Reconsidering Concepts for Support and Collaboration

1. Reconsidering Concepts for Support and Collaboration Eky Fioole & Rudi Clause Avans Universityof applied Sciences

2. Content • Context • Challenges • 3 case studies • Basics & Conditions • Pitfalls • Our wish list

3. Context Avans University has: • 18.500 students • 1.800 staff • 18 Schools • 60 bachelor degree programs (full time, part-time and co-op) • 3 locations (Breda, Tilburg and ‘s Hertogenbosch)

4. Context • Bb Learning & Community System  Blackboard Academic Suite • Learn to Use  Use to Learn • Students acquire the role of Instructor in their own courses • Implementation of ePortfolio’s • Storage of course materials in the Bb Content System -> Increased complexity • Educational view • Problem based learning  Competence based learning • Digital archive  Interactive use • Assignments based on real life cases • Blending of institutional learning, work experiences and virtual learning • ‘Stand alone' system  Links to a growing number of other systems • LDAP, institutional portal, … • Other user groups (companies, other institutions) • Changing demands and needs from users • Students need to work together • Students need easy access to organisation information • Staff need to co-operate in multidisciplinary teams.

5. Challenges • Growing complexity of our context • Shortage of resources • Need to make choices • Diversity in level of knowledge, experience and motivation.

6. 3 Case studies • Training of Bb-coaches • Working with staff and students • Collaboration with other universities

7. Case study 1 • Training Bb-coaches - How to use Bb  How to use Bb within our in an educational concept • New roles for Bb-coaches • Increasing complexity • Consequence: Training Bb-coaches based on the principles of competence based learning. Bb-coaches make their own ePortfolio.

9. Case study 2 Working with staff and students • Road shows • Use of good practices • Active role for staff in training their colleagues, directed towards enlarging the existing body of knowledge • Community of Practice ePortfolio • Sharing of information, knowledge and experiences • Active participation • Open access to users from other universities.

10. Case study 2 Working with staff and students • Active participation of students in training staff (ePortfolio’s, manuals) • Students are involved in developing, building and evaluating Bb Building Blocks.

12. Case study 3 Collaboration with other universities • B4x initiative • Exchange and collaborate on constructing Building Blocks • Informal sessions • Focus on questions and problems, not only on success-stories. • One-on-one approach

14. Basics & Conditions • Trust your …students, staff members, schools andother universities, … • Teach what you preach • Bottom up approach • Share and collaborate • Open mind - Open source • Find news ways to communicate interactively

15. Basics & Conditions 2 • Be creative • Use different roles: • Not only the expert, but also facilitator and mediator. • Connect

16. Pitfalls • Resistance Faculty, Staff, students, eLearning coaches • Knowledge sharing • Another way of training staff and faculty • Another way to receive (make) knowledge • Vulnerability • not everybody wants to share and to collaborate • Showing failures can be more important than sharing success-stories.

17. Our wish list • Staying in touch with the changing educational view. • Develop ideas on support materials • Long term sharing and collaborating • Further use of collaboration tools in and outside Blackboard

18. Thank you • Eky Fiooleey.fioole@avans.nl • Rudi Clauserlth.clause@avans.nl