COMPUTER-MEDIATED COLLABORATION TOOLS FOR LEADERSHIP CLASS

Transcription

1 COMPUTER-MEDIATED COLLABORATION TOOLS FOR LEADERSHIP CLASS I know this is not a technology class, so do not get overwhelmed by the technology we will use. Focus on the learning and the course content; let me worry about helping you learn the tools you need. With virtual schools, elearning and computer-mediated collaboration in all sectors of society, it makes sense to use these tools in a leadership class so you can see how you might incorporate them in your own leadership model. But, remember the focus is on the leadership! We will use these tools: Discussion Forum on Gullnet, a Blog, and a Wiki. Let me explain how we will use these 3 tools as part of our class participation (computermediated collaborations and communications) in this class. Discussion Forum (Df) For each class, there is a link to the discussion forum on Gullnet. Below is a screen capture showing Collaboration, within which you will find FORUMS (your screen may be a little different, but it is there somewhere!). I have organized the Df by topics (& weeks) to make it easier for you to find the current placement on the Df. I know that you guys are probably already familiar with using the Df if you have other online classes. You know that you go there at certain times, typically weekly, and respond to postings there on Gullnet s Discussion Forum (Df). However, we will use it a little differently in here. In this class, the Df is primarily a place for you, the students, to share information and help each other. The professor may stop by and may, now and then, react or interactive. However, do not assume that questions asked here will be answered by the professor but, rather, by the group. This is part of the collaborative nature I hope to foster in this course. That is such a critical part of leadership. For that reason, you will use the Df to share tips and significant information. Even though we are not going to use the Df per se, I want to be sure that each of you knows how to use it properly. As leaders, you will want to know how to use such a Discussion Forum on any Learning Management System (LMS). You may be in a school using Moodle or Blackboard, no primary examples of an LMS found in schools. Also if you find yourself in a leadership position within a non-profit, governmental agency or other related organization, it is possible that group may use an LMS. Therefore, it is important that you know to: Initiate a posting (add something a new theme or strand) Respond to a posting and then continue within that thread 1

2 You do need to know how to do this. It is important that you respond within the theme. That means that you should stay on theme with your responses and responses to responses! It helps when, later, you wish to track something. THREE SECTIONS ON THE Df: Beginning I will put three sections no the Df : 1) Intro Topics for Practice, 2) Course Questions, and 3) Career Planning. Intro Topics for Practice: As practice, I have put some specific discussion threads on the Df. I have put them in a section of the Df entitled Intro Topics for Practice. Here is where you will find some questions I really want you to answer; this lets me know you know how to use the Df and also provides me more information about you. There are two questions on there for Week 1, to which I would like for you to post a reply by the last day of Week 1. Here are the questions on that forum: What are your expectations for this class? Reflect on what you hope to learn and achieve with this class. Describe your expectations; this will help me tailor some of the information, feedback and activities to better try to meet those expectations collaboratively with you. Complete this by the end of Week 1. Leadership Hall of Fame Think about this statement. If you were asked to identify members of your own personal "Leadership Hall of Fame", who would you include? Think about WHY you would include that person. Do not give names here, but use that very personal reference to describe someone in your Hall of Fame. This is not an essay; it is just a little description to help us kick off the class. 2

3 Course Questions & Class: In the thread Course Questions, post your questions related specifically to the course and its activities. This is where you will help each other! The professor will not answer here and may not even read these questions. If you want an answer from the professor, send an . This Df is where you can get suggestions, etc. from each other. For example, if someone needs a peer reviewer, this might be where that person would post a request for a peer reviewer volunteer. Career Planning Conversations: The Career Planning thread will allow you to talk about your plans, ideas, issues and concerns as they specifically relate to your own career. For example, you might say that you are interested in teaching in a particular country. Classmates can comment and share ideas. HOWEVER IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT NEGATIVE OR UNCOMPLIMENTARY INFORMATION NOT BE POSTED HERE. DO NOT SAY, FOR EXAMPLE, I HATED WORKING IN XXXX AND THE DIRECTOR, YYYY, WAS THE WORST. If you are going to share such information, do it privately outside of these communication tools, and, frankly, it would be useful if you talked to the person in terms that are a little more tactful! Blog - The above link is the URL for the class participation blog for this class. It is a private blog, set up just for this class. Because of this, you will need to engage in some specific activities in order to actually use the blog. It s easy. Here is a link on how to get started with the account for the blog. Getting started to get into the blog (access awarded to each of you individually by Day 1) is covered in that link. When you get the invitation to join, you will click and go to the blog site. You will be asked to sign in. Your username is whatever you chose to use when you registered for Google. Although they offer an account, most people use their usual accounts. For example, when I registered, I put in the address I wanted to use as 3

4 So when I sign in, my username is bjprice@emtech.net. The password will be the password you set up for your GOOGLE account. Use that link above to get detailed instructions. I will use this blog to share things with the group, such as articles from newspapers, thoughts on leadership she has while having morning coffee and things she learns from conferences, etc. You will read these, respond and share by leaving comments. This is like visiting with her before and after class or during break about current events related to school leadership and leadership in general. This is also the virtual form of what we might do in class; I would mention or even print off some article, which we would discuss as a group. This is same --- only it is virtual and asynchronous. Those who have had the tech class with me recognize that language. Take advantage of this added value feature of the class; you can learn from each other s posting. You can respond to each other s post, too. You will have access by Day 1, so if you have not received an individual (Endicott address) by then, me so I can check on it for you. There will be at least two practice kinds of things posted prior to Day 1 and then at least one thing for Week 1. The practice things do not have points, but at least one thing will have points assigned for class participation. Wiki The link above is the URL for the wiki for the classes. This is also a private venue, allowing you to post your group work as well as your individual work (sometimes) as assignments. You are urged to use peer reviewing for two purposes: a) to provide input to your colleagues and b) to take advantage of the information shared by peers. You will learn to post comments and also then how to collectively produce a document. This way you are not passing versions of group projects back and forth on ; you are creating them on the wiki. But don t worry; I will show you specifically how to use the wiki when we get ready to use it. There will be some tutorials in Topic 1 when you begin to use the wiki. Check with your IT department to see if access would be blocked in some way because some schools have a very tightly managed IT access plan. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE WIKI. We are not ready to use it yet. We will not get to this until after Week 1. SKYPE barrie.jo.price Skype is a Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP). It is a free tool that allows users to talk computer-to-computer without costs. It has a chat feature, too, and it offers web cam access as well. You will probably want to install this at home rather than at school; check with your IT department to see if access would be blocked in some way. If you are going to use Skype with me or your classmates, it is suggested that you get a boom microphone headset for this use. This is me with my headset microphone (sometimes called boom mic) on, talking to a student; it is a good choice for talking to others on SKYPE, much better than the built in mic, which picks up random background sounds more than this one. 4

5 In the US, it s about $20 or less. The module about SKYPE can be found at: You can use this free computer-tocomputer tool to have meetings within your class; up to 5 of you can SKYPE at the same time, like a conference call, but for free. You can also use the chat function of SKYPE and even save the chat as a text file. I leave my machine online almost all the time, so I may show as online on SKYPE and yet not answer your SKYPE ring. You can, however, leave me a message. And if you are new to SKYPE, we will learn that, too. We will use as a major communications tool. Be sure you know how to archive your mail, make folders, find your SENT file, etc. Be sure you have a signature file on your , so that I know who it is! That s always a good plan. You are required, as am I, to use the Endicott.edu account for the class. However, on that survey I do ask for an alternative account. If you forget and use that alternative account, be sure I will know who that is. For example, if you use director@aol.com or bighoncho@hotmail.com for your personal /alternative , you need a signature file for sure so I know who you are! Always put information in the subject line that is relevant to the message s content. This is important for several reasons, including these: 1) some filters automatically remove s with blank subject lines and 2) if you want to search to find a message about a particular thing, it s easier if the subject line relates to the content. Try not to have the subject line be left over from another message, with a subject line that says Hot Tickets, when the body of the new is about a curriculum guide! Final Notes I like to use multimedia such as podcasts (Mp3 files), videos from YouTube as well as other sources, and occasionally videoblogs. Therefore you will want to be sure your sound works on your computer and that you have the proper plug-ins loaded. I covered that in the Power Point about Lectures in the course, which is a link on BOOKMARKS on GULLNET. I know that some countries block YouTube, so if you are in that situation, you can talk to me about how we will make this work for you, using other resources. And don t worry I have never lost a student down the Internet blackhole! If you live in a country where YouTube is blocked and you can t see those items, let me know. I will work out something for you. These are some of the computer-mediated collaboration and communications tools we will use for the class. Don t worry; when we get one of these tools in the class, I will 5

6 make sure each of you is comfortable with that tool. Focus on the learning and the content! Hope this helps you see how the course will work in terms of tools. Dr. Price This photo was taken with that little eye-ball camera I use for SKYPE! I am at my desk on Lake Tuscaloosa. Now you know how I look if you SKYPE or me. 6