Twitter

Two of the Course Development Projects suggest a use for Twitter. I am painfully ignorant as to how this could happen but am learning. Here is a link that came out of one of Bobbi Kerlin's links (see Project Quest post) introducing how one prof has begun to use it.

Good Stuff from Project Quest

Bobbi Kerlin has shared with me some of the resources used in Project Quest which I will collate here. There are lots of great ideas about using technology in teaching:

Sink or swim: taking advantage of developments in video streaming
Karen Fill and Roger Ottewill, University of Southampton, UK. Innovations in Education and Teaching International
Vol. 43, No. 4, November 2006, pp. 397–408.

Talk the talk: Learner-generated podcasts as catalysts for knowledge creation.
Mark J. W. Lee, Catherine McLoughlin and Anthony Chan. British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 39 No 3 2008 501–521.

Podcasting for e-learning, communication, and delivery
J.P. Shim and Jordan Shropshire, Mississippi State University
Sungmin Park and Howard Harris, Department of Information Systems, Computing of Maths, Brunel University, Uxbridge, UK, and
Natalie Campbell, Mississippi State University

Digital Storytelling: An Emergent Method for Health Promotion Research and Practice.
Aline Gubrium (Department of Public Health at the School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst Massachusetts). Health Promotion Practice, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 186-191, April 2009.

7 Things You Should Know About Digital Storytelling (ID: ELI7021)

Twitter Literacy (I refuse to make up a Twittery name for it)
Howard Rheingold



Controlling Curriculum Redesign with a Process Improvement Model
Drinka and Yen
Curriculum was redesigned to have a project-centric focus with each course in the curriculum contributing to the success of students’ learning experiences…..This paper presents a description of the authors’ experiences in implementing a curriculum redesign from one based on a traditional course-based design to a project-centric design using the Capability Maturity Model as a process improvement tool.

A Web-based eLearning Course: Integration of Pathophysiology into Pharmacology
Tse and Lo
This paper presents the development, utilization, and evaluation of a web-based elearning course for nursing students learning pathophysiology and pharmacology.

Good stuff from the 2009 CTL Course Design Workshop

Here is a free tool for concept mapping: Freemind

Cory Laverty's eLearning wiki for librarians (which she used a concept map to help develop) is here.

Information behaviour of the researchers of the future - A British Library / JISC Study

Denise Stockley's introductory presentation is linked from the E2QUATE resource site on the Course Design Workshop page.

Sheila Pinchin's presentation about instructional strategies. Lindsay Davidson's examples of two types of instructional strategies: clickers and TBL.

Survey Monkey - a quick, easy, free (US-based) way to develop and conduct online surveys. This is a great way to do a needs assessment of your students or to learn more about them. NB Because the info you gather resides on a non-Canadian server, there are issues about using this tool to conduct research. I have heard that GREB will not allow it. Just something to be aware of...

2009 Course Development Participants

Congratulations to the successful applicants of the Inaugural 2009 Course Development Competition! Three applications were chosen to be supported by E2QUATE and the Centre for Teaching and Learning at Queen’s University this summer. From June- September each project receives the support of an educational developer/technology assistant and $1500.00 to help defray costs associated with the development of new instructional materials.

Here’s a look at our winners in alphabetical order and their projects.

1. Redesigning German 201

Jennifer Hosek, Assistant Professor, Department of German 

Andrew Sartori, Queen’s student in Political Science

 Jennifer and Andrew will be developing a language exchange program via Skype, person-to-person email and the development of an online network to promote an exchange between Anglophone students at Queen’s who are learning German with Germanophone students at the University of Halle who are learning English. They will be using this partnership with the university in Germany to encourage innovative student-to-student active learning techniques and to transform current language learning and pedagogy.

2. Rebuilding a Global Strategy Course

Douglas Reid, Ph.D., ICD.D. Associate Professor of International Business and Strategy, School of Business 

Douglas will be rebuilding his Global Strategy course that is offered to approximately 300 students annually. While already using active learning techniques, Professor Reid has long wondered what effect newer technologies could have on extending the discussions held in class into the future, beyond the end of the course. By developing the appropriate technological infrastructure and ‘rules of engagement,’ the Global Strategy course will establish a relationship between current students and alumni through a model of sustainability and outreach. Professor Reid will be experimenting with social media technologies such as wikis and Twitter along with the creation of student-publishable content to promote peer-to-peer learning.

and,

3. Creation of a web-based learning community for the development of Clinical reasoning skills in pediatrics. 

Lucie Pelland, Ph.D., School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Physiotherapy Program

The focus of Lucie’s proposal for re-designing her course this summer will be the development of an interactive, comprehensive web-based active learning platform that will aid in promoting the development of clinical reasoning skills. By engaging students in a variety of activities that include innovative techniques and technologies Professor Pelland will establish clinical reasoning and decision making as a skill that can be practically demonstrated. She will be experimenting with tools like Twitter, online journaling, etc to develop active learning strategies that will encourage critical reflection. 

Active learning beyond the course

Hi - As a business prof, I can think of no more active learning environment than a well-run case classroom. This surely means I need to get out more...but the point remains - discussion about something that adult learners understand and care about will always work far more effectively than "sage on the stage"-dispensed knowledge.

But what happens after the course is over? I'm interested in using social media and other 2.0 technologies to extend the discussion about social science topics such as business strategy beyond the end of a course - let the self-selected long-term learners keep learning. This means thinking more deliberately about the source of learning - me, others, info on the web, and the role of social proof (among other things).

That said, it's a discussion worth perpetuating. I'd welcome any comments or observations about the experience of others with course wikis, listservs, or other enduring resources that serve to extend contact with students who are interested in being self-directed learners after a course is over.

How NOT to create MCQs

A presentation (that Bobbi Kerlin originally directed me to) about how NOT to write MCQs. This "content free" series of questions, written in gibberish, illustrates common question "mistakes" which make the answers quite easy to guess.

Engaging Students in the Classroom and Beyond

Bobbi Kerlin has created a wiki page where she is collecting resources and ideas for teachers interested in Engaging Students in the Classroom and Beyond.