Teaching Professor Technology Conference, Atlanta, October 2013
Workshop: "Blending in the Humanities"
Astrid Klocke, Northern Arizona University
Guiding Questions
 Does technology de-place opportunities for meaningful engagement?
 Is the lack of face-to-face time in a blended course a loss to
students?
 Can a blended and especially a flipped course only work in
disciplines that (are perceived to) focus on teaching "facts" and
"problem solving?" (STEM, Professional Programs)
Why are you here?
Who am I and why am I here?
The goals of this workshop are to enable you to
 to initiate conversations on your home campuses about the
opportunities of blended learning in the humanities
 to address your colleagues' concerns about learning technologies in
an informed, well-articulated, and effective way, and
 to know the necessary tools and terminology to create a collaborative
community of learners with your colleagues.
Steps we will take:
1. familiarize ourselves with some of the core learning objectives in the
humanities
2. summarize the features of blended learning that address these core
learning objectives in the humanities
3. analyze the arguments against using technology and compile counter
arguments based on our knowledge of multi-modal learning
environments
1. Core Learning Outcomes in Humanities
Example: Arts and Humanities GenEd Learning Outcomes, IU-Bloomington
http://gened.iub.edu/requirements/arts.html
Further samples compiled by the UC-Riverside:
http://wasc.ucr.edu/docs/Sample%20Learning%20Outcomes%20--%20Humanities.pdf
2. Blended Course Redesign in Humanities
CINE 101: Introduction to Cinema and Visual Culture
Syllabus: http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~ak46/finalCINE101MasterSyllBlended.pdf
Assessment: http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~ak46/PosterAssessFair13.pdf
Course Redesign Principles: http://nau.edu/University-College/First-Year-LearningInitiative/
ECAR Study of UG Students and Information Technology, 2013
http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/ecar-study-undergraduate-students-andinformation-technology-2013
 technology empowers the individual user: learning instead of teaching
 technology helps personalize learning: data analysis and adaptive learning
 students prefer BL
 students want to use mobile devices more for anytime anywhere access to
materials and in-class use: online search, recording,
 technology training and use in class prepares students for future academic and
workplace activities
 online materials add different perspectives (not just teacher's)
=> Bended Learning works in three different ways:
Connectedness: relationship with peers, instructors, and the institution
Involvement and Preparedness: use of technologies that have potential benefits for
school and the workplace
Agency: motivation, management skills, and self-confidence
Penne Restad: "I don't like this one little bit." Tales from a Flipped Classroom. In:
Faculty Focus, July 22, 2013.
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-with-technology-articles/i-dont-like-thisone-little-bit-tales-from-a-flipped-classroom/
Wendy Freeman, Taunya Tremblay: "Design Considerations for Supporting the
Reluctant Adoption of Blended Learning." MERLOT, Vol. 9, No.1 March 2013, 8088. http://jolt.merlot.org/vol9no1/freeman_0313.htm
3. Group Activity: Common arguments against the use of technology
in (online and blended) humanities classes. Examine the following
examples and find counter arguments:
1. F2F is at the heart of true education that leads to paradigm shift
thinking, productive confusion, and mental/affective/professional
changes. Online/blended education leads only to accumulation of
skills and information.
2. Teaching is social interaction, and it is in social and communal
interaction that we become responsive and responsible to each other.
The general direction with online and technology education is wrongheaded.
3. You do not reach people's hearts, minds, and critical thought
processes without F2F interaction.
4. Technology cannot emulate learning that transpires through
embodied presence, spontaneity, and openness in F2F classes.
5. Technology is not supplementing and enriching our education but
ultimately will replace us (that is, our profession); it is a model that is
imposed: it will disempower us and eventually replace the tenured
model of higher education.
6. Students do not like online or blended classes.
7. Blended Learning will drive students away from our programs.
In your group, based on our discussion and the research findings
about Blended Learning, answer the following questions:
 In what way is BL superior to the traditional lecture format or even to
full-class discussions?
 What does BL add to a humanities class that was not possible in a
traditional format?
Next steps?
True inquiry takes place when the distinction between content and
engagement is broken down: when students apply content as they are
learning it. Sample tools such as VoiceThread and VideoANT are explored
in:
John Orlando: "Flipped, Spun, and Turned Inside Out: The Fully Flipped Classroom." In:
Online Classroom (Magna), Vol. 13, No. 9, September 2013, p. 4 and 7. [Copy included
in your registration package.]
http://www.magnapubs.com/catalog/online-classroom-newsletter/