Lisa B. Elliot Rochester Institute of Technology, National Technical Institute for the Deaf AHEAD 2014 Annual Meeting, Sacramento CA July 17, 2014 BUILDING AN ONLINE COMMUNITY FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING STUDENTS Overview ¥ Who we are? ¥ Rationale for the project? ¥ Review of model components ¥ Academic community activities ¥ Recruiting strategies? ¥ Monitoring community usage ¥ Future activities? ¥ Q & A Who We Are ¥ Deaf STEM Community Alliance Ð Only Alliance specifically for D/HH students ¥ Supported by the National Science Foundation, HRD #1127955 ¥ 3-5 year project (Sept 2011- Aug 2016) Ð Now in our 3rd year Campus Partners RIT is the lead institution for this project, with Camden County College and Cornell University as partners. Project Rationale ¥ Participation gap in STEM exists for students who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH). This gap negatively impacts: Ð BachelorÕs degree graduation rates Ð Advanced degrees ¥ Between 1997-2006, 420 out of 265,790 (~.2%) of new STEM PhDs were D/HH Ð Employment opportunities in STEM:? ¥ Hearing 17.9% v 15.5% D/HH? ¥ Hearing in higher-earning STEM sectors than D/HH Barriers to Success in STEM Student Preparation Socialization Accessible Media Project Rationale? ¥ Solution: Deaf STEM Community Alliance ¥ Student preparation ¥ Remote tutoring ¥ Remote captioning ¥ Remote interpreting ¥ Socialization? ¥ Remote mentoring ¥ Peer interaction ¥ Accessible media? ¥ Curated collection of STEM resources Goal and Objectives ¥ Goal: Create a model virtual academic community to increase the graduation rates of postsecondary D/ HH STEM majors in the long term Ð Iterative and incremental (Cockburn, 2008) ¥ Iterative Ð testing what works and revising what doesnÕt ¥ Incremental Ð building model in stages instead of all at once Goal and Objectives ¥ Objectives? 1) Document and disseminate a description of the process of creating a model VAC for replication 2) Increase the GPAs and retention rates of D/HH students in STEM majors DHHVAC Model Components & Applications Student Preparation (Google+ Hangouts) Socialization (Google+ Private Community) Accessible Media & Public Presence (Public website, Google+ Public Page Google+ Private Community) Student Preparation Elements ¥ Remote Tutoring (Years 1-5)? ¥ Remote Captioning (Years 4-5) ¥ Remote Interpreting (Years 4-5) Remote Tutoring Photo of student receiving tutoring. Student is seen on computer screen, tutoring professor pictured sitting at his desk in front of the computer. Remote Tutoring ¥ Framework based on traditional, face-to-face model used at RIT/NTID: Ð NTID faculty provides tutoring to D/HH students who are enrolled in other RIT colleges (more than 14,000 hours in STEM tutoring to ~500 students in 2011-12) Ð Appointment-based (not walk-in)? ¥ Synchronous vs. asynchronous models Tutoring Models Remote Synchronous Tutoring Strategies ¥ Ê1:1 or 1:2+ ? ¥ ÊGoogle+ Hangouts as videoconference/chat ?platform ? ¥ Ê15 min-3 hr sessions (average 61 min) ? ¥ ÊAppointment-based scheduling ? ¥ ÊHomework-oriented (vs. basic skills) ? ¥ ÊMacs, PCs, desktops, laptops, Chromebooks ? Synchronous Tutoring Benefits ¥ ÊSharing documents ? ¥ ÊSearching & highlighting key phrases with ?student ? ¥ ÊObserving studentsÕ homework, watching for mistakes, providing faster feedback ? ¥ ÊClasses with many online resources ? ¥ ÊBetter accommodation to student schedules ? ¥ ÊMeet multiple students simultaneously ? Synchronous Tutoring Challenges ¥ Digital whiteboard? ¥ Unannounced changes in Google+ interface ¥ Eye contact & turn-taking different online Remote Asynchronous Tutoring Strategies ¥ Ê1:1 tutoring sessions ? ¥ ÊE-mail & VP messages, photos, diagrams, ?handouts, shared documents ? ¥ ÊHomework-oriented (vs. basic skills) ? ¥ ÊMacs, PCs, desktops, laptops, Chromebooks ? Asynchronous Tutoring Benefits ¥ ÊProvided flexibility for travel when there were time differences between tutor and student or other schedule conflicts ? ¥ ÊAllows students to process material at their own pace ? Asynchronous Tutoring Challenges ¥ Helping students to problem-solve ¥ Lack of spontaneous dialogue between student and tutor Remote Tutoring Ð Lessons Learned to Date ¥ Tutoring strategies? Ð Synchronous v asynchronous ¥ Scheduling? Ð Appointments v Òwalk-inÓ ¥ Challenges? Ð Network/browser inconsistencies Ð Training & technical assistance? Ð Google+ UI changes ¥ Strategies? Ð Ethernet connection/Chrome browser? Ð Ongoing feedback & technical assistance Ð On-line guides? Ð Google Educational Enterprise account Socialization ¥ Remote mentoring Ð D/HH STEM professionals? ¥ Personalized recruiting? ¥ Application including background check ¥ Google+ presence Ð Mentoring platforms? ¥ Google+ private community ¥ Google+ Hangouts? ¥ Email? ¥ Face-to-face meetings? ¥ YouTube video interview Socialization? ¥ Peer-to-peer (community) interaction Ð Google+ private community ¥ ÊSTEM articles of interest ? ¥ ÊShare student schedules ? ¥ ÊAnnouncements (events, internships, scholarships) ? ¥ ÊOpen forum for mentors to provide 1-to many mentoring in forms of ? Ð Information sharing (e.g., pictures of work) Ð Job opportunities? Ð Offers for assistance ? Socialization This is an example of a post within the private community. Post +1Õs Additional comments Socialization Ð Lessons Learned to Date ¥ Someone to facilitate engagement ¥ Encourage through personal contact? ¥ Weekly newsletters ¥ Critical mass of participants ¥ ÊStarted Google+ Private Community with about 25 ?participants (January, 2013) ? ¥ ÊActivity increased with approximately 55 participants (September, 2013) ? ¥ ÊCurrent membership 64 participants ? Accessible Media? ¥ Curated STEM Resource library on our public website: www.dhhvac.org? Ð Project publications and presentations Ð Relevant work by others Ð STEM ASL dictionaries (e.g., ASL-STEM Forum) Ð Links to accessible STEM resources (e.g. Khan Academy, Math for College) ¥ STEM-relevant articles and videos in Google + Private community Accessible MediaÑ Lessons Learned to Date ¥ Importance of being assertive! Ð Not all videos are captioned Ð Sometimes, captioned versions are available, but havenÕt been posted Recruiting Strategies ¥ Tutors? Ð Department Chairs? Ð Individual contacts? Ð Professional development training session ¥ Students Ð Tutors Ð Individual contacts ¥ Mentors? Ð Recommendations from administration Ð Alumni association? Ð Individual contacts Monitoring Community Usage Channel Tracking Method Google+ Private Community Relatively easy--manual Hangouts Somewhat easyÑneed notification of hangout Enterprise email account Somewhat easy using Google Analytics Chat Difficult Future Activities ¥ Remote Captioning in Hangouts ¥ Remote Interpreting in Hangouts ¥ Procedure manuals Ð Remote Tutoring?Ð Remote Mentoring Ð Implementation Discussion Questions? Answers! Contact Information Deaf STEM Community Alliance hnp://www.dhhvac.org OR lisa.elliot@rit.edu Thank you!