Using Disruption to Stay on Course

Rebecca Frost Davis Director of Instructional and Emerging Technology

Using Disruption to Stay on Course

Liberal Education in a Networked World

• http://rebeccafrostdavis.wordpress.com • Slides• More examples

Disruption & Adaptation• Disruptions

– Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)– Big Data– Globally Networked World

• Liberal Arts Responses– Networked course– Open Learning Initiative– Situating the Global Environment

Massive Open Online Course

Image courtesy of Phil Hill

• Industrial (xMOOC)– Faculty expert– Homogeneous

Network– One perfect lecture(r)– Knowledge transfer

• Networked (cMOOC)– Peer learning– Heterogeneous

Network– Knowledge is situated– Knowledge production

Two Visions for MOOCs

Networked Courses

• Local classes in a Larger Network– Sunoikisis intercampus courses (ICCs) in advanced

Greek & Latin– FemTechNet: Distributed Online Collaborative Course

(DOCC)– History Harvest

• Aggregate Expertise• Share local resources• Share local perspective

Sunoikisis Network, Fall 2006

Big Data

Image courtesy of Min Lun Wu

Big Learning Data• Improve learning resources based on usage

data• How do small colleges achieve scale?• How do small colleges adapt resources to their

context?

Blended Learning in a Liberal Arts Setting

• Bryn Mawr College, NGLC grant-funded program

• “Using Blended Learning in a Liberal Arts Environment to Improve Developmental and Gatekeeper STEM Course Completion, Persistence, and College Completion”

• Open Learning Initiative modules• http://nextgenlearning.blogs.brynmawr.edu/

Open Learning Initiative (OLI)• Carnegie Mellon• Computer-based, interactive

tutorials and quizzes• Customized learning• Instant feedback

Outcomes• Student preparation = better student-faculty

interaction– Metacognition

• Assessment data for learning analytics• Mastery vs. grades

Challenges• Uneven availability of resources

– OLI had poor coverage of economics, biology, geology, chemistry, developmental math

• Start-up costs: time to find, evaluate, apply & integrate computer-based materials

• Doesn’t apply in every case, e.g., basic math skills

Creating Resources• Spohrer (Bryn Mawr) reports 50 hours• Collaborative Projects from ACS

– Analyzing and Creating Maps– Beyond the (Online) Handbook: Writing Resources D

esigned for the Digital Environment

Globally Networked World

Global Network by Flickr User WebWizzard

World is Flat• Global access to information & people• Creating citizens & workers for this context• Challenges

– Vs. residential liberal arts experience or immersive study abroad experience

– Developing skills in this context– Communicating across domains

• First-Year Seminars and Experiences

• Common Intellectual Experience

• Learning Communities• Writing-Intensive

Courses• Collaborative

Assignments and Projects

• Undergraduate Research• Diversity/Global

Learning• Service Learning,

Community-Based Learning

• Internships• Capstone Courses and

Projects

High Impact Practices (Kuh)

Situating the Global Environment• Lewis & Clark College• https://sge.lclark.edu/ • Jim Proctor,

“Situated Social Learning”• Interdisciplinary

environmental research• Situated research

– Local focus on global issues

Social learning• Document research process• Share research resources• Share references • Aggregate projects on blog

– Maps– Tags– Concept maps– Mashups

Globally Networked High Impact Practices

• Common intellectual experience– Reflecting on research

• Learning communities online• Collaborative projects• Undergraduate research• Global learning• Community-based learning• Documenting learning experiences