I hope it is going in the right direction and would love some feedback - the learning curve for me has been using these multi-media resources to document my learning.
Posting this presentation proved a challenge in itself - but I may be able to point Leigh in the direction of a great tool called "ispring" that converted my power point and audio to a .swf and then I could upload to slideboom!
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Congratulations! You've done a great job, Helen.
ReplyDeleteMy main comment as far as this plan is concerned for your assessment is that I think it's a tad too big, especially if you go on to implement it in the paper that follows this one. I don't know...you may disagree.
cool.. I knew about iSpring, but not that you could load it to slideboom.. great problem solving there Helen! This is a sure sign of proficiency using this stuff!!
ReplyDeleteRegarding the use of blogs.. I guess its no secret that I am a big fan of this approach, as it ensures the teacher and the students have full control, and are not held up or affected by administrators of learning management systems. Having said that though, there is a lot more research on the effective use of learning management systems then there are of blogs.. there are certainly a lot of accounts on various individual successes of using "blogs".. what I'm saying is, check it out as deeply as you can so you are prepared. I'm sure you will :) and I can see you have the motivation and creative skills to be able to learn quickly and on the fly.
Bare in mind that many of your colleagues, and many of your students may not readily appreciate some of the points you appreciate - such a open access, and the value of public blogs.. nor will they easily accept the use of readily available and free tools like blogger.. they'll tend to look for something more centralised and endorsed by the organisation - which is probably what attracted you to edublogs. My own investigations on edublogs revealed slow delivery of media.. a few seconds longer than blogger on average. Another thing to consider is, Edublogs is based on Wordpress.. and it is not as easy to back up as Blogger.. both have an export blog option, which quickly gives you a back up file of your blog ready for importing to another blogging platform. Blogger backups easily go into Wordpress, but Wordpress doesn't yet go into Blogger. This is a sustainability consideration. What will you do if Blogger becomes unavailable 2 years down the track? Same question for Edublogs..
More feedback later.. I've only watched the first 8minutes (I couldn't wait to see it) I have to run to a meeting now. Great job Helen.. you're cooking with gas, its great to see.
Hi Helen
ReplyDeleteThis is great to watch, very clear and interesting.
I agree with all your positives, students will own the work and an alternative method of study and I think it will bring real benefits. I would comment though that you are in effect adding to your workload in upskilling the students and in effect adding in curriculum so I wonder what you will adjust in time to avoid overload for both yourself and the students.
With regard to what form a blog will take, and which provider you might use, I note Leigh's comment above and I wonder if we need more information on such providers. Sara Stewart's blog, Sarah's musings, appears to have been created by a professional company and has all those tab bits at the top and useful columns down the side. An investment in such blog development might be useful at least for your central blog.
We also, I think, have to check out the true accessibility of adding in a requirement to access a computer but that is assumed for many course assessments anyway.
I have also been thinking about requiring students to blog for pathophysiology in nursing, and I also thought about giving them feedback but it struck me when you proposed it that it then makes their feedback public which they might not prefer.
Finally I think having a blog is a great start in developing an e-portfolio. If they begin this during the course it is something they can present to prospective employers (and also then something we might have to think about when we post feedback).
Well I'm of to the Ako Aotearoa presentation - funding, funding, funding!!
Cheers Ruth
btw.. these comments are beyond the scope and expectations of you in this course! I'm just interested in your plan.. and helping you with it beyond the limits of this course.. so don't freak out.. you're not expected to include all these considerations in your plan for the course.. but I would encourage you to investigate these things afterwards.. off to another meeting! will get to watch the rest yet...
ReplyDelete@Ruth.. there are ways to "blog" privately.. Facebook, Ning and Gro.ps are all more than blogging systems - but they have privacy settings within a group. If you want total privacy between you and each student.. Wordpress and Blogger both have private settings.. as does Blip.tv for video etc. This info is hard to find because it is not commonly used.
@Ruth. Sarah's blog in entirely her own work.. she took a free template from an online company giving away blog layouts for blogger. I'll get Sarah to drop in here and tell you about it..
ReplyDeleteYou said in your plan that you want feedback on blogger versus edublogs
ReplyDeleteI've used both Blogger and edublogs. Edublogs has a bigger range of templates which are quite easy to edit using the wordpress dashboard but lacks the cool gadgets of Blogger. Unless you use the "paid" version of edublogs (ie you become a supporter) you do get a lot of advertising posted all over your posts - in Blogger this is optional - which you can set up through adsense if you want the small income this generates (in edublogs it goes to the edublogs people). I've just moved back to Blogger because of all of the above and the fact that its easier to embed stuff like movies and podcasts in blogger. blogger is I think more beginner friendly too but that's just my opinion.
Well - thank you all for your comments - I got very excited when I saw them all! (although having an issue with email at work as I had set up for comments to be emailed and some have come and some haven't they disappeared into cyber space according to I.T)
ReplyDelete@Leigh - glad you couldn't wait - hope it was worth it!
@Ruth/Sarah/Dyzanna - thank you so much for taking time in your busy schedules to post feedback - I agree with you that it may be a bit too much work to start and I think I will have to take a step-by-step approach focussing on one area at a time.
I sometimes get a bit carried away - just thinking back to the sustainability and overloading thoughts we have discussed earlier.
@Leigh and Dyzanna - thanks for the information on Edublogs - I thought that might be the case with regard to having to pay for the "souped up" version;which is where blogger will probably be more useful.
@Leigh - glad I taught you something new!!
@Ruth (and Sarah)- I agree Sarah's blog looks like a real "pro" - it's so interactive.
@everyone - thanks again and good luck with planning
Helen:)
Hey everyone, thanks for your feedback about my blog - glad you think it looks 'professional'. Its as Leigh said, I took a template that had been edityied & played with it. I'll tell you now-it took bloody ages & was a real pain in the neck - not a job that newbie bloggers would be able to take on. Thats the only advantage (in my view) that wordpress has over blogger.
ReplyDeleteI think its really importnat that we don't all jump on the blogging bandwagon without reviewing the evidence. Having said that, the teachers I know who have used blogs have reported that students feel a lot more connected to the wider world & it is easier to present aletrnative media than in a LMS.
Hi Helen
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure who your audience is, but your slides have far too much information on them to hold most people's interest. They would be more effective with shorter statements or simplified diagrams that you can then add content to by speaking about them. Starting each slide off with a verbal statement that will engage people is important as some people will inevitably drift off between topics or between slide changes. Tracey.
Hi Tracey - Thankyou for the comment - I know what you mean about too much information on the slides - this presentation was for the course requirement only and not really for anyone outside the course. I will be adapting this for my presentation in some way I think.
ReplyDeleteHelen
Hi Helen,
ReplyDeletegreat plan and slide show, ( I have yet to discover the deights of making a slide show), reading your comments I feel our departments have a similar sert-up in that we teach practical subjects and have now found there is a variety of resources (social networking, wiki)waitng to be located (sifting thru all those bad clips on youtube) and set-up for our students to use.I have yet to do my plan but have very similar ideas to yours.
tracey.n.
Hi Helen
ReplyDeleteI just had a look at your presentation for the flexi learning course.
You’ve got some great ideas in there. I especially like your intended development of a video clip collaborative ‘library’ of techniques. That would be incredibly usful in your line of work. I also, really like the student journaling idea as a way to get the students reflecting on their experiences, and they can go to it whenever they want.
I noticed you had a Weekly Assessment task in there where students were to post (correct me if I’m wrong) answers to various questions. I’m curious as to how you could prevent “copycatting” going on. Is it possible to hide the answers on their blog so that only you can see it, or is this something that you’re not too bothered about? Perhaps I’ve misinterpreted.
I liked your point about having access to the information after they have finished the course, that could be of great value to students when they are out their in the work force.
Great ideas Helen,
Gary
Thanks Gary - still not sure of the what and how re weekly assessment - I think it may be better to email me their answers - or - I think that a blog can be set up with answers only viewable to invited people - like privacy screeing maybe - need a bit more thinking on that!!
ReplyDeleteHi Helen, I think you had some great ideas. Such as why the blog would be useful for students as an extra resource if they missed a class. My question is would people miss classes because they know they can pick it up later online? Would this have an affect on the dynamic of the group if people do not show up?
ReplyDeleteGreat use of technology I have yet to use all these wonderful tools so I admire you have used them. Links to utube and your awareness of what needs to be explored is great.
Hi Helen
ReplyDeleteI watched the presentation and really valued the ideas that you have. I am not based in Dunedin so I like your idea of using the Blog but recognise that technology changes quickly.
I have had students preferring not to attend for a one lecture only, especially if they have a 3 hour return trip and some of the roads vulnerable to black ice. So the concept of alternative venues when learning and on line activity/audio recordings are are attractive.
@michelle - thanks for the comments - yes this is a fear I have that students may not come to class because the work is available on line - However; as Leigh posted in an earlier comment - if the classes are fun and exciting they will come - and if they aren't maybe that's something that needs looking at!
ReplyDelete@Hilary - thank you for your comments - I agree that technology is changing so quickly I feel already behind the ball so to speak - this course has certainly opened my eyes to other methods of delivery that could enhance the students learning - and I'm sure in 12 months time there will be something else that we can use to help with flexibilty of learning delivery.
Helen this is a very tidy presentation with a good explanation of the approaches you are planning to take with your students. The use of a programme blog and individual course blogs is an interesting way to provide information for the subjects you teach. It was not clear whether individual students would each keep a blog as well, but this was the impression I got when viewing your presentation, and you confirmed this in the workshop. A blog would certainly be a good way to get them to develop their writing skills for engaging in this form of reflective practice. It will be a good way for them to share information with each other as well, and give each other feedback. As you mentioned, students will need quite a lot of support to get started and this can be built into the beginning of the course. As Ruth mentions you will need to think smart so yours and the students' workloads are kept manageable. Think about how this approach can integrate several things you already do so you can save time. For example, online quizzes can be set up so they are self-marking and students receive feedback on their answers from the computer.
ReplyDeleteIt is a good example of a way to introduce flexibility into your courses. However some more information is needed in your flexible learning plan. The way in which your plan addresses considerations for access & equity, sustainability and cultural sensitivity have not been mentioned. You can add this material to your blog with your responses to any other feedback you get. More explanation on this follows.
Items to address
Some things it would be good to see addressed on your blog, regarding your plan is some clarification around the following, and if you have already written about these items on your blog, please provide links to the relevant posts and explain how it fits with your plan. Also on what sort of learning theory are you basing your plan - prescriptive, constructivist, reflective etc. as we mentioned in the workshop.
Please explain a bit more how the use of a course and programme blog and other ideas in your planned design for flexible learning will do the following:
1. increase access and equity for students (how it improves teaching and learning, helps the diverse needs of students - learning preferences, styles etc.);
2. why it is sustainable (workload - students and teachers, cost-effective to set-up, run and maintain), and
3. how this approach will meet considerations for cultural sensitivity (international, Maori and Pasifika students, different learning preferences, adult learners etc.).
This is a very long post so I will add further suggestions you might like to think about on a second one.
Further suggestions for your plan
ReplyDeleteIt would be useful to help them develop their skills in reflection through the use of a framework. Remember that the Three-Step Reflective Framework I showed you can be modified to suit. Or you could use something like Kolb's reflective cycle. A blog kept for a course can certainly turn into a professional blog, and as you mentioned in the workshop, will enable the students to continue using a reflective approach to their work once the course finishes. A blog is a great way to help students own their learning and to engage actively. There is quite a thrill when you see your own video on YouTube or photos on Flickr.com or presentations on Slideshare.net or Myplick.com isn't there? I hope you will also continue to keep a professional blog as this would be a great buzz for your students.
Perhaps your blog could be on your thoughts about topical material which comes up in the news. The course blog could contain announcements and links to information, video clips, photos, audio specific to the weekly course topics.
It is a great idea to have information on a blog so students can catch up if they missed a face-to-face session. It is also a great way to be able to review material after the f2f sessions. Have you thought about using the course blog for announcements and perhaps regular podcasts (video and audio) so they look forward to going to the blog regularly to look at the new and exciting material each week, rather just when they want to catch up. I am sure there is a lot of topical material in your subjects with items which come up in the news. I know you have been quite excited to put up new material for this course so your enthusiasm for showing material will be a great motivator for your students if you do the same thing in your courses. If you have your podcasts in a suitable format, that is one which is portable - video or audio (mp3) -students will be able to download the material on to their cellphone or ipod for viewing at anytime and anywhere without having to rely on a computer.
One thing you could encourage them to do is to send material from their cellphones straight to their blogs. For example photos or video clips can be taken using a mobile phone and sent directly to a blog. You can also send photos directly to Flickr.com. I am not sure about sending videos directly to blip.tv.com or Youtube. If you want to encourage the students to develop an online portfolio, another way in addition or instead of a blog, is by using a web-based application called VOX. (Selena Chan whom you mentioned in the workshop gets her students to use this facility.)
Thanks for all the feedback Bronwyn - as you may have noticed I had posted a new version with notes just before I got all your helpful information so I am now checking to make sure I have it all covered for Friday!
ReplyDeleteHi Helen
ReplyDeleteThank you for being so totally organised in having your plan on line so that we who are chasing our tails can learn from your example.
Wow you really have got your head around the technology stuff, so much to learn from your blog, presentation and the feedback it has inspired - I think the sharing of miscellaneous information is one of the most exciting attribtes of blogging.
I am interested in this idea around fear that students might not show up for face to face sessions if the material is available on Line. I certainly have been there in honesty I still am but I'm trying to edge my way out of this fear - What does it matter if students don't turn up to face to face? If they are accessing the material they need and meeting course requirements why should they need to turn up? I wonder if this more about our needs as teachers than it is about there needs as students? Interesting food for thought?
Cheers
Jenny