“We have no fear about using a hosted solution. PBworks is just as reliable as our internal systems.”
Doug Murphy, Assistant Dean, DePaul University
Interactive Collaboration
Dr. Beth Rubin, Director of Distance Education at DePaul's School of New Learning (SNL), wanted a way to make her online classes more interactive and collaborative. Her instructors needed a flexible way to improve collaboration, both inside and outside the classroom. The answer was PBworks.
SNL chose PBworks because neither their teachers or students are trained technologists. "I found PBworks a solid product that was attractive and easy to use," said Rubin.
SNL already has three classes using PBworks, and the plan is to expand the program to cover many of the 250 online classes SNL offers each year.
New Possibilities
PBworks works with existing distance learning tools from Blackboard and Wimba to improve the distance learning experience and increase the interaction between students and faculty.
In the classes, PBworks lets instructors do a variety of things that the previous technologies could not, including:
- Referencing back coursework, discussions, and resolutions (Wimba is only available during the duration of the course)
- Collaboration outside the classroom
- Creating a portfolio that students can access after their class is complete
- Pulling together weeks of classwork into one place, allowing students to see the evolution of the class
- Enabling new faculty/student interaction for required internships and externships
The key is that PBworks enables enduring communities, including connections between different cohorts of each class, even across different school years. These connections broaden the opportunities for students to collaborate and build ideas together, and to develop networks with one another and even with alumni.
Dr. Rubin and her staff also believe that PBworks will open up new possibilities for better teaching methods. Assistant Dean Doug Murphy states, "We're excited about giving our instructional designers different learning opportunities to work with."
When asked about his comfort with entrusting such important functionality to PBworks, Murphy replied:
"We have no fear about using a hosted solution. PBworks is just as reliable as our internal systems."
Doug Murphy, Assistant Dean, DePaul University