Yesterday I attended the FSI 2005 opening presentation by Burks Oakley, entitled "[Not So} Bleeding Edge Projects in Web-Based Learning: Recent Advances in Quality Web-Based Education." As I sat through this presentation, I tried to take notes while watching the screen and the speaker, so that I would be able to capture as much as possible of what was being said and how it was being presented. Here are my take-away points.
For me as an instructor:
There is a huge gold mine of information available at the click of the mouse for instructors who want to explore and learn from what colleagues at their own and other higher education institutions have done to increase their own students' learning. My question is:
How will/do instructors find the time to explore this gold mine in a purposeful manner?
For me as a novice technology user:
There is a vocabulary that needs to be mastered in order to understand what experts say when they explain technology products and services. Then, obviously,there are skills that need to be mastered in order to use these products and services. (Watching Burks navigate through his presentation makes the novice aware of what the skilled practitioner does with unconscious competence and a "can do" confidence in troubleshooting expertise.)
My question is:
How do novice technology users move from where they are to where they need to be in a manageable amount of time? The workshops that participants will attend during the FSI 2005 will be wonderful, but having one-on-one mentors to help during the implementation stages would be ideal. Also, having someone with knowledge in one's discipline would be helpful.
For me as a faculty developer:
As we think about how to design technology workshops for new faculty members, we need to remember that they have a finite amount of time during which to prepare for the beginning of the semester. They also bring great diversity in terms of teaching experience, as well as in their previous use of technology, their comfort level with using it, their specific discipline's approach to utilizing technology as a teaching tool, etc.
My questions are:
What can we do to ensure that all new faculty members have the "just-in-time" technology help they need to start the semester successfully?
What can we do to ensure that they have ongoing technology support during their careers? And, if an exploration of tools and services is fruitless, how do we help facilitate the development of technology innovations to accomplish student learning outcomes?
Finally, as an educator, I wonder how we are studying the ways in which we are impacting our students with technology: How is the experience of higher education changed if a student is taking five courses in five different disciplines, and each of these courses now requires a certain amount of online participation outside of class? Are there unintended consequences? Do we make assumptions about incoming students' background knowledge and skills in technology?
