Online Research Summaries, Blogs and Portfolios As Cornerstones to Facilitate Classroom Discussion and Reading Comprehension in a Seminar Course Adrienne R. Schwarte, Maryville College assistant professor of art/graphic design Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching Friday, February 8th, 2008 Greensboro, NC

Background: course entitled: designing a sustainable future: think globally, act locally, fall 2007 syllabus course is interdisciplinary, designed to introduce students to a unique area of study and to connect to their current major proposed course by faculty member and approved by our academic life council and core program committees, usually taught 2 or 3 semesters, then retired as a course

Background: course educational goals: an intrinsic desire to connect to the importance of seeking research articles on sustainability, staying abreast of an ever-changing area of study, and diligence in research developing critical analysis skills, holistic thinking skills and understanding social responsibility as it relates to sustainable design strengthening their ability to work collaboratively, and communicate their thoughts to others in a cohesive, persuasive and effective format

integrated technology incorporated to meet these goals: online research summaries (diligence in research) use educational software - in this case blackboard, to post a research summary each week for 15 weeks also critically respond to another student’s posting each week must follow formatting guidelines stated in assignment Discussion Board

Sample of one of my posting responses: adding images and links to review research directly/immediately

online research summaries (diligence in research) benefits of using this technology connects to students desire to work at any time; students as Facilitators of content for the course; students Research and read more than just the required readings; feeds their “connected” desire to be on the internet; more likely to read more research when it is at their fingertips with single click links

online research summaries (diligence in research) student responses to this technology survey given to students (Fall 2007) - Survey Sample sample responses: how it impacted class discussions: “ keep me up-to-date with class topics & contributed to my knowledge of the subject matter” “ expand on topics covered in class” “ i had outside info to add to class discussions, it caused me to investigate my own questions and forced me to answer some of my own questions” “ discussion board postings were a great learning experience and required me to focus on the curriculum outside of class” “ these things gave me awareness” “ real world applications for the ideas and concepts we discussed in class”

online research summaries (diligence in research) sample responses: how students felt it met the course goals: “ Raised my knowledge about sustainable design and the articles were very interesting” “ I now know how much information is out there and it challenged me to find information I was interested in and concerned about” additional comments about specific use of the technology format: “ use of online tools instead of hand-copies of everything could be used in all classes as well as the visual tools which helped in understanding” “ simple action of habit because postings are due at the same time every week” “ I like independent research & learn best this way” “ students investigate and read articles they are interested in” “ I know the posting process was beneficial because I am still continually looking for sustainable articles in the news now that the postings are done.”

online research summaries (diligence in research) from the faculty side: 15 postings for 15 weeks x 30 students posting each week and 30 peer responses means. . .”how much do i have to grade and will i see my spouse this week?” what i recommend for making this a sane process: posting grading rubric (sample) Evaluation for Posting #4 Rating Included (-) Current Work within 3 years (+) Full Article Citation Included (+) Length of Summary (+) Thoughtful Analysis (+) Peer Posting (--) On-time Completion (+) Relevance to Week's Topic (++) Total Points = 7/10 Comments: Need to complete peer posting per assignment and add your article rating on a scale of 1-5 so others may read and review. Also, make sure to check and correct spelling and grammatical errors. ~Adrienne

online research summaries (diligence in research) from the faculty side (tips): review, comment on a selection, be a contributor to their learning, not simply an evaluator; Sent through the blackboard system via email; avoided paper all semester and mirrored less consumption/waste for a sustainable design class; Wireless at home is a big help! Can grade them from anywhere - in my hotel room in boston over Fall Break Locate, explore and use all the time saving tools the software offers

integrated technology incorporated to meet course goals: Blogs and Portfolios (work collaboratively & holistic thinking) use educational software - in this case blackboard online portfolios or blogger.com (preferred site), to keep a semester long personal blog for this course blogs reviewed by instructor 2 times a semester; must be used for academic content only; must be a log of work done on group sustainability project on campus; must follow formatting guidelines stated in assignment Sustainability blog

Samples of student blogs course site

Samples of student blogs course site

Samples of student blogs course site

Samples of student blogs course site

integrated technology incorporated to meet course goals: Blogs and Portfolios (work collaboratively & holistic thinking) benefits of using this technology students have a free space to think, question and contemplate course readings, discussions and films; can share their links, resources, research and thoughts with others via the web; Receive feedback from others that are studying and evaluating the same issues and review other students’ progress, analysis and development can personalize their space visually and intellectually but with organized guidelines have a visual blog of their work in a semester (both for the student and the instructor (with no paper); including their progress on readings, assignments and the sustainability project where they communicate back and forth with each other on their blogs;

integrated technology incorporated to meet course goals: Blogs and Portfolios (work collaboratively & holistic thinking) Student responses to this technology Survey Given to Students (Fall 2007) - Survey Sample Sample Responses: how it impacted their learning: “ i checked other people’s blogs to get a sense of what their project was and more importantly what their implementation process would be” “ i got ideas from other people’s blogs in the beginning of the semester” “ i was just reformatting the information either from class or from my project and retyping it in another place” “ i looked to see what kind of progress others were making; a measuring stick for my project” “ if there was something i wanted to discuss just not during class time my blog was my outlet for these discussions”

integrated technology incorporated to meet course goals: Blogs and Portfolios (work collaboratively & holistic thinking) Sample Responses: Additional comments about specific use of the technology format/use: “ I think this feature would be great in other classes. I can think of some business courses that I have been in where I had real life examples and things to add to discussions. But there was no time or I didn’t think anyone else would care. I would’ve liked a blog to release the ideas I wanted to express” “ I read other student blogs not for reference but to see where they stood in their own lives. I guess in a way I was referencing what my peers were doing in comparison to my own sustainable practices” “ blogs never formatted the way I wanted them to. It would change my pics around”

integrated technology incorporated to meet course goals: Blogs and Portfolios (work collaboratively & holistic thinking) from the faculty side: 30 blogs with multiple entries, formats and content to be evaluated equally; What I recommend for making this a sane process: blog grading rubric (Sample) Review #1 for Sustainability Blog External Links to Resources & Article Posting Links Included (3) Questions about Sustainability Raised (5) Detail & Quantity of Postings (at least 1 a week) (4) Evidence of Sustainability Project Research & Progress (3) Thoughtful Analysis and Relevance to Course Content (5) Total Points = 20/25 Comments: Add your article links from your discussion board postings and also add a collection of resource links that relate to your discussions of the Tomato Head, agriculture and LEED certification. Make sure you add updates about the progress of your sustainability project. Need to have a posting at least 1 time a week. ~Adrienne

integrated technology incorporated to meet course goals: Blogs and Portfolios (work collaboratively & holistic thinking) from the faculty side: TIPS review all the blogs at the same time frame and look for cross-referencing between blogs; Sent through the blackboard system via email or can post the comments to the evaluation on the blog itself (not the grade) The mid-semester blog eval is very helpful to the students so they can keep pace with the class and realize the importance of self-reflection and research analysis; Weekly reminders in class and through email about blog progress and periodic postings on their blogs to keep pace; Go through the “how to set up a blog” in class - most students are unfamiliar with them even if they know how to use myspace or facebook;

Faculty workload considerations What’s great: Students are thinking, blogging, reading, collaborating and researching your course at every hour of every day; What’s a challenge Realizing your course continues every hour of every day and you need to keep up; questions about process, workload, format, technology? your Shared experiences? If you wish to continue dialogue, share or collaborate on research about this topic, receive a copy of this presentation, or get help with resources for your own classroom, please email me at adrienne.schwarte@maryvillecollege.edu With Great Thanks, Adrienne

References and Further Reading: Collins, D., Schwarte, A., and Alkire, K. (2008). Social Networking for Learning Communities: Using e-portfolios, blogs, wikis, pod-casts, and other internet based tools in the foundation art studio. FATE in Review, 29(1). Andres, H., Petersen, C. (2002). Presentation media, information complexity, and learning outcomes. J. Educational Technology Systems , 30(3), 225-246. Mayer, R., Chandler, P. (2001). When Learning is just a click away: does simple user interaction foster deeper understanding of multimedia messages? Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(2), 312-320. Johnson, D., Johnson R., and Holubec, E. (1998). Cooperation in the Classroom, 7th edition. Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company. Weiler, G. (2003) Using Weblongs in the Classroom. The English Journal , 92 (5): 73-75.