Group items tagged

An older article, but still gets you thinking about your discussion boards.

I had the same thing happen to me: I was using a model without knowing it was a model! I'm glad I now have vocabulary to describe my work in the classroom.

A good simple approach. A three staged process for blended learning design: Absorb - Do - Connect

"The process model consists of three stages: Absorb-During this stage, students are gaining basic knowledge. This can include reading a chapter in the textbook. Do-Students then engage in an activity such as a discussion before the face-to-face session (in the case of a blended course) or a synchronous online session in the case of a totally online course. Connect-Students apply knowledge to real-world situations."

I've helped faculty implement this model in online courses and think it has been very successful. While a model like ADDIE provides a structured approach to designing an entire course, this Absorb, Do, Connect model, along with models like Gagne's 9 events of instruction provide us with models for how to structure individual lessons and keep them consistent.

Increasingly, faculty who teach an online course may not be the ones who actually designed the course. Thus, current measurements, especially those that focus on course design and innovation, are not appropriate tools for assessing these faculty members. Instead, the authors assert: "We must look at the actions performed by the instructors within the course." The objective of the authors' study was "to identify a set of criteria that would yield objective data easily examined by supervisors and peers during an online course observation and serve as a balance to the more subjective data gathered from student surveys." The authors identified six questions to be used as a starting point for evaluating online instructors. These questions are copied below verbatim: Has the instructor logged in at least an average of every other day? Has the instructor posted a biography of at least a paragraph, in addition to contact info? Has the instructor posted announcements at least weekly? Is there evidence that the instructor answers student inquiries in two days or less? Does the instructor participate in discussion forums where appropriate? Does the instructor provide feedback on assignments? This article is an excellent resource because it clearly delineates between design and instruction. It also provides the six very concrete questions to use when evaluating instructors.

Not exactly about blended learning but this is a new paper I wrote with some colleagues about different approaches to pedagogies that build resilience through active learning. In this paper we discuss group activities and assessments used in two Creative Arts disciplines (Performance and Journalism), at an Australian regional university, as examples of subjects which provide 'real world' experience in order to promote resilience and tenacity in students.

Discusses the ways in which online learning can improve the campus experience using the University of British Columbia as an example. See also Tony Bates' blog about this

This paper by Terry Anderson and Jon Dron of Athabasca University is relevant to our discussions in Blended Learning. Although their focus is pure distance education, the constructs presented in their material are relevant to our BlendKit2014 work. I think we need to be more clear about how our pedagogical approach drives our learning design.

A backchannel -- a digital conversation that runs concurrently with a face-to-face activity -- provides students with an outlet to engage in conversation. Every time I think about this tool, I remember my student, Charlie (not his real name). Given his learning challenges, he struggled to keep up during class discussions.

I chose this article as it relates well to the ch 5 discussion regarding quality in blended courses.

Beth - so interested to see that you chose this article!! I participated in this study as the Quality Matters trainer. So the two groups (short training, long training) worked with me to learn how to apply QM to improve their courses. We have been Quality Matters subscribers for 6 years and incorporate it into all the training and development of online courses.

I thought this was a good link for ch 2 which discussed different learning models.

As electronic communication becomes increasingly common, and as students juggle study, work, and family life, many universities are offering their students more flexible learning opportunities. Classes once delivered face-to-face are often replaced by online activities and discussions. However, there is little research comparing students' experience and learning in these two modalities.

rather simplified, but it could be of any help

http://www.fulltiltahead.com/edtech/blended-online-assessment-taxonomy-design-infographic/ the original page

Thank you! I wonder if it would be a useful material to share with students to discuss how the class is organized/evaluated and have them make decisions about their own learning trajectory?