Online Learning: The Future of Faculty Development?

"When we think of where people turn for information, we usually think of databases, the Internet, intranets and portals, or more traditional repositories such as file cabinets or manuals. What we may not think of is one of the most crucial sources of all: other people."

-Ageless Learner.com

Rob Cross, Andrew Parker, 

Laurence Prusak, Stephen Borgatti

It's time that all higher ed stakeholders value technology as a vehicle to connect people, share ideas, foster relationships, break down the silos, reduce the redundancy in our work processes, and collaboratively solve the problems that so many institutions and individual faculty are grappling with across our nation.  This is a new way of framing technology which is still viewed as a barrier in the eyes of many individuals, particularly those who resist the notion that online learning can be relevant, inspirational, empowering, and life changing which, I have learned, it can when an instructor is trained and supported effectively.

How Google Hangouts Are Rocking My World

I've been reflecting recently on how Google+ Hangouts have affected my learning and thinking about how free, easy-to-use, social, synchronous video-based learning environments will reshape organizational faculty development programs in the future.  The future is looking much more faculty-centered to me, provided that faculty participate, build their personal learning networks, and engage in online informal learning.

So many people have asked me, "What makes Hangouts so different, really?"  Well, in some ways nothing but in other ways, everything.  Really, they deliver many of the same technological features that Skype delivers -- synchronous voice, text, and video communications -- but Hangouts support video conversations in groups up to 10 for free.  Further, the simple fact that a Hangout is "baked into" a social network that I use to cultivate my own personal collection of humans from who'd I'd like learn and with whom I'd like to share sets it apart.  Simultaneously, this is still the greatest drawback to most faculty, as well, as relatively few are using Google+. 

Hangouts come in two flavors: the standard "Hangout" and "Hangout On Air." The "On Air" feature allows you to simultaneously stream your video conversation to the web (not always appropriate, no, but it can be quite valuable for certain applications).  The stream appears automatically on your YouTube Channel (which you manually connect to Hangouts one time) and on your Google+ Profile page.  When you launch the Hangout On Air, you also are provided with embed code that you may copy and paste into any html web page (like your course management system, a blog, a wiki, etc.) and point your audience there ahead of time. When the Hangout On Air is over, the stream is archived in video on your YouTube Channel (which you can adjust to either public, unlisted, or private). 

For the past year, I have been holding a monthly office hour session for VoiceThread in my role as their Higher Ed Learning Consultant.  This is an opportunity for any educator using VoiceThread to ask me questions, share ideas about how they're using VoiceThread, and work through questions or problems they have.  Before August I was holding the sessions in a web conferencing system that required advanced registration.  There were several months when nobody showed up.  In August, my first Hangout On Air month, I had a dynamic group of between 4-7 people join me and last month Amanda, my colleague from VoiceThread, and I were joined by three educators.  The experience is just more fluid, more natural.  And so is the conversation -- at least after I have gotten over my initial stage fright! Anyone who says presenting in front of a webcam is NOT nerve racking like public speaking has never done it.

Learning from Other Faculty: Without Walls

But the really compelling idea that I'm left with is probably the most simple. It's about how faculty are learning today on college campuses.  As I reflect on my experiences with teaching, the greatest "Ah ha" moments I've had are those that have come about through the informal learning moments I've had interacting with other faculty members.  I have not worked on a physical campus since 2009; yet, my "Ah ha" moments have not dwindled.  They continue to flourish -- through the faculty development classes I teach (our VoiceThread discussions), the webinars I present and attend; the interactions I have on Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and my blog with my PLN; and now my Google Hangouts.  

Over the past decade, as state budgets have dwindled higher ed faculty have become increasingly more part-time and more frequently work for multiple institutions. Earlier this month, I Skyped with a colleague of mine who is now teaching for FOUR colleges.  The point here is that web-based social technologies allow faculty to engage in formal learning while immersed in personalized video conversations at a distance.  The boundaries of our campuses are no longer obstacles that keep us from learning from faculty at other campuses.  We really are one big learning community ... if we just participate.

On college campuses, faculty development programs continue to be cut along with the budget, leaving the minimally staffed departments (if there is even one!) to be managing responsibilities that reach far outside of their original domain and leaving no time to stay current on emerging technologies.  Exploring, questioning, examining and experimenting with how to teach effectively with social technologies is perhaps the factor that will keep college learning moving forward.  These are the questions that will empower us to recraft a college learning experience that prepares our students for life in a digital, mobile, interconnected, global society -- one in which employers expect new employees to demonstrate their ability to have fostered relationships at a distance (through Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, etc.) and be able to effectively present and converse asynchronous and synchronously through a webcam (for starters).

There are a mess of issues that faculty deal with on a daily basis.  How do we navigate the overwhelming world of new technologies? Where do we start? How do we teach with new tools and manage accessibility regulations?  How do I navigate my students' privacy effectively in the open web? How do we balance life and work?  How do we foster active learning with large class sizes?  What LMS should my insitution change to? What conferences are worth attending? We all have the same questions!  Let's ask them together! 

From my experiences, technology is so often viewed as a barrier in higher education. It is seen as as an obstacle that comes between humans and undermines our genuine ability to interact and engage with each other.  I've never viewed technology that way. To me, it's technology's dazzling capability to bring humans together regardless of their physical location that excite me. 

Faculty Development Hangouts?

I would like to start arranging Google Hangouts for faculty to discuss hot topics, share ideas, and just converse with one another.  Do you think this is a good idea? Would you attend or be interested in watching an archive of a Hangout On Air?  If so, add me to your Circles and leave a comment here on my blog with your thoughts or ideas for Hangout topics.  If you have questions that you'd like answered, please leave them here in the form of a blog comment and I'd be happy to answer them.

Pearson Extends Funding of Ning Minis

About a year ago, Pearson stepped up and generously offered to foot the bill for Ning Mini networks created for educational use in North America (includes K12 and higher ed).  I'm one of those who jumped on this opportunity, as I had been using Ning for years as a participatory environment for my online students to interact in and learn from one another.  The partnership started with some rocky communications, in my opinion, but those hiccups were resolved within a couple of months and has resulted in a great opportunity for educators to experiment with a dynamic social network tool that provides you with the ability to create a private network for students to blog, create a collaborative image and video collection (Tip! You decide what the overarching topic is and let your students search and share), generate their own discussion forums, and more. 

I've used Ning as an enhancement to my course management system, creating specific required activities to be completed in Ning and letting students explore, connect, discuss, share on other topics and content as desired.  It's really been fabulous and I plan to use it again this fall for a new online class I'm currently developing.  View this video to learn more.

So...I was excited to receive a message from Ning today announcing that the Pearson partnership has been extended one more year.  Yeah!  But what will happen after that?  No clue.  I encourage us to take this as an opportunity to experiment and explore the value of social networking in formalized learning environments.  Our goal should be to identify the value of such a tool for student learning and begin to advocate for support from our institutions or come up with alternative ideas.  Have one? Please share!


Here's how to request a Pearson-funded Ning Mini:

• Go to Ning.com
• Click "Get started now" to create your very own network. This will initiate the 30-day free trial period.
• Once your network is created, apply for Pearson funding here.
• You'll hear from Pearson shortly!

Why Social Networking Matters to College Leaders

GETinsight Blog Post, August 2010

I'm excited to share a new project I've jumped into.  For the last year or so I've been devouring the great resources shared at GETideas.org -- an online community, sponsored by Cisco Systems, for educational leaders to join the dialogue about how and why to leverage technology to transform education.  Beginning this week, I will be sharing a monthly post on the GETinsight blog.  I'm hoping to create some intriguing conversations relevant to a higher education audience.  Please join in and share a comment on the post, Why Social Networking Matters to College Leaders.

Then, if you'd like to join in on a live conversation with me, attend next week's online Office Hours on Thursday, August 19th Tuesday, August 24th at 9am PST. Details to follow!

A Case for Social Networking in College Learning

Hello...life has interrupted the flow of my blog posts recently.  Hopefully, many of you have had the time to reflect on Ning's new business move.  I, myself, have not had time yet to explore other free social networking options but will be focusing more closely on this task in June.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Ning has offered a low cost service for $2.95/month or $19.95/year which provides a Mini Network option.  The network is limited to 150 members and removes the option to create Groups or upload videos directly into Ning (although embeds are still supported).  This is the option they've crafted for educators.  Fortuitously for K-12 educators, Ning Mini networks will be provided to you for free at the generous funding support of an unnamed educational foundation.  Unfortunately for higher ed, there has been no matching offer to support the free integration of Ning networks into college learning.

Social networking is now used by 95% of our 18-24 year old college students, 70% use a social network on a daily basis (2009 ECAR Report of Undergraduates' Use of IT).  Traditional college age students today do not remember life before the internet.  Participatory learning -- learning in a peer-based environment through shared interactions online -- is no longer remarkable to most of our college students (The Future of Thinking, MIT Press, 2009).

Online learning in higher education continues to grow rapidly at roughly 17% in 2008 (Sloan-C) and if we hone in on community colleges we see an even higher growth rate at 22% the same year (Instructional Technology Council).  The significance of this growth in online enrollments is felt most profoundly when we understand that growth in higher ed overall in 2008 was relatively flat at 2% (Sloan-C).  And who is learning online?  82% of online college students were undergraduates in 2008.

The more college learning environments remain entrenched in traditional delivery of content, rather than integrating participatory learning experiences, which are naturally fostered with the use of social networks, the more extensive the gap remains between informal and formal learning in the lives of our students.  The recent decision to eliminate free Ning networks is a moment for us all to re-evaluate the importance of social networking.  If you've used Ning with positive results, then figure out a way to move forward. As for paying for Ning Mini networks, I'm not opposed to this option either.  I do find the cost worthy of the learning benefits.  The question becomes, "who pays?"  Is it appropriate for individual professors to pay for the tools leveraged to craft their students learning?  Are institutions open to supporting the use of social networks?  What if only a handful of early adopting professors are "ready" to do so?  Do they have less of a chance of gaining institutional support? Are their foundations willing to support college integration of Ning?  These are all questions I've been mulling over for weeks.

How does the Mini Network option support my model?  When I used Ning, I create a unique network for each of my classes (unless I'm teaching multiple sections then I have rolled them into one network).  So, there is potential here for a college professor, leveraging this model, to create many (six or more?) networks each year.  Each network surviving the course of a term, say six months, at roughly $3/month equates to about $110/year.  This also results in my networks being eliminated after the course of a semester, which feels simply wrong to me.  Shouldn't this be content that students can continue to learn from and experiences I should leverage and share with my colleagues?  Doesn't eliminating a social network immediately after a class is over undercut the very model of interaction and participation, not to mention life long learning?  More questions I have pondered recently.

I will continue to support social networking in college learning because I think it's essential for our students to experience formal learning experiences that are more closely aligned with the way they are learning outside of our formalized institutions.  Social networking increases opportunities for personalized learning, allowing students to share images of friends, family and images that support the course content (in art appreciation, students regularly share images of trips they've taken to architectural sites or museums, for example).  Encouraging videos to be embedded from YouTube promotes critical thinking through enabling students to apply course concepts and identify videos that synthesize ideas from class in new, interesting ways.  The use of media rich blogging stimulates expression of ideas beyond text, providing a method for sharing images (from field trips) or visual representations of course concepts.

A few free social networking options that have been shared with me are listed below. Again, I have not evaluated these myself and only share them because I've received many requests to do.  Please comment on this post with any feedback you have about these or other sites:

• Spruz -- which is promoting a Ning migration option
• Lunch
• Facebook -- a popular alternative which I use but don't host my own group
• Webs
• For more options, consider Phil Bradley's related blog post

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas about moving forward with participatory learning in higher education.  And I look forward to the day that a social networking environment is part of every college professor's standard teaching "toolkit," like an LMS.

Cheers.

Ning Eliminates Free Networks...we think

Today, Ning's new COO, Jason Rosenthal, sent an email to his staff which was then shared with external news sources and now has many educators and non-profits (including me) feeling a little upside down.  The memo stressed that the company would be eliminating its free services, which many in the business of learning have embraced with love and admiration in recent years.

I've shared many presentations about the effectiveness of enhancing a cold, flat online LMS learning experience with the dynamic, interconnectedness of Ning's community-oriented networks.  I have trained dozens of faculty on how to create a free Ning, customize it and facilitate the community effectively to foster participatory learning through blogging, forums and groups.  Now...it seems that the dream may be over.  We will need to wait and see, while Ning works through the details and (fingers crossed) contemplates how important they are to education, as teachers continue to strive to change the glacier of pedagogical tradition to better meet the needs of our 21st century students. 


Ning, we need you on our side.

I've thought a lot about this issue today before I sat down to write this post.  Aside from truly loving the Ning product and thinking about all the amazing feedback and comments I have received (and still receive) from past students, I've found a really important lesson in this.  Web 2.0 feels more validated than ever in education as I watch others cringe at the thought of letting go their free Nings.  Secondly, I'm sure many are thinking about Ning's decision as a logical, business move.  And, on the one hand, you're right.  But I'm left feeling a bit duped.  As web 2.0 permeates and revolutionizes our society, our culture has moved towards one of sharing and openness.  Open educational resources abound.  Creative Commons continues to remodel our traditional notions of copyright and encourage more sharing of content in support of enhancing creative expression in the world. Podcasts and YouTube provide resources for free that we could never have dreamed about just a few years ago.

To me, I have always viewed Ning as a symbol of this cultural shift into sharing and openness.  Education needs this shift to continue to pick up momentum to allow us to change and innovate and inspire others to join in.  A part of me feels optimistic that Ning will continue to provide free networks to educators (K-12 and higher education) and non-profits.  Then I have these moments of fleeting reality checks...I suppose it's the face of capitalism I am seeing. 

This is truly a learning moment for us all.  We need to reflect on all that we've learned from Ning, all that it has given us as educators, all the amazingly participatory and community-oriented learning experiences students have received, and all that we've learned through the Nings we've joined.  Ning, for me, has been a haven of sharing and support. 

Finally, I'm left worried about how this business decision, if it is in fact implemented, will create more of a rift between public and private educational learning experiences.  I am thinking now about the amazing mobile learning initiatives in play at Abilene Christian University and Seton Hall -- where students receive free iPods and interact on the university's mobile learning app.  Community college students, at least in California, won't be engaged in such activities as our colleges continue to shut the doors to tens of thousands of more students next year, in response to budget cuts.  Web 2.0 is an opportunity to engage a community in a new wave of socialization and learning.  I must remain hopeful that Ning will support sharing and openness for educators. 

What are your thoughts?  Speak them now and be sure Ning hears them (pr@ning.com). 

New TWW Resource: Educator's Guide to Ning - experience the power of participatory learning!!

I am excited to share the newest Teaching Without Walls resource: An Educator's Guide to Ning.

The guide provides a clear, easy-to-follow explanation of how to create a social network in Ning and is enhanced with many tips and creative strategies I've learned through my own teaching experiences with Ning. Ning is easy to use but when you're an educator, there are things that need to be considered to foster community and understanding how to harness the controls and settings in your Ning network can really help. I thought long and hard about all the hard lessons I learned with Ning (for example, all those emails from students..."I never got my invitation!") and shared my strategies for overcoming these problems. Experienced Ning users may read the guide and find nothing earth shattering but new users of Ning will save time and increase the community-building potential of Ning from the start!

Why use Ning? The MacArthur Foundation has been a vocal advocate of the importance of exploring how participatory learning can and will reshape the future of our learning institutions. Ning is a free social networking tool that provides anyone with the option to create a closed social network (as opposed to an open social network like Facebook or MySpace). If you're committed to innovation in education, think it's important for formal learning to be relevant to students' informal learning patterns, or are looking for a new, more visual environment to enhance your students' Blackboard experience with...try Ning!

To download the Educator's Guide to Ning, please visit the Resources page of Teaching Without Walls.

Enjoy!

Facebook Announces Fellowship Program for Doctoral Students

Facebook is enhancing its relationship with the academic world. Today the company announced the creation of five fellowships to be awarded to doctoral students in the 2010-11 academic year. The research-focused awards also include tuition, fees, travel money, a $30,000 stipend and more!

If you or an innovative PhD student you know is enrolled in a full-time PhD program in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, System Architecture or related area in the 2010-11 academic year read the full Facebook Fellowship Program Overview for more info.

In-Person Institute in SoCal Jan 19-21: Building Learning Communities Online

I will be facilitating a three day in-person institute for @One at Mt. San Jacinto College in Menifee on January 19, 20 and 21st. Details are below and the price is an extraordinary bargain (as all @One trainings are!). Please enjoy the following multimedia "poster" (created with Glogster) and click on the embedded links for more info. Hope to see you there!