Inspirational Quote - February 2012

I realized today it has been quite a while since I have posted an inspirational quote. So, I started digging through some for some inspiration today and this one seemed to fit perfectly.

"Set your goals high and don't stop 'till you get there." ~Unknown

Enjoy! 

Jackie

EDUC 6135 Week 7 Blog: Application

For this week, my application assignment was to develop a trainer guide for a specific scenario. The scenario consisted of a training manager who has been frustrated with the quality of communication among the trainees in his face-to-face training sessions and wants to try something new. His supervisor has given him permission to convert all of the current training modules to a blended learning format. This would provide the learners with the opportunity to interact with one another and learn the material in both a face-to-face and distance learning format. Plus, the learners would have access to the materials at any time.

The guide contains some ideas and tips for the trainer to consider when converting the training modules to a blended learning format. In addition, a trainer checklist has been developed to assist the trainer during the conversion process. The guide and the checklist would be available to the trainer ina  PDF portfolio.

Please click here to view the documents contained in the PDF portfolio.

Happy Learning!
Jackie

EDUC 6135 Week 5 Blog: The Impact of Open Source

Week 5 Blog: The Impact of Open Source
Open Course Selected: HSAR 252: Roman Architecture

URL: http://oyc.yale.edu/history-of-art/roman-architecture

With the inception of iTunesU by Apple, everyone can now take open courses through major universities such as Stanford, MIT, and Yale, just to name a few. Some of these universities have also formed a separate open course area for students and others wishing to learn more about various subjects to access free of charge. 

One example of this is through the Yale Open Courses system, which is accessible at http://oyc.yale.edu/. Students and others can complete introductory courses on a variety of subjects from Astronomy to Religious Studies completely online by reviewing class sessions, download videos from previous course lectures, purchasing books used for the course at a discount and the opportunity to participate in an online study group through OpenStudy.

The open course I chose to review and post on my blog is HSAR 252: Roman Architecture. The URL link to the course is provided above. All of the questions answered below are for this specific open course.

Does the course appear to be carefully pre-planned and designed for a distance learning environment? If so, how? If not, in what ways?

Yes, the course does appear to be carefully pre-planned and designed for a distance learning environment. Some examples of this are the structure of the course lectures available for the course. The student has several options available for downloading the course lectures, such as downloading all of the files into a Zip file format called “Course Pages”, downloading each lecture separately as audio or video files, or through iTunesU. Also, the course materials and textbooks can be easily purchased directly through the course site. Students can also see a list of other textbooks used by the professor teaching the course as well as other books of interest, and have the option to purchase any of those textbooks as well.

Does the course follow the recommendations for online instruction as listed in the course textbook? Which does it follow? In what ways? Which does it not follow?

Yes, the course follows the recommendations for online instruction as listed in the course textbook. The appropriate technologies for online instruction were selected for the course, such as the Internet, html, mp3, Flash, QuickTime, iTunesU, and OpenStudy. Also, the learning outcomes were determined in the course through each of the sessions in the course. Also, by dividing the course into separate sessions, the student can learn each session in an asynchronous format on their own time. The open course format is student-centered and is prepared for online delivery. According to Simonson, Smaldino, Albright and Zvacek (2012), “Since online environments should be media rich and stirve for authenticity, it is critical that may technologies be used” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, p. 116, 2012).

Did the course designer implement course activities that maximize active learning for the students? If yes, in what ways? If not, how was it deficient?

Yes, the course designer implemented course activities that implemented active learning for the students. Through each course session, the students are able to view or listen to the course lecture, complete the recommended readings, and participate in OpenStudy on a regular basis in order to interact with other students who are also taking the course.

Based upon this course, I would recommend the Open Yale Courses to anyone who would like to learn more about the subjects that are available in this format.

Resources

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.