I've got almost a month between semesters and I'm taking the opportunity to revise the American Government course. I'm scheduled for a couple of online sections next year and although I've used the eLearning module to support tradtional classroom courses, it isn't adequate for a fully online class.
SWMBO did a Master's program via "distance learning" from Univ. of Northern Colorado about fifteen years ago and I have been doing online classes almost the same length of time. As with all technology, the evolution has been remarkable and I only dip a semi-senile toe into the very deep capabilities pool of the software.
I used BlackBoard Learning Systems in Colorado and we use ANGEL Learning Management Systems in Texas.
ANGEL Education
You can do just about anything online that you can in a classroom now. You create lessons, link to web pages, insert audio and video, have asynchronous discussion forums or real-time online chat supported by interactive whiteboard modules. Many textbook publishers offer pre-formatted modules or cartridges for ANGEL or BlackBoard that upload a full-blown course that you can use as is or edit to fit your personal preferences.
Come test time and you can grab question banks from publishers or build your own exams that students can access online. Automatic grading and gradebook recording takes the load off the instructors. Multiple-choice, fill-the-blanks, true/false, word-entry and essay questions are all possible.
Reports of virtual all student activity are easy to generate and show quickly who is logging on, who is contributing, what didn't get done and more.
This week I found that the college has licensed SoftChalk, a web-authoring tool, that merges seamlessly with ANGEL courses to provide a lot more professional lessons and more dynamic interaction.
SoftChalk For All Levels of Education
I've been using it for a couple of days now and although there are a few places I might like it to be a bit slicker, it isn't hard to learn and the output looks pretty good.
So, does that mean better educated students being dumped out the far end of the system pipeline? Unfortunately no.
This past semester my online State-Local Government class started with 32 students. Half of them withdrew during the semester when they realized that they actually had to write a coherent paragraph with properly spelled words and that they had to bring real facts to the discussion not what Bubba down at the beer-hall told them about their uncle Tony's opinion of Gov. Perry. Another ten didn't withdraw, but never participated either. At the end, eight students completed the course and three of them failed.
The whole rats nest is a manifestation of low expectations from educators throughout the school system. There has been a culture of no-stress, social promotion, tolerated poor performance, and absence of standards. The evidence shows up through attendance, writing assignments, class participation, coherent expression and involvement in life around them.
But, at least it keeps me off the streets most days.
5 comments:
Despite the leftists in Washington thinking other wise...not everyone should go to college. You should have to work to get there, else you end up with exactly what you are seeing Ed, people who didnt earn it there expecting a free ride then dropping out and looking for a prof that will let them slide though.
As an adult student I see it all the time in the younger students I attend class with. I do like Online course for some things but there is nothing like a live professor to get you through the higher math classes :)
Dont judge my punctuation and grammer (or lack there of)...Im not in class right now ;)
Maybe that's why I wound up in Political Science and practical application of tactical air power. All my higher math classes were taught by apparently dead professors!
I live in a state where the concept of division isn't even introduced as a mathematical operation until the fifth grade - and then, it is presented only as something that mysterious calculator key (the one with the dots above and below a horizontal line), does for you. (Seriously! It is in the Dept. of Public Instruction's statewide curriculum!)
The mechanics of long division apparently no longer exist to complicate lives of third graders, like it did for my generation.
I'm told that a kid with the math skills to figure the square root of 144 without using a calculator is automatically a candidate for "Advanced Placement" courses in high school.
But then, my state is one of those places where you need a four-year degree to obtain a job - or what used to be called a HS education.
I teach high-tech stuff in private industry, real short, very intense and top dollar "seminars". Up until about a year ago that meant in-person with the instructor, and lots of travel for him/her.
Of late, however, we're doing a lot of classes via Webex (they see my desktop) with conference call and web-based lab machines pre-configured for their use. We can see their lab-system desktop and, if needed, the teacher can "take over" their lab machine to demonstrate something.
We're finding the absence of body-English feedback from the customers (a.k.a., students) in this remote environment to be a significant challenge. With an in-person class, you can see who's dropping off, who's lost or who's way ahead of the lecture. But with the remote presentations, that feedback isn't there. So we add a lot more direct questioning.
"Mike, how can we ...?"
That helps although when we ask the first question of the first student, it startles them as they realize they're gonna have to pay attention.
I've taken classes at the next level of indirection, the one's it sounds like you are now doing. My reaction, as a student-nee-teacher, was "this has got to be a lot of work for the teacher!"
What do you think? How does that format compare to in-person classes as far as the amount of effort they take on your part? Granted, you are in a different league, but I'd still be interested in your comments.
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