The Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository:

An Open Faculty Development Resource

Dr. Kelvin ThompsonDr. Linda FutchDr. Baiyun Chen

University of Central Florida

http://bit.ly/aln11_topr  

http://bit.ly/aln11_topr  

Agenda

Big PictureDetailsYour InvolvementClosing

Big Picture

What Is It?

a resource to support the curation of effective pedagogical practices in online and blended courses

individual entries include:• strategy description drawn from the pedagogical

practice of online/blended teaching faculty • artifacts depicting the strategy from actual courses• alignment with cited findings from research or

professional practice literature

All released for reuse/remix under Creative Commons

Demo: Finding Strategies

 http://www.screencast.com/t/TWD25GgQ

Origins

Happy collision of• My interest in articulating a "pattern language" (Alexander

et al, 1977) for online courses (Thompson, 2005)• Desire by instructional designers for mechanism for

documenting/disseminating good practices of online faculty

However...• Long time to get mindshare• A while to operationalize a platform and a process

"Bigger than a Breadbox"

Getting the granularity right

Pedagogical practice is • Not a theory• Not an instructional model• Not a tool• Not a broad, sweeping concept• Not "here's what i did"

IS an impactful, replicable teaching practice/strategydescribed, anchored to literature, illustrated in examples, and connected to other practices via keyword tags

Platform

MediaWiki• Backend customized by IT infrastructure manager• Template modified by part-time web developer• Testing server for feature experimentation

Benefits of Wiki• Built for collaboration/easy editability• De-emphasizes web design = keep focus on strategy• Tagging using "categories"• Draft mode v. public mode

Downsides• Wikitext isn't for everyone

Demo: Contribution Form

http://www.screencast.com/t/oQK9mId0xlp

Isn't This Like MERLOT?

MERLOT is primarily a collection of materials.• "learning exercises" are lessons associated with materials• eLIXR is a set of holistic faculty case studies on big themes

TOPR is a collection of teaching strategies• artifacts are illustrative• faculty testimonials are highly contextualized

Current Status

Emerging from betaNew entries being made/editedCasual submissions and regular contributors welcomedEstablishing inaugural editorial boardPeer review process in the works

Details

Conceptual Framework

Strategy Description•  1-2 paragraphs• "blogs are not a practice but implementing public blogs for

reflective writing in a community of practice might be"

Artifacts• Preferably image/files uploaded into the repository• External links/images acceptable

Scholarly References• Research articles are great• "Professional practice literature" (journals, blogs, podcasts)

Theoretical Underpinning

Source of possible tags• Theory• Instructional Model• Concept• Sub-Concept• Tool

Loosely suggested tags (existing "categories")

How Does It Work? Past to Present

• Small ID group - easy to share ideas

• Larger ID group - periodic meetings

• Quest for TOPR • TOPR in Use

o Entries used as faculty development contento Instructional designers

capture ideas search for ideas

o Instructional designers contribute directlyo Faculty contribute by proxy (thus far)

 

Development Process

Entries• Anyone can contribute an idea• Any registered user can create a new entry• Many "stubs" (Wikipedia) in backstage Draft area

Editing• Any registered user can edit or add additional material• Managing editors responsible for "keeping on the rails"

o Edit with eye for consistency, conceptual frameworko Possibly move an entry backstage if "just not ready"o May coach contributor(s)

Peer Review

Demo: Edits by Registered Contributor

http://www.screencast.com/t/pVZqUoUFaWQY 

New Scholarship Issues

"Perpetual beta" + peer review = strange bedfellows/mutation• Scholarly rigor in entries• Peer review process for improvement/validation• Wiki for on-going improvements/updates

Intellectual property complications• Creative Commons licensing for "remixing" • Some faculty (and administrators) not sure about CC• Many individuals uncertain how to operationalize CC

Making It Work

Few, simple non-negotiables (conceptual framework)

Editorial Board being finalized now• Promoting TOPR• Feedback on processes• Recruit peer reviewers

Peer review process to followIssue: entry is peer-reviewed but on an ever-changing wikiPossible answer: "oldid" function (used currently in citation)

Perhaps a "peer reviewed" graphic and a statement like: "a version of this entry was peer reviewed previously. see that version."Allows reader to compare versions for herself

Your Involvement

Your Thoughts?

Review the sample TOPR entry individually.• What do you like about the entry?• What improvements might you make?

Discuss in clusters:• How might this entry be used as is or modified for use at

another institution?• What value (if any) do you seen in TOPR as a whole for

your institution?• Can you envision yourself or colleagues contributing to

TOPR?

Whole group sharing

Get Involved

Have the germ of an idea or a fully fleshed out entry you wish to share?• Contribution Form: http://bit.ly/topr_contributionform

Do you wish to get more involved in contributing and editing ideas on a fairly frequent basis?  • Send email to topr@ucf.edu to request a login to TOPR

Want to become a peer reviewer for TOPR?• Send email to topr@ucf.edu for follow-up

Contact Us

http://topr.online.ucf.edu 

Dr. Kelvin Thompson    kelvin@ucf.eduDr. Linda Futch            linda.futch@ucf.eduDr. Baiyun Chen           baiyun.chen@ucf.edu

http://bit.ly/aln11_topr  

Session Web Site• Presentation• Audio• Supporting Materials