PennEduTech

Online Voting open

The Weigle Information Commons has conducted annual mashup contests for many years now. We’ve just opened up online voting for the 18 videos in this year’s Mashup Contest.

You can view the videos and vote for your favorite three mashups online through May 23.

The rules for our contest are simple – make a mashup video that is attractive, engaging, technically savvy and no more than two minutes long. All Penn students are welcome to submit entries, and the world is welcome to vote online for the Popular Choice award.

Personally, I’ve enjoyed watching the videos over the years – I find our expectations for fancy editing grow higher each year!

I first learned about Poll Everywhere from John MacDermott several months back as an alternative to clickers for situations where personal cell phones might work better. In March, I saw this in action at the ACRL annual conference where dozens of text messages scrolled away on a large lecture screen. I liked the element of suspense and surprise when a new message showed up on the big screen, and decided to try it out sooner rather than later. Chatting with Anne Schwieger, Coordinator, Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) at the Netter Center for Community Partnerships led to my first test run of Poll Everywhere at their ABCS Summit on April 29. Anne and I asked a small group of undergraduates to walk around the poster session, ask visitors for their comments and then text their responses in to the online polls. We asked two simple questions: What do you like best about ABCS? and This poster helps me by… and left each question open on the big screen in Hall of Flags for about a half-hour.

Overall, I thought the technology worked quite well! We received 19 responses to the first question and 23 to the second. One highlight was students giving “shout out” messages to their favorite professors. Another was the surprising depth and thoughtfulness of the texts received! Here are two examples in response to the second question:

“Its important for us to think about the power of the individual to solve the problems society faces. Democratic devolution is pivotal.”

“…highlighting the importance of lead poisoning testing for kids since the symptoms are so typical of other illnesses.”

I see this type of open-ended response as potentially much more powerful than the multiple-choice options that clickers offer. Texts could be sent in by cellphone or through a web form that worked well on the iPad from our Media Lab. With more than 60 people in the room at one point, and a browse-and-wander structure, the Poll Everywhere solution was also a cleaner one that trying to give out, and later collect, clickers. I think I will try this technology again.

Editor’s note: This blog entry was written by Lisa Minetti, Curriculum Design and Assessment Specialist at the College of Liberal and Professional Studies.

Consider this blog post an advertisement of sorts for a great resource I think anyone interested in educational technology should be reading whenever they get the chance!

Educause Learning Initiative: 7 Things You Should Know About

The “7 Things You Should Know About…” series provides concise information on emerging learning technologies. Each brief focuses on a single technology and describes what it is, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use these briefs for a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.

This month’s brief examines backchannel communications, which I mentioned in my recent post on designing interactivity into live web conferences on the Adobe Connect Professional tool. While our online faculty harness the power of the backchannel to foster participation and drive lecture content, I wonder whether others here at Penn are experimenting with using backchannel tools in their face-to-face teaching.

Anyone out there using chat, IM, Twitter, or Google Wave for group participation in their face-to-face classes? If so, would you consider sharing your activity with us here?

If not, what do you think are the potential pros and cons of enabling backchannel conversations to become a part of the student experience in face-to-face classes at Penn?

Editor’s note: This blog entry was written by Lisa Minetti, Curriculum Design and Assessment Specialist at the College of Liberal and Professional Studies.

Flat World Knowledge offers a new approach to textbooks: open them up and bundle them with social learning tools. Founded by Jeff Shelstad and  Eric Frank, two former textbook industry executives, Flat World Knowledge’s mission statement reads:

We preserve the best of the old – books by leading experts that are rigorously reviewed and developed to the highest standards. Then we flip it all on its head. Our books are free online. We offer convenient, low-cost choices for students – print, audio, by-the-chapter, and more. Our books are open for instructors to mix, mash, and make their own. Our books are the hub of a social learning network where students learn from the book and each other.

While the content of their Open Textbooks is free and accessible to all, they charge for convenient ways to consume the Open Textbooks (print, audio, PDF) and efficient ways to study (study aids). Most interesting of all, IMHO is their description the social learning tools:

Students can chat live with other readers, take and share digital notes, set up study groups, and even find partners for cross border projects. They can do all of this at our site or tap into the collaborative features of Facebook using our Facebook app for this. They are part of a global community of learners. Or not. Their call.

To read more about Flat World Knowledge, browse through their website or check out this article from Wired’s blog network. Potential authors can learn more about joining the “little textbook revolution” on Flat World Knowledge’s website.

Wonder if anyone at Penn might like to pilot a project with a Flat World text? LPS Online would be very interested in talking with faculty members about the possibilities. Email me if you’d like to chat.