A Direction for Online Courses Examining Blended Learning Models: Student To Student Interactions In part 1 of this 6-part series, Thomas Stanley looked at an overview of blended learning, specifically the critical interactions of a blended learning model. In part 2 below, Stanley looks specifically at student-to-student interaction, and the reality of synchronous and asynchronous access. Examining Blended Learning Models: Student To Student Interactions by Thomas Stanley, Project Learning LLC Student-to-Student Interaction Used to expand the students’ education and learning experiences, the student-to-student exchange is a critical part of a quality online class. What is the value of intensive student-to-student exchanges? What expectations should a school or program have about the depth and breadth of student interaction? As students begin to do these traditional online discussions, they also can meet and discuss ideas with real world experts, do high level projects and activities together, and post an array of multimedia materials to support what they do.
The 3 Big Benefits Of Online Learning Guys, there are haters out there. We all know it. Some of them are just negative people who hate everything. Others hate specific things. There’s Something For Everyone When I was in college, I loved looking through the course catalog. Furthermore, in online course formats, instructors often present the materials in many different formats, which helps a variety of learners. Participation Changes I grew up in a small town, and every year from Kindergarten through the 12th grade, I knew all of the students in my classes. What You Need, When You Need It Online learning forces students to be self motivating, disciplined, and self directed.
Educational Technology and Mobile Learning: The Basics of Blended Learning With the growing embrace of technology into education, there emerges a whole bunch of new concepts and technical terminology in the teaching and learning literature to the point that it becomes cumbersome to keep track of the novelties in this field. Sometimes the lines are blurred and you can not even differentiate between one concept and the other as is the case between flipped classroom and blended learning. The list of such technical terminology is growing bigger and bigger and now we have : virtual classroom,, MOOCs, Asynchronous learning, virtual learning environment, Online Lab, to mention but some. Given the growing perplexity of such jargon, I deemed it important to go through each concept and try to provide you with resources that explain it the best, and just as I did with Flipper Classroom in earlier posts, today I am sharing with you some great videos to help you understand what Blended learning is all about. 1- The Basics of Blended Learning
The Five Faces of Online Education In the not-so-distant past, the relatively small number of people who took online classes in the U.S. saw at-your-own-pace learning as a good alternative to traditional, in-person classes. Adults with careers and children often took advantage of online classes and degrees due to the convenience the classes afforded them to learn anywhere, anytime. In the minds of many people, online degree programs were largely associated with for-profit institutions, even though many nonprofit institutions offered individual online courses. Today, what was once a niche educational medium has become part of the mainstream. For instance, 60 percent of post secondary institutions report online offerings. And the proportion of higher education students currently taking at least one online course is at an all-time high of 34 percent, or an estimated 7 million students—with online enrollment growing more than five times faster than total enrollment. Seizing Opportunity and Navigating Risk, Eduventures, 2014.
Fall In Love With eLearning: Gamification, Personalization and Clear Pathways Winston Churchill once said, “Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.” It’s a common complaint – while we enjoy learning new things and expanding our knowledge, we don’t necessarily enjoy the manner in which we’re taught. When we think of ‘learning’, a lot of us will cast our minds back to school; for some, a world of misery with cramped classrooms, disruptive peers and cranky teachers. If you weren’t particularly academic, you may remember feeling bored and disheartened, eager for the day to end. Most adults have only experienced learning and education in a school environment, and it can take a lot to change our perceptions of ‘learning’ when we reach adulthood. But there’s another danger here: what happens when these people, who experienced dull teaching at school, come to design eLearning courses themselves? You might be thinking, “So what? You know what I think? Here’s an example. 1. 2. Gamification is the latest buzzword in L&D. 3.
5 Tips For Running A Successful eLearning Focus Group Regardless of whether you are brand new to the world of eLearning or have been involved with countless eLearning projects over the years, we all know just how important feedback is during the eLearning design and development process. One of the most effective feedback tools you have at your disposal is eLearning focus groups. In this article, I'll share some tips for how to successfully conduct an eLearning focus group that can give you the insight you need. Conducting an eLearning focus group may seem like a simple and straightforward task. Determine the whys of your eLearning focus group beforehand.If you aren't sure why you are conducting an eLearning focus group, then you simply aren't going to be able to pinpoint the problems or challenges that need to be addressed by its participants. Use these eLearning focus group tips to lead a group that will give you an abundance of useful data, which you can use to make your eLearning courses even more powerful and effective.
Learn to Communicate Well With Instructors - Affordable Quality Writing The ability to communicate effectively is one of the most important skills required for students to participate in their classes. Online students have a unique opportunity available to them for communicating with their instructors, if they choose to use it, because they have time to think about what they are going to communicate before they post something in the classroom or send an email. For students in a traditional classroom environment they may either be willing to speak up in class if they feel comfortable doing so or they may have a fear of speaking and fail to get involved unless they are specifically called upon. What matters most for classroom communication is how students interact with their instructors, and there are common challenges that can interrupt its effectiveness. Consider Your Attitude As a student you must learn to think before you act or react. Communicating With Your Instructor Develop Effective Communication Develop a Receptive Mindset About the Author: Dr. Dr.
Wearable Technology: Does Google Glass still has the potential to transform Learning? Mobile Technology has reached a new landmark as the number of estimated mobile devices has crossed the 7 billion mark. Added to this, is the growing popularity of wearable gadgets that enable continuous connectivity for users. The learning industry is making use of mobile devices to deliver just-in-time learning for some years now. Last year, all predictions pointed to the evident trend of utilizing Wearable gadgets for training and learning. However, the device still holds potential and according to a Google blogpost, the Google Glass project is not being shelved and we can hopefully see future versions of Google Glass, which would incorporate the most useful features like recording video, facilitating hands-free calls or text messages, instead of assuming that people will wear Google Glass all the time for the virtual dimension that it brings to their lives. Wearable gadgets are a new development in the world of technology. Written by Arunima Majumdar
Helping Learners Get The Most Out Of Online Discussions This article outlines some basic guidelines to help online learners create and participate in richer and more substantive online discussions. Posting Etiquette or Basics Because learners have grown up with technology, we (old folks like me!) often assume that our online students know more than they actually do about such issues as online etiquette and communication. Therefore, I would strongly recommend making Online Learning 101 (How to post online) a part of any online course. New Post/Responding to a Post.When introducing a new thought/concept/introduction, be sure to start by clicking "Add New Thread." Types of Posts There are all sorts of posts or responses in an online environment. Initiate a threadRespond to a threadAffirmation (yes, no, I agree, great! Types of Learning Outcomes One of the strengths of online learning is the metacognitive benefit--helping learners reflect on their own learning. I have outlined these learning levels—from lowest to highest—in the table below.