By Heather Cook & Nancy J. Becker

 

Vision:

Caldwell College fully embraces technology in teaching and learning and has several innovative initiatives underway to integrate technology across campus. The installation of Aquos Boards in classrooms, conference rooms and other learning spaces is a key component of those projects. 

 

Aquos Boards function as white boards, digital displays and touch screen computers and support interactive communication through integrated touch screens. All-in-one systems, the Boards do not require projection or re-calibration - thus streamlining and simplifying the learning environment while saving space. Documents can be imported from wirelessly connected devices, including iPads, and then displayed on the boards for instructional purposes or collaboration. A screen-integrated keyboard facilitates document revision and annotations can be made using the pen or a finger. Once completed, work is easily saved or exported for sharing.

 

The Jennings Library is using the Aquos Board to enhance teaching and learning in information literacy instruction sessions as well as offering it for student use in a group study room. In addition, as the site of one of the initial installations of the Board on campus, the Library has become a key player in training and encouraging faculty to use this technology in their teaching.

 

Background:

The first Library Aquos Board was installed for the Summer College at Caldwell Program (SCAC), a precollege program that provides high achieving, low-income, first generation students the opportunity to earn three college credits while studying science, medicine and math. Part of the Aim High Academy, SCAC was funded by the US Department of Education College Access Challenge Grant Program through the NJ Commission on Higher Education. During the planning for SCAC, the Library partnered with the Science and Math Departments to incorporate technology, active learning and collaborative pedagogies in the instructional design. The resulting plan included the reconfiguration of a group study room as a Collaborative Research Environment (CoRE).  New furniture and a 60-inch Aquos board were installed and thirty (30) iPads were acquired so that students would be able to work independently and interact wirelessly with the Board.  

 

Initial Application:

The first teaching use of the Aquos Board and iPads was during Summer College at Caldwell. As the capstone of their

 research projects, SCAC students were required to prepare final presentations using PowerPoint slides printed out and installed on poster boards. This assignment provided an ideal opportunity to teach the organization of ideas and discuss the methods for reporting scholarly, scientific research. 

 

Students brought their PowerPoint files to the CoRE and the instructional session began with a discussion of scholarly poster presentations using examples of student posters from different disciplines. The instructor led a discussion of approaches for organizing  information on posters and the effect of various designs on viewer understanding of the material. Students then had a chance individually to bring up their PowerPoint slides on the Aquos Board. Modeling the peer review process, the group provided feedback and debated the value of individual slides as well as the impact of various layouts on the audience. 

 

Throughout this process, students used iPads to interact with their slides on the Aquos Board from their place at the table. Students also used iPads to fact check, bring up relevant information or locate additional graphics to be considered for inclusion on the slides. Each student had to either defend the slides as originally presented or decide to make changes based on peer suggestions. Once consensus had been reached, students were able to save the revisions to their flash drives. These collaborative sessions advanced learning substantially as students explained and defended their ideas, identified areas needing additional information and practiced their presentation skills. The result was deep learning and as many students noted, “a fun experience.”

 

Ongoing Practice:

A subsequent instance of teaching with the Aquos Board and iPads occurred in an information literacy instruction session with an undergraduate history class. Before the session, the librarian and faculty member discussed the needs of the students and how to best integrate the new technology.  One concern raised by the faculty member was the different levels of student preparedness. Some students were ready to start researching while others needed to spend more time developing their topics. For a portion of the instruction session, a small group of students gathered in the CoRE for extra assistance in topic formation. In this smaller space, they immediately began discussing where they were in the research process with each other. The librarian worked one on one with each student as others worked independently with the iPads. The Aquos Board was used to demonstrate useful databases and resources to the group.

 

The CoRe is primarily intended as a collaborative space for students. They are encouraged to use the space to work on team projects or group presentations. They can also use the space to enrich their study sessions by watching an educational streaming video or working out equations with the white board software. Before students can use the room independently, they are required to attend a brief onetime training session. Once certified, they can reserve the space through the Library’s online reservation system (Springshare’s LibCal). 

 

The Library’s experiences with the redesign of the group study room, the addition of the Aquos Board and the incorporation of the Board and iPads into teaching have been positive. Quite clearly, the CoRE and Aquos Board supported the intended SCAC learning outcomes as well as increased student engagement in subsequent uses. In the CoRE’s small space, students voice many questions and concerns to the librarian and their peers that they seem reticent to do in the larger Library Instruction Lab. There also has been a noticeable increase in interaction among the students and a peaked interest in the technology. Overall, the dynamics of the small group atmosphere has generated discussion, increased engagement and encouraged deeper collaboration among students.

 

Future Plans:

Going forward, the Library is working with faculty to encourage assignments designed for the Aquos Board and collaborative learning. The library is also training faculty in the Aquos Board technology and demonstrating its potential in teaching and learning. Positioning the Library as a place for innovative technology reiterates and affirms the importance of the Library on campus. The addition of the Aquos Board in the Library has not only improved instructional delivery and outcomes; it has also bolstered the Library’s reputation as a partner in teaching and learning and as an innovator on campus.

 

Heather Cook is the Learning Commons Librarian and Nancy J. Becker is the Executive Director at the Jennings Library at Caldwell College.