A Real-World Writing Project Integrating Mobile Technology and Team-Based Learning | Course Design - Faculty Focus

Dr. Lindsay Doukopoulos, lecturer in Auburn University’s English Department argues, "Teaching first-semester freshmen presents some unique challenges. You are teaching them not only your subject, but also how to be college students." 

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One of the best strategies I have found is to begin with a collaborative project that asks them to research their new home: the campus.

Outcomes
I designed this project for a composition course, but it can be adapted to any discipline because its primary outcomes are teaching students how to collaborate, think critically about their audience, develop 21^st-century literacy skills, and communicate effectively.

Components
Working in teams of five, students were tasked with creating one-hour themed walking tours of the Auburn University campus using Google Maps. Teams were responsible for collaborating to decide the audience, destinations, and design features of the map, whereas individuals composed the content that pops up when you click on a map point. Instead of an essay read only by me, teams submitted a URL to a custom Google Map that traces a walkable route through the campus with five destinations, each consisting of an informative article augmented by content from Auburn’s Digital Library.

To emphasize audience and raise the stakes, teams had to make their maps public and promote them through social media. Google Maps tracks page views, and teams competed throughout the semester to get the most (the winning team had more than 2,000 page views). Gamifying the assignment motivated teams to continue making edits after they received their grade, and the data rewarded the behavior.
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Classroom Management of an Online First-Year Experience Course by Kristi Garrett, Director of Instructional Design at Atlanta Technical College. 

Source: Faculty Focus