Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Saturday Academy Workshop
This is a so-called presentation blog, and each blog posting deals with a separate topic that I would like to cover. Note that anyone can post a comment on any of the individual blog postings.
In the hands-on part of the workshop, we'll look at a few of these technologies in detail - see:
https://edocs.uis.edu/boakl1/tutorials/FSU/
My goal is to have the workshop participants get a good sense of how to use a few Internet tools to improve student learning by making it more active - in courses ranging from face-to-face to blended to fully online.
Passive Learning/Active Learning
Passive approaches emphasize:
- Lectures
- Readings
- Watching video
- Listening to audio
- Observing demonstrations
Active approaches emphasize:
- Interaction through discussion
- Student-to-student interactions & faculty-to-student interactions
- Student presentations
- Group projects
- Simulations
- Problem solving
Passive Learning
Constructivism Online
- Knowledge involves active cognizing by the individual.
- Knowledge is adaptive, facilitating individual and social efficacy.
- Knowledge is subjective and self-organized, not objective.
- Knowledge acquisition involves both sociocultural and individual processes.
There are some great examples linked above.
Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Teaching
- encourages contact between students and faculty
- develops reciprocity and cooperation among students
- encourages active learning
- gives prompt feedback
- emphasizes time on task
- communicates high expectations
- respects diverse talents and ways of learning
There are some fine examples in the original article (linked above).
Connectivism - a Learning Theory for the Digital Age
Most notably, Siemens posits that knowledge in the 21st century resides, not just in the individual's brain, but also in the networks that the individual has built (both social and electronic). Due to the exponential increase in information, we need to expand our repository to include other individuals and sites where knowledge may be accessed.
Bloom's Taxonomy Revised - Actively!
The taxonomy circle is a most useful tool. Note that it combines the non-active roles of remember and understand - and separates out each of the active roles of:
- Apply
- Analyze
- Evaluate
- Create
It is in the higher orders of the taxonomy that we achieve active learning - and in which we can implement some of the new and evolving Web 2.0 tools to actively engage students.
Mode Neutral Pedagogy
Discussion Boards
Remarkably, when we asked a sampling of our online students what made their online classes special, most responded "everyone is heard" - it is not just the students in the front row, or the ones with the quick answer, or the teacher's pet. Every student posting in response to the common weekly discussion question is read and responded to by the instructor.
This link includes a rubric matrix for grading discussion posts.
Generating Engaged Online Discussions
Digital Strategies
- Small group projects - online anytime/anywhere facilitates students working together
- Case studies - engaging students in applying the knowledge they have constructed
- Collaborations - linking students from different classes (even universities) together
- Journals - facilitate reflected and deep learning
- Blogs - sharing creative work with larger groups (even the Web) for comments
- Wikis - collaboratively building reports
- Podcasts and SlideShare/SlideCast - adding audio and video to projects
- Virtual guest speakers - live or recorded and responding to discussion board comments
The applications are many, but the principles are few - engage the student, facilitate knowledge building, tap the collective wisdom of the Web, encourage diversity, and enable discovery.
Web 2.0 Promotes Active Learning Online
- Blog http://blogger.com/
- Wiki http://pbwiki.com/
- Podomatic http://www.podomatic.com/
- Flickr http://www.flickr.com/
- Google Docs http://docs.google.com/
- Google Calendar http://www.google.com/calendar/
- GooglePages http://googlepages.com/
- Del.icio.us http://del.icio.us/
- MySpace http://www.myspace.com/
- Citizendium http://www.citizendium.org/
- YouTube http://www.youtube.com/
- Gliffy http://gliffy.com/
- Skype http://www.skype.com/
- Kartoo http://www.kartoo.com/
- Elluminate Vroom http://www.elluminate.com/vroom/
- Second Life http://www.secondlife.com/
- Twitter http://www.twitter.com/
- Digg http://www.digg.com/
- Xdrive http://www.xdrive.com/
- zoho http://zoho.com/
Transforming Pedagogy through Social Software
Social Networking Sites:
http://www.linkedin.com/
Wikis:
http://www.pbwiki.com/
http://oakleyfsuworkshop.pbwiki.com/
Sloan Consortium - Promoting Quality Online Education
Dr. Mayadas identified five key "pillars" supporting quality in online programs:
- Learning Effectiveness
- Access
- Faculty Satisfaction
- Student Satisfaction
- Cost Effectiveness (institutional commitment)
All five of these pillars are necessary for a successful, high-quality, online program.
Rubrics for Quality
- Course Introduction/Overview
- Learning Objectives
- Assessment and Measurement
- Resources and Materials
- Learner Interaction
- Course Technology
- Learner Support
- Accessibility
One additional area I encourage users to consider is the less-quantitative aspects of the class. How does the class promote affective learning and changes? Are attitudes and opinions cultivated?
An excellent, less-quantitative, rubric that addresses some of these areas is one developed by Chico State University:
Keeping Current
Online Learning Update
Educational Technology Blog
Techno-News Blog
These blogs are published daily (365 days each year) by my colleague, Prof. Ray Schroeder, at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
On the Horizon - the Horizon Report!
Wonders of Wikis
For educators, it provides a solution for the age-old quandary of group projects. Have you ever assigned group project only to be approached afterward and told that one student did nothing, or did the whole assignment? Wiki has the solution - a complete history is recorded - each contribution, each change, each addition, each correction is visible to all.
The Power of RSS
Though the technology dates back to the early versions of Netscape, this is only now gaining momentum as increasingly people are seeking a technological solution to keeping abreast of topics and areas of interest.
RSS Feed Aggregators
The two major browsers - Firefox and the newest version of Internet Explorer - both will grab RSS feeds and provide them to you in a drop-down list.
Oakley's Online Class at UIS
All undergraduate students are required to take a minimum of 13 hours in the Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE), a set of courses tied to UIS' heritage, mission, vision, and values. Most of the coursework in this category is interdisciplinary, and these courses provide a distinctive element to the baccalaureate education at UIS.
CS442 is in the ECCE category of U.S. Communities. Courses in this category aim to broaden students' knowledge about substantial, distinctive, and complex aspects of the history, society, politics, and culture of United States communities.