I’m looking forward to the Madison Distance Learning Conference. This is a great DL conference for me. The setting is great and I’m looking forward to the exchange of ideas and challenges we all seem to be facing. This year I will be facilitating another half-day workshop on Aug 6th called “Improving online course design.” Last year I tried to find out as much as I could about the participants in my workshop before the conference started. You’d be surprised how much is available on the Internet. This information helped me to focus my presentation. This year I am planning on reaching out to the participants with a survey to see if I can focus our work shop even more on their needs and expectations. I sent out a welcome to the participants and shared with them my delicious account (http://del.icio.us/edbowen) and this blog site.

The first session I attended was

Getting Distance Administrators to Make Time for Web 2.0

Jason Huett, University of West Georgia
Kimberly Huett, University of West Georgia

Their presentation and some resources can be found at: dla2008.wikispaces.com Spot on discussion about where we are today with the use of Web2.0 tools.

Here are two web sites that I think contribute to the discussion:

1. Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy (http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/space/showimage/bloom’s+Digital+taxonomy+v2.1.pdf)
This link connects to an updated version of Bloom’s taxonomy and provids some guidance as to how web 2.0 tools may be used in the classroom. Written by Andrew Churches.

2. Top 100 Tools for Learning Spring 2008 Summary PDF (http://c4lpt.co.uk/recommended/pdf.html)
This document categorizes the different types of Web2.0 tools being used by 150 instructors.

The second session I attended was

Spotlighting the Often Ignored Area of Online Student Services: Five Initiatives Your College Can Use

Debi Moon, Georgia Perimeter College
Catherine Binuya, Georgia Perimeter College
Stephanie Wright, Georgia Perimeter College

This presentation was based on a paper which may be available from Catherine Binuya (cbinuya@gpc.edu)

One of the more interesting components of this presentation was the use of a “Student Success Backpack” which is
available at http://www.gpc.edu/online/techpack/techpack.htm.

The last session I attended on the first day was:

Mash-ups and their Potential to Change the Face of Academia
John Krutsch, Utah Valley State College

Anyone that knows John knows that you are in for a treat when he presents. He was kind enough to share his presentation. It can be found at http://www.ttix.org. John does as excellent job of engaging the audience in an extremely timely topic. I have put him on my google alert site to stay in touch with his work. A mashup is a web application that combines data from more that one source into a single integrated tool. It embraces some aspects of constructivism (www.funderstanding.com/constructivism.cfm) & connectivism (see www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm).
Another interesting website that stays in touch with like-minded concepts is readwriteweb.com/.

During the presentation I was reminded of the work that Steve Knode is doing. (www.steveknode.com/) I met him at a Sloan-C conference where he made a presentation called “Find, Filter, Fuse.” Although he takes a more technology look at the challenge of fusing (mashing) information he provides a valuable contact with what’s happening in technology. Be sure to look at  www.steveknode.com/news_updates.htm.

DAY TWO

Fishbowl Dialogue Session: Assessing Your Online Program
Edward C. Bowen, Dallas TeleCollege

This fishbowl session explored the assessments points in evaluating the quality of online programs.

Information technology is promoting fundamental changes in how we teach and learn. American schools have embraced
distance learning tools to enhance students’ educational opportunities. With virtually all schools now linked to the Internet, states, districts, and individual schools are increasingly adopting online courses to expand their curricula.

The appeal of online courses is evident: they can increase the range of course offerings available to all students as well as provide educational access to special students. In addition, they provide an alternative method of instruction, one that adults are increasingly using for both professional and personal development. The number of students participating in online courses is large and growing dramatically.

The characteristics of effective online courses at the college level have been identified in documents published by the
National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the Sloan-C Foundation, Educause, and the regional accreditation bodies to name a few. .

Potential areas of examination include: curriculum and instruction, institution’s role and mission, faculty support,
resources for learning, students and student services, commitment to support, and evaluation and assessment.

Often the strengths in one component are held back by deficiencies in another component. To gain a better understanding of these challenges we will explore a framework to evaluate the components of a successful online program and examine examples of quality in these components. At a minimum we will explore course design, faculty preparedness, and students’ services. We will address some of the following questions”

What training do faculty members need to be successful in online teaching?
What preparation do students need to be successful online learners?
What are the online student services needed to support distance education and how do you measure quality?
What is good online course design?

In this session participants noted or made comments on the following:

1. “Student feedbacks after taking multiple online courses.”
2. “Needs assessment pre course design” Overall program assessment.”
3. “Students stopping/dropping out — students may not be honest about their reasons — could assess risk factors on front end & help students stay in (proactive). Student services could follow up with those who drop out – Why?”
4. “Mid-term (formative evaluation) in Assoc program. Faculty review of course outcomes & assessments.”
5. “What areas need assessments? Variety of formats offered (open entry, open exit)”
6. “Needs assessment of the technology being used – is it appropriate. Why assess distance courses/programs with the assumption that on-campus courses/programs are perfect?”
7. “Where assess. needed (more) student services, library services, especially for students with disabilities.”
8. “Quality of course design. Regular effective student/student/Instructor contacts.”
9. “Remember that giving students more latitude in determining course design/format/etc. . . may eliminate choices; – student-to-student interaction, – self-paced format is less feasible: the dialogue between students in 1st &
last week of course may be of little value. When to assess? Depends on what you want? – opening assessment identifies gap. – end of course assesses perceived learning – 1-2 years later assesses applied learning
Discussions appear to indicate the area that most concerns them:
satisfaction/attrition, learning, technology, etc.”
10. “Instructors should introduce themselves by introducing their passion for subject matter. 1. One area assessment needs to be done – navigation”
11. “At the end of the program from the student’s point of view.”

Some possible resources for assessing distance learning programs are:

1. Quality Matters (addresses online course design) (www.qualitymatters.org)
2. Online Instructor Competencies (www.ion.illinois.edu/resources/pointersclickers/2006_11/index.asp)
3. Online student services – Beyond the Administrative Core: Creating Web-based Student Services for Online Learners (www.wiche.edu/Telecom/projects/laap/index.htm)

Fishbowl Dialogue Session Summary:

Flying Monkeys: Creative Ways to Support Students and Faculty

Dr.Heather Gibbons, Brenau University

Tuesday, June 24, 11:00 – 11:45 AM

Virtual faculty retreat: Host a retreat over a week’s time where faculty may join in discussion and/or view pre-recorded presentations during a 48-hour period.

Skype: FREE audio and video phone calls within the U.S. If you haven’t tried it, you’re really missing an opportunity for both faculty and student face-to-face.

Tokbox: Embed video in an email to your students for feedback on major assignments.

Constant Contact: Newsletter templates for keeping faculty and/or students informed.

Social Bookmarking: Share your favorite websites and interesting articles you find with others using tools like Delicious.com and others.

Gabcast:In addition to recording messages for your students via telephone, you may choose to email and text the messages.

ITC: 1-hour audio conferences. $25 for TWO MONTHS for non-members

Sloan-C: Training model for faculty development.

Online Faculty Handbook Online Blackboard Basics class for students to show them how to use the tools
available.

ClearText: Bb building block is a texting tool within the platform.

Instant Messaging: Require all faculty to have a particular IM program (e.g., AOL) and to provide their user name as part of their contract information. Students like to use it.

Fishbowl Dialogue Session Summary:

The Challenges of Scaling Online Programs at Traditional Institutions

Peter Shapiro, SunGard Higher Education/Bergen Community College

Tuesday, June 24, 1:00 – 1:45 PM

The group discussed online courses design and facilitation; how the programs are currently supported and structured in the context of the institution and its need to expand capability. While it wasn’t possible to answer all of our questions in a quick session, we shared experiences and looked at the similarities between them.Whether it is reluctant faculty, department chairs & administrators, or bringing the late majority on board with the technology, appropriately framing the reasons for growth is critical so these stakeholder groups will work with you instead of placing barriers in your path.

Whether it is best to centralize your services, change organizational structure or tighten reporting lines, by turning the conversation to serving students, to aligning plans with the mission, vision and goals of the institution, one establishes a credible approach to the expansion of online courses and programs.

A few helpful resources on the subject:

Ives, S. K. (2006). Community colleges and distance learning. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 10(3), 85-92.

Maloney, J. F. & Oakley III, B. (2006). Scaling online education: Increasing access to higher education. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 10(3), 19-34.

Paolucci, R., & Gambescia, S. F. (2007). Current administrative structures used for online degree program offerings in higher education. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 10(3), 85-92.

Schiffman, S., Vignare, K., & Geith, B. (2007). Why do higher-education institutions pursue online education? Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 11(2), 61-71.

Peter J. Shapiro, Ph.D. * Coordinator, Center for Instructional Technology * Bergen Community College * SunGard Higher Education * 400 Paramus Road, Paramus NJ 07652 * Tel 201-612-5574 * Fax 201-612-6710 *

pshapiro@bergen.edu * www.bergen.edu/cit

DAY 3

Keynote:Learning From Our Worst Practices

Dr.Myk Garn

He started by citing the book: Innovations Dilemma —Clayton Christiansen Disruptive Innovations e.g., Café Scribe allow us to learn by failing first  Action precedes interaction

Start,learn, and try again / learning then planning / we must fail faster

Plan to fail: start small / discovery based learning / people like to feel smarter / your success depends on your failure

Fire – Ready – Aim

Open source coming in under the higher ed business model

Closing Keynote, Dr. Myk Garn, gave a nice talk, with powerful images (he was a photography instructor), about learning from our worst practices. He enhanced his presentation with mistake testimonials from the attendants. Good fun, and certainly good lessons learned.

Dr. Garn has a website: worstpractices.org.
“Learning to fail in an organized manner” — I like that.

He recommended The Innovator’s Dilemma and talked some about sustaining vs disruptive innovations. Or more of a “Fire – Ready – Aim” approach?

The Internet is a powerful transformer – and a powerful distracter – as these scenarios underscore. In their new book Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns,Clayton Christensen, Michael B. Horn, and Curtis W. Johnson, point out that we cannot respond to disruptive innovations in the ways we respond to changes that sustain past paradigms. We must embrace disruption to discover the new order of learning. New delivery models that enable open-source, mass-customization. Instead of sending one (and the same) message to every student, we must enable custom messages that engage every student individually. And new paradigms of
learning that are not just student-centric but are student-directed. Solving these koans is at the heart of transforming – some would say saving – our educational enterprise. (http://www.wcet.info/2.0/index.php?q=node/844)

]]> http://bowene.edublogs.org/2008/06/23/dladmin208/feed/ 1 http://bowene.edublogs.org/2008/03/25/txdla-2008/ http://bowene.edublogs.org/2008/03/25/txdla-2008/#comments Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:34:29 +0000 higher"ed" http://bowene.edublogs.org/2008/03/25/txdla-2008/ During the 2008 TxDLA Conference I presented a session titled, “Online Instructor Competencies – It’s About Time”

How is it possible to discuss professional development or training without competencies? Are we there yet? Come explore and discuss some of the issues involved (purpose of competencies, faculty support and buy-in, categorization, choice of competencies, up-dating, implementation, and how to measure competence). This is an inter-active session.

The powerpoint presentation is attached.

online-faculty-competencies-txdla.pdf

During the last session of the conference I facilitated a session called, “It’s A Wrap.” Below are the ppts from that session.

It’s A Wrap

Resources For OnlineFaculty

Improving Course Design

Presentation Slides

I have posted my slides from the eLearning 2008 Conference above. Please add your comments, thoughts, and resources.

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