Using virtual locations and novel ways of networking students and addressing assignment, this instructor seeks to make course learning more sustainable.
Fostering Friendships - Enhancing Social Bonds in the Classroom
Building beyond the course
1. Building beyond the course, or
even the program: how can
virtual worlds extend the
learning environment and create
community?
SUNY CIT 2012 – Stony Brook
Eileen O’Connor, Ph.D.
Eileen.oconnor@esc.edu
Empire State College
2. Agenda
• Background
– Teaching & learning – different connection & modalities,
always being tried (review)
– Including other faculty
– Research island – island design; virtual shifting
• Framework of a learning environment
• Expansive efforts to date
– Teachers coming / student research / outreach to other
students / outreach to admin/admissions – how can you
extend beyond a course too?
– Considerations and issues – development, maintenance,
support ; sharing design – reality and feasibility
3. http://commons.esc.edu/open/
On August 22-24, 2012, SUNY—Empire State College will be hosting a virtual conference on open education. The
conference is global in scope and will be occurring over multiple time zones; therefore, the event will be conducted in a virtual world
called Second Life. The modality will be a synchronous/asynchronous mode—participants can attend sessions as they occur, or session
presentations will be recorded for play back at later times. Currently, we seek individuals to participate in the conference.
Call for Presentations (and Posters)
The OP*EN Virtual Conference welcomes presenters and posters that integrate one or more of these themes, as they relate to the
concept of open education. As the aim is to cover open education for a world-wide audience, we would value a range of presentations,
challenges, and discussion-starters around these areas:
Philosophy: what conceptual, sociological, institutional, and educational underpinnings separate open education from other forms of
teaching and learning? What are the core issues in defining openness, and what other forms of openness are required for open education
(open leadership, open science, etc.)? Are there related concepts, constructs, and paradigms that serve or enhance openness as a
concept?
Process: what ways can a resource, course, learning experience move into the process of becoming “open”? How can current courses and
resources be moved from behind ivory towers into open educational areas? How can current post-secondary institutions transform
themselves into open universities?
Projects: what are the examples of projects within your experience, personal, institutional or within your learning sphere that you would
like to offer as a model or best practice?
Policy: are there institutional issues that surround Open Education within your educational sphere? Have projects and ideas been brought
forward within your institution and what organizations, governance groups, unions, or professional organizations have spoken to these
issues? What areas do you expect might influence policy within your educational and learning sphere? What public policies effect
openness (regulation, legislation, grants, accreditation)?
Practices: in what ways have you or your colleagues begun to consider and develop open resources and practices?
We encourage a variety of presentation styles as well as topics. The only common element we ask from all presentations and posters is
that it should in some way challenge your audience to take openness to the next level.
Abstracts/summaries/battle plans or other treatments should be emailed to open@esc.edu by June 22nd, 2012.
http://commons.esc.edu/open/2012/05/04/call-for-papers/
4. Call for Presentations (and Posters)
On August 22-24, 2012, SUNY—Empire State College will be
hosting a virtual conference on open education. The conference
is global in scope and will be occurring over multiple time zones;
therefore, the event will be conducted in Second Life. The
modality will be a synchronous/asynchronous mode—
participants can attend sessions as they occur, or session
presentations will be recorded for play back at later times.
Currently, we seek individuals to participate in the conference.
The OP*EN Virtual Conference Abstracts/summaries/battle
plans or other treatments should be emailed to open@esc.edu
by June 22nd, 2012.
5. Continuing to advance in
collaboration & community
through tech – instructor techniques
Over time, I have solidified an approach to getting
students into the virtual environment
Various types of meetings / experiences
Integrating multiple interactive technologies – no need
to wait for Learning Managements Systems to do it all
Soliciting student perspective and ownership
Continuing the cycle through ongoing course
development
Generative . . . and fun too ; engaging more, different,
and new types of learners
Examining emerging “ideas” – open / badging
7. Attitudes that can help an instructor
grow towards valuing “community”
Willingness to experiment
with emerging tech
Looking for new ways to
Testing, evaluating,
connect & grow your
improving (publishing)
courses
Starting prof. relationships
among students (then Valuing the
letting them operate social/professional
independently)
8. Developing virtual environments, present
ideas & past practices – ideas to consider
• On a shoe string ; without programming or artists
(at least initially)
– Images & design – inelegant but practical & growing
– Gained insight from ongoing pilots with my students –
expanding my knowledge regularly
– Considered grants (no luck) then worked ideas into
courses
• Having courses do “real” work within a professional masters
– Having virtual locations that serve as teacher resource
areas; creating simple and useful
– Involving others – pros and cons
9. At the outset, students across the
state give simple virtual
presentations & guest speakers came
10.
11. NOTE: and, although Second
Life became more expensive,
new ways to develop virtual
environments are growing
rapidly
12. In the new science center, meetings,
presentations, and discussions expanded
13. Students began to design pods with
their own science projects (sum. 2011)
14. Community & innovation
expanded in spring 2012
Advancing
Advancing
interactive Introducing
interactive
Involving other design - badging,
design - having
faculty integrating soliciting student
poster session
shared video into feedback
and judging
discussions
15. A faculty-led affinity group
began - VirtualESC
A cross disciplinary and
cross center (ESC is
distributed across
NYS) effort to share
knowledge &
applications and to
“save our island” in the
time of rising costs
• Meetings: basic to advanced techniques;
application sharing; outside speakers
16. Including other faculty
members
Brought in faculty in other
disciplines that could
present their areas of
expertise to my online
students
18. Running the show
Being the sage behind the
machine – the Great and
Powerful Oz
19. Discussion
board
Multiple
Virtual
media loops
meetings –
(YouTube
discussions
too)
Talk alouds –
discussion boards
before new topics/
projects
20. For instance, working online, students
watch and discuss videos about the
course contents
Here’s a link to a 2 minute video overview of this project:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz1ld2AUTUQ
21. Looping across time and venues
-- using technologies,
interactions,& evaluations
Assignment
Voting Presenting
23. The science lab assignments included
the creation of a poster in PowerPoint
These posters were put into
pods for the students for
this course
24. Students came and presented to
classmates & to “judges” (former
students)
25. Judges & students (optional) voted on
posters for a variety of characteristics
Here’s a link to a 2 minute video overview of this project:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=hz1ld2AUTUQ&NR=1
26. Another new technique: a virtual
speaker addressed badging
• After the presentation, students broke into
groups and discussed the possible role of
badging – in K12 & in graduate courses
• (Badging will be incorporated into the summer
course requirements too)
• Here are YouTubes from the video discussion:
– http://youtu.be/FECB2m3QNPg
http://youtu.be/gDXdhjZHeVI
– http://youtu.be/-N2LtOp4XBs
27. New ways appearing for peer
assessment valuing and extending
learning (https://wiki.mozilla.org/Badges)
28. Use badges to
make web-
evident learning
more valued
and identifiable
and to ensure
quality work &
governance
without
constant
supervision
29. Grad course
• Create, model, make
criteria, require, assess
• Elect which stays
Revisions /review Dean award
• in later Grad course • Ensure follow-
up
Badges: ongoing /
generative
• for input, continuity,
and ownership
Determine if any grant
funding would be possible
30.
31. Strengthen connections within and to
an organization (job searching)
Develop resource gathering; create
an organizational present with the
aid of a social network & virtual
meetings
32. BADGES – reinforce,
validate & value
Facebook
Organizer Badge
Use badges to promote, extend, monitor,
and support the endeavor;
For example, badges for:
Creator of a Professional Development Day
Website Organizer and Moderator
Gold Star Meeting Attendee
$5K Fund Raiser
Bronze Star New Member Mentor (based on
resumes reviewed by practitioner, perhaps)
34. REAL connections with & support for science
(Cornell; www.globe.gov; www.nasa.gov)
Science literacy; science sharing; extending
& creating new knowledge and
understanding; helping other nations
35. BADGES – to reinforce,
validate, value, &
sustain Can I get a Best
Brain Badge?
Use badges to promote, extend, monitor, and
support the endeavor;
For examples, badges for:
10 Great Pictures or Videos of Bugs or Crazy-landforms
or Star-clusters or Red Oaks Badge
Bronze Helped-Fellow-Researcher Badge (entry level
# of Likes by other citizen-scientists who found this
badgees discussion-boards tips to be helpful)
5 Useful Science Data Points Badge (generated by
scientist who assert validity / utility of data gathered)
36. New considerations – making online
more real but . . .
• Schedule for synchronous
– but when moving to collaboration that can be a
problem
– Online work is not necessarily independent work by
students / a new paradigm now within online itself
• Plan for yours’ and students’ growth over time
• The detailed startup helped / but they need to
have good computers
– server issues too can happen; challenges with
headsets
37.
38. Ways of thinking – generating & valuing
new outcomes in classrooms & programs
Implement research
on learning
(constructivism)
Start small (part of a
Value more than
course) evaluate
just papers
improve
Evaluate both
collaborative &
individual work
39. Ways of thinking – expanding scholarly &
committee work
Initiate a collaboration
within your content area
or committee
Determine governance
Structure store (web
& maintenance;
resources), scheduling,
consider publication &
meeting locations
sharing
Create criteria &
evaluation for materials
to be saved
40. Timing / Saving Ownership /
scheduling – interactions and governance –
when will materials – how what will make
interactions will you save the the
occur? results collaboration
achieved? efforts
sustainable?
41. Creating opportunities . . . &
requirement
• Becoming firmer in my own beliefs and values
– Progressing despite the odds
• Mapping to professional organizations
– Empowering students
– Immersive, enriched environments
• Threaded with empowering conversations
• Valuing knowledge, growth, and ideas
– Seeing growth in more then “just papers”
Notes de l'éditeur
Designing for community and continuity in virtual environments: consideration when bridging beyond the courseFor this instructor, virtual learning has proven to be an ongoing challenge, and an ongoing blessing. Over the past five years, she has brought many cohorts of students into Empire State College’s Second Life islands and into a private island licensed for research with K12 students. After the initial struggle, the adult students become comfortable, benefit from the virtual encounters with online colleagues, listen to speakers from a variety of backgrounds, and take field trips to other virtual educational islands; these future science teachers find great value in visiting the NASA, NOAA, and ISTE islands. The virtual environment has created a sense of community and belonging, extending the effectiveness of the courses, particularly since a key course and program goal is to create a cohort among these teachers slatted for high-needs schools. At this juncture, with the experience and interests of the instructor, the increased licensing fees, and the need to strengthen K12 teaching for the rigors on ongoing improvement and evaluation, the instructor wants to expand the engagement in the virtual environment beyond the confines of the courses. A variety of efforts are underway to create a cohesive and connected learning environment with embedded reasons to return after courses have ended. From having students make virtual “pods” where they create, save, and display their science-project work, to having graduates return to share with present students, to inviting administrators within the college and the K12 community, to encouraging committees that will govern and suggest future island uses, to supporting K12 research efforts among students within the courses, the instructor is testing and evaluating the effectiveness of these ventures in creating a viable and extended learning community. As she works, she encounters the issues of training short term visitors, of establishing guidelines and expectations for behaviors when the island is not directly used for a class, of choosing materials to display at the island, and of ensuring that the college’s interests are represented adequately. Presently, the work is being conducted on the private island for which there is limited access. This presentation will report on the enhancements and expansions being tested this semester as the instructor pilots expanded island usage with virtual speakers and events beyond the classroom, with K12 research within the island’s confines, and with the development and use of enriched context for creating a science learning environment – all on a budget. Overview: Having used three-dimensional virtual learning environments for several years, this instructor will explain how she is expanding into realms beyond a course seeking to create a cohesive community by engaging administrators, encouraging her students’ virtual research, preserving student works and artifacts, and initiating virtual development and governance committees. Interested parties: faculty, instructional designers, administrators Questions: How do you plan on developing the programs that encourage outside presenters to visit your growing list of students and graduates? How will you train these individuals? What are the biggest challenges to creating a cohesive community beyond the course? (time, expense, delegation with no authority) What recommendations do you have to others that might be considering a similar venture?
On August 22-24, 2012, SUNY—Empire State College will be hosting a virtual conference on open education. The conference is global in scope and will be occurring over multiple time zones; therefore, the event will be conducted in Second Life. The modality will be a synchronous/asynchronous mode—participants can attend sessions as they occur, or session presentations will be recorded for play back at later times. Currently, we seek individuals to participate in the conference.Call for Presentations (and Posters) The OP*EN Virtual Conference welcomes presenters and posters that integrate one or more of these themes, as they relate to the concept of open education. As the aim is to cover open education for a world-wide audience, we would value a range of presentations, challenges, and discussion-starters around these areas: Philosophy: what conceptual, sociological, institutional, and educational underpinnings separate open education from other forms of teaching and learning? What are the core issues in defining openness, and what other forms of openness are required for open education (open leadership, open science, etc.)? Are there related concepts, constructs, and paradigms that serve or enhance openness as a concept?Process: what ways can a resource, course, learning experience move into the process of becoming “open”? How can current courses and resources be moved from behind ivory towers into open educational areas? How can current post-secondary institutions transform themselves into open universities? Projects: what are the examples of projects within your experience, personal, institutional or within your learning sphere that you would like to offer as a model or best practice? Policy: are there institutional issues that surround Open Education within your educational sphere? Have projects and ideas been brought forward within your institution and what organizations, governance groups, unions, or professional organizations have spoken to these issues? What areas do you expect might influence policy within your educational and learning sphere? What public policies effect openness (regulation, legislation, grants, accreditation)?Practices: in what ways have you or your colleagues begun to consider and develop open resources and practices? We encourage a variety of presentation styles as well as topics. The only common element we ask from all presentations and posters is that it should in some way challenge your audience to take openness to the next level.Abstracts/summaries/battle plans or other treatments should be emailed to open@esc.edu by June 22nd, 2012.
Discussing how some “less academic” can shine here ; you need to grow each year
