Web 2.0, Gaming and Mobile Computing

(Joel’s notes disclaimer: even though we may have been sitting together, I might have not been at the same presentation )

Session summary: featured presentation that described the growing “virtual” world of distributed, social, and collaborative sharing, education, work, and play.

Main take-aways: the world-wide web is not, in fact, world-wide (yet), and, for it to succeed as a connecting mechanism, it needs to be. As things accelerate, they become smaller (“micro-content”), and perhaps we need to guard our ability to slow down so we don’t lose the “big picture.” The conceit of technology is that it works; the wonder of technology is that it works. This new model of distributed, collaborative production requires new negotiations around how we survive (could it be time for another conversation about socialism and capitalism?).

Shared resources: http://www.nitle.org/, http://www.nitle.org/www/site/staff/bryan_alexander, http://b2e.nitle.org/

“Using Faculty Learning Community to Support Collaborative Online Course Development”

Session summary:  presenters described a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) created with a 6-faculty Nursing Dept.

Main take-aways: 

• programmatic development vs. course development — is this an even better idea as we’re trying to build collaborative communities of practice, increase adoption and ownership (buy-in), and use our resources more efficiently?
• sooner rather than later, we should gather student feedback on what they would like to see offered online, how it should be offered, and other questions to help us address their wants and needs
• we should seriously consider explicitly involving librarians in course development (and certainly in programmatic development) — in addition to finding resources, perhaps they could help with organization, media, and copyright clearance?
• best predictors of success seemed to be setting clear goals, creating a good timeline, having regular and relatively frequent check-ins, and working with goal-oriented community members
• could we fund programmatic development more easily? Grants? Professional development funds?  Dept. budget?  (I know, the only real possibility there is “Grants”
• idea that faculty didn’t want to “be students” and wanted, instead, to particpate in a collaborative community of learners — Faculty Learning Community > Learning Community — same consideration needed for students

Resources: Articulate, Center of Online Learning, Miami University, Beth Dietz-Uhler and Andrea Han