From Faculty Academy 2007 Wiki
The “Groom-ing” of Morello’s Mini-Tube: How the Application of Multiple and Interrelated Learning Technologies Transformed One Video-Based Course Assignment
- John Morello (English, Linguistics, and Speech, UMW)
- Co-Presenter: Jim Groom
Ease of access to materials and increased opportunities for collaboration are often mentioned as benefits for students resulting from the use of web-based learning environments. For instructors unfamiliar with the possibilities and technologies involved, the decision to move course content away from “traditional” delivery modes presents numerous challenges that might be most easily addressed by starting small and then evaluating the outcome. This case study presentation describes the results of collaboration between a course instructor and a technology specialist that substantially changed the structure of one assignment in one course. The assignment was an oral presentation (done in pairs) in which speakers analyzed television political commercials, and it was a requirement in the ”Communication and Political Campaigns” course taught in the spring 2007 semester. By combining a blog, a wiki, digital video in two forms, and written materials available electronically, the political advertising analysis project overcame many of the logistical problems that had affected it previously. The course instructor (John Morello) will talk about the design of the assignment and the objectives anticipated for the web-based approach that developed, and the technology specialist (Jim Groom) will talk about the technical challenges that had to be resolved in order to make the project happen. The presentation ends with a review of the results and a summary of several issues that will need to be addressed the next time in order to make greater use of the learning and collaboration potential afforded by the technologies applied in this one class project.
