technology and a different kind of virus

Mention virus anywhere near a technology professional and the response is likely to be a cringe, followed by a series of questions: “Is your anti-virus software up to date?” “Are you playing safe on the Web?” “You’re not clicking on links in emails, are you?” Recently, though, higher education has been worried about a virus of the biological kind–H1N1.

I’ve overheard (on one listserv) more than a dozen colleges and universities discussing plans of how to keep their semesters going if droves of students are unable to make it to class, or told not to come to class to prevent the spread of swine flu.

One solution, or emergency response has technology coming to the rescue, sort of. No, your computer won’t make you better, but it might allow you to continue to conduct your classes at a distance. Here’s one example of a readiness strategy from the University of Oregon: <http://libweb.uoregon.edu/cmet/fluedtech.html>. They try to cover all the bases, from changing your syllabus, to widening the use of Blackboard, to re-thinking your face-to-face course as a hybrid.

In some cases, faculty will still be able to hold their classes and accommodate only a few students too ill to attend, but there just might be areas of the country that are so hard hit as to seriously affect semester completion. Are we (you) ready for that? Can you imagine how you might change your course organization and delivery to meet what the U of Oregon calls “radical adaptation,” particularly if you get sick? Perhaps the pandemic won’t materialize. After all, we remember the Y2K dud. But maybe we were safe, rather than sorry, because we were prepared. I’d start packing that teaching first-aid kit now.

Filed under: administration, communication, computers, document delivery, education, online learning, teaching, technology

Top 100 Tools for Learning 2009

Do you agree with this list of the Top 100 Tools for Learning 2009 from the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies? The table shows former rankings of items from 2007 and 2008, providing an interesting view of how some have jumped radically into prominence and others have fallen away. PowerPoint still ranks high at #10–I was surprised by that. Look through the list and notice how many of the tools are free and web-based, even though a number of proprietary software tools, like Adobe Connect, Camtasia Studio, and Photoshop are still indispensible.

Filed under: digital literacy, document delivery, education, free stuff, learning, open source, software, teaching, technology

form follows function?

I missed last Friday’s post because of all-day training with WIDS software, so I guess I should talk about such software and its application in course and program development.

WIDS (Worldwide Instructional Design System) allows you to generate documents from information you input into a variety of database forms, such as syllabus–in GREAT detail. I am a novice, having had the introductory training (only the first of two sessions) and just beginning to fill in forms for myself. First, I’m seeing how one of my own syllabi fits into the template; then I will probably see how it might work for both a program of faculty development and individual workshop planning.

But even as a novice, I do have some impressions of WIDS.

1. For faculty it’s a little overwhelming at first. After having taught and created syllabi at several institutions, it seems like overkill for faculty. I’m guessing that the up front investment of time is high, but that it becomes easier and more useful the more you use it. For the organized of you out there, it will beome the place for all course information modules. 
2. In the long run, it could help ensure that all your syllabi and course information is consistent from course to course. Could you be consistent using your own documents as models rather than filling up a database, yes.
3. The real value seems to be for program directors who need to organize standards and collect course data for accreditation. The ability to create documents about course and program requirements for new faculty would be an added bonus.
4. I have not seen how the software aids in course design, only in document creation. I have not found any forms that discuss course design, so I’m not sure how it lives up to that claim. 
5. If I can be forgiven one negative impression, having only gone through half the training, it is that the whole idea of filling in forms and conforming to a rigid glossary of terms is stifling. I would prefer that we promote and learn the core elements of good courses and learning methods and creatively design from those. Teaching is the kind of craft that works differently for different personalities–both teachers and learners–and there needs to be some flexibility to stretch for it all to work. I’m willing to be persuaded that WIDS can work that way, and will come back with an update, when I find out how.

Filed under: administration, course design, document delivery, software, work

SCRIBD document distribution

Tried my hand at creating a SCRIBD online document as a method for distributing documents. This one’s a handout I used at a spring presentation on building a Second Life island. What originally fit well on a two-sided handout went over into a third page in the process, but who cares about that since I’m not trying to save paper here? It is very readable and preserves my look. The header and footer text is more to the left, whereas the original was distributed in the corners, but that seems minor. This is the embedded version, which you could post on any web page; you can alternatively provide a link to the paper.

sunyhandout – Upload a Document to Scribd

Filed under: communication, document delivery, technology

flip that course 6

Read the entire flip that course series on translating traditional courses for online delivery:

1. Brainstorming
2. Course Layout and Syllabus
3. Communication Among Students
4. Communication Between Students and Faculty
5. Addressing Learning Styles
6. Packaging Content

Sixth in a series on how to translate a face-to-face course into an online course.

PACKAGING CONTENT

Following from the last post on addressing learning styles in an online environment, faculty need to think about how to package the materials of their course to present to students, allowing those read, reflect, display, and do activities to take place.

Reading and Listening: Your presentation of concepts and background information, of anecdotes and history, of facts and issues–generally called a lecture, even if you don’t pontificate from behind a lecturn–can be offered in multiple formats. And not only is that a good idea in itself, but it can help you break up a long presentation into multiple shorter ones that are easier to digest. Here are some examples, but consider using more than one:

1. PowerPoints with narration. Whether narrated directly into PowerPoint or using another software that imports your PPT slides, this is a good way to interest students. Your voice provides a point of contact that is absent from online text. Your inflection, clarifications, even your laughter and mistakes, help create a connection that adds to understanding. We are all familiar with how hard it is, for example, to use humor in writing, or to be sure that our readers are reading sentences as we wish. Here, you have a chance to use verbal cues to ensure understanding.
2. Audio podcasts. Maybe you don’t need PPT slides, maybe you usually just lecture and don’t even write on the board. Then you might want to simply record a lecture and post it directly on Blackboard or on our iTunes U site as an mp3 file that students can download to their mp3 players.
3. Print lectures. Many students appreciate reading a lecture at their own pace and marking it up as they read. If you lecture from notes, you could either offer those notes or expand them into a prose version. Even if you offer a multimedia lecture, you might want to provide a script to go along with it.
4. Video podcast. If you have the equipment or the time to go where there is some recording equipment, a video lecture can be another way to make a connection, one that is more like being in the classroom. Students will see and hear you and take notes as usual.
5. Discussion boards. If you usually break up lectures with question and answer periods, you can provide those experiences in a discussion forum. You will have to be clear about structuring when students should participate in them, by noting how many lectures or readings should be covered before participating, for example: “After reading ch. 1 and listening to the first lecture, begin your participation in the first discussion forum, called Ch. 1 Discussion. Be sure you know the guidelines for participating, found in the assignments list.”

Reflecting and Observing: Generally, your students get a chance to reflect between classes, and your online students who need to think before they speak will surely follow a schedule that suits them. But at some point, you need to see the results of reflection to know how the material is being processed or internalized. If you are used to seeing student writing only on two exams and one paper per term, you may want to consider several smaller writing opportunities where more frequent feedback is informative for both you and your students.

1. Discussion boards. You get double duty from discussion forums as they appeal to both of the Rs in the R2D2 model. Students can observe the conversations between their peers and you, and can also put their own reflections into writing–remember the old, I don’t know what I think until I see what I’ve said? Such forums can be a significant part of the course grade or a minor part, and you can get out of it what is good for your subject.
2. Reading/watching/listening reflections. Short reflective writing assignments, which can be as formal or informal as you like, give students a chance to think-out ideas away from the eyes of their peers, although you could decide to create small groups that would share reflections. This is slightly less immediate than a Discussion Board, where some students will respond as soon as they read a post. These writing reflection might encourage more self-editing and more polished ideas.

Consider such assignments as responses for all the media you assign–films, audio podcasts, performances, scholarly articles.

Display: “For visual learners, who prefer diagrams, flowcharts, timelines, pictures, films, and demonstrations.” Imagine how many times in the face-to-face classroom you ask students to look at something, whether it’s a website you bring up on the screen, your own diagram of an idea on the board, a handout of a photograph or drawing, or a library book you pass around. You know how such visual artifacts affect students’ understanding by illustrating new perspectives, and you need to replicate these moments online, as well. Incorporating the visual may be more regimented from your point of view, but remember that students can look again and again, whenever they need to look.

1. Ask students to submit photos and other “graphic representations” that they find related to a topic. They can attach images to Discussion Board posts or submit them to you to post.
2. Create a slide show or folder of images with clear connections to readings.
3. Consider creating at least one video of yourself, either presenting content that includes showing a visual object or demonstrating a process.
4. As suggested in the second post of this series, create a visual representation of your course in diagram, map, game board, story board, or whatever creative way you can imagine. There’s a terrific textbook on how to use critical theory in writing about literature, Texts and Contexts, 3rd. ed. (New York: Longman, 2001), that illustrates each theory with a drawn landscape, complete with roads and landscaping and buildings that represent critical concepts (stop by the office to see and example). I can’t tell you enough how these visual landscapes have helped me in my own understanding and articulation of complex theory.

Do Something! “For tactile/kinesthetic learners, who prefer learning by active doing, experiencing, hands-on, and often also group work.” Some task that requires a complete cycle of gathering, analyzing, producing, particularly in a group, will add not only a dimension of doing, but will go a long way in creating a communal experience. (I hear all the naysayers about group work, and you will have to set out your strict guidelines for group behavior.)

1. Assign case-studies to groups on the main topics of the course. Ask for their input on how to present their findings to the class.
2. Invite audio and video presentations. These could include narrated PowerPoints, interviews with relevant people in the field of study, personal performances.

Filed under: document delivery, learning, learning styles, online learning

flip that course 5

Read the entire flip that course series on translating traditional courses for online delivery:

1. Brainstorming
2. Course Layout and Syllabus
3. Communication Among Students
4. Communication Between Students and Faculty
5. Addressing Learning Styles
6. Packaging Content

Fifth in a series on how to translate a face-to-face course into an online course.

ADDRESSING LEARNING STYLES ONLINE: THE R2D2 MODEL

SOURCE: Bonk, Curtis J., and Zhang, Ke. “Introducing the R2D2 Model: Online Learning for the Diverse Learners of This World.” Distance Education 27.2 (2006): 249-64.

In our face-to-face classrooms, we might be more aware of the need to address diverse learning styles, or it might be that we have just become accustomed to mixing up the presentation of material without really thinking about why we do it. It’s the fashion today to present speech, text, media, collaboration, feedback–we live this way and so, maybe, we work this way, too.

There is a danger in online courses of missing opportunities to create such experiences. We might be tempted to present all material using one method, whether it is a PowerPoint with a text script or narration, a video lecture, or a written lecture. In doing so, we also miss the opportunity to address learning styles.

The article referenced here offers “an easy-to-apply, practical model” (250) particularly for online learning. Bonk and Zhang’s model focuses on “the type of tasks, resources, and activities that one may want to embed in an online course . . . to address different human learning strengths” (251). Here’s a diagram I created from the article’s tables to highlight the 4 areas in the model, read, reflect, display, and do. Click on the image to enlarge:

I have not included the technologies from the article, just the tasks. In 21st-century technology terms, we are moving too fast for a scholarly article to keep up. But check out the entire tables in the article, then make up your own activities around the technologies that will make them possible.

The point is that we are still responsible for addressing our students’ learning styles in online environments. The environment does not dictate a single method of presentation or work any more than our classrooms should. The R2D2 Model works with your own course design instead of prescribing a pattern of organization and serves as a reminder of the variety we can add to online courses.

Filed under: document delivery, learning styles, online learning

what’s the context?

Received a newsletter from eLearnCampus.com today, a trusted organization, and was happy to hear a discussion about a glut of content and a lack of good “context.” I’ve been thinking about that recently, even though we are primarily a face-2-face school and this company focuses on online learning. I see a lot of Blackboard sites, which in our limited version are deliverers of content. I don’t spend a lot of time looking at the features we don’t have, so I can’t say for sure that Bb offers blogs, wikis, or podcasting tools, but those would be the types of tools that go beyond the file cabinet model of most LMS. But maybe we should be putting as much emphasis on context as content.

I can’t say it better than the newsletter:

It is time to focus on context. In other words, we must move past the presentation of content to the creation of context wherein learners can can apply and reflect upon the new knowledge they encounter. It is a matter of moving beyond “knowing” something to being able to do something with this new knowledge (e.g. make a good decision, solve a problem, improve a process, resolve a conflict, etc.) [emphasis added]

I’m always worried that while it’s easy to say we need to use technology to advance pedagogical purposes in the classroom, it’s not that easy to figure out how to convert old-style exercises into new ones when the only technology in the room is one computer on a podium. For that reason, I like the writer’s focus on context instead of on technology:

Creative Learning Design

• Encourage active and applied learning via immersive cases, games and branching scenarios
• Challenge learners, allow them to fail in safe environments and to learn from failure
• Provide learners with opportunities for self-reflection

Enabling Community

• Connect peers and allow them to learn from each other
• Connect experienced pros with novices in mentorship relationships

Facilitate Learning on Demand

• Nothing puts learning into context better than allowing learners to access it at the point of need and then use it immediately

Learning context, learning environments. Physical as well as social and psychological spaces within which to learn. It has me thinking.

You can read the original article here.

Filed under: document delivery, education, learning, teaching, technology

my blog’s been moved

WooHoo! My blog has been moved to the new blogger! What a relief–now I can invite my GAs to post again, just when they’re about to graduate;(

Oh, well, it bodes well for next year.

I should be posting something about instructional technology, but I’ve been grading some backed up papers for the last few days. Technology gets the papers delivered (drop box, email, flash drive, whatever), and technology allows me to type in comments or print out hard copies to mark by hand, and technology allows me to return papers electronically–but I’m still reading them, thinking about what they say, and trying to critically analyze where they fit into a grading standard. That hasn’t changed.

Oh, wow. I can add labels (tags), now, too!

Filed under: document delivery, grading, procrastination