Flash Mob Learning Event Fall 2016
What is a Flash Mob Learning Event?
At Walters State Community College, our
Flash Mob Learning Event takes place when the faculty assemble in a
large area (the gym, in our case) to engage in professional development
training for an intense but brief period of time.
What is the purpose of the Flash Mob Learning Event?
The purpose of the Flash Mob Learning event was to introduce faculty members to the latest TBR and WSCC learning innovations (STARS/Mindset), new and needed Desire2Learn features, and cutting edge mobile learning tools and apps in short training sessions.
How was it organized?
Instructional Design, the Professional Development Committee, and the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs wanted to offer faculty a series of short (15 minutes) presentations during the last portion of the traditional all-faculty meeting for the institution during Fall semester. We identified the purpose of the presentations to be addressed, above. For each of the categories (learning innovations, D2L features, and mobile learning tools and apps) we began identifying five presentations in each category and those faculty who might be interested in offering those presentations in the Flash Mob event. We emailed selected faculty members with the topic we were interested in them presenting, with the time and format of the event, and the possibility of repeating their topic in a longer venue later in the week.
What sessions were offered?
We arranged
fifteen tables along the perimeter of the gym, with one presenter at each
table.
Because we had three categories
of presentations, we gave each table a red tablecloth, a blue tablecloth, or a
white tablecloth—representing the category into which the topic fell.
Those categories and topics included:
- STARS/Mindset (five sessions)
- Mentoring
- Student Connection
- Advising
- Validation Theory
- Classroom Strategies for Academic Mindset
- Mobile Learning (five sessions)
- Making Thinglink a Thing of Learning
- Using Adobe Connect for Academic Continuity
- Using Kahoot in the Classroom
- Enhancing Critical Thinking in the Classroom
with Nearpod
- Using Powtoon as an Alternative Presentation
Platform
- eLearn (five sessions)
- eLearn Minimum Standards
- eLearn Communication Tabs: email, discussion
boards, chat, and news items
- Turnitin
- ePortfolio Pilot
- Accessibility
Presenters offered their topic at their table three times. Faculty members were given 15 minutes and then asked to move to another table so that each faculty member could visit three presentations total, one from each category. Thus, presenters would be giving their presentation three times total to three different groups of faculty members..
How was faculty feedback collected?
At the end
of each presentation they attended, faculty members were asked to scan a QR
code that connected them to a short survey.
Survey items
included
1. What the topic of this presentation useful to
you?
2. Would you attend further training by this
presenter?
3. Would
you attend a 50-minute presentation on this topic during this Inaugural Week?
4. Did
this format for sessions, which we have called "Flash Mob Learning,"
work well for you? Why or why not?
From the
responses and time available, five presenters were asked to expand their
presentations to a 50-minute presentation on the topic later in the week for
interested faculty. We called this our “Flash Mob Learning” event. From the
responses on the surveys and from informal feedback from faculty, the event was
a success and will be repeated.
