Faculty Share Best Practices

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Darlene

On November 3, 2010, the topic of the weekly lunchtime Faculty Teaching/Scholarship workshop at Albany Law School was “Technology” and, specifically, how TWEN can add a new dimension to law school learning. Instead of providing a “how-to” workshop by me, the Instructional Technologist, we decided that it would be more useful for the faculty to hear from their peers.

I began the session sharing the results of a pre-semester survey which asked the faculty: Which Westlaw TWEN options do you use to enhance student learning? and Which options would you like to learn more about?

The responses to the 1st question indicated a preponderance of static content and a lack of opportunity for interactivity by students. The 2nd question pointed to an interest by faculty in hearing about discussions, wikis and embedding digital content.

During the next part of the workshop, six faculty members discussed their experiences using the following interactive TWEN tools:

  1. (Discussion) Forums
  2. Customized Polling (Surveys)
  3. Wikis

They focused on the advantages they saw in using that tool and shared lessons learned. The presentation with notes added (in red) is posted below:

All in all, the workshop was very well received. A survey has been posted to TWEN to solicit additional feedback.

More technology workshops of this type are planned.

 The next one  is scheduled for Feb. 2, 2011. The topic will be Digital Student Recording & Assessment.

 

Filed under: Catalysts For Change, Technology | 2 Comments »

Law 2.0 to be published January 2009

Posted on August 12, 2008 by Darlene

Here’s the abstract from David Thomson University of Denver Sturm College of Law:

Legal education is at a crossroads. As a media saturated generation of students enters law school, they find themselves thrust into a fairly backward mode of instruction, much of which is over 100 years old. Over those years, legal education has resisted many creditable reports recommending change, most recently those from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and the Clinical Legal Education Association. Meanwhile, the cost of legal education continues to skyrocket, with many law students graduating with crushing debt they have difficulty paying back. All of these factors are likely to reach a crescendo in the next few years, setting the stage for a perfect storm out of which can come significant change.

But legal education has successfully resisted systemic change for many years. Given that dubious track record, the only way significant change can reasonably be predicted is if something is different this time. Fortunately, there is something different this time: the ubiquity of technology. Since the MacCrate report in 1992, the internet has achieved massive growth, and a generation of students have grown up with sophisticated and pervasive use of technology in nearly every facet of their lives.

This book describes how the perfect storm of generational change and the rising cost and criticisms of legal education, combined with extraordinary technological developments, will change the face of legal education as we know it today. Its scope extends from generational changes in our students, to pedagogical shifts inside and outside of the classroom, to hybrid textbooks, all the way to methods of active, interactive, and hypertextual learning. And it describes how this shift can – and will – better prepare law students for the law practice of tomorrow.

Check out the book’s companion blog also.

Filed under: Catalysts For Change, Who is Using the Best Practices Book? | Comments Off on Law 2.0 to be published January 2009

Liveblogging the SEALS Conference 2008: Revamping the Law School Curriculum

Posted on August 4, 2008 by Darlene

Check it out at:

http://lsi.typepad.com/lsi/2008/07/liveblogging-th.html

Filed under: Best Practices & Curriculum, Catalysts For Change, Teaching Methodology | Comments Off on Liveblogging the SEALS Conference 2008: Revamping the Law School Curriculum

Using Clickers in the Criminal Law classroom

Posted on June 4, 2008 by Darlene

At the conclusion of our second year of using “clickers” (the CPS system from eInstruction) in several classes at Albany Law School, I asked students in the Criminal Law class what they thought… Continue reading →

Filed under: Teaching Methodology, Technology | Comments Off on Using Clickers in the Criminal Law classroom

Future of Legal Education Conference

Posted on February 22, 2008 by Darlene

If you were uable to attend this conference, you can view the PowerPoint slides from a Presentation by Paul Maharq and Liz Li:

Here’s more about the conference:

Filed under: Teaching Methodology, Technology | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

2008 Conference for Law School Computing

Posted on February 19, 2008 by Darlene

Theme: Transforming Legal Education

“This year’s conference is all about change – transformational change.  It is time to put the divisiveness of laptops in the classroom behind us. It is time to face our fears. Fear of USNews ranks, fear of the student debt implosion, fear of technology and change itself. It’s time to consider the ideas of Carnegie and decide how technology impacts professionalism and ethics in legal education. What does transformation mean to you and your institution and does technology have a central or supporting role in accomplishing our goals?” – John Mayer

Keynote Speaker is Paul Maharq

For info on the conference: http://www2.cali.org/index.php?fuseaction=conference.home

Filed under: Catalysts For Change, Technology | Tagged: | Comments Off on 2008 Conference for Law School Computing

AALS Sessions

Posted on January 8, 2008 by Darlene

John Mayer on his CALIopolis Blog has posted the audio of the AALS Session: Rethinking Legal Education For The 21st Century. The speakers included…

  • Moderator: Edward L. Rubin, Vanderbilt University Law School
  • Speakers: Vicki C. Jackson, Georgetown University Law Center
  • Robert Mac Crate, Esq., Senior Counsel, Sullivan and Cromwell, New York, New York
  • Martha L. Minow, Harvard Law School
  • Suellyn Scarnecchia, University of New Mexico School of Law
  • William M. Sullivan, Senior Scholar The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Palo Alto, California
  • Judith W. Wegner, University of North Carolina School of Law

If you did not attend and want to listen, click here: http://caliopolis.classcaster.org/blog/legal_education/2008/01/07/aals_carnegie

John also recorded his talk on CALI and Carnegie and included the ppt slides.  To access them, click here: http://caliopolis.classcaster.org/blog/legal_education/2008/01/06/aals2008

Filed under: Catalysts For Change, Technology | 1 Comment »

Using Technology to Enhance Active Learning

Posted on November 9, 2007 by Darlene

Two professors at Albany Law School have successfully implemented technology in order to increase student particpation in class, provide feedback,  and foster active learning.  Click here for a complete description:  http://albanylawtech.wordpress.com/2007/06/03/two-innovative-educators

Filed under: Teaching Methodology, Technology | Tagged: | Comments Off on Using Technology to Enhance Active Learning

Best Practices Author Responds in TaxProf Blog

Posted on October 2, 2007 by Darlene

Read it here- http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2007/10/roy-stuckeys-ad.html

Filed under: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Best Practices Author Responds in TaxProf Blog