Well it finally took long enough, I've gotten administrative access to my University's Blackboard system. Over the next several weeks and months, I will be learning the system and how to administer a course management system. I've had instructor access to some old modules I helped develop at my old school, but that system is so tiny compared to the full-fledged enterprise system.
When I logged in as administrator for the first time today I saw literally hundreds of courses, past and present, and I cant even begin to place how many students were enrolled. It's a little scary knowing I'm sharing the responsibility to ensure that they are able to access their online courses without issue.
So, what is Blackboard?
The Blackboard Learning System offers instructors the ability to interact with their students in an online environment. Course sites on the Learning System provide a place for instructors to post course content, such as lecture notes, PowerPoint presentations, images, audio and video. Instructors can collect homework as well as offer evaluations online.
Interactive areas of the course include the synchronous Virtual Classroom and the asynchronous Discussion Board. Instructors and TAs can also create group areas that allow students to collaborate with each other to accomplish group goals.
All in all, it's a pretty nifty system. While I still think that it's silly to pay so much money for something that can be achieved with open source software it's exciting to think that I've finally started moving down the career path I've been putting my efforts towards.
I'm a Blackboard Administrator Now! ooh...
Seems like People Don't Get it
At my place of employment, my department has recently decided to undergo a '2.0' revamping. As a part of that, they decided that they wanted to use internet technologies to increase communication between departments, and between management and the masses of peons. Somebody got the bright idea to build a wiki and use that to disseminate information throughout the organization.
They never told anybody what the URL for the wiki was, and to this day, there is no structure to inform interested parties that there is information posted which is meaningful to them. My boss chewed me out because I hadn't read a post she put in a wiki I had never heard of but was somehow expected to be aware of and monitoring constantly.
I knew it had hit critical mass when I saw that somebody had created a facebook group for my department. Once again, without provocation, and with no formal announcement. I wouldn't want to mix my personal life with work as it is, so I would never join such a thing.
People like to throw around buzz-words like wiki and 'web 2.0' and social networking and think that if they build a website around these ideas it must equal greatness. I was reading the other day about how people don't understand what Twitter is and how to use it. Most people using it think it's like a game, and that the more people following you, the 'more powerful' you are. I think my department has fallen into the same mentality that more must be better. They've got no less than 4 wikis with the same information, and no structure to let anyone know about updates.
What can we learn from this example? Simply put, in this day and age, I think that less is actually more. Wikis and Facebook groups, and twitter are wonderful, but only if they are used in moderation, and used correctly. The wiki is a good idea. Organizations, schools, clubs, and pretty much any other organized group can benefit from a central repository for knowledge. However, it's only as good as the contributors. If only a small group are aware of the knowledge management system, then not everybody can contribute, and the information doesn't get out.
Personally, I prefer my bosses just sending out a blanket email to everybody like they used to do back in the 90's.
NerCOMP SIG Workshop 1
Big Picture Instructional Technology: models for Planning, Piloting, Promoting, and Partnering
It's been some time since I last posted. I've been very busy! I was lucky enough to attend two Northeast Regional Computing Program workshops (at my employer's expense) and got some very interesting things that I can post about.
This seminar primarily focused on the adoption and implementation of new technologies at Hamilton College, and Skidmore College. The focus question was How do we plan and manage technology support for multiple courses involving hundreds of students and dozens of faculty and varied technologies within the limitations of our instructional technology resources?
While it's been a few weeks, I did take pretty good notes on my ipod (my new toy). Hamilton College discussed using the scaffolding approach for student support for projects. Their instructional technologists are allied very closely with the library and rely on coordination between academic support units and collaboration with invested faculty members. They try to work out expectations and limitations in advance so students aren't disrupted.
They employ student assistants who are trained according to the process involved in generating procedures for technology projects; not necessarily focusing on just the technology, but looking at the big picture. Course information is shared with the students so they can best assist their peers.
One of the more interesting points raised was that faculty members need to be self-reliant in terms of troubleshooting new technologies and their integration into instruction. The role advocated at this seminar was one of an enabler; supporting the initiatives of instructors and providing the know-how and resources necessary for their goals.
We broke into groups for an activity where each table was to discuss a particular piece of technology after the Hamilton College presentation. Our group talked about using clickers in large lecture hall environments and the challenges that each person encountered when implementing that technology. Since I had never used an iclicker, (this seemed to be the generic term, even though other companies make them as well) it was interesting to hear what instructional technologists had to say about them in real world applications. It ranged from mostly positive, with instructors raving about them, and using them in a wide range of applications ranging from quizzes to attendance to a slightly sadder tale of boxes filled to the brim and hardly ever being used at another school.
Following the activity Skidmore spoke about their process of adopting supported technologies from pilot programs. Here is a very rough outline of their process and a short explanation of each point:
Emerging technologies - Being the first step, instructors are more or less on their own to support their grand idea. Instructional technologists will lend a helping hand occasionally, but it's made clear to the instructor that their infant technology will only be attended to once all officially supported technologies have been taken care of.
If the technology is successful, it may be chose for a pilot program. In this pilot, instructional technologists would grant slightly more assistance. Most troubleshooting must still be self-directed by the instructor.
An expanded pilot program would be next, with adoption widening and assistance also slightly expanding. At this point the decision is made whether it is worth it to pursue the training and the time to officially offer the service to all faculty and to take the role of full responsibility for troubleshooting and diagnosis should problems arise.
I'll be honest, my attention began to wane at this point, but one representative of Skidmore did present to us an annual expo they do for new technologies called the Technology Festival. I'll post more about this later. It looked like a great idea
Edupunk: Redefining Ed Tech
Edupunk is a neologism for a growing trend among educational technologists who are attempting to restructure the way we use technologies for learning. One of the prevailing themes is that we shy away from using programs that have only one use, or that can only be used within strict confines. Edupunk promotes the use of programs and technologies in new ways; rejecting the adoption of new technologies by corporate interests that have been bundled into cookie-cutter'esque products.
Seemingly, the biggest target of this movement is Blackboard. The omni-present Course Management System, which has become a staple of higher (and more recently, secondary and elementary) education. It is accused of stifling creativity among instructors and students. Due to the fact that Blackboard has a standard layout and form every course looks the same, and is being administered the same way. Due to this, it's difficult to find new and innovative ways to teach.
The DIY attitude of Edupunk seems to be personified in the open source movement. If this is the case, the flagship of the movement would have to be Moodle; the open source course management system. Since it is open source, instructors and students can personalize the experience, and make it their own. Educators looking to put their own spin on things have taken advantage of Web 2.0 applications like delicio.us, social networking, image sharing using sites like Flickr, and video sharing. The convergence of these tools is meant to create a personal and meaningful experience for students which will result in better retention and deeper interest.
One instructor took Wikipedia and gave his students a seemingly insurmountable goal: create featured articles. Keep in mind that about 0.01% of all Wikipedia articles are able to attain this level of achievement. You can read more about how the instructor created his course and used Wikipedia here
The idea of Edupunk beginning to catch on, with many musing about how exactly we will be able to transform this attitude into something more useful. It's been making its way across the blogosphere and has penetrated the news outlets. Perhaps the lack of clarity in the concept is its strength; allowing others to interpret and create their own definition of what Edupunk is, and how to use it. I'll leave you all with a notable quote and a video I found regarding Edupunk, which I feel embodies the spirit of the idea
I’m going to have my students this Summer do a collaborative project using Drupal because BlackBoard is too closed and they can’t take ownership of the site they’ll create. When I asked the EduBUNK people at my campus for an install, they were like ‘We don’t know that is, therefore you don’t need it. How about a Listserv?’So I’ll be creating the site and hosting it myself, and the students will take over by the end to make it representative of their research. Universities need to start providing fully capable (i.e. with MySQL, PHP, and whatever else) and BLANK webspace for faculty to do what they want in.
A one-size-fits-all approach with BlackBoard and its ilk is like forcing No Child Left Behind in higher education. Take no account of individual learning styles and creativity, teach only to whatever parameters are handed down, and you got yourself a bunch of passive, lame ducks. Just the kind of citizens we want in this age of abundant technological media.
Related Links:
The Chronicle of Higher Education:
Jim Groom: The Glass Bees
Stephen Downes: Introducing Edupunk
Oregon Trail is the Best Educational Game Ever
It's appropriate that I begin a series of postings about educational software with one of the classical heavy hitters of the genre. I think that practically everybody from my generation has played some version of Oregon Trail at least once in their lives. Personally, my all time favorite is the old school Apple II version. 
For the uninitiated, Oregon trail is a simulation where the player takes the role of a pioneer and must navigate from Independence Missouri to the Willamette Valley and arrive with at least one traveler still alive. The player has the choice of choosing a pioneer with one of several backgrounds; each occupation having particular benefits. For instance, starting as a doctor results in a much higher beginning cash balance, while a school teacher (as in real life) starts out very poor.
Throughout the journey, the player must make important decisions, such as what supplies to purchase, and in what amount, what paths to take, when to hunt or forage for food, how hard to push your wagon team, and the ever popular choice to attempt to ford the river or wait for an Indian guide.
The game is excellent for conveying such learning objectives as planning for unforeseen consequences and cause and effect relationships. It can also be a collaborative effort where students must vote on each important decision, much like settlers may have done on the real Oregon trail.
The game also teaches valuable information along the trail about historical landmarks and in later versions, gives students the opportunity to talk to other settlers about their experiences and learn a little more about the trail, and the locations they visit.
Curiously, it was a little hard tracking down a current copy of Oregon Trail, as MECC, the original publisher appears to have closed down in january of 1999. The Learning Company now holds the lucrative license to this piece of educational nostalgia.
For teachers looking to justify using this in the classroom, let your administrators know that it fulfills several of the ISTE's Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS).
Creativity and Innovation:
c. use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues
Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students:
a. identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.
b. plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
c. collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.
d. use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions.
Not too shabby for a $20 program that was originally designed over 25 years ago.
For teachers on a budget, there are several free versions floating around which offer the authentic Apple II version of the game in a emulated environment right in your browser. While the original version doesn't offer the same depth as newer versions, it's just as valuable today and the NETS standards are still addressed.
Consider it the perfect addition to a US history unit. Older students will appreciate it just as much as the younger ones and they might even learn something.
Virtual Apple Game
The Facebook Game
Purchase Information
The Oregon Trail
Grades: 3+
Ages: 9+
Operating System: Windows + Mac
Price: $19.99
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