by Ray Schroeder
This month we are looking at a number of ways in which online techniques contribute to traditionally delivered classes.
Framingham State Puts Paperless Classes to Test - Peter Schworm, Boston Globe –
Arriving at his Tuesday morning English class at Framingham State College, Joe LaFauci consulted his syllabus for the day's assignment. But instead of digging through his backpack for a crumpled course outline, he logged onto the class Web page on his wireless laptop. There, he found a few announcements and writing suggestions from the teacher. In a class billed as "virtually paperless," there are no handouts, only postings. LaFauci called up an edited assignment, with revisions written in digital blue bubbles instead of red ink. Students fixed their gaze not on a teacher behind a lectern, but on their softly glowing monitors.
Simulations at the University of Phoenix – Simulations are a dynamic set of custom business simulations that place students into real-world environments. Students learn through the process of discovery. This discovery process allows students to apply critical thinking skills to decision-making situations and ultimately, enhances learning outcomes. Simulations are not pre-packaged training courses. They have been designed to put the learner in the position of a key decision maker of an organization and to apply the principles introduced in that specific course. They are a part of University of Phoenix’s initiative to deliver all course content electronically.
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Collision Between F2F & Online Discussion - Dean Pape, techLearning –
Social self-disclosure in the face-to-face environment long has been viewed as a positive activity. A person benefits from the affection conveyed, self-knowledge that occurs when talking about yourself and others, and there is a gain of health benefits. Of course, there are also many drawbacks to face-to-face disclosure, from the personal to the relational to the professional. However, do the same benefits and drawbacks occur in online disclosure? This essay takes the position that social exchanges of self-disclosure in online environments are not only different from face-to-face experiences, but that the benefits and drawbacks are reversed.
The Growth and Development of Humanities Computing - Martyn Jessop, Ubiquity – The application of computing to research problems in the humanities is not new. One of the acknowledged pioneers in this area, Father Robert Busa, began his work on the Index Thomisticus (an index to the works of the medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas) in the late 1940s, very soon after the first stored-program computer was developed. Despite this long association of applied computing with humanities research it is only in recent years that the application of computing techniques has become widespread among humanities scholars.
Update on Regional Accreditation Issues for E-learning - Sally M. Johnstone, WCET –
In 2000 the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions (C-RAC) contracted with WCET to create a set of Principles of Good Practice for Distance Learning to which all of them could ascribe. It was a helpful document and is still being used, but five years have passed since its publication. Much has changed in the intervening years. The use of the World Wide Web has exploded. There are many more traditional non-profit institutions engaging in e-learning for students both on- and off-campus. In addition, the number of for-profit institutions has expanded enormously. Eduventures estimates the tuition revenues from fully on-line programs is well over $5,000,000 this fiscal year, with over two million of that coming from for-profit institutions.
Each month, we will share selected items that have recently been posted at the Online Learning Update blog, which provides daily summaries of news and journal articles in the field with links to the complete articles. You can always see the latest items, and find many more articles posted seven days a week at the Online Learning Update blog. Until next time, I’ll see you online! ~ray
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