Tag Archive for 'curriculum'

Educational Podcasts

Published by Susan Smith Nash on July 21, 2007 in Online Learning. 0 Comments

Educational podcasts have arrived. Downloadable, automatically updated audio content fits the lifestyle of learners who are taking courses in traditional face-to-face settings as well as via the Internet or mobile devices.

With iTunesU and the debut of the iPhone, the number of individuals who download lectures and other educational audio to mobile devices has skyrocketed. iTunesU, which started rather modestly in 2006, now hosts educational content for dozens of colleges and universities. At this point, more than 10 million downloads have been tracked (iTunesU, 2007). This fall, when most people go to class, the number is expected to reach an all-time high, for those attending face-to-face classes and also those who are taking online courses.

Just how are people using the audio content they download? What is the best use? Now you can weigh in by voting in a poll: http://elearnqueen.blogspot.com

You’ll see the poll if you scroll down the right-hand column. Here are the possible responses to the question, What are the best uses of educational podcasts?

Just-in-time content before test

Listen while driving

Refresh key points, concepts, schema

Entertain with stories, examples, case studies

Podcasts have demonstrated themselves to be very useful for educational purposes because, as opposed to traditional audio files that are accessed from a password-protected website, podcasts allow you to subscribe to the feed and to receive updates and new content automatically.

Professor lecture notes: For large lecture courses in a traditional face-to-face environment, having the ability to download the lecture notes and listen to them again can be quite helpful. For students taking the course at a distance, lecture notes can be invaluable supplements to the text and other instructional materials. The only possible downside is that the audio quality may not be studio-grade, given that the lectures are being recorded in a lecture hall, and there could be ambient noise and variable sound levels.

Textbook supplements: Having podcasts that cover textbook content appeals to students who are audio learners and who remember items and organize them most effectively when they hear them. According to the split-attention principle, the most effective way to deliver audio content is to somehow reinforce it with a complementary image. In this case, one could include graphics or images that could be viewed while listening to the podcast. For example, if the lecture is about the situation in the Middle East, the audio lecture could be accompanied by maps, photographs, and other useful and relevant visual information.

Course topic / related content: What are the goals of the course? What are students expected to do with the information? Ideally, the students learn critical thinking skills and, most importantly, how to apply the information being presented. So, it can be very useful to prepare audio files / podcasts that incorporate current events, case studies, and up-to-date information that relates to the core course information.

Research paper / term paper-related content: Even if students have taken research and writing courses, it is always helpful to guide the way and demonstrate how to be effective with online research, how to write an annotated bibliography, when to look for additional sources, and which citation styles should be used. Having an audio guide can help alleviate anxiety and provide reassurance to help students overcome writer’s block.

Student podcasts: Students often enjoy recording and posting audio in addition to text. It is a perfect opportunity to rehumanize the e-learning space, and posting audio is a way to develop a sense of community.

There are several ways to listen to the content. The way that you use content depends on your equipment, connectivity, and learning preferences.

Just-in-time downloads: Students can download content before a test or class discussion. It helps reinforce knowledge and leads to effective use of short-term or working memory.

Category or Schema-builders: Some podcasts are organized around key concepts and they are very useful because they guide students and help them develop categories for organizing knowledge.

Elaboration: Audio and podcasts often include stories and narratives organized in a way that help students develop an in-depth understanding of the concepts.

Problem-solving: Podcasts that provide examples of how the information is used to solve problems, and which may include analogies or extended metaphors help students make connections. They can then use the information to solve problems or apply the information to experiential learning.

Podcasts that are accompanied by images (either stills or video) can also be used in training in order to demonstrate procedures or in the identification of a condition, person, place, or thing. Some examples can be found in a new resource, available in August from Charles C. Thomas publishers. Entitled Excellence in College Teaching and Learning, the is one of the few books available that covers both traditional and online teaching and learning.

The full potential of educational podcasts has not even begun to be tapped, and the advent of new technologies as well as enhanced infrastructure and bandwidth minimizing programs will also contribute to the popularity of the form. Video (via vodcasts) through youtube, google.video and other services continues to push the envelope and encourage students to collaborate on projects and share ideas.

Fast-Track Development of High-Quality Online Courses

Published by Susan Smith Nash on April 15, 2007 in Online Learning. 0 Comments

The following approach represents a way to fast-track the development of online courses by using an integrative approach to develop unique, high-quality courses that reflect the core values and vision of the institution while bringing together media assets, supplemental subject matter experts, and a highly effective online instructional strategy. This article was first written in 2003, but in reviewing it, it seems to be remarkably helpful, particularly as institutions are faced with creating courses and course content for new learning management systems and technologies (m-learning, etc.).

Elements:

* Point Person in the Academic Unit: Coordinates unit-developed curriculum, courses, course descriptions, learning objectives with primary subject matter expert(s) in the academic unit.

* Instructional designer and information technology liaisons: develop templates and manage the course management system / informational infrastructure

* Template or approved course structure: This provides a consistent look and feel, as well as encouraging coordination and competence with students, instructors, and support staff

* Core textbook with extensive media asset support, including online learning elements: Although other texts and resources will be used, a well-respected, high-quality core textbook that contains high-quality media assets provides a content credibility assurance. By utilizing the streaming media, presentation graphics, audio, interactive quizzes and other features that have been developed by the textbook company, huge time and cost savings are possible. See http://www.mlearners.com for examples of content suitable for mobile devices.

* Subject Matter Expert Collaborator #1: The SME is asked to review the course from his/her unique perspective and add content, instructional guides, and directed activities. For example, SME #1 may be asked to provide historical perspectives.

* Subject Matter Expert Collaborator #2: This SME does not duplicate the work of SME #1. Instead, he/she brings a new set of assumptions and approaches to the task, and generates content that goes in a slightly different direction. For example, this SME may focus on adding connections to contemporary concerns (ethics, case studies, etc.).

* Academic Review Committee

Stages of Quality Review and Development:

Review 1: Develop a curriculum and courses that make sense in terms of institutional vision and mission. This is done by members of the academic unit, a key subject matter expert with coordination from the point person.

Review 2: Develop course descriptions. The point person works with the primary subject matter expert, with a review by the instructional designer to make sure that key points are included. It is acceptable to develop a template or form to standardize the course descriptions.

Review 3: Select texts, leverage textbook media assets and support to build a foundation.

Core text: Depending on the course, select a best-selling, widely-adopted textbook from a major textbook publisher which has significant media assets with it. This would include online content, interactive material, presentations, streaming audio and/or video, as well as a CD-ROM.

Additional required texts: Particularly in the case of graduate courses or surveys of literature, trade books which address specific topics will provide depth and breadth to the course.

Articles and online resources: Identify articles, obtain permissions, and place in the online library reserve.

Review 4: Build-out based on course objectives and textbook.

Build-out 4a: Syllabus. Develop a form or template approach in order to provide standard information. Widely-used text and logos should be made into objects and used in a SCORM-compliant manner. A standard course structure can be implemented for a unit’s online offerings, with slight variations depending on the course objectives and approach.

Build-out 4b: Meshing core textbook assets with units.

Build-out 4c: Meshing activities, supporting content, etc. with media assets from core text.

Build-out 4d: Incorporate the additional readings to add depth and breadth to the course content. This may take place in Review 5 or 6 if the SME Collaborators are charged with recommending readings and texts.

Review 5: SME Collaborator #1 — this person complements the primary unit’s online course developer and subject matter expert. SME #1 may be a part of the unit, or an outside contractor / adjunct.

Build-out 5a: Add new SME perspective — develop lecture notes, online reserve articles, additional resources. Provide the SME with a checklist of tasks in order to assure consistency of performance and that he/she does not simply repeat work already done. Carefully define SME’s focus - for example, SME #1 may be asked to provide historical perspectives, a history of key ideas and developments, and an annotated bibliography of seminal works in the field, in addition to guiding questions, sidebar items, readings, etc.

Build-out 5b: SME provides guiding questions, sidebar items, focus / talking points, recommendations on readings / texts / online reserve articles.

Review 6: SME Collaborator #2 - as in the case of SME #1, this person supports the work of the point person in the department and unit-generated content / structure. This person builds on the core course foundation that includes the primary text. SME #2’s focus can be on making connections to current contemporary situations, settings, developments.

Build-out 6a: SME follows a checklist / guidelines sheet in order to accomplish specific tasks. The focus should be carefully defined and delineated so that the work provided creates depth and breadth, always building on the work of the unit point person, unit curriculum / content experts, and SME #1.

Build-out 6b: SME provides guiding questions, sidebar items, focus / talking points, recommendations on readings / texts / online reserve articles. These follow the focus set out in the checklist and guidelines.

Review 7: Instructional Designer / Information Technology Review: The course is reviewed to make sure that objectives are being met, and to suggest places for editing, revision, or expansion.

Review 8: Alignment with Institutional and Academic Vision and Mission. Stakeholders take a look to make sure that the course objectives, instructional strategies, and course content are in line with the institution’s vision and mission, both in terms of academics and in terms of access, etc.

Review 9: Academic Review Committee - The purpose of the academic review committee is not to second-guess or “correct” the work, but simply to take a look at it to make sure it conforms with the institution’s policies and procedures with respect to Best Practices.

Review 10: Final revision before putting into course template and the course management software.

Useful Video on Certificate Courses

Building Knowledge Communities Through Shared Online Quizzes

Published by Susan Smith Nash on March 28, 2007 in Online Learning. 0 Comments

Using social networking to develop, deploy, and share online quizzes could be a powerful way to build a knowledge community of students and educators, and to overcome the content limitations and passive learning problems often associated with quizzes.

According to educational psychologists, the problem with most quizzes is that they do not encourage active learning. Further, some test-makers focus on trick questions and they fail to cover all the instructional content. Thus, badly constructed quizzes do not really assess the knowledge they claim to be measuring.

If we reconceptualize that way that we use quizzes, there is a new, powerful paradigm just waiting to be applied to quizzes and quiz banks. If you’re thinking that this might be referring to the collaborative approach that would be found in a wiki, you would be close. What we’re really talking about is the paradigm of social networking which would employ the techniques found in MySpace, LiveJournal, webrings, blogs, iTunes, etc. Basically, we’re talking about anything syndicated with an RSS or Atom feed.

While there are repositories of learning objects that include test banks and quizzes, they do not employ the power of social networking, which includes syndication and the use of user-driven taxonomies (tag clouds or social bookmarks as used in del.icio.us).

This will change, however, as XplanaQuiz (http://www.xplanaquiz.com) takes the lead by creating a place where people can create, collaborate, and share. It is a new site, and will be constantly changing. Here’s how it is described:
XplanaQuiz is a public internet site available for publishing and viewing of assessment-based content. XplanaQuiz allows an educator to easily create and provide access to quizzes/activities. Each quiz has its own permanent URL, and each list is RSS-ready. One of the most important aspects of the site is not the quizzes but how users can access and find the content. Content is categorized by subject (predefined taxonomy), tagged by folksonomy, available via search and creator. For every conceivable topic, XplanaQuiz will possess an abundance of quizzes available for use as supplemental or primary instruction.
There are many benefits for those who choose to participate in the construction of a knowledge community and a social network for quizzes (and other learning objects and instructional material).

Learn to write better tests.
Incorporate Bloom’s Taxonomy (recall, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation).
Recalling memorized information.
Construction of schemata.

Encourage students to take the quizzes as practice exams.

Link the question to the concept that is illustrated by a graphic, video, or diagram.

Edit, revise, and share questions.

Link to downloadable e-book chapters.

Link to downloadable audio review.

Contextualize within a story, narrative, or case study.

Situate the quiz with a person’s experience or background.

Encourage critical thinking by using effective techniques.
Premise - Consequence.
Analogy.
Case study.
Incomplete scenario.
Problem / solution evaluation.

The idea of using social networks to share quizzes is exciting. It reflects a commitment to developing programs that acknowledge the behaviors that people really have, rather than trying to impose an alien or awkward one on them. In the end, having dynamic knowledge communities is extremely motivating and affirming to everyone who is involved.

Useful References

Dewey, R. A. (2006) Writing Multiple Choice Items which Require Comprehension. Retrieved from http://www.psywww.com/selfquiz/aboutq.htm on March 6, 2007.

Writing Multiple Choice Questions that Require Critical Thinking. (2006) Retrieved from http://cit.necc.mass.edu/atlt/TestCritThink.htm on March 6, 2007.