Projects Underway

1. Development, application and assessment of innovative use of instructional technology to improve student engagement and learning across disciplines. Students in two English Composition, ENG 101, courses will create a community partnership with a local non-profit organization and design a Prezi presentation and promotional brochure for the organization. Students will develop the documents using a professional subscription to Prezi and Microsoft Word. The advantages of using Prezi include: it is a cloud-based program accessible beyond the classroom, its format is not linear, but dynamic in its functionality, rhetorical graphics and text can be saved and placed on a document, and a link to a presentation can be uploaded to a website. The assessment of this project is inherent in the process. Writing effectively utilizes available writing technologies, media, and modes, demonstrates awareness of both the target and key secondary audiences, demonstrates a clear purpose, meets all the requirements of the situation, and demonstrates sustainability beyond the draft. Effectively doing/demonstrating all these stages of the process means that course materials, technologies, concepts, activities and any of these components are utilized in effective ways, improving student engagement and learning across the disciplines. The classroom assessment includes: a student self-assessment cover letter, peer review of the project, the student-group presentations on the Prezi project and the brochure, an early and late stage analysis of the Prezi presentation, and feedback from the community non-profit organizations using a student-designed rubric.

2. Implementation of the Power of SUNY Innovative Instruction strategic framework, including support of the SUNY Learning Commons, SUNY Learning Network, Open SUNY and other methods to promote sustainable, shared services that can be replicated throughout SUNY. A detailed outline of the project, the requirements, the outcomes, the community partners and the final projects can easily be shared through the SUNY Learning Commons, and will be presented by two faculty and four students it at the SUNY CIT conference The instructor and students will also create a Web site of the project and the outcomes, with all class members contributing to one site. The use of the brochure by the non- profit community partner is the ultimate indication the brochure and project was successful.

3. Development and use of metrics that can demonstrate the effectiveness of the instructional innovation – including (but not limited to) assessment data, student feedback, evidence of direct or indirect learning or other evidence of successful learning outcomes:
Authentic Assessment Tasks:
1. Organization of Information: Students will organize, synthesize, interpret and explain textual and visual information to global and local audiences
2. Rhetorical Inquiry: Students will demonstrate effective writing practices by producing presentations that show their knowledge of the culture and local purposes that were embedded in their particular situation
3. Quality of Presentations: Students will produce presentations that are purposeful, coherent, and visually and stylistically sophisticated and inviting.
Direct Assessment Method:
1. Document analysis of project using above authentic assessment tasks. 2. Longitudinal Direct Assessment Method:
3. Reflections by cross-sectional students about their learning.

4. Public and/or private partnerships to improve quality of the learning experience as well as provide additional funding or in-kind resources to support innovation. The project revolves around the community partnership each student group creates. The brochure will be a result of the needs of the community partner and the collaboration between the student group and this organization. Potential Non Profits/Community Partners include: Imaginarium: Children’s Museum of the North Country, Strand Theater Renovation, Prays Farmers Market and ROTA Gallery.

Students responded well to the service learning assignments and guidance. Exercises, timeline and prezi debrief is available here.