Strategies and Techniques for Implementation

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Strategies and Techniquesfor Implementation

• General Education Institute 2003
• Newark, Delaware
• June 5, 2003

By David G. Brown, VP and Dean Wake Forest
University http//www.wfu.edu/brown
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Time Gaining Strategy 1Keep It Simple (Stupid)!

• Emphasize Email, URLs, CMS
• Standardize--hardware, software, projection,
  training, help desk
• Provide Access to All---avoid double systems
• Use Simple Templates---viewable by older, slower,
  lower priced computers
• Add Technology in Small Bites
• Utilize Familiar Systems---E.g. Internet
  browsers
• Dont Be the First to Upgrade

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Time Gaining Strategy 2Shift Work to Students

• Have them annotate the best web sites
• Designate a student-manager-of-the-week to handle
  paperwork
• Build administrative systems that enable students
  to update their own data
• Encourage peer feedback
• Reward students who help others learn

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Time Gaining Strategy 3Involve Others in
Teaching

• Ask students to critique each others papers
  before submission
• Have student A and B agree upon a joint
  submission grade only one paper
• Recruit alumni mentors, college staff
• Build hierarchies of support
• Provide access to work of previous classes

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Time Gaining Strategy 4Preserve Completed Work

• Back Up Your Own Work
• Encourage Students to Back Up Their Work
• Require Students to Keep Copies of All the Work
  they Submit
• Help Students Create Portfolios for Archiving
  their Important Documents and Transferring Them
  to After-College Systems

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Time Gaining Strategy 5Focus Work

• Too Many Degrees of Freedom
• Identify precisely Your Desired Outcome
• Guide Students to More Efficient Learning Paths
• Use the Power of Search Engines
• Build Small Chunks
• Separate Out the Reusable

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Tips Involving E-mail

• Create group list for each class.
• Include yourself. Share list with the class.
• Have students e-mail you from the
• address they use
• E-mail tips for success re a key assignment
• E-mail class when grades have been posted
• Use e-mail for between-class alerts
• Send individuals personal notes of encouragement

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More Tips Involving E-mail

• Encourage students to email each other
• Give current students the names and emails of
  former students
• Use student consolidators
• Consider your own separate e-mail box for each
  class
• Use email for good news. Deliver bad news F2F

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Tips Re Discussion

• Usually Avoid Chat
• Set tight parameters re time, length, topic
• Let students know youre lurking, and care
• Push students in the early days then, back off
• Avoid low value discussions
• Consider Electronic Office Hours
• When possible, hold complex discussions F2F

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Reasons 150 Professors (10 at UD) Added Computer
Enhancements

• Communication-Interaction
• Collaboration-Teams
• Controversy-Debate
• Customization-Diversity
• Consultants-Adjuncts

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Syllabus, July 2003
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Starting with an Unrefined List