Building a Community

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Building a Community to Serve a Community
Julie Weible, Instructor Rosalie Pedersen,
Instructor Dr. Norm Vaughan, Instructor Dr.
Anthony Marini, Associate Professor Dr. Randy
Garrison, Professor
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Session objective

• Identify and explore the opportunities and
  challenges to maximizing the benefits of a
  multifaceted centre

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Agenda

• Description of the multifaceted TLC
• Description of the key responsibility areas
• Concrete example
• Small group discussion
• Large group discussion

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TLC Mandate
The mandate of the Teaching Learning Centre is
to provide leadership and support for teaching,
learning and course redesign through professional
development, technology development, and
research.
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TLC Vision

• To be a leader and advocate in the promotion and
  facilitation of quality university teaching,
  learning, and curriculum innovation utilizing
  conventional and technologically mediated
  solutions.

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WHY Integrated Model?

• Catalyst?
• Quality of service
• Convenience SPP
• Cost-effectiveness
• Collaboration within TLC
• Comprehensive/multifaceted approach to complex
  projects (e.g., BL redesigns)

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Learning Plan

• That inquiry-based learning approaches be at the
  centre of the undergraduate learning experience.
• All students must have the opportunity to
  participate in communities of inquiry
• Learning technologies (i.e., eLearning) offer
  opportunities to enhance the campus experience
  and extend learning through the innovative use of
  on-line resources, asynchronous collaborative
  learning opportunities, and electronic
  communication.

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Phases of Development

• Integrate services in cost-effective, functional
  manner
• Connect with university community (relevant
  programs, services)
• Transform TL approaches and learning spaces
• Acceptance as necessary and viable service

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Change Management TLC

• Est. May 1998 consolidated three units
• Three directors in three years
• Mistakes location cappuccino bar technology
  focus
• No vision or implementation plan approval
  ratings abysmal resentment
• Strategic plan re-organization
• Institutional learning plan BL position paper
• ITBL redesign grants program
• Review location mixed model

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Strategic Challenges

• Awareness and understanding of inquiry and
  blended learning
• Student orientation (resistance)
• Commitment to fundamental redesign
• Strategic plan to introduce inquiry in all four
  undergraduate years
• Teaching-research imbalance (incentives, time)

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IBL Program

• Faculty apply for course redesign grants (10,000
  with one 30,000 grant for a major course
  redesign)
• Proposal reviews and selections are made by the
  Inquiry Learning Action Group
• TLC provides course redesign consultation and
  support (define course goals and expectations,
  redesign learning activities and assessment
  assignments, adapt and develop online tools,
  evaluate implementation, and disseminate results)

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Scenario One - Economics

• Introductory Micro and Macroeconomics
• Goal to increase
• student engagement with course material outside
  of class time
• opportunities to apply theory to practical
  problems
• access and quality of tutorial resources
• Solution
• Replacement of scheduled classroom tutorials with
  interactive online tutorials and assignments
  (Blackboard and Aplia.com)

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Scenario Two Communication Culture

• International Development Studies
• Goal to increase
• Student peer interaction and critical dialogue
  during class time
• Solution
• Lectures replaced by Macromedia Breeze
  presentations (narrated PowerPoint with embedded
  videos and self-assessments) accessed outside of
  class time
• Class time used exclusively for group work (60
  students - 20 meet on Monday, 20 on Wednesday and
  20 on Friday)

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Scenario Three Nursing

• Child and Youth Health Promotion in Schools
• Goal to increase
• Course scheduling flexibility
• Exposure to diverse perspectives
• Solution
• Weekend course workshops
• Online guests and discussions

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Inquiry Through Blended Learning

• Support Program
• Orientation course redesign guide and initial
  meeting with representatives from the TLC,
  Information Technologies and the Library
• Faculty community of inquiry blending of face
  to face luncheon meetings with online learning
  activities to support project development
• Project team meetings TLC consultant with
  faculty, graduate students and staff involved in
  each specific project

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Faculty Support

• Campus Wide
• Blended learning workshop series
• Individual and group consultation (e.g.
  departmental workshops)
• Presentations by external experts
• Handbook for Blended Learning Online Study
  Group
• Tip Sheets 2 page handouts on blended learning
  topics
• ITBL Resource Wiki

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Faculty Support

• eLearning Tools
• Blackboard Learning Management System
• Elluminate Live!
• Macromedia Breeze
• Custom tools (e.g. Peer Review Tool, Blackboard
  Building Blocks, WISPR)
• Open source tools (e.g. Pachyderm, Drupal)

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Educational Development

• Program history
• Program need
• Program support

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Educational Development Programs

• Instructional Skills Workshop
• Faculty Teaching Certificate
• University Teaching Certificate
• Individual consultations

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Integration

• Media Technology
• Video case development
• Micro teaching video support
• Technological support with websites
• Peer review tool
• Teaching portfolio

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Integration

• Blended Online Learning Support
• Teaching with technology session
• Podcasting
• Personal response system (clickers)
• Breeze
• Elluminate

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Concrete Example

• Participated in ISW FTC
• Applied for and won ITBL grant
• Workshop presenter
• Working with ITBL, Educational Development,
  Multimedia programs

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Instructor Comments

• So often you get the research grant and you are
  left on your own to jump on this huge learning
  curve, here you have a team which focuses on how
  do we help you make this work!

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Discussion

• Small group (15 minutes)
• Why?
• How?
• Challenges opportunities
• Large group (15 minutes)
• Share and identify commons themes, unique issues
  and possible suggestions

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Follow Up

• Teaching Learning Centre Website

http//tlc.ucalgary.ca/