We at Rhodes, like most colleges, have been thrown into the deep end of the pool of assessment in recent years. The immersion into an assessment culture – driven by accrediting bodies and accountability – has certainly taken its toll on the time and resources of faculty and staff. We also see a growing need/desire for online learning and the challenge of managing the time it takes for effective development and delivery.
1.) Now that we in higher education are well-steeped in this assessment culture, what do you believe have been the benefits to your teaching? And to your students’ learning? What aspects, if any, have been negative?
2.) What assessment strategies have you used that have been helpful or effective? Describe them and share what type of assessment it was (pre-tests, objective, subjective, self-assessment, interactive, group projects, peer review, participation, etc.). (Share any tips on what has not been useful too, if you like.) Based on what you’ve learned this week, what assessment strategies would you like to try in your classes?
3.) We readily remind students that taking online classes is not easier and requires good time management skills. This is true for faculty as well. Share your strategies on how you can, or do, manage your time to provide an effective and efficient teaching and learning experience.
4.) Finally, it what ways can technology help us to collect meaningful assessment data, be more efficient time-wise, and create a powerful and timely learning experience for our students?
Posted in Default, Week 5.
By Tim Littell
– February 10, 2010
Andrea Liles
1. Since I am new to the Rhodes faculty this year and learned on Angel, I am unfamiliar with the former WebCT program that was used. I was wondering what others have noticed as the pros/cons between the 2? Angel seems to be very user friendly for the most part, even though I still have a lot of ?’s (just ask Mike, lol). I am getting more and more accustomed to it as I go………..
2. So again, on the topic of synchronous vs. asynchronous learning. What does everyone feel the more appropriate way to go with this. It seems to me a combination of the 2 may be the best answer at times. I suppose it depends on the nature of your students and their lifestyle. We are however using synchronous chat and webcasts in our PTA program with our distance students. I think if the students have committed to a “structured program” then this method is most effective and should work, because it gives those distance students the opportunity to “be there” and be active learners and participants and recieve the information 1st hand. Asynchronous communication though is useful for answering ?s and offering thoughts “after class” through email, blogs such as this, discussion boards, etc. My only fear is that with those, students who don’t check it regularly may “miss out on things” or on further discussion that takes place. Thus I think for avoiding this, students should be required to participate by regularly checking established asynchronous tools set up for the course, as we are required to do here……………
3. How do we know our methods of delivery are effective? Do we make scheduled time for student feedback? What if you discover your methods are not working????? Do you change midstream? or try to make mild modifications and go on………?????
4. How important do you feel it is for a teacher to have experience as an online student before taking on the responsiblility of being an online teacher? does this potentially make you more empathetic to the students’ needs??
For me………I have experience as an online student and led an online class for the very first time last qtr. I think it all worked out in the end but definitely know there is room for improvement. I am looking for ways to do this for next year, using tools that fit in well with the format of our program. For the mentioned class, it is a matter of posting information on disease pathologies for the students to learn, which can potentially be “dry and boring”. I can see where things like UTube or Flickr could be beneficial for posting video and pics on patients with these diseases to “bring them to life” and a blog or wiki could be useful for posting comments and questions that could be seen by all and be more open for discussion and group interaction. ……………… Just trying to come up with ideas to improve my delivery for next year………….Thx all for listening!!! and for participating!!
Posted in Week 4.
Tagged with Week 4.
By aliles
– February 3, 2010
Here are this week’s discussion questions. If you click on “View on Slideshare” on this week’s presentation “Designing Livelier Elearning” there are more slideshows relating to this week’s topic that we found interesting and useful. Please respond to one or more of the discussion prompts in the comments section underneath this post. Ready, set, go………
- Are there advantages to a hybrid/blended course format over either a classroom course or fully on line course? If so, what would be the most important ones in your opinion?
- We’ve been introduced to a variety of technology tools in this class and in recent faculty workshops—wikis, blogs, Twitter, diigo, edutopia, Skype, docstoc, Storyspace, podcasting, webcasting, ToonDo, ChaCha, polleverywhere, and so on. Bearing all that in mind, if you had to choose just one technology “tool” to use in your online course, which tool would you choose and why?
- Of the 8 Rubric categories in the Quality Matters Rubic for Online courses, which 3 categories have the greatest point value? How do these 3 categories interrelate?
- In the slide show “Dump the Drone,” we were encouraged to interact with our students in more fun and interesting ways. What was one of the more successful “fun” experiences you have had incorporating technology into your classroom?
Posted in Week 3.
Tagged with Design, Week 3.
By John
– January 26, 2010
On the pedagogy question: I feel the same as everyone else, pretty much. I also debated on this question because I too feel to some degree that if you are a good teacher and you convey the information clearly, then you have a great chance at being successful no matter how it is conveyed. HOWEVER, on the other hand, I also feel that the medium does differ and obviously matter depending on 1. the type of course F2F where things can be brought to light in more obvious manners (demonstration, powerpoints, guest speakers, etc.) – more obvious F2F type presentations. In the online settings however where F2F is only possible through video, then the medium must change/adapt to fit the needs of the students and their styles of learning as well as be able to clearly portray the objectives.
So basically when it is all said and done, I think both answers are correct to some degree, at different instances. But I focused on the word “sound” pedagogy, which is what led me to my answer of true.
Thanks, Mike for asking for our feedback on this question. It did cause me to ponder!
Posted in Default.
By aliles
– January 25, 2010
Consider this question from our quiz:
True or False: In general, sound pedagogy is independent of the medium of instruction.
The “correct” answer in the quiz was true. However, many of you answered false.
In my gut, I want to throw the question out, and I believe the answer lies somewhere in the middle. The rub is in glossy words like “In general.” Here are some points I would include in any formal argument for a positon:
1. Good Teaching is Good Teaching. You have to have objectives, have relevant content, provide a chance for learners to practice or internalize concepts, and then find a way to measure their learning (“assessment”). This is true no matter what the medium of instruction, and I think was the true heart of the question, though poorly stated.
2. However, blended/online learning leans more heavily towards andragogy (sometimes called “adult learning”). That is, the learner is more independent, takes (or fails to take) more responsibility, is in more control. Thus, your approach and design can often take quite a different form than your face to face classes.
So let’s have at it! I think it would be valuable to hear you all out on what you think are the nuances involved. Is it a matter of fuzzy definitions? Make your case for your perspective.
I don’t want us to beat to death “OK ONLINE IS DIFFERENT. FINE!” but I think it’d be worth hearing how you think the chips fall on this question.
Posted in Week 2.
Tagged with Andragogy, Debate, Modality, Pedagogy, Quiz 1, Week 2.
By Michael Edwards
– January 25, 2010
There are so many tools out there that I think we need a Learning Community of faculty who are given reassignment time (read: one class release time) to convene weekly to discuss and share teaching tools. It could be something equivalent to “early release day” in the high schools, in which students leave an hour early and the teachers get together for some weekly comaraderie and professional development. I think I would stand a more realistic chance of implementing technology in my classroom if I had a support group I met with on a regular basis. We could all sit around in a circle and tweet each other. After that, we could text message each other and finally Skype. And then before we leave, we could even have some F2F conversation. Just kidding in that last sentence. But it would be good to have a voluntary on-going support group, supported (read: $$) by the College. We would be like a an idea group, a place to try out technologies in the classroom. Maybe we could divide up into teams and work on projects together, sponsored by the College. It’s too hard to try to do this stuff on yoru own. Add in some committee work, and there is not much time for curricular experimentation.
Posted in Default.
By John
– January 22, 2010
In some of our reading this week, we learned that there are many, many tools for helping us teach and learn. Specifically, the video Web 2.0: The Machine is Us/ing Us. I found a website that rated 100 technology tools in 2009. (The website was started in the UK, but still, 100 tools?) http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/recommended/ .
1. How do you determine which technology tool to use for your class?
2. How receptive will your students be to the tools you do choose?
3. How has your classroom technology changed over the last few years and where do you see it going in the next few years? Which tools do you hope to incorporate into your class and how do you plan to use them?
Posted in Week 2.
Tagged with Technology, Tools, Web 2.0, Week 2.
By dmiller
– January 20, 2010
To start things off, I will be the first Blog Leader in the course. In subsequent weeks I will nominate 1 or 2 of you to take the reins of leading discussion and creating posts.
I will post by Wednesday, Jan 13 on Week 1 topics.
Posted in Week 1.
Tagged with Blog Leader, Week 1.
By Michael Edwards
– January 5, 2010
I am interested in learning about in-class student texting–how texting might complement student communication. I read a short (700-800 words) blog posting today about how a teacher used texting to support learning in her Jewish high school classroom http://jewish-education.hebrewcollege.edu/jewish-education/bid/28084/Why-My-Students-Were-Texting-in-Class-and-Learning Following the blog post are six or seven comments from other teachers.
Posted in Default, Week 1.
Tagged with Communication, Texting.
By John
– January 4, 2010
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