Notes for Report First deadline: Put up any content you have into relevant sections and work

on section your group was assigned by FRIDAY Second deadline: by Monday for editorial group.

1. Outline of our understanding of the project with some challenges and tensions what we think they want to do what we think some challenges and tensions are This is a major tension: sustainability vs. short-term relevance and motivation of use; growth over time. They have no way to archive content. ----------The goal of the professional pathways project is to provide instructors with the knowledge and support to be able to teach a course they have never taught before. Currently the project is set up as one facilitator leading discussions with three participants, informally called the journey people. The ultimate goal is for facilitators to be chosen to lead these journey people through exercises/experiences so they can teach classes they otherwise would not have the knowledge to lead. The project currently has several key tensions. The project has no way to archive content, organize content, or reproduce the content. This leads to some questions about the long-term sustainability of the project. Theres very little usage of the present discussion board on the website and there is currently no other way to efficiently communicate through the website/project. Aside from these technological barriers, the project also creates some tensions regarding the time and motivation aspects on both the roles of the facilitator and user. What is the incentive for a facilitator to participate and stay active on the website? From what we understood from the interview, facilitators are expected to structure a year-long course on teaching a course. This would involve structuring lesson plans, finding relevant content online and in the real world, and actively responding to user issues, needs...etc. These challenges lead us to two approaches, one for the short-term and another for the long-term. In the short-term, the project needs some kind of archival system. This is necessary because it would preserve the content and materials posted in each Pathway, and gives future groups access to this material. An archive would allow the pathways to grow and mature from one iteration to the next. In the long-term, the professional pathways project needs to grow into a community to reach sustainability. The users of this community would operate under three roles: System

Administrator, Facilitators, and Journey People. First, the System Administrator would manage the technical aspects of the project and work with facilitators to streamline the learning process through the pathways. Second, Facilitators who would lead a single pathway and provide the learning resources for journey people. And finally, the journey people who would need to stay active in the Project through participation and feedback. For this community to succeed, it would need to be centered around an efficient way to hold discussion and communicate through the website. Clearly this would be very time consuming to set up, but it is the most effective way to accomplish the goals of the project in a scalable manner.

Our contribution 2. An organized!!! archive as a short-term knowledge resource. The Professional Pathways Project (PPP) Canvas site, in its current state, is basically a cluster of content presented without distinction between type. We see the site functioning as a bookshelf: one in which the spines are facing inward and no categorization is in place to help a user distinguish relevant content. The main/home page is a dumping ground for biweekly readings, including articles on how to teach and articles used when teaching. Also put on this page are materials from professors who have previously taught the Pathways course, such as syllabi, project assignment sheets, grading policies, etc. The lesson plan for each biweek is presented by the course moderator, yet can be negotiated among members of the course through face-to-face interactions. It is also important to note that the content of this site is accessed through a shared Dropbox folder, a program outside of Canvas. The PPP site can be envisioned as a bookshelf that categorizes and organizes any and all resources that would aid those on the path towards gaining a full comprehension of the specific pathway. Using the Canvas site as an archive for resources through the Tabs functions allows for effective storage of information in an easily-accessible medium. Similar to a Wikipedia site, all the information is accessible from the one main page. Both the Canvas site and Wikipedia sites can utilize a Resources section that contain external links, allowing more information to flow into the webpage. This model as a short-term knowledge resource is ideal for the Pathways Project as it is concise and contains multiple different ways of accessing content in an easily-readable format. However, this model page works for those who are familiar with where content is filed and how to navigate Canvas. New users on the site will have to do a bit of exploring in order to acclimatize themselves with the site and all its material. Rheingold modified and outlined some guidelines for curation. Among these guidelines were, as a curator, the need to bundle, reorder, distribute bundles, editorialize, update, invite participation, and track your public. In the context of Rheingolds discussion, the curation role was of news on social media sites. However, many of the principles can still apply. We envision making the main/home page of the PPP Canvas site an overview of the content and tools available throughout the site. In Rheingolds outline it is noted that the

information needs to bundled and ordered appropriately. An intuitive structure will be critical in encouraging participation. This would include links to the most popular pages: an about page, assignment modules, file sharing, and a discussion board. The about page would contain a basic overview of the PPPs mission (goals and strategies) along with a description on how best to use this site (explaining each content type and tools function). With the assignment modules, we see users being able to create a description of that biweeks readings, discussion questions, and any other relevant content. This way content is contextualized for future use. The file sharing tool on Canvas is helpful in that it allows the same mechanics of Dropbox, but fully integrated within the Canvas infrastructure. This also allows for categorization of content through folder creation and naming. We also believe the discussion board is a great tool that Canvas offers. Under Rheingolds context there is the need to editorialize. What this means is that not only does content need to be provided, but also reasons and contextualization for the content. For example, a reading for the professors may be contextualized with prompts for discussion. Again, making sure the questions are contextualized is helpful for when users look back at what they have learned, or new users try to find relevant content. This kind of structure highly resembles that of an online community (i.e. - Reddit) where multiple contributors are able to provide relevant information in order to further the knowledge of the whole group, with administratorcontributors providing guidance in the community (Dr. Scott, Prof. Launier, Prof. Holic). When past materials are shared, the pros and cons of the material should be described as well. Why did the material work well, or what issue did it address? In what ways might it not work well or could use improvement? This ties Rheingold and Scobles expression of the need to invite participation. The discussion board on Canvas is a good place to start inviting feedback. Perhaps apply some limitations using the discussions board as well - invite users to read, think about, and leave feedback on content for a certain time period before closing the topic and adding the discussion to the archive for later users to see. Doing this will keep the discussion board from becoming cluttered while retaining the value of the discussion.

Great searchable library of teaching resources. Are there good examples of this that we could share with them? what would an archive look like. The files storage system built into Canvas creates a good organizational system. The drawbacks would be metadata and search. This is a very top down approach, which would likely be limiting long term. A wiki would allow for better metadata and searchability. We would suggest that readings be categorized by date, x, y, and z. There is a problem of intellectual property with posting readings publicly. users here are all contributors, with a moderator 3. A long-term site based on contributions.

If the Pathways Project is based primarily on face-to-face interaction, the possibility of the problems of synchronicity and of persistence over time exists. For instance, how will it be possible to replicate this experience for future pathways if material and discussions are not recorded in some way? Without the option of online action the Pathways Project will limit itself in size and number of pathways; schedules are difficult to coordinate, readings get lost in the shuffle, and important educational resources may be overlooked. However, in order for a technology to successfully impact an experiment such as the Pathways Project there must be a motivation for online participation (cite). First and foremost, information should be organized in a way that makes it easily approachable. Discussion and questions should be encouraged, and perhaps reinforced by a simple feedback system, via comments or votes or both. Varying forms of media should also be considered. In addition to texts, audio and video files could prove to be incredibly beneficial materials. If there are any forms of media that are actually interactive by nature (such as educational and interactive sequences relating to the material that would actually respond to user input) they should be included and encouraged. If face to face meetings are going to continue to be a large part of this project, the content of those meetings should be audio or video recorded. These recordings can be archived and added to the material included for the class in question. If face to face meetings are not recorded, it will be very difficult to replicate these experiences. Utilizing the online conference tool available through canvas (or a similar function on a different site) for discussion among interested members of the project is something to consider. The more development that goes into the online material of the project, the larger and more successful the project can become. Conversely, developing the project as a face to face program will stunt its growth, and result in more repetition of the same knowledge (one professor/facilitator administering one set of information to one group of learners at a time, every year), as opposed to the cultivation and expansion of current knowledge being expanded on by a larger group of participants. While the amount of work to create a functioning online archive of useful and well organized materials may seem more daunting, the payoff will increase over time due to lack of repetition and the ability for the information base to grow and be accessed by a larger audience. The scope of this program has the potential for far-reaching levels of participation in the future, provided the right tools are added to shape and encourage interactions. It is important to note that the current population of participants may not be a representative sample of the types of users that may wish to take part in the program once it becomes better established. As it currently stands, members are invested not only in the class that they are trying to learn, but also in learning and executing the program itself. We feel that this is a tighter and more personally connected form of community than can be expected if the project grows larger. That being said,

variability of content, convenience, and ways of interacting through web content may eventually need to take the place of, or at the very least, become an alternative to face-to-face meetings especially if this program is to ever extend beyond UCF. In terms of the web environment, itself, different options best serve different desired goals. Canvas has a lot of options that could potentially be used to better organize the content flow, and benefits from user familiarity and a built-in limited-access system. The downsides are that content isnt easily searchable or sortable (filters sort selective content), isnt as easy to archive, and has a top-down architecture that tends to lend itself to a teacher-student dynamic rather than that of a group of peers and colleagues. Furthermore, Canvas does and would inhibit online contributions from experts in the field who are not within the UCF network, and constrains the program to the boarders of the UCF. If UCF is as far as this program is ever intended to extend, it along with a solid external archiving system would probably work fine. A wiki is advantageous in a lot of the areas that Canvas is not, in that information is far more democratic, can be much more easily searchable by keyword, and is already outside of the UCF system so that it can be more scaled to include other institutions. The pitfalls of a wiki are that it lacks structure, content variability, and even enough content, and also doesnt have the built-in limited access features that a system like canvas has. The wordpress site commonsinabox.org, which marries many of the benefits of both systems, is highly customizable and may suit this program well in the future. It currently hosts many academic organizations such as CUNY Academic Commons, The Modern Language Association (MLA), New York City Digital Humanities, and many others. This site has limited access but is not constrained by the UCF network, has different ways of organizing users, features a selfcontained wiki for cataloging information and content (and other ways of organizing content through metadata such as tagging), has the ability to create individual blogs or threads to generate discussion, contains the possibility for a general discussion page, and a host of other features to use, or not. It also benefits from being aesthetically pleasing and engaging, easily navigable, and has been proven effective in various scales. To see several examples of what some organizations have done within this site, go to www.commonsinabox.org and click the Showcase tab in the ribbon under the page title. The biggest downside to this site currently is that, in the short run, it would likely require some time to set-up and organize if no one is familiar with it, and may require regular maintenance from some kind of administrator. However, if this program is going to scale to anything bigger than the rhetoric department, then it will likely need some kind of administrative position, regardless of the chosen online environment. If face-to-face meetings are to remain a staple for this program, they should be included as a mixed-mode-like learning environment where the discussions are recorded, allowing others to view and learn from the meetings at a time when their schedules allow. This type of system would benefit some journeypeople who wish to enter into the program at the face-to-face level

without excluding others whose schedules conflict, or who simply wish to partake in the program at a more passive level. Listening to, or perhaps interacting with experts in a particular field of study is another way that might encourage participation and even attract new members. This could be achieved through video posts connected to a discussion, la youtube, where journeypeople could post pertinent questions or comments to the material. To encourage discussion and participation, comments and questions could be met with feedback from other journeypeople or from the facilator. One of the main issues with growing this organization is simply getting over the hump, so to speak. It currently doesnt have enough participants to support a large infrastructure, and doesnt have the infrastructure to support a large quantity of participants. We do feel, however, that developing the infrastructure and refining itbefore having to implement it will be a way of mitigating the growing pains that will undoubtedly occur as more people wish to be involved in the program, and likewise, developing a system that is a more user-friendly will likely encourage more people who already feel strapped for time to give the program a shot without feeling as though they are investing that much. For professors who wish to expand their repertoire and level of expertise, or even for those veteran professors who may wish to refine or become up-to-date in an area that they have already had experience, this program seeks to provide physical and human resources and a forum for discussion so that all who are involved can become better equipped. The program thinks large and has the ability to grow, it just needs the right infrastructure to support healthy, organized growth. With the help of more engaging content, and better web-based architecture, Professional Pathways can be and do just that.

4. Conclusions

Plan for Super Awesome Interview Pigg will provide snacks and audio recorder We will be located in the BHC Conference Room, which can seat 25

Chairs should be arranged as they normally are, with guests sitting at the table in the front OR chairs should be arranged in a circle with guests sitting wherever they feel comfortable. Brandon will ask the written questions. They should then ask for follow ups after the question has been answered. At that time, classmates should raise their hands to ask follow up question(s). Questions are basically in the order we should ask them. Questions marked *** were prioritized by a group. Questions for Dr. Scott/Prof. Launier/Prof. Holic: Introductions by Dr.Pigg Warmup and Icebreaker 1. We were wondering whats your favorite (or least favorite) social media or social networking site? 2. What is/ How would you define the Professional Pathways project? What led to your involvement? Why are you creating or participating in it? Is the Professional Pathways Project modeled on a program at another school that we could research for comparison? Overview Questions 3. What is the mission of the Professional Pathways site and how does that mission tie into the content that is already posted on the site? 4. What need does the Professional Pathways program fulfill? What is the Professional Pathways Project ultimate goal? Are there problems that it responds to? In a perfect world, who would be using the site most often and to what end? 5. We know that the Professional Pathways Project has started this semester... Are there things youd like to change already? What have you learned since the first version of the digital site? Content & Site 6. Tell us about the digital component: How does the site you are currently using support the goals of the program? ***7. Accessibility: Is it a long process to get from the main page to the page where a great deal of information is located? How readily available is the content? How easy is it for users to find what they are looking for?

Do you need a lot of information for your search to be successful (course number, past professors, etc.), or not very much? ***8. Information: Users ***9. Who is currently using this site/program? Who do you imagine using this site/program in the future? ***10. What would someone do on this site? What would someones end purpose be in accessing it? Are there built-in rewards for contributors? For editors? For conversation facilitators? Are there security concerns for different types of content (e.g. quizzes, exams, lecture notes, reference materials)? [differentiate according to users] [how often? with what technologies? are there security concerns?] 11. How exclusive is this site? Is it invite only or open to the public? How do you gain access if you want it? (for developer) 12. Interaction: How would you imagine a site user engaging with the site? What kinds of interactions do you expect to see between contributors, users, editors, moderators...etc ? In other words, what forms of dialogue are available for the users? Conversation boards? Messaging? What media currently help them fulfill this? What parts of the website are being utilized and which are not? What actions are they taking? 13. How does communication take place on the site, especially in relation to training through content? What content would users like to see? More editable? What content do they have access to, and what content would they like access to?