeley and Stanford University and has spoken about the social, cultural, political and economic impacts of new technologies.

Also see:

How to Teach Social Media in Journalism Schools — from 5Across

Tagged with: education • faculty • journalism • new media literacies

Scholars test web alternative to peer review

On 08/24/2010, in faculty, by Daniel Christian

Tagged with: faculty

A discussion re: higher education on this morning’s Diane Rhem show

On 08/17/2010, in adjunct faculty, business side of he, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, education reform, faculty, higher education, leadership, liberal arts, by Daniel Christian

Two professors examine the American higher education system and explain how students and parents can get the most for their money.

Andrew Hacker
Professor of Political Science at Queens College, New York, and co-author of “Higher Education? How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids – And What We Can Do About It”

Mark Taylor
Chair of the Department of Religion at Columbia University, professor of philosophy of religion at Union Theological Seminary, and professor emeritus of humanities at Williams College. His latest book is titled, “Crisis on Campus: A Bold Plan for Reforming our Colleges and Universities.”

Related Items

Crisis on Campus: A Bold Plan for Reforming Our Colleges and Universities

Higher Education?: How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids—and What We Can Do About It

Tagged with: adjunct faculty • business side of he • cost of getting an education • dangers of the status quo • education reform • faculty • future of higher education • leadership • liberal arts

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