FACILITATING 
INNOVATIVE CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS 
USING ONLINE TOOLS 
WHAT WORKS 
DR KATHERINE HEPWORTH 
& DR DONICA MENSING 
UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO
Technological disruption 
in education mirrors 
similar disruption in journalism.
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PARTICIPATE 
HTTP://tophat.com/e/872480 
SELECT: Create anonymous account
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CASE STUDY 
In-depth interviews with ten faculty 
at the Reynolds School of Journalism 
at the University of Nevada, Reno.
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RESULTS 
More than 30 online tools used 
in four kinds of classroom connections
CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS 
1 Communication 
2 Resource Sharing 
one way !T 
!S 
!S 
!S
1 Communication 
2 Resource Sharing 
one way !T 
!S 
!S 
!S 
two way !T 
!S 
!S 
!S 
three way 
!S 
!S 
!S 
!S 
!T 
!S CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS
3 Assignments 
creation 
completion 
!T 
!S 
feedback on progress 
!S 
submission 
!T 
!S 
CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS 
1 Communication 
2 Resource Sharing
Communication 
Resource Sharing 
1 
2 
3 Assignments 
creation 
completion 
!T 
!S 
feedback on progress 
!S 
!T 
submission 
grading & final feedback !T 
!S 
CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS
CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS 
Communication 
Resource Sharing 
1 
2 
3 Assignments 
4 Assessment
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RESULTS 
Innovative classroom connections 
are not tool dependent. 
Online tools combined with 
innovative pedagogy is best.
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COMMUNICATION 
ONE WAY
VIDEO 
http://vimeo.com/104355673
RESPONSIVE SYLLABUS 
http://300.kathep.com
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COMMUNICATION 
TWO WAY
PIAZZA 
SURVEYS
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COMMUNICATION 
THREE WAY
FACEBOOK 
CLOSED GROUPS
TWITTER 
#CLASS #GROUP
GO SOAPBOX 
CONFUSION BAROMETER
BLACKBOARD 
LEADERBOARD
! 
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RESOURCE SHARING 
THREE WAY
DROPBOX
! 
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ASSIGNMENTS 
COMPLETION
BLACKBOARD 
DISCUSSION BOARDS
NING
VINE
STORIFY
FACEBOOK 
NEWSFEED
! 
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ASSIGNMENTS 
PEER FEEDBACK
BLACKBOARD 
BLOGS
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PARTICIPATION RESULTS 
HTTP://tophat.com/e/872480 
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!! 
THANK YOU !! 
FOLLOW OUR WORK...
KATHERINE 
KATHEP.COM 
TWITTER.COM/KHEPWORTH 
PINTEREST.COM/KATHEP 
DONICA 
DONICAMENSING.COM 
TWITTER.COM/DONICA 
MORE 
Presentation, data and background available at: 
WHATWORKS.KATHEP.COM

Facilitating Innovative Classroom Connections Using Online Tools: What Works