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Frank Vidal

Group5 (ETC677) - 11 views

    • Chih-Hsiung Tu
       
      I will ask each group several common questions and specific question on your group treatise paper. These questions can be responded by any of your group members as an individual opinion or as group response. It is your group decision. Please list five most critical elements of distributed learning system in distance learning.
    • Dallas McPheeters
       
      Group 5 collaboration via elluminate answers as follows: 1. Knowing the stakeholders 2. Choosing the right authoring tool 3. Basing instruction on the best pedagogical model (constructivist / connectivist) 4. Delivering instruction with appropriate strategies for online learning (collaboration, portfolio, discussion, etc). 5. Appropriate assessment tools (rubrics, peer review, self-reflection, etc).
    • Chih-Hsiung Tu
       
      Most of people probably would agree that all instructions should have integrated online technology. Do you agree or disagree? Why? Please at least provide three reasons with good literatures to support your arguments.
    • Corey Quinn
       
      During our group discussion on this topic, we can to the conclusion that integrating technology in the classroom is something we all should do, but it is still something that we have not fully embraced quite yet. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE, 2007) and the National Council of the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE, 2002) advocate the use of technology in education and suggest students should be provided opportunities to engage in technology-supported activities that enhance their learning experiences. Obviously the use of technology in the classroom is recommended, but there is a period of transition for most teachers. Unfortunately this period of transition is taking longer than most would have hoped. Old educational approaches based on traditional thinking aimed at specialization and standardization, are no longer appropriate. An education system needs to reflect the needs of the learner, be contextually relevant and prepare the learner for a changing society (Esbin, 2002). During our discussion we came up with a list of all the great things that incorporating technology into classroom instructions could provide. They are listed below, and represent what we came up with in just a few minutes of brainstorming. Integrated technology pros: 1. Links to relevant resources and web pages. 2. Ability to reach out to students beyond the classroom. 3. 21st century skills require 21st century technologies 4. More access to content beyond book and lecture. 5. Practice at distance learning. 6. Information is available anytime, anywhere 7. Convenience In order to move forward in a student-centered learning environment the learners will have to engage in different activities (Bhattacharya, 2009). If we expect these students to compete in a world that is so connected, we should provide them an opportunity to practice these skills. Integrating technology into the classroom is a benefit to the teacher as much as it is to the s
    • Chih-Hsiung Tu
       
      In distributed learning assessment (collaborative learning), it is very difficult to know who is doing the course work. How do we know the actual students are doing the course work and how can we assess?
    • Dallas McPheeters
       
      Group 5 elluminate collaborative answer is as follows: This is very difficult to determine. Online work should be combined with some synchronous interaction involving voice and even better, video to determine that written work matches with student's capability.
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      I meet with my online students by phone or in Elluminate at least monthly and ask them questions about their learning while viewing samples of their work. It is still very hard to tell!
  • ...18 more annotations...
  • There are many
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      You seem to have a different format and font style in this new section of your paper. I know it is difficult to keep up with the formatting when there are multiple contributors to a document.
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      It all looked good and right when we finalized it. I'm not sure what happened here.
  • Blackboard, WebCT 
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      Great job on the creation of hyper-links throughout the paper. This facilitates learning by allowing the viewer to navigate the page to review relevant data.
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      I got the idea (like so many) from Chih
  • Conclusion
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      Great conclusion. Having the support of administration and the department staff and faculty will facilitate everyone's leaning and reduce stress and frustration in a classroom that practices with technology for the improvement of education.
    • Janet Coolman
       
      This paper has valuable information and is organized. Change the font to an APA 12pt. and it will look much better.
  • PLATO (programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations) system was developed back in 1960 and was utilized up until the mid 1990’s
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      Interesting! I was not aware of this information!
  • The lack of expertise integrating technology in the classroom and online distributed learning platforms prevents teachers from utilizing the new tools that are made available.
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      I couldn't agree with this statement more. One of the reasons why some teachers are still resistance to new technologies may be due to the lack of training and support from administration. Educators should be prepared and encouraged to new technologies through seminars and workshops as well as seeing engaging behavior and collaboration from other staff members. Having access to 24-hour technical support while in training may also improve motivation and facilitate tasks.
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      Yes I agree and I love the idea of case studies that are relevant to individual teacher's situations.
  • Delicious Bookmarks for ETC677 Fall2009  
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      Glad to see you added your delicious bookmark as a hyperlink. This makes it much faster to find information.
  • Pedagogical Models and Instructional Strategies in Online Learning
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      This section is very well organized and the arguments presented are powerful and well researched. Pedagogical models are important in education and you included relevant information.
  • No running out of time
    • Janet Coolman
       
      I am not sure what you mean here. Classes still run for a designated length over a semester and assignments have time constrictions as well.
    • Dallas McPheeters
       
      f2f can experience more interruptions which can eat time. Though I didn't write this, I've experienced the phenomenon many times.
    • Matt Romanoski
       
      I also didn't write this section, but I remember discussing this point and I believe it is in reference to the fact that traditional classrooms have a daily time limit. A fire drill in a High School setting can really throw off the timing of a lesson...especially when the other periods get the full use of that time.
  • For some of us in the Educational Technology mas
    • Janet Coolman
       
      Font is too small and the font is not consistent throughout the paper.
    • Dallas McPheeters
       
      Font changes are a function of Chih's copy and paste. The original was a Word Doc that was consistent. Same for everyone's papers. Since groups did not post their papers here, this does not need to be noted.
    • Janet Coolman
       
      Dallas, I believe that font changes do have something to do with copying and pasting, but why do you think there are so many variations in one paper. Don't get me wrong, I do believe you. As evaluators we have to use what is before us so I mentioned it. If and when we get something like this from our students I think we need to know why it is not consistent. I also noted that Adrianna commented on this as well.
    • Dallas McPheeters
       
      Not sure if when Chih copied and pasted from the shared google doc or if he opened a drop box attachment and where things got lost in translation. I just noticed all the papers have issues and no one in this class is unaware of the APA style guidelines so I presumed. As for grading our students' papers produced collaboratively online, I guess we would have to modify instructions to specify font, typestyle, etc. so all the google docs come out the same or whatever.
  • As wonderful as the CMS or LMS may seem, learners and instructors are reaching out for something more.
    • Janet Coolman
       
      Is this fact or opinion? If fact, it needs to be cited.
    • Dallas McPheeters
       
      The proof is ipso facto, Janet. The coninuous emergence of Web 2.0 replacements to traditional platforms proves the demand for something more. This was one of the assumptions investigated in this course as I understand it. :-)
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      You are a great defender of our treatise Dallas! I'm not always good at citing everything properly. One day I hope to be a great researcher and paper writer.
    • Lisa Costello
       
      I feel that Group 5 provided strong details and support for the topics discussed. I, also, appreciated the links input in section II. This gave additional support to the conversation. I felt that the only issue, without naming which section, was in the area of proofreading. There were some grammatical and spelling errors. Otherwise, good job:)
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      thanks Lisa! I did sec. II Corey thought I copied and pasted them but I actually made the links. hmmm not sure if that is really APA approved tho
  • Group 5 Treatise Paper
    • Matt Romanoski
       
      I'm generally not very good at evaluating my own work. I'm very critical of myself and generally anticipate lower grades than what I get. However, based on what we are grading on I will say that I feel our group did a thorough job of researching the information and presenting it in a logical manner. I think are toughest point to overcome was to make sure it flowed and didn't sound like it was written by four different people. I do wish that the formatting had held true across platforms though, that does bug me a little bit. Otherwise my hat is off to my groupmates.
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      Hats off to my groupmates as well! Cheers!
  • Greater respect for the learner will be imperative to survival of any educational institution as society continues to move from industrial to information and onward to creative based enterprise
  • When developing an online learning community pedagogical models should be evaluated to provide the framework to design the online learning environment around.  The pedagogical models that reflect constructivism include; knowledge-building communities, cognitive apprenticeships, anchored instruction, PBL, virtual learning environments, cognitive flexibility hypertexts, and computer-supported intentional learning environments (Dabbagh & Bannan-Ritland 2005).  For online learning the strongest pedagogical models for online learning environments includes knowledge-building communities (Elliot, Cook, Monk, Burnett, & Lynch  2003).  Creating a learning environment with this focus in mind reinforces the concept of learning communities and connectivist based learning.  According to class discussion this can also include modeling based on microworlds, simulations, and virtual learning environments.  More and more technology developments specifically in Web 2.0 cater themselves to this model, which provides a sound basis for designing LMS with this model in mind.
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      There was so much to cover here. You do a great job of summing it up when it could be 10 pages alone!
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      I am amazed at how education is turning toward the needs of individual students in rapid fashion
  • The Need for Visionary Leadership
  • Because they are already invested, they provide the fuel for the learning themselves.
  • knowledge
  •  
    Group 5 Score:5 Overall a very nice job. A great variety and number of sources, including a nice focus on academic peer reviewed journals all add to the paper. Each section is thoroughly detailed with a nice amount of reference based support for models discussed. I also liked the discussion of both connectivism and constructivism in support of DL (though you could also mention socio-culturalism). In terms of weaknesses, the paper would benefit from a proper introduction (to match the nice conclusion) also sub-headings which the divided the sections were not in proper APA style (Heading 2, italicized). More time could also have been spent formatting as different font styles and sizes were mixed in (Each section is different).
  • ...1 more comment...
  •  
    This was a well organized treatise written in a natural voice that made it easy to read. In addition, the hyperlinks and extensive references allowed for deeper exploration and understanding by the reader. Section IV on barriers of distributed learning was a good choice for furthering exploration of the treatise topics. 5 points.
  •  
    Very nice explanation of the benefits of online learning. It was clear, concise and convincing. I also like the mention of the evolution from CMS to Personal learning Environments. It was a great transition.
  •  
    5 - This treatise paper was found to have great flow; making it easy to follow. I appreciated the adequate level of definitions integrated in, while also noting the great use of references and hyperlinks. The use of hyperlinks, especially Appendix, added great depth and substance to their work. I particularly enjoyed the examples and statistics provided which allowed for a better illustration of their argument. Additionally, I found the example to be very interesting as I am an alumni from Tucson's Unified School District (1997). A very concise list of references and strategically embedded references throughout the work. Nice work Team 5 !
Matt Romanoski

L7 Discussions - 2009 Fall ETC647 - 2 views

  • deeper thinking process
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      see above comment, my highlighter just kicked in.
  • deeper thinking process.
  • potentials to enhance our learning via deeper thinking process
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      I can't see my highlighter working. I hope it is working. anyway- my question remains the same, do you think these methods are likely to foster deep thinking processes and learning?
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • potentials to enhance our learning via deeper thinking process.
  • potentials to enhance our learning via deeper thinking process.
  • potentials to enhance our learning via deeper thinking process.
  • potentials to enhance our learning via deeper thinking process
  • potentials to enhance our learning via deeper thinking process
    • Dallas McPheeters
       
      Deeper learning requires many components, the most basic of which is an atmosphere of Trust. Trust is first and foremost and without it, true deep learning is touch to accomplish. Lack of self-confidence among students exacerbates an environment of distrust making deep learning doubly difficult.
    • Dallas McPheeters
       
      Here's one author's depiction of the ingredients necessary for deep learning to occur... http://uniques.com/images/deeplearning.jpg
  • Limited accessibility
    • Matt Romanoski
       
      I think even in terms of organization our course materials were very well organized in wetpaint wiki. Moussa, can you elaborate on this regarding your meaning for us so we can understand and comment? -Matt
  •  
    multi dimensional discussion
  •  
    Do you think that these activities really foster deeper thinking processes than traditional study methods like reading, note taking, essay discussion, and live discussion of the material?
  •  
    multi dimensional discussion
Frank Vidal

Group6 (ETC677) - 2 views

    • Chih-Hsiung Tu
       
      I will ask each group several common questions and specific question on your group treatise paper. These questions can be responded by any of your group members as an individual opinion or as group response. It is your group decision. Please list five most critical elements of distributed learning system in distance learning.
    • Chih-Hsiung Tu
       
      Most of people probably would agree that all instructions should have integrated online technology. Do you agree or disagree? Why? Please at least provide three reasons with good literatures to support your arguments.
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      Technology has become an increasingly vital tool in our growing society. The use of PowerPoint presentations upon lecturing promotes student interaction and improves student engagement with whatever the subject may be. The option to download pictures/graphics upon organizing my PowerPoint presentations has been a great instructional tool for my students. Teaching dental hygiene students the importance of patient education and providing the tools to enhance and perfect their skills is critical as an educator. Dental education has improved dramatically over the past 20 years. Technology has played a huge role in facilitating communication and collaboration among students. We now have web-based and software-based programs that are available to facilitate learning in 3D animation and HD footage for dental treatment educational purposes. MediaMed is a web-based tool that I make great use of in the classroom to educate my students on the various dental procedures. MediaMed also serves as an instructional component that not only provides patient education on the necessary treatment needed, but also increases patient treatment acceptance, which then improves the overall oral health of the individual. Eaton, Reynolds and Cox (2008), believe that the use of CD-ROM's have made a major contribution to the development of teaching practice and the greater availability of educational material for students. Teaching dental anatomy in the dental hygiene program utilizing ADAM interactive CD-ROM, has validated the necessary interaction between student and teacher upon lecturing. Today's computer has replaced all means of traditional communication significantly. Many distant learning tools claim to be interactive, but few can offer two-way communication. Email is the most popular means of communication medium now-a-days. Therefore, it may be used as an educational tool for learning (Rahman, Anwar, & Numan, 2008, p. 180). To imagine how one can function and be productive as edu
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      Sorry Group 6, I accidentally posted on the wrong page. Adrianna
    • Chih-Hsiung Tu
       
      In distributed learning assessment (collaborative learning), it is very difficult to know who is doing the course work. How do we know the actual students are doing the course work and how can we assess?
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      Having Elluminate chat sessions with participating instructors reduces the chances of students having others do their course work. Chat session personalizes each session. Besides, most online students are mature, working, adults. I presume they want to learn and participate since their own money is invested in their education. Mandatory peer and self evalutions along with personal phone conversations or chats at least once in the semester with instructors can facilitate assessment.
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      Sorry Group 6, I accidentally posted on the wrong page. Adrianna
  • ...18 more annotations...
  • Abstract
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      Wow, nice abstract. It is clear, concise and provides important information relevant to the paper.
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      I agree, nice abstract that ties all of the sections together.
  • Technology continues to develop,
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      You seem to have a different format and font style in this new section of your paper. I know it is difficult to keep up with the formatting when there are multiple contributors to a document.
  • References
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      I wish I would have seen your Delicious Bookmarks URL. It is much easier to follow and references could be shared.
  • What is online learning?
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      Your research on online learning was well organized, clear, and concise. Your paper provided relevant information and was easy to follow. I agree with your statement on acquiring knowledge being mediated by cultural and social factors.
  • Brief Comparison of Learning Management Systems
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      Your comparisons of LMS were well organized and provided important information. I was not aware that they require expensive contracts. I wonder what the numbers are. I was just introduced to Moodle this semester.
    • Dallas McPheeters
       
      Some schools pay $300,000 a year or more for traditional CMS platforms. Imagine what could be done with that money if a school switched to Moodle or some other Open Source platform! You could run an IT dept that trained students on the software. Hmm....
    • Matt Romanoski
       
      One wonders if given all of the recent budget shortfalls in education someone will wake up to this realization soon.
  • Group Treatise on Distributed Learning Environments
  • Group Treatise on Distributed Learning Environments
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      Overall, your paper is very well organized and the arguments presented are powerful and well researched. Pedagogical models are important in education and you included relevant information. However, I would have liked to have seen an introduction and conclusion.
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      Nice work Group 6! I learned a few new things reading through your paper.
  • how they can be optimized
    • Dallas McPheeters
       
      Motivating purpose. Good.
    • Dallas McPheeters
       
      hmm... don't see this purpose addressed in the conclusion... ?? Would have been a nice way to tie the thesis to the conclusion.
  • Recommendations
    • Dallas McPheeters
       
      This paper is nicely written in a concise way. However, the thesis of "optimizing resources" is not brought to a conclusion here. A sentence tieing this together would resolve the treatise in the crisp, clean fashion exhibited in your writing. Nice job overall.
    • Lisa Costello
       
      Nicely written. Information is well-supported and documented. I liked the statement regarding instructional design being dictated to. I did not see Delicious resources, Wordle, or Introductory paragraph. Good job Group 6:)
  • Recommendations
    • Matt Romanoski
       
      Good Recommendations based on the research. It is really difficult to sift through all the material so having a starting point to work from is helpful.
    • Matt Romanoski
       
      Overall I thought the paper did a thorough job of addressing the topic. There was some formatting issues, but I believe we all ran into this using online collaboration. Also would have liked to have seen your Delicious resources. Otherwise nice job Group 6!
  • n fact, technology has altered student expectations and thinking so much that technology integration is fast becoming second nature for many teachers.
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      Is this really true? It certainly needs to become second nature but I'm not sure we have arrived.
  • Online courses tend to be more focused on the student instead of the student focusing on facts and information presented by the instructor.
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      This is a great observation. I'm not sure why anyone would consider an online education any less effective than in class.
  • aculty must be willing to release control of learning to the students
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      yes this is a facinating idea. We still need our instructors to structure, guide and mentor students in the learning but students can generate the ideas and content necessary
  • facilitate learning
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      I think conversation is so key to learning. I hope as we move to distributed learning environments and new platforms that we don't get less interaction with our instructors but more
  • This knowledge creation and expression comes in the form of various authoring tools
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      This paragraph seems a little confusing to me. Maybe I'm just tired but I'm not sure the knowledge creation comes in the form of tools but the tools are used to express it. bah, maybe it is one in the same.
  • Collaboration is an instructional strategy that is crucial to successful online learning.
    • Christie Mitchell
       
      This is true for secondary and higher ed students, but what about elementary students? I am asking because I teach K-8 online and worry that they are too isolated but no one else seems to think this is an issue (yet).
  •  
    Great job on your treatise. I think that (like others have mentioned) it might have flowed a little better with an introductory paragraph, as well as some additional references. 5 points.
  •  
    Thank you for the abstract. It was a great summary that identified the purpose of the paper. This was also well organized, and you followed the instructor's suggestions of including the group discussions; that was something that we found difficult to do. Finally, I appreciate the recommendations at the end. It helped give the writing a purpose.
  •  
    4- This treatise paper is certainly well put together. I did have minor hesitation is allotting full points. I found the paper to be very informative and adequately descriptive of the material. However, I found that quantity of references was not as I would've expected. I also found that the paper could've used a final or closing paragraph to sum-up the covered content. I was certainly in agreement with the examples and explanations provided. In my opinion, this team put forth great efforts in communicating the prescribed content and material. I fully agree with the argument and statement that Online Learning brings forth learning opportunities with "no limits". A well-written work by Team 6.
Frank Vidal

Group4 (ETC677) - 4 views

    • Chih-Hsiung Tu
       
      I will ask each group several common questions and specific question on your group treatise paper. These questions can be responded by any of your group members as an individual opinion or as group response. It is your group decision. Please list five most critical elements of distributed learning system in distance learning.
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      1. The creation lesson plans in which students can collaborate in online group activities to have the ability to share knowledge and learn from each other's ideas. 2. Integrating a variety of Web 2.0 tools that facilitate learning and allow students to complete and submit assignments in a timely manner. 3. Self and peer evaluations to improve educational growth. 4. Educators should have means to evaluate student work and provide necessary feedback and serve as facilitators. 5. Having effective Professional Development for staff and administrators that support and encourage the awareness of new technologies in today's changing society.
    • Chih-Hsiung Tu
       
      Most of people probably would agree that all instructions should have integrated online technology. Do you agree or disagree? Why? Please at least provide three reasons with good literatures to support your arguments.
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      Technology has become an increasingly vital tool in our growing society. The use of PowerPoint presentations upon lecturing promotes student interaction and improves student engagement with whatever the subject may be. The option to download pictures/graphics upon organizing my PowerPoint presentations has been a great instructional tool for my students. Teaching dental hygiene students the importance of patient education and providing the tools to enhance and perfect their skills is critical as an educator. Dental education has improved dramatically over the past 20 years. Technology has played a huge role in facilitating communication and collaboration among students. We now have web-based and software-based programs that are available to facilitate learning in 3D animation and HD footage for dental treatment educational purposes. MediaMed is a web-based tool that I make great use of in the classroom to educate my students on the various dental procedures. MediaMed also serves as an instructional component that not only provides patient education on the necessary treatment needed, but also increases patient treatment acceptance, which then improves the overall oral health of the individual. Eaton, Reynolds and Cox (2008), believe that the use of CD-ROM's have made a major contribution to the development of teaching practice and the greater availability of educational material for students. Teaching dental anatomy in the dental hygiene program utilizing ADAM interactive CD-ROM, has validated the necessary interaction between student and teacher upon lecturing. Today's computer has replaced all means of traditional communication significantly. Many distant learning tools claim to be interactive, but few can offer two-way communication. Email is the most popular means of communication medium now-a-days. Therefore, it may be used as an educational tool for learning (Rahman, Anwar, & Numan, 2008, p. 180). To imagine how one can function and be productive as educat
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      Continued Discussion: To imagine how one can function and be productive as educators without the use of electronic mail is extremely difficult. Eaton, K. A., Reynolds, P. A., & Cox, M. J. (2008). Top of the pops-CD-ROM and DVD's in dental Education [Electronic Version]. British Dental Journal, 204(4), 203-207. Rahman, K. M., Anwar, S., & Numan, S. (2008). Enhancing distance learning through email communication: A case of BOU [Electronic Version]. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 9(2), 180-185.
    • Chih-Hsiung Tu
       
      Assessment: In distributed learning assessment (collaborative learning), it is very difficult to know who is doing the course work. How do we know the actual students are doing the course work and how can we assess?
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      Having Elluminate chat sessions with participating instructors reduces the chances of students having other do the course work. Chat session personalizes each session. Besides, most online students are mature, working, adults. I presume they want to learn and participate since their own money is invested in their education. Having students communicate with instructors via chat or phone at least once during the semester can be one way to assess proper participation.
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • Treatise Paper Section I
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      Including an abstract and introduction would have provided better flow to the paper and have been more organized.
    • Janet Coolman
       
      I agree that an abstract and introduction would be beneficial to this paper.
  • Treatise Paper Section II
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      We should have added a section in Connectivism related to online learning and technology tools. This new section would have made the paper more informative.
  • Treatise Paper Section III
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      We should have added a section on teacher resistance to technology and barriers to change. Since providing ideas and strategies that will bring educational success to schools is imperative for continued knowledge and motivation, this would have been an informative topic.
  • References
    • Adrianna Coronel
       
      Our paper had proper flow and the content was supported by the references provided. We also included our Delicious Bookmarks URL for student sharing purposes.
  • Authoring Tools in Online Learning Environments
    • Janet Coolman
       
      Most sections have space under the title. This would help the paper to have a more uniform appearance.
  • 3D virtual world that garners excitement online (Second Life, 2009). It makes going online more like a computer game because instead of surfing web pages, you create an animated character, an avatar, which you use to explore three-dimensional lands, from seaside towns to industrial Goth discos. Everything "in-world" is created by you and your fellow Second Life residents using built-in tools. The result is a place to wander, socialize, build, shop, and screw.     Second life is not all about games, though. It can be used for distributed learning (Appel, 2006), which offers a range of new and exciting possibilities for educators and their students. Although there is distance between participants, the education is flexible. The Learning Management System (LMS) for Second Life is Sloodle, an open source project, which aims to bring together the features of web-based LMSs and virtual world environments such as Second Life. Participants can have synchronous or asynchronous discussions or give presentations live in world. One other communication tool that can be used is the The Blogger's Hut. This is a monthly community vote which highlights educational blogs using an in-world polling station. In addition to these communication tools, Second Life also offers learning tools like Historical Recreations, Multimedia and Games Design, and Language Learning practice.
    • Janet Coolman
       
      The font is not consistent is this portion of the paper. Some bold and some regular, sometime in the same line.
  •  Teachers and technology should work together to provide challenging learning opportunities for their students.Technology can serve as an additional tool to enhance comprehension skills, problem-solving skills, and many more. Educators should prepare learners with competent digital literacy. Technology leaders should continue to encourage pioneers to continue to be aware of the new technologies in today’s changing society. Striving for technology leadership to encourage other staff members should also be emphasized when mentoring pioneers. Keeping up with best practices changes and new strategies is critical for the advancement of education. Additionally, continued respect and motivation for those individuals that wish to homestead is critical.  Providing ideas and strategies that will bring educational success to their schools is imperative for their continued knowledge and motivation. Having the support of administration and the department staff and faculty will facilitate everyone’s leaning and reduce stress and frustration in a classroom that practices with technology for the improvement of education.
    • Janet Coolman
       
      This paper provides valuable content. Changing the font to a uniform 12pt. would make it easier to read.
  • A stakeholder, for the intent of this paper, may be defined
    • Janet Coolman
       
      This is a good description of the stakeholders. Very nice.
    • Lisa Costello
       
      I enjoyed working on this paper with my teammates and feel that we did well. However, I do agree that we needed a strong introduction, to balance our conclusion. I was glad that we added in section four. I felt it was an interesting and pertinent topic, and complemented our paper:)
  •  
    Group 4 Score:5 Overall a very good job here. For the most part APA mechanics were held to, the paper flowed nicely and the content was supported by references. I particularly enjoyed section IV, as a nice look into the future of DL. It does a nice job of touching the surface of online based game learning (though many still argue if Second Life is actually a game). Section 3 provided a wonderful look at constructionist theory though also could have mentioned Connectivisim and Socio-Culturalism that drives DL based pedagogy. In terms of weaknesses of the paper, I would have liked to have seen many more academic peer reviewed journal references as these were lacking. More time could also have been spent formatting as different font styles and sizes were mixed in. And while the conclusion was nicely done, the paper could have benefited from a proper introduction.
  • ...3 more comments...
  •  
    The treatise was well written and organized, but I agree with others that an abstract and introudction would have helped. I really liked our idea for the final section (IV) on the future of distributed learning. I think it was a unique and original idea that added depth to the Treatise.
  •  
    Your paper was organized very closely to our group's paper! Great minds must think alike! I really enjoyed how you added sections about PBL and the future of distributed learning. The latter really helped support your argument for DLE. Did your paper include an Abstract? I love your Wordle! Overall, great organization. I can tell your team worked hard on this! Score: 5
  •  
    The structure was very organized. However, as others have noted, a strong introduction and conclusion would make this paper even better. I really enjoyed the information outlined in the future of technology. I can't wait to see where we are heading with learning.
  •  
    Paper review: 4/5 This paper was well thought out and had good organizational structure. I think the argument was well made but, like our group, the argument was solidified in the conclusion. Until you read the conclusion you weren't sure what the group was arguing. Great paper over all.
  •  
    4 - This treatise paper was found to be very informative while maintaining organizational structure. The content of this paper remained tasteful without imposing too much fact or formality. I was unsure of whether the following sentenced needed to be worded in this fashion: "The result is a place to wander, socialize, build, shop, and screw." Overall, a nicely written document containing applicable information to be shared. Great use of resources; perfectly noted on the Reference Page. Thank you for sharing.
Frank Vidal

Group3 (ETC677) - 2 views

    • Chih-Hsiung Tu
       
      I will ask each group several common questions and specific question on your group treatise paper. These questions can be responded by any of your group members as an individual opinion or as group response. It is your group decision. Please list five most critical elements of distributed learning system in distance learning.
    • Chih-Hsiung Tu
       
      Most of people probably would agree that all instructions should have integrated online technology. Do you agree or disagree? Why? Please at least provide three reasons with good literatures to support your arguments.
    • Chih-Hsiung Tu
       
      Assessment: In distributed learning assessment (collaborative learning), it is very difficult to know who is doing the course work. How do we know the actual students are doing the course work and how can we assess?
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Characteristics of the typical online instructor include a person who is more of a facilitator than a teacher who needs to be in control
    • Janet Coolman
       
      I am not sure this is the "typical" instructor. If you have evidence, you need to cite.
  • In addition to the learning benefits of web-based instruction, students and instructors both enjoy it when there is a strong degree of student-instructor interaction a
  • Overall, as distance learning moves out of its infancy, the collaborative tools of Web 2.0 are developing concurrently. What has emerged is a distinctive practice of learning that has learners engaging with each other, examining authentic problems to facilitate learning, and gaining a more current education in our rapidly changing world.
    • Janet Coolman
       
      It may help to label this as the conclusion and expand it. Your paper is infomative and contains valuable content. It just needs a few modifications to make it easier to read.
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    Group 3 Score: 5 I love that the introduction promptly addressed an operational definition of Distributed learning, while accounting for other possible definitions. Very well done here. The overall flow and content of the paper is also very good , making it a good and clear read. All claims are supported by references which helps frame the paper. I also like the use of the tables. In terms of weaknesses of the paper, I would have liked to have seen a few more academic peer reviewed journal references. However, the authors did an excellent job of including links to web-based sources which was a plus. Also, being nitpicky, since overall the content was very good the tables are not in proper APA style (i.e. no vertical lines and heading is above not below). Finally a few too many quotes for my taste as normally it is best not to use quotations in a paper unless there is no better way to put it than what the author originally did. The document was also missing a title page.
  • ...1 more comment...
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    What an awesome, easy read! Your paper definitely had a nice flow to it. I enjoyed how your group provided charts (visuals) to support your section on authoring tools. Your argument was definitely proved and well stated in your conclusion. I also like how your paper began by addressing the stakeholders. It was a new and refreshing way to begin this paper. Did your paper provide an Abstract? Great work Team 3!! Score: 5
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    Paper review: 5/5 Putting each section as a question was very unique. It made a powerful statement/argument for each section and tied the paper together in a well thought out and executed structure.
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    5 - It is not my intent to be bias and it was my goal to look at 'our' paper objectively. For that fact, I will maintain my commentary brief. I did find that Team 3's paper retained formatting of text, spacing, and font uniformity throughout the paper. I also noted 21 References (>5 per team member). I did appreciate the presence of the Appendix at the bottom of the document without the need to visit elsewhere. The paper did appear much longer than other teams' work; unclear on that feeling. One item I did note some of the paragraphs to only contain two full sentences, where I believe a minimum of four is needed to make up a paragraph. I felt the subject matter was well-covered and explained clearly with the utilization of examples.
Christie Mitchell

iNACOL - International Association for K-12 Online Learning - 1 views

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    "We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) membership association based in the Washington, DC area with more than 2,500 members. We are unique; our members represent a diverse cross-section of K-12 education from school districts, charter schools, state education agencies, non-profit organizations, research institutions, corporate entities and other content & technology providers."
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    My school is sending me to the Virtual School Symposium sponsored by iNACOL next week. I'm very excited and a friend of mine is presenting about online vs. traditional teaching.
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