Webquests

I believe the true value of the Webquest for learning and teaching is that it can be used in both ways. Webquests allow students and teachers alike to gain information about topics through activities. Through these interactive activities for students to be interactive and gain insight on many different aspects of internet research. They also gain insight on each individual topics which can be fun and interactive to do.

These types of exercises keep students interested which in turn they learn more. It also gives a chance for teachers to try different ways of teaching students, which will allow them to really learn as well as have fun learning. I truly believe that the more you enjoy your class, the more you learn your subject in that class. So by allowing teachers to try new things, such as webquests, it gives them a chance to see what works and what doesn't with their students

Discussion boards

One thing I believe is a great benefit of offering discussion boards as part of an online class is that it allows for students to really have open discussions about their topics with other students in the class. It helps them to understand the topics being discussed and help each other out as well.

If I was a teacher I would probably have a discussion board available for students to post questions and comments as well as have a night of open discussions where students could come and discuss a topic they wished to learn more about or wished to discuss more about. I would also use it as a question and answer period where I would also be online for students to get extra help from me.

A problem I think teachers might find with providing this is that students would end up just using it as a regular chat and not for class purposes. I also think that teachers would have difficulty controlling the content of which would go on these discussion boards, which would end up being useless.

Google.. the worlds greatest thing!

Google is one of the greatest inventions ever. It is so great in fact that, that when people ask to find something they don't even say search it, they use the term "Google it". It is easy to navigate and usually by just typing in one word you can find millions of articles or things relating to the topic your looking for. I have found that with other search engines, such as msn or yahoo, I am not able to find things that I am looking for. Even when I am looking for journal articles, if I go to Google scholar I can find everything! Who ever was the mind behind Google is a genius! I would have never though 10 years ago there would be some place where I could look on the internet and find anything that I am looking for on any topic I am looking for. I would recommend to everyone to really go in and look at what the Google search engine has to offer, because one day it might come in handy.

I found a funny little video about Google that you might all find interesting.... enjoy!!!

Online testing.. what a great thing!

Online assessment is a great new innovation for students. It is great to be able to have some flexibility with writing exams especially when a student have a busy schedule and have two exams on the same day. It allows for them to be able to balance their schedules. My experience with webct as an online assessment has been very good. I enjoy the flexibility of writing my tests over a period of time. I enjoy this because sometimes I have many things due on the same day and therefore find myself overwhelmed with work if they are all due on the same day. So with being able to write some tests online over a period of time I can manage my time better and allows me more time to study for my exams. The environment of writing webct exams is still very structured but not as stressful as a classroom exam, though there are invigilators in the testing center.

Even in the readings “Online Assessments” it talks about how online assessments are being used by Australian universities as it helps with diversifying assessment tasks. They also talk about how the increase in the use of technology allows for the adaptation of this new way of assessment. I think that more professors should really start adapting to this way of testing as I think it will give students a lot more flexibility to writing their tests and more time to study if need be.

Online Assessments are also ways students can practice for their tests, with online practice tests for all their chapters. I found a neat video link that talks about online assessments in different countries that are actually helping school kids enjoy!

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=8856826325487604217&q=online+assessment&total=221&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

Learning objectives

The learning objectives tutorial found at http://www.eduworks.com/LOTT/Tutorial/index.html was an awesome website to really get an idea of what learning objectives was all about.

One thing that I learnt on this website which I thought was cool was “SCORM” the shareable Content Objective Reference Model. It showed me how SCORM was used and how it is packaged and how it is used. It discussed topics like LMS ( which is the learning management systems) which I had never known about and discussed more in detail of what was the so great about SCORM.

This website also discussed the prose of and cons of learning objectives in relations with production costs, flexibility, pedagogy, end user cost and industry support. For someone who is not an ED student this was really interesting to see how things are happening now a day’s with online learning and the learning objectives that must be given to the student and the process one must undergo to get it done.

Podcasts.. learning of the 21st century

Podcasts are probably one of the most efficient ways to enhance online learning for online classes. This allows for students to hear their professors and maybe even see them, if the professors creates a video with the podcast, giving them a sense of who the teacher is, what they sound like and making them more familiar then just someone with whom you correspond through email. It gives a familiarity aspect to the whole atmosphere of online learning.

Another really great thing about podcasts is it allows for students to listen to the podcast as many times as they would like. Which gives many of them a chance to really understand what the professor is talking about and maybe pause the podcast if they have something they need to write down and don’t want to miss out on anything the professor is saying. This is a very cool thing, because you don’t always get the chance to revisit what the professor is teaching and sometimes end up missing out on some key concepts as you were paying attention to another thing which was said earlier.

Text Processing

Text processing is crucial to my online learning. If things are too small or two crowded on a screen it makes it hard for me to read and follow what is happening on the screen. I personally usually just print off the pages which I have to read if they are more then 2-3 pages online, as I find I can’t stare at the screen for too long. I also highlight the sections which helps me to follow along on the page which gives me a better understanding of the content.

If things aren’t clear on a screen ( ie text too small) or things are hard to navigate through ( can’t find the buttons to go to the next page, then I find that I am more concerned with getting through the page then actually reading the information on the page and I don’t learn much at all. I truly believe that text processing is key for any individuals learning if they are learning anything on the web and those who are creating the website should really make sure that they know how to properly make a website, otherwise they will loose their audience really quickly

SDL a cool new way to look at learning

The article “A conceptual Model For understanding Self Directed Learning”, is very interesting and really got me thinking about online courses and learning by yourself.

SDL isn’t a new thing for me. I have taken online courses before when I was in college. I find them very useful as they allow me to add an additional course to my course load without having to worry about the time spent going to class. I can do the work on my own time, as long as I am meeting the deadlines each time. I don’t have to worry about missing a class, and finding myself behind. This class really fit into my crazy busy schedule this semester, as I am working and taking a total of 4 classes as well as organizing a huge business conference which is coming to the university in January. So it really helps when I can do my assignments and blogs on my own time not worrying about the time constraints of attending a class.

SDL however isn’t for everyone. People, who take online courses, should be very motivated and willing to do things on their own and who do not require a classroom setting to learn. If they require the structure of a classroom and a teacher, the obviously SLD isn’t for them. But for those who have a busy schedule and want to take more courses and are self motivated, the online courses and SDL is very handy for them.

The positives of web based learning

My name is Madhura Keshavan. I am in my final year of my management degree majoring in marketing.

I believe that blogging helps students by allowing them freedom to discuss topics which they read about for their online classes. It also allows them to speak their mind without feeling fear of talking in front of a class which had they been in a classroom setting might have been a problem. They also can receive feedback from their professors by writing a blog allowing them to find out if they are on the right path or not. For example if they are understanding the material or not. They will also be able to generate ideas about the concepts from reading other students blogs giving them also a better understanding of the topics taught in their online course.

Professors can also gain a great deal by implementing blogs into their online classes. As they do not have a regular classroom setting and don't get to interact with their students as much, by having blogs for students it will allow for the professor to get a sense of if there students are understanding the material and like the class, or if they have to change the way they are giving out the information to their students. All in all , having blogs, is a great way to enhance web based teaching.