- reflective notes My reflective notes are captured here in this blog: A View from the Bird's Nest. (See the first entry to understand the title of the blog.) This has been a journal of my work in Assessment in E-Learning-FA08-900F (Fall, 2008) offered by the University of Wisconsin at Stout.
- link to our wiki We did a class wiki, to understand how the wiki can be a valuable assessment tool.
- partner interview I interviewed Craig, a man who is leaving the kitchen for online learning.
- concept map I used Webspiration which doesn't allow capture :-(
- taxonomy table We read a case study of how one instructor put together a course and our assignment was to match the activities with Bloom's taxonomy. See my analysis.
- link to the prcourse survey url I wanted to capture information about students ages 17 & 18 taking an American History class for before they started. My survey is just 10 ten open-ended questions. I probably would have done this survey differently if the assignment hadn't specified open-ended.
- link or copy of the final project I used the unit I designed in Instruction Design: E-Learning-SU08-960C (Summer, 2008) and wrote an assessment tool box of four tools that would be used for assessment: recall test, blog, wiki, concept web.
- links to key reading with meaningful images This was never really explained. I have no images, but I have a list of meaningful readings for educators and librarians.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Week 8 - The End of the Road
We have been asked to include the following in our e-blog:
Friday, November 7, 2008
Final Project
Has it been 8 weeks already? Nope, only 7. We posted our drafts of the final project this week and have been peer reviewing them. We have next week to rewrite, fix, and repair based on the comments.
The project wasn't too bad. I like trying to find ways to make assignments that go beyond "Read the chapter and write the answers to the review questions at the end of the chapter." So sad to know that is still being done in history classes.
My unit lesson asked high school juniors and seniors to view a streaming video and take recall quiz, interpret a cartoon, make a comparison of those living in the early 20th century and those living today, and make connections among the events of the video. My draft is available for you if you would like to read it.
The project wasn't too bad. I like trying to find ways to make assignments that go beyond "Read the chapter and write the answers to the review questions at the end of the chapter." So sad to know that is still being done in history classes.
My unit lesson asked high school juniors and seniors to view a streaming video and take recall quiz, interpret a cartoon, make a comparison of those living in the early 20th century and those living today, and make connections among the events of the video. My draft is available for you if you would like to read it.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Ready, Set....
When an instructor is getting ready to teach a course, whether online or face-to-face, knowledge of the learners is important. This helps to gauge the readiness of the learners for the demands of the class. Online, instructors want to know the background of the students, i.e., have they had other online classes, do they use technology on a regular basis, etc
As the final project in Instruction Design: E-Learning-SU08-960C (Summer, 2008), I set up a class and then designed one unit of that class. I have added a precourse survey to this class as part of the requirements of Assessment in E-Learning-FA08-900F (Fall, 2008).
As the final project in Instruction Design: E-Learning-SU08-960C (Summer, 2008), I set up a class and then designed one unit of that class. I have added a precourse survey to this class as part of the requirements of Assessment in E-Learning-FA08-900F (Fall, 2008).
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Cybermentoring
What an interesting term: cybermentoring. cyber- meaning in cyberspace; on the 'Net and mentoring to act as a sage for a newbie. Basically, a cybermentor is someone wise in the ways of the cyberworld. Welcome to the World: 2.0 style. As online instructors, we need to be able to encourage, bolster spirits, guide, facilitate, and dry cybertears. This is especially important to me as I want to work with students in the k-12 area where many will be newbies to this type of educational delivery.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Bloom's Taxonomy
We worked with an old friend this week: Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning. We read and analyzed a class that might be adapted to an online environment. To start this, we used the taxonomy.
I read somewhere that writing objectives based on the Taxonomy was old-fashioned. Sinc e I started teaching 30 years ago, I have used this framework to build objectives for the classes I teach, making sure I was progressing from recall to internalization with each unit.
You can see my analysis of the course here.
I read somewhere that writing objectives based on the Taxonomy was old-fashioned. Sinc e I started teaching 30 years ago, I have used this framework to build objectives for the classes I teach, making sure I was progressing from recall to internalization with each unit.
You can see my analysis of the course here.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
My part of the Jigsaw
Survey Monkey
Survey Monkey (http://www.surveymonkey.com/) is a website designed for users to build a survey to collect data and have the site collect and report the responses in a graphic format. Although there a free component for limited use, upgrading is possible for a relatively low price for operations that need to conduct many surveys with many respondents.
Uses in the online classroom. Instructors, who use quizzes in their classroom to test for understanding of the readings, might use Survey Monkey to construct a short series of questions that would require the learner to either choice an answer (i.e. multiple choice questions) or answer in a short essay. Instructors might also use Survey Monkey to develop an interest survey, or collect demographic information.
Benefits. Survey Monkey can be use at no charge with limited access to the many features. Instructors and learners alike can use the site to gather information. The reports are adequate, reporting in bar graph form the responses to each choice in the question. Survey monkey has a nice bank of tutorials and very strong help section for the user.
Weaknesses. The free service limits the number of survey items to ten and only 100 respondents. Of course the creative instructor can do a series of tests. There are other features that are disabled for the basic account also, but it can be used.
Challenges. An instructor who wants to construct a test over 10 questions may wish to look for other online sites to build a test. Other sites might be: QuizStar, ExamBuilder, QuizBuilder and Zoomerang. As with all online communication, wording is important.
Survey Monkey (http://www.surveymonkey.com/) is a website designed for users to build a survey to collect data and have the site collect and report the responses in a graphic format. Although there a free component for limited use, upgrading is possible for a relatively low price for operations that need to conduct many surveys with many respondents.
Uses in the online classroom. Instructors, who use quizzes in their classroom to test for understanding of the readings, might use Survey Monkey to construct a short series of questions that would require the learner to either choice an answer (i.e. multiple choice questions) or answer in a short essay. Instructors might also use Survey Monkey to develop an interest survey, or collect demographic information.
Benefits. Survey Monkey can be use at no charge with limited access to the many features. Instructors and learners alike can use the site to gather information. The reports are adequate, reporting in bar graph form the responses to each choice in the question. Survey monkey has a nice bank of tutorials and very strong help section for the user.
Weaknesses. The free service limits the number of survey items to ten and only 100 respondents. Of course the creative instructor can do a series of tests. There are other features that are disabled for the basic account also, but it can be used.
Challenges. An instructor who wants to construct a test over 10 questions may wish to look for other online sites to build a test. Other sites might be: QuizStar, ExamBuilder, QuizBuilder and Zoomerang. As with all online communication, wording is important.
Examples of application of the tool in an online classroom. This list is not, nor is it meant to be all-inclusive. However, let’s look at some applications of online survey and quiz building tools at the K-12 and academic levels.
Instructors can collect data about the learners at the beginning of a class to help the instructors understand where the learner is in terms of demographics (age, gender, education, etc.), technology use (beginner, comfortable, expert), if they are familiar with the CMS software, etc.
Quizzes and tests might be constructed by the instructor to access the depth of understanding of the readings assigned.
Survey instruments might be used by the learners to collect data that would be used during the class to prove a hypothesis.
Examples of learning objectives.
Learners will pass a 20-question multiple-choice test with 90% proficiency.- Learners will build, test and survey 25 people.
For the complete toolbox, visit my e-portfolio.
Jigsaw Method of Cooperative Learning
The Jigsaw Method of cooperative learning is made of small groups. Each student is part of two groups and accountable to both for the work produced.
The first team is the project team. The assignment is that the group has to produce a product that will instruct the rest of the class. Each member of the team has a different task, or job, for which he is responsible to learn more about and then be able to teach the rest of the team.
The second group is made of those students whose task is the same. Together, they share resources and ideas about their job. They bring that information back to the project team.
The project team is responsible for the final product, whether it is a presentation or a document. Each person of the team will have taught the others in the group about her specific area and together they make sure the final project is completed on time.
I like this method because I can work with the “experts” as a facilitator to help them identify sources, find information, and guide their research. As the instructor, I can work with the project groups to help them brainstorm the kind of project they want to produce within the limits of the classroom.
We used part of this method in UW-Stout’s online class, Assessment in Learning. We each were a part of a group and produced a one-page recommendation for our toolbox concerning online quiz & test builders, reflection assessment tools, peer-to-peer collaboration tools, and course tracking tools. By the end the assignment, each 3- or 4-person team had a “toolbox” with one each assessment tool. Then we shared what we had with the other teams so we had access to all the toolboxes created in the class.
The first team is the project team. The assignment is that the group has to produce a product that will instruct the rest of the class. Each member of the team has a different task, or job, for which he is responsible to learn more about and then be able to teach the rest of the team.
The second group is made of those students whose task is the same. Together, they share resources and ideas about their job. They bring that information back to the project team.
The project team is responsible for the final product, whether it is a presentation or a document. Each person of the team will have taught the others in the group about her specific area and together they make sure the final project is completed on time.
I like this method because I can work with the “experts” as a facilitator to help them identify sources, find information, and guide their research. As the instructor, I can work with the project groups to help them brainstorm the kind of project they want to produce within the limits of the classroom.
We used part of this method in UW-Stout’s online class, Assessment in Learning. We each were a part of a group and produced a one-page recommendation for our toolbox concerning online quiz & test builders, reflection assessment tools, peer-to-peer collaboration tools, and course tracking tools. By the end the assignment, each 3- or 4-person team had a “toolbox” with one each assessment tool. Then we shared what we had with the other teams so we had access to all the toolboxes created in the class.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
