Moodle Wrap Up

Well the project is done.  I can almost breath again.  It has been quite a project.  I am still trying to see how much I want to use Moodle.  There are many things that I like about the program but the students forgetting their usernames and passwords were frustrating.  They could log in as a guest but that it not the same.  Google Docs has made the project a lot more manageable.  I am really liking the different abilities of the programs and it is all web based so I don't need a flash drive or stuff loaded on a computer.  Check it out.

Time to enjoy the weekend.  Later.

This week’s beta testing with Moodle: Week 10

I started beta testing my Moodle class this week. It has been quite an experience. I have 165 students throughout the day with at least 35 students in each class. Monday was the first day that I had these students set up their accounts through Calaxy. I had the first period watch the training the video to walk them through the steps but there were problems with setting up the account and typing the emails correctly. There were students that misspelled the address so they couldn’t receive the confirmation emails.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the class was able to log on and I spent time showing the students the different functions of Moodle. We were able to view the assignments. I spent time showing the different parts of the program. I created screencasts of the different skills and am in the process of editing. Moodle has a chat function that I want to utilize for the projects so we spent some time playing with it. The students spent time chatting with each other. Before we chatted, the students created a blog entry on their first impressions. The class needed to have a discussion on the differences between informal and formal writing based on the audience. Students agreed that blogs and chat could be informal while anything turned in for a grade needed to be formal with complete sentences and correct grammar and spelling.

Thursday was spent on the first assignment on day 2 where the students had to download a scavenger hunt to complete. I used the chat function for the students to ask questions on the scavenger hunt. The student had to ask the question on Moodle and I would respond using the chat. Students found this to be awkward at first but began to get used to it. Students also began to talk about the information and share what they had discovered as far as where the information was located and a few answers. There were a few things that I needed to edit on the scavenger hunt. On Friday, students would be watching the video for day 4 that they would be typing the facts into on Monday.

This weekend, I went down to the CLMS Conference in San Diego. It was a very thought prevoking conference. Many sessions were taken up with different discussions of utilizing the different Google Apps. The Apps require a person to have an igoogle account which is free. Once you have an igoogle account, you are able to use Google Docs to create documents or presentations to create a powerpoint type of project without a lot of the bells and whistles that Middle Schoolers want to include. The most powerful part about the Google apps is that you can share the projects online and can edit the projects at the same time. Google tracks the changes and shows the people who made the changes and when. You are also able to set up a chat with partners to go over the changes as you are editing the projects. Google has a forms function that allows you to create a form that can have many functions. The form has an url so that people can link to it without having a Google account. The results are shown as a spreadsheet with the different answers. You are also able to color code the answers for easier grading. I am going to create forms for the scavenger hunt answers and 15 facts. I am excited about this because it will make it easier to grade.

Based on the conference, there will be some adjustments to this Moodle class next trimester. The Google apps are blocked by the district so we will need to figure out how to get around it. I see utilizing the Google forms to make it easier for students to submit work. I am also in the process of deciding what I want to do for the last few days of the project. Currently the students are creating projects independently and turning it into Moodle. The students will then present their person to the class using the chat function. I will probably get rid of day 9 and 10 and do something else with Moodle. Next trimester, I would like to see more student to student interaction if we can get igoogle to work.

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Ten years ago when I stopped working on my project, we were looking at utilizing WebCT for a class. Honestly we saw the value of online learning but thought it was a pipedream. Since I have come back, my courses have all been online. The curriculum has been web-based with instructions written to make it clear for the students. Videos and podcasts have been used to communicate the material. The use of Skype has been a great resource to talk with other students. By being able to speak to the professors and other students instead of reading blogs or discussion boards and papers, you get the human connection. I would have to say that I still struggle with that. As I refine parts of my Moodle project there will be some adjustment in how the work is submitted with the integration of Google forms. This will allow me to check the work with all of the answers in front of me instead of opening each student’s work to grade. I would try to have more chats with the students as a form of checking for understanding. Skype would be a great asset for the class but the district has blocked it. The use of blogs will be used for students to reflect and igoogle will allow students and the teacher to edit and discuss each other’s work. At first there will be mostly the instructor leading the class and having the students complete the work. As the class progresses, I would expect the students to be more willing to help each other and work together.

After the class is created, another instructor will need to decide how much they are willing to do. The instructor may decide to create new videos or podcasts to explain some of the information. I may have too much to do for an assignment so they may change the assignment or the rubric. They may decide that they do not want the students to interact and help each other so they may not use the chat function to allow the students to talk to each other. There are some instructors that do not see the value of blogs so they may get rid of them. They will have to decide what is comfortable for them.


I will link the forms when I am done with them so you can see them.

Project Week

This project has been an adventure. As I am working on the project this weekend, I am on a time crunch. My plan is to beta test this project with my classes starting on Monday. At this point I am not sure if I want to do it with all of my classes or just one or two. I am leaning towards all 5 sessions to see what Moodle can do as well as how I could use it. The project is set up as the first ten days of my class. I teach 7th and 8th Graders different computer programs in a project-based class where they create projects using different software. The first ten days is an introduction to the class and the only whole class activities we do all trimester. Students are introduced to web safety and fair use as well as using power point to research some of the pioneers of technology. In using Moodle, I hope to transfer what we do in class and show how it can be used on Moodle. I am using this project as a test of the program for myself and other teachers. We shall see how it goes.


Links to my project:

Syllabus

Project Description

Moodle Project: If you are curious to see what it looks like, you can log in as a guest with the code smstcl

Video showing how to set up Moodle Account and log in

I will be curious to see how the test goes tomorrow.  I want to include a video clip of the tour of the site but decided that I am going to do that as I take the class through it.

Wish me luck.

Week 8

A quick status report:


I have been working on Moodle setting up the class. It is quite a process to set up the class. You have to register for the Moodle account and begin to set your class sessions up. You have total control on what you want to include and I am still trying to figure out all of the ins and outs. Moodle allows you to use Hot Potatoes to set up quizzes. If you have not checked out Hot Potatoes, it is a free program that allows you to create quizzes that can be multiple choice, matching or a variety of them. Once you set up the quiz, you can save it as a webpage that keeps track of the score.

Registering students for Moodle is a chore. You have to sign up for a log on at the Moodle site. I am using k12hsn.org that is for teachers to set up the account. It is through the state. You register and they send you an email that you have to confirm. You then give the students the enrollment code to join your class. I was hoping it was easier but no luck. My son’s school has moodle on their server so they must have been able to register the students on their end and all the students needed are the enrollment code.

Ok now to this week’s post

As I set up my project I am looking at having it set up for my classes that start after Thanksgiving. I have been working on the pages and will beta test it with my students this trimester. I know that I was able to log onto Moodle through my account but am curious how it will work on the student’s end with the firewalls from the district. This week I will be having both of my kids test the program at home as well as a student account that I created. I have linked to videos on Youtube but the district blocks it so I was hoping to download the movies using Youtube downloader but it says that the program cannot find flash movies. I may need to use CamStudio to record the movies off of the screen and save them and upload them. I know I can use Teachertube at school so I am searching for videos on there.

I am currently working on the content and will use web pages and podcasts to share some of the information. I will use Audacity to create the podcasts and will create the videos on Camstudio with the narration as we go and place the video clips into Movie Maker with text. Moodle allows you to embed video into the web page so I am interested in including it on the page.

I will be using Hot Potato for the quizzes because I have the quizzes that I have created before that can be included. I will also be using web pages, videos, podcasts and chats and blogs. I also set up a discussion forum for the class. I will be the first to admit that I still have to learn more about Moodle.

I am planning to use Moodle for my class for the first two weeks of my class for the trimester. The online class is set up to go with the curriculum. After I beta test Moodle with my classes for two weeks I will modify the lessons to make it better and introduce it to other teachers at my campus. We are operating on a shoe string budget so I am trying to make sure that I am using free software. Audacity, Camstudio, Hot Potato and Movie Maker are installed on my computer and I signed up for a free Moodle account on k12hsn.org. As I set up the curriculum for the class, I want to keep the costs to free or a minimum because of my budget and how long it takes to purchase new software.

I will be testing the class on my wireless network at home with different speed computers and Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari to see if it affect the appearance. My class has a faster network that is hardwired on the network so I shouldn’t have a problem. My concern is that Moodle could be blocked on the network so all of this could be for naught.

To test media fidelity, I will test the different media on different computers here at home. I have a wireless network and wired network that I have access to. I have 4 laptops on a wireless network and 2 computers on a Fios network. I am also going to test the Moodle pages on Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari.

To test instructional quality, I am going to review all of the directions myself before having my kids test the directions. I will have my students test the directions when I have students log in after Thanksgiving. I will be having the different testers look at the directions and let me know if anything needs to be changed.

I am not sure how I could change my project if I was going for a wider audience. Currently most of my class is on web pages on the network at school. I don’t see the reason to change the web pages to Moodle because they are already on the network and don’t require use of Moodle. After I create and test my class, I know there are a few teachers that are interested in using Moodle in their classes so I would help them set up their classes and test it with them.

Week 7 Status

I am working on setting up my Moodle class for my plan.  I am looking forward to learning more about Moodle and setting up the class.  I just hope it works at school.

responded to Angelica and Grace.

New Media in Online Learning

          Web 2.0 technology is becoming popular because of availability of bandwidth, ease of production and changes in the attitudes about creating and viewing new media. All of these factors have led to the creation of “new” ways to use the Internet to reach people. The Media Readiness theory states that every media has the ability to transmit information and invites feedback, show cues, natural communication and personal focus. It goes hand and hand with why people like web 2.0 technology. It allows the creator to post their production at low cost and have it seen by people that can respond to what it being shown or heard. If you just spend 10 minutes in Youtube, you can see this at work. Along with Media Readiness theory comes the Social Presence theory which says that a media must be able to transmit a message and allow people to feel satisfaction. We look at the interaction that can happened with the Web 2.0 technologies and people are satisfied because they can interact with what is being said. You can’t do that to a book or a static web page.


Video: When I first started at CSUSB almost 10 years ago, I took a video class that required us to record a lesson on a VHS tape to be loaded on the computer to be edited. We would have to edit the tape on the computer and then edit it on the computer that had specialized software and hardware. I remember it was difficult and the finished project was saved on a zip disk. When Adobe Premiere came out it was a major change in how videos could be edited. It was hard to use with the cameras we had. Currently I am teaching a technology class that has the students create movies that can be loaded to the computer and edited in either Windows Movie Maker or Adobe Premiere Elements. One of the factors that have made it easier is that the camera is digital so we don’t have to worry about converting the video to digital like we did before. The videos are saved as a mpeg or wmv file that can be uploaded to our website so they can be viewed.

We are also using videos from Youtube, Teachertube and Discovery Streaming that can be downloaded and shown to students on the computer. Youtube is blocked on our server so they must be downloaded by some software I found. Discovery Streaming is a video site that the district subscribes to that allows teachers to search for videos related to their topic and view it online (it can slow down the network) or download. I use the downloaded videos for sub plans or supplements.

Up to this year we also had Atomic Learning that used video to teach different skills to the students on the computer. We subscribed to it and it would play the video with screenshots and a description of what was being done. I did a project last year that linked the lessons to the NETs.

I think you can see how teachers can use video with their students. Currently I have my students create videos creating LEGO movies or movies relating to curriculum. This trimester I started having my students use Story Telling Alice to create action movies to explain different concepts in class such as Aesop’s Fables. After the students create the movie we are recording it using CamStudio to make it a movie of screenshots. We can then go in and add voices and sound. I had some students create mini tutorials of different skills on different programs. I plan to create movies of different skills in Moodle as I become more familiar with the program.

Podcast: The podcasts that I use are audio. I first learned about podcasts four years ago at a conference. The presenter made it seem so easy that anyone could do it. Guess what, it is. I experimented with podcasts and created some sample podcasts for my class to show them how to do it. I use Audacity in my class to record the project and have the students edit the clips to prepare it the way they want it. When it is done, I can upload it to our website. I have had students do voiceovers for their Movie Maker projects or Camstudio movies.

I plan to integrate podcasts into my Moodle project to explain concepts and lectures. As my students create more podcasts, they like the fact that the podcasts are free and can be uploaded to itunes and such. I now have teachers interested in creating podcasts for the students to share the information online.

Skype: Skype is something new for me last trimester. I like the fact that you can log on and communicate with people from anywhere as long as you have a computer with Internet and a microphone. More people are beginning to use the program to communicate with family and friends. My next door neighbor is in Russia for a month and is communicating with his family on Skype and help his son with homework. The newest version of Skype also has a chat function which works great when you can not get into the phone call.

My district blocks the installation of the software so it wouldn’t work for me but I can see how you could use it for an online class like we are taking now.

Bulletin Board/Blogs: Bulletin boards and forums are a great way to communicate ideas as long as people are willing to respond. I began using Bulletin Boards while I was in the JASON Project and it was a great way for students to discuss different ideas. I put blogs in this because it can be considered the same thing. We post assignments on the blogs and respond to different posts. I think blogs allow students to be more expressive than a bulletin board.

I am going to use bulletin boards and blogs in my project because it is important for students to be able to read what other students are writing and respond to it. I prefer the blog because students may be more willing to respond to it when it is a blog which is a journal, than a bulletin board.

Second Life: I have no experience with Second Life. I tried to download the software last year to try it as I did my 644 project but I couldn’t get it to work. I agree with Dr. Newberry that it may not be the best method for classes to use. Through my research, I did find out that there are many versions of virtual reality software that are in beta so it will be easier for the instructor to control the environment and interactions with the students.

Flickr: Flickr seems a lot like paintbucket.com. You are able to post pictures online and tag them and discuss them. I have not used Flickr with my students because it is blocked by our district. Students mostly use google images to get the pictures they need.

I could see using this for different projects such as pictures of a field trip. Students could go to Flickr and get the pictures and save them to their computer and create a project. Also students could respond to the pictures and it would create a digital photo album.

Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatconnectpro/

I was exploring the CTAP website http://www.myctap.org/ and found the online workshops. These are workshops that people can sign up for and log on. The website uses Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro and allows the people in the workshop to log in and see the other attendees. The instructor can have a webcam hooked up so the students can see them or hear their voice. There is a chat section so the attendees can discuss what is going on and ask questions. There is a window where the instructor can show PowerPoint or videos for everyone to see. It also has a transcript section so you can see what you missed or review the information. I have not done a workshop but was excited about the possibilities of this because it would link all of the different components together (text, graphical, voice and video).

Week 6 links

The assignment for week 6 was very relevant to what I have been dealing with at school.  We have files all over our server that are misnamed and it is taking a lot of time to go through them.  I like the idea of doing a podcast for the information.  I have used podcasts in the past as well as had students create them but have never done a transcript of the podcast.  That is something I need to work on.

As far as my links, I am including a link to the list of links I could use for my project.  I have been searching through Youtube and found many tutorials on Moodle that will help me.  My plan is to download all of the youtube clips and save them on my computer to upload to Moodle and the district server so the students can view them.

I am getting excited about the project because the pieces are coming together.  I know that I will be creating movies and podcasts to help my students navigate through Moodle when I am comfortable.

My Session Links

Week 5 and 6

My Plan changed from what I thought it was going to be. Last week I was focusing on the American Civil War because I thought it would be a great project to help the 8th Grade teachers. As I was working on the Design I decided that I wanted to use the online project for my class. I have technology classes that are web based with the directions written on the site for the projects they do but the first two weeks are usually by direct instruction. I have signed up for a Moodle account and have set up the first two weeks using Moodle. I am still in the process of working on the Moodle set up because I have never used it before so we shall see.

The plan can be found at http://southridgems.org/ourpages/users/Fisher/moodleintro.doc

I think I need to go back and redo the Design for the Content, Student and Instructor Characteristics (week 2) because I may have done them wrong.

My next steps is to create the Moodle classes and begin to create the pages with the assignments. I am still trying to figure out how Moodle works and figure out how to create the quizzes and stuff.

I will be updating my instructional media soon. Stay tuned.

Update on week 5

In the better late than never category, I forgot to post an update on my project. It has been frustrating to say the least. Last week was the end of the trimester so with grades, conferences and all of that fun, I have been trying to get my moodle to work. I registered for a Moodle account through K12HSN which is for California teachers to communicate with. They have a Moodle portal to sign up for and they send you a username and password. I received my username and password and they don't work. I have sent them 3 emails and nothing yet. I was hoping to spend last weekend working on Moodle but that hasn't worked out. I am in the process of working on the design plan and am excited about what I have come up with so far.

I'll keep you updated on Moodle. Here is the link if you want to take a look at what it is. http://moodle.k12hsn.org/login/index.php

Instructional Design For Online Learning Assignment

1. Explain what is meant by the dichotomy between the Internet as Content Transmitter and Internet as Communication Tool. Explain your perspective on this dichotomy.

Internet as Content Transmitter goes to back to the standard format of a classroom. Teachers are seen as the experts and they are giving the information to the students through the Internet. Internet as a Communication Tool is a newer concept in that the students are given a task and the tools needed and they have to go out and investigate to get the answers. This allows for students to work as groups and investigate and report to each other and the instructor through the Internet. I would have to say I lean more to the Internet as a Communication tool at this level but know my students are not ready for this. Middle School students do not have the skills needed to be able to explore their answers and report back to each other and the instructor. This is where I would like to go but I would need a special group of students to make this work.

2. How can good instructional design ensure that the course meets student needs?

Good instructional design will help meet student needs of they find value in what is being taught and how it is being taught. The student has to see that the instructor is engaged and there is contact with them. The design has to allow the student to feel that there is ambiguity in what is learned and there is a definite focus to the lessons and accomplishment when it is done.

3. How can good instructional design ensure course quality?

When you think about a good instructional design model for the classes, you need to look at the course in the fact that it is synchronous or asynchronous and how it is being assessed. There needs to be a focus on how the information is relayed whether it will be through a lecture, discussions, videos or podcasts. Students need to feel that they are connected to the class and the instructor. Another part of instructional design also is the focus on time that is required for the students. There are times that I feel that classes would be easier if they were face-to-face because you would be able to interact with the other students and the instructor and not feeling like I am doing this all alone with not a lot of feedback.

4. What is the difference between course level and individual activity level design?

Course level activities would be lecture and discussions (chats, discussion boards) based on learning outcomes and technology. Individual activities would be discussion boards, email and chats with individual students or the instructor. The student could also be posting on blogs and responding to other students like we do for this class.



The class I would set up would be an online history class for 8th grade. The class would be set up on something such as Moodle that the students could log into to complete the assignments and interact with the instructor and other students. I decided on Moodle because it is free and is pretty easy to use and set up. I have to admit that I do not use it at this time but have been told that it is easy. I will set up the class with assignments listed by the week with links for videos, podcasts and such. The unit I would develop would focus on the American Civil War.

Analysis: Many teachers rely on the history book to deliver the causes and battles of the US Civil War but miss an opportunity to allow the students to interact with many of the artifacts that we have available for us.

Students would be expected to be able to log in to Moodle and be able to navigate through the site. Students would receive an in-service on how to log on and utilize the different parts of the program. Whether it is how to use the web pages and use the submission function and chats. Students could be at any level of technical knowledge because the in-service would make sure they understood.

The Instructor should be a teacher comfortable in the delivery of the content and have a solid knowledge of the content. The instructor could be a computer novice or an instructor comfortable with online courses. The instructor would be expected to be able to communicate the information and communicate that knowledge to the students. The instructor would also be available to interact with the students using chat, email and discussion boards. The instructor could use video clips to illustrate the points as well as links to other sites.

The content could be a combination of websites, video, podcasts, chats and discussions. I see most of the content delivered through links to primary websites and videos. The instructor could use the textbook as a supplemental resource to relay the information but most of the information would be relayed through the other sites. The use of the primary websites would help the students to see that there are sites available that can tell the stories of the Civil War in a manner that would allow the students to interact more with the people.

Assessment: Assessment of the information is always the challenge. Most teachers would probably give the students tests or essays to show mastery of the information. I believe in a project-based approach to showing comprehension. There are several options for this. The first option could be for the instructor to have a list of topics that the students would need to create web pages for. The student would create the websites and link them together as more information is added. The student could embed video that they create or found. Another option for 8th Graders could be to create a video that could cover the information that the instructor says that they want covered. The students could then create the script and shoot the video. It could then be graded using a rubric and posted online.

Development: The development of the class would come in many different layers. The class would be set up using Moodle because it is free and web-based. The content would be set up with web pages for the different assignments with the instructions on the page. Each page would have information that the student needs to the different topics as well as links to video or primary websites that the student could use. Pages would also be developed for submitting the information and projects as well as a calendar, As the designer, I would also create video/podcast tutorials for the students to use if they needed a re-teach of the different functions of the site and videos. I would also be in communication with the instructor to make sure this is what they wanted and help them understand the different functions.

Constraints:
-How would you have the students report back to the instructor so the instructor could see that the students are comprehending the information and utilizing the information provided?
-What process would you use to submit work?
-Would the students have access to the software that you are using in the class (MS Word, MS Power Point, Windows Movie Maker, Alice?)
--You would need to make sure that the class can be viewed on all browsers and function


Design and test: After the course has been set up, I would have two teachers test this site with their classes. I would have them try logging in and testing the video tutorials and submitting information. Since it is mostly web-based I would test the Moodle site with different browsers and check for function of video. We will probably have to download the video clips and place them on the server because of the limitations forced on us by the district firewalls. Based on the feedback from the teachers, I would make necessary changes to the lesson and create the other lessons based on what the teacher wanted covered. As the lessons were created and tested, I would make necessary changes.

Week 3 Interaction Models

Happy weekend everyone,
I hope I did this correctly. I have been trying to figure out what type of online course I would create and am still playing with it. I guess if I could, I would create a history class for the 8th Graders at our school because they would be best equipt at this time to do something all online. I am not sure. I am still going back and forth. My class is set up onlinne but it is all websites with directions for different projects and now a blog. I am not sure it would be the best to set up as an online class because of the restrictions from the district and the software that is available for my students.

Here is my interaction matrix
http://southridgems.org/ourpages/users/Fisher/interactionmatrix.doc

Focus would be an online course for History 8th Grade

Video Presentation- Video Presentation as I see it would be Learner-Content because I see it as a recorded presentation of the material. It could be a lecture or videos that an instructor may want you to view for class. For the class, I would design for History, they could be video clips recorded of me discussing some important information or linked videos from Discovery Streaming that would illustrate what I wanted them to know. The video could be downloaded or streamed for the student to view and use the information in any of the different interactions. The use of the video clips may allow students to comprehend the information that they may have missed during the lecture or readings. The objectives I would expect to see would be comprehension of the material covered as well as the ability to explain your reasoning in other interaction formats.

Lecture (Podcasts or live)- Lecture as I see it online would most likely be a recorded lecture that would be uploaded to the website to be downloaded as a podcast or streamed online as a podcast. One benefit would be that the student could listen to it at their convenience and go back and review information if needed. Another possibility is that the student could listen to a lecture if it is being recorded or played on line. I would also be interested in using something like Skype or Talkshoe and having students log in at a certain time to listen to the lecture given by the instructor. Dr. Baek is playing with this now but the software kept kicking us out but I see a time where this could work. The Learner-Content interaction would be used because it is the student listening to the lecture and responding to it. The objectives for this method would be comprehension of the material covered as well as the ability to explain your reasoning in other interaction formats.

Chat/IM- Chat/Instant Messaging could meet all three areas. The student could be interacting with the content in the discussions that they could be having with the students and instructor. The use of chat/IM can be very useful for the instructor because through the discussions on the chat, the instructor can be checking for comprehension of the students. Instructors could use the chat to correct any errors or misunderstanding of the material. The students can communicate with each other to make sure that they comprehend the material and discuss what has been covered in the class. The chat/IM could be useful for a History class because it can be a great way for different students to discuss the readings/videos and such in class. This can be a tool for the instructor to hold discussions on the different material. The objectives would be for the students to understand the content that is covered and be able to communicate the information to make sure that they have an understanding. The instructor would want to make sure that the students are able to communicate their reasoning and show understanding. This is an opportunity to correct errors and make people accountable for the material.


Discussion Boards- Discussion boards are a lot like blogs except they are more specific. A discussion board can have the student responding to a specific question or area and other students can respond to it. It is both Learner-Content and usually Learner-Learner. It could also be Learner-Instructor but I haven’t seen a good model of it and there are better ways for the instructor to communicate with the students. If I were to use discussion boards for the history class, I would use it as a way to check for specific things such as having the students watch a video or read and respond to a specific questions from them. I would require all students to respond to 2 people’s posts to check to see if they are reading the material and how they feel about what someone else wrote.


Email- Email is Learner-Learner or Learner-Instructor. Learners can use it to communicate ideas or information between each other or a group. Email can be used to check for comprehension of material but for many people it is away to communicate informally between each other. The instructor can use it as a way to privately communicate with students to update their grades or correct any errors or relay information that is useful to specific students. People send emails to groups to relay information about assignments or deadlines as well as any information that the whole group may need. The objective of email is to send information to people that can help them.


Video Conferencing- Video conferencing can be all three different interaction styles. The example I am thinking of ETEC 543 this quarter. You could have students at different buildings, campuses or at home. You have the students link into the class and the instructor delivers a lecture or goes over the material using power points or material off of websites. The students are able to ask the instructor questions and the instructor can respond to them and discuss concepts with the students. The students could interact with each other and discuss the material. The downside is that this would take a lot of bandwith and freeze up the network. You could also set this up so that you could use something like Cisco’s teleconferencing and have different campuses linked up with the instructor at one site covering the material and have the students able to communicate with the instructor. Our district is looking at this model for the more advanced classes that may only have a few students per campus. This would not be needed every day but it would be a great way to help the students that are not available to be at the same site and allow the class to reach more students. This could also be recorded to be available to download or view later. The objectives for video conferencing would be to cover the material that needs to be shared, allow the students to interact with other students and the instructor. The instructor would be able to relay the needed information and check for understanding. There is a level of accountability for the instructor and students to be logged in and ready to contribute.


Blogs- Blogging allows for Interaction with the Learner-Content and Learner-Learner as I have seen it. I would like to see models where the instructor gives input in the blog but I haven’t seen that. I know I did post on the class blog but I found it limited in how I could respond to what was being said. A chat or email would have better communicated what I wanted the student to know without individualizing it for each student and making it available for all of the students to read. For the History class, I would have the student’s blog about the readings, discussions and comment on other student’s blogs if each student had their own blog

Readings- Reading has the interaction of Learner-Content because it has the student reading the text and comprehending what it means. The reading leads to other forms of interactions such as chats, blogging, discussion boards and email. Most of us have taken classes where we are required to read the text and respond to questions in class. The objectives I would expect to see would be comprehension of the material covered as well as the ability to explain your reasoning in other interaction formats. Currently I have students reading technology articles and responding to them on a class blog. If I had the option, I would have them chat with other students to get a discussion going but we do not have that ability now.

Websites with Material- This would be Learner-Content because it would supplement the reading that is covered. The website could have interactive material to help explain the material. It could have videos, podcasts and interactive maps or interactions with different historical people or places. Students may be expected to use these websites and respond to them with the other methods of interaction.

Have a good week,
Chris

Week 2 ---3 Courses

Course 1: Beginning Algebra
Content: In order for this class to be the same for all of the instructors, I would like to see a different approach. The class would have a convergent model because there is a right and wrong answer in math and the procedures are the same to solve the problems. The procedures would be the same in all of the classes because they cover the same material pretty much the same way. The technology would be the same with online vocabulary and videos or podcasts of the lessons.

Now here is the way I would see the classes set up. I would have one instructor responsible for a series of lessons on a chapter. I would have the instructor be videotaped teaching the material as they would teach a class in a classroom. I would them edit them and place them online at YoutubeU for the students to view and download. Different instructors could cover the chapter review and checks for understanding as well as the different chapters. Other options could be that the instructors could be required to monitor an online help during their office hours so they could answer questions from any student from any of the classes. They could also be responsible to answer student questions either by email, podcasts or videos or even chats using the website or Skype. For the instructor that is less technical, you could have them have a homework center time on the school tv station where they could answer questions and show how to solve the problems. This type of format has been successful for LA Unified School District.

Students would be graded on their assignments that are turned in online. Each assignment needs to be turned in to check for understanding and so that the instructors could better help the students.

Instructors: All of the instructors are teaching the same course and they all look the same so they might as well divide and conquer instead or each person doing the same thing ineffectively. The design allows for different instructors to build on their strengths and help all of the students. As long as you have the instructors buying into the program, it can only improve. The students will require interaction with the instructors and they may find that they find an instructor that can explain a concept in a way that makes it clearer for the student. I think the design shows an effective use of time and resources for the instructors and students.

Students: The students will have a varied comfort with the algebra and the technology so the instructors will have to take that into account. The students have a good background in technology and have all taken the intro class so they have the background knowledge needed. The students will want feedback from the instructors. Assignments will be posted online and students will have to post the answers to every assignment online so it can be graded. I know the University of Phoenix has a software that does it. If the student has questions, they should be able to watch the video of the lesson on YoutubeU as well as send an email to the instructor for clarification or help. The student should also have access to Skype or some other software that the instructors can monitor to offer assistance. The student can receive the answers to their questions using email, podcasts or videos, YoutubeU or a Skype chat with an instructor for assistance.

Course 2: Philosophy of Leadership
Content: This class would be divergent because of the structure of the class. The class could have text materials that the student is responsible as well as lecture material but most of the class would take place in the discussions. The class could have chapters that have to be read for the week and that would require the instructor to prerecord their lecture to be downloaded by the students. The course could have discussion questions that are downloaded and answered by the student to be posted on a message board or prepared for a chat or video conference.
The question of scrutiny would have to be answered by the department that is offering the class to make sure that it is meeting the goals and requirements of the class. The basic technology would be web pages, podcasts or video and probably some software such as balckboard that allow you to post the assignments and have a message board or a set up for chat. The grades would be based on the discussions and possibly a final project.

Instructors: This class will be a challenge for the instructor. The lecture/discussion format that they are used to will not work in this format. The format for the class would probably be asynchronous because of different schedules of the Grad Students. The instructor could podcast or video the lectures and allow the students to download them and listen/view at their convenience. The discussions could be done using chats at arranged times or discussion boards more than just blogs. Since the instructor is used to face-to-face interaction, they would probably be willing to do chats or video conferences with students at different times. The instructor would probably set up the class as a just in time structure as they adjust to the way the class is run.

Students: The students are Graduate students so they are very motivated to get the work done and use their time wisely. The lecture/discussion model may not work with them because of the time factor and not being about to log on when the class is supposed to be going. Some of the students are comfortable with the technology so the real challenge might be finding new technologies to engage the students outside their comfort zone. There will also need to be something in place for the very basic technology skilled students to make it so they can succeed with the technology. The scenario doesn’t say if the students have been exposed to online courses so you would have to assume that most of them have. If they have not, they will adjust quickly. It is a philosophy class so most of it will involve interactions with students and some with instructors and the discussions will allow the students to relate the content.

Course 3: College Success
Content: The class will need to be set up with different development styles. The class will need to be set up with a convergent and divergent model. The convergent model will focus on the areas of study skills and communication skills. For both of these skills, they are more right and wrong or what works and what doesn’t. It will need to be more divergent in how the instructor interacts with the students to help them learn how to fit in at college. The class will need a customary procedure in how the class is et up so these students will have a routine to follow but it may need to be adjusted based on student response. There will be scrutiny from the heads of the program and advisors to see if this program is effective for students that are at risk.
The class itself will have higher levels of recall and procedures for the communication skills and study skills in the beginning but it will become more open ended through the quarter as the students learn to communicate with other students and the instructor through chats, presentations and other interactions. The technology will depend how willing the instructors are willing to go. I would see more interactive technology such as video conferencing (skype) and blogging. Grading is more difficult because the incoming freshman probably at risk because they were not motivated in high school to complete work and study so the grades would be based more around the interactions with the instructor and the other students.

Instructors: As the instructor, you have to be able to think how to engage students that struggle at school. The fact that the advisors say that the students are at risk of dropping out means that the traditional high school lectures and notes won’t work for these students. They will not want more of the same in college. The fact that you are not familiar with the content means that you will be adjusting the class as you go to better meet the needs of the students. Your strengths in technology and online courses will allow the student to better understand the technical aspects of the class because you understand them. As you go through the class, you may be willing to try different methods and technologies to engage the students. The students will require more interactions with the instructor through face-face, chats, video conferencing or blogging because part of your job will be as a counselor to introduce the students to college.

Students: These students already have a strike against them as they enter the class so you will have to think of different ways to engage them. The student probably had a difficult time in high school with a more traditional model so it won’t work. They will not be as motivated because of that difficulty. As a freshman, they are not familiar with how college classes operate ,(nevermind the online classes) and they will require more guidance and support. You do not know the technology skills of the students so you have to assume that they have a pretty basic understanding and part of the course will require tutorial programs or meeting the first class to show the students how to operate the technology. The students will require more interaction because they will be checking for understanding and will want support. A good idea for this might be to have the students blog as they go through the class so the instructor can check for understanding and interact with the students.

Week 1

Good day all,
My name is Chris and I am one quarter away from finishing the program. I started the program way back in 1998 and completed my classes in 2000 but did not finish my project. I was burned out and really didn't have a direction for a project. I have been teaching computers in a computer lab for the last 3 years in a middle school. Before that I would have my students create projects using computers and would use the Internet when available. In the late 1990s, I would download the different quests from Classroom Connect that would connect my classroom to a project team that was in Galapagos and traveling through China. Unfortunately at that time, my school wasn't online so I had to download it at home on dial up.
My computer lab is a project-based class with the students having 10 days to create podcasts, webpages, videos or utlize different software to create multimedia projects. As I plan to develop new projects for my class, I am always trying to push my students. This quarter I started requiring my students to post blogs using schoolrack.com. The students are starting to understand that they need to develop clear thought out answers to explain what they want us to know.
Online Instruction allows students to use the internet to cover the class's material. In 2000, I took ETEC 675 (Telecommunication) and it was a class that looked at what could be done. At that time, it was using new technology such as WebCT and we looked at video cameras linked to different places. Part of the class was using WebCT for the class as well as creating curriculum for others using the WebCT for a lesson. At the time, I found it hard to use and had many problems with the software crashing. We would have online chats and WebCT would crash during the class so we had to use ICQ.
My District was involved with the JASON Project (www.jasonproject.com) and that really helped me understand the uses of technology because the curriculum was paper-based but it had the video connection that linked the students to the researchers on location. Jason also had a webpage that linked all of the data. The last year I worked with them, they had a training program that was totally web-based and part of my job as a trainer was to communicate with the teachers using discussion boards and answering questions via email.
That brings me to today. My class is totally online. The modules are mostly on the computer and I have developed webpages with instructions for the students. The students save their projects on the computer and email me and post their blogs.
I would like to learn how to utilize a tool such as Moodle to create the material for my class and maybe look at Skype or something like that for my class. I would like to learn how to use video conferencing if we are exposed to it. I guess I am always looking at how to make my classes better.