Using Web Pages to Create
A Learning Community

Prof. Phillip R. Rosenkrantz, P.E.
http://www.csupomona.edu/~rosenkrantz/
Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Department
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
 

 

Based on Dr. Peter Senge's concept of a "learning organization" from his book THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE (1990):

Vision
 
Create significant initial interest in the subject and then carry the learning experience well beyond the last lecture.
Students become involved with creating web pages that share their findings with others.

Examples from:

  • Classes
  • Senior Projects
  • Proposed strategies and enhancements

The Learning Organization includes:

  • Systems thinking
  • Dialogue, and
  • Creating a shared vision

As described by Senge, the "Learning Organization" employs five disciplines (methodologies):

  • Building shared vision
  • Mental models
  • Personal mastery
  • Team learning
  • Systems thinking

Characteristics of the learning organization (Garvin):

  • Systematic problem solving
  • Experimentation with new approaches
  • Learning from experiences
  • Learning from best practices of others, and
  • Transferring knowledge across the organization quickly

Developing human capital among the knowledge workers of the future.

Three examples from engineering curriculum

Direct involvement of the instructor in creating the web pages ranges from none to almost 100%
Example 1
IME 499 Engineering Colloquium
  • Weekly topic related to a theme
  • Guest speakers
  • Student/faculty prepared web pages

"What a young engineer should know about…"

Six topics were covered:

  • Qualifying For and Getting a Good Job
  • Graduate School
  • Career Strategy
  • Becoming a Consultant
  • Corporate Culture and Company Politics
  • High Performance Work Habits

A web site was created to share the results: http://www.csupomona.edu/~rosenkrantz/ime499/ime49998.htm

Process:

  • The students divided into teams
  • Take notes and develop the text
  • Each team responsible for a presentation
  • One student owned a digital camera and took pictures
  • Students emailed text and images to the instructor
  • One team had a student who was proficient at building web pages

Results

  • The results were very good
  • Students looked forward to the finished web page each week
  • Students were proud to see their names on the top of the page
  • Other benefits

Lessons learned

  • This level of customization is too time consuming for the instructor
  • Students build the web pages or use a standard format
  • Students could volunteer to learn how to author web pages
Example 2
Topic Papers
  • Students prepared two-page topic papers on a wide variety of subjects
  • Pages available for viewing and printing
  • Students can return to the files any time for updating and continuing education
  • Exposure motivates students to do a better job

http://www.csupomona.edu/~rosenkrantz/ime415/topicpapers

Example 3
Senior Project

A team of students is preparing a web site as a resource

  • Information about ISO-9000, QS- 9000, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, and similar standards
  • The website will contain information about the standards and what it takes for successful implementation
  • The features of the standards are compared
  • Companies interviewed and the results presented.
  • Resource of information for current, past, and future students

Other ideas:

  • Threaded discussions on related topics
  • Surveys about practices and results with survey results posted
  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section
  • Lists of contacts and resources
  • Annotated Bibliography or Webliography
  • Links page
  • Critiques of paper and presentations
  • Downloadable PowerPoint Presentations for use by members of the learning community
  • Chat rooms to discuss topics or issues

Summary: Web pages can be used to create a network among students and alumni to foster lifelong learning, networking, and updating of knowledge and beliefs. This is a very valuable activity as we enter the knowledge based twenty-first century. (Drucker, 1999) Faculty can generate student interest and involvement using web pages as a medium for publicly sharing the results of their work. The professional world can be brought in as well to help evaluate and add to the knowledge base.
References

DeVito, J. (1996). The learning organization. In R. Craig (Ed.), The ASTD training and development handbook .

Drucker, P. F. (1999). Management Challenges for the 21st Century. New York: HarperCollins, Inc.

Senge, P. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and science of the learning organization. New York: Currency Doubleday.