Instructional Design for Online Learning

1. What is the nature, of the dichotomy between use of the Internet as a content delivery mechanism or as a communications medium?

The internet is used in a variety of different ways. It can be seen as a tool of convenience in our society. Many people access the internet to find information about certain topics they are researching. It’s easy to log on and have the World Wide Web at our finger tips. Educators use the internet to delivery content to their students. They can post assignments, set-up bulletin boards for discussions, have lectures for students on pod casts, and have streaming media that explains the content. The internet can also be used as a form of communication. Many people send out e-mails daily to friends, family, and co-workers. It is a form of communication that is right at our finger tips and we are able to access the internet whenever we need to. The convenience of this media makes communication simple, easy, and fast.

2. The strategy that I choose to look at is called self-directed learning. Self-directed learning is an individualized program that is set up between the instructor and the student. The student is able to work that their own pace to complete certain activities within a time frame. This strategy makes learning the content a more valuable experience for the student so the information will be retained longer and will be more meaningful to them. The technology that I would use for this strategy would be e-mail. It would give direct contact between the student and the instructor. It would be an easy media to use to monitor progress, ask questions, and submit assignments.

There are a few strengths that are related to the self-directed learning strategy. I would say that the biggest strength would be the convenience factor. The students can complete their work at a pace that is good for them. The freedom of completing assignments from a location of your choice and a time that is great for you. There may be a few weaknesses that go with this strategy too. If the student is not motivated to complete assignment then the work may not be done. Also if e-mail is the main media being used there could be some technology problems that could occur. If the e-mail server is down or if the internet is not working it could impact the student in a number of ways. Assignments may not be received by instructor, questions might not be answered in a timely manner, or delayed actions.

In a way self-directed learning is already in place in this class. We have assignments that we have to complete within a certain time. We are able to do them from a location of our choice and at a pace that is convenient for us. The way that I would incorporate this strategy into this class would be by setting up an individualized plan for each student to complete. A timeline would be set into place and there would be certain activities that would have to be completed by the end of the quarter. The student would be able to retain the information for a longer period of time and make a more meaningful connection to the content.



3. The purpose of evaluation of student performance in online classes is the demonstration of skills being mastered in different ways. There is not one way to assess student’s knowledge. There are a variety of activities that can be used to see if the student has a proficient understanding of the concepts being taught. It is important that the instructional designer use different types of activities to assess for mastery because not all students learn through the same leaning modalities. It can be a challenge for the instructional designer because he may not be aware of the needs of the students in the class. When evaluating the students work the designer may not be aware of the modalities that are strong for the student, so he/she may score well with those types of activities; or the modalities are the student is weak in, so he/she may not succeed with the task and not show mastery of that content.

The instructional designer should follow the ADDIE process when they want to create effective assessments for online courses. The designer needs to analyze the needs of the assessment, create a design template that will fit the needs of the students in the class for assessment, Do alpha and beta testing to see how the assessment works; if weaknesses are found they must be corrected and then retested, and the instructional designer needs evaluate the whole process of creating the assessment.

Telecommunications Technology Comparison

Telecommunications Technology Comparison

Introduction
The task that I have chosen to create is a group project production. The students in the class will form into groups of 3 or 4. They will be given the task to create a webpage. The topic for the webpage is: Teen idols of the 1950’s.

The requirements for the webpage are as followed:
- Each team member must choose three teen idols from the 1950’s. (These idols can be movie stars, rock n’ roll hall of famers, or any popular person from this time period).
- Each team member will then create a 2-3 paragraph paper on each person.
- When constructing the website be sure to use different types of media, such as flash, movie player, sound, clipart, and so on. So be creative.
- Each teen idol that your group has written about must appear on the webpage.
- The webpage must be emailed to the instructor by the deadline in order to receive credit.

Creating a website is important to online learning because it allows each group to have a piece in the construction of the product but they are able to it from the freedom of their own home and at their own convenience.


Media Choices and Task Differentiation
This first type of media that I am going to use for my group project is e-mail. But since e-mail is low n the media richness scale I have to work my way up to this media in order for it to be a productive tool in the classroom. Many students are not familiar with learning outside of the classroom setting. They feel that the main way for them to learn is from face-to-face interaction with other classmates and the instructor there to guide the lecture.

So in order for my goal of using e-mail as my first type of media in the group project I will have the groups meet a few times in a face-to-face discussion. Here they will be able to get to know each other, they will be able to assign group roles for the project, and they will be able to decide on which teen idols they would like to choose from the 1950’s, and create a template for the design of their webpage. Allowing them to meet in person will give them the since of connection to their group. After each group has meet a couple of times face-to-face I will then have them communicate though e-mail to finish there webpage project production. By using e-mail it will allow group members to work on their portion of the project at their own pace. They will be able to create it from the location of their choice and at a time that is convenient for them. Each group member can attach their files as an attachment in an e-mail and send it to each group member to review. After each group member has reviewed each part of the file, comments can be made though e-mails if changes are desired to a certain portion of the project. That member can fix that part and e-mail it back to the group for approval. After each part has been approved by a majority of the group all the pieces can be put together to create the final project.

The second type of media that I will use in this group project will be chat/ instant messaging. The process that the group will use here starts group communication through e-mail. The students in each group will send out e-mails to choose the different teen idols from the 1950’s they would like to research, they will create a design template for their webpage; have group introductions, and exchange files and other information. They will use e-mail to communicate for the first few time to get the project started. Since e-mail is low on the media richness scale students may have difficulty making a connection to their group and sending their portion of the project in a timely manner to the other group members. The second type of media that will be used to complete the group project is chat/instant messaging. Chat puts all the group members online at the same time so they can discuss certain topics or issues that are at hand. All the members will be able to voice their comments and concerns at the same time so progress of the website can move forward. Discussion can be made and corrections can be made and shown at that time. The final product can be seen by everyone at the same time.

Media Comparison
The first media that I choose to use was e-mail. E-mail is a practical tool that is used in our everyday life. It is a technology that can enhance communication between people because a message can be sent without having the other person present. The message can then be read and responded to at a time that is convenient for that person. A person can access e-mail from any computer location that has internet access at any time. Although this form of media is convenient tool for most a drawback of this form of communication can be time restraints. Not all people log on to the internet all the time. An urgent message that was sent to a group member may not be read for days and this can lead to problems if this was an issue that had to be tended to right away. Respond time is very important in order for it to be an effective tool.

I think that email would be a great media to support the creation of a group project. I f they followed the process of starting with face-to-face meetings they would have a group community formed. They would have certain roles in the group that the use of e-mail would help them to complete. Each group member know what task they need to do and complete it at a pace that works for them. Then when they are finished it can be mailed to the other group members to review.

The second form of media that I choose was chat/instant messaging. This is a form of communication that can be used to receive answers immediately. In our personal lives most people log on to the computer and chat with their friends via yahoo or aim. It is a simple tool that even children can use. You type your message then hit enter and away your message goes to the other party. Within in seconds you receive a response. There are some benefits for chat. The time delay for responses is less, therefore if you have an important issue that needs to be dealt with; feedback and comments can immediately be delivered. A drawback to using the media of chat is the convenience of it. All members need to be present in order for chat to work. That means each member needs to be logged on to a computer and participating. This can be a problem with many people today who are trying to balance many different things in their life at one time, such as work, school, family, and other important priorities in an individual’s life.

I think that the use of chat can be help the project in the situation of questions that need to be answered promptly but I also feel that it could harm the project based on the needs of individuals in our society. Having everyone logged on to the computer is a very hard thing to do.

Conclusion
The thing that I was looking at when writing this paper was the needs of our every day individual. We are always trying to do 20 things all at once. I feel that if a media that is used is convenient and used properly it can benefit all parties. If time guidelines are set from the beginning and each group member knows his/her task then they can work on their portion at their own pace. Many people fear the change of online communication because it is low on the media richness scale. They were raised with face-to-face interaction in the classroom. Where they were physically present for the lecture and could ask questions and give responses to the instructor and other classmates. If they are introduced to the different medias that are available for them to use and then are taught how to use them they can be very important and effective tools for students.

Tellcommunications in Education Articles

Citation:
Deal, W.F. (2003).The Technology Teacher's Tool Box: Streaming Media. Technology Teacher. 62(8), 18-21.


Summary:
In this article the author talks about the not only benefits of incorporating streaming media into the classroom but also gives the process of how to create streaming media for your own use in the classroom. He gives you realistic examples of how streaming media can be used in the classroom to meet the needs of our standards that need to be covered. Just because there so much material to cover it does not mean that we can not incorporate technology into our lessons.

As our society has changed through out the years, technology has become a major part of our everyday life. The way one use to watch a video or audio clip online would take time and patience. The full video or audio clip would have to be downloaded first before one could view it. But, now with streaming media one can click on the clip to buffer it and begin to view it immediately.

The process of creating the streamed media is quick and easy to do. The author gives the follow procedure to follow:
1.First you need to produce a video clip.
2.Next you will edit the material, add sound or transitions.
3.Choose how you will distribute it.
4.You need to encode the file clip to a media file.
5.You must create a webpage to hold the streamed media and post the clip.
6.The last step is to access the webpage and view the streaming media by the client.

There are many questions that a designer must ask themselves before they are able to complete the production process. They must not only look at the preplanning aspects, such as the needs of the project and the objectives. But, they must also look at the design process, suck as looking at budget, time considerations, scripts, and props. Then they need to be aware of the needs for the production stage itself, such as, having the equipment to make the streaming media and to edit it, converting the clip to the correct media file, and broadcasting the streamed media over the internet.

There are some advantages that the author refers to with streamed media. It is convenient for the user. They are able to access the material from at location and a time that is good for them. They are able to see and hear the piece of streamed media and are also given the option to save the file so they can have access to it at a later time.



Review:
This is a good article for someone who wants to learn how to create streamed media. It gives teachers a new technology tool to use in the classroom. Streamed media seems to engage the students in their learning process, making the learning itself more meaningful. It can beneficial because the streamed media can be accesses from any computer that has internet access. A user can save the file or review the clip at a time that is good for them.

However, there could be drawbacks with streamed media. You not only need to have the knowledge of how to use this technology but you also need to have the materials. If a creator does not have the correct materials to create the streamed media it may not be beneficial to the user. Also, streamed media can take a lot of time to create, produce, and maintain. If you have time constraints, perhaps you could use one of the streaming media websites that have done all the work for you already, and the clips are ready to be viewed.

Citation:
Santos, B.L., & Wright, A.L. (2006). Using Bulletin Boards in an Educational Setting. Communications of the ACM. 49(3), 115-118.

Summary:
Online bulletin boards are used by many different types of organizations. They can be extremely beneficial in education if they are used properly. They can involve students in an enriched topic discussion. Bulletin boards allow the student to read other thoughts from their classmates and instructor and then are able to grasp their own idea and generate their own posting on the topic. Bulletin boards all everyone to be engaged in the learning process.

Some advantages of bulletin boards that the author states are:

1.Students are able to participate if they are away from home.
2.Generally all students will create a posting to the topic.
3.The quality of discussion is higher than an in-class discussion.
4.More issues are able to be covered.
5.Students are able to work at a pace that is convenient for them.

There are a number of requirements that need to be met when using the bulletin board system. The designer needs to have certain bulletin board software that will allow the users to post messages onto the website. The designer also needs to be able to create public and private boards and maintain the bulletin boards.

When a bulletin board is being created there are certain features the software must be able to do:

1.Each user must have a log-on.
2.The bulletin board must be able to have a threaded discussion, where posts and replies can be made.
3.Users should be able to email other users.
4.Private/Public access to different threads.
5.The board administrator is able to email all users.
6.Users should be able to download files, post links, and do a search.
7.The bulletin board should also have a help system.

All users should be trained on how to use the bulletin board system so it can be an effective tool for them. Each major topic in the class should have a thread for the users to post their discussion.


Review:
This is an interesting article for an individual who wants to create a bulletin board system to use in education. It states many advantages for students. Students are free to respond to discussion posts at their own pace. They are able to clearly think about what they want to say and compose a well written response instead of an on the spot response in the classroom. Another advantage of the bulletin boards system is there is a written discussion of the topic so you can go back and review material if needed.

There are some disadvantages associated with bulletin boards too. For the instructor a great deal of time commitment is required. For the bulletin board discussion to enrich the students’ instructors must monitor the postings and guide the students if needed. Also, for the user time maybe an issue. To create a post to the discussion topic that is beneficial the student must take their time in creating the piece, which can take a greater amount of time than participating in an in-class discussion. In the article it talks about keeping the number of people on one board to a maximum of 50 students. If you have a class that is larger that that and you separate the class I feel that some of the connections of the whole class could be harmed. I don’t think that their would be a complete community in place.

You are in my thoughts!

This is Jason he is only 4 years old. His parents are Lindsy and Lucky Hughes. He has been through so much these past months. He has another brain tumor that has grown back! Please keep him in your thoughts! You are such a stong boy...bug-a-boo! You are always in my prayers!


Update.....

The tumor is so massive it can not be removed this time. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts. It was so hard to see him laying in the hospital bed, knowing what a happy child he use to be! The pain that says in my heart and the feeling of helplessness that follows me every day because there is nothing i can do for him.

Telecommunication media types

There are several different telecommunication media types that I have had a chance to have a personal experience with. The types of media I have had an opportunity to use are Chat/Instant messaging, streaming media, pod casts, and bulletin boards.

The first type of media that I use often is the instant messaging. Although this is not really related to my educational needs it is a technology that I prefer to use to keep in touch with friends and family members who are not with me. By using instant messaging I am able to talk to people who maybe across the city or across the country. I can hold a conversation and receive instant feedback from the other person. Some people may consider it a drawback because you need to type everything out, but if you are like me you are able to type fast and use abbreviations when possible. I would consider instant messaging very low on the media richness scale because even though it is communication online, two people need to be sitting down at the computer at the same time in order for instant messaging to work. A project that you would be able to use instant messaging for would be a situation where you needed to ask the instructor or a small group of classmate’s brief quick questions.

Another type of media that I have had the chance to use is the streaming media. I have use streaming media in the classroom. To use technology in the classroom I have used the website United Streaming to find video clips to show my students that met certain state standards that I was teaching. The students were then able to see what I was talking about and it made them want to learn more about the topic. Or I have also search for certain audio clips that related to our Language Arts program so the students should hear samples of a speech or a song. I think that streaming media is very rich on the media richness scale. The way that I would use it is in the classroom for mainly science and social studies. Just so the students can gain a hands-on perspective of what they are learning.

The third type of media that I have had a chance to experience is the podcast. Week one of this quarter is actually the first time that I have ever seen a podcast. This is a new technology that I have become aware of. I think that the podcast is a great way to deliver a lecture for online classes. The students are able to listen to the podcast at their convenience and then complete their assignment. The student is able to access this file from any location that has internet access. I would say that podcast are very media rich because the instructor is delivering the needed material to the students in audio format only. The type of project that you would use the podcast for would be lectures for online courses. Perhaps if there were special instructions you needed to leave for students or staff.
The last type of media that I have had a personal experience with are the bulletin boards. In this class I have used study on the beach to post my responses to certain topics Dr. Newberry has decided on. This is a quick way to respond to what other classmates have written. It also allows you to post an avatar so you can connect a certain picture to a name. The bulletin board also allows you to choose emotion icons to be displayed in your post. The bulletin boards would be rich on the media richness scale because there is no face-to-face interaction. A project that you might use the bulletin boards with could be for chapter reading responses. Have the students read a certain chapter and post a response to a certain topic.