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stu lewis

Symposium Journals - 5 views

www.wwwords.co.uk/...freetoview.asp

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  • stu lewis on 29 Feb 12
     
    E-Learning and Digital MediaISSN 2042-7530 The Rural Wings Project: bridging the digital divide with satellite-provided Internet. Hansson, H. , Mihailidis,P. , Larsson,K. ,Sotiriou, S. ,Sotiriou, S. ,Uzunoglu, N. &Gargalakos, M. (2007) The Rural Wings Project: bridging the digital divide with satellite-provided Internet. Phase I: Identifying and analysing the learning needs of 31 communities in 10 countries. E-Learning 4 (2), 107-115 The Rural Wings Project is a multi-year EU-funded assessment and analysis of numerous rural communities in ten different European nations, with the primary goal of assessing their needs and providing solutions to these needs by use of satellite-provided internet. During the analysis, numerous common problems and issues are revealed, all of which can be taken care of by making more reliable and frequent internet connections available to rural communities in Europe. The most commonly addressed solutions included educational and language opportunities. Rural Wings makes the assessment, implementation and oversight of educational media technologies in non-urban communities a focal point of the initiative. Both surveys were given to and Interviews were conducted of national and regional coordinators. The national coordinators were also given the task of processing and analysing the information as it relates to their individual nation, as each country in the study is an independent part of the overall Rural Wings needs analysis survey. Each country was given a focus of "formal" or "informal" learning based on the experience with technology that the users have. A formal learning focus would necessitate personal and face to face teacher training, training of farmers and doctors, as well as basic IT training. An informal learning focus would allow for more communication and learning via email, video and IP phone, as well as independent Internet use. Regardless of the primary focus of the individual country, (Cont. in comments)
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  • stu lewis on 29 Feb 12
     
    Regardless of the primary focus of the individual country, the study emphatically showed that more common and reliable satellite-provided internet connections would definitely be useful in all countries in a plethora of ways including: shrinking the digital divide, improving e-learning and administration, improving life conditions, and expanding communities, culture and economy. Rural Wings, Phase one of which is presented here primarily by Henrik Hansson and Ken Larsson of the University of Stockholm and Paul Mihailidis of the University of Maryland, is an informative study which serves to both diversify horizons and find similarities between areas. The basic premise behind the study is to show how satellite based internet is useful and indeed, necessary to many different communities in a wide variety of countries, both large and small, island and mainland and from various economic levels. Some of those included are Cyprus, England, Poland, Israel and Spain. In addition to national boundaries and differences, the communities surveyed and interviewed ranged from simple temperate farming communities to science stations in arctic areas. Although the findings were many, the project did a good job of categorizing the needs of the communities into 4 main groups: education, communication, involvement and business. It includes diagrams to show the effects of an ICT infrastructure and satellite internet connections on the digital divide in rural communities, and explains the benefits of this found in each of the countries involved, thus attempting to prove a common ground for so many distinctly different communities. Although the study was informative and interesting, it had obvious drawbacks. These include the fact that although the sample was broad and diverse, it was obviously too broad, as far too many social, economic and cultural factors affect the findings, and make it very difficult to draw definite and rational conclusions from the data gathered. Also, (cont. i
  • stu lewis on 29 Feb 12
     
    Also, due to the contrasting nature of the sample pools, making accurate qualifications of the findings extremely difficult. After all, who can rationally argue that a scientific base in the northern area of Sweden and a vegetable farm in Cyprus are 2 samples which can be measured on a "level playing field"? Overall, although the study was useful in proving the obvious point the having fast, reliable internet connections is useful in many to ways to people in many nations and in many situations, I feel that it further emphasizes other facts. First of all, it makes it even clearer that what may be good for the goose is not good for the gander. The diversity of the samples used shows that each specific situation, group, and individual needs to be looked at specifically when analysing specific needs and potential uses for technology in accessing these needs. In addition, the fact that 10 separate national coordinators were allowed to administer the surveys and interviews as they saw fit, and that the lack of coordination between the study in separate countries was detrimental to the reputability of the study as a whole is easily comparable to our own situation in Canada. Without a definite effort which emphasizes teamwork and has some organized and more methodical plan than the one used with the Rural Wings project, or the similar situation of e-learning in Canada these days, which allows Provinces free reign over the methods they see fit to use, there certainly will continue to be unnecessary negative drawbacks and an overall lack of effectiveness in projects both short and long term. It definitely leads us to wonder how can be accommodate so many varied and different cultures, needs and learning styles while we provide technology and allow those using it the access which is so obviously needed? How can we do this most efficiently while still respecting individuality and uniqueness of each situation? Is one coordinated effort really the answer, (cont. in comments)
  • stu lewis on 29 Feb 12
     
    Is one coordinated effort really the answer, or can studies such as this, and e-learning in general be better suited by breaking down the responsibility to best suit each situation? These questions and others continue to need more analysis to come up with solutions which will satisfy everyone involved. Henrik Hansson is a senior lecturer at Stockholm University, Sweden Paul Mihailidis is Director of Media Literacy Initiatives at the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda at the University of Maryland, College Park, USA Ken Larsson is a lecturer in User Centered Iterative Design at the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University, Sweden. More information on the Rural Wings Project can be found at www.ruralwings-project.net/RW/Project/Description.aspx
  • Inna Bolechowsky on 05 Mar 12
     
    Hi Stu, Thanks for another detailed critical review of the article by Hansson, Mihailidis, Larsson, Sotiriou, Sotiriou,Uzunoglu & Gargalakos, (2007). I like how you related the theme of the article to what we have been discussing in this course in regards to the issues in the broad adoption of e-Learning in Canada. I totally agree with you that without coordinated organized measures and teamwork there will always be some lack of effectiveness in any short-term or long-term projects. In my opinion, the given research project serves as a good example on how to identify the varied learning needs of the communities in regards to technology use, as in the given scenario in different European countries. As this study indicates, the different needs of communities for formal and informal learning can be met based on the provision of ICT access and satellite broadcast Internet connection. However, I would agree that more research needs to be done in order to identify how the varied learning needs of the diverse communities can be met with the introduction of ICT or e-learning. Reference: Hansson, H. , Mihailidis,P. , Larsson,K. ,Sotiriou, S. ,Sotiriou, S. ,Uzunoglu, N. &Gargalakos, M. (2007) The Rural Wings Project: bridging the digital divide with satellite-provided Internet. Phase I: Identifying and analysing the learning needs of 31 communities in 10 countries. E-Learning 4 (2), 107-115
  • Sean Green on 08 Mar 12
     
    There is no doubt in my mind that access to the Internet can be beneficial to anyone, and initiatives like the Rural Wings project are needed to, as you say, level the playing field between those who have access to the Internet and those who do not. You argue that the study is too broad to be of any real use, but I wonder if the point of the article is to show that the Internet is useful in diverse cultural and geographic contexts, thus, promoting the goals of the Rural Wings project and securing the funds needed to run it. After reading your review of the article, I also wonder if bias is not something to consider as a criticism for the article. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe Henrik Hanson is one of the organizers of the Rural Wings project, so what he has to say about it's usefulness has to be taken with a grain of salt. Your discussion of the problem of creating standardized methodologies is both interesting and controversial. On the one hand, standardized methodologies and practices will allow us to evaluate the effectiveness of of learning across time and situations, reduce redundancy, and improve efficiency, but the very act of standardization dampens what I believe is elearning's most powerful features, its flexibility. Honestly, I have yet to see or hear about any one elearning strategy that has been shown to be significantly better than others, and I think the the area is far too young for anyone to say that they have the best solution to the elearning problem. Until the right solutions show itself to us, I am quite content to let provinces, countries and even small communities determine how to best use ITC to improve their quality of life.
stu lewis

An open education resource supports a diversity of inquiry-based learning | Schmidt-Jon... - 7 views

www.irrodl.org/...2074

Stu Lewis UCal MacLachlan EDER 679.29 e-learning bibliography

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  • stu lewis on 29 Feb 12
     
    Catherine Anne Schmidt-Jones University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne, USA There have been numerous calls for research that demonstrates how open education resources (OERs) are actually being used. This case study sought to shed light on the users of a well-visited set of modular music-education materials published at Connexions. Schmidt-Jones, C.A., (2012). An Open Educational Resource Supports a Diversity of Inquiry-Based Learning. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 13(1) With the modern advances and recent evolution of e-learning it seems that the resources available for online learning and blended learning programs are countless, and growing. At times it seems difficult to keep track of which available resources are actually being used, and of those which are, which ones are most effective? Catherine-Anne Schmidt-Jones, from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne has conducted a case study based on a music education educational system comprised of numerous tools and modules, published at Connexions. The respondents included instructors, students, non-student learners and administrators/directors. The respondents varied in gender and age as well as their motivation for learning: self-directed or for other motivational reasons. According to the author, the study was done with the intent of explaining and understanding the way in which open education resources (OERs) are being used in real life situations. Open educational resources are digital resources which can be used and reused by teachers and students, often made available free through open licenses. The author suggests that many critics of open educational tools are demanding some form of quantitative proof and empirical data that these tools can actually improve educational quality. The author forms her case study on 103 music-education modules published at Connexions ( http://cnx.org
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  • stu lewis on 29 Feb 12
     
    Findings found that most of the respondents were self directed learners and also discovered that learners who were self motivated tended to visit the site and use the modules to learn on numerous occasions. Almost all respondents rated the modules positively with an average rating of 3.998 (very helpful) on a 5 point scale. After discussing the respondents and their opinions of the modules in more detail, the author then cross references a previous study by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and devotes a large part of the article to comparing and contrasting the MIT study and their OpenCourseWare (OCW) with her own study. After reading the abstract I was really interested in the article and the case study. However, overall I was generally disappointed with it. Although the author mentions that much research is needed into the value and impact of open education, the study really does very little to actually support the authors claims that the OERs are truly valuable educational resources. Further, most of the data collected was retrieved through surveys conducted at the end of modules. Almost anyone who has completed a module tends to be somewhat satisfied with the experience, and this tends to warp the sample somewhat. Also, much of the data collected focuses not specifically on "How" the OERs are used, but "Who" is using them, and "Why". Thus, much of the article is devoted to explaining who responded to the survey and quoting their opinions and experiences. Although the article was entertaining to read, this does little to give any form of empirical data to back up any findings made. It is claimed in conclusion that the case proves that one major function of OERs is to serve as "readily available resources for informal inquiry based learning". I definitely agree with this, but I don't really think a survey based case study was needed to demonstrate it. Surely if we are going to conduct a case study such as this, a question such as (cont.)
  • stu lewis on 29 Feb 12
     
    as "rate your satisfaction level from one to five" is not sufficient to truly support any findings. I actually thought the concept behind the article was a good one, but the study itself and the article could have been more carefully conducted and written. Isn't there a more effective way to conduct a case study than simply throwing out online surveys? If, as the author explains, the emphasis of a case study should be on the individual as opposed to the general group, how can we keep from making generalizations when dealing with 488 separate surveys and 627,521 logged visits to the site? Although the article provides a wide variety of feedback from respondents with numerous musical tastes and learning motivations, one must ask if the type of responses and level of satisfaction would be the same if the topic of the site were different, perhaps sports, herbal medicine or knitting instead of music. I agree that continual recent studies are constantly needed to ensure that we keep OERs and e-learning materials available and their quality level high enough to support learning at all levels, ages and motivation reasons. Now perhaps it's time for more designing and conducting of studies which can actually give some real proof of the value of our e-resources. The lingering question remains: What are the best ways to do this? Catherine Anne Schmidt is a lecturer and researcher at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne, USA
  • Inna Bolechowsky on 04 Mar 12
     
    Hi Stu, I enjoyed reading your critical review of the article by Schmidt-Jones C. (2012). I found the article itself quite interesting, especially the comparative analysis provided by the author on the distribution of users of the OERs (Open Education Resources) of the OpenCourseWare from the MIT and the online repository and management system for musical educational material of Connexions. In this comparative analysis, the author proved once again that the main function of OERs is for just-in-time, inquiry-based learning. However, as you mentioned Stu, it would be more valuable to show how the OERs are used by individual learners and how the OERs can improve the quality of education. Also, I would be curious to see the online survey applied by the author, to help me better understand the benefits and limitations of the conducted research. The research results showed that the OERs are more frequently used by students and not teachers. However, I think that the OERs can also serve as a great tool for novice teachers to learn from the examples of their colleagues on how to scaffold the learning activities and effectively create online modules of courses. The feedback on the materials posted on the OERs can also help educators to constantly improve their materials as well as to learn from the examples of their colleagues. However, as the role of OER is becoming mainly a learning resource, I think that it is important for educators and administrators to start incorporating the OERs in the design of learner-centered models in education and to use OERs for just-in-time inquiry based learning and to meet the concrete learning outcomes. Thanks again for your thorough critical review of the article Stu!
  • Sean Green on 08 Mar 12
     
    Hello Again, I came across Connections, the database of OERs mentioned in this study while watching a TED talk by Richard Baraniuk (2006), the founder of Connections. I found both the talk and your review of the article interesting. I think in the end this article is more about the quality of the music modules described in the paper and less on the effectiveness of OER's in general. You mention your disappointment that the article does not support the claim the OERs are effective educational tools. I think any article making such a claim would fail due to the variations in the modules and resources. When it comes down to brass tacks, OERs are like any other resources available to teachers. There are variations in the type and quality, and thus, their usefulness to teachers also varies. What redeems OER is the fact that anyone is free to use them in any way they see fit. Richard Baraniuk focus on this point in his talk. He makes use of Apple's advertising campaign slogan, "create, rip, mix, and burn" to extoll the power of OERs. Anyone can create an OER that can be used by anyone around the world for free. Anyone can rip that OER and mix it to suit their specific needs. Anyone can burn a copy of that resource in different ways, so they can use it in many different times and contexts. The only price is crediting the creators of the resources you use. Baraniuk argues that collections of OERs like Connections empower people from many different cultures and socio-economic status. I see his point, but there is still the problem of quality. I took a look around connections and found some modules to be good while others were not good at all. Honestly, I did not see anything I would call great. This makes me wonder if OERs will ever achieve the same quality level as the copy written resources that cost schools quite a bit of money. OERs may somewhat level the playing field between the haves and the have nots, but not by a great degree. Not yet anyway. Baraniuk, R. (2006).
stu lewis

An e-learning platform for Aerospace Medicine - 6 views

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/...PMC2577394

Stu Lewis University of Calgary e-learning blended learning MacLachlan EDER 679.29

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  • stu lewis on 29 Feb 12
     
    Copyright 2008, Hippokratio General Hospital of Thessaloniki An e-learning platform for Aerospace Medicine P D Bamidis,1,2 S Konstantinidis,1 C L Papadelis,1,2 E Perantoni,2 C Styliadis,1,2 C Kourtidou-Papadeli,1,2 C Kourtidou-Papadeli,2 and C Pappas1 1Lab of Medical Informatics, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece 2Greek Aerospace Medical Association and Space Research The appeal of online education and distance learning as an educational alternative is ever increasing. Bamidis, P.D., Konstantinidis, S., Papadelis, C.L., Perantoni, E., Styliadis, C., Kourtidou-Papadeli, C. & Pappas, C. (2008) An e-learning platform for Aerospace Medicine. Hippokratia Quarterly Medical Journal 12 (1) pp.15-22 Part II: An E-Learning Platform for Aerospace Medicine Aerospace medicine had been defined as an occupational or preventive form of medicine in which the patients are involved in spaceflight. This specialty specifically endeavours to prevent and treat medical problems and disorders which are common among aircrews and frequent flyers. Although it is a medical specialty widely unknown to the general public, constant educational trends force general practitioners to expand their knowledge base and to learn more about topics such as the treatment of pulmonary disorders in aviation situations. Enter e-learning. As aerospace medicine is not a common topic in educational circles, very few educational courses have been developed which teachers and instructors can use and expand for their courses. The authors of this article, P.D. Bamidis, S. Konstantinidis and others from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, The Greek Aerospace Medical Association and the Hippokratio General Hospital of Thessaloniki present a SCORM (Shareable Content Object Reference Model) compliant course that uses the concepts of modern social web technologies and modern advances in educational technology such as 3D Virtual environments. (cont. in comments)
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  • stu lewis on 29 Feb 12
     
    The concept of SCORM allows the production of learning material which can be assessed by numerous students and instructors regardless of learning management system (LMS) they may be using. It can also be maintained and adapted as necessary. Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) through the US government, developed SCORM in order to eliminate limitations to courses created with a specific LMS in mind. This article briefly discusses the concept of SCORM, and the Content Aggregation Model (CAM), which shows how each SCORM object can be divided into many Shareable Content Objects (SCOs). More information on the topic, including the use of metadata, can be found at www.scorm.com . Essentially, the authors suggest that a very effective way of conducting their first course in Aerospace Medicine, entitled "pulmonary disorders in aerospace medicine", is to use the SCORM editor to create a course package which contains all the necessary files and information for the online course to completely work properly. It is then put into a zip file and unzipped into the directory and used. By combining this zip file with the LMS, in this case Moodle, the teachers and learners can use all of the web 2.0 tools as well as synchronous and asynchronous modules that are provided by the LMS, making a very effective e-learning environment. This course in particular uses the modules of text, slides, video, forums, wikis and multiple choice quizzes. A couple of great benefits of this is the diversity of the activities and the fact that a different professor (or the same one if they choose to switch their LMS of choice) can take the same course to a different LMS and conduct the course with different tools of that LMS.
  • stu lewis on 29 Feb 12
     
    The concept of SCORM was a new one to me and the authors do a good job of explaining the basics. The entire platform was presented in a way that was understandable, but I would have liked some more examples comparing different tools which might be available for different LMSs and how the different aerospace medicine classes could be altered to suit each LMS. Also, I originally selected this article as I was searching for extremely specific topics which e-learning could be effective in teaching and learning. I thought that aerospace medicine and pulmonary disease were explicit enough. Although numerous screen shots are included in the article, very little explanation of the subject matter itself was given, thus assuming most readers were already quite learned in the matter. Another possible issue which arises with the concept of SCORM may include the issue of intellectual property, and the fact that many class designs and platforms are not designed by the creator with the intent of sharing them. The authors present their aerospace medicine e-learning platform as a great way of taking a very specialized form of educational material and using SCORM and Moodle together to allow for its online instruction and the sharing of the essential subject matter among instructors. If this platform is indeed as effective as the authors make it out to be, I wonder if it would be equally beneficial for a completely different specialized subject. Could we use this platform just as easily for other topics? Also, if specific topics are to be shared among instructors, would it possibly have negative effects on the level of instruction a teacher can provide? I know for a fact that when I take the time to design my own course material, I know it much better and thus can teach to the utmost extent of my ability. Certainly when providing instruction in topics such as aerospace medicine and similar subjects, the level of teaching and learning becomes a matter of life and death.
  • stu lewis on 29 Feb 12
     
    All of the authors are affiliated with the Lab of Medical Informatics, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thesaloniki, Greece, or the Greek Aerospace Medical Accociation and Space Research. For more information in regard to SCORM, check out www.scorm.com For more information about Aristotle University of Thessaloniki check out: http://www.auth.gr/home/index_en.html
  • Inna Bolechowsky on 05 Mar 12
     
    Hi Stu, I am glad that you have explained your choice of the article on the use of an e-learning platform in aerospace medicine for the critical review. I have to admit that I found the article a bit technical, even though the authors did a good job in providing a detailed description of the SCORM (Shareable Content Object Reference Model) concept and the process of creating the SCORM editor to develop a course package. As the authors highlighted, the main benefit of using the SCORM editor in the described course design is that the course can then be transferred to any Learning Management System, while at the same time remain credible, up-to-date and reusable. As I am not familiar with the SCORM concept at all I wish the authors would have provided some overview of how and whether the concept of SCORM and the SCORM editor could be used in designing online courses in other areas of education, and not just limit their literature review to medical education. Personally, I did not find the article to be of any practical value for my teaching practice. However the article allowed me to gain better understanding of how e-learning can be effectively applied in teaching of a course in a very specific area, such as aviation technology, where the instructors need to be qualified to cover a wide range of topics, from engineering, management to education and regulations. Thanks for sharing an article on such specific topic and for another well-developed critical review of the paper. Reference: Bamidis, P.D., Konstantinidis, S., Papadelis, C.L., Perantoni, E., Styliadis, C., Kourtidou-Papadeli, C. & Pappas, C. (2008) An e-learning platform for Aerospace Medicine. Hippokratia Quarterly Medical Journal 12 (1) pp.15-22
  • Sean Green on 08 Mar 12
     
    Hey Stu, I hope all is well in your new home. Interesting article. There is something to be said about the ability to have some flexibility in how and where you use online course content. The internet in general has been a bit of a wild west in the past. In the beginning, it was really only good for direct communications between users. Search engines really helped give it some structure that could be organized and searched, and now standardized coding practices like HTML 5 and SCROM are intent on structuring the web even more. Your description of SCROM prompts me to think about what is going on with the development of the Web 3.0 (semantic web) where metadata is used to give meaning to displayable content, ontologies allow computers to understand that meaning, and software agents use that data to find logical solutions for tasks performed by a users. I must admit that I am quite interested in topics like SCROM and the semantic web. They represent the future of the internet and how it will impact our lives, especially in education. I did a quick search of SCROM on good old wikipedia, and the article suggested that the SCROM allows for a number of learning paths of students and ensures the acceptability of his or her test scores. I think this sort of tailoring of educational environments to meet a learners needs will raise the quality of education while making a teachers job easier. I am speculating here though. Have a great day. Here is a link to an accessible article on the semantic web. Take a look if you are interested. It is Morris, R.D., (2011). Web 3.0: Implications for online learning. Tech Trends. 55(1). 42-46. Retrieved from http://www.springerlink.com/content/xv0j138255320150/.
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