The other presentation was amazing and very informative. It was about using Twitter in the classroom (and how that can be done effectively) as a back-chatter discussion during class. There was a librarian moderating the tweets and then subsequently archived them for future reference by the students. One thing that was mentioned is that by students discussing project ideas, the librarian could either help them focus better or shoot references their way early in the process. It really impacted that "last minute" thing that students do. I learned that I need to learn about things like hash tags, tweetdeck and other tools that can be used to facilitate it better.
On another note about Twitter, I am tweeting about sessions from the conference (I need to add the hash tags) and my students from ED 483 Technology and Media in Education are required to follow my tweets and then post replies on a discussion forum. I chose to use Ning since my preservice teachers will almost certainly not be able to use Blackboard/WebCT in a K-12 classroom. If you want to follow me on Twitter you can search for my name or my username which is cloweygreenwood.
As for the Ning - the students in ED483 are discussing on some readings, videos and presentations I gave them. The quality of their posts and discussions are very good. The first few were very good which set the standard I think. Carolyn Lowe
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I went to a session called Collaborative Conundrum. The University of Wisconsin-Madison has started Engage Adaptation Awards for faculty,staff, etc. The 2008 Engage Technology-Enhanced Collaborative Group Work Adaptation Award provided 40 instructors with technical and pedagogical support to implement technology enhanced group projects in their courses.
This really interested me since I had recently completed a technology-enhanced collaboratory in one of my classes-- see https://wiki.acs.nmu.edu/hl368/index.php/Main_Page if interested -- as my CTIP project. (And CTIP was based on an NMU innovation grant.) And, I wanted to see if I could glean better ways to engage students in collaborative work.
The Methods of Good Practice for Collaborative Work with Technology discussed in this session were:
Be sure the task is worthy of a group (Consider the pedagogical value; specify how the group project aligns with course learning objectives/outcomes.)
Design the Assignment (Identify the types of interaction required; Identify the tasks students will need to complete; Identify challenges students might face; choose a technology that aligns with the interactions, tasks and challenges; Develop an assessment plan for the process as well as the assigned product.)
Prepare students for collaboration (Communicate the rationale for group work and how the group project relates to course objectives; Help your students --e.g., through teaching about group processing -- understand what makes good collaboration.)
Do regular assessments of process and product (Use milestones or check-ins to ensure groups are on the right track. Provide students the opportunity to evaluate their group mates' contributions to the group project.)
The presenters didn't have an answer to one participant's question about how best to grade individuals within the group, though. They said that that wasn't what mattered to them.
The presenters indicated that students reported frequent instructor availability, clear guidelines and expectations, flexibility in choosing the topic/work strategy, and time in class to work as the top 4 reasons for enjoyable group work, and that students reported convenience, reducing the need to meet, providing a common place to store work, and making communication easier as the top 4 ways technology alleviated the challenge of group work.
To my way of thinking, this was pretty basic information. But, I will do more time in group processing the next time I have my students engage group work. Anyone have a good group processing model?
This is glenna pendleton in Austin typing on Patti's computer. I have developed an Avitar figure for Second Life. And Epsilen is a great new management program that can replace WEbCT. At the touch of a button I can go to groups, a Wiki, student grades, assessments, etc. The simple program is free and NMU can have a free trial of the higher level program by talking to Estelita Young from 972-839-2490.
hello all.
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