FOFSpring_2010

8/9/2019 FOFSpring_2010

1/9

Enthusiasm as a Part of

Professional Development .... 1

Tammy Peery Wins State

Award .................................... 3

From the Editor .................... 3

From the CTL Director ......... 4

Mark Your Calendar for

Professional Development

Saturday Series (PDSS) ........ 4

Writing in the Disciplines at

Montgomery College: Past,

Present, and Future............... 5

Quote of the Month ............... 5

How Can I Get My Students

Involved in Meaningful

Learning ............................... 6

CTL Workshops ..................... 7

Bringing Web 2.0 Ideology

to the Classroom ................... 8

Guidelines for Contributions

to Focus on Faculty .............. 8

Teaching Our Digital

Natives .................................. 9

Montgomery College Center for Teaching and Learning April 2010

Focus on Faculty is published by the CTL to offer faculty a place to share information about teaching and learning.

Inside This Issue Enthusiasm as a Part of Professional Developmentby Stephen D. Cain, Instructional Dean, Natural & Applied Sciences, Busi-

ness, Management & Information Sciences, Takoma Park/Silver Spring

Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.

~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet and philosopher

Your enthusiasm makes a difference.

No matter what subject you teach, no matter whether the course is advanced or developmental,

no matter how well prepared the students are, your enthusiasm makes a difference. Students

respond to a faculty member who is enthusiastic about the subject matter, about teaching,

and about students succeeding. Enthusiasm is contagious.

Teaching isnt just a job. Its a profession. Most community college faculty have come into

the profession to do good and be a force of change in the world. They embrace the chang-

ing-lives mission of Montgomery College and live out that mission every time they interact

with students. It is not uncommon for

faculty to cheer on their students as

they complete a course, complete a

program, or complete a degree beyond

Montgomery College.

But who cheers on the faculty? How do

faculty continue to grow themselves?

The answer: professional develop-

ment.


At certain times we pause to reflect

about our own professional develop-

ment. One example occurs during the

self-evaluation of the faculty perfor-

mance review. In this exercise, faculty members are asked to list professional development

activities and write about how those activities have supported their work.

Thinking about professional development during a performance review is good, but its not

enough. Reflection about growing as a professional must be an ongoing process, one that is

sparked daily by experiences with students and with colleagues.

There are at least three major types of professional development activities. The avenues a

faculty member chooses to pursue depend on unique personal factors and needs.(See Professional Development, continued on page 2)

8/9/2019 FOFSpring_2010

2/9

APublication by Montgomery College Faculty

2

Those three types are:

content knowledge (what we teach)

pedagogy (how we teach it)

the industry (where we teach)

Each of these is important and is explored further in the fol-

lowing paragraphs.

Content Knowledge

To enhance content knowledge, many faculty belong to profes-

sional organizations in their field. After completing a masters

or a doctorate and launching a teaching career, faculty are ex-

perts in their fields. Every field of study is constantly creating

new research and new knowledge, and faculty benefit from

staying aware of developments. That awareness manifests itself

in improved course content for students and sometimes newcourses or even new degrees. We often think of curriculum as

set and final (especially after successfully completing a cur-

riculum proposal process), but curriculum is a living thing.

There are many ways to develop content knowledge. Attending a

conference of your professional organization is a good start. Read-

ing the organizations journals and newsletters is another. Net-

working with individuals within the organization is also helpful.

Pedagogy

Experience is a powerful teacher. A faculty member new to the

classroom may come with ideas and philosophies about howteaching and learning will occur, only to have some of those

notions challenged after working with real students. These

experiences often lead to creative re-shaping of assumptions

and methodological experimentation, usually for the better.

A second-year teacher is almost always better than he/she

was in the first year. Theres often continuous improvement

every year during the career of a conscientious professional.

Understanding what is happening in the brains of stu-

dents during the learning process is a challenge for every

educator. Brain science is more sophisticated now than

ever before and offers more potential into understand-

ing how learning occurs. Remembering what it is like not

to know something is a powerful mindset for a teacher.

Students internal motivation is critical to their success.

Having an appreciation for things to say (or not say) and

things to do (or not do) in class can impact motivation.

A famous songwriter once said, you cant start a fire with

1.

2.

3.

out a spark. Students have to have an inner spark, but faculty

can influence whether or not it explodes in flame. Technol-

ogy continues to shape and re-shape the teaching/learning

experience with new possibilities for faculty/student com-

munications, research, and

access to information.These include software

and Internet instructional

tools, social networking

services, and podcasting.

No one faculty member

has to be an expert in all of

these things, but everyone

should be aware of their

capabilities and use them

as appropriate to increase

student engagement.

There are many opportunities for professional developmentin pedagogy, including attending professional educational

organizations conferences and reading their journals. In addi-

tion, Montgomery Colleges Center for Teaching and Learning

offers many relevant workshops and programs.

The Industry

We who are in the higher education industry provide a

critical service for the advancement of individuals and of

society in general. Higher education is a completely dis-

cretionary activity; no one must avail themselves of what

we offer, yet millions seek us out every day. There are over

1,100 community colleges in the U.S. and more than twiceas many universities. Developing knowledge of how these

organizations operate and evolve is another important aspect

of professional development.

Every organization has certain structural components that

create ways for people to interact with each other. Different

units have different responsibilities, and people within the

units have some subset of the units role in the organization.

Every faculty member, staff member, and administrator is a

member of a team. Growing in understanding of how team

members work together effectively and how a college operates

effectively is a matter of organizational development.

The professional development opportunities for learning about

teams, communication, organizations, and leadership all fall

under this category. All employees, but especially those in

leadership roles, can benefit from programs aimed at orga-

nizational development. In addition, many higher education

professional organizations exist to enhance the understanding

of the business side of higher education. The opportunities

these provide through their conferences and journals are also

valuable.

A famous songwriter

once said, you cant

start a fire without

a spark. Students

have to have an inner

spark, but faculty

can influence whether

or not it explodes in

flame.


(Professional Development, continued from page 1)

(See Professional Development, continued on page 3)

8/9/2019 FOFSpring_2010

3/9


3

Engaging in Professional Development

Although featured prominently above, conferences and

journals are hardly the only methods by which to engage in

professional development. There are many options, and those

that provide the biggest bang for the buck should be the first

to be considered in tight budget times. Some examples include

online seminars or recorded workshops on CD. Occasionally, a

conference speaker will come to an institution for a fraction of

the cost of sending many faculty to the conference. Closer to

home, our own CTL has a wide variety of excellent offerings.

And when it comes to journals, the MC Library has a col-

lection of journals, mostly electronic, that is second to none.

Many professional organizations offer blogs or other com-

munication venues to connect members who share ideas about

important issues. Those networking opportunities offer many

insights from colleagues in similar roles at other institutions.

Conclusion

Whether youre involved in a performance review or not,

think about professional development. Examine your own

interests, your own strengths and weaknesses, and seek out

opportunities to grow professionally, whether it be in the area

of content knowledge, in the area of pedagogy, or in the area

of higher education. As you grow, you will kindle the spark

of your own enthusiasm for all you do. And that enthusiasm

is going to catch on.


From the Editorby Bryant Davis, Editor, CTL Newsletter

It seems remarkable that only a few short weeks ago we were immersed in the greatest snowfall our area has known. And

now we are within site of graduation. Along the way, the snow has melted, the trees have leafed out, and the days have

grown longer and warmer, an amazing transformation. Just as the world around us has altered, so have we. We, who have

dedicated our lives to teaching, have come to find that we have also changed. We are not the educators we were at the

beginning of the semester, and our hope is that we have become all the stronger, all the wiser, all the better.

This issue ofFocus on Faculty addresses professional development. Steve Cain, Instructional Dean at Takoma Park/Silver

Spring, discusses a crucial part of our professionenthusiasm. Miller Newman, CTL Director, tells us how we can design

our own professional development by drawing from resources here at the College. While other resources have become

less available, the CTL still hosts a variety of workshops and offers a number of services that can help us more becomethe educators we want to be.

In other articles, Christina Devlin, English Professor, discusses one of the resources here at the College, which is the Writing

in the Disciplines Initiative. Joseph Nwoye, Instructional Designer for the CTL, answers the question How do I get my

student involved in meaningful learning? And Dru Ryan, the Coordinator of the CTL, looks at bringing outside technol-

ogy into the classroom, something almost all of us struggle with. Are Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites

hindrances in the classroom or helps? With the proliferation of computers and cell phones, we benefit by knowing more

about technology. In that way, Drus article brings a little professional development to us all. The students we teach now

are very different from the students we first learned to teach. Just as the world around us transforms, so do we, and so does

the world in our classrooms. Heres to a brighter day for all.

(Professional Development, continued from page 2) Tammy Peery Wins State Award ForDistance Learningby Bryant Davis, Professor of English, German-

town

Twenty-eight, pregnant, and online: thats how Tammy

Peery describes her foray into teaching by distance learn-

ing. That was 11 years ago. Now, Tammy, an English

professor and department chair at Germantown, is the

Maryland States Distance Educator of the Year, joining

many of her colleagues at Montgomery College who have

recently won state awards for teaching. The Maryland Dis-

tance Learning Association (MDLA) bestowed the award

March 4th in Baltimore.

Tammy began teaching by distance learning at the sug-

gestion of Gary Pittenger, an English professor who has

since retired. Understanding Tammy and her husband werestarting a family, he urged her to teach online so her time

would be more flexible. That may have been how Tammy

began, but she has never slowed down. She co-chairs the

Montgomery College Distance Learning Task Group,

presents frequently at workshops, has developed a model

for the colleges common courses, has reviewed other

classes as part of the Quality Matters (QM) program, and

had one of her own classes approved as a Quality Matters

class. Oh, and she and her husband Emerson also have two

children. Congratulations to Tammy!

8/9/2019 FOFSpring_2010

4/9

political science, hospitality, or your specific course con-

tent.

The CTL instructional designers are charged with working

with all faculty to help you enhance your course content

with both pedagogical and technological tools. We want topersonalize your teaching and learning experience as you seek

to customize your professional development plan. We are

here to serve you. If you would like to talk with us to explore

what options you have to enhance your instruction by using

technology or pedagogy, we will meet with you and work

with you until you are satisfied with your learning. Please

check the Professional Development System (PDS) for our

most current offerings.

We are especially proud to announce two new offerings this

semester:

The Diversity Series: Education and the Implications for

Teaching and LearningPlanning and Executing Collaborative and Active Learn-

ing Techniques: A Three Workshop Series.

Dont miss out on the opportunity to actually experience how

well technology and pedagogy go together. Please save the

date, Saturday, May 1, 8:30-1:00. It promises to be a really

exciting event.

Glenn, David. (2009). Wary of Budget Knife, Teaching

Centers Seek to Sharpen Their Role. Chronicle of Higher

Education 8/18.

1.

2.

Mark Your Calendar for


Saturday Series (PDSS)

Saturday, May 1, 8:30-1:00 PM

This event will showcase the academicresearch and experience of our facultyand staff through workshops, round-

table discussions, and poster sessions.

CO-SPONSORED BYTHE CENTER FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING& THE OFFICE OF EQUITY AND DIVERSITY

Teaching our

Digital Natives


4

From the CTL Directorby Miller Newman, Ed.D., Director

Design Your Own Faculty Professional Development

There is change afoot at the CTL. This ismy third semester as the Director of The

Center for Teaching and Learning. I fol-

low in the footsteps of faculty and staff

whose names are familiar to all but the

newest of us. Colleagues like Professor

Helen Youth, the CTLs first Director; Ron

Liss; Pattie Bartlett and Alan Vincent; and

John Coliton each in their own time and

style cultivated and nurtured the concept of faculty profes-

sional development here at Montgomery College. In the

beginning, the CTL was a couple of computers and received

its financial support from each of the Rockville Instruc-

tional Deans. Today, the CTL is a Collegewide unit that hasa presence on all three campuses, a new lineup of offerings,

a dedicated staff, and an unwavering commitment to engag-

ing faculty and students in their own teaching and learning.

Our classes are full of eager students who defy generalization

and broad group identities. Diversity is our newest mantra,

and we have every reason to believe that teaching a diverse

student population will include text messaging; Facebook;

YouTube; Second, Third, or Fourth Life; computer access

24/7 to class assignments, current grades, discussion boards,

video streaming, and pictures, pictures, and more pictures.

A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education noted

that, while many colleges and universities are shutting downtheir professional development programs for faculty, just as

many are keeping them open because student learning is so

important to all of us (Glenn). Glenn makes one more point

that I think bears repeating because it addresses a direction

that I think will profit all of us in the classroom. Glenn quotes

Michael Theall, the president of the Professional and Organi-

zational Development Network and an associate professor of

teacher education at Youngstown State University, who said,

Educational technology has its own pull on the resources

of an institution. But while the machines are great, the

issue is how we can help people to use those machines to

greatest advantage. And you need two kinds of support for

that. You need the tech support, obviously. But then you

also need the instructional-design support: Here is how

to use that technology to support student learning.

The CTL instructional designers, Dr. Carol Annink, GT, and

Dr. Joseph Nwoye, R, are dyed in the wool pedagogists who

are preparing to work with faculty individually or in small

workgroups to explore how technology can support student

learning in composition, literature, math, science, engineering,


8/9/2019 FOFSpring_2010

5/9


5

Writing in the Disciplines at MontgomeryCollege: Past, Present, and Futureby Christina Devlin, Ph.D., English, Germantown

An Overview of Writing in the Disciplines

The Writing in the Disciplines initiative offers Montgomery

College faculty and students the opportunity to explore the

goals and purposes of both formal and informal academic

writing in specific fields of study. The Writing in the Dis-

ciplines (WID) program began with a Make It Happen In-

novation Grant proposed by Dr. Rita Kranidis of the Takoma

Park/Silver Spring English Department.

She realized many faculty outside English

wanted a forum to discuss what constitutes

good writingespecially how to assign and

evaluate college writing. As a result of her

research, a program of faculty fellowships

and campus coordinators soon followed,

and the program received the Diana Hacker

Exemplary Program for Reaching Across

Borders Award at the National Council for

Teachers of English Convention this year.

Presently, Writing in the Disciplines offers

opportunities for all faculty and students to participate in im-

proving academic writing at Montgomery College.

In 2006 and 2007, Writing in the Disciplines sponsored

several Faculty Fellowship seminars with more than twenty

participants from about sixteen disciplines. Sociology Pro-

fessor Benedict Ngala notes about the faculty fellowshipsthat, Through the WID, I have learned that writing is not

just about term papers, but also includes informal writing,

peer evaluation, and non-graded writing. These assignments

provide students with the opportunity to develop a socio-

logical imagination. Each participant in the Writing in the

Disciplines Faculty Fellowship prepared a portfolio of ideas

and assignments for his or her discipline, which can be found

at http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/WID/

The_WID_Faculty_Fellowship.htm.

Professional Development for Writing in the Disciplines

The Writing in the Disciplines initiative offers a number ofworkshops each semester. In the fall of 2009, popular semi-

nars such as Managing the Paperload and Writing Beyond

Borders (about non-native English writers) were offered.

Since I started taking part in WID professional development

activities, says Professor Jennifer Haydel, of political science,

I have developed more innovative and diverse ways of incor-

porating writing in my courses. I have also developed a better

understanding of how writing expectations translate across

disciplines because of WIDs multidisciplinary approach.

Seminars for the spring include Academic Honesty and Pla-

giarisma critical topic for all students and disciplinesand

a new workshop on the role of writing in promoting psycho-

logical wellbeing. In addition, Writing in the Disciplines is

developing a collection of materials for each campus library,

encompassing both general academic writing resources and

discipline-specific works, and an academic writing researchguide for students.

Opportunities for Students

Writing in the Disciplines expanded last year, when, as a result

of the excellent writing assignments posed by Montgomery

College faculty, the program launched a

contest for exemplary student writing.

Students submitted both formal essays and

informal class writing, and pieces were

selected representing disciplines from

art to biology to sociology (see them at

http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/De-

partments/WID/student_writings/index.

html). This years contest will open before

the end of fall semester, and the 2009-10

exemplary student writings will be pub-

lished in May 2010.

The Future of Writing in the Disciplines

The future of the Writing in the Disciplines program depends

on you and your students! Faculty and students are encouraged

to suggest ways that Writing in the Disciplines can improve

student writing in all disciplines. WID coordinators can workindividually or with small or large groups to help incorporate

writing effectively into courses. Please feel free to contact the

college coordinator, Dr. Christina Devlin (christina.devlin@

montgomerycollege.edu, or 240-567-6925); or one of your

campus coordinators:

Benedict Ngala, Sociology, Germantown

Deborah Stearns, Psychology, Rockville

James Smith, Biology, Takoma Park/Silver Spring

You can also visit the Writing in the Disciplines website at

http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/WID/ for

more resources.


Quote of the month...We will learn no matter what! Learning is as natural as rest or

play. With or without books, inspiring trainers or classrooms

we will manage to learn. Educators can, however, make a

difference in what people learn and how well they learn it

Malcolm Knowles, Educator

8/9/2019 FOFSpring_2010

6/9


6

Engagement: How Can I Get My StudentsInvolved in Meaningful Learning?by Joseph Nwoye, Ph.D.

Instructional Designer, Center for Teaching and

Learning

Fink (1993) asserts that, learning

is not an automatic consequence of

pouring information into a students

head. He reminds us that it re-

quires the learners own mental in-

volvement and doing. He further

reminds us that only learning that

is active will lead to real, lasting and meaningful learning.

Clearly, Fink follows present and past educators who advo-

cated or are still advocating active involvement of learners

in studying, solving real world problems, and applying and

transferring what they know to solve new or complex problems.

Some of the notables that advocate active learning, which is

a derivative of the cognitive theory of teaching and learning

are Piaget, Montessori, Vygotsky, Bruno, Nwoye, Gardner,

Rensick, Agubel, Dewey, and Crowin, just to mention a few.

In light of Finks and other cognitive educators call for

meaningful and active involvement of students in learn-

ing processes, I will attempt to answer the question, How

can I get my students involved in meaningful learning?

For anyone to do justice to the question, the individual

must accept Finks assertion that learning is not an auto-

matic consequence of pouring information into a studentshead. Therefore, for meaningful learning to occur, an in-

structor must invite the learner to participate in the active

construction, discovery, and transformation of knowledge.

For an individual to learn meaningfully, the instructor

must guide the learner through the following two steps:

Teaching basic or fundamental knowledge the instructor

teaches definitions that may be subject/content specific.

This gives the student a foundational understanding that

will help the student learn more. Meanwhile, the instructor

continues to guide the learner by introducing new concepts.

Teaching how to connect concepts in a complexschemathe educator helps the students learn by em-

ploying instructional mapping. In instructional map-

ping, the relationships among concepts are represented

visually. The aim is to help the student relate different

concepts in a complex schema (Gowin & Novak, 1994).

At this point of the learning process, the instructor guides the

learner to understand how to use the knowledge in multiple ways,

1.

2.

thus providing different meanings. As a result, the students

improve their ability to engage in all kinds of thinking

that often leads to meaningful and purposeful learning.

A purposeful invitation to meaningful learning requires an

instructor to understand how meaningful learning occurs.

Meaningful learning is grounded in the belief that learning

occurs in stages as indicated above. It starts with basic knowl-

edge, which could be in the form of a definition, label, list, or

name, in which the learner gains a basic understanding. This

understanding allows the learner to order, recognize, relate,

recall, repeat, and reproduce the information that has been

taught (Bloom). Then, the learner must apply such knowledge

in ways that authenticate what was learned. In turn, the learner

uses conceptual knowledge stemming from complex schema

and applies the knowledge to manipulate related concepts in

dealing with new, abstract situations.

Clearly, instructors who are concerned about the quality oflearning, such as the one that posed the question, can, in fact

facilitate meaningful learning in the classroom simply by fol-

lowing the above steps regardless of the subject matter. The

instructor must embrace a curriculum design approach that

factors Finks and Blooms view of knowledge construction

with a commitment to implement the same. My advice is for

instructors to heed to Finks assertion and then follow the

steps laid out above in the context of the subject matter while

ensuring that the learning process goes recursively instead

of linearly. Instructors who buy into the idea of learning as

building from basic knowledge in a recursive, conceptual, and

relations manner would dramatically appreciate how learning

these intergrated concepts help apply such knowledge.

In a nutshell, for the question of how can I get my students

involved in meaningful learning? an instructor who wants to

ensure meaningful learning has to first ensure that learners are

exposed to basic or foundational knowledge. For anyone to

learn about any topic, activity, or subject, the individual must

learn to acquire, concepts, and perspectives. The individual

must retrieve or recall this basic knowledge to deal with re-

lated knowledge. Jerome Bruner reminds us that all subjects

have a certain logic or conceptual structure associated with

the field. Based on this idea, instructors must teach factual

knowledge connected to a particular subject while they help

learners gain a better understanding of the subjects conceptualstructure. The students can then use their knowledge to learn

something worthwhile.

Speaking of learning something worthwhile, almost all in-

structors want their students to learn something worthwhile.

Instructors want students to transfer what they learned to

deal with new problems, which is expected either in their

field or in a general sense when dealing with daily events.


(See How Can I Get My Students Involved, continued on page 6)

8/9/2019 FOFSpring_2010

7/9


7

Application is the essence of learning. Clearly this is what ev-

ery instructor desires for his or her students. In fact, instructors

often discuss that what they want most for their students is for

them to develop to a level where they can use the knowledge

they gained to solve new, real world problems.

In summary, building from basic knowledge, learning con-

cepts, and linking and intergrating concepts in the form of

integrated concepts powers the learners ability to understand

how concepts are related and integrated in meaningful ways.

Students need to see how concepts are related to each other

in recursive ways to ensure meaningful learning. Instructors

are therefore encouraged to act appropriately.

Bringing Web 2.0 Ideology to theClassroomby Dru Ryan, CTL Coordinator

In last Decembers issue, Campus Technol-

ogy magazine cited Facebookas the number

one site for college students, withMySpacebeing pushed to #6. Other sites in the top ten

are Google, Yahoo,LinkedIn,LiveJournal,

YouTube,Amazon, and CNN.com. While the

Internet has always been a lure for students

with laptops, social networking sites provide

greater interactivity and, with it, long periods of distraction.

A new paradigm, dubbed Web 2.0, is beginning to change the

way the web works. Web 2.0 tools and services move beyond

the one-way Internet of the late 1990s and early 2000s and

allow users to participate. Wikipedia.com (an example of web

2.0 technology) provides this description:

Web 2.0 is commonly associated with web applications

that facilitate interactive information sharing, interoper-

ability, user-centered design,[1] and collaboration on the

World Wide Web. Examples of Web 2.0 include web-based

communities, hosted services, web applications, social-net-

working sites, video-sharing sites, wikis, blogs, mashups,

and folksonomies. A Web 2.0 site allows its users to interact

with other users or to change website content, in contrast

to non-interactive websites where users are limited to the

passive viewing of information that is provided to them.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0]

Until Web 2.0, technology had always been an end product. You

created a spreadsheet, or webpage, or PowerPoint presentation

and then shared it with others. Now, technology allows for

a cooperative

and continu-

ous endeavor.

You may start

a Facebookor

Twitterpage

and then invite

others to join.

Or you may

create a You-Tube page or

a wiki or blog,

but, without

i n t e r a c t i o n

f r o m o t h e r

users, you are

the proverbial tree falling in the woods (with no one around

to hear it).


CTL Workshops

Spring 2010 - April through MayCreating Effective Research Assign-ments

Creating User Generated Contentwith Flip Cams

Creating Your Personal TechnologyToolkit

Diversity Series Part 2: Educationand the Implications for Teachingand Learning in our Global Com-munity

Introduction to Service-Learning:Best Practices and College Resourc-es

Outcomes Assessment Basics

Preparing Dynamic Lectures: Useof PowerPoint Sound, Transition,Graphics and Illustrations

Root Beer Roundtables: PedagogyDiscussion Series

Top Ten Mac Applications for theClassroom

Understanding Formulas in Excel

for GradesheetsVisual Communication: ConceptMaps, Timelines and Screencasts

Writing in the Disciplines: AvoidingPlagiarism and Encouraging Aca-demic Integrity in College Research

To learn more and to register, go tohttp://pds.montgomerycollege.edu

(See Bringing 2.0 Ideology to the Classroom, continued on page 8)

(How Can I Get My Students Involved, continued from page 5)

8/9/2019 FOFSpring_2010

8/9


8

Bringing that ideology to the classroom can be difficult.

Primarily due to ALL THE OTHER distractions the Internet

provides. Yes, we have all walked by a classroom and seen the

student in the corner surfing the Internet with no regard for the

subject matter being taught. We have seen the mobile phones

under the desks as students try to text without the teacher

knowing. But can there be a positive side to this?

At a recent faculty training session, the topic of using social

networking sites came up in class, and each faculty member

had their own anecdotes and strategies. One approach was not

to police the students, claiming Montgomery College is not

13th grade. Another, faculty member (an admitted Facebook

devotee) said she encourages it and actually sees some positive

classroom tie-ins. The majority in the room had a noticeable

disdain for Facebook, Twitter, the Internet, and mobile phones

stating they take students away from the learning process.

The conversation made me want to look around and see what

others are doing in this

area. Immersive learning,

social learning, and col-

laborative learning are all

trending topics on Google.

Progressive institutions are

utilizing these technologies

to further engage students. I

found quite a few examples

(see two below),

e.Republics Center for Digital Education and Converge

magazines 5th Annual Digital Community Colleges Survey

ranks our neighbor, Howard Community College, number 5.

Howard Community College recently launched a social

learning initiative. The colleges goal is to reach 21st century

learners using technology they are familiar with. Debra Green,

director of academic support services, remarked:

As a community college, we are up against a serious

digital divide where not every student has regular ac-

cess to a computer, so providing the option to use any

phone, not just the smart ones, as a learning device is areal game changer.

In another example, Purdue University is using Facebookand

Twitterfor participation. So far, 73% of the 600 students in the

two courses are using a Facebookapplication called HotSeat

to participate in class discussion via Twitterand Facebook.

At least one study reports 91% of college students use Face-

book, and the ever-increasing number of games and other

applications continues to draw in

new users. It is incumbent on educa-

tors to take advantage of this new

learning space. In a recent post on

his excellent blog Synthesizingedu-

catiion.com, Aaron Eyler asks, Are

You Hindering The Development

of Digital Natives? [http://ow.ly/

17UZE]. He purports the reason students are not more efficient

users of Web 2.0 tools is because their teachers are holding

them back, preventing them from learning how to effectively

use these new tools in an academic setting. So what do you

think about Web 2.0 technologies in the classroom? Visit the

CTL website and take our poll.

http://mcctl.blogspot.com/

Visit the CTL on the Web at

http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/ctl/


Guidelines for Contributions to

Focus on Faculty

The CTL invites articles about teaching and learning.

The deadline for submitting articles for the next issue

is August 30, 2010. Articles should be no more than

800 words and saved as Microsoft Word documents.

The information in articles can be supported by your

own experience or by your reading and research. If

outside sources are included, use the MLA format to cite

sources in the article and in the list of references at the

end. Please send articles to

Gloria Barron, [email protected]

or Bryant Davis, [email protected]

This publication was produced by Gloria Barron and

Bryant Davis for the Center for Teaching and Learning.

(Bringing Web 2.0 Ideology to the Classroom, continued from page 8)

8/9/2019 FOFSpring_2010

9/9


9


FOFSpring_2010

Documents

Transcript of FOFSpring_2010