Be a better online educator by thinking like an online student | I have often thought, and said, that to be better at something you must first think like someone sat in your audience. How many times have you given a presentation and thought mid-way through “are they still with me?”. If you’d planned the presentation properly in the first place then you’ve never had this feeling (well done). If you have felt this then can you honestly say you put yourself in the audience when you were planning it, and did you think “is this too much?” Or “is this relevant?”. What about when your audience isn’t sat in front of you, they’re online and working/learning asynchronously?
Always, always think like one of your students. But surely we should be doing this already? Oh, and Happy New Year! Study Finds That Online Education Beats the Classroom - Bits Blo. Update | 11:08 p.m. Read an article by Steve Lohr on keeping abreast of innovation in the Continuing Education special section. A recent 93-page report on online education, conducted by SRI International for the Department of Education, has a starchy academic title, but a most intriguing conclusion: “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.”
Noah Berger for The New York TimesTyler Kennedy, 9, searches the Web at home in California. The report examined the comparative research on online versus traditional classroom teaching from 1996 to 2008. Some of it was in K-12 settings, but most of the comparative studies were done in colleges and adult continuing-education programs of various kinds, from medical training to the military. Over the 12-year span, the report found 99 studies in which there were quantitative comparisons of online and classroom performance for the same courses. The biggest near-term growth, Mr. Mr. 5 Ways We're Diminishing Learning by Assuming Face-to-Face Instr.
Viewpoint 5 Ways We're Diminishing Learning by Assuming Face-to-Face Instruction Is Best It's interesting that face-to-face instruction is still the measure by which all other forms of instruction are evaluated. As the standard model of instruction for decades, it's often assumed to be the proven method, while other methods have yet to prove themselves.
This assumption is not only misleading, but it might also be helping to diminish potential opportunities of better learning for our students. As educators we know that many face-to-face meetings with students do not produce constructive outcomes, and many students struggle with this form of instruction. Assumptions That Prohibit Learning Assuming that face-to-face instructional exchanges are always more effective is a dangerous assumption. But true learning takes place when students are fully engaged in the process and actively developing their own ways of thinking and applying new knowledge in a meaningful context of use. Allert - eLearn: Feature Article - What I Learned from Teaching Adult Lea. Carolyn Blogs » Blog Archive » Why Learning from PowerPoint Lect. I’m in my third year of college now, and by this point I have the hang of determining what constitutes a good class and a bad class.
In a good class, I have fun and learn a lot; in a bad class, I don’t have a good time and don’t learn very much. For me, receiving a good grade has nothing to do with whether the class is good or not. My first instinct is to judge a class’s quality on the material: my freshman year, I enjoyed my Japanese classes much more than my English classes, because reading literature and writing papers about it doesn’t excite me nearly as much as learning about Japanese pop culture does. However, subject matter being equal, the biggest influence on the quality of the class, and sometimes the most frustrating, is the teaching style of the professor. Some students just learn better from different styles of teaching than others. Recently I came to the conclusion that I do not learn well from classes in which the lectures are based on PowerPoint presentations. A Student's Goals Many Teachers Should Read. Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 9/11/09. Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my Personal Learning Network (PLN).
As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting! Learn With Math Games – “There are Fun Math activities for everyone from Elementary through High School right here. Looking for games that involve addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, place value, fractions... even algebra and geometry? They're here.” Schmoop – a great collection of study guides on many topics as well as literature Ninjawords – a really fast dictionary Google Tutor – great tips, tricks and tutorials for using google stuff IWB Resources – great resources for your interactive white board. When Online is Better than Face to Face.
There is an assumption that a face-to-face interaction delivers a better result than a 'cold' online interaction. But that is not always the case. Last month, I needed to change a number of flights at very short notice. A relation had died and I needed to get home. I was in the top tier of my loyalty program for Aer Lingus, the airline I had booked the flights with. I rang the special number I had been given. The person who took the call was very polite and, yes, there were seats available but I would have to pay an awful lot more than the original fare for them. Anyway, I arrived at Athens airport to find out that none of us were actually booked on the flight. But I needed one more seat, and I noticed that Easy Jet was flying to London. It cost me a lot of money but we all got home in time because of the Web. For an increasing number of tasks, a well-managed website is much better than a human being at helping you get the job done.
Practical Guidelines for Using Technology Tools in Classroom Tea. Erping Zhu Center for Research on Learning and Teaching Teaching and learning with technology can be both challenging and engaging for instructors and students. While technologies make it easier for instructors to create learning opportunities, provide prompt feedback, and improve student engagement with content materials, they also pose challenges. Following are some practical guidelines for using technology in teaching. They may help you manage technology-supported teaching more effectively, avoiding some of the common pitfalls. PowerPoint Use fonts 24 points or larger for the text. Using Video Clips in Presentation Have a clear goal for using a video clip or clips (e.g., ask yourself why you are using the clip and what you want to students to learn from it).
Email Establish rules for using email for class communication, for example: Keep specific subject lines. Online Conferencing/Discussion Preparation Define clear goals and objectives for the online discussion. Facilitation back to top. Popular Culture -- AUDIENCE ANALYSIS. Audience analysis emphasizes the diversity of responses to a given popular culture artifact by examining as directly as possible how given audiences actually understand and use popular culture texts.
Three kinds of research make up most audience research: 1) broad surveys and opinion polls (like the famous Nielsen TV ratings, but also those done by advertisers and by academic researchers) that cover a representative sample of many consumers; 2) small, representative focus groups brought in to react to and discuss a pop culture text; and 3) in-depth ethnographic participant observation of a given audience, in which, for example, a researcher actually lives with and observes the TV viewing habits of a household over a substantial period of time, or travels on the road with a rock band. Each approach has strengths and weaknesses, and sometimes more than one approach is used as a check on the others. General Sites Audience Research. Articles And More Specialized Sites Bibliography Ang, Ien. My Failures. Your Lessons. More Than the Sum of Its Parts. Mirroring Your Students, A Way to Gain Their Trust. "Teaching FOR the Test And Teaching TO the Test"
Putting the Nerdy Teacher Back in the Classroom - Let Project Ba. The most wonderful thing happened to me this year – I lost my job. After several years in full time tech integration, budget cuts landed me back into the classroom. Isn’t that a strange twist of fate? Yes, I was a bit bent out of shape at first, but quickly (and I mean in just a few days) realized how amazing it would be to take all the training I’ve been doing with teachers and directly give it to the students we’re trying to impact. What would it be like to actually run my own 21st century classroom? I tossed the ideas around for a few weeks while I was finishing up my summer nerdy teacher workshops and pulled out one of my favorite novels to teach, Treasure Island. Step 1 Focus on Higher Level Thinking Solution A – start developing Essential, Unit, and Content Questions.
I knew I would need to develop questions pushed students into thinking about the novel and guiding them into deeper discussions. . · Opportunities to speak professionally – is there an audience for the information? Presentation: You know you need to create content … | eLearning. Wired Campus. Soon, online students at Thomas Edison State College won’t even have to be online to complete their course work. Beginning this fall, students at the Trenton-based distance-education institution will have the option of using a 2GB flash drive instead of a course-management system to prepare for and complete their classes.
The flash drives are part of the college’s Mobile Learning Initiative, developed after it discovered many of its students — who were stationed with the military or frequently traveling — couldn’t access a course-management system on a regular basis. “When you have students who are constantly on the go, online courses can be a challenge,” said Matt C. Cooper, an instructional-technology specialist at the college and one of the course designers. “We tried experimenting with a CD-ROM, but it didn’t work. They break, they get lost — it’s static media. That offers a lot of problems.” Mr. Return to Top. Online learners. Best Practices in Online Teaching: Don’t Assume We want our students to learn what we have to teach them. We want them to retain it.
In the best case, we want them to enjoy the work, assimilate the driving principles, and look forward to each opportunity to make their work better. We diligently gear up and learn how to use slick software that allows students easy access to a wide variety of materials. Learn More » Seven Easy Ways to Personalize Your Online Course In order to be part of an effective learning community, online learners need to feel the presence of the instructor and fellow learners. Learn More » Using Screencasting to Engage and Build Community with Online Learners In the online classroom, faculty work hard to engage their distance learners and build a strong sense of academic community in the electronic setting.
Learn More » Tips for Teaching Large Classes Online Jonathan P. Learn More » Nine Strategies for Using IM in Your Online Course Learn More » College Information Central Paradigm Shift from Teaching to Lear. Rachel Marsden: Technology and the New 'Me' Generation. 50 Free Computer Science Classes Online. Image: wstryder Are you a techie looking to acquire some computer science knowledge without a hefty university price tag? You’re in luck! Tons of colleges and universities are offering free access to their valuable course materials free of charge. For most, all you have to do is visit their site and begin learning.
Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence 1. 2. 3. Computer Architecture and Systems 4. 5. 6. Computer Science Basics 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Databases and Data Structure 14. 15. 16. Internet and Multimedia 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. Networking 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. Programming Languages 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. Operating Systems and Security 41. 42. 43. Software Engineering 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. British Library to Offer 65,000 Free eBooks. Learning Team of One. So many of the resources available about elearning seem to be directed primarily at organizations (especially for-profits) with a large training staff that it’s hard to implement much of what they do — couldn’t we do so much more with bags of money and rooms full of learning specialists? So what do organizations serving large numbers of members on the backs of one or two staff members do to accomplish their goals?
And how do they do it with a tight budget and high urgency for producing timely training? This is the learning version of a perfect storm. So much to do, so little time and even less money. The good news is that we’re not alone in this — others have faced the same challenge and emerged with successful learning offerings. For example, one of the ASTD 2009 BEST Award winners is VF Asia Limited, a business unit of VF Corporation. How did they accomplish their goals? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. (For more on managing your time, see the post on The Best Resolution You Can Make.) Learning Styles Theory Versus Sustained Hard Work ~ Stephen's We. Top 8 Higher Education Trends of the Decade | CollegeSurfing Ins.
Games as Poetry | Games Can Teach. I Wish I Were the Moon's strange love-triangle Last week I wrote about games that tried to turn text into a playable experience. One of the games I didn't get a chance to talk about was Today I Die by Daniel Benmergui, which doesn't quite fit in the same category. It would be more accurate to describe it as a "playable poem". There have been a few other playable poems that have been recognized in the Casual Games scene recently, such as I Wish I Were the Moon (also by Daniel Benmergui) and The Majesty of Colors by Gregory Weir (Author of Silent Conversation). I use the term Playable Poem rather than Interactive Poem for a reason. Interactive art tends to feel more like a toy than a game. You can play with it, but you can't play it.
"I Wish I Were the Moon" starts out with no text. "Today I Die" has only two endings, as far as I am aware. "The Majesty of Colors" is a told from the perspective of a Lovecraftian creature living at the bottom of the sea. Play I Wish I Were the Moon. FTA - Main page | FTA - Free Technology Academy. More than 100 Editorial Cartoon Le. Biology Animations Library. Free Song Download from SongsForTeaching.com. Free Library-related eLearning sites.