eLearning, Learning Design and Online Presence: Comments

Comment on "We need to begin speaking in terms of thresholds..."

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 09:11:26 -0500

Thanx for the post Cathy!

What we learn and experience in the online world never fails to inform what we do in face-to-face instances. This is a never ending source of amazement for me, in many ways. I guess I have my head wrapped around the online context, but then there is so much that is online now ... Are we getting to the point where labeling something as online does it a disservice? Perhaps... Goes to show you that the value-added is typically rooted at a foundational pedagogical level that does not discriminate - a teachable moment is a teachable moment!

As far as enrollment caps go - the residence model of a large lecture that may or may not break out into smaller recitation sections works in that it has been an efficient way to present information and possibly involve students in interactive learning exercises. I see the challenge online of not in just replicating this but improving the quality of the learning experience while at the same time accommodating these large numbers of students. Do we really understand our capacity for implementing this? In doing so we need to understand the thresholds for different technologies and/or instructional strategies.

- Glenn Johnson

Comment on "We need to begin speaking in terms of thresholds..."

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:52:39 -0500

Great post, Glenn! I think many administrators see dollar signs when online courses are created so hope to "get the best bang for their buck". For online programs, those in charge may be trying to recreate the enrollment caps they see in residence, in order to justify the work involved in creating an online program and the ongoing costs for instructors. If the model for the introductory/midlevel course is 300+ in residence, they want to be able to do the same thing online. Is the resident section effective in this model? That's debatable, but that is the paradigm. I loved your line above... "It would be wonderful if all online courses enrollments were capped at 16, or even 25 or 30....". Take out the word online, and the statement rings just as true!

- CATHY J HOLSING

Comment on "We need to begin speaking in terms of thresholds..."

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:01:36 -0500

Matt,

I agree with you to a degree. There is no need to turn instructors into ID's and they probably don't have time to do this anyway - but there is a level of self-sufficiency that they should aspire to. I had a conversation with a statistician who bemoaned the fact that too many scientists are measuring everything and then bringing this data to the statistician to find out what they can say - after the fact! Long story short, all researchers have to have some level of self-sufficiency in terms of statistics before they begin research. As ID's we should always work to build faculty capacity in managing and thinking through decisions as teachers and managers of instruction. Eventually, down the road, this work should help us lead to the development of a culture that embraces the scholarship of teaching and learning. Scaling is a difficult but pressing issue. We will need to solve this one together.

- Glenn Johnson

Comment on "We need to begin speaking in terms of thresholds..."

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:52:35 -0500

Hey Glenn- very nice summary of your article that we discussed recently. I think the issues you highlight here continues to expose the gap between instructional designer skills and instructor roles. With what has been considered the most basic educational paradigm (students sits in a classroom, absorbs lecture from 'sage on stage', etc.) being altered so radically the past 20 years, the skills that an ID brings to the table are more important than ever. Too many models I've seen over the years try to "turn your subject matter expert into an ID". This is propagated by tools that claim they are so easy to use to create courseware elements that anyone can do it or by books/seminars that give crash-courses in how to be an ID. The issue of scaling out online instruction further exposes that model as completely impractical. A whole bunch of tools alone will no longer solve such issues (they never really have anyway). I believe that ID, developers and teachers not only need to talk, they need to continually evolve and develop together.

An instructor may be able to tell you when he/she is at a threshold; an ID will be able to problem-solve once that threshold has been reached and passed.

- MATTHEW N MEYER

Comment on "How do you embed video in your Blog/Website?"

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:34:59 -0500

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Comment on "5 GB - This is fantastic!"

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:22:56 -0500

What could be more fantastic than 5 GB? How about another 5 GB?

- JEFFREY CHARLES D'ANGELO

Comment on "Can a Blog be an e-Portfolio?"

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:43:54 -0500

Is that wordpress? Looks sleek... I like it. (ad-creative.net)

- rabota

Comment on "Can a Blog be an e-Portfolio?"

Mon, 25 May 2009 08:49:40 -0500

I couldn't agree more. Wordpress and other blogging platforms are excellent e-portfolio engines.

Please visit http://ad-creative.net

This is our online e-portfolio. Please feel free to post some comments here ( I'll bookmark this thread) or on our site!

Thanks!

- ad-creative

Comment on "From Cradle to Grave - e-Portfolios for ALL Pennsylvanians!!"

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 13:38:47 -0500

How awesome... I can't imagine how enthusiastic the entire state has become over creating ePortfolios. I look forward to having you present at the Hendrick Best Practices for Adult Learners Conference in May. Thanks so much for all the extra hours teaching our adult learners the blogging software in manageable chunks.

- Laughing Lion

Comment on "Web 2.0 approach towards learning - what's the value-added?"

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:52:27 -0500

This is the right direction. The notion of getting people to reflect in an ongoing sense is the most critical piece to this. Ongoing is at the core of getting people to life long learning.

- Cole W. Camplese

Comment on "Web 2.0 approach towards learning - what's the value-added?"

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:45:57 -0500

This is exactly how I'd love to see blogs@psu to be used - to foster learning communities that can lead to the support of life long learning after the student graduates.

It is interesting how you say the community can be a source of validation for the participant. Very True. I see this as a path leading away from the strict hierarchies of the past.

- Brad Kozlek