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The Interactive Learning Centre |
TRENT CONTENTS Proposed Change, Change ... and Debate Association President's Message Topping the Competitive Recruitment Environment The Interactive Learning Centre Profile of a Volunteer: Roy O'Brien '75 "How To" series Toronto realtor Mary Crawford '82 Collections and Obsessions : Jim Doran's Various Vinyl |
by Maureen Wideman '92 It's 2005, Janet has just arrived for her first day at Trent University. This isn't Janet's first contact with Trent. Her school library system was linked to the Trent Library's Community Service, and she's used it for some high school assignments. In her final year of high school, she took an Internet delivered University Readiness course from Trent. She has preregistered over the Web -- her course choices validated by degree audit software and schedules approved in advance. In making her course selections, she consulted with her academic advisor using the Trent email account provided upon application, and was even able to view video clips of classes by clicking on course icons in the on-line calendar. Her Dad is a Trent alumnus, who is taking an online "current-awareness" course from Trent to keep up-to-date in his field. He can tell Janet first hand that the Trent commitment to interactive learning and personal contact has been preserved in its networked offerings. The Trent of the new millennium will be part of a "wired" world - or "wireless" world, to be more specific. Advancements in information technology and the Internet are providing new educational opportunities both in the classroom and beyond. But the pace of innovation is rapid, and grappling with the volume and range of resource materials and technologies can be overwhelming. Faculty are confronted with some crucial questions: "Will this new technology really enhance learning in the classroom?" "Can this particular course be taught well online or by video-conferencing?" "How can I hope to keep up with the range of possibilities?" "How can I preserve the interactive, student-focused teaching and learning that Trent has always valued?" Some of the answers may come from Trent's new Interactive Learning Centre (www.trentu.ca/ilc) which is being developed as a resource centre for teaching, learning and pedagogical innovation at Trent. "We are trying to enhance what Trent already does very well -- student-focused learning," says Beth Popham, Associate Dean and Principal of Julian Blackburn College, and chair of the interim supervisory board of the ILC. "We are making available additional resources and creating more diversified opportunities for interactivity." ILC evolved from the Senate Committee on Educational Development (COED); however, the mandate for the ILC is broader. We are beginning with the hiring of a coordinator and the acquisition of physical space in Bata Library. A virtual presence will be maintained on the university's Web site so that resources will be accessible from a faculty member's desk or home office, and from off-campus teaching locations like the University Centre at Durham College.
The ILC is one of several "Learning Technologies" targets in the "Beyond Our Walls" capital campaign, in which it is paired with Trent's Digital Library project, and the development of an Information Commons which will give the entire Trent community improved access to electronic resources. "We are a small university and don1t have a lot of funds for library resources," said Professor Popham. "The digital library project is aimed at bringing in and creating electronic resources -- for example, electronic journals or databases. The information commons will be based in the Bata Library, but will also be 'decentred,' providing a link to these resources from other locations. This interconnectivity would greatly enhance the research capabilities of members of the Trent community whether they are in Peterborough or at the University Centre at Durham." One of the major concerns of the ILC will be to help teachers and students make optimum use of these new information resources in teaching, learning and research. The ILC will house and develop materials on areas such as teaching effectiveness, digital technology and distance education. It will coordinate with various departments to provide technical support. It will be a centre for research and development in the area of teaching and learning, including pedagogical technology. An example of the innovative use of technology in teaching already going on at Trent can be found in Professor Thomas Klassen's '78 sociology class. Over the summer, Professor Klassen recorded his lectures for his 100 level class and put his lectures on the Trent Web site at http://www.trentu.ca/academic/sociology/faculty/klassen/klassen13.htm. Students listen to the lectures before class so that more classroom time can be devoted to discussion and questions. The Web is used as a tool to enhance interactivity in the classroom. Another important innovation has been developed by Spanish Professor Gary Aitken '64, who is using his web-based Spanish workbook program, "Mas arriba" (www.trentu.ca/academic/modernlanguages/spanish/masarriba/) both for in-class instruction and independent study. The ILC will support research in a number of ways. One of these is by attracting funding. The ILC will bring researchers together with the organizations who have the ability and interest to fund research projects. "Another way we can support promising projects is by attaching student assistants to the project in practicum, internship and course project arrangements," said Professor Popham. "This is being done already at the University by the programs like Concurrent Education and Computer Studies -- both through the Community-Based Education Centre and the TAcTIC group [see http://tactic.trentu.ca/tactic/A000.htm]. It has had excellent results. We wish to expand upon these models and create even more opportunities for students." In 1999-2000, the ILC is developing a teaching effectiveness program which will consist of workshops on leading effective field trips, designing Web-based course material, teaching to student ability, alternatives to the traditional lecture as well as techniques for small-group teaching. "Part of this year will be devoted to designing and implementing the ILC," said Professor Popham. "The goal is to bring together academic projects with pedagogical development projects -- to bring the research into the classroom. In this way we can offer a more interactive educational opportunity for Trent students and use new resources like technology to enhance the learning experience at this university." For more information, see the ILC webpage at www.trentu.ca/ilc, or contact Beth Popham at epopham@trentu.ca. | |
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