brenton r. yanos, william fuss, candice lambert, emily olthof, kaitlyn harding, & lauren rogers...
TRANSCRIPT
BRENTON R. YANOS, WILLIAM FUSS, CANDICE LAMBERT, EMILY OLTHOF, KAITLYN HARDING, & LAUREN ROGERS
FACULTY ADVISOR: CYNTHIA SIFONIS
Oakland University’s Psi Chi Chapter Explores Open
Education
E-Cornucopia ConferenceMay 26, 2011
Oakland Universityhttp://oaklandpsichi.com/
Psi Chi: the International Honors Society
Purpose: to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence on scholarship of the individual members in all fields (particularly psychology)
Goals: academic recognition & nurture a climate congenial to creative development
How? New pathways using technological advances Open education
Theory that knowledge should be transparent and accessible to anyone who wants to learn
Why have an open education policy?
History of students wanting content from our events but not being able to attend Oakland University’s commuter population Many non-traditional students
Inopportune times of events, allowing certain student populations to not benefit OU’s class schedule Work, family responsibilities, distance, etc.
Focus on new events each year (with traditional events being made available online)
The Student Perspective
Educational institutions should take advantage of the growth in technology Rising OU population = more non-traditional students
ConvenienceInformation could reach undergraduates
otherwise unable to attend educational events. “Commuter school” at OU Students can participate in group learning activities
without actually be situated in the same location.
The Student Perspective
“Supplemental education” Online content supplements but does not replace
traditional educational formats Only when combined with traditional formats do students
recognize the benefits of eLearning (Serwatka, 2002) Reexamining “live” information to investigate
information possibly missed. Classroom interaction is important for educational
and social purposes. How will a student ask questions?
Students: The Natural Procrastinators Students may severely underestimate the amount of
time needed for online learning Students must be motivated to look for/access online
material.
The Student Perspective
Student adaptation Overestimation of student technological abilities
The college age group may indeed find it difficult to adapt to this new way of learning
Lack of IT skills is one of the main reasons for student non-participation in eLearning environments (Wilson, 2001)
O’Connell (2002) proposes that some students may experience problems with the eLearning process
Access to information? Students still have the option of using computers at
school if one is not available in the home Time limit
Psi Chi’s Perspective
Post facto: open education benefits students who were unaware
of certain events at the time they occurred
Open education allows students from other Psi Chi branches to gain knowledge from sources outside their respective universities. Creating organizational bonds between Psi Chi
members from across the U.S. Thereby broadening the educational goals of Psi Chi.
Preparation for this conference! Use of eLearning tools
Existing Online Psi Chi Content
Podcasts Psi Chi Psychology conference at Drexel University
(March 2006) Six research presentations http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/psi-chi-cast/id14068
3358 University of Connecticut
Fifteen total topics http://www.psychology.uconn.edu/resources/podcasts.ht
ml Sonoma State University
Five lectures on Autism
Existing Online Psi Chi Content
Oakland University content on iTunes U• There is some non-lecture content posted on iTunes U
• They are not getting many hits.• This could be because the podcasts are not really geared to
undergraduate students• Lecture content on iTunes U have gotten many hits
• Dr. Sifonis has on average 15 hits on every lecture content of hers. • Possibly because the content is for undergraduates
• Our current workings:• http://www2.oakland.edu/psych/psichipodcast.xml• Downloads of non-lecture content geared towards
undergraduates • Hypothesized to result in a moderate amount of hits
Future Online Psi Chi Content
Expecting: More Psi Chi chapters to be using iTunes U
Share knowledge about different events Post how to become or apply for an officer position Post workshops that are held every year to open up space
for different workshops Focus efforts elsewhere
Philanthropy Outside researchers Joint events
Future Direction
Limited data exists However, open education is predicted to benefit many
undergraduates and professors here at OU Professors can:
Have more lectures online as supplemental materials Enjoy multiple benefits
Can help with finding research assistants Can make teaching more interactive Lectures can be heard from people outside the university
Increase awareness of open education across Psi Chi chapters, student organizations, and
educators
Issues Before Recording
Faculty Permission Approval to be recorded
Fear of being recorded Releasing Power Point Presentation
Psi Chi Officer Learning Curve How to use voice recorder/video recorder Equipment set-up New software
Audacity Camtasia (other future programs)
Issues After Recording
Audacity Time
Editing “dead air”, “Q&A” and um’s and ah’s Adding intro
Uploading content to iTunes U/website Problems:
Sampling bit rate Sound differences between computer source and online
content
Time demands New officer position
Video Recording
Benefits Visual and audio content work together to enhance
the learning experience
Limitations Video recordings not currently being used
File size limitations on iTunes University Bandwidth issues for hosting videos on our website Harder to edit Faculty are uncomfortable being video-taped Time taken to prepare a “mock presentation”
Future Goals
Camtasia Having a “standard” workshop available enables
More time for student “Q&A” More hands-on experience at workshop Open up time for other new workshops
Give students who are unable to attend the presentation an opportunity to benefit
New Officer Position Open education Editing clips Psi Chi website
Need for Psi Chi laptop Files in one place Programs on one computer Stays in Psi Chi
References
O’Connell, B. (2002). A poor grade for eLearning: Classroom students did better. Workforce, 81(7).
Serwatka, J. (2002). Improving student performance in distance learning courses. The Journal of Technological Horizons In Education, 29(9), 46-52.
Wilson, J. (2001). Lessons of a virtual timetable: Education. The Economist, 2.