Category: Higher Education

Higher Education, Open Education

Open Access For All #oa12unt

Laura Pasquini

Yesterday, I attended the 3rd Annual Open Access Symposium at UNT (#oa12unt). It was a full day of talking about open data, sharing research and collaborative efforts and examples in #highered. The open access process is not as simple as you think. It was interesting to hear from researchers, academics, librarians, industry partners, and data managers about what it means to be “open” and accessible for others. Here are a few open notes I took and a Storify I curated from the day.

I think the concluding remarks (and other notes) made by Brian Schottlaender (@ucsdBECS) helped to summarize the key points that were  both said and were not said during the day, including the following topics:

  • Data Preservation
  • Data Aggregation
  • Attribution
  • Citation
  • Publication
  • Data Ecology
  • Peer Review
  • Discovery & Delivery
  • Data Governance
  • Exhortations to Librarians

These final thoughts left me questioning about how higher education will engage in open access and consider what academic tenure/promotion will look like in the future. The open movement is present in my learning network, among the Social and Open Educators like @courosa and academic contributors who want to End Knowledge Cartels in publication such as @academicdave, There are many open and transparent academics/educators contributing to the open movement – but there needs to be more. And more importantly, academic institutions need to recognize and accept open scholarship.

I know the #oa12unt symposium lit the fire for me to finish the layout and publish the first issue of the Learning and Performance Quarterly. This student-lead, open access  journal is an open access publication that I am proud to edit and coordinate with a phenomenal group of reviewers and a great editorial team. The inaugural issue was JUST published online today, and is available for your reading and sharing pleasure HERE.

What have you done openly lately in #highered? Please share.

AcAdv, Collaboration, Higher Education, Learning Community, SAchat, StudentAffairs, Virtual Communities

Creating Digital Communities of Practice to Enhance #StudentAffairs & #HigherEd

Laura Pasquini

Last year, I wrote a piece for the NASPA Technology Knowledge Community (TKC) after responding to a post made by the TKC Chair @JedCummins via the TKC Facebook Group. I was just noticing that the Summer 2012 call for submissions is coming up and Osvaldo is looking for submissions (due June 8/12 – see the Facebook Page for further details). Although the TKC publication is geared towards a newsletter format, I think it provides Student Affairs professionals an opportunity to write and share about their technology trials, tribulations, and accomplishments on campus.

Little did I know that my submission would go into the #NASPA12 Knowledge Communities publication (my piece can be found on pages 50 & 51) that was distributed at the conference. Thanks for sharing it beyond and sending me copies via “snail mail,” Jed! I appreciate it.

The overall just of this piece describes how the social web and emerging media is  coevolving with the changes and developments of higher education and the Student Affairs profession. New learning environments and networks allow higher education professionals and faculty to connect, curate, and collaborate beyond on our college campus. It is exciting to see how online networks afford new joiners in the field of student affairs, advising, and MORE to access information, contribute to the conversation, and develop a digital footprint. Whether you call it a PLN, PLE, hangout, community of practice, network, gathering space, or “water cooler” chat — there are great things happening in social, online spaces to enrich the work we do at our institutions with ourselves and our students. I like where this informal learning and development is going. This is probably also why @julieclarsen and I decided to share our “Developing Your Network” presentation one last time at today’s #UNTAdv12 Conference for the advising professionals as well:

There are amazing things that lie ahead for these informal networks in higher education. This is an exciting time. I look forward to participating and learning where these digital communities of practice, including as #SAchat, #SAtech (hoo-ray for the new chat!), #AcAdv Chat and others go. With this fine group of educators and practitioners, I am sure these networks have the potential to move mountains. I would challenge and encourage participants in these communities to use these spaces to think critically, solve problems, create innovative ideas, develop effective practices, share knowledge, and support one another.

Higher Education, Learning Technologies, Web Design

Backward Design with TED-Ed

Laura Pasquini

Beginning with the end in mind. This is the philosophy of instructional design method backward(s) design.  A few weeks back Kevin Guidry shared his thoughts on backward design, and it got me thinking about how I approach my curriculum and lesson plans.

Image c/o <http://www.recordholders.org/images/backwards-cycling1.jpg>

For the Office for Exploring Majors, I am currently reviewing/updating modules for our first-year seminar class – UGST 1000. The goal is to offer an “engaged” format (we cannot use the term blended or hybrid, but there will be mixed components of online, in-class and active requirements) for Fall 2012.  Last semester our department offered a couple of sections of the NextGen course; however, the class focus was on “well-being.” Since our office t works with undecided students, the engaged sections for Fall 2012 will need to be directed towards major/career exploration and academic success.

Image c/o <http://kids.esc13.net/curriculum/3stages.gif>

In reviewing the current curriculum, it was apparent that a backward design approach would be the most effective method for this instructional design project. In Understanding by Design, Wiggins and McTighe (2005) identify three key stages for  backward design:

  1. Identify desired results (learning outcomes) – What should your learners know, understand, and be able to do?
  2. Determine Acceptable Evidence (means to assess if learners have learned) – How will you know if learners have achieved the desired results, achieved those learning outcomes, or met the standards? What is the evidence of learner understanding and proficiency?
  3. Plan learning experiences and instruction – What will be the procedures or methods to reach these outcomes? This includes a definition of knowledge; definition of skills and procedures learners need to master; definition of materials; and definition of learning or instructional activities.

Here is an example of an engaged learning module that I will include for the Time Management unit. This session will have the backward design steps and one of three classes that students will be required to complete outside of the in-class meeting time.

1. Learning Outcome(s)

Learners will be able to:

(a) identify the differences between tasks, objectives, and goals.

(b) create a smart and effective to-do list of tasks.

(b) assess their weekly schedule to identify how time is being utilized.

(c) select priorities, understand where time is lost, and accurately adjust for effective time management.

2. Evidence of Learning

Learners will demonstrate their understanding of learning by:

(a) drafting a to-do list of tasks for the day/week and identify 5 top priorities.

(b) mapping out a one week schedule of their activities to identify where their 168 hours are allocated.

(c) creating a visual representation of how the 1 week period time is accounted for in terms of activities and responsibilities.

 (d) writing a 250 word minimum blog post/online journal about their 168 hours and weekly schedule. This reflection will include the visual representation of 168 hours, account for time wasted, and offer ideas how to effectively manage time to balance their schedule.

3. Learning Experiences & Instruction

This section of the time management unit will be housed online. We have some modules created on Blackboard Learn; however, I thought I would also create a mock up on the new TED-Ed website. This is a rough draft of a module (to be edited) I designed by “flipping the video” from YouTube into a lesson. [Side note: there are already a number of lessons available for educators to use for the experience section of lessons. Instructors can use the same module or “flip” it.]

TED-Ed | Time Management: How to Write a To-Do List & Know Where Your Time Goes

College Success – Chapter 2: 2.3 Organizing Your Time

References:

Beiderwell, B., Tse, L., Lochhaas, T.J., & deKanter, N.B. (2010, August). College success. Flatworld Knowledge. Retrieved from http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/catalog/editions/54

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd ed). NJ: Prentice Hall.

BreakDrink, CTCX, Higher Education, K-12, Learning Technologies, Social Media

#SocialMedia & #HigherEd – Policy vs. Guidance

Laura Pasquini

Last week, I attended the free @EDUCAUSE #EDUlive Developing Social Media Guidance in higher education with respect to #Privacy and #Security concerns. The presenters, from the University of Pennsylvania, shared ideas for how to promote safe usage of social media and detailed how to  draft guidance for addressing issues in teaching, research, administrative, and other functions.

Click here for the Twitter Cloud interactive image =>  http://www.infomous.com/node/15059

If you missed the #EDUlive event, you can check out the webinar recording and archives posted on the EDUCAUSE website, Developing Social Media Guidance, and you can also read through the Storify of #EDUlive tweets I collected.

During the webinar, I shared the Social Media: Sharing Strategies, Policies &  Privacy Concerns in Higher Education open & shared Google Doc that was 1st created for a @BreakDrink Campus Tech Connection (CTCX) Show in September 2010. This document has been circulated around and curated for a while by myself and high ed professionals and faculty. Since there were a number of social media guidelines/policy examples shared during the webcast, I added  them to this doc. For others interested in developing guidelines, I think there are a few solid examples I like in here, and I know that @EricStoller shared some of his favourite #SM guidelines from the list on InsideHigherEd recently as well.

Before diving into creating rules, guidelines or policies for social media, it is important to consider how this emerging technology is being used on your campus. In Chapter 6 of Social Media for Educators, Tanya Joosten (2012) shares her thoughts around institutional considerations for social media policy and practice [which we chatted with Tanya about on #CTCX Episode No. 61 as well]. There are often concerns about the use of social media at educational institutions, since these social and  connected resources impact student behavior, online interactions, privacy concerns, and communication practices. When developing a social media policy, Joosten (2012) offers a few helpful suggestions for educators:

  • review current technology use at your institution
  • do not link policies to specific tools
  • revise current student conduct and institutional policies
  • use policy to address behaviors and activities, rather than focus on the technology
  • learn about FERPA (or FIPPA in Canada) issues and privacy of student information at your campus
  • develop best practices on campus for use by students, faculty, and support units

When thinking about the language of policy vs. guidelines, I am partial to establishing guidelines. There are probably already policies that address the actions and outcomes of student, staff, and/or faculty behavior on your campus. I think that it is important to review your home institutional policies and/or guidelines to best understand what is already being “regulated” on campus. It is also helpful to chat with your institutional office who deals with policy development, legal concerns, and/or questions you might have around privacy legislation.

Have you searched the terms “social media+policy” or “social media+guidelines” on your institutional website? Go on. See what shows up. If you find something, then start connecting and collaborating with that unit. If there is nothing to be found, then gather your peers and start the conversation.

References:
Joosten, T. (2012). Social media for educators. San Francisco, CA: Wiley/Jossey-Bass.

Higher Education, Professional Development

The Productive & Disruptive Innovation of EDU

Laura Pasquini
The Innovator’s DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators, identifies key behaviors to find innovative solutions to impact organizations, products, and services. Christensen and Gregersen (2011) share five skills that leaders need to innovate their way out of problems and into opportunities:
  1. Question – ask challenging questions that take on common wisdom to create new directions
  2. Observe – watch the behavior of customers, suppliers and competitors the way an anthropologist would identify new ways of doing things
  3. Network – talk to people with different life experiences and perspectives to spark new ideas
  4. Experiment – construct interactive experiences and build prototypes to provide unorthodox responses and gain new insights
  5. Associate – draw unexpected connections between questions, problems or ideas from unrelated fields
In education, both K-12 and higher ed, we need to spend a more time mastering these disruptive skills and improving our productivity. By adding these tools, educators will be able to consider different possibilities to support our learners and find new solutions to educational issues. This new approach to education requires innovation, organizational collaboration, and teamwork on the fly. It’s great to see that there are innovative ideas brewing, such as #change11,  BigIdeas and #EmergentEDU.
How are YOU using these 5 disruptive skills for education?