Proceedings
Instructional Technology Conference
Middle Tennessee State University
Building Communities of Learners
April 3-5, 2005
Ohio University Classroom Wireless Project
Track 3
Providing for Communities of Learners
Administrative Support, Infrastructure and Policies for the Technology-Based Learning Environment
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Paul O’Donnell Andy Kranyik Presentation |
Abstract
Like many universities, Ohio University has been expanding its wireless network to classrooms and administrative buildings across campus. However, it is available only to the small (but growing) subsection of students with suitably enabled wireless devices. Few faculty, therefore, are incorporating the wireless network into their teaching strategies. In response, Ohio University’s Center for Innovations in Technology for Learning (CITL) is leading a diverse community of volunteer faculty and staff in a pilot project designed to advance creative classroom teaching and learning strategies using wireless technologies. In this presentation, academic technology staff from CITL will present our work as an evaluation of the merits of wireless use based on observations of effective strategies used by participating faculty and identify common denominators of success across disciplines.
Description
Under the guidance of the CITL academic staff, the faculty group is currently meeting to identify teaching strategies, brainstorm solutions to the aforementioned challenges, and discuss suitable applications of wireless enabled classrooms. Many of the questions we will be addressing are pedagogical: simply “connecting” faculty and students to a wireless network within a classroom does not by itself further the goal of developing a creative teaching and learning strategy. How will being “connected” in classrooms impact educational objectives; which strategies will improve learning and which will hinder it? Other questions concern availability and budget. For example, if less than 100% of faculty and students are equipped with laptops or other suitably enabled devices, how can we ensure equity among students? Our beginning faculty group consists of 40 members who will be broken down into smaller groups, according to areas of interest. Faculty will communicate via a discussion boards and listserv in addition to regular meetings during the fall quarter.
The outcomes of our efforts over this first year will be invaluable to others at similar, or earlier, stages of wireless deployment. First, members of OHIO’s Classroom Wireless Pilot Project Group represent a broad spectrum of disciplines and experience and include individuals from all of OHIO’s eight academic colleges. This enables us to sample teaching and learning strategies from across disciplines, teaching conditions, and student learning needs. Second, many universities face similar budgetary and technological challenges and will benefit from our conclusions regarding budget needs. Third, based on these collective experiences, we will design a physical classroom environment that will function as a model facility for the use of wireless technology for teaching and learning. Finally, our findings will be published as a web-based case study, ensuring that information is available to and shared among faculty.