A couple of key points stuck in my mind this week after reading one of the five articles written in regards to a study done by the University of Wisconsin. It did not surprise me to read “Redesigning a traditional course into a hybrid takes time.” It did surprise me that six months was the recommended time to complete a project. I do not doubt that it takes that much time-- I think that more than explains a lot of the resistance to the conversion, especially at the K-12 level. Wow. Especially for the perfectionist who has to have it all done right and has a hard time putting it together in bits and pieces, which I think most K-12 teachers will have to do. I don't see high school teachers having that kind of time--I don't feel like I do. I think college professors are given a lot more leeway with this, but I cannot speak from experience on that.
Another point that I found interesting was advice to keep it simple by doing things like making multiple short video clips as opposed to one long lecture.
http://www.uwsa.edu/ttt/articles/garnham2.htm
Even though they do not go into detail on answering the question, Ko & Rossen point out that instructors question this issue of working more. They answered with their belief that using the Web effectively does not require working “twice as long for the same pay.” (pp. 240-241) Notice they did not say it would not take more hours. Since time is a precious commodity to me, I may not be too open minded on this one issue and I am struggling to find solutions.
Aycock,A., Garnham, C., & Kaleta, R. (2002, March 20). Lessons Learned from the Hybrid Course Project. Teaching with Technology Today, 8, Number 6. Retrieved February 21, 2006, from http://www.uwsa.edu/ttt/articles/garnham2.htm
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Friday, February 17, 2006
To Chat or Not To Chat
Chat for Online Students
It is hard for me to remember that this class focuses on teaching “adult” online students. I keep putting the things I learn in context with the situation I am in, which involves teaching in an alternative middle and high school. One suggestion for creating collaboration online is to use “Asynchronous discussion of the reading and discussion questions.” (Palloff & Pratt, 2005, p.10) My question is why synchronous discussion or “chat” is not listed as one of the methods for creating collaboration.
Another view is “synchronous tools like chat rooms and whiteboards are particularly appropriate for your class if you have students living in the same time zone.” (Ko & Rossen, 2004, p. 89) It seems to me that using chat too much would come too close to a “real” classroom and take away some of the appeal of taking “virtual” classes. I do like knowing that I can chat with the instructor in her virtual office during hours if I need to. Something about that gives me a feeling of security even though I have not taken advantage of it. According to Ko & Rossen, using chat this way can “lighten your advisory load, or at least make it less onerous,” from the instructor’s view. (p.254) Sounds good to me.
Chat is out of the question for the students in my classroom, but I am interested in finding out how it works in virtual high school classes. Georgia includes a chat option for students who attend the virtual high school, as you can see from the following URL:
http://students.ga.desire2learn.com/gvs-orientation/index.html
I just noticed they use desire2learn.
It is hard for me to remember that this class focuses on teaching “adult” online students. I keep putting the things I learn in context with the situation I am in, which involves teaching in an alternative middle and high school. One suggestion for creating collaboration online is to use “Asynchronous discussion of the reading and discussion questions.” (Palloff & Pratt, 2005, p.10) My question is why synchronous discussion or “chat” is not listed as one of the methods for creating collaboration.
Another view is “synchronous tools like chat rooms and whiteboards are particularly appropriate for your class if you have students living in the same time zone.” (Ko & Rossen, 2004, p. 89) It seems to me that using chat too much would come too close to a “real” classroom and take away some of the appeal of taking “virtual” classes. I do like knowing that I can chat with the instructor in her virtual office during hours if I need to. Something about that gives me a feeling of security even though I have not taken advantage of it. According to Ko & Rossen, using chat this way can “lighten your advisory load, or at least make it less onerous,” from the instructor’s view. (p.254) Sounds good to me.
Chat is out of the question for the students in my classroom, but I am interested in finding out how it works in virtual high school classes. Georgia includes a chat option for students who attend the virtual high school, as you can see from the following URL:
http://students.ga.desire2learn.com/gvs-orientation/index.html
I just noticed they use desire2learn.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Small Groups and Team Building -- wk4 entry
One of my “secret” reasons for trying to bring my classroom into the 21st century with online activities is for team building purposes with my students. I was happy to see my belief substantiated in chapter one of Collaborating Online. “Given the importance of safety and trust for collaboration to happen, it is critical that time for community formation be built into the design of the class before any collaborative group work is attempted.”(Palloff & Pratt, 2005, p. 13) Even though we spent time in this class getting to know a little about each other, I had not thought about incorporating time for community building into my own lesson planning or projects.
One way this could be accomplished would be to have the students build a web page about themselves. As noted in chapter five of Teaching Online, “Besides helping to break the ice, these areas provide an important service by allowing students to refer back to identifying details about their classmates as the course progresses.” (Ko & Rossen, 2004, p.97) This was helpful to me during the group selection process for this class. It was nice to look back and get a sense of who I will be working with.
Chapter 12 of Teaching Online makes a very interesting point: “Making the use of the Internet optional rather than incorporating it into the curriculum dooms it to failure.” (p. 258) Incorporating the use of the Web into the curriculum should lead to increased student interest in class and a variety of group projects that can increase learning.
According to an article in International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, small groups of 3 to 5 members lead to optimal learning. “The use of collaborative, team based learning activities in online courses can create a synergy of learning as result of the interactions associated with teamwork, that will create a greater accrual of learning, than the simple sums of individual learning efforts.”
http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jun_04/article03.htm
One way this could be accomplished would be to have the students build a web page about themselves. As noted in chapter five of Teaching Online, “Besides helping to break the ice, these areas provide an important service by allowing students to refer back to identifying details about their classmates as the course progresses.” (Ko & Rossen, 2004, p.97) This was helpful to me during the group selection process for this class. It was nice to look back and get a sense of who I will be working with.
Chapter 12 of Teaching Online makes a very interesting point: “Making the use of the Internet optional rather than incorporating it into the curriculum dooms it to failure.” (p. 258) Incorporating the use of the Web into the curriculum should lead to increased student interest in class and a variety of group projects that can increase learning.
According to an article in International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, small groups of 3 to 5 members lead to optimal learning. “The use of collaborative, team based learning activities in online courses can create a synergy of learning as result of the interactions associated with teamwork, that will create a greater accrual of learning, than the simple sums of individual learning efforts.”
http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jun_04/article03.htm
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