The Effective Use of Internet-Based Collaborative Tools

Otto Benavides*, Instructional Technology and Resource Center. M/S ED601

ottob@csufresno.edu ED 481   278-0379

This presentation and demonstration addresses the use of Internet collaborative tools for a graduate Curriculum and Instruction class. A survey of currently available tools such as video conferencing, podcasting, blogging, and others will be presented. Tools used in the CI 225 Integration of Technology in the Curriculum will be demonstrated. The course complies with technology standards set for the induction program of the teaching profession. This class uses a variety of Interned-base collaborative tools as a way for students to participate in class activities, to collaborate with peer groups, to interact with the instructor and to interact with guest speakers. During the course of the semester, students are required to participate in several Blackboard Discussions. They are also required to e-mail the instructor and their group peers. The purpose of the e-mail communications is to set up collaboration protocols and to ask questions of the instructor or the group.   During the class periods various guest speakers virtually participate in the class by leading discussions of their topics of expertise. For the first time in the students' classroom experience, they have the opportunity to see, hear and interact with experts in the field or the authors of the textbook. Students are required to ask questions, to take notes and to discuss the presentations. CI 225 uses Voice over IP for student discussions and collaborations outside of class.   Students are asked to create personal accounts with Skype. Via VOIP students can also consult with the instructor during office hours or at agreed times. CI 225 uses blogs for interaction and as a model for teachers to create their own blogs for student interaction. The use of Podcasting is presented and encouraged for collaboration.

Designing Hybrid Courses -The Marriage Of Distance Learning And Blackboard: Professor = Marriage Counselor

Kathryn J. Biacindo*, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, M/S ED2

kbiacindo@csufresno.edu   278-0321

This presentation addresses recommendations on how to "marry" a distance learning course to Blackboard successfully - the hybrid course.   From 10 years experience with distance learning and 2 years+ with Blackboard, it is a very do-able and user-friendly blend to those conversant in both areas.   The presenter will discuss common technological know-how necessary to create and sustain a hybrid course, along with tips on how it can be used to streamline and innovate current courses. Topics for discussion will include 1) the learning curve required for hybrid courses, 2) a planning timeline for such courses, and 3) the plusses (many) and minuses (few) of using technology for hybrid courses.

Connecting the Dots: Interdisciplinary Interactions

Benjamin Boone* , Department of Music, MS/MB 77

bboone@csufresno.edu , 559-278-7717

Assessing Student Learning Outcomes: A Hands-On Case

Priscilla Chaffe-Stengel* , Department of Information Systems & Decision Sciences,

M/S PB7

pchaffe@csufresno.edu , 278-4963

This presentation will begin with well-formed statements of program mission, goals, and related student learning objectives for Program X . The session will involve the audience in deciding how to plan the use of different assessment techniques to gather information on student learning objectives. Discussions will focus on the advantages and disadvantages of specific student learning assessment techniques as they employ direct and indirect measures of student learning. In addition, assessment techniques will be discussed that extend beyond the assessment of explicit student learning objectives but which can provide useful information for the effectiveness and status of the academic program. Participants should be able to use material from the session in their own program assessment plans (SOAPs).

Pure or Hybrid: Online Delivery Strategies and Students' Learning Styles

Li-Ling Chen*, Department of Teacher Education, AE 242, California State University at East Bay, 25800 Carlos Bee Blvd.   Hayward, CA 94542

            li-ling.chen@csueastbay.edu , (510)-885-4507

During the past few years, online learning has mushroomed in a lot of educational organizations and institutions.   Due to its flexible delivery nature, it has proliferated into a variety formats, such as totally online without any face-to-face meeting, or partially online with a mix of face-to-face meetings and online discussion.    In my presentation, I will first emphasize that students with different learning styles needs different online delivery strategies.   Effective online learning relies on choosing the right online learning strategy for the students with different learning styles.   To justify my statement, I will demonstrate various online delivery strategies in Blackboard that I have taught in a graduate school at California State University at East Bay in the past few years.   Then, I will discuss learners' characteristics and tendencies that have been classified into numerous constructs in the literature as part of their cognitive styles.   Examples of cognitive styles include auditory learners, visual learners, kinesthetic learners, and so on.   The field-independent/dependent construct, began in the 1940s with Witkin's research on human perception of the upright (Witkin & Goodenough, 1981), is one of the classifications. After explaining my focus on the study of FD and FID learners, I will present one of my research studies.   The purpose of the research study is to investigate the influence and relationship of students' learning styles and different delivery formats of online learning. Literature review regarding the previous study in this area will be discussed, and then my research design, methodology, data collection will be presented.   Finally, I will present my findings in the research.   Future instructional implication will be discussed .  

Integrating Maple into Mathematics Courses

Doreen De Leon* , Department of Mathematics, M/S PB108

doreendl@csufresno.edu , 278-4909

This presentation demonstrates some of the ways a mathematics instructor can utilize Maple software.   For example, Maple can be used to perform statistical analyses of data, solve linear or nonlinear systems of equations, and solve differential equations.   Maple's symbolic computation capabilities lend themselves to investigation by students into the behavior of a mathematical model.   The presentation will include specific examples demonstrating the integration of Maple into a mathematical modeling course.

Blogging in the classroom:

Using blogging as a teaching tool

Candace Lee Egan* , Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, M/S MF10

candace@csufresno.edu, 278-5070

This presentation takes a look at the instructional application of blogging. The presenter will discuss how she is using blogs to facilitate student research and writing. An overview of her class assignment and examples of student blogs will be provided.

Building Collaborative Leadership through a Cohort (school team) Approach

Stephen Fiss* and Pat Stelwagon* , Department of Educational Leadership, San Jose State University, Room 404 Sweeney Hall, One Washington Square, San Jose,

CA 95192-0072

srfiss@aol.com , pfstelwagon@earthlink.net , 408-259-2320

Faculty collaboration and sharing results in powerful teaching.   All planning by SJSU Educational Leadership faculty is done "with the end in mind".   Faculty instruction models collaboration and backward planning.   Students, as members of school teams (Cohorts), reflect and gain deeper understanding of the department's themes. The focus for students is work that directly impacts their schools and student achievement.   This presentation addresses how the Cohort approach used by San Jose State University develops collaborative leadership.   Students complete course assignments, Action Research Projects, and their portfolio as teams for the MA degree and Administrative Credential.

Introducing Supplemental Instruction (SI) to CSUF Students

Lynn Forsythe* , Department of Finance and Business Law, M/S PB 7

  Melissa Nunes* and Roxanne Villaluz* , Learning Resource Center, LS 44

lynn_forsythe@csufresno.edu ,   278-4956

mnunes42184@sbcglobal.net , rvillaluz@csufresno.edu , 278-3052

This presentation addresses the movement to offer Supplemental Instruction (SI) for college courses.   In SI, students are offered additional class meetings conducted by a student SI Leader, who has already successfully completed the course.   The SI Leader attends the class for review and models the behavior of a good student.   The SI Leader conducts activities and reviews material with the students during the scheduled SI periods.   The presentation will include some examples of activities used.   The presenters will focus on how SI was implemented at CSUF in one section of Business and the Legal Environment (BA 18) during the Fall 2005 semester.    The presentation will include student reaction in both the BA 18 section with SI and the control section.   The presenters will discuss their experiences from the perspectives of administrator, faculty member, and SI Leader.   Presenters will make recommendations about how SI might be implemented in other courses and answer questions.

Learning to Write Concisely and Objectively in a Fully Web-Based Course

Henry D. Friedman* , Department of Industrial Technology, M/S IT9

henryf@csufresno.edu , 278-2145

For the past 7 semesters, the presenter has developed and taught an online course in concise, objective writing   -   the kind of writing used in the worlds of business, science, technology and government.   Instructors who incorporate "Writing Across the Curriculum" techniques into their courses might find concise, objective writing useful.   The course, IT 198W Technical Writing, has evolved in content and emphasis and has attracted students from diverse parts of the university.   The presenter will discuss his experience with the course, and will emphasize methods, such as the use of word count limits, and exercises in objective and subjective writing, through which his students have learned to write more concisely and objectively.

Strategies to Increase Student Success in Challenging (All) Courses

Whazzup, doc? Responding to E-mail from University Students

The Electronic Classroom

Meeting the Needs of Older Adult Learners: Effective Instructional Strategies to Hybrid Courses

Mei-Yan Lu *, Department of Instructional Technology, College of Education, San Jose State University, 404 Sweeney Hall, SJSU, San Jose, CA 95192-0076, Chia-Ling Mao* , School of Nursing, One Washington Square, SJSU, San Jose, CA 95192, and Michael T. Miller * Department of Hither Education Leadership, University of Arkansas, 237 Graduate Education Building, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701

meiyan@email.sjsu.edu , clmao@son.sjsu.edu , mtmille@uark.edu

The population of adult learners who are older than 24 and have full-time jobs and family responsibilities is growing nation wide. Take, for example, one-third of California State University undergraduates are 25 or older, as are 55 percent of California's community college students. Nationally, adult learners make up 45 percent of the college and university undergraduate population, and the number is expected to increase by 20 percent by the year 2015.   The objectives of our presentation are:

Writing Across the Curriculum at California State University, Fresno

Anthony Michel* , Magda Gilewicz* , Department of English, M/S PB 98

amichel@csufresno.edu 278-3919; magdag@csufresno.edu 278-4926

This workshop is a condensed presentation of the College of Arts and Humanities Writing Across the Curriculum Workshop Series, which was offered in Fall 2005.   Like the Workshop Series, this presentation offers strategies and resources for responding to student writing and generating writing assignments. Speaker #1 will begin by discussing the ways instructors can more clearly communicate their expectations about writing to their students. He will focus on the ways course documents, like rubrics and syllabi, can be used as important tools for communicating and evaluating writing. Speaker #1 will then focus on methods and strategies for responding to student writing as a means of guiding students to more complex thinking about writing and ideas. Speakers #2 then focus on how to design writing assignments that help foster learning in courses across the curriculum. She will introduce writing assignments that are designed to facilitate critical inquiry. Finally, speaker #2 will explore the connection between reading and writing as a way to teach students to use language practices that are valued in specific fields.

These presentations will incorporate handouts, demonstration, and discussion of real-class contexts.

Inquiry Into Elementary Science Education: One Professor's Method

Tablet PC in the Classroom: Enhancing Instruction

Lina Obeid* , Department of Mathematics, Reedley College, 995 North Reed, Reedley, CA   93654

Developing a code of ethics for online classes: Perceptions and Suggestions from CSUF Students

Helda Pinzon-Perez *, Department of Health Science; M/S MH 30

hpinzonp@csufresno.edu; 278-5329

With support from a mini-grant from Center for Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, students from an upper division General Education web-based course (Multicultural/International Area) participated in a research process involving focus groups and postings in discussion boards to develop a student-based code of ethics for online courses at CSUF.   Approval from the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects at the Department of Health Science was granted prior to collection of data.   A total of 43 students participated in the discussion boards and 8 in the focus group.   In the discussion board and focus groups, students discussed mechanisms to increase personal compliance with ethics when taking online exams and completing other class activities.   Based upon the suggestions and discussions generated in the discussion boards and focus group, a student and the faculty member teaching the course created an ethics rubric for online courses.   This presentation intends to provide the CSUF community with ideas regarding developing high ethical standards in online environments.

Helda Pinzon-Perez *, Dept of Health Science; M/S MH 30;

hpinzonp@csufresno.edu 278-5329

Mauricio Rodriguez, undergraduate student in the Department of Health Science

Oscar Pascasio & two other community members, farmworkers.

With funds from a grant from the CSUF Office for Service Learning and Civic Engagement, a group of Latino male farmworkers and three students from CSUF formed a community theater to educate communities about breast cancer prevention, childhood obesity, and diabetes. In this presentation, a faculty member, and undergraduate student, and three male farmworkers will provide their insights and experiences in a service-learning based program. The community theater (3 community members and 3 students) will perform the "childhood obesity prevention" script to the audience. The presentation will be in Spanish but a written translation in English will be provided to attendees who do not speak Spanish.

Cooperative Learning in a Psychology Research Methods Course: Challenges and Possibilities

Paul C. Price* , Department of Psychology, M/S ST11

paulpri@csufresno.edu , 278-2120

I will show in this presentation how I converted my section of Psychology 144, Experimental Methods, from a standard lecture/lab format to a cooperative learning format, in which students spend virtually all class time engaged in small-group activities.   Research on cooperative learning has demonstrated surprisingly large positive impacts on several meaningful learning outcomes, but I will focus more on the nuts and bolts of my course: the creation of groups, the activities they engage in, the flow of a typical class session, preparation and grading.   I will also discuss some of the challenges I have faced, especially those having to do with the technical and quantitative content of the course.

The Assignment: Where Oh Where Did it Go?

Ellen Rowan-Ono* , Department of Humanities, Fresno City College

ellen.rowan-ono@fresnocitycollege.edu , 442-4600

One dilemma of the instructor, particularly in early or basic classes, is to persuade the student to regard material from an academic standpoint, rather than to merely "turn something in for credit."   The shift to a critical viewpoint is a subtle, but vital, element in the success of the instructor's message as well as the student's understanding.   In this presentation, the moderator will introduce a before-and-after approach to the development of metacognition in the student writer. While "The Assignment" was specifically developed as a writing module, how the technique might be applied to other disciplines will be a part of the group discussion. The workshop includes a hands-on demonstration as well as examination of student samples.

The Over-Extended Student:

Two Simple Strategies for Immediate Academic Improvement

Ray M. Sanchez* , Office of Instruction, Student Success Tutorial Center

Fresno City College, 1101 E. University Avenue, Fresno, CA 93741

ray.sanchez@fresnocitycollege.edu , 442-4600

Many students have schedules that would make college administrators blush. Whether real--working 20+ hours, volunteering at Stone Soup, and involved in student government, all while enrolled in 18 units--or perceived--actually spending the semester watching Seinfeld and Friends in syndication--many students are clueless as to how to manage their time and schedule effectively and thus be more productive. This presentation provides two strategies that instructors can discuss in one class session that will have an immediate impact on academic productivity. The result: students will manage their time more efficiently and academic performance will improve.  

Sally Cahill Tannenbaum *, Department of Communication, M/S SA46,

Nancy Nisbett *, Recreation Administration and Leisure Studies Program, M/S PH103

Chris Fiorentino *, Civic Engagement and Service-Learning, M/S SB120

sallyt@csufresno.edu , 278-5404, nancyni@csufresno.edu , 278-2838, chrisf@csufresno.edu , 278-7079

California State University, Fresno, is moving toward becoming an engaged university , a university that embraces a broader vision of scholarship, one that entails not only the discovery and integration of knowledge, but the application and dissemination of knowledge.   The new scholarship of engagement meets the needs of our surrounding community through purposeful, action-oriented research, teaching, and professional outreach. Presenters in this panel will argue that linking with area agencies on the myriad of problems that face Central Valley residents creates research and service opportunities that are both relevant and invigorating. Dr. Sally Tannenbaum, an Assistant Professor in Communication, will share her work with political campaigns and voter outreach programs.   Dr. Nancy Nisbett, an Assistant Professor in Recreational Administration and Leisure Studies, will describe her work in a Programming and Evaluation Course in which students design and implement an evaluation of an outdoor education program. Chris Fiorentino, Director of Civic Engagement and Service-Learning, will explain the distinctions between service-learning and civic engagement, highlight university resources available to assist faculty interested in action-based research and service, and provide additional examples of model CSUF courses.