Campus Guide to the Online Focus Session

What It Is

The 2008 Spring Online Focus Session is a series of web-based presentations and discussions exploring an approach to learning that puts the emphasis on students’ learning by doing and learning in context. The session will bring together a variety of professionals to examine how today’s technologies can support authentic activities, in which students engage with the content, with each other, and with experts—in and out of the classroom—exposing them to the reality of professional practice.

How It Works

There will be eight sessions during the two-day online event, all of which involve presentation, discussion, reflection, and collaborative knowledge-building. There will be opportunities to submit questions during the sessions and communicate with other participants using a chat feature. In addition to the chat feature, participants will have access to the “Learning Commons,” a suite of tools for sharing ideas and information during and after the session. Some of the most valuable interactions can occur among participants during and after the presentations, so we encourage you to take advantage of these collaborative tools to build collective understanding and extend the conversation. Sessions will last for one hour, including ample time for speaker Q&A.

Who Should Attend

If you are interested in developing or expanding initiatives at your institution to help faculty and instructional staff use more active-learning strategies, you will find the focus session a valuable experience. The event has been designed for:

• Information technology professionals
• Learning technologists
• Faculty
• Administrators
• Librarians
• Others functioning in related roles

We encourage you to participate in the focus session as a team. Team participation can help your institution advance a current or upcoming project or encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration. Team members find that active discussion and engagement surrounding the focus-session activities builds rapport, solidifies plans, and enriches collaboration. By sharing a common focus-session experience, participants can reflect on the implications for their campus.

How to Participate

The focus session can be an opportunity for stimulating dialogue and group learning on your campus.

Prior to the focus session, please review all Technical Information and be sure to run the Adobe Connect connection test to be sure your system is properly configured.

Discussion and reflection with peers strengthens the value of the sessions. We suggest these steps:

• Identify the group you would like to participate; ask them to hold the dates scheduled for the focus session.
• Register yourself as the lead person from your campus.
• Reserve a room that is capable of handling the number of participants and has the necessary technology. You will need an Internet connection for the audio and video components; we will provide you with the URL prior to the event. Be sure you can adjust the volume of the sound so all can hear.
• Encourage participants to review the session resources prior to the event.
• Use session Q&A time to initiate campus-focused discussions, or schedule time at the end of the first day, at the start of the second day, or at the end of the second day to delve into specific discussion related to your campus. Suggested questions will be provided in the Learning Commons.
• Be sure to run the Adobe Connect connection test prior to the focus session to be sure your system is properly configured.

Outcomes

As a result of the focus session, you should expect to:

• Explore authentic activities across a variety of disciplines
• Identify the role IT can play in the delivery and evaluation of authentic activities
• Develop strategies to help faculty introduce and sustain authentic activities in their courses
• Engage in dialogue with a community of professionals focused on how to integrate and evaluate authentic learning across the curriculum

After the Focus Session

The online focus session is designed as a starting point for campus discussions about how today’s technologies can support authentic activities where students engage with the content, with each other, and with experts—in and out of the classroom.

Those who cannot participate in the synchronous online event or who miss some of the sessions can review the event archive to more effectively join the conversation.

Use the questions provided, or ones you have developed, to stimulate ongoing discussion in the Learning Commons or as part of

• A special meeting following the event,
• A weekly brown-bag lunch gathering, or
• Online campus conversations.

We encourage you to emphasize how the ideas and activities explored during the focus session apply to your institution.