Mock Debate: Is the CMS Dead? Featuring Jim Groom and John St. Clair
Deck Wars 2009
Plenary Presentation – Cole Camplese
Plenary Presentation – Laura Blankenship
]]>Mock Debate: Is the CMS Dead? Featuring Jim Groom and John St. Clair
[flv:http://andyrush.net/webcast/media/flv/fa09/iscmsdead.flv 480 360]
Deck Wars 2009
[flv:http://andyrush.net/webcast/media/flv/fa09/deckwars09.flv 480 360]
Plenary Presentation – Cole Camplese
[flv:http://www.andyrush.net/webcast/media/flv/fa09/camplese.flv 480 360]
Plenary Presentation – Laura Blankenship
[flv:http://www.andyrush.net/webcast/media/flv/fa09/blankenship.flv 480 360]
]]>
Brad Efford, Jeff McClurken, Serena Epstein, Jim Groom, and Sue Fernsebner present on "A Domain of One's Own" at Faculty Academy 2009.
All members of the UMW community, as well as faculty, staff, and leaders from regional universities, libraries, public school systems, and technology businesses are welcome to attend Faculty Academy. We welcome proposals from UMW faculty and staff, but we’re also interested in hearing about work being done in the field of instructional technology at neighboring institutions and schools.
Generally, while much of the Faculty Academy program focuses on celebrating the creative and innovative work of UMW faculty, the event is also meant to inspire a deep and rich conversation among the UMW community, our distinguished speakers, and anyone who is interested in how technology is impacting and augmenting teaching, learning, and the culture of knowledge.
]]>WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2009
8:30-9:00: Lobby and Atrium
Registration and Continental Breakfast
Sponsored by the Department of Information Technology
9:00-9:30: University Hall
Conference Welcome
- Mr. Jerry Slezak, Acting Director, Teaching and Learning Technologies
- Dr. Nina Mikhalevsky, Acting Provost
- Dr. Khalil Yazdi, Vice President for Information Technology and Institutional Research and CIO
9:30-10:45 Various Locations
Panel Discussion in B210
Convener: Steve Greenlaw
- Fairytales about Cooking with Monsters & Math: Blogging in the Freshman Seminar
Jim Groom, Maya Mathur, Kelli Slunt, Leanna Giancarlo, and Debra Hydorn (UMW)
Panel Discussion in B122
Convener: Marcel Rotter
- Digital Resources and Global Studies: Working Projects
Susan Fernsebner, Joseph Calpin, Alexandra deGraffenreid, Steven Harris (UMW)
Presentation Session in B115
Convener: Robert Rycroft
- Architecture and Place: Contextualizing Buildings Through Virtual Travel
Joseph Dreiss (Art & Art History) - Designing and Implementing a Drupal: Can a Biology Geek and a Computer Geek Begin to Think Alike?
Alan Griffith (Biological Sciences), Patrick Murray-John (DTLT) - Teaching “Introduction to Logic” On Line
Craig Vasey (Classics, Philosophy, & Religion)
10:45-11:00: Lobby and Atrium
Break
11:00-12:30: University Hall
Faculty Academy Keynote Address
- Cultural Agoraphobia: What Universities Need to Know About Our Bias Against Openness
Dr. James Boyle (Duke University Law School)
Special thanks to our Keynote Sponsor the UMW Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning.
12:30-2:00: University Hall, Lobby, and Atrium
Lunch sponsored by the UMW Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning
Mock Debate
- Is the CMS Dead?
Jim Groom (DTLT) and John St. Clair (Distance and Blended Learning)
Moderator: Tim O’Donnell (English, Linguistics, and Communications)
2:00-3:15: University Hall
Plenary Presentation
- Engaging the New Classroom Conversation
Cole Camplese (Pennsylvania State University)
Sponsored by the Office of the Provost
3:15-3:30: Lobby and Atrium
Break
3:30-4:45: Various Locations
Panel Discussion in B210
Convener: Claudia Emerson
- Foreign Language 2.0: How technology has altered the ways we teach and learn language, literature and culture
Elizabeth Lewis, Brooke Donaldson, Jeremy Larochelle, Marcel Rotter (UMW)
Panel Discussion in B122
Convener: George Brett
- A Domain of One’s Own
Jim Groom, Jeff McClurken, Sue Fernsebner, Brad Efford, Serena Epstein (UMW)
Presentation Session in B115
Convener: Holly Schiffrin
- There’s a Librarian in My CMS!
Paul Boger, Jami Bryan (UMW Libraries) - Enhancing and Enriching Learning: Blogs, Drupal and the Great Monster Mash-Up in First-Year Seminar
Leanna Giancarlo (Chemistry) - Whose Tube Is It, Anyway? Using a Web Site/Blog for Student Oral Presentations
John Morello (English, Linguistics, & Communications)
Workshop in B124
- Creating a Personal Learning Network for Yourself and Your Students
Laura Blankenship (Emerging Technologies Consulting)
Seating limited; Please register at the front desk.
4:45-6:00: Atrium Balcony
Wine and Cheese Reception
Sponsored by the Department of Information Technology
THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2009
8:30-9:00: Lobby and Atrium
Registration and Continental Breakfast
Sponsored by the Department of Information Technology
9:00-10:15: University Hall
Plenary Presentation
- If Any Moron Can Write a Blog, Then All Blogs are Written by Morons, Right?
Laura Blankenship (Emerging Technologies Consulting)Sponsored by the Office of the Provost
10:15-10:30: Lobby and Atrium
Break
10:30-11:30: Various Locations
Panel Discussion in B210
Convener: John St. Clair
- Blogging Panel
Jim Groom, Donald Rallis, Melina Patterson, Jami Bryan (UMW)
Presentation Session in B122
Convener: Jeff McClurken
- Best Practices in Undergraduate Science & Economics Education
Steve Greenlaw (Economics) - “How I Use Drupal to Roll My Own LMS,” or “Eight Reasons why Drupal is Better than WordPress”
Zach Whalen (English, Linguistics, & Communications) - A More Thoughtful Teaching Center
Leslie Madsen-Brooks (University of California, Davis)
11:30-11:45: Lobby and Atrium
Break
11:45-12:45: Various Locations
Presentation Session in B115
Convener: Jeremy Boggs
- We Were All A-twitter’: Micro-Blogging at UMW
Anand Rao (English, Linguistics, & Communications)
- Old Dog, New Tricks: General Linguistics in the Age of New Media
Spencer Cosmos (English, Linguistics, & Communications)
Presentation Session in B122
Convener: Suzanne Sumner
- Report on a Successful (and Enjoyable) On-line Learning Experience
Debra Hydorn (Mathematics) - Technology-Enabled Activities to Enhance Reflection
John St. Clair (Distance & Blended Learning) - Profiling eLearning Website Feature Preferences: An Empirical Study
Mukesh Srivastava (Computer Information Systems)
Presentation Session in B210
Convener: Ernie Ackermann
- Academic Perils of Teaching Students
David Hyland-Wood (Computer Science) - Online Meeting Toolbox
George Meadows (Education), Jim Groom (DTLT) - A Next-Generation Degree Planning System
Stephen Davies (Computer Science)
12:45-2:00: Lobby, Atrium and University Hall
Lunch sponsored by the UMW Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning
Deck Wars
Sign up to compete at the registration desk or by speaking to anyone with a “Staff” flag on their nametag!
2:00-3:15: Various Locations
Presentation Session in B210
Convener: Lisa Ames
- Enhanced, Blended, and Hybrid Learning — What I Picked Up In Illinois
Nabil Al-Tikriti (History & American Studies) - A Class Exhibit : Individual Work toward a Common Online Exhibit
Jeff McClurken (History & American Studies) - Teaching the On-Line Literary Journals Class, the Next Generation and Why I Bought a 1958 Mercury Excelsior Letterpress
Claudia Emerson (English, Linguistics & Communications)
- Pentop Computers: Educational Applications
George Meadows (Education)
Presentation Session in B122
Convener: Sally Gilfillian
- Teaching as Modeling Disciplinary Practice
Steve Greenlaw (Economics) - Altering Reality: Teaching About and With ARGs
Zach Whalen (English, Linguistics & Communications) - Preparing to Use Peer Instruction in Teaching Principles of Microeconomics
Robert Rycroft (Economics) - Microlectures and Student Learning
Marie McAllister (English, Linguistics & Communications)
Workshop in B124
- Course Redesign, Redesigned
Cole Camplese (Pennsylvania State University)
Seating limited; Please register at the front desk.
3:15-3:30: Lobby and Atrium
Break
3:30-4:00: University Hall
Conference Wrap-Up
4:00-5:00: Various Locations
Workshop in B124
- A Domain of Your Own
Jim Groom (DTLT)
Workshop in B123
- Opening Up UMW
Patrick Murray-John (DTLT)
Presentation in B122
- What Does a New Media Buffet Look Like?
Andy Rush (DTLT)
Thank you for joining us at Faculty Academy 2009! We look forward to seeing you in 2010!
]]>[flv:http://andyrush.net/webcast/media/flv/fa09/keynote.flv 480 360]
Mock Debate: Is the CMS Dead? Featuring Jim Groom and John St. Clair
[flv:http://andyrush.net/webcast/media/flv/fa09/iscmsdead.flv 480 360]
Deck Wars 2009
[flv:http://andyrush.net/webcast/media/flv/fa09/deckwars09.flv 480 360]
Plenary Presentation – Cole Camplese
[flv:http://www.andyrush.net/webcast/media/flv/fa09/camplese.flv 480 360]
Plenary Presentation – Laura Blankenship
[flv:http://www.andyrush.net/webcast/media/flv/fa09/blankenship.flv 480 360]
]]>WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2009
8:30-9:00: Lobby and Atrium
Registration and Continental Breakfast
Sponsored by the Department of Information Technology
9:00-9:30: University Hall
Conference Welcome
- Mr. Jerry Slezak, Acting Director, Teaching and Learning Technologies
- Dr. Nina Mikhalevsky, Acting Provost
- Dr. Khalil Yazdi, Vice President for Information Technology and Institutional Research and CIO
9:30-10:45 Various Locations
Panel Discussion in B210
Convener: Steve Greenlaw
- Fairytales about Cooking with Monsters & Math: Blogging in the Freshman Seminar
Jim Groom, Maya Mathur, Kelli Slunt, Leanna Giancarlo, and Debra Hydorn (UMW)
Panel Discussion in B122
Convener: Marcel Rotter
- Digital Resources and Global Studies: Working Projects
Susan Fernsebner, Joseph Calpin, Alexandra deGraffenreid, Steven Harris (UMW)
Presentation Session in B115
Convener: Robert Rycroft
- Architecture and Place: Contextualizing Buildings Through Virtual Travel
Joseph Dreiss (Art & Art History) - Designing and Implementing a Drupal: Can a Biology Geek and a Computer Geek Begin to Think Alike?
Alan Griffith (Biological Sciences), Patrick Murray-John (DTLT) - Teaching “Introduction to Logic” On Line
Craig Vasey (Classics, Philosophy, & Religion)
10:45-11:00: Lobby and Atrium
Break
11:00-12:30: University Hall
Faculty Academy Keynote Address
- Cultural Agoraphobia: What Universities Need to Know About Our Bias Against Openness
Dr. James Boyle (Duke University Law School)
Special thanks to our Keynote Sponsor the UMW Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning.
12:30-2:00: University Hall, Lobby, and Atrium
Lunch sponsored by the UMW Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning
Mock Debate
- Is the CMS Dead?
Jim Groom (DTLT) and John St. Clair (Distance and Blended Learning)
Moderator: Tim O’Donnell (English, Linguistics, and Communications)
2:00-3:15: University Hall
Plenary Presentation
- Engaging the New Classroom Conversation
Cole Camplese (Pennsylvania State University)
Sponsored by the Office of the Provost
3:15-3:30: Lobby and Atrium
Break
3:30-4:45: Various Locations
Panel Discussion in B210
Convener: Claudia Emerson
- Foreign Language 2.0: How technology has altered the ways we teach and learn language, literature and culture
Elizabeth Lewis, Brooke Donaldson, Jeremy Larochelle, Marcel Rotter (UMW)
Panel Discussion in B122
Convener: George Brett
- A Domain of One’s Own
Jim Groom, Jeff McClurken, Sue Fernsebner, Brad Efford, Serena Epstein (UMW)
Presentation Session in B115
Convener: Holly Schiffrin
- There’s a Librarian in My CMS!
Paul Boger, Jami Bryan (UMW Libraries) - Enhancing and Enriching Learning: Blogs, Drupal and the Great Monster Mash-Up in First-Year Seminar
Leanna Giancarlo (Chemistry) - Whose Tube Is It, Anyway? Using a Web Site/Blog for Student Oral Presentations
John Morello (English, Linguistics, & Communications)
Workshop in B124
- Creating a Personal Learning Network for Yourself and Your Students
Laura Blankenship (Emerging Technologies Consulting)
Seating limited; Please register at the front desk.
4:45-6:00: Atrium Balcony
Wine and Cheese Reception
Sponsored by the Department of Information Technology
THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2009
8:30-9:00: Lobby and Atrium
Registration and Continental Breakfast
Sponsored by the Department of Information Technology
9:00-10:15: University Hall
Plenary Presentation
- If Any Moron Can Write a Blog, Then All Blogs are Written by Morons, Right?
Laura Blankenship (Emerging Technologies Consulting)Sponsored by the Office of the Provost
10:15-10:30: Lobby and Atrium
Break
10:30-11:30: Various Locations
Panel Discussion in B210
Convener: John St. Clair
- Blogging Panel
Jim Groom, Donald Rallis, Melina Patterson, Jami Bryan (UMW)
Presentation Session in B122
Convener: Jeff McClurken
- Best Practices in Undergraduate Science & Economics Education
Steve Greenlaw (Economics) - “How I Use Drupal to Roll My Own LMS,” or “Eight Reasons why Drupal is Better than WordPress”
Zach Whalen (English, Linguistics, & Communications) - A More Thoughtful Teaching Center
Leslie Madsen-Brooks (University of California, Davis)
11:30-11:45: Lobby and Atrium
Break
11:45-12:45: Various Locations
Presentation Session in B115
Convener: Jeremy Boggs
- We Were All A-twitter’: Micro-Blogging at UMW
Anand Rao (English, Linguistics, & Communications)
- Old Dog, New Tricks: General Linguistics in the Age of New Media
Spencer Cosmos (English, Linguistics, & Communications)
Presentation Session in B122
Convener: Suzanne Sumner
- Report on a Successful (and Enjoyable) On-line Learning Experience
Debra Hydorn (Mathematics) - Technology-Enabled Activities to Enhance Reflection
John St. Clair (Distance & Blended Learning) - Profiling eLearning Website Feature Preferences: An Empirical Study
Mukesh Srivastava (Computer Information Systems)
Presentation Session in B210
Convener: Ernie Ackermann
- Academic Perils of Teaching Students
David Hyland-Wood (Computer Science) - Online Meeting Toolbox
George Meadows (Education), Jim Groom (DTLT) - A Next-Generation Degree Planning System
Stephen Davies (Computer Science)
12:45-2:00: Lobby, Atrium and University Hall
Lunch sponsored by the UMW Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning
Deck Wars
Sign up to compete at the registration desk or by speaking to anyone with a “Staff” flag on their nametag!
2:00-3:15: Various Locations
Presentation Session in B210
Convener: Lisa Ames
- Enhanced, Blended, and Hybrid Learning — What I Picked Up In Illinois
Nabil Al-Tikriti (History & American Studies) - A Class Exhibit : Individual Work toward a Common Online Exhibit
Jeff McClurken (History & American Studies) - Teaching the On-Line Literary Journals Class, the Next Generation and Why I Bought a 1958 Mercury Excelsior Letterpress
Claudia Emerson (English, Linguistics & Communications)
- Pentop Computers: Educational Applications
George Meadows (Education)
Presentation Session in B122
Convener: Sally Gilfillian
- Teaching as Modeling Disciplinary Practice
Steve Greenlaw (Economics) - Altering Reality: Teaching About and With ARGs
Zach Whalen (English, Linguistics & Communications) - Preparing to Use Peer Instruction in Teaching Principles of Microeconomics
Robert Rycroft (Economics) - Microlectures and Student Learning
Marie McAllister (English, Linguistics & Communications)
Workshop in B124
- Course Redesign, Redesigned
Cole Camplese (Pennsylvania State University)
Seating limited; Please register at the front desk.
3:15-3:30: Lobby and Atrium
Break
3:30-4:00: University Hall
Conference Wrap-Up
4:00-5:00: Various Locations
Workshop in B124
- A Domain of Your Own
Jim Groom (DTLT)
Workshop in B123
- Opening Up UMW
Patrick Murray-John (DTLT)
Presentation in B122
- What Does a New Media Buffet Look Like?
Andy Rush (DTLT)
Thank you for joining us at Faculty Academy 2009! We look forward to seeing you in 2010!
]]>We will be making final decisions about the program after the CFP deadline on May 1st. A final program for the conference will be available after May 6th.
PLEASE REMEMBER to register for the conference as well. If you have any co-presenters, please make sure they register as well.
]]>Thursday, May 14, 9:00-10:15
If Any Moron Can Write a Blog, Then All Blogs are Written by Morons, Right?
Workshop
Wednesday, May 13, 3:30-4:45
Creating a Personal Learning Network for Yourself and for Your Students
Bio
Dr. Blankenship has been working in higher education since the early 1990s and is currently founder and president of Emerging Technologies Consulting.
She began using technology in her teaching in 1997 and in 2003, made helping other faculty use technology for teaching and learning her full-time job. This past fall, she left full-time work to go out on her own and broaden the scope of what she does. While she still feels passionate about integrating technology into educational environments, she also wants to work with communities and businesses to use social software effectively.
]]>Wednesday, May 13, 2:00-3:15
Engaging the New Classroom Conversation
Workshop
Thursday, May 14, 2:00-3:15
Course Redesign, Redesigned
Bio
Currently, Mr. Camplese serves as the Director of Education Technology Services at the Pennsylvania State University. As Director, it is his responsibility to oversee University-wide initiatives with a focus on impacting teaching and learning with technology. He guides teams in the appropriate uses of technologies in the contexts of teaching and learning. His primary area of focus is the integration of emerging technologies into learning spaces. At Penn State, the overwhelming challenge is providing scalable solutions that the 93,000 students and 5,000 faculty can successfully use to enhance their teaching and learning environments. Camplese has recently worked to integrate several new emerging technologies into curricular activities at Penn State to support digital expression. He and his team have lead the creation of the Blogs at Penn State, Podcasts at Penn State, and the Digital Commons. Camplese oversees the annual Teaching and Learning with Technology Symposium, several community development events, and numerous other initiatives designed to support the adoption of technology for teaching and learning.
Prior to accepting this position, Camplese served as the Director of the Solutions Institute in Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology. The Solutions Institute is an applied research and development institute with a focus on the innovative uses of technology for education and training. Camplese designed the Online IST program that has been used to serve as the foundation for both resident and distance deliveries of the College of IST’s core undergraduate curriculum. This program was built on a custom instructional design and development methodology and toolset envisioned and crafted by Camplese.
Camplese was also the principle investigator and chief administrator for the Pennsylvania Governor’s School in Information Technology, an outreach program designed to enrich 75 of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s best and brightest high school juniors in the areas of information technology management.
Camplese teaches courses in the College of Education with a focus on the integration and implementation of disruptive technologies into teaching and learning. He is an Apple Distinguished Educator, selected for his innovative uses of technology in and out of the classroom. Camplese has served on several industry and higher education advisories boards ranging from data storage management to the Apple Digital Campus.
Camplese is an established consultant, helping organizations integrate technology into their business practices, education and training programs, and their internal and external communication processes. He is a published author and has presented both practical and theoretical concepts at regional and national conferences.
He received a Masters of Sciences in Instructional Technology from Bloomsburg University and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from West Virginia University.
]]>Deck Wars is a competition in which the presenters deliver a short, impromptu, three-minute presentation based on a deck of PowerPoint slides they have never seen before. Each presenter’s work is judged by the audience for originality, believability, jargon, and poise. Each of the presenters receives a thank you gift for his or her bravery. The winner will receive the grand prize and the bragging rights associated with the coveted title of FA Deck Wars Champion 2009.
Deck Wars Competition from Faculty Academy 2008
[flv:http://www.andyrush.net/webcast/media/flv/fa08_deckwars.flv 320 260]
If you are interested in competing in this year’s competition, please leave your name in a comment below:
]]>
Join us at Faculty Academy for a mock debate between DTLT’s Jim Groom and Director of Distance and Blended Learning, John St. Clair. Jim and John will discuss the future of the course management system on college campuses.
Is the CMS dead? Have we graduated to a new kind of understanding and integration of technology into teaching and learning?
Or is it still a vital part of the technology landscape of our institutions? Do faculty still need the foundational support of the CMS to scaffold their use of technology?
Care to weigh in on the topic before the conference? We’d love to hear your point of view in the comments below:
]]>
As Faculty Academy approaches, DTLT would like to invite anyone at UMW (or elsewhere) to join in a reading group of Dr. Boyle’s latest book, “The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind.” We’ll be discussing the book on this Web site virtually as well as trying to arrange a few face-to-face book group meetings in the Fredericksburg area.
The book is available for sale from Amazon or as a free download at www.thepublicdomain.org.
If you’d like to be a part of this discussion, feel free to sign up in the comments section below:
]]>Wednesday, May 13, 11:00 – 12:30
Cultural Agoraphobia: What Universities Need to Know About Our Bias Against Openness
Bio
Dr. Boyle is William Neal Reynolds Professor of Law at Duke Law School and founder of the Center for the Study of the Public Domain. Professor Boyle is also the Chairman of the Board of Creative Commons, and the co-founder of Science Commons. He serves on the board of the Public Library of Science and on the advisory board of Public Knowledge.
In 2003, Professor Boyle won the World Technology Network Award for Law for his work on the public domain and the “second enclosure movement” that threatens it. He is the author of Shamans, Software and Spleens: Law and the Construction of the Information Society, and the editor of Critical Legal Studies, Collected Papers on the Public Domain and Cultural Environmentalism @ 10 (with Larry Lessig.) His more recent books include Bound By Law, a co-authored “graphic novel” about the effects of intellectual property on documentary film, The Shakespeare Chronicles, a novel, and The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind which was published in 2008 by Yale University Press. He writes a regular online column for the Financial Times’ New Economy Policy Forum.
You can read more about Dr. Boyle at his Intellectual Property Web site.
]]>Registration
We hope you’ll join us at Faculty Academy and register today! The conference is a wonderful opportunity to hear more about what colleagues at UMW are doing with teaching and technology, listen to a stellar line-up of guest speakers, and connect with teachers and technologists from UMW and beyond. If you’re a colleague at another institution, please join us! You can read more about what Faculty Academy is all about on our Attending & Registering page.
The conference is free but registration is required if you plan on joining us for lunch on either day. When you register, you will have an opportunity to share which days you plan to attend so that we can get an acurate headcount for meals.
In addition, this year on the registration form we are asking for volunteers to convene sessions. We hope you’ll consider participating in Faculty Academy by volunteering. Session conveners will be responsible for introducting presenters, keeping track of presentation times, and facilitating Q&A.
We’re also planning on making a dynamic registrant list available on this site in the next few days. Don’t worry; if you prefer not to share your registration information, you can opt out on the form.
Call for Proposals
Proposal submission has opened up earlier than ever this year! Beat the end-of-semester rush, and submit your proposal now. If you have any questions about formats or available technology, be sure to check out our Presenting page.
If you have any questions about either registration or presenting, please contact us!
]]>The address, Cultural Agoraphobia: What Universities Need to Know About Our Bias Against Openness, will be held at 11:00 am on May 13th at UMW’s College of Graduate and Professional Studies. You can find out more about Dr. Boyle and the keynote at www.facultyacademy.org/blog09/2009/03/james-boyle/.
In addition, we invite anyone who is interested to participate in an informal reading group of Dr. Boyle’s latest book, “The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind.” If you are interested in participating, please sign up at www.facultyacademy.org/blog09/2009/03/get-ahead/.
]]>We had hoped to move these deadlines up a bit this year so that we could provide the conference program earlier than ususal. However, in the end, we wanted to be sure to accommodate UMW faculty who won’t be completing exams until May 1st.
Don’t forget to register and submit a proposal!
]]>Wednesday, May 13, 2:00-3:15
Engaging the New Classroom Conversation (Plenary Presentation)
Cole Camplese
Wednesday, May 13, 3:30-4:45
Creating a Personal Learning Network for Yourself and for Your Students (Interactive Workshop)
Laura Blankenship
Register Online
Thursday, May 14, 9:00-10:15
If Any Moron Can Write a Blog, Then All Blogs are Written by Morons, Right? (Plenary Presentation)
Laura Blankenship
Thursday, May 14, 2:00-3:15
Course Redesign, Redesigned (Interactive Workshop)
Cole Camplese
Register Online
You can see more developing program details by visiting our the online program at the conference Web site.
]]>As I began reading James Boyle’s book, it was his title that initially intrigued me, The Public Domain:Enclosing the Commons of the Mind. What did he mean by juxtaposing the public domain with “enclosing the commons of the mind?” <!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Cambria Math”; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:”"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> The public domain, those resources that all of us can use freely and without permission, is a researcher’s ultimate playground – no worries here about infringing on someone’s copyright or tracking down a photographer now living in Timbuktu before you can use an image. These are the materials that make my job as an archivist easy, allowing me to provide immediate and full access to primary materials.
<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Cambria Math”; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:”"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>
A few pages into the first chapter, Boyle clarifies his title by asserting that intellectual property rights, originally meant to be “the servants of creativity” have gone awry and become prickly barriers that now restrict access to much of our 20th century works and culture. I couldn’t agree more, as I’ve often been frustrated helping researchers navigate through copyright issues. I’ll even confess to having my own favorite copyright cheat sheet
<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Cambria Math”; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:”"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>
<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Cambria Math”; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:”"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>
]]>A few pages into the first chapter, Boyle clarifies his title by asserting that intellectual property rights, originally meant to be “the servants of creativity” have gone awry and become prickly barriers that now restrict access to much of our 20th century works and culture. I couldn’t agree more, as I’ve often been frustrated helping researchers navigate through copyright issues. I’ll even confess to having my own favorite copyright cheat sheet and flow chart courtesy of Cornell University’s Copyright Information Center.
So how has this happened? Copyright is intended to be a good thing, providing incentives for innovation and rewards to the creators. Boyle leads us through an idealized vision of how intellectual property rights should work and then argues that two changes – extending copyright terms and giving copyright immediately to creators (no application needed) – have “turned the copyright system on its head.” No longer are exclusive rights given just for the duration of a works commercial feasibility. Instead copyright terms are now so long (the creator’s life plus 70 years) that many works may stay under copyright and unavailable for well over a century. We are losing access to about 85% of the works that under the prior system continuously stockpiled our public domain treasure trove.
Before reading Boyle’s book, I hadn’t thought about just how many works nationwide get trapped in this long term copyright dilemma. Every archivist knows the “orphan works” in their own holdings. Those materials with murky copyright that you professionally can’t duplicate and certainly shouldn’t place on the Internet without possibly involving your institution in copyright infringement. Boyle estimates that 95% of our books fall into this category and an equally large amount of our films and music. This is a huge number and daily impacts where our information comes from and how we can use it.
This is just Chapter one, so I’m really interested to read what further thoughts Boyle has on how we can possibly begin to reclaim some of our public domain. Check out the U.S. Copyright Office’s Orphan Works to see what they are saying about this topic as well.
]]>Boyle uses an allegory to help make this point clearer. He introduces us to an early colony that is based on farm products and innovation. The colony begins its existence by working together, each member of the community becoming partners for the betterment of the entire good. As a result, the community has open access. But, with innovation and easy access comes fear. Fear that others will take control and take advantage. Fear that someone will use the creative endeavors of one and use them against another. Possibly, improving upon the endeavor and selling it for profit or using it without providing compensation for it. Many times fear comes with technology. This allegory is no different.
In this early open farming community, technologies are developed (automobiles, tractors) and easier access and the threat of piracy are sparked. Farmers fear the possibility of a passer by stealing produce for a person’s own endeavors. Easily stuffing car trunks and driving down the open and passable road. The idea of the open marketplace is now slowly closing with the entanglement of barb wire around crops and land preventing easy access. Farmers claim that they must prevent this from happening before it actually happens so they take action. They take a technology and wrap themselves tightly inside in the form of a barbed wire fence around their farms and open roads. Now the community and those passing by cannot easily enter.
This does not stop progress. New inventions such as wire cutters are sold in mass numbers to help individuals who want to pass through these blocked but open lands. Now people can easily and painlessly cut the barbed wire to pass through the farmers once open fields. Fear takes hold again among the farmers. The question is posed, what if the thieves use these wire cutters to enter our property and fill their roomy car trunks with our goods? This act will impede our profits. Not fair. They take suit. The farmers propose to the courts prevention of wire cutters, smaller trunks for new cars, and the development of technologies to help truck drivers so there whereabouts are accounted for at all times. This will maintain our right to production! The courts agree and laws are created to protect the farmers keeping these possible threats away. Laws are passed to prevent the sale of wire cutters and smaller trunk sizes for all new cars are built. Tracking systems are considered to let farmers know where cars and trucks are at all times on their property. Safe at last!
Okay, now what? Are we moving into the realm of protection of copyright or protectionism? In the digital world, is accessing and repurposing digital bits and bytes in creative ways harmful? Or, is repurposing fair use? Should fair use be prohibited in the digital world because of what could happen? With this ability, all who use it and work within it will be tempted to do wrong and thus should they be stopped before it happens?
The idea that industry can prevent industrious individuals from gaining a possible competitive advantage through repurposing is in question. When laws begin to restrict fair use of digital content because bits and bytes are for the most part misunderstood by the masses, creative and ingenious endeavors are at risk. Individuals that work within this digital realm have the potential to work within this cryptic language and to create new and better works. The fear of misuse, infringement, and possibly competition becomes the central element to be discussed and explored.
Congress put their hands into the digital pot trying to set boundaries and possibly clarify the digital realm of innovation and infringement. The Act is called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). This act is both beneficial as well as a hindrance to creativity and innovation. On the shaky side of the law is the simple ability of accessing these bits and bytes to repurpose them to meet the user’s specific needs. This in a non digital world could be viewed as fair use. I, as an instructor, can paraphrase a book that I read in front of my class to make a point. As a class, we can discuss this new point and build upon it to help create new understandings. This, the idea of ‘paraphrase’, is fair use. I, as an instructor, have taken a creative work and repurposed it to meet my specific teaching needs. It is not seen as piracy or theft. In the digital world though, this is not the case.
In walks the movie industry. This industry is inundated with piracy. Piracy is the act of copying and redistributing a product, such as a DVD. Usually selling the pirated DVD at a lower price. To help prevent this, the music industry has developed strict guidelines for hardware and software producers of companies, such as developing and distributing DVD players or DVDs. Certain DVDs cannot be played in certain players. Code controls this. As in most stories there is another character that is making its way into the pages of the book that has another story to tell. This one is no different.
In walks a new character. Most computers play DVDs. Some do not. Linux, an open source operating system, does not. A sixteen year old boy took this open source software and wrote code that would allow him and anyone that uses the Linux operating system to play DVDs on their personal computer. Innovation and creativity at its best – Or is it? This code was posted on Web sites for easy download, and it was quickly found to have the ability to unscramble DVD code allowing individuals to copy and pirate movies. Enter Universal Studies v. Reimerdes et al. case.
In the court case that ensued, it was determined that this creative expression of repurposing code instigated piracy, not free speech. It was determined to be illegal. Making repurposing code illegal would help prevent the threat of infringement and piracy. Anyone with access to bits and bytes, in the courts viewpoint, has the ability and ultimately the potential to do illegal acts. This ability needs to be controlled, no matter what free speech, original expression, and its relationship to copyright imply. The possibility of possible wrong needs to be prevented before it can begin.
With the ruling of the Reimerdes case, intellectual property law took on a new layer. Now, even if a user legally buys a product and desires to quote, parody it, or repurpose it – they cannot. Fair use no more. Did the judge that ruled on this case understand what he was ruling on? Can you rule against possible threat and against fair use of creative works? Does this mean that creative endeavors will be stopped? How will innovation flourish and an open marketplace stand tall and strong in this digital world?
A sixteen year old took a problem and solved it. His solution turned out to create new possibilities. His solution in this case provided opportunities for piracy. His actions opened the door to do questionable wrong to an industry. Was this impeding and misunderstood, “Internet threat” hyped up? Can’t someone take code, speech, and repurpose it to create new and innovative products to provide the opportunity for competition? Can Congress allow some formats of expression to be exempt from fair use rights? Through the Reimerdes court case the answer becomes, yes, they can.
Boyle poses many questions throughout this case and then stresses the idea of competition and the possible threat to competition with the Apple and RealNetworks court case. Can RealNetworks create software to allow Apple iPods to play songs from RealNetworks music library? Apple says no. This is an infringement of their intellectual property rights. The “idea” of Apple and of iPods in general is now threatened. By making the iPod interoperable, by creating products that can introduce new companies products to be accessed and utilized, iPod no longer is proprietary and as a result becomes only a device. Does this pose the question of a monopoly? Will this prevention of innovative thought alter innovation and an open marketplace? Why would Apple not want other products to play on their iPod, wouldn’t this open their device up to a larger audience? Or does open access blur their product line taking away the ah factor?
In another case, Lexmark sues Static Control Components, attempting to prevent them from selling generic printer cartridges. They are stealing our code! The courts did not see it that way. Instead, they claimed fair use for innovative purposes to help prevent antitrust issues and to promote competition. In another company dispute, the same solution was found. A garage door company, Chamberlain, wanted to prevent a generic replacement garage door company from selling a product that would open their garage doors. In both of these cases the code was protected under copyright laws, but in each case the courts found fair use. What does this mean? How is this different then our first case of Reimerdes? How about from Apple? Free speech and expression seem to be at issue in the first case. The ruling was to stop this free expression before it caused problems. In both the Lexmark and Chamberlain cases the rulings prevented antitrust and competition laws from being infringed upon.
There is a lot to think about in each of these cases. Each ruling provides an incredible dilemma for all digital content users and producers.
Laws concerning copyright, free expression and competition are different in the international marketplace. Issues of more control and less control take center stage. How do these issues impact us as consumers, academics, industry professionals, and beyond? Can I repurpose video for a class lecture? Can an individual repurpose computer code to solve a problem and then post it online, sharing it with others?
As forward thinking individuals we want to promote creative expression that builds upon the ideas of others. We do this to ensure that innovation flourishes. When it comes to the digital world, we need to understand the limits that we have to create new and innovative products or to share content. We must think about infringement and what fair use means in this new digital world. Fair use seems unclear, even murky. As users, consumers, and even producers of content, each of us now needs to be cognizant of this murkiness and continue to ask questions so clarity can be found.
Question: How can creativity and innovation flourish in this digital realm? How can fair use be central in order to promote competition and at the same time prevent antitrust issues?
]]>The UMW New Media Center has recently come on‑line and it offers a smorgasbord of resources for using digital media. By integrating mobile technologies, adding some user‑generated content, and utilizing several WordPress installations, we’ll show you what’s possible with the latest technology. We’ll demonstrate a mobile version (using the iPhone) of several websites, introduce you to our Digital Media Cookbook, and encourage feedback and suggestions on improving the sites.
]]>To get the full experience of this workshop you may want to purchase a domain at http://godaddy.com (they run anywhere between $8-$14 per year), get a blog on UMW Blogs, and then follow these instructions for mapping the domain. During the workshop we’ll take a close look at how to customize this space to be a simple, attractive, and effective means of framing your online presence.
]]>New Call for Proposals Deadline: May 6, 2009 at 5:00 PM
New Registration Deadline: May 8, 2009 at 5:00 PM
In addition, you may sign up for one of the interactive workshops through May 12: http://facultyacademy.org/blog09/workshop-registration
]]>For the hands‑on part, I’ll ask you to both help me test the application and give me feedback. If you bring along information about a course or courses you taught this year, especially the ISBN numbers of texts you used, we’ll use that information to create course profiles, and see what connections we can discover. You do not need to have used UMWBlogs to take part in this activity.
]]>Jim Groom will be leading a workshop on “A Domain of Your Own,” in which he will explain how you can map your own domain name to a site at UMW Blogs, thereby building out your personal online presence.
Patrick Murray-John’s workshop, “Opening Up UMW” will extend the theme of the keynote address, demonstrating a number of projects Patrick has been working on expose and visualize online activity at UMW Blogs. You will have an opportunity to help contribute information about your own classes and the resources they use during the interactive portion.
Andy Rush will be speaking about current new media resources in his presentation “What Does a New Media Buffet Look Like?” Join Andy to learn more about the online new media center he’s been building out this past year.
]]>In the meantime, don’t forget to register! The registration deadline is Friday, May 8th at 5 p.m. Remember, Faculty Academy is free, but you must register if you plan on joining us for lunch on either day.
In addition, there are still some slots open in our two guest presenters’ workshops:
- Cole Camplese: Course Redesign, Redesigned
- Laura Blankenship: Creating a Personal Learning Network for Yourself and for Your Students
You can register for either workshop using our online form.
It’s not too late to be a part of this year’s Faculty Academy. Remember, your participation in the conference is what makes it great!
]]>Abstract: Peer Instruction, a teaching strategy pioneered by Eric Mazur, a Harvard University physicist, apportions learning responsibility differently from a traditional lecture course. Instead of the instructor lecturing on all issues great and small, students are expected to read their textbook ahead of class to learn the “simple” things while class is given over to discussion of key or particularly taxing concepts. Class periods are broken down into several modules. During the first part of each module, students are given a short lecture on a topic. They are then quizzed on their understanding by being asked to respond to a question. Before the correct answer is revealed, students are allowed to discuss their answer with a small group of students seated nearby (this is where peer instruction comes in), and change their answer. If significant misunderstanding remains, the sequence of question and discussion continues until mastery is obtained. Peer instruction is more efficient when students have access to “clicker” technology, although it is not required. The strategy is particularly well-suited for courses where problem-solving ability is an important goal. Mazur and others claim significant gains in student learning in a wide variety of science courses and in institutions ranging from Harvard to two-year colleges. Economics is a discipline which attempts to teach students problem-solving ability, and would seem to be fertile ground for the Peer Instruction approach. I discuss the trials and tribulations encountered in a first-time use of Peer Instruction in Principles of Microeconomics.
Website: http://mysite.verizon.net/vze1m7fu
Tags: Peer Instruction, economics, teaching innovation
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: Pentop computers are relatively inexpensive mobile computers built into pens. The basic components are infrared cameras capturing approximately 80 images/second, microprocessors, and USB connections for uploading and downloading to and from larger computers. Microdot paper serves as the basis for input/output. In this presentation I will demonstrate and discuss three examples of pentop computers: the TAG Reader Pen, the Fusion Fly Pen, and the Pulse Smartpen. All three pens are relatively inexpensive, widely available, and have a number of educational applications. These applications vary from developing basic reading skills to algebra tutorials and music composition to producing audio-documents for pencasts. The pens may also be used to provide learning aids for students with limited English language skills, students with learning disabilities, and students with visual impairments. This presentation will also include some initial findings from Education graduate students who worked with pentop computers in their student teaching classrooms.
Tags: pentop computer, smartpen, assistive technology
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: How do our institutional expectations need to change to adapt to evolving teaching methods? Emerging didactic techniques can result in students developing greater understanding and having better retention of presented information. Can our time-worn systems of grading, testing and evaluation adapt? Evidence to the negative includes the means by which teaching professionals are evaluated, such as grade distribution reports, and the point-scale grading system.
Website: http://people.umw.edu/~dhylandw/
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: I don't propose any, but if you think this would fit better as part of a panel, that's ok with me.
Abstract: In June-July 2008 I taught "Intro to Logic" entirely on-line, and used the on-line Drupal-based book I developed in 2006-07. I'll show the site and give an overview of how I conceived the course: the chat rooms, mp3 postings, powerpoints, blogs, papers and commentaries, homework, and exams. I'll talk about what I thought were the strengths and weaknesses of the format, and how I'll modify my planning for June-July 2009.
Tags: on line course, drupal, chat rooms
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) are cross-media storytelling ventures sometimes involving thousands of players collaborating on solving puzzles, communicating with in-game characters, and generally advancing the plot. While most interaction with ARGs takes place online, the central conceit of these fictions, often, is that they are really happening, and interactions frequently extend to in-person contact between players and characters. In this presentation, I discuss my own experience teaching about ARGs in a New Media class, and I offer examples from student-designed ARG projects to argue that the learning outcomes associated with ARG play and design are indeed significant. These include critical thinking about media texts and media literacy (for example, the ethics of media hoaxes) as well as an insight into how to invoke and harness the powerful suspension of disbelief that constitutes online discourse. I also relate my experience attending the 2009 ELI Meeting in Orlando FL where organizers commissioned a self-contained ARG to run during the event. I end the presentation by contrasting this ARG and my own experience with an alternative model for ARG pedagogy -- teaching WITH ARGs -- and point out what I see as potential problems with putting this in practice. The crucial point that all these ideas relate back to is the latent tension between the idea of ARGs and the actual experience of playing ARGs. Much of the enthusiasm for ARGs in academic and conversation deals too much in the former, so this presentation attempts to bring some insight from the latter.
Website: http://www.zachwhalen.net/
Tags: alternate reality games, new media, cross-media storytelling, hoaxes, rabbits
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: Jim Groom I don't have a panel in mind--but would, of course, be happy to share with anyone!
Abstract: With Jim Groom's help, I have now completed teaching three semesters of The Literary Journal: Professional Practice in Publishing and Editing, learning new things with each semester. I'll talk about the positive experience the students share in learning creativity alongside the practical aspects of publishing a journal--and, as important, the art of collaboration. Because we spend so much time talking about the meaningful interplay of text and image, color and font, I decided to bring into the discussion of "technology" an older, uniquely valuable tool--a letterpress, and will begin having students learn to create fine arts broadsides as another way to think about text, paper, and the "limited run."
Tags: creativity, collaboration, experiential learning
Format: Panel Discussion (typically 45-60 minutes)
]]>Abstract: The "microlecture," a 1-5 minute audio or video lecture that students can access online, is technologically easy to create, and has become popular enough that the Chronicle of Higher Education ran a cover story in March on microlecturing: (http://chronicle.com/weekly/v55/i26/26a00102.htm). Last year I recorded a number of audio microlectures for one of my courses, focusing on useful background information that would help students understand the course materials. I will talk about how students have used these, how they have shifted what we do in class, what I do and don't like about the microlecture idea, and when microlecturing might be useful for other faculty.
Website: http://ecaudio.umwblogs.org
Tags: microlecture, audio
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: Jim Groom
Abstract: The Education departments on the Fredericksburg and Stafford campus of UMW are in the initial stages of planning for a College of Education. This planning will involve a large number of meetings, bringing together approximately twenty faculty members on two different campuses. The problems in scheduling such meetings are obvious and are compounded by the very different work schedules for the two faculties. One approach to alleviating some of the problems would be to make use of an assortment of free, online social networking tools: the meeting toolbox. The toolbox includes the following programs: Skype, Pamela, Google Docs, Jing, Doodle Calendar, Glogster, and Survey Monkey. A blog will provide a home/archive for the toolbox and the documents, recordings, and video records compiled through the use of the different tools. Hardware, such as the Pulse Smartpen, webcams, and digital video cameras may also be included in the toolbox as opportunities and needs arise. This presentation will discuss the components of the toolbox and the results of initial use of several of the tools. The use of the toolbox in online learning will also be briefly discussed.
Tags: online meetings
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: Jami Bryan
Abstract: Academic librarians are increasingly venturing outside of their library’s physical and virtual walls, connecting with patrons in the web spaces where students and faculty spend so much of their time. The CGPS Stafford Library can already be found on the social web through YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and chat. But to capture students on the learning web, and illuminate the pathways to library resources and services in the digital learning environment, the librarians of CGPS are embedding themselves within the CMS. In this presentation, Paul Boger and Jami Bryan will introduce the concept of the “embedded librarian” and describe their collaborative efforts with CGPS faculty to create a specialized library presence in courses using Blackboard. Jami will share the results of the CGPS Stafford Library’s early endeavors at using Blackboard to provide course specific library instruction and easy access to selected library resources. Finally, Paul will discuss a current project aimed at eliminating the barriers facing students taking an online course by providing research instruction and assistance from inside the CMS.
Tags: library, CMS, Blackboard, embedded
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: Joseph Calpin Alexandra deGraffenreid Steven Harris
Abstract: In what ways can we use digital tools to facilitate global perspectives? Our panel of faculty and student collaborators will introduce two working projects that pursue this aim across our own fields (Chinese Studies, Russian Studies, and History). We will share the immediate ambitions of the projects and their logistics as a starting point for a broader group discussion. This workshop conversation is aimed at producing a shared familiarity with available resources, a brainstorm of project design, and at exploring issues of pedagogy, collaboration, and knowledge creation in a global context.
Website: http://susanfernsebner.org
Tags: global_studies, resources, pedagogy
Format: Panel Discussion (typically 45-60 minutes)
]]>Abstract: On 27-28 April I attended the Sloan-C/University of Illinois at Chicago workshop on Blended Learning (BL). In the course of this workshop, presenters discussed current definitions of BL, some of the pedagogical issues connected to BL, and some of the internet tools available to support intentive applications of BL. With this presentation, I will share with participants a summary overview of the information and tips I gained concerning Blended Learning from this workshop.
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: Jim Groom, if he's not otherwise busy. I can also just use his name liberally as the guy who thought of this idea, so he doesn't actually need to be there....
Abstract: In this presentation, I'll discuss the way that my History of American Technology and Culture class presented their individual work using a common "lightly hacked" custom WordPress theme. This template allowed students to work on their own research projects, while allowing the class to create a fairly seamless exhibit for the semester. http://historyoftech.umwblogs.org/
Website: http://mcclurken.org/
Tags: online_publishing, student_work, digital_scholarship, WPMU, umwblogs
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: This presentation will provide an introduction to “Pedagogy in Action,” a web portal designed to showcase best practices in undergraduate science and economics education. For some time we’ve been told of a revolution in active learning pedagogies to replace the traditional ‘chalk & talk’ of lecture-based learning. These pedagogies include Calibrated Peer Review, Cooperative Learning, Just-in-Time Teaching, and Quantitative Writing, to name just a few. But who has the time to research and determine the applicability of these methods to one’s teaching, much less the time to revise one’s class notes to incorporate these methods? The answer to this quandary might be Pedagogy in Action, a National Science Foundation-funded web portal hosted at Carleton College in Minnesota. Each pedagogy is explained in a stand-alone module. Each module follows the same structure--In three short paragraphs, the module answers the following questions: What is the pedagogy? Why might it be useful in your teaching? How can you implement it in your teaching? Perhaps the best part of each module is the list of ten or more examples of how faculty like you have used the pedagogy successfully in their teaching. As an added bonus, much of the material is designed to be discipline-agnostic, so even non-science or economics faculty may find it very useful.
Website: http://stevegreenlaw.org/pedablogy/
Tags: serc, EconEd,
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: Jeff McClurken Sue Fernsebner Bard Efford Serena Epstein
Abstract: This panel discussion will talk about an experiment with UMW Blogs that centers around faculty and students mapping their own domains to a blog site. The experiment is centered around thinking about the implications of digital identity as well as what it means to have and cultivate your professional and personal online presence.
Website: http://bavatuesdays.com
Tags: domain, umwblogs, digital identity,
Format: Panel Discussion (typically 45-60 minutes)
]]>Abstract: Using class time for student oral presentations always presents challenges, not the least of which is managing the loss of valuable classroom minutes that might be used for other purposes instead of being devoted to a series of student talks. Does the web offer an option for having students prepare and deliver presentations that are then viewed online by the rest of the class? This general question prompted me to experiment with two classes, and to have the students do one online oral presentation in each class. One class was taught in the spring 2008 semester, and the other in fall 2008. This talk will offer a summary of what I learned through these two case studies. Some of the main points to be explored are: (1) What are the time and technological investments of this approach for the instructor and students? (2) Does a blog offer a useful device for encouraging students to comment on each another's presentations? (3) Were the online presentations a meaningful part of the course, or did they become mere cyberspace noise? (4) Do students gain any unique benefit from having to speak online as opposed to speaking in the physical classroom to a live audience? (5) What sort of coaching do students need in order to understand how to speak effectively in an online context?
Tags: oral presentations, online speeches, blogging about speeches
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: Patrick Murray-John
Abstract: We designed a website “Thinking Like a Biologist: Using Diagnostic Questions to Help Students Reason With Biological Principles.” This website is a Drupal installation that is designed to deliver information about an NSF funded project called “Diagnostic Question Clusters to Improve Student Reasoning and Understanding in General Biology Courses.” The original purpose of this site was to deliver information to faculty across the US that supports their use of new, student learning assessments for Introductory Biology and Ecology. We discovered several challenges in the design and implementation of our drupal. The biologists brought naïve ideas to the design table about the function and organization of an information delivery website. The computer scientist brought naïve ideas about biology concepts and education to the design table. We also knew that the purpose of this site may evolve and so design must be flexible enough to support changing needs. As a team, we taught each other enough of the ideas behind our work to work together. Trial and error in our work relationship, lead to a work model in which periodic, face-to-face work sessions were the most productive way to exchange ideas and implement the site. The project behind the site and the needs for the site continue to progress. We look forward to designing and implementing new functionality in our site this coming summer.
Website: http://demos.patrickgmj.net/griffithdemo/node
Tags: drupal, teamwork, biology, faculty development
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: Learning in an eLearning presents different perspective in terms of preference of learning environment components. The patterns of eLearning website feature preferences were investigated in order to provide insights into learning strategies for learners. The focus of this investigation is to develop a classification of types of eLearning website feature preferences (clusters) and investigate their association with the learning of students as indicated via their performance. Based on an empirical study, researcher collected and analyzed students’ eLearning website feature preference in Blackboard. Nine measures were used to cluster the data set. The results revealed four clusters, viz.: Moderate eLearning Feature Preference Exhibitor, High eLearning Feature Preference Exhibitor, Heavy eLearning Feature Preference Sleeper and Moderate eLearning Feature Preference Sleeper, and demonstrated that learning as indicated by performance (grade point average range) different among the four clusters. The implications of eLearning feature preference are discussed from learning and teaching perspectives.
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: Long before twitter jumped the Oprah-shark, UMW embraced micro-blogging and never looked back. In this presentation, I will talk about a few of the ways twitter has been used on campus to supplement class discussion, prompt cross-campus debate, and keep us all up to date.
Tags: twitter, social media,
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: Participants: Brooke Donaldson, “Teaching the I-Phone / Facebook Generation: Sacrifice or Enhancement?” Jeremy Larochelle, "Weekly response papers are so Twentieth Century: Latin American Literature and Cultural Studies meets UMW Blogs". Elizabeth Lewis, “Energizing, Inspiring, and Relevant Spanish Literature Studies? My Experimentation with an Undergraduate Course on the 19th-Century Novel” Marcel Rotter, “Student-centered learning in upper-level language courses: authentic news and wikis as textbook 2.0”
Abstract: This panel discussion seeks to explore the various ways technology has altered the teaching of foreign languages, cultures and literatures. From the use of internet resources and interactive power point presentations, to the use of social networking, wikis and course blogs, technology has enabled language students to access information, practice new skills, and interact with the target languages and cultures like never before. But is this necessarily better? What might the limits or pitfalls of such teaching and learning be?
Format: Panel Discussion (typically 45-60 minutes)
]]>- Brooke Donaldson, “Teaching the I-Phone / Facebook Generation: Sacrifice or Enhancement?”
- Jeremy Larochelle, “Weekly response papers are so Twentieth Century: Latin American Literature and Cultural Studies meets UMW Blogs”.
- Elizabeth Lewis, “Energizing, Inspiring, and Relevant Spanish Literature Studies? My Experimentation with an Undergraduate Course on the 19th-Century Novel”
- Marcel Rotter, “Student-centered learning in upper-level language courses: authentic news and wikis as textbook 2.0”
This panel discussion seeks to explore the various ways technology has altered the teaching of foreign languages, cultures and literatures. From the use of internet resources and interactive power point presentations, to the use of social networking, wikis and course blogs, technology has enabled language students to access information, practice new skills, and interact with the target languages and cultures like never before. But is this necessarily better? What might the limits or pitfalls of such teaching and learning be?
]]>Abstract: When I accepted an invitation to teach linguistics 101 at UMW. I brought with me an agenda born more than 40 years ago and which has had a growth spurt since I retired in 2003. Driven by technological innovation and recent interpretation of the role mind/brain in an understanding of language, the time has come to test whether one can teach general linguistics to a general college audience so as to provide a basis for further study in linguistics, connect with the interests and competencies of a heterogeneous group of students, present a coherent and reasonable facsimile of contemporary linguistic thought, and hold the attention of 65 weary students in a 3 hour evening class once a week. I got great help using a number of media resources, in particular web based materials, QuickTime and Personal Brain, and encouraging students to DO linguistics rather than merely read about it. I will illustrate my approach to the subject by flying over the "Plex" of Personal Brain and diving in to look up close at one unit in the course. I'm convinced the approach is right, but I think the patient may have died.
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: On April 9, 2009 I attended an online NITLE event entitled Virtual Voyages: Using Technology to Convey a Sense of Place which was hosted by Martyn Smith, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Lawrence University. What I learned during this fascinating online presentation and discussion was how to utilize a variety of web resources to help students contextualize course information in geographic terms. The premise of the presentation was that professors at liberal arts colleges often find themselves charged with teaching about places in the world that their students are unlikely to ever experience in person although the experience of place is nevertheless crucial to an integrated understanding of the content involved. While actually travel to these places may not be possible to students, virtual travel, utilizing web resources orchestrated around Google Earth, is possible both in the classroom and in assignments. I have since begun to utilize this approach in my teaching and specifically in teaching modern architecture this past semester. I will be describing what I learned during this online presentation and how I anticipate using this in the future especially for my architecture courses in which an understanding of place is central to the material.
Tags: history architecture, geography, place, Google Earth.
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: One of the key differences between secondary education and university is that in the former, students tend to be taught about a subject, while in the latter, they are taught what disciplinary practitioners do. Usually, the teaching of this practice is, in an important sense, pretend. When students study a laboratory science, the outcomes of the experiments they conduct are largely predetermined. Similarly, in a literature class when students analyze a classic work, the instructor presents standard arguments. This past semester I had the opportunity to teach in a way that more genuinely modeled disciplinary practice. I taught a senior seminar in international finance, where we organized the class as a research team to investigate the global implications of the 2008 financial crisis and economic recession, an event which was unfolding in real time while we studied it. As such, there were no texts to read. Indeed, one goal of the project was to create a written analysis of the crisis, which we will publish online. The dynamics of nearly all aspects of the course, from selecting the material we studied to conducting class sessions to grading, were different from normal courses. Students were given small research tasks, the results of which they posted on the course wiki. Class time was spent figuring out what those results mean as we constructed ‘the story’ of the financial crisis. Grades were based on what students contributed to the group’s understanding. This experience provided many lessons about how to improve the teaching of other courses.
Website: http://stevegreenlaw.org/pedablogy/
Tags: RealSchool
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: Donald Rallis Melina Patterson Jami Bryan
Abstract: We are woking on this, will fill it in soon
Website: http://bavatuesdays.com
Tags: blogging, umwblogs, panel
Format: Panel Discussion (typically 45-60 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: Maya Mathur Kelli Slunt Leanna Giancarlo Debra Hydorn
Abstract: We are working on the abstract, and I will get you that shortly. Jim
Website: http://bavatuesdays.com
Tags: fsem, blogging, frshman seminar, umwblogs,
Format: Panel Discussion (typically 45-60 minutes)
]]>Abstract: This presentation will show how instructional technologies can support reflection in online and traditional college classes. Each activity will center on how a problem can be addressed with a technological tool in class or on the web. The focus will not be on the technology itself but rather on how that tool can cause the student to think critically about the issue presented, organize their thoughts, and/or present a solution. For example, the presenter will show how Twitter can be used effectively to document a library research project - not the mechanics of how Twitter works. Following each suggested activity, the audience will have opportunity to offer application in their discipline area. Participants will leave with a list of twenty suggested activities, a link to a supporting website, and a list of related resources.
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: In this presentation, I will give an overview of how and why I use Drupal as my platform of choice for creating online learning spaces. Since my assigned teaching area is New Media, my pedagogy is often as much *about* technology as it is *through* technology. Therefore, the choices I make regarding our course websites give shape to the opportunities my students have for creating content and learning to express themselves digitally within a participatory learning experience. These choices must closely reflect and demonstrate my teaching philosophy and pedagogical agenda. For this brief talk, I will structure my remarks around a list of ways in which Drupal is better than WordPress. This somewhat facetious framework invokes the long-running generic debate between proponents of the two platforms, but it is not necessarily my aim to convince WordPress adherents to switch sides. Rather, I will focus on why Drupal has been a good choice for me and ultimately argue that a working knowledge of how any works with or against pedagogical goals is an important component of course design.
Website: http://www.zachwhalen.net
Tags: drupal, wordpress, LMS, edupunk
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: The goals of the First-Year Seminar (FSEM) program at the University of Mary Washington are to promote life-long learning skills, enhance the idea of community within and among students and faculty, and provide opportunities for students to explore and express their ideas and arguments. In this FSEM course on Mad Scientists, Bad Scientists and Evil Geniuses, I have used blogs and a Drupal resource site as a means to make student learning participatory, exploratory and community building. In addition, I allowed (for the first time) students to use video vs. written word for some assignments. In this talk, the use of these technology driven formats will be examined as tools to enhance and enrich student learning.
Website: lgiancar.umwblogs.org
Tags: blogs, Drupal, mashup
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: The University of California, Davis Teaching Resources Center is celebrating its 35th year with a renewed vision of what teaching and learning could and should be at a university. I'll introduce you to some of our most popular programs and share some secrets behind our relatively low-budget, high-impact success. Come learn about our Faculty Mentoring Faculty Program, More Thoughtful Teaching Symposia, Summer Institute on Teaching and Technology, international Seminar on University Teaching and Learning, our small-grant programs, mid-quarter interviews, and more.
Website: http://cluttermuseum.blogspot.com
Tags: teaching center, pedagogy
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: At a Faculty Academy session a few years ago I reported on my experiences as a student in an on-line course that was not successful (and not very enjoyable). My most recent experience as an on-line student were very different! In this presentation I will report on the EscherMath course I took last year. This course was offered by the Profesional Enhancement Program of the Mathematics Association of America and was conducted entirely on-line through Wimba Classroom. While I won't be focusing on the technical aspects of offering such a course, I will introduce faculty who are new to on-line teaching to one possible on-line course environment.
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: College students who are choosing courses for the upcoming semester must do so in light of their overall degree plan. If they do not, they risk making selections that will ultimately jeopardize a timely graduation. Choosing the right courses, however, requires the student (and their advisor) to know about and properly interpret a myriad of different constraints. At UMW, these include Gen Ed and major requirements, writing and speaking intensive offerings, probable course availability, and a possibly intricate chain of prerequisites that spans multiple semesters of related courses. Failing to properly take into account one of these intertwined constraints can lead to a student failing to enroll in a course next semester that later will turn out to have been necessary for them. And even when these constraints are satisfied, keeping track of them all is tedious and error-prone. The Computer Science Department introduced an experimental web-based degree planning application this spring designed to automate this process. The system helps students build a hypothetical schedule of courses for all future semesters. In addition to a visually appealing drag-and-drop interface through which students can access the entire university catalog, the system automatically checks all of the above requirements every time the schedule is changed, alerting the user to possible problems. The system was piloted to twenty advisors and 81 students during the spring advising period. In this presentation we demonstrate this tool, present findings from the pilot test period, and outline plans for the system's incorporation into the university advising process.
Tags: advising, web, application
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Over the course of the next day, abstracts for all of the sessions will be available on the site and will be linked to from the program page.
We’re very excited about the breadth and depth of topics that will be covered at this year’s event, and we’re grateful to all of our presenters for putting together proposals at this very busy time of year!
]]>It’s that time of year. Again. Tomorrow will mark day one of yet another Faculty Academy at the University of Mary Washington. Once again, we’ve got a stellar line-up of guest speakers and faculty presenters. This year’s conference planning has been particularly poignant and meaningful for me, and I’m extraordinarly grateful to my colleagues in DTLT and the faculty at UMW who are contributing to the program. Plus, it’s very exciting to have James Boyle, Laura Blankenshpi, and Cole Camplese coming to contribute to the conversation.
I truly believe that the innovative thinking and work that is shared at events like Faculty Academy can point us toward the future of higher education. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity every year to help showcase and promote the thinking, experimentation, and creativity that this event represents.
See you on the other side.
]]>Registration and Continental Breakfast
Please join us for a continental breakfast, coffee, and tea in the atrium and lobby. Stop by the registration desk to pick up your nametag and program, register for a workshop, or sign up to compete in Deck Wars. Sponsored by the Department of Information Technology
Breakfast Sponsored by the Department of Information Technology
]]>- Mr. Jerry Slezak, Acting Director, Teaching and Learning Technologies
- Dr. Nina Mikhalevsky, Acting Provost
- Dr. Khalil Yazdi, Vice President for Information Technology and Institutional Research and CIO
Panel Discussion in B122
Presentation Session in B115
]]>- Cultural Agoraphobia: What Universities Need to Know About Our Bias Against Openness
Dr. James Boyle (Duke University Law School)
Special thanks to our Keynote Sponsor the UMW Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning.
]]>Sponsored by the UMW Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning
Mock Debate
- Is the CMS Dead?
Jim Groom (DTLT) and John St. Clair (Distance and Blended Learning)
Moderator: Tim O’Donnell (English, Linguistics, and Communications)
- Engaging the New Classroom Conversation
Cole Camplese (Pennsylvania State University)
Sponsored by the Office of the Provost
]]>Panel Discussion in B122
Presentation Session in B115
- There’s a Librarian in My CMS!
- Enhancing and Enriching Learning: Blogs, Drupal and the Great Monster Mash-Up in First-Year Seminar
- Whose Tube Is It, Anyway? Using a Web Site/Blog for Student Oral Presentations
Workshop in B124
]]>Lots of great take aways from this first day of the conference.
James Boyle’s talk was inspiring, engaging, simply awesome. In Twitter someone said he had the audience in the palm of his hand, and that was certainly evident looking around the room. There was so much to take away from his talk, but I’ll mention two things that jumped out at me.
* It’s really interesting how we avoid thinking about issues of open-ness vs/ closed-ness in self interested terms. The conversation always seems to veer towards discussions of values and philosophies. I think values and philosophies are great — but Boyle reminded us that openness is also a great choice because it can serve our self-interests. We just tend assume it can’t.
This reminds me a lot of the way my dad talks about environmentalism. He’s a biologist with the Office of Endangered Species, and although he certainly believes in the mission of the ESA for philosophical reasons, he’s also great at reminding people that preserving species and the environment is a choice that protects our own self-interests.
It’s OK to be self-interested. It’s even better when our self-interests jive with our philosophies. 
* At one point Boyle basically referred to the practice of teaching as the ultimate mashup. Teachers are constantly “stealing” techniques, lesson plans, activities, styles from each other — often without attribution. The next time I’m talking to faculty about mashups, I plan to use this as a means to explain the concept.
During Lunch, Jim Groom and John St. Clair blew us all away with the mock debate, “Is the CMS dead?” Jim, quite predictably and charmingly went the zombie route. John, however, well. . .who knew John had that in him? I can’t describe it. I recommend visiting the faculty academy Web site in a week or so and watching the video.
In the afternoon, Cole Camplese’s plenary captured people’s imaginations about how we can use lightweight emerging technologies to redefine our notion of conversation in the classroom. The number of questions and comments at the end of his presentation spoke to how he clearly engaged the faculty at UMW and our guest visitors. My favorite anecdote from his presentation was about the student who tweeted one evening that he had just realized his thesis was due the following day — a week earlier than he had thought. Out of nowhere, his classmates jumped in to assist — proofreading, helping with endnote formatting, meeting in the Library to discuss a draft. In the course of that evening, the entire class suddenly understood what Twitter could do for them.
And now, I’m sitting in Laura Blankenship’s workshop on personal learning networks where about twelve of us are brainstorming how to use lightweight web-based tools to accomplish all sorts of tasks and connect with the people who can help us to work, learn, and live online. Frabulous!
We’ll close the day with some wine and food and be back in the morning to start it all over again.
I wish everyday could be Faculty Academy.
]]>Sponsored by the Department of Information Technology
]]>The conference will resume on May 14 at 8:30 a.m.
]]>Please join us for a continental breakfast, coffee, and tea in the atrium and lobby. Stop by the registration desk to pick up your nametag and program, register for a workshop, or sign up to compete in Deck Wars.
Sponsored by the Department of Information Technology
]]>- If Any Moron Can Write a Blog, Then All Blogs are Written by Morons, Right?
Laura Blankenship (Emerging Technologies Consulting)
Sponsored by the Office of the Provost
]]>Presentation Session in B122
]]>- We Were All A-twitter’: Micro-Blogging at UMW
- Old Dog, New Tricks: General Linguistics in the Age of New Media
Presentation Session in B122
- Report on a Successful (and Enjoyable) On-line Learning Experience
- Technology-Enabled Activities to Enhance Reflection
- Profiling eLearning Website Feature Preferences: An Empirical Study
Presentation Session in B210
]]>Deck Wars
Sign up to compete at the registration desk or by speaking to anyone with a “Staff” flag on their nametag!
]]>Thank you!
]]>- Enhanced, Blended, and Hybrid Learning — What I Picked Up In Illinois
- A Class Exhibit : Individual Work toward a Common Online Exhibit
- Teaching the On-Line Literary Journals Class, the Next Generation and Why I Bought a 1958 Mercury Excelsior Letterpress
- Pentop Computers: Educational Applications
Presentation Session in B122
- Teaching as Modeling Disciplinary Practice
- Altering Reality: Teaching About and With ARGs
- Preparing to Use Peer Instruction in Teaching Principles of Microeconomics
- Microlectures and Student Learning
Workshop in B124
]]>- A Domain of Your Own
Jim Groom (DTLT)
Workshop in B123
- Opening Up UMW
Patrick Murray-John (DTLT)
Presentation in B122
- What Does a New Media Buffet Look Like?
Andy Rush (DTLT)
Join us next year at Faculty Academy 2010!!
]]>Over the next week or so, I’m planning on putting up a bunch of posts about the work I did this year on the Faculty Academy Web site. Every year, working on this site is a particularly fun project for me, starting four years ago when we first began to host the conference Web site at www.facultyacademy.org with a one-off WordPress install. And every year, I’ve tried to use the project as an opportunity to push myself to learn more about how to use WordPress as a site for an event/conference. I spend an awful lot of time barking up the wrong trees and generally getting myself in trouble, but I chalk it all up to a great learning experience. For example, what I learned this year will not only come in handy as we put together the site next year, I’m also imagining how I can use it to help with a regional instructional technology conference that we often participate in here in Virginia and how I can put my lessons to use in the revamped DTLT Web site that went on hold as FA ramped up.
To start with, I’ll run quickly through a number of the tools, plugins, etc. that I made use of this year. I’ll try to dig deeper into what worked and what didn’t work for each one in future posts:
WordPress/WPMU: The conference site “proper” has lived within WordPress for several years now. I toyed with the idea of using something different this year, but ended up settling on WP again for a couple of reasons. One thing different this year was the the site was actually a blog within a WPMU install that Jim Groom helped me set up. The plan is to migrate all of our past FA sites to this install so that we can more easily upgrade, maintain (and possibly link) them. Another reason I decided to go with WP/WPMU was that we were hoping to use BuddyPress as a way to solicit registrations and proposals this year. We thought we might be able to set up custom user fields for the information we ask for when people are registering or submiting a presentation. Then, everyone would have an accounts on the site and we could maybe use that to build some kind of stronger online community presence for the conference. Bottom line, the BuddyPress experiment didn’t work out for a couple of reasons, but I’m still glad we went with WPMU. I think being able to migrate all of the conference sites to this platform — and build future conference sites within it — could pay off in the long run. Plus, it allowed me to get my feet wet with WPMU and to develop a deeper understanding of how that system works.
Google Docs/Spreadsheets: For the last three or four years, we’ve been using PhpSurveyor/LimeSurvey as the tool for soliciting registrations and proposals. It was a fine solution, but there were a couple of things about it that I wasn’t nuts about. For one, because it’s really a survey tool, the internal language in the application often confused people. I ended up hacking the core code so that there were no references to “survey” when people filled out the form. There was also no way to send people emails upon completion of the survey — which we got a few complaints about. Also, we had gotten to the point with that tool that we were making use of branching so that we could have one form for both registration and proposal submission. This seemed needlessly complicated. It was a pain to set up, and it was a pain to switch the forms mid-stream when the cfp would close but registration was still open. Finally, the output from PhpSurveyor isn’t very pretty. I ended up doing a bunch of exports periodically to a .csv or .xls file, and then cutting and pasting things together. I was always paranoid that I would screw up the cut-and-paste, and I felt like I was juggling way too much.
As I mentioned above, we toyed with the idea briefly of going with BuddyPress for this purpose, but we weren’t thrilled with how that was going to play out. So, instead, I used a Google Form/Spreadsheet which I embedded into the conference site. I’m not sure I’d do it again: there was a fair amount of template hacking (because I wanted more control over the form styling), Patrick still had to write a custom script for me so that people could get emails when forms were submitted, we ended up separating the cfp and the registration process which WAS better for us but may have been more complicated for users. All that said, having the data in a spreadsheet was very cool.
Exhibit/Google Spreadsheet: We’ve never had a dynamic registrant list on the site before — there was never any easy way to feed registration data into a place where we could consume it. But this year, when I realized that all of our registration data was going to be in a Google spreadsheet, I also realized it would be very easy to set up an Exhibit to display the data. It actually took a fair amount of time to set this up — more template hacking and some issues with getting the data to feed out of Google docs properly. But once it was set up, it worked seamlessly.
Various WP Plugins: I used a whole slew of new WP plugins for the site. It’s always fun to have a project that allows you to experiment with new plugins, and FA is a great opportunity to try things on:
* Add Link and FeedWordPress: I knew from some recent posts by Jim that these two plugins were working really well together, but I couldn’t believe how easy they made it to add a “Live Blogging” feature to the site while the conference ran (and beyond). We had about 8-10 people add their blog address/feed, and we’re still featuring any posts they write that they put in a category called “umwfa09.”
* More Fields and Advanced Custom Field Widget: I had experimented a few months ago with a plugin called “Flutter” which makes it easier to add custom fields (and create custom write panels), but it had some bugs and didn’t really work properly on WPMU. This time around, I discovered “More Fields” which is dirt-simple to setup and use. Then I stumbled on “Advanced Custom Field Widget” which makes it even dirt-simpler to display the values of custom fields in the sidebar. Bottom line: I was able to use the combination of these two plugins to enter session data for each presentation (location, time slot, format, presenters, etc.) and display it in the sidebar for each presentation’s post.
* Advanced Category Excluder and More Privacy Options: One of the challenges of working on a site for a conference that is coming up/ongoing is that you’re working on a site that people are going to be hitting regularly. You don’t want to show them some of what you’re working on for the actual days leading up to/of the conference. I was able to use these two plugins to hide certain activity until I was ready to make it available.
* FeedBurner FeedSmith: I’d never used a FeedBurner feed for a WordPress site before, but I’m glad I did this time. Not only did it allow me to track subscriptions to the site feed, I was able to set up a way for people to receive updates via email — which was really important since the plugin we’ve used for this in the past — Subscribe2 — wasn’t playing nicely with WPMU.
* Flickr Photo Album and Quick Flickr Widget: I actually used two different Flickr plugins at different times in the life of the site to display photos from Flickr. Flickr Photo Album was ideal for the display I wanted leading up to the conference (and made it easy to embed previous FA photos in pages/posts), but when the conference was running live, I preferred the output of Quick Flickr Widget on the home page to show a live feed of photos.
* WPtouch iPhone Theme: I don’t know who else benefitted from this besides Andy 
, but it was very cool to be able to simply install a plugin and have an iPhone/iPod touch-ready conference site.
* Yet Another Related Post Plugin: I kind of threw this one in at the last minute as the program was going live, and I was very pleasently pleased with the results. Basically, it allowed to me suggest related conference presentations for each individual session. If you’ve got a community that is actively tagging conference content (which ours wasn’t–see below), I could see this being very dynamic.
* Matt’s Community Tags: So often when you’re working on a site like this you spend an inordinate amount of time on a feature that seems really important to YOU but no one else cares about. This was one of those. But I don’t care, because I still think it’s a neat feature and maybe we’ll use it in the future. Basically, it allowed anyone to suggest a tag for any conference post (including all of the presentation posts). The tags go into moderation (which isn’t necessarily ideal), and you can use this to grow your tag cloud and, ultimatley, your understanding of the ideas inspired at the conference.
There were a few other great plugins that helped with the basic content-management aspects of the site, but I won’t go into all of those here.
For those who care, the theme I used was a seriously hacked version of WordPress Magazine Theme. It had good bones for what I wanted to do.
The feature of the site that I was most proud of, though, really didn’t require any special plugins — just a pretty mild hack to index.php. I knew I wanted to have something on the conference home page that displayed what was going on right now as the conference was running. It occurred to me the weekend before the conference that all I needed to do was create a post for each conference time slot with links to the various presentations and then time them to publish at the time when the slot began (actually, Jerry suggested going with 15 minutes prior to the beginning of a session, and that worked better). I put all of these posts in a new category called “currently.” Then I put a custom Loop on the home page that just displayed the most-recent post in that category. Voila! Dyanmic conference program on the Web site. I have no idea if anyone cared that there was a dynamic program on the Web site, but, again, I learned something figuring it out.
So. That was a lot longer than I intended. Maybe I don’t need to do individual posts about different tools now, but I think I still will, if only to document the successes and challenges for myself.
]]>It occurred to me after I published yesterday’s post that I should probably talk about why I think it’s important to do all the things I was trying to do with the Faculty Academy Web site. I’ve already touched on a few or those reasons — mainly the selfish desire to learn more about how WP/WPMU works and to, hopefully, discover some techniques/ideas that I could put to use on other projects. But I don’t want to suggest that putting together this site was purely an exercise; I’d like to believe that there was actually some meaningful purpose behind the experience.
In a former job, I spent a lot of time planing Web sites, thinking about their communicative goals, talking to focus groups and committees about their purpose and how we would measure their success. While I learned a lot from that experience, and I think I was able to put what I learned to good use, truthfully, a lot of it felt like wheel spinning. Talking about what we were trying to do so as to convince ourselves we understood what we were trying to do. Making a science (or a study) out of something that still, for me, often feels very nebulous and difficult to define.
So one of the reasons I love, love, love working on the site for Faculty Academy is that it has a somewhat short life-time (I know that it serves a purpose as an ongoing, permanent archive of the event, but it’s core user functionality is really critical for only about 6-8 weeks prior to the conference). It’s also a small enough conference, with enough returning attendees (most from within my own University), that I have some freedom to try new things and not worry too much if they backfire. Sure, the cfp and registration system needs to work. The program needs to be clear and easy-to-find. Logistical information needs to be accurate and consistent, but, beyond that, there’s a lot of opportunity to play.
This idea of “playing” as a way of building a Web site is, more and more, a much more rewarding way for me to work on sites. I feel pretty lucky that most of what I build online these days has a somewhat short life-span (a semester, perhaps), is done in collaboration with other playful individuals (my colleagues in DTLT and the amazing faculty and students at UMW), and doesn’t contain a lot of “serious,” institutional data that I need to worry about vetting with a huge committee or administration.
That said, I don’t want to downplay the importance of these projects. I just think course management systems, with all of their institutional-looking interfaces and static feature sets have lulled a lot of us (instructional technologists, faculty, students), into thinking that building online experiences within the Academy needs to be a locked-down, top-down, “standardized” experience. I think that’s just antithetical to how we ultimately teach and learn.
So as I embarked on this year’s conference site, I was seeking to build a site that could serve the following goals:
* provide clear, accurate information about the event (that’s a no-brainer)
* allow people to easily register or submit proposals (again, duh)
* provide an online venue for pre-conference interaction and investigation
* provide an online venue for live conference activity and monitoring of conference activities happening in other spaces
True:
* Not a lot of people added tags to program items
* I’m not sure how many people cared that there was a “live” feed of current sessions on the home page.
* As far as I can tell from the Google Analytics, no one viewed any of the archived conference video from previous years that I highlighted in the site footer prior to the event.
* Only a handful of people used delicious to add bookmarks that were tagged “umwfa09.”
But, by no means, do I think any of what I tried was a failure. First, as I’ve said before, I learned a ton doing it. I’m never failing when I’m learning. Second, even if a lot of people didn’t participate in some of the opportunities I provided, I believe a few people had seeds planted that we can continue to nurture throughout the year and at next year’s conference. Bit by bit, we make inroads. And we also model for our faculty, our students, and ourselves a way of building and creating that values learning, creativity, experimentation, and even “failure.”
]]>- A Domain of Your Own
Jim Groom (DTLT)
Workshop in B123
- Opening Up UMW
Patrick Murray-John (DTLT)
Presentation in B122
- What Does a New Media Buffet Look Like?
Andy Rush (DTLT)
- A Domain of Your Own
Jim Groom (DTLT)
Workshop in B123
- Opening Up UMW
Patrick Murray-John (DTLT)
Presentation in B122
- What Does a New Media Buffet Look Like?
Andy Rush (DTLT)
Join us next year at Faculty Academy 2010!!
]]>It occurred to me after I published yesterday’s post that I should probably talk about why I think it’s important to do all the things I was trying to do with the Faculty Academy Web site. I’ve already touched on a few or those reasons — mainly the selfish desire to learn more about how WP/WPMU works and to, hopefully, discover some techniques/ideas that I could put to use on other projects. But I don’t want to suggest that putting together this site was purely an exercise; I’d like to believe that there was actually some meaningful purpose behind the experience.
In a former job, I spent a lot of time planing Web sites, thinking about their communicative goals, talking to focus groups and committees about their purpose and how we would measure their success. While I learned a lot from that experience, and I think I was able to put what I learned to good use, truthfully, a lot of it felt like wheel spinning. Talking about what we were trying to do so as to convince ourselves we understood what we were trying to do. Making a science (or a study) out of something that still, for me, often feels very nebulous and difficult to define.
So one of the reasons I love, love, love working on the site for Faculty Academy is that it has a somewhat short life-time (I know that it serves a purpose as an ongoing, permanent archive of the event, but it’s core user functionality is really critical for only about 6-8 weeks prior to the conference). It’s also a small enough conference, with enough returning attendees (most from within my own University), that I have some freedom to try new things and not worry too much if they backfire. Sure, the cfp and registration system needs to work. The program needs to be clear and easy-to-find. Logistical information needs to be accurate and consistent, but, beyond that, there’s a lot of opportunity to play.
This idea of “playing” as a way of building a Web site is, more and more, a much more rewarding way for me to work on sites. I feel pretty lucky that most of what I build online these days has a somewhat short life-span (a semester, perhaps), is done in collaboration with other playful individuals (my colleagues in DTLT and the amazing faculty and students at UMW), and doesn’t contain a lot of “serious,” institutional data that I need to worry about vetting with a huge committee or administration.
That said, I don’t want to downplay the importance of these projects. I just think course management systems, with all of their institutional-looking interfaces and static feature sets have lulled a lot of us (instructional technologists, faculty, students), into thinking that building online experiences within the Academy needs to be a locked-down, top-down, “standardized” experience. I think that’s just antithetical to how we ultimately teach and learn.
So as I embarked on this year’s conference site, I was seeking to build a site that could serve the following goals:
* provide clear, accurate information about the event (that’s a no-brainer)
* allow people to easily register or submit proposals (again, duh)
* provide an online venue for pre-conference interaction and investigation
* provide an online venue for live conference activity and monitoring of conference activities happening in other spaces
True:
* Not a lot of people added tags to program items
* I’m not sure how many people cared that there was a “live” feed of current sessions on the home page.
* As far as I can tell from the Google Analytics, no one viewed any of the archived conference video from previous years that I highlighted in the site footer prior to the event.
* Only a handful of people used delicious to add bookmarks that were tagged “umwfa09.”
But, by no means, do I think any of what I tried was a failure. First, as I’ve said before, I learned a ton doing it. I’m never failing when I’m learning. Second, even if a lot of people didn’t participate in some of the opportunities I provided, I believe a few people had seeds planted that we can continue to nurture throughout the year and at next year’s conference. Bit by bit, we make inroads. And we also model for our faculty, our students, and ourselves a way of building and creating that values learning, creativity, experimentation, and even “failure.”
]]>Over the next week or so, I’m planning on putting up a bunch of posts about the work I did this year on the Faculty Academy Web site. Every year, working on this site is a particularly fun project for me, starting four years ago when we first began to host the conference Web site at www.facultyacademy.org with a one-off WordPress install. And every year, I’ve tried to use the project as an opportunity to push myself to learn more about how to use WordPress as a site for an event/conference. I spend an awful lot of time barking up the wrong trees and generally getting myself in trouble, but I chalk it all up to a great learning experience. For example, what I learned this year will not only come in handy as we put together the site next year, I’m also imagining how I can use it to help with a regional instructional technology conference that we often participate in here in Virginia and how I can put my lessons to use in the revamped DTLT Web site that went on hold as FA ramped up.
To start with, I’ll run quickly through a number of the tools, plugins, etc. that I made use of this year. I’ll try to dig deeper into what worked and what didn’t work for each one in future posts:
WordPress/WPMU: The conference site “proper” has lived within WordPress for several years now. I toyed with the idea of using something different this year, but ended up settling on WP again for a couple of reasons. One thing different this year was the the site was actually a blog within a WPMU install that Jim Groom helped me set up. The plan is to migrate all of our past FA sites to this install so that we can more easily upgrade, maintain (and possibly link) them. Another reason I decided to go with WP/WPMU was that we were hoping to use BuddyPress as a way to solicit registrations and proposals this year. We thought we might be able to set up custom user fields for the information we ask for when people are registering or submiting a presentation. Then, everyone would have an accounts on the site and we could maybe use that to build some kind of stronger online community presence for the conference. Bottom line, the BuddyPress experiment didn’t work out for a couple of reasons, but I’m still glad we went with WPMU. I think being able to migrate all of the conference sites to this platform — and build future conference sites within it — could pay off in the long run. Plus, it allowed me to get my feet wet with WPMU and to develop a deeper understanding of how that system works.
Google Docs/Spreadsheets: For the last three or four years, we’ve been using PhpSurveyor/LimeSurvey as the tool for soliciting registrations and proposals. It was a fine solution, but there were a couple of things about it that I wasn’t nuts about. For one, because it’s really a survey tool, the internal language in the application often confused people. I ended up hacking the core code so that there were no references to “survey” when people filled out the form. There was also no way to send people emails upon completion of the survey — which we got a few complaints about. Also, we had gotten to the point with that tool that we were making use of branching so that we could have one form for both registration and proposal submission. This seemed needlessly complicated. It was a pain to set up, and it was a pain to switch the forms mid-stream when the cfp would close but registration was still open. Finally, the output from PhpSurveyor isn’t very pretty. I ended up doing a bunch of exports periodically to a .csv or .xls file, and then cutting and pasting things together. I was always paranoid that I would screw up the cut-and-paste, and I felt like I was juggling way too much.
As I mentioned above, we toyed with the idea briefly of going with BuddyPress for this purpose, but we weren’t thrilled with how that was going to play out. So, instead, I used a Google Form/Spreadsheet which I embedded into the conference site. I’m not sure I’d do it again: there was a fair amount of template hacking (because I wanted more control over the form styling), Patrick still had to write a custom script for me so that people could get emails when forms were submitted, we ended up separating the cfp and the registration process which WAS better for us but may have been more complicated for users. All that said, having the data in a spreadsheet was very cool.
Exhibit/Google Spreadsheet: We’ve never had a dynamic registrant list on the site before — there was never any easy way to feed registration data into a place where we could consume it. But this year, when I realized that all of our registration data was going to be in a Google spreadsheet, I also realized it would be very easy to set up an Exhibit to display the data. It actually took a fair amount of time to set this up — more template hacking and some issues with getting the data to feed out of Google docs properly. But once it was set up, it worked seamlessly.
Various WP Plugins: I used a whole slew of new WP plugins for the site. It’s always fun to have a project that allows you to experiment with new plugins, and FA is a great opportunity to try things on:
* Add Link and FeedWordPress: I knew from some recent posts by Jim that these two plugins were working really well together, but I couldn’t believe how easy they made it to add a “Live Blogging” feature to the site while the conference ran (and beyond). We had about 8-10 people add their blog address/feed, and we’re still featuring any posts they write that they put in a category called “umwfa09.”
* More Fields and Advanced Custom Field Widget: I had experimented a few months ago with a plugin called “Flutter” which makes it easier to add custom fields (and create custom write panels), but it had some bugs and didn’t really work properly on WPMU. This time around, I discovered “More Fields” which is dirt-simple to setup and use. Then I stumbled on “Advanced Custom Field Widget” which makes it even dirt-simpler to display the values of custom fields in the sidebar. Bottom line: I was able to use the combination of these two plugins to enter session data for each presentation (location, time slot, format, presenters, etc.) and display it in the sidebar for each presentation’s post.
* Advanced Category Excluder and More Privacy Options: One of the challenges of working on a site for a conference that is coming up/ongoing is that you’re working on a site that people are going to be hitting regularly. You don’t want to show them some of what you’re working on for the actual days leading up to/of the conference. I was able to use these two plugins to hide certain activity until I was ready to make it available.
* FeedBurner FeedSmith: I’d never used a FeedBurner feed for a WordPress site before, but I’m glad I did this time. Not only did it allow me to track subscriptions to the site feed, I was able to set up a way for people to receive updates via email — which was really important since the plugin we’ve used for this in the past — Subscribe2 — wasn’t playing nicely with WPMU.
* Flickr Photo Album and Quick Flickr Widget: I actually used two different Flickr plugins at different times in the life of the site to display photos from Flickr. Flickr Photo Album was ideal for the display I wanted leading up to the conference (and made it easy to embed previous FA photos in pages/posts), but when the conference was running live, I preferred the output of Quick Flickr Widget on the home page to show a live feed of photos.
* WPtouch iPhone Theme: I don’t know who else benefitted from this besides Andy , but it was very cool to be able to simply install a plugin and have an iPhone/iPod touch-ready conference site.
* Yet Another Related Post Plugin: I kind of threw this one in at the last minute as the program was going live, and I was very pleasently pleased with the results. Basically, it allowed to me suggest related conference presentations for each individual session. If you’ve got a community that is actively tagging conference content (which ours wasn’t–see below), I could see this being very dynamic.
* Matt’s Community Tags: So often when you’re working on a site like this you spend an inordinate amount of time on a feature that seems really important to YOU but no one else cares about. This was one of those. But I don’t care, because I still think it’s a neat feature and maybe we’ll use it in the future. Basically, it allowed anyone to suggest a tag for any conference post (including all of the presentation posts). The tags go into moderation (which isn’t necessarily ideal), and you can use this to grow your tag cloud and, ultimatley, your understanding of the ideas inspired at the conference.
There were a few other great plugins that helped with the basic content-management aspects of the site, but I won’t go into all of those here.
For those who care, the theme I used was a seriously hacked version of WordPress Magazine Theme. It had good bones for what I wanted to do.
The feature of the site that I was most proud of, though, really didn’t require any special plugins — just a pretty mild hack to index.php. I knew I wanted to have something on the conference home page that displayed what was going on right now as the conference was running. It occurred to me the weekend before the conference that all I needed to do was create a post for each conference time slot with links to the various presentations and then time them to publish at the time when the slot began (actually, Jerry suggested going with 15 minutes prior to the beginning of a session, and that worked better). I put all of these posts in a new category called “currently.” Then I put a custom Loop on the home page that just displayed the most-recent post in that category. Voila! Dyanmic conference program on the Web site. I have no idea if anyone cared that there was a dynamic program on the Web site, but, again, I learned something figuring it out.
So. That was a lot longer than I intended. Maybe I don’t need to do individual posts about different tools now, but I think I still will, if only to document the successes and challenges for myself.
]]>Over the next week or so, I’m planning on putting up a bunch of posts about the work I did this year on the Faculty Academy Web site. Every year, working on this site is a particularly fun project for me, starting four years ago when we first began to host the conference Web site at www.facultyacademy.org with a one-off WordPress install. And every year, I’ve tried to use the project as an opportunity to push myself to learn more about how to use WordPress as a site for an event/conference. I spend an awful lot of time barking up the wrong trees and generally getting myself in trouble, but I chalk it all up to a great learning experience. For example, what I learned this year will not only come in handy as we put together the site next year, I’m also imagining how I can use it to help with a regional instructional technology conference that we often participate in here in Virginia and how I can put my lessons to use in the revamped DTLT Web site that went on hold as FA ramped up.
To start with, I’ll run quickly through a number of the tools, plugins, etc. that I made use of this year. I’ll try to dig deeper into what worked and what didn’t work for each one in future posts:
WordPress/WPMU: The conference site “proper” has lived within WordPress for several years now. I toyed with the idea of using something different this year, but ended up settling on WP again for a couple of reasons. One thing different this year was the the site was actually a blog within a WPMU install that Jim Groom helped me set up. The plan is to migrate all of our past FA sites to this install so that we can more easily upgrade, maintain (and possibly link) them. Another reason I decided to go with WP/WPMU was that we were hoping to use BuddyPress as a way to solicit registrations and proposals this year. We thought we might be able to set up custom user fields for the information we ask for when people are registering or submiting a presentation. Then, everyone would have an accounts on the site and we could maybe use that to build some kind of stronger online community presence for the conference. Bottom line, the BuddyPress experiment didn’t work out for a couple of reasons, but I’m still glad we went with WPMU. I think being able to migrate all of the conference sites to this platform — and build future conference sites within it — could pay off in the long run. Plus, it allowed me to get my feet wet with WPMU and to develop a deeper understanding of how that system works.
Google Docs/Spreadsheets: For the last three or four years, we’ve been using PhpSurveyor/LimeSurvey as the tool for soliciting registrations and proposals. It was a fine solution, but there were a couple of things about it that I wasn’t nuts about. For one, because it’s really a survey tool, the internal language in the application often confused people. I ended up hacking the core code so that there were no references to “survey” when people filled out the form. There was also no way to send people emails upon completion of the survey — which we got a few complaints about. Also, we had gotten to the point with that tool that we were making use of branching so that we could have one form for both registration and proposal submission. This seemed needlessly complicated. It was a pain to set up, and it was a pain to switch the forms mid-stream when the cfp would close but registration was still open. Finally, the output from PhpSurveyor isn’t very pretty. I ended up doing a bunch of exports periodically to a .csv or .xls file, and then cutting and pasting things together. I was always paranoid that I would screw up the cut-and-paste, and I felt like I was juggling way too much.
As I mentioned above, we toyed with the idea briefly of going with BuddyPress for this purpose, but we weren’t thrilled with how that was going to play out. So, instead, I used a Google Form/Spreadsheet which I embedded into the conference site. I’m not sure I’d do it again: there was a fair amount of template hacking (because I wanted more control over the form styling), Patrick still had to write a custom script for me so that people could get emails when forms were submitted, we ended up separating the cfp and the registration process which WAS better for us but may have been more complicated for users. All that said, having the data in a spreadsheet was very cool.
Exhibit/Google Spreadsheet: We’ve never had a dynamic registrant list on the site before — there was never any easy way to feed registration data into a place where we could consume it. But this year, when I realized that all of our registration data was going to be in a Google spreadsheet, I also realized it would be very easy to set up an Exhibit to display the data. It actually took a fair amount of time to set this up — more template hacking and some issues with getting the data to feed out of Google docs properly. But once it was set up, it worked seamlessly.
Various WP Plugins: I used a whole slew of new WP plugins for the site. It’s always fun to have a project that allows you to experiment with new plugins, and FA is a great opportunity to try things on:
* Add Link and FeedWordPress: I knew from some recent posts by Jim that these two plugins were working really well together, but I couldn’t believe how easy they made it to add a “Live Blogging” feature to the site while the conference ran (and beyond). We had about 8-10 people add their blog address/feed, and we’re still featuring any posts they write that they put in a category called “umwfa09.”
* More Fields and Advanced Custom Field Widget: I had experimented a few months ago with a plugin called “Flutter” which makes it easier to add custom fields (and create custom write panels), but it had some bugs and didn’t really work properly on WPMU. This time around, I discovered “More Fields” which is dirt-simple to setup and use. Then I stumbled on “Advanced Custom Field Widget” which makes it even dirt-simpler to display the values of custom fields in the sidebar. Bottom line: I was able to use the combination of these two plugins to enter session data for each presentation (location, time slot, format, presenters, etc.) and display it in the sidebar for each presentation’s post.
* Advanced Category Excluder and More Privacy Options: One of the challenges of working on a site for a conference that is coming up/ongoing is that you’re working on a site that people are going to be hitting regularly. You don’t want to show them some of what you’re working on for the actual days leading up to/of the conference. I was able to use these two plugins to hide certain activity until I was ready to make it available.
* FeedBurner FeedSmith: I’d never used a FeedBurner feed for a WordPress site before, but I’m glad I did this time. Not only did it allow me to track subscriptions to the site feed, I was able to set up a way for people to receive updates via email — which was really important since the plugin we’ve used for this in the past — Subscribe2 — wasn’t playing nicely with WPMU.
* Flickr Photo Album and Quick Flickr Widget: I actually used two different Flickr plugins at different times in the life of the site to display photos from Flickr. Flickr Photo Album was ideal for the display I wanted leading up to the conference (and made it easy to embed previous FA photos in pages/posts), but when the conference was running live, I preferred the output of Quick Flickr Widget on the home page to show a live feed of photos.
* WPtouch iPhone Theme: I don’t know who else benefitted from this besides Andy , but it was very cool to be able to simply install a plugin and have an iPhone/iPod touch-ready conference site.
* Yet Another Related Post Plugin: I kind of threw this one in at the last minute as the program was going live, and I was very pleasently pleased with the results. Basically, it allowed to me suggest related conference presentations for each individual session. If you’ve got a community that is actively tagging conference content (which ours wasn’t–see below), I could see this being very dynamic.
* Matt’s Community Tags: So often when you’re working on a site like this you spend an inordinate amount of time on a feature that seems really important to YOU but no one else cares about. This was one of those. But I don’t care, because I still think it’s a neat feature and maybe we’ll use it in the future. Basically, it allowed anyone to suggest a tag for any conference post (including all of the presentation posts). The tags go into moderation (which isn’t necessarily ideal), and you can use this to grow your tag cloud and, ultimatley, your understanding of the ideas inspired at the conference.
There were a few other great plugins that helped with the basic content-management aspects of the site, but I won’t go into all of those here.
For those who care, the theme I used was a seriously hacked version of WordPress Magazine Theme. It had good bones for what I wanted to do.
The feature of the site that I was most proud of, though, really didn’t require any special plugins — just a pretty mild hack to index.php. I knew I wanted to have something on the conference home page that displayed what was going on right now as the conference was running. It occurred to me the weekend before the conference that all I needed to do was create a post for each conference time slot with links to the various presentations and then time them to publish at the time when the slot began (actually, Jerry suggested going with 15 minutes prior to the beginning of a session, and that worked better). I put all of these posts in a new category called “currently.” Then I put a custom Loop on the home page that just displayed the most-recent post in that category. Voila! Dyanmic conference program on the Web site. I have no idea if anyone cared that there was a dynamic program on the Web site, but, again, I learned something figuring it out.
So. That was a lot longer than I intended. Maybe I don’t need to do individual posts about different tools now, but I think I still will, if only to document the successes and challenges for myself.
]]>It occurred to me after I published yesterday’s post that I should probably talk about why I think it’s important to do all the things I was trying to do with the Faculty Academy Web site. I’ve already touched on a few or those reasons — mainly the selfish desire to learn more about how WP/WPMU works and to, hopefully, discover some techniques/ideas that I could put to use on other projects. But I don’t want to suggest that putting together this site was purely an exercise; I’d like to believe that there was actually some meaningful purpose behind the experience.
In a former job, I spent a lot of time planing Web sites, thinking about their communicative goals, talking to focus groups and committees about their purpose and how we would measure their success. While I learned a lot from that experience, and I think I was able to put what I learned to good use, truthfully, a lot of it felt like wheel spinning. Talking about what we were trying to do so as to convince ourselves we understood what we were trying to do. Making a science (or a study) out of something that still, for me, often feels very nebulous and difficult to define.
So one of the reasons I love, love, love working on the site for Faculty Academy is that it has a somewhat short life-time (I know that it serves a purpose as an ongoing, permanent archive of the event, but it’s core user functionality is really critical for only about 6-8 weeks prior to the conference). It’s also a small enough conference, with enough returning attendees (most from within my own University), that I have some freedom to try new things and not worry too much if they backfire. Sure, the cfp and registration system needs to work. The program needs to be clear and easy-to-find. Logistical information needs to be accurate and consistent, but, beyond that, there’s a lot of opportunity to play.
This idea of “playing” as a way of building a Web site is, more and more, a much more rewarding way for me to work on sites. I feel pretty lucky that most of what I build online these days has a somewhat short life-span (a semester, perhaps), is done in collaboration with other playful individuals (my colleagues in DTLT and the amazing faculty and students at UMW), and doesn’t contain a lot of “serious,” institutional data that I need to worry about vetting with a huge committee or administration.
That said, I don’t want to downplay the importance of these projects. I just think course management systems, with all of their institutional-looking interfaces and static feature sets have lulled a lot of us (instructional technologists, faculty, students), into thinking that building online experiences within the Academy needs to be a locked-down, top-down, “standardized” experience. I think that’s just antithetical to how we ultimately teach and learn.
So as I embarked on this year’s conference site, I was seeking to build a site that could serve the following goals:
* provide clear, accurate information about the event (that’s a no-brainer)
* allow people to easily register or submit proposals (again, duh)
* provide an online venue for pre-conference interaction and investigation
* provide an online venue for live conference activity and monitoring of conference activities happening in other spaces
True:
* Not a lot of people added tags to program items
* I’m not sure how many people cared that there was a “live” feed of current sessions on the home page.
* As far as I can tell from the Google Analytics, no one viewed any of the archived conference video from previous years that I highlighted in the site footer prior to the event.
* Only a handful of people used delicious to add bookmarks that were tagged “umwfa09.”
But, by no means, do I think any of what I tried was a failure. First, as I’ve said before, I learned a ton doing it. I’m never failing when I’m learning. Second, even if a lot of people didn’t participate in some of the opportunities I provided, I believe a few people had seeds planted that we can continue to nurture throughout the year and at next year’s conference. Bit by bit, we make inroads. And we also model for our faculty, our students, and ourselves a way of building and creating that values learning, creativity, experimentation, and even “failure.”
]]>It occurred to me after I published yesterday’s post that I should probably talk about why I think it’s important to do all the things I was trying to do with the Faculty Academy Web site. I’ve already touched on a few or those reasons — mainly the selfish desire to learn more about how WP/WPMU works and to, hopefully, discover some techniques/ideas that I could put to use on other projects. But I don’t want to suggest that putting together this site was purely an exercise; I’d like to believe that there was actually some meaningful purpose behind the experience.
In a former job, I spent a lot of time planing Web sites, thinking about their communicative goals, talking to focus groups and committees about their purpose and how we would measure their success. While I learned a lot from that experience, and I think I was able to put what I learned to good use, truthfully, a lot of it felt like wheel spinning. Talking about what we were trying to do so as to convince ourselves we understood what we were trying to do. Making a science (or a study) out of something that still, for me, often feels very nebulous and difficult to define.
So one of the reasons I love, love, love working on the site for Faculty Academy is that it has a somewhat short life-time (I know that it serves a purpose as an ongoing, permanent archive of the event, but it’s core user functionality is really critical for only about 6-8 weeks prior to the conference). It’s also a small enough conference, with enough returning attendees (most from within my own University), that I have some freedom to try new things and not worry too much if they backfire. Sure, the cfp and registration system needs to work. The program needs to be clear and easy-to-find. Logistical information needs to be accurate and consistent, but, beyond that, there’s a lot of opportunity to play.
This idea of “playing” as a way of building a Web site is, more and more, a much more rewarding way for me to work on sites. I feel pretty lucky that most of what I build online these days has a somewhat short life-span (a semester, perhaps), is done in collaboration with other playful individuals (my colleagues in DTLT and the amazing faculty and students at UMW), and doesn’t contain a lot of “serious,” institutional data that I need to worry about vetting with a huge committee or administration.
That said, I don’t want to downplay the importance of these projects. I just think course management systems, with all of their institutional-looking interfaces and static feature sets have lulled a lot of us (instructional technologists, faculty, students), into thinking that building online experiences within the Academy needs to be a locked-down, top-down, “standardized” experience. I think that’s just antithetical to how we ultimately teach and learn.
So as I embarked on this year’s conference site, I was seeking to build a site that could serve the following goals:
* provide clear, accurate information about the event (that’s a no-brainer)
* allow people to easily register or submit proposals (again, duh)
* provide an online venue for pre-conference interaction and investigation
* provide an online venue for live conference activity and monitoring of conference activities happening in other spaces
True:
* Not a lot of people added tags to program items
* I’m not sure how many people cared that there was a “live” feed of current sessions on the home page.
* As far as I can tell from the Google Analytics, no one viewed any of the archived conference video from previous years that I highlighted in the site footer prior to the event.
* Only a handful of people used delicious to add bookmarks that were tagged “umwfa09.”
But, by no means, do I think any of what I tried was a failure. First, as I’ve said before, I learned a ton doing it. I’m never failing when I’m learning. Second, even if a lot of people didn’t participate in some of the opportunities I provided, I believe a few people had seeds planted that we can continue to nurture throughout the year and at next year’s conference. Bit by bit, we make inroads. And we also model for our faculty, our students, and ourselves a way of building and creating that values learning, creativity, experimentation, and even “failure.”
]]>Thursday, May 14, 9:00-10:15
If Any Moron Can Write a Blog, Then All Blogs are Written by Morons, Right?
Workshop
Wednesday, May 13, 3:30-4:45
Creating a Personal Learning Network for Yourself and for Your Students
Bio
Dr. Blankenship has been working in higher education since the early 1990s and is currently founder and president of Emerging Technologies Consulting.
She began using technology in her teaching in 1997 and in 2003, made helping other faculty use technology for teaching and learning her full-time job. This past fall, she left full-time work to go out on her own and broaden the scope of what she does. While she still feels passionate about integrating technology into educational environments, she also wants to work with communities and businesses to use social software effectively.
]]>Wednesday, May 13, 2:00-3:15
Engaging the New Classroom Conversation
Workshop
Thursday, May 14, 2:00-3:15
Course Redesign, Redesigned
Bio
Currently, Mr. Camplese serves as the Director of Education Technology Services at the Pennsylvania State University. As Director, it is his responsibility to oversee University-wide initiatives with a focus on impacting teaching and learning with technology. He guides teams in the appropriate uses of technologies in the contexts of teaching and learning. His primary area of focus is the integration of emerging technologies into learning spaces. At Penn State, the overwhelming challenge is providing scalable solutions that the 93,000 students and 5,000 faculty can successfully use to enhance their teaching and learning environments. Camplese has recently worked to integrate several new emerging technologies into curricular activities at Penn State to support digital expression. He and his team have lead the creation of the Blogs at Penn State, Podcasts at Penn State, and the Digital Commons. Camplese oversees the annual Teaching and Learning with Technology Symposium, several community development events, and numerous other initiatives designed to support the adoption of technology for teaching and learning.
Prior to accepting this position, Camplese served as the Director of the Solutions Institute in Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology. The Solutions Institute is an applied research and development institute with a focus on the innovative uses of technology for education and training. Camplese designed the Online IST program that has been used to serve as the foundation for both resident and distance deliveries of the College of IST’s core undergraduate curriculum. This program was built on a custom instructional design and development methodology and toolset envisioned and crafted by Camplese.
Camplese was also the principle investigator and chief administrator for the Pennsylvania Governor’s School in Information Technology, an outreach program designed to enrich 75 of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s best and brightest high school juniors in the areas of information technology management.
Camplese teaches courses in the College of Education with a focus on the integration and implementation of disruptive technologies into teaching and learning. He is an Apple Distinguished Educator, selected for his innovative uses of technology in and out of the classroom. Camplese has served on several industry and higher education advisories boards ranging from data storage management to the Apple Digital Campus.
Camplese is an established consultant, helping organizations integrate technology into their business practices, education and training programs, and their internal and external communication processes. He is a published author and has presented both practical and theoretical concepts at regional and national conferences.
He received a Masters of Sciences in Instructional Technology from Bloomsburg University and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from West Virginia University.
]]>Deck Wars is a competition in which the presenters deliver a short, impromptu, three-minute presentation based on a deck of PowerPoint slides they have never seen before. Each presenter’s work is judged by the audience for originality, believability, jargon, and poise. Each of the presenters receives a thank you gift for his or her bravery. The winner will receive the grand prize and the bragging rights associated with the coveted title of FA Deck Wars Champion 2009.
Deck Wars Competition from Faculty Academy 2008
[flv:http://www.andyrush.net/webcast/media/flv/fa08_deckwars.flv 320 260]
If you are interested in competing in this year’s competition, please leave your name in a comment below:
]]>Join us at Faculty Academy for a mock debate between DTLT’s Jim Groom and Director of Distance and Blended Learning, John St. Clair. Jim and John will discuss the future of the course management system on college campuses.
Is the CMS dead? Have we graduated to a new kind of understanding and integration of technology into teaching and learning?
Or is it still a vital part of the technology landscape of our institutions? Do faculty still need the foundational support of the CMS to scaffold their use of technology?
Care to weigh in on the topic before the conference? We’d love to hear your point of view in the comments below:
]]>As Faculty Academy approaches, DTLT would like to invite anyone at UMW (or elsewhere) to join in a reading group of Dr. Boyle’s latest book, “The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind.” We’ll be discussing the book on this Web site virtually as well as trying to arrange a few face-to-face book group meetings in the Fredericksburg area.
The book is available for sale from Amazon or as a free download at www.thepublicdomain.org.
If you’d like to be a part of this discussion, feel free to sign up in the comments section below:
]]>Wednesday, May 13, 11:00 – 12:30
Cultural Agoraphobia: What Universities Need to Know About Our Bias Against Openness
Bio
Dr. Boyle is William Neal Reynolds Professor of Law at Duke Law School and founder of the Center for the Study of the Public Domain. Professor Boyle is also the Chairman of the Board of Creative Commons, and the co-founder of Science Commons. He serves on the board of the Public Library of Science and on the advisory board of Public Knowledge.
In 2003, Professor Boyle won the World Technology Network Award for Law for his work on the public domain and the “second enclosure movement” that threatens it. He is the author of Shamans, Software and Spleens: Law and the Construction of the Information Society, and the editor of Critical Legal Studies, Collected Papers on the Public Domain and Cultural Environmentalism @ 10 (with Larry Lessig.) His more recent books include Bound By Law, a co-authored “graphic novel” about the effects of intellectual property on documentary film, The Shakespeare Chronicles, a novel, and The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind which was published in 2008 by Yale University Press. He writes a regular online column for the Financial Times’ New Economy Policy Forum.
You can read more about Dr. Boyle at his Intellectual Property Web site.
]]>Registration
We hope you’ll join us at Faculty Academy and register today! The conference is a wonderful opportunity to hear more about what colleagues at UMW are doing with teaching and technology, listen to a stellar line-up of guest speakers, and connect with teachers and technologists from UMW and beyond. If you’re a colleague at another institution, please join us! You can read more about what Faculty Academy is all about on our Attending & Registering page.
The conference is free but registration is required if you plan on joining us for lunch on either day. When you register, you will have an opportunity to share which days you plan to attend so that we can get an acurate headcount for meals.
In addition, this year on the registration form we are asking for volunteers to convene sessions. We hope you’ll consider participating in Faculty Academy by volunteering. Session conveners will be responsible for introducting presenters, keeping track of presentation times, and facilitating Q&A.
We’re also planning on making a dynamic registrant list available on this site in the next few days. Don’t worry; if you prefer not to share your registration information, you can opt out on the form.
Call for Proposals
Proposal submission has opened up earlier than ever this year! Beat the end-of-semester rush, and submit your proposal now. If you have any questions about formats or available technology, be sure to check out our Presenting page.
If you have any questions about either registration or presenting, please contact us!
]]>The address, Cultural Agoraphobia: What Universities Need to Know About Our Bias Against Openness, will be held at 11:00 am on May 13th at UMW’s College of Graduate and Professional Studies. You can find out more about Dr. Boyle and the keynote at www.facultyacademy.org/blog09/2009/03/james-boyle/.
In addition, we invite anyone who is interested to participate in an informal reading group of Dr. Boyle’s latest book, “The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind.” If you are interested in participating, please sign up at www.facultyacademy.org/blog09/2009/03/get-ahead/.
]]>We had hoped to move these deadlines up a bit this year so that we could provide the conference program earlier than ususal. However, in the end, we wanted to be sure to accommodate UMW faculty who won’t be completing exams until May 1st.
Don’t forget to register and submit a proposal!
]]>Wednesday, May 13, 2:00-3:15
Engaging the New Classroom Conversation (Plenary Presentation)
Cole Camplese
Wednesday, May 13, 3:30-4:45
Creating a Personal Learning Network for Yourself and for Your Students (Interactive Workshop)
Laura Blankenship
Register Online
Thursday, May 14, 9:00-10:15
If Any Moron Can Write a Blog, Then All Blogs are Written by Morons, Right? (Plenary Presentation)
Laura Blankenship
Thursday, May 14, 2:00-3:15
Course Redesign, Redesigned (Interactive Workshop)
Cole Camplese
Register Online
You can see more developing program details by visiting our the online program at the conference Web site.
]]>As I began reading James Boyle’s book, it was his title that initially intrigued me, The Public Domain:Enclosing the Commons of the Mind. What did he mean by juxtaposing the public domain with “enclosing the commons of the mind?” <!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Cambria Math”; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:”"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> The public domain, those resources that all of us can use freely and without permission, is a researcher’s ultimate playground – no worries here about infringing on someone’s copyright or tracking down a photographer now living in Timbuktu before you can use an image. These are the materials that make my job as an archivist easy, allowing me to provide immediate and full access to primary materials.
<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Cambria Math”; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:”"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>
A few pages into the first chapter, Boyle clarifies his title by asserting that intellectual property rights, originally meant to be “the servants of creativity” have gone awry and become prickly barriers that now restrict access to much of our 20th century works and culture. I couldn’t agree more, as I’ve often been frustrated helping researchers navigate through copyright issues. I’ll even confess to having my own favorite copyright cheat sheet
<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Cambria Math”; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:”"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>
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]]>A few pages into the first chapter, Boyle clarifies his title by asserting that intellectual property rights, originally meant to be “the servants of creativity” have gone awry and become prickly barriers that now restrict access to much of our 20th century works and culture. I couldn’t agree more, as I’ve often been frustrated helping researchers navigate through copyright issues. I’ll even confess to having my own favorite copyright cheat sheet and flow chart courtesy of Cornell University’s Copyright Information Center.
So how has this happened? Copyright is intended to be a good thing, providing incentives for innovation and rewards to the creators. Boyle leads us through an idealized vision of how intellectual property rights should work and then argues that two changes – extending copyright terms and giving copyright immediately to creators (no application needed) – have “turned the copyright system on its head.” No longer are exclusive rights given just for the duration of a works commercial feasibility. Instead copyright terms are now so long (the creator’s life plus 70 years) that many works may stay under copyright and unavailable for well over a century. We are losing access to about 85% of the works that under the prior system continuously stockpiled our public domain treasure trove.
Before reading Boyle’s book, I hadn’t thought about just how many works nationwide get trapped in this long term copyright dilemma. Every archivist knows the “orphan works” in their own holdings. Those materials with murky copyright that you professionally can’t duplicate and certainly shouldn’t place on the Internet without possibly involving your institution in copyright infringement. Boyle estimates that 95% of our books fall into this category and an equally large amount of our films and music. This is a huge number and daily impacts where our information comes from and how we can use it.
This is just Chapter one, so I’m really interested to read what further thoughts Boyle has on how we can possibly begin to reclaim some of our public domain. Check out the U.S. Copyright Office’s Orphan Works to see what they are saying about this topic as well.
]]>Boyle uses an allegory to help make this point clearer. He introduces us to an early colony that is based on farm products and innovation. The colony begins its existence by working together, each member of the community becoming partners for the betterment of the entire good. As a result, the community has open access. But, with innovation and easy access comes fear. Fear that others will take control and take advantage. Fear that someone will use the creative endeavors of one and use them against another. Possibly, improving upon the endeavor and selling it for profit or using it without providing compensation for it. Many times fear comes with technology. This allegory is no different.
In this early open farming community, technologies are developed (automobiles, tractors) and easier access and the threat of piracy are sparked. Farmers fear the possibility of a passer by stealing produce for a person’s own endeavors. Easily stuffing car trunks and driving down the open and passable road. The idea of the open marketplace is now slowly closing with the entanglement of barb wire around crops and land preventing easy access. Farmers claim that they must prevent this from happening before it actually happens so they take action. They take a technology and wrap themselves tightly inside in the form of a barbed wire fence around their farms and open roads. Now the community and those passing by cannot easily enter.
This does not stop progress. New inventions such as wire cutters are sold in mass numbers to help individuals who want to pass through these blocked but open lands. Now people can easily and painlessly cut the barbed wire to pass through the farmers once open fields. Fear takes hold again among the farmers. The question is posed, what if the thieves use these wire cutters to enter our property and fill their roomy car trunks with our goods? This act will impede our profits. Not fair. They take suit. The farmers propose to the courts prevention of wire cutters, smaller trunks for new cars, and the development of technologies to help truck drivers so there whereabouts are accounted for at all times. This will maintain our right to production! The courts agree and laws are created to protect the farmers keeping these possible threats away. Laws are passed to prevent the sale of wire cutters and smaller trunk sizes for all new cars are built. Tracking systems are considered to let farmers know where cars and trucks are at all times on their property. Safe at last!
Okay, now what? Are we moving into the realm of protection of copyright or protectionism? In the digital world, is accessing and repurposing digital bits and bytes in creative ways harmful? Or, is repurposing fair use? Should fair use be prohibited in the digital world because of what could happen? With this ability, all who use it and work within it will be tempted to do wrong and thus should they be stopped before it happens?
The idea that industry can prevent industrious individuals from gaining a possible competitive advantage through repurposing is in question. When laws begin to restrict fair use of digital content because bits and bytes are for the most part misunderstood by the masses, creative and ingenious endeavors are at risk. Individuals that work within this digital realm have the potential to work within this cryptic language and to create new and better works. The fear of misuse, infringement, and possibly competition becomes the central element to be discussed and explored.
Congress put their hands into the digital pot trying to set boundaries and possibly clarify the digital realm of innovation and infringement. The Act is called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). This act is both beneficial as well as a hindrance to creativity and innovation. On the shaky side of the law is the simple ability of accessing these bits and bytes to repurpose them to meet the user’s specific needs. This in a non digital world could be viewed as fair use. I, as an instructor, can paraphrase a book that I read in front of my class to make a point. As a class, we can discuss this new point and build upon it to help create new understandings. This, the idea of ‘paraphrase’, is fair use. I, as an instructor, have taken a creative work and repurposed it to meet my specific teaching needs. It is not seen as piracy or theft. In the digital world though, this is not the case.
In walks the movie industry. This industry is inundated with piracy. Piracy is the act of copying and redistributing a product, such as a DVD. Usually selling the pirated DVD at a lower price. To help prevent this, the music industry has developed strict guidelines for hardware and software producers of companies, such as developing and distributing DVD players or DVDs. Certain DVDs cannot be played in certain players. Code controls this. As in most stories there is another character that is making its way into the pages of the book that has another story to tell. This one is no different.
In walks a new character. Most computers play DVDs. Some do not. Linux, an open source operating system, does not. A sixteen year old boy took this open source software and wrote code that would allow him and anyone that uses the Linux operating system to play DVDs on their personal computer. Innovation and creativity at its best – Or is it? This code was posted on Web sites for easy download, and it was quickly found to have the ability to unscramble DVD code allowing individuals to copy and pirate movies. Enter Universal Studies v. Reimerdes et al. case.
In the court case that ensued, it was determined that this creative expression of repurposing code instigated piracy, not free speech. It was determined to be illegal. Making repurposing code illegal would help prevent the threat of infringement and piracy. Anyone with access to bits and bytes, in the courts viewpoint, has the ability and ultimately the potential to do illegal acts. This ability needs to be controlled, no matter what free speech, original expression, and its relationship to copyright imply. The possibility of possible wrong needs to be prevented before it can begin.
With the ruling of the Reimerdes case, intellectual property law took on a new layer. Now, even if a user legally buys a product and desires to quote, parody it, or repurpose it – they cannot. Fair use no more. Did the judge that ruled on this case understand what he was ruling on? Can you rule against possible threat and against fair use of creative works? Does this mean that creative endeavors will be stopped? How will innovation flourish and an open marketplace stand tall and strong in this digital world?
A sixteen year old took a problem and solved it. His solution turned out to create new possibilities. His solution in this case provided opportunities for piracy. His actions opened the door to do questionable wrong to an industry. Was this impeding and misunderstood, “Internet threat” hyped up? Can’t someone take code, speech, and repurpose it to create new and innovative products to provide the opportunity for competition? Can Congress allow some formats of expression to be exempt from fair use rights? Through the Reimerdes court case the answer becomes, yes, they can.
Boyle poses many questions throughout this case and then stresses the idea of competition and the possible threat to competition with the Apple and RealNetworks court case. Can RealNetworks create software to allow Apple iPods to play songs from RealNetworks music library? Apple says no. This is an infringement of their intellectual property rights. The “idea” of Apple and of iPods in general is now threatened. By making the iPod interoperable, by creating products that can introduce new companies products to be accessed and utilized, iPod no longer is proprietary and as a result becomes only a device. Does this pose the question of a monopoly? Will this prevention of innovative thought alter innovation and an open marketplace? Why would Apple not want other products to play on their iPod, wouldn’t this open their device up to a larger audience? Or does open access blur their product line taking away the ah factor?
In another case, Lexmark sues Static Control Components, attempting to prevent them from selling generic printer cartridges. They are stealing our code! The courts did not see it that way. Instead, they claimed fair use for innovative purposes to help prevent antitrust issues and to promote competition. In another company dispute, the same solution was found. A garage door company, Chamberlain, wanted to prevent a generic replacement garage door company from selling a product that would open their garage doors. In both of these cases the code was protected under copyright laws, but in each case the courts found fair use. What does this mean? How is this different then our first case of Reimerdes? How about from Apple? Free speech and expression seem to be at issue in the first case. The ruling was to stop this free expression before it caused problems. In both the Lexmark and Chamberlain cases the rulings prevented antitrust and competition laws from being infringed upon.
There is a lot to think about in each of these cases. Each ruling provides an incredible dilemma for all digital content users and producers.
Laws concerning copyright, free expression and competition are different in the international marketplace. Issues of more control and less control take center stage. How do these issues impact us as consumers, academics, industry professionals, and beyond? Can I repurpose video for a class lecture? Can an individual repurpose computer code to solve a problem and then post it online, sharing it with others?
As forward thinking individuals we want to promote creative expression that builds upon the ideas of others. We do this to ensure that innovation flourishes. When it comes to the digital world, we need to understand the limits that we have to create new and innovative products or to share content. We must think about infringement and what fair use means in this new digital world. Fair use seems unclear, even murky. As users, consumers, and even producers of content, each of us now needs to be cognizant of this murkiness and continue to ask questions so clarity can be found.
Question: How can creativity and innovation flourish in this digital realm? How can fair use be central in order to promote competition and at the same time prevent antitrust issues?
]]>Central to understanding the chapter and Boyle’s position on intellectual property is a letter written by Jefferson to a person wanting his opinion on a patent involving a grain elevator. Jefferson replies indicating that the idea of a string of buckets used to carry material has existed at least since the times of the Persian Wheel. Instructive to those interested in this topic is his assertion that intellectual property rights are a “gift of social law” rather than a “natural right.”
According to Jefferson, intellectual property is neither “rivalrous” (one person’s use precludes another person’s use) or “excludable” (can be quarantined from use by others):
“That ideas should freely spread from one to another over the globe, for the moral and mutual instruction of man, and improvement of his condition, seems to have been peculiarly and benevolently designed by nature, when she made them, like fire, expansible over all space, without lessening their destiny in any point, and like thin air in which we breathe, move, and have our physical being, incapable of confinement of exclusive appropriation. Inventions cannot in nature, be a subject of property.”
Boyle summarizes Jefferson’s warning against a monopolistic view of intellectual property rights in five points:
- Intellectual property rights are “a temporary state-created monopoly given to encourage further innovation.”
- Intellectual property rights are not an entitlement.
- Intellectual property rights should not be permanent.
- Intellectual property rights potentially restrain and may “actually hinder rather than encourage innovation.”
- Agreement on which and what types of intellectual property rights are bestowed is difficult and limits should be set deliberately.
Included in the chapter are several examples of abuses of the public interest by asserting intellectual property rights in extreme ways. As is common in modern politics, the real reasons for a legislative or regulatory action are often veiled in a rationalized pabulum used to anesthetize an ideologic cohort. The true motivating force is often an economic interest (book publishers and printers) rather than the innovator (author). Extending copyrights for decades past an authors death often results in an economic gain not to the author’s descendants and certainly not the author but to the publishing conglomerate which has purchased said right.
Another possible abusive consequence of extended copyright is a possible restriction on the availability of a work. A copyright holder may prevent distribution based on an objection to the work. And as noted in chapter one, the distribution may be prevented merely by a lack of certainty in the assignment of the copyright. A classic example is given in the judicial misconduct associated with restricting publication of The Wind Done Gone retelling of Gone With the Wind.
Another interesting point is the necessary extension of the (mistaken) idea that intellectual property is a natural right. There are those that believe a creative work is an addition to the human condition possible only because of the creative force of the author. The logical extension therefore is that the author’s right to ownership should continue in perpetuity. Clearly (at least to this poster) this is an absurdity. Some alternate logic applied here is that the author – even a genius whose brilliance transforms the public consciousness – has used their own accumulation of common knowledge as a background resource. Even Newton acknowledged having “stood on the shoulders of giants.”
Boyle himself is an example of one possible reasonable approach assuaging the economic needs of the author and publisher while simultaneously allowing unfettered access to his work. This book and many other examples of creative work are available to the public at very little cost in money or effort in one form and also from a publisher in a traditional hardback book for retail purchase. Hopefully, are the author and publisher as happy as this poster. I have printed a chapter from the public domain pdf file so that I could make notes directly on the text, downloaded a copy to my iPod Touch to read at odd moments, and purchased the hardback to have on my shelf to refer to in the future.
Another important concept Boyle brings forth in chapter two are the definitions and contrasts between the terms “public domain” and “the commons.” He states that the public domain consists of those materials which are not restricted by copyright (for any number of reasons). [Aside – loved the tessellation reference!] “The Commons” is used to mean those materials over which some group has a (potentially restricted) right. His personal view is that the “group” should be the whole society. Thus, the difference in the public domain and the commons is the extent to which the right to the said materials is restricted. So overly restrictive copyright laws are detrimental to the public good because “the public domain is the place we quarry the building blocks of our culture.”
It was a very interesting experience reading Jefferson’s words here in Virginia having visited Monticello just a few weeks ago – not that another reader could not have benefitted just as well or better from the reading. But it did get me thinking again about Chapter One and the information that so much material is easily available to me because I am a 50 minute drive away from the Library of Congress. It is JUST NOT FAIR, that those who cannot afford the expense or time to travel to the Washington, DC area are not able to access those materials that are languishing in the swamp of indeterminate copyright.
]]>The UMW New Media Center has recently come on‑line and it offers a smorgasbord of resources for using digital media. By integrating mobile technologies, adding some user‑generated content, and utilizing several WordPress installations, we’ll show you what’s possible with the latest technology. We’ll demonstrate a mobile version (using the iPhone) of several websites, introduce you to our Digital Media Cookbook, and encourage feedback and suggestions on improving the sites.
]]>To get the full experience of this workshop you may want to purchase a domain at http://godaddy.com (they run anywhere between $8-$14 per year), get a blog on UMW Blogs, and then follow these instructions for mapping the domain. During the workshop we’ll take a close look at how to customize this space to be a simple, attractive, and effective means of framing your online presence.
]]>New Call for Proposals Deadline: May 6, 2009 at 5:00 PM
New Registration Deadline: May 8, 2009 at 5:00 PM
In addition, you may sign up for one of the interactive workshops through May 12: http://facultyacademy.org/blog09/workshop-registration
]]>For the hands‑on part, I’ll ask you to both help me test the application and give me feedback. If you bring along information about a course or courses you taught this year, especially the ISBN numbers of texts you used, we’ll use that information to create course profiles, and see what connections we can discover. You do not need to have used UMWBlogs to take part in this activity.
]]>Jim Groom will be leading a workshop on “A Domain of Your Own,” in which he will explain how you can map your own domain name to a site at UMW Blogs, thereby building out your personal online presence.
Patrick Murray-John’s workshop, “Opening Up UMW” will extend the theme of the keynote address, demonstrating a number of projects Patrick has been working on expose and visualize online activity at UMW Blogs. You will have an opportunity to help contribute information about your own classes and the resources they use during the interactive portion.
Andy Rush will be speaking about current new media resources in his presentation “What Does a New Media Buffet Look Like?” Join Andy to learn more about the online new media center he’s been building out this past year.
]]>In the meantime, don’t forget to register! The registration deadline is Friday, May 8th at 5 p.m. Remember, Faculty Academy is free, but you must register if you plan on joining us for lunch on either day.
In addition, there are still some slots open in our two guest presenters’ workshops:
- Cole Camplese: Course Redesign, Redesigned
- Laura Blankenship: Creating a Personal Learning Network for Yourself and for Your Students
You can register for either workshop using our online form.
It’s not too late to be a part of this year’s Faculty Academy. Remember, your participation in the conference is what makes it great!
]]>Abstract: Peer Instruction, a teaching strategy pioneered by Eric Mazur, a Harvard University physicist, apportions learning responsibility differently from a traditional lecture course. Instead of the instructor lecturing on all issues great and small, students are expected to read their textbook ahead of class to learn the “simple” things while class is given over to discussion of key or particularly taxing concepts. Class periods are broken down into several modules. During the first part of each module, students are given a short lecture on a topic. They are then quizzed on their understanding by being asked to respond to a question. Before the correct answer is revealed, students are allowed to discuss their answer with a small group of students seated nearby (this is where peer instruction comes in), and change their answer. If significant misunderstanding remains, the sequence of question and discussion continues until mastery is obtained. Peer instruction is more efficient when students have access to “clicker” technology, although it is not required. The strategy is particularly well-suited for courses where problem-solving ability is an important goal. Mazur and others claim significant gains in student learning in a wide variety of science courses and in institutions ranging from Harvard to two-year colleges. Economics is a discipline which attempts to teach students problem-solving ability, and would seem to be fertile ground for the Peer Instruction approach. I discuss the trials and tribulations encountered in a first-time use of Peer Instruction in Principles of Microeconomics.
Website: http://mysite.verizon.net/vze1m7fu
Tags: Peer Instruction, economics, teaching innovation
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: Pentop computers are relatively inexpensive mobile computers built into pens. The basic components are infrared cameras capturing approximately 80 images/second, microprocessors, and USB connections for uploading and downloading to and from larger computers. Microdot paper serves as the basis for input/output. In this presentation I will demonstrate and discuss three examples of pentop computers: the TAG Reader Pen, the Fusion Fly Pen, and the Pulse Smartpen. All three pens are relatively inexpensive, widely available, and have a number of educational applications. These applications vary from developing basic reading skills to algebra tutorials and music composition to producing audio-documents for pencasts. The pens may also be used to provide learning aids for students with limited English language skills, students with learning disabilities, and students with visual impairments. This presentation will also include some initial findings from Education graduate students who worked with pentop computers in their student teaching classrooms.
Tags: pentop computer, smartpen, assistive technology
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: How do our institutional expectations need to change to adapt to evolving teaching methods? Emerging didactic techniques can result in students developing greater understanding and having better retention of presented information. Can our time-worn systems of grading, testing and evaluation adapt? Evidence to the negative includes the means by which teaching professionals are evaluated, such as grade distribution reports, and the point-scale grading system.
Website: http://people.umw.edu/~dhylandw/
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: I don't propose any, but if you think this would fit better as part of a panel, that's ok with me.
Abstract: In June-July 2008 I taught "Intro to Logic" entirely on-line, and used the on-line Drupal-based book I developed in 2006-07. I'll show the site and give an overview of how I conceived the course: the chat rooms, mp3 postings, powerpoints, blogs, papers and commentaries, homework, and exams. I'll talk about what I thought were the strengths and weaknesses of the format, and how I'll modify my planning for June-July 2009.
Tags: on line course, drupal, chat rooms
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) are cross-media storytelling ventures sometimes involving thousands of players collaborating on solving puzzles, communicating with in-game characters, and generally advancing the plot. While most interaction with ARGs takes place online, the central conceit of these fictions, often, is that they are really happening, and interactions frequently extend to in-person contact between players and characters. In this presentation, I discuss my own experience teaching about ARGs in a New Media class, and I offer examples from student-designed ARG projects to argue that the learning outcomes associated with ARG play and design are indeed significant. These include critical thinking about media texts and media literacy (for example, the ethics of media hoaxes) as well as an insight into how to invoke and harness the powerful suspension of disbelief that constitutes online discourse. I also relate my experience attending the 2009 ELI Meeting in Orlando FL where organizers commissioned a self-contained ARG to run during the event. I end the presentation by contrasting this ARG and my own experience with an alternative model for ARG pedagogy -- teaching WITH ARGs -- and point out what I see as potential problems with putting this in practice. The crucial point that all these ideas relate back to is the latent tension between the idea of ARGs and the actual experience of playing ARGs. Much of the enthusiasm for ARGs in academic and conversation deals too much in the former, so this presentation attempts to bring some insight from the latter.
Website: http://www.zachwhalen.net/
Tags: alternate reality games, new media, cross-media storytelling, hoaxes, rabbits
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: Jim Groom I don't have a panel in mind--but would, of course, be happy to share with anyone!
Abstract: With Jim Groom's help, I have now completed teaching three semesters of The Literary Journal: Professional Practice in Publishing and Editing, learning new things with each semester. I'll talk about the positive experience the students share in learning creativity alongside the practical aspects of publishing a journal--and, as important, the art of collaboration. Because we spend so much time talking about the meaningful interplay of text and image, color and font, I decided to bring into the discussion of "technology" an older, uniquely valuable tool--a letterpress, and will begin having students learn to create fine arts broadsides as another way to think about text, paper, and the "limited run."
Tags: creativity, collaboration, experiential learning
Format: Panel Discussion (typically 45-60 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: Jami Bryan
Abstract: Academic librarians are increasingly venturing outside of their library’s physical and virtual walls, connecting with patrons in the web spaces where students and faculty spend so much of their time. The CGPS Stafford Library can already be found on the social web through YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and chat. But to capture students on the learning web, and illuminate the pathways to library resources and services in the digital learning environment, the librarians of CGPS are embedding themselves within the CMS. In this presentation, Paul Boger and Jami Bryan will introduce the concept of the “embedded librarian” and describe their collaborative efforts with CGPS faculty to create a specialized library presence in courses using Blackboard. Jami will share the results of the CGPS Stafford Library’s early endeavors at using Blackboard to provide course specific library instruction and easy access to selected library resources. Finally, Paul will discuss a current project aimed at eliminating the barriers facing students taking an online course by providing research instruction and assistance from inside the CMS.
Tags: library, CMS, Blackboard, embedded
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: The "microlecture," a 1-5 minute audio or video lecture that students can access online, is technologically easy to create, and has become popular enough that the Chronicle of Higher Education ran a cover story in March on microlecturing: (http://chronicle.com/weekly/v55/i26/26a00102.htm). Last year I recorded a number of audio microlectures for one of my courses, focusing on useful background information that would help students understand the course materials. I will talk about how students have used these, how they have shifted what we do in class, what I do and don't like about the microlecture idea, and when microlecturing might be useful for other faculty.
Website: http://ecaudio.umwblogs.org
Tags: microlecture, audio
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: Jim Groom
Abstract: The Education departments on the Fredericksburg and Stafford campus of UMW are in the initial stages of planning for a College of Education. This planning will involve a large number of meetings, bringing together approximately twenty faculty members on two different campuses. The problems in scheduling such meetings are obvious and are compounded by the very different work schedules for the two faculties. One approach to alleviating some of the problems would be to make use of an assortment of free, online social networking tools: the meeting toolbox. The toolbox includes the following programs: Skype, Pamela, Google Docs, Jing, Doodle Calendar, Glogster, and Survey Monkey. A blog will provide a home/archive for the toolbox and the documents, recordings, and video records compiled through the use of the different tools. Hardware, such as the Pulse Smartpen, webcams, and digital video cameras may also be included in the toolbox as opportunities and needs arise. This presentation will discuss the components of the toolbox and the results of initial use of several of the tools. The use of the toolbox in online learning will also be briefly discussed.
Tags: online meetings
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: Joseph Calpin Alexandra deGraffenreid Steven Harris
Abstract: In what ways can we use digital tools to facilitate global perspectives? Our panel of faculty and student collaborators will introduce two working projects that pursue this aim across our own fields (Chinese Studies, Russian Studies, and History). We will share the immediate ambitions of the projects and their logistics as a starting point for a broader group discussion. This workshop conversation is aimed at producing a shared familiarity with available resources, a brainstorm of project design, and at exploring issues of pedagogy, collaboration, and knowledge creation in a global context.
Website: http://susanfernsebner.org
Tags: global_studies, resources, pedagogy
Format: Panel Discussion (typically 45-60 minutes)
]]>Abstract: On 27-28 April I attended the Sloan-C/University of Illinois at Chicago workshop on Blended Learning (BL). In the course of this workshop, presenters discussed current definitions of BL, some of the pedagogical issues connected to BL, and some of the internet tools available to support intentive applications of BL. With this presentation, I will share with participants a summary overview of the information and tips I gained concerning Blended Learning from this workshop.
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: Jim Groom, if he's not otherwise busy. I can also just use his name liberally as the guy who thought of this idea, so he doesn't actually need to be there....
Abstract: In this presentation, I'll discuss the way that my History of American Technology and Culture class presented their individual work using a common "lightly hacked" custom WordPress theme. This template allowed students to work on their own research projects, while allowing the class to create a fairly seamless exhibit for the semester. http://historyoftech.umwblogs.org/
Website: http://mcclurken.org/
Tags: online_publishing, student_work, digital_scholarship, WPMU, umwblogs
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: This presentation will provide an introduction to “Pedagogy in Action,” a web portal designed to showcase best practices in undergraduate science and economics education. For some time we’ve been told of a revolution in active learning pedagogies to replace the traditional ‘chalk & talk’ of lecture-based learning. These pedagogies include Calibrated Peer Review, Cooperative Learning, Just-in-Time Teaching, and Quantitative Writing, to name just a few. But who has the time to research and determine the applicability of these methods to one’s teaching, much less the time to revise one’s class notes to incorporate these methods? The answer to this quandary might be Pedagogy in Action, a National Science Foundation-funded web portal hosted at Carleton College in Minnesota. Each pedagogy is explained in a stand-alone module. Each module follows the same structure--In three short paragraphs, the module answers the following questions: What is the pedagogy? Why might it be useful in your teaching? How can you implement it in your teaching? Perhaps the best part of each module is the list of ten or more examples of how faculty like you have used the pedagogy successfully in their teaching. As an added bonus, much of the material is designed to be discipline-agnostic, so even non-science or economics faculty may find it very useful.
Website: http://stevegreenlaw.org/pedablogy/
Tags: serc, EconEd,
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: Jeff McClurken Sue Fernsebner Bard Efford Serena Epstein
Abstract: This panel discussion will talk about an experiment with UMW Blogs that centers around faculty and students mapping their own domains to a blog site. The experiment is centered around thinking about the implications of digital identity as well as what it means to have and cultivate your professional and personal online presence.
Website: http://bavatuesdays.com
Tags: domain, umwblogs, digital identity,
Format: Panel Discussion (typically 45-60 minutes)
]]>Abstract: Using class time for student oral presentations always presents challenges, not the least of which is managing the loss of valuable classroom minutes that might be used for other purposes instead of being devoted to a series of student talks. Does the web offer an option for having students prepare and deliver presentations that are then viewed online by the rest of the class? This general question prompted me to experiment with two classes, and to have the students do one online oral presentation in each class. One class was taught in the spring 2008 semester, and the other in fall 2008. This talk will offer a summary of what I learned through these two case studies. Some of the main points to be explored are: (1) What are the time and technological investments of this approach for the instructor and students? (2) Does a blog offer a useful device for encouraging students to comment on each another's presentations? (3) Were the online presentations a meaningful part of the course, or did they become mere cyberspace noise? (4) Do students gain any unique benefit from having to speak online as opposed to speaking in the physical classroom to a live audience? (5) What sort of coaching do students need in order to understand how to speak effectively in an online context?
Tags: oral presentations, online speeches, blogging about speeches
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: Patrick Murray-John
Abstract: We designed a website “Thinking Like a Biologist: Using Diagnostic Questions to Help Students Reason With Biological Principles.” This website is a Drupal installation that is designed to deliver information about an NSF funded project called “Diagnostic Question Clusters to Improve Student Reasoning and Understanding in General Biology Courses.” The original purpose of this site was to deliver information to faculty across the US that supports their use of new, student learning assessments for Introductory Biology and Ecology. We discovered several challenges in the design and implementation of our drupal. The biologists brought naïve ideas to the design table about the function and organization of an information delivery website. The computer scientist brought naïve ideas about biology concepts and education to the design table. We also knew that the purpose of this site may evolve and so design must be flexible enough to support changing needs. As a team, we taught each other enough of the ideas behind our work to work together. Trial and error in our work relationship, lead to a work model in which periodic, face-to-face work sessions were the most productive way to exchange ideas and implement the site. The project behind the site and the needs for the site continue to progress. We look forward to designing and implementing new functionality in our site this coming summer.
Website: http://demos.patrickgmj.net/griffithdemo/node
Tags: drupal, teamwork, biology, faculty development
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: Learning in an eLearning presents different perspective in terms of preference of learning environment components. The patterns of eLearning website feature preferences were investigated in order to provide insights into learning strategies for learners. The focus of this investigation is to develop a classification of types of eLearning website feature preferences (clusters) and investigate their association with the learning of students as indicated via their performance. Based on an empirical study, researcher collected and analyzed students’ eLearning website feature preference in Blackboard. Nine measures were used to cluster the data set. The results revealed four clusters, viz.: Moderate eLearning Feature Preference Exhibitor, High eLearning Feature Preference Exhibitor, Heavy eLearning Feature Preference Sleeper and Moderate eLearning Feature Preference Sleeper, and demonstrated that learning as indicated by performance (grade point average range) different among the four clusters. The implications of eLearning feature preference are discussed from learning and teaching perspectives.
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: Long before twitter jumped the Oprah-shark, UMW embraced micro-blogging and never looked back. In this presentation, I will talk about a few of the ways twitter has been used on campus to supplement class discussion, prompt cross-campus debate, and keep us all up to date.
Tags: twitter, social media,
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Co-Presenters: Participants: Brooke Donaldson, “Teaching the I-Phone / Facebook Generation: Sacrifice or Enhancement?” Jeremy Larochelle, "Weekly response papers are so Twentieth Century: Latin American Literature and Cultural Studies meets UMW Blogs". Elizabeth Lewis, “Energizing, Inspiring, and Relevant Spanish Literature Studies? My Experimentation with an Undergraduate Course on the 19th-Century Novel” Marcel Rotter, “Student-centered learning in upper-level language courses: authentic news and wikis as textbook 2.0”
Abstract: This panel discussion seeks to explore the various ways technology has altered the teaching of foreign languages, cultures and literatures. From the use of internet resources and interactive power point presentations, to the use of social networking, wikis and course blogs, technology has enabled language students to access information, practice new skills, and interact with the target languages and cultures like never before. But is this necessarily better? What might the limits or pitfalls of such teaching and learning be?
Format: Panel Discussion (typically 45-60 minutes)
]]>- Brooke Donaldson, “Teaching the I-Phone / Facebook Generation: Sacrifice or Enhancement?”
- Jeremy Larochelle, “Weekly response papers are so Twentieth Century: Latin American Literature and Cultural Studies meets UMW Blogs”.
- Elizabeth Lewis, “Energizing, Inspiring, and Relevant Spanish Literature Studies? My Experimentation with an Undergraduate Course on the 19th-Century Novel”
- Marcel Rotter, “Student-centered learning in upper-level language courses: authentic news and wikis as textbook 2.0”
This panel discussion seeks to explore the various ways technology has altered the teaching of foreign languages, cultures and literatures. From the use of internet resources and interactive power point presentations, to the use of social networking, wikis and course blogs, technology has enabled language students to access information, practice new skills, and interact with the target languages and cultures like never before. But is this necessarily better? What might the limits or pitfalls of such teaching and learning be?
]]>Abstract: When I accepted an invitation to teach linguistics 101 at UMW. I brought with me an agenda born more than 40 years ago and which has had a growth spurt since I retired in 2003. Driven by technological innovation and recent interpretation of the role mind/brain in an understanding of language, the time has come to test whether one can teach general linguistics to a general college audience so as to provide a basis for further study in linguistics, connect with the interests and competencies of a heterogeneous group of students, present a coherent and reasonable facsimile of contemporary linguistic thought, and hold the attention of 65 weary students in a 3 hour evening class once a week. I got great help using a number of media resources, in particular web based materials, QuickTime and Personal Brain, and encouraging students to DO linguistics rather than merely read about it. I will illustrate my approach to the subject by flying over the "Plex" of Personal Brain and diving in to look up close at one unit in the course. I'm convinced the approach is right, but I think the patient may have died.
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: On April 9, 2009 I attended an online NITLE event entitled Virtual Voyages: Using Technology to Convey a Sense of Place which was hosted by Martyn Smith, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Lawrence University. What I learned during this fascinating online presentation and discussion was how to utilize a variety of web resources to help students contextualize course information in geographic terms. The premise of the presentation was that professors at liberal arts colleges often find themselves charged with teaching about places in the world that their students are unlikely to ever experience in person although the experience of place is nevertheless crucial to an integrated understanding of the content involved. While actually travel to these places may not be possible to students, virtual travel, utilizing web resources orchestrated around Google Earth, is possible both in the classroom and in assignments. I have since begun to utilize this approach in my teaching and specifically in teaching modern architecture this past semester. I will be describing what I learned during this online presentation and how I anticipate using this in the future especially for my architecture courses in which an understanding of place is central to the material.
Tags: history architecture, geography, place, Google Earth.
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>Abstract: One of the key differences between secondary education and university is that in the former, students tend to be taught about a subject, while in the latter, they are taught what disciplinary practitioners do. Usually, the teaching of this practice is, in an important sense, pretend. When students study a laboratory science, the outcomes of the experiments they conduct are largely predetermined. Similarly, in a literature class when students analyze a classic work, the instructor presents standard arguments. This past semester I had the opportunity to teach in a way that more genuinely modeled disciplinary practice. I taught a senior seminar in international finance, where we organized the class as a research team to investigate the global implications of the 2008 financial crisis and economic recession, an event which was unfolding in real time while we studied it. As such, there were no texts to read. Indeed, one goal of the project was to create a written analysis of the crisis, which we will publish online. The dynamics of nearly all aspects of the course, from selecting the material we studied to conducting class sessions to grading, were different from normal courses. Students were given small research tasks, the results of which they posted on the course wiki. Class time was spent figuring out what those results mean as we constructed ‘the story’ of the financial crisis. Grades were based on what students contributed to the group’s understanding. This experience provided many lessons about how to improve the teaching of other courses.
Website: http://stevegreenlaw.org/pedablogy/
Tags: RealSchool
Format: Formal Presentation (15 minutes)
]]>