We
are North Shore Community College. Community is a central part of our
identity. We serve the communities in which we are located. We are a
community ourselves filled with staff, faculty, students, visitors and
many others. All definitions of community include sharing common
elements among its participants. At NSCC, one shared purpose for all of
us is improved student outcomes; finding the most effective ways to
help our students succeed in our classes, in their work, in their lives,
and in their communities.
Individually,
we find myriad ways of doing this in our classrooms. We also find
things that don't always work the way we had hoped. But we often don't
get the chance to share our successes and challenges. This is why in
Academic Technology, we're very interested in hearing from you and
having you share with us what you are doing and how it's going. When it
comes to technology, we know our community uses all sorts of great
tools, programs, and websites, which is why we really want to encourage
everyone to share it. With your department, with your division, with
us, and everyone else.
This
blog is an attempt to further amplify the potential for sharing for as
we come into contact with different faculty across disciplines, we hope
to learn and spread the word on what is working with our faculty and our
students. We highly encourage our readers to visit back here often and
to continue the conversation with us about the ways learning and
technology can be improved at NSCC.
I’m
always reminded that unlike many resources in the material world,
sharing ideas and knowledge does not work as a zero sum game. The
digital world is one in which sharing is not limited by the amount one
has, but rather by the amount one is connected to. The detriment of
this is certainly to be found in realm of copyrighted material and
consumer digital content, but in academia, the idea of sharing and
providing access is increasingly popular. The Open Courseware Consortium
illustrates the degree to which colleges of all sorts are sharing their
material not just within their colleges and universities, but across
the globe. In this way, I believe that NSCC can enhance the quality of
our education by pooling together our resources for the sake of our
students.
While
on the topic of sharing, I want to take this opportunity to mention
three books that I will probably be talking about at further length in
another post, but these three are key for thinking about how the new
digital landscape facilitates sharing and what sharing can mean in
education. While they don’t directly focus on education, their ideas
are useful in exposing us to the ways in which knowledge, learning, and
skill might be differently acquired in these new environment. So please
check them out and of course, if you have thoughts about them or about
this post, share them!
- Anderson, Chris. Free: The Future of a Radical Price. New York: Hyperion, 2009.
- Jarvis, Jeff. Public Parts: How Sharing in the Digital Age Improves the Way We Work and Live. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2011.
- Botsman, Rachel, and Roo Rogers. What's Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption. New York: Harper Business, 2010.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
What are some of the ways you facilitate sharing in your profession?
Do you encourage your students to share resources (and not in the plagiarized paper sort of way)?
What would that look like and what perceived benefits would you gain from it?
Often
times, we look at people in two categories when it comes to
technophobia--either "technophobic" or "not technophobic". It's a label
that we attach to others and, yes, even to ourselves. In fact,
technophobia is quite common and something that virtually all of us
experience at some point in our lives.
Webster's
defines technophobia as a fear or a dislike of advanced technologies.
Bad or negative experiences with technology helps to increase the degree
of technophobia one feels, while good or positive experiences helps to
decrease the fear. Makes sense, right? Then, of course, we can be
technophobic in some areas while not at all in other areas. One might be
perfectly fine using a PC or Smart phone while being totally fearful of
using a Mac or operating the DVR on their TV. Taking small "baby steps"
toward the fear is a great way to begin to reduce technophobia. An
example might be to use a PC and projector together in a classroom
before fully delving into using a Smart Board and videoconferencing in
that same rooom.
In
education, technophobia may be related to our status as "teachers" or
"professors". We think we're expected to be "all knowing" or "the sage
on the stage". We certainly don't want to look like we don't know what
we're doing in front of our students. That's perfectly understandable.
Here
at North Shore, we have lots of way to help you be confident using
technology. Training is available for Smart Classrooms, Videoconference
Rooms, Smart Boards, and other classroom technologies. Phones are in all
of the classrooms with technology help numbers posted. For online
teaching and learning, there are training sessions available for our
learning management system, ANGEL. In addition, there's an ANGEL
Helpline to give you support and added confidence.
The
Academic Technology staff is a very friendly group of folks. We're
always here to help. We want you to be able to use all of the tools
needed to make your class successful. It
only makes sense that people feel less technophobic when they know that
they are being supported, when they know that they're not in it alone.
Contact
us anytime. You might start with the ANGEL Help Desk
(angel@northshore.edu) or extension 5400 (Media Help Line) We're all in
this together!
What strategies have worked for you when dealing with technophobia?
What advice would you have for others who have anxiety about using technology?
How has teaching and learning been enhanced by using technology with your class?
Check out the first part of this blog here.
3. The Right Time
Significant time is also needed with implementing a particular
technology into the class. Besides doing research, you will also need
time to develop the right support materials (see the next Right) and
also spend time within the class explaining and illustrating the tool.
With certain everyday technology, faculty sometimes assume that students
“know” technology, but that’s not always the case. We assume that
anyone under the age of 30 knows what to do with these technologies but
there not often any guarantee of that. Many of them know the
technologies they need for their lives but that doesn't mean they easily
intuit all technologies equally. Technology, alas, is just too broad.
It’s
also useful to spend time in class going over the technology because
even if students are familiar with the technology, you’re goal is to
illustrate how it’s being used in your class. For instance, some people
use Twitter for banter with friends or to follow their favorite
celebrity, but you might need to explain how Twitter can be used for academic purposes.
So you’ll need to set aside time for prep and research but also within
the class to walk students through it. And it’s probably a good idea to
reserve time to meet with students who may have difficulty with the
process.
4. The Right Support
Be sure to provide students with good resources from walk-throughs to
videos that they can access on their own and hold onto when class is not
in session. That certainly won’t guarantee mistakes and challenges,
but if you provide detailed support materials, the students have
something to make use of when you are not there. Furthermore, in
creating these materials, it will help you clarify in your own head what
needs to be done.
Another
level of support is being patient and responsive to students that are
struggling with the technology. Be prepared to work with students that
are challenged by the technology. That being said, you should also be
aware of those who are competent in the technology and look to utilize
them in helping other students. Within the classroom itself, it’s
probably also useful at times to poll your students about how they are
finding the particular technology being employed. This provides
opportunities for students to reflect about the ways it is (or isn’t)
useful.
The final support to always consider is contacting and talking with us in Academic Technology.
We are always happy to brainstorm, discuss, and share what we know,
what we’ve researched, and of course what we’ve tried. And don't
hesitate to email us either!
5. The Right Technology
The previous rights should culminate in a well-chosen technology for
your course with an experience that reinforces it. However, that
certainly doesn’t guarantee that it will. Sometimes, for whatever
reason, the technology still doesn’t work to the degree that you
imagined. Other times, the technology fails because it ceases
existing. This is particularly the case with Web 2.0 tools. Certainly,
there are great tools out there on the Internet, but there isn’t a
guarantee that the service or tool that you’re using will still be there
throughout the semester. Again, in that research phase, this would be
something to explore and consider.
But
if things don’t go as planned, that’s not a cry to abandon hope, but to
reflect and consider what specific problems did you hit that
complicated your outcome. This is were talking with your students and
soliciting feedback could be rather useful.
All
of this boils down to the fact that you should consider and work with
the technology before using it. That’s not to dissuade faculty from
doing so but to help them be aware what they need to do. Launching a
technology in class because you think it’s interesting is on par with
the student who does his or her research paper based upon the first 10
hits from Google. Both represent effort, but not necessarily the
sought-after results.
What other concerns do you have when implementing a new technology?
What successes have you had with implementing technology?
What missteps have you had with implementing technology?
What have you found to be students’ concerns about the technology that you have (or haven’t) used?
Technology
in education is a buzzword that has largely become a cliché, probably
even before the Internet came into everyone’s lives. But technology in
education is still an important issue for consideration; it’s the
application of technology in education that is most challenging. It’s
an important tool and central for helping students enter into the job
market with relevant skills. But it is a tool that needs consideration before using.
What
you’ll find herein is a brief consideration of what I consider to be
the 5 Rights of Technology. This is largely adapted from the 5 Rights
of Medical Administration (6 years working in residential program
apparently left its mark). These are not perfect; given the changing
technology of the last 15 years, perfection seems impossible or maybe
just irrelevant. Instead, this works as a succinct guide for faculty to
use when contemplating how to implement technology in the class room.
1. The Right Alignment
There’s been many times I’ve come across a tool (iPads) or program
(blogging) and thought, “This would be great in the classroom.” Of
course, getting excited is a whole lot easier than actually doing it.
Indeed, there have certainly been several partial failures in my
teaching with using technology and a large part of that has to do with the idea of alignment.
When
considering technology for the classroom, the approach must be one that
works with your assessments, goals, and objectives. The technology
should facilitate or explicitly address one or more of these or else you
risk losing students. To be sure, we always risk losing students in a
myriad of ways, but the idea is to use the technology to engage them and
make the interactions more relevant or expedient within their lives.
If you can’t provide a means of expressing why the technology tool can
facilitate specific learning in your specific course, then you’re
probably a bit out of alignment.
With
any technology, you should research it a bit to see how other educators
have used it or just to get a fuller understanding of what kind of tool
it can be for the course.
2. The Right Accessibility
North Shore Community College serves particular populations and it’s
important to keep that in mind. Some schools require laptops while
other schools are providing tablets to their students. However, we
can’t expect uniformity in the technological prowess and resources of
our students (nor should we). The technology you use should be relevant
to the student’s lives and facilitate learning; not hinder it.
For
instance, I go back and forth about using eBooks because I recognize
this does hamper the experience of students who don’t have access to
computers at home or have internet access in the case of eBooks from
online services where downloading isn’t an option. In this instance, to
use the technology (eBook) means complicating and inhibiting learning
for some students while those that could access the technology are not
negatively impacted by the choice to shy away from the eBook (after all,
they are welcome to purchase it on their own in that version).
But
before swearing off any technological advances in the face of limited
resources or inability to help everyone, I highly suggest you come chat
with us at Academic Technology
to see if there is some middle ground or other option. For instance,
there has been interesting work and discussion about useful purposes for cellphones in the classroom.
But again, we can’t expect everyone to have a cellphone or be able to
freely use texting or smart-phone apps and such. But that’s where it
might be good to check in with Dave Houle in Instructional Technology
and Design to see how you could incorporate cellphones along with Clickers which could supplement the use of cellphones.
“Video Games” have been a rising point of serious discussion in education for the last decade. There’s a growing range of journals
focused on the topic and a plethora of other articles in other journals
discussing what place they have in education. While it’s safe to say
that we have moved beyond the limited (albeit fun and nostalgic in
hindsight) nature of video games such as these,
there’s still much skepticism about what video games and simulations
have to offer the college classroom and how to be properly integrate
them.
The
caliber and sophistication of games has significantly changed. Given
the development of video games over the last 40 years and the serious
effort that “gamers” invest into games (manifesting in a significant
amount of time and energy often self-identified as “work”), this remains
an untapped opportunity. Many people are beginning to take note, including PBS, who recently considered the role that play (and video games) have in education.
It
makes sense. Modern video games and simulations tap into a many human
motivations that include the desire to work hard (that is, concentrate,
practice, and systematically negotiate challenges). to be rewarded for
success, and to able to work with others to achieve goals. Most
intriguingly, video games do something that we as educators have trouble
doing; turning failures into opportunities for learning. When I fail
at a game, I don’t abandon the game, I go back and consider what I did
wrong and try to correct it. We often think the “reset” button on a
video game console is part of what makes the game less important and
relevant, but in fact, it also means that a gamer has the opportunity to
try and try again; to determine where to improve his or her game. This
ability to conquer failures came to me like lightning when reading Kathryn Schulz’s
book, Being Wrong. Below is a Ted Talk that sums up her book. I think
there’s much to be considered about education when considering gaming,
failing, and learning.
For
certain, it’s no panacea but there’s a lot that can be done (and is
being done) with video games and education. If we want to improve
student learning, we should be considering what is useful and important
to take from video games. Authors and activists like Jane McGonigal
have given serious consideration to the role that gaming can have not
only in education, but in the everyday world. For those who want to
know more, I’ve assembled a playlist of videos on games and education that that you might find useful.
Stimulated by the ideas herein and want to learn more? Check out some of the great resources at GamesforChange.org here and by all means, don’t hesitate to leave a message here or contact us at Academic Technology.
- What
kind of video games do you use and what value do you derive from them?
(Remember, video games here include everything from Angry Birds and
Words With Friends to World of War Craft and Grand Theft Auto to Wii
Yoga and Rock Band).
- What have you learned or in what ways have video games improved your real-world experience?
- What kind of video games or simulations do you imagine would be useful for the kinds of courses that you teach?
- What
would be the obstacles of integrating video games and simulations into
the course? To what degree would you think about integrating video
games into your classroom?
Adding
video content can certainly be a useful tool for any class and can be
an important bridge of engagement to make material more dynamic.
Video
can be done in a lot of ways. Tech-savvy faculty most likely have a
webcam, digital camera, or even their own cellphone to which they can
record material and upload it to their own YouTube Channel or to the
course in any manner they propose. We also welcome faculty to work with
us and media services to create video material for the online class.
However, here, I'm going to cover 3 awesome video resources for you to
consider for your online course.
1. Films On Demand
The Good:
FilmsOnDemand "is the leading source of high-quality video and
multimedia for academic, vocational and life-skills content." Here,
faculty can find an excellent array of videos that they can use for
their course either as required or supplemental material. They cover
topics from Anthropology to World Languages to Archival Material to
Biology to Criminal Justice and more. It's a video database that our
library has in its collection and has been a great boon to many faculty
in their teaching.
The Bad: You'll need to remind students of the following (from the NSCC Library's Website):
"In
order to access some library resources off campus you must have a
library activated NSCC ID. The fourteen digit number on the bottom of
your ID is your library card number. Enter in this number when accessing
databases off-campus."
Also,
you'll need to make use of the proxy server link in order for this to
work right. For more information on integrating videos directly into
ANGEL, check out the Library resource here.
The REALLY GOOD:
What's great about this tool is that if you make an account with Films
On Demand, you can do some really great things with playlists.
Playlists allow for you to compose a particular selection of videos that
you feel go well together. For instance, you could assemble a playlist
of documentaries and archival films from World War II or bring together
the different documentaries and dramatic renderings of the works of
Edgar Allan Poe.
However,
FilmsOnDemand takes it one step further. Every video on the site has
been broken down into smaller snippets and you can also make playlists
just using these snippets. If you think of the full video as a music
CD, you can use it entirely, OR you can select specific tracks from each
video to make your own mixed tape (remember mixed tapes?).
2. YouTube
The Good:
A vast array of material for you to use and bring something into the
classroom that students are already familiar with. Additionally, many
schools have been putting up lecturers and presentations on a variety of
college-level material. YouTube EDU is chockfull of great lectures that you can incorporate for better learning and understanding.
The Bad:
Well, it's Youtube; filled with many many many distractions (we've all
been there). That's the obvious challenge. YouTube now also features
much more ads than previously. Additionally, not all videos are stable
and may change or disappear entirely. The other challenge is that there
are complications since YouTube is owned by Google, but doesn't come
with the suite of services that NSCC gets by using Google for its email
server services. What this means is that you can't syncrhonize your
YouTube account and North Shore Gmail account. Maintaining two accounts
isn't necessarily a problem for you, the instructor, but it can create a
barrier (and just be frustrating) for students. (Though this is
largely a problem when you are sending them to YouTube, not when you are
incorporating a YouTube video into ANGEL).
The REALLY GOOD:
Like FilmsOnDemand, you can assemble playlists for students to watch
and send them one link (instead of a list of links); however, you cannot
break the videos down into segments (anymore than they already are on
the site) as you can with FilmsOnDemand. The other great piece about
using YouTube videos is that you can encourage and stimulate
conversation since each video comes with its own discussion board. The
conversation will not only be with other students but anyone else who
happens to come upon the video.
Here's an example of what you can find from YouTube.
3. Archive.org
The Good:
Archive.org serves as the internet archive of all things in the public
domain. Books, recordings, videos, etc. The site has an enormous
collection of material and in particular, videos from the 20th and 21st
century. It's a great resource much like the above in that you can find
great material to integrate into your course.
The Bad: Unlike the previous two, you cannot make a playlist.
The REALLY GOOD:
Unlike the other two sites, anything on this website is available for
download. YouTube and FilmsOnDemand do not allow you to download the
videos; but most videos on Archive.org can be downloaded in a variety of
digital formats.
Here's an example of what you can find at Archive.org.
What are some of the ways you use video in your course?
What do you find beneficial about them?
What resources do you rely upon when you look to integrate video into your course?
Let's use hear your thoughts and ideas on the subject!