© Bombardier
Course management systems such as Blackboard are extremely popular and are used by colleges across the nation. But, not everyone is a fan. A new group of so-called “edu-punk” professors are advocating for alternatives. Wired Campus reports:
“Punk rock was a rebellion against the clean, predictable sound of popular music and it also encouraged a do-it-yourself attitude. Edupunk seems to be a reaction against the rise of course-managements systems, which offer cookie-cutter tools that can make every course Web site look the same.
Jim Groom, an instructional-technology specialist and adjunct professor at the University of Mary Washington, coined the term, and this week on his blog he declared himself a poster boy for the movement. He says he is worried that Blackboard's latest release, which attempts to incorporate the latest social-networking tools, will end up presenting a watered-down version of what pioneers of Web 2.0 technologies have done in their experiments.”
Standardized course management systems make it easy for teachers to upload curricular content. But, they do tend to be an expensive, bland, and uninspired choice. I say: rock on, edu-punkers.
See full article.
Related Entries:
Better, Cheaper Course Management Systems - 09 June 2007
Watch Out Blackboard - A New Course Management Site is in Town - 23 September 2007
Blackboard Wins Patent Case - 23 February 2008
Innovations in Transport Management Systems - 28 May 2008
Advertisement
Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you’d like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.
© spcummings
If you're an online instructor or an administrator involved with distance education, you'll want to take a look at The Theory and Practice of Online Learning. This free, downloadable book contains many worthwhile essays about the creation of quality virtual learning programs. Here's a blurb:
“As with the first edition, this is a collection of works by practitioners and scholars actively working in the field of distance education. The text has been written at a time when the field is undergoing fundamental change. Although not an old discipline by academic standards, distance education practice and theory has evolved through five generations in its 150 years of existence (Taylor, 2001).
For most of this time, distance education was an individual pursuit defined by infrequent postal communication between student and teacher. The last half of the twentieth century has witnessed rapid developments and the emergence of three additional generations, one supported by the mass media of television and radio, another by the synchronous tools of video and audio teleconferencing, and yet another based on computer conferencing.”
There are chapters about infrastructure, design and development, quality control, and more. The work is available through Creative Commons. You can download it in PDF format by visiting the Open Access AU Press website.
See full article.
Related Entries:
Choosing a Distance Learning Program Based on Your Learning Style - 14 April 2007
Montana Passes Bizarre Distance Learning Law - Requires Online College Instructors to Have High - 14 May 2007
Many Traditional Colleges View Virtual Learning as Revenue Source - 29 September 2007
Study Shows Distance Learning as Effective as Traditional Learning - 11 October 2007
Advertisement
Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you’d like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.
© MC Quinn
Since e-learning is relatively new, the quality of these courses tend to vary. There is no standard “best practices” for what makes a good online course.
Several recent studies have investigated the matter. The latest, from the Journal of Online Teaching and Learning, has some notable insights to share:
“Among other things, data suggest that meaningful social interaction and emotions may be important components in powerful learning experiences. In addition, the data suggest that powerful learning can indeed occur in e-learning environments. Results of this study combine with those from three previous studies to point toward practices of instructional designers and educators that may contribute to powerful learning in e-learning environments.”
How to online instructors create these “powerful” learning environments? Take a look at the full study to learn more.
See full article.
Related Entries:
What Holds You Back from Learning Effectively? - 21 June 2007
Many Traditional Colleges View Virtual Learning as Revenue Source - 29 September 2007
Study Shows Distance Learning as Effective as Traditional Learning - 11 October 2007
Online Learning Convenient Alternative to Traditional Lecture Courses - 14 October 2007
Advertisement
Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you’d like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.
© desi.italy
If you're struggling with a language course or just want to study a few phrases for your next foreign vacation, take a look at EduFire.com. They connect language learners with dozens of potential tutors. Each tutor lists their qualifications, a photo, and their price per hour of teaching. Prices vary between the instructors and most seem to charge between $10 and $45.
Here's how EduFire creators describe their mission:
“Our goal is to create a platform to allow live learning to take place over the Internet anytime from anywhere.
Most importantly…for anyone. We're the first people (we know) to create something that's totally open and community-driven (rather than closed and transaction-driven).
We're excited to create tools for people to teach and learn what they love in ways they never imagined possible.”
If you don't want to shell out for the personal instruction, you may want to check out their language learning videos. They offer hundreds of short videos in languages such as Spanish, French, and Turkish. They seem to be mostly YouTube videos; however, this is an easy way to find subject-specific clips all in one place.
See full article.
Related Entries:
Foreign Language Basics Online - 10 August 2007
Try Mango : fabulous online language courses - 17 September 2007
Language Learning Vacations - 30 September 2007
Online Language Learning - 18 November 2007
Advertisement
Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you’d like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.
© Pathfinder Linden
Many online colleges have created Second Life learning spaces to help students master material. Although some critics (myself included) tend to prefer more traditional methods of learning, others love the interaction these virtual worlds can provide.
CollegeDegrees.com recently published a list of 50 tips and links to help with the creation of a Second Life learning space. Here's a blurb:
“The educational possibilities through Second Life allow teachers and employers to reach out to students beyond their traditional classrooms and school districts, expose young children to global issues and new friends around the world, design their own avatars and environments for highly customized training sessions and interactive discussions, practice real-world skills and manage real-life situations in a safe environment, and most of all keep students engaged in a technologically-driven society.”
If you're interested in creating your own learning community, it's worth a read.
See full article.
Related Entries:
Life Long Learning for Labor Day and Every Other Day - 04 September 2006
Choosing a Distance Learning Program Based on Your Learning Style - 14 April 2007
Language Learning Vacations - 30 September 2007
Learning by Podcast - 27 February 2008
Advertisement
Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you’d like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.
© flattop341
I recently stumbled across a rather incredible resource. The Center for Learning and Performance Technologies offers a list of thousands of online learning tools.
Here's how they describe their collection:
“This Directory contains over 2,300 tools for learning in two main sections
1. for creating, delivering and managing learning and performance support solutions
2. for managing your own learning and productivity, and sharing resources
The tools in this Directory are both freeware/open source and commercial.”
They link to tools for teachers and universities as well as tools for individual learners. You'll find 47 tools for your mobile device, 56 note taking tools, and 37 research tools. Free tools have a special marking, so it's easy to try out the no-cost options. The list is certainly worth a look.
See full article.
Related Entries:
Top 5 Free SEO Tools - 25 January 2007
Choosing a Distance Learning Program Based on Your Learning Style - 14 April 2007
Online Learning Convenient Alternative to Traditional Lecture Courses - 14 October 2007
University Greed Creates Disadvantages to Online Learning - 12 March 2008
Advertisement
Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you’d like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.
This week in Outside the Circle, Kevin Carey explores the controversy around the proposed federal “unit record” database.
In this Outside the Circle column, Kevin Carey sees flaws in the increasingly international business of rating colleges—but also sees legitimate reasons for the comparisons.
In his first column for Inside Higher Ed, Kevin Carey wonders why K–12 financing systems that favor wealthier districts end up in court, but higher education financing systems aren’t similarly scrutinized.
Continue reading the original post by EdWonk
For those who may have been off the planet out of town this past weekend, Hillary Rodham-Clinton’s latest gaffe appears to confirm what many had already thought: Hillary Clinton today brought up the assassination of Sen. Robert Kennedy while defending her decision to stay in the race against Barack Obama.
“My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary