Collaboration

How this course differs from others.

This course includes synchronous sessions held face to face or virtually, in addition to asynchronous meetings. We will have a series of readings to examine in the weeks leading up to the synchronous session, and we will welcome a guest speaker or two that will bring alternative lenses and/or experiences supporting our exploration of that week's topic(s) as a group.

One area where this course is different is that each synchronous meeting will include collaborative note-taking. Yes, shared notes. No, you won't be penalized for taking part. Really.

Here's a link to the running class session notes:

https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/LTEC647c-S16

We will run class sessions more as if they are working meetings and less like traditional class sessions. When each of us takes notes with our own pad and pen, much of what is recorded is never shared, and many interesting thoughts and comments may never be brought to the discussion. As such, there will be a running record of class meeting discussions created inside a Google Doc (or an Etherpad document).

You are expected to help build this document.

What this type of collaborative note-taking will to do:

• Capture the group memory for synchronous sessions, including all points discussed and topics debated. Fewer things will fall through the cracks. Posterity FTW!
• Provide a single place all students can go to access this memory. No more fumbling around looking for your notes, or emailing other students asking for theirs.
• Create a living document that doesn't disappear inside a course site (walled garden) at the end of the semester. Take a copy at the end of the course, or bookmark the link somewhere and look back at it for reference in the future.

What this is not meant to do:

• Make skipping synchronous sessions OK. You will still be accountable for attending synchronous sessions.
• Allow you to multi-task more easily during class. Nope, I expect the same engagement from students as I will put into the course.

But how do we take notes together?

Simple: just start writing. Each session will have a distinct section of the document that includes the following sub-headings:

• Roll call. Who's present and accounted for, including students and guest speakers?
• Session topics or agenda. This will start out as a bulleted outline, and we'll flesh out the conversation as we go.
• Homework (or to-do's). What's happening between the end of the session and the next time we meet?

Taking collaborative notes isn't natural at first. After all, we've spent most of our academic and professional careers depending on a single scribe or note-taker to record minutes. Or worse: no notes were taken. We'll practice this in the first class session, and by the second or third go, you will become comfortable adding to bullet points started by others, helping with corrections and typos, and adding comments as needed.

Everyone will be a document owner, and together we can build a better group memory which will aid in your exploration of the course material (and beyond!).