Using WebCT and Laptops For Active Learning in the Classroom Can Akkan Graduate School of Management Sabancı University

Agenda My ultimate goal in using technology in the classroom Methods by which I try to accomplish this How these methods are implemented using available technology Q & A

Primary Objective Make a large class feel like a small one

Large vs Small Class Small Class: –Interactive –Students think along –Students know each other –Students can get help easily outside class Large Class: –Monologue –Students fall asleep in class –Students do not know their neighbors –Help? What help?

Making MGMT 201 a Small Class Interactive Students think along Students know each other Students can get help easily outside class Students have many ways to give feedback In-class exercises Initial Survey Online discussions Two-Minute- Papers

Exercises could be both quantitative and qualitative Possible tasks: –Recall prior material –Answer a question –Start a problem solution –Work out next step in a calculation –Think of an application or an example –… etc. In-Class Exercises

Using Technology … To easily collect in-class exercises and evaluate them –Exercises done in Excel workbooks Students download a file from WebCT Complete the exercise Upload the file –Grading Download all files from WebCT An Excel macro is used to create a table of all students’ work

Get-to-Know-You Survey Gender Year Faculty Program choice Town family lives Student club membership Internship experience

2 minutes before the end of each session students fill out a survey asking: 1.The main point(s) 2.The muddiest (least clear) point(s) Two-Minute Paper

Exams Using laptops as well Can’t use WebCT –Can’t stop students from communicating with each other Using a special purpose server to distribute and collect files

Next, some screen shots …

An In-class Exercise

After Downloading Student Files

The Grading Macro

Output of Grading Macro Grade entry to WebCT is done manually

Results of the Minute-Paper Surveys

Thanks! Any questions ?