Teaming with Distance Continuing Education

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Teaming with Distance Continuing Education

• Dr. Lesley S. J. Farmer
• CSULB / lfarmer_at_csulb.edu

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Agenda

• Whats special about technology?
• Technology with groups
• Technology tools
• Warning! Warning!
• New paradigms of community

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Whats Special about Technology?

• Collapses time and space
• Combines media
• Processes effectively
• Repurposes easily

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Technology with Groups

• Structures communication
• Offers more formats
• Increases access
• Speeds process
• Improves documentation
• Forces clarity

• Get to know each other
• Set specific objectives
• Set clear expectations
• Set clear responsibilities
• Set clear deadlines
• Match hard/software
• Benchmark!

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Sources of Engaged AssessmentStudent Work

• Peer Journaling
• Critical Events
• Synchronous Discussion and Interviews
• Threaded Discussion
• Joint Presentations
• Bibliographies
• Reports/Papers
• Group Projects

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CourseWare Characteristics fostering Community

• Surveys
• Quizzes variety of responses
• Discussion threads
• Virtual classroom/chat
• Group pages

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Tech Tools

• Desktop Publishing
• Databases
• Spreadsheets
• Presentation Programs
• Telecommunications
• World Wide Web
• Digitized Images

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Desktop Publishing

• Identify human/tech resources complement each
  other
• Use collaborative features of
  word processing

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Databases

• Take advantage of value-added service and niche
  development
• Pull together resources
• Structure DB according to use and resources
  (production, human, content)
• Use relational databases if possible
• Have ONE point person!
• Clarify access in terms of objectives

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Presentation Programs

• Repurpose for talks and displays
• Take advantage of melded stacks
• Use online
• Distinguish between content producers
  and layout producers

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Telecommunications

• Take advantage of asynchronous, cross-platform,
  secure environment
• Use for collaborative work joint view of
  documents
• Gear telecommunications to lowest link consider
  cut-and-paste along with attachments
• Use replies to created ersatz threaded discussion
• Be careful of videoconferencing need equipment,
  structure, planning

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World Wide Web

• Take advantage of both intranet and extranet
  features
• Collaborative Web portals news, FAQs, documents,
  calendar, training, contacts
• Make Web site interactive
• Consider megasite with pointers/links
• Consider dynamic sites

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Digitized Images

• Take advantage of collected sets of still and
  motion images
• Emphasize digital format (can convert more easily
  from photo/video these days)
• Consider making a CD set of images

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Warning! Warning!

• Abstractness gtgtgt Alienation
• Check weakest link
• Varying comfort levels
• Crashes
• Public vs. private

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Dimensions of Learning
Learners
Resources
Environment
Community of Practice over Time
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Blooms Affective Domain and the Organization

• Receiving
• Responding
• Valuing
• Organization
• Value Complex

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Distributed Leadership

• Function is more important than Personality
• Relationships are more important than the Nodes
• Norms and group rules are more important than
  Directives
• Knowledge base is more important than Status
• Sum is greater than its Parts

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Levels of Community

• Project
• Library Program
• Curriculum Development
• School Initiatives
• District
• County and beyond

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Conclusions

• Focus on student achievement
• High tech necessitates high touch
• Equipment is a barrier, not an enhancer
• Community starts from within
• Progress and sharing work best when people feel
  comfortable with their own work and with each
  other
• Greatest impact is communication

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Tomorrow the World!