Thinking Outside the Bandwagon

One instructor’s perspective on

managing innovation

Robert RuntéUniversity of Lethbridge

outlinecautionary tale of my experiences with

four innovative technologies online discussion forums web page assignments blogs podcasting

audience members share their experiences (enthuse or commiserate)

life cycle of innovative teaching technologies

a cautionary tale….

to be educationally valid,

innovative instructional technology should fill previously identified need…

on-line discussion forums

to extend class discussion in large classes

gives “quiet” students opportunity to write thoughtful comments, demonstrate knowledge, sway classmates

At UofL, David Brown experiments with on-line forums

demos success for interested colleagues after several successful iterations

innovation is widely adopted

on-line discussion forums become complete disaster

very negative course evaluations

what went wrong?

when just Dr. Brown did it

students found reading peers comments, dialoging, and writing their own 10 line comments engaging

but when forums widely adopted

geometric increase in student numbers overwhelmed computer labs

students now had to line up for hours, just to make a 10 line comment

(and other users resented those taking lab spaces from computer course students)

forums abandoned

...just as IT brought in hundreds of email stations that made innovation possible again….

Web Page Assignments

public audience more authentic assessment students take public stand (ownership) increased public accountability (student

and instructor) discourages plagiarism

Web Page Assignments

group or individual projects easily accommodated

Web Page Assignments

collaborative, cumulative class projects more authentic assessment provides public service

Web Page Assignments

students acquire new and relevant skill sets increased marketability of graduates increased student motivation (novelty)

Web Page Assignments

BUTas early adopter,

had to spend class time teaching HTML, graphic design, etc

technology changed faster than instructors could keep up

Web Page Assignments

Web Page Assignments

BUTwhen more common place

great variation in computer literacy among students

issue of grading on HTML rather than course content

Web Page Assignments

But biggest problems started when

told colleagues about my successes….

knew I was in trouble when:

first heard student say, “Oh, no, not another web page assignment!”

Wikipedia made class collaborative project redundant

…crucial to attend to context outside of your own classroom -- life cycle of innovation

blogs in the classroom

on-line student journal

concern over decline in quality of class discussions:

larger class sizes made it impossible for every student to speak in class

students not doing readings prior to class

majority coasting on a few vocal students

inauthentic agreement with (assumed) instructor views

blog as…

a (public) reading log

Reading Logs

promotes class discussion ensures readings are read for class students take a stand before class going public increases authenticity of

responses comment function extends class

discussion beyond class time

Reading Logs

peer correction of misconceptionsauthentic feedback on assigned

readings for instructorgenerate quotes, discussion

questions for next yearasynchronous grading and feedback

blogs

first two iterations successful just minor revisions to scoring scheme to

encourage risk-taking and authentic expression

knew I was in trouble when…

students this past term said, “Oh no, not another blog assignment…!”

podcasting

felt need to do something…

…about 3 hour lectures course team kept adding objectives to

curriculum students now expect slides to be

available ahead of class reviewing slides in class increasingly

redundant

encountered podcasting…

July, 2005

Evo Terra, Michael Mennenga Tee Morris

getting on the bandwagon…

rebirth of radio

educators have the bandwidth

educators have the content

8 Advantages of Podcasting

audio better use of student time

easier for instructor (than video)

more individualized instruction

scheduling encourages more learning objects

8 Advantages of Podcasting

easily integratedoff load lectures

from class timereaches a broad

audienceencourages

innovative teaching

podcasting issues

“free up class time”, by making lectures available out of class but this effectively

doubles course hours, since now students “take home” lectures

solution: make lectures optional

student chooses between readings, listening to podcasts of lectures; or watching videos of Powerpoint shows student finds modality

that works best for that student

comes to class ready to workshop, ask questions

podcasting?

are we ahead of the curve yet?

barriers to adoption?

weekly encouragement?

“We’ve got to get on this! The VP wants us moving ahead on this.”

September-December, 2005

podcast team Acquire professional

recording hardware work bugs out of

Garageband records music intros inservices faculty on

the use of the equipment

September-December, 2005

Set up project management blog

September-December, 2005

IT support people sets up podcast web page

April 2008...still no podcasts

Barriers are social, not technological“Day job” has to come first

teaching, research and service -- podcasts projects not recognized as any of those

potential research output…but ‘low level’ journals, out of our direct field

evaluate each innovation

clear need?too early adoption

infrastructure available? disproportionate effort student panic / novelty

lifecycle expiration

administrative supports

innovation vs diffusionreward structures based on what has

beengolden age of the classroom

stories from you