Amelia Robinson

Each ourse should be evaluated periodically to improve the learning as well as curriculum, quality assurance, professional development, and personnel actions. Teachers, students, and administrators are all stakeholders in this process. Revisions should include information from multiple sources and multiple methods. Methods of evaluation may include course gades, syllabus scans, assignments and assessments, reflective question tools and portfolios as well as interviews or focus groups.

Online courses need a strong assessment plan, including both formative and summative assesment. Assessment methods should be varied and appropriate to both the learning objectives and level of learning. For higher levels of learning, where the product of the assessment cannot be readily measured by right or wrong answers, rubrics deatiling criteria and the level at which it was met and how points are assigned can be very helpful. Self-assessment can help students review and revise their own work. Peer assessment can also be valuable and should be accompanied by guidance to reviewers and rubrics to help them effectively assess… >>>

The first consideration is a dynamic syllabus, meaning not only that it is updated and improved over time, but also that it allows access to relevant supporting resources. Learning communities are very important to provide instructor-to-student, student-to-student, student-to-group, instructor-to-group, and group-to-group communication. This allows students to build on their own knowledge base, to offer outside resources, and to clarify what they may misunderstand. Scaffolding is  also very important to give students a way to organize, and therefore use and retain information. While this course recommends using an uncited 8 steps of scaffolding, I will continue to rely on Gagne's Nine… >>>

Effective online learning requires the use of well-organized modules containing only that which is relevant to the learing objectives and content. It can be organized chronologically or by subject, and sequencing of topics is quite important. It is also very important to choose the best methods of presenting information, allowing for interaction with the material, and testing. Textual delivery may not be the best option in many cases. Online learning can be enhanced through the use of learning objects, such as images and media, interactions, and other assets that may be obtained from your university, other instructors, organizations, or textbook… >>>

Asynchronous materials must be specially selected and sometimes modfied to be suitable for asynchronous courses. Instructors may collect and odify their own materials, or they may make use of Re-usable Learning Objects (RLOs) for static content. RLOs can be obtained at sites suh as MERLOT. Pre-made lab kits and simulations may also be available for common and static content. Pre-packaged manuals and experiments can help with labs and academic deliverables. Knowing a wider range fo resources for obtaining materials will save me from having to re-invent the wheel each time and increases the options for creating valid and engaging interaction.

Laboratory design for asynchronous learning should approximate the actual performance environment as closely as possible. This also applies to simulations. The main points are to ensure good time management, and that students are not overloaded with tasks, so they have time for interaction and feedback. Student-to-student and student-to-instructor interactions are particularly important, and the instructor must provide feedback thoroughly and frequently. All materials should be within the LMS. This course also mentions that students should participate in discussion boards and communicate frequently what they are finding. However, it is not clear to me how that will be accomplished in asynchronous… >>>

Synchronous learning is that in which learners meet and complete assignments at the same times, while asynchronous learning is self-paced and available at any time. Each has advantages and drawbacks, so may or may not be right for all students. Student that do best with asynchronous learning are well-motivated and self-managing, requiring little instructor guidance. Synchronous learning may be more well suited to courses that require more student-to-student interaction or some labs. VARK and True Colors assessments can help students determine which type of learning may be best overall for them.

Instructors and budget can present barriers to implementing asynchronous learning, as there is more up-front development time, which may take up to six months. You must consider effective activities that allow students to interact with the content, as well as opportunities for reflection, and tools for communication (90% of which is content related). Additional materials may need to be developed, or lab materials packages designed so that students can do the lab work from their own location. It is also critical to base your asynchronous courses on solid and well-thought out learning objectives, and to ensure all are provided for… >>>

Synchronous learning involves students "meeting"  at indicated times and (virtual) places, and completing classword and assessments at prescribed times. Asynchronous learning allows students to work at any time, from any place, and they must complete assignments and activities independently, without the need for constant instrucotr guidance. Both of these have advantages and drawbacks, and their use should be tailored to the students themselves. The Vark assessment and True Colors can help determine if students have the characteristics most suited to asynchronous learning (such as indpendence, self-motivation, and a preference to learn from readings, videos, etc.) or whether they will be… >>>

There are many applications available to incorporate technology into the classroom. Schoology can be used to extend discussions beyond the classroom, ask questions from outside of class, and view shared resources. Other applications allow students to create newsfeeds that apply to the learning. PowerPoint and Prezi can be incorporated to allow students to create multimedia presenations, and Slideshare can be used to upload or download presentations on specific topics as open source material. Adobe Captivate allows users to create interactive onlline learning modules and applications such as Google Docs and ZOHO Notebook allow students to collaborate in real time.