Pedagogy First!

Week 13 - Course Management System

A trap. Blackboard looks like a trap sometimes. But BB 9.0 seems to be more friendly and there are more interesting tools comparing it to the previous release. So at least it allows me to have faith in a better future. Hopefully in the future Blackboard will also include the Wimba Pronto feature that I see a little lighter and easy to use for synchronous conversation compared to Elluminate.
I think Lisa is right when she says that CMS are usually imposing pedagogy instead of being tools in the instructor’s hands, but it is also true that instructors need some time to get familiar with the CMS and it is not always an easy process. It is like in any learning process. When you learn to drive, for example. At the beginning it seems the car is driving you, and not vice-versa. Eventually the driver will take control of the car and will use it at its best performances. But for some drivers that moment never comes and they keep being driven by the car for their entire life. It could very well happen with the use of CMS too...
The Moodle Tool Guide is very interesting and very useful to put the CMS at the service of pedagogy. I checked out the CMS Claroline and I have to say that it looks a lot like BlackBoard. Many of the screenshots are very similar. A little cleaner but in the end not much different. The website EduTools is really good! The comparison feature is amazing and it helps a lot to navigate in the sea of opportunities.
In my opinion the CMS should be able to provide a lot of features but at the same time it should be almost invisible. The less it constrains the instructor the better it is. It should provide a safe and light structure that should be an easy gateway to the internet.

Week 13: The CMS (Cohort 2)

Just today I got a question on my blog about course management systems.

Course management systems have advantages and disadvantages I always keep in mind.

Advantages:

Well, I was going to list a bunch, but every time I wrote one I thought of a way to get it somewhere else or a disadvantage phrased the same way! So here's what I got, two whole reasons to use a CMS:

- integration of assignments and gradebook (so long as you like how the system does assignments!)

- copyright: the literal, restrictive interpretation of copyright law and the TEACH Act requires having copyrighted media available for students only, which uses the CMS as protection because of the sign-in

and these don't seem like as much of an advantage as I used to think:

- familiarity to students (if using the CMS used most by the institution): I no longer see this as an advantage.: If the CMS is used the same way as others use it (i.e. with defaults) it prevents students learning skills, and if used differently, it's not familiar anyway

- linked to college registration system (SURF): many students do not keep their SURF emails updated, or no longer use email at all, so having them create their own accounts can be better

CC: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ mikelesombre/3510951708/ in/photostream/

- security and FERPA: I've blogged about this, and I'm starting to think the CMS is the problem!

- privacy: it may be more comfortable for students to do their work in private, but I'm not sure that's how the world works anymore

- intellectual property: our intellectual property is behind a wall, but we can Creative Commons license it anyway.

Disadvantages

- closed system: open education might be better, and learning can continue past the course if given the right environment

- the system encourages faculty to follow the defaults, which might not be right for your pedagogy - because of all their features and revisions, CMSs can be difficult to use and often require training to be able to use them well - material is trapped inside the system: the makers of CMSs have no interest in helping you export any content Just some things to keep in mind.

Week 13: The Course Management System

 Cohort 2

• Read the article Insidious Pedagogy and check out the Moodle Tool Guide.
• Explore the EduTools comparison site
• Learn a bit about one CMS with which you are not familiar.
• Blog about your views on using a CMS, or any CMS in particular.

Cohort 3

Members of cohort two should be reporting on their progress implementing ideas from last semester and providing feedback and support for cohort three members and each other.

 

Catching Up?

You can find all of our previous prompts here: weekly prompts

 

Experimenting with Google Documents (and Diigo is fun!)

I tried out Google documents because it seemed like the easiest way to create a collaborative group study guide.  It was simple!  I wanted students to be able to just click a link and get to a document, instead of having to log into another site.  I find that Google allows that in a lot of ways, which is also why I like the Google Talk Chatback Badge.  Students participated a little bit, but not as much as I hoped.

I have also used the discussion board inside of my course and just had students post their questions and comments about what they were studying for the exam.  This seemed to get more use than the Google document, which was good.

I have also held study sessions through Elluminate live! in which I wish students participated more.  This is making me think that perhaps the issue is that the Google document was used for a study guide.  Maybe studying-related activities are just not that interesting to my students.

It is also possible that they feel they don't have to contribute any more beyond what I tell them in terms of preparing for the exam.  Also, I do think that students may have watched the exam review session recording.  I have not yet figured out how to track that, so it is possible that the Elluminate session was viewed more than I think.  A few students did mention watching the recording.  Maybe they felt that posting in a wiki or discussion board was not necessary after seeing the session.

Here are a few things I would like to try:

1) I think that students would be more likely to use the wiki if they had points attached to it somehow.

2) I would like to use wikis for other purposes besides just study guides.

3) I would like wikis to be inside my course!

What I liked about Google documents:

1) It was simple!

2) I could sort of "lock" the document at some point, download it, and send it out to all of the students in the class.

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Diigo was a lot of fun this week!  I appreciate that a group was set up so that I could explore Diigo more.  I signed up for daily updates for the Diigo group.  I think that is a great feature for groups.  It would be neat if students received daily updates of new links and comments posted in their Diigo group.

Creating Connections with Ning, Edublogs, Twitter, and Elluminate

This week I visited, revisited, explored, and reflected upon Nings, Edublogs, Twitter, and Elluminate.

Ning: This is where most of my learning happened this week.  I created a Ning.  I am not sure if I would use it for a fully online class yet.  One helpful way to use a Ning might be to use it in a face-to-face class.  In the summer, when things are happening so quickly in intensely, I might consider creating a Ning for those who are interested in more connection.  This summer I might be teaching two sections of the same course, both face-to-face, and I am wondering about creating one Ning space where both sections can meet.  This would allow for more cross-learning between the sections.  If I made it optional, I think it could work.  I am not sure about the logistics of this, though, and if there's some reason I would not want to do that.  If anyone has thoughts on this, please let me know.

A second use of Nings also occurred to me.  I thought about how I have always dreamed of having a web-based way to connect early childhood education professionals in North San Diego County.  San Diego County is large and many events happen in the downtown San Diego area or even the south bay or east county.  That is close to an hour or so commute from up here, depending on traffic, which makes it hard for many professionals who are working full-time and have to be back at work early in the morning.  I got this idea after exploring a Ning called "Classroom 2.0."  I started to think that it might be neat to create a Ning where professionals in the North County of San Diego could network and support one another.

I have thought of other potential uses, too.  I will continue to think more about Nings.  I was somewhat skeptical about using them and I am grateful that we were required to explore them this week.

Edublogs: I have an Edublog, which is linked on the Program for Online Teaching main page.  I have also used Edublogs for other things.  For example, I have used Edublogs for classes at other colleges where I did not have access to an easy-to-use course management system that I could use for updates and things between classes.  I usually teach once a week if I teach in person, since I am part-time faculty and generally get night or weekend classes.  A lot can happen in a week!  I used Edublogs to post things like study guides if I had them ready earlier in the week.  It gave students a chance to get the information more quickly.  I like using Edublogs.  I find all aspects of the system pretty easy to use.

Twitter: I have gotten around creating a Twitter account by simply subscribing to the RSS feeds of Twitter pages that I want to follow.  I mostly follow Twitter pages that are not related to work.  There is a cooking show I follow and I also follow the Twitter feed for a store I frequent for household shopping so that I can get coupons and sale information.  I enjoy following the Twitter feeds and I do not really see any need to create an account for myself at this time.  I do not really have time to post on Twitter or reply to the tweets I read anyway.

Elluminate: I just had an Elluminate meeting with my class on Wednesday evening!  The students wanted me to have a live meeting about the projects in our course.  I did a survey to find out what exactly they wanted to learn.  I then held an Elluminate meeting.  When I first started doing these meetings, I would schedule an hour.  Now I just schedule a half hour, but I offer to stay late if people need to chat more.  I usually do end up staying around for a student or two who have more questions.  I usually stop recording at that point, though.  That is actually what I like the most about Elluminate.  The sessions can be recorded for those who missed the meetings.  Those who attend still feel like they benefit, or at least that is what they tell me, because they can ask questions in a live format and they get individualized attention from me that they could not get if they simply viewed the recording.

I also like that Elluminate meetings can be created inside my course management system.  I also have found the main elluminate.com website to be helpful.  I was once having an issue with getting the meeting to open on my computer and I found the answer to my problem in their help forums!

Thank you for the opportunities this week.  I enjoyed exploring Ning and reflecting about my use of the other programs I listed here (i.e., Edublogs, Twitter, and Elluminate).  If anyone has feedback or thoughts for me, I am eager to hear them!

Learning & Google Wave

Rose enjoys learning math - when I weave it into game-like scenarios (running a restaurant, paying rent, etc.).  Even better is when she experiences using math in her life (e.g., doubling a recipe, determining how much to buy or pay at the store).

How my daughter learns and collaborates will be dramatically different from her father's experience in school.  The very tools she uses will be different.

Google Wave is another one of the new technologies to make the scene, and perhaps she and my college students will be using it in the near future on collaborative projects.  I think of 'Google Wave' as a shared collaborative space that you can invite others to, or make public to the world.

Briefly, Google Wave incorporates elements of a wiki, blog, e-mail, threaded discussion board, file sharing, and instant messaging... plus you can include links, images, videos, gadgets (e.g., 'live' bar graph of vote on a topic) and robots (e.g., 'live' translator). 

Below is my first experience with using Google Wave... to create a learning object that students can interact with, discuss, and even modify.  I also show how online instructors are discussing (within Google Wave) the possible applications of using Google Wave.

Rose has not yet tackled any online collaborative projects with others, but when she does, Google Wave will be another tool at her disposal.  As for college students, this may be a great way to organize files, conversation, and resources when collaborating on a project.  Stay tuned...

If you want to find out more about Google Wave, here are a few resources:
An 8 overview of Google Wave (YouTube)
Google Wave - One Hundred Cool Things(webpage)
The Complete Guide to Google Wave(e-book; scroll down to TOC)

Request a Google Wave account

Enjoy!
Robert