Discussion Question

Discussion Rubric: Visit http://inside.waldenu.edu/c/Student_Faculty/StudentFaculty_15198.htm to view a rubric for the Discussion.

Collaboration – Individual Approach or Team Approach

Boettcher and Conrad (2004) suggest that interaction and community are at opposite ends of a continuum. The online learning environment begins with interaction activities that provide opportunities that encourage students to engage and participate with the instructor, content and other learners to connect to begin building an effective learning community. However, these efforts alone are not always successful in building trust and motivating learners to connect within the learning community. Moving up the continuum requires that learner connections be deepened through collaboration and cooperation in problem-solving activities (Oosterhof et al, 2008). 
Based on the information from this week’s learning resources and your own learning experiences, what approach to collaboration is more advantageous to building community and deepening knowledge, individually or as a team or group? How often should an instructor incorporate collaborative activities to support gradual development of skills and increase growth in confidence.

By Friday:
Post your thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of collaborative activities that require individual learner participation or participation as part of a team or group. From your own experience, describe which collaborative activities and assessments were motivational to you to connect and deepen your knowledge.

By Sunday:
Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings. As you read their responses, note those to which you would like to respond with advice, questions, comments and/or encouragement.
Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ postings in any of the following ways:

Building on something your colleague said.

Explain why and how you see things differently.

Ask a probing or clarifying question.

Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting

Offer and support an opinion

Validate an idea with your own experience.

References:

Oosterhof, A., Conrad, R.-M., & Ely, D. P. (2008). Assessing learners online. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

PLAGIARISM DETECTION AND PREVENTION

Today, there are several plagiarism detection software applications and services that are commercially available for the use of detecting
plagiarism.  Turnitin.com and EVE (Essay Verification Engine) are two such applications and services that are used to compare student documents.    The use of these applications and free online search engines such as Google has helped to improve the instructor’s ability to detect plagiarism.

As a means to prevent plagiarism, incorporating reinforcement of academic integrity standards as part of continuous assessment of student
work is one way to lead students to a higher level of integrity.  Many educators view explicit plagiarism instruction as the best means of prevention (Conradson & Hernandez-Ramos, 2004; Harris, 2004; Vernon, Bigna & Smith, 2001).  Recent research provides support for the effectiveness of incorporating plagiarism instruction into individual courses (Ziden, et al, 2009).  As a means of evaluating and assessing student assignments, a rubric is a scoring system, which can also
be used to incorporate a format measurement to ensure adherence to appropriate written English and citation practice.  The rubric can be a constant reminder of the standards of academic integrity standards for their student work.  The use of plagiarism detection software such as Turnitin.com as a requirement for submitted work is an incentive for honesty in academic assignments.

As a future instructional designer, facilitation strategies I propose to design would include instruction about copyright, fair use, plagiarism and cheating in the course beginning with continuous reminders of academic integrity standards in every student assignment and activity along with rubric measurements and assessment of student work.

Other considerations for online teaching would be designing more learning activities that involve student collaboration and interaction that include peer dialogue and reviews.  These would include sharing of ideas and research.

References:

Conradsn, S. & Hernandez-Ramos, P. (2004). Computers, the Internet, and cheating among secondary school students: Some implications
for educators. Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation, ((9).  Retrieved from http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=9&n=9.

Harris, R. (2004). Anti-plagiarism strategies for research papers. VirtualSalt.  Retrieved from http://www.virtualsalt.com/antiplag.htm.

Vernon, R., Bigna, S. & Smith, M. (2001). Plagiarism and the Web. Journal of Social Work Education, 37(1), 193-196.

Ziden, A. A., Fook, F. S., Idrus, R. M. & Ismail, I. (2009). The types of online interaction model: Individual approaches in online discussions. Paper presented at the 5^th WSEAS/IASME International Conference on Educational Technology, La Lagune, Spain.  Abstract retrieved from  http://usm.academia.edu/rozhanmidrus/Papers/162116/The_Types_of_Online_Interaction_Model_Individual_Approaches_in_

Online_Discussions

IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY AND MULTIMEDIA

The evolution of distance education has had an impact in providing access to students who are unable to participate in face-to-face courses with another alternative to attend courses in blended and online learning environments. The emergence of new technologies and the variety of Web 2.0 tools have changed the way in which courses can be delivered and have helped to facilitate the emergence of synchronous and asynchronous tools and learning networks with the use of the internet.

The impact of technology and multimedia has provided opportunities to foster student interaction and collaboration among learners, which helps to create and build learning communities in both asynchronous and synchronous learning networks. Multimedia can be effective in making information more accessible to more learners (Heinich, et al, 1996) and multimedia can provide more options about how students choose to learn, Multimedia can improve the online experience and improve the ability to learn and retain information (Sheybani, et al., 2004). The combination of visuals with words has the effect of improving learning (Mayer, 2003).

The most important considerations an online instructor should make before implementing technology should be determined by the seven principles provided by Chickering & Ehrmann (1996) to enhance the learning experience for the student:

Encourage contact between students and faculty
Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students
Use active learning techniques
Give prompt feedback
Emphasize time on task
Communicate high expectations
Respect diverse talents and ways of learning

Application of these seven principles in connection with the learning objectives of the course will help to determine the selection of the technology tools that best facilitate the learning outcomes that benefit the student.

Palloff & Pratt also offer some key points to consider in implementing and planning for technology-based learning:

Determine and address the skills the instructional staff will need to be successful in delivering training in an online environment

Determine and address the skills and readiness of the intended audience

Can the use of technology contribute to meeting learning goals?

Is the technology format an appropriate container for the content?

Can the learner gain information and practice new skills by using technology

Accessibility and usability impact directly on the pedagogical effectiveness of e-learning systems and resources for all learners (Cooper et al, 2007). They are closely linked issues that should be evaluated when implementing the use of technology tools in an online course. Usability, in an el-learning context, is defined as the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which users can achieve specified learning goals (ease of use) in a particular environment (Cooper et al, 2007) and accessibility is determined as the ability of learning environment to adjust to the needs of all learners (IMS Global Learning Consortium, 2002). These two issues are closely linked and must be considered and addressed when implementing use of technology tools in an online course keeping in mind the diverse ways learner interact with computers and their technology proficiency.

The technology tools that appeal most to me for use in an online learning environment are blogs and wikis for collaboration because they provide a great deal of flexibility for students to interact with one another and at the same time allowing them to be creative in collaboration on projects, etc.. Podcasts are another technology tool that appeals to me because you can find information and instruction on a variety of different topics from many sources and for free.

The continued use and emergence of new technologies in the online learning environment help to facilitate limitless amounts of new learning experiences through the use of the internet and technology tools that enhance opportunities for interaction and collaboration not only with fellow students and colleagues, but with others in the world. Opportunities emerge are opened for continual learning to experience new things in a variety of different ways. The description of the available tools for use in both asynchronous and synchronous learning networks was very informational for me in that now when I hear these tools mentioned in the future I will be familiar with the purpose they each serve in an online learning environment and more willing to explore their functionality as an instructional designer.

References:

Chickering, A. & Ehrmann, S. E. (1996). Implementing the seven principles: Technology as lever. American Association for Higher Education, 3-6. Retrieved from http://www. Tltgroup.org/programs/seven.html.

Cooper, Mr. Chetz, C. & Jelfs, A. (2007). Embedding accessibility and usability: Considerations for e-learning research and development projects. ALT-J: Research in Learning Technology, 15(3), 231-245.

Heinich, R., Molenda, M., Russell, J. D. & Smaldino, S. E. (1996). Instructional media and technologies for learning (Rev. ed). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Merrill.

IMS Global Learning Consortium (2002). Guidelines for developing accessible learning applications. Available online at: http://www.imsglobal.org/accessibility/accv1p0/imsacc_guidev1p0.html.

Mayer, R. E. (2003). The promise of multimedia learning: using the same instruction design methods across different media. Learning and Instruction, 13, 125-129.

Palloff, R. & Pratt, K. (2003). Creating effective online and blended courses. Retrieved from http://www.xroadservices.com/home/downloads.html.

Sheybani, E. & Javidi, G. (2004). Interactive multimedia and distance learning. Paper presented at the 2004 ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, Savannah, GA. Retrieved from http://fie.engrng.pitt.edu/fie2004/papers/1539.pdf.

SETTING UP AN ONLINE ENVIRONMENT

 The proliferation of new technologies and new learning environments such as the blended and online learning environments have had a great impact in the way courses are taught.  When designing courses and activities for online engagement, it is the learning outcome that must be the focus of the activity, not the technological tool used to implement the activity (Conrad & Donaldson, 2004).  However, one of the decisions to be made in order to design an effective activity that will engage the learner is deciding what communication tool will be the most effective for the activity.  Selection of which technological/communication tool will be used in an online course is one of the initial steps in course development and one of the biggest challenges for making sure that all participants have the necessary skill level with the communication tools that will be used during the course (Conrad & Donaldson, 2004).  Conrad & Donaldson (2004) also recommend that students be comfortable with a tool prior to its use in a graded assignment to avoid unnecessary frustration.  As a student in an online environment, it is crucial to have a basic fundamental understanding of the computer and the essential tools you will need to navigate and engage with the content, the instructor and other students to meet the learning outcomes set for the course.  In my experience, I have been exposed to a lot of new technologies and their uses.  My frustration, however, is that I still don’t have a good solid basic foundational understanding of some of the integrated software packages we have been assigned to use for completion of application assignments and course projects.  Conrad & Donaldson also state that the best way for students to learn to use the online course tools is to actually use them to increase their comfort level.  This is true, but in order to achieve a good comfort level, a basic understanding of a communication tool has to be established.  Once that is achieved, the student can then acquire confidence for a higher level of self-directed learning and comfort to increase the knowledge of the use of those communication tools.

Providing a clear explanation and understanding of what is expected of both the instructor and student in an online environment enables participants to move forward through the learning framework of phases in an online course with the least amount of confusion and frustration as possible.  The online course syllabus is a great place to provide a space to incorporate expectations and guidelines in length on a variety of areas such as participation, communication, etc.  Many adult learners are new to the online learning environment, clear expectations help to contribute and guide them toward the building of trust and engagement in an online community.

Other considerations to consider when setting up an online learning experience are those tasks for preparing and launching an online course such as creating and implementing the course plan, discussion questions, content resources and the tools for the online environment to be used.  First and foremost, though, it is essential that the instructor must consider starting the course on the right foot with an understanding of the tools required for launching an effective online experience.  Establishing and maintaining presence is the most important best practice for an instructor in an online course (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010).  Establishing social presence to get to know one another is essential to building trust and presence for the teaching and learning experiences and is critical for setting the tone for the entire length of the course.   Activities to ask students to introduce themselves by posting a personal bio beginning with the instructor along with the use of icebreakers allow students to get to know one another and get involved with one another.  As Palloff & Pratt (2011) point out, these activities help to humanize the instructor to the students as well as help them to establish a connection to the online learning community.
The instructor in an online learning environment plays a multi-facet, major role and is crucial to the success of the online course.   These practical recommendations, suggestions, tips and best practices for launching an online experience help to make the transition from a traditional learning environment to an online learning experience smoother for both the instructor and the learner.  I now have a clearer understanding of how and why the role of the instructor evolves to one of facilitator of significance of that role it plays in student engagement.  What I have learned has helped to me to connect the dots.

References:

Boettcher, J. V. & Conrad, R (2010). The online teaching survival guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Palloff, R, & Pratt, K. (2011). Launching the online learning experience (Video program).  Laureate, Inc.

ONLINE LEARNING COMMUNITIES

Pratt & Palloff (2011) define an online learning community as a community of student and faculty who explore content together to construct meaning and knowledge about that content.  How is that accomplished?  The use of a combination of constructivist and problem-based learning philosophies within a collaborative context result in an engaged learning environment (Conrad & Donaldson, 2004); engaged learning is focused on the learner.   An engaged learning environment is a collaborative learning process facilitated by building an online learning community comprise of the following elements and components:

• People – Students, faculty and how to bring them together

• Purpose – Coming together to take a course that connects them

• Process – The way in which the course will be delivered

• Method – The way in which to interact and communicate

• Social Presence – Being able to sense who they and other persons are in the online learning community via text communication

In the online learning community, students become equally active participants with faculty and fellow students with whom they connect through learner to learner engagement.  Learner to learner engagement and content engagement help to empower students to construct their own learning and knowledge and thereby make sense and meaning out of the content (Pratt & Palloff, 2011).  While being engaged with the content and one another, student thinking and perception become deeper, development of self-directed learning increases and students become more reflective by continuously reflecting on content and learning.  These activities in the online learning along with student learning experiences reinforce a sense of presence in the community with growing responsibility of all participants to create and sustain a successful learning environment.

Even though the instructor/facilitator is also an equal participant, he or she also play a critical role of guidance, coaching and mentoring and, as Conrad & Donaldson (2011) state,  ensure a high degree of interactivity and participation.  The instructor/facilitator’s presence must be obvious to the learners by reaching out to students so that they don’t feel isolated, explaining how he or she will support them and explain student responsibility to being a professional participants in the learning community along with the rules of engagement.

The student’s role as an engaged learner in an online environment will take time to develop.  For adult learners new to the online environment and technologies, educated in traditional learning environments and out of school for a long time, interaction and collaboration is not intuitive.  The challenge for both the instructor and the adult student new to the online environment will be how to facilitate the transition between the mindset that was reinforced in the traditional lecture-based learning environment and the mindset required becoming an engaged online community member (Conrad & Donaldson, 2004).  This transition can begin by developing and launching a required one to two-week online student orientation model launched to allow students to get used to and comfortable to an online environment, to get to  know one another, introduce the student to the learning management system and finally orient the student to the philosophy of how online learning is conducted.

Based on research, the benefits of the online learning community model are increased student satisfaction, increased perception of learning, feeling part of something larger, a much stronger focus and the social pressure to succeed.  These benefits are achieved by a sustained process within the online place of learning through opportunities that provide student learning experiences, activities, collaboration, and interaction in a course.  A framework for phases of engagement throughout a course provides a means to develop, guide and manage appropriates activities for each phase of the course.  This framework will be an effective tool for me as an instructional designer of online courses as a guide to understand the level of engagement for students at each phase and appropriately design activities that encourage and provide mulitiple opportunities for engagement and at the same time meet the learning needs of the learner to construct knowledge and meaning.

References:

Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Palloff, R, & Pratt, K. (2011).  Online Learning Communities (Video program).  Laureate, Inc.

Analyzing Scope Creep

Several years ago in a former job, I was a project manager or what the company called an initiative manager in the IT organization for the company.  We supported the Global Real Estate (GRE) organization on projects to move internal organizations or groups from one location to another. 

 In a country-wide, company initiative to consolidate organizations in local office space in company-owned office buildings and to move organizations out of office buildings where the lease was due to expire, we worked as a functional project team in conjunction with the local GRE organization.   Of course, upper management in the both the GRE and IT organizations worked out the overall project plan and the role the IT organization would play in these projects.  The GRE organization had local GRE groups supporting the sites for each move project.  On the other hand, the IT organization only had one group of project/initiative managers to support all of these move projects and we each were assigned to manage several projects at a time.  Even though the IT project manager was part of a GRE move project team, we primarily managed the IT project team separately and held weekly project team meetings.  So for each project we had two clients, GRE and the organization being moved. 

The process in which we managed these GRE/IT projects was pretty much a well-oiled machine.  We used the same internal organizations for procurement of voice/data services, data connectivity/installation and the same vendor for installation of telephones, etc.  One particular project I remember included the transparent move of their computer lab from one building to another that involved moving sophisticated computer equipment.  Moving a computer lab involves much coordination of identifying what is connected to what, when equipment can be shutdown/disconnected, in what order and time, placement of equipment once it’s been moved, installation/connection and finally rebooting everything.   All of this in addition to installation/connection of any equipment/circuits coming from the telephone closet in support of the computer lab.  After the initial project plans were made for the project and the project started, the client (the organization that was moving) decides to consolidate another computer lab from another location with the original lab to a larger room that would accommodate both labs.  That meant GRE had to develop new construction plans for a new space at the new location.  There was no way the construction could be complete by the original deadline nor could the IT project commit to move both computer labs within the original project schedule.  Much discussion took place with the client, GRE and the IT project team.    The move and consolidation of the two computer labs changed the whole project scope.  GRE could not fully commit to moving the two computer labs without commitment from the IT project team who would perform the bulk of the installation and connection of all equipment associated with the two labs.  However, I’m quite sure the decision to implement the change to this project was already made by upper management to meet their goal to close a building where the lease would not be renewed.  We just had to determine how this was going to be accomplished.  In the end, since the computer lab moves would involve a great deal of change in orders for new circuits from local telephone companies that had long lead times, additional wire installation and resources, it was decided to initiate a separate project devoted to the moves of the two computer labs, which would be performed right after the initial move project of the organization to the new site.  This plan would have a new project schedule in which to perform and would provide additional time to procure the required circuits from the local telephone companies. 

 As project manager of the IT team, there was not much I could do differently.  We had a process in place in which we followed when a project was in jeopardy or the scope changed.  My supervisor and sometimes my upper management became involved in the negotiations in situations like these when the client wanted a change.   I think our plan to treat these computer lab moves as a separate project was a good idea that allowed us to focus without being concerned about the original move which was completed as the first phase of the overall project.  We were able to work on the two projects or phases simultaneously with two separate project schedules, but with the same team.

Diane McClain

COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY

As I listened to each modality of this message, I experienced a slight change in the expression of the first two communications.

Email:  Jane’s email message was polite, respectful and almost apologetic in her request for the needed data.  Jane seemed apologetic for disturbing Mark while he was in an all-day meeting.  Jane was clear and concise in explaining what she needed and why she needed it.  Dr. Stolovich (2010) states that written communication should begin with a clear purpose, state the situation, include a possible solution, which Jane did when she suggested he just email the data to her, and to keep the tone of communication business friendly and respectful.  However, if she had expressed exactly how soon she needed the data, the urgency would have been clear.  Soon could be interpreted in several ways.

Voicemail:  The tonality of the voice mail expressed more urgency for the needed data.  Like the email, it was clear, concise, polite, respectful but more sympathetic and understanding of his attendance in an all day meeting as the reason why Mark has not sent her the required data.  Jane is letting Mark off the hook a little, but she still needs this data.  Again, I think Jane should express clearly how soon she needs this data with a clear timeline.

Face-to-Face:  In the face-to face communication, Jane’s body language and tone negate the urgency of the request for the data.  She is polite and meek as if she is afraid to request the data she needs.  Her smile at the end seems almost like she’s saying “pretty please” or that their relationship is more than a working one.

The factors that influenced my interpretations were the clear purpose, the statement of the situation for the data and a possible solution to just email the data to her.  Jane’s spirit and business-like attitude were conveyed in her tone. However, even though Jane stated she need the data soon, I think if she had stated precisely how soon she needed the data with a definite timeline, the urgency of the request would have been clearer.

The voicemail communication best conveyed the true meaning and intent of message to be conveyed.  Portny et al (2008) also point out one of the approaches to use to hold people accountable is to be specific. The clearer a request is, the easier it is for the person to estimate the effort required to respond to the request.

Communication is a key component of a project from the start of the project, during the project and at the end of the project.  All communication must be clear and specific in a business friendly and respectful manner; especially any and all requests so that the respondent can estimate the urgency of the request and produce the result right the first time.  Written communication clarifies the terms of what is needed and when, but it also provides a written record or documentation of specific needs of each stakeholder.   The written communication can also be used as a reminder of the original request, but in a timely fashion.  If possible, suggest a solution to help produce the required result.

References:

Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Stolovich, H. (2010), Video program: “Communicating with stakeholders”. Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.

Learning from a Project “Post-Mortem” – Thanksgiving Project, 2010

Each year my sister and I make plans for the yearly family (approx. 10 family members) Thanksgiving dinner.  As usual, we determine where the meal will be held, we make plans for what will be on the menu, we gather our meal preparation team, we discuss with the team new recipe ideas, suggestions, selections and determine who will prepare and cook each selected menu item, responsibility for shopping for certain menu items and taking time off from work or school schedules. 

 The plan was set up as follows: 

1. Thanksgiving dinner would be held at my sister’s (Stakeholder A) house
2. Project manager and Stakeholder A will be responsible for shopping for all menu items
3. Project manager and Stakeholder A planned to take a vacation day a day before Thanksgiving to begin meal preparation
4. Stakeholder A responsible for cooking vegetable lasagna, macaroni & cheese and ham
5. Project Manager will prepare the turkey and stuffing, roast beef, string beans, sweet potato pies
6. Stakeholder B will prepare walnut salad and peach cobbler
7. Stakeholder C will prepare collard greens and potato soup
8. Stakeholder D responsible for baking two cakes
9. Stakeholder E will prepare cornbread and dinner rolls 

Two weeks before Thanksgiving, the project manager’s oven would not heat.  A repair request was called in for a technician to come out before Thanksgiving.   In the meantime, the project continued as planned.  However, there was the risk that the oven would not be repaired in time to prepare the menu items for which the project manager was responsible.  This was an issue that was not anticipated, nor were there any risks identified during the planning of the project or assessment of any risk’s impact to the whole project.  Every instructional design project has numerous risks associated with it that could potentially jeopardize the success of the project (Allen & Hardin, 2008).  Managing risks by identifying them and their potential impact to the project in the planning phase will help to transfer, eliminate or determine how to react to the risk occurring (Allen &Hardin, 2008).   However, once the risk of an inoperable oven was identified in our Thanksgiving project and attention was paid to the probability of the occurrence, the idea to purchase a new stove was not a feasible solution.  A contingency plan was put into place.   If the oven could not be repaired before Thanksgiving, the contingency plan would occur as follows: 

1. Turkey and dressing would be prepared at another location (my father’s house) the day of Thanksgiving.
2. The roast will be cooked in a crock pot the day before Thanksgiving at location of meal
3. Sweet potatoes pie batter will be prepared 2 days early and brought to site of meal to bake pies on Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

 Lessons Learned:

 As it happened, the oven needed two new parts which were ordered and would not be delivered until after Thanksgiving.   As Portny et al (2008) pointed out, the real world isn’t perfect, and project success often requires a flexible approach to project life cycles.  As new information or occurrences arise in projects, project managers may have to rethink the original plan.  Using project management techniques such as a risk assessment matrix and a risk management contingency plan to manage identified risks help to prepare for any changes in scope, cost and schedules if they were identified in the planning phase along with any identified constraints.   

 Because we had a contingency plan in place, the Thanksgiving dinner was a success.  To my surprise, the roast came out better than ever cooked in the crock pot for the first time.

 References:

Allen, S. & Hardin, P. C. (2008). Developing instructional technology products using effective project management practices.  Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 19(2), 72-97.

 Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

BEST PRACTICE GUIDE FOR CONVERTING TO A DISTANCE LEARNING FORMAT

Below you will find a link to a Best Practice Guide for conversion of a traditional face-to-face learning format to a distance learning format.  It mentions a few ideas and tips for best practices for pre-planning strategies before beginning the course planning process, tips for student information, instructional methods and creating a learning community.

With the increase of online courses today, the purpose of this guide is to provide practices, tips and ideas for consideration when planning or converting to a distance learning format using instructional strategies that best encourage student engagement and interactivity.

 Best Practice Guide

BLOGS, WIKIS, AND NEW MEDIA FOR LEARNING AT UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY

http://ocw.usu.edu/instructional-technology-learning-sciences/blogs-wikis-new-media-for-learning/rss.htm

The open course I selected to analyze is called Blog, Wikis, and New Media for Learning offered by Utah State University.  It is designed to help students to learn, understand and, hopefully, effectively use Web 2.0 technological tools such as blogs, wikis, social bookmarking, and photo sharing tools, mapping tools, audio and video podcasts and screencasts.

When I first accessed this course at Utah State, I immediately clicked on the course syllabus at the side menu bar.  Simonson et al (2009) state a detailed syllabus is a good starting point, which provides structure for the student to stay organized. This course syllabus provided a topic schedule of all of the units for each topic and a description of the assignment to be completed.  It is not very clear when these assignments are due until you read the very end of the syllabus.  The home page of the course states the course structure as 75 minutes, twice a week.  This is confusing.  If this is an open online class, are the students supposed to attend some webcast for 75 minutes, twice a week?  The syllabus also does not provide any information regarding grades or feedback.  Instructors need to provide two types of feedback: information feedback and acknowledgment (Graham, Cagiltay, Lim, Craner & Duffy, 2001).

The course uses a linear design approach for instruction with the course content subdivided into 12 modules (1 module each week), approximately 5 to 6 topics per module.  There is no course textbook.  Course content is delivered via links to online resources for each topic.  Some of the links to the online resources were no longer available.  Fortunately, the designer/instructor provided several links for each topic to maximize active learning for the student.  At the end of each module, there is an assignment with several tasks to be completed before the next Tuesday.

The course on a whole follows most of the recommendations for online instruction using the UMT approach in organizing the topics in modules with approximately 5 topics each.  Course activities were used to maximize active learning with student engagement in the links to tutorials and in completing course assignments tasks to assess learning.  The delivery of all content is provided via links to the Internet presented in various ways such as podcast and graphics. 

Obviously, this course was first delivered in the spring of 2006.  Some of other links to online resources for course content are no longer available to the students.  This is an indication that some formative evaluation is needed. Reflection on the part of instructor should take place to ensure a more successful educational experience for students (Simonson et al, 2009). 

Finally, I did not see any information for grading or feedback. Since this course is offered in a free open source online environment, are grades and credit earned?  Is feedback in the student-instructor environment?

References:

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., Zvacek S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.