This is one of the better ones for k-12 skills and they are creating a community as they go.

This is a glogster of seven of the ten best practices for the course "Everything you always wanted to know about colon cancer". At the bottom of the glogster, you can click to see a jingcast of the glogster. There is an animated icon indicating this. You may want to expand the window for seeing the entire jingcast or if you don't go through the glog, the link is: http://www.screencast.com/users/astephens33/folders/Default/media/f42c4438-4715-4ccb-928a-7c8b7d4bb6a7. Thanks.

Thanks Joy. It realize that the production element of the course is an added dimension one needs to consider in on-line learning that I hadn't fully appreciated.

The 10 Best Things about EDUC 251-Essentials of eLearning

1. Judith's Boettcher's - The Online Teaching Survival Guide - is a good organization and explanation of eLearning.
2. Wiggins Model of Understanding - enduring understanding, important to know, worth being familiar with - is a good framework for helping properly focus the course.
3. The jing tool has become my new "snip" tool. Being able to capture and make a screen video is extremely useful.
4. Providing additional time in the first lesson - in this case 2 weeks, rather than 1 - to allow students a transition to the platform and tools is a best practice for me for on-line courses.
5. The weekly instructor availability during class hours is another best practice, as students know there is a time they can get information and questions answered in an interactive manner.
6. Another communication 'best practice' for me was the weekly update emails and the personalized note in the on-going grading.
7. The course lessons were laid out in an easy-to-follow manner. Having a new one each week, was a good way to pace the students and keep us focused. The only instance this did not work well for me, was in regards to the final project. My understanding the 'course framework' project was not clear to me for a while.
8. This course is the second in a three course series for a eLearning certificate. Its emphasis on pedagogy and how to develop an on-line course was exactly needed and has been great. I'd suggest adding a 'series envelope' defining the learning goals of each course. Additionally, as makes sense, add content. For example, the next course in the series is assessment, so the introduction we received in this course was good. Another example is in the previous course on tools jing in addition to snip could have been introduced.
9. The diigo forum and getting to know my fellow elearners. The way diigo allows for email updates and postings, enhanced communication. Some of the other students had been in my previous class, where we used the Vista and I didn't feel the conversations were as in-depth. Diigo allowed for easy communication and to form a 'bond' with my fellow eLearners. (I would get a daily email, read the updates, and then click on what I wanted to respond to.)
10. And, of course, the instructor - Jennifer. In addition to clear and outstanding logistics - such as responding to emails, groups posts, assignments quickly - she imparted a passion and excitement for the material by the depth of her comments and openness to feedback.

First part of the 10 Best Things, but because of posting limitations used a topic post to list all 10. 1. Judith's Boettcher's - The Online Teaching Survival Guide - is a good organization and explanation of eLearning. 2. Wiggins Model of Understanding - enduring understanding, important to know, worth being familiar with - is a good framework for helping properly focus the course. 3. The jing tool has become my new "snip" tool. Being able to capture and make a screen video is extremely useful. 4. Providing additional time in the first lesson - in this case 2 weeks, rather than 1 - to allow students a transition to the platform and tools is a best practice for me for on-line courses. 5. The weekly instructor availability during class hours is another best practice, as students know there is a time they can get information and questions answered in an interactive manner.

The themes/information presented in this video are ones we are all familiar with - what the video terms exponential evolution of how things fast are moving and the sheer numbers of people using the internet. The fact that this is now part of a technology shareholder meeting was very interesting, with the final message that they don't know what it all means, but it is definitely changing the world.

This is a jing.video of a 10 Best Practice Assessment for the on-line tutoring class I am teaching. I decided on this portfolio activity because: 1. I wanted experience with jing. Jennifer indicated she uses it all the time for screen capture and I agree with her - an awesome tool! (I felt like I was "on-stage" making a jing-case, knowing everything I was saying and doing on the screen was being recorded.) 2. I wanted to understand Best Practices better by applying them to a good yardstick. 3. I wanted to share my experience as an on-line teacher. As a note, I found jing, easy to install and use, although there were a few "operator" issues - like finding the sun/icon on my desktop. I did not do the tutorials they offered, but it was easy to figure everything out. Also, after you save the jing, to have others be able to view it, you need to save it on screencast. (I downloaded it my computer and then uploaded it to screencast.)

Because people do have different information styles (I prefer the written word), I decided to do a glog highlighting the points of my Best Practice assessment. In addition, I am planning to do a jingcast of the glog, where I add an audio commentary and can illustrate the best practices by showing them on my computer screen and capturing them. (A glog is a electronic poster that you can add text to and integrate video or audio.) Here are a couple of examples of glogs: - http://astephens3.glogster.com/the-colonoscopy-experience-5301/ - a collection of youtubes on the colonoscopy experience - http://astephens3.glogster.com/colon-resources/ - a collection of links to colon cancer information websites

Well, yes, colonoscopies are a pain in butt, but for those unintiated - they give you drugs so you are out during the whole process.

Thanks for the kind words. I was introduced to this tool in the first course we took - EDUC281: Tools - and find it fun and easy to use. Also, Jennifer's introduction to jing was really worth it.

As part of the lesson 8 readings (Boettcher, Page 146), there is a description of the characteristics of quality on discussion postings. This outline is helpful and an extremely important element of eLearning course design that I had not previously thought about so succiently. Analogously, the link above - lists the guidelines - one should consider for good job postings. I think the underlying messge is to post a depth of detail (like salary range) which with all the information we have to consider is probably quite helpful.

The author of this study is Penny Ralstom-Berg, a Senior Instruction Designer at University of Wisconsin, where a survey of what makes a good course from a student perspective was conducted. The summary of the study starts on slide 20. The top 10 desires is consistent with what we've been focusing on in this class, however the bottom top is somewhat at odds and seems, to be, counter-intuitive to what I would have expected. Top 10: Assessments are appropriately timed, varied and appropriate; Instructions on how to access resources are sufficient and easy to understand; Course components are web-based or easily downloaded for use offline; Requirements for interaction are clearly explained; Opportunity to speak with instructor, classmates through email, bulletin boards, any time / any place; Technologies required are readily available - provided or easily downloaded; Clear instructions tell me how to get started and to find course components; Criteria for how I will be evaluated is descriptive and specific; Navigation is logical, consistent, and efficient; The grading policy is clearly stated Bottom 10: I find course-related content and share it with the instructor and classmates; I use wikis, shared documents, or other online collaborative tools to complete group work; I am asked to introduce myself to the class; I coach other students and help answer their questions; Opportunity to speak with my instructor and classmates through… same time, same place technology; Instructor does not participate in class discussions Course contains interactive games or simulations; I author / create course-related content and share it with instructor and classmates; I work in groups with other students; Course contains audio and video content

Your characterization is right-on. I was thinking that perhaps this reflects how maybe college students are - which is to get through the courses to get a degree and not always on the what they can learn component. What I personally find more challenging on internet courses is finding who I really resonate with. There is a delay in the dialog and reading something is different than inflection.

animoto.com is a tool that allows one to take pictures and create a slide show, adding text and music. It is a free tool, however, for a modest amount you can have additional features that allow you to do professional editting. I chose this activity as a way to connect with everyone and can really match faces with names. If you do see any mistakes, please let me know and I can easily update the slide show. I feel it goes to the discussion about creating community and having a presence that is more dimensional than just our names in a list. One could request and easily add other photos or snips.

Bandwidth is always a problem. I like the idea of "individualized" animotos that can be combined. The more advanced tool does allow for adding video. http://animoto.com/play/ye7XT0nzKSJvOWK8XGTh0A - this is an example of how I used in a personal way. My family and friends were more responsive to seeing this in this form and its an easy way for me to sort out pictures I want to focus on from all the hundreds I seem to take with the digital camera these days.

Authentic learning is a solid pedagogy approach, no matter the environment. However, two concepts of authentic learning that I feel can be particularly expanded on with the internet and etools are "hooks" and "experts". "Hooks" is what picques and keeps the student's interest and motivation in the activity. With the use of video, games, tools, etc., there are many more ways to do this. "Experts" is being able to bring in subject resources, which on the internet, makes accessibility easy. For my course framework activity, therefore, I expanded on the colon treatment options module. For a hook, I searched YouTube for "colon cancer comedy" videos. There were quite a few actually. I added as a introduction to the module one of these videos - two singing colon surgeons - on colon surgery. For experts, I added references to the National Institute of Health and American Cancer Society on treatment options and survival statistics. I also am having the students connect directly to true cancer experts - patients, caregivers, and survivors. This puts a "face" on the disease, as well as an experience to what it means to have colon cancer. The course framework activity: (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HZKsjzymKk1Bn2gXDt1LOp5gqEsUvOqXE4m-72b8WYw/edit?hl=en#) In my online work experience as a math tutor, hooks are particularly important, as these students would not be in the program if they weren't already performing at a lower math level. Math is not a subject they enjoy. The automated lessons they take, often have "game" quizzes they take and can get immediate feedback on their answers. As an instructor, I try to utilize their life experiences. For example, I might ask them how old they are and then tell them how old I am. I then use these facts to construct subtraction and/or division questions.

Your feedback is always appreciated!

This is an online community for people dealing with colon cancer. It is part of my course framework to have my students participate in the community, as a way to have a personal experience with the disease, as well as obtaining additional infomration. This forum is moderated, for filtering of non-topic posts, such as posts that are really advertisement hooks. You can participate as a guest or by signing-in. As someone who participates/has participated in on-line and in-person support group, both are important for providing support and information at a peer level. One interesting difference, though, based on my observation only, is that anger venting seems more prevalent in the on-line groups. My belief is that this is because when people post they are by themselves and can be more reflective rather than reactive to what is immediately being communicated.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gYhiSs1Ys7993MD9VnKg-c-Jv75gosaQm8mnlQ4J1ko/edit?hl=en - I started a collaborative document on guidelines and considerations in selecting and participating in online communities. I hadn't thought about applying standards, but its a good idea. It helps reason out what one would want and need. As for this forum - www.colonclub.com, it is a very active one and considered one of the mainstays in colon cancer support. I'm not sure the about the size and how relevant that is in this situation, but there are definitely enough participants to provide diversity.

Great additions! I particularly like the introduction.

Thought I would post my thoughts to Jennifer's mid-week email so others could comment as well. There was alot of explore.

1. Student participation. Jennifer's question was how to keep up the momentum for all students when the student pariticipation varies. To me, this goes to the initial course design. As a teacher, I have to decide how much of the course I want to be contributed to peers. This class, for example, lends itself to shared experience. Expectations need to be set for student participation and, to me, a priority for that participation. eTools allow for peer collaboration that can be overwhelming and derailing to the focus, as well as expanding and helpful. We can blog, email, post, etc., in addition to the traditional ways - study groups, phoning.

2. Eric Mazur. Dividing the education process into information transfer and assimilation was an extremely useful model to me. As he points out, technology in information transfer - i.e., providing data to students - has enhanced that part of education. Assimilation of the information - what the student has learned - can also be enhanced by etools, but to me his points were not as obviously implemented. From my own experience with on-line tutoring, I find that students learn how to learn the system. They are given automated practice tests, which they learn to "pass". When they interact with me, I find they don't always relate the information. For example, they have lessons on adding fractions and adding decimels. If I give them a sample problem of adding a fraction and adding a decimel, they have difficulty understanding they need to convert one to the other form without my intervention. He also discusses "intelligent" testing systems that can ask different questions, based on past successes, which is currently how SATs and many other standardized tests are done.

The "lasting" part of diigo is a positive, but the issue isn't one of having a place for information (I, for example, keep a "notebook" page for information I want later), but having too much of it to have meaning. I have expectations when I take course to learn information on a specific topic. Not all the peers who take the class with me have the same interest, knowledge, time, etc., so their contributions can and are uneven. This distracts me from the core of what I am trying to learn, if there is too much of it.

The point for me is not the amount of time I spend in a class, but having a filter for what is important. Posts, for example, that come with a highlight of what the link about or some reaction to the link that is a youtube, is more valuable to me. So, I usually filter those out.

A blog summarizing updates to my course framework on how the course would be assessed.

I received the following from Norma Whitacre and thought I'd pass it along. Our focus this week in EDUC251 is on this and is appropriate introduction to this course. from Norma: The third class in the series is offered spring quarter. It is Assessment in eLearning, EDCU 252. I hired Robin Jeffers, an assessment expert, to teach it, and she is great. Class begins the second week of the quarter and meets on campus two days only: Tuesdays. April 12 and June 7, 4:30-6:20, item 2239. A full class description is attached. (bookmarked above) We are also offering EDUC 250, the Introductory class if you know anyone who wants it.

Jennifer, it would AWESOME to have to in the class and have another voice to help reason through and learn about assessment. Please do take it!!!!

This week the focus is on assessment and evidence of understanding. The emphasis is, of course, on how we assess our students. However, eteachers can be more easily observed, so I thought the community might find it interesting as to how I, as an eteacher, am assessed. (The students do an automated self-paced lesson and then take a practice quiz. If they have questions during the lesson or in order to go the next one, we interact. Based on the quiz and other questions/discussions we have, I pass them to the next lesson. I have up to 4 students in one session.) Once a month, my supervisor listens to one of the recorded sessions and writes up an assessment. What I find interesting that is unique to elearning, is that my use of the technology environment goes into my assessment. I need to be logged in on time, I need to effectively switch among my students, etc. Also, if an area is weak, a request by my supervisor to re-take an automated class I have taken before - such as effective questioning - might be assigned.

The online environment provides for easy capture of the session. The requirement for teaching include having a degree and a background check, but not a teaching certificate. I feel the monitoring is an extra check and balance on both how we are teaching and our online presence. We go through training and have guidelines on what we can and cannot discuss with the students - such as sharing emails, contacts outside of class, etc. Recently this has come into focus, as the regular school teachers at the school I am tutoring with (we are a scheduled once a week class during the school year) encouraged the students to ask where we live, etc., to feel more connected. On our teacher platform, the teachers and our supervisor were able to post and share with each other on how they were and should be handling this. It is a balance - just as in a regular classroom - to be connected, yet have privacy. I do not find what information I should and should share or ask to be a problem for me, but the time focus is. The students are used to texting all the time and feel comofrtable with using the time that way. I have now developed my own transitions - from the explicit: "we've chatted enough for right now, please go on with your lesson" to a softer transition by using the information in our dialog to set-up a problem: You got so much snow! So if you had eight snowballs and split them evenly....".

As an analogy to "social presence", I have termed how a teacher interacts in the eLearning environment, as the "teacher presence". In reviewing the ten best practices for Teaching Online (Boettcher, p 37), half of the practices were about teacher presence: be present; supportive online community; set expectations and how you will communicate; informal feedback; and discussion posts. Boettcher (p. 196) also indicates (and is consistent my own personal learning experience) "the most difficult part of many learning tasks is getting started."

I, therefore, decided to create a Voicethread introduction for my course framework, to introduce myself to the student and also set the expectation and outline how communication will occur. I chose the Voicethread tool, so the students would have a place to add their voice and introduce themselves. You may also read the script of this Voicethread. These links have been integrated into the Course Framework page of my blog.
- VoiceThread: Blog: http://voicethread.com/#q.b1735418.i9130694
- Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GLh5g59WI1c-gaOjRQsO8VlFVDYBCIyshLkEcvFfYHg/edit?hl=en&pli=1#
- Blog: http://elearner151.blogspot.com/p/course-framework.html

In addition, this module in the course was about learning platforms. A post - http://elearner151.blogspot.com/2011/02/learning-platforms-module-5.html - on my blog based on my personal experience is also provided. Platform selection is complex and is easier to experientially relate to, so I chose to reflect on my use of the platform I use for tutoring.

This scenario - to augment access to education by on-line learning - has some merits, but as with many things the devil is in the details. And in reading this, there are so many details to understand. Does each university that has transfer credits get to set their standards, for example? I thought it was interesting that WGU - who would be offering these courses - was a private company founded by former politicians. Although I philosophically like this idea, it raises a flag about whether this is a money-making propostion for some people.

As an optional resource, a youtube introduction to MOOCs ((Massive, Open Online Courses) is given. As I understand it, MOOCs the "term" basically describing a collaborative "blog" on a topic. The concept is that courses can be offered with everyone who wants to to participate and/or take the course. The above link, I think is a good example of a MOOC and it is on eLearning. Similiar to EDU251 there is content proferred, as well as ways to comments and connect to other relavent websites. You can explore the site, but liked the definition of elearning: Elearning is the use of any type of technology in improving learning. At it's most basic level, it is email...at it's most advanced, it is an online course (or simulation, or virtual reality, or...well, you get the point)