The document introduces TOPR (Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository), a peer-reviewed online collection of effective teaching strategies for online and blended courses. It provides details on TOPR's purpose to curate strategies aligned with research findings. Users can find strategies, view illustrative artifacts and references, and suggest tags. The document invites involvement through contributing entries, editing, and peer reviewing. It addresses questions about TOPR's value and intellectual property issues.

1. Top Off Your Perfect Blend
with TOPR:
The Teaching Online
Pedagogical Repository
Dr. Kelvin Thompson
Dr. Linda Futch
Dr. Baiyun Chen
University of Central Florida

2. Agenda
Big Picture
Details
Your Involvement
Closing
http://bit.ly/blend12_topr

3. What Is It?
a peer-reviewed resource to support the curation of
effective pedagogical practices in online and blended
courses
individual entries include:
• strategy description drawn from the pedagogical
practice of online/blended teaching faculty
• artifacts depicting the strategy from actual courses
• alignment with cited findings from research or
professional practice literature
All released for reuse/remix under Creative
Commons

4. Editorial Board
• Alec Couros, Associate Professor, University of Regina
• Charles D. Dziuban, Director, Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness (RITE),
University of Central Florida
• David Wicks, Director of Instructional Technology, Assistant Professor, Seattle Pacific
University
• Fred Stielow, Vice President, Dean of Libraries & Course Materials, American Public
University System
• Karen Swan, Stukel Professor of Educational Leadership, University of Illinois
Springfield
• Mark A. Laumakis, Lecturer, Department of Psychology Faculty in Residence,
Instructional Technology Services, San Diego State University
• Melody A. Bowdon, Director, Karen L. Smith Faculty Center for Teaching and
Learning, Associate Professor of Writing and Rhetoric, University of Central Florida
• Norman Vaughan, Professor, Education & Schooling Faculty of Teaching & Learning,
Mount Royal University
• Susan Wegmann, Associate Professor, Director of Programs and Research, Morgridge
International Reading Center (MIRC), University of Central Florida
• Tana Monaco, Consultant
• Veronica Diaz, Associate Director, EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, EDUCAUSE

9. Demo: Finding Strategies

10. "Bigger than a Breadbox"
Getting the granularity right
Pedagogical practice is
• Not a theory
• Not an instructional model
• Not a tool
• Not a broad, sweeping concept
• Not "here's what i did"
IS an impactful, replicable teaching practice/strategy
described, anchored to literature, illustrated in examples,
and connected to other practices via keyword tags

11. Demo: Contribution Form

12. Isn't This Like MERLOT?
MERLOT is primarily a collection of materials.
• "learning exercises" are lessons associated with materials
• eLIXR is a set of holistic faculty case studies on big
themes
TOPR is a collection of teaching strategies
• artifacts are illustrative
• faculty testimonials are highly contextualized

13. Conceptual Framework
Strategy Description
• 1-2 paragraphs
• "blogs are not a practice but implementing public blogs for
reflective writing in a community of practice might be"
A
Artifacts
• Preferably image/files uploaded into the repository
• External links/images acceptable
Scholarly References
• Research articles are great
• "Professional practice literature" (journals, blogs,
podcasts)

14. Theoretical Underpinning
Source of possible tags
• Theory
• Instructional Model
• Concept
• Sub-Concept
• Tool
Loosely suggested tags (existing "categories")

15. Development Process
Entries
• Anyone can contribute an idea
• Any registered user can create a new entry
• Many "stubs" (Wikipedia) in backstage Draft area
Editing
• Any registered user can edit or add additional material
• Managing editors responsible for "keeping on the rails"
o Edit with eye for consistency, conceptual framework
o Possibly move an entry backstage if "just not ready"
o May coach contributor(s)
Peer Review

16. New Scholarship Issues
"Perpetual beta" + peer review = strange bedfellows/mutation
• Scholarly rigor in entries
• Peer review process for improvement/validation
• Wiki for on-going improvements/updates
Intellectual property complications
• Creative Commons licensing for "remixing"
• Some faculty (and administrators) not sure about CC
• Many individuals uncertain how to operationalize CC

17. Making It Work
Few, simple non-negotiables (conceptual framework)
Editorial Board
• Promoting TOPR
• Feedback on processes
• Recruit peer reviewers
Peer review process to follow
Issue: entry is peer-reviewed but on an ever-changing wiki
Possible answer: "oldid" function (used currently in citation)
Perhaps a "peer reviewed" graphic and a statement like:
"a version of this entry was peer reviewed previously. see
that version."Allows reader to compare versions for herself

18. Current Status
Emerging from beta
New entries being made/edited
Casual submissions and regular contributors welcomed
Initial editorial board meeting being scheduled
Peer review process in the works

19. Your Involvement

20. Your Thoughts?
• What value (if any) do you seen in TOPR as a whole for
your institution?
• Can you envision yourself or colleagues contributing to
TOPR?
• How might you adapt ideas from TOPR for your own
teaching?
• Do you see yourself contributing ideas?

21. Get Involved
Have the germ of an idea or a fully fleshed out entry you wish
to share?
• Contribution Form: http://bit.ly/topr_contributionform
Do you wish to get more involved in contributing and editing
ideas on a fairly frequent basis?
• Send email to topr@ucf.edu to request a login to TOPR
Want to become a peer reviewer for TOPR?
• Send email to topr@ucf.edu for follow-up

22. Questions and Answers

23. Contact Us
http://topr.online.ucf.edu
Dr. Kelvin Thompson kelvin@ucf.edu
Dr. Linda Futch linda.futch@ucf.edu
Dr. Baiyun Chen baiyun.chen@ucf.edu
http://bit.ly/blend12_topr