Content Catastrophe: The Gap Between Textbooks and Global Real-Time Knowledge Acquisition

1. Content Catastrophe: The Gap Between Textbooks and Global Real-Time Knowledge Acquisition Deborah Everhart, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Georgetown University, and Sr. Architect, Blackboard Martin J. Irvine, Founding Director, Communication, Culture, and Technology Program, Georgetown University

2. Traditional Model • Select a textbook (professor’s choice or mandated by an outside authority). • Build a syllabus and a set of assignments around the textbook. • Learning objectives are obvious (cover the textbook content and pass the tests keyed to the content). • Supplement with photocopied course pack. • Supplement with library reserves. • Teach according to the professor’s perspective, heavily influenced by the textbook.

3. More Dynamic Model • Select a textbook and/or a compilation of online materials (professor’s choice with student options). • Build a syllabus and a set of assignments that empower students. • Define learning objectives that guide students through their choices. • Supplement with a publisher-provided course cartridge. • Supplement with library e-reserves. • Supplement with guest lectures and outside experts. • Supplement with experiential learning opportunities. • Teach according to the professor’s perspective on the material, influenced by student-driven activities.

4. Real-Time Hyper-Learning Model • No textbook-- dynamic set of materials that is not predetermined, mostly or entirely online. • Syllabus and assignments provide a cognitive scaffolding for the course and a clear set of learning objectives that can be addressed in various ways. • Build out the content of the course during the course, including student-produced materials and discovery of relevant online materials as the topics of the course unfold. • Focus is on the students’ engagement with the materials, guided by the instructor’s teaching strategies and expert knowledge of the subject matter.

5. Information Technology and International Security (STIA475) • Georgetown University School of Foreign Service • Science and Technology in International Affairs • Samuel Visner • SVP at Science Applications International Corporation and formerly Chief of Signals Intelligence Programs at the National Security Agency • Peter Sharfman • senior executive at MITRE Corporation and formerly with the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment

6. Information Technology and International Security (STIA475) Challenge: • Information technology is very rapidly changing how individuals interact, communicate, form trans-national communities – but international law is based on expectations about how countries will react — this world and the security issues it raises are shifting on a daily basis — how can textbooks and a fixed curriculum be used?

7. Information Technology and International Security (STIA475) Dynamic Model: • No textbook, but a collection of background readings • Online materials, particularly news and government resources • Syllabus is a “launch point” for the course • Guest lectures • Experts guiding the learning experience of students who are exploring topics as events unfold

8. Information Technology and International Security (STIA475) Benefits: • Students and faculty collaborate in their interpretation and contextualization of events, teaching each other • Outside experts provide rich insights • Course flexibly adapts to changing events and to students’ interest in specific topics • The class itself becomes an example of the dynamic communities they’re studying • Course methodology is directly applicable to working in this dynamic field (and others)

9. Information Technology and International Security (STIA475) Shortcomings: • Students are at first uncomfortable with not knowing the readings in advance • Difficulty keeping course materials organized and direction clear as focus constantly shifts • Demands on faculty time and attention to adjust the course and respond to students’ level of understanding, providing context and guidance daily– “reconfigure this airplane in flight”

10. Information Technology and International Security (STIA475) Costs: • Relatively high, but faculty learning is a benefit Reusability: • Relatively low for specific content, but relatively high for model assignments and course tools Replicability: • Relatively high for the general model Effectiveness: • Extremely high

11. Cultural Hybridity (CCTP725) and Discourses of Culture(CCTP797) • Georgetown University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences • Communication, Culture, & Technology Program • Martin Irvine • Founding Director, Communication, Culture, and Technology Program

12. Real-Time Hyper-Learning Model • No textbook-- dynamic set of materials that is not predetermined, mostly or entirely online. • Syllabus and assignments provide a cognitive scaffolding for the course and a clear set of learning objectives that can be addressed in various ways. • Build out the content of the course during the course, including student-produced materials and discovery of relevant online materials as the topics of the course unfold. • Focus is on the students’ engagement with the materials, guided by the instructor’s teaching strategies and expert knowledge of the subject matter.

13. Dynamic Model– Current Trends • Content on demand, both online and through more flexible publishers’ models • Modular learning objects, easily added to courses and reused across courses • Self-publishing (blogs, wikis, portfolios, YouTube et. al.) • Improved online asynchronous collaboration tools • Learning-centric shifts in course design

14. Dynamic Model– Near Term • Improved online synchronous and semi-synchronous collaboration tools • Social bookmarking, tagging, and folksonomies • Clustered, overlapping online learning communities • Smart search agents with academically useful relevancy ratings

15. Dynamic Model– Future Think • Global full-content online libraries, intricately hyperlinked and tagged • Instant “remix” functionality to combine, compare, and analyze content on the fly • Faculty/student collaboration in the construction of learning experiences tailored to the needs of individual learners

16. Thank you. • Deborah Everhart, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Georgetown University, and Sr. Architect, Blackboard • www.georgetown.edu/everhart • Martin J. Irvine, Founding Director, Communication, Culture, and Technology Program, Georgetown University • www.georgetown.edu/irvinemj