Using Technology In (and Outside of) the Classroom

Gary Cziko [email: g-cziko@uiuc.edu]

Educational Psychology

College Teaching Effectiveness Network (CTEN) Seminar 2005/04/11

• 0. Setup
  • Web-connected computer with projector
  • browser
  • open link to this outline
  • open new windows to Moodle for EPSY 490 ATL (http://moodle.ed.uiuc.edu/course/view.php?id=23)

• I. Overview
  • Instructional goals
  • Courses taught and technological tools used
  • Questions, comments, discussion

• II. Instructional Goals
  • Learning
    • make students more active learners
      • reduce role of lectures
      • use cooperative learning activities
    • use quizzes as feedback and learning activities
      • prompt feedback
      • feedback comments
    • ensure that students have done the assigned readings before class
      • frees up class time for discussion and active learning
    • have students participate in collaborative, long-lasting projects that can be continuously updated
  • Student assessment
    • formative assessment of student learning
      • WarmUp quizzes for "just-in-time" teaching
    • reduce or eliminate manual grading of quizzes, tests and projects
    • facilitate student record keeping
  • Course evaluation
    • facilitate student perceptions of . . .
      • general organization of course, lectures/demos and activities
      • specific course activities

• III. Using Compass (WebCT, Vista) for EPSY 480 & EPSY 401
  • A. Illinois Compass [http://compass.uiuc.edu]
  • CT = course tools
  • provides Web-based environment for
    • *** quizzes (projects)
    • ** surveys
    • * communication (email and bulletin boards like WebBoard)
    • course content

• B. EPSY 401: "Child language and education") [www.ed.uiuc.edu/courses/epsy401]
  • "Basic" application
  • Quizzes
    • short quizzes of main ideas to be done each week before class
    • can take quiz twice with maximum credit if get all items correct on first try within time limit (1 minute per item)
    • provides controllable feedback immediately after quiz submission
    • teacher can analyze quizzes
      • by student
      • by item (indicates areas of students' strengths and weaknesses)
      • item anslysis -> indicates what should be reviewed in class
    • teacher has control over quiz using settings
      • time available
      • how much time allowed
      • password control
      • repeats
      • scoring
      • feedback
  • Surveys
    • anonymous student evaluation of
      • general course or parts of the course
      • specific classes
  • Discussions
    • students alternate weeks in discussing readings and commenting on other students comments

    ---

• C. EPSY 480: "Elements of (educational) statistics" [www.ed.uiuc.edu/courses/epsy480]
  • more advanced use of Compass
  • course organization
    • Meets in Oregon computing site with computer for each student [photo]
    • Five cycles consisting of [calendar]
      • Independent study
      • WarmUp uiz
      • Lecture/demo
      • Study plus practice quizzes
      • Group quiz (teams of 3 or 4 students)
      • Group project
      • Individual quiz (best of 3 attempts)
    • Final exam
      • practice final exams
  • use of item groups allows
    • repeated (5) practice quizzes
    • repeated (5) individual quizzes
  • Benefits
    • very little manual grading (TAs like this!)
    • need less TA help
    • improvement in course evaluations
      • from excellent (before technology) to poor/fair to excellent (with technology)
      • three factors
        • course is better
        • students more comfortable with technology (even expect it now!)
        • technology is better

• IV. Using Moodle for EPSY 490ATL [http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/courses/epsy480]
  • Moodle [www.moodle.org], the Course Management System for the rest of us
    • free
    • open source
    • modifiable
    • some College have servers for instructional use (e.g., College of Education)
    • can be set up on your own server PC, or rented on a server provider for as little as $10/month
  • Not as powerful as Compass for assessments
  • Has some activities for collaboration missing in Compass
    • controllable e-mail notification of discussion posts
    • six "flavors" of groups
    • Choice (for polling students)
    • Lessons (choices and branching)
    • Glossary
    • Wikis

• V. Wikis
  • Features
    • instantly and easily editable (by anyone or with persmission)
    • Watchlist
    • history and compare functions
  •  Wikimedia [http:// www.wikimedia.org]
    • Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org]
      • search using [http://wikiwax.com]
      • show and edit UIUC article
    • Wikibooks [http://en.wikibooks.org]
      • show ATALL Wikibook [http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/ATALL]
  •  WikED [http://moodle.ed.uiuc.edu/wiked/index.php/Main_Page]
    • All pages > Arbitration
  • Wikis within Moodle
  • seedwiki [www.seedwiki.com]

• (VI. Skype [www.skype.com])
  • Free Internet telephony with text chat ("instant messages")
  • allows free calls to other Skype users on Windows, Mac or Pocket PC computers
  • allows calling telephones anywhere in the world at reduced rates (about 2.5cents/minute for the U.S. and most of the "developed" world, including Western Europe, New Zealand and Australia)
  • can control privacy/access

• VI. Questions and discussion