The University Libraries and The Center present:
PUBLISHING IN TRANSITION: A DISCUSSION
New models of publishing can extend the options for disseminating work and preserve the stages of scholarly research. How can we create an improved scholarly communication system that addresses ownership, capture, distribution, and preservation of the intellectual output of BGSU community members? Join this discussion and share your ideas. Lunch will be provided.
Tuesday, January 29, 11:30-1 p.m. in the Jerome Library Pallister Conference Room.
To register, contact the Center at ctlt@bgsu.edu, 372-6898, or complete our online registration form.
December 19th, 2007
This is Part 3 of our series on Ken Bain’s visit to BGSU. Ken serves as Vice Provost, Professor of History, and Director of the Research Academy for University Learning at Montclair State University and is the author of “What the Best College Teachers Do.”
In order to create an effective learning environment, 2-3 very complex conditions need to take place:
1) Create an “expectation failure”
We learn from our mistakes often better than from our successes. Bain suggests that teachers need to put the learner in a situation where their existing paradigm does not work, then rebuild it from there. This is usually created from some sort of intellectual challenge or cognitive dissonance. “It needs to be more than just telling them the truth – that doesn’t work,” explains Bain. (i.e. – lecture doesn’t work – for long term, for most students)
2) Make it meaningful or engaging
The learner has to care deeply enough to struggle through the incongruity (and this needs to be timely… if it takes too long, they are onto other things)
Teachers must carefully select mental models or paradigms that can cause this incongruity, but yet attract student interest, leading to student engagement. In other words, “How can you create an expectation failure where students will care enough to struggle through it?”
3) Provide emotional support (if needed)
As students encounter a challenge to their beliefs, some sort of emotional support may be needed, especially when dealing with most religious convictions, which are very difficult for students to question, let alone consider alternatives.
What do you think about these conditions for effective learning environments? Do you agree? What other conditions are needed, if any?
Click on the COMMENTS link below to leave your thoughts!
December 12th, 2007
From the Research Academy website at Montclair State University, Ken Bain’s research includes a list of a dozen requirements for meaningful student learning . . .
- They try to answer questions or solve problems they find interesting, intriguing, important, or beautiful;
- They can try, fail, receive feedback, and try again before anyone makes a judgment of their work;
- They can work collaboratively with other learners struggling with the same problems;
- They face repeated challenges to their existing fundamental paradigms;
- They care that their existing paradigms do not work;
- They can get support (emotional, physical, and intellectual) when they need it;
- They feel in control of their own learning, not manipulated;
- They believe that their work will be considered fairly and honestly;
- They believe that their work will matter;
- They believe that intelligence and abilities are expandable, that if they work hard, they will get better at it;
- They believe other people have faith in their ability to learn;
- They believe that they can learn.
What else should be added to this list? As educators, what is our role in helping students to believe they can learn?. . . Click on the COMMENTS link below to leave your thoughts!
November 27th, 2007
Ken Bain, Vice Provost, Professor of History, and Director of the Research Academy for University Learning at Montclair State University, visited campus on November 5th to present “Little Things Make a Big Difference” at the College of Arts & Sciences Forum. Author of “What the Best College Teachers Do,” Dr. Bain also facilitated two workshops based on his book and the years of research he has conducted.
Over the next couple weeks, we will highlight some of the insights offered during these sessions. Here is the first installment. . .
In the morning session, Bain asked participants to, “Think about the best teacher you’ve ever had; one that had a profound influence on what you feel and think. What were some traits of this teacher?“
Some of the responses. . .
- firm, yet caring
- in love with subject
- moved students into leadership positions
- high expectations, especially for college (even in elementary)
- generosity
- demanding of self & others
- passionate
- well prepared
- good listeners; learned from the students too
- authenticity
- humility
- help students feel comfortable
- belief in the student
- hands-on learning activities
- identify strengths in individuals
- personal (yet, professional) relationship with students
- role model for them; even outside of the classroom
- inspirational
- joy of learning exuded to students
- techniques and process behind learning/how to learn & preparations for learning
- sense of care about topic and self as scholar
- understood why did what done and explained why to the students
- charisma – makes subject come alive; passionate about helping students learn
- encouraging; pushed to do more
What traits, if any, are missing from this list?. . . Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!
November 19th, 2007
Sarah Robbins (aka – Intellagirl), prompted the BGSU Tech Trends Series audience, “The world is changing… are you ready? Are your students ready?“
After presenting a multitude of recent statistics on the technology use habits of 18-22 year olds, Robbins explained how the numbers simply represent symptoms of a larger issue – young people want to express themselves and communicate with others, which all too often ends at the classroom door.
Her remedy for bridging this chasm is to determine what faculty need to know and be able to do in this new, changing world. She suggests that an instructor’s technological expertise should be “somewhere between (knowing) everything and nothing” – enough so faculty can help build a bridge from the place where students are interested and engaged to where they need to go, educationally.
Her overall message centered on three approaches to reach current (and especially future) students:
- Second Life – a MUVE, or multi-user virtual environment (not an online game, since there are no game mechanics and no goals assigned; instead, each individual must figure out what to do and has free reign within certain boundaries.
- Social Networks – (e.g., Facebook, Ning) where communities are built around common interests, including trends, culture, ideas, events, ideas, and creations.
- Contributed/remixed content sites – (e.g., YouTube, Flickr, blogs, wikis) where students can collaborate, create, contribute, and critique – with text, audio, and/or images.
Benefits of these three approaches include:
- Collaboration
- Creativity
- Authenticity
- Community — around the content; they try much harder – “recreate it for the web”
- Engagement – students are engaged in participatory explorations
- Social
- Local/Global – local issue becomes global and vice versa
- Immediate – instant experiences; questions researched and answered quickly
- Participatory — not just a consumer; students become knowledge creators/synthesizers
Robbins is known to some for her often-publicized, academic exercise where students were asked to portray Kool-Aid people and mill around various Second Life spaces to experience diversity, crowd mentality, exclusion, and discrimination. She explained that because most of her Ball State University (Indiana) students never felt excluded or discriminated against, the “Kool-Aid man experience” was the best way to get them to quickly and easily understand a previously foreign concept.
So how did the students react to this new (and strangely unique) exercise? Robbins said many of them expressed they felt safe because they were in a group who were like themselves; had they been alone, “it would have been worse.” In other words, within five minutes, students learned complex, experiential concepts that were only marginally successful during a 50-minute, face-to-face class.
Robbins shared several other educational uses and applications of Second Life:
- Chat text from each student can be exported, saved, analyzed
- Group IM (instant messaging) – allows a lifeline when out interviewing others in SL (like an expert or advisor in an earpiece)
- Translating metaphorical ideas
- Role Playing
- Building, testing, synthesizing theoretical models (e.g., customer traffic flow, chemical molecules)
- Recreate works from literature to build understanding (e.g., Dante’s levels of hell, science fiction/fantasy recreations or interpretations)
- Critique and parody
- Sharing and presenting works to hundreds, rather than only the instructor or single class
- Student-generated schizophrenia simulator
- Her students were treated as co-researchers
Robbins closed by emphasizing the need to find and use technologies that meet the needs and goals of the course and your comfort level – not all tools are for everyone or every purpose, just because they are popular or novel. And with that, we’ll close with a few questions about your thoughts… What do YOU think?
How have you used Second Life or other “connecting” tools to engage students? What are your thoughts on teaching/learning in Second Life? (concerns, questions, success stories, ideas, etc.) …Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!
For more information:
Intellagirl Website
Sarah Robbins’ Ubernoggin Blog
Second Life
(Search for Article) Professor Avatar: In the digital universe of Second Life, classroom instruction also takes on a new personality (from The Chronicle of Higher Ed – September 21, 2007)
October 25th, 2007
Here is a sampling of things overheard during the “Challenges Regarding Copyright and Use” Discussion held in the Pallister Conference room of Jerome Library on October 2:
- Copyright is a balancing test between protecting rights of creators and the promotion of knowledge
- Copyright law is based on varying interpretations depending on jurisdiction, legal precidents, and intent
- Common Misuses
- scanning an article into a PDF format (obtain permission and/or check copyright permissions first)
- putting a full PDF copy of an article on your Blackboard site (post a link instead, if from our libraries research database)
- Questions discussed included:
- use of digital videos
- transferring from video to DVD (or other format conversions)
- creating a digital archive or copy of ancient works from another country
- use of PDFs
- Keys to remember:
- link to an article when possible, rather than providing it
- article in e-reserves – use only once per semester; after that, permission should be obtained
- course packs – you or printer must obtain permission
- exercise your citizen rights by contacting legislators regarding proposed/needed changes for educational purposes
- you must make a reasonable attempt to seek permission
- make sure YOUR works are available for future use (refer to Author’s Rights Addendum from SPARC)
- Additional Links:
- Checklist for Fair Use – A general overview of what can be considered Fair Use; developed by Kenneth Crews, Indiana University
- Office of General Counsel on Copyright at Catholic University of America (News, checklists, and Q&A with a lawyer)
The next University Libraries Discussion session will be Publishing in Transition on Monday, November 5, from 11:30-1:00.
What other questions or comments do you have regarding copyright?…Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!
October 4th, 2007
On March 15th, the Center and the University Libraries collaborated to offer part two of the Information Transformation Discussion Series, New Models of Publishing.
Here are some of the discussion items from this session:
We get tenure based on what we disseminate as a scholar – the number of times your work has been cited is a critical measure; should reviewers of tenure include how often a website is cited? A blog? Since there is no standard format for online writing/publishing (APA, etc.), does that make it less accurate or important?
In some ways, scholars are terrified about what they put on the web or to open access.
This is a whole new way to look at or reconceptualize how we are considered as academics in the field.
We teach graduate students about APA during their first course/class, but don’t mention anything about online publishing options.
“Digital Scholarship” – moves beyond PDF files to also include multimedia such as audio, video, and flash animations (using Adobe Acrobat Professional).
What about peer-reviewed podcasts & YouTube video submissions – still need text; need to train peer reviewers as well.
We’re still in the habit of teaching writing in schools, but not multimedia skills to represent concepts and knowledge – why not? Oral histories or ethnographies are a great example of reasons to use mulitmedia – capture with video/audio: singing, dancing, emotion, intonation, etc.
Is there something wrong with scholarly activities and creations being fun? (video, audio, multimedia, etc.)
This emphasizes the importance of media/information/digital literacy for students (and faculty) – who will teach this?
Web Resources:
Brief Overview of Open Access
Detailed Overview of Open Access
SPARC – Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition
For more information on:
• Author Rights; including the Author’s Addendum to submit with your publication agreements
• Journal Pricing
• Open Access
• Open Data
• Public Access to Research
• Repositories
Create Change.org who asks, “Shouldn’t the way we share research be as advanced as the Internet?”
• This website will help you understand the changing landscape and how it affects you and your research. It also offers practical ways to look out for your own interests as a researcher.
• A scholarly revolution is underway. It enables you to get a greater return from your research. All you have to do is share it.
DOAJ – Directory of Open Access Journals
The third and final discussion, New Models of Owning Ideas will be held on Tuesday, April 17th from 12-1:15 in the Pallister Room at Jerome Library. Here is the description:
New models of publishing provide choices for authors. What are the advantages and disadvantages of new models of owning ideas? Does the author keep the copyright, retain some rights through Creative Commons, give the copyright to the publisher? Join this discussion to learn about these options and think about what is the best choice for you.
To register, contact the Center at 372-6898, ctlt@bgsu.edu, or use the online form.
April 5th, 2007
Dr. L. Dee Fink presented the keynote address, “The Joy and Responsibility of Teaching Well” to faculty, staff, students, and Regional Center Learning Community guests last Friday in Olscamp Hall. His visit was part of both the First Annual Teaching and Learning Fair and the Student Achievement Assessment Committee (SAAC) Awards, held the night before.
[NOTE: If you were unable to attend, WBGU taped the presentation and it can be viewed via the DVSS. After authentication with BGSU login, search for "The Joy and Responsibility of Teaching Well."]
Here are some brief highlights from Dr. Fink’s keynote:
- The iceberg metaphor for teaching: Above the surface – what and how we teach; Below (hidden) – how we gear up and who we are as professionals
- Focus not on “just teaching,” but on “teaching well”
- If we want to experience the deep joy and fulfill the responsibility to students and society at large, we are going to have to rethink what we do and how we are doing it
- Group tests on “readiness assurance” — after an introductory reading; used for feedback; small grade received by all; learning from each other in preparation for next phase(s) of learning (part of his “Creating Significant Learning Experiences” book)
- Jet Blue’s reservation specialists (many whom are housewives working from home) get 4 hours of professional development each month… “isn’t college teaching at least as important as airline reservations?”
- It’s an exciting, challenging journey, with lots of bumps, but it’s well worth it!
Look for our upcoming Communicating for Learners newsletter with more on Dr. Fink’s keynote.
For more information on Dr. Fink and his work:
What about your highlights from the keynote or your own thoughts/experiences on the “joy and responsibility of teaching well?” Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!
March 23rd, 2007
All members of the BGSU Community and members of the Regional Community are invited to attend the Fair.
Dr. L. Dee Fink, author of Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses and former president of POD (Professional & Organizational Development Network in Higher Education), delivers his keynote address, “The Joy and Responsibility of Teaching Well.” (seating is limited)
Fair Presentations
BGSU faculty and graduate students are encouraged to register to present at the Fair
For information and presenter registration visit the Center, www.bgsu.edu/ctlt, and click on the Fair Icon.
Already presenting at the Fair are representatives from the following organizations:
Arts Village, BGeXperience, BG Perspective, Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology, Chapman Community at Kohl, COSMOS Learning Community, Firelands College, Honors Program, IDEAL, Instructional Support Caucus, Office of Academic Enhancement, Office of Service Learning, Partners in Context and Community, Student Achievement Assessment Committee, Undergraduate Student Research, University Libraries
March 1st, 2007
