Blog reflection: What did you learn this week that struck you as particularly important in learning about virtual schools? Has your thinking changed as the result of what you learned this week?
Once again, there are two main areas that stuck out in my mind this week. The first has to do with assessment. Only this time, it's not assessment of students but assessment of online courses. Which is really what the researchers are all trying to do - assess online learning. My thinking primarily changed because when I began this course I was constantly thinking of virtual schooling (and even courses) as an alternative to traditional f2f classrooms. This type if thinking automatically forces you into comparing the two types of environments. This week I had an A-HA moment when I realized that it's not an alternative but just a different way of accomplishing the same goal. So, to evaluate online courses you simply need to assess whether they are meeting stated objectives and learning goals in the same way that we shouldn't compare one student to another but rather one student against his/her own past performance.
The second realization focused once again on socialization. In particular, what do we mean by socialization? Is a lively discussion in a forum on a particular course-relevant topic socialization? What about a discussion in the "water cooler" forum? Do you think of socialization as only synchronous or can it be asynchronous? And, in today's new digital world, don't we all need to learn how to socialization online anyway? These are some of the questions I will continue to explore as I work on my research project, and beyond.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Week 10 Reflection - Online Schooling Effectiveness
Blog reflection: What did you learn this week that struck you as particularly important in learning about virtual schools? Has your thinking changed as the result of what you learned this week?
There are two main areas which struck me as particularly important and changed my thinking.
1. Online Only/Blended/F2F Only
While I knew that all of these combinations existed, I hadn't given quite as much thought to when and why one environment might be better than another until this week. Personally, I am a fan of online learning and I've had a lot of success with such classes as I pursue my 2nd Masters. I've also experienced quite a number of blended learning courses and one or two face to face only courses. I've come to appreciate the value of blended learning for the added "time on task" that it allows and for the additional presentation formats it offers. However, after reading the numerous studies and meta-analyses this week comparing (or attempting to compare) the learning effectiveness of these different delivery platforms, I am now much more cognizant of the importance of instructional design and instructional goals. Before considering any platform choice, the learning outcomes that you want students to achieve must be clear and the design elements must be appropriate for the platform (or vice versa!).
2. Online Schooling & Socialization
Again, it's a topic that I've been aware of for quite some time. I know that there are many people who believe that online schooling (and home schooling for that matter) are detrimental to the social development of those students. I had my own (differing) opinion on the matter but until this week didn't have any hard facts to back that up. Now, I approach the conversation with cautious confidence, knowing that the study has it's own design flaws, but aware that that there are plenty of ways to ensure appropriate social development as an online learner. In addition to the discussion aspect, dots in my mind connected almost immediately as I began to read the article. Leverage Web 2.0. Social Networking. Online Communication. It's definitely a component of social development - both in the real world (making friends) and the online world (building your social capital). I became so excited by the idea that I decided to focus my research project on this very topic!
That's about it for this week. But, it was definitely an enlightening one!
There are two main areas which struck me as particularly important and changed my thinking.
1. Online Only/Blended/F2F Only
While I knew that all of these combinations existed, I hadn't given quite as much thought to when and why one environment might be better than another until this week. Personally, I am a fan of online learning and I've had a lot of success with such classes as I pursue my 2nd Masters. I've also experienced quite a number of blended learning courses and one or two face to face only courses. I've come to appreciate the value of blended learning for the added "time on task" that it allows and for the additional presentation formats it offers. However, after reading the numerous studies and meta-analyses this week comparing (or attempting to compare) the learning effectiveness of these different delivery platforms, I am now much more cognizant of the importance of instructional design and instructional goals. Before considering any platform choice, the learning outcomes that you want students to achieve must be clear and the design elements must be appropriate for the platform (or vice versa!).
2. Online Schooling & Socialization
Again, it's a topic that I've been aware of for quite some time. I know that there are many people who believe that online schooling (and home schooling for that matter) are detrimental to the social development of those students. I had my own (differing) opinion on the matter but until this week didn't have any hard facts to back that up. Now, I approach the conversation with cautious confidence, knowing that the study has it's own design flaws, but aware that that there are plenty of ways to ensure appropriate social development as an online learner. In addition to the discussion aspect, dots in my mind connected almost immediately as I began to read the article. Leverage Web 2.0. Social Networking. Online Communication. It's definitely a component of social development - both in the real world (making friends) and the online world (building your social capital). I became so excited by the idea that I decided to focus my research project on this very topic!
That's about it for this week. But, it was definitely an enlightening one!
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