Altilab2005 - Distance Education Blog

Released today, the Horizon Report is an annual round-up of key trends in teaching, learning and creative expression within learning organizations. The 2008 edition spotlights 6 emerging technologies and three metatrends.

More detailed commentary to follow, but for now I'll pull out their observations on 3D spaces as one of their three metatrends (the others being collective generation and sharing of knowledge, and connecting people to the network):

Moving the computer into three dimensions has been an equally interesting and recurring theme that is now clearly a metatrend, with a mapping currently spanning the years between 2004 and 2010. In this case, development has been extensive, with the emergence of vector-based animation tools allowing simple 3D representations in 2004, and the growth of physical 3D outputs in the form of rapid prototyping over 2005 and 2006. Virtual and augmented reality began to find traction around that time as well, and today nearly every learning organization is exploring some form of virtual reality, either in direct learning applications taking place in platforms like Open Croquet or Second Life, or in research settings, where enhanced visualization tools are probing the depths of rich data sets for new learning and knowledge.

There's been a lot of talk that 2008 will be the year of virtual worlds primarily because of the explosive growth in its use by higher education. How 3D worlds are USED will be one of the defining questions of the year to come - anticipate seeing a lot of 'classroom replication' - teacher at podium, kids at desks, only this time you won't know they're asleep. It's the work that's done to break out of this mold that will be the source of innovation, and much like other great ideas from academia will be picked up by the commercial sector once its been tested and documented.

The Horizon Report is much broader than just coverage of virtual worlds, and the overall message is that leadership and innovation is required in education in the face of the challenges and opportunities of technology. Giving one example, they note that:

"The growing use of Web 2.0 and social networking— combined with collective intelligence and mass amateurization—is gradually but inexorably changing the practice of scholarship."

Anna University, Chennai - Distance Education MBA, MCA, M.Sc 2008 Admission Notice
Applications are invited from eligible candidates for admission to MBA, MCA, M.Sc. degree programmes of the Calendar Year 2008 offered through distance mode >> Details >> Anna University Chennai 2008 Distance Education Admission Notice

My last class officially starts tomorrow. However, I have logged into the class and posted my introduction. I also started writing my first journal entry in which the professor requests that we discuss our opinions of online classes. It is due tomorrow. As I was working on the entry, I realized how much my overall thoughts about distance education have changed during my time at Southern and how mixed my emotions are on this subject. The bottom line? I seriously do not think that I would ever do an online program again. I might take an online class, but I would not enter a program unless a school had online tools to allow for student and professor interaction outside the classroom. There would need to be a good infrastructure dedicated to distance students - one that made them feel welcome and important. I found it very difficult to write the journal entry, to give form to my jumbled thoughts on this topic. I ended up saving it in draft form so that I can think more about it.

One of my biggest problems with my online program is the lack of community feeling. I know that I have been going to school. My stress levels can attest to that fact. Intellectually, I know that I am going to Southern Connecticut State University. I mean that is the school that is on my Visa bill - and the one that should be on my diploma. However, I feel no sense of belonging to any type of college community, feel no sense of connection the school and feel only limited connections to any peers or professors. While two years ago I probably would have said that this wouldn't matter, I now believe that it is very important. I have missed this type of connection and do feel as if my degree program could have been so much more than it has been.

In this blog we’ve looked at why people become students and why some choose to do so from a distance.  Surprise, surprise - few choose distance studies citing “I want to be alone”.  Just how alone would you be though?  What support is out there to counter feelings of isolation?

Here at Massey we talk of the ‘extramural campus’ (if truth be told, as a committed Europhile I prefer ‘campus sans frontieres’).  Our distance students are spread throughout NZ and the world (even France!) but are part of a nineteen-thousand strong community (so that’s what the bloke next door does).

This sense of community might not be at the forefront of their minds as they grapple with exam and assignment deadlines but perhaps it should be – indeed, a sort of shared suffering!  We’re in this together! Who can ease your suffering then?

Well for starters there’s the Extramural Students’ Society (EXMSS).  If you’re a Massey student EXMSS may be able to put you in touch with students in your area doing the same papers – so that you can work together in study groups - or help you to set them up.  They also have a network of Area Representatives around the country – students like you who live in your area.

Then there is support available from the university’s counselling services – either face-to-face; by email or by ‘phone. Also at Massey, the online learning environment is increasingly being used.  Massey Online offers distance students access to the latest happenings in their subject, course notes and presentations, exercises and quizzes and a way of sharing and exchanging ideas with fellow students and tutors.  Most Massey Online units use an online learning environment called WebCT.  This helps to address any sense of isolation and to develop a sense of community.

The Student Learning Centre (SLC) offers Massey students a vast range of help and support with study and exam skills – on-line; face-to-face on Massey’s campuses and through regional visits the length and breadth of the country.  These SLC regional workshops and the Contact Courses that are integral to many of Massey’s distance papers can be a great way of meeting other distance students facing similar issues and concerns.

Don’t forget though, that if you’re a Massey extramural student based near any of Massey’s campuses (or are visiting those cities) you can use the student services based there.  To find out about these, take a look at this brief student services presentation. 

Oh, time to catch up on my journey with technology. Many times over the past few months I’ve thought of an interesting topic to starting writing my next blog entry. In fact, I’ve started it twice already, never getting more than a few sentences done at a time, both of which I’ve saved, and both of which I’m going to incorporate into this entry…

Number 1, titled “Communication Happens” started like this…

“Again, I’m partially altering my purpose of this blog to rant, explain, or otherwise inform to others about my position as a teacher librarian and how technology affects my job.”

However, whatever point I was going to rant about is gone out the window, as are any points I was going to make about my second start, titled “What does a 21^st century teacher librarian look like,” which started off with…

“Recently I was reading my October 2007 issue of Teacher Librarian, and a particular article caught my eye. You know you’re a 21^st century teacher librarian if… by Joyce Kasman Valenza highlights some of the thoughts that have crossed my mind in the past year…”

So perhaps this blog entry needs to be about something else…balance. As the first two partial entries show, I have great intentions of writing about topics that I find both interesting and important. I seriously believe that my role as teacher librarian is impacted by the increase of technology in our society today, and in particular, in the classroom. However, I find it hard to also be the person who should always be advocating for the use of technology in the school when so often I find myself frustrated and disappointed with it in my day to day dealings.

I have no fear of learning new technology. In fact one of the things that I love most about my job is the constant learning that I do. For example, today I learned that MPG files will not import properly into iMovie, that they have to be saved as the right file type (MPEG-1, or MPEG-4 will work,) and if you want to import a PowerPoint presentation into iMovie, you must first convert it using a program called Keynote. Keynote is an application like PowerPoint, but is designed for Mac’s. However what frustrates me is that now I have to tell a student that he must go home and save the thing he needed for today (isn’t it always last minute) as a different type of file so that he can finish his project tomorrow.

On the other hand, I like being able to “rescue” students when their accounts don’t work for unknown, random reasons. Being in possession of a USB thumb drive (and the knowledge of how to use it) gives me a revered like status here in the library, which I must admit, I sort of enjoy. However, having to email Tech for the umpteenth time, telling them “it happened again” when this happens is something I don’t particularly like.

In the October 2007 issue of Teacher Librarian, Joyce Valenza provides a list of twenty skills/actions that separate the 21^st teacher librarian from those of the past. One of the items on the list is providing open-source software alternatives and web-based applications to students and teachers who need them. Oops, pardon me, but didn’t that ability disappear in September when our school division bought stock in Microsoft? And about the web-based applications – wouldn’t it be great if we could all access tools like YouTube division wide? What about having something like Google Notebook, used by many classes in the school, as a add-on in Firefox, sorry Internet Explorer?

On a positive note, I also like students being really excited about an assignment that involves technology. Last week, the History IB teacher and I put together an assignment where students use either a free website http://kmi4schools.e2bn.net/news_template/ or Microsoft Word, to create newspapers announcing the unification of their country (which they also created based on historic 19^th century countries.) The assignment was well written, and the students had a blast.

So, back to balance. Balance of old school librarian and 21^st century librarian. Balance of books and computers. Balance of knowing and learning. Balance of understanding when to care, and when to let it be somebody else’s problem. But most of all, balance in thought…I have to remind myself that the hiccups in technology will never go away, and sometimes, just maybe, the headache of technology is worth it.

When night hath set her silver lamp high, then is the time for study (Philip James Bailey). 

See – can you tell that I loved English at school? Actually, this is a really neat quote for me as I work with our extramural – or distance – students.  These are students who rarely, if at all, come onto campus.  Rather, they study at home or at work. Hence the reference to night being the time for study!

Opting to study at a distance is not chosen lightly, but the rewards can be as great as the challenges. In this blog posting I’ll be looking at the challenges, in the next at ways of coping with them. Challenges and concerns include:

Coping alone - isolation is usually the biggest concern for our distance learners – isolation from tutors and other students.

Confidence - will I be able to cope? Am I ‘bright’ enough?  What if I fail?

Commitment – can I spare the time?  When will I finish?  Will I see it through to the end?Choice – the sheer quantity and range of papers and programmes to choose from can be daunting for many.Co-ordination – how can I balance study with my other commitments of family, friends, work and everything else that fills my day?

Clarity – why am I studying at all?  Why these papers or this programme?  What do I hope to gain from the experience?

See, can you tell that I not only loved English but that I also got stuck at ‘C’ in my book of the alphabet?  

So I'm getting first lookat the OLPC laptops that just arrived. This is pretty exciting to get our hands on one of these. I thought I'd share my first impressions of the device.

• The keyboard is a bit tricky to get used to. In some ways the HP 200LX keyboard was a bit better than this, however with with a modified  keyboard/finger stance, I can type relatively quickly.
• The trackpad works pretty well. It did start doing something erratic in that every time I would start to use it, it would reset the cursor location the bottom, right-hand corner of the screen. Reboot fixed it but it seems to recur after a while on this one.
• I thought I'd try hooking up an external keyboard and mouse to the laptop today and my ability to navigate the OS greatly increased. Much of my frustration or lack of efficiency with the interface seems related to the clumsy keyboard and trackpad.
• The screen is great on these little laptops -- I love that the screen goes into a reflective mode when the backlight is completely off which means this thing should be useable in broad daylight.

That's it for now. I'll update with more info later.

Reading opens the door for better communication and speech learning. It paves the way for special needs children to reach their full literacy potential. How can you incorporate reading in developing your child's literacy skills? Here are 10 effective activities to make reading your partner in fostering your child's full potential and meeting the requirements of your special needs child:

1. Read aloud to your child. Find some time to read to your child. Reading aloud helps the child develop his speech skills. It prepares the child to read on his own. Reading aloud is very effective especially with pre-school children and those children with speech difficulties.

2. Give the child the chance to pick the reading material of his choice. Give him several options so he can choose which one he likes most. This makes reading more interesting and it ensures the childs participation on the activity.

3. Read to the child on a regular basis. Set a schedule for the reading activity. This will help the child develop his full literacy potential.

4. Other members of the family should also be seen reading. When a child sees his brothers, sisters or parents reading, he will be motivated to do so. Nothing beats teaching by example.

5. When outside the house, encourage your child to read on labels and signs. Dont miss any opportunity that will help develop your childs literacy skills.

6. Ask questions after reading a story. This enhances the childs memory and at the same time, encourages him to speak out his ideas.

7. Dont read the ending of the story. Let the child predict it. This develops creative thinking and at the same time, enhances verbal expression.

8. Allow the child to ask questions. Dont stop him when he interferes with the reading activity to ask something.

9. Use cloze sentences in reading. This refers to activities wherein you say the first part of the sentence or a phrase and let the child end it. This is suitable for rhyme activities.

10. Use interesting, attractive and educational literacy materials. Special needs child will not read or listen unless what is being read arouses their interest. One advisable literacy material is the POPS resources. Words are easy and the activities suit the needs of special children.

These ten reading activities will help special needs children develop reading and speech skills. Reading and speech are primary factors that serve as foundation for better learning. Every child has the ability to reach his full potential. Help your child by engaging him in reading activities.