Week Eight: Reflection

     When I completed my final, my brain shutdown and it took almost the whole week to convince it the class was not over yet. My class discussion participation was extremely weak this week.

     Analysis of the two course descriptions provided data which supported the use of online discussions as an important tool in the construction of an online course and in collaborative learning. It also triggered many questions for me as I considered the development of online discussion for seventh and eight graders.

  “ Johnson and Johnson(1999)  report that peer learning that emerges with collaboration promotes greater conceptual and procedural gains for students , accommodates a broad range of learning styles, results in greater enjoyment of the learning task, and encourages a stronger persistence in learning” (Bradshaw and Hinton p.3).

    Table 1-Guidelines for Student Responses and the overall goal of the case study, “….. to provide a learning environment where there would be evidence that students were challenging stereotypes an attitudes……”  caused me to think of how an online discussion could be created for seventh and eighth graders on the topic of current events.

      Although ten percent of the students (170 total) in the Bradshaw and Hinton case study did not contribute to the discussion, would online discussion foster more insightful discussions as opposed to in class discussions?

     Would electronic environment encourage higher-order cognitive and metacognitive processing?

    Would C.M.C. allow students who are in need of more wait-time and students who are reluctant in class to speak for fear of being ridiculed by their peers consider this a safer environment? “Biggs (1999b , p.61) argues conceptual change is more likely to occur in learning if the outcome is apparent and students feel free to focus on the learning task, not on ‘watching their backs.”

    Would it help students with lower verbal skills to develop and strengthen their skills feeling the anonymity of online discussion?     In a class room these students tend to be the behavior problems due to their weak skills and what they foresee as an inability to complete assignments within the designated time allotted.

    One disadvantage that resonated with me was-“The other key disadvantage that CMC users often fail to recognize is that “active listeners” or “lurkers” might read but not respond to the conferencing messages (Shapard, 1990). While such individuals may actually be learning out on the community periphery, other participants do not know if these lurkers agree with the discussion or what degree they are even reading the messages.”

 I have found myself, the active listener!  Here lies my biggest challenge with on-line discussions.

  I am preparing for a trip to Singapore next week to support a seventeen year old, ex-student of mine who is participating in the first Junior Olympics. She is a female free-style wrestler. She hopes to represent the United States in 2012. Look for the name of Jenna Burkert.

Sorry, I just could not help myself. She’s such an outstanding young lady.

Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Week Seven: Reflection

                            Summative Assessment

This has been a very busy week. Trying to complete the final draft to submit, organizing the information and format, and working with APA style. Have not had to write a paper in many years so this is challenging.

I have included my final copy as a link. Tried a google doc, but nothing fancy.

For some reason I don’t understand, the theme on this page is not what I had originally and I have not been able to change it back to “Twenty Ten.”

Week Six: Reflection

This week the contrast between the Casey and the Khalsa media courses revealed the format for engaging learners and providing authenticty in work.

Although one of my my classmates took a defending position for the Casey course referring to the Pittsburg Standards that she was required to meet, I don’t think that was the reason for most of her learning objectives to read like an added activity list. I thought of her course as brainstorming.

We all have state standards to meet and I think she could have included the elements that would have engaged students, formed collaboritive teams, created aunthenticty and encouraged cybercoaching while still meeting those standards.

The flag has been raised for direct instruction(lecture). Knowledge in-knowledge out in order to increase test scores. Oh, don’t forget to differentiate teaching.( two donkeys cartoon right on!)

We all have times when direct instruction is needed. Bloom’s Taxonomy has the knowlegde level for a reason,but how often do we stay in the levels of application, analysis, synthesis or evaluation? Rigor of mind. These are the levels where students experience the must discomfort.

  Another thought,

Benefits of constructivist design

“One of the questions that a designer

 

might reasonably ask is, “Why should I

 

 

consider a constructivist approach to

learning?” Perhaps it would be well to

take a little time to give my answer to

that question.

First, please be aware that I am not

advocating replacing your current design

model completely with constructivism.

The traditional approaches to designing

and delivering instruction (sometimes

referred to as the “objectivist approaches”)

work quite well for many learning situations,

as long as they are appropriately

selected and correctly applied. In

some cases, either an objectivist approach

or a constructivist approach

would provide satisfactory results, depending

on the maturity of the learners.

But there are many situations you face

as a designer, when you will find that you

need to support learning in domains or

for audiences where an attempt to transfer

knowledge or skill from a subject matter

expert’s head to a learner’s head is

doomed to fail. Those are the times to reflect on constructivism and its many

benefits, and to ask, “Should we do

something different?”  ( Bill Brandon, 2004 p.2)

 

Assessment taxonomy table template

Assessment taxonomy table template

Review the course objectives and activities from the Casey course.  Then decide which objectives and activities belong in which ‘Bloom’ category.  This type of analysis will help you, not only develop your course assessment plans, but will also help you decide which assessment activities are most valuable.

This website provides a simple explanation of Bloom’s categories:

http://www.coun.uvic.ca/learn/program/hndouts/bloom.html

 

Bloom categories	Learning objective verbs	Activity
Knowledge(recall, list, define, identify, collect, label)	DefineIdentify	Vocabulary-ethics, libel etc.News items that may be propaganda
Comprehension(summarize, describe interpret, predict, discuss)	Understand RecognizeDiscuss	The First AmendmentPropagandaCNN and the Internet Documentary Media Hype
Application(apply, demonstrate, illustrate, classify, experiment, discover)	Examine	The role and responsibilities of a journalist in a free society, free press
Analysis(analyze, classify, connect, explain, infer)	Distinguish Analyze   Investigate	Between private (more problematic) and public people ?NCLB, stories reported in various venuesVarious news sources
Synthesis(combine, integrate, plan, create, design, formulate)	Create	Their individual guidelines for questionable language
Evaluation(assess, recommend, convince, compare, conclude, summarize)	DetermineCompare	How well the media is performing.Coverage of stories to coverage in traditional paper.

 

 

 

Week Five: Reflection

Started the week thinking I understood what was expected, however, the more I read the discussion threads the less confident I felt and finally, overwhelmed. Working with those who have had the opportunity to explore multiple websites or teach online should be uplifting and rewarding for the shared knowledge and it is, but it also makes me realize how far behind I am in the e-learning process and every year I continue to work without the opportunity to explore and apply what I do learn is very frustrating.

 This week we continued with the investigation of the development of learning objectives and the levels of Bloom’s taxonomy for assessment. Also spent the week trying to visualize and think about the assessment tools I will be using with my learning objectives. The Collaborative Brain was very helpful in providing guidance and suggestions as I fell into a pit of confusion. Thanks again to all the brains.

 Casey’s journalism class lesson and learning objectives was a great exercise to evaluate objectives and lead to many related discussions beyond what we were asked to discuss which provided me with more websites to investigate and insightful discussions. I did not feel that I had very much to offer this week.

Tried to link my Taxonomy of Assessment by creating a new page on the wiki but could not figure out how to have the specific page open.

Don’t know what this is refering t0-Then add a copy or link to your team taxonomy table.?

Jigsaw Midterm-Assessment in E-Learning

 

Jigsaw Midterm

Assessment in E-Learning

 Group Two

Marilyn Fassett

Dave Kunkle

Karen Nickel

 

Introduction

Below are our findings from researching Survey Monkey and Zoomerang (Survey and quiz builders), E-pal (Reflection tools), and WebEx (Peer-to-peer collaboration tools). Together these tools provide a variety of ways to assess students with diverse learning styles and backgrounds. Some tools are better suited to specific learning objectives, while others might be chosen to help specific students deliver their best evidence of learning. All of these tools help us think more deeply about learning objectives, our audience and creating effective assessments.

Assessment tool #1: WebEx (www.webex.com)
WebEx is a collaboration program allowing users to hold virtual meetings in real time. After downloading the basic software, WebEx allows users to log on to the same meeting place (or classroom in school jargon), where collaboration can occur. The site allows users to text and video chat, share a whiteboard (think of a sheet of paper all members can write on in real time), and even share a user’s desktop. We were dubious of the site initially, spurned by the price tag, $49/month, as there are websites that can do similar with less cost (or in some cases, no cost). However, after experimenting with the site, we can see its value and would offer our recommendation.

WebEx is primarily directed towards businesses; in fact, when registering for a free trial, “education” wasn’t even one of the categories of businesses we could choose from (and there certainly wasn’t a “teacher” in the job title, so we went with CEO!). This would allow companies to have both in-house and across the globe meetings with their employees revolving around one, internet-based hub. In an ever-shrinking global economy, we can appreciate this site’s value.

In terms of educational use, there certainly is some applicability. The main features listed above (chat, video chat, whiteboard, and screensharing) could all be used in an educational setting. Imagine a study session or a lecture, where the instructor is able to see the students and respond to their questions, either in writing or through the use of a webcam. Seeing classmates and the instructor, and having questions answered immediately, could improve the educational experience.

Screensharing, where users can see what is on the meeting host’s computer screen, would be valuable as part of an orientation to online learning. New users could follow along, learning how to log on to D2L, fill out personal profile, start discussions, and email members of the course.

There are drawbacks to WebEx. The aforementioned price would certainly be prohibitive in a financially-strapped educational environment. Another drawback would be the necessity of all the bells and whistles WebEx offers. It’s great that it can do so much, but too many features can be detrimental to the success of the software. It’s tough to imagine a time when in a distance education program, all of the functions would need to be accessed at the same time.

WebEx could help aid in the assessment of many learning objectives. For example, if the learning objective was, “Given an article, students will discuss the applicability of the article in their current professions,” the instructor could view the discussion and assess the individual’s responses for understanding of the article.

WebEx will be around for the long haul, as it is owned by a powerhouse of the computing world, Cisco (who purchased it from its original developers for 3 billion dollars). However, even though it has educational applicability, its intended audience is definitely the corporate world. Because of this, we don’t foresee it being used in distance learning.

Assessment tool #2: Survey Monkey (www.surveymonkey.com) and Zoomerang (www.zoomerang.com) Survey Tools

 

Survey Monkey and Zoomerang are two online survey tools to help users design and deploy surveys and to collect and analyze the results. They both offer free basic services. Both take users through a “design survey” phase, which includes choosing various types of questions. Both show how to deploy the survey and collect responses and analyze the results. Support is offered online for both tools.
Survey Monkey and Zoomerang are used to make surveys, which unlike quizzes, elicit opinions and are not graded for accuracy. Neither tool is specific only to educational uses, but both can easily be used in academic settings.

Advantages of both Survey Monkey and Zoomerang are that instructors and students can create surveys. Both are simple to create, free for basic subscriptions and have flexible, easy formats. Survey Monkey doesn’t have templates with its basic service, so everything must be created from the ground up. Surveys can have up to 10 questions only for basic subscribers. Zoomerang stores data online for only 10 days and there are ads that pop up. Zoomerang has some templates, although only one is geared specifically to students. Both have limited security, although Survey Monkey touts its privacy advantages. Most reviews we read named Survey Monkey as more complex and complicated than Zoomerang, but we found both straight forward and fairly easy to follow. In addition to first-hand experience building surveys with each site we also consulted the following sources: http://www.listio.com/reviews/2009/01/comparing-survey-applications-zoomerang-surveymonkey-fluidsurveys-and-mysurveylab/

Educational uses of surveys could include teacher surveys, student surveys and students creating their own surveys. Teachers could measure interest of a certain topic, give feedback about a conference, or ascertain skills and assess necessary professional development needs. Teachers could survey students in order to collect information about students’ interests or prior knowledge to plan instruction or to collect feedback about how students evaluate the success of project. Students could create their own surveys as part of their research for particular assignments. Students can also get feedback on their own projects they might make available to wider audiences. Our own applications for surveys might include a learning strategy survey at the beginning of the course. Students could better know what to do if they struggle with any content or skill as they progress through the course.

Teachers could use Survey Monkey and Zoomerang in the assessment of learning objectives by having students create their own surveys. Students could learn content and develop skills in how to ask good questions. In order to write a good survey, students must consider what is important to find out and then they must also learn how to interpret the results. They can also reflect on their own learning by filling out surveys. We might use these survey tools for students to build a survey, thereby showing their skill at asking and answering questions. This is one of the learning targets of beginning language levels.

We see both Survey Monkey and Zoomerang as valuable tools for online teaching. We like the flexibility of use by the instructor and students. Instructors can gather information about students, students can self-reflect and show evidence of learning valuable skills.

Assessment tool #3: ePals (http://www.epals.com/)
ePals is a free collaborative learning tool supported by Microsoft that provides a student safe environment by allowing districts, teachers and parents the ability to control content and interactions within a global context. Teachers and students facilitate teaching and learning by sharing projects and connecting with others around the globe and accessing content designed for networked and digital world.

There are several benefits of using ePals. First, online safety, which is a paramount concern of parents, teachers and administrators, is efficiently controlled through ePals’ use. Also, there are various forums to select collaborative projects such as National Geographic Teacher Created Projects, ePals Video, Digital Storytelling or Team Earth e-films.

Conversely, there are also some challenges when using ePals. We question the management of forums with numerous classes with student enrollments sometimes topping thirty students.  In ePals, most of the Classroom Matches with a global perspective contain classes of five-seven students. As we looked for the assessment pieces, we noticed the use of reflective tool, think pair share, but we did not notice any reference to the use of rubrics and we were not sure how teachers conveyed to their students what the quality of their work was in reference to achieving the learning objectives. Curriculum wise, there was no indication students took part in the creation of any of the lessons.

 ePals could help in the assessment of students if the lesson is generated appropriately. For example, students could learn about the age-old practice of storytelling and use 21st century tools to create their own digital story. Students would explore digital storytelling as a way to tell a story, promote cross-cultural understanding and build meaningful connections with others.
As for learning objectives, they could be: Students will critique two ePals collaborative tools and students will summarize the progression of edublogs as an online collaborative tool to enrich student learning.
Using ePals affords students the opportunity to interact, review and reflect on the postings and responses of others throughout the global community.

Conclusion
Why is assessment important?
Teachers’ assessment strategies are significant because they provide a relational prompt for students and insights into the educational process.  As we investigated different collaborative assessment tools in order to consider our audience and learning objectives, we found that each tool presented benefits and challenges.

The one unifying theme—and an intrinsic benefit—seen in the technology explored can be best summed up by a quote from Bonk in his book, The World is Open, “…with the emergence of Globalization 3.0, individuals from all corners of the globe can participate in a world economy. Collaborative tools bring their ideas, talents, resources, networks, and products together for sharing and innovation.”

Hopefully this jigsaw review helps shed a little light on each of the technologies and the potential benefits and drawbacks. We enjoyed putting this together and hopefully that is illustrated through our work.

Week Four: Reflection

This week, we completed our Assessment Toolbox midterm assignment in a timely fashion. The process went well and when posted, initiated lively discussion as to what written format the final document should be presented. Paragraphs,  bullets, single space, doubles spaces, references, no references, etc. 

Kudos to my collorborative team members, David and Karen!

Assessment tools that peaked my interest where Scribbler, Micrograde, Zoomerang, Moodle and Live Journal.

This week I also had the opportunity to read excerpts form Curtis Bonks , “The World is Wide Open (We All Learn),” in which he gives us a glimpse of how he sees the future of learning.

Learning, according to Bonk, will become more personalized,. The average years of formal education will become longer. We will have electronic coaches or e-mentors, access to encyclopedias of knowledge on our wristwatches and mobile phones, will have co-learner or co-learners in another part of the world, when and where we learn and teach won’t matter, the number of teaches will increase, mixing or blending of learning contents and technologies will make categorizing primary delivery platforms extremely difficult, free learning certificates and degrees will emerge and advances in technologies for simulations and real-time experiences will encourage learning authenticity and learning on demand.

 With time, we will all see what becomes of  “Bonk’s Future.”