Multimedia, Online Cases to Improve Students

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Multimedia, Online Cases to Improve Students
Communication and Learning in the Disciplines

• David R. Russell
• Dave Fisher
• Terrell Robbins
• Tom Bowers
• Many other collaborators
• Iowa State University
• WAC 2004

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Role-playing Learning Environments--Cases/Simulati
ons

• Cases have been found to be effective in teaching
  communication and content (Troyka 1975)
• Re-mediated with audio, video, graphics, text,
  databases
• To increase involvement motivation
• To integrate communication learning and content
  learning
• Time-consuming to develop so
• Used in multiple courses and disciplines
• Created with authoring tool called MyCase

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Each case includes

• A scenario giving a problem (adaptable for
  different courses/disciplines)
• Characters / roles /stakeholders
• Multi-media information sources (video, audio,
  graphics, documents, data) drawn from different
  disciplines/professions
• Assignments that require students to communicate
  about the problem as they learn
  concepts/information from multiple disciplines
  (adaptable for different courses/disciplines)

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Three Multi-Media Online Caseshttp//mycase.engl.
iastate.edu/

• Huntingtons Disease (Roberts World)
• Biotechnology (Genetics)
• First-Year Composition (English)
• GMOs-Golden Rice (Omega Molecular)
• Tech Comm (Ag Biosystems Engineering)
• Bioethics (Philosophy Extension)
• Business Planning (Agile Motorcycle)
• Senior Capstone (Business Management)
• Business Ethics --projected (Philosophy)

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Caught in the Act
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Docuverse
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Case Elements Workspace renderings
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Presentational Pedagogy

• Scribo (Danish academic writing)
• Lotte Rienecker, U Copenhagen (CD Rom)
• Writing Studio (many genres)
• writing.colostate.edu
• Labwrite (lab reports) RTE May 2004
• labwrite.ncsu.edu

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Re-mediation

• Our work builds Bolter and Grusins notion of
  remediation and considers this type of
  intervention in school settings
• More than simply adding video and pictures
• Making teaching/learning (including Web-based)
  new
• Radical rethinking of curriculum and assessment

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Re-mediation An Example from Biology

• Biotechnology in Agriculture, Food and Human
  Health (Genetics 308/508)
• Course goals
• Scientific principles and techniques of
  biotechnology. Biotechnology products and
  applications. Ethical, legal and social issues
  related to biotechnology.
• Re-mediation goals
• . . . add a more human element.

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Re-mediation Apparent activities

• Ethnography
• Interviews with experts
• Observations of experts at work
• Collection of documents generated/used by
  stakeholders
• Dramatization
• Interviews with Robert and family
• Family documents (including tax returns, bills,
  etc.)

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Remediation Not-so-apparent activities

• Rendering virtual space to enable type of
  learning activities desired (wander explore)
• Developing assignments that encourage students to
  wander, explore, and use
• Developing assessment practices that provide
  incentive to engage in these activities

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Space Before
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Space After
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Assignment Before

• Consider Robert, the protagonist from our
  Huntington's Disease saga in Module 2. Suppose he
  decides to get the Huntington's Disease test, and
  he is found to be positive for the Huntington's
  allele. His employer, the airline (a private
  corporation), finds out that Robert is positive
  for the Huntington's allele, and transfers him to
  a desk job without his consent. Under federal
  law, are the airline's actions legal? Why or why
  not?

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Assignment After

• You are a genetic counselor at the University of
  Metropolis Medical Center. You have an upcoming
  appointment in a few hours with a new client
  named Lois Lane. In speaking with Ms. Lane's
  gynecologist, who referred Ms. Lane to you, you
  found out that Ms. Lane has a family history of
  early-onset breast cancer on her mother's side of
  the family. Her mother died of metastatic breast
  cancer at the age of 48, her grandmother at 52,
  and her mother's brother died of male breast
  cancer at 63. Ms. Lane, who is now 41, is
  concerned that she may carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2
  mutation that is sometimes correlated with a
  higher risk of early-onset familial breast
  cancer. She wishes to have a genetic test done to
  determine if she is indeed carrying a BRCA1 or
  BRCA2 mutation, and her doctor concurs that the
  information would be useful. However, in talking
  to the doctor, you have also learned that Ms.
  Lane has an identical twin sister named Lucy Lane
  who is adamantly opposed to any genetic test
  being performed on religious grounds.
• Faced with the dilemma of two sisters who share
  the same genetic complement but wanting two quite
  different levels of knowledge about what genes
  they have, write a detailed plan for what you
  would tell and want to discuss with Lois Lane at
  the first counseling session.

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AssessmentNot just knowing made manifest
. . . BioProf Well even if you take this first
one. Look at team one. This person goes into
exquisite detail about what PCR reaction is. I
dont care about what the . . . Im assuming they
know how to do PCR. WAC1 Well, are you? I mean
thats what Im asking. Here. Would you rather
they put in this explanation of this stuff that .
. . BioProf I dont like that. WAC1 Oh, you
dont like that. BioProf Thats just my
feeling. WAC1 Oh. Oh. . . . BioProf All he
would need to do or say is they did PCR. Weve
already tested them on that. I dont need to
have all the details of the PCR. What I want to
know is, you know, do they do, you know, do they
understand ? PCR, amplify the DNA and how
thats going to get them a signal thats gonna be
. . . thats what . . . Im wanting them to put
these technologies together, not go back and
describe each individual . . . . . .
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Re-mediation and working with faculty in the
disciplines

• Faculty who seem open to the challenges of
  re-mediating a case are
• Want to see writing as something other than
  (explicit) knowing made manifest, especially
  when students are responding in role?
  knowing-in-role has more tacit expression
• Are willing to learn about the communicative
  activities in fields related to theirs as well as
  work outside the university while participating
  in re-mediation project

Freedman, Adam, Smart (1994)
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Re-mediation What weve learned so far

• Alteration of case/scenario (asking
  different/more relevant questions)
• Re-visioning of core content by faculty in
  disciplines
• Detailed attention to representations of space
  and time (and getting students to explore that
  space in game time)

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Graphics and Design Approach

• People in biology were interested in
• Adding human element to course
• Encouraging students to explore and discover
• Navigate through a world
• Creating environment with exteriors and interiors

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Stage 1 Exterior
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Stage 1 Interior
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Reasons for Change

• Presentation too flat
• No ability to explore and become involved
• No differentiation of interiors (lab, home, etc.)
• Pictures of people on homepage didnt give the
  feel biology faculty were looking for (how can
  you tell this is an insurance agency just by
  looking?)

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Stage 2
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Reasons for Change

• Discipline
• Exterior too compactdoesnt allow students to
  wander (explore)
• This is probably more artistically interesting,
  but a map may be more educationally sound.
• Airplane in flight over buildings too reminiscent
  of 9/11
• Interior floor-plan layout doesnt allow for
  depiction of key equipment
• Technical
• Color-rich raster graphics result in unacceptable
  download times

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Stage 3 Exterior
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Stage 3 Interior
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Observations

• People in biology were interested in
• Adding human element to course
• Encouraging students to explore and discover
• Navigate through a world
• Creating environment with exteriors and interiors

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Limits of Teaching Argument in FYC

• Students lack any real knowledge of the
  complexity of the issue
• Students have not learned to think about how
  their position may affect others
• Papers result in pointless arguments among people
  who do not care much about the outcome
• (Lynch, George, and Cooper 1997)

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Sequence of Case Assignments

• Background Report to Counselor
• Letter to Robert
• Position Paper
• Roleairline employer
• PurposeDetermine course of action with respect
  to Roberts future with the company

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Acquire Real Knowledge of the Complexity of the
Issue

• Legal Issues
• I have the responsibility to Robert because it
  is unlawful for employers to hire or fire anyone
  because of genetic information. (ADA)
• Medical Issues
• Although Robert does carry the gene, it is very
  possible that the disease could take years for
  symptoms to show.

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Identify How Their Position May Affect Others

• Ethical Issues
• Robert has been a hardworking and dedicated
  pilot for us. I have been able to know him
  professionally and personally. He has a family
  to support, and I feel that I have an obligation
  as a friend and an employer to provide another
  job for him.

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Identify How Their Position May Affect Others

• Ethical Issues
• I believe good employees are hard to find and
  since Robert has spent years at my company with
  no problems so far, I have an obligation to him
  and his family as well.
• Finding Robert another job within the company
  is the most ethical and economically beneficial
  choice available. I will be able to utilize his
  skills in another way and help his family.

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Construct Arguments Among People Who Care About
The Outcome

• I felt a closer tie to the people involved. Im
  dealing with a serious decision in one mans
  life.
• The more personal connection makes me think
  harder about what to do and what to write.
• As an employer, it the position affects you
  personally. What are the things I want for the
  company and for him Robert?

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Preparation for/Integration with WID

• Students exposed to communication in
  disciplines/professions by acting in role of
  professionals
• Understand the human and social dimensions of
  disciplinary knowledge as well as technical /
  factual information
• Take responsibility for and recognize the legal
  and ethical aspects of a professional role