Comments on: Adapt new teaching methods or become irrelevant?

By: Emily Graftun

Emily Graftun — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:06:30 +0000

When talking to a vendor the other day I heard a rumor that Dwight is bailing out of Plymouth. Is that true??

By: RLR

RLR — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:46:04 +0000

Sorry, in the first paragraph, I meant NOT backed up. Only on my first cup of coffee…

By: RLR

RLR — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:45:02 +0000

As far as research infrastructure, I am not sure. I just know that our identity as a university is evolving, and a systemic approach to organizing and storing research data is imperative. Also, having it linger on faculty desktops that are regularly backed up is asking for a disaster. A better desktop backup strategy may help data loss, but not the systemic approach.

As far as synchronous tools, I’d like to see a better web presentation application – such as Elluminate or one that does chat, video, slides, and sound. It is a critical part of expanding our online offerings, and as we expand our reach it makes sense for meetings and presentations.

As far as assessment tools, I guess I’d just say this – similar to the research infrastructure – there needs to be a systemic approach. A significant portion of time and energy is wasted on parallel, (often) competing tasks, and the organization of institutional reports can be streamlined by not having them “handwritten.”

Just a few thoughts before I share breakfast with Claire…

By: dcfischer

dcfischer — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:34:16 +0000

I agree with much of what you said. Social networking tools are a supplement, not an end all, and they are not for all courses. The real issue is how prepared are we to communicate and interact with students and colleagues in these emerging ways.

The Strategic Plan will pose a number of questions that will be vetted to the campus. We’ll seek online, f2f and other means of feedback.

Answer your question. What would you like to see for research infrastructure, assessment and synchronous tools?

By: RLR

RLR — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:57:43 +0000

Dwight, your posting focuses primarily on social networking tools. While I believe in the importance of socially-constructed knowledge, there are a vast number of learning theories that drive the design of software. This includes the traditional approaches like behavioral learning and the like. Not to mention, different disciplines may not categorically assume the same importance of socially-constructed knowledge as a primary strategy (regardless of the perceived obsolescence of the instructor). What provisions will be in the IT Strategic Plan for more departmental/discipline innovation (locally speaking not globally) including such things as research infrastructure, assessment systems, and synchronous instructional tools?