Graduate and Professional Student Involvement in the MOOC Experience

This blog post was first published at: http://wp.me/p1Mdiu-DH

At the University of Minnesota, the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (GAPSA) has discussed various ways in which MOOCs and other emerging technologies are transforming higher education. It is still unclear how these changes may affect the future of academics and researchers. MOOCs exemplify how a rapid change can  substantially impact a system and raise new questions. To discuss the impact of emerging technologies, GAPSA held an Open Space Technology event, trained in the practice by staff from the University-wide Center for Integrative Leadership, on April 17th, 2013, with Provost Karen Hanson. Students at the Open Space discussed various topics including:

1. the generational differences between faculty and students,
2. the inevitability of technological change,
3. the differences between face to face and online environments,
4. methods to measure student improvement and student motivation,
5. intellectual property concerns,
6. and the fear and possibilities brought by these changes.

Utilizing MOOCs to Solve Grand Challenges or Wicked Problems

April 9, 2013

Over the past year and a half, various authors have expressed their concerns about MOOCs and how they may impact the American higher educational system. [1] [2] [3] [4] These concerns are important to consider, as MOOCs are disruptive, innovative, and are likely to improve and expand in the next few years. [5] [6] [7] Most of these concerns center around the potential impact of MOOCs on higher education (HE) in the United States without emphasizing that most MOOC users live outside of America. [8] Like other disruptive innovations, the MOOCs of tomorrow will be different and will address some of the current concerns. Soon most instructors will have the ability to customize a learning management system (LMS) that facilitates the creation of activities, student groups, peer-review assignments, videos, and the development of a learning community or community of practice with unprecedented ease.…

The Future of Ebooks and New Forms of Knowledge Production

March 18th, 2013

The book market is rapidly changing, defying initial expectations. As digital objects, ebooks bring with them affordances that were previously unavailable in printed books. For example an open ebook using a Creative Commons license (CC-BY) can be easily remixed, reused, revised and redistributed by anyone online (http://opencontent.org/definition/). Digital books can also be dynamic and interactive. While ebooks are different in that they require an electrical device to be used and cannot yet be easily traded between readers, ebooks are increasingly adding new features and it is a technology that is yet to reach its plateau of productivity. What we think of ebooks today, is different, at least at the high end, from what an ebook will be in the second half of the 21st century. What an ebook can be will increasingly be defined by  publishers’ and authors’ imaginations.…

Based on feedback gathered over the past two years, these resolutions address the need to transform GAPSA into a more representative body by promoting integrative leadership skills and modifying the structure of GAPSA so that it transforms into a more representative body. While GAPSA represents over 10 different councils on many years it has included members from only a few councils within its executive board. The goal of these resolutions are to increase the organization’s focus on collaborative leadership and make the organization more representative.

February 28, 2013

RESOLUTION: University of Minnesota Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Restructure

Author: Andrew McNally, COGS Executive Vice President; Alfonso Sintjago, GAPSA Executive Vice President.

Topic: Internal Affairs

WHEREAS the University of Minnesota requires a space for graduate and professional students to convene all communities and constituencies on their campuses, to share knowledge, and promote mutual understanding, and

WHEREAS the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (GAPSA) should strive to promote a more inclusive voting membership and help build on-campus community to address Grand Challenges facing the University community, and

WHEREAS GAPSA functions best when affirming and serving graduate and professional student councils, and

WHEREAS Assembly meetings best affirm graduate and professional student concerns as a forum for expressing graduate and professional student concerns and for setting the organization’s broad agenda, and

WHEREAS Assembly meetings function best in an environment in which all participants accept the norms of mutual respect and in which the day-to-day operations of the organization are delegated to the Executive Board,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED

1.GAPSA’s…