Cal Poly to Help Launch New Model of Online Learning
Cal Poly is one of 15 higher education institutions participating in the launch of a new model of online learning through FemTechNet this fall.
“Cal Poly's participation in the project can aid the university’s efforts to design the future of educational experiences, particularly the integration of new technologically mediated modes of teaching and learning,” said faculty participant Jane Lehr, associate professor of ethnic studies, women's and gender studies, and liberal arts and engineering studies.
FemTechNet’s Distributed Open Collaborative Course (DOCC)is a new approach to collaborative learning and an alternative to the massive open online course (MOOC) model that proponents claim will revolutionize 21st century higher education.
The DOCC model is built on the understanding that expertise is distributed throughout a network of participants in diverse institutional contexts. This model explicitly departs from the typical MOOC approach organized around the delivery of information from an “expert” faculty (or a pair of instructors) to the “masses.”
A DOCC emphasizes collaborative learning in a digital age by enabling the participation of all kinds of learners. Its reach across institutions and learning sites enables the extension of classroom experience beyond a single institution.
“DOCCs find the right balance between personal connection and technology,” said Michael Haungs, Cal Poly associate professor of computer science and director of Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies. “They are the natural evolution of a flipped classroom — a highly successful model of technology-enhanced learning.”
Each participating institution will offer one or more courses, developed within the context of their own specific educational setting. Faculty and students will share ideas, resources and assignments through the FemTechNet’s anchor course, Dialogues on Feminism and Technology. Through the exchanges and the participants’ input, course content for the DOCC will continue to grow.
At Cal Poly, two interdisciplinary courses are being offered: Gender, Race, Science and Technology, co-taught by Lehr and Sandi Clement, assistant professor of biological sciences; and Project-Based Learning in Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies, co-taught by Lehr and Haungs.
Lehr, Clement and Haungs see many benefits of participating in the program — especially, the impact this new learning model will have on students. “Cal Poly students have the opportunity to benefit from the broad network of teachers, students and the FemTechNet community in a true Learn by Doing style,” said Lehr. “I am very excited to see what develops from this exciting project.”
About FemTechNet
FemTechNet is an activated network of scholars, artists and students who work on, with and at the borders of technology, science and feminism in a variety of fields including science, technology and society; media and visual studies; art; and women’s, queer and ethnic studies.Members in the network collaborate on the design and creation of projects of feminist technological innovation for the purposes of engaging the interests of colleagues and students on advanced topics in feminist science-technology studies.