Breakfast Series: Online Conversations in Online Pedagogy, Michigan State University

Introduction:

This project began as a project at Virtual University Design and Technology (vuDAT) at Michigan State University.  A venue was needed to put faculty members in front of other faculty members to share best practices in online teaching, and showcase the innovation taking place in online classrooms around campus.  An advisory board of faculty members and organizational was convened, and determined that a monthly series of one-hour talks given by faculty members and/or academic staff implementing technologies, with breakfast served and time for discussion would be a workable solution.  The event is open to anyone who is interested, but is generally marketed toward faculty, academic staff and graduate students.

The Breakfast Series is run by one vuDAT staff member who markets the event, coordinates speakers, reserves room space, organizes archival media collection (such as video), gathers feedback data, and produces and posts the archived video and podcasts.  Another vuDAT staff member purchases food for the event (generally bagels, cream cheese and a fruit option, along with a juice and coffee) and helps with the set up on the day of the event.  The MSU Library provides the space in which the event is held, and one of their staff members assists with the coffee service and audio recording.

What Works:

• Coordinating speakers in advance and always having a backup plan
• Having a checklist of planning details that is dated and initialed as each step is completed to ensure accuracy
• Giving faculty members advance notice and sending a reminder
• Coordinating with similar events on campus, such as instructional technology brown bags and cross advertising
• Talking to the faculty in the audience about what they want to see, hear and learn.  Tailoring the event to their needs and wants
• Handing out feedback forms during the question and answer session
• Implementing an RSS to keep attendees apprised of upcoming events and changes to the archive pags

What does not work:

• Waiting too long to post archival media
• Leaving feedback forms by the door for self-service
• Scheduling speakers based on instinct as opposed to faculty desires

Conclusion:

As long as there is an inexpensive location on your campus in which the event can be held, this solution is extremely sustainable and highly valuable.  The Breakfast Series is more than just a speaking event, as audiences generally hold representatives from a wide array of colleges and departments, and the question and answer sessions tend to evolve into a community of practice with faculty members interacting not only with the speaker but also with each other.  Groups tend to linger in conversation afterwards, exchanging business cards and ideas, and frequently the opportunity to find speakers for future events presents itself.  This solution is highly malleable, lending itself well to monthly, bi-monthly or semesterly scheduling, and could adapt well to any institution.  For additional information, or questions, contact Jessica Knott: jlknott@msu.edu.

Breakfast Series at a Glance:

• Held in September, October, November, February, March and April to accomodate faculty schedules
• Faculty attendance per event is between 30 and 50
• Cost per event (at MSU) is approximately $100 (sometimes less)

Additional background on MSU and vuDAT:

Located in East Lansing, MI, Michigan State University has a student enrollment of over 46,000 and employs over 5,000 faculty and academic staff.  Virtual University Design and Technology is a unit within Libraries, Computing and Technology, the central IT division at MSU, employing 21 full time staff members and varying numbers of students. http://www.msu.edu/thisismsu/facts.html