Mobilizing Faculty into the Future: Using Online Technology as Teaching Tools

Acknowledgments
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
This e-book was first released to a larger audience during the 21st International
Conference on Learning staged by Common Ground Publishing, Champaign, IL, and
hosted by Lander College for Women, New York, NY, July 14-17, 2014. Barbara
Looney, Assistant Professor of Management, School of Business, presented a paper
entitled “Mobilizing Faculty to Engage in Social Media as an Instructional Tool: a
How-to Experience that Produced an E-book.” That work was co-written with Mary
Caton-Rosser, Associate Professor of Mass Communication, with e-book editing by
Annie Woodle, adjunct instructor in Mass Communication. Student Kaitlin Schneider
provided research assistance and student Laura Howard provided photography
and design support for the conference presentation.
The history of this e-book project began fully two years earlier at the suggestion
of Black Hills State University Provost Rodney Custer and administrators Dr. Curtis
Card and Dr. Warren Wilson, who expressed a desire to involve faculty in a social/
digital media technologies-as-learning-tools pedagogical/research project on campus.
During the first year of the project, authors Looney and Caton-Rosser worked
with colleague Gina Gibson, Assistant Professor of Digital Media. The three professors
staged a faculty in-service event, a series of roundtable discussions, a faculty
workshop entitled “Try One New Thing,” and a Faculty Week showcase, all of
which were designed to build interest and competency among faculty in using social
media and digital tools for course instruction. During the second year of the
project, Woodle joined the project in place of Gibson.
The success of the project at Black Hills State University stems from several situations.
First, the enthusiasm and persistence of the authors kept the project dynamic
and inventive. Second, the project had the full support of the university
administrators, who made grant money available so that summer workshop participants
could receive modest stipends. Finally, the project advanced by the gradual
addition of participants at each stage of its evolution. The research and a series
of meetings with faculty members began with an idea offered by one provost and
tackled by the three professors. Following the first faculty in-service by the three,
before nearly sixty faculty members, a dozen instructors agreed to participate
in the roundtables. Seven of those participants later presented before the summer
workshop that drew twenty faculty participants. Out of that workshop, eight
presenters then shared before thirty some colleagues during the Faculty Week
showcase that following fall. The entire project became a pyramid of faculty participation
at various levels of participation and leadership, all focusing on social/
digital-media-use-in-the-classroom. In addition, the research was presented at
a number of online international conferences, including ICERI 2012. The research
contributed to publication on the currently exploratory – but highly popular – topic.
During the second year of the project, university instructors were invited to test
and experiment with using social media and digital tool applications for instructional
purposes. This e-book collects their combined efforts and shares their successes
and challenges.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••