After chopping and changing my mind I think I've finally settled on my 4 activites for the TMA:
- Week 10a Activity 5 Blogs
- Week 11 Activity 1f Debate
- Week 12 Activity 5 Elluminate
- Week 13/14 Activity 3b Wiki's
Also wanted to use Week 4 Activity 12 Richardson (online vs f2f) and may still exchange it for the Debate but at the moment thinking of using Richardson for Part 2 of the TMA as well as LEX (JISC) etc. Blogs/wiki's and now Elluminate are the tools I definitely use as a student but also would like to use as a tutor in the future. I also liked the idea of using an online debate with students. In the past with FE students I have got them to debate smacking. As early years workers its illegal for them to smack in the UK so it's important they understand the consequences of smacking for both themselves and the children in their care. Its easy in a traditional classroom setting but online would be more tricky. Hopefully the online debate could meet that need. It opens he doors for many debates in Early Years.
Trying to complete the TMA by the end of this week (no chance!!) as it's half term next week and family are staying, then I'm at OU in Milton Keynes for an ECA marking. Have just finished 4 weeks of marking and now its that student panic time when they have to sbmit their ECA next week.....my email box is on the verge of collapse and my telephone has resorted to cowering in the corner afraid of its own ring!!
Activity 3b
Read Minocha and Thomas (2007) ‘Collaborative learning in a wiki environment: experiences from a software engineering course’.
Reading through the article should take you about an hour and a half. It provides a very good example of planned and systematic course evaluation, where the focus is on the intentions behind the design of a course using a wiki as a key tool, and on the evaluation of the evidence about the students’ response. As you read the article make notes in answer to each of these questions:
- What was the rationale for the use of a wiki, in terms of real world practice and in terms of the learning outcomes for the course? The wiki allowed collaberation by different students in different geographical locations, different time zones and between different prganisations. It also allowed for ideas and opinions to be expressed. The wiki could also be edited at any time by any one of the stduents involved.
'The wiki activities involve a group of students contributing requirements to the groupwiki, discussing the requirements, identifying conflicts and ambiguities within the requirements, and resolving the conflicts through discussions from the perspectives of different stakeholders, to produce an unambiguous requirements specification'. (Minocha and Thomas, 2007)
- Which areas of learning theory do the authors draw upon specifically? Salmon (2002) 5 stage model, Keirnon et al (2003) role of e-moderators and Tuckman and Jenson (1977) model of team working
- In what ways did the course designers seek to persuade students to view the wiki positively? Introductory paper on wiki's to read and analyse, provided with guidelines on hoe to use the wiki, ice breaker session to use the wiki and to get to know each other as a group.
- How effectively did the wiki function in relation to key features of the learning requirements; e.g. the need to track individual contributions, to publish written contributions, to edit a single, collaborative text and to discuss and collaborate? On the whole it was effective but there was a pressure on time when decisions needed to be made so the group could move on or when discussions need to take place. Some students also negatively criticsed others contributions
- What role did the assignments play in shaping the students’ use of the wiki? The wiki was integrated into the TMA's.
'The wiki activities involve collaborative development of the requirements specification for the case study in the TMAs'. (Minocha and Thomas, 2007)
- What conclusions do the authors come to in relation to:
a. the ways in which the wiki worked well? Enabled collaberation, develped communication skils and team work
b. the main disadvantages of the wiki?There needed to be additional discussion fromats available eg forums, telephone tutorials etc
c. the software changes that would improve the wiki for this purpose? The window was too small, there was poor navigation, alerts needed for when someone has contributed, absence of a locking mechansim
Well it had to happen eventually I guess!!I attended a staff development day at OU in the North yesterday. The session was mainly on Elluminate. I actually took part in the demonstration... I don't think I disgraced myself too much!! I was the student in the same room as other AL's. I used the microphone but the audio was put through to the rooms speakers so everyone could hear. A roving AL In Holland joined in the session though her microphone didn't work. Graham, the Elluminate Champion, took the role of moderator and he was in a separate room.The session definitely gave me more confidence in using the tool. Graham also gave us moderator privileges so it was nice to see what was available from a tutor point of view. I really liked the tool for students to be able to select multiple choice answers. The tutor can also switch off a microphone should a learner be hogging the discussion too much.I hadn't realised that I could text a message to just the moderator if I wanted to, preventing the other participants from seeing.Also discussed was Elluminate Plan...where resources and tutorials could be planned in advance to use in a later Elluminate session. Also Elluminate Publish where recordings can be saved but unlike now they can be looked at and if good enough could be shared for others to use in their sessions.Everyone was impressed by Elluminate but agreed that it wouldn't work for all levels of learners or for all courses. We did feel it would be useful for tutors to use to share ideas etc or for learners to use for study groups. In fact the follow up to this development day will now be held using Elluminate.
Activity 1 YouTube.
As you watch the video consider and make notes on how it relates to the more general findings from the broader research literature discussed earlier.
Also consider the following questions:
Is the message being presented in this visual way any different from the primarily text-based presentation of findings used so far this week? This was a really good interactive way to get info across to other learners. It's also likely to have given learners ownership. However for me it was a disaster. The camera wobbled so much I felt sick. By the time the words came in to focus I either didn't have time to read them or couldn't read the handwriting. It was too distracting to focus on the topic at times...great for some learners but for those with a disabiltiy it could be a disaster. Anyway I've taken so long to do this activity I've forgotten what the earlier research is!!
How important is the medium and the technologies themselves in terms of conveying messages about this research area?
What are the implications for your own practice?
Last Saturday was an Elluminate tutorial. It was very good but still took a while for everyone to feel confident to participate....not sure if this was still due to people being unsure if they should speak in case someone else also did. Would I use Elluminate as a tutor? I ask this as I'm attending a CPD day at OU this week on Elluminate. I think as the time is restricted...1 may be 2 hours....the tutor has to ensure that the subject for discussion is well prepared using questions or activities. In f2f tutorials I feel more can be covered in the 2 hours...this may be because students have awareness of how the tutorial is structured. I wonder if Elluminate could be used as an enhancement to the f2f tutorial. It could also be a tool to use for those students who are unable to attend f2f. For my students in particular they could use it almost as a chat room to give each other support, share ideas etc. Some tutors use Facebook but Elluminate would incorporate students being able to hear each other......I'm warming to it lol!!
Activity 5
Identify a form of technology used in an educational context.
I'm choosing Elluminate
Then make notes in your blog about the following issues:
- What do you think is the likely impact of this technology on the students’ perceptions of the quality of their courses, their approaches to studying and their academic performance? I feel now that Elluminate can enhance the learning experience, the quality of their course and that this could have a positive effect on their academic performance. However having said that Elluminate won't suit all level of students, all tutors and all courses. It is just a tool of choice
- What do you think is the likely impact of this technology on the teachers’ perceptions of their teaching context and their approaches to teaching? Could well scare the life out of many teacher's and make them defensive. Others may embrace Elluminate and incorporate it into their teaching
- Do you think this technology embodies particular assumptions about the nature of teaching and learning in higher education? It doesn't to me but may do to others. I suppose it could be assumed that HE is advancing due to the use of technologies, enabling enabling more diversity but think I may be waffling here for the sake of answering the question!
- Are these assumptions likely to promote more positive perceptions, more desirable approaches to studying and better performance on the part of the students? It may to some students but not to all
Activity 4
As an example of a study that found few differences between students’ experiences of face-to-face and online tuition, read the article by Richardson (2009), ‘Face-to-face versus online tutoring support in humanities courses in distance education’. It is concerned with the use of online tuition in distance-learning courses in the arts and humanities.
Bearing in mind what I said earlier about the role of rhetoric in reports of educational research, do you find my conclusion – that institutions can feel confident about exploring the use of online forms of tutorial support – a convincing one? Yes, provided there is appropriate guidance and training available.
How do the accounts given in these two papers fit with your own experience of online tutorial support in H800? Mine has been trial and error. As a student starting the MAODE I had never really participated in online forums or emailed a tutor for help. I have done a BSc with OU but I had f2f tutorials and telephoned a tutor when stuck. However the nature of the courses (MAODE) meant that I was aware from the start that I would have to participate online and that I would be tutored online. I started tentatively, mainly lurking online and then posting messages. I now send queries out to the group and not just my tutor as they often give great advice and there's nearly always a student online whereas the tutors time can be limited. Tips/advice/guidance on online tutorials would, in hindsight, have been beneficial from the start.
I see new students to this course (H800) often unsure about participating. I'm not 100% sure making participation carry 10% of the TMA marks is really necessary either.
Activity 3
Read the article by Price et al. (2007), ‘Face-to-face versus online tutoring support in distance education’.
Make some notes in your blog on whether the evidence regarding online tuition in Price et al.’s paper fits your own experience of online communication in general and your own experience of online tuition on H800. With my own students I provide both telephone, email, conferencing and f2f tutorials. There is low participation in all of these but I would imagine if they had taken part in this study their responses would be the same. I think it may come down to personal expectations that students have about their tutor and how they feel tutorials should be carried out. For many their only experience is of years of traditional classroom learning whilst at school.
As a online student myself I prefer online tutoring to f2f and the discussion forums are a connection to my fellow students which is important for me.
Then check what other students in your tutor group have written.
Do you agree with Price et al. that online tuition is a pastoral activity and not a purely academic activity? I think it is both. Tutors facilitate the learning online by also supporting the student...they go hand in hand.
Do you agree that the absence of what the authors call ‘paralinguistic cues’ in an online environment can limit the effectiveness of online tuition? It can....I wonder what, if any, difference it would have made to the study if the online students were given a photo of their tutor at the start of the course? Perhaps they need to feel a visual connection to that tutor. My students will often say that its nice to put a face to the person on the end of the email or the telephone.
Activity 2
Read the article by Richardson (2005), ‘Students’ approaches to learning and teachers’ approaches to teaching in higher education’.
I didn't find anything new in this paper. I did however have problems with the terminology...what is it about people insisting papers are written in academic language that alienates half the readers....so unnecessary. What the heck does...'effects of contextual factors'.... actually mean?
As for using questionnaires there is no mention of how many actually filled them in comparison to the number of participants in the study. As an AL my students are asked to fill in a questionnaire towards the end of each course regarding their learning experience. Out of approx 20 students 5 usually oblige!!
Who were the students taking part in the research.....gender, age, demographics, reasons for studying, new learners etc???
Who were the tutors taking part....gender, age, new to teaching, first time teaching the course etc???
I would agree that the 3 predominant approaches used by a student are likely to vary during the course depending on the course demands.
Activity 3b
Almost all of the studies cited in the previous section measured impact, or the lack of it, according to marks obtained on standardised tests. Daniel’s criticism is also based on such findings. However, advocates of elearning would probably say that it conveys many other learning advantages, especially in the field of open and distance learning, which should also be taken into consideration.
These advantages could be grouped under the following headings:
- Access to more/better sources of information
- Greater flexibility in how/where/when one learns
- More collaborative learning
- New/better ways of learning using Web 2.0 tools
- Better/more tutoring
- Better assessment methods
Spend a few minutes considering your own professional situation.
Are these possibilities mentioned above being realised? I think most of these possibilities are in the process of being realised. Not sure you could claim that they are already being realised as all of these advantages are constantly changing and evolving.I
Do you think that open and distance learning is the main beneficiary? I'm a bit confused as to what this question is actually asking. If its that open and distance learning is the main beneficiary of these advantages then no. I've worked in FE using traditional f2f tutoring/facilitating and these advantages were in the process of being realised there. But maybe I've misunderstood the question.
