The over all course content covers all the aims that we set out to cover, given the time spent on pulling all the material together (most of it existed but not in one central place) I think it does exactly what it says on the tin straight out of the box!
There is enought content for the student / lecturer to either learnt about or pass on to others in regards to the subject matter.
Should any of the material need to be revisited then everyone who has been through the course knows where to go.
The course has been dsigned, not only as a stand alone course, but also as a central depository for all TurnItIn based materials.
The course can also been developed by lecturers suggesting additional materials to be added (or taken away if needs be)
Friday 20 August 2010
On reflection
The course has been completed, my sessions are there for anyone to see.....would I have done it better? could I have done it better? would I do it all again?
Well the answer to all 3 is yes....
The subject matter (plagiarism) is a very 'dry' topic and has been done to death many many times over. However through the introduction of the e-tivities this has managed to keep the studetn / staff member 'on their toes' and it also keeps them focused on the subject at hand.
The use of a wiki may be frowned upon by some academics, citing wikipedia as the centre of all bullsh*t on the internet, but when used in a proper and controlled environment it can greatly benefit the collaborative learning experience. I would / will include a wiki in every module / course I do as they can be an invaluable source of information. We must remember that not every student is equal and if using a wiki can help those students who understand certain terms and process and explain them to students who dont then I do beliee that the wiki is a very valuable tool.
The video clips from YouTube provide some light hearted relief and education content at the same time, the video from the Bergen University is the best I have ever seen.
Breaking up study with these clips helps refocus the students attention back onto the subject at hand.
Discussion board postings are really only use full then someone replies to them otherwise they may as well be blog postings, thence the name 'discussion'. Though they are also another valuabel tool in the arsenal of e-learning they really do need a group of students to make them work.
Getting the balance right is always a delicate thing, some may say that humour has no place in learning but I do strongly believe that "if it's fun it goes in...if it's boring then it wont" I shall endeavour to try and "build a GUI interface in visual basic" from now on!
Well the answer to all 3 is yes....
The subject matter (plagiarism) is a very 'dry' topic and has been done to death many many times over. However through the introduction of the e-tivities this has managed to keep the studetn / staff member 'on their toes' and it also keeps them focused on the subject at hand.
The use of a wiki may be frowned upon by some academics, citing wikipedia as the centre of all bullsh*t on the internet, but when used in a proper and controlled environment it can greatly benefit the collaborative learning experience. I would / will include a wiki in every module / course I do as they can be an invaluable source of information. We must remember that not every student is equal and if using a wiki can help those students who understand certain terms and process and explain them to students who dont then I do beliee that the wiki is a very valuable tool.
The video clips from YouTube provide some light hearted relief and education content at the same time, the video from the Bergen University is the best I have ever seen.
Breaking up study with these clips helps refocus the students attention back onto the subject at hand.
Discussion board postings are really only use full then someone replies to them otherwise they may as well be blog postings, thence the name 'discussion'. Though they are also another valuabel tool in the arsenal of e-learning they really do need a group of students to make them work.
Getting the balance right is always a delicate thing, some may say that humour has no place in learning but I do strongly believe that "if it's fun it goes in...if it's boring then it wont" I shall endeavour to try and "build a GUI interface in visual basic" from now on!
Blogs, Wikis or Discussion Boards?
So has the arrival of blogs, wikis and discussion boards in education made any real difference to the learning?
In my opinion the advanced of collaborative learning through these mediums has truely brought learning into the 21st century. They have made distance learning a real posibility and also easier to implement as a few years ago anything like this would have had to have been custom built, nowadays it is all freely available on the internet or now comes as standard in any VLE.
They allow for instant publishing, sharing, and collaboration among multiple
students in a format that can be used in a many settings and for a variety of subjects (Weller, 2003).
Educators have also found a variety of creative applications for the wiki format based on a constructivist foundation including: quick informational website publishing, collaborative website posting, student assignments with peer review capabilities, problem solving, focused discussions, interdisciplinary projects, community building among students, collaboration practice, and more (Synteta, 2002).
Although email, which is considered the original social software has largely become redundant as newer forms of discussion boards are becoming increasingly common, adoption of the newer tools has not been as widespread.
Blogs are a very useful tool for reflection, for example see this youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI they also an excellent way of producing an electronic journal of the students studies
Wikis, while hated by some areas of academia, are a great benefit when it comes to sharing definitions of data. a youtube video explaining what a wiki is can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY . Wikis can also be used as a method of coordination between groups of students.
These tools have truely sounded the arrival of e-learning!
In my opinion the advanced of collaborative learning through these mediums has truely brought learning into the 21st century. They have made distance learning a real posibility and also easier to implement as a few years ago anything like this would have had to have been custom built, nowadays it is all freely available on the internet or now comes as standard in any VLE.
They allow for instant publishing, sharing, and collaboration among multiple
students in a format that can be used in a many settings and for a variety of subjects (Weller, 2003).
Educators have also found a variety of creative applications for the wiki format based on a constructivist foundation including: quick informational website publishing, collaborative website posting, student assignments with peer review capabilities, problem solving, focused discussions, interdisciplinary projects, community building among students, collaboration practice, and more (Synteta, 2002).
Although email, which is considered the original social software has largely become redundant as newer forms of discussion boards are becoming increasingly common, adoption of the newer tools has not been as widespread.
Blogs are a very useful tool for reflection, for example see this youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI they also an excellent way of producing an electronic journal of the students studies
Wikis, while hated by some areas of academia, are a great benefit when it comes to sharing definitions of data. a youtube video explaining what a wiki is can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY . Wikis can also be used as a method of coordination between groups of students.
These tools have truely sounded the arrival of e-learning!
The Bucks New University Students Education Campaign
The Student Union at Bucks New University have produced a document as part of their education campaign outlining 10 changes that they would like to be introduced to improve the student experience. Out of the 10 changes listed 2 of the changes refer to:
1. Electronic submission of assessment
2. Anonymous marking
Both of these can be handled by using TurnItIn. In order for the students to benefit from the functionality offered by TurnItIn a program of training for both staff and students would have to be designed and undertaken. As there would be a maximum of 4 people training staff and students it was decided that an electronic alternative to face to face classroom sessions would be created.
So What is TurnItIn?
TurnItIn is a web-based plagiarism detection software and is now available lecturers and students at Bucks New University.
Turnitin.com can be used as an educational tool to teach students how to work with sources and to improve paraphrasing and quoting skills, it can be used as a deterrent to stop people plagiarising work.
The primary use for TurnItIn will be as a tool to allow students to submit assignments electronically.
Secondary usage of TurnItIn is as an online plagiarism detector and also as a method of providing the student with electronic feedback.
1. Electronic submission of assessment
2. Anonymous marking
Both of these can be handled by using TurnItIn. In order for the students to benefit from the functionality offered by TurnItIn a program of training for both staff and students would have to be designed and undertaken. As there would be a maximum of 4 people training staff and students it was decided that an electronic alternative to face to face classroom sessions would be created.
So What is TurnItIn?
TurnItIn is a web-based plagiarism detection software and is now available lecturers and students at Bucks New University.
Turnitin.com can be used as an educational tool to teach students how to work with sources and to improve paraphrasing and quoting skills, it can be used as a deterrent to stop people plagiarising work.
The primary use for TurnItIn will be as a tool to allow students to submit assignments electronically.
Secondary usage of TurnItIn is as an online plagiarism detector and also as a method of providing the student with electronic feedback.
Friday 13 August 2010
Week 15 : Reflection time....
Knowledge Networking or Knowledge Though Collective Consciousness
A few phrases spring to mind....
"Knowledge is power" - which is why some people do not share what they know for fear of making them vunrable or just to try and make their position untoachable
"Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely" - could be a more extreme version of the phrase above. Give someone too much 'power' and they may use it against people.
In order to change these attitudes to knowledge we need to makie sure that knowledge is shared or 'networked' between people, if certain knowledge is coveted by the individual then the group will suffer should anything happen to said individual.
How would we spread or share the knowledge around?
While the delivery methods are varied, the knowledge being delivered face-to-face or by ditance learning, the studnets can utilise a combination of wikis and blogs the students can pool their knowledge into one shared resource. It is, however, important to have a central hub or virtual learning environment to hold this knowledge in otherwise the temporamental nature of the internet could lead to the area, or site, that holds the knowledge being lost though closure of the site or other circumstances.
Students need to be able to collaborate and share their thoughts collectively through wikis on a VLE provided by their university, these wikis are an ideal place to share ideas and also to collect and comment upon information.
Wikis can also be used by students to interact and create new knowledge, also shared access areas where they can store documents for each another to view and add to, for example Google Documents, would be of great benefit to their progress.
It would be considered good rpactice for students to keep a blog of their progress over the course of their studies, it would allow them to keep up to date with what they have achieved and also allow for some degree of reflection.
A few phrases spring to mind....
"Knowledge is power" - which is why some people do not share what they know for fear of making them vunrable or just to try and make their position untoachable
"Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely" - could be a more extreme version of the phrase above. Give someone too much 'power' and they may use it against people.
In order to change these attitudes to knowledge we need to makie sure that knowledge is shared or 'networked' between people, if certain knowledge is coveted by the individual then the group will suffer should anything happen to said individual.
How would we spread or share the knowledge around?
While the delivery methods are varied, the knowledge being delivered face-to-face or by ditance learning, the studnets can utilise a combination of wikis and blogs the students can pool their knowledge into one shared resource. It is, however, important to have a central hub or virtual learning environment to hold this knowledge in otherwise the temporamental nature of the internet could lead to the area, or site, that holds the knowledge being lost though closure of the site or other circumstances.
Students need to be able to collaborate and share their thoughts collectively through wikis on a VLE provided by their university, these wikis are an ideal place to share ideas and also to collect and comment upon information.
Wikis can also be used by students to interact and create new knowledge, also shared access areas where they can store documents for each another to view and add to, for example Google Documents, would be of great benefit to their progress.
It would be considered good rpactice for students to keep a blog of their progress over the course of their studies, it would allow them to keep up to date with what they have achieved and also allow for some degree of reflection.
Thursday 12 August 2010
Week 14 : Information Exchange
Better Project Management Using Information Exchange
How do you make a cup of tea?
or should I ask....
How do YOU make a cup of tea?
Not everyone does it exactly the same, there are certain steps and processes that people undertake in order to end up with a cuppa.
So where do you begin?
Do you get everything ready at the start?
What do you need?
Obviously a cup, or mug, or a cup and saucer or a combination of the 3 although a mug with a saucer would look a bit stranger!
What I would like everyone to do is this:
1. Write out the process you undertake in making a cup of tea
2. Compare everybodies processes
3. Combine what you have discussed into a 'definitive' guide to making a cup of tea
You dont need to go into the small details, such as timing everything to the second, but include enough detail that anyone else could follow.
When each group has finished they will be asked to demonstrate their own process and each cup of tea will be judged by myself.
Good luck!
How do you make a cup of tea?
or should I ask....
How do YOU make a cup of tea?
Not everyone does it exactly the same, there are certain steps and processes that people undertake in order to end up with a cuppa.
So where do you begin?
Do you get everything ready at the start?
What do you need?
Obviously a cup, or mug, or a cup and saucer or a combination of the 3 although a mug with a saucer would look a bit stranger!
What I would like everyone to do is this:
1. Write out the process you undertake in making a cup of tea
2. Compare everybodies processes
3. Combine what you have discussed into a 'definitive' guide to making a cup of tea
You dont need to go into the small details, such as timing everything to the second, but include enough detail that anyone else could follow.
When each group has finished they will be asked to demonstrate their own process and each cup of tea will be judged by myself.
Good luck!
Saturday 7 August 2010
week 13 : Delicious
Weeks 13s assignment is on the left hand side under i.am.delicious
because I am :P
because I am :P
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