Not Just Making Waves:Not Just Making Waves:Making a Making a DifferenceDifference with with Intensive Multi-Campus WorkshopsIntensive Multi-Campus Workshops

Alex Wirth-CauchonAssociate Director, Midwest Instructional Technology CenterAssociated Colleges of the Midwest and Great Lakes Colleges Association

Donnie SendelbachDirector of Humanities Computing, Lecturer in RussianLawrence University

Carol L. Smith Director of Instructional & Learning ServicesDePauw University

Copyright Donnie Sendelbach, Carol L. Smith, and Alex Wirth-Cauchon 2004. This work is the intellectual property of the authors. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the authors. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the authors.

Small Liberal Arts Colleges Face Unique Challenges

• Personality of the sector

• Scale

• Staffing

NITLE Centers Strategy

• Address these challenges by tapping unique strengths

• Three Centers:– CET/MANE– ACSTC– MITC

MITC Collaboration: A Core Value and Strength

• Interdisciplinary

• Multi-profession

• Multi-campus

• Collaboration

Challenges for Effective Programming

• Symposia get people excited– Yet, what happens when they return to campus?

• Workshops give people skills– Yet, how to bridge technical skill with pedagogical

goals?

• Who is served?– How do we serve more than the “usual suspects”?

“Park and Go” Model Seeks To Address Challenges

• Combine symposium & workshop in one event• Invite three groups to symposium:

– Experienced presenters

– Symposium-only novices

– Intermediate workshop teams

• Workshop for teams with project to develop– Teams made up of

• Faculty member with project idea

• Teammate to serve as support

Three Completed

• Teaching with Technology in the Social Sciences– June 2002 at Grinnell College

http://www.midwest-itc.org/Programs/Conference.html#hum03

• Innovative Science Teaching: Enhancing Learning with Technology– May 31 - June 6, 2003, at DePauw University

http://www.midwest-itc.org/Programs/Conferences.html#sci03

• Teaching and Learning with Technology in the Humanities– June 24 - 29, 2003, at Lawrence University

http://www.midwest-itc.org/Programs/Conferences.html#ss02

Two Scheduled

• Teaching with Technology in the Humanities– June 21 - 26, 2004, at Kenyon College

• Teaching with GIS in the Liberal Arts: It's Hot, It's New, Now What Do I Do? – August 5 - 11, 2004, at Colorado College

The Planning

Hosting doesn’t mean going it alone . . .

• Planning group made up of– 5-6 Campuses– Faculty– Instructional technologists– Librarians

The Proposal

• Planning group writes a proposal

• Reviewed by Advisory Group made up of:– CAOs– Faculty – Librarians– Instructional technologists

Putting on the Event

• Planning group – Develops schedule– Recruits speakers, advisors, instructors– Recruits participants– Fulfills roles

The Symposium• Three groups:

– Presenters– Symposium-only – Workshop teams

Symposium Schedule

Symposium Experience for Presenters

• Opportunity to share

• Opportunity to get feedback– From experienced users of technology– From those with discipline expertise

• Opportunity to give feedback – To other presenters– To workshop teams

Experience for Symposium-only Participants

• Opportunity to develop project idea– Through advisors– Through symposium-only groups

• Opportunity to give feedback– To presenters– To workshop teams

Symposium Experience for Workshop Teams

• Opportunity to refine project plan– Through advisors– Through team group meetings

• Present pedagogical issues and project• Get feedback

• Opportunity to refine further– Through symposium-only/presenters

• Articulate project again• Get feedback

Core Ideals for the Symposium

• Pedagogy before technology

• Sharing among and between three groups– Division by tech level or role in event– Mixing by discipline or interest as in poster

sessions

• Active participation by all

• Foundation for further collaboration

Relationship between Symposium and Workshop

• Recruiting speakers requires care

• Symposium and workshop nurture each other

• Model includes “A” and “B” types

The Workshop

• Project-focused

• Team-based

Workshop Schedule & Support

Workshop Schedule & Support

Core Values for the Workshop

• Focus on pedagogy & learning

• Learner-centered approach

• Iterative design

• Building connections between participants

• Synergy of teams

• Sustainable projects

• Group effort is fun!

Outcome

• 3 events had 37 presenters with 165 participants and 36 workshop teams

• Each event adds to the model

• Model invites collaboration within and between events

• Event can be tailored to discipline

• Benefit maximized for participants

Impact after the Event

Projects have impact beyond individual faculty members developing them:– Economics Modules– I-bench– Asian Image Database

Workshops have impact beyond projects developed:– Professional connections– Future collaboration on other projects– Professional development

Contact Information

Alex Wirth-CauchonAssociate Director, Midwest Instructional Technology CenterAssociated Colleges of the Midwest and Great Lakes Colleges Associationwirth-cauchon@midwest-itc.org

Donnie SendelbachDirector of Humanities Computing, Lecturer in RussianLawrence University donnie.sendelbach@lawrence.edu

Carol L. SmithDirector of Instructional & Learning ServicesDePauw Universityclsmith@depauw.edu