According to the 2014 NMC Horizon Higher Education Report (Johnson et al., 2014), “the integration of online, hybrid, and collaborative learning in face-to-face instruction is highlighted as one of two fast trends … that will be driving changes in higher education over the next one to two years”. In one of the studies mentioned in this report, Ohio State University students felt that this method of instruction “made the subject more interesting, and increased their understanding, as well as encouraged their participation.”
Guided by Albert Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory in which learning occurs through interpersonal contexts, observation and through a combination of live modeling, verbal instruction and symbolic modeling through media such as on-line tools, the presenter will discuss Project Collaborate, in which Blackboard Collaborate is used as a tool for teaching first year College Level Technical Mathematics.
Project Collaborate is a pilot project, in which a mobile–based interactive learning environment was created to provide both synchronous (face to face streaming) and asynchronous (video recording and notes) instruction for those students who are already physically in the classroom as well as those students who sometimes need to be on-line due to geographic or economic challenges and persons living with disabilities. Mobile-based learning environments offer opportunities for transforming our learning experiences by embracing diverse student needs for both physical and virtual learning spaces. The Blackboard Collaborate tool allows most students access to their lessons almost anywhere and anytime because it offers both real-time and recorded instruction on a portable mobile device.
Similar to a Synchronous Massive Online Course (SMOC) model offered by the University of Texas at Austin (2013), Project Collaborate is a hybrid model that allows students the option to interact face to face either in a real classroom or in a virtual classroom with either the instructor or other students and includes tools such as: interactive whiteboards, audio-video-text chat, polling, quizzes, and application sharing and such. Live sessions are then recorded and archived which helps students prepare for assignments or exams and review missed lessons. Students in the pilot project have commented that their experience is more interactive and lessons are more accessible.
For this presentation, participants are encouraged to bring their tablets, iPhones and Android mobile devices to the workshop to experience first-hand a live on-line session illustrating the pros and cons of interactive mobile learning.