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Sue Rappazzo

Teaching at an Internet Distance-----MERLOT - 1 views

  • Several of our speakers were able to shed light on the cause of this rising tide of faculty opposition to computer mediated instruction. Andrew Feenberg of San Diego State University summarizes the situation in the opening paragraph of his "Distance Learning: Promise or Threat" (1999) article: "Once the stepchild of the academy, distance learning is finally taken seriously. But not in precisely the way early innovators like myself had hoped. It is not faculty who are in the forefront of the movement to network education. Instead politicians, university administrations and computer and telecommunications companies have decided there is money in it. But proposals for a radical "retooling" of the university emanating from these sources are guaranteed to provoke instant faculty hostility."
    • Kelly Hermann
       
      As a red-head, I'm just glad they didn't use the phrase "red-headed stepchild." LOL
  • The implementation of online education shows both promise and peril. Computer mediated instruction may indeed introduce new and highly effective teaching paradigms, but high-quality teaching is not always assured. Administrative decisions made without due consideration to pedagogy, or worse, with policies or technology that hampers quality, may cause much wasted time, money and effort of both faculty and students.
  • In training, a particular package of knowledge is imparted to an individual so that he or she can assume work within a system, as the firefighters do for example. According to Noble, training and education are appropriately distinguished in terms of autonomy (Noble, 1999). In becoming trained, an individual relinquishes autonomy. The purpose of education, as compared to training, is to impart autonomy to the student. In teaching students to think critically, we say in effect "Student, know thyself." Education is not just the transmission of knowledge, important as that is, but also has to do with the transformation of persons (and the development of critical thinking skills).
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  • Does good teaching in the classroom translate to good teaching online? If so, what elements can be translated and which ones can't or shouldn't?
  • "The shared mantra of the faculty and staff during the development of this document was that "good teaching is good teaching!" An Emerging Set of Guiding Principles... is less about distance education and more about what makes for an effective educational experience, regardless of where or when it is delivered."
  • Good practice encourages student-faculty contact. Good practice encourages cooperation among students. Good practice encourages active learning. Good practice gives prompt feedback. Good practice emphasizes time on task. Good practice communicates high expectations. Good practice respects diverse talents and ways of learning.
  • Frequent student-faculty contact in and out of class is the most important factor in student motivation and involvement. Faculty concern helps students get through rough times and keep on working. Knowing a few faculty members well enhances students' intellectual commitment and encourages them to think about their own values and future plans.
  • At first glance, teaching a class without the ability to see and hear the students in person appears daunting. The enlightened, quizzical, or stony facial expressions, the sighs of distress or gasps of wonder, and even the less-than-subtle raised hands or interjected queries that constitute immediate feedback to a lecture, discussion, or clinical situation are absent. Yet the proponents of online instruction will argue that these obstacles can be overcome, and that the online format has its own advantages. In the online experiences documented in the "Net.Learning" (www.pbs.org/netlearning/home.html) videotape, which our seminar viewed early in the year, Peggy Lant of the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo presented a striking example that occurred in her class' online discussion of civil war. One student's comments were especially gripping as she had just survived a civil war in her home country. Shy students who have trouble participating in a classroom discussion are said to feel more comfortable in an online setting. The ability to sit and think as one composes a question or comment also can raise the quality of the discussion. Susan Montgomery at the University of Michigan has developed an interactive website that addresses diverse learning styles through the use of multimedia (Montgomery, 1998).
  • Teachers, trainers, and professors with years of experience in classrooms report that computer networking encourages the high-quality interaction and sharing that is at the heart of education. ...(The) characteristics of online classes... generally result in students' contributing material that is much better than something they would say off the top of their heads in a face-to-face class. There is a converse side, however. Just after the passage above, Harasim cautions (Harasim et al. 1995) On the other hand, unless the teacher facilitates the networking activities skillfully, serious problems may develop. A conference may turn into a monologue of lecture-type material to which very few responses are made. It may become a disorganized mountain of information that is confusing and overwhelming for the participants. It may even break down socially into name calling rather than building a sense of community.
  • At what cost is this high degree of interaction, the need for which we suspect is student motivation and the professor's (online) attentiveness, achieved? In the previous section it was noted that charismatic professors of large (several hundred student) classes might indeed reach and motivate the students in the back row by intangible displays of attentiveness. Online, attentiveness must be tangible, and may involve more effort than in a face-to-face setting. These considerations imply an inherent limitation of online class size; size is determined by the amount of effort required to form a "community of learners."
  • Small class sizes and the linear dependence of effort on student numbers are indicative of the high level of interaction needed for high quality online teaching
  • The best way to maintain the connection [between online education and the values of traditional education] is through ensuring that distance learning is 'delivered' not just by CD ROMs, but by living teachers, fully qualified and interested in doing so online ... [P]repackaged material will be seen to replace not the teacher as a mentor and guide but the lecture and the textbook. Interaction with the professor will continue to be the centerpiece of education, no matter what the medium.
  • and Ronald Owston, who points out (Owston, 1997) "...we cannot simply ask 'Do students learn better with the Web as compared to traditional classroom instruction?' We have to realize that no medium, in and of itself, will likely improve learning in a significant way when it is used to deliver instruction. Nor is it realistic to expect the Web, when used as a tool, to develop in students any unique skills."
  • Facilitating Online Courses: A Checklist for Action The key concept in network teaching is to facilitate collaborative learning, not to deliver a course in a fixed and rigid, one-way format. Do not lecture. Be clear about expectations of the participants. Be flexible and patient. Be responsive. Do not overload. Monitor and prompt for participation. For assignments, set up small groups and assign tasks to them. Be a process facilitator. Write weaving comments every week or two... Organize the interaction. Set rules and standards for good netiquette (network etiquette)... Establish clear norms for participation and procedures for grading... Assign individuals or small groups to play the role of teacher and of moderator for portions of the course. Close and purge moribund conferences in stages... Adopt a flexible approach toward curriculum integration on global networks.
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    Love the step child reference!
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    Have I not struggled with this throughout this course?!
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    Joy and I talked about this in discussions. I am now struggling with making a project mgr. aware of this at work. The vendor training online was boring so lets deliver it all in person. Junk is Junk online or in person!
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    That body language we mentioned in discussions this week in ETAP687
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    MERLOT-Teaching at internet distance
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    module 4 merlot
Joan Erickson

Infocult: Information, Culture, Policy, Education - 0 views

shared by Joan Erickson on 06 Aug 10 - Cached
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    learn more about Bryan Alexander
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    this is Bryan Alexander's blog site. There's one more article about him and his beliefs I will diigo
Melissa Pietricola

:EdTech:NYSED: Office of Educational Technology Policy and Programs - 0 views

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    NYS Technology plan 2010
Sue Rappazzo

Research: Students Actually Use the Internet for Education -- THE Journal - 0 views

  • New research released by the National School Boards Association reveals data showing we all might need to reevaluate our assumptions: It turns out kids are actually using the Internet for educational purposes. In fact, according to the study, "Creating & Connecting: Research and Guidelines on Online Social--and Educational--Networking," the percentage of children specifically discussing schoolwork online outpaces the percentage that spend time downloading music.For the survey, the NSBA teamed up with Grunwald Associates to poll 1,277 9- to 17-year-olds, 1,039 parents, and 250 school district leaders who "make decisions on Internet policy." It found that a full 50 percent of students who are online spend time discussing schoolwork, and 59 percent spend time talking about education-related topics, "including college or college planning; learning outside of school; news; careers or jobs; politics, ideas, religion, or morals; and schoolwork."
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    Maybe there is hope!
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    The kids are engaging and participating meaningfully and purposefully online. We should pay more attention to contexts for engagement. When it is personally meaningful, kids will engage (ie. American Idol auditions), and when it isn't (college classes), they won't. Time to look at elements in the contexts which encourage meaningful participation.
Robert Braathe

eGov monitor - A Policy Dialogue Platform | Promoting Better Governance - 0 views

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    More on Blended Learning (is it effective?
Bill Hooper

Economics Interactive Tutorial: Elasticity - 0 views

  • In each of the following examples, choose whether you would expect demand to be elastic or inelastic. In none of these examples will the demand be as elastic as the demand for gasoline at a particular gas station on a street with many gas stations. Drivers will flock to a gas station with a price a few pennies below its neighbors' prices, and will abandon a gas stations with a price a few pennies higher. Choose "Elastic demand" if you think that buyers will buy somewhat less if the price goes up, or somewhat more if the price goes down. Choose "Inelastic demand" if you think that the buyers will buy about the same amount if the price goes up or down. An unconscious bleeding man is brought to a hospital emergency room. A patient is given a presciption for a drug to control high blood pressure. The patient's insurance doesn't cover drugs, so the patient must pay out of pocket. A hospital in-patient has insurance that will pay all charges. What would the demand be like for nurse-administered propoxyphene (Darvon), a pain-reliever? A senior signs up with a managed care plan to get the Medicare drug benefit. Even though the senior is locked in for a year, the plan can, at any time, change which drugs it will pay for, based on the plan's judgement about a drug's effectiveness and price relative to other drugs that do about the same thing. For members of that plan, what might the demand for the Darvon be like? Darvon's cheapest alternative might be acetomenophen (Tylenol) in this case. A family has a high-deductible health insurance policy. The effect is that the family pays for primary care office visits out of pocket. Now, one of their children has an earache. What would their demand be like for an office visit to get this checked out? In general, if the decision-maker has an incentive to spend less on some product and if there is an adequate substitute for that product, then demand is more ...
    • Bill Hooper
       
      This area is a perfect tool for the student to self-assess whether or not he/she grasps the concept of elasticty. The student reponds to each scenario and is provided with an immediate solution to confirm their answer.
  • Health Savings Accounts -- The Best Way to Make Demand More Elastic?
    • Bill Hooper
       
      This section would be the perfect way to take the concept of elasticity and apply it to a current event. It could also be an excellent prereading for a discussion or blog.
  • Elasticity
    • Bill Hooper
       
      This initial section provides a nice summary of elasticity and would be useful to assign as a reading to provide background at the beginning of the module.
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    • Bill Hooper
       
      Terrific website to use as part of a short unit on elasticity. It provides all the basic background information, provides a self-assessment, and applies it to a current event. Students should have no trouble getting some good information out of this site.
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    This is a very cool interative activity for students to use in their learning about the concept of elasticity.
Diane Gusa

Education And Learning: A Paradigm Shift - Part 2 - How To Prepare Yourself For A Meani... - 0 views

  • Instead of collecting knowledge, discovering it. Instead of receiving it, trying to seek it, to answer some kind of questions, something that's meaningful to me.
  • For me to learn today is about being properly connected to other people, being able to find information when I want.
  • Having tools at my disposal that allow me to access different sources of information, and also having a network of people that enables me to reach out, ask questions when I need it.
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  • In a real very practical sense, my ability to connect to other people, is learning for me. My ability to find information sources through easy-to-use tools is learning for me. And ultimately, anything whether it's policy, government initiatives, copyright, or any other system that puts up barriers between me and my ability to connect to others and information, it is ultimately a barrier to my learning.
Diane Gusa

My teacher . . . the computer? « InterACT - 0 views

  • A group blog from Accomplished California Teachers: Classroom expertise for better education policy. Home About ACT ACT Publications Blogger Bios My teacher . . . the computer?
  •  “One of [a successful student's] key skills in school is his ability to bond with teachers. We’ve spent a generation trying to reorganize schools to make them better, but the truth is that people learn from the people they love.”
  • computers and technology cannot replace the ability of skillful teachers to develop a young student’s ability to think critically, be innovative, and believe in the potential that he or she possess.  A computer will never be able to provide a safe environment for a child seeking stability and support.
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  • students who face incredible challenges and confront tremendous obstacles. 
  • providing guidance, a passion for learning, an understanding of what is necessary to move a student to the next level of inquiry and excellence, and an unwavering belief in each student’s potential – that will continue to make the ultimate difference.
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    Wonderful blog about the power of f2f/
efleonhardt

Rise in Online Classes Flares Debate About Quality - NYTimes.com - 0 views

  • “It’s a cheap education, not because it benefits the students,” said Karen Aronowitz, president of the teachers’ union in Miami, where 7,000 high school students were assigned to study online in computer labs this year because there were not enough teachers to comply with state class-size caps. “This is being proposed for even your youngest students,” Ms. Aronowitz said. “Because it’s good for the kids? No. This is all about cheap.”
  • But administrators insisted that their chief motive was to enhance student learning, not save money in a year when the 108,000-student district is braced for cuts of $100 million and hundreds of jobs. “What the online environment does is continue to provide rich offerings and delivery systems to our students with these resource challenges,” said Irving Hamer, the deputy superintendent.
  • Teachers’ unions and others say much of the push for online courses, like vouchers and charter schools, is intended to channel taxpayers’ money into the private sector. “What they want is to substitute technology for teachers,” said Alex Molnar, professor of education policy at Arizona State University. In Idaho, Gov. C. L. Otter and the elected superintendent of public instruction, Tom Luna, both Republicans, promoted giving students laptops and requiring online courses. The State Legislature, pressed by critics who said the online mandate would cost teachers jobs, rejected it, but Mr. Luna said in an interview that he would propose it this summer through the State Board of Education, which supports him. “I have no doubt we’ll get a robust rule through them,” he said. Four online courses is “going to be the starting number.”
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  • Sherri Wood, president of the Idaho Education Association, the teachers’ union, strongly disagreed. She said Mr. Luna’s 2010 re-election campaign had received more than $50,000 in contributions from online education companies like K-12 Inc., a Virginia-based operator of online charter schools that received $12.8 million from Idaho last year. “It’s about getting a piece of the money that goes to public schools,” Ms. Wood said. “The big corporations want to make money off the backs of our children.”
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    online classes costing teachers their jobs
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
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