Becoming a Millennial

218. Three Testimonies

You may enjoy these testimonies from three relatively new professors to Taylor regarding the academic technology support they have discovered at TU (it's one of those secrets we're trying to get out!):

Testimony 1 (Statistics):  "From my first day as a faculty member at Taylor University, I've been impressed with the quality of support for academic technology.  Most importantly, the ETC staff has appreciated my own goals for my own courses...and then they've proven able to assist me with software and hardware that advance those goals.  Sometimes those resources have been resources they suggested and taught me how to use; other times those resources have been special-purpose tools that I need in my discipline and which the ETC has helped to set up.  The ETC staff have all been readily available, hard-working, versatile, and flexible.  They have also prodded me to enhance my own "toolbox" for instruction, e.g. using DyKnow in the classroom.  I find the level of support for academic technology at Taylor University to be far better than what I've experienced at a similar Christian College or at a larger state university."

Testimony 2 (Music):  "Even during the interview process it was apparent that Taylor University was interested and intentional about implementing technology in the classroom to better engage student learning.  I fretted about actually learning enough about PowerPoint to make a decent presentation!  Thankfully, support abounds for the entire campus community to utilize the great resources that abound including the ETC, IT support staff, mini-grant opportunities, workshops and the like.  In comparison to my previous (and wonderful) university where one projection unit was available in the entire Fine Arts department, Taylor is certainly a leader in advocacy for the exciting use of technology in higher learning."

Testimony 3 (Mathematics):  "Taylor's academic technology support from the ETC has been, in my opinion, stellar in several ways:
1.  They are proactive and aggressive in outfitting classrooms with educational technology hardware.
2.  They are likewise proactive and aggressive in purchasing and supporting innovative educational software, such as DyKnow Vision and Turning Point.
3.  They are wonderfully responsive to problems, questions and issues that arise with both the hardware and the software.
4.  They are actively involved in workshops, grant programs, blogs and other means of encouraging faculty to innovate with technology in teaching.
5.  They are responsive to faculty ideas about new technologies and new uses for existing technologies.  In particular, they understand and support when faculty desire to use technology for student engagement and interaction rather than merely for better faculty presentation.

I recently spent a sabbatical year at a top-tier public research university and was surprised to find that the educational technology that is ubiquitous in Taylor's classrooms was rare to find there.  At Taylor I can teach using pen-based technology and easily project my work on a screen in any classroom.  There I had to borrow a portable projector, which I took with me to class every day in order to project my (Taylor-provided!) Tablet PC to the class."

214. Wireless Laptops in the Classroom

  At Taylor University all of our classrooms have wireless.  This fall we began encouraging faculty to take advantage of the fact that 95% of TU students have a laptop to turn their classroom into a "computer lab" on those days when they want to give a Blackboard exam, etc.  Several have done this successfully with classes as large as 25-30 students.  An accounting professor had her students bring in their laptops all semester long to work on in-class Excel problems.  We have found that our wireless supports an entire classroom of laptops for these types of applications.  For those few students who don't have a laptop (generally 2-3 in a class) the ETC has a handful of loaners.   

Do we have faculty struggling with the issue of students multitasking with their laptops?  Certainly, and it's an ongoing discussion.  Professors establish various laptop guidelines to suit their teaching styles.  We're working hard to help faculty view student laptops as an asset and not a threat.  Think back to the electronic calculator in secondary math classes in the 80's. 

209. Six Ways Not to Become Rote Using Technology

An excellent article by Ruth Reynard for teachers and professors experimenting with new technologies in the classroom.  One of Ruth's key points -- don't overlook getting feedback from your students.

Ruth Reynard, "6 Ways Not To Become Rote Using Instructional Technology," Campus Technology, 11/19/2008, http://www.campustechnology.com/article.aspx?aid=69331

208. How Students Learn

Have you been paying attention to how your students learn?  If you are a teacher at any level, it would be worth your time to watch this 7-minute video

205. Turning Point Increases Student Engagement

It is no surprise that the more students are engaged, the more they will learn.  Technology can play a part in fostering an environment of engagement and active learning.

This fall 20 faculty and nearly 40% of the student body are using the Turning Point classroom response technology in a wide variety of classes.  Students purchase the clickers in the ETC for $30.  A clicker can be used in multiple classes and for the duration of a student's time at Taylor. 

The clickers interface with PowerPoint slides that present multiple choice or T/F questions.  Students key in their responses and the results are immediately displayed as a bar graph or pie chart.

Professors can use the clickers for anonymous polling to check for student understanding of class material.  By registering the clickers with the students' Blackboard accounts they can also be used for graded quizzes, the results being automatically recorded in the gradebook.

204. Record Attendance at T4T Conference

Attendance at the annual faculty "Technology for Teaching" (T4T) Conference increased for the sixth consecutive year.  138 faculty and staff participated in the 2-day conference held August 14 & 15.  The majority of participants were from Taylor University and TU Fort Wayne.  They were joined by guests from Ivy Tech and Indiana Wesleyan University. 

 

Thirty-two different breakout sessions were offered on such topics as Switching to Word 2007, Teaching a Hybrid Course, Engaging Students Using Turning Point, Social Networking Tools, and Shooting Better Photos & Videos.

The conference opened with an engaging panel discussion on the topic, "Student Laptops in the Classroom -- Ban 'em or Embrace 'em?".  As students in greater numbers bring their wireless laptops into the classroom instructors face the challenge of minimizing the distraction potential and leveraging the laptops as a learning tool.

The conference received excellent feedback.  One professor commented, "A big thank you for continuing to expose us to new technology for teaching."  Another responded, "Thanks for a fantastic conference!"

201. 6th Annual T4T Conference

We were able to complete the schedule for Taylor's "Technology for Teaching" Conference to be held August 14 & 15.  It took most of the month of June to put everything together.  Nearly 40 of our faculty & staff are helping to present sessions.  

This year's theme is, "Engaging Students With Digital Technology" and many of the 40 breakout sessions highlight technologies to do just that.  I'm especially looking forward to the opening panel, "Laptops in the Classroom: Ban 'em or Embrace 'Em?".  The topic has already begun to generate some energy with our faculty. 

We expect an attendance of over 100, mostly our own faculty.  We have also sent invitations to faculty from neighboring universities.  It always adds a nice dynamic to have participation from other schools. 

If you are somewhere within driving distance and would like to join us for either or both days we would love to have you.  Cost is $25/day and includes breakfast and lunch.  Here is the registration information:

1.  T4T schedule

2.  T4T session descriptions 

3.  T4T online registration

200. Self-Disclosure in the Classroom

This article by Julie Frechette (InsideHigherEd.com) discusses the "benefits and drawbacks that accompany the fine act of balancing privacy and self-disclosure in the classroom".  Students benefit from professors who can present themselves as real people who have a life outside of the classroom, lab, and office.

197. "Living with Margin" Luncheon

We (25 or so faculty) had a profitable time over lunch today discussing issues related to balance and margin.  Following are excerpts you might find helpful and thought-provoking:

Handout:  Living with Margin

My opening comments:  Learning the Hard Way (18 min)

The following are short audio clips from our discussion, each less than a minute or two in length:

• What is margin?
• Leadership benefits from you saying "No"
• Let students do as much as possible
• If I don't carry the load ...
• Consider your children
• The role of pride
• Look for flexible assignments
• Understanding each others' capacities
• Just go to bed!
• Who would serve on committees?
• Could a university provide margin?
• Academe seems to ignore the giftedness factor
• Pride, sabbath, and prayer

194. Leave Laptops at the Door?

On multiple occasions I have cringed upon hearing frustrated faculty exclaim, "I am going to ban laptops from my classroom!" 

Then I read this article by Mark Edmundson:  Dwelling in Possibilities.  I'm rethinking things.  There might be a place for the laptop ban. 

If you are an educator you owe it to yourself to read this article.  This is the most insightful piece on today's college student that I have read to date. 

No, I don't think it would be wise for all college teachers to ban laptops in class.  And for those who do, it would be a mistake to "cop out" of an educator's responsibility to keep current with 21st century life, including the technologies that shape the young people we teach.

178. Faith, Technology & Teaching in the 21st Century

Second Life, podcasting, social networking, Web 2.0 ... What does it all mean?  Where are we being taken?  How do I deal with these overwhelming technologies as an educator? as a Christian?

I invite you to watch the keynote talk I gave at Taylor University's recent "Technology for Teaching" Conference.  The title of my presentation is How Web 2.0 is Impacting Education. 

Following the session one of our professors came up to me and said, "I get it! I finally understand what you have been saying to our faculty over the past couple years."

I apologize that the video quality isn't the greatest, as it was only at the last minute that I requested a camera to be set up to record the session. 

177. "Technology for Teaching" Conference

Here is an article in yesterday's Marion Chronicle Tribune on our Aug 16 & 17 "T for T" Conference.  Click here to open.

Details of the conference are available on a previous posting.

172. "Technology for Teaching" Conference

Web 2.0 tools will be a major theme at our 5th Annual "Technology for Teaching" Conference to be held August 16 & 17 on the Taylor University Upland campus.  This conference is primarily for our TU faculty, although we have invited a limited number of guests from nearby universities. 

This year we have expanded the offerings to include 39 different breakout sessions, an opening general session on "How Web 2.0 is Impacting Education", and 12 "mini-grant" presentations by faculty.  Click here to see the schedule.  Click here to see a description of the breakout sessions.

169. Animated Cartoons in PowerPoint

Scott is one of our professors who attended the faculty Mini-Grant Week.  He heads up Taylor's Academic Enrichment Center ... and wanted to develop a set of animated cartoons to reinforce specific study skills.

Scott's idea was to create several short videos that would be fun, engaging, and helpful to students in reinforcing such skills as reading and test-taking.

Scott had never used PowerPoint before, but he quickly got the hang of drawing objects, breaking apart clipart, grouping items, making them move, and adding a narrated script. 

It may surprise you to see what can be done using a simple well-known tool like PowerPoint.  Click here to play Scott's 5-minute video (10 MB in size).

Scott plans to create five more of these over the summer. It will be fun to see how his videos develop as his skill with PowerPoint increases ... and his creative juices get cranked up.

167. Faculty Mini-Grant Week

Yesterday we began our week-long faculty Mini-Grant workshop.  Twelve professors are working with our ETC staff, each on a different technology project.  Over the years we have tried many different approaches to faculty training and this has been one of the most successful.  Faculty compete for the $500 grants.  This year 20 applied and we were able to take 12.  Taylor's Center for Teaching & Learning Excellence funds the grants.  This is the fourth year we have offered this workshop.

Technologies being used this summer include PowerPoint, Blackboard, Windows Movie Maker, Dyknow Vision, blogging software, Edutronix Genesis, Adobe Premier and Encore.

Sometimes the "expert" appears as stumped as the professor :)

163. Our Worst Enemy

I'm convinced we as educators are our own worst enemy.  We are ambitious, hard-driving, highly motivated, goal-oriented ... and in the process drive ourselves right into the ground.

A few days ago I asked a faculty friend what his plans were for the summer.  He said, "It's going to be really busy.  I'm teaching two summer school classes and have two writing projects that I'll be working on." He didn't mention family vacation, trips to visit Grandma & Grandpa, a professional conference, painting the garage, keeping the grass mowed, getting ready for the fall semester, ... but I'm pretty sure those summer activities were somewhere in the mix.

Why do we do this to ourselves?  Why don't we work on just one project instead of two?  Why don't we teach only one summer course?  Why don't we take two years to write our book rather than trying to finish it in one? 

We would be happier and healthier.  Our families would enjoy having more of us around.  We might have time to do some of those things we say are important but never get to -- e.g. learning how to use that software program we've been talking about for two years :)

I learned all this the hard way.  In 1996 I crashed big time due to years of running at a pace that couldn't be sustained, driven by self-inflicted initiatives that I felt just had to be done.

I'm grateful for the adjustments I've been able to make over the past ten years.  I've learned that it might be better to get seven things accomplished in a day rather than twelve.  I've learned to say 'no' to a lot of good things, and it's made me better at the things to which I say 'yes'.  My wife is grateful, my kids are grateful, and I think those around me are grateful ... because no longer do I consider people as competition with my "to-do" list.

If you frequently find yourself out of breath running from one place to another across campus ... it might be good to ask the question, "Why am I doing this to myself?" 

161. A Tool for Math and Science Teachers

If you teach math or science you will want to take a look at my previous posting on LectureScribe.  Students often have a hard time following a text book example problem due to the fact that the solution is presented in its entirety with helpful (not always) narrative interspersed throughout.

Imagine if the student could view the solution unfolding step by step with an audio voice describing what is taking place.  Imagine if this "video" could be saved as a Flash file and posted in Blackboard?  Imagine if you assigned your TA to create animated solutions to dozens of sample problems and posted them to Blackboard? 

You might be able to close down some of your evening "help" sessions because the students could now view the solutions on their own rather than watching the TA put them up on the chalkboard.  You might require the students to view a problem solution before coming to class so you could use the first 15 minutes of the class in another way.

LectureScribe is written by a professor, is easy to learn, and is FREE.  It requires pen-capability but there are relatively inexpensive solutions if you don't have a tablet-PC.

160. LectureScribe

My colleague, Leon, and I have been experimenting with LectureScribe, a software tool written by Brian C. Dean, from Clemson University.  LectureScribe enables one to produce an animated "whiteboard lecture" using a tablet PC complete with voice recording.  It saves the video as a Flash file (.swf) so can easily be viewed using a web browser.

LectureScribe is surprisingly easy to use, comes in a single 4.3 MB .exe file that can be easily downloaded and run without any installation ... and it is FREE.

If you don't have a tablet-PC you can use your mouse (which doesn't work real well), or an external pen-based slate.  We are testing the wireless CPS Chalkboard tablet from eInstruction.  It is a little pricey at $350, but works really well.

Here is an example that Brian Dean posted using LectureScribe.  You won't understand a word of it.  But it gives you a sense of what this software can do.  To start the video you will need to click the play button at the bottom of the window.

Here is an an example that I posted showing how one uses the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of a missing side of a right triangle.

158. College Creates Campus in Second Life

This will stretch your thinking.  Ohio University has created a campus in Second Life.  Take a look at their two minute video posted in YouTube.

You might want to look at my three earlier postings about Second Life: SecondLife.com, Is There a Place for Faith in SecondLife?, and  Church in SecondLife Taken Down.

155. The New vs. the Old

A recent article in Educause Review (March/April 2007) is worth reading.  Malcolm Brown, Director of Academic Computing at Dartmouth College, writes about Web 2.0, pedagogy, and course management systems. 

Brown compares Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0 technologies, and notes how they mirror the teaching paradigm vs. learning paradigm.  Course management systems (CMS) are fairly new and would still be labeled CMS 1.0.  However, they will soon be morphing into CMS 2.0 that will include Web 2.0 technologies such as content generation, content sharing, content markup, and content repurposing.  The timing will be right as faculty begin looking for tools to support the learning paradigm over the teaching paradigm.

152. New Classroom Podiums

We just finished designing and installing two of our new "2nd generation" teaching podiums.  Gone are the remotes.  An Extron push-button panel controls everything.  This is the model we're looking at putting into our other 50+ classrooms to replace an older design that is not laptop friendly, uses dual remotes, and generally doesn't have a document camera available.

We installed a much more sophisticated system in our 64-seat Ayres classroom using the Crestron technology. 

It took a lot of experimenting and tweaking to program the control system to be easy to use but flexible enough to do all that we wanted, including:
1.  Computer A on one screen and Computer B (tablet PC) on the other.
2.  Computer A with extended desktop spanning both screens.
3.  Computer A on one screen and document camera on the other.
4.  DVD or VHS video shown on both screens.
5.  Shades and lights automatically adjust depending on the selection.

The easier we can make the technology the more likely faculty will be to use it.  That's our goal.

142. Effective "Hybrid" Courses

Daniel Brunner (George Fox Evangelical Seminary) wrote an excellent article, Using "Hybrid" Effectively in Christian Higher Education, published in the Winter 2007 Christian Scholar's Review. 

He borrows a definition from the University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee:  "Hybrid courses are those which seek to combine face-to-face classroom instruction with computer-based learning, resulting in more online learning and less seat time than a traditional course."  This article caught my attention as Taylor University is looking into offering hybrid courses in the near future.

Brunner shares six Essentials for Hybridization:
1.  The teacher must facilitate learning
2.  Courses must be re-imagined from the ground up
3.  Online and face-to-face must be intentionally integrated
4.  Socialization must be prioritized
5.  Course design must incorporate clarity and consistency
6.  Both students and instructors must be provided training and support

Last night I emailed Daniel and he gave me permission to post his article on my blog.  Click here for the PDF version.

137. Be Careful About Spoon-Feeding Students Using Technology

Jack Meacham, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor, writes a provocative article "Questioning the Best Learning Technology" in AACU's Fall 2006 Peer Review magazine.  He makes some interesting observations:

1.  Extra preparation for a lecture can result in learning for the professor but not necessarily the students. Meacham writes, "I was mistaking my own learning for the students' learning."

2.  Throwing a lot of entertaining technology into a classroom presentation does not guarantee that "students would magically learn the material better".  In fact, technology can actually inhibit their development into mature thinkers.  For example, posted summaries of assigned readings can short-circuit the process of having to "do the reading, think, evaluate, underline, and take notes".  PowerPoint lectures with bullet points can short-circuit the process of having to listen, think, and select what is worth noting".  Videos can be simply entertainment.  Review handouts and sample questions posted before exams can short-circuit the process of learning to review, organize, and think through the material.  Exams using multiple-choice, computer-scored questions leave students simply having to "recognize the correct answer rather than having to work to recall it or ... having to think and write".

Both of the above points illustrate the challenge of teaching be it with or without technology.  As Meacham says, it can be easy to lose sight of the "primary goal and responsibility as a professor, which is to facilitate student learning".  What does he suggest?  "Instead of expanding and fine-tuning my use of classroom technology, I should be putting my time, effort, and creativity into promoting the active engagement, thinking, questioning, and learning of my students."

I would argue that technology tools, used in the right way, can and should be a part of this learning process.  Certainly just putting your notes into PowerPoint or your syllabus on Blackboard won't do it.

136. Math Projects Get Interesting

Some interesting emails were circulating around our math department this week related to two YouTube videos:
1.  Manelbrot Set by Jonathan Coulter (Fractals)
2.  Twin Primes Conjecture Song performed by Rob Morsberger (Number theory)

As educators we talk about engaging our students.  Why not assign projects using their favorite medium -- video?  Freshmen at TU get a video-editing experience in the COS 104 computer literacy course (required for nearly all our students).  Each year a greater number of incoming students come with video-editing skills.  Our Educational Technology Center (ETC) is a "campus Kinkos" kind of a place with 12 editing suites that can facilitate these types of projects.  With this support in place why not let students push the envelope with video? 

Written papers are necessary.  PowerPoint allows for creativity and presentation practice (but can become a bit "ho-hum").  Video assignments could generate a whole new level of classroom buzz.  Students would be sharing their learning using their medium of choice, and the process would stretch them in new ways with the technology. 

Imagine a class of 30 students ... divided into ten teams of three ... each team completes a 3-5 minute video illustrating a particular concept ... a day or two of class time is used to play and evaluate the videos ... the videos are posted on YouTube (or a campus server) ... the students then create a class web-page* with links to the videos and descriptions of their projects for presentation to a wider audience.

Just for fun -- here's a student-made video that illustrates lack of engagement in a classroom:  The Substitute by Katie McDowell & friends.

* This could be nicely facilitated in Blackboard using the Learning Objects' Team building block that is essentially a wiki enabling students to collaborate in building a webpage.

134. A PowerPoint Feature I Wish I Had Known About

Do you have a set of digital photographs you wish to quickly make into a PowerPoint presentation, one picture per slide?  PowerPoint has a "Photo Album" feature that allows you to do this.  Click here to download a Word document with the instructions.

With this tool you can literally take your set of 100 digital pictures and in a matter of a few minutes have a 100-slide presentation with each picture perfectly filling each slide.

Pictured at a wedding in June:  Neal Friesen, Janet Friesen, Arlene Friesen

121. "Digital Natives" Changing Corporate America

"Generation Y is invading corporate America and bringing with it personal technology that will create a revolution in corporate technology departments, Gartner analysts told attendees at the annual Symposium ... Consumer technologies, including podcasting, blogging, VOIP (voice over IP) and video on demand will penetrate the enterprise workplace by the year 2012, spearheaded by 20-somethings raised on the technologies-- who Gartner analysts are calling "digital natives".
-- eWeek, October 16, 2006

How well are our educational institutions preparing students for this marketplace?  This is the question that motivates me in our efforts to move forward with our academic technology.  Our young people are immersed with these technologies before they enter college.  They will be immersed with them in the marketplace after they graduate.  It makes sense that they be immersed during their 4-year academic program.

118. A Note to Educators

A colleague from our education department left this note on my desk this morning.  This caused me to take a deep breath ...

117. Ten Commandments of a NetGen Student

I'm at the Educause conference in Dallas with about 6,500 other educators and tech people.  I just attended a panel session, "Future of Course Management Systems", in which an NC State student shared the values of her Net Generation classmates.  I have re-phrased her 10 commandments, as I wasn't quick enough to write down her catchy descriptions:

1. We go online -- we don't use phone books or fold-up maps.
2. We don't like "busy work" -- must see value in our assignments.
3. We don't want to recite or regurgitate.
4. We prefer to email a prof rather than stop by the office.
5. We prefer graphics to text.
6. We'll Google it first.
7. When content is put online we will print out the documents for study purposes -- unless they are too long (it costs too much!)
8. We prefer IM, blogs, text messaging, over voice communication.
9. We're net-savvy, but we don't know all the technologies.
10. Not all students in a class are NetGens (many are non-traditional students).

I was surprised by #7.  Apparently younger folk also prefer to study from hard-copy that they can mark up, rather than reading everything off a computer screen.

Two out of my own three children would heartily concur with #2 and #3.  They are not motivated to do course work for which they don't see a purpose.

114. Podcasting at Kansas State University

Several of our TU faculty are beginning to experiment with the podcasting of lecture material.  Kanas State University has announced plans to convert some 6,000 course recordings into "enhanced podcasts" that combine audio with slides and annotation. Many classes are now set up to automatically record lectures and convert them to an iPod-friendly format.  Read more.

111. 4th Thursday Faculty Workshop

For the past three years we have scheduled each month a 4th Thursday "Successful Teaching" Workshop for our faculty, from 8-10 am.  It includes breakfast followed by a 90-minute workshop on technologies related to teaching & learning.
________________________________________________

This week's topics are:
1. Demo (Leon Amstutz) -- 66" SmartBoard installed in the newly rennovated Ayres Conference Room.
2. Demo (Rich Parker) -- Rich's fully online Blackboard course, "Music and World Cultures", loaded with multimedia content.
3. Discussion/Presentation (Gary Friesen, Jeremy Case) -- Blogs & Wikis for Classroom and Personal/Professional Use
______________________________________________________________________

Samples of TU faculty blogs:
Win Corduan -- informal style ... frequent postings ... combination of personal, professional, devotional
Andy Rowell -- formal style ... less frequent postings ... professional, church leadership topics
Chris Bade -- using TU's MoveableType blog tool ... combination of personal, professional
Mark West -- using TU's MoveableType blog tool ... I don't know what it is -- it's all in French!

Examples of TU faculty using Blackboard Journal (essentially a blog):
Ron Benbow in his MAT 262 course -- you'll need a TU Bb login to access these courses
Jeremy Case in his IAS 110 course

Example of TU faculty using Blackboard Teams (essentially a wiki):
Jeremy Case in his IAS 495 course

Search sites that help you find blogs:
BlogPulse -- general seach
Technorati -- general search
CyberJournalist -- journalist blogs
eTalkingHead -- political blogs
Rhetorica -- professors who blog

Wikis to explore:
WikiUniversity -- hosts and develops free content for teachers
WikiBooks -- free open-content text books that you can edit
Wiki How -- the how-to manual that anyone can write or edit

Sample classroom assignment:
1. Create and maintain a blog using any free blog tool of your choice (or Bb Journal could be used)
2.  Select five "professional" blogs that you will read on a regular basis
3.  Create a daily entry in your blog commenting on the five blogs, including quotations, links, graphics when appropriate, and your own opinions and analysis

105. iPods in the Classroom

University uses iPods in the Classroom.  This is a short CNN video clip that reports on how a music professor and a political science professor at Georgia College & State University (GCSU) are using iPods in their coursework.  (You might need to Browse/Search in the Watch Free Video area to locate this clip.  Enter "ipods in the classroom" in the Search box)

98. When a Teacher Quits Learning

I might step on some toes with this posting.  But I think it needs to be said.  When teachers at any level -- elementary, secondary, college, post-graduate -- decide that they don't do technology (either because they feel they can't or because they simply won't) what does this communicate to our students?

One of Taylor University's educational goals is to help students become "lifelong learners".  I would venture that most institutions of higher education have this goal stated somewhere in their literature.  If we as educators steer clear of the very arena where much of the progress is being made today, i.e. technological tools, how can we claim to be models of lifelong learning?

I quote again from Will Richardson's book:

"Whereas students are open to the ways of new technologies, schools by and large are not.  Howard Rheingold, author of Smart Mobs, says, 'I make a basic distinction (one that I think is widening) between education and schooling: people, especially young people, continue to learn -- and to adopt new media -- but institutions, and those who run them, are much slower to change their ways" (Rheingold, 2004). All of this paints the picture of an educational system that is out of touch with the ways its students learn."

"The good news, however, is that the tools discussed in this book have just as much chance of closing this gap as widening it.  The reason is because by their very nature, they are relatively easy for anyone ... to employ in the classroom."

Ten years ago the technology tools were admittedly difficult to use.  Scanners were expensive and quirky. One had to master HTML to post content to the web.  But the landscape has changed.  A good scanner costs $90 and can be accessed directly from Word or PowerPoint.  Content can now be easily posted to the web through tools such as Blackboard or a blog.  Easy-to-use tools are readily available to facilitate classroom engagement (TurningPoint) or to help students master factual content (StudyMate) or to help students collaborate on group projects (Campus Pack Teams LX or Writely).

Yes, it takes a level of commitment to learn to use these technologies.  Most of us are not "digital natives", to use the term coined by Marc Prensky.  We are "digital immigrants" who, no matter how hard we work at it, will always retain something of an accent.  But, in the same way that Filipinos appreciated me trying to speak to them in Tagalog, today's students will appreciate any effort we make to communicate with them using their digital tools.  And in the process we will model for them what it means to be a lifelong learner.

97. The Read/Write Web

Will Richardson in his book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms writes: "In and of itself the ‘old’ read-only web was a transformative technology. It has changed the way we work, the way we learn, and the way we communicate. I would argue that historians may look back on these past 10 years the same way we look back on the early days of the printing press, the steam engine, or the automobile. The Web has changed our lives.”

Janet and I are at the tail end of a 10-day trip through Canada, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Every motel we have stayed in has had internet access, either in the room or at least wireless in the lobby. In fact, right now Janet is catching a few extra winks and I’m lounging in bed with my ETC laptop writing this blog entry.

The fact that the web has changed our lives is not news to you. What might be news to you is Will Richardson’s next statement: "This 'new' Read/Write Web will change it even more." Yes, what's new is that people can now write to the web using tools that are as easy to use as email. For years it has been possible to publish on the web, but you had to be a techie. You had to be able to navigate Frontpage or some such web editor to create your web site. But with blogs, wikis, and social networking software one can literally sign up and within minutes begin sharing ideas with the world.

Richardson writes, “The bad news is the Read/Write Web threatens to make the differences between teachers and learners even more acute. Whereas students are open to the ways of new technologies, schools by and large are not.” 

What if our writing teachers would encourage their students to write their essays on a blog where they could easily be read by the rest of the class … or their parents, friends … or the world at large? Would their motivation be greater knowing they are really publishing as opposed to generating what they perceive to be busy work that gets graded and thrown away?

We have a success story. This spring I spent a couple days in English Methods (as I have done for the past 4-5 years) teaching these education majors how to use Publisher to make a website to which they would post their group semester projects – lesson plans, course units, links to resources, etc. For the first time we announced that the site would be posted on an external server, linked to the English Dept web site, and kept live for the world to see (including participants at a conference the professor was going to present at later on in the summer). It was amazing to see the difference in motivation as the students attacked a project that was genuine and not just an “assignment”.

96. Podcasts and Shopping

I enjoy shopping with my wife … I really do. And yet, there are times when I need a little help. My trusty Olympus player has been a great companion for those hours outside the fitting room.

Prior to leaving on our trip I downloaded from iTunes a number of Patrick Norton’s DL.TV podcast episodes. You need to be somewhat of a techie to appreciate these podcasts, but this has been one of my sources this summer for keeping up on the world of technology.

Yesterday between Kohls, Penny’s, and Christopher & Banks I learned about BlueRay, duo-core, P3, Bluetooth, VOIP, the AMD & ATI merger, and all kinds of other good stuff.

There are podcasts on every subject imaginable. You, too, could do a little multitasking on your next shopping trip.

Carry this one step further. Could we package content for our students so that they could do the same with their iPods on their next outing? Schools like University of Michigan and Stanford are experimenting with this and finding it effective.

94. It's Been a Busy Summer

For the Taylor University faculty you will come back to some beautifully rennovated facilities.  The Language Lab has a new look, with a counter (for 24 new computers running the Edutronix Genesis software) running along the outside of the room and an inside U-shaped table for when the instructor directs the students to swing their chairs around for class activities.

The large classroom in Ayres is almost finished.  It will seat 64 students. Each station will have power and network connectivity. There will be two projectors/screens for a lot of flexibility in presenting.

The Ayres conference room will seat 20.  It features a new Smart Technologies 66" smart board, and will also have full PolyCom video-conferencing capability.

A few finishing touches remain, but everything should be pretty much in place for the start of school.

92. Discussion With a Philosophy Professor

I'm in Toronto at my 35th high school class reunion.  My 50 classmates from Christian Academy in Japan (CAJ) are scattered all around the world.  Nearly 20 of us are here for the weekend.  Ruth flew in from Germany, Ken from Southern California, Mary from New York, Jennifer from Texas, ... Many brought their spouses.  Tonight we feast on sushi at a downtown Japanese restaurant!

One of my best friends, Paul Reasoner (pictured), is the chair of the Philosophy Department at Bethel University in St. Paul, MN.  Paul and I grew up together in Japan. He was our point guard who got me the ball :)

We were talking last night about the current generation of students.  Are they different from the students Paul had in his philosophy classes 20-some years ago?  How has technology helped or hindered what happens in his classroom? 

Paul talked about the amazing search capabilities of internet technology, and the potential to find things quickly.  The downside is that students often grab the easy stuff and don't go the next mile to find those sources that would be the "mother lode". 

Philosophy is difficult.  It takes time to read an argument and think through its implications.  Many students today have difficulty focusing for any length of time.  Yes, they can multitask.  But is it possible to develop a difficult philosophical argument while you're watching TV and loading pictures into Facebook?  Is it possible to hammer out a difficult proof in Abstract Algebra (bringing it into what used to be my world) while IMing a couple friends and checking your email?  I don't think so.

And what about class time? Paul appreciates technology and is a competent user.  Does he have to accommodate today's Millennial and change what he does in class every 10 minutes to keep their attention? Isn't there still a place for spending an hour wrestling with a difficult intellectual concept -- with no multimedia? 

We as educators are in challenging times ...

A side note about Paul.  I can't imagine teaching philosophy in English -- the concepts can be so challenging and slippery.  Paul spent several years at a university in Tokyo teaching philosophy in Japanese!

91. Cheating

My future son-in-law came home today from his class at Ball State talking about the latest cheating technique.  Kids are bringing their cell picture-phones to class, photographing their answers and sending them to each other during the test.

Here you see Mike checking to see if it really is possible to take a digital picture of your answer sheet ... and have it appear readable on the screen.  Given the right zoom level it does seem to work.

Mike is pretty excited because he figures he might now have a chance of making it through graduate school.  Just kidding.

For the teacher, the moral of the story is you had better proctor.  Most students today do not consider cheating to be wrong. A good practice is to sit/stand in the back of the room where you can see virtually any movement a student makes.  It is easy to catch someone glancing at a neighbor's paper, even more so getting out their cell phone to make a call.

89. Getting Ready For the School Year

As you know, one of my projects this summer has been to play with (or should I say "research, analyze, and assess"?) the various digital tools young people are using today.  Much of what I am learning will be presented in various workshops at our 4th annual "Technology for Teaching" Conference to be held the week before the start of school. 

One session in particular is going to be a lot of fun.  We advertised that the first 20 to sign up for the "Tools of the Millennials" workshop would receive a free Olympus WS-320M player.  The session filled up fast! 

The past two years we have had over 80 attend the conference, and this year it looks like we will have even more.  Most of the participants will be our own Taylor faculty, but we have also invited colleagues from nearby institutions.  Here are links to the schedule and session descriptions.  If you are in the area and would be interested in attending let us know.  We might still have a few spots available.

81. Let's Stretch Our Use of Blackboard

The July/August 2006 issue of Educause Review has an interesting article discussing current course management systems from the point of view of students, faculty, and administrators.

What seems like such a new tool for us (i.e. Blackboard) in reality can seem pretty "old school" and unimaginative for the students.  Here are some exerpts from the article, Managing Courses Defining Learning.

"Students especially made the case that it's time for a change in how we think about teaching and learning and that the change is long overdue... They wondered why there is so little incorporation of the tools they use everyday, tools that they know are available (for free, they pointed out) but that instructors don't use.  Why, in an age of speed and instant response, does everything take so long and seem so clumsy and hard to use?  They told us that it is time for the academy to get with the program... they really don't want instructors to invade MySpace but that they do want the e-learning environment to use the same tools: blogs, wikis, home pages, public messages, online presence."

The author, Colleen Carmean, continues several paragraphs later --

"It would be a mistake to think that any of us can last out the storm by staying huddled together and expecting students to continue to come to traditional education gladly... The next-generation e-learning environment includes Google, IM, SMS, Web 2.0 social knowledge and software, intelligent systems with memory and personalization of the learner's needs, mobile learning, wireless learning ..."

Think about taking another "baby step".  This semester let's see if we can stretch our use of Blackboard a bit.  What about using the Gradebook so students can enjoy quick feedback?  ... or try the Assignments tool so students can electronically submit their papers?  ... or online quizzing to provide some interactivity? ... or experiment with the new Journal and Teams tools that provide blogging and wiki capabilities?  ... or try the Virtual Classroom/Chat for late-night virtual office hours? <-- that would suprise them!

71. TU Blackboard Also Has a Blog

Campus Pack also has a blog module, called Journal LX, that is great for student journaling. 

This will be ideal for programs that require students to keep journals: Education majors, business practicums, social work field experiences, etc.

70. TU Blackboard Has a Wiki

"Much of Web 2.0 is about harnessing the knowledge and work of many people to create something of value" -- Jim Rapoza, eWeek, July 10, 2006. 

A perfect example of this is Wikipedia.  The value of the website is due to the millions of people contributing to its content.  It is a group project on a massive scale. Another example is eBay, where the millions of sellers and buyers create its value.

Group projects are big in education today.  What often frustrates students is the difficulty in getting the group together.  Why not enable them to do some projects online using a wiki (which is one of the new Web 2.0 tools)? 

We just installed the Blackboard building block, Campus Pack, that has a module called Teams LX.  It is basically a wiki that facilitates collaborative student projects. A group of students can work together asynchronously on the same document, each one having full access to the editing tools.  It will be interesting to see creative ways in which our faculty take advantage of this tool in the coming school year.

67. Baby Steps

I was talking with one of our professors yesterday in the ETC and he asked the question, "Isn't one of the differences between us and the Millennials is that they have time to play with all of these tools?"  We talked about the load that faculty carry, leaving little time to experiment and simply "play" with technology.  I wish we had a way to lighten this load, to provide an hour or two release time each year for this purpose.   

I believe the secret is to keep taking "baby steps".  That is why I'm writing this blog ... to help with these baby steps.  I'm trying to distill what is out there, and pass on in small chunks what I believe will be most helpful and relevant to teaching faculty.

If you can take a few minutes each day to read the new entry you will keep moving forward and stay current (at least conceptually) with today's technologies.  Then from time to time some tip or utility will strike you and you'll figure out a way to carve out the minutes (or hours) to try to incorporate it into your teaching.

65. A Student's Thoughts About Blackboard

This week a friend (thanks KM) sent me this interesting article in Campus Technology, A Graduate's View of the Course Management System.  A student is writing about his experiences with Blackboard at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.  Here are some of his observations:

1. 1. "Those faculty who actively put material online and clarified assignments made it easier for everyone to maximize their time in class."
2. "Those faculty who created assignments that required Blackboard participation had students who came to class better prepared to participate in classroom discussions."
3. "To me it was also fantastic to get immediate feedback -- including grades on any of my assignments ..."
4. "It was those classes where the professors only partially used Blackboard that were the most frustrating.  In these situations, professors would sporadically post material, would occasionally respond to online inquiries, and would redundantly distribute materials both online and in class. I would never know if new material had been posted unless I checked regularly.  It was frustrating to not be able to rely on regular updates."

This last point was disturbing to me.  In fact, I almost hesitated to post it because we have been trying so hard just to get faculty on board using Blackboard.  My strategy has been that any content posted is better than none at all.

But I guess it's kind of like PowerPoint.  Once you get people to use the tool, then it's important to coach them in using it effectively (e.g. ditch all the sounds and annoying special effects).

57. The Digital Divide in Higher Education

A colleague of mine is leaving Taylor to pursue graduate studies with the goal of becoming a college professor.  This week he visited the university where he'll be attending.  He came back kind of wide-eyed, "Gary, you won't believe this.  The classroom where I'm going to have all my classes has NO technology! All it has is an old-fashioned blackboard and an overhead projector--the old kind." 

It seems to me that physics would need to be taught using some technology.  And maybe the professors will be bringing in their own laptops and portable projectors.  But the image was disturbing.

For several years now our admissions folks have said that technology really doesn't sell a school.  Students just expect that what they need will be there.  I'm wondering if this will be changing.  I'm wondering if this Millennial generation will begin figuring out that certain schools are integrating technology across the program (e.g. for two years now at Taylor we've had ceiling projectors and computer/multimedia podiums in every classroom) and other schools are still using blackboards and chalk.

And, I'm wondering if even within the same institution students will begin figuring it out.  Certain professors are using technology in effective ways to engage the students and others are not.  I need to be careful here.  I'm not saying that effective teaching always has to incorporate technology.  But I'm just wondering how many more years a faculty member will be able to effectively engage a class with a 50-minute lecture and a piece of chalk.  The students have changed.

56. The Threshold is Low

Here is further encouragement to those who may have been slow to get on board with technology; for whom Excel and PowerPoint are still applications that "everybody else is using".  The "Millennial Tools" are very easy to use. 

It's not like Excel where you really do need to sit in some workshops to learn the several dozen tricks to get a spreadsheet to work.  Once somebody points you in the right direction to get your blog started ... all you need to be able to do is type, browse for your picture (you can all do this because it is the same process as emailing an attachment), and click submit.  This might be a bit of an exaggeration in terms of simplicity, but not much.  Blogs, wikis, iTunes, Facebook are all really easy to use -- even for the non-Millennial.

To help Taylor faculty make this transition we've purchased from Learning Objects the Campus Pack modules that snap right into Blackboard.  There is a Journal (blog), Team (wiki), Search (allows for easy search of Bb content), and Expo (for external publishing of content).  Our Aug 21 & 22 "Technology for Teaching" Conference will include a couple sessions on the use of these tools.

54. Should Students Ever Cite Wikipedia?

The other day a friend forwarded to me this article, Wise Words on Wikipedia.  Professor Alan Liu, UC Santa Barbara, provides some guidelines as to when a student might appropriately cite Wikipedia.  The article is followed by sixteen instructive comments from teachers and librarians. See former posting about Wikipedia.

52. Parallels Between the Global Economy and Education

This series of six articles from the July issue of Wired leads to some interesting comparisons between the global economy and the educational world.  People Power --  the power of "regular folks" (I suppose that includes students) to produce, connect, and harness information. Video Unlimited -- what is today's Millennial if not video-oriented? Personalize It -- students want choices, options, and personalization. All-Access Economy -- students expect no-fuss ease of access

45. ePortfolios for Faculty Promotion & Tenure

If Blackboard can be used to facilitate e-portfolios for students, why not use it for faculty?  For our tenure and promotion process we are offering faculty the option of submitting all of their materials in a Blackboard portfolio.  No longer do a couple thick binders need to be passed around to all the committee members.  All can view it at any time online.

37. Streaming Media Task Force

I am part of a task force that is investigating the use of streaming media here at Taylor.  We met for the first time two weeks ago.  We meet again this morning, and will meet every two weeks through the summer and fall.  On our campus there are demands for streaming coming from every direction -- admissions, athletics, academics, resident life, ... How do we facilitate all of this?

You may have heard about Apple's iTunes U.  Apple is offering to universities free hosting for the streaming of academic content -- half a terabyte of server space (that's 500 GB!)  Yesterday I talked to an Apple rep on the phone for half an hour, and then she sent me a formal application.  We'll discuss it more in our meeting today.  Some high-profile schools such as Stanford and University of Michigan have been early partners with Apple on this venture. 

I have been so impressed with the cross-platform functionality of iTunes.  Apple seems to finally be "getting it", that if they support the Windows world it will be to their advantage and everybody else's.  Now that Macs are being shipped with Intel processors it is really getting interesting.

To TU faculty -- if you have an idea of how you might use streaming media (either audio or video) in any of your courses please let me know.  If we were to go with a service such as iTunes U we need to document a carefully thought-out plan.

29. Let's Have a Discussion

Question:  Do you think it is possible today to be an effective teacher (let's say at the college level) and not use technology?  Post your thoughts in the comments area.

Note -- you will have to create a Xanga account (takes about a minute) in order for your comment to be posted.  I checked with people who are using other blog tools and this seems to be standard practice.  Will this generate spam?  You will get an email message from Xanga as a follow up.  My wife was quick to report this to me, but I assured her that one email message is not spam.  To be honest, I'm not sure to what degree signing up for an account like this will add to your overall volume of spam and spyware.