Sample Refs for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group Collaboration from C. Desrochers AND FridayLive! 9/9 2pm

Recap/Extension of 4th Annual Online Symposium on Small Mixed Collaborative Groups.

Book includes Desrochers' article listed below

9/9 2pm ET FREE online - 1st FridayLive! of 2011-12: 
Sample refs recommended by Cynthia D. Desrochers (used in her own work with Faculty Learning Communities in Calif. State Univ. system):

• Ortquist-Ahrens, L., & Torosyan, R. (2009). "The role of the facilitator in faculty learning communities: Paving the way for growth, productivity, and collegiality" [downloadable PDF] in Learning Communities Journal, 1 (1), 29-62.

• Desrochers, C. G. (2011). "Faculty learning communities as catalysts for implementing successful small group learning" [downloadable PDF]  in J. L. Cooper & P. Robinson (Eds.), Small group learning in higher education: Research and practice (pp. 130-138). Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press.

Join FridayLive! 1st Session 2011-12 FREE online Sept 9, 2pm ET for Recap and Extension of 4th Annual Online Symposium on Small Mixed Collaborative Groups.

Volunteer [TLT Group Members only] to participate in a "small mixed collaborative group" to continue developing these guidelines and resources in academic 2011-12! Email Rebecca Kurtz: kurtz@tltgroup.org

We believe that working with small groups and focusing on small, realistic steps will lead to more widespread, long-lasting meaningful changes. In fact, in these especially challenging times, small steps may be the ONLY way to keep moving - in the right direction.

The resources listed at the beginning of this posting are samples from Working Draft: "Guidelines/References for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group Collaboration" tlt.gs/SGCguide. Based on the work of the TLT Group's 4th Annual Online Symposium on Frugal Innovation and Collaborative Change: "You are not alone! Small Mixed Group Collaboration" (August, 2011).

• Many more resources...

Resources for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group STUDENT-FACULTY Collaboration

9/9 2pm ET FREE online -

1st FridayLive! of 2011-12: 

Recap/Extension of 4th Annual Online Symposium on Small Mixed Collaborative Groups.

_Engaging Student Voices... Book...

Sample refs from Peter Felten, Katie King, Ben McFadyen, Taylor Binnix of Elon Univ. in Symposium 2011 session 2:

• "Holy ****, you're actually listening to me" Student-Faculty Collaboration to Improve Courses - FridayLive! May 20, 2011
  
• Student-Faculty Partnerships in Course Design Bovill, C., Cook-Sather, A., & Felten, P. (2011). Students as co-creators of teaching approaches, course design and curricula. International Journal for Academic Development, 16, 2.
• Engaging Student Voices in the Study of Teaching and Learning, Carmen Werder (Editor), Megan M. Otis (Editor), Pat Hutchings (Foreword), Mary Taylor Huber (Foreword), Stylus Publishing (October 2009) ISBN-10: 1579224202 ISBN-13: 978-1579224202 - includes Elon chapter

SLIDES from Session 2: Intro/Overview incl. update of Online Survey Results

Join FridayLive! 1st Session 2011-12 FREE online Sept 9, 2pm ET for Recap and Extension of 4th Annual Online Symposium on Small Mixed Collaborative Groups.
 
TLT Group Members are also invited to participate in a "small mixed collaborative group" to continue developing these guidelines and resources in academic 2011-12!  To volunteer for this working group, send email to Rebecca Kurtz:  kurtz@tltgroup.org

We believe that working with small groups and focusing on small, realistic steps will lead to more widespread, long-lasting meaningful changes. In fact, in these especially challenging times, small steps may be the ONLY way to keep moving - in the right direction.

The resources listed at the beginning of this posting samples from Working Draft: "Guidelines/References for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group Collaboration" tlt.gs/SGCguide.  Based on the work of the TLT Group's 4th Annual Online Symposium on Frugal Innovation and Collaborative Change:  "You are not alone!  Small Mixed Group Collaboration" (August, 2011). 

• Many more resources...

Stakeholders - Sample Guidelines/References for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group Collaboration

Stakeholders Participate for Successful Small Mixed Collaborative Groups

• Don't overlook students.
• Consider academic support professionals from all areas of responsibility - library, info tech, bookstore, ...
• Consider range of length of experience, stature among colleagues, etc.

From Sample Guidelines from Working Draft tlt.gs/SGCguide See More:  "Guidelines/References for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group Collaboration:  Working draft from TLTG Annual Online Symposium 2011" tlt.gs/SGCguide

Expectations: Big Educational Visions AND/OR New Techs? - Sample Guidelines/References for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group Collaboration

Are some tasks, issues, themes especially good/bad for small mixed collaborative groups? How important is it to:

• Establish what big idea or vision can be embraced by the institution?
• Focus more on individual and group needs, educational goals;  less on specifics of new technologies?

Be as clear and explicit as possible

• Make sure expectations of all involved are widely known and highly consistent with feasibilities.
• Be clear and explicit about roles within each group - initially, repeatedly.
• Set clear agendas - which can be more or less detailed, explicit

From Sample Guidelines from Working Draft tlt.gs/SGCguide See More:  "Guidelines/References for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group Collaboration:  Working draft from TLTG Annual Online Symposium 2011" tlt.gs/SGCguide

Incentives and Expectations - Sample Guidelines/References for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group Collaboration

Stipends and other tangible incentives are NOT essential for participation in small groups, but can be quite helpful.  

• Any tangible or extrinsic incentives should be planned, scheduled - not random.
• Financial incentives can be important as way of recognizing that people's time is valuable
• Be careful about offering financial incentives for activities that some have already been doing voluntarily without financial compensation
• Making small group participation part of "officially recognized" responsiblities demonstrates respect for the value of participants' time. 

From Sample Guidelines from Working Draft tlt.gs/SGCguide 

Planning, Membership, Communication - Sample Guidelines/References for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group Collaboration

Make participants comfortable and confident.

• Include potential leaders/facilitators and participants at earliest stages of planning - especially those who will be most affected by the results and those who will be essential to achieving those results
• Balance time spent listening to each other and modifying plans with time spent working on scheduled tasks.
• Level of Communication:

• Make it possible for the least expert participant to understand, contribute
• Make it possible for each participant to ask questions, to acknowledge limits to their own knowledge

• "Leave venting at the door" - How ?

• provide explicit time for venting and explain other times NOT for venting
• leader/facilitator models non-venting behavior

From Sample Guidelines from Working Draft tlt.gs/SGCguide See More:  "Guidelines/References for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group Collaboration:  Working draft from TLTG Annual Online Symposium 2011" tlt.gs/SGCguide

Don't Get Stuck! - Sample Guidelines/References for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group Collaboration

Many factors important to the success of small mixed collaborative groups are not immutable characteristics of the group.  
These factors can, quite usefully, be treated as options or decisions.  For example, 

• the identification and role of leader/facilitators, 
• the consistency or flexibility of group structure (meeting frequency, meeting duration, ...)
• the familiarity of participants with the structure and procedures (resist or encourage new patterns?)

From Sample Guidelines from Working Draft tlt.gs/SGCguide See More:  "Guidelines/References for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group Collaboration:  Working draft from TLTG Annual Online Symposium 2011" tlt.gs/SGCguide

Membership Matters - Guidelines/References for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group Collaboration

In establishing membership, in addition to faculty, consider academic support professionals from all areas of responsibility - library, info tech, bookstore, ... 

• Don't overlook students.
• Include those who will be most affected by the results and those who will be essential to achieving those results at earliest stages of planning.

From Sample Guidelines from Working Draft tlt.gs/SGCguide

See More:  "Guidelines/References for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group Collaboration:  Working draft from TLTG Annual Online Symposium 2011" tlt.gs/SGCguide

Size Matters - Guidelines/References for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group Collaboration

Purpose, characteristics and expectations of participants, local culture and politics, etc. are all factors in ideal size of small groups.  From Sample Guidelines from Working Draft tlt.gs/SGCguide

See More:  "Guidelines/References for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group Collaboration:  Working draft from TLTG Annual Online Symposium 2011" tlt.gs/SGCguide

Leadership/Facilitation in Small (3-12) Mixed/Collaborative Groups

Sample Guidelines from Working Draft tlt.gs/SGCguide


Leadership/Facilitation Matters

• "There is always someone who 'naturally' takes leadership in any group... either implicitly or by explicit agreement."  
• So, quite early,  explicitly identify and describe the role of leaders/facilitators... even if the decision is to share leadership/facilitation among all participants equally in a VERY small group!
• Include potential leaders/facilitators at earliest stages of planning.

See More:  "Guidelines/References for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group Collaboration:  Working draft from TLTG Annual Online Symposium 2011" tlt.gs/SGCguide

Guidelines/References for Frugal Innovation thru Small Group Collaboration

Working draft from TLTG Symposium tlt.gs/SGCguide   

These Guidelines & References are based on the work of the TLT Group's 4th Annual Online Symposium on Frugal Innovation and Collaborative Change:  YOU ARE NOT ALONE!   SMALL MIXED GROUP COLLABORATION  (August, 2011).  Registration was free to TLT Group members.  See the homebase Web pages for each of the 3 online sessions:  

Session 1     Session 2     Session 3

TLT Group Members are also invited to participate in a "small mixed collaborative group" to continue developing these resources in academic 2011-12!  

To join this working group, send email to Rebecca Kurtz:

kurtz@tltgroup.org

The Symposium strongly influences the TLT Group's agenda for our weekly FridayLive! online sessions.  Our 2011-12 "season" begins on September 9, 2pm Eastern with a recap and extension of this summer's work on Small Mixed Collaborative Groups.

Librarians + Faculty + ... Working In Small Groups & Faculty Learning Communities [FLCs]

Tues 1-2PM EDT Frugal Innovation via Small Group Collaboration, TLT Group's 4th Annual Online Symposium   

Free registration for TLT Group Members; Fee for non-members.

Guest Presenters from Miami University of Ohio:  Milton Cox (Founder of Faculty Learning Communities), Eric Resnis, Elizabeth SullivanTuesday, August 9, 2011, 1:00 pm (ET) Please complete pre-session survey!  Your answers to these 3 questions about collaboration at your own institution will help shape the Symposium and improve its recommendations, even if you can't attend the Symposium. Check your institution's status here to confirm your membership through an institutional subscription.

You are not alone! Queries and Strategies for Collaborative Change

Continuing August 11 at 1:00 - 2:00pm EST  with Steve Gilbert, President of the TLT Group, and guests

Students + Faculty + ... in Small Mixed Groups, 
and Mixed Inquiry Collaboration 

Prezi at TLT Group Symposium

  

Prezi books and resources

Jane Harris' Prezi (fluid, multi-dimensional PP) good tool, interesting explanation of informal fac/dev.
  
Jane discussed her own work in faculty support/professional development both as an IT person and as a Teaching Learning Center person at University North Carolina Greensboro. What she called Testing Prezi shows use of a multidimensional version of PowerPoint, although more fluid and flexible.  It worked quite nicely through screen sharing during the session.


Jane explains how "Dr. Rosa" came with a problem -  she was about to teach an online course beginning in three weeks and would have perhaps double the enrollment that she was previously accustomed to.  So Jane needed to help "Dr. Rosa" gain enough confidence to identify and attempt to use at least a few helpful technology possibilities.   Jane used the Prezi to explain the sequence of steps and connections among the people who became involved in this small project.  Jane works informally with both individuals and groups to help them make improvements in teaching, learning.  Her work fosters their own ability to help each other make even more improvements.  You can see how this works as she describes the process.


If you didn't participate in the session, you can see its resources, prepared before, during, and after at the homebase webpage which includes links to a full recording of the entire session as well as a link to the Prezi itself.  


We hope you'll join us this coming week on Tuesday and Thursday one o'clock Eastern for the next two sessions of this year's annual symposium.  If you are a TLT Group member, you can register for free.  Others pay a fee. 

'Faculty have the best job in the world and the right to complain about it.'

- Katie King of Elon U., responding to my question about her busy summer yesterday.  

You can complain... or see book:
Engaging Student Voices
 in the Study of Teaching and Learning

We were talking about her plans for our Symposium session next Thurs Aug 11.  She and some colleagues (probably including a student) from Elon U. will be describing how they have been forming and supporting small mixed group collaboration (faculty, student, et al.) to improve specific undergrad courses... in response to faculty requests.
She will also introduce her new work on mixed inquiry collaborations.  




Join us Aug 9, 11 1-2PM EDT for the TLT Group's 4th Annual Online Symposium  "You are not alone!" Queries and Strategies for Frugal Innovation and Collaborative Change 
[If you missed the first session Aug 3, you can still find a full recording and lots of other info at tlt.gs/1sym2011]
Free registration for TLT Group Members; Fee for non-members.

You are not alone!

More about the Symposium:

Aug 3 Small Collegial Collaborative Groups Help Transitions

Textbooks to Online Info; F2F to Hybrid; LMS to Web Tools; etc.  

We believe that focusing on small, realistic steps will lead to more widespread, long-lasting meaningful changes. In fact, in these especially challenging times, small steps may be the ONLY way to keep moving  - in the right direction.

Join us  Aug 3, 9, 11 1-2PM EDT for the TLT Group's 4th Annual Online Symposium on Frugal Innovation and Collaborative Change 

Queries & Strategies for Frugal Innovation, Collaborative Change via Small Group Collaboration

Free registration for TLT Group Members; Fee for non-members.

You are not alone!

We need more, better, small group collaboration

Some refs for Small Group Collaboration (Amazon)

•  to improve teaching and learning with technology in specific courses
• to address current major challenges in higher education.

We are too often overwhelmed by the gap between what we hope and what we can do.

Too many demands for our time, energy, attention.

Join us  Aug 3, 9, 11 1-2PM EDT for the TLT Group's 4th Annual Online Symposium on Frugal Innovation and Collaborative Change 

Queries & Strategies for Frugal Innovation, Collaborative Change via Small Group Collaboration

Free registration for TLT Group Members; Fee for non-members.

You are not alone! We're all churning!

We're all churning!

So TLT Group's 4th Annual Online Symposium on Frugal Innovation and Collaborative Change is about successful small-group collaboration.  We'll develop Queries & Strategies for Frugal Innovation, Collaborative Change via Small Group Collaboration Aug 3, 9, 11 1-2PM EDT

Free registration for TLT Group Members; Fee for non-members.

You are not alone! Queries & Strategies for Frugal Innovation, Collaborative Change

"You are not alone!" - Books, Music, etc.

via Small Group Collaboration Aug 3, 9, 11 1-2PM EDT
TLT Group's 4th Annual Online Symposium on Frugal Innovation and Collaborative Change focuses on
SMALL GROUP COLLABORATION

• to improve teaching and learning with technology in specific courses
• to address current major challenges in higher education.

Free registration for TLT Group Members; Fee for non-members.

Guest presenters will describe/demonstrate specific kinds of successful small-group collaboration:

• Student-Faculty
• Faculty-Faculty
• Faculty-Librarian
• Faculty-Faculty Development, and Faculty-Tech. 

Participants will be encouraged to ask questions and suggest alternatives and improvements.   We hope that each of you will learn both from the invited presenters and from each other.  These sessions will shape the TLT Group's agenda for our weekly FridayLive! online sessions in 2011-12 (beginning Sept. 9, 2pm Eastern) and other projects. 

Universal Disclaimer: "We are not responsible for anything at all. Ever. So there."

From david.carybros.com/html/mad_science.html as of April 25, 2011
Also:  "Some quantum physics theories suggest that when the consumer is not directly observing this product, it may cease to exist or will exist only in a vague and undetermined state."
[Note:  I had found some of this previously on a web page that is no longer available, so I'm reproducing this whole thing here in case its current home disappears too.  I've inserted a few blank lines for easier reading - Steve Gilbert, 20110425.]

The following is reproduced verbatim from 

http://david.carybros.com/html/mad_science.html as of April 25, 2011

We are not responsible for anything at all. Ever. So there.
Copyright (c) 1995,1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 1900 by David Cary, all rights reserved.

"You are not alone!"

Not merely an existential assertion.  Also a reminder of available support.

"The Collaborative Imperative - Online Workshop Strategies for building librarian/faculty partnerships. - Begins Tomorrow! 4/14 More...  tlt.gs/collabimp

My daughter’s soccer coach often calls out to his players on the field: “You are not alone!”  He is trying to get the player with the ball to remember that she has teammates who can help.  

In higher education many of us are often pressed to make important decisions and complete significant work alone -- without the benefit of counsel or collaborators. Without anyone to share the burden of confusion, the challenge of difficult choices. Students, faculty members, and administrators also need to believe they are not alone, and act accordingly. They need opportunities to connect with peers and make real friends whom they can rely on in difficult times.

Above excerpts from "You are not alone!" TLT Group