Welcome! Thank you for visiting my blog

This blog is an e-Portfolio of my learning experiences in the course eLearning for Educations, Tools of the Trade, being taught at Bellevue College, Bellevue, Washington, in Summer, 2010.

This ePortfolio consists of: click on picture below for an animated, Prezi blog overview
- the Home page, which includes reflective posts on eLearning;
- the Course Info page, which include details on the course, such as links to my fellow students' blogs;
- the About Me page, which provides biographical information, including my transition from the technology industry, to teaching;
- the Assignments page, which is a centralized location for the course products I produced;
- the Learning Module page, which is an eLearning course on colon cancer prevention, based on the tools learned in this course;
- the Notebook page, which is a centralized location for my personal notes and summaries on the resources in the course; and
- the Diary page, which is a centralized location for my thoughts and reflections that evolved while taking the course.

Once again thank-you for visiting and happy blog exploring!

How is social media changing the world?

Is immediate access to information changing the way learners look at the world?

Clay Shirkey in his video "How social media can make history" provides further insight into these questions. One example, was a recent earthquake in China. The internet had postings from people impacted, before it was even announced by the US Weather Service. In comparison, an earthquake some years back, took 3 months before it was report. The message is that information is a "normalizer". Information often means power and now everyone has access. In the eLearning environment this allows for exploration information in ways previously not available. The eLearner can access information and do research on-demand. The issue, of course, is depth of information. As Howard Gardner indicates in his video on "Education, Social Media, and Ethics", someone will go to wikipedia or one or two sources and think they are now an expert.

Another interesting point Clay makes is that we not only receive information over the internet, but everyone can also be a producer of information quite easily. In the eLearning environment, this blurs the lines between who is the teacher and who is the student. Using this course as an example, I often find/reflect on information from other class members who have posted something, just as I do from the course material. However, in person meetings, the teacher-student role is more traditional. Ernie sets the pace and timing of the information.

What is unique about the teacher and student experience in an online course compared to face-to-face?

How can technology be leveraged to enhance the on-line learning experience?

The on-line platform emphasizes collaborative learning with the teacher, where student must be active to learn. In-person instruction emphasizes hierarchy, where the student may be more passive. Obviously, both methods have both collaborative and hierarchical learning, but the on-line platform encourages this. For example, in in-person instruction, the student takes the action to attend class or acquire material, but it is more passive than having to take action to engage for even minimal material.

Specific characteristics of on-line learning, include:

- Peer interaction. In the on-line setting, students are engaging with the computer. Discussions forums and groups should be encouraged.

- Instructor interaction. In the on-line setting, students are engaging at their pace and will, therefore, have support needs and questions at different times. Response time by instructors should be prompt and expectations set so students know when to expect a response.

- Information on-demand. In the on-line setting, material is more readily available and can easily be stored, so there is often a wider range and more resources accessible. References and information needs to be easily retrievable and organized when the class is set-up. The use of multiple access points/links in lessons that require the material is an approach.

- Acknowledgement and encouragement. In the classroom setting, there is an instructor acknowledgement opportunity when the student walks in. In the on-line setting, instructors need to add encouragements to responses to have a connection. Use of videos and audios can also be utilized.

- Monitoring. In the on-line setting, who is doing the work is not verifiable. In classroom instruction, the instructor can see the student who is taking the exam, for example. This is a continuing challenging in the on-line platform.

Can a course be improved? Can using the QM Assessment Rubric be helpful?

Online training is available all over the internet. For this exercise, I applied the Quality Matters Assessment rubric to it and used it as the basis for make recommendations.

TITLE: Introduction and use of uBoost and Huddle
- This is an on-line course offered/required by the on-line course I teach. A capability to reward students with "credits" which can be redeemed for gifts is being added as a motivational tool. The course was to introduce us to the concept and use of the "credit" tool (via an on-line reward tool called uBoost) and the guidelines and process by which we would use it (via an on-line collaboration tool called Huddle).

COURSE INSTRUCTION FLOW
- I received an email from the instructor, with a link to the course page
- I listened to two audios, read a hand-out, and did an independent exercise demonstrating my mastery of the information
- I then sent a "I am complete" email to the instructor, along with questions and observations
- She set-up a teleconference and reviewed my feedback

RUBRIC
- Overall: 80 out of 85 - course does meet quality standards

- Overview: 10 out of 11
-- 1.2 Course Introduction: 2 out of 3 The email from my instructor indicated I had to complete the course, but not until I listened to the audio was the reason for the course clear. The audio was clear and concise, so I would suggest the course objective be added to the email.
-- 1.5 Student Introduction: BEST PRACTISE Since course was self-paced, no student introductions were needed, however, a discussion thread was set-up along with the course, so students could collaborate

- Objectives: 14 out of 14
-- 2.4 Instructions: BEST PRACTISE An "at-a-glance" page was provided, which included the tools (such as a screen shot of uBoost) and the process by which we would award credits (such as guidelines and logistics).

- Assessment: 12 out of 13
-- 3.2 Grading. The due date and exercise were explicit and feedback on performance was done via the teleconference, but there was no specific grade. A statement indicating that the success criteria for the exercise (evidence of adding a new student name) should be explicit, rather than implicit.

- Resources: 9 out of 9

- Engagement: 9 out of 10
-- 5.3 Instructor Responsiveness. Instructor did not indicate explicitly when she would have the follow-up teleconference. It was implicit it would be within a couple of days (as the deadline for completing the training was stated), but not a time range.

- Technology: 14 out of 14
-- 6.7 Usage. BEST PRACTISE. The course used email, audio, discussion board, and telephone. This made the learning self-paced, with individual feedback, as needed.

- Support: 5 out of 6
-- 7.2 and 7.3 Institution Support. There is an adiminstrator who ensures the flow of the course occurs. The instructor is responsible for technical support as well. This was not explicitly stated, but was not an issue as previous courses have this split of responsibility. A reminder of this, especially for new students, might be helpful.

- Accessibility: 7 out of 8
-- 8.1 standards. I am not familiar with ADA standards to the extent I could award a full 3.

What is your Philosophy of Teaching and eLearning? What is the teacher's role? How do you strive to achieve this?

The slogan for judging the Intel International Science Fair is "Recognize the best; encourage the rest". This captures my philosophy of how teacher should intereact with their students. eLearning is particularly helpful in supporting this philosophy. A teacher is able to provide individual attention to each student - both acknowledging the accomplishments and providing corrective feedback.

For example, in my on-line teaching work, the student will take an automated lesson, at their own pace. As part of the lesson, a quiz is given at the end. During the lesson, I am available to answer questions and at the end, assess their mastery of the material. My interaction is based on my personal judgement. I usually start by asking a question reflective of the material learned. If the student does not seem to understand, I can provide more remedial instruction or if they to understand, provide a more complex problem for them.

How is technology, social media, gaming, multimedia transforming education?

These technologies are enabling me to have a work situation that would not have been possible before these technologies existed. My life needs require flexibility in my geographic location. I am, therefore, able to work as an on-line instructor.

It is the applications offered on the internet that allows for a richness and depth in the instruction. My students self-learn the basic principles of the topics - in this case elementary and junior high level mathematics - through an interactive program, local to their computer. It is a combination of visual and textual information. They connect with me through an interactive board for questions, explanations, and approval by me for the next lesson.

The students are very comfortable with connecting through this way. They often prefer to use a the text chat box, rather than audio. However, my concern is these students do not have access to technology on a regular basis. They are usually live in low-income neighborhoods or juvenile detention facilities. Although they are comfortable with the technology, it often becomes an "entertainment" to them - quickly losing focus and interest in the educational emphasis.