Online Teaching Certification Program: September 28th

I attended another course in the Online Teaching Certification Program on September 28, 2011.  The course called (Blackboard:  Communicating with Students) focused on the set up and management of communication tools within Blackboard.   In this class I achieved the following learning objectives:

·         How to Add Announcements

·         How to Choose/Set-up Email or Messages for Course Communication

·         How to Create/Edit Calendar

·         How to Create a Syllabus or Upload an Existing Syllabus Document

·         How to Navigate the Discussion Board from the Student and Instructor View

·         How to Create Discussion Forums/Threads

·         How to Assign Discussion Forum Roles & Moderate Posts

·         How to Collect/Tag Posts & Assign Grades

·         How to Create Effective Questions for the Discussion Board

September 28, 2011

On September 28, 2011 I spent the day at AUM.  I attended a meeting between the Information Services group and faculty from the School of Liberal Arts.  The meeting was called to brainstorm the potential use or viability of iPads within several undergraduate classes in the English department.  The faculty wanted to use the iPads to encourage more effective communication literacy skills, offer better research opportunities, and greater visual appeal in learning for face to face classes.  Hardware, software, and security program costs were discussed, as well as, the pros and cons of the iPads in relation to how faculty planned to use the technology within the classroom. 

It was determined fairly quickly that Netbooks are more viable, because they actually possess a processor, more memory, and a raised keyboard for easier typing.  The Liberal Arts faculty proposed to use the equipment on a check in/out basis and made the decision to go ahead with the purchase.  They planned to test the technology with  a few pilot classes and collect feedback through some type of online survey. 

After the meeting, Sandra and I discussed potential uses for the Netbooks in relation to collaboration between students during face to face interaction.  We talked about many programs that might be utilized through the technology.  Students could use an online meeting room; such as, Wimba, Yugma, Elluminate, or DimDim to share information during group activity.  Because of privacy concerns, we agreed it might be best to utilize Blackboard tools; such as, Wimba Classroom, Discussion Boards, Blogs, & Wikis to collaborate in class or from home.    Blackboard has elements that might be utilized in any setting…face to face, hybrid, or online.

We also talked about the research potential and motivational aspect for in-class use of the Netbook.  We concurred that it would be a fun way to add visual elements to the classroom experience.  Many students would also enjoy the technology because it would give them immediate access to information and would allow them a greater ability to organize the information as opposed to the traditional paper notebook.  I completely agree.  As someone who has (at times) had difficulty reading her own scribbled notes…the Netbook might be an attractive alternative to paper notebook chaos.  On the other hand…people speak on average 125-150 words per minute.  I am not aware of anyone that can type 125 to 150 words per minute…maybe a court stenographer? 

Many students have limited physical mobility or lack typing skills to actually use a Netbook for taking in-class notes.  However, the Instructor could very well give students the choice of how they want to take notes.  This would certainly ease the stress level within the class.  Another recommendation I had was to offer any pre-class training that would help a student feel more comfortable with the equipment.    

I found interesting information related to the use of Netbooks in the learning environment at the following link:

ISTE: Netbook

September 23, 2011

On September 23, 2011 I spent the afternoon with Sandra Vigilant.  We resized and embedded images in Blackboard for one professor.  We also embedded  videos for a liberal arts professor within his course content.  We had a few issues with html and had to adjust the code to allow the videos to open in another window.  

Later in the afternoon we used the Respondus program to import several quizzes into Blackboard.  Respondus is a Windows based desktop quiz making program that allows you the option to create Blackboard quizzes/surveys offline.  The quizzes were originally created in Microsoft Word.  Sandra demonstrated how to pull the quizzes into Respondus, edit and from there import into Blackboard. 

Online Teaching Certification Program: September 22nd & 23rd

On September 22 and 23rd, I attended two AUM faculty professional developmental courses in the Online Teaching Certification Program for a total of six hours.  The 1^st course in the series entitled “Blackboard Basics and Presenting Content” was designed to introduce the novice online instructor to the Blackboard CMS interface.    In this class I achieved the following learning objectives:

·         How to Create the Course Menu

·         How to Add/Hide Tools

·         How to Create Content Areas & Add/Organize Content

·         How to Add/Organize Links

·         How to Add Textbook Information

·         How to Create a Learning Module

·         How to Utilize Mashups and Add URLs & Tests to a Learning Module

·         How to Create Web-Friendly Content

The second course in the series entitled “Blackboard:  Assignments, Groups, and Grade Center,” focused more on how to create collaborative groups and how to manipulate the grade center.  The following learning objectives were achieved.

·         How to Create/Edit/Review Grade Assignments

·         How to Create/Manage Single Groups & Group Sets

·         How to Create Group Assignments

·         How to Navigate the Grade Center Interface

   

Khan Academy

Khan Academy is a free open source library of over 2,400 videos covering everything from basic math to calculus, finance, civics, history, science and the list goes on and on.  The site also offers fun brain teasers and over 150 practice exercises!  The site offers the share feature so videos may be shared through email, Facebook, and Twitter.  Lessons may also be downloaded.

Sandra found several good videos to use for the class dealing with the French Revolution.  The professor liked them and will possibly have us add the link to his Blackboard class. 

 Check out the French Revolution at the link below!
French Revolution (Part 1) 

September 14, 2011

On day 3 of my practicum, Sandra and I worked to develop questions for a graduate level MLA class’s discussion board.  The questions pertained to material from last weeks’ video lecture.  The lecture dealt with an interpretation of a book related to the experiences of a Holocaust survivor. Because of the subject matter, we both agreed that it would be better to ask open ended questions that encourage students to seek more information and link concepts.  Developing problem solving questions designed to create cognitive dissonance was my first choice. 

The topic is from a dark and often controversial period of history; therefore, we wanted to provoke discomfort and possibly uncover misconceptions through classroom participation through the discussion board.  We agreed that questions pertaining to themes of survival, fate/chance, poverty and religion in relation to individual and group behavior would garner a productive discussion.

We also recommended that the professor task the students to not only answer the series of questions, but to actively respond to at least two other students to encourage intelligent discourse on the topic.  In the online environment students can still gain the benefits of peer interaction through the discussion board.  By actively engaging in an online discussion thread, students can gain new insight from the different perspectives and knowledge/experiences of their peers.

I was surprised to see that the professor does not grade participation on the discussion board.  As a matter of fact, it is really unclear how students are graded.  The class is very structured online, but there are a few missing elements that I would recommend the professor do to make the learning environment more comfortable and organized.  I would clearly state learning objectives, grading protocol, and include a calendar for class activity on the syllabus. 

According to Knowles’s andragogy a number of things are needed in systems designed for adults; such as, clear course descriptions, learning objectives, resources, and timelines for events (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009).  I also suggested the professor might want to try a rubric to give the students some guidance on expectations about class participation through the discussion board.  I mentioned Rubistar which is a free online tool with many different templates.  Another link to help a teacher learn how to create rubrics is  http://712educators.about.com/od/rubrics/Rubrics_Writing_and_Grading_Rubrics.htm.

The professor also sent various media for Week 6.  He sent a PowerPoint with audio and a script in Microsoft Word.  The PowerPoint consisted of inserted images with very little text with the exception of headers.  We discussed how we could bring all the media together and appeal to visual/audio and verbal learning preferences. 

The pixilation of the images were not very clear because they were stretched to fill the entire slide.  We copied, resized, and pasted the images, into the actual script.  Our idea was to convert the Word document to PDF for easier reading and have a separate audio file for students to listen along as the professor read through the material.  After listening to the audio files, Sandra decided she would like to clean up the audio WAV files through Audacity. 

Audacity is a free open source audio editing/recording program.  It allows you to manipulate digital audio files in many formats including WAV, AIFF, MP3, and Ogg Vorbis.  You can record or import files and perform editing functions; such as, cut, copy, paste, delete, insert silence, duplicate, and split.  You can also customize the playback rate for each track.  Important note:  The LAME MP3 encoder plug-in is necessary to export MP3 files with the Audacity program. 

References

Simonson, M., Smalding, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4^th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Retrieved September 15, 2011 from http://712educators.about.com/od/rubrics/Rubrics_Writing_and_Grading_Rubrics.htm.

September 6, 2011

Activities:

I spent 4 hours with at AUM.  We met with a liberal arts professor at the new communications lab in the Liberal Arts Building to video a one hour lecture pertaining to a book review for a graduate level course.  Sandra has been working with the professor in the development of one of his classes online.  She is presently in the third week and has invited me to assist her in the final development of the class on Blackboard. 

We recommended that we split the hour long lecture into four 15 minute segments, because of file size.  We also thought it would be easier for students to process the information in chunks.  The professor agreed.  We shot the video and afterwards we discussed how we could improve the experience for future tapings. 

This was Sandra’s first time actually videoing a lecture.  Most professors send video files and have her add them to Blackboard.  It was also the professor’s first time making a video lecture, so there were a few glitches in the process.  I recommended Sandra have a short planning meeting before the next video and she agreed.  Because the video was spontaneous, it was difficult for the professor to make his point at the end of each segment and transition to his next point.  I thought some type of outline or simple script might be added next time to create a more polished product.  Sandra also made a good point when she suggested that the entire book didn’t necessarily have to be reviewed in the video…only the key elements.   Because students were tasked to read the book, they should make connections on their own. 

Discussion:

After making the video, Sandra and I analyzed the first three weeks of the professor’s class and both concluded the online version is very teacher centric with little to no collaboration between students.  Students are expected to read the textbook, watch the lecture videos, and answer questions through a discussion board.  It is a very traditional approach; however, because it is adult learning and a graduate level class, I recommended that a more student centered approach might be more effective.  According to Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek (2009), the student-centered approach works well with distance education programs, mainly because adult learners like to be active and engaged in the learning process. 

As for the discussion threads, it is obvious the professor uses the discussion board as formative assessment to determine student comprehension of content throughout the course.  Sandra noticed the students were not necessarily encouraged to actually discuss content through the threads, but simple answer questions related to content.   Some students probably do read other student interpretations of information to possibly gain another perspective, but there really isn’t any active interaction in the threads.   

Sandra and I plan to propose more interaction/collaboration between students.  I mentioned threaded discussion through a program such as Voicethread to Sandra.  I explained that asynchronous communication through Voicethread would possibly appeal more to “visual/audio” learners instead of the more “verbal” discussion threads the class is now using.  As long as class size is around 20 – 25 people Voicethread should be an effective technology to establish a “community of understanding.”  The professor must also ensure the thread stays on track and erroneous information is not shared (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009).

References:

Simonson, M., Smalding, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4^th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Adobe Captivate

I have dedicated myself to Adobe Captivate tutorials today.  I have a video training DVD for version 4.  Captivate is a great program for designing/developing product demonstrations, simulations, quizzes, elearning content, games, podcasts, and screencasts.  The program is somewhat complex, but it shouldn’t take very long to grasp the basics and build upon that.  I look forward to using this program!   

Survey

August 31, 2011

I began my internship at AUM with a two hour meeting Wednesday afternoon on August 31 with an AUM instructional designer.  We discussed a possible schedule and my learning goals for the semester.  I explained that I would like to view her daily activities and utilize my knowledge of instructional technology to participate in any projects or activities assigned.  Sandra mentioned the Addie model and I thought the model was a good place to begin.  We talked about the analysis stage of the model including needs assessment, identification of goals, context, and skill analysis. 

Sandra was working on a survey for the AUM website which will be available for students who might be interested in online learning.  The tool will give students needed feedback in relation to what type of technology will be needed to be successful in the e-learning environment.  Another important aspect of the survey tests students’ self-knowledge in regards to time management skills and self motivation.  The school may collect data from the survey and use the information in the analysis stage of Addie (analysis, design, development, implementation, evaluation).  



ADDIE Model