Image 2 - Folder Layout
Dr. Aitor Esteban
aitor.esteban@bezeroak.euskaltel.es
University of Deusto
Fr. Raymond Bucko, S.J.
bucko@maple.lemoyne.edu
Le Moyne College
THE OVERARCHING STRUCTURE
BSCW (Basic Support for Cooperative Work) is a collaborative workspace program designed to share data among teams of researchers working at a distance from one another. The program is highly configurable, based upon an "object" model. The basic objects are folders, links to URLs, participant records (biographical and contact data), messages, and documents. These documents can be any digital file: text files, html files, word documents, .wav file, .rae RealPlayer file, .jpg or any other image file, and even database files.
Using these elements to construct a classroom, folders become classrooms to which participants are admitted (BSCW allows for selective admission to any series of folders), and the folders within the "classroom folder" form the basic structure of the class. Subfolders can be added at any time for special events such as exams, visits by experts or student initiated projects. The BSCW is password protected and uses icons to indicate who has performed operations within any given folder. The program can be configured to send out a daily activity report, particularly useful for reminding recalcitrant students that they are missing out on the action.
The objects loaded into the BSCW constitute a database that is searchable through an internal search engine. This database is cumulative, allowing for classes to revisit discussions of previous groups and view papers written by other classes (after they have written their own, of course).
Besides the objects that can be added to the workspace, BSCW allows for extensive descriptions within any given folder and of any given object. Some of these texts can be in HTML which allows for a high level of configurability which we utilize for specific instructions to the students, for orienting the students within the workspace (new users sometimes have trouble figuring out "where they are" within the classroom), and for making hyperlinks to basic reference documents for the class such as the course syllabus, mailbox links to contact professors, reading and assignment schedules for each school, and evaluation forms. Folder descriptions are utilized to pose questions that the students are to discuss within the folder and to give time constraints for any given assignment.
CONTENT
We divide the workspace by function as well as by content. One folder contains data that the professors (and students) upload to the workspace. Another folder contains the written work of the class, and another folder is used for discussions. We break up the students into sub-gropups, with participants from both schools in each group. We add another folder for midterm and final exam reviews and questions.
For our Native American History and Culture class, we divide the ethnographic study folder into 11 culture areas. Each of these sub-folders contains additional sub-folders for sound files using RealPlayer, maps, images, and URLs. BSCW allows the operator to extract the URL into a text file with ancillary images and links which cuts down on the problem of site disappearance from semester to semester. As the number of items within any of these folders increases they can be rearranged into subfolders according to type.
In addition to the cultural area folders, there are folders for linguistics, historical maps (showing the gradual understanding of the geography by Europeans), and contemporary issues. We also keep a folder for software that might assist students in their work. You can also view a site map containing the structure of the entire classroom.
COURSE MECHANICS
This course is based on a collaborative rather than distance model. Each professor delivers lectures, conducts discussions and assists students in his home country. Workspace data, workspace discussions, and class discussion/lectures utilize the expertise of each professor as well as that of the students.
The first week of the course is dedicated to teaching students how to use the BSCW software. Humanities students are not at a point where they are literate beyond "surfing" the net so this in both necessary and welcome by the students. Time is taken at the beginning of the classes throughout the semester to answer student questions about the workspace. Professors also work with the students in the labs when they are actually on the workspace.
Although we stress the asynchronous nature of the classroom (students are welcome to work according to their own schedules) it is essential to set boundary times and dates so that the students actually do the work. Computers do not transform human nature, professorial or colligate.
We use the following grading scale for our class: Participation 40%, Exams 40%, Papers 20%. In order to keep students informed of their progress in the course (and as a key "tool" to encourage them to participate) we send them their grades periodically via e-mail (every two weeks normally). In this way students know where they stand in the course and can see if they need to increase their amount of work. For this purpose we use a program called VarGrade http://www.varedsw.com .
Another important aspect of the course consisted in providing a direct discovery of the subjects taught in the class. This avoids the problem of simply have professors speak in disinterested scholarly tones without ever "touching ground". We are talking about people, living peoples, so we invite three Native Americans to answer the questions directly posed by students. We make a folder for each individual. This has been a real success among students and the native participants. It also furthers the equalitarian goals of the course, allowing some native people a voice in a course that is ultimately about them.
We have constructed a "sample workspace" by copying some of the elements of our main classroom into the area. You are welcome to enter the workspace by using the case sensitive user name: tohe and password: tohe You can also enter the classroom through our front door and view some of the Workspace help files we have constructued by going to: http://vc.lemoyne.edu/
EQUALITARIAN ADVANTAGES
Unlike many structured programs specifically designed for classroom use, the BSCW is designed for collaboration. Thus students can perform any operation which their instructors can perform. We encourage (not always successfully) our students to become self-learners and take initiative in structuring the classroom during the semester. Students can also view activity reports along with the professors and hopefully use them as incentives to become proactive. We emphasize the fact that equal access and configurability allows for equal voice and equal responsibility, especially in the discussion areas. So too, we structure in a series of self-evaluations which allow students to participate in the grading process. The professors consider the student grade seriously but ultimately the professor decides the grade. The evaluation gives the student a voice (if we vary widely from the grade the student suggests we discuss the matter directly with the student) and this process allows them to be reflective about their own work. This is a sample of the form we use for this process: http://vc.lemoyne.edu/ant212/ant212_eng_form_self.html
Equal voice also means allowing students to guide how the course is developing. Getting feedback from students is very important for professors to improve the course in the future but more importantly, to adapt some course elements during the current semester. We encourage ongoing feedback during the semester and formally elicit two comprehensive evaluations: http://vc.lemoyne.edu/ant212/ant212_eng_form_course.html
The structure of the workspace allows for collaborative work. Students have access to the work of others so they can compare their work and learn from each other. This has been particularly successful in the area of paper writing and group discussions.
Equalitarianism means equal responsibility as well as equal privilege. Students depend on each other to make on-time statements so that they can complete their own work. Each student must present an initial comment and a reply to one other initial comment in each discussion area. If students are not responsible in submitting their material on time then the whole class (and the professors) are not able to complete the assignment.
BSCW is also equalitarian in terms of access. The program is run on a server in Germany that the developers allow free access. Thus faculty and students can test out the software in a real situation before considering adding it to an existing server at their school or purchasing a dedicated server.
Finally, the BSCW is freeware for educational use. The developers have been astute in answering any functional or design questions and have listened carefully to our own suggestions for the program over the years. For a small school like Le Moyne and a school new to computer assisted instruction like Deusto, the cost of the program was crucial.
ASSESSMENT
This approach has many clear advantages. The learning process is a collaborative one instead of relying exclusively on lecture, research or self-exploration. These exchanges take place on many levels, not only in the traditional professor-student relationship but among students, with the consultants, with professors and students from other institutions, and with the larger world of the Internet.
The system also provides a way to keep close contact with students. In fact, in most cases, the contact is more frequent than that in the classroom. People know they must participate to get their grade and do so. Faculty can detect early who is not engaging in the class or not catching on to key issues in any given topic. In lecture classes this is too often discovered only at the time of the final exam. Also, the novelty of using computers works like a carrot for participation.
The information base of a course grows as time goes by, course by course, fed with the input by professors, students and collaborators. This accumulated knowledge is not static but living and up-to date. We keep also the archives of past conversations and contributions, which can be useful for amplifying topics which arise semester by semester.
It is very important to underline that professors are informed of every movement in the workspace, allowing them to keep track of every student's work, which is fundamental to grading them accordingly to their effort.
Not everything is rose colour in our system, there are some aspects that should be improved but they depend more on school logistics than in the software itself. In Deusto, for example the number of computers available to students was not enough at the beginning and the Internet connection is slow at certain times. We have also experienced some crashes with the server at Le Moyne. These usually come just as we are registering students or when they use the system for the very first time!
Because this program was not initially designed for classroom emulation, some of its features could be improved for this use. For example, sometimes students find themselves lost in the net of folders of the Main Classroom. Year by year the data grows more and more and for some people not used to computers finding specific information requested by professors can become a daunting tasks. It would be very useful to have a "map" of the workspace created by the own system and modified automatically every time the data changes.
Also, for schools involved in bilingual (or even trilingual) education like Deusto (Basque, Spanish, English) it would be useful to have a system which would allow for the creation of multilingual workspaces. In this way we wouldn't have to duplicate workspaces with the same content just to change the language of the hyperlink description.
In many cases students are computer illiterate and they are frightened by the prospect of computer usage. You must help them during the first weeks until they get used to it. Students complain that they have too many courses to deal with and that this course asks much of them. Of course they have to work (not less than the professors) but the problem is that they engage in too many lecture courses and are not used to this new methodology. But in general peoples' feedback on the course is positive. As one student put it, "(the way of teaching) makes the class much more interesting and makes me want to do the work"
THE FUTURE
At the beginning of year 2000 a new test for the BSCW will take place. The University of Deusto will offer its first course completely on-line for students of the Basque Communities in America, based on the know-how acquired in using this software for collaborative courses. This challenge will demand some adaptations of our way of teaching. Basically we are building the backbone of the course with some audiovisual lessons using Director. The students will listen to the voice of the professor while watching images and text that appear automatically on their screens. The BSCW will provide notes by the professor for every class to substitute for the traditional text book and detailed lecture structure of most classes. Some classic texts will be digitalised and added to the BSCW for students to consult.
Thus the BSCW has been useful on a variety of levels for creating an equalitarian classroom. Equal voice, equal access to information, and equal availability of the BSCW have allowed us to reshape the classroom and expand it in ways never imagined in the past.