Ko & Rossen, Chapter 11: Classroom Management and Facilitation, pp. 318-end and Chapter 12: Special Issues if you wish.

Read: Lisa M Lane, Insidious Pedagogy (2009)

Read: Jennifer Demski, Rebuilding the LMS for the 21st Century (2012)

See Joyce Seitzinger’s Moodle Tool Guide (2010), an example of an LMS critique based on pedagogical goals

Learn about one CMS/LMS with which you are not familiar.

Post, in the format of your choice, about your views on using a CMS/LMS, or any CMS/LMS in particular.

Ko & Rossen: chapter 10, Teaching online

This chapter made so much sense to me. It focuses on the obvious point that switching from an onsite class to an online course for the first time as a student is not that easy simply because it does require a good amount of self-discipline to be able to learn alone following directions from an online course. Everything is on a screen. The human interraction is not “physical” anymore (not quite real except for (somewhat) a video recording done by the instructor introducing himself/ herself at first or with Face Time on a Mac, for instance)  because you only have to rely on forums, discussion boards and  Skype if the instructor uses this tool. As noted in this chapter, the facial expressions, the hand delivered test won’t have their place anymore on an online class. There is also the technical part hoping that students will know how to manage with new software for some of them. Of course, the same goes for the instructor, perhaps new to this technology, who will have to know what he/she is doing by being beforehand well organized and knowing how to navigate between several different sofware tools. It seems to me that teaching online, if you are a novice and being a new student online as well, is a question of becoming  “a new YOU:” you have to re-train your brain into a new system of communication with others: understanding how to communicate in a new fashion if you are used to see and talk to people in person , knowing how to become interractive “digitally” with other students and your teacher and especially make sure that you know how specific online tools work. But again, it all depends on the teacher, who will have to prepare the “terrain:” make himself/herself available to students on a regular basis, have a clear, inviting and organized format online class, know how online tools work by explaining how this “new world” works to students  . As Ko & Rossen say it so well: the initial efforts for a well-organized online class have to come from a friendly  teacher who needs to set the tone from the very beginning.

 Nielsen Norman Group

Jakob Nielsen, College Students on the Web (2010): I did like this article a lot in reference to multitasks because it exactly relates to my 14 year old daughter: as I am typing away in this POTCERT blog right now quietly in the kitchen next to my dog sleeping at my feet (no TV, no noise except for the refrigerator) , she is doing her homework upstairs (both online and on paper) while being multitasked:  on Facebook, listening to loud music on Pandora  (or iTunes sometimes), text messaging to her friends (they are probably doing the same thing too tonight) and checking her e-mail on Yahoo. These activities are all done at the same time meaning that her brain needs to be split in different directions. I find it “impressive:” to be able to be “serious” (doing the homework) while having fun by doing what she wants to do and listen to. And that is after a day of volleyball practice and going to bed late the night before  (sleep-over with a girlfriend). I do not encourage this behavior but it seems to be a need for some teeangers to behave this way. The various attractions exist: social media, iPhone, etc., and the homework to be done is just another feature somewhere in between.

For the READING section in the article, it mentions that most teenagers are poor readers. We cannot generalize because some teenagers do read but perhaps and mainly because it is a requirement for school but again, there are exceptions to the rule. It might also depend on the parents: if children see their parents read instead of spending time watching TV. several hours a day, it will send a better signal to children, who would then be more inclined to read.

Richtel (NYTimes), Growing up Digital, Wired for Distraction (2010): I liked the Nielsen Group article being more of a survey but the one from the NYTimes is my favorite one because it gives specific examples so true to life.   What I was saying about my daughter does fit perfectly with this subject again: distraction and trying to work because you cannot do your homework without having fun at the same time. The serious side of life as a teenager in school has to mix with the fun part of life : being cool means to know what is going on around you via the social medias and still give some time to the homework but the latter is not the prime thing to do because teenagers think that there is always time to do the homework later so you wait until the last minute to do it. I could not agree more with this article: there is a real danger of being consistantly attracted by the Web when you spend so much time on it on a daily basis. You just cannot focus on one thing well because you are always tempted to switch back to other “fun” things instead of doing one thing at a time well and in less amount of time. I like this sentence in this article, which basically summarizes everything when Mr. Diesel asserts about teenager students that “It’s in their DNA to look at screens.” So true. The Web is ok when you know how to use it but the main important thing is not losing your “deep analytical thought” (Mr. Reilly, p.6).

• ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information  Technology (2010): My actual experience is based on my students’ connection to the Web on a daily basis: they use (most of them)  Skype and their smart phones (but not all of them) to do their homework online on Blackboard. Such a small screen but they are ok with that, I guess. A question of habit. But I have several students who have their laptop in my classes while I teach so they can access the same sites as me when I show them in class on a big screen. To them, it is easier to see because they are closer to their eyes and at the same time they often  check other websites at the same time to see if what I show has the same content on similar websites. A few students have iPads but most of them prefer a MacBookPro or a PC laptop. Text messaging during class time is still a problem and they frankly don’t care when reminded not to use their phone. They stop to please you but do it again 10 minutes later. Not every student behaves this way but quite a few do. And in regards to homework, there is still a good number of students who rather like doing their homework the old fashioned way on paper rather than online. But there are, of course, students who like doing their work online too so this new technology is definitely an option to those who prefer a screen instead of a hardcover workbook.

FAQ Poll

Click here to take survey

I read Lisa Lane’s blog post (the seven points!): I like the way it was outlined with the short and concise paragraphs. Straight to the point. The section about getting a blog not connected with a college made good sense. I can see the advantage in regards to having possibly (and hopefully) less technical problems. Last week my WordPress blog was rather frustrating for me and I am hoping that this week 17 will be like it used to be: to be inserted correctly into Pedagogy first! 

The section on the HTML code is very good also. Rachèle de Méo was mentioning the site Quackit. I used it in the past but now I don’t recall how I came upon this site. Quite some time ago. Very good reference , though. Merci, Rachèle!

And Lisa also talked about the learning techniques of grouping students, clustering assignments, and using templates. That is what I am doing even more this semester: group tests using templates, group assignments based on research, which result in the following:

• Less time correcting (I am very happy now!) because less pages.
• The students are very happy and they are still learning.

And I listened to the recording from Louisa Moon. She gave some very good insight on how to manage the rubrics and finding the proper way to respond to students. I like the fact that she said that teachers have a life too so you don’t have to spend countless hours on the computer responding to everyone and doing certain tasks, which can be done the right way if you are organized. Everything is a matter of organization in life. The same goes with running a business and “running” your thoughts in your head the right way also to avoid panic but staying calm.

Also this confirms my thoughts about being very technology oriented: Louisa was mentioning that the best teacher online is not necessarily the one who puts forward the high tech aspect of teaching online. Some of my students agree and they don’t like too much technology (some of it) rather the human part but I am only teaching an hybrid class for now so it is a bit different. I just know that I try to balance out the technology in class on the computer with my physical presence, talking to students, etc. The best of both worlds, I think.

And they are still students who have a hard time with Blackboard (quite a few never look at it) not knowing where to go even after showing them several times the sections, the documents, asking questions to make it easier for them, etc. So after this Spring break, I will have to show Blackboard again.

Another note → my back up after sending the e-mails for the assignments is in three sections within Blackboard: Messages + Tasks  and the Calendar so this way, they cannot say that they did know…BUT some students still never check their e-mails so what can I tell you…Those would never take an online class.

Ko & Rossen chapter 11 → I like the section on the online participation: it has to be graded to make sure that the students did do the assignments, not just opening the documents for some time and not doing anything. The higher the % is for a grade , the more commitment you should ideally get from the student’s involvement if the latter really cares. The group assignment is the guarantee that the students is involved by making comments in the shared discussion room.  The individual work has “to exist,” of course but a team work involves even more commitment because you have to focus, study and put your thoughts together to come up with your own comments.

Post on facilitation: two ways of looking at it  and one way to listen to it with Audioboo. Much simpler and especially quicker than Audacity a few weeks ago↓

 →  JPG image:

 → Bigger and detailed picture by scrolling your mouse up and down, right to left or vice versa. Each icon has either a little square (a note detailing the folders and subfolders) and/or an → (green arrow) to take you to a Website.

I prefer Personal Brain but this week has been a tough one dealing with this program with the screen freezing for a long time so I could not save anything; I could not get any new inserts after the first ones I was able to add so I switched to another program, Mindmeister. Not as good in regards to choosing the pictures you want unless you pay for an upgrade so I dealt with their very basic default images for free!:

Create your own mind maps at MindMeister

Ko & Rossen, Chapter 9: Creating Courseware and Using Web 2.0 Tools  ↓

There is a section in the chapter titled “Problems that students typically encounter” that, I think is important (but all chapters in this book are equally important in my opinion):  some icons on a course website sometimes mean the same because they are too general as stated in that chapter such as “Main course or Notes or Information,” etc. Therefore what seems obvious to the teacher might not to the student. So once again, the focus has to be on being more specific by choosing the right terminology.

Another important chapter is about preparing beforehand the students for an online course: setting up a short online quiz seems to be a good way to introduce the students about what an online course is supposed to be. And on the teacher’s side, it is crucial to balance the workload when you have many students spread over a few online classes.

I see the workload and  time management as two big priorities for the teacher: learning how to manage effectively many students and choosing the right online tools to make an online course excellent and attractive at the same time.

I took more than one look at Prezi, and it is definitely a good visual presentation application. Most of my students choose Prezi rather than Power Point but I always give them the choice so they have both options for their oral presentations in class. I like the “flash” feeling with Prezi. It somewhat feels more professional to look at it and it focuses on the important point in a more effective way than Power Point being more static.

Short screencast with Screen-o-Matic: my mind map + via YouTube below =

http://youtu.be/sEFxyEjdDrY

→ Below, you can play with it too with your mouse:



Short poll with SurveyMonkey : http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6DHHLM

• I read: Ko & Rossen, Chapter 9: Creating Courseware and Using Web 2.0 Tools, pp. 252-269 . There are some new software I never heard of very “tempting” in this chapter for creating audio files. So far, I created a YouTube video for one of my classes. A bit “funny” because it was not edited and you can see and hear two things: when I fix my hair and the voice of the owner of the boutique. We are both true amateurs here!:
• http://youtu.be/0OSQ0WaogkY  
• Recording with Audacity: after several attempts, it finally worked (excellent sound!) : 0_Pedagogy_first__Week_14
  
• I used a PowerPoint presentation I used in class and I uploaded it to Slideshare and I added an audio file.
• With Mac, I had some problem so I did it with a PC after viewing a tutorial on the Slideshare Website: I did a Voice podcast in Blackboard and saved it on my desktop and then I inserted in as a MP3 file (zip file; I extracted the files thereafter).
• With my MacBookAir, if I export the slides made with Keynote and I save them as a Power Point after, I could not hear my voice once uploaded in Slideshare (after saving the Keynote slides in a Power Point presentation). I could only hear my recording with Keynote . It took me a little while to figure this on my own but I finally did with a PC.
• Embedded  audio file Slideshare: the sound has a few ups and downs but it is working.
• http://www.slideshare.net/DAArnaud/pedagogy-first-week-14
• Recording on eyejot: I did like this feature a lot. Hopefully, it will come through to anyone who wants to watch and hear it:
  

Frustrated with week 14 having some problems navigating between PC and Mac while trying to embed Audacity on either one but I finally made it work thanks to Anthony Ginger who added a file extension (wav) on WordPress…..:

• I read the entire book before the Winter 2012 break: Ko & Rossen.
• I took a screenshot from my MacBookAir: here it is below above the Flickr logo

• I created a new account on Flickr.
• I added a picture with annotation:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/92891392@N06/
• Unfortunately, I was not able to use Mbedr to embed my image with its annotation in my blog post using WordPress.com so I just linked the image (link above).

• I read chapter 8, Ko and Rossen: Copyright, Intellectual Property, and Open Educational Resources and I found some good and new information about which sites are accessible to educators to retrieve information without asking for permission and for no fee as well. Having finished the book, I will look it up again for some useful information and references in regards to sites I will need to visit very soon. I have to say that I learned a lot by reading this book.
• I also explored online textbooks and e-books on the Project Gutenburg and open textbook. The open textbook lead me, among other things, to a site I have been using for quite some time (the university of Texas).
• I did the same with the open educational resources at the Project Gutenburg and the Internet Archive. I liked both of them and the fact that they carry foreign books that you can download. I saw some similarity from both sites for what I was looking for in regards to languages. These two sites do offer a nice variety of e-books. There were some titles I did not know about in the foreign section.
• I checked out MiraCosta’s library resources. I frankly say that I never had the opportunity to use it so far having all the books I need. But I do tell my students to explore the library at Miracosta. It is there to be “exploited” after all.
• I took the POT certification class mid-year class survey and the Mid-year Self-Assessment Check. After looking at my results, I can see that I need to make more  comments on other participants’ blogs. Will do to correct this.

• Statements about the quality of each post

• Week 1: http://wordpress.miracosta.edu/darnaud/?p=14 = I just made an introduction for the most part for week 1 and I added a picture featuring an acquaintance of mine and myself.
• Week 2: http://wordpress.miracosta.edu/darnaud/?p=29 = I talked about the online tools that I always use in my class to enhance the on-site class that I teach. The beginner’s questionnaire gave me some useful insight about what I should further look for an online class.
• Week 3: http://wordpress.miracosta.edu/darnaud/?p=36 = Here I mentioned the types of work I require from my students, which is the focus on group work and communication with the outside world with foreign students. I also thought that I should add some auditory cues to enhance the written part when I give assignments to my students.
• Week 4: http://wordpress.miracosta.edu/darnaud/?p=53 = I checked some teachers’ online classes and I again learned quite a few things on what to do when you want to build an online class. I also said that I should make some research on some online tools that I never used before. The overall idea here is to be practical (what is relevant and not relevant by taking away some information but leaving what is necessary, of course; some “interior cleaning,” I should say) in order to make the online class accessible to students.
• Week 5: http://wordpress.miracosta.edu/darnaud/?p=72 = Kept reading my “weekly book:” Practical guide of online teaching. I understand the good use of hyperlinks and the audio cues for an online class and the idea of a map featuring the “geography” of the class: showing assignments, goals, result, etc. Graphics are useful not just text.
• Week 6: http://wordpress.miracosta.edu/darnaud/?p=84 = I created some new accounts online (Google Reader, etc.) and I tried to pass the internet skills quiz…Almost made it but I did not get 100%. I also learned how to insert a video in my blog.
• Week 7: http://wordpress.miracosta.edu/darnaud/?p=97 = I talked about Twitter: why I use it (not for education purposes yet) and mainly about Second Life, which I found hard to implement in my class as a new component. Also I gave an example (link) of an online exercise with a foreign language.
• Week 8: http://wordpress.miracosta.edu/darnaud/?p=126 = Talked about Eluminate live! sessions within Blackboard, which I enjoyed  a lot with my students. It is work when several students participate at the same time but rewarding on both sides. Answered to Pilar Hernandez’s Voice Thread and I can see the advantage on using this tool for my students. Finally, I talked about the + of using Ning in my class and I made some comments to some interesting blogs from other participants.
• Week 9: http://wordpress.miracosta.edu/darnaud/?p=133 = A new thing to me: registering on the Merlot website, which makes me think that I need to contact a teacher from Canada, who featured some very useful videos in foreign languages. This is a super site full of information.  Also talking about goanimate, I use for animation, Second Life again (pitfalls) and a new tool, Diigo, which allowed me to join Mccpot and see other participants’ comments. I agree that I did not use Diigo enough. Shame on me…
• Week 10: http://wordpress.miracosta.edu/darnaud/?p=151 = This was an interesting and fun week for me as I discovered the tool Engrade (the format might be better than the grade center in Blackboard) and I created a mini website with Google sites. I will use this new mini-Website for next semester as I now have some exciting ideas using this tool. And talking about the advantages and disadvantages of blogging on an online class. I see blogging as a plus as long as the teacher is the moderator to avoid going  overboard with unpleasant comments from some students.
• Week 11: http://wordpress.miracosta.edu/darnaud/?p=201 = I learned to read the “true meaning” of copyright (what is allowed and what is not) and realized that some sites allow educators to use information written by different entities and therefore staying in the right boundaries within the law.

Conclusion

I can see some parts where I need to improve the “quality” of my posts and blogging as stated above: making more comments on the POTCERT participants’blogs and viewing more videos as well.I  like these assessments at the end of the first 12 weeks of POTCERT : it shows your weaknesses and strength.

Video, Lawrence Lessig, How creativity is being strangled by the law: I really enjoyed watching and listening to this. Very informative and even funny at times when two topics were shown to the audience featuring politics and religion in a more “controversial” fashion. I appreciated the fact that the emphasis was also on children and creativity, on how it is important to let children use their imagination.

Learning about web accessibility via the sites given on Pedagogy First!: I never gave a thought about the Web and people with disabilities. It obviously makes sense to give access to anyone, regardless of disability or not.

As far as copyright, I have in the past used some information from others from the Web to show some interesting facts (mainly pictures and some passages from articles; always quote on quote and citing the person’s name; I never say “I” if it does not come from me ) to my students in my on site class. It has always been temporary  for the duration of an assignment (sometimes just for one day) and that’s about it. The aim is education, not to sell an idea to the world as far as I am concerned. And some copyright information online is for sale after asking permission to use it so I don’t “touch” that and I go elsewhere to find free information so I won’t get in trouble by using it.

I actually had a similar “copyright” problem several years ago when one person used my ideas to write a book and the latter never mentioned my name. I saw the book quite by accident in a bookstore in Boulder, CO. On top of that I met shortly after, by accident too, the student who wrote the book. She said to me that I was a true inspiration to her when she wrote it.  Without my ideas, she would have never been able to write it so she said….

Ah, I would say “yes!!!” Because when I browse the book everything came from me…I was somewhat shocked and disappointed not to see my name in the preface for acknowledgment.

• I viewed Lisa’s slidecast on blogging  and Jim Sullivan’s  Elluminate session: it all makes sense to me. I started blogging with my students about 1 year and half ago only via my cultural blog but I do need more involvement from my students. Next semester, I will make it mandatory by asking to make a certain number of comments and the rest can be an option for extra credit. Right now, it is only an extra credit but few students are willing to participate. They might be too busy to participate?! I don’t know but some semesters the participation was fantastic. All the posts are very relevant to the class I teach but the interest is not “100%” yet.

Grade center, assignments, etc.

• Engrade, an online gradebook: I liked it for what I have seen so far but I did not registered as I don’t need to do this yet. I already use Blackboard but it looked very enticing to me when I saw the format and what it had to offer.  I will have to check their grade center to compare it with Blackboard. Especially in regards to weight and straight pts. How they handle that compared to Blackboard (running total).

I like it!

• I had much fun creating my own mini-website last night at Google Sites. I put some basic course information and other things and, in fact, I wanted to keep going by adding more and more but I had to stop at some point… Addicting! I first watched Pilar’s tutorial to make sure I knew how to start on the right path. Basic template. Nothing fancy yet and I still need to make some revisions but at least it is okay for the time being. Here it is. Any types of comments are welcomed, of course. I don’t mind receiving advice at all because I don’t know everything:

https://sites.google.com/site/francais101miracosta2013/

This week’s topics ☟

• What might be the advantages and disadvantages of using a class blog or student blogs for your class? : I could see some disadvantages if the students get carried away with making negative comments about someone else’s opinion if they disagree…?! Other than that, it is definitely a good community sharing of thoughts to enrich the class. It gives a better idea of whom the students are by talking about different subjects pertaining to the class. Just like we can see on Yahoo chat (I am not sure if it called chat or not, sorry…), which is basically like a blog where people share their opinion (but here it can be anonymous). The teacher as the moderator has the power to leave or take away the comments if not appropriate. Nothing wrong with online debates as stated in Teaching online a practical guide.

• Could a Google Site or web page make a good welcome for students?: Definitely!!!!!!! It goes without saying and it is even better. Students want to know whom their teacher is. I had students in the past who would go on the Internet to see who I was besides being a teacher. In a way, nothing is private anymore but it can be used in a positive way by sharing what can only be shared so I prefer making the first step to tell them about my interests and other types of things while not saying everything….. Just the best about me, ah, ah!

• I am impressed by Ko and Rossen, Teaching online a practical guide. The more I read this book, the more pertinent I find it . The information on general and specific subjects is very well explained with a simple and easy approach.
• I registered on  MERLOT and I like it very much. I checked some very useful information, namely the animation part. I now need to get hold of a Canadian instructor, who came up with some very good animations in foreign languages. But I , so far and for the time being, have used for 2 semesters the website goanimate.com for short 2 minute animations for 1 month free trial. Very basic for languages but still a lot of fun for beginners in foreign languages. My students like it very much.
• I also registered on Diigo, and I joined  “mccpot“.
• Bookmarked Terry Anderson and Jon Dron’s Three Generations of Distance Education Pedagogy using Diigo, and made a couple of  notes  onto the mccpot group.
• I already tried Second Life in the past and I already made some comments about it in previous posts.
• Second Life / Diigo: How could either be used for education? What are the pitfalls?: Yes, Second Life can be used for education but just like “Teaching online  a practical guide” says, it does require lots of planning and training on behalf of the teacher and the student also (mainly training for the latter). There is so much to do already with blogging, preparing an online class, corrections and so on. This is really a question of  training but planning as well and I mean by that hours to set aside in front of the computer just to be proficient at one thing. I am not sure yet how to use it for education purposes unless I can find a special subject to implement within Second Life: imagining an avatar student writing on a board and making a teacher avatar explaining how to find the answer to a set of questions ? Something like that….I just don’t know yet.
• On that note, there was an interesting program several weeks ago on KPBS t.v. channel about Second Life showing someone who became a millionaire by using Second Life. This gentleman invented a fantasy game via Second Life for adults only. Very consuming: He basically spends about 12 hours a day on Second Life and he has clients all over the world. Just to let you: he is not teaching foreign languages, maths and other disciplines but selling you fantasy about something else….
• Diigo: I posted a couple of comments and there is the advantage of seeing other people’comments. It is a plus, of course but I am not proficient at it yet. It does remind me a little bit of Evernote, which I use.