Precourse Survey

This is my attempt at a precourse survey. I woud consider this a rough rough draft and could definitely use some tweaking on the questions, but this is place to start. Now that I have seen how easy it is to use Surveymonkey.com and since it is free I may create a survey for my existing class to get some unofficial feedback from them.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=PGD1S9JkdMrQ486H0il_2fWw_3d_3d

Bloom's Taxonomy

This week I have gotten allot out of our discussion. I have appreciated the comments that have reinforced how important and useful Bloom's Taxonomy is when developing questions. One fellow student commented how he would keep a copy of Bloom's taped up so he could refer to it while preparing test questions.

I was aware that my Dean was going to be observing one of my lectures this week. I happened to be handing exams back this day and I provided her a copy of my exam. She is going to systematically go through and evaluate each question. I am looking forward to receiving feedback to see how I did. I am a strong believer in constructive criticism and will openly accept any feedback I can get.

Blooms Taxonomy

I am going to spend time getting to know more about Bloom's Taxonomy and how it applies to creating course objectives, classroom activities, and assessment. Not being a trained educator these courses are very relevant for me to not only prepare me to teach online, but to also better prepare me in a face to face environment. I am looking forward to the day when I have a better understanding of knowing what works best and having developed better test writing skills.

Attached is a Taxonomy Assessment table that was used to match up activities from
Studying the First Amendment: Exploring Truth in Journalism by Christine Casey to Bloom's Taxonomy. I am awaiting feedback to see if I have matched them correctly, time will tell.

Jigsaw

Our group came together quickly and provided immediate evaluations on each of our categories for the Jigsaw project. I enjoyed evaluating exambuilder.com but really liked how we were able to assemble our project seamlessly using google documents. This was my first experience with google documents and I can see myself using this tool in the future.

Introduction

This paper has been developed using a Jigsaw cooperative learning approach. Each team member has provided an analysis of one assessment tool from the four assessment categories of; Quiz and Test Builders, Reflection Assessment Tools, Peer to Peer Collaboration Tools and Course Tracking Tools.

The various assessment tools are analyzed to provide a general introduction to the functionality and key features of the tool. The analysis also provides an evaluation of the individual tools uses, benefits, weaknesses and challenges. The tools are reviewed to provide an example of a typical online classroom application and discussed in terms of relating learning objectives to the use of the tool.



1) Quiz & test builders:
by Donald LaFleur

Exambuilder.com is a website that an instructor, trainer, or school can use to create and administer exams online. One benefit was the potential customer service support, the next day after creating my account a representative contacted me by email offering to answer any questions that came up. Creating the exam was fairly straight forward and allows for a variety of questions such as, fill in the blank, matching, true and false, etc. Creating the students accounts was also done without any problems. I had several students participate in an online exam and they reported no problems logging on and completing the exam. I received emails when the student completed the exam that reported their grade. Overall, I would say that the ease of use was good and I had a good experience with this product.

I am not certain that I would choose this product when Angel, D2L, etc. have an exam function part of their product. You can not assign multiple instructors to an account. The minimum block to purchase is 50 licenses for 600 dollars a year. I was able to sign up for a 30 day trial period with a maximum of 5 licenses to use. These challenges could limit the chances of a higher educational institution utilizing this as tool. It does appear that the tool is used by a large number of companies and for certification exams. The representative sent a list of all the companies that use their product. “Current ExamBuilder clients include: Microsoft, Computer Associates, Procter & Gamble, 3M, IBM, TD Waterhouse, Schering Plough, UBS, Hilton Hotels, Altria, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, the U.S Armed Forces, and the State of California Dept. of Insurance (ExamBuilder is used for every insurance licensing exam in the state of California).”

This tool could be used for creating quizzes, review questions, and exams. An instructor would be able to assess the student’s knowledge on specific content by asking a variety of questions. The tool allows for the instructor to provide feedback for each question answered correctly or incorrectly. The objective is to assess the student’s knowledge of the content being taught during the course. This can be achieved by scheduling the student to take the exam at a precise time or allowing some flexibility by offering an extended period of time for completion. The instructor is then able to receive an email when the student has completed the exam.

2) Reflection Assessment tools:
by Gregory Rein

The use of educational blogs in the classroom is becoming much more prevalent, yet many teachers and administrators continue to shy away from this social networking tool out of fear of misuse by the students. This short paper will attempt to demystify the educational blogging experience.
For all intents and purposes, a blog is simply an online journal. It can be used by an individual student and shared only with the student’s teacher or it can be used by an entire class working on shared projects. A teacher may wish to elicit a discussion around a required reading or may ask a student to maintain the blog as a personal learning journal. The possibilities for blog use in the classroom are seemingly endless. However, the use of student blogs must come with a word of caution. If students are allowed – or required to use blogs in the classroom setting, they must be first instructed on how blogs work – who the audience is and what is appropriate and not appropriate. Sadly, students have been know to use their blogs to vent their anger towards another person, teacher or another student and this is clearly not appropriate. Therefore, specific guidelines should be in place before a teacher begins to use a blog as part of a student’s curriculum. Yet the benefits of blogs far outweigh the potential consequences.
According to Louisiana educator Nancy McKean, student blogging can:
Help create a learning community
Provide an authentic audience for student writing
Allow for multiple feedback loops
Encourage student creativity
Encourage reading
Build technology skills

For many students, and parents, blogs are something new and oftentimes misunderstood. The horror stories in internet abuse are constantly being refreshed and renewed in the daily newspapers and nightly news. To many, and social networking tool is one that must be avoided at all times. Parents want to protect their children from the dangers that are lurking about in the internet. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the teacher to inform the parents and the students of the benefits of blogs, who they work and how they will be used in the classroom setting. Quite possibly, the teacher should set up a blog devoted to teaching parents and students about the benefits of blogging. In the end it seems the greatest fear is that of the unknown, if the teacher can bring the educational value of blogging to light all might ultimately benefit

3) Peer – to – peer collaboration tools:
By Don Wright
WebEx Overview
Webex is primarily a tool designed for corporate online communication and collaboration. It does also however integrate special features for e-learning that are mainly targeted at Vocational education and training.
As an e-learning platform WebEx combines functions for live training and delivery of on demand sessions. It offers real-time desktop sharing with phone conferencing so groups can see the same thing and interact by voice at the same time.
Common features of WebEx include:
· Access Anywhere
· Application Sharing
· Document Sharing
· Presentation Sharing
· Web Co-Browsing
· Desktop Remote Control
· File Transfer
· Polling
· Live Chat
· Record and Playback
· Live Video (requires a webcam)
· Meeting Calendar
· Public/Private Folders

When using Webex as a learning tool students or staff can Schedule ahead or meet instantly, using Webex functionality or other software such as Microsoft Outlook and can join a voice conference by VoIP or phone. Screens can be shared and separate breakout discussions with individual students can also be held by the instructor.

As an e-learning tool, WebEx allows easy borderless collaboration with synchronous and asynchronous communication functions through a rich media environment. It also provides virtual classrooms and features to facilitate easy group assignments/projects.

The interface is relatively simple to use and intuitive. Seamless browser based integration of features such as video, audio and data generally provide a user friendly experience. Webex provides options for hosting and tailoring for integration to other applications.
Webex offers tool for easy and rapid authoring and re-purposing of learning objects. It offers authoring tools for simulations, animations and quizzes.

The application also integrates features for e-business allowing integrated charging for course fees. A major disadvantage of Webex can cost. It can be prohibitively expensive in terms of licence fees depending upon the number of users and the environment it will be used in.
Webex screen shot shown below:

4) Course tracking tools:
Assessment in E-Learning Mid-Term write up of Calendar Builder by Tailwag Software
Alex Braden

Introduction:
The Calendar Builder by Tailwag Software seems to be a basic tool for creating a calendar to keep track of events. It is a simple download that then installs on the user’s computer. It offers various views including single week, month, multiple-month and mini preview modes. It also allows the user to customize appearance and add icons to help identify or highlight events. This is a basic organizational tool that would help anyone in need of this level of organization.

Weaknesses and Challenges:
The Calendar Builder has no multiple user interface. In other words it is tasked to one computer and cannot be accessed or shared by others at different locations. It does not seem to have the ability to email, embed or otherwise be shared to other users. While it is capable of keeping track of tasks, it is only usable on the computer on which it has been installed.

Example in an online classroom:
Calendar Builder would be essentially worthless in an online environment. Its limitations prevent multiple users from interfacing with the calendar; it cannot be embedded or linked to by multiple users. Essentially it is incompatible with the online environment. Far better would be a multiple user, online version. Several are available such as Google Calendar, Zoho Planner, Yahoo! and others would allow for all of the things that Calendar Builder does not. Should one of these examples be used a potential application in an online classroom would be to have the instructor place all assignment due dates in her/his calendar and then share that calendar with students. In this way the students would be aware of deadlines, and in addition should changes be made those changes would be reflected in the calendar immediately.

Learning objective connected with this type of tool:
In any classroom environment, be it face to face or online, one challenge, and therefore often a learning objective is organization. In the sense of an objective this could be seen in the organization of a major project. If the instructor assigns a group a large, multi-week project one measurable objective could be how well the group is able to stay consistently on task and on time. The use of a multi-user calendar would allow not only for that organization but for the group to show the instructor what strategies they used and how effective they were.

Screen Shot of Calendar Builder by Tailwag Software:

Conclusion

This paper has analyzed and evaluated four online assessment tools to identify their uses, benefits, weaknesses, applications and potential learning objectives.

In the Quiz and test builder category, the tool "Exambuilder.com", was identified as a tool to create and administer exams. The tool was tested with a student group and demonstrated sound functionality and ease of use. Exambuilder appears to have a strong market in vocational education and training but may be considered superfluous when using systems such as D2L where exam building functionality is already present.

Reflection assessment tools were analyzed from a general perspective to provide a comprehensive overview. The analysis identified the massive growth of blogging in general and noted the reluctance of students and teachers in the past to utilize blogging as an assessment tool due to potential for misuse and abuse. Blogging was clarified as primarily a reflective journal tool an d noted as offering options for private viewing by only a teacher or sharing with a group. The importance of properly instructing students in the educational use of blogs was highlighted to avoid misuse and maximize potential benefits.

In the Peer to Peer collaboration tools section, the tool "Webex" was analyzed. Webex was evaluated as primarily a coprorate communication and collaboration tool but also offering strong e-learning functionality with the options for live or on demand learning. The product offers a very good and intuitive interface with options for screen sharing and integrating voice conferences through telephone or VOIP. Cost was identified as a potentially inhibiting factor depending on the application and number of licences required.

In the course tracking tools section, the software "Calendar Builder" was analyzed and identified as a basic customisable tool for creating a calendar in support of e-learning to keep track of events. The lack of functionality for screen sharing in a multiple user environment was noted as a weakness and also the lack of integrated communication by email noted as a potential major limitation. Due to these linitations, the tool was identified as having very little potential use in an e-learning environment, with alternatives such as Google Calendar and other similar tools offering far superior functionality in terms of multiple user applications.

The Jigsaw learning exercise undertaken through this paper has provided the individual group members with a sound understanding of each category and the various selected tools for analysis. The Jigsaw approach also promoted active participation of group members and communication among the group.

Concept Maps

I appreciated this lesson on concept maps. This is a tool that can be used face to face and online. It is a good way to clearly show a concept to a student. I am considering assigning a concept map assignment to my students with the same objective to see if I can determine what their method of thought is when trying to break down the objective. Maybe this will be a way that I can not only assess them but assess the way I may need to refine how I am presenting the material. I am always willing to try something new.

Concept Map

Assessment Inventory: Teacher-centered or Learner-centered

The text in yellow are where the results of my inventory fell.

Assessment in E-Learning - Introduction of Don and Miki

Don has worked in IT and presently works in ultrasound. He has recently started instructing ultrasound courses at the Bryan College of Health Sciences in Lincoln Nebraska. He has chosen to take this course because he is interested in teaching online. He expects to become more familiar with the tools utilized in online assessment. His college will be able to start offering online courses in a few years.He has been married for 12 years and has a fourth child on the way. This is the thing you may have never guessed about him. He himself never guesses he would have four children. He loves his family. They ultimately come first, but here is another thing he cherishes and would never want to give up is work. He enjoys working and taking classes.


Miki is originally from Japan. She is currently in the Education Specialist program at UW-Stout. She has MS degrees in Hospitality & Tourism and Applied Psychology. She is very passionate about customer service and consumer behavior. She wants to know how and why consumers make decisions. Her future goal is to get a doctoral degree in the area of Social Psychology or Consumer Psychology and wants to teach at college level someday in the future. She would never give up this dream. She would like to teach both traditional classroom and online. That is the reason she takes this course. One thing you might never have guessed about Miki is that she is a reptile lover. Some of her friends call her “Froggy” as her nickname. Her special someone is her black and white cat May. May has been her family since 1998.

Calling in sick for an online course?

I have called in sick for work. I have been unable to make it to class do to an illness. I have never missed an online course for being under the weather until now. You would think that with the flexibility of being able to work from home a student would never miss class do to an illness. That is what I thought until this week. I attempted to complete the assigned readings and this made me dizzy. When I wasn't feeling dizzy I would find myself having to reread multiple times because my mind would be wondering (more than usual). The level of concentration needed to put 100 percent effort in was definitely not there. Would it have been better to complete the work on time or to wait so that it is done with 100 percent effort? I did the responsible thing and let my instructors know that I was sick and would not be participating until I felt better, but I still felt guilty that with it being an online course you would think that I would be able to participate no matter what. Now of course I am feeling better, but I am feeling anxious to get the past weeks work finished knowing that I have the next module breathing down my neck.

I am interested in learning how online instructors deal with illness in the "classroom." How do you allow for a student to make up work when a majority of it involves discussion and other elements that involve the other students?