• Introduction
• Some Organizational Background
• Ongoing Conversation about Learning
• Shared Learning
• New Opportunities for Learning
• A Note about the Writing
• A Non-Conclusion
• References
• Printable Text of Article

© Copyright 1998-99 by Anne Agee (aagee@gmu.edu), Susan Kehoe (skeho1@gmu.edu), Cindy Lont (clont@gmu.edu) and Ann Palkovich (apalkovi@gmu.edu).  The right to make additional exact copies, including this notice, for personal and classroom use, is hereby granted. All other forms of distribution and copying require permission of the author.

Section Four:
New Opportunities for Learning

Susan: These shared learning experiences seem to lead quite naturally to the creation of a whole new kind of learning experiences, and we see this quite often in our work at DoIIIT.  I've already suggested that we saw this happen in our thinking about how we wanted to do instructional video.  We've changed our approach to enable us to focus on making the most effective instructional use of the medium.   (See our new procedures at
http://www.gmutv.gmu.edu/policy.htm).

Anne: Another way that we're creating new opportunities for learning is through our focus on students' learning experiences. Our spring project, Innovations 99: Creative Learning at George Mason, brings together not only the whole University community, but also our larger community and our business partners.  We're consciously trying to make the community aware of the different ways that students learn.  We want to expand everyone's thinking about the nature of learning by celebrating a wide variety of learning experiences. By including art, technology, science, writing, video, and many other forms of learning, we'll give people an opportunity to see models of learning that they might not consider otherwise.  We hope that that exposure, in turn, will encourage people to expand the types of learning they offer students in their courses.

Cindy:  We're also trying to bring students more into the process of teaching. Working in STAR has given me a new way to look at teaching.  At STAR we hire undergraduates with skills in multimedia, desktop publishing, Web design and creation, presentation tools and video.   While many of them are very knowledgeable about the software and equipment, they are not as knowledgeable about how to teach.  To help them learn more about teaching, STAR hired Dr. Sheryl Friedley, who has consulted with corporations such as AT&T and Boeing and is also a professor in the Communication Department.  Her corporate workshop on "Training the Trainers" was modified somewhat for our undergrad mentors to teach them how to work more effectively with other students in large workshops and face-to-face.  Our first workshop in January 1999 was a huge success and we planned another in March so we could bring in more of our student mentors.  It was a new opportunity for our students to learn how to present information and feel comfortable in that role.

Ann: I tend to characterize DoIIIT as offering "cradle to grave" support of learning. From the inception of an idea brought to us by a instructor through the final papers or projects completed by a student in that course, DoIIIT provides support for all phases of instructional development. The unanticipated benefit from this approach is that it tends to cast the instructor in a slightly new and broader role. In my initial discussions with a faculty member about a new course or a new course format, I often ask what expectations that instructor has both for his/her course and for the students enrolled in that course. These conversations necessarily include Cindy and her work in STAR since how effectively we are able to support students in a class depends on how closely we are able to coordinate this support with the course needs of the instructor.

So far, our experience has been to take very broad ranging interests of an instructor and define those ideas as smaller tasks to be accomplished. Perhaps first posting a course on-line with basic course information, and then later building an on-line discussion into the course. This allows the instructor to then begin to take on the role of learner as he/she begins to use, explore, and master the kinds of instructional technology that are appropriate to the goals of a particular course. Having had the time to work through both the course and its related technology provides the faculty member with a firmer grounding in both the pedagogical issues and the technology. It also gives DoIIIT the opportunity to address issues of support as they arise in the development phase. We find we end up building close working relationships with the faculty, are able to keep them appraised of the changing strengths/weaknesses of instructional technology at George Mason, provide timely information to faculty, and provide the best possible support to the largest number of students throughout the University.

Anne: Our experience in supporting the Technology Across the Curriculum program has also led us to explore assessment strategies and get a better understanding of how we can measure student learning. And this has the potential to help us create some new learning experiences.   In fact, we're already developing one kind of new learning in a collaborative project with the Library's instructional team and the Center for the New Engineer.   Craig Gibson is working with DoIIIT and the English Department to develop online learning modules to help students improve their ability to work with information.   Danny Menasce and the Center for the New Engineer are providing the assessment pieces of those units using their Hyperlearning Meter software.  We plan to pilot these modules with English classes this spring, and we think they have potential use for students in many disciplines. 

We also like to encourage the development of more classroom-based research that will help us understand even more about how students learn.

Another area of DoIIIT's involvement in creating new learning experiences is in our work with the Electronic Campus of Virginia.  This is a collaborative program with colleges and universities all over the state to help develop and improve distance learning opportunities for Virginia students.  We can learn a great deal from the experience of other institutions and perhaps even develop more shared programs that will give our students more chances to take advantage of learning opportunities at other institutions and other students more chances to take advantage of our areas of special expertise.

Next Section: A Note About the Writing

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