TJP TEACHER APPROACHES

"For students who don't like to write, it's very motivating.  Also, this group of students (basic writers) usually isn't as computer savvy as higher levels of students.  Many of them have poor typing skills.  So it gives them practice on the computer in a fun way.  And it opens up class discussions.  Shy students who don't like to speak up in class can still share their ideas through TJP" --Kate Mangelsdorf

"Online journaling provided an excellent mechanism for the pharmacy program to document longitudinal service-learning experiences. The forum encouraged on-line dialogues among students and with the instructor.  Development and changes in student perceptions of their community and role as pharmacists were noted over time" --Jeri Sias

"Often, even with an activity, students don't grasp what we're talking about until much later.  TJP lets them demonstrate that they have grasped a chapter concept, or a method, and it allows me to have them cogently apply such a concept or methodology"  --Michael Rowley

"Some of the activities, e.g., peer reviews, I use with TJP I have also used with other technology, specifically, with WebCT.  There are, I believe, two great advantages to using TJP for peer reviews in a virtual environment: it is less cumbersome for me and for students and its design facilitates a different but richer sort of peer review experience.  Obviously, the outcomes of these two advantages are imbricated.  That is, a technology that is easier to use not only encourages students’ participation, but this relative ease of use also encourages greater productivity when students participate" --Helen Foster

"The Journal Place creates an environment that enables the instructors to “peek into” the students’ minds to determine, for example, whether or not the students have successfully understood the material presented during the class.  In the University Seminar course that EPO taught, one class session was dedicated to goal setting.  It was apparent from the journal entries that the majority of the class did not understand short- and long-range goals.  It enabled the EPO professional staff to re-invent another approach for the very next class session that ultimately proved to be successful.  Without The Journal Place, this failure would not have been discovered until examination time – in most cases, too late.  TJP can thus be referred to as a “just in time” intervention tool – a tool that is particularly necessary in a class of this type" --Elsa Villa and Gabby Gandara

"In one class, a student brought in a web camera and demanded that every student have their picture taken so that everyone would know who is doing the writing.  Or, in the student's words," I want to put a picture to the words." --Rose Galindo