New Technologies

My preconceived notions about eLearning were simple: learn Software X and you will be proficient. However, I have come to the realization that there will never be a Software X. Sad to say, but you simply simply cannot master one, two, or even ten programs and be an eLearning professional. The rapid evolution of technologies precludes this notion.

Browsing job postings, one comes across a myriad of different requisite software skills. I am certain that I am not the first to have to research the mystery software skill advertised. Technology is evolving so rapidly, that it seems impossible to keep up with some of the trends.

That being said, software is just a tool. The increasingly easy user interfaces (as well as background knowledge of the user) empowers almost every user to exploit them. Software seems to be becoming more and more democratic. Using it becomes simple.

So maybe at the end of the day knowing what to use when is perhaps the most important. You will never know it all. However, know how to access the tools you need as well as how to learn to use them. This will make you a true eLearning professional.

Need I say more...

Second Life

I decided to explore some game based learning tools and became a member of Second Life. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, Second Life is a virtual reality simulator with stunning graphics and point of vision graphics.

I was very excited to explore the possibilities of this program and eagerly launched myself into it. However once online I perceived several fatal flaws to the learning process.

1. Very complicated to join and learn, the learning curve may be too great for average learner

2. Too many distractions, I found the graphics and interface would interfere with the learning experience. It was just too much.

3. Content was too open. While freedom of speech is always a welcome attribute, the blatant open sex practices on Second Life are too distracting to the learning process.

Above summarizes my opinions of the Second Life platform. Granted I have limited experience with it and would be open to explore more aspects of it.

What have your experiences been with Second Life?

Selling Lesson Plans Online

Ruby Washington/The New York Times

Ms. Bohrer has sold 31 M&M counting exercises, which come with directions, sorting mats and work sheets, for $3 each.

Today I came across this article published in the New York Times. It details the new practice of teachers selling their lesson plans online. The article brought to light some interesting ethical questions regarding the commoditization of learning in the school system.

In the corporate world we have no scruples (or little depending on your organization) about buying and selling learning materials. Reusable learning objects are a cornerstone of eLearning 2.0. Yet somehow there still seems to be a stigma around its use in the educational system.

Merlot.org and other learning object repositories have been a great resource for me in my personal teaching endeavors. I find www.lessonplanspage.com as well as www.enotes.com to be particularly helpful for the courses I teach (Junior level English Lit and Elementary French). I have bought some lesson plans. As a volunteer GED instructor, I teach two classes per week on top of my full time job. I have found that it takes me on average 3-4 hours to prepare for an hour and a half lesson. Taking the short cut of buying a lesson plan for $6 is not only a time savings but a money savings. It also allows me to concentrate my time on facilitating knowing that I have the materials to back me up. I do not feel that it compromises my students learning experience. Using classroom tested materials only buttresses my teaching capabilities.

The gray area that the article brought up was the fact that some teachers may be selling materials that were developed while they were on the public school payroll. In my experience, it seems that most instructional design will occur outside of school hours. Being accomplished on private time makes it fair game for the marketplace. How can this be distinguished though?

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think that academic materials such as this should remain shareable and free, or do teacher/entrepreneurs have the right to sell their information? Or should the information not be shared at all?

Online Facilitation

Here are some of the key differences I came up with between Online Facilitation and in traditional in person facilitation as well some ways to address them:

Reading reactions: it is very difficult to assess participants reactions. Close attention must be paid to any response including clarifying questions. This also involves taking the time ask more questions then you might have in a traditional classroom setting.

Prework: you can't wing it online. Everything needs to be prepared and rehearsed well in advance.

Technical Tools: when selecting tools, make sure you have the end user in mind.

Record the Session: Results generated may be easily lost or not received. Make sure your objectives were met by posting a summary or archive of the class.

Patience: the flow of communication may seem slightly slower than verbal communication. That's OK, concentrate on quality communication and enrich it with outside sources. Include hyper links, media clips, and visuals. These can convey more meaning than just the spoken word.

I just found this great Wiki with tips for online facilitation:

http://onlinefacilitation.wikispaces.com/

Interesting Site

I came across this website and I think it is very interesting and relevant to our class:

http://www.elearningbuzz.com/

Online Engagement

Considering our class presentation, I realized the importance of creating interactions that are suited to a virtual environment. Many of the activities we incorporated were direct translations from a f2f (face to face) setting. While these may prove to be engaging in person, the limitations of a virtual classroom may render these techniques less effective. The use of breakout rooms (buzz groups) seemed to work very well, however the virtual gallery stroll (slide 13) felt a bit awkward to me.

In this activity we asked students to brainstorm and list words or phrases that would summarize the individual analyses. I feel that the biggest limitation to this activity was the on screen typing mechanism. It seemed awkward, difficult to use, and did not identify the speaker.

Another limitation to this was the difficulty to facilitate and elicit student responses. In a traditional classroom, I find it easier to engage students using nonverbal cues and taking the pulse of the class. In this virtual environment, I felt at a bit of a loss. It is impossible to read silence over a computer screen. In person, I can usually assess whether or not students are reflecting, lost, or indifferent. Silence is just silence online. That might be a good topic for a future post (assessing silence online).

However, listening to the classroom responses after the fact, they seemed to be engaged, it was not a failure. If I had to redesign this activity, I would perhaps create a bank of concepts for students to choose from and then categorize; maybe a drag and drop type activity. It seems to me that ease of use is of paramount importance in e-Learning.

I also found out that having students create learning outcomes on the spot was perhaps a too complicated task to accomplish in the given time allotment. If I were to redesign this activity, I would perhaps have a list of learning outcomes with some that are irrelevant or incorrect and have the students select the correct responses. I understand that this is not achieving the goal of higher order thinking, but perhaps such an activity could prepare the students for an offline assignment where they could display their internalization of the knowledge.

What online interactions have you found to be successful? I am intrigued by the concept of game based learning and came across this site:

http://web.me.com/jen.dewitt/BakedNotFried/Welcome. (Thanks Margaret!)