Not the end!

Time flies, it is time to go back and reflect on what I have done so far on this assigment and the course.

1.    What five adjectives do you feel best describe your participation in this course?  

         Passionate, lurker at times, enthusiastic, responsible and doubtful sometimes.  

2.    What strength(s) do you feel that you brought to this course? How/when was that strength exhibited?  

To this course I brought my experience as a teacher and my love for education and the desire to improve myself so I translate that into my everyday teaching.

3.    What area(s) of weakness, if any, did you discover in your own learning?

During this course I tried to improve my writing. Julie offered invaluable advice and my mentor gave me some tips to improve my skills. I know that I need to get better and I will keep on taking courses to help me with this disadvantage.

4.    Describe one thing that you learned about yourself as an online learner through your participation.

In this course I felt I connected more with my classmates and I am fascinated to “see” what theory says about collaboration and how students learn from each other. When I read my classmates’ posts I tried to understand what they were trying to say and I asked for clarifications in some cases. I learned I could openly ask for explanations if I wanted to and not to feel ashamed to ask questions. During this course I also tried to be more critical and to just answer a question. I may not be as analytical as some of my peers but I surely hope I’m in the right path to be more successful in my future classes.

My teacher is an App

I found a newspaper article in the Sunday paper of the Wall Street Journal and i decided to summarize the most compelling details

What is happening right now regarding virtual schools from Kindergarten to 12 grade?

       Virginia has authorized 13 new virtual schools

       The state of Florida requires students to take at least one class online

       30 states allow students to all courses online

       There are 250,000 students enrolled in full-time virtual schools

       Some states are in charge of their virtual schools however some others hire corporations to provide curriculum and monitor student performance

What do critics have to say?

Some experts mention the savings for state governments if more states adopt this trend. Other experts prefer hybrid schools. An interesting example of hybrid classes is mentioned. Some California children who are either poor or belong to a minority have taken classes online and as a result their performance in standardized tests has improved substantially and their scores are comparable to those kids in richer school districts.

The positive…

Students enjoy the 3D activities, online tests and quizzes. The use of different media such as videos and games in lesson plans. Lastly, flexibility for those students who may experience different circumstances such as athletes, actors or advanced students, who may not have time to attend a regular school.

Iprep Academy is an example of a hybrid school that provides short class instruction and individual attention. According to the article, most of the learning is self-directed which could present a fabulous opportunity to move towards a learner-centered environment.

The downside…

The lack of interaction with the real world according to some critics is a very important to consider when enrolling in virtual schools. Additionally, a study done in Colorado suggests that students are not performing better in standardized tests, more importantly they are falling behind. Equally important, not all students are prepared to attend virtual schools and need and support to acquire discipline and strategies for learning. It is important to mention Drop-out rates are higher in distance education. Lastly, unions are fearful for their jobs and assure that online learning is not the answer.

Conclusion

After reading this article I conclude there are many challenges ahead. What is best for the students? How to deal with budgets and fearful faculty? How to support those students who want to enroll in distance education and how to diminish the drop-out rates?

There are many questions to be answered, nonetheless there is no time to waste virtual schools are not going anywhere. States have to work with faculty and the private sector to provide a holistic education for students in a hybrid mode or online environment.

Banchero, S., & Simon, S. (2011, november 12). My teacher is an app. The Wall Street Journal, pp. C1-C2.

A video from Iprep in Miami. The newspaper article mentioned this school several times. Take a look at the video. What do you think?

Analytics

 

According to George Siemens Learning analytics is the use of intelligent data, learner-produced data and analysis models to discover information and social connections, and to predict and advise on learning. However EDUCASE lists other institutions such as private companies and government agencies that could potentially benefit from these tools.

While reading The Horizon Report I became interested on this matter. If developed and used properly this could have a positive impact on curriculum mapping, personalization and adaptation, prediction and intervention (Siemens, 2010).

As the author states this tool could start a change on the way schools see curriculum and students would see a positive change on the way schools design and plan courses because there would be an input from the students. According to EDUCASE learning analytics could also help students to assess their own learning and could improve communication between learners and teachers.  In previous classes we discussed how support it’s important in distance education and I see learning analytics as another way of supporting learners to perform well in school and to reach their goals. In 7 things you should know about analytics an EDUCASE article they give the example of Purdue University, currently the University is using a program called Signals which track student progress and directs students to support programs.

Nonetheless, there are some concerns regarding these tools. A need to reorganize how universities handle privacy and security records will arise (EDUCASE, 2010).

Learning analytics presents a magnificent opportunity to improve education and distance education in particular. It could help the student to become a more independent learner with assessment tools and could additionally help those struggling students to have a successful education. Besides it could help faculty and instructional designers to improve courses. On the other hand, disadvantages should be considered and solved.

                                         

Siemens , G. (2010, August 25). What are learning analytics?. Retrieved from

http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/2010/08/25/what-are-learning-analytics/

7 things you should know about analytics. (2010, april 07). Retrieved from

http://www.educause.edu/Resources/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutAnaly/202736

Metacognition

According to Paul R. Pintrich metacognitive strategies enable students to learn and perform better at school, however there is a need to teach these strategies because most students are not aware of how to use them. Metacognitive strategies are useful in any subject and could aid students who in any environment, nonetheless it is clear that distance education allows students to find ways to make the learning process more manageable.

I decided to do more research on this topic because while I was in college I heard about this topic and I wanted to understand the theory behind it. As a distance student I am aware I use different techniques for different competencies, now I know more about the different factors involved. I hope to be able to use the correct techniques for the different tasks and assignments.

Pintrich, P. R. (2002). The role of metacognitive knowledge in learning, teaching and assesing.

College of Education, The Ohio State University, 41(4), 2002.

Web 2.0 Tools

During week 7^th we discussed how Web 2.0 tools are a part of distance learning and the different capabilities of many of these tools.

I found an interesting article called Promoting learner autonomy in the ESL classroom using Web 2.0. The article offers different definitions of autonomy, however I found Holec’s definition as cited in the article more approachable and he states that autonomy is the ability to take charge of one’s own learning.

Cindy Gumm the author of the article explains how important the teacher is in the process of autonomy and also how students need to work collaboratively to achieve this goal.

The author also explains how Web 2.0 tools allow students to be more active and collaborate and interact with others. Students are not just browsing through websites but actually creating content and taking charge of their learning process.

Similar to the article we read for class Cindy Gumm advises to use blogs and wikis to practice reflective writing and insists on the role of the teacher as a mentor.

This article is very interesting because I’m a language teacher and ideas like these give me motivation to go beyond a typical class and use tools available on the internet to make students’ experience more meaningful and authentic. One of the aspects I had not considered to the fullest is the role of the teacher. Even though these tools permit learners to control the contact, teachers have to revise the content and make sure learners are in the right track.

Gunn, C. (2011). Promoting learner autonomy in the Esl classroom using web 2.0. TESOL

Arabia Perspectives, 18(2), 20-23.Retrieved from EBSCOhost

Some advice from younger students and their teacher.

Lurkers

 

During week 6 when we read about Lurker students I became very interested in this topic because in a way I consider myself a Lurker because I do not feel as confident in my English writing skills.

I found an article that discusses this issue and the following questions will help me to summarize the article.

1.    According to the author why are online discussions important in DE?

The authors say that online discussions are a way to develop understanding, share ideas and questions to others (Alley & Greenhaus, 2007)

2.    Why do some students become lurkers?

These students are worried about negative responses or students may need more time to analyze the content and may not become as involved in the online dialogue.

3.    What are some helpful activities to provide a safe environment to engage students in an online discussion? According to Alley and Greenhaus;

-          Introductions: teachers introduce themselves and students do the same. The teacher should model the activity.

-          Games:  “Who is who” a game where each student sends the teacher 3 facts, one fact should be somewhat obscure, the instructor posts the answers and the students guess who matches the facts.

-          Role-plays: allow students to share what they know, to analyze and apply what they learned.

-          Debates: students can exchange points of view in an orderly manner.

The authors advise to take into account the students’ background and learning styles when choosing activities to promote interaction and participation. These activities are excellent suggestions to create an engaging environment to prevent those students who tend to be Lurkers to become more involved. In my personal opinion it takes more than activities to attract those students whom for numerous reasons are not as participative in the conference area. Teachers could ask those students directly what their needs are if the teacher or other advisors can help. Nevertheless is the students’ responsibility to participate and to be an active learner.

Alley, J., & Greenhaus, K. (2007). Turning lurkers into learners. Learning & Leading with

Technology, 35(1), 18-21.

Web 2.0 Technologies and the Quality Matters Rubric.

On our readings for the 5th week we read an article of the uses of Web 2.0 technologies and we also had to use the Quality Matters Rubric for assignment #2. I found an article called Using Web 2.0 Technologies to Meet Quality Matters Requirements.

Some of the ideas discussed in the article are very interesting. For example, to meet standard 1.4 which is self-introduction by the instructor is appropriate and available online,  Also standard 1.5 which is when students are asked to introduce themselves to the class the authors suggest to create an activity called “all about me” in the conference area of the online course. Another alternative suggested by the authors is to use the students’ Facebook page to meet this standard. Nevertheless, the article also highlights some disadvantages when using Facebook one of them is that some students want to keep their personal lives separate and prefer not to mix class work with this social network.

A second suggestion to meet standard 2.3 in QM which is all learning objectives are stated clearly and written from students’ perspective. Pollacia and McCallister advise to use Radio James Objectives Builder a website that offers a tutorial to write proper adjectives using Bloom’s taxonomy. I took the time to visit the webpage and I enjoyed the outstanding tutorial. There’s always a need to refresh one’s knowledge in this case about writing out objectives for a course and the website is easy to use and it’s a marvelous aid for teachers.

A third suggestion is to use blogs to meet standard 5.2 which refers to learning activities fostering instructor-student, content-student and student-student interaction.  Pollacia and McCallister mention that students are familiar with blogs and use them to communicate socially and this technology permits the student to keep brainstorming and engaged. According to both authors blogs promote active learning, which is a key component of constructivism and a valuable goal to keep in mind for instructors.

This article presents interesting ideas to meet standards in the Quality Matters Rubric and gives important alternatives for teachers to keep in mind. The fact that all of these options are free and widely used by users especially Facebook and blogs is a plus for teachers and students at the same time.

Pollacia, L., & McCallester, T. (2009). Using web 2.0 technologies to meet quality matters requirments. Journal of Information System Education, 20(2), 155-162.

The need for teacher training in online environments

Reading the Sangra article called Educational design as a key issue in planning for quality improvement, emphasizes the need for teacher training on instructional design.

To explore what some institutions have done regarding faculty training I read an article called Training for faculty who teach on line. The article cites Pagliari, Batts and Mc Fadden who explain that administrators need to address how to manage online training programs and find ways to support faculty in their use of best practices.

This article provides information about a study done in a community college, some teachers had received training in this manner:

1. One-one training

2. Read printed materials

3. Discussion sessions with other teachers

4. Observations

5. Mentorships

6. Conferences

Most of the teachers who participated in the survey expressed the desire to have the training in the course delivery system. This idea makes complete sense, because the courses will be delivered through a specific system which the teacher should know how to use and navigate to set up a course.

Some of the teachers who answered the survey discussed in this article explained that there are some practices essential to distance education such as:

·         Timely feedback

·         Detailed syllabus information

·         Online assessment tools

·         Setting rules for a friendly online environment

·         Introduction activities

·         Include graphics, sound and video

·         Guide students to external online resources

It is important that faculty members after receiving training should also be familiar with rubrics as the ones mentioned in our readings for this week (ROI AND Quality Matters). It is imperative for new distance learning instructors to be familiar with the basis of online instruction and ways to evaluate their courses and improve them in the future.

Ihde, R. (2011). Using professional development to facilitate faculty participation in distance

       education. Distance education, 8(12), 7-10. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

Piaget and Vygotsky

On this diagram we see the differences between the two schools of thought of constructivism. I chose this topic because I have been reading about these two psychologists for quite some time now and I had a hard time understanding ZPD and scaffolding. When I read Cognitive and Social Constructivism: Developing tools for an effective classroom I was able to recall the different contributions by each theorist and to understand the concepts mentioned above.

In my current experience with distance education I see how both, social and cognitive constructivism influence distance education.

Online learners come to contact with the content isolated from the rest of the classmates and the teacher. Piaget stated that each individual constructs their own knowledge. Secondly, when the students come together in the conference area is when there’s a social interaction between students. Each person reflects on the reading, analyzes different pieces of information and everything comes together topic by topic. Also, Piaget mentions the modification of schemas, each student in a online course has a different background therefore their schemas will not be the same. Every student highlights on the information that was interesting to that particular person and the rest are able to read and to learn from all students. Lastly, critical thinking is a must in distance learning. As a student one has to read, understand and synthesize the studied content. That’s one of the greatest advantages of online learning, that most the students participate and come together to learn the content.

Powell, K., & Kalina, C. (2009). Cognitive and social constructivism: developing tools for an effective classroom. Project Innovation, 130(2), 241-250.

Teaching Presence

September 19, 2011

During this second week we had two articles that mentioned the Community of inquiry framework. For me, this was new information. I have taken 4 classes prior to this course and I do not recall reading about this framework. I found it helpful because it defines 3 main components of learning: cognitions, social interaction and teaching presence.

Next year I will be teaching at a distance, therefore I would like to be informed of the current trends and expectations for online teachers. I have been teaching for 5 years but it has always been face to face. When I was reading about Anderson’s framework I knew I had to read more regarding the topic.

The Importance of Being Human: Instructor’s Personal Presence in Distance Programs is an article I read to find out more about the topic.

Some key points that interested me:

·         “While the personal and the professional are intertwined, by the personal we include instructors’ personality, identity, integrity, emotions, thoughts, beliefs, values, life experiences and background” (Palmer, 1998).

·         According to Reuper, Mayberry, Patrick and Chittleborough (2009) conclude that the interpretation and implementation of a teacher influences more on the student outcomes than the course materials.  In this case I agree that a teacher plays and imminent role because a teacher may have the tools to teach but he or she does not know how to use those tools it will be hard to accomplish the course’s goals and the student may not succeed.

·         The author of the article as mentioned on top, cite the COI Framework specifically teaching presence as the moment when the teacher acts as an instructional designer; the teacher administers instruction and offers student evaluation.  The second moment of teaching presence is the creation of a social environment; the teacher helps to reach agreement and establishes the environment for the learning. Lastly, the third moment is when the teacher focuses and summarizes the discussion and clarifies any misinterpretations with a variety of resources.

The authors also present the results of a mixed study that summarizes important virtues of an online instructor.

ü  Engaging

ü  Sense of openness

ü  Approachable

ü  Make content relevant

ü  Passionate

ü  Constant feedback

ü  Treating students as individuals

In this article the authors emphasize the idea that the personal presence of the teacher has to be related to the content. I believe this is an important piece of information; our experiences as teacher have to enrich the class and offer new insights into the content. Having personal presence does not mean to share our personal lives or to be teacher-centered.

I enjoyed reading this article because it offered the experts’ ideas and the study carried out by these particular authors which gives the reader an idea of how our future students may think about our roles as instructors.

Reupert, A., Mayberry, D., Patrick, K., & Chittleborough, P. (2009). The importance of being human: instructors' personal presence in distance education. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 21(1), 47-56.

Constructivism and distance education

Toward constructivism for adult learners in online learning environments

I found this article and I thought it would be interesting to read it since we read about the different theories that somehow are influencing distance learning.

The article provides general information about distance education. For example, the profile of online students, the type of communication and the valuable asset of being able to access the information at any time and from any place.

Secondly, the author reviews the key components of constructivism. As listed below:

·         The exponents of this theory were Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner.

·         The learner construct his own learning

·         Learning is an active process

·         The learner solves real-life problems

Andragogy is presented in the article, and the six principles of this theory developed by Knowles are the following:

1.       The learner needs to know how learning will take place and why it is important

2.       The learner is self-directed

3.       The learner has valuable prior experience

4.       The learner is ready to learn

5.       The learner is oriented to learn

6.       The learner is highly motivated to learn

On the second part of the essay the Hsiu Mei Huang the author, presents a series of arguments that show how constructivism cannot be applied completely in distance education.

The first arguments states that constructivism values humanity and in online learning communication occurs through the computer and the learner and the instructor are always isolated.  I would argue that this argument is right to a certain point. The student and the teacher are separated physically, however communication occurs through different formats e-mail, chat, message boards  just to mention a few. Sometimes in face-to-face education the teacher may not have the time for individual time with each student.

The second argument, affirms that the teacher should be a facilitator according to this theory. Nonetheless in distance education the teacher is busy with other roles such as resource provider, technology advisor and consultant. I believe for most teachers teaching online is challenging to provide help with other issues besides content. I would dare to say most of my instructors balance the different roles and does not interfere with the students’ learning process and outcome.

The third argument explains how teaching and learning should be learner-centered. In distance learning is very difficult to develop different curricula for each student. This argument is certainly true, is almost impossible to modify the curriculum for each student, in this case the teacher can compensate with different activities that can satisfy different learning styles and individual preferences.

In my opinion, the article was written in favor of constructivism but is also clear that there are some components that may not be so easy to employ in distance education. The author summarizes that constructivism provides clear ideas to promote collaborative and critical learning

 Huang, H. (2002). Toward constructivism for adult learners in online learning environments. British Journal of Educational Technology, 33(1), 27-37.