Project Overview
My goals for year 1 of the Fellowship were:
- Explore ways to create a community of researchers around my research interests
- Improve my liaison courses by integrating new technologies
I have three projects. The first is to create a blog that will present my research interests and encourage those with similar ideas to join in a conversation, creating community around common research interests. My teaching goals are to create two assignments in 703 that integrate VoiceThread and encourage students to use technology.
Assignment 1 replaces a current assignment to create a Fact Sheet by opening up the possibilities of reporting the information, in the assignment (See attached.) Assignment 2 replaces a discussion forum with VoiceThread.
In the next year I would like to create an orientation to the course using Panopto.
Planning Process
- Blog– I met with Lauren Panton, who helped my set up the blog. I plan on reviewing other blogs and beginning to post. Learning will include how to reach the community I am interested in engaging in the discussion.
- 703 Assignment 1 will augment an assignment that was to create a Fact Sheet, opening it up to other outputs beyond paper. Planning for this assignment change will include determining what suggestions to make for types of outputs for the assignment. I looked at the model assignment on the Faculty Technology Fellows site- Anthony Isacco’s PSY627 course. Potential outputs for a “Fact Sheet “ could include a YouTube video, Tumblr Blog, Instagram site, or Facebook page. One question is whether to allow a written option or not.
- 703 Assignment 2 will use new technology to modify a Discussion Forum with VoiceThread. Planning for this assignment will be my gaining comfort with the technology, then creating a way for the students to gain knowledge prior to the discussion.
Implementation
Blog- Lauren Panton met with me initially and the blog site was created using WordPress. I looked at other scholarly blogs including one by Mary Beth Mannarino. For my blog site, I read information regarding writing a blog bio and began a first draft. I have not written any blog posts or determined how to find the audience for the blog. This will require effort on my part in the next year.
703 Assignment 1: I am developing the assignment sheet for this assignment and plan to institute it during the summer semester.
703 Assignment 2: One discussion forum will be replaced with a VoiceThread Discussion. I will need to look at the forums and decide where to place the VoiceThread discussion. Determining how to allow students to develop knowledge to use the technology is still under consideration.
Assessment
None of the projects are to the point of assessment. I think success of the blog would be assessed by the number of people who come to the site and the number who interact on the site. The two 703 assignments can be assessed using the end of class assessment as well as reaching out to the students asking for informal thoughts as the assignment is first implemented.
Reflections and Next Steps
The first year was a broad based review of potential technologies and how I might use this knowledge to impact teaching and research interests. I hope to be more targeted next year in implementing and assessing these projects.
