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This session will provide an introduction and overview to the m-learning - that is, teaching and learning using cell phones and/or other mobile devices. Haagen will draw on examples from her experiences working first in Durham (with Duke students and Southern High School students) and then in Vietnam (with Duke students and students in Hanoi schools).

PowerPoint: Less is More

Todd Stabley,   OIT Academic Services

With over 60 classrooms hard-wired for capture on campus, and with multiple streaming, download, and podcasting options available through DukeStream, there are many choices available for instructors and presenters at Duke who wish to capture their classes and events and make them available for later viewing. In this session we will outline a number of these options, focusing on what purposes they serve and why you might want to select one over the other. Additionally, we will look at key enhancements on the horizon for these services as well as related ad-hoc options such as Duke on YouTube that are emerging as technology evolves.

The Spanish language program at the elementary and intermediate levels follows a task based approach to teaching (TBLT) and learning a second language.  One of the fundamentals for an effective second language acquisition class based on the TBLT approach is collaborative work and interaction of students. Peer work and group work is not only required, but is the basis for the onset of the acquisition process. However, neither students nor new instructors are completely sure of how to face the many challenges of group work.
The use of flip cameras in graduate student teacher training is meta-methodological in that it helps us reflect on our understanding of group work and its implications within the TBLT approach. Graduate students were recorded with the flip camera while doing group work for the methods class. Then, we used these recording to discuss the implementation of group work successfully to accomplish the task assigned to each group. Upon this reflection, graduate student instructors adjusted their expectations and understanding of collaborative work and group interaction. Ultimately, graduate student instructors associate second language acquisition principles with the approach used in the Spanish program.

Ask CIT and library staff any question, or ask for demonstrations.  We are waiting to talk to you!  Possible topics include the Blackboard upgrade, copyright, Library Guides, library instruction for students, making grading easier, redesigning your course, getting started with blogs and using Blackboard effectively.

Many of our learners hold in their hands extraordinarily powerful learning platforms. Although initially conceived as entertainment and communication devices, hand-held digital technology provides learners with mobile, real-time access to a world of information. How can such devices be configured to provide a rich learning environment with both durable and digital resources in hand? How can educators maximize the impact of hand-held technology to facilitate discovery? Can these goals be accomplished without undermining important pedagogical values, such as autonomy, responsibility and community? What is the significance of mobile learning? This session will focus on the experience of one faculty’s efforts to keep pace with the dynamic learning strategies that characterize our educational environment. Participants will discuss these and other important questions that surround the use of hand-held technology as vehicles for mobile learning. Disclaimer: the speaker will showcase Sylvius MR Atlas of the Human Brain (Modality, Inc.), which is an “app” for Apple’s iPhone and iPod-touch devices co-authored by the speaker (visit iTune’s App Store and search “Sylvius”). A brief tour of Sylvius MR will provide the means for raising questions and engaging in discussion aimed at understanding how hand-held platforms for mobile learning are revolutionizing the digital learning environment.

Despite innovations in remote sensing technology, on-site geological field work remains essential to mineral and petroleum exploration. Hence, relevant introductions to the earth sciences should allow students to learn and apply basic field skills and mapping technology. Unfortunately, large lecture-style introductory courses do not lend themselves easily to individual-based field work. In addition, many earth science programs have access to only limited local outcrop exposures, often of rocks with little structural complexity. The exercise presented here was designed as an assignment for students in EOS 11: Dynamic Earth (>120 students). It was facilitated in groups of ten students at a time over the course of a week. Wooden data stations (~60) and rock samples stand in for exposures (”virtual outcrops”). Students used hand-held GPS units to map the station’s distributions across the Duke campus and their spatial orientation relative to one another. Each data station provides information on the rock type and orientation (strike and dip) of the local “virtual” strata. Using this information, students constructed a geological map and cross-section through the Duke campus. The exercise not only teaches applied mapping, GPS, and data collection skills, but also requires students to critically evaluate inference making, scientific uncertainty, and hypothesis testing.

John Biewen,  Documentary Studies

I’ll describe and demonstrate how we use iTunes U as a mechanism for students to have their documentary work heard by an audience beyond the class and the campus.