Focus Questions for Chapter 1 and 4

Focus Questions for Chapter 1 and 4 (Waterhouse, S. A. The power of eLearning) and CMS/LMS Investigation


1. Central to our investigation of eLearning Technologies and Methods is gaining an understanding of Learning Management Systems (LMS) sometimes also called Course Management System (CMS) software. Chapter 1 of our text discusses the functionality of typical LMS/CMS, identifying four major categories. What are those categories?

1) Distribution of course information

2) Student-instructor and student-student communication

3) Student interaction with course resources

4) Online testing and grading

2. What LMS/CMS software do you currently use or plan to use? Explain what you know about your system's functionality in each of the four areas identified by the book. (If you don't have access to LMS/CMS software just use Blackboard for your discussion in this area.)

            A) Distribution of course information

Currently the only LMS/CMS software that I use is blackboard. The system is user- friendly and designed for student and teacher interaction. The main page is set up where the student can access their classes and information tabs. Upon access into their class course they are able to click on the left tab menu and enter into various sections including content, discussions, groups, tools, help, announcements, course documents, assignments, discussion board, and tools. Blackboard offers a way for professors to communicate with their students.
B) Student-instructor and student-student communication

            Blackboard has several student- instructor forms of interactions. Teachers are able to post information on the discussion board and share ideas about topics and readings. This discussion board allows students to post comments and allows students to communication in a way of public form. Teachers are also able to post scholarly articles links to specific websites on the discussion board. This facilitates interactive E- learning between student-instructor and student-student.
           C) Student interaction with course resources

In the past I have used sites such as Moodle, which was an effective way to communicate information. This site allowed me to post information and was an efficient way to interact electronically with our instructor. The current way that Blackboard is set up does not allow for people to post photos (that I am aware of). Most information about courses are available in the course documents of the BB section. In these sections teachers have posted documents and assignments for students. Blackboard has an assignment section where students are able to gather information about projects and up and coming homework assignments.

          D) Online testing and grading
            The online tests I have taken in the past were test online and these test were timed and only allotted a certain amount of time for students to complete.There have been times when I have been “timed out” of my test or the system has accidently shut down. After the first time that time happened, I started to save my work into word documents in case something did happen. Though the online testing is set up in a “on-your-honor” way, there is no way to ensure that students do not work in groups or have help from others. Online grading is also posted under the tools section of the BB site. I have also enjoyed when instructors post the digital dropbox for research papers. This site ensures that work is not plagiarized and teachers are able to see how much content is the student’s original work or how much is borrowed from other scholarly sources.

3. Chapter 1 of our text identifies six steps for getting started with eLearning. Discuss each step and use each step as a springboard for discussing what you want to do with eLearning either now or in the future.

A) Ask yourself why

Online learning allows students the opportunity to take classes that they may not have had the scheduled time to otherwise. It allows students in rural areas who live far from the campus the opportunity to an education. For career professional it is a great way for those individuals to work a 40 work week, and allows them the flexibility to do online work. As a student who has live about an hour away from campus online courses saves me the time to drive out to campus as well as the cost of gas!

B) Make a commitment

Often time when an individual decides to participate in an online class they need the discipline that it takes to make and complete the assignments. E-learning does not allow students to be lackadaisical about their education. In E- learning students need to be on top of the ball when it comes to being updated and informed. E-learning also requires students and instructors to use different technology than they may not be use to. Though this has potential to be frustrating, in the end it provides new tools for everyone to use to be more efficient in their areas of study.

C) Develop a new vision for your course and how to teach it

My new vision for my course would be very user-friendly and easy to read structure. I would want students to be able to look forward to the material that they are given and have little confusion about how to access their information online. In one of the first chat sessions I would have student give a brief introduction so that others in the class would be more familiar with their classmates and this would create a type of computer-to-computer class social network

D) Determine the resources available for you

A lot of time I feel that instructors do not communicate with each other to find what types of E-learning resources has worked the best for them in the past. Another way to find out about other resources is to ask students what they have used and what they liked best about these services and why. Students have a lot of experience with E-learning tools and may provide insight on a different type of resource that an instructor has not found. Social networks have also provided other resources that were not available in the past. Many students have social network accounts and for class information to be posted on these sites would make information easy to keep posted and to follow along in the class.

E) Acquire new technology skills and develop new instruction methods

Some ways for instructors to find new technology skills would be for them to take a class =). Instructors may also join an online forum to gather information from other instructors around the world. Instructors have the opportunity to attend seminars and conferences that are always displaying the newest forms of technology and the best way to access these tools. In the future I hope to be an instructor and to teach at the community college and hope to use social network sites for my class courses and E-learning.

F) Plan

To be an effective instructor one needs to be organized and complete in their planning stages. Being organized is essential in creating lesson plans, outlines, test and encouraging student participation. In E-learning it would be important to be flexible in your class guide lines as well. Though E-learning is a great alternative way that is different than traditional learning the system sometimes do crash, sites may be down, and online test may time students out. Instructors need to be understanding and recognize that these systems do have errors.

4. Chapter 4 of our text discusses the functionality of specific LMS/CMS tools in terms of being for one-way communication, two-way communication or for organization. Explain the key differences between one-way and two-way communication and identify the tools  your LMS/CMS provides for each type of communication.

            Blackboard has multiple facets of communication whether it be one-way, or two-way. Instructors and students have the opportunity to post articles that may not require replies. The system allows for emails to be sent out among class members in order to gain responses and feedback. For future advancement of Blackboard could be video-chat class sessions. In the past our teachers have tried to conduct classroom sessions through Skype. The first time we did a class session on Skype the teacher was out of state at a conference and the class used one computer and sat around the computer and listened to our instructors lecture. When we tried it the second time we had about 10 students trying to log in, and calls kept dropping off. The first scenario worked the best with the class only use one computer. This seems to be a system in Skype that can be improved for future use of E-learning in the classroom.


5) Consider how a CMS/LMS supports the three types of interaction (Student-Content, Student-Instructor, and Student-Student) that were discussed in the first session 1 presentation. Specifically, list all of the tools or features that your CMS  (as discussed in question 2 above) offers. Then identify each type of interaction that each tool would support. Finally, explain what you know about the strengths and weaknesses of each tool to support the type of interaction you identify for it. 

 Blackboard provides student-content in the sense that it can be set up like a virtual classroom. The BB can be access from all locations and is great for students to attend class without being on campus. BB also has multiple tabs set up for students to access E-learning information; including announcements, discussion boards, threads, and forms. Blackboard also give students and instructors the opportunity to communicate with one another if it be email, online forums, Facebook pages and other links that instructors may post to facilitate classroom discussion. Students are also able to communicate with each other using other various tools set up by blackboard. Students may send out emails to class to convey a message or to ask the class a question concerning coursework or assignments. The only problems that I have encountered concerning problems are with their recent transition the system seems to be crashing a lot. However, with any new update of systems it takes a while for the bugs to be worked out.

Conclusion

             As mentioned in an earlier post I have used Google groups in the past and have enjoyed the user-friendly aspect of them. The original Blackboard that CSUSB used (7.0) seemed to be more user-friendly than the one we are currently using. This could be just unfamiliarity with the new structure of Blackboard 9.0. As future leaders in the E-learning world we have the advantage of having technology at our fingertips. In order for us to get status updates, new, and information all we have to do is turn on our laptops or look at our cell phones. These tools help instructors know the latest technology, skills and news events, as they happen and some times stream live to events.  As instructors we have much technology information as our society becomes more and more technology based. Instructors have the resources from the internet and other websites. It is only determined by the instructor what they use and how they decide to design their courses.