They want it all!

Each term I experiment with a new technology or tool in my classes and offer a new resource as an option for students, and I solicit feedback via questionnaires and surveys. What is remarkable is that I find the results are substantially the same every time. Students report that they love the new option, regardless of the format. It could be a social media / smart phone application for mobile studying such as "flashcards" on studyblue.com or an interactive online practice that I have developed. At the same time, students report that they also love the instructional resources that were already available for them in the course, which underscores the fact that providing resources in multiple formats enhances instruction and helps meet the needs of students with diverse learning styles.

One recent resource that I developed and shared with students was an attempt to integrate study strategies, "college knowledge" to promote student success via early and sustained math progress, and application of basic math skills to prepare for an exam. I'm not confident that the resulting online activity truly integrates all these well, but students seem to love it. (Yet they still love the traditional paper/ pencil exam practice as well!)

Essentially, they want it all!

Through DIG Co-Lab and other collaborative efforts such as Jared Westover's wiki, we can provide a nimble space for sharing a wide variety of rich instructional resources.

Not a "graveyard"

The buzz about developmental education comprises multifarious perspectives. Developmental education has been referred to as the "graveyard" of higher education and higher ed's "bridge to nowhere" by groups such as Complete College America. Some, and the AACC no less, have even suggested that community colleges may need to rethink their mission, going "beyond the open door" to consider tough questions like, "Whom do we serve?" Policy recommendations include reducing or eliminating developmental education as seen in proposed legislation in Connecticut to cut it. In response, groups such as the Center for the Future of Higher Education have formed and dissolved as quickly as they were established in order to address this rapid narrowing of the community college mission. Analyses include a report on the impact of the completion agenda on access while others focus on research. Articles, reports, studies, blog posts, and sundry media, which put dev ed in the limelight, abound.

At the same time, questions arise surrounding the foundations that support the work of Complete College America and similar initiatives. What is the underlying impetus for this ubiquitous, laser focus on completion? Could it stem from the history of investment in the student loan industry by contributing foundations such as Lumina?

Furthermore, there is a great deal of discourse on best practices in developmental education and the calls for dramatic change in order to promote student degree and certificate completion; however, as noted in MDRC's report "Unlocking the Gate," "While research on best practices in developmental education abounds, little rigorous research exists to demonstrate the effects of these reforms on students' achievement."

Clearly, this is a complex, multi-layered issue embedded within an equally complex landscape that cannot be understood at a cursory level. The question of developmental education is as much about access and equity -- the very premises upon which our community college system was built -- as it is about success and completion.

Amid the din and clamor of this nationwide discourse about developmental education and student completion, we have a glimmer of hope -- a kernel of energy.

In the context of a community college,

• in which 65% of its students are first-generation college students,
• in a county in which 17.4% of the population lives below the Federal poverty level, and
• in a state with a 68% high school graduation rate,

our Lane Community College developmental writing students have achieved success in program-level writing courses at a rate that is 10% higher than students placing directly into program-level writing. (This is based on Lane's Achieving the Dream cohort data of degree-seeking students entering in Fall 2006 through Fall 2008, following those students for three years.)

Developmental education strikes at the very heart of the purpose of the community college in a vibrant democracy.

It is not a "graveyard."

Developmental education is, in fact, a bedrock.

It is a foundation that we believe will grow stronger and more prominent through innovative work such as this Digital Collaboration project and our commitment to access, equity, and success for our students.

Animoto videos

Some of my students like to make Animoto videos to use with presentations -- they're simple, free, and fun! I just produced one about the concept of equivalent fractions. Animoto offers free accounts to everyone, but I especially like that educators can obtain an upgraded Plus account, which allows the creation of an unlimited number of longer videos with more options. As instructors, we also receive an access code to share with students so that they can also create longer videos with a Plus account.

Let the collaboration begin!

We're just beginning the DIG Co-Lab fellowship, and Barbi has already posted a really cool brainstorming activity for writing that she developed using Mozilla Popcorn Maker .

I think this is a wonderful example of how guided practice can be achieved online and especially like how Popcorn Maker allows adding forced pauses to videos, giving students time to stop and think, write, reflect and more!

I loved Barbi's activity so much, I decided to try "making popcorn" myself. I have to admit that it took me a little while to get the hang of it, but I think this format has great potential even if my first experiment with it does not have the best flow! Here's an introduction to adding fractions with different denominators to help build students' conceptual understanding: