EDUCAUSE 2017: Course and Campus Collaboration Made Cohesive

Dr. Lance Ford

Eric Loepp, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Brad Russell, Director of Information Technology, Mid-State Technical College

Course and Campus Collaboration Made Cohesive

Lea Ann Turner, Instructional Technology & Virtual Learning Specialist, Mid-State Technical College

Nicole Weber, Ph.D., Director of Learning Technology, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Mid-State’s Connected Experience

“Life often gets in the way of students

returning to class”

Who is Mid-State Technical College?

Small 2 Year Technical College in Central Wisconsin

Approximately 1700 FTE in over 40 programs ranging from Urban Forestry to Business Management

Large Non-Traditional Student Population with Varying Technical Abilities

Our Journey to the Connected Experience through

The Educational Master Plan

The Right Programs

The Right Curriculum

The Right Format

(delivery mode)

The Right Locations

The Right Time

Education Outcomes:

Driving Technology

F U T U R E P A S T

Traditional IT:

Driving Technology

Applications

Services Platform

Infrastructure, Security and Mobility

What is the Connected Experience?

Applications

Services Platform

Infrastructure, Security, Mobility

FY ’18 Technology Capital Budget Comparison

$0.00

$200,000.00

$400,000.00

$600,000.00

$800,000.00

$1,000,000.00

$1,200,000.00

Yearly Breakdown MSTC FY'18 Budget

Infrasructure, Security, and Mobility Services Platform Applications

FY 2018-2022 Technology Capital Budget Comparison

Applications

Services Platform

Infrastructure, Security, Mobility

$0.00

$1,000,000.00

$2,000,000.00

$3,000,000.00

$4,000,000.00

$5,000,000.00

$6,000,000.00

Connected Experience 5-Year capital Budget

Infrasructure, Security, and Mobility Services Platform Applications

Teaching and Learning with

Cisco Spark

Nicole Weber, PhDDirector of Learning Technology

Eric Loepp, PhDAssistant Professor, Political Science

• More than 12,000 students

• Over 1,500 courses

• 52 undergraduate majors and 14 graduate programs

• 1,300 faculty and staff

• Guided by the Wisconsin Idea

ABOUT OUR SPARK PROJECT

Why Cisco Spark?

Key Questions

• How can Spark assist instructors in their teaching?

• How can Spark assist students in their learning?

Spark Board

Wireless Sharing

Electronic Whiteboard

Web Conferencing

Spark Space

Interaction

Communication

Collaboration

Exploring Technology

•Sessions with Dr. Ford (July 2017)

•Internal Session (August 2017)

•Use in in Fall 2017 courses

•Instructor/student data collection (December 2017)

•Campus-Wide Call (April 2017)

•Instructor Support Survey Data

•Spark Selection (March 2017)

Data-Driven Tool Selection

Instructor Recruitment

Instructional Development

Implementation and Evaluation

What We’re Seeing

• It is relatively intuitive for students to use

• Students like adding profile pictures, making it easier to instructors to learn names and faces

• Instructors feel that it enables quicker communication with students

• It supports collaboration for small group work

THE INSTRUCTOR PERSPECTIVE

Why Spark?

• I had no prior experience with Spark

• Summer professional development sessions on campus allowed us to play with the technology

• Support team has been very helpful and responsive

Why Spark? (Con’d)

• New technology is intriguing

– Can make life easier (after learning curve!)

– It is accelerating (limit resistance!)

– Students use it in personal and social life; why not in professional life?

• UW-W is a rural campus

– Commuters

– Working students

Why Spark? (Con’d)

• Extra-curricular skill development

• Colleges/universities promote critical, analytical, knowledge skills

– Increasingly, technological fluency is an imperative rather than a bonus

Personalized Learning Units

Conversations “Unlost”

Individual Consultations

Course Questions

Informal Chatter

Informal Chatter (Con’d)

Assignment Engagement

Classroom Back-Up