Dr. Gail Dickinson Explains her Methods
By: Derek Page
News Assistant
Dr. Gail Dickinson, associate professor of teaching and learning of the Darden College of Education presented her lecture as part of the Provost’s Conversation Series this past Thursday, Feb. 9.
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Carol Simpson presented the lecture in the Perry Library as an opportunity for faculty members to engage with each other concerning the teaching and learning process.
Dickinson’s topic was “Using Social Networking to Engage Students in Online Instruction.” It focused on using social networking tools as a means for online classes.
Dickinson argued teaching in the conventional method, like lectures on campus, isn’t effective or engaging enough for her and her students.
“I teach graduate students. They are driving from wherever they are, finding a place to park, coming to class after a full day of work, they have not yet been home. They’re going to be there for three hours and then go home and deal with everything they have at home and then show up to class, their workplace,” said Dickinson.
Dickinson felt that using mediums such as Adobe Connect, a platform that allows video conferencing, was more effective for holding classes. She found students were more comfortable and more willing to engage in class discussion because of the informal setting.
“I don’t get the engagement from face-to-face interactions as a professor, so I decided to explore other ways to practice as a class and keep my students engaged.”
Using many different interfaces allowed students to participate in and explore these different platforms allowing them to engage together as a whole. By setting up their own back channels they allowed themselves to transfer questions and information between one another more fluidly.
“They loved the engagement. They liked the idea that they locked arms in time and space and were doing things lots of different ways that other students were not.”
In short, Dickinson found a positive correlation between the level of student engagement and further interest in the material and the use of multiple mediums of online communication resources.
