I'm in London this week...LOVE this city! I was in Italy earlier this year and in preparation for the two week trip I looked to podcasts (History of Rome by Mike Duncan - free) as a way of boosting my historical knowledge, especially about Ceasar, and to Radio Lingua (http://radiolingua.com/) to boost my Italian. These podcasts combined with a few maps (GPS in the rental car) and comments on tripadvisor.com which is essentially a blog, were all I needed. The combination of the stories, the language and the other traveller's insights helped me plan a great trip. The abundance of online options to help you learn, get up to speed is so valuable and now can be done from my phone. The just-in-time learning is so invaluable these days. My last job was running corporate training and we based classes on general needs seen through the business, but they were all face-to-face with some reference sheets you could pull down as needed. There was a need for more just in time training that wasn't being met.
As I plan for my final project which is designed to be corporate training, I'm trying to combine an interactive online form of training with just-in-time tools. It's a challenge to get the balance right. This class has really opened my eyes to new possibilities, but I now realize how much more there is to learn and explore.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Post Thanksgiving...
I was just reading through Social Media for Adult Online Learners & Educators - it is interesting to read about the adult learner...how they have time limitations, want their knowledge to be accessed, and have fears in online learning. Especially after our discussion last week on generational differences, it does feel, to me, that it's a race to keep up with all the latest technology that some of my younger counterparts take for granted and use with ease. I can barely keep track of the little technology I use (Facebook, LinkedIn, 3 emails) and it seems daunting to think that I could be a savvy online teacher with all the new technologies out there. I suppose the approach is to do a little at a time...so as not to overwhelm and give up completely. So, this afternoon...I may look into second life...something I've never seen before.
It's a challenge though...I'm borrowing a computer as mine just crashed this weekend. And, of course, I hadn't backed it up in a long time.
It's a challenge though...I'm borrowing a computer as mine just crashed this weekend. And, of course, I hadn't backed it up in a long time.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Planning Your Online Course
The title of my post this week is the same as the chapter we read for class. It is time again to put together a group presentation and this time, we aren't quite as organized as we were last time...but then, I think we are more comfortable as a team and with our expectations of what must be accomplished for the allotted time.
There were some fabulous quotes in the text this week. My favorite was:
"Imitating paper on a computer screen is like tearing the wings off a 747 and using it as a bus on the highway." (Ted Nelson, 1999)
I think my initial inclination when starting a new assignment for this class is to outline the class in ppt slides - like a presentation. But then I stop and think about what needs to change to make this relevant for the learners I'll be speaking to. I suppose that would be the same for an instructor led training (ILT) (face-to-face) class as well (e.g. where to incorporate exercises)...but consideration of the different environment does mean simply not translating an ILT class to online. This chapter had very useful points on what needs to be considered (generational cohorts, concept mapping/storyboards, learning styles, teacher styles and especially packaging).
Another quote I liked was, "Designers must do two seemingly contradictory things at the same time: They must design for perfection, and they must design as though errors are inevitable. And they must do the second without compromising the first." (Bob Colwell 2002)
As we all have experienced...errors - and particularly technical issues - make it difficult to design for perfection. It's also hard to make the perfect presentation, because there are so many variables in the audience (as mentioned above - learning styles, generational cohorts - to name a couple). As noted in the text, you must incorporate many different approaches and some will have more impact on your audience than others...so it'll never be perfect, unless you have an audience of clones.
At the end of the chapter there are a list of several other quotes. I feel that the quote "The most powerful designs are always the result of a continuous process of simplification and refinement." (Kevin Mullet & Darrel Sano 1995). I definitely prefer simple and strive for this...but it does take many iterations for me to get to a point where I'm satisfied. I'm already slow at building online learning, so going the extra steps to simplify often takes more time than I have. But I try to do at least one or two passes on simplification.
"Tell me, and I'll forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I'll understand." (Chinese proverb). I love this quote as participation is my learning style. But, student involvement is definitely a key for both ILT and especially online as the teacher doesn't have the body language in which to determine if students are listening and learning.
And...I'll leave you with one more which I found an AMAZING vision..."Someday, in the distant future, our grandchildren's grandchildren will develop a new equivalent of our classrooms. They will spend many hours in front of boxes with fires glowing within. May they have the wisdom to know the difference between light and knowledge." (Plato)
There were some fabulous quotes in the text this week. My favorite was:
"Imitating paper on a computer screen is like tearing the wings off a 747 and using it as a bus on the highway." (Ted Nelson, 1999)
I think my initial inclination when starting a new assignment for this class is to outline the class in ppt slides - like a presentation. But then I stop and think about what needs to change to make this relevant for the learners I'll be speaking to. I suppose that would be the same for an instructor led training (ILT) (face-to-face) class as well (e.g. where to incorporate exercises)...but consideration of the different environment does mean simply not translating an ILT class to online. This chapter had very useful points on what needs to be considered (generational cohorts, concept mapping/storyboards, learning styles, teacher styles and especially packaging).
Another quote I liked was, "Designers must do two seemingly contradictory things at the same time: They must design for perfection, and they must design as though errors are inevitable. And they must do the second without compromising the first." (Bob Colwell 2002)
As we all have experienced...errors - and particularly technical issues - make it difficult to design for perfection. It's also hard to make the perfect presentation, because there are so many variables in the audience (as mentioned above - learning styles, generational cohorts - to name a couple). As noted in the text, you must incorporate many different approaches and some will have more impact on your audience than others...so it'll never be perfect, unless you have an audience of clones.
At the end of the chapter there are a list of several other quotes. I feel that the quote "The most powerful designs are always the result of a continuous process of simplification and refinement." (Kevin Mullet & Darrel Sano 1995). I definitely prefer simple and strive for this...but it does take many iterations for me to get to a point where I'm satisfied. I'm already slow at building online learning, so going the extra steps to simplify often takes more time than I have. But I try to do at least one or two passes on simplification.
"Tell me, and I'll forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I'll understand." (Chinese proverb). I love this quote as participation is my learning style. But, student involvement is definitely a key for both ILT and especially online as the teacher doesn't have the body language in which to determine if students are listening and learning.
And...I'll leave you with one more which I found an AMAZING vision..."Someday, in the distant future, our grandchildren's grandchildren will develop a new equivalent of our classrooms. They will spend many hours in front of boxes with fires glowing within. May they have the wisdom to know the difference between light and knowledge." (Plato)
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Impact of online learning
One thing stuck out for me in the reading this week. The article Characteristics of Interactive Online Learning Media mentioned: "A worrying finding in relation to technology and literacy is the suggestion that extensive technology use early in life may inhibit reading later."
I found this interesting for a couple of reasons...
1) In my family, I have a brother (Jr) who is 12 years younger and was raised very differently from me and my other brother (4 years junior). Reading was never promoted for Jr. He spent a lot of time playing video games and watching TV. He wasn't read to often either and when he got to school, he hated reading and was always behind the rest of his class. As an adult, he avoids reading books. My other brother and I were read to, encouraged to read, built images around the words that we read. As an adult, I do consume a lot of movies, but I also read quite a bit as well and thoroughly enjoy the experience. Jr. was just one example, but if the finding above is correct, it will be a different world for learners.
2) I wonder if publishing will become obsolete and everything will be technology based. I suppose for those who grow up in they won't know the difference, won't realize the benefit of holding a book. But, as one who still loves to get a letter over just email...I hope there's a place for both. I appreciate the ease and speed of email, but cherish the well written letter as well. And what happens if the technology breaks down...! Interestingly, a friend of ours who's son is 3 and has his own laptop, prefers to be read to from a book than from his father's Kindle.
-lp
I found this interesting for a couple of reasons...
1) In my family, I have a brother (Jr) who is 12 years younger and was raised very differently from me and my other brother (4 years junior). Reading was never promoted for Jr. He spent a lot of time playing video games and watching TV. He wasn't read to often either and when he got to school, he hated reading and was always behind the rest of his class. As an adult, he avoids reading books. My other brother and I were read to, encouraged to read, built images around the words that we read. As an adult, I do consume a lot of movies, but I also read quite a bit as well and thoroughly enjoy the experience. Jr. was just one example, but if the finding above is correct, it will be a different world for learners.
2) I wonder if publishing will become obsolete and everything will be technology based. I suppose for those who grow up in they won't know the difference, won't realize the benefit of holding a book. But, as one who still loves to get a letter over just email...I hope there's a place for both. I appreciate the ease and speed of email, but cherish the well written letter as well. And what happens if the technology breaks down...! Interestingly, a friend of ours who's son is 3 and has his own laptop, prefers to be read to from a book than from his father's Kindle.
-lp
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Reflections on the weeks reading
I found a disconnect in the writing for both of our weekly readings (Addressing Diversity in Design of Online Courses and Identity in Online Education). Both articles started out strong, one with a discussion of diversity and it's definition and the other with online identity...but by the end of the articles, I felt like I'd picked up a completely different topic.
In Addressing Diversity in Design of Online Courses, the topic of individualistic vs. collectivist cultures was fascinating. I've been aware of the attributes at some level given the amount of travel/living abroad I've done, but I enjoyed seeing it spelled out in the article. However, the quick conclusion at the end of using a variety of online tools to address diversity seemed jarring to me and too tidy an ending for the article. I would have much preferred a summary about how diversity issues will be minimized with more social networking (moving toward the globalization effect) or a discussion of better tools for better groups (if applicable).
The second article, Identity in Online Education, I enjoyed reading even more. I think it is interesting that online, you can create a different persona than the one you show in face to face environments. An example of this is my boyfriend's use of an avatar in playing WOW. He's a black man born and raised in the South Bronx and yet no one in his group of players has any idea...recently someone in his guild was making rather racist jokes. He finds it fascinating insight into people from all over the US. But...back to my point...this article also had a disconnect for me when it jumped to online learning in British Colombia and then ePortfolios. I suppose there is a tie between online identity and creating an ePortfolio...but I would've been much more interested in a tie in with diversity...or a more fleshed out discussion of online identity and secondary online education - what are the risks?
In any case, both articles gave me much to chew on.
-lp
In Addressing Diversity in Design of Online Courses, the topic of individualistic vs. collectivist cultures was fascinating. I've been aware of the attributes at some level given the amount of travel/living abroad I've done, but I enjoyed seeing it spelled out in the article. However, the quick conclusion at the end of using a variety of online tools to address diversity seemed jarring to me and too tidy an ending for the article. I would have much preferred a summary about how diversity issues will be minimized with more social networking (moving toward the globalization effect) or a discussion of better tools for better groups (if applicable).
The second article, Identity in Online Education, I enjoyed reading even more. I think it is interesting that online, you can create a different persona than the one you show in face to face environments. An example of this is my boyfriend's use of an avatar in playing WOW. He's a black man born and raised in the South Bronx and yet no one in his group of players has any idea...recently someone in his guild was making rather racist jokes. He finds it fascinating insight into people from all over the US. But...back to my point...this article also had a disconnect for me when it jumped to online learning in British Colombia and then ePortfolios. I suppose there is a tie between online identity and creating an ePortfolio...but I would've been much more interested in a tie in with diversity...or a more fleshed out discussion of online identity and secondary online education - what are the risks?
In any case, both articles gave me much to chew on.
-lp
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Prep for Learning Team 1 Presentation
Ben and I are on the same team, so for those of you who've read his blog, I'd like to reiterate that it was an extremely iterative process which, I think, has yielded a good result. We all had done some of our own prep work individually, so when we met to work on the project we immediately jumped in with our ideas. We took pieces of everyone's ideas in the end. The collaboration definitely boosted my level of creativity!
It is ironic that we met face-to-face to work out our online presentation, and we all felt that it was the fastest and most effective way to figure out what we wanted to do. Perhaps this is just because we are still neophyte online learners/practitioners. At least that's true for myself.
It's a bit of a learning curve for me at the moment. Besides this class, I'm working on a short term consulting project where my consulting colleagues are in Germany and the UK. The client is in California and Switzerland. Everything we do is via email, skype and Huddle. The final project is face-to-face, but all the prep work is virtual. One of the solutions we want to offer to the team is how to work better virtually. At least we're practicing that first hand.
It is ironic that we met face-to-face to work out our online presentation, and we all felt that it was the fastest and most effective way to figure out what we wanted to do. Perhaps this is just because we are still neophyte online learners/practitioners. At least that's true for myself.
It's a bit of a learning curve for me at the moment. Besides this class, I'm working on a short term consulting project where my consulting colleagues are in Germany and the UK. The client is in California and Switzerland. Everything we do is via email, skype and Huddle. The final project is face-to-face, but all the prep work is virtual. One of the solutions we want to offer to the team is how to work better virtually. At least we're practicing that first hand.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Getting started!
Today is my first day blogging. Never done it before. A little concerned that it's out in the open. While I don't mind taking on leadership roles, I've always prefered to be the support in the background...the stage crew instead of the actor. Which reminds me of my first improv class...wow! that was tough!
I'm going to keep this short as I have so much reading to do for my classes today. I love taking classes again - school has definitely changed since I got my graduate degree 12 years ago! I managed to find and figure out the electronic blackboard...and then I lost it again! Why does NYU have two systems???? But I'm excited about my classes, particularly the eLearning which I've wanted to take for awhile. And, I just so happen to be working on an intense consulting project where I'm going to be able to pull from all three of the classes which will bring them to life for me and embed the learning even more.
Off to the couch to read!
I'm going to keep this short as I have so much reading to do for my classes today. I love taking classes again - school has definitely changed since I got my graduate degree 12 years ago! I managed to find and figure out the electronic blackboard...and then I lost it again! Why does NYU have two systems???? But I'm excited about my classes, particularly the eLearning which I've wanted to take for awhile. And, I just so happen to be working on an intense consulting project where I'm going to be able to pull from all three of the classes which will bring them to life for me and embed the learning even more.
Off to the couch to read!
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