Wrap It Up

Wrap It Up was the 1993 follow-up hit to the Fabulous Thunderbirds 1986 hit Tuff Enuff. On the evening of February 16, 2000, The Fabulous Thunderbirds made history, becoming the first band ever to be broadcast on the Internet using high-definition cameras.

Wow, where did the time go. Here I am just nine days from starting the new school year. This course really was great from the introduction of new technology to revisiting old concepts I learned way back in college. I can see myself adding much of this to the curriculum I’m teaching during the next semester. While I’m not actually teaching an online class at the present time, my major focus in all my classes has been since 1996 to make the entire curriculum paperless as possible. I am eagerly anticipating methods for integrating the tools and methods I’ve learned in this course into the four new courses I will be teaching this year. Those courses are Web Design, Multimedia, Personal Business, and Global Business. It should be a fun year. Now to find the time…sigh..

Some things never change.

You will find my required elements of participation in the remainder of this post. Wrap It Up Video

Important Links

• Class Wiki: Assessment in eLearning Netiquette
• Partner Interview: Staci Rubenzer
• Concept Map: Business Plan
• Taxonomy Table: ASSESSMENT TAXONOMY
• Link to Precourse Survey URL: Survey
• Link to Final Project: Web Design for Starters
• Links to Key Readings

1. What is plagiarism? A candid look at what exactly is identified as plagiarism today. This great site includes supplemental audio and video. (Authored by Lora K. Kaisler & Dennis O’Connor 2003)
2. The ABC’s of Writing Learning Objectives Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine’s six-step approach to curriculum development with a major focus on how to write learning objectives.
3. 30 Merging Technologies The mother load of new technology, this site offers in layman’s terms some of the  newest and best methods for teaching through technology.
4. 7 things to know about Wikis Created by Educause, this site is all about Wiki’s. A wiki is a web page that can be written on, viewed, and modified by anyone who has an internet connection. EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology.
5. Relevant Assessment Strategies This is a great article written by Brent Muirhead D.Min., Ph.D. and hosted by the USDLA Journal. The main focus is on rubrics and other methods for assessing online activities associated with educational Websites.
6. Take Your Class to the Internet So you are debating whether its time to move from the role of teacher to that of a cyber coach. This very brief article discusses the pros and cons for joining the ever-growing world of online education. This article was written by s a freelance writer in San Francisco named Helena Echlin. It is hosted by Edutopia.
7. Teacher-Centered vs. Learner-centered Paradigms Just as the title states, this table adapted from an example by Huba & Freed, compares a teacher-centered paradigm to learner-centered paradigm. Is it me? Or does paradigm always look like its spelled wrong?
8. Cybercoaching Paper An 18-page document written by Naomi Jeffery Petersen, Ed.D. of the Indiana University South Bendm School of Education, the main focus is on rubrics, feedback, and metacognition associated with online education. This document also introduces us to the term “cybercoach.”
9. Applying Instructional Systems Processes to Constructivist Learning Environments Written by Bill Brand who is the editor of the Learning Developers’ Journal–not the disco artist who sang  the 1977 classic “We Fell in Love While Dancing.” This nine-page document focuses on constructive design and the attributes for meaningful e-learning (see chart on page 5).
10. Content Analysis of Online Discussion in an Applied Educational Psychology A fascinating case study breaking down and analyzing the  life cycle of online discussions in educational classrooms. This document looks at online discussions from start to finish dissecting the comments of participants looking for patterns based on social cues, cognitive processes, instructor participation, and a whole lot more variables to lengthy to mention here.

Put Me In Coach

Centerfield is an album by musician John Fogerty, released in 1985.

Cybercoaching was a new term for me. Apparently it is for WordPress as well since it doesn’t recognize it as being spelled correctly. Oddly, even WordPress’ own spellcheck doesn’t recognize WordPress as a correctly spelled word either. One would think that a blogging service might just add its own name as a correctly spelled word? Maybe it has something to do with nouns.

The term “cyber” has been around a long time. Well, at least as long as I’ve been on the Internet chatting and socializing. Hmmm… that dates it back to the late 1990′s I think. To me “cyber” simply means “through the World Wide Web.” I know that it does have different meanings but it seems like this references has become the norm as of recent.

Add “cyber” to coaching and you have someone who guides and instructions through the World Wide Web. The thing about coaching is that there is always an outcome that is the measurement for success. With a cybercoach, that measurement depends on the situation. I’ve seen cybercoaches work at help desks, on blogs, and through online instruction.

Becoming a cybercoach through online instruction intrigues me to no end.  Will I be able to guide individuals to the intended outcomes? While it is a lot like teaching, it really is much different. A cybercoach guides and provides students to new discoveries instead of just giving out the answers.

Cybercoaching is a more about the process than it is the conclusion. It’s allowing students to discover along the way and not just present them route memorization materials.

Did you know that the first MP3 player was introduced in 1998 and the Ipod will be celebrating it’s tenth anniversary this October? Think about it. That means that anyone 13 years old or younger will have not been in a World without an MP3 player. Add another 12 years on to that age. Since most personal technology purchases typically start appearing in the tween years prior to becoming a teenager, then anyone who is 25 years or younger has virtually lived in a World where there has not been an digital personal listening devices.

Now look back a little further in history. The first Discman (personal CD player) was released by Sony in 1984. That’s just a few years shy of 30 years. The sad thing is I still probably have my first, second, and/or third personal CD player lying around somewhere in my vast wasteland of outdated personal technology.

Now take a look at the World Wide Web. My first experiences with the World Wide Web came through American Online back in about 1993. That was in the very early stages of the Internet. At that time AOL actually only had six chat rooms. AOL also marketed these chat rooms as places where you could go and become someone you weren’t. I still remember the marketing campaign about creating fictitious profiles and having a little fun.

AOL was so new that it didnt’ even have a 1-800 number. You literally had to pay long distance charges if you didn’t have a local access number. Thank goodness I got in early on a secret 1-800 number that AOL sent out to educators as a test. AOL was kind of the forerunner for online communication, gaming, and chat rooms. Of course there was also Prodigy but I never really got into that service. I found it way too clunky.

In short, personal technology and the World Wide Web has been around for almost 20 years. That means that anyone under 21 does NOT remember a world without the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web to them is as second nature is as telephone service is.

The result? When we develop online education classes we must make them attractive, fluid, and socially interactive. To reach our target market, we must in essence become everything that they’ve ever known online. These future online students will want excellence. They will want speed. They will want social connections. They will want success.

As a cybercoach, its time to step up to the plate and deliver.
“Got a beat-up glove,

a homemade bat,

and brand-new pair of shoes;

You know I think it’s time to give this game a ride.”

- John Fogerty

Hello Again, Hello

The Jazz Singer is an album by Neil Diamond from 1980, which served as soundtrack album to the 1980 remake of the film The Jazz Singer.

The first time I ever heard anything bout Bloom’s Taxonomy was in 1978 while I was taking my first educational class. Back then I was just a college kid trying to figure out what he wanted to do.

Its years later and I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do. I guess some things don’t change.

Bloom’s Taxomony turned out to be a very good friend that I kind of forgot about. You know, one of those college buddies that you lose track of after awhile. Not that you intentionally do it, it just happens.

Mind you,  I always referred to Bloom’s Taxomony when I wrote  objectives. I just kind of took them for granted.

This past week I took a good long look at Bloom’s Taxomony. I mean I broke it down, turned it upside down, shook it around, and gave it a few taps to see if something new might tumble out. Nothing different, just a lot of great timeless stuff.

Sadly Dr. Bloom passed away in 1970. That was a bit more before my time. I was still playing with hot wheels, electric trains, and keeping a blog of all the AM stations I could pull in on my first radio. We didn’t call them blogs in those days. It was just something we wrote.

Speaking of old friends, I wonder if Robert Mager ever met Dr. Bloom? From my research, Robert Mager (the driving force behind instructional objectives) was born in 1932 and by all accounts is still living and breathing. Bloom’s taxomony and Mager’s criterion-referenced instruction go hand in hand in classroom curriculum. I wasn’t introduced to Mager’s philosophies until after I had my first teaching assignment. I think it was in the early 1980′s. Criterion-Referenced Instruction

Mager’s theory is that objectives need to be in place to drive instruction. He claims that without objectives there would be no basis for seelcting instructional material. Good point. Secondly you would have no way of accomplishing what hadn’t set out to do. Another good point. Thirdly, it would be very difficult to organize student efforts–particulary today’s students– to succeed in the classroom. Amen to that.

It has been a wonderful week to renew old friendships. Hopefully next time I won’t wait so long to say hello to my old friends.

Good stuff, Maynard. (circa 1980′s Malto Meal commercial)

Just called to say: hello.

I couldn’t sleep at all tonight
And I know it’s late
But I couldn’t wait.
Hello
My friend
Hello

Lyrics from Hello Again by Neil Diamond.

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/n/neil+diamond/#share

LINK TO ASSESSMENT TAXONOMY

LINK TO Team Toolbox Midterm

Time Passages

So ends another fruitful week. The midterm project is over, high school softball is in the post season, and school is just around the corner. Where did the time go? It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that I had five days of inservice to go before school was out for the summer.

Time Passages was the 1978 follow up of Year of the Cat by Al Stewart

The plethora of tools presented during this course has been outstanding! I really took a closer look at the reflection tools. I’ve used SurveyMonkey for years and have also used planning and tracking tools.

When I looked at all of those tools, I picked the one that was probably on the road least traveled, OurStory.com.

I took a really close look at the product. I mean, not just on the surface, but who controlled the website and who funded it. It turns out that three groups of venture capitalists are backing this little venture. The name of this concept was changed from the original name “WisdomArk. That’s a pretty good call I’d say. Wisdom Ark almost sounds Biblical if not philosophical. Perhaps a little too overdone for a website that’s going to host family memories.

Assessing for understanding makes all of the tools we looked at fit. Even OurStory. I could see OurStory being used as a collaborative group project for students to collect information in a timeline of maybe a famous person or a discography of a rather obscure 1970′s muscian like Al Stewart

Speaking of timelines. The timelines with my partners never overlapped this week. The end result was they posted their toolbox at noon today while I was at practice with my high school team.

The life of a softball coach in Iowa in the middle of the summer is filled with thrills and excitement. Last night we won our regional opener 9-1 and play once again tomorrow night.

Earlier this week we had to make three road trips to the same location due to weather. The only problem was that it was our longest road trip of the year. Add to that an all conference meeting Wednesday morning, a banquet Friday night, and double practices every day and you pretty much have my week in review. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the numerous scouting tapes that I had of opponents.

Onward and Upward.

Ridin’ the Storm Out (Week 3)

How appropriate for the remnants of Hurricane Alex to move through Iowa just as i was thinking about the perfect storm. That article by Dr. Bonk allowed me to reflect on my real motivation for getting involved in online education.

Much of what Dr. Bonk states relates to the economic theories of supply and demand. Erased budgets decreases the supply of funds that satisfy learner demand. As the bottleneck tightens, educational and private institutions will become more and more aware of the demands required of online learners.

As technology becomes more advanced, the chasm between those that have and those that do not will widen. Educational institutions who have the ability to take advantage of newer technology will use it to enhance pedagogy.

There is no time like the present to become involved with online technology and education.

This also brings to point the fact that online education shouldn’t just be a storage dump for answers. It needs to be alive with vibrance and exuberance. Students must become involved beyond the level of textbooks and assignments. Integration of thought, actions, and activities should be the norm.

The 30 emerging technologies for e-learning provided some fantastic insight into ways of involving students. While I have used many in my classroom in the past, I really do want to do more.

You won’t find me in battening down the hatches as this storm passes, I’ll be at the bow of the ship with my arms spread yelling “I’m the King of the World.”

Inspirations on Cloud 9

Will wonders never cease? How could have gotten by so long with out Insiprations. Many of my colleagues have referred to Inspirations in the past but those comments floated over my head. How could anything be better than PowerPoint? Come on, I mean really? Well, I was wrong. I absolutely love Inspirations. I can see how everyone loves this little gem.

The business plan I refer to is one created as a final project in my entrepreneurship class. While this is a traditional classroom class, I do have the entire course content online. ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Never Been Any Reason (week two reflection)

I’ve been using blogs for the past few years. I found them fun. Students found them fun. We all had a much better time using them than we did taking and correcting tests.

The funny thing is I didn’t really understand why everyone was having such a good time. That is until now. Week two provided me with the answers. Its all about having a learner-based classroom and not a teacher-centered classroom. Put away the podium and start coaching.

The reason I love coaching softball is that I can see results. I can see how players improve and how they can come together as a team. You can now have the same results in the classroom.

Teaching and assessing are tied together in the classroom just like they are on the field. This is very refreshing and exciting. Don’t pay attention to what you think they might know. Pay attention to what you see and what they do.

It really is brilliant stuff. Where was it when I was in high school? I always loved those multiple choice exams because I loved using logic. Did it show that I really understood the stuff? I don’t know. I don’t remember. That was a long time ago.

Instructors and students learn together. I like that. Now I know why I do.

Never Been Any Reason was a single by Headeast from the albumn Flat as a Pancake.

Teacher-centered vs Learner-centered

Took me a little while to figure out I had a band-width thief nearby. I recently added a new wireless router at home so I could fly through the Websites associated with this class. To my dismay over the past week things took a turn for the worse and really got slow.

Tonight I took a look at what was going on and realized that a nearby neighborhood boy was stealing my bandwidth. Of course, locking down my wireless network was something I always planned on doing. With a few clicks of the mouse and a new password, I’m all set to resume my travels to online learning.

What’s this got to do with teacher-centered learning vs learner-centered learning? Its simple. My problem today couldn’t be measured in  a true/false test. It was an observation and evaluation of what was going on. Similar to my classroom, a learner-centered arena provides activities that help both the teacher and the student understand what is going on in the classroom.

Teaching and assessing is intertwined. The instructor is not only the facilitator but also the coach. Activities motivate the student and not test results. Everyone learns together.

When I realized my network wasn’t doing well, questions were raised about why. Through deductive reasoning I was able to decide the problem and thus bring myself up to speed again.

Timing is everything.

Profile: Staci Rubenzer

Welcome to my online interview with Staci Rubenzer. She has a fantastic sense of humor and is a delightful person to get to know. I hope you all do as this course unfolds.

1. Why are you taking this class?

I’m going back into the teaching profession after a couple years working for the Clerk-Treasurer as a Deputy Clerk doing a lot of clerical duties but also putting together the City’s Council agendas, writing resolutions and ordinances, doing the paperwork for elections and licensing.  I am taking the class because I want to toss myself back into thinking about Assessment and alternatives to traditional classroom assessments that I find limiting.  I want to prepare myself to get a job teaching and have an assessment plan in mind before I do that.

2. How do you see taking what you’ve learned in this course into the real world?

(See answer above.)  I plan to use what I’m learning in this course to further my understanding of classroom assessment and prepare assessment alternatives for my classroom teaching career.

3. What do you really think about online education? Is it for everyone?

By the end of my two online classes last Spring I was a convert.  I went from thinking that this was far out hooey to believing that this is how all children (and adults) will be learning in the near future.  I was wearing online education robes and handing out online flowers in online airports chanting in online chat rooms.  But really, I like being in a physical classroom with kids.  We don’t live in Orson Scott Card’s world yet. Starting out in an ELearning class last Spring I was talking with a Special Ed teacher who could not ever see where some of her students could even use online instruction.  But I do I think technology is for everyone.  I think using more technology in classrooms may even be a way for schools to save money.  I think using a hybrid of online instruction and technology tools in classrooms is definitely the direct bricks and mortar schools are headed (for now).

Satisfaction

I kind of dove into using blogs over the past few years in my classroom without any real guidance. It was more trial and error than anything else.

I really paid attention to the article titled “Digital Discussion: Take Your Class to the Internet.”

I always knew that I liked using blogs, I just never really took the time to understand why.

Classroom Management: No more missing assignments. Teacher can’t be blamed for losing something from his desk.

Learning Journal: I really love a good blog that allows students to grow by reading how other students have grown. This exponential learning as I call it really has shown some very positive interactions. I’ve had classes where students are very introverted but yet, put them in front of a computer and watch out. No filter.

Online Notebook: Talk about a no brainer. Students work on my classroom blogs in the classroom, before school, during lunch, and at home. Ideas are started one place and finished in another.

Class Discussion: I love tell students they have to post at least two comments to their classmates posts and then respond to anyone who posts comments to their own.

Personal Expression: This one expands the notion of allowing students to post comments freely in a single blog. What if every student in a school system was required to keep a blog of all their classes? Think about the interaction. Aren’t they already doing it on Facebook anyway?

Source:Digital Discussion: Take Your Class to the Internet