Grace's Place

Webstudy - ADA Discussion

2011-07-18T06:24:00.003-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I'm using this space to continue our discussion about ADA issues from the Webstudy User's Group Conference. I hope that everyone will continue to post here and we can create a great resource for all of us to use as we develop our courses.

EDUC 8845

2009-07-26T15:03:00.002-07:00

As I was developing my mind map, I can’t help but smile at how much my life has changed. It was interesting to do this project this week. In a few days, I will turn 40 and while being 40 doesn’t bother me, I find myself looking back to see where I’ve been and where I’m going. I’ve had so many different experiences that completely shape who I am, how I act, how I think and even how I teach. My first three academic endeavors (high school, Virginia Tech, and even Central Michigan) were more about a means to an end. “If I just get through this, I can get a job and never have to go to school again.” After I obtained my MS in Sport Administration, I worked as a Rec Director for a small college. What an amazing opportunity it was, and I still carry many lessons from that position (as well as ulcers). Then after bouncing around for awhile, I went back to get an AA in CIS/programming. I was given an opportunity to teach some intro to computer classes and suddenly education wasn’t a means to an end, it was a journey to be enjoyed. And I learned that education occurred as much outside the classroom as it did inside. And now when presented with information, in order to process it, I have to relate it to something I know in order to truly learn. For me, the digital world allows me to dig deeper into “why and how” in order to understand a concept. I search for more information about a topic, and often different perspectives to give me a more balanced view of the topic. I’m someone that has to understand how something works. I was that kid that had to take apart the phone just to see how it worked, luckily my brother could usually put it back together better than I could. Eventually I learned how to put it back right. And now, as I look back on my path.. I know that I am where I’m supposed to be, but it was a winding journey to get here because I had to explore what not to do before I knew what to do.

Interesting conversation...

2009-06-29T22:38:00.004-07:00

I had the most interesting discussion with one of my mentors today. She is one of our campus deans and she teaches a class for associate (adjunct) faculty. The past few years, she has asked me to be a part of the class and teach a section on the use of technology in the classroom. I was telling her about my academic progress and mentioned that I have to do a blog for each of my classes this term. We got on the discussion of "motivating adult learners" and she said "I don't think you can motivate adult learners. Motivation is intrinsic, so they come to us already motivated. Our job is to keep them encourage them and guide them along the academic path." I've been mulling over this comment all day, and she's got a point. I never really thought of it that way.. so now with this new perspective combined with my last two blogs, I'm really starting to think about the importance of teaching teachers to help adult learners succeed.... thoughts?

EDUC 8842

2009-06-28T21:05:00.001-07:00

Let me start by apologizing for my extreme tardiness in posting this blog. I realize that my actions affect my classmates and for this I am sorry. At this point, I"m going with the theory of better late than never.

Siemens discussed three elements that will effect distance education, global diversity, communication, and collaborate interaction. It is difficult to choose just one to talk about, but I think the global diversity is one that has had a significant impact on my experiences. I teach several online classes, but my most popular one is Introduction to Linux. The college I work for has a large military population, so many of my students are active duty military. This makes for a very diverse class. A few semesters ago, I had 20 students and only 5 were in the local area. There were 2 in Iraq, 1 in Afghanistan, 1 in Uzbekistan, and the rest were scattered all around the US. Not only was there a geographical diversity, there was a wide range of ages and experiences. The ability to have students share their perspectives and insights about the class with one another provided a very rich and engaging class. The nature of the online class allowed students time to read and process the comments. Then they can have meaningful dialogue and exchange that may not occur in a F2F class. In a traditional F2F class, the more experienced students can dominate the discussions and novices do not have time to process the comments and therefore cannot learn from it.

There are so many tools available now that can increase interactions. There are webcams, web conferencing, virtual worlds, instant messaging, and interactive learning management systems. The tools are there, but what we need are people that are trained in how to use the tools. We literally have the world at our fingertips, but yet so much of learning is still in the dark ages. Distance education is still the red-headed step child of education. I know I was told one time at a residency, that my PhD from Walden was still not going to be enough to get me on faculty at an established land-grant university. I hope that someday that sentiment will change and my PhD from Walden will be regarded as if I went to University of Arizona, but I’m not sure I will see that in my lifetime.

In searching for some other educational blogs, I came across one that presents arguments against distance education (http://selil.com/?p=1122). And while I don’t agree with everything that is said, he makes some valid points. Sam asks the question, “Can you know that a distance education has truly met the obligations of an education a society expects?” I believe this is what we as educational technology students must address as scholarly practitioners. If we don’t use the tools that are available properly, then we have failed to provide the educational experiences that students and society deserves. Another blog I found http://thejournal.com/articles/2009/06/18/helping-educators-bridge-the-technology-gap.aspx, talks about teaching the teachers. I’ve always felt that we talk a lot about the importance of using Web 2.0 and other technologies, but we don’t focus on making sure the teachers know how to use the tools. It’s great to want to use all the tools, but if no one spends the effort to teach those trying to use it, it won’t be effective. Teachers will either stop using it because it is too much of a hassle to learn it, or the attempts will be minimal and students will disregard it because it comes off as shabby. Things to think about… until next week.

EDUC 8845

2009-06-28T20:45:00.004-07:00

Let me start by apologizing for my extreme tardiness in posting this blog. I realize that my actions affect my classmates and for this I am sorry. At this point, I"m going with the theory of better late than never.

Once life slowed down and I was able to get to the blog "conversation" between Bill Kerr (http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html) and Karl Kapp (http://karlkapp.blogspot.com/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-educational.html), I found it to be fascinating reading. Kerr's comments felt almost like he was preaching to the choir. I also believe that there is no "one view" of how learning occurs. We've accepted that there are many different learning styles, how then can we say that one theory fits all learning styles? In research, there is always bias. It is inevitable. We put safeguards into research to miminize bias, but there is no way to completely eliminate it. As humans, we will see what we want to see. Statistics are not concrete, so they can be manipulated to "be right." I'm not saying that this is always the case, but it happens. If the numbers don't quite meet our expections, we can change the variance or confidence level to appear to have different results. This is the same with all the "ism". There has to be a balance between them. Kerr said it best when he said " isms are important, but use them as a filter not a blinker." As the future educators we need to embrace this idea and develop educational opportunities that best fit the students' needs not our own.

Random Distance Learning Thought

2009-06-16T11:06:00.000-07:00

So, as I was working on developing my online classes for the fall. I started to think about all the things I'm learning in my classes and then had this thought pop into my head. How many of the individuals that are developing and programming course management systems (CMS) actually have some knowledge about how distance education works? We went through a process last year looking for a new CMS. There are some good ones out there, and some really bad ones, and looking back now I realize I was looking for the wrong things. As a faculty member that also teaches online, I was looking at systems that made it easier for me.. not necessarily were better designed for the distant learner. I was looking for a system that was easy to navigate (supposedly for the students), easy to upload material, easy to post grades, and relatively intuitive. Does this mean that it is better for distant learners? The system we selected is relatively intuitive, but uploading different forms of media is not exactly easy. The traditional text documents are easy enough, but the system seems to struggle with large media files. And while I realize that no system is perfect, the grass is greener on the other side, and everyone suffers from some buyer's remorse (and any other cliche you can think of), it makes me wonder how well the designers and programmers were prepared for the next phase of distance learning? Ok... back to work.

EDUC 8845

2009-06-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

I think people learn best when they relate to the information and are able to apply it to some part of their life. Whether it is a skill they can use at work, or a theory that helps explain something that is part of their life. Learning has to have meaning or else it is memorization. This is why mnemonics is an effective learning strategy. People can create something that they can relate to that helps them learn a complex concept. I think this is why I believe in the constructionist theory as much as I do. I must admit that I never really knew much about learning theories until I started this degree. My MS was in Information Technology, so these concepts are very new to me. I have enjoyed reading about them because it gives meaning to what I do and how I do it. I believe that I've always used a constructionist approach without even realizing it. I try to develop my lessons and lectures that allow people to apply the information to something relevant to them. I've found that it makes lecture more interesting and learning more productive.

I liked all the metaphors that Siemens presented. It was fun to picture myself in each example to see if that fit my style. I liked the idea of being a network administrator, but I"m pretty sure that is because that is a real position that I can relate to. Which again leads to the idea that it has to be relevant to me as a learner. I"ve always seen myself as a facilitator or a devil's advocate in an online learning environment. I present the data, and encourage students to process that data and formulate their own understanding of the material. When they present their ideas, I like to challenge their responses and make them defend why they answered they way they did. I believe this makes them see a different side of the theory, and gain a well rounded perspective. It also lets me know that they really do understand the concept. Online learning allows students the advantage of reading responses and having the time to collect their thoughts and formulate a well thought out position. In a traditional F2F class, if a student doesn't think fast on their feet, they may not be able to actively engage in discussions and will lose some learning opportunities.

Reference
Siemens, G. (2008). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. Paper presen5ted to ITFORUM. Retrieved from http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/Paper105/Siemens.pdf.

EDUC 8842

2009-06-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

After reading the articles and listening to the video, I suddenly didn't feel so alone. Right now, my school is trying to grow our online campus, but in my opinion we're going about it the wrong way. There is a strong desire to just "put classes online" rather than an understanding that they need to be put up the right way. In the Anderson text, there is a quote from Rossett (2002) that states online learning has many promises, but it takes commitment and resources, and must be done right. Growing the online campus must be "done right" which means developing the right tools to engage students and promote learning. The advantages of distance learning are that students are able to continue their education without the same sacrafices as traditional learning. They are able to attend classes when they are able, rather than being confined to specific class times. I feel as if I'm having the same debate over and over again as to why we can't just add classes online without regard to the quality of that class. I don't believe that teaching is teaching and all faculty can conduct online courses. There has to be a paradigm change if we are to successfuly grow online campus. Distance learning as a whole is changing, and in order to continue to provide quality education it has to stop being perceived as the "stepchild of education."

Welcome to my world...

2009-06-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. I will be using this spot for both of my classes this semester (EDUC - 8842 and EDUC 8845). From what I can see so far, there will be a lot of overlap between the two courses so many of the blogs may sound alike and use similar references. I will try to make sure to identify which post is for which class so that I will know where I am. Have a great semester everyone.

First Day of Classes

2008-08-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

Well, the summer is over. Classes are getting ready to start and there is an electric feeling in the air. The fall is always an exciting time, where the temperature starts to fall, the days get shorter, football is in its prime, and school gets into high gear.

As always, I have wonderful expectations for the year. Things I want to do, goals I want to achieve, and most importantly, goals I hope my students will achieve. This year should prove to be an interesting adventure with the kickoff of Webstudy. It will take a lot for people to get used to the new environment and embrace the change.

My schedule as always is jammed packed, but I wouldn't have it any other way. So here's to the start of a new year and a new adventure.

Hopes for the Fall Semester

2008-08-11T10:52:00.000-07:00

As the new semester begins, I'm always in awe of the energy that can be felt on the campus. Everyone is excited about fresh start, the bustle of getting students registered and into the right classes. The anticipation (and a little fear) from students can be felt in the air. The chance for instructors to start classes off on the right foot and have a fun, engaging, and productive semester.

This is my first year using a blog, so I'm excited about the possibilities. From time to time, I will post random thoughts about my journeys as a student and a teacher. And taking a philosophy from Ala-non, "take what you want, leave the rest."