Q. Reviewing your previous blog posts, what, if anything, has changed in your attitude toward online schools and online schooling over the past 15 weeks?
While I looked back my blog posts over the past 15 weeks, first blog reflection caught my eye. It was about the biggest question of the first week, and here is my response.
“I still doubt that social interaction can be possible through online learning. Interaction between teacher-students or students-students is one of the most important factors of the learning, but I always feel like the interaction through the online class is somewhat lacking. So my first question is how to enhance interaction in the online course.”
After 15 weeks of exploring online school and online schooling, I realize that interaction in online learning environment could be more active than face-to-face settings. Through the research about students-students interaction, I find out that by participating in the online discussion, which is an asynchronous discussion, students have additional time to compose and edit their thoughts, and think about unanswered questions, so it makes discussion deep and meaningful more than face-to-face.
Also, as I experienced through this course, if teacher leads discussion well (i.e. require 2 posts every week), and gives engaging discussion topics, the online discussion would have enormous possibilities that complement or replace face-to-face discussion.
Overall, I enjoyed this course during the past 15 weeks, it was challenging due to a lot of work to do, but I learned a lot both from the research papers and hands-on projects.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Week14 Blog reflection
What was the most difficult aspect of researching this topic?
I researched social presence in online learning. Social presence is the degree to which a person in perceived as "real" in mediated communication, so building social presence is vital for the learning, because when a learner construct social presence in online environment, he/she can participate in learning more actively, and it helps to increase the satisfaction about the learning and the instructor.
While I was researching this topic, the most difficult thing was defining social presence. I was confused with social presence and the interaction at first, but I found out that interaction is exchanging opinions each other through the discussion board or other media, and it can be an indicator of the social presence, but social presence is somewhat more deep perception of themselves in online environment, so those are totally different.
Also, I first tried to focus on K-12 level, especially elementary school level, because I think constructing social presence in online environment might be harder for young children than an adult learner. Thus, I tried to find out research exploring K-12 level, but I could only find 2-3 research, and those researches also focused on the other factors (i.e. emoticons and social presence) rather than social presence itself.
I had a couple of difficulties, but from this experience, I learned more about the relationship between social presence and online learning, and ways to enhance social presence in online environment from the interview.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Final presentation
Presentation- I included slide note, you can find it by clicking "Action-Show speaker notes"
Final presentation
References
Final reference list
Final presentation
References
Final reference list
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Week11 Blog Reflection
Q. What did you learn this week that struck you as particularly important in learning about virtual schools? Has your thinking changed as a result of what you learned this week?
One notable advantage of asynchronous discussion is learning can be enhanced through "extended think time," which means providing time for learners to think about the answers before responding, according to the research by Haaavind(2006). Also, the online discussion is delivered solely by text, learners could focus on the content and the goal of the discussion better than face-to-face learners. The author found out that collaborative discussion, which is exchanging opinions with sufficient depth and levels of engagement so that learners could deepen their thought (such as higher-order critical thinking) and knowledge about the subject, is possible through online asynchronous discussion. Several findings of this research struck me.
1. The discussion is highly focused on stated learning goals.
2. Collaborative discussion is possible when the instructor provides frequent, private, constructive feedback, and avoids public praise or critique.
3. Collaborative dialogue is enhanced when the discussion is designed in detail.
4. Social community of the learners could be developed by ice breaking activities.
5. Posting responses to others promotes a consistent thread depth
Another thing that I agree with this study is the part that the author states about the advantage of the online learning research. Online learning data is conducted via computer, which means that the research has no impact on the class. Researchers could conduct data without intruding the class.
One notable advantage of asynchronous discussion is learning can be enhanced through "extended think time," which means providing time for learners to think about the answers before responding, according to the research by Haaavind(2006). Also, the online discussion is delivered solely by text, learners could focus on the content and the goal of the discussion better than face-to-face learners. The author found out that collaborative discussion, which is exchanging opinions with sufficient depth and levels of engagement so that learners could deepen their thought (such as higher-order critical thinking) and knowledge about the subject, is possible through online asynchronous discussion. Several findings of this research struck me.
1. The discussion is highly focused on stated learning goals.
2. Collaborative discussion is possible when the instructor provides frequent, private, constructive feedback, and avoids public praise or critique.
3. Collaborative dialogue is enhanced when the discussion is designed in detail.
4. Social community of the learners could be developed by ice breaking activities.
5. Posting responses to others promotes a consistent thread depth
Another thing that I agree with this study is the part that the author states about the advantage of the online learning research. Online learning data is conducted via computer, which means that the research has no impact on the class. Researchers could conduct data without intruding the class.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Week10 Blog Reflection
Q. What did you learn this week that struck you as particularly important in learning about virtual schools? Has your thinking changed as a result of what you learned this week?
I learned that researching virtual school is difficult because of too many variables. We could not conclude online learning is better than face to face learning in terms of achievement. According to Hughes et al (2007), "[they] consider [the] achievement data "suggestive" because it was impossible for [them] to get consistent, high-quality data" due to low response rate, small class size, and lack of data which can be used as a statistical control for a prior knowledge.
On the other hand, interestingly, most of the researches indicate that online learning can have the same (or better) effect on academic achievement when compared to traditional learning. In ED PACE final report (Rockman et al, 2007), they found out that students who were taking online class outperformed students who were in traditional class in terms of Spanish proficiency except speaking which was hard to practice online. Also, they report that virtual students are better prepared for the next level of the course than students who were taking same course in the traditional school. Online students are eager to participate, highly responsible, and they feel in control of their learning. Of course, this interview is conducted from the teacher, and need more research to be proven, I think these are interesting results of the online learning research.
I learned that researching virtual school is difficult because of too many variables. We could not conclude online learning is better than face to face learning in terms of achievement. According to Hughes et al (2007), "[they] consider [the] achievement data "suggestive" because it was impossible for [them] to get consistent, high-quality data" due to low response rate, small class size, and lack of data which can be used as a statistical control for a prior knowledge.
On the other hand, interestingly, most of the researches indicate that online learning can have the same (or better) effect on academic achievement when compared to traditional learning. In ED PACE final report (Rockman et al, 2007), they found out that students who were taking online class outperformed students who were in traditional class in terms of Spanish proficiency except speaking which was hard to practice online. Also, they report that virtual students are better prepared for the next level of the course than students who were taking same course in the traditional school. Online students are eager to participate, highly responsible, and they feel in control of their learning. Of course, this interview is conducted from the teacher, and need more research to be proven, I think these are interesting results of the online learning research.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Week9 Blog Reflection
Q. Now that you have seen what other people did in creating their units, is there anything that you might do differently if you were to redesign your own unit?
I think I would add two things in my own unit, if I were to redesign mine.
First one is synchronous discussion. My unit only has asynchronous discussion that students post their ideas and respond to others. However, since the model of my unit is virtual classroom and class-paced, I think it is possible that students discuss synchronously using Skype or some other tools, and it gives a chance to meet other classmates and it motivates students.
Another thing is pre-assessment for the unit. I think diagnose students’ readiness is quite important for the students who are taking online course because it is hard to catch up the lessons if they don’t have pre-knowledge of the unit in the online course, especially for the math or science. Therefore, I would add pre-assessment as a gate for taking the course, so that recommending students to take a lower level course which is more suitable for them, if students do not reach certain level.
I think I would add two things in my own unit, if I were to redesign mine.
First one is synchronous discussion. My unit only has asynchronous discussion that students post their ideas and respond to others. However, since the model of my unit is virtual classroom and class-paced, I think it is possible that students discuss synchronously using Skype or some other tools, and it gives a chance to meet other classmates and it motivates students.
Another thing is pre-assessment for the unit. I think diagnose students’ readiness is quite important for the students who are taking online course because it is hard to catch up the lessons if they don’t have pre-knowledge of the unit in the online course, especially for the math or science. Therefore, I would add pre-assessment as a gate for taking the course, so that recommending students to take a lower level course which is more suitable for them, if students do not reach certain level.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Week7 Blog reflection
What are you most concerned about as you embark on creating a curriculum unit?
I'm concerning about how to incorporate interactive aspects in the unit. We've learned interactions between students-students/ students-teacher/ student-contents so far, and I think that the success of the virtual classroom depends on how well design interactive course.
In this interaction, frequency is important because increasing frequency also promotes student's engagement and retention of content. Thus, I have to consider the design of various kinds of interactions forms from simple questions-answers to collaborative problem solving or knowledge construction which promotes high-order thinking.
Also, quality of interaction is important as well, and this can be improved by diagnostic or remedial feedback. It promotes better outcomes and makes learners have responsibility for learning. Therefore, I need to think about how to improve interactions between various elements when I design the course, and that’s the most important key factor of online learning.
I'm concerning about how to incorporate interactive aspects in the unit. We've learned interactions between students-students/ students-teacher/ student-contents so far, and I think that the success of the virtual classroom depends on how well design interactive course.
In this interaction, frequency is important because increasing frequency also promotes student's engagement and retention of content. Thus, I have to consider the design of various kinds of interactions forms from simple questions-answers to collaborative problem solving or knowledge construction which promotes high-order thinking.
Also, quality of interaction is important as well, and this can be improved by diagnostic or remedial feedback. It promotes better outcomes and makes learners have responsibility for learning. Therefore, I need to think about how to improve interactions between various elements when I design the course, and that’s the most important key factor of online learning.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Week6 Blog reflection
Did you change anything in the Google spreadsheet? If so, what? Has your view of the schools you chose to research changed from the first week you looked at them? If so, how?
I was little skeptical about the possibilities of online discussion before this week, because I thought that online discussion had many downsides. For instance, I thought online learning could not have vigorous discussion because it is asynchronous and some student might not care about the discussion if they are not online.
However, after I read the article, and discussed with others, I find out that online discussion can be a powerful tool to make student learn deeply about the topic. Especially, from the asynchronous discussion, students can have enough time for organizing their thought, and developing their deep thinking.
Of course, to make discussion successful, the teacher need to offer clear guidance for students and the learning community should be built before the discussion.
I was little skeptical about the possibilities of online discussion before this week, because I thought that online discussion had many downsides. For instance, I thought online learning could not have vigorous discussion because it is asynchronous and some student might not care about the discussion if they are not online.
However, after I read the article, and discussed with others, I find out that online discussion can be a powerful tool to make student learn deeply about the topic. Especially, from the asynchronous discussion, students can have enough time for organizing their thought, and developing their deep thinking.
Of course, to make discussion successful, the teacher need to offer clear guidance for students and the learning community should be built before the discussion.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Week5 Blog reflection
Q1. Did the results of your TPI fit your image of yourself as a teacher?
My scores are generally fall in the 30-35s. Transmission and developmental perspectives are the highest (34), and social reform is the lowest (27). My profile is almost flat except social reform perspective.
My dominant perspectives are transmission and developmental and back-up perspectives are nurturing and apprenticeship, social reform perspective is actually below the line "Recessive."
In terms of the internal consistency, my belief, intention, and action of apprenticeship corroborate each other, and my sub-scores of transmission is not quite similar but more differ from each other.
I think the results of my TPI generally fit my images of myself as a teacher. I always think that the effective teaching usually related to the how to teach the contents well, so teacher’s main role is to teach content efficiently including giving clear objectives, good questions, and proper feedback so that students learn the contents and have confidence with it. Also, the effective teaching is to understand how students think, as well. The good teacher adapts their knowledge to learners’ levels of understanding and ways of thinking. However, when I taught students, I usually didn’t think about the education as a tool of social reform.
Q2. Do you think the TPI results are different for the same person teaching online and face-to-face?
I think it depends on the school, teacher, and subject, but for me, if I teach students online; I might more focus on the first two perspectives, transmission and apprenticeship. Teacher and students do not meet face-to-face setting, it means that teacher don’t know much about the students. Although, they communicate by tons of e-mail or phone calls, there is a limitation if people don’t meet face-to-face. Thus, the teacher will focus more on the contents rather than students’ development or nurturing. It may lead the improvement of the contents’ quality, because the teacher can concentrate more on the quality of the course. Also, the structure of the course might be developed, so it is possible that teacher organize contents from simple to complex one more effectively (apprenticeship perspective).
My scores are generally fall in the 30-35s. Transmission and developmental perspectives are the highest (34), and social reform is the lowest (27). My profile is almost flat except social reform perspective.
My dominant perspectives are transmission and developmental and back-up perspectives are nurturing and apprenticeship, social reform perspective is actually below the line "Recessive."
In terms of the internal consistency, my belief, intention, and action of apprenticeship corroborate each other, and my sub-scores of transmission is not quite similar but more differ from each other.
I think the results of my TPI generally fit my images of myself as a teacher. I always think that the effective teaching usually related to the how to teach the contents well, so teacher’s main role is to teach content efficiently including giving clear objectives, good questions, and proper feedback so that students learn the contents and have confidence with it. Also, the effective teaching is to understand how students think, as well. The good teacher adapts their knowledge to learners’ levels of understanding and ways of thinking. However, when I taught students, I usually didn’t think about the education as a tool of social reform.
Q2. Do you think the TPI results are different for the same person teaching online and face-to-face?
I think it depends on the school, teacher, and subject, but for me, if I teach students online; I might more focus on the first two perspectives, transmission and apprenticeship. Teacher and students do not meet face-to-face setting, it means that teacher don’t know much about the students. Although, they communicate by tons of e-mail or phone calls, there is a limitation if people don’t meet face-to-face. Thus, the teacher will focus more on the contents rather than students’ development or nurturing. It may lead the improvement of the contents’ quality, because the teacher can concentrate more on the quality of the course. Also, the structure of the course might be developed, so it is possible that teacher organize contents from simple to complex one more effectively (apprenticeship perspective).
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Week4 Blog reflection
What did you learn about the design of online courses this week that will affect how you think about this form of instruction in the future?
This week’s assignment that comparing instructional design models from the different provides was a great chance to think about instructional design of virtual learning. By comparing and assessing the sample courses, I noticed that the two big advantages of the virtual learning are individualized learning from one another and proper use of technology.
First of all, students study module by their pace, and take individualized test and quiz. When they take multiple choice or short answer questions, they get feedback immediately, and if they get wrong, they can go back and check their weakness. It allows students reflect their learning.
Also, I like the concept of virtual lab in science class. Although it is not a real lab, student can do experimental work individually in the virtual lab. In the traditional classroom, group of students experiment together due to the limitation of resources and time, so some of the students do not get a chance to do experiment their own and just watch what others do. However, in the virtual lab, each person can do experiment by their own, so it is useful to grasp the concept of the science.
The proper use of technology can be a powerful advantage of the virtual learning. For example, when the instructor explains something, he/she can present it with picture, animation, or interactive multimedia. It is useful when the instructor uses it properly, and virtual learning environment is appropriate for do that. Also, other new technologies which can promote learning (such as mobile phone technology or virtual lab interface) allow students to understand deeply and learn better. However, the instructor should have in mind that using too many technologies can make students distracted from learning core concepts.
This week’s assignment that comparing instructional design models from the different provides was a great chance to think about instructional design of virtual learning. By comparing and assessing the sample courses, I noticed that the two big advantages of the virtual learning are individualized learning from one another and proper use of technology.
First of all, students study module by their pace, and take individualized test and quiz. When they take multiple choice or short answer questions, they get feedback immediately, and if they get wrong, they can go back and check their weakness. It allows students reflect their learning.
Also, I like the concept of virtual lab in science class. Although it is not a real lab, student can do experimental work individually in the virtual lab. In the traditional classroom, group of students experiment together due to the limitation of resources and time, so some of the students do not get a chance to do experiment their own and just watch what others do. However, in the virtual lab, each person can do experiment by their own, so it is useful to grasp the concept of the science.
The proper use of technology can be a powerful advantage of the virtual learning. For example, when the instructor explains something, he/she can present it with picture, animation, or interactive multimedia. It is useful when the instructor uses it properly, and virtual learning environment is appropriate for do that. Also, other new technologies which can promote learning (such as mobile phone technology or virtual lab interface) allow students to understand deeply and learn better. However, the instructor should have in mind that using too many technologies can make students distracted from learning core concepts.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Week3 Blog reflection
As a student, I would like to choose the course which has plenty interaction with the teacher, adequate multimedia for contents, homepage easy to navigate.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Week2 Blog reflection
Q. Write a tweet-length paper (140 characters) that describes what you would be thinking if you were a parent choosing a school for your child, or if you were a student looking for an online school.
If I were a parent choosing a school for my child, I would consider the quality of the program, frequency of interaction between teacher and students, and the design/ interface of the virtual school homepage.
First, the quality of the program is most important thing when we choose a school, and it would be same when we choose a virtual school. Second, since virtual school has a risk that students fall behind the schedule of the course, the interaction with teacher is also crucial. A teacher has to encourage students to take course successfully, and advise them regularly. Also, sometimes, students learn a lot from their colleagues, so I would check how the interaction (Between students and students) occurs during the course. Finally, design/ interface of the school might not be thinking as important as two others. It is also important to motivate students. Simple but easy to use interface would be preferred.
If I were a parent choosing a school for my child, I would consider the quality of the program, frequency of interaction between teacher and students, and the design/ interface of the virtual school homepage.
First, the quality of the program is most important thing when we choose a school, and it would be same when we choose a virtual school. Second, since virtual school has a risk that students fall behind the schedule of the course, the interaction with teacher is also crucial. A teacher has to encourage students to take course successfully, and advise them regularly. Also, sometimes, students learn a lot from their colleagues, so I would check how the interaction (Between students and students) occurs during the course. Finally, design/ interface of the school might not be thinking as important as two others. It is also important to motivate students. Simple but easy to use interface would be preferred.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Week 1 Blog reflection
Q1. What did you learn this week that surprised you?
I could roughly grasp the meaning of online schools and online schooling. Though, it’s a little bit confusing until now. Also, the interesting thing that surprised me from this week was the theory from “disrupting class” that learning market also has been following a “disruptive pattern.” According to the author’s assertion, computer-based learning is in its “incubation period,” and when we analyze the pattern, within a few years, the world is likely to begin flipping rapidly to student-centric online technology. The author is expecting that those flipping period is from 2012, approximately.
Q2. What was the biggest question you were left with at the end of this first week?
Although we discussed about the pros and cons of the online schooling, I still doubt that social interaction can be possible through online learning. Interaction between teacher-students or students-students is one of the most important factors of the learning, but I always feel like the interaction through the online class is somewhat lacking. So my first question is how to enhance interaction in the online course. Also, I want to research more about the successful examples of the online schooling.
I could roughly grasp the meaning of online schools and online schooling. Though, it’s a little bit confusing until now. Also, the interesting thing that surprised me from this week was the theory from “disrupting class” that learning market also has been following a “disruptive pattern.” According to the author’s assertion, computer-based learning is in its “incubation period,” and when we analyze the pattern, within a few years, the world is likely to begin flipping rapidly to student-centric online technology. The author is expecting that those flipping period is from 2012, approximately.
Q2. What was the biggest question you were left with at the end of this first week?
Although we discussed about the pros and cons of the online schooling, I still doubt that social interaction can be possible through online learning. Interaction between teacher-students or students-students is one of the most important factors of the learning, but I always feel like the interaction through the online class is somewhat lacking. So my first question is how to enhance interaction in the online course. Also, I want to research more about the successful examples of the online schooling.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Week 1 Blog post
Hi, my name is Yaeji. This is my second semester as a M.A. student majoring in Instructional technology. I grew up in Korea, and I was an elementary school teacher for 4 years in Korea before I came to TC. I'm interested in Technology in school, such as how can technology change school environment and teaching.
Q1. What made you interested in this course?
Online schools and online schooling is one of the notable changes in the school settings, recently. Every school and education company tries to provide online courses to meet customers (students and parents) need- anytime, anywhere learning. However, sometimes they just provide courses without deep understanding about what virtual schooling is. It makes students fail to learn something from the course. So I decided to take this course to understand the online schooling, especially, how to design courses to motivate students, what kinds of instructional theories can be adapted to the virtual learning, and how to maximize the interaction between students in the online course. I hope I could research those more throughout the course. :)
Q2. What experience do you have with online learning? Was it positive or negative and why?
I have several experiences with online learning. However, most of them ended in failure. My first experience was taking the course “virtual communication” when I was in college. At first, I was interested in the course because I could pace myself with learning. I could only take the module which I decided to do. It felt like I took an active part in learning which was different from other traditional courses that I just sit in the classroom and learned what the teacher taught, passively. However, as time passed, I failed to manage myself, and finally fell behind the course. After that, I had tried several times to take online courses-at school, at work- due to its convenience, but most of them were ended negatively like this experience.
I decided to take this course in spite of those failures, and I hope I can finish the course successfully. :)
Q1. What made you interested in this course?
Online schools and online schooling is one of the notable changes in the school settings, recently. Every school and education company tries to provide online courses to meet customers (students and parents) need- anytime, anywhere learning. However, sometimes they just provide courses without deep understanding about what virtual schooling is. It makes students fail to learn something from the course. So I decided to take this course to understand the online schooling, especially, how to design courses to motivate students, what kinds of instructional theories can be adapted to the virtual learning, and how to maximize the interaction between students in the online course. I hope I could research those more throughout the course. :)
Q2. What experience do you have with online learning? Was it positive or negative and why?
I have several experiences with online learning. However, most of them ended in failure. My first experience was taking the course “virtual communication” when I was in college. At first, I was interested in the course because I could pace myself with learning. I could only take the module which I decided to do. It felt like I took an active part in learning which was different from other traditional courses that I just sit in the classroom and learned what the teacher taught, passively. However, as time passed, I failed to manage myself, and finally fell behind the course. After that, I had tried several times to take online courses-at school, at work- due to its convenience, but most of them were ended negatively like this experience.
I decided to take this course in spite of those failures, and I hope I can finish the course successfully. :)
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