I have been working on the proposal I have to submit tomorrow (just finished--now accounting must review!) for what we're calling the "Virtual Oncology Practice". It's a simulation for physicians who treat patients with lung cancer. I have been researching the use of simulation in under and grad-medical education so I can talk about it in the proposal slightly knowledgeably. Anyway, in my travels I found this article on Second Life in education.
The authors state that "The purpose of this study was to assess the value of Second Life among post-secondary instructors with experience using Second Life as an educational tool."
Just thought I'd pass along:
http://tomhoodcpa.typepad.com/files/second-life-education-1.pdf
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Learner Support in DE -- Not in Higher Ed (Unit 11)
Chapter 9 of the text focuses on real student support concerns in higher education--library, counseling, and help desk.
This made me wonder about learner support outside of the higher ed realm.
In my organization, we have many DE programs on clinical topics. Physicians and nurses get continuing education credit for these activities and must have appropriate paperwork to document their completion of the activity (and passing of the post-test). These folks must submit this documentation at regular intervals to maintain their practice licenses.
Right now the type of learner support my organization provides is fairly basic--we provide the documentation participants need for their licensure and answer any questions they have. So far we don't do enough to provide support outside of "regular business hours" but I can imagine for a provider of a great deal of DE, this would be necessary. Other than that, there are not a lot of support services that we provide now or may need to provide.
What about others who are working in DE outside of higher ed? What type of learner support does your organization provide?
This made me wonder about learner support outside of the higher ed realm.
In my organization, we have many DE programs on clinical topics. Physicians and nurses get continuing education credit for these activities and must have appropriate paperwork to document their completion of the activity (and passing of the post-test). These folks must submit this documentation at regular intervals to maintain their practice licenses.
Right now the type of learner support my organization provides is fairly basic--we provide the documentation participants need for their licensure and answer any questions they have. So far we don't do enough to provide support outside of "regular business hours" but I can imagine for a provider of a great deal of DE, this would be necessary. Other than that, there are not a lot of support services that we provide now or may need to provide.
What about others who are working in DE outside of higher ed? What type of learner support does your organization provide?
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
"Clearly Stated Objectives"? (Unit 10)
This past week we compared two DE courses using the objectives criteria in our “Delivering Digitally” text.
As I did this, I compared our current course to one done by my organization—a “self-contained” archived internet CME program. One of the questions for the comparison was whether the objectives were stated clearly.
It appears that most of us (so far) have declared that the objectives for our course comparisons were stated clearly, though there are quite a few who (like me) feel that the objective of “gain knowledge in…..” for ADTED 531 is pretty vague and perhaps unmeasurable. But several people answered that the objectives were stated clearly by a stating that the objectives were clearly displayed—emphasizing that the objectives were on the syllabus or were visible to the learner before the course.
I wrote about this in the discussion board, but as the week has gone on, I am thinking about what the statement/criterion of "clearly stated objectives" means.
So while the statements of objectives may be visible and prominent, I don’t think that’s the same as actually being “clearly stated.” Maybe I am being very literal here, but to me, “clearly stated” means that they make sense, are understandable, are logical, and are in fact measurable.
Here are some objectives for an activity that I am developing right now for my organization—it’s focused on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC):
Following this program, participants should be able to:
Use histology to select the best treatment regimen for patients with NSCLC.
Use gene mutation analysis to select the best treatment regimen for patients with NSCLC.
Determine whether stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), minimally invasive surgery, or conventional open surgery is appropriate for their patients with early stage NSCLC.
These strike me as pretty clear and absolutely measurable—we will use pre-posttests, performance in the activity case studies, and post-activity evaluations and interviews to assess the effectiveness of the activity.
What are others’ thoughts on this? And perhaps you have some other objectives from your own practice settings to share.
As I did this, I compared our current course to one done by my organization—a “self-contained” archived internet CME program. One of the questions for the comparison was whether the objectives were stated clearly.
It appears that most of us (so far) have declared that the objectives for our course comparisons were stated clearly, though there are quite a few who (like me) feel that the objective of “gain knowledge in…..” for ADTED 531 is pretty vague and perhaps unmeasurable. But several people answered that the objectives were stated clearly by a stating that the objectives were clearly displayed—emphasizing that the objectives were on the syllabus or were visible to the learner before the course.
I wrote about this in the discussion board, but as the week has gone on, I am thinking about what the statement/criterion of "clearly stated objectives" means.
So while the statements of objectives may be visible and prominent, I don’t think that’s the same as actually being “clearly stated.” Maybe I am being very literal here, but to me, “clearly stated” means that they make sense, are understandable, are logical, and are in fact measurable.
Here are some objectives for an activity that I am developing right now for my organization—it’s focused on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC):
Following this program, participants should be able to:
Use histology to select the best treatment regimen for patients with NSCLC.
Use gene mutation analysis to select the best treatment regimen for patients with NSCLC.
Determine whether stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), minimally invasive surgery, or conventional open surgery is appropriate for their patients with early stage NSCLC.
These strike me as pretty clear and absolutely measurable—we will use pre-posttests, performance in the activity case studies, and post-activity evaluations and interviews to assess the effectiveness of the activity.
What are others’ thoughts on this? And perhaps you have some other objectives from your own practice settings to share.
Friday, November 19, 2010
What at least one university is looking for with regard to DE
I was cruising the job listings in the Chronicle of Higher Education, and found an interesting ad. I thought I'd share it here to show what at least one university is doing to help move toward more DE.
And the position is available at the University of the Sciences (in Philadelphia), if anyone's interested!
------------------------------------------
Position Title: Instructional DesignerDepartment: Academic Technology
Reports to: Executive Director of Academic Technology
Position summary: The Instructional Designer will provide instructional as well as program design expertise for the development and support of hybrid courses, online courses, and specialized educational programs. This position is responsible for managing the instructional development process, setting standards for assisting faculty in the design of online curriculum and instruction, development of learning resources, and retooling of courses and course segments for online delivery methods.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
--Develop and institute instructional and pedagogical policies for the creation and delivery of online courses.
--Collaborate with faculty on instructional design issues and manage online course development. --Train and support faculty in the use of the learning management system (Blackboard/Angel) with special attention to building quality online learning programs, and online learning best practices via face-to-face workshops, webinars, and self-study screencast modules.
--Develop curriculum guides for courses and/or program components. Provide design and production assistance and supervise student workers to help faculty in the development of online content.
Education and Experience: Bachelor's degree required (Master's degree preferred) in Instructional Technology, Educational Technology, Technical Communication, or related field 3-5 years of experience in online course and curriculum design in higher education. Experience incorporating technology in a classroom setting and working with university faculty Experience with graphic and multimedia authoring software is a plus.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Required: Advanced knowledge of principle and practices of instructional design and e-learning; familiarity with multimedia and web design technology Excellent written and verbal communication skills; interpersonal skills; customer service orientation and ability to work in a team environment.
This position requires a highly motivated, take charge individual with a proven track record as a self-starter with excellent organizational skills.
And the position is available at the University of the Sciences (in Philadelphia), if anyone's interested!
------------------------------------------
Position Title: Instructional DesignerDepartment: Academic Technology
Reports to: Executive Director of Academic Technology
Position summary: The Instructional Designer will provide instructional as well as program design expertise for the development and support of hybrid courses, online courses, and specialized educational programs. This position is responsible for managing the instructional development process, setting standards for assisting faculty in the design of online curriculum and instruction, development of learning resources, and retooling of courses and course segments for online delivery methods.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
--Develop and institute instructional and pedagogical policies for the creation and delivery of online courses.
--Collaborate with faculty on instructional design issues and manage online course development. --Train and support faculty in the use of the learning management system (Blackboard/Angel) with special attention to building quality online learning programs, and online learning best practices via face-to-face workshops, webinars, and self-study screencast modules.
--Develop curriculum guides for courses and/or program components. Provide design and production assistance and supervise student workers to help faculty in the development of online content.
Education and Experience: Bachelor's degree required (Master's degree preferred) in Instructional Technology, Educational Technology, Technical Communication, or related field 3-5 years of experience in online course and curriculum design in higher education. Experience incorporating technology in a classroom setting and working with university faculty Experience with graphic and multimedia authoring software is a plus.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Required: Advanced knowledge of principle and practices of instructional design and e-learning; familiarity with multimedia and web design technology Excellent written and verbal communication skills; interpersonal skills; customer service orientation and ability to work in a team environment.
This position requires a highly motivated, take charge individual with a proven track record as a self-starter with excellent organizational skills.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Virtual Reality Getting Closer
As I have shared, my organization is working toward developing a virtual reality type of simulation program/course for oncologists. It's getting closer and I am in the process of preliminary program development as part of the proposal development process.
The grant request is due December 1, so I have loads of time.
We are in the nitty gritty details of the simulation company tech guy talking to my organization's IT people, figuring out who will host and bandwidth concerns, working out a Non-Disclosure Agreement (confidentiality agreement), developing a Master Services Agreement for if/when the project starts, developing the budget, determining clinical focus and content, etc. I am also researching simulation as training method so as to incorporate theoretical/research content in the proposal.
Fun! :)
The grant request is due December 1, so I have loads of time.
We are in the nitty gritty details of the simulation company tech guy talking to my organization's IT people, figuring out who will host and bandwidth concerns, working out a Non-Disclosure Agreement (confidentiality agreement), developing a Master Services Agreement for if/when the project starts, developing the budget, determining clinical focus and content, etc. I am also researching simulation as training method so as to incorporate theoretical/research content in the proposal.
Fun! :)
Monday, November 15, 2010
Typical DE Program at Community College
I found an interesting report published in March 2010 by the Instructional Technology Council on DE in the Community College setting (wish I'd had it a few units ago!).
Of note, the report synthesized six years of survey data to say that the typical online program at a Community College:
1. Is the primary source for enrollment growth for its institution.
2. Does not offer enough classes to meet student demand.
3. Increases access to higher education.
4. Is attracting an increasing number of nontraditional (for DE - younger) students.
5. Reports to the academic side of the institution (dean or above).
6. Is under-staffed, working in cramped conditions, and has an inadequate budget.
7. Offers approximately 160 online classes/class sections each semester.
8. Has become a significant change-agent, prompting increased faculty training and professional development, rethinking how we teach, and providing a catalyst for integrating technology into instruction.
9. Often leads the institution in dealing with issues of assessment, design, rigor, course quality and learning.
10. Struggles to obtain understanding, acceptance and support from campus leaders, who often lack direct experience with this method of teaching and learning (sometimes a generational disconnect).
See link here:
http://www.itcnetwork.org/file.php?file=%2F1%2FITCAnnualSurvey2009Results.pdf
I thought the items above were interesting and perhaps may apply to other institutions, not just community colleges. I especially loved #6. :)
Let me know your thoughts on this.
Thanks!
Of note, the report synthesized six years of survey data to say that the typical online program at a Community College:
1. Is the primary source for enrollment growth for its institution.
2. Does not offer enough classes to meet student demand.
3. Increases access to higher education.
4. Is attracting an increasing number of nontraditional (for DE - younger) students.
5. Reports to the academic side of the institution (dean or above).
6. Is under-staffed, working in cramped conditions, and has an inadequate budget.
7. Offers approximately 160 online classes/class sections each semester.
8. Has become a significant change-agent, prompting increased faculty training and professional development, rethinking how we teach, and providing a catalyst for integrating technology into instruction.
9. Often leads the institution in dealing with issues of assessment, design, rigor, course quality and learning.
10. Struggles to obtain understanding, acceptance and support from campus leaders, who often lack direct experience with this method of teaching and learning (sometimes a generational disconnect).
See link here:
http://www.itcnetwork.org/file.php?file=%2F1%2FITCAnnualSurvey2009Results.pdf
I thought the items above were interesting and perhaps may apply to other institutions, not just community colleges. I especially loved #6. :)
Let me know your thoughts on this.
Thanks!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Learning objectives (Unit 9)
Learning objectives are something I work with in my professional setting all the time. All of my organization's continuing medical education activities must have objectives in order for us to offer credits to physicians and nurses.
And it is a huge pain in the neck for us! Our clinical writers who give the background information on the topic for the activity we're planning usually provide draft objectives. But they are typically not behavioral at all. The almost always start with "Understand...". If we were just concerned about simple accreditation of activities, it would not be a problem. But since every activity we do is funded by outside grants that I am responsible for, and the general CME environment is trying to change performance, not knowledge, these knowledge-based objectives are not appropriate. We always have to rewrite them but of course since we're not clinicians ourselves, we naturally have to get them reviewed again.
This is just one example, but I'd be curious about how many people actually are in a position to write their own program's learning objectives.
Can you do this or is it up to the content experts? Or is it, as in my organization, a combination of the two?
And it is a huge pain in the neck for us! Our clinical writers who give the background information on the topic for the activity we're planning usually provide draft objectives. But they are typically not behavioral at all. The almost always start with "Understand...". If we were just concerned about simple accreditation of activities, it would not be a problem. But since every activity we do is funded by outside grants that I am responsible for, and the general CME environment is trying to change performance, not knowledge, these knowledge-based objectives are not appropriate. We always have to rewrite them but of course since we're not clinicians ourselves, we naturally have to get them reviewed again.
This is just one example, but I'd be curious about how many people actually are in a position to write their own program's learning objectives.
Can you do this or is it up to the content experts? Or is it, as in my organization, a combination of the two?
Sunday, November 7, 2010
My own story of development for DE (Unit 8)
The question of faculty development for DE is a vital one. As we are reading and reporting on the literature in this area this week, I can't help but remember back before I started teaching online and I could not even IMAGINE how it was done!
I was working at a university where I taught grant writing and a friend in the English department told me that they had an opening for an adjunct instructor for an online freshman comp class. This was 7 years ago and there were many fewer people around who had online experience and very few people who were willing to do it. I was at the time willing to take on any extra gig (single mom needed the money!). So I went to talk to one of the profs in the department. He told me some about the course but truly I could not even grasp how it would work. This was obvious to the prof so naturally I was not hired for that job!
Flash forward a couple years. Single mom still looking for extra gigs applies to a for-profit online university. I still could not imagine how it would all work, but then they put me through an excellent six week training program. It was extremely comprehensive and took me through it in (at times excruciating) detail.
Flash forward some more. I've been teaching online for 3.5 years and of course have been a purely online learner at PSU for two of those years. I have gained experience, perspective, and have received excellent feedback from the faculty development team at the university. As I posted in the discussion forum, my courses are monitored (without my knowledge) at least once a year, after which I receive a detailed report.
So for me, faculty development has been an ongoing experience--not just one workshop or even a 6 week course.
What about others and your experience? What has your development been like?
I was working at a university where I taught grant writing and a friend in the English department told me that they had an opening for an adjunct instructor for an online freshman comp class. This was 7 years ago and there were many fewer people around who had online experience and very few people who were willing to do it. I was at the time willing to take on any extra gig (single mom needed the money!). So I went to talk to one of the profs in the department. He told me some about the course but truly I could not even grasp how it would work. This was obvious to the prof so naturally I was not hired for that job!
Flash forward a couple years. Single mom still looking for extra gigs applies to a for-profit online university. I still could not imagine how it would all work, but then they put me through an excellent six week training program. It was extremely comprehensive and took me through it in (at times excruciating) detail.
Flash forward some more. I've been teaching online for 3.5 years and of course have been a purely online learner at PSU for two of those years. I have gained experience, perspective, and have received excellent feedback from the faculty development team at the university. As I posted in the discussion forum, my courses are monitored (without my knowledge) at least once a year, after which I receive a detailed report.
So for me, faculty development has been an ongoing experience--not just one workshop or even a 6 week course.
What about others and your experience? What has your development been like?
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Great article on determining DE cost (Unit 6 and 7)
As I was reading for the Team B Google Doc/annotated bibliography we are building together, I found a great article about different cost models for distance education. The link is below--I highly recommend reading this since I think it addresses many of the questions people brought up related to the Unit 6 assignment.
As if there were any doubt, my enjoyment of this article confirms my budget/program geekhood. :)
http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring131/crawford131.html
As if there were any doubt, my enjoyment of this article confirms my budget/program geekhood. :)
http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring131/crawford131.html
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Feeling awesome about Transformation Theory
As I have mentioned before I believe, I am doing an independent study on Mezirow's transformational learning theory this semester. I know this blog is meant for our DE course but I am feeling so good I want to shout it from the rooftops (or blogspots--can you hear my barbaric yawp?!).
I am about done my annotated bibliography (paper is next) and I am feeling great! I have read so much and thought about this day in and day out for two months and I really feel like I KNOW this author and this theory--and this is the first time in this entire ADTED program that I have felt like I have truly mastered something.
It's been so interesting to see that the very same thoughts I had back in September when I first read Mezirow's core texts are the ones brought up again and again in the literature. And to see how M's own writing and concepts of his theory have changed is extremely interesting.
Anyway...it's not every day that our minds truly expand, so I am celebrating that tonight! :)
I am about done my annotated bibliography (paper is next) and I am feeling great! I have read so much and thought about this day in and day out for two months and I really feel like I KNOW this author and this theory--and this is the first time in this entire ADTED program that I have felt like I have truly mastered something.
It's been so interesting to see that the very same thoughts I had back in September when I first read Mezirow's core texts are the ones brought up again and again in the literature. And to see how M's own writing and concepts of his theory have changed is extremely interesting.
Anyway...it's not every day that our minds truly expand, so I am celebrating that tonight! :)
Monday, November 1, 2010
But it's my course! Or is it? (Unit 7)
Chapter 11 in our text "Delivering Digitally" gives what seems to me to be a fairly dispassionate description of the process of transitioning to distance/online education. And most of it seems pretty obvious--anyone who's gone through any organizational change could write the sentence that the process includes three phases: initial planning, startup, and changeover. Yes, of course.
More interesting to me was the question asked in our course information about what "teachers and administrators assume as part of their organizational culture", including who 'owns' the information that the teacher presents to learners.
This resonated with me because of an experience I've had with one of the universities where I teach as an adjunct asking me to develop my course into an online version. See, I think of it as "my" course. And in a way it is--it contains way more than simple content from a textbook or from other sources. It is based very much on my own experiences and the mini-internship component is built solely on my personal relationships with local non-profits who are willing to "host" grad students to write proposals for them.
But in a way it is not mine--yes, I developed the syllabus but it was approved by the faculty and is regulated by my department head every year. Yes, the course is based on my experience but is offered as an elective in a university degree program. And yes, I am paid to teach it every year.
If I, a yearly adjunct, feel the tug of "my" course, I can only imagine what others much more enmeshed in the academic life must feel when their institutions go in the direction of online DE. A major question is whether the development of a course means that the faculty will teach it, or whether a university might hire non-professors (like TAs or grad students etc.) to facilitate the course online.
From my position I can see a benefit to that, but I imagine that to a career-long resident of the academy, it might be tough to take.
What do you think?
More interesting to me was the question asked in our course information about what "teachers and administrators assume as part of their organizational culture", including who 'owns' the information that the teacher presents to learners.
This resonated with me because of an experience I've had with one of the universities where I teach as an adjunct asking me to develop my course into an online version. See, I think of it as "my" course. And in a way it is--it contains way more than simple content from a textbook or from other sources. It is based very much on my own experiences and the mini-internship component is built solely on my personal relationships with local non-profits who are willing to "host" grad students to write proposals for them.
But in a way it is not mine--yes, I developed the syllabus but it was approved by the faculty and is regulated by my department head every year. Yes, the course is based on my experience but is offered as an elective in a university degree program. And yes, I am paid to teach it every year.
If I, a yearly adjunct, feel the tug of "my" course, I can only imagine what others much more enmeshed in the academic life must feel when their institutions go in the direction of online DE. A major question is whether the development of a course means that the faculty will teach it, or whether a university might hire non-professors (like TAs or grad students etc.) to facilitate the course online.
From my position I can see a benefit to that, but I imagine that to a career-long resident of the academy, it might be tough to take.
What do you think?
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