‘online learning’ Category Archives
May
Mulling over the elements of quality in online education
by Cathy in Distance Education, Education, Education Technology, online learning
Some quality elements are obvious others are not and are even less than tangible and may not pay off until the student successfully completes his/her program of study. In this presentation I have identified such things as assessment, engagement, interaction, time on task, and learning outcomes among others.
What follows are those elements that I have identified as essential to the quality of an online course or program. One essential element is the ease of access to the course, the content and the service and support for the course that are required for student success. The course is designed or structured in such a way that engagement by the student with the content, the instructor and other students is facilitated and supported.
In addition to these elements the student is encouraged to provide insight by investigating external content and materials, fully utilizing the technology, seeking out student support services and library resources, and engaging with the institution.
The course provides an opportunity for the student to:
- Think critically
- Expand his/her knowledge by reviewing and demonstrating knowledge of the internal content and accessing appropriate external content
- Stretch his/her ability to learn in a variety of ways
- Collaborate, connect with and network with a diverse group of learners
The learning is tested if possible via authentic assessment. Authentic assessment is a form of assessment in which students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills — Jon Mueller
Authentic assessment is an evaluation process that involves multiple forms of performance measurement reflecting the student’s learning, achievement, motivation, and attitudes on instructionally-relevant activities. Examples of authentic assessment techniques include performance assessment, portfolios, and self-assessment.” American Library Association
Feedback is consistent with the student able to monitor his / her progress. Feedback may also come from peers and peer review.
An online course should be designed in such a way that it encourages academic integrity. Facutly can model ethics and integrity as well present core values which are the fundamental tenets of core values.
The course design and the hallmark of the course includes a design which facilitates the relationship between faculty and students and allows for the student to have access to the faculty if needed.
The course provides for a method of communication in which the student can engage in a dialogue with the faculty regarding issues and concerns regarding academic progress.
The student has access to tutors and other student support services in order to sufficiently learn the materials confidently and be successful.
The course is designed in such a way that expectations and outcomes are clear. The learning outcomes are based upon a taxonomy such as Blooms which integrates the three domains:
- Cognitive: mental skills (Knowledge)
- Affective: growth in feelings or emotional areas (Attitude)
- Psychomotor: manual or physical skills (Skills)
Each domain is divided into categories and it is these catogories that provide the fundamental definition of the learning outcomes:
Cognitive:
- Knowledge
- Comprehension:
- Application:
- Analysis:
- Synthesis:
- Evaluation
- personal values/opinions,
Affective:
Domain Attributes: interpersonal relations, emotions, attitudes, appreciations, and values id
| accepts | attempts | challenges | defends | disputes | joins | judges |
| contributes | praises | questions | shares | supports | volunteers |
(retrieved from : http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic69.htm 5/6/2010)
Content is linked to activities and support the student learning the materials necessary to successfully achieve the stated outcomes.
Learning outcomes are clearly stated and are linked to the purpose of the course. The required course purpose is clearly linked to the outcomes of the course.
The content of the course is current and meets industry and professional standards. Resources are creative, innovative and dynamic.
Faculty demonstrate competency and comfort with the use of technology in distance education for ease in communication, accessing content and course materials and connect with the student at all levels. Student also demonstrate competency in the use of technology, have access to technical support and have several methods and points of contact with the institution, of communicating with each other, and faculty
Faculty presence in the course is demonstrated by feedback in a timely manner.
Faculty engagement with course content and with students occurs daily in the first two weeks of the semester.
A definition of “at risk students for dropping out” exists and those students receive additional support.
Faculty are trained in instructional design, the use of the learning management system and other technology, and have received instructional design support.
The Learning Management System provides a structure or framework for course management, the appropriate delivery of content, grading, communication and assessment. The LMS is flexible enough to provide a platform for creativity and innovation by faculty and opportunities for students to be self directed in their learning and to create a personal learning network.
The course lends itself to individual and group self reflection activities. The course, if applicable, builds on knowledge that student already has developed, encourages the student to provide input on projects, discussions and activities. In other words new learning, and new knowledge is developed upon an existing foundation of knowledge.
To ensure quality and continuous quality improvement courses should be reviewed, by peers and external reviewers on a periodic basis. These reviews should be conducted based upon the elements of an objective rubric designed to survey the essential elements of the course such as use of technology, feedback, communication, and interaction.
Mar
Reports, plans, educational technology, broadband, millenials an interesting mix
by Cathy in Distance Education, Education, Education Technology, Future, Higher Education, Uncategorized, University, online learning
Several reports or plans related to higher education, education technology, and online learning have been released in the last several months that indicate changes in how students learn, how they access their learning materials, and how that content is delivered. In addition to this I will also give an overview of Millenials from the Pew Research Center.
In January 2010 the Sloan Consortium released their report on online education. This report indicates that online experienced a growth of 17% in the last year. Students in online classes comprise 25% of all students enrolled in higher education today, or 4.6 million students. This 29 pages report found on the Sloan Consortium website presented the following information:
- This report serves to strengthen the theory behind the economy and enrollments in education in general and now provides a direct link between online education and enrollments.
- Despite the growth in online education this platform continues to struggle to be seen as a strategic part of the long term planning for baccalaureate granting institution and public institutions. In addition to this faculty acceptance of online/distance education is stagnant.
- Overwhelming the student in online courses and programs are undergraduate who make up 82% of the students enrolled.
The issue of retention in online is also addressed in this report. The question “Is retention in online harder than in traditional face to face courses?” This was administered via a survey of Chief Academic Officers which indicated that most were neutral on the question. However those who agree outnumber of those who disagree. Specifics on why this perception exists were not asked or provided.
Another report which was released by the US Department of Education is the: Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies. I previously blogged on this report however what this report indicates is that online learning, can, under certain conditions, provide better learning experiences to students.
Another study with trends to watch in distance education is theK-12 Online Learning reportfrom the Sloan Consortium. this 37 page report, based upon a survey administered to over 10,000 school districts, with a5/4% return of valid surveys, published in January 2009 indicates that:
Most significant in regards to this report is the growth in online education which is illustrated by:
estimated at 1,030,000. This represents a 47% increase since 2005-2006.
Most districts indicated that they anticipate growth in online: A majority of the respondents anticipated growth (66.3% of districts expect growth in their fully online course enrollments and 61.2% expect growth in their blended enrollments). Districts predict that on average the number of students taking online courses will grow by 22.8 percent over the next two years.
Respondents indicate that the following are the major reasons why online education has grown and will continue to grow:
These results indicate that the perceived importance of online learning related mostly to student needs as follows:
2. Offering courses not otherwise available at the school
3. Offering Advanced Placement or college-level courses
4. Permitting students who failed a course to take it again
5. Reducing scheduling conflicts for students
The respondents also indicated the following concerns regarding online courses:
2. Course development and/or purchasing costs
3. Concerns about receiving funding based on student attendance for online and/or blended/hybrid education courses
4. The need for teacher training
The Keeping Pace 2009 report:
- Provides a national “snapshot” of the state of online learning as of fall 2009.
- Discusses original data categorized by key issues such as funding, teaching, and accountability, including analysis and recommendations.
- Presents program profiles from a cross-section of program types, including state-led and district-led, supplemental and full-time, charter schools, and both synchronous and asynchronous programs.
- Provides state profiles of K-12 online learning for most states, divided into southeastern, northeastern, central, and western regions.
- Identifies key issues in online learning, building on the data gathered through the development of the program and state profiles.
- Features a Notes from the Field section with in-depth examination of important new issues in online learning from national experts.
Keeping Pace estimates the number of full-time online students at about 175,000. States with the largest numbers of full-time online students include Arizona, Ohio, Minnesota, Colorado, Washington, California, and Pennsylvania.
The Keeping Pace report provided an overview of several types of online learning programs but which was of specific interest to me was the following note regarding university led online K12 programs:
overlooked but are another component of the online learning
landscape. Online programs that have emerged from previous
independent study programs of post-secondary institutions
tend to have relatively low levels of teacher involvement.
This reports indicates a continued upward trend in Internet access by schools with 63% of teachers indicating that they had high speed Internet access in their classrooms. No gaps were noted between student access to computers in these schools however some gaps were noted between student access to laptops in these institutions.
Covering 8 key themes regarding the Mobile Internet which are:
Early Innings of Mobile Internet Cycle, the 5th Cycle of Last Half Century.
Most Think – 5 Trends Converging (3G + Social Networking + Video + VoIP +
Impressive Mobile Devices).
desktop) by 2012E.
Ecosystems + User Experience + Pricing Will Likely Determine Long-Term
Winners.
Mobile) Emerging Very Rapidly.
unprecedented and transformative ways.
models provide significant runways for monetizing the mobile Internet through online commerce, paid services, and advertising; data access likely will continue to lose relative revenue share in the mobile Internet ecosystem.
Regulators Can Help Advance / Slow Mobile Internet Evolution.
The Pew Research Center provides a wealth of information which may assist educators to determine where the use of technology is trending by users. A significant report on the “Millennial Generation”was recently released by them. The report defines the millenial generation as that age group which born after 1980 – the first generation to come of age in the new millennium
75% of the respondents, aged 18 – 29 years of age in late 2009 when the survey was conducted indicated that they have a profile on a Social Networking site. Another significant factor that impacts education decisions of this age group is the large unemployment rate..nearly 37% of this age group indicate that they are currently unemployed. (pp 10)
When it comes to education the survey found;
.. a majority of them are likely to use their cell phones for texting.
The following is also noted:
The next plan to watch is the National Broadband Plan. This plan is broken into seven market segments which includes Education, Public Safety, Government Performance, Civic Engagement, Health Care, Energy and Environment. According to the website the plan achieves the following:
The National Broadband Plan lays out a bold roadmap to America’s future. These initiatives will stimulate economic growth, spur job creation, and boost our capabilities in education, healthcare, homeland security and more.
The plan was created by the Federal Communications Commission as a result of a series of workshops, seminars and a public forums.
Specifically attributed to education is the following:
- Education. Broadband can enable improvements in public education through e-learning and online content, which can provide more personalized learning opportunities for students. Broadband can also facilitate the flow of information, helping teachers, parents, schools and other organizations to make better decisions tied to each student’s needs and abilities. To those ends, the plan includes recommendations to:
- Improve the connectivity to schools and libraries by upgrading the FCC’s E-Rate program to increase flexibility, improve program efficiency and foster innovation by promoting the most promising solutions and funding wireless connectivity to learning devices that go home with students.
- Accelerate online learning by enabling the creation of digital content and learning systems, removing regulatory barriers and promoting digital literacy.
- Personalize learning and improve decision–making by fostering adoption of electronic educational records and improving financial data transparency in education.
- Improve the connectivity to schools and libraries by upgrading the FCC’s E-Rate program to increase flexibility, improve program efficiency and foster innovation by promoting the most promising solutions and funding wireless connectivity to learning devices that go home with students.
There are several recommendations under each category listed above however those specific to education can be found here on this website. the focus of the report seems to be implementing expanded broadband services will support an infrastructure which will increase student access to online education. Part of this initiative will include teacher and student training to better use the technology that they have available. This plan will put into place minimum standards which schools and libraries will have to measure their progress in achieving adequate services to their students and patrons. I can’t even begin to address the scope of this report but if you relate to any of those categories at the very least that on it ‘s own warrants a review of the initiatives detailed in this report.
In January of 2010 the New Media Consortium presented it’s annual Horizons report on emerging initiatives in technology in education. This report gives an overview of technologies to watch in the short to long term. These include; mobile technology, opencourseware/open content, electronic books, simple augmented reality, gesture based computing, visual data analysis.
As I have illustrated with the above reports it may seem that technology, virtual learning environments, and new technologies are driving how we learn. However our access to those learning materials, as well economy and generational factors also play a significant role as indicated by the data and information it seems that may very well be the case.
Mar
FACEBOOK!!!
by Cathy in Connectivisim, Distance Education, Education Technology, Higher Education, Learning theory, Uncategorized, Web 2.0, Web2.0, collaboration, learning student, online learning, web2.0 facebook twitter
Can Facebook be used to provide content, a place for group communication and interaction for academic courses and programs…well all signs indicate a solid yes to this question. As I have a Facebook page I decided to review sites that are relevant to certain discipline areas. The aim of this blog is to identify sites where academics have illustrated how they use Facebook and to point you to those sites that are relevant to certain discipline areas.
Facebook can deliver content in the form of photos, videos, documents that have been scanned to jpg’s, and notes:
Or this site: English teachers put more thought into a novelthan the actual author did.
There are sites such as the 100 ways to use Facebook in the Classroom The Facebook Classroom: 25 Facebook Apps That Are Perfect for Online Education, or this facebook site.
There is also a Files application which allows you to upload documents, photos, videos and pull informatin from your profile.
Of course there is the relatively new and as yet evolving theory of connectivism: a learning theory for the digital age,” has been developed by George Siemens and Stephen Downes based on their analysis of the limitations of behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism to explain the effect technology has had on how we live, how we communicate, and how we learn.[1] Donald G. Perrin, Executive Editor of the International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning says the theory “combines relevant elements of many learning theories, social structures, and technology to create a powerful theoretical construct for learning in the digital age.”[1] ( Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectivism_%28learning_theory%29, Connectivism a learning theory for the digital age http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm, wikiveristy)
Social Learning theory: that focuses on the learning that occurs within a social context. It considers that people learn from one another, including such concepts as observational learning, imitation, and modeling.
Social Learning Theory; Bandura emphasizes the importance of observing and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. Bandura (1977) states: “Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action.” (p22). Social learning theory explains human behavior in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, an environmental influences. The component processes underlying observational learning are: (1) Attention, including modeled events (distinctiveness, affective valence, complexity, prevalence, functional value) and observer characteristics (sensory capacities, arousal level, perceptual set, past reinforcement), (2) Retention, including symbolic coding, cognitive organization, symbolic rehearsal, motor rehearsal), (3) Motor Reproduction, including physical capabilities, self-observation of reproduction, accuracy of feedback, and (4) Motivation, including external, vicarious and self reinforcement. (retrieved from http://tip.psychology.org/bandura.html, 3/23/2010)
Action Learning: is an educational process whereby the participant studies their own actions and experience in order to improve performance. This concept is close to learning-by-doing and teaching through examples and repetitions. Action learning is done in conjunction with others, in small groups called action learning sets or two-in, two-out team. It is proposed as particularly suitable for adults, as it enables each person to reflect on and review the action they have taken and the learning points arising. This should then guide future action and improve performance. (retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_learning, 3/23/2010)
Action Learning: is a process of inquiry, beginning with the experience of not knowing ‘what to do next’, and finding that answers are not available through current expertise. When expertise fails to provide an answer, collaborative inquiry with fellow learners who are undergoing the same questioning experience is always available. To be effective, this partnership in learning needs to be both supportive and at the same time challenging, deeply caring yet questioning. Such partnerships actually create themselves when different people with different ideas engage whole-heartedly with each other to resolve each others’ problems. (retrieved from What’s Action Learning 3/23/2010)
Mar
Retention in online education
by Cathy in Distance Education, Education, Higher Education, University, online learning
I suppose a definition of retention would be fundamental as a starting point. It is important to undertand that distance education via the web and using mobile technology is still a relatively new initiative in education. The schools I have worked at or attended as a student did not start implementing online classes until the late 1990′s early 2000′s, given that it is still in the early stages of development.
Back in those early days of web based course you would hear about or experience courses that were not developed, faculty who failed to communicate with students and experience a confusion on how to access support services. Much has changed today as educators and institutions understand that only fully developed courses should be put on line, that distance education students need access to support services, and that integration of media can enhance the content of an online course.
However in spite of that there are several trends which have contributed to the phenomenal growth of distance education via the Internet. This includes an increased demand for courses and program by those students who would not otherwise have access to educational opportunities via other means.
Retention can mean one thing to students, another to faculty, another to administrators and quite another to those who are responsible for funding programs and providing student financial aid. What this means is that the solutions, research, and even those we survey regarding the issue of retention may have different outcomes all coming from different perspectives.
Without any substantive research to back this I would propose that retention means, to students, successful educational goal completion. Now what this means to student could be entirely different than what we assume it to mean. This could mean the he/she accessed some components of a course for informational purposes, career purposes, or personal reasons and did not even feel it necessary to complete the course. It could mean course completion but no reason to continue enrolling in courses, or taking more than one course but not advancing to a degree, and finally degree completion. For faculty this could mean successful completion of a course, successful advancement to the next level of the course, and/or successful degree completion. For administration and funders this means successful completion of a course or degree advancement. In addition to this funders want to see and loans paid back ie) a low default rate on financial aid. All have in mind that this course, courses or program will provide the student with personal fulfillment and/or the tools necessary to be a contributing member of society, having meaning work, and make a living wage.
With all of these differing perspectives on retention how does one measure it and determine what strategies should be in place to achieve the aim of improving retention of students distance education programs and courses.
There are several strategies that have been identified in the research. The study conducted by Finnegan, Lee and Morris (2008) indicates that those students who successfully completed their courses spent more time on task (as indicated by the US DOE meta-analysis of distance education) more time interacting with others, and participated in online discussions more frequently, (Lawler, 2007Sutton, Nora, 2008; Tello, 2008). While this time on task is critical it is also important to note that students would also withdraw or drop if they felt the work required of them in an online course exceeded that of the face to face course or required more reading. (Lawlor,2008) These findings indicate the delicate balance that needs to take place in evaluating content for an online course, not enough does not engage the student or contributes towards achieving the outcomes, too much and the student feels that he/she is in a correspondence course and “reading” too much. (Lawler,2008)
The faculty can access Web 2.0 tools at little or no cost to supplant the text based content of a course. He/she can use voice threads, Youtube, or some of these video related tools from Web2Go20 . I will provide a brief overview of these sites, however I cannot vouch for their reliability or safety of use this is for informational purposes only. I suggest you review the Terms of Service before using and give a few trial runs to ensure that they will meet your needs.
If, for whatever reason you choose to not use your Learning Management System to warehouse your videos I am providing the following here:
Flixtime: turns your photos and videos into stunning and unique videos in just minutes! Sign-up for a free account, and upload your images, videos and music. Then, sit back and watch your masterpiece come together!
For sharing videos with a distributed group you may want to check outSynchTube.
synchtube allows you to create rooms to share synchronzied YouTube videos.
This means everyone in the room is viewing the same video at the same time! The built in chat allows you to even discuss the best parts, or share other videos.
Watch videos with friends, or even DJ music with the social playlists — it is up to you
Masher looks like another great site to provide a “mash up” of your videos, photos, music or audio recordings.
These tools and many others like them can make your course development easier, allow you to move away from text based content to video and audio, and finally break that umbilical chord to the publisher’s power points.
These tools can also provide for greater student to student interaction, student to faculty interaction, and student to content interaction. (Tello, Louis, 2008; Lawlor, D., 2008;Disalvio, P. 2008) These interactions have also been demonstrated to be essential to student retention in the review of the literature and are also standards reviewed using the Quality Matters Rubric®.
Faculty who are intent upon doing an outstanding job will recognize that he/she almost needs to log into the course daily, to be consistently present in the course. The course will be designed from start to finish and will allow for little variance from that structure throughout the semester. However the course will be designed with few deadlines for the student so that it will meet his/her needs for flexibility which is probably one of the primary reasons why he/she enrolled in the course in the first place.
The research demonstrates that student to faculty communication is a key factor in student retention. This means that the faculty has set office hours, defines timeliness when he or she will respond to emails (sometimes 24 hours which means logging in to the course and checking email on the weekend), and timely feedback on assignment within 3 days, (quite a challenge if the course has 100 students or more)(Drouin, 2008; Tello, 2008; Lawlor, D, 2007; Finnegan, Morris, Lee 2008).
The research also reveals those student related factors that institutions may or may not be able to address. These include work related demands, time management, and technical issues. (Lawlor, D 2007; Finnegan, Morris, Lee, 2007; Disalvio, P., 2008; Lorenzetti, P 2005)
This is the first in a series of reviews of research and literature I intend to do in order to aggregate the recent findings, compile best practices and design strategies that can be implemented to improve student success.