Monday, December 28, 2009

Learning Styles

The Chronicle of Higher Education online had an interesting post on an article published in Psychological Science in the
Public Interest(PSPI) Volume 9, Number 3
, titled “Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence” by Harold Pashler, Mark McDaniel, Doug Rohrer, and Robert Bjork. The Chronicle article is found at http://chronicle.com/article/Matching-Teaching-Style-to/49497/

As you read the Chronicle article and the article itself you note that the authors are not saying that different ways of presenting material are not important. What I think they are saying is that the subject matter, not the student, should determine method used. Their argument is, according to the Chronicle article, “… teachers should worry about matching their instruction to the content they are teaching. Some concepts are best taught through hands-on work, some are best taught through lectures, and some are best taught through group discussions.”
The responses to the article are interesting reading.

In the Multimedia class that I teach the text I selected is “Empowering Online Learning: 100+ Activities for Reading, Reflecting, Displaying and Doing” by Curtis J. Bonk and Ke Zhang.( 2008), San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. The authors detail activities that they claim “address different learning styles and various generations of types of learners in an online environment. “ (p.x). Students in the class, who are already educators training to be online instructors, find the book useful.

Which is correct? Should we match the learning style to the content or to the student? My thought is that, as teachers, we should be aware of the different ways we can approach content. When I have students learning a new procedure I give them three options:
1. Read the manual and figure it out yourself. Some students like to do this.
2. Watch an online video.
3. Read step by step directions
Most students use a combination of two and three. They watch the video while looking at the written instructions.
Maybe students can figure out how they can best learn if options are available to them.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

How the Brain Works

As college faculty we are immersed in our discipline. Many of us have not taken courses in the educational theory, and fewer still have kept up with the research and thinking of neuroscience, how the brain works. Exciting work is being done in this area.“How the Brain Works” by Steven Pinker (1997) New York, W.W. Norton & Company,

Although it was published more than ten years ago it is a good introduction to the subject. Pinker believes that “the mind is a system of organs of computation, designed by natural selection to solve the kinds of problems our ancestors faced in their foraging way of life…” The chapters include Pinker’s thoughts on sight, family, music, and passion.
Not everybody agrees with Pinker but he does challenge us to think about what is happening in the brains of our students.

For me, one observation he makes about math and young children was interesting. “Constructivism has merit when it comes to the intuitions of small numbers and simple arithmetic that arise naturally in all children. But it ignores the differences between our factory-installed equipment and the accessories that civilization bolts on afterwards.” (p.324). I was interested in this statement because much of the theory of online learning is that learning is active and students must construct their knowledge. Of course, Pinker is discussing young children. However, what I thought was enlightening was his statement that good educational practices point out the connections across “ways of knowing.” We, as online teachers, assume that students can make the connections but often we need to encourage this. I like CATs that require students to link what they are learning to previous knowledge. In many online Course Management Systems students are able to write in journals that only the faculty can read. Teachers can require these journals, where students must do their own thinking and make their own connections.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

The Seven Principles of Teaching

An interesting new book on learning whose principles can be applied to online teaching of college level classes is:
Making Learning Whole: The Seven Principles of Teaching Can Transform Education By David N. Perkins Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA 2009. http://leading-learning.blogspot.com/2009/01/advice-from-david-perkins-to-make.html Perkins has seven principles:
Some of my notes:

Play the whole game, not fragmented bits. Online application: We have to guard against fragmentation in online learning. Perkins suggests inquiry learning. Classes that consist of PowerPoint lectures and tests are the biggest offenders. Teachers need to push students to form a learning community that will provide “camaraderie and creativity.”

Make the game worth playing: (p.53) What is the one thing you understand really well? How did you come to understand it? How do you know you understand it? Online application: We do need to get online students to reflect on what they have learned. It is actually easier to do this online because it does not take class time and many online course management systems have the facility for journals.

Play out of town: Perkins’ example is a physics teacher works problems with students illustrating how objects falling from a tower behave, but then students cannot answer a question about how long it takes an object to fall into a pit.(p.109) Online application: Good design in online courses encourages students to work problems to increase their understanding. There is no need to wait for the slowest student in the class and those of above average ability can be challenged. At the same time all students need to be engaged in discussions of the subject and learn from each other.

Uncover the hidden game: Almost anything people learn in school and out of school has its hidden aspects (p.134,) For example, in baseball runs created is a better measure of a players worth to a team than batting average. Online application: Group work, if structured correctly, can encourage students to explore more than the simple text. A “jigsaw” exercise can have separate groups explore issues and then report back to the main group to put the complete puzzle together.

Work on the hard bits: Vygotsky’s work on the “zone of proximal development” showed that learners can be lead, by social support, to do what they would not do spontaneously. (p.165). His theory is still valid, despite the fact that Vygotsky worked from 1896-1934. Online application: Teachers need to show presence in the online class and make the students realize that they can explore the subject with support.

Learn the Game of Learning: Expert tutors – but not those with less finesse – keep instruction centered on questions and hints rather commands to encourage tutees to of themselves as in control and responsible for their success. Online application: The teacher needs to guide students in discussions to work together to generate answers.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Surveys in the Online Classroom.

Many Course Management Systems allow teachers to put Surveys in the class. These tools let teachers ask students for anonymous feedback but also allow provide teachers with the names of students who participated. The survey can then be given “extra credit” or points for participation but students know their identity is protected. In contrast to the face-to-face class online surveys do not take up class time.
Surveys can be used throughout the course to get information on where students have problems. In a face-to-face class teachers often use CATs http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/assess.htm. However, these techniques, like the one-minute-paper, need to be adapted for online. Some teachers require weekly surveys but if overdone students will not take them seriously. These surveys may be most effective in the beginning and middle of the class.
A different use for the survey tool is to help faculty make changes in their courses. While many institutions require end of course surveys, the return rate is often low, often around 30%. http://jolt.merlot.org/Vol2_No2_Laubsch.htm Often the questions asked are standard for the institution and do not give faculty the information needed to enhance the course. In this case the survey can be a useful tool.
I prefer open ended question to True/False or Multiple choice for the end of course survey. My theory is if you ask a question that is T/F or MC and you get an answer then what do you do with that? The students may give a low rating to one of the questions but then unless you ask them to justify their ratings you have no clue why they did. If you need documentation for retention or promotion then having the numbers may be required.
Students do NOT like long surveys. In fact, many prefer NOT to fill out surveys at all. That is why the option to see who did the survey is helpful. I set up a column in the grade book so that I can give students a grade for doing it, which is a motivator. I also make sure to tell the students that I WILL use their responses, and even tell them how their class was changed because of past students’ input.
There are surveys whose validity has been verified:
• COLLES http://surveylearning.moodle.com/colles/
• ATTLS http://http://thejournal.com/Articles/2008/03/24/Creating-a-Collaborative-Syllabus-Using-Moodle.aspx?Page=2/

These are not a help to you if you want particular information on YOUR course structure but the questions are interesting to look at.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Group work online

SOME THOUGHTS ON GROUP WORK

There are two reasons to create groups in online classes. One is that the class is simply so big (and I define that as over 20) that students could never keep up with all the postings. In that case you are using the Group function similar to the Discussion Board. This type of group work is easier to grade and takes a strain off students in a large class, but it really doesn’t help you as a teacher lighten your load. As in this class, when I do this I make all groups visible. I think some students do read the work in other groups.

The other, perhaps more popular use of groups, is to require students to work together to produce ONE final product. While this is the common use of groups, there are problems because people log in at different times. Some students want to finish early (I was this type of student) and some students wait until the last minute. There is also the “free rider” problem, where one student “coasts” on the work of others. I allow students in a group project to “fire” a non-performer. So far that threat has been enough to insure participation.

Some teachers assign roles in a progressive project. This is a good strategy with undergrad groups or groups who have just met. Students are required to build on previous entries. If you as a teacher know enough to sense who posts early this is a strategy to consider. Student A is assigned the first post, student b must add to it, then student C, etc. At the end all students make a final summative. When this works, it works great, but unfortunately life sometimes intervenes. This progressive type of project is also easy to grade.

In most group projects, however, students are required to all work together from the beginning and share their experiences but then come up with a final project that demonstrates that they have mastered the subject. This mirrors what you often have to do in a business situation. You need to arrive at a solution to a problem while working in a group. Note what happened here: There is no way that we could share our experiences, come to a conclusion and do a presentation in a short time. My finding is that this type of group project always takes longer than one week. I usually allot three weeks minimum. This type of project is hard to grade.

So what do I do? I try to be very specific in my directions, telling the group exactly what their final project needs to look like. I allot three weeks. I give break points within the three weeks: by the end of the first week you should have decided on the topic. by the end of the second week you have all given input into the topic… by the end of the third week you will all have worked together to produce the final product. I make myself part of every group so I can answer questions and I can more fairly grade. Some online teachers ask students in a group to grade each other, but I do not do that. I give the students a rubric and try to follow.

Designing, monitoring and grading group work is hard online. (Actually I think it is hard in a face-to-face class to).

Sunday, November 8, 2009

New Technologies for Online Teacher Mentors

November 2009 New Technologies for Online Teaching and Learning

Online movie reviews: Carefully screen online movies for appropriate content. See http://www.imdb.com/features/video/browse/film/ for movies that can be freely viewed. Give out a Word study guide to focus student attention and lead a discussion on the important topics.

Video Blogs: The sites will offer the students with a variety of video blogs that they can refer to while they are researching a particular destination. The videos offer tips and opinions from the host as well as from other travelers – so the information is not biased. The students can also obtain guidance on how a video blog is organized if they chose to present their final project in this format.
Cruises/Ports: http://rickrockhill.blogspot.com/2009/10/aegean-sea-cruise-day-at-sea.html
England: http://www.blogcatalog.com/blog/video-travel-blog

Tour of National Museums and Libraries
Nat'l Lib. of Medicine
Medline searches, fact-
sheets and bibliographies

So, after you tour a museum and want to rest your weary self, go to the library and read to your heart's content!! Medical Libraries
Listing of medical libs.
from U. of Iowa. Medical Reference
Find the best medical
reference on the Web

Concept Mapping
Here's some websites containing information regarding concept mapping. They should be helpful in facilitating student understanding of the process and completion of the assignment.
http://cord.org/txcollabnursing/onsite_conceptmap.htm
http://cmap.ihmc.us/publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryCmaps/TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.htm
http://www.bing.com/reference/semhtml/Concept_map?fwd=1&src=abop&qpvt=concept+mapping&q=concept+mapping

Video Streamed Lectures
The school of Public Health at the University of Albany offers free continuing education courses, ttp://www.albany.edu/sph/coned/webstream.htm. I found a lecture on geriatric mental health that I would use to supplement a course on mental geriatric depression and other mental illnesses in the older adult. The University of North Carolina offers lectures on the web 24 hours following the live class and remains online for up to three weeks. This is great reinforcement for the students, and students who missed the live class can keep up with the rest of the class, this is only open to students attending the school.
I would use video streamed lectures or presentation to supplement learning or replace a class, as long as the video met the objectives of the class to be covered.
Student Produced Videos for the class
The following are examples of such an activity:
http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=69498&title=Health_Communication_Son

Interactive News and Documentaries
You won’t find this information in books. National organizations such as HIMSS puts out news and position papers frequently. They are not politically oriented, but do support the role of technology and there are also easy links to multiple news sites available that continually put out information on healthcare technology.
http://www.himss.org/advocacy/d/HIMSS_UpdatedHealthcareReformRecommendations.pdf
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/id/211832

Design Generation
Instead of critiquing preexisting designs within a field of study, learners create their own designs.
Example: Kitchen online design sites
http://www.merillat.com/ideafolio/3dplannerlaunch.aspx
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=pg&p=okv/okv_splash.html

Virtual Field Trip
Have students take a virtual trip to a site when they may be employed.
Sample tour of a nursing home Marian Manor Nursing Home

Online Multimedia and Visually Rich Cases
The use of multimedia could assist in decreasing the monotony of the black and white lettering and free computer screen space. Use of multimedia can add individual expressions to enhance a subject matter and also amplifies learning for the visual and auditory learner. Although, I personally is not a fan of all the potential and actual technological theatrics of the learning environment ---but I am here to educate / facilitate and will heed to the known fact that students learn differently and at different rate---therefore it would / could be necessary to supplement my traditional style of lecture with on-line multimedia materials and/or visually rich resources to enhance learning.
Here is a lecture on the Gastrointestinal System with visuals
http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/anatomy.asp?sid=7
Please click on the 3-D animation of the Gastrointestinal System---Here you will see what happens to a piece of food from the mouth to the anus.

Broadcast Events
Sites like http://www.edheads.org/activities/knee/ can be used to show student procedures as they are being performed.

Concept Mapping
Concept maps should be helpful in facilitating student understanding of the process and completion of the assignment.
http://cord.org/txcollabnursing/onsite_conceptmap.htm
http://cmap.ihmc.us/publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryCmaps/TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.htm
http://www.bing.com/reference/semhtml/Concept_map?fwd=1&src=abop&qpvt=concept+mapping&q=concept+mapping

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Latest Sloan Report on Faculty and Online Learning

The latest Sloan Report "Strong Faculty Engagement in Online Learning APLU Reports" makes interesting reading.

Faculty do feel it takes more time to teach an online course. I have heard this often, but I wonder if it is true. If faculty teach only online then they do not have to get dressed, get to the school, walk to the classroom, etc. They do have to correct papers but they would need to do that anyway. I wonder how many online faculty spend more than the credit hours (usually 3) participating in online discussions. They would be doing this in the class also.

One thing I do agree with is the faculty perception that there is not enough institutional support. I think all institutions with online programs should have robust support for online faculty and students. This includes having an Instructional Technologist for faculty to contact and an 800 number and web site for questions.

Friday, September 25, 2009

The Teagle Foundation

The Teagle Foundation has conducted research that concludes there are "Ten Easy and Not So Expensive Steps" to Improving Student Learning. http://www.teaglefoundation.org/learning/essays/tensteps.aspx This is an excellent resource for all teachers.

I see online education reflected in many of the steps:

Learning Communities: Hopefully all online classes foster this.
Writing Intensive Courses: In an online class you write or you are not attending.
Diversity/Student Learning: Since students come from anywhere there can be greater diversity online.

Of course, this assume that Discussion is an integral part of the online class. If it is read/test then none of these results will be achieved.

Monday, September 21, 2009

The Six Essential Elements Critical to the Success of Online Learning

In “Building Online Learning Communities” by Rena M.Paloff and Keith Pratt (Jossey-Bass, 2007) the authors cite “The Six Essential Elements critical to the success of online learning. (p. 228). Students in an online class “PRINCIPLES AND SKILLS IN ONLINE EDUCATION” searched for references in each area. This is a complication of their results along with comments (in Italics).

HONESTY
Varvel, V.E., (2005). Honesty in Online Education. Pointers & Clickers(6)1., pp1-20. Located at:http://illinois.online.uillinois.edu/resources/pointersclickers/2005_01/VarvelCheatPoint2005.pdf
A great list of references.
This website “Online Ethics Center” has information for online education, including resources for K-12 and higher education. http://onlineethics.org/CMS/edu/precol/scienceclass/lessonplans/lesson4.aspx
Napa Valley College (no date). Academic Honesty in Online Courses. Located at http://www.napavalley.edu/Academics/OnlineEd/Pages/AcademicHonestyInOnlineCourses.aspxm
Moore, Marina. (2006). Honesty and Ethics in the Classroom. Located at http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Honesty-and-Ethics-in-the-Classroom/

RESPONSIVENESSThorpe, Mary (2002). Rethinking Learner Support: the challenge of collaborative online learning. Open Learning, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2002 . Retrieved from http://portal.pucmm.edu.do/RSTA/Academico/TE/Documents/ed/rrsccol.pdf

“interactive programs which react to input from the leaner cannot replace interpersonal responses from the instructor and other students.”
Spiceland, J. David. (2002.) The Impact on Learning of an Asynchronous Active Learning Course Format. JALN Volume 6, Issue 1 – July 2002. Retrieved from http://www.aln.org/publications/jaln/v6n1/pdf/v6n1_spiceland.pdf

“However, the findings here offer new evidence that learning can also be enhanced with an active learning format in an online course.”

RELEVANCE
Chyung, Y. (2001). Improve the Motivational Appeal of Online Instruction for Adult Learners: What’s in it for Me? The American Journal of Distance Education (Volume 15; Issue 3, p. 36-49). Retrieved from http://coen.boisestate.edu/ychyung/researchpaper.htm
Frazee, R. (2003). Using Relevance to Facilitate Online Participation in a Hybrid Course, Educause Quarterly (4). Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eqm03411.pdf
Lowenthal, P.R. (2008). Online Faculty Development and Storytelling: An Unlikely Solution to Improving Teacher Quality. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 4,3. Retrieved from http://jolt.merlot.org/vol4no3/lowenthal_0908.htm

ChanLin, L. (2009, February). Applying motivational analysis in a Web-based course. Innovations in Education & Teaching International, 46(1), 91-103. Retrieved September 17, 2009 from EBSCOhost database.
Choi, H., & Johnson, S. (2005). The Effect of Context-Based Video Instruction on Learning and Motivation in Online Courses. American Journal of Distance Education, 19(4), 215-227. Retrieved September 17, 2009 from EBSCOhost database.
Palloff, R. M. & Pratt, K. (2007). Building online learning communities. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Payne, L. (2009). Using a WIKI to support sustainability literacy. ITALICS: Innovations in Teaching & Learning in Information & Computer Sciences, 8(1), 45-52. Retrieved September 17, 2009 from EBSCOhost database.

RESPECT
Grant, Mary (2007). Best Practices in Undergraduate Adult-Centered Online Learning: Mechanisms for Course Design and Delivery. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching. Vol. 1. No.4. December 2007. Retrieved from http://jolt.merlot.org/vol3no4/grant.htm
This principle suggests that the course content and design be developed within an open atmosphere for the leaner. Students who were surveyed reported “increased self-confidence when participating in class discussions and appreciated the anonymous environment. Students also commented that online courses had more variety.”
Riel, Margaret (2009). The Learning Circle Model: Building Knowledge through Collaborative Projects. Retrieved Sept 14, 2009 from http://www.onlinelearningcircles.com/
Waddell, Linda & Byrne, Susan The Ice Cream Approach to Online Facilitation. Retrieved Sept 15, 2009 from
http://myedison.tesc.edu/webapps/discussionboard/do/www.tecknowledg-elearning.com/uploaded_files/TheIceCreamApproach.pdf

OPENNESS
Creating a safe and Engaging Classroom Climate. School Of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education, UWW: Teaching Diversity (2006). Retrieved from http://www.uww.edu/learn/diversity/safeclassroom.php ,Retrieved January 2009.
“For learning to occur, especially if the subject is controversial, both safety and tension must exist.”

EMPOWERMENT
B. & Vassar, J. (2009). "Determinants for success in online learning Communities". Retrieved from http://www.inderscience.com/offer.php?id=25210, International Journal of Web Based Communities, 5, 340-350, B. & International Journal of Web Based Communities, 5, 340-350International Journal of Web Based Communities, 5, 340-350. There is a fee to view this article. The summary is at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090522101835.htm
“provide the learner access to information at the learner pace and in accordance to the learner’s needs:”
M Warschauer (1997), Electronic Literacies: Language, Culture, and Power in the Online Classroom, retrieved from http://www.citytowninfo.com/education-articles/online-colleges/empowerment-through-online-education.
“online courses improve student access to education. “

Friday, August 28, 2009

Group Work Online

SOME THOUGHTS ON GROUP WORK, Part 1

There are two reasons to create groups in online classes. One is that the class is simply so big (and I define that as over 20) that students could never keep up with all the postings. In that case you break the groups into smaller groups for discussion. Ideally, you appoint one member of the group as a moderator, who is required to summarize the discussion and report back to the main group. This can work well if the “moderator” is rotated through the group. When I do this I ask students to pick their week for moderation because it will require more work than normal.

The other, perhaps more popular use of groups, is to require students to work together to produce ONE final product. While this is the common use of groups, there are problems. First you must select an appropriate task. Not all tasks are suited for online group work.
Often these projects work best when students are given several individual tasks that must be integrated into a whole. Sometimes teachers assign roles, but other teachers allow the group to select roles. If the students are to select roles then more time must be allotted to the task.

I think many online teachers do not appreciate the logistical requirements of online work. Often students log into the class several times a week, but not on the same day and at the same time. This means that the early poster (who checks in Monday or Tuesday) often has to wait for the Thursday/Friday poster. In a discussion board this is usually not a problem because there are enough students so that students can interact. However, if students must wait for the whole group then there is a concern.
So what do I do? I try to be very specific in my directions, telling the group exactly what their final project needs to look like. I allot three weeks. I give break points within the three weeks: by the end of the first week you should have decided on the direction of the project and roles, by the end of the second week you have all given input into the topic… by the end of the third week you will all have worked together to produce the final product. I make myself part of every group so I can answer questions and I can more fairly grade. I monitor the group and am available for questions. I find that no matter how specific I am there are always questions.

Grading group work can be difficult. Part 2 to follow.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Teaching in the "For Profit" sector

The Chronicle of Higher Ed had a post today from the President of Kaplan. http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2009/08/21/clinefelter He discusses what it means to teach for a non-profit. I was interested that online faculty are expected to interact with students 10 hours a week. The full-time teaching load is 4 classes - 40 hours per week.

The article has other interesting points. I was impressed with the support for continued training.

One student in my present class teaches in a for profit institution. She said she must be in her class at least five days a week and must respond to student postings within 24 hours. The courses are monitored and if she falls behind she is contacted.

I think traditional institutions will soon have the technology to monitor teachers. I wonder if we will see more checking of online teacher preference.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Online students do better

The Chronicle of Higher Education just posted an interesting article titled "The Medium is Not the Message." http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2009/08/11/kaplan The article stated "A few weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Education released a report that looked at 12 years' worth of education studies, and found that online learning has clear advantages over face-to-face instruction. " As the author, Jonathan Kaplan writes, if the study showed that online students do worse than face-t0-face students the report would have been widely touted.

This study is from the Department of Education. Some of the comments to the post are very interesting. For example, some responders pointed out that online students tend to be older and more self disciplined. Others said that online students spend "more time on task." So much for the myth that online courses are easier!

My experience has been that online students are more engaged in the subject matter, IF the course is correctly designed. If the online course consists of "Power Point/test" then I would see no relation to student success. However, if discussion is encouraged, instructors are visibly present, and grading is swift and reliable, then that seems to encourage learning.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Student and Faculty Pictures Online?

We are researching faculty perceptions of requiring student pictures in online classes, and requiring faculty pictures in online classes. Please take a minute to fill out this short questionnaire. It is three questions and should take less than 5 minutes. Thank you.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=eI_2bVnXx34VdpJC4qiWolgQ_3d_3d