Online Learning Lab Sandbox area

Alexis Practice Podcast

2008-10-01T12:08:00.000-05:00

This is a practice assignment.

New OLL Services Spot

2008-07-15T15:04:00.003-05:00

Here's the new OLL Services Spot

What can we do along the lines of open education?

2007-02-01T12:43:00.000-06:00

In mulling over what I could post about this week, I kept coming back to a topic being bantered about in the ed tech and instructional design podcasts--open education.

My basic question is this--what can we, as the OLL, do to assist in the development of open education? Do we want to get involved and, if so, how much?

I'm coming at this from the background of someone with little tech experience, so excuse me if I sound more than a little Pollyanna-ish. But as a lit person, I get really excited to hear that the classic (and some not-so-classic) texts are being made available online for the "masses." I think knowledge, for too long, has been something kept under wraps for all but the few. First response? YIPPEEEE! Let's go! What can I do?

Then comes the problems associated with how to get to these texts. The One Computer Per Child Project has the right idea, but then you're also talking about internet access issues (at one time, we had free internet options in this country--like NetZero--but now almost all of them have gone extinct or are pay only). In this country, phone lines are generally available, but not everyone has the funds to pay for access. Outside this country, phone lines may not be as available. Yes, there's wireless, but then your talking even more expense (and then there's the issue of coverage). I'm unsure how to get around all of these issues--thankfully, there appear to be folks working on these kinds of quandaries full time (such as the OCPC project people).

Open Source software is one of the main thrusts of the Open Education movement. Since mass marketed software packages can be prohibitive, cost-wise, Open Source seems to be the answer. How to download the software is only one of the problems (as I mentioned above, internet access costs could also be prohibitive). Also there's an issue of how to actually use these OS programs. Programs such as Audacity is fairly straight-forward and very user-friendly. But there are plenty of other promising programs being worked on (new OS projects are popping up every day--just check SourceForge that require an understanding of Linux--something I know practically nothing about.

So then a new question arises--if we in the OLL begin to get more involved in the push for Open Education, how deep do we get in? Do we become trained in Linux to then pass it on? Who would then be our "audience"? The instructors here on campus, many of whom already consider what we do "over their heads" and don't see the relevance of our workshops in their teaching until they're required to teach an online course? (Sure, there are plenty of faculty who are very "into" technology--but I'm speaking from my lit/creative writing background here. Very few professors in that department use any technology at all and, if they do, its PowerPoint. If that's the case in one department, I know there are plenty of others just like it.)

What is the value of our venturing forth into the Open Education field? I guess it all depends upon how far abroad from our base we want to stretch ourselves. Do we want to till the ground here on campus and in the nearby community or do we want to branch further and begin to go more in the way of distance education and breaking down international borders?

These are all logical questions, I think. They may not need to be addressed at this very moment, but as the juicy carrot of government and corporate subsidies and grants for the OE field gets larger and larger, its certainly going to be more and more tempting to get into it. By then, however, will we be trailblazers or just trying to keep up?

http://www.openeducation.org.au/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

http://www.coe.mq.edu.au/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_educational_resources

Writing Good Blogs

2007-01-25T08:16:00.000-06:00

Part of writing a good blog is also simply good writing.

(1) Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.(2) Never us a long word where a short one will do.
(3) If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
(4) Never use the passive where you can use the active.
(5) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
(6) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

Available online at: http://billives.typepad.com/portals_and_km/2007/01/guidelines_for_.html

Tech Reports for Spring Semester!

2007-01-19T13:46:00.000-06:00

It's that time again! Time to work on another tech report. Last semester we did one on Motivation in Distance Education. The subject this semester is still up in the air. If anyone has any great ideas that they think would be interesting for a tech report, please let me know! Everyone did a great job on the last one and I know this one will be just as wonderful. I am ready and waiting for you tech report ideas!

Spring semester 07

2007-01-19T13:04:00.000-06:00

We had our first meeting yesterday. The new scheduling method was unveiled. Now staff members are expected to work 5 four-hour shifts. This should increase our productivity and help with our team-based projects. While there will be some adjustments, I believe this new method will prove beneficial in the long run.

Do's and Don'ts of Powerpoints

2007-01-16T23:18:00.000-06:00

Powerpoint Design: The Good, The Pretty, and the Really, Really Ugly

Planning

Target Audience

What do you want to accomplish

Outline or Storyboard idea before you even start!
Organize, Organize, Organize!
Plan your presentation to take advantage of the attributes of the system.

Tons of Space
Color- Use it! However, assume that at least one person viewing your presentation will be color blind. Don’t use only color to demonstrate or label ideas.
Graphics- Try to choose meaningful graphics and pictures, not just random clip art.
Sound- This is a great but make sure it’s applicable and useful
Motion clips- Can be video or animations but don’t use them just because you can!
Linking- Make a choice, don’t just do this just because you can.

Principles

1. Alignment

This means left, center, or right justified.
Choose one alignment and stick with it!
Keep text and graphics away from the edges of the screen.
Keep an eye out for vertical alignment (top, middle, or bottom) not just horizontal alignment.

2. Proximity

This means how close are the objects.
Objects and/ or text that are located close together will appear to belong together or have some relationship.
Use proximity to your advantage.
Always think about how close items are on a page and if they have a relationship.

3. Repetition

Repeat certain elements throughout your presentation.
Colors, style, illustrations, format, layout, typography, etc.
Repeating a color throughout a presentation is always a good way to tie a page together.

4. Contrast: This is very important! Make sure you can actually read the text! The #1 mistake people make in Powerpoint presentations is making the text unreadable!

Choose lots of contrast between the background and the foreground.
Choose backgrounds that are simple and don’t have too many elements. You want to focus on the content!
Rule of thumb is to make a dark background behind light text or dark text on top of a light background. The best for readability is always dark on light!
If possible test your presentation with a projector before you give it. Projectors tend to wash out colors so make sure you can still read all your text.
Also, assume that at least one person viewing your presentation will be color blind. Lots of contrast will ensure that they will still be able to read the slides.
Contrasting elements, colors, graphics, different sizes, etc., can be used to guide your eye around the page. Look at the screen and see what catches your eye in what order.
Watch for and create your own focal points.

Electronic Presentation Specific Design

1. Backgrounds

Simple
Not too many colors
NEVER, EVER use a Powerpoint template that has an animation of any kind!
Light Backgrounds and dark text are better for readability.
Powerpoint has some really terrible color combinations, don’t assume that they wouldn’t put them in if they were not good- they did!
Check that the text is readable on all parts of your page.

2. Text

Don’t use a “cool font” that is really difficulty to read.
Pick a font and size and stick with it, don’t change it every screen. If your font size works for every screen except for one you need to think about whether there’s too much text on that screen!

3. 666 Rule or “The Devil Made Me Do It!”

No more than 6 words per bullet. Otherwise it’s not a bullet point!
No more than 6 bullets per slide. This makes it difficult for your audience to read and pay attention to.
No more than 6 word slides in a row. BORING and, if you remember our pie chart, not very effective

General: DO NOT

Use the Powerpoint to put up your notes. #2 mistake made in electronic presentations is putting too much information on your screens.
Don’t show them what you are telling them verbatim! Just give them keywords and teasers, otherwise why should they listen.
Read your slides!
This is not a crutch for you not preparing for a presentation.
You can use your slides for order and to keep you on track but if you’re going to read them why present at all!
Put in sound effects that either have nothing to do with your presentation or actually take away from it.
There is nothing more off putting than screeching car sounds in a professional presentation.
Sound is great if it actually adds to and is important to the presentation.
Use animations for titles on individual pages
While this may be acceptable for a title slide, after 10 slides it gets really annoying and usually breaks up the flow of the presentation.
Use animated cartoons
Powerpoint has all kinds of silly cartoons.
If the animation really is applicable to what you are talking about that’s great! Use it.If it’s really a stretch forget it- it’s just distracting from what you’re there to talk about and makes your presentation look unprofessional.
Stretch graphics to fit a space
When you need to resize graphics HOLD DOWN THE SHIFT KEY while you drag the handle. This will make the graphic resize without distorting it.
Graphics that are “pixilated” do not look good, or professional, even if they fit the space!
Arrange the space and lighting so that the only thing that can be seen is the computer, screen, projector, or everything else besides you!
You are presenting- not the computer! This is one of the reasons to have a great deal of contrast so that the presentation can be seen even when there’s enough light to see you!
Use blanks slides! If you don’t want to mess with the projector put blank slides into the presentation whenever you want the audience to pay special attention to you!

Available online at: http://ed.uwyo.edu/Tech/tutorials/powerpoint_design.htm

Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire

2007-01-16T09:54:00.000-06:00

This is a complex questionnaire to help teachers diagnose their students' learning styles. It consists of 44 questions and it is evaluated online, with specific tips for individual learners as well as their teachers. Learners are assessed on four dimensions of the Felder-Silverman model (North Carolina State University): active vs. reflective, sensing vs. intuitive, visual vs. verbal, and sequential vs. global. The questionnaire is suitable mostly for adult learners and it might be used in on-campus, as well as online classes. I took it and found out some interesting facts about my preferred learning style.

Net Pedagogy Portal

2007-01-12T11:17:00.000-06:00

Found an interesting resource today in Net Pedagogy Portal. Their site explores the internet, new tools (i.e. wiki, RSS), teaching and learning strategies, resources, learning activities, and support systems. This portal was created as part of an Emerging Issues in Educationl Technology with the Masters of Distance Education program at Athabasca University. The target audience is graduate students in Distance Education, Educational Technology and Instructional Design. Its purpose is statement is to increase understanding, knowledge and awareness of the changing landscape of teaching and learning online.

Vista is coming!

2007-01-11T19:11:00.000-06:00

For those of you who are either not technologically inclined and/or are living under a rock, Microsoft has announced that its newest version of the Windows operating system, Windows Vista, will be available as a stand-alone product or pre-installed on new PCs starting January 30, 2007. Additionally, the newest version of Microsoft Office, 2007 Microsoft Office, will be available in early 2007. Together, Vista and Office 2007 will be seamlessly integrated to provide users with the ultimate computing experience. I know that I may sound like a commercial for these products, but based on the demonstrations and reviews that I have seen and read, Microsoft is poised to remain at the forefront of technology research and development well into this century.

Check out the link below for more information.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista

Google for Educators

2007-01-10T14:14:00.000-06:00

No longer just a search engine, Google develops many applications that are very useful to educators. The link below takes you to the Google for Educators page, it list some very useful applications/services offered by Google and briefly explains how each application/service can be used for education. I am currently using gmail, Google talk and Google Maps/Google Earth. I am also exploring how to use SketchUp – an intuitive 3D modeler. I suggest that everyone visit the page and try out a few of the applications.

http://www.google.com/educators/

P/s Blogger – The blog engine used to create this blog you are reading right now, is owned by google.

Last Post

2006-12-05T10:01:00.000-06:00

This will be my final post as an OLL staff member. It has been a learning experience and a pleasure working with all of you. I will be in Mobile, so I am certain this is not the end of our friendships.
Good luck with your studies and work in the OLL!

Latest wiki stats

2006-11-30T12:20:00.000-06:00

Hi gang,
I have to say, I don't know where all our hits are coming from, but our little unmarketed wiki is trucking along.

Since starting the project sometime in mid-summer, we're closing in on 5000 hits from eleven countries. Our unique visitors spiked to around 36-37/day in mid-October and again recently--this week, in fact.

One theory I have for the number of visits is that wikispaces offers a running daily tally of changes so that, on the days I'm working heavily on the site, the OLL wiki shows up multiple times on their lists. Anyone else in the site who is interested in online learning or instructional design might then take a look at the recent additions.

That said, the days with the most views seem to be during periods that I was not really working on the wiki that heavily. So I'm thinking that maybe students preparing for comps or finals stumbled across the wiki while doing their own research.

Whatever the case, it's continuing to build and I'm rather excited to have a repository of all the cool tools I've come across (its nice to share!). At some point, I'd like to go through and rank the websites and tools as to value, ease of use, etc.--but that may be a far flung dream.

Check out the latest--http://onlinelearninglab.wikispaces.com/

Just For Fun!

2006-11-30T08:22:00.000-06:00

I thought my technology friends would get a good laugh out of this!

Order a pizza in 2010? . . .This is funny, but the scary part about it is that it's probably not too far away from being reality.Want to know how to order a pizza in 2010? Click the link and see. ..turn up the volume. . . listen closely. . . watch the pointercarefully!

http://aclu.org/pizza/images/screen.swf

Enjoy!

Scenario Based Learning

2006-11-29T10:39:00.000-06:00

To help studnet reach a higher order of cognitive level it has become very important for teacher to present instructions that are context centered. To do this we as instructors need to use strategies that can help learners apply their skills readily to situations. To reach this goal one of the most successful strategies is "Scenario based learning" strategy.

Go to the folloiwng website and look at an excellent example of a scenario based learning:
http://scenarios.wikispaces.com/Jinyoung

The topic is "Exercise Planning," there is a Powerpoint version and a video version. Look at the Powerpoint version, it is more clear and self-paced.

Technology and Distance Learning in K-12th Grade

2006-11-29T08:17:00.000-06:00

I found these sites about technology and distance learning in the k-12 education field. They are pretty interesting and give some wonderful tips for implimenting technology in the classroom. Enjoy!

http://www.nacol.org/
This organizations keeps track of K-12 distance education research. It also provides resources and networking opportunities for related professionals.

http://www.cast.org/publications/books/ltr/index.html
This online book is designed to help educate teachers in the theories and uses of computers for the teaching of reading. It relates theories of the brain to computers and to the teaching of reading skills and strategies. It also discusses how computers can improve student motivation and engagement in reading.

Towards a New Golden Age in American Education
This site provides the full text of the U.S. Department of Education's education technology plan, "Towards a New Golden Age in American Education".

http://www.nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2003313
This site contains a guide which was written to help state and local education agencies measure technology use by examining different key areas such as planning, policies, finance, and professional development.

http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/learning.now/
This is a weblog that explores how new technology and Internet culture affect how educators teach and children learn. It offers a continuous look at how new technology such as wikis, blogs, podcasts, myspace, facebook, vlogs, and the always-on culture of the Internet are impacting
teacher and students' lives both inside and out of the classroom.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech116.shtml
This site contains an article that helps teachers manage technology in their classrooms. It gives them tips to make teaching using technology easy, fun, and successful.

I really enjoyed Theory Tuesday!

2006-11-16T10:50:00.000-06:00

This past Tuesday, November 14, 2006, I attended the Theory Tuesday presentation. I am normally unable to attend because of my schedule, but I was able to be at this month's presentation. I was really in for a treat! Dr. David Ellis, a professor of special education here at USA, truly showed the educational implications of applied behavioral analysis (ABA), the offspring of B.F. Skinner's radical behaviorism. Furthermore, Dr. Ellis explained how ABA can be useful for instructional designers, mainly in ABA's emphasis on clearly-stated behavioral (or, performance) objectives, the attainment of prerequisite skills, and regular assessment. Although I did not agree with some of Dr. Ellis's beliefs about how far-reaching ABA could be in education, I certainly appreciated the opportunity to discuss a paradigm that has many implications for our field as instructional designers.

WikiHow

2006-11-10T14:52:00.000-06:00

Wikihow is a repository of instructions on how to do a lot of things in everyday life. I find it to be a very useful resource for instructional designers or for anybody, for that matter.

Most of the instructions are step-by-step procedural instructions. It does not address the issues of pedagogy, instructional strategy, learner attributes, etc. that IDers have to consider in instructional design. Despite this, I still find most of the instructions on the site easy to follow.

WikiHow is also a Wiki, meaning that anyone can create and edit pages on the site. There are pros and cons to this, pros because if everyone can contribute to the site, the site has tremendous potential for growth, cons because of the increased risk of incorrect infomation.

I believe the website has alot of potential of meeting their vision in "providing free, unbiased, accurate instructions on almost every topic imaginable."

P/s Two other Wikis that i visit are Wikipedia and Wikia

World Lecture Hall

2006-11-07T17:32:00.000-06:00

This is a website created by the Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment at the University of Texas at Austin. It provides online course materials from actual courses from all over the world. Some websites of the courses contain only syllabus and notes, some are "full-fledged" courses. Very inspirational for us, instructional designers. Visit it, pick the category of your interest and see what's out there.

Theory Tuesday

2006-11-07T11:36:00.000-06:00

As some of you know, Theory Tuesday is fast approaching. The topic will be the work of B.F. Skinner. I found this link to the B.F. Skinner Foundation. Check it out. Find out if Skinner really created a Skinner box. Then, come to Theory Tuesday on Nov. 14 at 4:00p.m. in Room 3212 to learn even more from Dr. David Ellis.

It's never too late to start

2006-11-07T11:25:00.000-06:00

I have been studying for comps next summer. The group I have joined is planning on going in the spring, so that gives me several months to polish my weak areas. It is interesting to step back from your classes and try to see IDD in the big picture. All of the isolated methods and facts seem to come into focus and you are able to see all the ways the classes are interconnected. I have heard that it is best to get in a group because it helps divide the work load, you get to practice your answers with knowledgeable partners, and it helps to bring confidence. Confidence is definitely important when attempting an important evaluation, such as oral comps.
We are currently creating a timeline in EXCEL that will allow us to put in links, notes, etc., in order to see the chain of events from the beginnings of IDD to the present.

Cool online podcasting "class" coming up

2006-11-06T13:37:00.000-06:00

Yeah yeah, I know we all are such experts at podcasting that we don't need this workshop, but I did find one online and the best part about it is that its free!

It starts on November 6 (tomorrow) and has an instructor (Brian Fenton) whose background and expertise is certainly lengthy.

Probably well worth checking out.

CNET Online Courses: Podcasting 101

Dual Coding Perspectives

2006-11-03T16:03:00.000-06:00

In Instructional Design we tend to take new information and try to immediately put it to use. Its like we as a field are constantly trying to remain on the cutting edge. Dual-coding theory is a fairly well known principle of multimedia design. It states that a deeper learning occurs when information is presented in a text and graphical form. Because this theory does not operate outside of what many educators consider common sense, it has been adopted into practice by the educational community at large.Over the summer new information was published regarding much of the biology behind the dual coding principle. The information brought dual coding theory together with already accepted principles of learning domains. Two basic learning domains, verbal knowledge and intellectual skills are the underlying basis of most of what we call classroom education. Verbal knowledge is commonly considered synonymous with rote learning. Intellectual skills cover a wide range of learning including problem solving, process, rules, discriminations etc.The new findings look at the biological processes that occur when a learner is acquiring verbal information or an intellectual skill. When a learner is engaged in acquiring verbal information, their brain is operating through a single processing track. When engaged in an intellectual skill the brain is using two processing tracks. Specific learning domains operate through specific tracks, but presentation of stimulus also affects the tracks information is processed through.When stimulus is presented in one single format, a single process track is in use. Because the single track is in use, the learner is in a position to best acquire verbal information. When stimulus is in two formats (audio/visual for instance) the learner is in a position to best acquire intellectual skills.This means that if an educator is trying to teach verbal information, the stimulus should be presented in a single format, and if teaching intellectual skills stimulus should be presented in multiple formats.Try to take this into account the next time you put together a lesson.

Constructionist

2006-10-24T09:16:00.000-05:00

My sister who is a PhD student in Computer Science pointed out this professor Amy Bruckman at Georgia Tech. Dr. Bruckman is doing some of the top work in Constructionist theory and practice. Here online community for kids MOOSE Crossing is really interesting. I linked to one of her papers here. Here is the actual website for the MOOSE Crossing community.

Citation Machine Software

2006-10-20T11:24:00.000-05:00

Citation Machine is an interactive web tool designed to assist us while writing reports. Its main goal is to help studnets credit informaiton resource in a standard format. The standard format for our university is APA. Once you go to the website "citationmachine.com" you just have to click on "APA" on the left hand corner, and then pick the resource type (book, journal, magazine) and the program will provide you a relavent form that you need to fill-in. Once you submit the informaiton the program spits out your reference in APA format.

This program is something similar to reference point software, but in this case you have to type in all the informaiton in a database form.

Metacognition software designed to grow?

2006-10-17T12:12:00.000-05:00

Last week (or whenever it was), a bunch of us in the OLL were ooohing and aaahing over the latest "big thing" from LeapFrog, the Fly pen. Sure it does a lot of cool stuff, but the price would put it out of range for most kids (the target audience its designed for). Once you pay the $99 or so for the introductory starter package, the additional programs to study various subjects are around $30 a piece and you're looking at roughly 5-7 subjects for each student per year that would have to be purchased.

Nice idea, but basically except for those willing to pay for the novelty, out of the price range of most parents. The technology's cutting edge, but I wonder how long it'll be on the market at the price point it currently is.

Enough about the Fly pen.

It got me to thinking. What if there were metacognition software that grew with the child over the years? (Something that taught the child how to think about thinking and how to learn about learning.) Nintendo DS now has something similar to my thinking, but catering for adults. Brain Age claims to "train your brain in just minutes a day" and relies upon research showing that adults who exercise their mind with problem solving each day have a lower rate of alzehmers and other degenerative brain diseases.

How does this relate to metacognition? Well, the person who purchases the product and uses it does so with the assumption that it is assisting them in retention, memory, learning skills, etc.

So, how could this relate to kids? Sure, there's a lot of "educational" games out there that use cartoon characters to teach arithmetic or spelling or whatever. However, I have yet to see anything that actually promotes kids' thinking about their thought processes--learning how to learn.

I don't know how it could be approached. Perhaps something akin to Cosmeo could start them out on the basic concepts while young and allow the lessons to grow as the learner does. Add in a price point that's broken down into monthly payments and you might just have something promising.

It might head off those of us who arrived at college, never having learned the basic rules of studying (because, in general, we hadn't needed to before).

Later addition: I didn't know about this until after I'd written and posted the original blog post, but Alabama has its own version of Cosmeo (well, sort of)--its called homeworkalabama.org. I haven't yet gone in and investigated much. Students enter their library card number or zip code and it takes them to the tutoring site for their area.

Reference Point Software

2006-10-16T15:26:00.000-05:00

"Reference Point Software" is fairly new software in the market; it costs around $28 (27.95 to be specific). The good thing about this program is it comes as a plug in for MS Word. It also works WordPerfect, AmiPro, Word Pro, and MS Works. Once you download this program the software helps you with the formatting of your paper.

We all know how frustrating writing papers could be using APA style. We always have to worry about formatting our documents for margins, header, page number etc. The Reference Point Software template allows us to format our documents in seconds with just a few mouse clicks. Also, it makes typing references seem easier.

I would encourage you all to have buy it. Hope this information helps you. Please feel free to visit their website if you have any more questions.

Personal Websites

2006-10-12T09:45:00.000-05:00

After attending a recent presentation by Dr. Surry and speaking with him on this topic, I began thinking about how to develop a personal website that would allow future employers to see examples of my work, my vita, sample syllabi, and other materials for the purpose of marketing myself. I was wondering, do any of you have websites? I know that Andy does for his business(es). I am trying to develop one that is attractive, interactive, and user-friendly, while highlighting my accomplishments. I was also wondering if using projects that I have worked on in the OLL is permissible for inclusion in an online portfolio. Could anyone shed any light on these issues or give me some advice? Thanks.

The new blogging schedule!

2006-10-09T11:21:00.000-05:00

Hey Guys!
I am so excited about our new blog schedule. I think it will help everyone, especially me, remember to blog. Plus, since each of us only have to do it every few weeks, it should be easy. The best part is that it isn't hanging over our heads all the time any more. Please remember that I will be checking on Fridays around noon each week to see if you have blogged, so make sure to post by then. If you have any questions or concerns please let me know. I want this to be a success. I look forward to reading all of your wonderful posts! Now.... let the blogging begin!

Ever wanted to attend Berkeley but couldn't afford it?

2006-10-06T17:51:00.000-05:00

At least now you can download many of their lectures. Apparently, Google is now attempting to give Apple a run for their money as far as hosting videocasts of classes, lectures, workshops, etc. (Some of you may have sat in on one of the Apple iTunesU presentations last semester and remember what their offer was.) Pretty cool if you ask me (though nobody did).

Berkeley's Google Video page can be found here.

Useful Site

2006-10-04T09:49:00.000-05:00

Link to Univ of Colorado at Denver COE

I thought this might be a useful IDD related site. It has many links to and descriptions of IDD models and learning theories. I thought the most interesting were the comparsion articles linked by this site. I know comps are coming up and hoped this might be helpful.

Should we be looking into open source software?

2006-10-03T12:22:00.000-05:00

Hi gang,
I keep hearing and reading about open source software--what educators are using it for and what they think it could be used for "in a perfect world" scenario. Recently (like today), I noticed a link sent to the ITForum listserv about a new special Innovate issue on the subject--you can find the article here.

At some point, I think Andy and I had a discussion about Open Source stuff. He mentioned that users of the open source software have to know more coding than what our typical client is going to. However, I kept hearing about it on several of the ed tech and IT podcasts and was curious to know if we could somehow adapt it for Faculty Fridays. Recently, I've stumbled onto programs such as Hot Potatos, that allow educators to create online quizzes and learning games. Open Office and Moodle are other programs that definitely show promise to those we're here to help. The thing is, do they require too much advanced knowledge of programming? To be honest, I haven't yet been able to play with them enough to decide if they're valuable enough to put in the amount of time necessary to be fully trained and thus train others to train others and so on.

The Innovate article goes further than just software--it looks at other open source resources, such as those to assist in research.

It might take me a while to take a look at everything he mentions in the article, but I have to admit, my interest is peaked.

Faculty Thu/Fri Evaluations

2006-10-01T16:12:00.000-05:00

Great job everyone.. the Faculty Thursday/Friday evaluations this semester are up the creeks. I hope the trend stays that way all through the semester.

This week's Faculty Friday

2006-09-18T17:25:00.000-05:00

Well gang, the next Faculty Friday is quickly approaching. It's my baby this week--on blogs (fitting that I'd be posting here about it, eh?). So far, I've adapted a PowerPoint from last semester, run off handouts of a really good article on teaching with blogs and made a "quirkies" page with little things like the audioblogger, bloglines and weather pixie website addies. I'm trying to figure out what else I can add without overwhelming the participants.

Any suggestions?

Faculty Friday Attendance Gains

2006-09-08T13:28:00.000-05:00

Perhaps the increase in attendance is attributable to a greater awareness on the part of some faculty members to improve their skill sets. Journals like the Chronicle of Higher Ed and others are full of information about online learning, technology proficiency, etc. Maybe the faculty are availing themselves to the OLL's resources because they see a greater need to incorporate new approaches in their pedagogy. Just a thought.

Faculty Fridays

2006-09-08T13:08:00.000-05:00

I am very pleased with the attendance of the Faculty Friday workshops thus far this semester. Last week we had 13 people come to the first workshop, which was at the beginning of a holiday weekend. Today we have 17 people registered.
What interests me is how much of this attendance comes from encouragement within departments and how much can be attributed to the revised flyer? The new flyer, with its very detailed questions, gives much more information than our flyers in the past. I guess I am curious about the effectiveness of the change. Was it cosmetic or effective?

Ed Tech Talk

2006-09-08T12:36:00.000-05:00

All right, all you podcast crazy IDDers! I found this site over the summer (through iTunes) and really do love it.

EdTech Talk is basically an everchanging group of educators, "edtechers" and "IDDers" who network through, among other things, webcasting. They are part of Worldbridges, a growing network of webcasting members creating an online learning environment. Hosting four regular shows (EdTechTalk, Teachers Teaching Teachers, 21st Century Learning, and Ed Tech Brainstorm), this site offers something for almost anyone interested in instructional technology and education.

If there's something on the podcasts that you don't understand, there's the forums on the website in which to pose questions as well as meet others in the field from all over the world. There is also a featured chat, though that appears to only be used for site-wide scheduled events (such as during live podcasts). Rounding out the features, regular polls on timely topics allow educators to see what others in the field are thinking. A search tool lets visitors to the site find the threads and podcasts of most interest to them.

(I stumbled onto the site back over the summer while researching educational podcasts--I continue to be impressed by the products these folks put out on a regular basis--they have yet to fall victim to "blogger burnout" and keep the site updated regularly. They're the 2005 EduBlog Award winner, so apparently I'm not the only one that has learned a lot from the site!) It's well worth, not only one visit, but several.

First Post by M Gandy

2006-08-30T09:17:00.000-05:00

This is my first semester working as a graduate assistant and posting to the blog. I haven't found anything to share yet. I have been working on training and learning a great deal. I hope to be an asset to the Online Learning Lab.

Exploring Wikis in Education

2006-08-28T11:48:00.000-05:00

EdTechLive did a SkypeCast recently on the use of Wikis in Education. If you missed it, you can still find the mp3 recording of it here.

Best post contest for beginning of fall semester

2006-07-20T17:23:00.000-05:00

Teachers Paying Teachers--E-bay for educators?

2006-07-20T12:12:00.000-05:00

I read an article on Rose Colored Glasses about this website, Teachers Pay Teachers. Basically, its a for-profit listing of materials that teachers post and other teachers shop around and pay for the materials (like E-bay).

Does anybody else get the heeby-jeebies about this? The last thing we need is to put a price on collaboration among peers. And here's something else--we preach against students using "paper mills" and threaten them with failure and yet, isn't this website much the same? Isn't this, in a way, the same thing?

Need Wiki input

2006-07-10T10:48:00.000-05:00

Hey gang,
We're now up to a bit over 60 pages on the wiki. I'm still having issues getting the images transferred over. I don't know why some showed up "in situ" and others I had to hand-install, so to speak.

Take a look at it and let me know what else you think could be useful. Thanks to the editing feature, its much quicker and easier to add material to the wiki than the website (IMHO). The problem right now is in the appearance. It doesn't have the design functions to make it "pretty."

Anyway, let me know what could and should be added and I'll get on it.

Thanks,
Stash

http://onlinelearninglab.wikispaces.com/

Distance and Computer Ed for Nursing Homes?

2006-07-07T09:45:00.000-05:00

Hi all,
I guess you've already noticed that I've subscribed to the "E-Learning Queen's" blog and podcasts. This last week, she posted/recorded an idea about starting computer lab pilot programs in nursing homes.

I have to admit, I'm one of those people who kind of automatically assumed that many--if not most--people in that time of life aren't really interested in technology.

Susan puts together a decent argument though.

Now I'm wondering if there's any grants in this area--could this be something we might test the waters in?

Found a new toy! E-snips

2006-07-05T00:49:00.000-05:00

I haven't figured out everything it does yet, but so far, it looks like it'll hold things for you if you don't have a webspace to do it.

e-snips

Barnes & Noble University

2006-06-22T13:53:00.000-05:00

Browsing the Internet looking for any existing online foreign language courses, I found The Barnes and Noble University. They offer online courses aimed at general public on general topics like life management, relationships, literature, everyday math, etc. Their courses are mostly free (you pay only for the book they're using). I thought it was quite an innovative idea and an effort to engage public in furthering their education and skills.

Audioblogger test

2006-06-22T11:24:00.000-05:00

Free Online Clinic: Web Accessibility Made Easier by EASI

2006-06-21T12:47:00.000-05:00

This came from the POD listserv.

EASI Free Clinic: Designing Content for Web Delivery: June 27, 2PM Eastern
Presenters: Norm Coombs and Dick Banks

EASI, Equal Access to Software and Information, is providing another of its
live, Internet, Web

conferences designed to help content providers create online content that
is accessible to users

with disabilities while making the burden on the content provider as simple
as possible.

How many of the Web accessibility features spelled out by the Web
Accessibility Initiative

(WAI) or the Section 508 standards does the faculty or instructional
designer really need to

know for the work they are doing?

In this hour-long presentation, we will outline a small set of
accessibility issues that these

designers are most likely to need to know. We are convinced that most
faculty will not learn all

the Web accessibility standards, but, we believe that if we can reduce the
items they need to

learn to a small number, they will be more likely to support accessibility.

We also know that much of the content that is being delivered online is not
created in an actual

Web authoring tool. Software programs like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint,
Excel and others

seem to be the content creator of choice.

In the past, creating Web content with these software tools, usually meant
that materials were

minimally accessible or in many cases, not accessible at all. However, if
you understand some

basic concepts like creating with style, these tools can be used in ways to
create accessible

output.

This free Web conference will give an overview of the following topics.

What do we mean by creating with style?

What are styles and why should I care?

Creating style in a Word document.

Creating Accessible PowerPoint.

Creating accessible narrated PowerPoint.

To participate you need to register and the conference can be viewed best
if you are using a PC

running Windows and if you are using Internet Explorer (but not version 7
beta). You need to

have your speakers turned on. You can interact either using the text chat
window or using your

own mic.

You can register for this free Web Conference at:
http://easi.cc/forms/june27.htm

You can see information on future Web conferences at:
http://easi.cc/clinic.htm

Staff Competency Training

2006-06-21T12:43:00.000-05:00

I have been revising the staff competency training. It is now on a scale from 0-3: 0=no proficiency; 1=beginner; 2=intermediate; and 3=advanced. This sheet will now be posted on the front door of the OLL, so that everyone will be able to view the competencies at a glance. Also, Dr. Dempsey has requested that from now on the Senior Instructional Designer submit a staff competency report once a month. I think that by having that information posted on the door it will increase training and be a motivational tool, since everyone can see it. Look for the competency sheet on the OLL door by Friday.

Distance education resources

2006-06-07T21:35:00.000-05:00

I was just sent this on one of the listserves. I'm posting it here for reference sake.

** Web resources **

http://www.downes.ca � he produces a blog, daily newsletter and list of
resources. Quite interesting and eclectic (thanks to Salamandre for this)

http://www.elearningguild.com/pbuild/linkbuilder.cfm?selection=doc.1088 - a
link to a number of resources provided by the eLearning Guild. (thanks to
hfisk for this)

http://www.e-learningcentre.co.uk/ (again, useful resources - thanks to
Vicki Heath for this, as well as the next link which linked to a number of
different documents, resources, and examples)
http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/

Verne Morland provided a link to useful examples at his site
http://roi-learning.com/demo/courses/

** Books **

Thanks to David Ferguson for his list of books, and comments about them. A
good summer reading list for me!

Making Sense of Online Learning
by Patti Shank and Amy Sitze

Subtitle: "A Guide for Beginners and the Truly Skeptical." Disclosure: I
have worked for Patti on several projects. As with Horton, though in a less
detailed way, "Making Sense" looks at learning and performance improvement,
not the technology.

Designing Web-Based Training
by William Horton

This focuses on what you can accomplish with WBT, rather than with the
specifics of particular authoring, learning-management, or
content-management systems. Horton is a consultant and has many useful
thoughts on his site (www.horton.com ). (I see on
his web site that he wrote a book in 2003, "E-Learning Tools and
Technology." I have not read it, but "Designing" is highly readable and
well-organized.

The Web Learning Fieldbook
by Valorie Beer

One of the things I liked best about this is a series of recurring "reality
checks." E.g., "Do you learn this way? Do you know anyone who does? Could
you learn what your are expecting others to learn from your web site?"

Web-Based Training
by Margaret Driscoll

Subtitle: Using Technology to Design Adult Learning Experiences. My edition
is 1998, so this may be getting kind of old technologically, but could serve
as a useful introduction.

**My own digging**

I did a quick Google search a while ago myself and came up with some other
helpful sites:

http://www.e-learningcentre.co.uk/eclipse/showcase/lll.htm
http://designing.flexiblelearning.net.au/
http://www.opensourceacademy.gov.uk/
http://www.quia.com/

These all gave me relevant and useful information, case studies of elearning
projects, and examples.

My first week in the OLL

2006-06-07T12:28:00.000-05:00

So far, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in the OLL. I have learned a great deal already, and I look forward to learning more. My colleagues here are incredibly supportive and are always willing to offer assistance or to provide a word of encouragement. Based on these first impresssions, I truly believe that working here will be of tremendous benefit to my professional, academic, and personal success. I would like to thank my co-workers for helping me make a smooth transition.

Great IDT blog

2006-06-06T15:53:00.000-05:00

Check out "Rose Colored Glasses," specifically the "Developing Online Courses" series under "Distance Learning" here.

Leadership and E-Learning podcast

2006-06-06T15:50:00.000-05:00

If you want to listen to the podcast, you can get to it throughhere.

Leadership in Higher Ed recommended reading list

2006-06-01T12:59:00.000-05:00

Someone from the University of Ottawa recently posted their official recommended reading list for academic leadership in higher education to the POD listserv. I thought I'd pass it along for anyone interested.

Astin, A.W. & Astin, H.S. Leadership Reconsidered: Engaging Higher Education
in Social Change. W. K. Kellogg Foundation, 2000

Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. Trends in Higher
Education Ottawa: AUCC, 2002.

Bar-On, R., Parker, J.D.A. eds. The Handbook of Emotional Intelligence:
Theory, Development, Assessment, and Application at Home, School and in the
Workplace. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000.

Bensimon, E.M., Neumann, A. & Birnbaum, R. Making Sense of Administrative
Leadership: The "L" Word in Higher Education. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education
Reports. The George Washington University, 1989.

Bolman, L.G. & Deal, T.E. Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice and
Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Second Edition, 1997.

Challeff, I. The Courageous Follower: Standing Up To and For our Leaders.
San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1995.

Cherniss, C., Goleman, D. eds. The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace: How to
Select for, Measure, and Improve Emotional Intelligence in Individuals,
Groups and Organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001.

Dotlich, D.L., Noel, J.L. & Walker, N. Leadership Passages: The Personal and
Professional Transitions that Make or Break a Leader. New York: John Wiley,
2004.

Eckel, P., Hill, B. & Green, M. On Change: En Route to Transformation.
American Council on Education, 1998.

Goleman, D. Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books, 1995.

Goleman, D. "Leadership that Gets Results". Harvard Business Review,
March-April 2000.

Kouzes, J., Posner B. "Academic Administrators Guide to Exemplary
Leadership". San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003

The latest issue of the International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education is now online.

2006-05-31T15:26:00.000-05:00

The latest issue is called "Special Issue: Future Directions for Service Learning in Higher Education" and can be found here.

OLL Mini Documentary

2006-04-28T13:06:00.000-05:00

The link below is to the mini OLL documentary. It will play in Windows Media Player. It is 10 minutes long. It appears that Blogger will now stream video because the video starts quickly and keeps loading as you play it. I hope you enjoy it.

I have really enjoyed working with all of you and I have learned a lot. I leave reluctantly and wish you all the best.

Hans

Link to OLL video

Happy end of semester, gang!

2006-04-25T23:12:00.000-05:00

Last week before finals and life is good!

End of year online "webinar"

2006-04-23T00:51:00.000-05:00

This is going to be a bit late for us for this semester, but it still will probably have some useful information.

The end of an academic year is a very challenging time for educators.
Faculty who are feeling run-down and burnt-out need to find ways to renew
their passion for teaching. The following webinar, presented by a professor
who for 15 years has devoted all of his time and energy to the classroom, is
a great way to end the year!

Preventing Burn-Out: Strengthening Your Passion for Teaching
2 May 2006
On-line webinar
1-3pm EDT

At one time or another we all face the daunting question, Do I have that
passion for
teaching? At these times, when we no longer feel the satisfaction in our
day to day
professional work, when we've lost touch with our passion and dreams, we
feel that we're
either in the process of losing or have lost that fire or need to ignite
that fire we call
passion in our professional lives. Although difficult, it is essential to
find or renew that
energy, creativity, and commitment to teaching, as well as your ability to
inspire others and
make a difference.

Louis Schmier will help you recognize the often quiet signals whose impact
is so
incremental you may miss them. Then, he'll help you interpret these signals
and offer strategies
to help you see how you can make minor adjustments or major changes to
revive your
passion and give your teaching renewed meaning and purpose.

Louis Schmier received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill and
currently holds the rank of Professor of History at Valdosta State
University and is a Danforth
Foundation Fellow. In October, 1991, Dr. Schmier stopped historical
research and
publication, and has devoted all his time, energy, and learning to the
classroom. He has
also given several keynote addresses, presented numerous workshops, and has
written articles,
book chapters and books on the subject of teaching with passion.

Enquiries: pam@ieinfo.org
Web address: http://www.innovativeeducators.org
Sponsored by: Innovative Educators

pjrana67@msn.com

10 Uses for Blogging

2006-04-13T15:41:00.000-05:00

Somebody posted this to one of my lists. Most of them are obvious, but there's a couple I hadn't thought of.

10 Uses For Blogging

10 Uses For Blogging Ways To Use Web LogsThere are several ways individuals
can use weblogs. Here are ten popular ways to use them:

1) *Blogging for Self-expression.* This is probably one of the most common
uses of web logs. That's why many web logs are like diaries or journals in
nature.

2) *Blogging for Communication.* Many bloggers say that one of the reasons
they started blogging was to keep in contact with friends and family. So,
instead of sending out email or snail mail circulars, they just blog.

3) *Blogging for General Social Interaction.* Apart from existing family and
friends, people can now end up with a great social network by using web
logs. Here, bloggers can share things that they're interested in with other
people who may be interested in the same things - even if they live on the
other side of the world.

4) *Blogging for Education.* Within this massive umbrella of educational
blogging, people can find many other uses apart from using blogs as a
teaching tool. Educators may also use blogs to collaborate on projects,
raise funds, promote events, market the school, communicate with the
community, and many more.

5) *Blogging For Job Hunting.* While it may not yet be a common practice,
some bloggers now use web logs as a job search tool. This is especially
useful if a blogger is able to exhibit one's skills through his or her blog.

6) *Blogging For Recording Travels.* Travel journals have always been
popular. That's why it's no surprise that travellers have taken blogs on as
a great new way to record one's journeys. Since Internet cafes can be found
nearly anywhere in the world, travel blogs can even be updated on the go.

7) *Blogging For Businesses.* All businesses should have a web presence.
And, what better way to create a presence than to have a weblog?

8) *Blogging For Politics.* Political
blogshave become a force
in the world of media and current affairs. So, even
politicians found a way to use the power of blogging in their campaigns, and
as a way to stay connected with their constituency. And now, "ordinary
people" can also have their say on political issues.

9) *Blogging For Awareness and Platform.* Individuals and organizations who
wish to promote awareness and to develop a platform will benefit a lot from
blogging. Churches, non-profit organizations, local government and council
offices, clubs, societies, associations, and other groups may use web logs
as a way to communicate among members - and even with the general public.

10) *Blogging For Profit.* Many bloggers with entrepreneural spirits are
using web logs to make money and earn a decent living from blogging. They
may do this as a solo blogger or as part of a network of blogs.

For the original article, click here

Research or Teaching, Teaching or Research

2006-04-07T11:43:00.000-05:00

This was posted on the POD (Professional and Organizational Development in Higher Education) List. Being that I'm always struggling to find a balance, I find it both a sad commentary and fascinating that people whose lives revolve around education cannot find a balance with research and teaching.

..................................................

Some subscribers may be interested in David Epstein's (2006) Inside
Higher Ed report "Trading Research for Teaching," concerning the
activities of physics Nobelist Carl Wieman.

Epstein writes [bracketed by lines "EEEEEEEE. . . . ; my CAPS; my
insert at ". . .[....]. . ."]

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
At flagship universities, where RESEARCH IS WORTH ITS CITATIONS IN
GOLD, AND TEACHING IS WORTH A FEW ALTRUISTIC PENNIES, it's not
unusual for faculty members to sacrifice quality instruction for
quality lab time.

So it's more than a bit novel that Carl Wieman, a physics professor
at the University of Colorado at Boulder and a 2001 Nobel Prize
winner, is leaving Colorado, and giving up his physics research for
(gasp) a teaching initiative.

Not only is Wieman leaving his lab, but he's leaving the United
States, where his efforts to get funding for teaching projects have
brought more frustration than dough. Next fall, WIEMAN WILL JOIN THE
UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, WHICH HAS PROMISED HIM $12 MILLION
OVER FIVE YEARS FOR A SCIENCE EDUCATION PROJECT.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Currently, most faculty members who give unique methods like
peer-instruction . . .[Crouch & Mazur (2002)]. . . a try are tenured,
and willing to put in a lot of work, often with no funding, to get
started. Wieman said that the fundamental vision, which will begin as
a collaboration of education science projects between Colorado and
UBC, is to "work with departments" to develop conceptual knowledge
assessment tests for all scientific disciplines; "really good clicker
questions," and a detailed archiving and dissemination system. Wieman
plans to hire and train people to develop concept tests and
implementation schemes.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"RIGHT NOW, WE DON'T HAVE [GOOD TEACHING EVALUATIONS]," Wieman says.
"The typical person gives students a final exam, and they grade it on
a curve. It really doesn't tell anything whatsoever about any
objective way you can evaluate faculty in terms of what students have
learned." Science teachers, Wieman says, tend to be very unscientific
about their teaching. Teachers shouldn't "decide what's right and
wrong by tradition, or superstition, or anecdotes . . . that 2 out of
100 students told you they liked it. We know how to evaluate these
things better."

IF BETTER ASSESSMENTS EXIST, WIEMAN REASONS, PROFESSORS MIGHT HAVE
MORE INCENTIVE TO TEACH WELL, AND DEPARTMENTS MIGHT TAKE TEACHING
EVALUATION MORE SERIOUSLY.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

For more on Wieman's perspective on physics education see Wieman &
Perkins (2005).

Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
Email Hake
Hake's Indiana University webpage
Indiana Physics Web

"Education is not rocket science, it's much harder."
George "Pinky" Nelson, astronaut, astrophysicist, and former director
of the AAAS "Project 2061," as quoted by Redish (1999).

REFERENCES
Crouch, C.H. & E. Mazur. 2001. "Peer Instruction: Ten years of
experience and results," Am. J. Phys. 69: 970-977; online
here.

Epstein, D. 2006. "Trading Research for Teaching," Inside Higher Ed,
7 April, online here.

Redish, E.F. 1999. "Millikan lecture 1998: building a science of
teaching physics," Am. J. Phys. 67(7): 562-573; online
here.

Wieman, C. & K. Perkins. 2005. "Transforming Physics Education,"
Phys. Today 58(11): 36-41; online here
click on "Papers".

My Recommendations for Faculty Friday

2006-04-04T20:54:00.000-05:00

Other Suggestions and Recommendations
The Faculty Friday workshops already incorporate many of the principles that make for a successful development workshop. The following suggestions are in addition to what the OLL already does in conducting the workshops. The suggestions are focused on increasing attendance and meeting the needs of the university and local school system faculty. These suggestions are a result of observations made by this writer and are based on a review of the literature dealing with faculty development. Many of the suggestions offered come from Brown (2003). The suggestions are presented in a numbered format:

1. Since so many faculty members are now required to become course developers and facilitators, it is suggested that in addition to teaching the basics of developing an online course with e-College, a workshop be developed that promotes instructional design principles. Introduce the ADDIE model as a model for designing and developing online courses. While it would be difficult to condense a semester’s course work into a two hour workshop, enough information could hopefully be presented to provide a foundation in the ADDIE model and enough interest generated that the faculty member’s interest will be piqued, prompting them to explore further and learn more. In addition, instructional design focuses on learning theory and instructional theory with a heavy emphasis on instructional goals. Developing behavioral objectives is an important step toward providing effective instruction and meeting any instructional goal. Instructors should not incorporate technology without specific goals in mind, goals defined by behavioral objectives. It is further suggested that if a workshop on ID principles is developed, it includes the concept of developing instructional goals and behavioral objectives to meet those goals.

2. Since faculty often call the OLL with requests for assistance, it is suggested that OLL graduate assistance be allowed to work with individual or department faculty to develop grants. The money from these grants could supplement the OLL funding. With the additional funding, OLL assistants could then work with the individual or department on that individual’s or department’s specific project(s) of interest.

3. Along with providing workshops of general interest targeted to individual faculty members, work with different departments at the university to develop workshops specific to that department. Attendance should be enhanced since the focus of the workshop would be of special interest to that department. Having the workshop sponsored by their own department, by people they know and trust (Brown, 2003), promotes motivation to attend.

4. Joanne Nicoll and Diane Davis of the University of Pittsburg (Brown, 2003) state that “close integration with other academic and administrative services is essential to achieving any faculty development mission.” With this comment in mind, it is suggested that the possibility of more cooperation between the OLL and PETAL be investigated. This would eliminate duplication of effort and better make use of the facilities and resources available.

5. In addition to the presently employed methods of communicating with faculty and announcing the workshop topics and schedules, the following is suggested. First, establish a group email list for all of the administrators in the local school systems and send them all of the announcements of up coming workshops with a request that they communicate the schedule and topics to their staff. There may be someone on their staff that may need assistance in meeting the goals outlined in their Personal Development Plan. Also, incorporate face-to-face contact with the various university departments. Target department heads to get them involved by making arrangements to get on the agenda at department meetings to discuss what the OLL offers and solicit input for what specific topics that department would like offered in workshops. Sherry Clark from the University of Georgia (Brown, 2003) suggests establishing a list-serve that can be used to announce workshops. A list-serve could also be a means by which an instructor could post a question or request assistance. Through daily monitoring of the list-serve by a member of the OLL, answers, suggestions, and possible one-on-one help could be offered. Also, other members of the list-serve who have dealt with the same question could offer suggestions thus matching faculty with similar concerns. Faculty could be asked to subscribe to the list-serve as part of the evaluation phase of the workshop. The list-serve could also be used to present a Tip-of-the-Month on some technology issue. Finally, establish a frequently asked questions (FAQ) page on the OLL website that is linked to the various job aids already posted. Periodically, an email could be sent to faculty members posting a question with a link to the appropriate job aid on the OLL website.

6. There needs to be a means of follow-up with those faculty members who attend the workshops. It is suggested that email addresses be archived and at some later date a follow up email be dispatched asking if the faculty member has been able to employ what was covered in the workshop attended and if any further assistance is required. Stories of successful implementation of strategies and skills learned in a workshop can be advertised through the list-serve or periodic emails thus promoting peer-to-peer learning. Also, the email could ask for suggestions as to what other instruction, not included in the first workshop, should be included in following workshops.

7. Each semester, as new faculty are employed, it is suggested that they be contacted and surveyed as to their needs and offered either group or one-on-one assistance. Searching for grant funding in this area would be beneficial. Nancy Crouch from Wake Forrest University (Brown, 2003) is involved in that university’s STARS: Student Technology Advisors project. The goal of the project is to enhance the quality of student/faculty relationship through sustained one-on-one contact. In this program, faculty members submit proposals for joint projects designed to improve instruction in their classes. In the proposal, faculty outline the scope of the project, the skills they anticipate a STAR will need to assist them, and any other information that would assist in matching a STAR student with the project and faculty member. These proposals are reviewed by the STAR management and a determination is made as to whether or not to support the proposal. STAR staff are assigned according to their academic areas of personal interest and skill. Faculty members set the goal and STAR staff set the course with the emphasis on transferring the skills to the faculty member.

8. With the emphasis on e-College as the means for creating online classes and with the fact that many new faculty members are stressed for time (the average work week for a university faculty member is 57 hours (Davidson-Shivers (2005)), it is suggested that the OLL create an e-College course dealing with using e-College. By this means, faculty can learn about e-College and how to design online courses at their leisure. The course will not only teach them how to use e-College, but it will also provide a model for designing a course. Also, for each workshop presented, it is suggested that an e-College course be created that replicates the workshop organization and content. This would allow faculty members to preview workshop content and offer a means by which they can review the material and content after attending. This would also provide a model for online course organization development.

9. Invite students to attend the workshops. This could lead to students commenting to their instructors on their new skills and knowledge and result in a demonstrable improvement in their class work, thus promoting an interest in the instructor to attend.

10. Create a workshop on video conferencing.

11. Finally, it is suggested that the OLL investigate the possibility of working with Microsoft to offer workshops that will lead to faculty members receiving Microsoft certification in various software packages.

Gates Fdn: Report Gives Voice to Dropouts

2006-04-03T13:55:00.000-05:00

(This is from one of my lists. I thought the information could be useful for those of us who are seriously contemplating instructional design for elementary through high school-aged learners.)

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From the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation website - see Gates Foundation Summary and Full Report can be downloaded from the website.
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Report Gives Voice to Dropouts

Why do a third of American high school students leave school without a diploma? What might help keep them in school, engaged and learning?

A survey released in March 2006 put these and related questions to a group that isn't usually asked for opinions on American education-high school dropouts. Nearly 500 former students who had attended schools in 25 locations were polled. Researchers found that although some dropouts had faced academic problems, the overwhelming majority possessed the potential to graduate. Further, the students had strong and thoughtful opinions on what might have kept them in school.

Among the survey's major findings, as reported in The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives on High School Dropouts:

Why do students drop out?

* 47 percent of dropouts said classes weren't interesting
* 43 percent had missed too many days of school and couldn't catch up
* 38 percent said they had too much freedom and not enough rules in life
* 35 percent said they quit because they were failing in school
* 32 percent said they had to get a job and make money

What are dropouts' experiences in high school?

* 88 percent had passing grades, and 70 percent said they could have graduated if they had tried
* 69 percent were not motivated to work hard; 66 percent would have worked harder if more had been demanded of them

How do dropouts feel about their decision?

* 81 percent said they now believe graduating from high school is important to success in life
* 74 percent said if they were able to relive the experience, they would have stayed in school
* 47 percent agreed it was hard to find a good job without a diploma

What might have kept dropouts in school?

* 81 percent called for more "real-world" learning opportunities
* 75 percent wanted smaller classes with more individual instruction
* 71 percent favored better communication between parents and schools and more involvement from parents

The Silent Epidemic recommends steps that schools, families, communities, and government can take to improve the nation's high school graduation rate.

Civic Enterprises and Peter D. Hart Research Associates conducted the study, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Download the full report (1.1 MB PDF file): here

Download the summary (197 KB PDF file): here
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MySpace used for educational purposes?

2006-03-31T11:38:00.000-06:00

Hi all,
Over on the EdTech listserv, they've been battling over the value of using websites like MySpace for educational purposes. Since I'm not all that familiar with the website, I was wondering if you all could give me some insights and thoughts on the subject?

Thanks!

Faculty Friday Survey Results for Fall 2006

2006-03-30T13:12:00.000-06:00

Open Ended Questions

The results of the open ended questions will be analyzed first. A commonality of responses was sought along with any insightful and innovative comments and suggestions. A table with four columns and ten rows was created in Word. Each of the ten rows contained the responses for a particular workshop. Each of the four columns contained the responses for a particular question in relation to a particular workshop. A copy of the table is appended at Attachment 3. The questions were:

1. How did you hear about the workshop?
2. What did you like about the workshop?
3. What did you not like about the workshop?
4. What suggestions, ideas, or comments do you have?

The responses to question 1, “How did you hear about the workshop?” will be addressed first. As part of the normal advertising for Faculty Friday, weekly emails are sent to each faculty member advising them of the topic for the upcoming Friday workshop. Also, a current schedule is included in the weekly newsletter that the university sends out. At the start of each semester, a flyer giving the entire semester’s workshop schedule, topics and dates, is sent to each department head with a request that the flyer be disseminated to the all of the faculty and staff members. Also, new faculty members, as part of their orientation, are advised of the program schedule and topics.

By far, most of the responders, 25%, indicated they were made aware of the workshops by Dr. Mary Campbell, SARIC director. 20% of the responders indicated that email was the means by which they learned of the workshops. The flyers sent out at the start of the semester along with the inclusion of the schedule in the weekly newsletter each accounted for 15% of the responses. 10% of the responders learned of the workshop from colleagues, another 10% from the new faculty orientation, and 5% learned of the workshops from the OLL web page.

The responses to question 2, “What did you like about the workshop?” centered around the excellent job performed by the instructional staff from the OLL. Here are some quotes from taken from the survey.

From the Scanning and Editing Images workshop comes these two quotes:
1. “I like the material that was covered and the extra help given by the instructors.”
2. “I liked the small class and individual attention.”
3.
The theme of small class size and individual attention was repeated several times.
From the Intermediate PowerPoint workshop comes these two quotes:

1. “I was thrilled to have excellent teachers.”
2. “The instructors were very knowledgeable and not intimidating.”

Another common theme was the joy of learning new things on the computer. One responder indicated that he or she found the information in the Using the Internet workshop to be practical and that he or she would be able to incorporate it into departmental programs.

The responses to question 3, “What did you not like about the workshop?” revealed that the day and time were not favored by five, 25%, of the responders. Several of the comments to this question were also positive in nature and could not be considered as reflecting a negative comment. One responder suggested that the workshops be given on the main campus. One suggested that more time be allocated and the subject (Animation) be taught in more depth, and another suggested that more advanced material (Dreamweaver) be presented.

Question 4, “What suggestions, ideas, or comments do you have? produced some interesting results. Again, the subject of having the workshops on some day other than Friday reoccurred. Several of the comments again complimented the OLL staff for the quality of the workshops and the quality of instruction. One responder suggested that participants be advised to have specific needs and questions in mind when they attend along with specific examples. Another suggested that more in-depth instruction be presented in the Dreamweaver workshop. In regards to the PowerPoint presentation, one responder suggested that participants bring with them an example of a presentation they are working on and then allow the OLL staff to demonstrate how to improve it.

Wikis

2006-03-30T12:01:00.000-06:00

I have been using Wikis as my Staff Competency Training. Wikis are fascinating tools that allow viewers of a web page to create or change content. This ability is similar to Banathy's call for user-designers.
What I am interested in is how to incorporate wikis into online courses. In the last few days I created a wiki on the Moodle site for the American Literature classes I teach. Although I have yet to see how the students use or enjoy wikis, their potential makes me want to work out the bugs.
Collaboratively, wikis are a wonderful tool, because users can add or change content at will. The problem is that users can change or vandalize sites. Another problem is that there is no accountability. To use a wiki in a class would be better than a public wiki, because of the grade factor. Students will probably not deface a web page for a class, when there is an electronic paper trail, detailing what users have done.
Hopefully, if I can work out the bugs, then this summer, I will have my students create a wiki for their project in my short summer course.

OLL Webiste

2006-03-29T13:43:00.000-06:00

Hey Gangs,
I had an idea after I finish my oral comp yesterday about OLL Website. The first important thing I think we need to refocus before working on the development of our new website. I propose that we can interview some of faculty and students. We show them the site and ask questions just like we are doing a program evaluation using Kirkpatrick's evaluation model. In the Kirkpatrick's evaluation model stated Level 1 is "Reaction". We can interview and ask the reaction from faculty and students. We collect data and evaluate what we can redesign OLL Web Site to gain and sustain interest from faculty and students. Of course, we also have to gather inputs among OLL staff, too.
Please let me know your valuable inputs concern of this idea.
Band

Interview with Dr. Mary Campbell, SARIC - Suggestions for Faculty Fridays

2006-03-26T07:23:00.000-06:00

Dr. Campbell expressed an interest in having more teachers and administrators from the Mobile and Baldwin County school systems attend the workshops. She has offered to mail every school at the start of the semester the schedule with a request to the principal that each teacher be provided with a copy. She also suggested making contact with the principals and suggesting that workshop attendance become part of a teacher’s Personal Development Plan (PDP).

Some other suggestions from Dr. Campbell are as follows:
1. Jazz up the titles of the workshops so that they reflect more of what will be learned and their applicability in the classroom
2. Offer workshops at the university campus in Fairhope to pull in more teachers from Baldwin County
3. In addition to Fridays, offer the workshops on different days and at different times (Dr. Campbell noted that Mobile schools usually have their faculty meetings on Monday while Baldwin County holds theirs on Tuesday afternoons.)
4. Invite the church and private schools in the area to participate (Dr. Campbell stated that she could not do this but that this could be done through the OLL.)
5. Contact the Mobile and Baldwin County school systems and offer to provide in-service training at the start of the school year and during mid-year when in-service workshops are required.

Free software links

2006-03-25T15:02:00.000-06:00

This was sent to me from one of my listservs. I figured I'd post it for reference sake.

Freshmeat- read the fine print for the
type of license - includes software for all platforms

Sourceforge- all open source

Savannah- repository for GNU projects

Seul/Edu Educational Application Index-
all open source

The KDE Edutainment Project

Edubuntu- Linux distribution geared to
K-12 - "Edubuntu includes more than 16,000 pieces of software, but the
core installation fits on a single CD. Edubuntu starts with the Linux
kernel version 2.6 and Gnome 2.12, and covers every standard desktop
application from word processing and spreadsheet applications,
educational software (such as GCompris and the KDE education suite) to
internet access applications, web server software, email software,
programming languages and tools and of course several games."

Skolelinux- a customized Debian
distribution for schools

Elements of a Successful Faculty Development Program

2006-03-23T15:57:00.000-06:00

Dotolo (1999) reports that there are four basic items that must be addressed in order for the development program is to be successful. First, the program must be hands-on in nature. Furthermore, the program must present skills, activities, and knowledge that can be applied immediately in the classroom.

Second, the program should allow faculty from different colleges and academic areas to meet and interact. There is much to be learned from others.

Third, pedagogy is very important. Pedagogy is defined as the art and science of teaching.

Many instructors, especially new faculty members, want to improve their teaching and they want to learn more about teaching and learning in general. Faculty members want to know how to best incorporate technology into the classroom. They want to know what works best, how it works, and what instructional strategies are appropriate in various settings.

Fourth, the program should be voluntary. There should be no pressure, no scrutiny, and no prejudice. The idea of learning and improving teaching is the primary goal.

Other elements must also be considered in order for the development program to be successful. These elements are:
1. The classroom in which the classes are held must be close by
2. The class and topic schedule must be advertised constantly and in multiple ways
3. Faculty must be active in determining what classes the development program offers
4. The university must be willing to assume responsibility for the expenses associated with the program
5. The university and its administrators must endorse teaching as an important endeavor
6. Faculty must be encouraged to attend by the university and its administrators
7. Administrators should attend to learn more about the issues of teaching and learning that concern the faculty

Dotolo goes on to say that long term success requires organization, dedication, and the ability to determine faculty needs. Support from university administrators is also crucial as well as continued advertising.

Dotolo, L. G. (1999). Faculty development:Working together to improve teaching and learning. New Directions for Higher Education. 18, 51-57.

Educause learning initiative

2006-03-22T19:58:00.000-06:00

It is an organization I found browsing the Internet. It organizes seminars, it has presentations on various topics - I found some interesting about ePortfolios, podcasting. The catch - to participate in seminars for "free", the institution has to be a member for $ 5000! However, they still offer you some presentations or papers free of charge. Check it out.

A Worth Out of It?

2006-03-10T20:57:00.000-06:00

They say learning is life-long and I subscribe to that. I have picked up a handful of skills this month. Having seen Andy have fun with Moodle, I have mastered it. It is fun, it is free, and better still, life outside UCOM does not guarantee eCollege. I have worked on podcasting some because that is Andy and I's session in the full day workshop. Then I brushed up my video skills, basically because I had to teach it this Friday and it is not one of my all time favorites and neither have I ever taught it, ever.

The Tech report that was stagnant, I compiled it and had Band uploaded it onto the website despite the current "glitches". OLL jobaids were not up to date. Jared and I browsed through them and made decisions on them, set deadlinesand pretty much everything is in motion.

With my other day to day opportunities, I am still open to new possibilities. Spring Break is here, enjoy!

Learning Tasks

2006-03-10T14:46:00.000-06:00

Hey Gang,
I’m so happy that I just finished my written comp exam. Please wish me luck for the upcoming oral exam and pass it…that’s my big wish at this moment.
Anyway, let’s start with the OLL stuffs. I had created graphics to be used on Theory Tuesday for Dr. Dempsey, thanks to Tan for helping me out and giving tips. The graphical assignments not only gave me a chance to experience but also review for my comp. exam (Gagne’s condition of learning and 9 events of instruction). I know it would helpful with my written comp, and I can say that it did help me to review the stuffs that I must know. Another task that I had accomplished during this period is to edit the COE Web Site and OLL Web Site. Our tech report is on the OLL Web Site. The URL is "animation". The task that I develop mostly in this time is “Audacity”. I and Tan are responsible for the recording sound with Audacity in the coming Full-Day workshop. I spent so much time to learn and practice how to use Audacity. I found out Audacity is quite one of interesting tools to experience with. I also spent my mostly time to research on Internet for this semester tech report. Finally one of the competencies that I really like to learn about is Database. I know it’s not easy but I’ll keep learning and improving my skills and knowledge. BTW, I’d like to propose that we, OLL staff, go through the OLL Web Site and let’s think how we can improve our OLL Web Site. We work as a team-work, right…so that is brainstorming. Please bring out your insight and valuable thought about it. BTW, anyone is interested in brain research related to learning, behavior, and human development…this is one of good sites with recent articles and researches on brain: Brain Conneciton.

Faculty Development Defined

2006-03-10T12:10:00.000-06:00

Brawer (1990) provides several statements from different sources concerning faculty development. The first statement attributed to Ebel and McKeachie (1985) states that faculty development involves those activities designed to assist faculty to “improve their competence as teachers and scholars.” Another statement attributed to Rostek and Kladivko (1988) says that professional development is “purposeful learning experiences undertaken in response to individual needs.” A third statement is attributed to Centra (1985) and says that “faculty development refers to college and university activities that are designed to renew and maintain vitality of their staff.” While these statements appear to be dated, they still are applicable to today’s educational environment.

The aim of a faculty development program should be to assist the instructor in improving their individual and organizational performance. Improving individual and organizational performance is necessary for the achievement of the institutional goals (Brawer, 1990). Every individual instructor has some unmet personal potential and professional responsibilities, and through successful faculty development programs, progress can be made to develop that potential and meet those responsibilities.

Brawer (1990) divides faculty development into 4 areas: professional, organizational, instructional, and curricular. The last two, instructional and curricular, are the primary areas in which USA’s Faculty Friday program is engaged. Professional type development refers to building the expertise of faculty members within their primary discipline. This is usually achieved through grants, research, attending conferences, and such. Organizational development refers to efforts aimed at improving the institution and its environment.

Instructional development is aimed at improving the faculty’s ability to teach effectively, and curricular development is aimed at evaluating and revising the curriculum and the method by which instruction is delivered. Both of these goals, as well as increasing knowledge, are the focus of the Faculty Friday program.

Students with diverse learning styles are enrolled in our university. Professors are being asked to teach more online classes to meet the needs of the non-traditional student. Instructors are expected to include the use of new technologies in their classroom, both traditional and online. Assisting the faculty in these areas is the intent of the Faculty Friday program.

Brawer, F. B. (1990). Faculty development: The literature. Community College Review. 18 (1), 50-57.

Centra, J. A. (1985). Faculty development practices in U.S. colleges and universities. Princeton, New Jersey: Educational Testing Service

Eble, K. E. & McKeachie, W. J. (1985). Improving undergraduate education through faculty development. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass, Inc.

Rostek, S. & Kladivko, D. J. (1988). Staff development training. In R. I. Miller & F. W. Holzapfel (Eds.) Issues in personnel management, New Directions for Community Colleges, No 62. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass, Inc.

Learning to Code

2006-03-10T11:43:00.000-06:00

Learning how to create an RSS feed has been an interesting process. When I was in junior high, everything was written in Basic. This turned me off computers for a long time. When I learned Dreamweaver and Authorware, everything was WYSIWYG.
RSS feeds have been very informative for me. They are short, with only a few basic rules. Playing with these feeds has given me experience looking at code, which has boosted my confidence. I feel that this one skill will help me expand my technical knowledge with Dreamweaver, because now I will be using the split-screen more often.
RSS feeds are important for another reason. Audio podcasts are currently popular, but in the future video pods will probably be even more ubiquitous. By learning how to create these syndication files now, it will help me in the future as an educator and Instructional Designer.
Mastering RSS files will also help with my dissertation, which will most undoubtably be focused on some aspect of podcasting.
While RSS feeds can be annoying at times, using www.feedvalidator.org will help spot any errors in the code.

Some Days are Weirder Than Others

2006-03-10T10:24:00.000-06:00

So the month of March is fast leaving us. I have been working on a few different projects the past three or four weeks. Mostly I have been handling my regular duties, Faculty Friday, looking for grants, and trying to sort out this summary of activities report, but I spent the last two weeks doing a very different task. The new Trends and Issues textbook is being released this summer, and I had the privelege of assisting with the editing process. Do not mistake my meaning, I did not "edit" the book. Rather I followed the instructions left by the editor, which consisted mostly of fixing reference citations. It is a little weird to be reading chapters by some big names in our field. I definitely feel like my horizontal understanding of the ID field, has expanded dramatically in the last two weeks. Also, I promise, to never, ever, ever, mess up my APA citations again.
That task however was not my most memorable experience at work in the last few weeks. My oddest day, probably ever in the OLL, ocurred just this last Monday. The job was simple, record Dr. Haynes reading from a script, edit the video into clips, and give it back to Mr. Blaylock, the lab director in our college. The other task that day, was a walk in. Ms. Jordan from EDL, came to me with a broken VHS tape. One of these two tasks I have done before. I have shot and edited video several times since starting here, and consider myself to be pretty good at it, but for whatever reason on Monday, I could not make it work. It took me six hours to get the video finished, and it really was only an hour long job. The tape on the other hand, I knew nothing about. I have not taken a VHS tape apart, since I was five, and I never got that one back together. I did my level best to explain to Ms. Jordan, that if I took the tape apart, I'd probably break it. She told me to try anyway, so I did, and it worked. Actually fixing the tape probably only took twenty minutes, but I had to go home to get a screwdriver. I am not sure what I did, I literally took it apart and put it back together, and it worked. Oh the small miracles. So in the future remember, the practiced and rehearsed may falter and sway, while the new path will hold strait for miles. Y'all have a good Spring Break. I'm going to Rome.

Theory Tuesday!!!

2006-03-09T14:54:00.000-06:00

As if you guys didn't already know, Theory Tuesday is coming up the tuesday following Spring Break. (5-6 p.m. in UCOM 3212) Dr. Litchfield will be lecturing on Victor Vroom.

Ahem, I expect to see all of you there (don't make me dig out my Civil War replica musket!).

Elaboration Theory: Concept Map

2006-03-09T14:39:00.000-06:00

Being a "visual" person, I have always enjoyed and loved using concept maps and advance organizers. It provides me a whole perspective of what I need to know, it is easy to read, and contains simple steps. The system of grouping (related ideas) and arrows (join ideas) becomes an easy method to learn and comprehend a particular topic.

For example lets look at elaboration theory:

Elaboration theory is a model for making scope and sequence decisions. The key idea of the theory is that it helps increase effectiveness of instruction by organizing contents form general and broder idea to detailed and narrow ideas.

You can just see the branches and arrows that make the learning so simple. Unlike looking at the textbook and trying to look at each part one by one this holistic approach provides a general overview of what we need to know and we just have to build our knowledge on each topic.

Resource: http://www.personal.psu.edu/mxl919/Elaboration%20Theory.jpg

Is there such a thing as newsletter neurosis?

2006-03-09T14:36:00.000-06:00

Hey gang,
I think I "dropped out" last month for the most part--the majority of my focus was on the departmental newsletter. It went from a whopping 14 pages down to 10 and now, it's going to have to go back up to 12 (for saddle stapling). Don't get me wrong, I love writing--its the hunting and gathering that's a headache. Anyway, the main part of it's done and has gotten feedback. Don't be surprised, though, if I hunt a few of you down for quotes and input for the articles that are still to be written. bwaahahaaaaahaaa!

Podcasting Makes Its Mark on Campus

2006-03-06T12:31:00.000-06:00

Podcasting Makes Its Mark on Campus
Podcasting is already becoming a staple of collegiate communications, being used for a variety of reasons, including:1) attracting new studentsMansfield University, a 3,000-student public institution in Pennsylvania, began offering weekly podcasts in mid-October for college-bound high school students and their parents. The shows feature a university administrator asking current freshmen about campus life, including the best places to meet a prospective date. The shows are available at http://podcast.mansfield.edu.2) staying in touch with parents and other institutional friendsEarlier this semester, Arizona State University President Michael Crow begin podcasting weekly about university news and events through his blog “The President’s Post” at http://popc.asu.edu. And in a first for Canadian universities, the University of British Columbia has introduced a podcasting service (www.ubc.ca/podcasts/) that gives alumni and other friends of the university audio access to UBC-related content such as lecture series. 3) helping students choose majorsA faculty member at Illinois State University has developed a series of podcasts to recruit students to the department of languages and literatures. The free “LangCasts” are each about 12 minutes long and are aimed at high school seniors and ISU freshmen and sophomores who have not yet declared majors. These can be accessed at www.language.iastate.edu/main/podcast/default.htm.

SOUTHcat

2006-03-03T10:53:00.000-06:00

Hey all,

I mentioned that I would let you know about a great research support site, at our own online library page. Jan Sauer has included everything from introductory video's, to research "how to do's" and even an overview of the SOUTHcat Library home page in video: Link to SouthCat Lib. Home
Have fun,
Chuck

Online learning program for Baldwin county?

2006-02-24T15:36:00.000-06:00

A few thoughts regarding this as a possibility. First I would imagine that it would be directed to the k-12 teachers in the area. Which means that we may have to 'scale' it to meet their needs.

I believe that Dr. Norris ( http://www.southalabama.edu/usabc/director.html ) is very connected in Baldwin and could help us, if it seems to be something worth pursuing, also SCRIC & FEEF in Fairhope might have a few angles for an expanded program. ( http://www.feefonline.org/index.htm ). Of course, if we move toward this line it may be worth our while to determine what projects should have priority & which ones may be able to provide funding (money in our pocket).

I think the bottom line is that as we discover "need" we will also need to analyze our time and resource allocation.

:) Chuck

Faculty Friday Evaluation Project

2006-02-23T18:34:00.000-06:00

One important thing to remember is that the Faculty Friday instructors are all graduate assistants assigned to the Online Learning Lab. The graduate assistants prepare the content of the workshops, organize and schedule the workshops, and provide all of the instruction. Based on the questionnaire results, it can be stated that they are doing an excellent job! The results discussed below were gathered from the questionnaires the 20 participants completed at the end of each session.

Results of the Open Ended Questions:

The results of the open ended questions were analyzed first. A commonality of responses was sought along with any insightful and innovative comments and suggestions. The questions were:
1. How did you hear about the workshop?
2. What did you like about the workshop?
3. What did you not like about the workshop?
4. What suggestions, ideas, or comments do you have?

As part of the normal advertising for Faculty Friday, weekly emails are sent to each faculty member advising them of the topic for the upcoming workshop. Also, a current schedule is included in the weekly university newsletter. At the start of each semester, a flyer giving the entire semester’s workshop schedule, topics and dates, is sent to each department head with a request that the flyer be disseminated to the all of the faculty and staff members. Also, new faculty members, as part of their orientation, are advised of the program schedule and topics.

By far, most of the responders, 25%, indicated they were made aware of the workshops by Dr. Mary Campbell, SARIC director. 20% of the responders indicated that email was the means by which they learned of the workshops. The flyers sent out at the start of the semester along with the inclusion of the schedule in the weekly newsletter each accounted for 15% of the responses. 10% of the responders learned of the workshop from colleagues, another 10% from the new faculty orientation, and 5% learned of the workshops from the OLL web page.

The responses to question 2, “What did you like about the workshop?” centered around the excellent job performed by the instructional staff from the OLL. Here are some quotes from taken from the survey.

From the Scanning and Editing Images workshop comes these two quotes:
1. “I like the material that was covered and the extra help given by the instructors.”
2. “I liked the small class and individual attention.”
The theme of small class size and individual attention was repeated several times.

From the Intermediate PowerPoint workshop come these two quotes:
1. “I was thrilled to have excellent teachers.”
2. “The instructors were very knowledgeable and not intimidating.”

Another common theme was the joy of learning new things on the computer. One responder indicated that he or she found the information in the Using the Internet workshop to be practical and that he or she would be able to incorporate it into departmental programs.

The responses to question 3, “What did you not like about the workshop?” revealed that the day and time were not favored by five, 25%, of the responders. Several of the comments to this question were also positive in nature and could not be considered as reflecting a negative comment. One responder suggested that the workshops be given on the main campus. One suggested that more time be allocated and the subject (Animation) be taught in more depth, and another suggested that more advanced material (Dreamweaver) be presented.

Question 4, “What suggestions, ideas, or comments do you have?” produced some interesting results. Again, the subject of having the workshops on some day other than Friday reoccurred. Several of the comments again complimented the OLL staff for the quality of the workshops and the quality of instruction. One responder suggested that participants be advised to have specific needs and questions in mind when they attend along with specific examples. Another suggested that more in-depth instruction be presented in the Dreamweaver workshop. In regards to the PowerPoint presentation, one responder suggested that participants bring with them an example of a presentation they are working on and then allow the OLL staff to demonstrate how to improve it.

Results of the Survey Questions

The questions that comprised the majority of the questionnaire are divided into three parts: Workshop Logistics, The Instructor, and Workshop Content. The responses were placed into an Excel spreadsheet and evaluated so to determine if the respondents considered that question positively, negatively, or assigned a determination of no opinion. The spreadsheet is appended as Attachment 4. The responses and the value assigned were as follows:

Strongly Disagree – value of 1
Disagree – value of 2
No Opinion – value of 3
Agree – value of 4
Strongly Agree – value of 5

The following is an example of how each question was evaluated. The table below is used to show the 4 possible responses and how they would be evaluated to determine an average score for each question:

Response and Value Assigned:

________________Number of Responses_______Extended Value
Strongly Disagree (1) _________0______________ 0 x 1 = 0
Disagree (2)________________1______________ 1 x 2 = 2
No Opinion (3) ______________0______________0 x 3 = 0
Agree (4) __________________1______________ 1 x 4 =4
Strongly Agree (5) ____________2_____________ 2 x 5 = 10

Extended Value Total: 0+2+0+4+10 = 16

When you take the extended value of 16 and divide it by the number of possible responses, 5, you get 16 / 5 = 3.2. This would indicate that the four respondents considered this item favorably. 3.2 lies between “No Opinion (3)” and “Agree (4)”. Each question was evaluated in this manner.

In the questions dealing with workshop organization, the responses for all questions, across all of the workshops, ranged from a low of 3.75 to a high of 5. These responses indicate that workshop organization overall was viewed positively.

In the questions concerning the instructor, the responses for all questions, across all of the workshops, ranged from a 4 to a high of 5. These responses indicate that the instructor was viewed very positively. This area received the highest scores of all three areas. The theme that the instructors did an outstanding job was also mirrored in the open ended questions section as well.

The last questions concerned the workshop content. Here the scores ranged from a low of 3.75 to a high of 5. Again, this indicated an overall positive view of the workshop content.

In summary, all three areas received a positive review by the workshop participants. The scores for the instructor was the highest overall of the three areas. This was also reflected in the open ended questions section.

Please click on the comment icon below and list three (3) ideas that you feel would improve the quality of the Faculty Friday workshops. (One area that I would like to see improve is attendance.) I will compile your comments and rank them according to how many times an idea was listed by different people. Then I will send the list back to you and ask you to arrange them in order according to how important or workable you think they are.

Thank you.

Stuff I'm going ga-ga over...

2006-02-23T15:40:00.000-06:00

Hey gang,
I haven't said anything about this yet because, well, I figured everybody else already knew about it. I knew it existed, but not to the extent that I'm finding now. What is it? Electronic Literature. Yeah, I can see the rolling eyes and the "duh" going through everyone's mind. But this isn't the normal plain stuff that wannabe writers post throughout any website that will accept them. This is actual programs of study now being offered specifically for hypertext literary projects.

The first time I really was introduced to hypertext literature was in the Lit Ph. D. program at USM. For one of my classes, we were required to sift through a couple of works that had been put into hypertext versions. Sounds easy enough, right? Er, not quite. Nearly every word of text was a link to something--an explanatory definition, a pdf page of an original text with that particular word inserted, an earlier publication with a different phrase showing a mistake that was made in an edition and repeated over the decades, whatever. Needless to say, it could take hours just to get through a few paragraphs.

I think I knew then that, for the regular student, this wasn't exactly the best venue for instructing the value of the literary work. However, my professor kept saying that these projects were not meant for ordinary people--they were meant for the scholars for whom it would matter to know that there was an error made in the fourth edition and repeated ever since. I found it unsurprising that many of these projects, if not most, have not been completed. Some have been pulled all together from the internet, but others remain--half in hypertext, half in regular, non-linked, text. The organizations behind the projects had to take a hard look at the cost in manhours and money versus how many people would actually benefit from the project.

All that said, I've been doing some hunting around and have found another direction being taken in hypertext literature. Rather than being old works being plumbed for everything ever related, this literature is work actually created to be experienced electronically. Even the topics are tech driven--a poem about the birth of a cyborg, online texts that or have their own companion theory guide to hypertextual consciousness or even odd mixtures of technology and graphic arts that are now called virtual visual poetry.

I don't think there's any danger of books becoming extinct any time soon, but from the looks of it, the "cutting edge" of the literati is being pushed further and further out of the doors of the bookstore.

Assemblage: Women's New Media Gallery

Click Poetry

Drunken Boat

Poems That Go

The Eastgate Hypertext Reading Room

Electronic Literature Organization

Tech Report - Is Video Effective in Improving Learning Performance

2006-02-09T13:21:00.000-06:00

This report may be downloaded from the USA library EBSCO database. Just enter the article title in the first field.

Topic: Is Video Effective in Improving Learning Performance?

Reference:
Balslev, T., De Grave, W. S., Muijtjens, A. M. M., Scherpbier, A. J. J. A. (2005). Comparison of text and video cases in a postgraduate problem based learning format. Medical Education, 39, 1086-1092.

Population:
Paediatric residents at Arhus University Hospital in Skejby, Denmark.

Purpose of Study:
To investigate whether adding a brief video case instead of an equivalent written text improves the cognitive and metacognitive processes of residents in problem-based learning.

Findings & Implications:
The authors of this study hypothesized that adding a video case (instead of reading about a case study, the patient and doctor interaction was presented in video format) would lead to a greater increase in data exploration and theory building and evaluation (they would spend more time searching for clues and proposing possible explanations for the patient’s condition.) This proved to be true with the video group. They tended to spend more time discussing what happened in the video and presenting explanations for the patient’s condition. The research suggested that cognitive processes were stimulated by the video.

Points:

Much of the information that goes into making a diagnosis is visual in nature.
Multimedia learning can promote constructivist learning, learning that occurs when learners seek to make sense of presented material by constructing a coherent mental representation (Mayer, 1999)
The group presented with the video case study tended to spend more time discussing what happened in the video and presenting explanations for the patient’s condition.
The research suggested that cognitive processes were stimulated by the inclusion of videos

Some Useful Information

2006-01-14T14:32:00.000-06:00

The following information came from a friend of mine. It makes a lot of sense.

This is very good information. Please make copies of it and share with others.

ATTORNEY'S ADVICE-----NO CHARGE

A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company.

1. The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your checkbook, they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name, but your bank will know how you sign your checks.

2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED."

3. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check-processing channels will not have access to it.

4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks, (DUH!). You can add it if it is necessary. However, if you have it printed, anyone can get it.

5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. Also carry a photocopy of your passport when traveling either here or abroad. We have all heard horror stories about fraud that is committed on us in stealing a name, address, Social Security number, credit cards.

6. When you check out of a hotel that uses cards for! keys (and they all seem to do that now), do not turn the "keys" in. Take them with you and destroy them. Those little cards have on them all of the information you gave the hotel, including address and credit card numbers and expiration dates. Someone with a card reader, or employee of the hotel, can access all that information with no problem whatsoever.

Unfortunately, as an attorney, I have first hand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(s) ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer and received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online. Here is some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:

1. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. The key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.

2. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one). However, here is what is perhaps most important of all (I never even thought to do this.)

3. Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit. By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases,! none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.

Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet and contents being stolen:

1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
3.) TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289
4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

We pass along jokes on the Internet; we pass along just about everything.

Nevertheless, if you are willing to pass this information along, it could really help someone about who you care.

What you've always wanted to know about the Internet and were afraid to ask: click here

2006-01-12T17:51:00.000-06:00

A great site with working links to free downloads, other sites with more information. It will answer a lot of your questions about the Internet, such as blogging, conferencing, how to build a website, how to start your online business, etc. in a very simple fashion. If you teach how to work with the Internet, it will offer even lesson plans.

PODCASTING IS ON THE MOVE!!!!

2006-01-10T07:23:00.000-06:00

Admission Podcasts Tackle What Students Really Want to Know
The admissions website of a small rural university recently received nearly 1,000 unique visitors in just two weeks. What drove them there was the school’s new admissions podcasts.
Mansfield University, a 3,000-student public institution in Pennsylvania, began offering weekly podcasts in mid-October. The shows, which are targeted to high school juniors and seniors and their parents, run from a little under 5 minutes long to more than 20 minutes. Visitors to Mansfield’s podcasting website (http://podcast.mansfield.edu) can listen to the audio clips online, or they can download the files to their MP3 players.
Dennis Miller, Mansfield’s director of public relations, says that the idea for the series began last May when he was talking with a graduate who is a “real techie,” Miller said. During a conversation about podcasting, the young alumnus suggested that Mansfield get into the medium. Miller, a fan of podcasting almost since its inception (he is a devoted listener to the Adam Curry show), agreed.
Learning about what the new technology required wasn’t too intimidating, said Miller. The biggest challenge is figuring out what content would compel students and parents to listen in, Miller said. He and Mansfield admissions director Brian Barden eventually decided on creating weekly shows that follow four students through their first year.
Miller interviews the students, asking questions about what Miller believes really concern college-bound students the most: What do you do if you get homesick? What’s dorm life like? Where’s the best place to find a date? (Not at parties, according to one interviewee.)
“Those are the things that are on students’ minds, whether we administrators want to admit it or not,” Miller said. “It makes a lot of sense—it’s what you and I would ask if we were moving to a new location.”

The above article first appeared in GLBT Campus Matters, a newsletter that delivers a broad spectrum of thought-provoking articles on the challenges and opportunities facing GLBT students, administrators and programs. Click here for more information and to subscribe.

King Tut Visits Florida

2005-12-19T19:55:00.000-06:00

Visit my blog for a couple of pictures, a short post, and some interesting links about King Tut.

http://hansgray.blogspot.com/

Article from another blog

2005-12-12T16:04:00.000-06:00

Diverse Teams Key to Effective Online Learning

New publishing tool from the lovely folks at Google

2005-12-07T11:17:00.000-06:00

I caught this article from another blog--Google's at it again--too bad its only for a limited time, at least for now...

Link to Website

Universal Instructional Design

2005-12-06T11:36:00.002-06:00

I read this and realized that if I was a professor this would be very helpful in the area of professional development. Future educators could also use this and "tweak" it for their classroom use. I will also include the link to this site. I also realize that some professors may already have this information. Enjoy!

Link to PDF File

A couple of podcast search engines

2005-12-01T11:25:00.000-06:00

http://jmajor.midsolutions.org/?p=104

Student Quote on Blogging

2005-11-30T19:55:00.000-06:00

Here is a good quote on blogging from a fifth-grade student, "The blogs give us a chance to communicate between us and motivate us to write more. When we publish on our blog, people from the entire world can respond by using the comments link. This way, they can ask questions or simply tell us what they like. We can then know if people like what we write and this indicate[s to] us what to do better. By reading these comments, we can know our weaknesses and our talents. Blogging is an opportunity to exchange our point of view with the rest of the world not just people in our immediate environment."

An interesting point that I have discovered in researching blogs is that blogging starts with reading - reading (and listening to) material of personal interest. The writing comes when you respond, reflect, criticize, question, or react to what you have read or heard.

Reference:

Downes, S. (2004). Educational blogging. EDUCAUSE Review, 39(5), 14-26
Link to Journal Article

Text Messaging Is Coming to Education

2005-11-28T07:55:00.000-06:00

Britain's Dot Mobile has plans to offer a new cell phone service starting in January. The service will summarize literary classics in ultra-terse text messages (example from article - rdng is FUNdmntl). To use this service, it appears you need to create/learn a new language. Creating a universally acceptable short hand language for text messaging would be the first step in adapting it for educational use.

The summaries will highlight plot points and key quotes. John Sutherland, professor at University College London, is assisting in preparing the summaries. He is quoted as saying, "educational opportunities are immense" for text messaging.
Reference:

Gajilan, A. T. (2005, November 28). Calling all lit majors. Time, 166(22), 25.

Professor in Your Pocket

2005-11-27T21:52:00.000-06:00

That's the title of the Newsweek article on course (pod) casting that is becoming popular at many universities around the country. Universities such as Stanford, Purdue, Duke, and the University of Washington are now offering lectures as pod downloads for those who missed a class. Course-casiting is also becoming a part of the curriculum in that many professors (primarily in intro classes) are making course-castings a part of the class.

Purdue students have downloaded 40,000 lectures since the start of the fall semester. Duke University reports that their use of course-casting has produced mostly positive feedback.

A main concern is that those students who elect to download coarse-castings are missing the interaction between student and professor that is so essential. Regular contact between student and professor is seen as a key to keeping dropout rates low. Also, students who elect course-casting over regular attendance are missing the opportunity to develop other important skills: creating schedules; sticking to schedules; and developing the ability to focus on subject matter for long periods of time.

The flip side is that course-casting offers many benefits: the ability to stop or pause the lecture while you look up related material, and the capability to repeat portions of the lecture. The lectures also can be archived and replayed later thus eliminating the need for detailed notes to be taken (this allows one to dedicate more attention to the content of the lecture).

Course-casting also allows the professor to become more creative. The professor can incorporate guest speakers and primary source material. He/she can structure the lecture to capture the attention of students who are attuned to music videos and computer games.

Reference:

Tyre,P. (2005, November 28). Professor in your pocket. Newsweek, CXLVI(22), 46-47.

Article about "wikis"

2005-11-18T12:33:00.000-06:00

Hey gang, I found this link in another blog about IDD (had to ask Hans what a wiki was--or is)

http://www.campus-technology.com/news_article.asp?id=17502&typeid=156

Research Funding Initiative

2005-11-14T11:47:00.000-06:00

Hi OLLers,

I came across the Microsoft.com and found this interested research funding, they offer the research funding for "Digital Inclusion Through Mobile and Wireless Technologies Research Funding Initiative." I think this fund are really interesting for us. The site explain the description of the research funding and the requirement for the proposal.

...Band

cell phone learning research

2005-11-10T17:39:00.000-06:00

check out the article on mobile phones learning:

Using mobile phones in English education in Japan
Patricia Thornton* & Chris Houser*
Abstract
We present three studies in mobile learning.

First, we polled 333 Japanese university students regarding their use of mobile devices. One hundred percent reported owning a mobile phone. Ninety-nine percent send e-mail on their mobile phones, exchanging some 200 e-mail messages each week. Sixty-six percent e-mail peers about classes; 44% e-mail for studying. In contrast, only 43% e-mail on PCs, exchanging an average of only two messages per week. Only 20% had used a personal digital assistant.

Second, we e-mailed 100-word English vocabulary lessons at timed intervals to the mobile phones of 44 Japanese university students, hoping to promote regular study. Compared with students urged to regularly study identical materials on paper or Web, students receiving mobile e-mail learned more (P<0.05). Seventy-one percent of the subjects preferred receiving these lessons on mobile phones rather than PCs. Ninety-three percent felt this a valuable teaching method.

Third, we created a Web site explaining English idioms. Student-produced animation shows each idiom's literal meaning; a video shows the idiomatic meaning. Textual materials include an explanation, script, and quiz. Thirty-one Japanese college sophomores evaluated the site using video-capable mobile phones, finding few technical difficulties, and rating highly its educational effectiveness.

Peer Reviewed Journals Are DEAD!!

2005-11-08T15:53:00.000-06:00

Or at least in critical condition. One of the most compelling arguments for the use of blogs is their inherent ability to IMMEDIATELY PUBLISH any thought, idea, story, etc.

In doing my literature review on the subject of blogs in education, I am finding most of my articles in online journals, postings on web sites, and BLOGS. Just about every article references at least one blog containing information or opinions on blogs and personal experiences in using blogs in the classroom. (Opinions and information are plentiful, empirical research is scarce.)

The article referenced below makes the following argument which I agree with. Most academics tend to be subject matter experts (SMEs) in their fields. Most have established and engrained opinions on the way things are, or at least on the way things should be. Most love sharing their opinions and engaging in dialogue with others, academics and non-academics.

Now, if I were an academic, an opinionated master of my field, why should I subject myself to the restrictions and reviews imposed by so many of the so called peer reviewed journals? Journals are good and have their place in academia, but journals tend to be narrow in scope and read by a limited audience.

As an academic, I want the world to see/hear/read what I think, what I feel, what I know to be right. I advocate the IWIN syndrome. I WANT IT NOW! I want to publish my thoughts and opinions NOW for the entire world to see and comment on.

Mason, R. (2004). Use of innovative technologies on an e-learning course. Internet and Higher Education, 8, 61-71.

http://rulbii.leidenuniv.nl/MT/BB/archives/sdarticle.pdf

Information Revolution

2005-11-08T10:21:00.000-06:00

With all the advances in technology in education and the convenience it provides in all aspects of life, I wonder if it will have a negative effect on print media. Will this be the Fifth Information Revolution like the written book was around 1300 B.C. After all this is a capitalistic government and downsizing is not foreign to us. Elimination of print media for Internet accessed information will reduce the costs associated with spreading information and building facilities that house a lot of print media. Schools like University of Phoenix and others are already offering classroom free educations. Will libraries become obsolete sometime in the future? Course casting/Pod casting is already making it convenient for students to miss actual lecture, online courses are allowing home convenient education. I have not formed an opinion on it either way because I see the coin from both sides. I just want to know that in my lifetime, am I going to be a part of an Information Revolution!

Blogger Word Add-on

2005-11-04T11:54:00.000-06:00

Blogger now has an add-on for Word. The add-on allows you to edit and post from Word directly to your blog account. This allows you to use all of the editing and spell check functions Word offers. Photos are not supported. You can only post text. Hyperlinks are supported though. Follow this link for your Word add-on

http://buzz.blogger.com/bloggerforword.html