• Clif Kussmaul
• HP 2004

Mobile Applications and Adaptations of Open Source Collaboration Tools

2004 Hewlett Packard Technology for Teaching Grant

Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA, USA

http://mathcs.muhlenberg.edu/moin/mathcs/Clif%20Kussmaul/HP%202004

Quick Facts

• ~900 students impacted to date
• ~15 faculty involved
• Keywords
  • Computer Science, Software Engineering,
  • Communication, First Year Seminar, History, Religion Studies,

  • Drupal, DSpace, MediaWiki, MoinMoin, Moodle, SubjectsPlus, SubVersion, Trac, TWiki,

  • collaboration, knowledge management, wiki

Project Abstract & Goals

In 2004, Muhlenberg College received an HP Technology for Teaching grant to encourage the transformation of learning and teaching. This project systematically extends open source collaboration tools, including groupware and content management systems to assess the effectiveness of “always available” wireless access and mass customization in introductory science courses. In each phase, tools and technologies are deployed to successively broader audiences, and we compare student and instructor satisfaction relative to traditional course delivery methods.

Faculty

• Clif Kussmaul, Computer Science, kussmaul@muhlenberg.edu (principal investigator)

• Sharon Albert, Religion Studies
• George Benjamin, Computer Science
• Joyce Hommel, Director of the Library
• David Nelson, Mathematics and Computer Science

Impact on Student Learning

Courses using course management and collaboration tools were rated equally effective, more organized, and less difficult. Of students surveyed, 100% rated wikis positively for storing and sharing information, and 70% rated them positively for communicating with other students. Introducing students to commonly used tools and best practices earlier in the curriculum better prepares them for the future, and helps them appreciate and understand the social and organizational aspects of software development. In individual student work related to the overall project, students gained experience in areas such as Linux configuration, programming languages, user interface design, MVC architectures, and the dynamics of open source development. We are still working to extend the project to larger courses, other disciplines, and to a wider range of disabilities. The Moodle course management system has been used by hundreds of Muhlenberg students, and a significant number of faculty and staff (for courses, committee work, and other activities). An online portfolio module is being used in a special program for some of Muhlenberg’s very best students.

Impact on Teaching

The changes described above have had several significant outcomes. We have presented conference workshops and tutorials on using wikis to support teams, and on GUI prototyping techniques (see below). We have documented group activities involving writing and problem solving, for use by others. Appropriate courses contain more emphasis on user needs analysis, graphical user interface (GUI) design, and usability testing. These changes would have been difficult or impossible without the HP grant, since the wireless laptops make it possible to integrate activities when they are most appropriate, rather than when rooms or other facilities are available.

This project has prompted the PI, other faculty, and students to use and contribute to open source projects (particularly TWiki, MoinMoin, Drupal, Moodle, and Trac), which has helped us recognize the enormous potential of open source. With appropriate guidance and scaffolding, students have participated in real projects, interacted with a variety of stakeholders, and made real contributions that actually make a difference for other people. Since these tools are being used across the campus, there is now a community of faculty and student users who can serve as stakeholders for student projects. We have worked with the College library to explore a variety of open source applications to support library activities, and to support teaching and learning across campus.

Technology Integration

Technology is used in a wide variety of ways. During class, computer science students often use laptops (their own, or grant laptops) to take notes, access course resources and web resources, and work on assignments. In other courses, students use laptops for collaborative writing, and to access specialized resources (e.g. for bioinformatics). Outside of class, students use Moodle, Trac, and wikis to work on individual assignments and to collaborate on course projects with other students and stakeholders across campus. See the list of student projects (above) and the list of recommended open source projects (below) for software that is being used and enhanced.

Sample student projects

• Minor changes to the phpBB bulletin board system
• Enhanced navigation, and due date and submission rate display in Moodle
• A configurable search engine block for Moodle

  • A plugin for Pidgin (a multiprotocol instant messaging client) to create auditory alerts using eSpeak (a speech synthesizer). The plugin is available on SourceForge.

• Enhancements to SubjectsPlus (a library subject guide system), based on an earlier student project evaluating FOSS tools for academic libraries.

• Extensions so that Drupal (a content management system) can exchange product information and customer orders with OpenBravo (an ERP system).

• Improvements to the View project within Drupal to provide more powerful query capabilities, which will make it easier to develop a tutor management system.

Recommended Open Source Projects

Recommended References

1. Angeles. Using a wiki for documentation and collaborative authoring.

2. Barkley, Cross, and Major. Collaboration Learning Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty. Jossey-Bass, 2005.
3. Duarte and Snyder. Mastering Virtual Teams. Jossey-Bass, 2001.

4. Fountain. Wiki pedagogy.

5. Holmes, Tangney, FitzGibbon, Savage, and Mehan. Communal constructivism: Students constructing learning for as well as with others. Trinity College Dublin Computer Science Tech Report 2001-04

6. Lambert. Digital Storytelling. Center for Digital Storytelling, 2006.

7. Laurillard. Rethinking University Teaching: A Framework for the Effective Use of Educational Technology. RoutledgeFalmer, 2001.

8. Leaf and Cunningham. The Wiki Way: Quick Collaboration on the Web. Addison Wesley, 2001.

9. Mader. WikiPatterns. Wiley, 2008.

10. Richardson. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Corwin Press, 2006.
11. Schwartz, Clark, Cossarin, and Rudolph. Educational wikis: Features and selection criteria. Online software evaluation report, Centre for Distance Education, Athabasca University, 2003.