Creative Design Solutions in the Traditional Classroom

Since I'm not currently working as an Instructional Designer but as a teacher, I find myself connecting these articles to my classroom experience. Designers being forced to use standard templates seems to be a concern, but if a designer incorporates some creativity and thinking "outside the box," these templates can become engaging and help provide some relevant instruction to the learner. In the traditional classroom, teachers are often required to present content based on standards and sometimes even be given material that must be taught verbatim out of a textbook.
An example of this would deal with test preparation. Our districts subscribe to series that claim to be the best at preparing students for the PSSA tests. The content is standard but the delivery and scripts involved in teaching it from the books leaves something to be desired. Teachers, on a weekly basis, must find ways to present this information and testing strategies in a creative manner that will hold students' attention. It was an good point that Kabrene made about instructional designers in the corporate world having to whiz through ADDIE in such short amounts of time, but classroom educators also sometimes have a short turnaround time between units and lessons where creative strategies need to be adjusted. Not that we have to go through the ADDIE model every time (thank god), but we are constantly designing a lesson, developing and performing it, and then reflecting and evaluating.

E-Learning and Differentiated Instruction - Part I

As I've tried aimlessly to find resources out there for computer teachers, I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to figure this thing out on my own. It truly amazes me the amount of material there is out there for incorporating technology into every discipline except for "technology." With that said, I had a couple of thoughts as I sat through an Instructional Practices in-service in which I had to add differentiation into my next five days of lesson plans. (which by the way...is not exactly easy to do when you are a computer teacher...but that's another thought for another day)

I label this post as part I, because I am certain that when I have more time to mull this idea over, I'm going to be able to better condense my thoughts on the subject. Right now I have so many different ideas going through my head that I know it will take some time to sort out.

As I sat there trying to come up with ways to differentiate my lessons, all that kept running through my head were the first 4 chapters of the book that we are reading for this class. For those of you who are not reading it...I highly recommend it to you. The first chapters give specific examples of learning activities that fit into the various categories of elearning. I plan, in my next couple posts, to look at elearning and how it can be a valuable tool in the differentiated classroom. I am certain that there is documentation out there that will help to tie these two ideas out there so that is where I will now direct my focus...

Here's hoping this quest proves to be more successful.........

Digital Storytelling

How do we engage learners attention? Well, I suggest telling a story. But telling a story over Centra is a lot different than watching someone in person, moving around, using visual cues and other forms of imagery / effects to help keep the listener focused, engage and entertained. So how do we keep our learners engaged in some terribly boring e-learning segments? Again, I suggest telling a story, a digital story.

So I began to look around the web for some educational uses of storytelling digitally and I was surprised at the number of higher education institutions that are developing digital storytelling for educational value. One of my favorite sites was within the University of Houston's Instructional Technology Program.

The following is from their site, http://www.coe.uh.edu/digital-storytelling/default.htm,
that I highly suggest viewing for a couple of minutes if telling stories interests you.

Digital Storytelling is a fantastic way to engage students, teachers and just about anyone else who has ever wanted to be the next Ken Burns or Steven Spielberg. There are many different definitions of "digital storytelling," but in general, all of them revolve around the idea of combining the longstanding art of telling stories with any of a variety of available multimedia tools, including graphics, audio, video animation, and Web publishing.


A great way to begin learning about Digital Storytelling is by watching a digital story. One of our favorites is The Look, a personal narrative about how an educator teaches science fiction. The story is told in a humorous and interesting manner filled with little known historical information on the subject and uses still images and video from famous science fiction stories and films integrated with historical resources.



I think this is a great blend of technology and multimedia to engage a learner in an interesting manner. This also is has roots in the traditional art of telling stories that has captivated people throughout the ages. I would like to see the use of such media being developed by some of our fine and creative students within the IIT. I bet there would be some great stories to tell!

University gives iPhones to students

I heard tell about the first university to give iPhones or iPod Touches to its students (incoming freshmen). The link is listed below.
http://www.smstextnews.com/2008/02/abilene_christian_university_first_in_us_to_give_iphones_to_students.html

I'm still looking for the actual news release....nevermind, I found it.
http://www.acu.edu/news/2008/080225_iphone.html

This is terrific!! The school has partnered with Apple and plans for freshmen to "...use the iPhones or iPod Touches to receive homework alerts, answer in-class surveys and quizzes, get directions to their professors' offices, and check their meal and account balances..."
Like wow!

I think that this is definitely a sign of things to come for technology and education. The best part about this is that the students aren't required to buy the devices, like they have to for their text books. This ensures that they all have it. The downfall, students will have to find new excuses for missing class and assignments :o)

I have a lot more to share on this, but I'll wait till next time. If you're thirsty for more and just can't wait, check out the links.

Blackboard

Along with taking three classes this semester I am also currently working on my internship. I know a bit an over achiever... but I wanted to be done in May and not mid summer. Anyway, I am currently co working on a project online, more specifically on Blackboard. My co intern and I read a book titled "My freshman year" which is about a anthropology teacher that enrolls in an University as a freshman. She wrote about her experience on the side of the student rather than the teacher. After talking with my intern supervisor, he decided that we should develop a training for Graduate Hall Directors based on this book. Basically to give them a different perspective of what an "outsider" sees. After all that rambling I am getting to my point, I swear! I saw that someone else's blog title was IT department missing something. After starting to put our training on Blackboard I have come to amazed with the capabilities that Blackboard has. Now I know there is a class that goes through some in depth discussions on what you can do with Blackboard but if I am correct it is only an elective. When scheduling for my classes somehow, without knowing about the class, I inadvertently ended up electing not to take that course. What a mistake! I am so amazed with the capabilities of a program like Blackboard. I definitly think there should be a mandatory class that both tracks, education and corporate need to take that deal with LMSs. In an ever increasing technological world, this is a fantastic tool to know how to work with, beyon the student level. Before this internship I never knew what you could actually do in Blackboard. Overall this is a very valuable tool that if I were a teacher I think I would use in every class. Hopefully when I get into the "real world" come May, I will be able to use LMS tools. I think that as soon as you learn how to use them, they are incredibly beneficial and easy to use!

e-Learning for Kids

I am always looking for ways to help my kids learn and try to make learning fun for them. I think the most essential skill to learn is reading but I also believe they need computer skills. This is something they don't get a lot of in school. Today I found a great website that will combine the two skills that I feel are important. http://www.e-learningforkids.org/ This is an e-Learning website for children.

This website is a non-profit organization that was established in 2004 that is dedicated to fun learning for kids from ages 5 to 12. They offer free online courses that will help build children's skills in Math, Language Arts, Science, English, Computer Skills and Health and Lifestyles.

This website is not just for parents, it's also for educators. Educators have free unlimited use to all the courses offered. Teachers can work with their students in the areas that need some attention and all students can work in the level that is suited for them.

e-Learning for Kids is also in the process of developing an open community that consists of a blog, chat rooms, design space, articles and much more. It's a great web site for the education world!

--Lynn

Open Source/Web 2.0 Apps in the Classroom (part 2)

Last week in part 1, I discussed potential advantages to utilizing Open Source or Web 2.0 applications in Education to teach the objectives in computer courses. This week - Potential Disadvantages:

1. Not to be utilized for advanced computer/technology education classes which require specific, possibly industry standard type training/software
2. Many students (within my district) do not have computers at home and wouldn’t be able to access the downloads or web 2.0 apps. (However, those same students currently do not have access to Microsoft products either – null point.)
3. Materials for class, or documentation, may be scarce.
4. It’s open source….not sure how secure it is. Is it stable? Is there a possibility that I might have to develop an alternative lesson plan for the day because my word processor isn’t working today?
5. School district technology staff run into support problems when there’s an error conflict with the network. Will the support offered through open source type applications help troubleshoot conflicts with the network that is running?
6. Compatibility issues?
7. Teacher training may be required.

eLearning at Work in the Transfer of Indigenous Knowledge

Tonight, I found a really innovative project based along the coastal areas of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa that has implemented various online learning methods to address environmental issues that coastal dwellers are facing in these regions. DLIST.org (Distance Learning and Information Sharing Tool) is a site that anyone interested in coastal development can meet and discuss the environmental issues that arise in coastal areas due to unsustainable development.

Recently, in online discussion groups, the topic of indigenous knowledge systems has been the 'burning issue'. The site defines indigenous knowledge as “knowledge acquired over generations by communities as they interact with their environment”. Indigenous peoples have demonstrated through their own use and application of traditional knowledge and their own survival that their knowledge systems are based on sound concepts. Indigenous knowledge is so valuable that the World Bank has complied a database of indigenous knowledge and practices from around the world.

DLIST is a place that offers online discussion groups, threaded discussions and a resource bank for information that is important to the very unique coastal communities that it serves. Online courses in coastal development, coastal populations and livelihoods, coastal and marine resources of the BCLME, threats, transboundary problems and solutions, and co-management of coastal and marine resources are available through the organization.

Visiting the site, http://www.dlist-benguela.org/index.php made me rethink the traditional definitions we have for SMEs in IT. I also thought about the first article we read for class, where the author made the comment that in the eLearning industry, it is primarily the client that we should aim to please. That the learner is secondary, since it is the client that is cutting the checks. Only in such isolated scenarios as corporate bottom-lining is that the case. There are thousands, if not millions, of learners throughout the world capable of transferring and acquiring crucial knowledge that effects the actual lives and well-being of others.

Elearning in the real world

While reading articles 5a and 5b I found it very interesting to get a glimpse of the real world of instructional design. I have always realized that the business world is different from the classroom but wow I don't think I realized how fast paced it seems to be. While completing the instructional design projects I never realized the time constraints placed on the actual designers. I can't imagine having to complete all of the ADDIE steps in under 3 or 4 weeks! That is crazy! If anyone in our blog has more real world experience I would love to hear about it!

Is the IIT department missing something?

For the past four years I have been working on my MSIT degree. Yes I did write four years! In my defense that is because I have only been taking two classes a year.

During my studies the focus of the course has been designing learning materials for adults and business. I know that business have money and needs so attention must be paid to them but I wonder if the Instructional Technology department at the university is missing out on something?

Recently the department has added an instructional gaming course and that is great for this is what I think has been missing.

My son is going to be two at the end of March (and if you would like to get him a gift he likes the Wiggles, Wonder Pets and money, have to work on that college fund). What I have come to learn is that there is an enormous market for eLearning tools for the young and very young.

Let me list some of the things for a two year old, all of which my son loves. You have video game systems like little leaps. The controller is designed with only three buttons but he can control the action on the DVD.

Then there is TV stations like Noggin and Disney (only early in the morning for Disney) that do not show commercials and all the shows have educational benefit. These stations also have websites with numerous educational games to play. Many are about colors, counting and the alphabet, but remember it is for preschool children.

Final I mention the latest thing that my son likes which he calls the baby DVD. The Your baby can read DVD set based on the research of Robert C.Titzer, Ph.D is amazing. The children love it and do learn to read much sooner with it. This is based on what I have read and seen. My son cannot read yet but I did just get the DVDs for his birthday.

Please do not think that all my wife and I do is let our son watch the TV we do not. JUST TRY AND TAKE HIS CRAYONS FROM HIM BEFORE HE IS DONE! What I want to point out is all of the eLearning available for such a young age and question if the IIT department should not be partnering with the early childhood department some and pay some attention to this age group.

My eLearning Journey - Harvard Edition

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go with 4 of our students to the Harvard Speech and Debate tournament. Since I only had one event to judge on Saturday, I had a lot of time on my hands to observe what people were doing with their spare time.

The most fascinating thing to me was that I had never seen so many laptops in one place before (other than Best Buy). Everywhere I looked there was a teenager working on a computer doing research, working on an assignment, doing a project, etc. etc. It was really quite amazing to watch.
(Side observation - even with all the kids who had laptops...out of the hundreds of adults I observed in the same place...I saw only 17 adults with laptops)

So it got me thinking…here’s a perfect environment for elearning opportunities. As a teacher, if I know that a student is going to be out – for whatever reason – I can provide them with online materials and resources so that they don’t end up falling behind in their classwork. Or, even more exciting, I could provide enrichment activities or work for those students who either have a high level of interest in the subject or just want to learn more.

As I think about the different ways that I can incorporate technology in my classroom, I definitely believe that providing students with an online resource whether it be video lessons, tutorials, drill and practice, anchoring or enrichment activities, opens up a whole world out there.

Surprisingly, even as a computer teacher, I’ve been hesitant to make the leap from traditional teaching methods to a combination of blended methods. I think that a lot of that has to do with my inability to let go of my ideas that drill and practice is so important. I’ve always believed that the ability to apply a concept in real-world scenarios is important, but you can’t do that until you learn the material first. This is why I am thrilled that I’ve discovered that drill and practice has a place in elearning.

Ultimately, the point of my ramble here is that technology is definitely here to stay. In some cases, it has become such a part of our lives that we can't even remember a time when we didn't have it. (Funny side story...the other teacher that was at Harvard with me didn't have a cell phone...me and the three girls spent 4 hours trying to get into his head to try to figure out where he might have gone (in the entire city of Cambridge, MA) so that we could find him to head home...what did we ever do before cell phones ? ) As the upcoming generations embrace it and it becomes so integrated into our daily lives, I too need to embrace it and harness the potential that it carries. (again...going back to my earlier observation that hardly any of the adults had laptops with them and those that did were definitely under 35) As I’ve often said, I refuse to use technology just for the sake of it. I believe that it has a place and the more that I learn in this class, I am discovering where that place is and my role in making sure that it is used correctly and in the most useful way possible.

My investment in e-Learning

Somewhere between browsing for some interesting information on e-learning, searching for an internship, writing my RFP, programming on a mobile device, listening to a podcast, reading hundreds of pages in 4 different books and watching some Lynda dot come to ease the cursing at my coding, I came across some nice figures. The e-learning guild published eLearning Salary and Compensation Report. This figure was based on 4,324 responses. "We actually have 5,100 people that have supplied information via their member profiles, but because we have a “freshness” filter we only show data that is less than a year old."

I printed this figure out, and put it next to my monitor so when 2 am hits and I am about as confused as when I started the day, I know there will be a nice reward waiting for me at an interview table somewhere. I hope to agree with the author in a couple of months and even more so in a couple years when he said "Nice to see that experience and education appears to pay off."

The best first online class ever!

My experience with this eLearning Concepts class has been "far out"! As I read articles and other students' experiences, I can't even imagine having a boring, glorified Power Point type online class. This being my first online class, I didn't know what to expect. Now that I'm in, it's more than I could ever imagine. It has exceeded my expectations in so many ways....ways that I didn't even know. This is the best first-online-class I could have taken! I believe it has set my expectation bar very high for online courses.

I only wonder...what would this class be like if we didn't have our weekly meeting? With as much responsibility that falls on me, the student, outside of class, still having to commit myself to a weekly meeting maintains my teacher-student relationship. A relationship that isn't much different from a traditional classroom's. I wouldn't even know where to start to imagine this class without the weekly meeting and interaction. Would it fall into the pattern of other less desirable online courses? Would the ability to stop the instructor and say, "I don't get it, could you say that again?" change everything? Would my interest diminish? Would I care more or less? Would I work harder or slack off more?

In my humble opinion, I don't want to find out.

Grassroots Networking in Austrailia Through eLearning

Continuing on the issue of accessibility, I discovered an interesting and innovative project that's happening in Australia. Not only in this country, but on a global scale, under-served communities, that live both in rural locations and within the underbelly of the urban jungle, face many social challenges due to the lack of accessibility to human services, technology, and media. That's not to say that these communities don't have the same needs as the more privileged portions of the population. In fact, there is perhaps more of a need for access to education and information, since actual resources (such as social infrastructure) may not be available to under-served communities.

The Grassroots Networking Foundation (http://www.grassroots.org.au/)is a website that posts innovative opportunities for technological solutions to social problems. One opportunity was a grant offering by the Australian Flexible Learning Framework http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/.

The objective of the funding is to:
• help community providers, educators and learners utilize e-learning as a tool to increase access to, and participation in, formal or informal vocational education and training,
• target a disadvantaged group (such as long term welfare recipients, return to work mothers or people in remote locations) and use a ‘whole of community’ approach to engage them in learning, through e-learning,
• support communities to be aware of and tap in to existing e-learning resources.

I appreciate this project's sense of social repsonsabilty, and the way they are addressing challenging social problems through technology.

Hot Potatoes!

I have been working on my HotPotato exercises which are due next week and I am loving this new technology. I love this technology because it is so easy to use and very beneficial in creating practice activities for the classroom. I am definitely going to make this one of the resources listed in my webliography. I haven't been able to work on my webliography much because of projects due in my other class. I just recently completed a technology integration paper that utilizes project management. I realize it may be differing a bit from the technical aspects of elearning but it is a very important subject matter when it comes to working with technology. Reviewing project management really made me take a broader look at the perspectives outside of the elearning classroom. I have been faced with such questions as how would I be able to present the benefits of my elearning course to administrative officials if the need arises. I have also asked myself the question how will I manage any other aspects of the course such as potential problems and their solutions. Getting back to the technical side of this entry I also learned how to create a gantt chart using Excel. I think that being able to use the technology in this way allowed me to use an "old horse" in a new fashion. I am curious about the other possibilities of using Excel. If anyone has any suggestions please feel free to share via a comment.

Today's Instructional Design

I read a very interesting blog today if you would like to have a read please feel free to click on the link http://www.cramersweeney.com/cs_id/trainingblog/2008/02/todays-instructional-designer.htm.



Well being involved within the instructional design field i thought that this blog to be very true of today's society. It is basically saying that with all the new and update technology that is on the market now you either have to adapt to it or fall because if you are not current with the trends you will fail as an instructional designer, because learners are wanting to learn using the current and fashionable techniques and technologies. For instance the iphone, other hand held devices as well as flash and other mutlimedia applications that makes the training more 'life like' and enjoyable to use and learn from.



Furthermore the blog goes on to talk about how if you are an effective instructional designer you have your finger on the pulse and are able to adapt to the situation. If you as an instructional designer can do this you are very recruitable because of your versatility. So make sure you do your very best to keep updated on all that is going on in this rapidly growing market.

Brainstorming: Open Source Aps in the Secondary Classroom (part 1)

Would it be beneficial on the secondary level, to utilize and teach Open Source software (such as Open Office) or Web 2.0 applications, to fulfill the course objectives defined with the computer education classroom?

Honesty Alert: I haven’t actually used much more than Google’s documents/spreadsheet applications and have light experience with open office. Therefore, I’m not sure if all of this will completely make sense, but I’m simply going to brainstorm some potential advantages of incorporation within the secondary level classroom for now. Next week, I'll tackle possible disadvantages. In the meantime, feel free to add advantages, thoughts, comments on this subject matter to this post. Futuristically, and idealistically, I should/will research how Open Source or Web 2.0 has been (or is currently being) implemented into actual educational situations.

Additional note: I'll refer to a word processor as the "for instance" type scenario, but can be applied to other applications.

Potential Advantages:

1. The almighty dollar – much less costly site license for the district. Monies can go toward computer hardware within the school system, textbooks, supplies, SMART boards (or teacher salaries, of course.)
2. Many times students bring in MS Works files, or other equivalent, which cannot be opened with the MS Word product used at school. We cannot expect guardians/students to buy software that specifically matches the school’s. It can be expensive and the substitutes are not always compatible with the environment utilized in class. For instance: students often get those weird little squares and become distressed when attempting to submit an assignment the day it’s due.
3. Those utilizing the same open source software/application will have the latest updates and will be able to open the file whether they are located at home or school. For instance: we utilize the latest version of Microsoft Office. If they take their file home where a possible early version of Microsoft Office is active, they may/will encounter issues opening up the file.
4. Considering Web 2.0 applications such as google’s “Documents” - when absent from class, the student can (from home) continue to work on a previously started file during class. The same file can be accessed through their gmail account. No necessary flash memory (or other tangible alternative) to backup files.
5. Students may be able to acclimate from one word processor to a different word processor better. Right now, people are timid to try something new. Are we hooked on Microsoft Office here at PMSD? Seems like students don’t know what to do when they come to another word processor, which sorta boggles my mind. Not sure if this 'advantage' is realistic, but somehow, I have to wonder if students might be able to acclimate easier to other word processors in an Open Source environment. Perhaps the teacher should demonstrate how to use different types of word processors?
   
6. Files, for some applications, may work across various computer platforms.
   

Struggling with Instructional Strategies?

After reading the article on "Putting the Learning Back Into e-Learning," I looked around on the Internet for a resource to help online course designers with strategies for delivering instruction. As a school teacher, I have a bunch of techniques and activities that I use on a daily basis and I can draw on my education background for help with developing the instruction. I know in my Advanced ID course, our product was very linear and just kind of "read and click." I thought that the method of teaching our learners was lacking and that translated into a boring regurgiation of information from our SME. Not that our product was poor, but from the standpoint of an educator, I felt like our product was just a glorified PowerPoint with very basic strategies for imparting the information to our students.

Anyway....the following link gives a bunch of different, practical activities that can be used in online courses. Hope it is useful.

http://www.ion.illinois.edu/resources/otai/

Simulations

I have been hearing more and more about online simulations and how extensive they are becoming along with how realistic. Take the Nintendo Wii game Trauma Center for example. For those of you who have never seen or heard of it before, it is a game where the player acts as a surgeon. They use both the Wii controller and the nunchuck to perform "operations." Not too long after the game was introduced, medical researchers and specialists announced that they will be implementing simulations like this to prepare surgeons for surgery. I found this to be incredibly interesting. Imangine a nationally ranked surgeon in a break room playing Trauma Center before opening up his/her next patient. Simulations such as the Wii game is going to be implemented in these hospitals to prepare these surgeons before going into the operating room. I am not saying that they are using them to teach the surgeons how to perform these operations, but just getting into a mental mind set and practice right before they operate. Do you think you would feel safer goind under the knife held by a surgeon who practiced on the Wii, using the same game your 13 year old nephew plays on a daily basis after school.

Wikipedia

I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Donald Kirkpatrick speak this past Wednesday on his training evaluation model. Before he spoke to us I went to Wikipedia and did a search on Dr. Kirkpatrick. I was surprised that there was so little information posted in Wikipedia about Dr. Kirkpatrick and his training evaluation model. I was surprised since this model means so much to instructional designers and eLearning courses. I thought to my self here I am in an eLearning website and there is so little posted about the topic. There was a link you could go to that gave more information but none the less I still was surprised by the lack of information at Wikipedia.

Maybe there is some copyright issue but none of the graphs or diagrams that Dr. Kirkpatrick showed are on Wikipedia's page on Dr. Kirkpatrick.

It has shown me that Wikipedia is useful but it certainly is not the end all for accessing knowledge.

Adobe Education eSeminar Series

I recieved and interesting email today. Adobe education and industry experts are offering free online e-Learning seminars. These sessions will show you ways to prepare engaging curriculum, allow students to show what they learned, improve communication and much more.

The education seminars they are offering for k-12 are Education Workflow, Digital School Collection, Video Solutions/Visual Communicator and e-Learning Solutions for K-12.

The education semiars they are offering for Higher Education are Envisioning the New Creative Workforce, Adobe Volume Licensing and eLearning Solutions for Higher Education.

The web site is http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/event/index.cfm?event=detail&id=35838&loc=en_us&trackingid=BTBDG

Check out some of the classes. Some of them have already occured but the have more events coming up. If you are interested in e-Learning in education, check out the classes they are offering and register....they are free!!!

Microsoft eLearning

I was looking up some information online about eLearning and came across programs that Microsoft has to offer. Micorosft has their own web site for eLearning:https://www.microsoftelearning.com/specialoffers/ . On this website they offer different courses that you can take to better learn the programs that they have to offer.
I thought this was pretty neat, but could also occur as a problem. There are many people out there that have computers and internet but have some trouble understanding how to operate within them. For example there is a tutorial on how to manage through Windows Vista, if someone was new to computers, such as the older population maybe, how would they know to find this website to better understand their new computer. It's a neat to know it is out there for people who are upgrading their systems to Vista because chances are they know how to research information if they are having difficulties. Another problem with these trainings is that you need to have an internet conncetion to find them, still not all people have internet on their home computers. There is always the option of calling a hotline number, but it isn't always convenient to talk to someone on the phone while your trying to figure problems out, people usually tend to do things when it is convenient for them and at their own pace.
This type of eLearning is in all a good idea, however I think that they should have the same tutorials, on a CD that is known to people out there and that is accessable without the internet, so everybody is getting the same opportunity to learn their software.

Sidetrack - do online programs carry a stigma?

Although this is only the second week of blogging, I'm already taking a sidetrack from my original research focus (trying to find resources for computer teachers) to discuss some thoughts I've had in relation to online classes and programs.

I was recently speaking to another teacher in my building about taking graduate classes. In the conversation, I happened to mention that I was happy that I didn't have to drive to Bloomsburg this semester for classes especially with the unpredictability of the weather (since I live near Stroudsburg, it's over an hour drive each way). I said that I was taking the class online. She got really excited and proceded to tell me about how she absolutely LOVED online courses, because she didn't have to do as much work since there really wasn't a teacher and that she could do all the work at her own pace. She said she had six weeks to read a book, write a couple of papers and she got 3 graduate credits for it. I was shocked.

I then proceded to try to explain to her how the class I was taking was nothing like that at all, that I had an actual meeting time where I had to "be in class," and projects and assignments to do just as though I was in a "face to face" class. Interestingly, no matter how I tried to describe it...she just didn't get it. As far as she was concerned...it's an online class so there really isn't someone to be accountable to and you don't have to sit through a regular class. I actually found myself becoming defensive of my online experience...it was like I didn't want to be lumped in as someone who is taking the "easy way out" by taking an online class.

With that said, I think I may be spoiled by the quality of the online classes that I have taken as part of this program. To me, what we do here is true elearning. Call me strange, but if I wanted to learn something by just reading a book with no feedback, I'd take a drive to Borders or Barnes and Noble, grab a Starbucks and peruse the computer section. That to me is not a true online class. Nor does it even fall within the category of elearning.

The question this leads me to is this. Do online programs or courses carry a stigma because of the "bad" ones that are out there? Over the summer I was doing research to try to find a PhD program in Instrutional Technology...trying to make plans to continue my education beyond this M.S. Most of the programs are available as online programs. Instead of becoming excited about finding a possible program, I found myself becoming immediately extremely critical of of the program just because it contained the word "online." (again...perhaps Bloomsburg has spoiled me) I found myself wanting to know if it is just a correspondence courses wrapped up in the packaging of an elearning course? (I remember when I was young, my father wanted to learn hotel/motel management and he sent away for a book and some tests to take that made him certified) or if there is actual instrutor/learner interraction.

I've also looked into some programs at local universities. What is it about a "face to face" class that seems to cause us to be able to validate what we have learned? Not even to say that that any of those classes are any better. I've been in face to face classes in which I haven't learned 1/10th of what I have learned in my online Bloom classes yet interestingly, if I have a choice between taking a class online and taking a class face to face...I will drive the hour to Bloom and take the face to face class.

So I throw a couple of questions out there to everyone...If distance were not an issue...would you choose to take a class online or face to face and why? Secondly...do you think that online courses carry a stigma that might make people shy away from taking them?

Moodle

Hello all,
I am still busy working on my elearning webliography. Another great resource that I have found is moodle. Please visit http://moodle.org/ and tell me what you think about this resource in the comments section. I don't have alot of experience using this software but I would really like to try it. One of the features that made me interested in this site was the fact that they refer to their software adhering to pedegogical principles. Not to mention the fact that it is free! I can't wait to dig in a little further. Hope to hear from you all soon.
Kabrene

Abandoning Your Horse

The article from last week made me think a lot about the role of motivation in designing not only online courses but also motivation in the traditional classroom. My experience of 10 years as a teacher in public schools in two states leads me to the conclusion that you cannot make a student learn. The old adage, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink," would be a simple way of restating what the article discussed. Over the years, I've had classrooms filled with students who stare blankly at you when you try to explain the criteria for a new project, go over the information on a study guide, or entertain them with a glitzy PowerPoint. It's all about how you lead the horse. Even a self-motivated adult learner will experience content that just makes their brain numb if an instructor presents the material in an unappetizing manner or they don't see the relevance or use in learning it. Designing a lesson or course that is engaging can corral more students into your camp, but you will always have the outsiders that refuse to engage in the process.

My impression of the authors' attitude in the motivation article is that they cut their losses and that, my friends in education, is not very No Child Left Behind of them! Don't get me wrong. I do not think it is possible to motivate every learner, in my case adolescents. But I did have a problem with the notion that it didn't matter if those "outsiders" never took an active interest in my lesson. I want their attention. I want to continually try to get them involved, and I just thought it harsh abandon those learners who cannot find a reason to learn--especially young learners. It's like the authors of that article take all the time to lead the horse to the water but then drop the reins and walk back to town. If I'm going to take all that time to pull and tug that stubborn animal to the trough, I'm not going to just leave it. Even if it means I feel like dunking its head underwater.

traditional classroom VS online classroom

Article #2 talked about adult motivation. It essentially discussed how adult motivation is primarily intrinsic, so there is little that the designer and developer can do to motivate the adult learner. The best that they can do is design well and hope for the best. (Forgive me for the ultra short summary). The author brought up one issue that I have been unable to get out of my head. The online classroom has a 30% completion rated while the traditional classroom has an 85% completion rate. Why is there such a difference in completion rates?!? In the whole article, I don't think that question was answered. The closest thing to an answer was this: Completion rates is not an issue for the traditional classroom, so why should it be an issue for the online classroom.

Ok. So I would like to give my opinion on why there is such a big difference between the two.

No matter how great a program is designed, the fact remains that it's up to the user to use it to its highest potential and remain focused [during class]. In a traditional classroom, a student has to deal with the fact that the instructor is in front of them and will see them if they start fooling around. Also, there are other students around who will also be affected by his/her disruptive behavior. And there is no substitute for the "glare" of an annoyed instructor or classmate.

The online classroom is totally different. There is a lack of accountability and an absence of the "glares". It's easier to get distracted and easier to not get caught when you're slacking off. And unless you have an great online instructor who is constantly asking for feedback using green check marks, smiley faces and the occasional applause, you could be off checking your email, chatting on IM, or cooking a baked potato with none the wiser! All the responsibility to pay attention and do what you're supposed to rests on the student.

So if it's easier to lose focus in an online classroom, it only makes sense that it would also be easier to drop out of the class altogether! There's no one to say to your face, where were you last class? There's no "empty seat" for everyone to notice. And if you did get an email about your absence, you can just delete it (totally different from walking away from a conversation). This, in my opinion, is why there is a higher completion rate in the traditional classroom vs the online classroom. An online class/program will only be an effective tool in the hands of a dedicated & responsible user. Whereas in a traditional class/program a user can almost be "peer-pressured" into acting dedicated & responsible.

What do you think? I welcome your feedback.

Bridging the digital divide

I am continually amazed at how little the issue of accessibility to technology is discussed in the corporate eLearning world. It's often an assumption that anyone who wants to can just hop online and surf the internet.
The fact is, there are thousands of communities who still don't have dial up! The term coined for this,by media justice advocates, is "Broadband Redlining". Basically the large ISPs refuse to supply internet service to rural areas where it wouldn't be lucrative for them to lay down the infrastructure. From a business perspective, this makes sense, but from a social and ethical perspective it's extremely unsettling. How is it that in the age of information, such a large part of the population could be left out? On the positive side of this situation, there are companies that address this issue of the 'digital divide'.

Last night in Dr. Kapp's RFP class, we talked about how collaborations are becoming increasingly popular in the eLearning industry. With companies and organizations boasting a specific area of expertise, it follows that a creative collaborative effort of two or more experts, could provide very useful solutions to many social challenges.

This article, http://tinyurl.com/3ahos9, talks about such a collaboration. SmartForce eLearning partnered with the non-profit, Technology for All , several years ago. The goal is to eliminate the digital divide by supporting community based technology centers in the most under-served areas of the country.

Technology for All is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower under resourced communities through the tools of technology. They do this by partnering with local community-based organizations, corporations, foundations, technology providers and public agencies. Through these collaborations, they create educational, economic and personal opportunities for low-income individuals and the communities in which they live.

I was inspired by seeing this example of how creative solutions can be offered to help with some complex socio-economic issues, and I hope to find many more.

Article number two

For this second blog I decided to "vent" about the last article we read for class. For any of you who are doing the article reviews I found this article interesting but aggravating. The main point of the article discusses how the author wants to answer the question if learners can be motivated through the online environment. She builds up the idea of eLearning and how good it can be, but then at the end of the article she basically says that, no they cannot be motivated. I feel (not to suck up) that Dr. Nicholson has motivating classes online and keeps us interested. So, even though the article was outdated, I still feel that the author was wrong. I also feel that using certain wording you can make any learner have interest and feel that there is ownership invested in their learning. In summation I feel that no matter what training you are doing, as long as you know your target audience and can make the connection with how it realates to them, they will be motivated and benefit from your training!

Schmedley.com Checking out a new site

Well, just looking online a few weeks back on a friends recommendation and i had the chance to look at a new site in the making. Basically it is an online organizer a little bit like what google does. Anyway basically you can design the site however you want it on the screen. It is a multiscreen so you can have a number of different applications from weather, stocks, calander, to do list and many more. It looks very much like a mac interaction, i mean very modern with good and easily manageable user interface. If you have ever used or own an apple phone it is very simillar to that type of software.

I think that this concept is great for anyone who is on the road a lot and likes to keep tabs on all there business acquistions.

The neat think for me was actually going into a site which is under construction (alpha) to have the freedom to go through and 'play' with the site, and then provide feedback to the company on your thoughts, opinions,likes and dislikes of the site. I have to say i was very impressed and it would definately be something i would consider signing up for once i am working full time.

Not to sure if the site is still in the test phaze but if you get the chance check it out http://www.schmedley.com/ if not have a look when it is released in the up and coming months

It's Del.icio.us...

Over the weekend, this little E-Learning Concepts student got nosey. I investigated what the other non-bloggers of the class were doing to meet the course requirements set out before us by our learning contracts. Not necessarily reading all of the content, but my interest was especially piqued with the del.icio.us bookmarking site. I found myself creating my own del.icio.us account with which to experiment. Good Grief - What a valuable tool!

Members of our class are utilizing it for the purpose of documenting (or bookmarking) online eLearning tools, articles, or other various online educational tools. Many people posting on one del.icio.us account. As a teacher, I could have a del.ico.us account for my students to refer to for assistance, help, or even anchoring type activities when they have completed other assigned work. It’s one site that all/any students can access from any computer with lists of items I have specifically bookmarked for them to view. These bookmarks can be tagged so it can be utilized from any computer and can serve as a database of favorite links. For example, they want to find information on website evaluation, they can select the evaluation tag, and it pulls up those sites I have referenced in that particular category.

I didn’t know this tool was available and probably feared selecting it on the learning contract because of the unknown. So far, I’m not in the del,icio.us group, but this was the best find of the class even if I was a bit meddlesome. So, fellow blogger group, if you haven't yet poked around del.icio.us, allow me to make a recommendation.

iGoogle an eLearning tool?

I just learned about iGoogle on Wednesday of this week. I learned how you could customize your own Google interface adding graphics, links and other tools. I thought this could maybe be a help for those in eLearning since you can add list of RSS feed and blogs. It also keeps you up to date on a number of news items and you tube videos are also there. I feel with the number of tools (aka gadgets) that can be added to your iGoogle page and the fact that your iGoogle page can be accessed and where you jump on the internet there is a place for this in an eLearning class.

If you are behind the times like me and have never taken a look at iGoogle go to Google and look in the upper right corner for iGoogle and try it out. You will have to set up and account but all that is needed is and email address and to pick a password.

I'm pretty impressed by what is available for you to choose from.

The one disadvantage is that it will take a little longer to load the page when in iGoogle but it is like a mobile desktop.

Fun things, interesting things, eLearning aids = iGoogle

I am not much into politics but it’s all over everything; the web, the television and even the radio! I think this election is different from any other election we experienced. Did you notice how the candidates are using technology to promote themselves? Every candidate has a blog and there are hundreds, maybe thousand of supporters that write about them. They all include movie clips of things that happened or Thank Yous. They also include RSS feeds and an online community. You can now donate to their campaign online and find out what each candidate supports. This seems to be a bit different from elections in the past. I know I shouldn’t be surprised in this day and age, I just find it interesting.
I found a good web site http://www.huffingtonpost.com/; this web site has a lot of blogs regarding the candidates and politics in general. It not only has politics, it is a web page that links to all kinds of blogs. Daily features, entertainment, pretty much all the “hot topics”. It’s a pretty interesting web site so if you get a chance, check it out.

Lynn

Blogging

I am very excited about this semester. I have chosen many things that I haven't done before, including this whole blogging trend! I have read blogs before but never actually participated in a real informative and productive blog. I don't think writing on somebody's wall in Facebook would count much as an actual blog.

This is my last semester in the IIT program and last semester I had an e-learning experience in one of my classes. The experience I had was that my group members and I made an e-learning training module for tellers at a bank. Our module included graphics, audio and information as well as a test that the tellers needed to take at the end of the training. It was pretty interesting making this product and actually having people use it in the end rather than just for a final product in a class.

I think there will be a lot of interesting topics and information talked about throughout the weeks, which I'm looking forward to reading and discussing, due to the fast progression of eLearning and technology.

eLearning: A Boring Distraction

Gotcha. What a great title. One of the things that appealed to me the most about this week's article that we read was the idea of how to deal with distractions when taking an online course. I'm starting to realize the temptation to work on lesson plans for school, catch up on email with friends and family, and work on projects that will make me money is strong while I'm tuning in to Centra sessions, clicking "yes" and "no" to questions, and voicing my pleasure or displeasure during class with a blinking smiley face. As I continued to think about it, I came to one conclusion. I would have failed high school had it been online. But, that's not the fault of the instructor, the lesson, the content, or the way in which it is presented, in this case, online.

The fault lies with me, the learner and being able to discipline myself not to pay bills, chase my son around the living room without breaking my neck on a Thomas the Tank Engine, and dutifully say, "Yes, Dear," to my wife when she asks me to come upstairs for "just a second." (yeah, right) I consider myself an above average learner with a good work ethic, but since this is my first online course I have ever taken, I can see one of the things that always allowed me to do that has been the presence of an instructor peering over my shoulder checking on my progress. This has all been quite depressing when I realized I'm no better than the middle schoolers I teach who instantly shut off when I turn my back on them.

All of this has been a completely unnecessary preface to this link--an article that shares the same title as my posting.
http://www.management-issues.com/2007/12/5/research/e-learning-is-a-boring-distraction.asp
I thought the article was interesting in that it showed online instruction causes the same kinds of obstacles in the workplace. It discusses, in brief, alot of the same issues: loss of human touch, unwillingness to engage in online instruction, reluctance to use online instruction effectively, all of which are relevant concerns when dealing with eLearning.

Being that this is my first experience with online instruction, I do enjoy it in spite of all the distractions, but it does require a learner, at least in my case, to make some changes and exert more self-control that would not be necessary for me in a traditional classroom environment. Change is good and sometimes needed, but my question, as a secondary school educator, is can my students handle implementing those needed changes in order to be successful? This is just one question I have about applying what I'm learning in this course and trying to apply it to my teaching.

Just to clear things up though. I do not think it is a boring distraction. Ok? Dr. Nicholson? :)

Captain's Blog

This is officially my first blog. I am going to boldly go where ever it is that my interest takes me to investigate this ginormous field that is e-learning. My journey begins with you fine people in my last semester of grad school.

Starting this voyage off is in search of an internship, job or project, the start of a new career. I came across an interesting e Magazine article on the eLearning Guild’s website http://www.elearningguild.com/. Their e Magazine is named "Learning Solutions" and is dubbed as practical applications of technology for learning. Bill Brandon wrote the article “9 Trends That Will Shape e-Learning in 2008” which caught my eye.

Of the nine listed a couple in particular pertained to me in some way, shape or manner. The first one on the list “Business Conditions: Recession” reminded me of my choice to make the career change to this line of work. I previously sold mortgage for a company that worked with both prime and sub-prime lending (people with high to low range credit). The meltdown (people writing shady loans) of the sub-prime industry forced the company that I worked for to be sold and merged with another. I also think this began the domino effect that could possibly result in a recession. The company sale felt like a depression to the people whom worked at this company. I thought of this as I read the following

“Sometimes mere apprehension about the possibility of a downturn is enough to make organizations cautious in their planning and budgets. The most likely overall effects of recession will be to chill the consumer markets, to slow product releases and technology adoption, to negatively affect job growth, and to reduce or reverse the growth of budgets for training, including e-Learning. At the same time, in some organizations a business downturn could actually drive some instruction out of the classroom and onto the network. If you are in a business or an organization likely to be affected by a recession, you can expect closer scrutiny of your budget, and probably a freeze on hiring. Paradoxically, you may also see more opportunities to provide online learning in support of strategies put in place to deal with business conditions. You may find increased pressure to develop e-Learning faster, and to be more flexible in development and delivery. You may also experience pressure to outsource development rather than add staff or technology.”

During this transition right before I left the company I noticed some changes. The in house trainers were laid off (along with hundreds of others) and our managers seemed to have more meetings about how we can keep our sessions going. After brainstorming we had all began to work as individual teams to find information that would help us learn instead of selling selling selling.

We found that the new company we worked for had an intra net system with some great potential for e-learning. Although not very concise, they could have been effective to people who were very enthusiastic for learning, considering that sales people needed to keep the competitive edge to stay fed.

They had great information but it was scattered all over their system. They had recorded sales calls that could have been converted to a podcast type of tool as well as some training modules that if properly formatted, could have been delivered to everyone at their desks during down time. Now I think back to these events and wonder, will a recession slow the growth of instructional design or provide an opportunity to become more efficient? What do you think? Could this company had taken advantage and invested in some cost effective e-learning to help the people driving their business?

the middle way

I remember making the decision between the Corporate track vs. the Educational track was challenging for me, when filling out the application for the IT program. I was working as a project manager at a small non-profit based out of West Philly, that built low-power radio stations around the world. The mission of the Prometheus Radio Project was one that I believed in -to not only provide an alternative to the redundant media controlled by mammoth media conglomerates, but to help people actually build that media outlet together with their hands.

It seemed like a lot of pressure to categorize my future work into either the education track or the corporate track, since I'd been doing something in between. I thought of all the possible projects that e-Learning could be applied to in a meaningful way in the non-profit sector. While I was looking at some websites on the topic, I found this one:http://www.brandon-hall.com/publications/nonprofit/nonprofit.shtml-- about a book called, Making E-Learning Work in the Non-Profit Sector.

The book talks about the similarities and unique differences in the type of needs that for-profit corporations and non-profits have. The major obstacle for the non-profit being that most have little money, if any at all, to put aside for training. I'll be exploring the trends of e-Learning in the non-profit sector continually here, so I'll talk more in depth about this and other issues and challenges involved on this topic.

First experience of setting up a blog

Well i have to say i have been in and around the IT field for a couple of years now and i hate to say it but i have had limited experiences with blogs.I think my first experience with Blogs was actually through an assignment that a proffessor set for the class to do.

The website was Dr Karl Kapp's blog site and i have to say it was very opinionated about many different ideas within the IT field. Looking at how in depth this site was i was very unsure of how involved setting up a blog would be.

Overall i have to say it was relatively painless and with a little more time to investigate all the functions and options i think it will be a very useful tool to post my comments, thoughts and opinions. It is almost like a forum were you put down your discussion points or points of view on a stated topic.

IM and Texting - Educational Tools?

Recently, a colleague (Rose-Marie, amongst the co-authors of this blog) and I were discussing the following concept: As teachers within computer labs, would students be more attentive or respond more appropriately if we were to text students directions to assignments?

Considering this conversation, I discovered this article at TMCnet.com: http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2007/04/14/2508874.htm

This article demonstrates how podcasts and instant messaging had been utilized as tools on the college level. Students responded positively and even functioned better on testing. This article also relays the idea that spelling and grammar will post a problem because of abbreviations utilized while IMing or texting.

How fascinating to consider setting up a username for common IM services as AIM or Yahoo Messanger just for the sake of answering questions or entertaining a discussion within the classroom. Could it improve keyboarding skills if I maintain some type of proper technique policy? Additionally, our district is facing a dilemma with PSSA improvement. Might this be a way for students to gain practice with their writing skills?

I’m not sure my supervisors would give me permission to experiment or explore in this area. But it surely has piqued my curiosity.

The forgotten teachers

When I was trying to decide where I wanted to direct my focus for my blogging experience this semester, I tried to think about what might be the most beneficial for me and would be something I could use once I left this class.

The first thing that popped into my head was trying to figure out how to utilize eLearning strategies in a face to face classroom situation. So off I go on my jaunt to find a resource that I could blog about....la la la...google.com....ask.com....dogpile...lots and lots of sites, books, etc. on blended learning...how to use eLearning in a social studies class...an english class...a science class...a math class....hmmm....I'm a computer teacher....searching...searching...still searching...NOTHING !!

It seems as though..once again..the computer teachers are forgotten. We are constantly being preached to that we need to incorporate technology into our teaching...but, what happens when that's all you have is technology? Are there different ways you can do it? Are there resources out there for us?

I've decided to make it my personal mission this semester to travel to the ends of the earth to find resources for computer teachers...they have to be out there somewhere !!! If not...I expect that I will be starting a little underground network...

can't wait to start on my quest...I'm off to pack my bags...

Blog it

This year for my New Year's resolution I decided I wanted to get as much as possible out of my last semester here at Bloomsburg. The e-learning class gave me a great opportunity to do so. When we were given the activity sheet to fill out and pick options for what we wanted to do this semester. While taking a look through the list of options I could have taken an easier option and picked things I've done before or options that I have never done. I chose to pick all the options that I have never done before. The first being a blog. Technology never ceases to amaze me. When you look at what we have today and how dependent we have become on it compared to even twenty years ago. Even though I was brought up in the time of technology, growing as it grew. I still have such struggles with it sometimes. Now take a look at kids today, they are going to be so technolgically advanced they will be teaching us like we were teaching our parents. I just find it so amazing how fast technology improves. With all that rambling I am glad to be doing something different and doing my first blog! I hope you all find some interest in some topics that I chose to write about throughout the semester!Enjoy folks!

eLearning course types changing

I have recently been considering making a small career change. I've always thought myself capable of working in the CADD industry (Computer Aided Drafting & Design). I would think to myself, "Well, it's just a different computer software to learn, that's not too difficult." The difficulty only comes in trying to find the time to take the classes and the money to pay for it.

In my research I found a program that was offered through a local community college (Harrisburg Area Community College - HACC). The program was exactly what I was looking for and it struck me that this program was the epitome of how far eLearning has advanced.

1. The entire course was offered online, but you only needed an internet connection to submit assignments or to seek help from the professor (yes, there was still a professor).
2. Because it was asynchronous, you could enroll anytime. And you could work on the class materials anytime you wanted to based on your schedule.
3. To further eliminate the traditional classroom, all of the software needed came bundled in the course package with a one year registration. You're even able to download a sample of the course to see how it works.
4. You had 6 months to complete the program. But it had an automatic additional 6 month extension.

The thing that surprised me the most about this course offer, was that it wasn't your traditional "paper" class. Meaning, it wasn't the type of class where all you had to do was read a couple books and take a test. I that think that it's a real accomplishment for eLearning to be able to offer a drafting class outside of the traditional classroom. Maybe it won't be too much longer till more classes like this are offered. Making it easier for the non-traditional student to "go to school" :o)

Cyber School

Hi Guys!!
This is my first time writing in a blog!! My interest in eLearning is in educational field. Last semester I did a project with a Cyber School; SusQ-Cyber Charter School (http://www.susqcyber.org). I thought that was really interesting, I never knew that Cyber Schools exist locally. It’s kinda like taking a class at Bloomsburg online. I think this type of learning gives students with disadvantages as many opportunities as students that attend school in a regular classroom. A lot of these students have reasons why they can’t attend a regular classroom so this wonderful benefit for them. Now, with all the technology we have and eLearning, these students are able to achieve their goals and get a high school diploma. I think this is a great way that we use eLearning!

Lynn

US gov and the 22 century

Taxes:

It is tax time AGAIN and I am preparing my materials. I was looking around the IRS(irs.gov) and SSA(ssa.gov) websites this weekend and got to thinking why at this time with the resources available there is not any eLearning flash tutorials on topics at these sites? I found helpful links such as contact information, FAQs and other resources to help you but no online education lessons.

If anyone can find this kind of thing on their sites please share with me. If you do not maybe once we graduate we can make a sale? The government should update I feel and get away from paper lesson materials.

Seth

Hello

Hello everyone I can't wait to start blogging again on a daily basis. I have started a few blogs on this site before but I have not kept track of them due to time constraints. I really hope that this assignment helps me get back on track with blogging. I have decided to blog my experiences as I start to do my webliography for the class project, which will be on elearning tools. One of the first great links I have found is the following article and listings of virtual classrooms/web conferencing software that is available: http://jolt.merlot.org/vol3no4/hilbelink.htm. I look forward to completing this project and from hearing from all of my peers.
Kabrene