Mid-South Instructional Technology Conference
Teaching, Learning, & Technology
The Connected Classroom
April 7-9, 2002
Communities of Learners: Connecting Students to Maximize Learning
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By: Maria Clayton |
Abstract
Faculty engaged in instruction integrating the web continue to invest time to adapt different technologies towards meeting the mandate of increased interactivity. We approach this venture gladly in the name of engaging our students more meaningfully with course content, with one another, and with us; however, we need to hear from each other about what the results of our efforts show, what the pay off is for the investment of one of our most precious commodities--our time.
Description
As participants in the ongoing dialogue about instruction using the web, we are by now well aware of the many avenues available for integrating interactive opportunities into our courses--into traditional courses that enlist the web for expanding classroom walls and into courses that rely on it exclusively. For us, the mandate is clear: to create learning communities through interactivity. However, we faculty are also painfully aware of the substantial time required for developing, integrating, and administering these interactive elements in our courses. As we continue to invest time to adapt different technologies towards this aim, all in the name of engaging our students more meaningfully with the material, with one another, and with us, we need to hear from each other about what the results of our efforts show, what the pay off is for the investment of one of our most precious commodities--our time.
Exactly how do students benefit? In my own web-assisted and web-based courses, I have expanded interactive opportunities using Blackboard's CourseInfo and have identified three areas of positive impact, which I attribute in great part to the increased interactivity: reduced student isolation and anxiety levels, increased student retention, and improved student outcomes. While I use the web to varying degrees in all my courses, I focus here on my web-assisted, first-semester, freshman composition course and on my web-based, first-semester, sophomore introduction to literature course. In both, beginning in the summer 2001 semester, I have expanded the already substantial use of interactive tools to include personas homepages for students and small group features--individual group email, discussion board, virtual chat, and file exchange.
This presentation will report my findings, share the survey vehicle used, and offer anecdotal student commentaries.
Proceeding