Catalyst January/February 2008 connecting Our Hidden Curriculum By Chris Hinton, Director IN THIS issue The responsibilities of the Innovation Centre continue to evolve as it plays an important role in the development of quality teaching and learning. Originally, the Centre was created to support faculty and staff as they were being equipped with technology, usually laptops. We provided a space, advice, troubleshooting, programs, and training. The scale of the challenge, coupled with a very personal approach in supporting those who sought our help, made us successful. We also administered the server and became the experts on WebCT. These were the early days, before UOIT, before centralized email, before laptop programs. We grew as did the expertise of the faculty and the ITS department. However, it became obvious early in the years that simply teaching a professor the mechanics of how to do something with a computer didn’t necessarily make them a better teacher. In response, we addressed this issue and became experts in teaching and learning as well as educational technology. OUR HIDDEN CURRICULUM page 1 THE GEN ED TSUNAMI page 2 THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY page 3 GOOGLE DOCS - A GREAT RESOURCE FOR DOCUMENT SHARING AND COLLABORATION page 3 TAKING A RISK IN THE CLASSROOM page 4 Such a realization parallels a change that has been observed in higher education over the last decade or so. This change is the move from teacher-centered (or content centered) teaching to a learner-centered approach. Some aspects of this shift include the move to outcomes-based curricula where course outlines clearly articulate what the student will be expected to achieve in their course of study, authentic assessment where we assess the students in a fair and realistic manner specifically on the outcomes that were defined, and active learning which recognizes that a class of students possesses many learning styles and that they learn best by doing and by being involved. Practically, this means that a professor whose primary methodology is lecturing does not benefit as much from a laptop computer as one who uses a variety of teaching methods. Translating overhead slides into PowerPoint slides adds very little value and does nothing to address different learning styles or to engage the students in a more active manner. MAKING YOUR PRESENTATIONS MORE ACCESSIBLE page 5 Turnitin.com..........................................................5 Death by PowerPoint: Tips for Better Presentations.............................5 Designing Rubrics................................................5 The Millennial Student..........................................5 Groups that REALLY Work...................................5 Let the Games Begin............................................5 There’s How Many People in My Class?? Teaching Strategies for Large Classes..............6 Debunking Learning Outcomes............................6 Fostering Collaboration with Google Docs...........6 Staying Up-to-Date with RSS and Google Reader..................................................6 Interactive Teaching and Learning Using WebCT Vista...........................................6 WebCT Gradebook...............................................6 Exporting Grades to Banner.................................6 Newsletter Information..........................................6 © with YOU! Volume 1, Issue 16 For the Innovation Centre this means that we have continued to develop our strength in the learning technology area but at the same time develop expertise in the realm of “pure” teaching and learning and to support active learning. Evidence of this can be seen in the fact that we have an Instructional Designer and a Teaching and Learning Specialist on staff. This has been a more difficult task since faculty readily know we are available to assist with WebCT, but it may not be that apparent to them when they could use some instructional design assistance or, perhaps, some advice on assessment. Following the progression from learning technology to teaching and learning there is another key influence on quality in the classroom. This is the curriculum. Our curriculum is the basis of our teaching and is what defines the type of student we want to develop. Good curriculum should have outcomes that are both teachable and measurable. It should specify assessments and explicitly align them with course outcomes. It should allow variety and encourage activity in the classroom and should directly and explicitly support the larger program outcomes. Continued to page 2 New Team Member The Innovation Centre is pleased to announce that June MacDonald-Jenkins will be joining the Centre as a Learning Technology Facilitator. June will be the go-to person for effective use of learning technology in our classrooms. An experienced faculty in the Schools of Health and Community Services and the Faculty of Health, she is a learner-focused educator who prides herself in using technology to facilitate the enhancement of the student experience. June brings a wealth of knowledge in teaching & learning, technology, and research. Her caring and patient attitude will make her an excellent support for all college and university faculty. Plese join us in welcoming June to the Innovation Centre. C A T A L Y S T P A G E 1 Continued from page 1 Curriculum defines the “what” of teaching and is not under the control of individual faculty members. It belongs as a collective decision by the program group. The “how” of teaching is another matter. Individual faculty members require freedom, flexibility, and autonomy in how they teach their subjects. This freedom is essential to the profession. In the bigger picture one can look at the institutional goal. What kind of individuals are we preparing for participation in our society? Without getting too lofty here, I want to point out there are guides and efforts underway to articulate this goal. In fact it seems like common sense that well-rounded graduates are going to be more successful in their lives and careers. This well roundedness doesn’t come naturally but is part of what we teach. Often it is in what is called the implicit curriculum, those hidden things that are taught but perhaps not intentionally. One doesn’t have to look too far to discover that the market prefers to hire employees that have a well-rounded personality and skill set. For instance, the Conference Board of Canada spells this out in a report on their web site. In the university realm there is an effort underway by the OCAV (Ontario Council of Academic Vice Presidents) to define undergraduate degree level expectations. This is an excellent effort to define some of the higher-order thinking skills we want to see undergraduates develop such as understanding methods of enquiry, the ability to apply their knowledge, to communicate accurately and reliably and to think critically and analytically. The colleges have a different method of seeing their students develop a more rounded skill set. Aside from outcomes defined at the program level, the ministry has defined a set of 11 essential employability skills (EES). These skills are to be developed in all programs by being embedded in every course. Durham has recently reworked the course outline to explicitly show which EES is being addressed by each course. The Gen Ed Tsunami By Chris Hinton, Director Perhaps tsunami is a bit overblown, but the college is facing some white water as we look at updating our curriculum and infusing it with the required General Education component. Our core business is the development and delivery of curriculum and yet we lack certain essential policies and procedures to ensure the kind of quality we want to deliver. This isn’t intended to be a negative judgment since we have been doing it very well. Yet, we could do better with a more coherent effort and with a clearly spelled-out institutional philosophy around curriculum. The introduction of the new course outline template laid the groundwork for our programs to align their overall outcomes to course outcomes which are then supported by classroom activities and assessments. The template enables the process of documenting these connections, however, it also revealed some challenges that lay ahead of us. While technical glitches with the document focused people’s attention on the mechanics of the template, the importance of developing the connections was overshadowed. The documentation process will continue as we perfect our curriculum and improve the learning opportunities for our students. The ministry has also defined a series of five subject areas that are a part of general education. It is expected that every program will contain a general education component so that at the end of two or three years the students will have had some exposure to topic areas outside of their chosen field, with the attendant broadening effect on their outlook. A student who has mastered his/her domain specific knowledge and also had this broadening exposure is a powerful individual indeed. Does your curriculum go beyond your discipline and seek to encourage the development of the whole person? So now the agenda of the Innovation Centre is clear. We want to partner with faculty to develop transformative learning for our students and will leverage teaching and learning, technology, and curriculum to assist in this effort. I’ll leave you with one small recommendation. Check out the article on the New Horizons for Learning site (newhorizons.org) called “Making Thinking Visible” by David Perkins. He discusses ways to allow us to see and discuss thinking, which usually remains hidden. Making it visible enables us to know we are succeeding with our students. “The Innovation Centre plays an importnat role in the development of quality teaching and learning.” One of the largest motivating forces driving curricula change at the college is the necessity to include a General Education component in every program. Not only is this a legal requirement but it will also improve the educational prospects for our students, making them more employable as a result. There will be challenges in convincing everyone of the necessity of incorporating General Education requirements; there may be programs who think they are compliant but may need some adjustments to be fully compliant. This provides the perfect opportunity to revisit program and course outcomes and revitalize what we offer our students. In order to move forward we need a curriculum policy that encompasses our institutional philosophy, processes for curriculum mapping, an inventory of current offerings, training to support the change, procedures to manage the life cycle of a program, graduate profiles for each program, administrative resources, and release time for faculty. These components provide the structure for a curriculum framework for Durham College. This framework can then guide us in the new program development, program review and renewal, annual review, and the development of program guides and course outlines. In response to this need, a small task force has been formed and is working out of the Innovation Centre to coordinate the development of our curriculum framework. We are laying the foundation of what will be a framework that will serve Durham College well in the years to come as we renew our curriculum and seek the infusion of general education into our programs. Stay tuned, you’ll be hearing a lot more! C A T A L Y S T P A G E 2 © Thank You for the Opportunity I feel that I have been the most fortunate; I have had the benefit of talking to and interacting with faculty from both institutions. In my new role as Associate Dean I take the ideas and methods you have shared and I hope to share those with the faculty at Whitby. I have accepted the position of Associate Dean, School of Applied Sciences, Apprenticeship, Skilled Trades and Technology, Whitby Campus and would like to thank you for the opportunity to serve you as Learning Technology Facilitator in the Innovation Centre. My first days at the Centre, I must admit, were filled with trepidation. Would I be able to provide the assistance faculty needed, and more importantly, would I be accepted by faculty as a resource to their teaching needs? It has at times been a frustrating process with the installation of WebCT Vista and the learning curve Innovation Centre staff, faculty and IT Services had to overcome. I congratulate those who have persevered and have adopted or continue to adopt this new tool. I truly believe we need to provide our students with alternatives, and using WebCT allows us as faculty to look for new methods of interacting with our students and what material they should have access to. You are using this tool (WebCT) in amazing ways and I encourage you to share what you are doing with others. Looking back, I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Innovation Centre and feel honoured to have worked with an amazing group of individuals. My congratulations to Chris Hinton for attracting that calibre of talented, like-minded people. I thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of your teaching life, and look forward to continuing the relationship that we have developed. I looked forward to my dealings with faculty from the college and university every day; you are all truly committed to the students we serve and your enthusiasm is contagious. Being able to provide suggestions and assistance gave me a great feeling of satisfaction and identified to me that we all share the same issues: school to school and faculty to faculty. Only by sharing do we really understand, learn, and grow. Please visit us at the Whitby campus. By Allan Martin, Associate Dean Google Docs - A Great Resource for Document Sharing and Collaboration By Jordanne Christie, Learning Technologies Specialist A recent survey found that 94% of PC users have never heard of webbased productivity suite alternatives such as Google Doc’s. Given the results of this survey, I thought that it would be appropriate to write a short article introducing Google Doc’s.1 Google Docs is a free, web-based productivity suite offered by Google that allows users to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations online and share them with others for collaboration. Google Docs is often compared to Microsoft Office, however it primarily acts as a stripped down version of Office with a more web-centric nature, providing added online storage, editing, and sharing capabilities. In order to access Google Docs you need to register for a free Google account. If you already have a Gmail account then you can use the same login to access Google Docs, otherwise you can just sign up for a Google account with an email address of your choice and a password. Documents, spreadsheets, and presentations can be created within Google Doc’s itself, or imported through the web interface. Google Doc’s supports popular Office file types including .doc, .rtf, .xls, .csv., and .ppt, which means that existing Office files can be uploaded with little effort. Files created in and uploaded to Google Docs are stored on the Google server, and can be accessed at any time, from any computer with an Internet connection and a standard browser. This means that documents can be accessed at school and at home, and can edited from anywhere without any worry about software versions or compatibility. Documents can also be saved to the user’s computer in a variety of formats, and can be tagged and archived for organizational purposes. There is a limit on how much a user can store on their account. Each document must be under 500k plus 2MB for each embedded image. Each spreadsheet must be under 10,000 rows, 256 columns, 100,000 cells and under 40 sheets. A user can have a total of 5,000 documents and presentations, 5,000 images and 1,000 spreadsheets.2 Allan Martin The greatest feature of Google Docs and what tends to set it apart from Microsoft Office is the ability to share documents with others and collaborate in real time. With Google Docs, you can invite other people to read or edit your document by simply providing their e-mail address. Multiple people can view and make changes to a document at the same time. Google Docs has a built-in toolbar that notifies you if someone else is editing a document at the same time as you are. It also offers a revision tool which shows you exactly who changed what, and when. Google Docs collaborative features are proving very useful to both teachers and students. Google Docs helps to promote group work and peer editing skills, and makes it easier for student to collaborate as they can enter updates anytime, from different locations, and do not have to worry about managing multiple versions of a document via email. In addition, educators are also finding Google Docs useful for assessing group work participation as they are able to easily identify who contributed to collaborative documents. If you are interested in learning more about Google Docs, please attend the Fostering Collaboratoin with Google Docs Session, or refer to the following resources: docs.google.com http://www.commoncraft.com/video-googledocs http://www.google.com/educators/p_docs.html 1 http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/web_services_browser/rip_the_web_20_office_suite.html 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Docs © C A T A L Y S T P A G E 3 Taking a Risk in the Classroom By Maureen Wideman, Senior Instructional Designer In the Innovation Centre, we encourage faculty to take risks in their teaching. Whether it is through the use of a new technology or an active learning technique, we try and prepare the faculty member as well as possible for implementing the new. Implementing the new - that can be a daunting thought. Teaching is not easy and even the best teachers can have their egos trampled by a sharp-edged, unhappy student. Taking a risk can lead to failure and perhaps embarrassment in front of students. This can lead to a fear of experimenting with new techniques. When teaching is part of the promotion and tenure process, some faculty may choose to remain safe by continuing traditional methods. Parker Palmer, author of Courage to Teach, says that fear is one of the main causes of poor teaching. “When I teach poorly, it is not because of poor technique but because I have allowed fear to get the upper hand. In the bad classrooms I suffered as a student, fear nearly always lurked backstage. In fact, the culture of the academy itself is as fearful as any I have known. Education’s nemesis is not ignorance but fear. Fear gives ignorance its power.” What does it mean to take a risk? It may mean employing techniques that are not familiar, or dealing with students who may resist or question the change. It could lead to more work in setting up a lesson, or less; it may mean change for both the students and the teacher. Implementing the new may alter the traditional power structure of the classroom by putting the learning at the centre rather than the teaching. Is risk taking worth the work? In another example, Otto changed how he uses the discussion board in WebCT. “When I first started with a web-centric course I was really keen in checking the discussion boards every day and answering/ responding to each message (as I was the course prof). One week I got really sick with the flu and headache and did not access the web. When I came back, the group of approximately 100 students had taken over discussions and started helping each other in such effective ways that I now use boards only as their e-forum - not mine.” For some, taking a risk in the classroom may mean something as simple as reducing the amount of information on PowerPoint slides. It could mean assessing students using different methods or allowing students to assess themselves. It could lead to a shift in the power structure of the classroom by giving students the room to learn through a variety of methods, not just through lectures and homework assignments. For example, Otto removed his presence on the discussion board and allowed the students to run it themselves, and they continue to do so very successfully. Taking a risk means going beyond your comfort zone, yet the benefits can be extensive. Risks may assist in learning by enhancing the relationship between the teacher and the students. Even if the risk results in a failure, reflecting on what went wrong can lead to greater understanding of the nature of the learning and the student. We can learn just as much from what went wrong as from those successes. If you are thinking of trying something new and want to discuss it with someone before you implement it, feel free to visit us in the Innovation Centre. If you have tried something new and found that it worked well or in turn, was disastrous, let us know. We want to hear about your teaching experiences. Nancy Lawrence, a nursing professor at DC-UOIT, discussed a new activity she introduced in one of her classes. The class was on culture and diversity. She had all the students group themselves into communities that they defined. They began grouping themselves along ethic lines. In our age of political correctness, Nancy was concerned about students being offended. There was risk for the students because they were defining themselves and disclosing that information to the classroom. The activity continued and students were asked again to join or form another community. This process was repeated for the entire class. At the end, students had defined themselves as part of many different communities, including the overall nursing student community. “One of the best parts of this activity was when I asked students to describe their group, they would introduce each student and describe how different they were from each other. They were seeing themselves as individuals and unique even when members of particular groups.” Nancy felt this was one of the most successful learning activities she had implemented in her classroom and continues to use it. Dr. Otto Sanchez, considered one of UOIT’s best teaching professors, continues to develop his learning activities. Two years ago, he noticed a gap in the knowledge of his students between their written work and depth of understanding. As a result, he implemented oral examinations where he would meet each student to discuss the subject of his/her paper. He found the students’ depth of knowledge increased substantially when they knew that they had to discuss their projects. Oral examinations were a substantial factor in increasing students’ knowledge and understanding of the material. “I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” Thomas Edison visit the p.d. web site at http://innovation.dc-uoit.ca/treg for detailed information regarding the faculty development opportunities listed on pages 5 and 6 C A T A L Y S T P A G E 4 © Making your Presentations More Accessible Designing Rubrics Wednesday, February 6 - 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. By Maureen Wideman, Senior Instructional Designer Many students may have difficulty reading or retrieving the information presented on PowerPoint slides. Here are some tips to make your presentations more accessible. • Create slides with a solid background – you want to have contrast between the text and the background such as dark text on a light background You’ve heard that using rubrics is an effective method to guide marking. A well-designed rubric can reduce instructor subjectivity and provide a guide to students as to what is expected. Bring an assignment with you to guide your work. This module is also available as an independent online unit. Contact Maureen Wideman at extionsion 2174 or e-mail at Maureen.Wideman@dc-uoit.ca for registration information. • Whenever possible use a graphic and text to make your point The Millennial Student • Use at least a 24 point font Friday, February 15 - 10 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. • Don’t use script fonts – stick to plain text like Arial or New Times Roman This module looks at Generation “Y” or the millennial student. It deals with how they are wired differently and, therefore, how they learn differently. It provides suggestions on how to engage the learner. • Describe slides orally • Limit the number of slides • Allow adequate time for the audient to read each slide • Post PowerPoint slides to your WebCT course site SCHEDULE of EVENTS Turnitin.com Tuesday, January 29 - 10 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) and Durham College have purchased a licence with the plagiarism detection service Turnitin. com. This training session will cover the basics of setting up an assignment, submitting papers and analyzing the originality reports. Death by PowerPoint: Tips for Better Teaching Thursday, January 31 - 10 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. This module is also available as an independent online unit. Contact Maureen Wideman at extension 2174 or e-mail at Maureen.Wideman@dc-uoit.ca for registration information. Groups that REALLY Work Wednesday, January 30 - 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. This workshop touches on different types of groups, forming groups, distributing work and assessment. It builds on your experience addressing how groups can work better. It also provides opportunities to share concerns and solutions with peers. Let the Games Begin Wednesday, February 20 - 2 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The outcome of this training session is to see how games can encourage active learning in your classroom. Explore a number of games for their usability to test of knowledge, apply learning, encourage critical thinking and even have a spot of fun. This one hour session will take you on a tour of a number of games, invite you to test yourself and work with others. Many of our students see a couple of PowerPoint presentations every day over the course of several years. In many cases, these presentations are very similar - words on a screen - with little impact or imagination. It’s time to improve those PowerPoint presentations to make them effective learning tools rather than just words on a screen. This seminar will look at what works and what doesn’t when it comes to PowerPoint. Innovation Centre Contact Information E-mail: innovation@dc-uoit.ca • Web site: http://x.dc-uoit.ca/blog/ Phone: 905.721.2000 Ext. 2593 • Fax: 905.721.3096 Visit our office in the Gordon Willey Building, Room SW101. Our hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday. All training will be held in the Innovation Centre (SW101) unless otherwise specified on the Durham College Professional Development Web site at www.dc-uoit.ca/pd or http://innovation.dc-uoit.ca/treg. © C A T A L Y S T P A G E 5 There’s How Many People in My Class?? Teaching Strategies for Large Classes Friday, February 8 - 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Some say that teaching a large class, say over 100 students, is no different from teaching a small class. Having more students in your class CAN affect your presentation, the students’ response and the outcomes of a class. Learn about teaching/learning strategies and techniques for the big ones. Debunking Learning Outcomes Tuesday, February 26 - 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, February 28 - 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. So, what is a learning outcome anyway? And, how do they benefit you and your students? How do you develop a learning outcome? Where do you begin? And when do you finish? How do you know your outcomes are appropriate? Whether you are developing learning outcomes for a new course or revising learning outcomes for an existing course, this 2-hour interactive workshop will enable you to evaluate, develop and strenghten your course learning outcomes. Interactive Teaching and Learning Using WebCT Monday, February 4 - 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Join us for an introduction to a course management system (CMS) using WebCT Vista. Whether you teach in a face-to-face classroom, a laptop-enhanced classroom, or facilitate a hybrid or online course, your students can benefit greatly from the appropriate usage of WebCT Vista. You can build a course management system that takes advantage of every tool or simply uses the tools that best suit your course and your students. This workshop will explore the fundamentals of using a course management system and focus on the following topics: • • • • • • • Overview of teaching/learning using WebCT Vista Design principles of course management systems Navigating through WebCT using a standard template Posting course materials for students to view or download Providing links to online resource Managing files in WebCT Vista Course Management tools overview Please ensure you bring a laptop computer with you to class. Fostering Collaboration with Google Docs WebCT Gradebook Friday, February 1 - 11 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Monday, January 28 - 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Do you collaborate with others on documents, spreadsheets or presentations? Would you like your students to be able to collaborate on documents, spreadsheets or presentations? Tuesday, February 5 - 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, February 7 - 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Google Docs is a powerful, versatile, and free tool that makes collaborative work extremely easy. It allows users to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations online and share them with others for collaboration. In this session, participants will be introduced to Google Docs and will learn how to create a Google account, how to generate a Google document, and how to share these documents with others for optimal collaboration. Staying Up-to-Date with RSS and Google Reader Thursday, February 14 - 9 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. We increasingly live in a society where time is precious and information is abundant. Thus, tools which can help us efficiently access and consume new information are vital. RSS is a protocol that lets you subscribe to online content using a reader or aggregator, which automatically retrieves the latest news and updates from your favorite sites. This session will introduce you to RSS and show you how to take advantage of Google Reader to efficiently manage and keep up with all of the online information that matters most to you. In the first part of this session, participants will be introduced to the WebCT Gradebook and the process for adding columns, creating formulas, entering marks, and displaying marks to students will be demonstrated. In the second half of this session participants will have the opportunity to setup their Gradebook to meet their individual needs. Please ensure you bring a copy of your course outline/syllabus and laptop with you to class. Exporting Grades to Banner Monday, February 11 - 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Wednesday, February 13 - 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday, February 15 - 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Tuesday, February 19 - 2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, February 21 - 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. This session will walk you through the process of submitting your mid-term and final grades to Banner, including how to change your column settings, how to create a backup of your files, and how to export your grades to the Banner system. Please ensure you bring a laptop computer with you to class. NEWSLETTER INFORMATION Editor-in-Chief: Maureen Wideman, Senior Instructional Designer Designer: Lisa Kerr, Administrative Professional Publisher: Chris Hinton, Director C A T A L Y S T P A G E 6 ©