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.