Patty Kahn

PageFlakes, Twitter, RSS, Podcasting, Web, Wimba replacing Blackboard (Bb) at Montclair State University
  Session IV, Friday 11:45 - 12:45

Biography

Patricia Kahn is the Director of Training Technology & Integration for the Office of Information Technology at Montclair State University. She has supported faculty and provided leadership in developing a community around teaching and learning using technology. Patricia has provided opportunities for faculty to explore innovative teaching methodologies that promote a learning environment that encourages collaboration, critical thinking, and exploration, responsive to a diverse community of learners. Patricia completed her Ph.D. in Education with a concentration on Instructional Design and Online Learning from Capella University.

Abstract

Innovative uses of technology could transform instructor’s pedagogy by promoting a social constructivist learning environment suitable for today’s learner. Montclair State University analyzed the impact of using Pageflakes, a personalized online desktop, as an alternative to Blackboard (Bb) along with integrating innovative uses of web 2.0 technologies into the curriculum in an intermediate Italian course.

Innovative uses of technology could transform instructors' pedagogy by promoting a social constructivist learning environment suitable for today’s learner. Montclair State University analyzed the impact of using Pageflakes, a personalized online desktop, as an alternative to Blackboard (Bb) along with integrating innovative uses of web 2.0 technologies into the curriculum in an intermediate Italian course. This project will investigate the anticipated benefits of Pageflakes, where an integrated platform provided a systematic and interactive learning environment that accommodates the different learning styles in support of 21st century learner preferences and characteristics.

According to the New Media Consortium (NMC, 2005), students entering higher education are coming from a variety of backgrounds and have grown up surrounded by rapid technological change and expansion and instructors are concerned about how to respond to these learners. These millennial learners have the desire to get information in new ways, which should inspire educators to discover new methods of pedagogy recognizing the benefits of technology (NMC, 2005).

Today’s students draw on multiple intelligences to learn new material. The curriculum that is presented to them usually does not meet their needs; it is important that educators prepare for these digital learners by finding ways to adapt their pedagogy to meet the needs of the students entering higher education institutions. In a first attempt to address 21st century literacy in a world language general education course, a distribution requirement in our home institution, we have recognized the need to reexamine our current CMS, Blackboard (Bb), which has demonstrated itself to be somewhat limited in its ability to deliver content in terms of social technologies. To compensate, other web-based applications have been also been integrated apart and separate from Bb. With the continuous dialogue in education about the interactive constructivist approach to learning and the need to create syllabi that allows us to tap into the different learning styles of students, technology can efficiently provide a platform wherein the progression of learning occurs in a self-directed, autonomous manner.

This study proposes a project to significantly enhance student success in a college intermediate Italian course by using new technologies and multimedia that will promote different ways of learning, many of which are not traditionally part of the University classroom, and also support a range of learning styles. For instance, the inclusion of: a) images, charts, maps, videos, and animations to benefit visual learners; b) audio files, especially if these are linked to accompanying text files, to which auditory learners respond; and c) controls that allow students to regulate the way in which they interact with course materials for kinesthetic learners. (Richards, 2003). Specifically, this presentation will show how Pageflakes was used instead of Bb as the chosen CMS in an Italian course. This customized webpage was used to deliver content in a variety of formats as well as provide the learning environment that promotes social constructivism that is suitable for today’s learner. For example, much of the content will be supported by news feeds using an RSS reader. In addition, students will participate in a variety of group activities as well as interactive exercises that utilize Pageflakes group sharing capabilities, audio and video Podcasts, and Twitter, a hybrid micro-blogging and instant messaging system.

We hypothesize that the experimental group using Pageflakes, which fosters the integration of these technologies, will have increased student interest, comprehension of the subject matter, and shifts in student perceptions of learning and education, as compared to the control class in the same subject that will only be using Bb for content delivery and discussion and will participate in limited technology-enhanced language learning activities.

The objective of this study is to determine whether providing course content using instructional strategies that complement individual learning characteristics as well as supporting a social constructivist paradigm will lead to a better understanding of Italian. This research will further explore the progress made by past researchers in this field and determine whether a better understanding of material is achieved. The framework used in this study, could be used as a model demonstrating innovative teaching practices and sound instructional design strategies, which could empower teachers and fuel administrators to broaden their horizons to meet the needs of the 21st century learner. This study will demonstrate a proof of concept for a larger initiative that would establish a more comprehensive model for course delivery and communication as well as content management. This project will also provide a model suitable to expand the program to include not only general education required courses but other courses and programs across the university. Anticipated outcomes of this study will be a pedagogically and technically sound model for course pages on a free, web-based platform and an evaluation and recommendation for the entire institution.