Faculty Innovators Project: Using Technology to Facilitate Discussion and Communication

1. Faculty Innovators Project:Using Technology to Facilitate Discussion and Communication Kathleen N. Kannass Department of Psychology

2. Goal of larger project To learn how technologies and mobile applications such as iPads might support faculty asynchronous classroom discussions The lapse of time during “conversations” on discussion boards in Blackboard can be problematic

3. My own goals 1. Enhance my electronic communication with students and make exchanges closer in real time 2. Enhance lecture presentations and incorporate new technology into my classroom 3. Strengthen student learning of material and increase student-to-student learning 4. Foster student-to-student electronic communication and intellectual climate

4. Carrying out these goals Portability of iPad allows access to Blackboard more easily, especially during non-traditional business hours when students may be more likely to post

5. Explored technology and apps for using the iPad to expand on information in class and use iPad as a “whiteboard” Apps like Airsketch & Whiteboard AD allowed me to write on the iPad as a whiteboard (using a “pen” to write) VGA connector cable connected the iPad to the classroom Crestron unit for projection in the classroom Carrying out these goals

6. Electronic student assignments and exercises Undergraduate course Students selected terms from assignment sheets and posted answers on Blackboard All students had access to each other’s work, and the information in the assignments was connected to the information on the study guides Carrying out these goals

7. Electronic student assignments and exercises Graduate course Students had on-line conversations about their research They gave a general description of their work and described problems and challenges The other students and I provided solutions and feedback Carrying out these goals

8. Goal: Enhance my electronic communication with students and make exchanges closer in real time Did it work? Yes, portability of iPad was very useful and convenient…graded terms and responded to postings more quickly, especially at night and on weekends Conversations were closer in real time Results

9. Goal: Enhance lecture presentations and incorporate new technology into my classroom using iPad as a whiteboard via Airsketch app Did it work? Airsketch was easy & useful in making notes Easy to connect iPad to projector with VGA But writing was awkward….GIANT “first grader-like” Had to go back & forth between ppt & Airsketch Results

10. Goal: Strengthen student learning of material and foster student-to-student learning Did it work? Yes, undergraduate student survey responses… assignments were … helpful for studying & increased understanding of material Test scores were 5 percentage points higher Results

11. Goal: Foster student-to-student electronic communication and intellectual climate Did it work? Yes, undergraduate student survey responses… -84% went back to view information posted by other students Results

12. Yes, graduate student responses… -generated new ideas for their research projects -felt as though their contributions to peers were productive and helpful -on-line research conversations exercised their critical thinking skills, helped them recognize the importance of feedback, stimulated their interest in research, and that their comments on other projects made them think more critically about their own projects - Results

13. iPad was useful in enhancing electronic communication with students and making exchanges closer in real time strengthening student learning of material and increased student-to-student learning fostering student-to-student electronic communication and intellectual climate lecture presentations and incorporating new technology into my classroom Summary

14. Read pdfs Take notes—wireless keyboard helpful Learn about other apps iAnnotate Create a dropbox and put selected readings in there for the class; have class read and annotate pdf; then discuss in class and compare/contrast noted, highlighted versus sections without notes, etc. Important for the uses to be goal oriented, geared towards what you want students to learn Other ways to use iPads?