Welcome! SourceLink is news from the Learning, Teaching, and Innovative Technologies Center (LT&ITC). We want to share information on learning, innovative pedagogies and technologies, and research. We’ve included a calendar of workshops and seminars designed to support the teaching and learning goals of MTSU’s community of educators.

Your input is always welcome. We appreciate receiving news and inquiries about teaching tips, innovative techniques, or other relevant topics of interest.

MTSU Civic Engagement Faculty Learning CommunityMary Evins, History

We ten faculty members of MTSU’s first faculty learning community (FLC), which focuses on student civic engagement, are working collectively and individually to expand our own teaching techniques, to enrich the contents of our own courses, and, in the process, to contribute toward “putting civic engagement at the forefront of the University’s identity.”

Drawing largely from the membership of the faculty advisory board to the American Democracy Project, professors Jim Williams (History) and Ron Kates (English), each with multiyear, on-campus involvements in civic engagement and service learning, invited faculty from across the six undergraduate colleges of MTSU to meet regularly for a full year to study together the research on the benefits of civic engagement in the classroom and to work together to implement changes within our own curricula to enhance our classes, strengthen our students’ active learning, and increase student retention. For the FLC, participation has produced new pedagogies, increased excitement in the classroom, shared enthusiasm for the ways in which civic engagement affects and empowers students, and created new collegial friendships beyond our own disciplines.

Volume 5, Issue 1 Spring 2010

Consider Joining an FLC .................... 2

FLC on Civic Engagement ................. 2

FLC on E-Learning Pedagogy ........... 2

2009 POD Conference ......................... 3

Event Highlight: March Showcase on Student Learning ......................... 4

LT&ITC Library and Resources Center .............................. 4

Teaching Tips ......................................... 5

Spring 2010 Schedule of Events ...... 5

Propose a Workshop ........................... 5

Instructional Technologies: Mobile Learning ............................ 6

Teaching and Learning Tools: E-Portfolios .................................... 7

Directors’ Corner ................................... 8

SourceLink ConnectingMTSU Faculty

Learning, Teaching, and Innovative Technologies CenterMTSU Box 231

1301 East Main Street

Murfreesboro, TN 37132

Ph (615) 494-7671 Fax (615) 494-8612

ltanditc@mtsu.edu

www.mtsu.edu/ltanditc Civic Engagement cont. on page 2

Faculty Learning Community on Civic Engagement (l-r) Tony Johnston, Jim Williams, Michelle Boyer-Pennington, Hilary Stallings, Ron Kates, Mary Evins, Kim Sadler, Maria Edlin, Jason Reineke, and Kaylene Gebert (absent)

2Consider Joining an FLCFollowing a 2007 Teaching Excellence Showcase led by national expert on Faculty Learning Communities Milton Cox of Miami University of Ohio, the LT&ITC launched its 2009 FLC initiative to bring together faculty members across campus with common interests in scholarly and pedagogical areas that could benefit MTSU’s academic community. As a result, two FLCs were formed: the FLC on Civic Engagement (2009) and the FLC on Online Teaching and Learning (2010). If you are interested in serving on or proposing an FLC, please contact Barbara Draude, bdraude@mtsu.edu or Faye Johnson, fjohnson@mtsu.edu, LT&ITC codirectors.

MTSU Civic Engagement Faculty Learning Community Ron Kates (English), facilitator

Jim Williams (History), facilitator

Tony Johnston (Agribusiness and Agriscience)

Michelle Boyer-Pennington (Psychology)

Hilary Stallings (Liberal Arts)

Mary Evins (History)

Kim Sadler (Biology)

Maria Edlin (Center for Economic Education)

Jason Reineke (Journalism)

Kaylene Gebert (Speech and Theatre)

MTSU E-Learning Pedagogy Faculty Learning Community Tom Brinthaupt (Psychology), facilitator

Lawanna Fisher (Academic Enrichment)

Justin G. Gardner (Agribusiness and Agriscience)

Deana Raffo (Speech and Theatre)

Jeremy Rich (History)

Jennifer Woodard (Electronic Media Communication)

MTSU Civic EngagementFaculty Learning Community cont. from pg. 1

Professors Williams and Kates proposed the creation of the FLC to the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost in spring 2009. The community gathered initially for preliminary discussions and reading assignments during spring and summer of last year but began regular monthly and bimonthly meetings throughout academic year 2009–2010. Special projects, topics, webinars, and outings have framed each FLC meeting, as has a systematic study of the book Educating for Democracy by Anne Colby, et al. (2007).

Membership in the community means that every FLC participant is charged with incorporating civic engagement principles into improvement plans for his or her classes and is committed to an end product. Each professor is implementing the ideas differently, adapting them to distinct disciplines and courses. Classroom changes began during fall semester 2009, as faculty right away tried new ideas from Educating for Democracy even while learning them, adding new elements to students’ assignments and classroom experiences in both General Studies and upper-division courses.

This spring, one FLC member’s Mass Media and Free Expression course is studying political Web sites. In another member’s class, students are applying practical math to problem-solving in a veterans’ home. The students in an Experiential Learning (EXL) class are polling MTSU students on campus tobacco usage. FLC members who already integrate civic engagement into their courses are adding improved components of structured reflective writing, service learning, and outreach learning experiences. Other faculty are undertaking campus-wide civic engagement development projects to support students’ cocurricular activities. For fall 2010, one FLC member created a student volunteer time bank as part of an introductory psychology course. Four members paired four General Studies classes for two new Raider Learning Community (RLC) clusters, one pair of which will be in the Honors College; the courses are being submitted for EXL designation as well.

MTSU’s FLC will present a group panel in Providence, Rhode Island, in June at the national meetings of the American Democracy Project, to share the results of the civic engagement learning year together. The group will present the results first on campus, to the MTSU community, on April 13.

The faculty learning community is committed to civic engagement work done together and to its implications and effects for the wider University community. Civic engagement the FLC promotes might be spread across campus by the founding of offshoot FLCs for 2010–2011. If you would be interested in joining a faculty learning community or in helping develop one, please let us know of your interest. Just e-mail amerdem@mtsu.edu.

Resources: Faculty Learning Communities— Serving as Agents of Change Diary of a General Education FLCLT&ITC delicious.com Bookmarks on FLCs

Faculty Learning Community on E-Learning Pedagogy

3Faculty Development Thoughts about and Experiences at the 2009 POD Conferenceby Tom Brinthaupt, Psychology

The 2009 POD (Professional and Organizational Development) Conference was held in Houston at the end of October. Through the support of the LT&ITC, I was able to attend this conference for the first time. I fell into the “faculty members who are part-time developers” POD category. Although the content and presenters focused primarily on new and experienced faculty developers, there were several sessions with faculty members as the target audience. In this report, I want to discuss the highlights of my conference experience.

I was very impressed with how well run the conference and program were (which isn’t surprising, given the nature of this organization). Unlike the typical professional conferences I attend in my discipline, the POD sessions were all interactive. This meant that each presenter included activities or exercises that involved the audience and drew on its expertise. This made for sessions that were never boring and always stimulating.

Neil Howe and the “Millennials”The plenary speakers were interesting and entertaining. One of them, Neil Howe, presented on the different historical generations in the U.S., including the current “Millennials,” and how different generations have experienced and affected culture and education. Howe’s analyses are controversial: he argued that the mood of an era (and its accompanying attitudes, behavior, and identity implications) is reflected in the culture, educational practices, consumer behavior, and mass media of that generation. Focusing on the millennials, Howe described the personality of this emerging generation as sheltered, special, confident, team-oriented, conventional, pressured, and achievement-oriented. Most interestingly for me were his observations on the educational implications of generational differences.

Millennials, according to Howe, emphasize and value team skills, community service, and civic engagement both in and out of school. Unlike previous generations, this one seems to show a higher need to share and find consensus and a hesitancy to debate or compete. College faculty are expected to serve more as mentors and exemplars than as “distant experts.” Howe argued that many of the current trends we see in instructional technology and education as a whole are a reflection of the needs of this generation and how it is shaping its technology for its own requirements. Educators who fail to recognize this fact are being left behind.

Becoming a Peak Performing ProfessorI attended an interactive session on time management. The presenter discussed the setting of goals, the development of a goal management plan, and ways for faculty members to enhance their performance at work and at home. Attendees learned some

POD NetworkThe LT&ITC annually sponsors faculty participation in the POD conference to take advantage of unique resources that support faculty and instructional development.

Neil Howe on the MillennialsBy Jake Jacobsen, all rights reserved.

2009 POD Conference cont. on page 4

Neil HoweBy Jake Jacobsen, all rights reserved.

The LT& ITC March 2010 Showcase, “Inquiring into Our Students’ Learning,” featured a session on the scholarship of teaching and learning, which has been described in general as an inquiry into student learning. But what does that look like in real life? How does this work help to make teaching public and community property? How does this form of scholarship connect to the concerns of faculty teaching in particular disciplines?

Matthew Fisher, chair of the Chemistry Department at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and a senior fellow with the SENCER Institute, conducted an interactive session to provide an overview of the scholarship of teaching and learning and help

participants begin to develop projects that they are interested in pursuing. Dr. Fisher used selected examples to help attendees develop an understanding of important characteristics of this work. Participants were asked to think about questions they wish to study and evidence that might help in exploring those questions. Time was provided for individual reflection, sharing in small groups, and receiving feedback from colleagues. The session also provided information about resources and tools for engaging in the scholar-ship of teaching and learning, available at http://www.mtsu.edu/ltanditc/events.shtml.

2009 POD Conference cont. from pg. 3of the ways to become a “peak performing professor” by systematically managing the control of tasks and getting more writing done. Although I considered myself to be pretty good at managing my time, I came away from this session with several good ideas.

Because I am working on the creation of an MTSU faculty learning community (FLC), I was very interested in the sessions that dealt with FLCs. One of these, given by a group from Texas A&M University, provided an excellent overview of the benefits and challenges of creating a discipline-specific FLC for teaching large classes. This group brought a systematic approach to their FLC, including an assessment-heavy starting period, a format that met the needs and wishes of the participants, and content and materials that were determined primarily by those instructors. The FLC included demonstrations, guest speakers, in-class observations, and pre- and post-assessments of the changes participants made in their teaching. It was an excellent “how-to” session with many good suggestions for creating and facilitating an FLC.

Moving from faculty-centered to student-centered approachProbably my favorite session was a presentation on the social psychological factors associated with moving from a faculty-centered to a student-centered approach to teaching (another change created by the millennial generation, according to Howe). The presenter discussed theory and research on persuasion, conformity and social norms, motivation, social perception, and attributions. He and the audience provided lots of examples of things that work and don’t work when creating a student-centered classroom. It was an entertaining and educational session.

Finally, in addition to the high quality of the presentations, the attendees made up one of the friendliest groups I have ever encountered at a conference. The POD group prides itself on creating a welcoming atmosphere and sense of community, which made for a very positive experience. I would recommend the POD meeting to any faculty or staff member who is interested in or has experience with faculty training and development. I thank the LT&ITC for this opportunity!

Resources: Neil Howe’s LifeCourse blog, 2009 POD Conference Photos

4 Event Highlight March Showcase on Student Learning LT&ITC

Library and Resource Center

Course Module—Survival Strategies for Teaching Large Classes

Peter Saunders(Magna Publications, 2008)

• 60-minute audio of online seminar

• PowerPoint slides

• Strategies for large classes across the disciplines

• Large-class teaching FAQs

Other Course Modulesfor Loan

• Enhancing Powerpoint for the Online Classroom and Beyond

• 15 Survival Strategies for New College Instructors

E-mail ltanditc@mtsu.edu to borrow this or any other item from our library. Peruse all our titles at http://www.librarything.com/catalog/LTITC.

Dr. Matthew A. Fisher, St. Vincent College

5Propose a Workshop!

Leading a workshop is an excellent way to network with others on campus, publicize your skills, and help with the professional development of colleagues. Here is what one of our past presenters had to say about his workshop experience:

“Leading the LT&ITC’s spring 2009 First

Tuesday series gave me an opportunity to

work with colleagues from across campus

who were interested in information

literacy. After the workshops, several

of the participants sought me out to

develop collaborative teaching projects

and lesson plans together. I have also

been invited to give my presentations to

other departments on campus, and I have

presented about these teaching/learning

collaborations at state and regional

conferences.” — Jason Vance, assistant professor, information literacy librarian

To propose a workshop, contact the center at ltanditc@mtsu.edu.

Teaching Tips • Getting Students to Readby Andrea Garrison, LT&ITC graduate assistant

College teachers can reduce their own and students’ frustration about course-based reading if they will consider students’ full range of educational needs and expectations as they make decisions about course structure (Lowman, 1995).

TIP 1: Not every course is well served by requiring a textbook. Consider not having a required textbook if . . .• Coursestructureduplicatestextmaterial(i.e.,in-classlectureand/ordiscussion primarily “covers” basic material found in the textbook).•Noavailabletextoffersagoodfitwiththecourse.Instead,usecustompublishing options to create a course reading packet tailored to the course.•Ifthetextbookisnotabsolutelyessential,usereadinglistsandlibraryreserve.

TIP 2: “Less is more” applies to course reading. A good reading list should contain a few carefully chosen selections to reduce student perception that the workload is Herculean. Each of the remaining texts/reading assignments should connect obviously to the course: they should show up as part of in-class presentations, factor into course projects, or appear on examinations.

TIP 3: Use a syllabus as a teaching tool. At their best, strong course syllabi can affect student compliance with course reading assignments. Effective syllabi do more than identify required reading materials: they provide background about the materials so that students understand why the reading assignments contribute to learning and how they relate to other course content and course activities.

TIP 4: Assign reading close to the use date. When assignments are made close to the “use date”—the class session during which the information contained in the reading appears—students are more likely to read the assignments. One study found that for students who were given reading assignments at the start of the term, documented “use was concentrated just prior to either the mid-term or end-of-term examinations. On the other hand, when short but frequent lists were assigned, use was dispersed quite evenly over weekly periods as well as over the whole term.

TIP 5: Require prior reading. One reason faculty assign course-based reading is so that students will, hopefully, be prepared and want to participate in subsequent class activity and discussions. To combat low reading compliance levels among students, McDougall and Cordeiro (1993) advocate the use of random questioning because relying on students to volunteer to participate in class discussion and activity “actually reinforces the ‘nonpreparation’ behavior of students who fail to volunteer.”

Resources: For more teaching tips, see the LT&ITC Web pages on teaching resources.

Spring 2010 Schedule of Events Register for workshops by e-mailing ltanditc@mtsu.edu, or call 494-7671. Check our Web site for the latest scheduling information: www.mtsu.edu/ltanditc.

All lunchtime workshops are brownbag.

Friday, March 19 eLearning WorkshopSocial Networking Tools for Teaching and LearningBrenda Kerr, 2:30–4:00 p.m., Faculty Senate Chambers

Tuesday, April 6 First Tuesday Series on Experiential LearningDeveloping and Marketing Your Major as EXLJill Austin, 11:40 a.m.–1:00 p.m., Faculty Senate Chambers

Tuesday, April 13 Teaching ExcellenceFaculty Learning Community on Civic EngagementRon Kates, Jim Williams and FLC Members, 2:00–3:30 p.m., Faculty Senate Chambers

Thursday, April 15 FLC on E-Learning Pedagogy Workshop Teaching with Online ToolsBarbara Draude and FLC on Online Teaching, 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m., Faculty Senate Chambers

6 Instructional Technologies Mobile Learning

In February, the center offered an e-learning workshop on mobile learning, which, according to Educause and the 2010 Horizon Report, is “one of six areas of emerging technology likely to have a significant impact on teaching, learning, or creative expression in higher education within three adoption horizons, or two to three years.” Why has this instructional technology become so popular? For one, mobile technology allows students to make their learning portable and accessible at any time. Two, it also makes possible a new array of learning tasks and interactions that would have been impossible to do without the technological device. And, three—it’s engaging. Students, as we all know, love their cell phones and will happily use them for work as well as play.

The workshop, led by Steve Jones (Psychology), featured demonstrations of actual learning modules Jones uses in his statistics course. Faculty members attending the workshop brought their cell phones to participate in the demonstrations. Jones also introduced the group to Hot Lava, a Web site that provides tools to create small learning modules, and to Abilene Christian University, a school that’s been leading the mobile technology movement. Curious about what led Steve to choose the cell phone as a teaching and learning tool, SourceLink asked him some questions.

Q. Steve, how did you get involved with mobile learning?A. I was inspired by a presentation given by Judy Brown (University of Central Florida) at an eLearning Guild conference. She uses mobile learning for public health projects in low-resource areas like Africa. The idea was to use the most available technology to engage learners. Cell phones seem like the most available technology for students—just watch what they are doing as they walk in-between classes.

Q. What are the advantages of using this kind of instructional technology?A. Mobile learning is anywhere, anytime learning, which I suppose is the nature of learning. With over 3 billion cell phones on the planet, processors that will be 100 times faster in 10 years, and students that say “text me” rather than “call me,” the potential is interesting. It can extend and reinforce learning outside the classroom. For instance, imagine a nursing student, in a field setting, using her cell phone to refer to methods she learned in class. Also, students can create mobile learning modules themselves and share them with friends via cell phone. If a particular module catches on and spreads through a social network, we might think of it as viral learning.

Q. How do your students respond?A. Pretty well, but mobile learning technology is in its early stages, like online learning was 15 years ago. One student, a teacher, wants to use it with her high school students. Students show their mobile learning projects to their friends.

Q. Do you use other instructional technologies from time to time?A. Yes, I use Adobe Flash to create online lectures that are interactive. In the lectures, there are talking animated characters that explain concepts and add comic relief, which seems needed in a course like Basic Statistics (PSY 3020). The talking characters come from a program called CrazyTalk. You can even have multiple talking characters that have conversations. You can check out this sample lecture if you are interested (sample lecture with CrazyTalk).

Resources: Cellular Colleges, Educause delicious Bookmarks on Mobile Learning

Steve Jones demonstrates modules created with mobile technology.

Mobile Learning Applications

Hotseat at Purdue University

OutStart Hot Lava Mobile

2010 Horizon Report E-BooksMobile ComputingOpen Content, or the OER MovementSimple Augmented R e a l i t yTouch and Gesture C o m p u t i n gVisual Data Analysis

Tag Cloud2010 Notable Instructional Technologies

7Teaching and Learning Tools Using E-Portfolios to Support Student Learning By Jill Austin, Management and Marketing

Students who wish to obtain the EXL Scholars designation take a one-hour course called Experiential Learning Seminar that requires them to complete an e-portfolio. Each e-portfolio is a Web site that provides information to potential employers and graduate school admissions officers about the student’s experiential learning activities. Students may attach papers, reflection exercises, PowerPoint presentations, and/or videos that were developed as EXL class projects to their Web sites.

The attachments provide evidence that they have developed an experience-based knowledge of their disciplines, can apply theories to real-world concepts, can assess their efforts through reflective writing, and have made a contribution to their communities. The students must also show that they have developed skills in two of the following areas: planning, organization, leadership, and problem solving.

Students include the Web addresses of their e-portfolios on their resumes, cover letters, and/or graduate school applications. The e-portfolio supplements the resume and/or application form because it provides specific examples of a student’s work that help interviewers learn about the applicant’s writing, communication, and organization skills; creativity; and knowledge/skills in the discipline of study. Employers and graduate school admissions officers find these e-portfolios useful in selecting interview candidates and in determining the candidates who should be selected for employment or graduate school admission.

Students frequently say that the advantages of completing the e-portfolio include identifying the specific skills that were developed through EXL activities and determining the type of work they want to pursue. Additionally, students find that interviews are less stressful because often interviewers spend the interview time

asking about the EXL projects and reflection writing that is part of the EXL e-portfolio.

The EXL e-portfolio is completed during the senior year, after EXL students have completed 15–18 hours of EXL coursework. After successful completion of the e-portfolio, students receive cords to wear at commencement, and

they are recognized during commencement

for their accomplishments as EXL Scholars.

EXL Scholars also have the designation added to their transcripts.

Resources: E-Portfolios (ASTD); E-Portfolios as a Hiring Tool (Educause)

Tools, Resources, Information for Teachers

Educause E-Portfolio Resources

Service LearningBookmarks

SoTL Information

WebStyleGuide

“Rapt:Attention and the Focused Life”

Web Enhanced Teaching

Web 2.0 Tools

MERLOT

Popular Academic Social Networking Tools

Using Twitter for Teaching and Learning

Mobile Learning Apps and Tools

Build an Academic Community with Ning

Bookmark Important Academic Sites

d e l . i c i o . u s

MTSU, a Tennessee Board of Regents university, is an equal opportunity, nonracially identifiable educational institution that does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. AA208-0310

Directors’ Corner The new year—in fact, the new decade—inspires us to revisit our personal and professional priorities and to set new agendas. In that spirit, the LT&ITC has reviewed its programming as well as new and expanded programming ideas brought to us by faculty members. We think our spring agenda builds on our successes and incorporates many innovative faculty-generated ideas. In this issue of SourceLink, we invite you to share our excitement and learn more about our continuing instructional series and the new developments we have on the horizon.

• Our First Tuesday Series will focus on experiential learning (EXL). Jill Austin (Manage-ment and Marketing) and several of her colleagues will be sharing their expertise on how to adapt a course to include experiential learning, and they will discuss their student learning successes using EXL.

• Based on feedback from faculty, we will continue our very successful series of work-shops on e-learning. Look for sessions on mobile learning and social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, delicious, and Ning. By special request, we will also be offering a two-hour e-learning teach-in, “Teaching with Online Tools,” that addresses basic is-sues related to online teaching and includes demonstrations of how to use essential tools and techniques.

Matt Fisher, a nationally renowned biochemist and expert in STEM education (St. Vincent College), anchored our showcase series in March in partnership with the Center for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math-ematics Education (WISTEM). Dr. Fisher, highly acclaimed for his interactive approach to teaching and learning and a recent SENCER Senior Fellow, lead a workshop called “Inquiring into Our Students’ Learning—The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.”

• New on the horizon is the development of the center’s Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) initiative. Ron Kates (English) and Jim Williams (History) are leading an FLC pilot project centered on student civic engagement in partnership with the campus-wide American Democracy Project initiative. Tom Brinthaupt (Psychology), is leading a pilot project FLC centered on the learning needs of faculty interested in developing hybrid and/or online courses. It is jointly sponsored by the LT&ITC and the College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning. Tim Graeff (Management and Mar-keting) will continue the Academy for Teaching Excellence pilot project, a faculty instructional and research-based mentoring program.

We encourage you to participate in the center’s activities. If you join our Learning-L listserv, you will receive regular announcements of upcoming events. Or, you can check our Web site for the latest information on new faculty development initiatives, special events, and workshop topics. We want to hear about your instructional successes and needs and, of course, keep those ideas coming.

Faye Johnson Barbara Draude Co-director, LT&ITC Co-director, LT&ITC

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