Mount Royal College

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• Mount Royal College
• Faculty Learning Community on Blended Learning
• Blended Classroom and eLearning Practice
  Conference
• Robyn Ayles, John Blenkinsopp, Jennifer Pettit,
  Todd Nickle, Pam Van Bakel, Norm Vaughan

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Overview

• 1) Terminology
• 2) Rationale
• 3) Program outcomes
• 4) Program sessions
• 5) Project examples
• 6) Blended learning principles
• 7) Next steps

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Blended Learning

• The goal of a hybrid (blended) course is to
  combine the best features of in-class teaching
  with the best features of online experiences to
  promote active learning, self directed learning
  opportunities for students and a reduction of
  seat time.
• (Garnham Kaleta, 2002)

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Communities of Practice

• A group of people who share an interest in a
  domain of human endeavour and engage in a process
  of collective learning that creates bonds between
  them.
• A community of practice has three primary
  characteristics
• Joint enterprise means that everyone in the
  community is working towards a common goal, such
  as creating an instructional design product, or
  simply learning how to become a great repair
  person.
• Mutual engagement implies that each persons
  actions and ideas are equally valued and judged
  within the community.
• Shared repertoire suggests that members of the
  community have similar experiences and
  interactions in the learning and development
  process.
• (Wenger, 1998, p.2)

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Faculty Learning Community on Blended Learning
(August, 2003 to April, 2004)

• The Three P Drivers
• Purpose The successful redesign and
  implementation of 12 undergraduate credit courses
  in a blended learning format for the fall 2004 or
  winter 2005 semester.
• Process series of biweekly face to face
  sessions (discussion and computer lab) combined
  with facilitated online activities between
  sessions
• Product intended outcome of the community is
  that all members will have a fully functional
  Blackboard course site, combined with the
  necessary teaching and educational technology
  skills and experience, to support a blended mode
  of delivery in the fall 2004 or winter 2005
  semester

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Faculty Participants

• Lorne Armstrong Social Work Disability Studies
  
• Robyn Ayles Theatre Speech
• John Blenkinsopp Advanced Specialty Health
  Studies
• Mitch Clark Social Work Disability Studies
• Terry Field Communication Studies
• Janice Meeking Chem, Bio Env. Sci
• Todd Nickle Chem, Bio Env. Sci
• Jennifer Pettit Humanities
• Elaine Schow Undergraduate Nursing Studies
• Brian Sevick Chem, Bio Env. Sci
• Marie Tremblay Chem, Bio Env. Sci
• Pam Van Bakel Earth Sciences

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FLC on Blended Learning Program Outcomes
Teaching Strategies
Curriculum Design
Teaching excellence and innovation in support
of student learning
Educational Technology Integration
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FLC on Blended Learning Program Outcomes

• Curriculum Design
• A curriculum redesign plan of an existing credit
  undergraduate course for blended learning. This
  plan involves the
• Formulation of a blended course vision and
  learning outcomes
• Development of a course syllabus
• Development of online learning activities (in
  modular format) which integrate with the
  face-to-face sessions of the course
• Creation of assignments based on the identified
  learning outcomes
• Development of a course assessment plan based on
  the identified learning outcomes
• Assembling of a grading criteria for the course
  based on the identified learning outcomes and the
  course assessment strategy
• Development of a set of student interaction
  protocols (for email, discussions) to be followed
  in the course
• Draft of specific tactics for developing a
  learning community in the course
• Devising a strategy for implementing learning
  support in the course

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FLC on Blended Learning Program Outcomes

• Teaching Strategies
• The acquisition of effective face to face and
  online teaching skills strategies such as
• Facilitating online discussions
• Stimulating online communication
• Managing group work
• Assessing online work
• Directing students to appropriate support
  personal and/or resource documentation for time
  management and study skills

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FLC on Blended Learning Program Outcomes

• Educational Technology Integration
• The acquisition of educational technology skills
  such as
• Managing a Blackboard course web site by being
  able to successfully manipulate the following
  features
• Course Content - Adding and revising course
  content (announcements, course information,
  course documents, linking to external resources
  such as digital learning objects)
• User management - Enrolling, listing and removing
  students into the course site and group areas
• Tools Communication and collaboration features,
  digital drop box, course calendar
• Assessment Features online testing and survey
  tools, online grade book and course statistics
• Site design and functionality Adding and
  editing navigational buttons
• Trouble shooting basic student technology issues
• Login and password problems
• Directing students to proper support personal
  and/or resource documentation for hardware
  (computer), software (applications and plug-ins)
  and connectivity (Internet service provider)
  issues

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Fall 2003 Semester - Sessions

• Focus on Course Redesign
• Identifying key learning outcomes
• Designing integrated face-to-face and online
  learning activities
• Developing a course assessment strategy
• Creating a learning centered course syllabus and
  redesign plan
• Developing a course module prototype
• Leveraging the use of digital learning object
  repositories
• Faculty outcomes completed course redesign
  plan, course syllabus (objectives, assignments,
  assessment plan, grading criteria) and a
  functional Blackboard shell with one prototype
  module

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Winter 2004 Semester - Sessions

• Focus on Course Development Teaching Strategies
• Developing your own digital learning objects
• Advanced Blackboard Tools
• Facilitating online learning
• Integrating face to face and online activities
• Learner support strategies
• Piloting and course evaluation strategies
• Faculty outcomes - a redesigned course, a
  Blackboard web site, and the necessary teaching
  educational technology strategies and skills to
  create a successful blended learning environment
  for their students in the fall 2004 semester.

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FLC on Blended Learning Blackboard Site
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Robyn Ayles THEA1105 Theatre Production
Practicum
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John Blenkinsopp ACCN4453 Emergency Management
of the Acutely Ill and Injured Part A
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Todd NickleBIOL3311 Principles of Genetics
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Jennifer PettitHIST2217 America 1607 to 1865
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Pam Van BakelGEOG3331 Mapping GIS
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Our Guiding Blended Learning Principles

• Student engagement
• Create an environment where students are engaged
  and motivated to take responsibility for their
  own learning inside and outside of class
• Student-to-student interaction
• Use the technology to empower more student to
  student interaction and peer mentoring
  opportunities get the students to do the work
  and share their ideas with each other dont
  underestimate the power of peer pressure in group
  work to keep everyone focused, on track and
  responsible for their own learning
• Avoid the course and a half syndrome
• For every new thing you introduce in your
  existing course you have to give something up

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Our Guiding Blended Learning Principles

• Use technology to automate repetitive processes
• Develop online assessments and use the online
  grade book for low mark and /or self-assessment
  activities
• Focus on developing learning/assessment
  activities for your students
• Make use of existing learning objects (e.g.
  textbooks) rather than trying to develop your own
  content focus on assessment activities rather
  than on generating content
• Course organization
• Important to remember to retain flexibility
  within your course structure every student and
  class of students is unique and you need to be
  able to adjust for this uniqueness but you also
  need a clear game plan and structure

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Next Steps

• Funding from Alberta Learning
• Target the 20 high enrollment courses at MRC for
  blended delivery
• Course redesign will be facilitated via a FLC on
  Blended Learning model 2004 to 2005

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Questions, Comments, Discussion
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Resources

• Garnham, C. and Kaleta, R. (2002). Introduction
  to Hybrid Courses. Teaching with Technology
  Today, 8 (6). http//www.uwsa.edu/ttt/articles/gar
  nham.htm
• Garrison, D.R. Anderson, T. (2003).
  E-Learning in the 21st Century A Framework for
  Research and Practice. London RoutledgeFalmer.
• Garrison, D. R., Kanuka, H. and Hawes, D. (2002).
  Blended Learning Archetypes for More Effective
  Undergraduate Learning Experiences. University of
  Calgary Learning Commons. http//commons.ucalgary
  .ca/lcportal/documents/BlendedLearning_2.pdf
• Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., Archer, W.
  (2000). Critical thinking in a text-based
  environment Computer conferencing in higher
  education. Internet and Higher Education, 11(2),
  1-14. http//www.atl.ualberta.ca/cmc/CTinTextEnvFi
  nal.pdf
• Glazer, E. (2001). Learning in communities. In M.
  Orey (ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning
  teaching, and technology. http//itstudio.coe.uga.
  edu/ebook/LearningCommunities.htm

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Resources

• Novak, Gregor (1999). Just-in-Time Teaching.
  http//webphysics.iupui.edu/jitt/what.html/
• Portland State University (2001). Classroom
  Assessment Techniques Examples.
• http//www.oaa.pdx.edu/CAE/cat.html
• Twigg, C.A. (2003). Improving Learning and
  Reducing Costs Lessons Learned from Round 1 of
  the Pew Grant Program in Course Redesign.
  http//www.center.rpi.edu/PewGrant/Rd1intro.html
• University of Wisconsin _at_ Milwaukee (2002).
  Hybrid Course Website. http//www.uwm.edu/Dept/LTC
  /hybrid.html/
• Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice.
  Cambridge Cambridge Cambridge University Press.