EDUCAUSE | Faculty and Contributed by EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative

ELI Discovery Tool: Student/Faculty Questionnaire

ckeller — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:41:06 -0600

The ELI Student/Faculty Questionnaire is designed to help you explore student and faculty experiences and expectations with technology in teaching and learning. Specifically, the questionnaire examines student and faculty

Familiarity with learning technologies,
Expectations for the use of technology in teaching and learning, and
Views on how students prefer to learn.

This questionnaire provides insight into possible gaps that may exist at your institution, such as

The difference between the learning technologies that are expected by today's students and those that your faculty feel comfortable using, and
Students' self-described learning preferences contrasted with faculty perceptions of those preferences.

Using Needs Assessment as a Holistic Means for Improving Technology Infrastructure

ckeller — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 10:39:23 -0500

This paper describes a four-step needs assessment process that institutions can use to determine the gaps between current and desired states of technology infrastructure, facilitating rapid decision making. The framework described focuses on aligning learning outcomes and technology tools and can help institutions compare the current state of technology infrastructure with a desired state to best meet identified learning outcomes.

Reflecting, Writing, and Responding: Reasons Students Blog

drupal — Wed, 09 May 2007 10:10:43 -0500

Faculty and students are recognizing blogging's learning potential, including the chance to practice writing, reflect on others' thinking, and respond to critical analyses of one's own work. In this paper, a graduate student explores the campus "blogosphere" to discover who is blogging and what they are posting, as well as how faculty are using blogs in their courses and the results they are seeing.

7 Things You Should Know About Open Journaling

drupal — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 13:13:26 -0600

Open journaling tools manage the process of publishing peer-reviewed journals online. They enable users to publish academic journals more easily and much less expensively than traditional methods. They also allow authors to track their submissions through the review process, as well as to access reviewer comments and revise and resubmit articles, which creates a sense of openness and transparency uncommon in traditional peer-reviewed publications.

The "7 Things You Should Know About..." series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides concise information on emerging learning practices and technologies. Each brief focuses on a single practice or technology and describes what it is, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use "7 Things You Should Know About..." briefs for a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.

In addition to the "7 Things You Should Know About…" briefs, you may find other ELI resources useful in addressing teaching, learning, and technology issues at your institution. To learn more, please visit the ELI Resources page.

Technology and Learning: Defining What You Want to Assess

drupal — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 12:30:44 -0500

Asking whether technology improves learning may seem straightforward, but the answer is not simple. The challenge begins with defining assessment and is compounded by the complexities of people, technology, and educational organizations. This paper clarifies technology assessment by exploring the definitions, methods, and realistic expectations it can address.

ELI Innovations & Implementations – Online@UCF

drupal — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 16:23:31 -0500

The University of Central Florida's Online@UCF initiative serves tens of thousands of students across Florida and engages 75 percent of UCF faculty. It offers 15 online degree programs, 10 online graduate certificate programs, approximately 1,300 fully online and blended courses, and hundreds of other courses that enhance face-to-face instruction with online resources. In AY 2003–2004, almost 44 percent of UCF's roughly 44,000 students enrolled in at least one fully online or blended course.

Online@UCF has achieved this success through three units. Instructional designers in Course Development & Web Services (CDWS) work with faculty to increase their knowledge and use of best practices in fully online, blended, and Web-enhanced learning; the Center for Distributed Learning (CDL) provides planning and administrative support for online learning faculty and students; and the Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness (RITE) documents the success of these efforts in the form of improved learning outcomes as well as high rates of faculty and student satisfaction. Together, these units have established Online@UCF as an effective practice model in the development and support of online learning.

ELI's Innovations & Implementations series highlights innovative teaching, learning, and technology practices in higher education. Each Innovations & Implementations piece provides a practical overview of an innovation, focusing on its significance and implementation issues. Use Innovations & Implementations to explore innovative practices that might be of value to your institution.

ELI Innovations & Implementations - Instructional Development Initiative (IDI)

drupal — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 16:34:29 -0500

In 1993, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University launched the Instructional Development Initiative (IDI), using technology to foster curricular and pedagogical innovation. IDI set in motion a series of carefully managed investments, resulting in a suite of high-profile, campus-wide professional programs for faculty and staff. As a result, Virginia Tech has been recognized nationally for its achievements in engaging faculty in the sharing of successful strategies; expanding the range of active learning experiences available to students; providing a replicable model for other institutions; and managing resources while supporting innovation in an era of continual budget constraints.

7 Things You Should Know About Augmented Reality

drupal — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 12:43:20 -0500

Augmented reality adds information and meaning to a real object or place. Unlike virtual reality, augmented reality does not create a simulated reality. Instead, it takes a real object or space and uses technologies to add contextual data to deepen students' understanding of it. To the extent that instructors can furnish students with a broad context for understanding the real world, students are more likely to comprehend and remember what they are learning. Through exposing students to an experiential, explorative, and authentic model of learning early in their higher education careers, augmented reality may help shift students from passive to active learning modes and thus become more successful learners.
The "7 Things You Should Know About..." series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides concise information on emerging learning practices and technologies. Each brief focuses on a single practice or technology and describes what it is, how it works, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use ELI's "7 Things You Should Know About..." briefs to gain a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.

ELI Innovations & Implementations - Calibrated Peer Review: A Writing and Critical-Thinking Instructional Tool

drupal — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 12:09:53 -0500

Calibrated Peer Review (CPR) is a Web-based program that allows instructors to incorporate frequent writing assignments into their courses, regardless of class size, without increasing their grading workload. Students are trained to be competent reviewers and provide classmates with personalized feedback on writing assignments. The CPR system manages the entire peer-review process, including assignment creation and submission, student reviewer training, and student input analysis. The tool suite is discipline-independent and supports a "writing-across-the-curriculum" approach. UCLA hosts CPR and makes it available free to participating institutions, who receive technical assistance from the development team via e-mail and a listserv. More than 500 institutions now use this free service, deploying it in 1,900+ courses that enroll more than 72,000 students.

ELI Innovations & Implementations - SCALE-UP: Student-Centered Activities for Large Enrollment Undergraduate Programs

drupal — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 11:45:31 -0500

The SCALE-UP Project provides an effective and affordable model for introducing hands-on, team-based learning into large-enrollment undergraduate courses. SCALE-UP's approach to undergraduate education was first applied to introductory physics and chemistry courses at North Carolina State University in 1997. Since then, the model has been replicated at more than two dozen other institutions, including the University of Central Florida and MIT.

7 Things You Should Know About Blogs

drupal — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 14:03:22 -0500

A blog—shorthand for "Web log"—is an online collection of personal commentary and links. Blogs can be viewed as online journals to which others can respond that are as simple to use as e-mail. The simplicity of creating and maintaining blogs means they can rapidly lead to open discussions. Faculty are using blogs to express their opinions, promote dialogue in their disciplines, and support teaching and learning; students increasingly use blogs for personal expression and as course requirements. By carefully evaluating blogs' strengths and weaknesses, educators are learning to set guidelines and expectations to maximize blogs' instructional benefits. Structured exercises and clear goals are further enhancing the educational value of blogs. Put into practice with an understanding of their benefits and limitations, blogs are an increasingly accepted instructional technology tool.

7 Things You Should Know About Wikis

drupal — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 17:05:09 -0500

Update: An earlier version of this document contained an error that has been addressed. If you accessed this file prior to February 17, 2006, please download the corrected PDF.

Wikis are Web pages that can be viewed and modified by anyone with a Web browser and Internet access. Described as a composition system, a discussion medium, and a repository, wikis support asynchronous communication and group collaboration online. Their inherent simplicity gives students direct access to their content, which is crucial in group editing or other collaborative activities. Their versioning capability allows them to illustrate the evolution of thought processes as students interact with a site and its contents. Wikis are also being used as e-portfolios, highlighting their utility as a tool for collection and reflection. They may be the easiest, most effective Web-based collaboration tool in any instructional portfolio.

The "7 Things You Should Know About..." series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides concise information on emerging learning practices and technologies. Each brief focuses on a single practice or technology and describes what it is, how it works, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use ELI's "7 Things You Should Know About..." briefs to gain a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.

Transforming Teaching in a Technology-Enabled Learner-Centered World: True Enterprisewide Change Requires Faculty Development, Support, and Rewards

drupal — Tue, 22 Jul 2003 15:38:44 -0500

Higher education administrators must understand the challenges presented to faculty by the revolutionary changes being made by the new teaching and learning technologies and by the pressures created by the new students entering the academy. Faculty vary considerably in both their abilities and their attitudes toward the new technologies and institutionally-based attempts to engage the faculty must take these variations into account in order to be successful.The NLII has looked at some strategies that administrators can use to successfully engage faculty and to effectively transform teaching and learning using technology.

This article highlights five approaches presented at the NLII annual meeting in New Orleans which addressed faculty engagement and development, presenting case studies and findings to help guide institutional leaders in their understanding of the complex nature of faculty attitudes, motivations, cultures, and abilities.

A summary of NLII resources and activities (past, present and planned) on Faculty Engagement is also provided.

Best Practices in Faculty Engagement and Support

drupal — Tue, 25 Apr 2000 12:11:05 -0500

This paper attempts to develop an inventory of best practices involved in the process of faculty engagement and support. It includes the following topics: Entrepreneurial Faculty and "Second-Wave" Faculty Differences in Engagement; Entrepreneurs: Resources, Incentives, and Rewards; Engagement and Support for "Second-Wave Faculty"; Innovations and Institutional Cultures; and Selected "Best Practices".