Creating New Learning Communities via the Network:
Coalition for Networked
Information Holds Workshop
Course innovation using the Internet as a vehicle involves more than
technological innovation. Many of the participants at the Creating New
Learning Communities via the Network workshop found that in their curriculum
projects, the development of their course changed the way they interacted with
other colleagues on campus, who became part of an instructional development and
delivery team. "Re-thinking the entire process is crucial," Philip Tompkins,
one of the workshop organizers said. "We are developing a model where
faculty are experts who need to work with teams of other experts and do so in
broader settings than the isolated classroom environment."
Ten institutions participated in the New Learning Communities workshop, which
brought together teams who have been developing new learning communities
through the integration of networking and networked information into higher
education teaching and learning environments. Participating teams have used
new information technologies and network-based applications to support and
build groups of faculty and students using collaborative strategies to improve
both course content and the teaching and learning process. The workshop was
held at Estrella Mountain Community College Center in metropolitan Phoenix,
Arizona on July 31 - August 1, 1994. The meeting was hosted by the Coalition
for Networked Information with the sponsorship of EDUCOM, the Association of
College and Research Libraries (ACRL), and the American Association for Higher
Education (AAHE). Participating institutions included: University of Arizona,
University of Central Arkansas, Montana State University, Northern Arizona
University, University of Binghamton, San Diego State University, Kenyon
College, Ohio State University, Indiana University - Purdue University at
Indianapolis (IUPUI), and SUNY Empire State College.
Some of the projects that were represented included a simulation activity in
which classes build working models of communities in a historically plausible
future Solar System, using a Multiple-User Domain (MUD) program, communication
on the network via e-mail, and other Internet applications (Northern Arizona
University and eleven other campuses); a project offering science and
mathematics courses nationally to high school teachers over the network
(Montana State University); an institute that assists faculty members in
learning how to integrate search strategies and information technology into
their teaching and to encourage student use of technologies (Kenyon College);
and, development of Electronic Seminars, for example one on Africa and Its
Peoples, used in a distance education setting (Empire State College).
Teams from over thirty institutions in four countries responded to the
Coalition's Call for Participation, inviting institutions to submit a
description of their program in order to be selected to participate in the
workshop.
Each team incorporated collaborative relationships with individuals from
different sectors of the institution, often including faculty, information
technologists, librarians, and students as part of the community developing the
project. One of the Coalition's goals is to encourage and facilitate
cross-sector partnerships in the development of networked information resources
and services.
One participant expressed the opinion that the team as it works is negotiating
a new reality, which may mean giving up some of the individuals' former
authority and redefining the members' roles. He commented, "Every time we
include new perspectives on a team, we have to learn a new language, a new
culture, a new perspective." Many agreed that explicit attention to the
dynamics of the collaborative undertaking was a key to the success of their
project.
The workshop provided an opportunity for the teams from each institution to
share their experience with each other, engage in small group problem solving
discussion, and assist in the development of findings and recommendations,
which the Coalition for Networked Information will distribute, to assist other
institutions who wish to undertake similar endeavors. The Coalition's Working
Group on Teaching and Learning co-leaders, Philip Tompkins of Estrella Mountain
Community College Center and Susan Perry of Stanford University, conceptualized
the program as a means of providing support for those involved in developing
network-based learning projects and an opportunity for refinement and
interchange among early adopters of networking technology for teaching and
learning.
In addition to collaboration among the members of the development team,
participants emphasized the collaborative nature of learning in
network-mediated courses. A common theme among participants was the
observation that in network-based courses, social hierarchies tend to dissolve
and need to be re-created; much more peer-mediated learning takes place over
the network than in the traditional classroom environment. Many of the faculty
felt that providing students with situations in which they can learn as teams
is essential to their future. One faculty member related how he had to be out
of the country for two weeks under circumstances where he would not have
Internet access. He apologized to his students and left town, expecting that
the course would be suspended until his return. To his amazement and
ultimately delight, he found that the students had organized themselves over
the network and assigned tasks and roles and made substantial progress with the
course in his absence.
Another theme of the workshop was the notion that working with technology has
a strong social dimension and that spaces must be designed with that in mind.
Most computer labs are set up in traditional lecture format with an
instructor's workstation in front and student workstations in rows. They are
not set up in formats conducive to collaborative learning. The workshop
site, Estrella Mountain Community College Center, opened in August 1992 as the
tenth of the Maricopa Community Colleges. It is an example of a college
planned from the beginning to support the development of learning communities
with information access and computer access across the curriculum. Estrella
Mountain's Provost, Homero Lopez, noted that "the workshop is a wonderful
opportunity to rub shoulders with instructional teams from across the country
who regard the world as their classroom." Participants appreciated being
exposed to the physical and technological facilities available at the Estrella
site.
Challenges to implementing new learning communities over networks were also
discussed. Some of the common problems mentioned were the need for training in
skills to use the underlying technology (by faculty, students, and librarians),
the difficulty of dealing with multiple technology platforms both on campus and
in distance education environments, convincing some students that the increased
need for independence and the less formal structure of many of these courses
were positive features, the costs associated with developing and implementing
the programs, scaling of the programs to accomodate more students and other
institutions, recognition of work on projects such as these in promotion and
tenure decisions, intellectual property rights, and the assessment of both
mastery of course content and the collaborative learning process.
Participants commented that they now had a support group of the other nine
attending institutions. While the content and implementation method of the
programs varied greatly, many felt that they had far more similarities than
differences.
One participant commented, "I take away a half a dozen specific aplications I
can use in my courses. I have a better understanding and appreciation of team
work, the resource issues, and assessment and, in general, a new sense of how
radically (use of networking) alters the teaching/learning process.
A report and project descriptions will be available on the Coalition's Internet
server. In addition, a videotape of excerpts from the workshop will be
available for purchase in the Fall.
The Coalition for Networked Information, a joint project of the Association of
Research Libraries, CAUSE, and EDUCOM promotes the creation of and access to
information resources in networked environments in order to enrich scholarship
and to enhance intellectual productivity. Currently 202 organizations and
institutions are members of the Coalition Task Force.
EDUCOM is a consortium of leading colleges and universities seeking to
transform education through the use of information technology.
The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) is the largest of the
eleven divisions of the American Library Association and fosters the profession
of academic and research librarianship.
The American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) is a national organization
dedicated to the common cause of improving the quality of higher education.
Contact: Joan K. Lippincott
Assistant Executive Director
Coalition for Networked Information
202-296-5098 or Internet: joan@cni.org
