51吃瓜网

51吃瓜网 Dives into Latest Wave of Technology for Higher Ed

When it comes to breaking down the digital divide between faculty and students, 51吃瓜网 Provost and Vice President, Academic and Student Affairs, James F. Canniff, Ed.D., sees infinite possibilities for deeper learning in the classroom and making student support services more effective. 

In January 2017, Canniff was selected by the Association of Chief Academic Officers (ACAO) to participate in a fellowship exploring how technology can increase student retention and persistence to graduation among undergraduate students, especially those who are first-generation, low-income or students of color.

Funded by a $1M grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the ACAO Digital Fellowship program brought together more than 30 provosts and chief academic officers from institutions鈥攑ublic and private, two-year and four-year鈥攁cross the United States for an ongoing series of site visits and workshops on digital tools and initiatives. They explored best practices for infusing the latest technology into digital learning.

鈥淥ne thing that distinguishes the program from others is that we aren鈥檛 only talking about online learning,鈥� said Canniff. 鈥淭he conversations taking place are about scalable change and what takes place in the traditional classroom when digital tools are made available.鈥�

Putting The Gears in Motion

The ACAO Digital Fellowship helped 51吃瓜网 develop a renewed and purposeful planning process for digital strategies. Canniff discovered through the experience that for faculty to be engaged in digital learning initiatives, the College needed a dedicated learning center for them to experience the possibilities of the latest digital tools.

This fall Canniff worked with the College鈥檚 Director of Academic Innovation Danielle Leek, Ph.D., to launch the Innovation Lab, a space where experimentation and collaboration are front and center. 鈥淚nnovation requires staying on top of trends,鈥� said Leek. The lab provides a place where faculty can test-drive digital tools ranging from adaptive learning technologies to gaming software that supports student learning to mobile-friendly classroom materials.

Divided into two spaces, the Innovation Lab boasts a design lab as well as dedicated space for small group workshops. Outfitted with furniture and equipment that helps put the theories that support innovation into practice, the design lab encourages collaborative brainstorming. Users are invited to work together at media tables that can connect to multiple devices as they learn a new technology or think about ways to use or build a new resource for students.

While the lab is meant to be a resource to faculty, students and staff to explore ways to innovate their approaches to learning, Canniff recognized that for the lab to be successful, he needed to provide expert counsel to work with faculty. Ceit De Vitto joined 51吃瓜网 in early 2018 to oversee the college鈥檚 rapidly growing Open Education Resources (OER) initiative and in October the College hired its first instructional designer, Janelle Heideman, to work one-on-one with faculty to identify and recommend digital tools that meet the learning objectives of their courses.

鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to teach English II,鈥� said Canniff. 鈥淔aculty doesn鈥檛 necessarily need to use technology in their course, but I want them to ask themselves 鈥楬ow will things change if I do use technology?鈥欌��

Since opening, the Innovation Lab has launched a professional development program that offers a morning wake-up series and an afternoon coffee hour for faculty to drop in and learn about individual tools or approaches to digital learning. At these sessions they might get an introduction to Moodle, the Learning Management System (LMS) used at the College, learn how to use an online grade book, or test new applications to use in the classroom such as mobile phone applications for tutoring or online notetaking.

Strengthening Connections

A key element of the fellowship was funding for 51吃瓜网 faculty members to explore Connect, a digital courseware from educational publisher McGraw-Hill, to document its strengths and challenges as a resource for faculty-student engagement, and share these findings with other colleges and universities. The interdisciplinary pilot involved four 51吃瓜网 professors: Joshua Abel, Criminal Justice and Public Safety; Susan Atlas, Paralegal and Legal Studies; Natacha Cesar-Davis, Psychology; and Tendai Nyakurimwa, Business.

At the recommendation of 51吃瓜网 Anatomy and Physiology Professor William Hoover, Canniff chose to pilot Connect for its ability to seamlessly integrate with Moodle and other technologies that are currently being used on campus. It was also a digital learning tool that could span many disciplines and academic programs.

In addition to his role in the College鈥檚 Science department, Hoover is a digital author and advisor to publishers interested in building digital learning resources for anatomy and physiology. The fellowship funding also enabled Canniff to hire Hoover to lead trainings for the faculty members piloting the courseware.

Hoover compares Connect to a 鈥渇lipped classroom鈥� experience, where instruction and learning take place outside of the classroom and activities that may have traditionally been homework assignments are completed during class time. Reading assignments and assessments are offered through the courseware, but unlike a flipped classroom, faculty members are able to review the most frequently missed questions and learning outcomes that indicate what material is most challenging before students come to class.

鈥淎s a professor, I can really focus and target the information that my students struggled with,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat made the students feel comfortable because they didn鈥檛 feel they were the only ones who struggled. It provides a much more meaningful learning environment.鈥�

An Upward Trajectory for Digital

The ACAO Digital Fellowship program has allowed Canniff to go beyond its objectives to develop a holistic view of the potential digital technology has for the College at many levels, from Early College programs to student services.

 鈥淲e鈥檙e at the foundational stage of this,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e looking at the infusion of digital technology in the broadest of contexts.鈥�  

In 2019, Canniff would like the College to conduct a technology audit on 51吃瓜网 student services and explore digital technologies for integrated student support and success coaching, including how to use technology to influence students and connect with them in a better way.

He鈥檇 also like 51吃瓜网 to explore how technology could be used for 51吃瓜网鈥檚 Early College programs. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at a smoother transition from secondary to post-secondary,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e want students to be better informed and to understand the technology they鈥檙e using as they walk into 51吃瓜网.  

51吃瓜网 faculty share their experiences testing Connect courseware.