The Interfolio Blog

Social. Connected. Online. Networked. Collaborative.

These are words we often hear related to today's student. But it isn't exactly what we hear about many of today's professors. While universities and colleges try to figure out how to harness the power of networks like Facebook in attracting students, we are left with the question of what this movement toward greater collaboration means for the classroom.

Gerald Graff begins to address this question as he discusses what he calls "courseocentrism" in a recent article in Inside Higher Ed. Graff argues that educators need to move from what to date has been a very isolated form of teaching toward a more collaborative and coordinated teaching style. He envisions professors who in tune with what their peers are teaching in the next classroom, use parallel courses and classes in other disciplines as reference points in teaching, and allow students a more cohesive learning process by teaching not only the subject at hand, but how it relates across other subjects.

That's a great start, and he makes a powerful argument as to why this is important. He acknowledges this is happening "at a time when amazing new forms of connectivity are made possible by new digital technologies" but stops short of elaborating on what tools professors need to help them make the transition. Here, we offer four ways educators could begin using online tools to foster greater collaboration:

• Move academic portfolios online: Instead of static hard copies, academic portfolios can become a living document online where research and teaching history can be stored, shared, and distributed. Using multimedia forms such as videos of class, slideshows, etc., faculty can gain much greater insight into what goes on in classrooms across the institution.

• Use tools like wikis and social networks to bring faculty together online:  Creating a network or collaborative environment using free tools like social networks or wikis, schools can leverage existing technology to connect professors across department barriers. These can be used to work on projects, share information, or get involved in extra-curricular activities.

• Co-teach classes across disciplines: Use video or live-streaming technology to connect classrooms, both within the university and with partner institutions and other faculty around the country or the world. Bring new ideas into the classroom in a dynamic way, expose students to creative thinking in other classroom or institutional settings, and foster greater collaboration within and outside of a given discipline.

• Use online tools to disseminate research info, syllabi, class notes etc.: Bring your research and that of your students out into the academic community using online tools. Post to your own web site, online portfolio, blog or wiki. This allows your research greater reach, no longer stuck in a niche journal on a library shelf, it can live online for people to read, interact with, provide feedback or suggestions, etc.

Helpful resources:

Edublogs allows teachers to use blogs in the classroom.
Academhack  writes about tech tools for academics.
Moodle is free web application that educators can use to create effective online learning sites.
Interfolio gives the academic community a place to showcase their work online

Many of these  suggestions can be used in tandem, and all are achievable using free or very inexpensive tools already available online today. As higher education faces hiring freezes and faculty layoffs, it will be important to focus on bringing new ideas into the classroom, and demonstrating the value of your teaching and research abilities both within the institution and without.