TECHKNOWLEDGY: Can Technology Make A Splash In Your Classroom?

Date: August 14, 2013 - 9:00am to 1:45pm

Location: Telus Centre 150

Please join us for a day of engaging and stimulating ideas involving a keynote presentation by Dr. Norm Friesen, Canada Research Chair in E-Learning Practices, interactive panel discussions, and of course some tasty technology bytes - enjoy a wide selection of appetizers while learning and sampling technology-enhanced projects and tools used in teaching across campus.

CTL's summer symposium explores ways in which our community uses technology to support teaching and learning across campus. Through pedagogical practice and technology focused program tracks, our keynote and presenters will articulate their perspectives and lessons learned with the ways in which they have integrated technology in their courses.

Schedule of Events

Schedule of events.pdf

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Norm Friesen, Simulation, Stimulation and Silence: Learning Online and Off
Almost 20 years after the popular adoption of the Internet, we are still finding out about the nature of online places and spaces. Whether these locations are used for interpersonal communication or naturalistic simulation, they offer characteristics which may be ideally suited to some types of pedagogical activities and less appropriate for others. This often depends on a deeper understanding of the nature of these activities and experiences. In this presentation Norm Friesen of Boise State University will undertake a careful examination of a couple of practical examples. He will use these examples explore the nature of both pedagogy and the technology, in terms of their suitability for online, face-to-face and also blended contexts.
Dr. Friesen's Presentation PPTX
Dr. Friesen's Presentation Handouts
Watch the Video of Dr. Friesen's Presentation (MP4)

Dr. Norm Friesen
Norm Friesen is Associate Professor in Educational Technology at the College of Education, Boise State University. Dr. Friesen is the author of Re-Thinking E-Learning Research: Foundations, Methods and Practices (2009), and The Place of the Classroom and the Space of the Screen: Relational Pedagogy and Internet Technology (2011). He has recently edited and translated the pedagogical classic Forgotten Connections: On Culture and Upbringing (forthcoming from Routledge). Dr. Friesen is also associate editor of the Journal of Curriculum Studies and E-Learning and Digital Media. Dr. Friesen has worked as a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University, and as Canada Research Chair in E-Learning Practices at Thompson Rivers University. http://normfriesen.info

Techknowledgy Symposium Panelists

Dr. Amanda Montgomery
Amanda Montgomery is a Professor in the Department of Elementary Education at the University of Alberta where she has been teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in early childhood music and elementary music education for the last 20 years. Amanda was awarded the University of Alberta Rutherford Award for Outstanding University Teaching in 2003 and continues her innovative work in teaching and learning through experimentation in blended and online learning environments. Her scholarship focuses on music and phonological awareness, the role of music in family literacy, and teacher education.
Dr. Amanda Montgomery's Presentation.PPTX
Watch the Video of Dr. Montgomery's Presentation (MP4), questions from the audience begins at 35:30

Dr. Sean Gouglas
Sean Gouglas (PhD McMaster) is Director of the Office of Interdisciplinary Studies and an associate professor in the Humanities Computing programme. He is also the Director of the VITA Research Studio (CFI), which provides the research infrastructure for projects in HCI, Visual Communication Design, and Computer Game Studies. Prior to the change in focus to game studies, his research concerned coroners' investigations on the colonial frontier of western Canada, environmental history of southern Ontario, the application of statistical and Geographic Information Systems technologies to colonial settlement histories.
Watch the Video of Dr. Gouglas' Presentation (MP4) begins at 15:00, questions from the audience begins at 35:30

Erika Smith is Senior Instructional Designer in the U of A's Faculty of Extension, and is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education. Her interests focus on student meaning making, and how pedagogical and technological innovations may support meaningful learning experiences.

As a part of this panel session, Erika Smith reflects on lessons learned as instructional designer for a multi-year design project in the area of Applied Land Use Planning. Through design cases in planning-focused courses (such as "Urban Environments"), Erika shares (re)design strategies for engaging students in face-to-face, blended, and online learning environments.
Erika Smith's Presentation PPTX
Watch the Video of Erika Smith's Presentation (MP4) begins at 24:09, questions from the audience begins at 35:30

Dr. Lisa Guirguis is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Dr. Guirguis's research goal is to understand the adoption of communication skills, practice tools, and innovations with the aim of enhancing patient-centred care in community pharmacy practice. She teaches communications to first year pharmacy students and strives to foster a sense of curiosity in patient experiences with medications.
Dr. Lisa Guirguis's Presentation PPTX
Watch the Video of Dr. Guirguis's Presentation (MP4) questions from the audience begins at 25:40

Dr. Neil Haave is an Associate Professor and has taught cell biology and biochemistry at Augustana since 1990. He was Chair of the Science Dept from 1995-2006 and just completed a three year term as Associate Dean (Teaching) at the Augustana Campus.

During the 2012/13 academic year, Augustana Campus piloted the use of e-portfolios using primarily Google Sites as the software platform. Our interest in e-portfolios stems from our desire to create active learners by enabling our students to critically reflect on their own learning process. Ultimately, we want our students to be able to articulate their learning and acquired skills during their post-university life. I will be briefly commenting on the experience of the handful of faculty who were involved in the pilot. We have concluded that the particular e-portfolio platform is not near as significant as providing our students with the intellectual tools to critically reflect on their own learning. The Augustana pilot suggests that instructors permit students to choose their own digital home but that the university officially provide support for one e-portfolio platform such as Google Sites.
https://sites.google.com/a/ualberta.ca/sample-eportfolios/pilot-report
Watch the Video of Dr. Haave's Presentation (MP4) begins at 08:00, questions from the audience begins at 25:40

Dr. Tegan Zimmerman is a recent PhD graduate from the program of Comparative Literature. She is interested in contemporary women's writing and the relation between gender and technology.

I will speak about my use of Moodle for my Comparative Literature cyberliterature class. The class was responsible for writing critical commentaries and responding to questions in a group format through eClass.
http://prezi.com/7shrtgfprdbs/e-class-and-group-assignments-cyberliterature/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
Watch the Video of Dr. Zimmerman's Presentation (MP4) begins at 16:42, questions from the audience begins at 25:40

Carol Tonhauser is an EdTech Consultant. Prior to joining the faculty, she was a K-12 educator for 19 years. Her teaching experiences included fine arts, teacher-librarianship, leadership and technology coaching. In 2009, she completed a Master of Education in Teacher-Librarianship by Distance Learning (TLDL) at the University of Alberta. Her graduate studies sparked a deeper curiosity for learning more about social media use in K-12 education. She is passionate about using Twitter as a tool for professional development, networking, collaborating and sharing. She thoroughly enjoys tweeting every day from @cmt1 and @EdTechUofA.

In this session I will explore a number of Web 2.0 tools for classroom use including class polling, presentation alternatives and collaborative software. BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) if possible.
Carol Tonhauser's Presentation (Prezi)

Dr. Jerine Pegg is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Elementary Education. Her research focuses on science education, teacher professional learning, and the integration of science and literacy.

I will be discussing what I have learned from teaching an online graduate course (Processes of Curriculum Development). Specifically, I will discuss the group online presentations that we use in the course.
Dr. Pegg's Presentation (PPTX)
Watch the Video of Dr. Pegg's Presentation (MP4) begins at 30:38

Dr. Mark J. Gierl is Professor of Educational Psychology and Director of the Centre for Research in Applied Measurement and Evaluation (CRAME) at the University of Alberta. His specialization is educational and psychological testing, with an emphasis on the application of cognitive principles to assessment practices. Professor Gierl's research is focused on cognitively diagnostic assessment and automatic item generation. He is co-editor of the recent book "Item Generation: Theory and Practice" (2013, Routledge) with Dr. Thomas Haladyna. Dr. Gierl holds the Canada Research Chair in Educational Measurement.

We are developing and evaluating a comprehensive, computer-based assessment system that meets the specific needs of instructors and students as well as supports the rapid expansion of online teaching and learning at the University of Alberta. It is called the University of Alberta computer-based testing (UA-CBT) system. This system will transform teaching and learning by providing an outstanding new assessment resource for all faculty and students at our university. While the assessment system we initially develop will support our current multiple-choice item formats, we will also pave the way for assessments of the future that permit the use of innovative item formats (i.e., items that include digital media such as sound and videos as well as complex interactivity, including task-based simulation items) and, eventually, new assessment practices (e.g., automated essay scoring). The UA-CBT will be developed using a modular architecture so it is easy to expand and it will be API compliant with eClass MOODLE thereby enabling seamless integration with the current University of Alberta learning management system.

Technology Bytes Presenters

Development of on-line video case studies to enhance authenticity in case studies of Physical Therapy
Dr. Geoff Bostick, Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy
Strategies are needed to simulate the real-life clinical encounters throughout the Physical Therapy academic program. The objective of this project was to develop authentic video case studies delivered electronically as a teaching method to facilitate clinical reasoning. A pilot video case study was developed using a fully supported authoring tool called Virtual PT Clinician. Perceived authenticity of the case was assessed via student survey and analysis of log transactions of completed cases. After evaluation, the original case was modified and implemented the following year (2012) and subjected to the same evaluation. The outcomes revealed two conditions: a video case study that optimizes authenticity and one that optimizes evaluation of clinical reasoning. In either scenario, the students perceived the iterations of the two video cases as an effective learning tool with more real-life fidelity compared to paper cases. We now have a total of four cases in our library.

Stories from Storyline: Creating interactive learning modules to engage faculty and students
Wendy Caplan, Director, eLearning Services, FON; Laurie Candy, Senior eLearning Professional Development Specialist; Craig Jamieson, Educational Instructional Design Specialist, Faculty of Nursing
Articulate Storyline is ideal for every level, from beginner to the curious experimenter willing to push the boundaries. It allows the user to grow and learn over time, adding more and more techniques into your repertoire. The Faculty of Nursing has adopted Storyline to create interactive and engaging learning modules for faculty, staff and students that can be accessed through eClass at the learner's convenience. With its wide range of functionality we have found Storyline to adapt to both our professional development and educational needs. In this session we will be showcasing our use of Storyline to provide orientation and training to Adobe Connect as well as an example of its use in creating decision-making simulations for our Online Clinical Teaching Program directed at new and existing faculty.

Inorganic Chemistry Spectroscopy Tutorial & Inorganic Chemistry Glassware and Apparatus Videos
Dr. Jason Cooke, Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory Coordinator, Department of Chemistry
This tool is used to provide supplementary material to allow students to better prepare for senior inorganic chemistry laboratories. The Inorganic Chemistry Spectroscopy Tutorial is a self-paced, interactive tutorial that takes information that is presented in a traditional lecture and places it online to appeal to the more visual learner. The Inorganic Chemistry Glassware and Apparatus Videos consist of short (< 4-5 minute) videos that demonstrate the assembly and/or use of certain apparatus to allow students to visualize the tasks they will be asked to complete in the labs.
http://www.chem.ualberta.ca/~inorglab/spectut/index.html
http://www.chem.ualberta.ca/~inorglab/glassapp.htm

What's New in eClass Summer 2013
Chris Goetz, Dave Laurie, Centre for Teaching & Learning Technology Services
Curious about what's new in eClass? Need to get your course set up for Fall term? Have any questions or feedback about eClass? Stop by and see the Support Analysts from CTL and find out about all of the exciting new summer updates in eClass and get your course set up for Fall 2013!

Online Thesis Generation Tool
Daniel Harvey, Senior Instructor, Writing Across the Curriculum
The thesis generation tool replicates on-line an activity in which writing across the curriculum instructors often engage students: creating a working thesis statement. The "working" part of the description refers to the idea that this statement is open to revision as the student moves through the process of writing the assignment. In order to get started, though, it is helpful to establish at least a tentative direction for the research and writing. The first screen of the tool asks students to identify the topic. The starting point that students are often given in classes throughout the university is a topic: the role of Catholic schools in 21st century Alberta society, for example, or ore forming processes associated with arc magmas, or Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq's Turkish Letters (1588). The next challenge for students is taking this topic and turning it into a research question: what questions could they ask about that topic? For example, "How does the text by Busbecq reflect themes from class lectures?" The second screen of the tool captures those questions. The third screen of the tool asks students to provide a tentative answer to one of the questions: "The characteristics that set ureilites apart from other achondrites include: a high CaO content in olivine and pigeonite, high Cr2O3 in olivine, relatively high amounts of carbon, reduced olivine isotopic composition and an oxygen isotope composition that falls along the carbonaceous chondrite anhydrous mineral line (CCAM) T. on G., 1.05.4.2.4). From these, and other characteristics, the unique petrogenesis of ureilites can be inferred." This answer provides a kind of governing function that keeps students on track as they make their way through reading the research on a particular topic. The third screen of the thesis generation tool encourages students to write these kinds of governing statements or working thesis statements.
http://www.wac.arts.ualberta.ca/Resources/HowToDevelopATopicIntoAThesis.aspx

Moodle Library Resources Block
Debbie Feisst, Public Services Librarian, HT Coutts Education & Physical Education Library
The Moodle Library Resources Block is a helpful tool within eClass that brings Library resources to your students at their point of need. Learn how to add the block as well as customization for even greater usefulness.

Peer Assessment in EDIT 202
Sherri Fricker, EdTech Consultant, Department of EdTech Services
We have been using the eClass Workshop activity for peer assessment in EDIT 202. For each module, students create a segment of an ePortfolio and submit it for a complete/incomplete mark and feedback. Through peer assessment, students are receiving rich quality feedback from their peers and are able to ask questions of an learn from one another.

MOOC's Summative Assessment Tool
Dr. Mark Gierl, CRAME Chair; Cody Surgin, Junior Developer; Mikus Lorence; Junior Developer, Department of Educational Psychology
A tool for students taking online courses to write their exams online with immediate feedback (if desired) and statistical analysis for the professor. This is meant for the administration of the midterm and final of the DINO 101 online course beginning this fall.

Noodle Toolkit: Technology to Teach Paraphrase and Reduce Plagiarism
Dr. Heather Graves, Acting Director of Writing Across the Curriculum
The software program helps students learn how to paraphrase effectively to reduce their chances of plagiarizing. It walks them through the process of quoting and paraphrasing to show them how to restate source material in their own words.

Free yourself from the podium: Using Splashtop's Whiteboard to lecture from a tablet
Dr. Neil Haave, Associate Professor, Augustana Faculty
For the past couple of years I have been using Whiteboard by Splashtop to control the digital projection of my lecture material via my iPad. In this Tech Byte, I will demonstrate how it may be used to control a PowerPoint slideshow and annotate any other digital projection (e.g. webpage, PDF, Word doc). I thoroughly enjoy using this to lecture because it frees me to walk among my students while still controlling what I project using my iPad. In addition, the ability to annotate my projections provides a better classroom interaction between myself, my lecture materials and my students.
http://www.splashtop.com/whiteboard

Gameify your course
Mikael Hellstrom, Contract Academic Instructor, Department of Political Science
In 3dGameLab's webtool for Quest-Based Learning, the student picks the path through the course contents. It works like a computer game. The course content is turned into a series of quests; small assignments. Each completed quest rewards the student with experience points, where the final grade is determined by the total number of accumulated points over the entire term. If a quest submission is found wanting, it is returned to the student with feedback on what to do to complete the assignment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsen5rg7Lb0

For the student, it means:
• getting continuous and personalized feedback on the learning process,
• not getting penalized when the material is challenging,
• getting rewarded for learning successes,
• ability to use tools the student finds the most effective for learning, and;
• being able to plan the workload autonomously.

For the instructor, it facilitates:
• getting feedback on what the students have understood,
• use that feedback to fill gaps promptly.

Leveraging the Power of Twitter to Develop a Professional Learning Network with Graduate Students
Dr. Sharla King, Department of Educational Psychology
Twitter is often viewed as a superfluous means of communication among the millennial generation. In a graduate level educational research methods course in the health sciences, students were asked to create a Professional Learning Network via Twitter. Students identified and followed a minimum of 5 organizations or individuals in educational research, research methodology, educational outcomes or other relevant areas of interest related to education. After 6 weeks, students wrote a reflection on their experience in using Twitter to develop a network of professional contacts. Student reviews on the use of Twitter were mixed, however the majority of them altered their initial skepticism of the utility of Twitter in a professional context. Several of the students continue to actively tweet.

Corbett Clinic: A Virtual Resource for Integrating Occupational Therapy Theory, Evidence, and Skills in Practice
Dr. Mary Roduta Roberts, Assistant Professor; Dr. Shaniff Esmail, Associate Professor; Dr. Eleni Stroulia, Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy
Corbett Clinic is an online resource that houses clients with different health conditions and issues impacting their participation and engagement in meaningful activities. Corbett Clinic clients also have a "real life" standardized patient counterpart. This allows for continuity in student interactions with these clients from basic observation of client video to interviewing and assessment. Corbett Clinic is used as a teaching tool within the series of practical skills seminars in the occupational therapy program.

We are in the process of expanding and upgrading Corbett Clinic. We aim to leverage the online delivery of Corbett Clinic by creating a system that integrates curriculum, assessment, and instruction. In the future within Corbett Clinic, students can engage in activities and authentic experiences similar to what they will encounter in practice. Formative assessment activities embedded within the system will be designed to help students prepare for end of term OSCEs, provide more opportunities to practice skills such as documentation and report writing, and facilitate integration of knowledge and concepts acquired throughout the program.

eClass Live powered by Adobe Connect
Josh Stagg, Programming Intern; Dave Sun, Team Lead, Centre for Teaching & Learning Technology Services
After a thorough evaluation including public demonstrations and consultation, the University of Alberta has adopted Adobe Connect as the new centrally-supported synchronous learning tool to replace the previous tool, Elluminate. eClass Live allows for audio, video, and text-based communication while delivering content via slides, whiteboards, and screen/application sharing. eClass Live provides fully customizable layouts and windows that will allow you to share your content and interact with your students in flexible ways.