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Heather Kurto

The Future of Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: The Survey Sa... - 0 views

  • misconceptions and myths related to the difficulty of teaching and learning online, technologies available to support online instruction, the support and compensation needed for high-quality instructors, and the needs of online students create challenges for such vision statements and planning documents.
  • Adding to this dilemma, bored students are dropping out of online classes while pleading for richer and more engaging online learning experiences.1 Given the demand for online learning, the plethora of online technologies to incorporate into teaching, the budgetary problems, and the opportunities for innovation, we argue that online learning environments are facing a "perfect e-storm," linking pedagogy, technology, and learner needs.
  • cation. In this study, Keeton interviewed faculty in postsecondary institutions, who rated the effectiveness of online instructional strategies. These instructors gave higher ratings to online instructional strategies that "create an environment that supports and encourages inquiry," "broaden the learner's experience of the subject matter," and "elicit active and critical reflection by learners on their growing experience base."12
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  • When asked about several emerging technologies for online education, 27 percent of respondents predicted that use of course management systems (CMSs) would increase most drastically in the next five years. Those surveyed also said that video streaming, online testing and exam tools, and learning object libraries would find significantly greater use on campus during this time. Between 5 and 10 percent of respondents expected to see increases in asynchronous discussion tools, videoconferencing, synchronous presentation tools, and online testing.
  • this study found that the most important skills for an online instructor during the next few years will be how to moderate or facilitate learning and how to develop or plan for high-quality online courses (see Table 2). Being a subject-matter expert was the next most important skill. In effect, the results indicate that planning and moderating skills are perhaps more important than actual "teaching" or lecturing skills in online courses. As Salmon pointed out, online instructors are moderators or facilitators of
  • As a result, enhancing pedagogy is perhaps the most important factor in navigating the perfect e-storm. In the present study, respondents made predictions about the quality of online education in the near future and about how online courses would be taught and evaluated.
  • Instructors' abilities to teach online are critical to the quality of online education.
  • ), and educational opportunities.25Online Teaching Skills.
  • Our findings also indicated that, in general, respondents envisioned the Web in the next few years more as a tool for virtual teaming or collaboration, critical thinking, and enhanced student engagement than as an opportunity for student idea generation and expression of creativity.
  • What if institutions took the opposite stance and measured face-to-face courses based on whether they could accomplish all that online instruction can?
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    The study of what online teaching might look like in the near future.
Lisa Martin

Self esteem and the influence of significant others - 1 views

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    It seems to be particularly important for the teacher to explicitly exhibit support for students in their academic pursuit because of their relatively greater influence on the adolescents, as demonstrated in the present analyses. After all, among all others in a school setting, the feedback of teachers is probably the most salient reinforcer regarding student proficiency in academic work. The finding in support of the teacher as a powerful source of reinforcement is not surprising.
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    the findings of the present study show that the teacher, like all the other significant others considered here, had substantial impacts on adolescents' academic achievement, academic self-esteem, and interest in academic work. Being probably the most significant of significant others in a school setting, the teacher had noteworthy influences on these educational outcomes that were consistent across Grades 5 and 6 and all levels in the high school. More importantly, support from the teacher had even stronger influences than other sources such as parents and peers. The impacts were so strong that they were even greater than the impact of personal expectancy which was presumably the most powerful predictor of these educational outcomes
diane hamilton

Prompts that Support Instruction and Independence - 0 views

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    discussion of scaffolding for special needs
Maree Michaud-Sacks

Effective Practice with e-Portfolios Supporting 21st century learning - 0 views

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    "Effective Practice with e-Portfolios Supporting 21st century learning"
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    This article could be helpful to my students in the "Documenting the learning" module. However, I don't know if I will use it because I don't want to confine them to eportfolios. There are other ways to document what you have learned, for example - blog, wiki, webpage, presentation, etc.
dkiesel

The Technology Source Archives - Ten Ways Online Education Matches, or Surpasses, Face-... - 6 views

  • Students are empowered to learn on their own and even to teach one another.
    • Erin Fontaine
       
      Students are made accountable for their own education and are able to reflect on what they are learning.
    • Heather Kurto
       
      Students work together with professors to create a learning style that meets their needs. The students guide information that is important to them making the experience meaningful.
  • Students served as instructors to their classmates, and together they worked toward learning goals more effectively than if they had been provided with the answer by the instructor.
    • Erin Fontaine
       
      I have seen my own students achieve better comprehension when they are able to see the information through the eyes of their peers rather than my perspective.
    • Irene Watts-Politza
       
      This also supports Shift 4 in ELA Common Core which calls for students to have "rich" conversations centering on a text.
  • When an instructor posts a question on the asynchronous discussion board, every student in the class is expected to respond, respond intelligently, and respond several times.
    • Irene Watts-Politza
       
      This expectation is supported by the online instructor's facilitation of discourse and intellectual leadership, identified by Jones et al. as two aspects of teaching presence.
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  • On a more formal note, online tests and quizzes can be constructed with an automatic grading capability that provides immediate feedback and references to text and class notes that explain the correct answers. Assignments, including grades and editorial comments, can be returned to students more promptly and usually with more detail than in the F2F environment.
    • Irene Watts-Politza
       
      This is something to consider with respect to formative assessment, RtI evidence/data, and computer-based grade books. Wondering how it would work in an open source learning platform for collecting data on teacher effectiveness at the university level?
    • Teresa Dobler
       
      I have used online homework systems with my middle school students, and it works wonderfully. Many students use the immediate feedback to their advantage, reviewing the questions they got wrong. I know they use it well because whenever I happen to make an error in marking the correct answer, I will receive a flood of emails from students quoting resources stating why they believe their answer to be correct.
  • They say that it is common for participants in online courses to develop a strong sense of community that enhances the learning process.
    • Irene Watts-Politza
       
      Bodes well for gobalization of education, especially when supported by language conversion apps.
    • Teresa Dobler
       
      Reminds me of a community of inquiry model. See Garrison, Anderson, and Archer, 2000.
  • thrilled
    • Irene Watts-Politza
       
      This is indeed the perfect verb for this experience!
  • The thinking, planning, research, learning, and effort that goes into constructing and teaching an online course has rejuvenated many faculty members who were frankly going through the motions after numerous years of teaching the same courses, semester after semester, in the same classroom environment.
    • Irene Watts-Politza
       
      As online learning increases at the secondary level, is it possible that responsibility for curriculum development will become an APPR bargaining issue under the Regents Reform Agenda?
  • the best way to teach students how to write more effectively is to have them write more often.
    • Erin Fontaine
       
      One of my main concerns about creating and online class for a junior high (7th/8th) grade is about how technology is affecting their writing abilities. I was afraid of how all the short hand phrases we all use are affecting students and their abiliity to write. Yes, online courses are writing intensive and a great means of keeping students writing but as the teacher I feel like I have to make sure that the work I recieve is of quality. As I continue to research this fear I am seeing both sides of the argument. Text talk may be both positive and negative. Still looking into this... Here is just one of many articles I have found on this topic: http://www.nst.com.my/nation/extras/zero-to-12-is-technology-deteriorating-language-skills-1.89256
    • Teresa Dobler
       
      Thanks for the link. I know with my students, I emphasize the need for using conventional English in typed school work no matter what device they are using. Most of my middle school students are adept at transitioning from the language they would use while texting to the language I expect in their lab report, even if they are typing the lab on their phone.
  • Students with family or work responsibilities are often unable to commit to a traditional course because they cannot be in the same place at the same time for 15 consecutive weeks.
    • Amy M
       
      This is a huge factor is accessibility for adult-learners.
  • Although some instructors may discover more than they wanted to know about their students, my online teaching experience disproves the notion that online courses are impersonal and do not foster relationships, either between students and instructors or among students themselves.
    • Amy M
       
      I wonder what the limit on class size is for an online course to feel "intimate."
  • In the traditional F2F classroom, the instructor asks a question, and the same four or five extroverted students inevitably raise their hands. They offer spontaneous, often unresearched responses in the limited time allotted for discussion. In the online environment, discussions enter a new dimension.
    • Heather Kurto
       
      This is huge for online learning. Students are able to thoughtfully respond which deepens discussions.
  • . Online education is neither right for all students nor right for all faculty, but it frequently meets the needs of both for an exciting, high-quality educational experience.
    • Teresa Dobler
       
      How do we make the jump and empower students to actually take on the role as a teacher?
  • explain, share, comment upon, critique
  • explain, share, comment upon, critique
  • unresearched responses in the limited time
  • unresearched responses
    • Teresa Dobler
       
      I personally have seen a big difference in my thought and contributions when given time to think, research, and craft a response to an argument.
    • sherrilattimer
       
      There is also something to be said abou the "delete" button. Once you say something, you cannot undo it.
  • can refer to their course materials and think through their answers
    • efleonhardt
       
      I think this is a very important piece of online learning I hadn't thought about t before. When students are online they are able to actually process the information and not be afraid if they're processing skills are slower than other students.
    • Teresa Dobler
       
      The goal is for the student to continue learning throughout life, not just for the course. This links back to the Minds on Fire reading: http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/minds-fire-open-education-long-tail-and-learning-20
  • However, I have heard from very few faculty members who are not energized by the creative process of achieving the same instructional goals in an entirely new format.
  • On average, online courses are far more writing-intensive than traditional classes have ever been.
  • he first response that comes to mind rather than the best possible response
    • George Dale
       
      and you don't have the, "Doh! I should have said ..." as you're walking out of the classroom.
  • Many online students have indicated that this is the first time they have ever "spoken up" in class and that they enjoy the opportunity
  • Geared to lifelong learning
    • George Dale
       
      While I'm not a LMS hater, I do see this as a problem in the way LMSs keep a death grip on the content and learning. I'd like to develop a plugin for Balckboard that allows a student to easily "pack up" and take their work with them as they complete a course.
  • as a result of the relative anonymity
    • George Dale
       
      It's almost ironic that the initial anonimity can lead to deeper connections relative to F2F interactions.
  • online education can be done well,
    • George Dale
       
      It seems that some examples that are used to demonstrate a poor online course are often as good as a "normal" (i.e. F2F) class. Being as good as a traditional lecture class is a low bar to set.
    • Arnaldo Robles
       
      I can see this serving as a useful tool for writing activities!
  • In their everyday lives, individuals do not have a teacher at their side to direct them in their acquisition of new information. One of the roles that we need to perform as educators, then, is to teach students to find and learn information on their own or in concert with their colleagues. The online environment fosters self-motivated education. Students direct their own use of Internet links, search engines, discussion boards, chat, e-mail, and other media. While such resources cannot guarantee student initiative, they establish a framework that gives precedence to the autonomy of the learner.
    • Arnaldo Robles
       
      I like this!
  • develop course materials among themselves in a manner rarely seen in the F2F classroom.
    • dkiesel
       
      In f2f classes at masters public health program, we do extensive group projects. I think that k--12 classes may not have had many project-based classes of which hopefully will be more as we are seeing the influence of online teaching and how for practical learning the online environment can greatly compliment a practical session.  But I don't agree that all the practical project based work I have done for my profession with other students and teachers is not as well integrated compared to all the practical group work I have done in my profession with students and teachers. Also the quality of spoken live discussion in group work is very challenging when it is live. Maybe online is helping by giving us more time to think before we say something. 
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    Sorry I didn't want these to go public. These were just my notes to myself so that I could further do some research. Is there a way to remove these or make these private again. Guess I'm still testing the water.
Teresa Dobler

6 Ways Google Docs Supports Collaboration In The Writing Process - 1 views

  • “Today’s young people are using a range of digital tools to compose and create in new and exciting ways. It is a game-changing moment for teachers of writing. The very notion of what it means to write is shifting, and educators are faced with adapting their teaching practices to integrate new technologies while redefining writing and learning for the 21st century.”
  • Docs provide support for collaboration in real time so students and teachers can have a virtual mini-conference about the work in front of them from any location if the timing is right.
  • quickly pinpoint the suggested revision
    • Teresa Dobler
       
      The feedback draws attention right to the point that needs to be corrected. In other systems, I have seen all the feedback at the beginning or end, which makes it more difficult for students to make corrections. This is also more formative than an overall rubric, where again students have to hunt through for where the corrections are actually needed. The more work students need to do to correct, the less likely they are to do so.
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    Using Google Docs to collaborate
Melissa Pietricola

Technology - 0 views

  • Using Technology to Support Alternative Assessment and Electronic Portfolios
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    Technology to support assessment of large classes
Shoubang Jian

Concept mapping as a medium of shared cognition in computer-supported collaborative pro... - 0 views

  • Two concepts and research paradigms are closely related to the problem area of collaborative learning--distributed cognition and shared cognition
  • Mind tools, (alternatively known as cognitive tools; Kommers, Jonassen, & Mayes, 1991) are intended to engage and facilitate cognitive processing
  • Concept mapping falls into the large category of Mind tools
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  • common frame of reference
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    Here's the full article "Concept Mapping as a Medium of Shared Cognition in Computer-Supported Collaborative Problem Solving".
Amy Varano

TechTiger's Weblog - 0 views

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    "Uncanny" may be a feeling that most of the parents of students in my online course may be feeling as they support their child in taking an online class.
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    Some of the students in my online course may identify with the character TechTiger. Being part of the millennial generation, they may feel misunderstood by their parents and teachers.
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    According to Michael Wesch, 112.8 million blogs have been created over the last five years. Anyone could be a published writer!
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    Click on Kanying's name. We are familiar with blogs and journaling, however it is amazing to see a blog that is written in a different language. It is even more amazing to think about the 112.8 million blogs that are created and how many of them are in foreign languages. If we were cultural anthropologists, what could we learn from viewing these diverse digital journals?
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    This is a common misconception for parents. They think that because their child is working on a computer it is unconstructive. In some ways their theory is true, especially if their child is not taught how to constructively use the computer as a learning tool. How do we instill in our children and students that the computer is a powerful learning tool?
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    These are just a few things students could do using a web blog. What if they were instructed on how to use this technology based environment in an educational setting? The child's learning possibilities would soar.
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    Parents, teachers, and administrators need to be instructed on how to create meaningful learning activities using new technology such as the computer. Students are longing for this kind of authentic and meaningful learning. What is the purpose of school if students are not presented with critical thinking and problem solving activities that bring them to a higher level of thinking and learning?
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    The resource I would like to add for the MERLOT project is actually a resource that I submitted to MERLOT back in April. The resource is a blog/power point presentation that is designed to be a resource for parents. The information in this power point presentation comes from Victoria Carrington's article "The Uncanny: Digital Texts and Literacy". The power point presentation is designed in an easy to read story book format which tells of a modern day child named "TechTiger" who changes the perspective of his parents, teachers, and other in the older "uncanny" generation due to his media literacy and experiences with contemporary culture. I will incorporate this resource into my online course by adding it to my parent corner. Since my Life Cycle course is intended for a third grade audience, I have designed an area for parents so that they are aware of what their child is learning in this course as well as ways they could enrich their child outside of my course on topics they are learning. Some parents who have their child enrolled in my online course may be "uncanny" to media literacy and have some of the concerns that are addressed in the resource TechTiger's Space. The resource TechTiger's Space may put into perspective some parent's fears with technology as well as the added benefits to put their minds at ease and support their child's online learning experience.
alexandra m. pickett

Rocking the Doldrums: Countdown to My First Online Class - 1 views

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    "Darrington, Anjanette. "Six Lessons in e-Learning: Strategies and Support for Teachers New to Online Environments.""
Diane Gusa

Identifying the pitfalls for social interaction in computer-supported collabo... - 0 views

  • Not only does this promote positive effects, it also reduces the negative effects usually present in non-collaborative groups such as the free-rider or hitchhiking effect, social loafing, and the sucker effect. The free-rider or hitchhiking effect (Kerr & Bruun, 1983) exists when ‘‘group members exert less effort as the perceived dispensability of their efforts for the group success increases’’ (p. 78). In other words, they feel that the group is doing enough and that they don’t have to contribute. Social loafing (Latane ́ , Williams, & Harkins, 1979) exists when group members exert less effort as the perceived salience of their efforts for the group success decreases. In other words, as the group size increases so does the anonymity and the non-participation. The social loafer differs from the free rider in that the former lacks the motivation to add to the group performance, while the latter tries to profit from others while minimizing essential contributions. Finally, the sucker effect (Kerr, 1983) exists when the more productive group members exert less effort as the awareness of co-members free-riding increases. That group refuse to further support noncontributing members (they refuse to be ‘suckers’) and therefore reduce their individual efforts” (p. 339-40)
efleonhardt

Flow Theory | Education.com - 0 views

  • ygotsky, a Russian psychologist (1896–1934), and Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist (1896–1980), contended that learning best occurs when people engage in activities that are at the peak of their abilities, when they have to work to their full potential to accomplish a task. However, the study of the experience of optimally challenging activities and the method of study are unique to flow theory.
  • when individuals find the activities challenging
  • o describe the experiences of intrinsically motivated people, those who were engaged in an activity chosen for its own sake
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  • One benefit of flow theory is that it presumes that motivation, cognition, and affect are situational
  • Flow Theory Print Collect It! var shared = false; if(!window['loadedCollectionJS']) { window['loadedCollectionJS'] = true; Asset.javascript('/js/moo/collections/collections.js'); } var scripts = $$('script'), thisScriptTag = scripts[scripts.length - 1], el = thisScriptTag.getPrevious('.collect-button-wrap'); if(el) { el.store('collectPath', "http://www.education.com/reference/article/flow-theory/") } var switchTo5x=true;stLight.options({publisher:'d0d0d8a8-d1f8-49ff-9318-fed5383cff80',doNotHash:true,NotCopy:true,hashAddressBar:false});Email var sharedemail = false; (function() { stLight.options({ onhover: false, clickCallBack: function(){ if(typeof window.sharedemail != 'undefined') { new Request({ method: 'post', url: '/service/service.'+'php?sn=sharelog&f=ase&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.education.com%2Freference%2Farticle%2Fflow-theory%2F&ceid=41882&click=email'}).send(); sharedemail=true; } } }); stWidget.addEntry({ 'service':'email', title:"Flow Theory", summary: "", url: "http://www.ed"+"ucation.com/reference/article/flow-theory/", element: document.getElementById("sharethis-7167") }); })(); if(!window['plusoneloaded']) { new Asset.javascript('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js'); window['plusoneloaded'] = true; } function plusone_vote( obj ) { //track in Google Analytics _gaq.push(['_trackEvent','plusone',obj.state]); //track in Omniture if((typeof(window.Omniture) != 'undefined')) { var params = {evars:{5:obj.state}}; if(obj.state == 'on') params.events = [6]; Omniture.fireEvent(params,'Google Plus One Click'); } } By Amy Schweinle | Andrea Bjornestad Updated on Dec 23, 2009 MAJOR RESEARCH METHODS FACTORS INFLUENCING FLOW AND MOTIVATIONAL CONSEQUENCES IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHERS Flo
  • have the skills to accomplish them
  • not only do activities with high challenge matched with high skill offer the best opportunities for learning, but they also provide an optimal environment for positive affect and intrinsic motivation.
  • eachers must provide optimal challenge and support for competence (or skill)
  • (a) provided immediate, constructive feedback, (b) encouraged students to persist, (c) encouraged cooperation rather than competition, (d) supported student autonomy, (e) ensured that new challenges were tempered with support to match students' skill, (f) emphasized the importance of the material, and (g) pressed students to understand the principles rather than memorize algorithms.
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    talks about the relationship between flow and the zone of proximal development
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    This article has a good definition of flow and explains how it can be applied in your classroom
Melissa Pietricola

Self-regulation and teacher-student relationships. - Free Online Library - 1 views

  • sed with gatekeeping. It is essential, therefore, to establish a consensus on a conceptual and theoretical underpinning un·der·pin·ning  n.1. Material or masonry used to support a structure, such as a wall.2. A support or foundation. Often used in the plural.3. Informal The human legs. Often used in the plural.  for effective teaching. This review is designed
  • elf-regulation is the process by which individuals make their plans, act upon those plans, and self-evaluate the results.
  • he more autonomous the individual the more intrinsic the self-regulation. Student achievement also improves when students are intrinsically motivated and when teachers are autonomy supportive (
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  • The importance of this project within the context of education is due to the capacity that teachers have to positively or negatively affect student motivation, self-regulation, autonomy, and ultimately, performance
  • he payoff or incentive for doing the project proposed in this study is at least in part to avoid the cost of not doing it, not to mention that student learning and success are enhanced. Higher education higher educationStudy beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art.  achievement has a direct payoff in terms of careers and productivity for the state, and by implementing this program students will not only become productive members of society, they will be doing so because they want to.
  • something transformative in the teacher-student relationship is needed.
  • ound that caring relationships, meaningful participation, and high standards in a student's life across home, school, and community, as well as student intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies, predicted decreased risk for delinquency delinquencyCriminal behaviour carried out by a juvenile. Young males make up the bulk of the delinquent population (about 80% in the U.S.) in all countries in which the behaviour is reported. ..... Click the link for more information., substance abuse, teen pregnancy, truancy and violence.
  • since effective teaching and mentoring helps students to explore their world with a sense of trust and autonomy, toward the ultimate goal of fully intrinsic self-regulation and improved academic achievement and success.
  • he purpose of this review, therefore, was to establish such a theory, by pulling together educational psychology and psychological theories around an analysis of effective teacher-student relationships. The goal of this project is to help teachers and to help students. It is also hoped that these findings will be used to resolve historical tensions between education and psychology
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    Students that are able form good relationships with educators are more likely to self-regulate, and therefore find success in the classroom and life.
lkryder

REAP - Resources > Assessment Principles: Some possible candidates - 0 views

  • Table 1: Principles of good formative assessment and feedback. Help clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria, standards). To what extent do students in your course have opportunities to engage actively with goals, criteria and standards, before, during and after an assessment task? Encourage ‘time and effort’ on challenging learning tasks. To what extent do your assessment tasks encourage regular study in and out of class and deep rather than surface learning? Deliver high quality feedback information that helps learners self-correct. What kind of teacher feedback do you provide – in what ways does it help students self-assess and self-correct? Provide opportunities to act on feedback (to close any gap between current and desired performance) To what extent is feedback attended to and acted upon by students in your course, and if so, in what ways? Ensure that summative assessment has a positive impact on learning? To what extent are your summative and formative assessments aligned and support the development of valued qualities, skills and understanding. Encourage interaction and dialogue around learning (peer and teacher-student. What opportunities are there for feedback dialogue (peer and/or tutor-student) around assessment tasks in your course? Facilitate the development of self-assessment and reflection in learning. To what extent are there formal opportunities for reflection, self-assessment or peer assessment in your course? Give choice in the topic, method, criteria, weighting or timing of assessments. To what extent do students have choice in the topics, methods, criteria, weighting and/or timing of learning and assessment tasks in your course? Involve students in decision-making about assessment policy and practice. To what extent are your students in your course kept informed or engaged in consultations regarding assessment decisions? Support the development of learning communities To what extent do your assessments and feedback processes help support the development of learning communities? Encourage positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem. To what extent do your assessments and feedback processes activate your students’ motivation to learn and be successful? Provide information to teachers that can be used to help shape the teaching To what extent do your assessments and feedback processes inform and shape your teaching?
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    a web resource with the REAP material in the JISC pdf for easier bookmarking
Alicia Fernandez

Early Attrition among First Time eLearners: A Review of Factors that Contribute to Drop... - 1 views

  • Some have reported attrition from eLearning as high as 70 - 80% (Flood 2002, Forrester 2000, in Dagger & Wade, 2004). Parker (1999) argues that “With the growth of distance education has come the problem of exceedingly high attrition rates”. Citing Carter (1996), she suggests that eLearning student attrition in some institutions is exceeds 40%, while others (Frankola, 2001). Diaz (2002), put it at between 20 - 50%,  and Carr (2000), estimate it to be 10% - 20% higher than for traditional on-campus education.
  • learners in employment bring a different set of needs, strategies and motivations to the learning process.
  • frequently geographically removed from the learning resources, information sources, learner peers and Tutors compared to their on-campus peers
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  • Employed adults tend to complete eLearning in their personal time due to workload pressures in the workplace and/or Internet access issues at work
  • Cognitive Load Theory
  • states that learning is initially processed in working memory
  • Learning complex or technically demanding material requires building mental models or cognitive schemas about the subject being studied or the skill being developed over time
  • Learning new material or a skill, for which a schema in long term memory is undeveloped or non-existent, can cause working memory to quickly overload its limited capacity. This overloading can result in a learner becoming highly anxious and losing confidence, which in turn can lead to the learning process, in effect, freezing and the learner being unable to continue.  
  •  “Digital literacy involves more than the ability to use software or operate a digital device; it includes a large variety of complex cognitive, motor, sociological and emotional skills, which users need in order to function effectively in digital environments.”
  • It is this author’s experience in designing, developing and delivering several eLearning programmes to public sector employees in New Zealand, that a face to face workshop prior the start of the online distance course can make a significant difference to a first time eLearner’s perception and experience of eLearning. 
  • This type of pre-course face-to-face induction workshop can also be used to foster the group’s sense of itself, and to identify the individual participants and their backgrounds, along with their expectations and concerns. It is also helpful to have the course design, structure and philosophy explained and to discuss anxieties associated with beginning an online course.
  • The multi
  • al learning tasks of the first time eLearner
  • dimension
  • (1) negotiating the technology; (2) negotiating the course website; (3) negotiating the course content (4) becoming an eLearner (5) negotiating CMC interaction.
  • come to terms with the computing technologies involved.
  • develop a mental model of the content structure and navigation system in order to find his/her way around
  • engage with the learning materials, readings, activities and assessments that make up a programme of study
  • Confronting the actual content and of becoming a learner again.
  • anxiety
  • abandon his/her existing mental model of what it is to be a learner in a formal learning situation
  • embrace a model based on a self-directed and motivated learner
  • undertake the learning tasks involved in interacting with peers via synchronous and asynchronous Computer Mediated Communication
  • Successfully negotiating this early experience depends very much on the relevant skills, circumstances, motivations and personal attributes of the learner. It follows then, that paying particular attention to how an eLearning course is structured and introduced and the manner in which the learner is inducted can make a very important difference in a learner deciding whether or not to engage and persist or to drop out. 
  • actually apprising learners of the issues of cognitive overload and how it is commonly experienced would go some way towards inoculating learners against its more pernicious effects.
  • Supporting learners till they are over the initial “eLearning learning-curve hump”, may involve a seemingly high level of resource and effort on the part of the course facilitator and associated programme administration staff, but the payoff is that fewer learners will drop out at the early stage.
  • Actively supporting, encouraging, gently cajoling and following up on learners who seem to be struggling will help to keep wavering learners in the course.
  • In terms of the actual course design and the structure of the materials and learning activities, then it is a useful practice to aim to start slowly and build the course tempo over time.
  • The one area where something may be done to reduce attrition is in the early stages of an online course.
  • Cognitive overload is a likely contributor to high drop out rates, particularly where those withdrawing do so within the first few weeks of the start of a course.  Greater levels of persistence and completions may be achieved if learners are supported to anticipate, prepare for, recognise and recover from the cognitive burden they may experience as first time eLearners.   
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    Looks at why some students don't make it through online courses- many first time online students are unsure what to expect and are just overwhelmed by the whole experience.
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    The experience of the first-time online learner is qualified. Suggestions for decreasing early attrition are suggested.
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    Attrition among mature adult online learners is affected by sociological, psychological, technical and cognitive factors, critical features of which are the notions of cognitive load and locus of control.
Maree Michaud-Sacks

"Online learning design that fosters student support, self-regulation, and retention" - 1 views

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    focuses on design aspects to support learners and encourage self-regulation
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