Wimba 3

This Wimba was held at Dr. Ludgates office. The other part of the session was an open Q&A session where people asked a number of questions with regards to the course. Specifically the final project using Udtu, there was a lot of discussion about formats. I was unable to find the archive for Dr. Ludgates session and hope one will be posted soon.

Comments on Joan Lourenco's post (Week3)

One would need an awfully large toolbox to keep all the tools available to develop, design, and assemble the desired and complete e-learning environment if these tools weren’t e-tools. Learning content development tools vary from authoring tools that help build courses in e-learning to the management tools that help track and manage the learning and training. There are also the element tools, webcasting tools, and virtual classroom tools.  The tools one will need, depends on the features the instructional designer decides to include. Will the course include graphics, video, and/or audio? Will the screen need to be customizable?

Joan,

Great overview but I think alot of the decisions that need to be made have been captured by ADDIE model for course development, LMS, LCMS, RPF just seem to extensions of this model. What are your thoughts?

Comments on Louria's Post

The decision of which LMS to use should be made by a team of stakeholders from different arenas of users. This team should consist of the It department which will oversee deployment, the instructors who will manage it and if possible an objective outsider. This team will decide on the strategic and operational processes to manage the learning. This process will follow the objectives that have already been determined. These objectives should be determined by the goals that are need to be accomplished by the learner. “In term of process decide on what do you want to do, who is going to do it, how is it going to work (Parkin, 2005).” Then create a list of requirements the system must satisfy and critical success factors. Other considerations would be can the system be customized or will it be used “out of the box” -as packaged. Decide whether the system will be hosted “in-house” on your infrastructure which will require more IT involvement or third-part hosting. Reports are another big part of the selection process. “Vendors impress you with all the features that house the architecture; however, one of the biggest problems is data out, i.e. reporting (eLearning Guild, 2006, p.5).” Will these reports supply your needs and are they easy to access and read?

You are absolutely correct, course development need to be driven by the audience, the stakeholders and managers. All their needs has to be considered before determining how to develop, delploy and deliver a course. There are several processes that can be used to determine this.

Virtual Classrooms: Why such resistance (week3 reading)

In my many talks with clients about developing a new type of course, I often ask about the possibility of using virtual classrooms, to solve the challenge of deploying effective training globally. Most of them sound interested but skeptical about the ability to use virtual classroom to facilitate true learning. Now there are several reasons for their skepticism,  The first articulated is that e-learning seems good for soft skills but not effective for extremely technical learning. Many companies have their own disaster stories about the adoption of e-learning in the 90’s and being extremely frustrated with results.

 It is really easy to use the failures of the past to inhibit the acceptance of new technology. I think  in order to evaluate the potential  of virtual classroom we have to understand what is learning, and where does it take place. I believe that learning is a life long process and can take place in any environment. I have argued in the past one of the basic function of learning is problem solving, and as a consequence learning can take place anywhere. On the surface many people will agree but when it comes too technical learning we are convinced the only place to learn is in the classroom. Never mind that gravity was discovered under an apple tree. In Herbert Thomas ‘s Paper learning spaces he has shed some light on what is behind the thinking that real learning takes place in the classroom.

Traditionally, at least according to popular wisdom, learning took place in venues that were custom-designed for the purpose. The purpose, given the evidence of the artefacts with which we are confronted, seems to have been the educational equivalent of the production line that so succinctly characterised the industrialisation of society. One consequence of this design logic, however, is that learning is defined as something that is married to a ‘place’. This paper will argue that the conceptual ‘slippage’ that characterises the disappearing differences between ‘learning spaces’ and ‘learning environments’, coupled with the further ‘displacement’ of the learner (turned avatar) in virtual spaces such as Facebook and Second Life, serves to ‘displace’ learning itself. The paper argues further that we have failed to recognise the primacy of ‘physical situ- atedness’ to our conceptions of learning itself.

The physical situ-atedness of learning is an interesting concept, a class does not define learning, it is our body and minds that defines learning. Virtual classrooms change the dynamic of learning from instructor being the primary source of knowledge and information and displacing it to the individuals with in the classroom. In order for Virtual classrooms to be accepted by the oil and gas community it would mean that as an industry will have to change the way in which we view learning. Perhaps the failures of e-learning in the past is result of our very limited understanding of learning.

Udutu Setup

1.            Rudder Chulhan, Sarah

2.            Course Title: Rock your Brain. 

               Description: this is a group project meant to encourage children to exercise by   learning how to exercise. This course was developed by group of students and they are  Louria Macon, Yesenia Martinez, Karen Smith, Katie Nemelka, Chukwidinma Nwokocha and Sarah Rudder Chulhan

3.           Emergent Technologies In A Collaborative Culture November 2009

4.          I used the basic course template for the first three parts of the course. In these initial parts the student is introduced to the course and asked to take an assessment. Based on the result of the assessment the student follows one of two programs. As I result I added a simple conditional scenario to allow the student work through the material relevant to him and his lifestyle. This course is primarily self directed learning with some collaborative aspects that will be accommodated by blogging.

5.           Please find an excerpt from our original project proposal below:

About the program

This new program will be self-directed and utilize experiential learning. The Experiential Approach to Instruction will provide students with experiences that will enhance a greater understanding of their body and brain foster better health practices. “Physical activity and the brain” seeks to address a gap in knowledge and skills amongst 4th and 5th graders between the ages of 10 and 12. Wii rock has inferred that the increase in the number of overweight children may be the result of a lack of knowledge about the benefits of exercise on the body and brain, as well as a lack of ability to incorporate exercise into children’s lives in and out of the classroom. The target age group represents the children at risk of becoming overweight and will benefit from the program. Wii Rock's assumption is confirmed in part by studies show that kids and teens between the ages of 8 and 18 years of age spend an average of 6 hours per day watching television, playing video games, or on the computer which disrupts other important activities such as physical activity which ultimately may lead to higher rates of obesity (Kid's Health, 2009). When faced with the evidence and research, one can conclude that Wii Rocks program; “Physical activity and the brain” may have a positive affect on a child's success in school.

Program goals

This program will facilitate student’s ages 10 to 12 to understand the value of taking care of their body through physical activities. Upon gaining a true understanding they will then implement changes in the daily routine that reflect the knowledge gained. At completion of this course, it is expected that all students will become more active.

6.  Please access my udtu course at http://publish.myudutu.com/published/launcheval/20324/Course36033/Launch.html.Please note that it is a work in progress and will be updated. The original course can be accessed at http://sites.google.com/site/rockyourbrainnow/

 

Week 2 response to Michael's blog

The Advanced Distributed Learning organization originated because of a need to standardize the components of that are used in various learning systems. “ADL was established in 1997 to standardize and modernize the delivery of training and education. The Department of Defense (DoD) Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (OUSD P&R) oversees the ADL Initiative. The vision of the ADL Initiative is to provide access to the highest-quality learning and performance aiding that can be tailored to individual needs and delivered cost-effectively, anytime and anywhere.” (ADL).

Micheal I agree that Standardization is important to the implementation of ADL, SCORM, LMS, and LCMS technologies. However I think that many companies prefer that course and modules from one LMS system can't be used in another company. The reason is that this compartmentalization can reduce corporate poaching. My company is know in the industry for its extensive training program which is proprietary, our training is considered a corporate advantage. standardization can lead to sharing and may diminish our advantage

Week 2: Response 1

SCORM and Cell Phones: What’s the Connection?

Do you have dozens of cell phone chargers lying around your house, tucked in drawers and closets? I do. When I began reading about SCORM, my mind began scanning for an analogy to take this term and make it applicable to every day life.


Vandy that is a brilliant analogy it really goes a long way into understand what SCORM. How would you implement a SCORM system into your classroom.

LCMS and LMS

My company is offering two new types of training services to clients. The first is Technology mastery; the idea behind this service is that we develop a training program for our clients on how to use our software. It combines, traditionally class room training, online training and on the job training. One means of tracking and ensuring the delivery of training would be to create an LMS for our clients. That way both my company and our client can review to participant’s progress through training and suggest tweaks to their program to ensure success. The other use for a LCMS would be as part of the spin off of my AR project which is the creation of challenge based courses. LCMS would be valuable during the course development process.

However I firmly believe that training needs to be a combination of  online and traditional training. LMS or LCMS systems that rely heavily on elearning are doomed fail. The lack of human interaction reduces learning because of the lack of a community. Also human being are quite adept at fooling systems and there are countless accounts poor failed implementation of these systems.

Wk1- wimba

This session aim was to go over the course content weekly assignments and projects for the class learning management systems and organization. The session last approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes because of the many question asked by students about the assignments.
There were some changes made to the teachers many specifications:
1.  For posting comments on other students blog posts it is necessary to post your comments as well as the first paragraph of the other students blog.
2.  It is not necessary so send the instructor the RSS feed
3. there was great discussion about the use of copyrighted materials

comments on Joan Lourenco's post

Based on my experience with LMS(which is the corporate experience), the creators fall short in two areas. First is flexibility, many of the systems I worked with create learning plans for the individuals by making some huge assumption about the goals of a new employee and job function. For instance all geologist have to understand the following. what LMS and the people who mange these systems fail to recognize is that goals and job function vary based on location and personal preferences. The other area that they fall short is usability, simple tasks can take 10 - 15 minutes of effort most of which is spent determining how do I do this again! Which should never be the case, its a waste of time, can lead to demotivation and frustration with the entire Education/ training process.


Joans blog
In order to move forward in education, it is important to understand current circumstances, recognize problems, and assess the instructional needs of students and teachers. ........

Comments on Michael post

Hey Michael,

You captured the enormity and complexity of learning management systems and you did a very good job to explaining the different terms. I agree that there is value to learning management systems, however in my experience they are cumbersome and not very intuitive to the user. I think for LMS to be embraced by its users LMS needs to embrace learning communities advances in usability and finally advances in unified communications. I have seen a few attempts at incorporating those factors but the take up in corporate training has not been that swift.

Michael's post

A learning platform is generally defined as “software tools designed to manage user learning interventions.” (FSO). Some of the basic functions that pertain to learning platforms are: 

“Management flexibility, communication (between teacher and learner), active participation (rather than passive participation), use of advanced technologies, and establish a culture of trust”. (Liu, et al., p. 184) While these are general functions, some of the specific functions that are involved in a learning platform include online: “quizzes, discussions, class content, calendars, assignments, syllabi, and course listing.” (Morgan, ap. 41) .............

Wk1 Project, LMO Overview: Case Study of LMS

Resources

Mattheos, N, Schoonheim-Klein , M, Walmsley,, A, & Chapple, I. (2010). Innovative educational methods and technologies applicable to continuing professional development in periodontology. European Journal of Dental Education; , 14(1), 43-52.

Ellis, Ryann K.(2009), Field Guide to Learning Management Systems, ASTD Learning Circuits

The history of Virtual Learning Environments: in particular distance education.

             Education is a time consuming undertaking, particularly when you consider that everyone is capable of learning from the moment they are born to their last breath.  In other words education is a life long process. Originally humans learned by doing and on the run (Medina, 2009), however the need for learning environments became necessary as society became more complex and Stationery. The result was that the tasks necessary to earn a living and survive became more complicated and brain intensive.  

Virtual learning environments (VLE) are one of the many evolutions in education that has been primarily driven by technology.  VLE’s evolved from three factors. First is the demand and need for education, also the need to balance the time-spent learning and the time spent earning a living.  Finally another factor is the geographic distribution of education centers. Traditionally learning centers were located around city centers and major hubs of commerce. Therefore people that lived outside of the city had to travel great distances to receive higher education. Virtual learning environments were the perfect solution as they address the challenges for many members of society faced. Consequently, the first form of distance learning, correspondence school became popular particularly in the United States. This then begs the question what exactly is distance learning, according to the U.S. department of Educational Research and Improvement, distance learning or distance education is the application of telecommunications and electronic devices, which enable students, and learners toe receive instruction from some distance. (Bruder, 1989). With this definition one can theorize that the driving force behind distance learning and virtual learning environments is the advancements to technology.

According to Wikipedia one of the first instances of distance learning is was on March 20^th 1728, where Caleb Phillips offered correspondence course teaching short hand.  This type of learning was enabled by advancements in the delivery of post. Meaning that post can be delivered reliably to both the student and teacher within in a reasonable amount of time to encourage learning. The next revolution in distance learning came with the radio, then the television, the Internet and now it is the recent advancements in unified communications. With each advancement in technology the “distance” between the student and teacher has gotten smaller. This then begs the question would virtual learning environments replace traditional higher education institutions? Or will they continue in advance in parallel with the traditional forms of education. Food for thought

Luna

Resources

Casey, D. (2008). A Journey to legitimacy: the historical development of distance education through technology. TechTrends: Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning, 52(2), 45-51.

Medina, J. (2009). Brain rules: 12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home, and schoo . Seattle: Pear Press.

Bruder, I. (1989). Distance learning: What’s holding back this boundless delivery system? Electronic Learning, 8(6), 30-35.

Welcome

Everyone,

Welcome to my class blog! Please read and leave comments

Luna