EDUCATION BLOG

Here is an update about the Course Management Review from the Distance Learning Council meeting.

• Everyone is concerned about cost and vendor responsiveness
• Two-part strategy
  • Decision support tool
  • Develop RFP specific to certain elements
    • Consortium
    • Single colleges
    • College groups
  • "Pick from" list document as deliverable

• Requirements
  • Creating list of features for RFP
  • Will send RFP to vendors late August/early September

• White Papers/Decision Tools
  • CMS decision criteria
  • CMS costs
  • Hosting strategies
  • Visioning studies

• Open Source Evaluation
• Also looking at open source CMS but they don't respond to RFPs
  • Can look at companies that provide support for open source
    • Could get RFP from them

MINNEAPOLIS, July 20, 2007 - Capella University, an accredited* online university based in Minneapolis, has named Dr. Harry McLenighan as dean of its School of Education. Dr. McLenighan, who had been serving as interim dean, has more than 34 years experience as a teacher and administrator in K-12 education, and 15 years as a teacher and administrator in higher education.

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Yesterday was a fairly eventful day. Blog-wise, things were hopping. I shouldn't have been suprised by this since anytime one gets mentioned by Meredith Farkas on Information Wants To Be Free, visits tend to skyrocket. I picked up some new readers, got some interesting and supportive comments and found some new educational blogs that are worth reading. Non-blog-wise, I felt the beginnings of a much needed attitude adjustment. I was quite humbled to have played any part in Meredith's decision to pursue one of her dreams. Once I got over my amazement, I was so gratified to see some excitement over the possibilities in distance LIS education. There is so much room for improvement, and Meredith's interest in getting involved makes me believe that it just might be possible. Seriously, this definitely helped to renew some interest in my own education - some badly needed interest.

I need to continue my quest to get the voices of distance students (and all students who take classes online) heard at SCSU. I will pursue this - regardless of the response from the dean. This is important. I will try to renew my interest in my education - to care about what I am studying. I will make it through - and I will be okay!

Ever since Five Weeks to a Social Library took place, I have been seriously thinking about what it could mean for distance education. Obviously, I'm extremely interested in the current state of online education - and why it just doesn't seem to be ready for prime time yet. I will admit that my experiences in a distance program over this past spring semester really highlighted the problems and issues that can make online classes so frustrating. Adding to this were some thought provoking blog posts from a couple of people involved in creating the Five Weeks experience - Meredith Farkas' Two Models for the Future of Online Continuing Education at Techessence.Info and Michelle Boule's Unsucking Online Education, Part One and Part Two on ALA's Techsource blog. Primarily, both authors are interested in the ramifications of the Five-Weeks online education for continuing education - rather than for structured degree programs.

While I am excited about the prospects of such programs for continuing education, I honestly think that the Five-Weeks program could become a great model for distance, degree programs also. Let me tell you something, vendor-supplied course management systems are just as cumbersome and sucky as OPACs. No wait, let me amend that statement - they are much suckier than OPACs. They can be clunky, bloated, irritating to use, resource intensive, picky about platforms and browsers, unattractive and overwhelmingly unappealing. And, they are often THE primary interface that distance students to interface with their institution.

At SCSU, they use WebCT (the Vista release). I hate it. It is very spartan. It has no social functionality to promote student interaction (beyond the standard discussions and tough-to-use chat feature - which, trust me, do nothing to promote student socialization). It seems to use frames - this causes me frustrations when trying to wade through class discussions. When you click on a discussion posting to read (which displays in a pop up window), and then close the discussion, the web page has to repaint itself - marking the discussion as read. It is annoying, especially since it can often take several seconds. Also, when the page redisplays itself, it always returns to the top of the page - even if you had been reading a posting that was below to fold, so to speak. As such, reading discussion postings often requires a great deal of scrolling. This is especially problematic if one does not keep on top of the discussion postings. When I went to Las Vegas in early June, I didn't log into WebCT for a week. It took me several painful hours to actually wade through all of the discussion postings. I am frustrated by the online course system more often than not. ARGH!

In opposition to this closed, difficult-to-use system, the Five Weeks class seemed to be such an open, social learning experience that had great participation. I realize that many professors might not care for such a public classroom setting, but I would think many would see the advantages to such an interactive experience - publicly available or not.  Amanda Etches-Johnson's LIS757: Social Software & Libraries course is another example of this. Personally, I think this would be a wonderful way to learn - using blogs, wikis, instant messaging, and other social software tools - a wonderful way to interact with fellow students and professors. I find it impossible to build any type of decent relationship with professors in the current system. It is a bit sad that I have not developed any type of significant relationships with any of my professors - other than with my advisor (and I seriously need to write a post that is an ode to him at some point).

To me, the Five Weeks course and course sites like the one run by Amanda Etches-Johnson highlight how stagnant current course management systems can be. Learning via WebCT is not the most enriching educational experience that I have ever had. It will be almost all that I remember from my graduate experience at SCSU - which actually may make the entire time spent studying seem quite unreal once I finish. I would not do another distance program where the only interface was WebCT - no way. It does not even come close to capturing the realities of the face-to-face experience.

Distance education could be so much more than it currently is - so much more than it currently is at SCSU. There are so many great tools to enhance social interaction and learning - and I think we need to have these things incorporated into course management systems. What are we waiting for?

As an educator teaching college students in the year 2007, I feel so incredibly empowered now that I'm finally "getting it". Yes... I'm truly starting to harness, incorporate and channel technology (rich media content) and synthesize it with my teaching style, personality and instructional methodology.

I've been climbing the digital learning curve for over ten years years, but it's only been recently after a great deal of reading, research, attending distance learning conferences and presenting online teaching workshops that I recently experienced a personal epiphany. WOW!!! I have more tools, options and diverse (high quality) media content at my disposal than ever before. I've been teaching for 25 years and its as if I have been completely recharged, rejuvenated, inspired and absolutely jazzed about these powerful new tools that I have literally at my fingertips.

To think I can embed a U Tube video clip about a famous artist or art style into my online Art Appreciation class after a quick google search or an enhanced podcast with Kevin Bacon narrating the life and times of Van Gogh or an interactive web site about Leonardo Da Vinci's inventions....link to the greatest art museums in the world and I'm only talking about art. My personal empowerment also applies and transcends to every discipline (and instructor/professor) from mathematics to science, literature, engineering, sociology, psychology, etc.............Click and watch...TeacherTube.com.

I'm almost overwhelmed by this new "flattened" world we live in and how advances in technology have changed all the rules - and given everyone with a computer and web access some serious input into where we go from here.

Today anyone can write and publish with nothing more than a web blog - anybody can be a media producer, designer, news reporter, poet, critic, philosopher, artist, photographer, documentarian or even a comedian. Yes...the rules are changing everyday and I have no idea what this this country will be like when my daughter Andei graduates from college seven years from now. What skills will she need to succeed in the new millennium?

One thing is for certain...My daughter Andei and her generation will need to be flexible, multilingual, versatile and life long learners - in fact, anyone trying to compete in the global marketplace from this point on will have to be creative, entrepreneurial and innovative. The old days of learning one trade or skill are over. We all (students and teachers) must be upgrading our skills constantly to stay competitive and viable in today's economy.

Yes these are very exciting times, however we cannot be complacent in any way because our counterparts in India, Japan, Russia and China are "getting it" too in a big way and are catching up to us in the fields of science, engineering and mathematics - in fact, in some instances they are surpassing us, so it is time to wake up and crank it up a notch if we don't want to lose ground and get left behind the eight ball in the flattened world.

Any Thoughts??? Click and Comment.

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... it's not unusual to feel slightly down and loose-endish. I've come to expect this at the end of a course so I wasn't surprised when today's rather gloomy and damp weather seemed to mirror my mood. Sometimes there's this odd aimlessness which follows the final exam or submission of an ECA and it might take a day or so to adjust to 'normal living' again :-(

Many students will already have decided to continue with their Open University studies and might even have registered for their next course. Some, like me, might be taking the summer off because of family and work responsibilities with a view to possibly signing up again in the autumn. Others might just have done one single course and don't intend to do any more. That's one of the great things about being an OU student :-)

One of the best things about studying with the Open University is the amazing sense of camaraderie and mutual inter-student help that marks many of the course conferences. Admittedly, some courses have very quiet conferences but some, like T189, are characterised by lively exchanges and extensive information sharing. Many strong friendships can be forged that transcend the course itself. So it's hardly surprising that some students are now posting messages of thanks which include rather plaintive questions about how long the course conferences will be accessible on First Class. The usual time is six to eight weeks after the course finishes but I've noticed that the T189 conferences have become noticeably quieter towards the end of this week.

So I decided to create a message board which past T189 students can use after our course conferences are closed. It's not restricted to those who have already studied T189 - everyone is welcome whether they've signed up for the second presentation in October or are thinking of taking the course at some time in the more distant future.

I've tried to cover all topics and I've added a Suggestion Box forum so that anything I've overlooked can be pointed out, discussed and (hopefully) implemented. There's also an Informal Course Feedback forum where students who have taken part in the first time presentation (which wasn't entirely trouble free ...) can offer their suggestions for improvements and additions to the course team for future presentations. Please be courteous and constructive in your comments - this is not a place for disputes.

T189 Digital Photography Unofficial Forum

There are lots of free message board systems out there but I opted for Yuku which, although still in beta, does offer a lot of options. I've deliberately made the board open to everyone so you don't have to register for a Yuku account to read and participate. Hopefully it will be easy to use ...

Note that this is an UNOFFICIAL board which is not affiliated to the Open University in any way. Any views expressed within the forums are those of the original poster. Please treat others with respect and courtesy.

See you there :-)

Most people I have met, who want to be successful, look for enlightenment through those who have already achieved their goals in life. The big question they ask themselves is how did this person make it? If they are lucky enough to meet a successful person, and happen to ask what they did to get there, that person usually does not want to share the intimate details, or give away their secrets. Someone with class will probably give you a few reassuring adjectives, ending the conversation with some encouraging words. That and ten cents might buy you a cup of coffee. 

Taking ownership of a having a successful future entails a few important elements. The first is getting to a point in your life where you have had enough of the way things are, and being willing to do whatever it takes to change your situation.  

I will share a true story of a person who made their dream of success become a reality. We were living in a small town, just moved in, and ordered some pizza to the house. The delivery person comes to door and starts a conversation. I see you just moved in, how do you like the area so far? Not bad I say. He then asks who will be doing the snow removal and cutting the grass in the summer. I respond with… most likely me. He then tells me that he delivers pizza, but actually has a landscaping business where he removes snow in the winter and cuts grass in the summer. Naturally I ask how much? He then informs me that if I chose both services it is $70/month. The good news is that when it snows, if needed, he will come back five times a day to keep my drive way clean. In the summer he does the grass twice a week at the beginning, and as the summer goes on the grass does not grow as fast, so once a week or as needed. He mentions that these days just having a kid remove snow or cut the grass would be $15/time.He leaves me his card, and suggests I think about it. 

About three weeks later we order pizza again, guess who is delivering? I ask him how he is doing. He tells me that he picked up a few contracts over the last while for snow removal. To make a long story short I take his services, he does a great job for us. In the summer he tells me that he worked for years with a landscaper in
Montreal, and he was wondering if I was interested in having him trim my trees. It would not be expensive; he would give me a great deal because of being a loyal customer. It would make all the difference to the property. So for $50 he trimmed all my trees. There was his up sell. 

The point to the story is that there are people who are dreamers, and the ones who are doers. This pizza delivery person was willing to do whatever it took to become successful. If it meant delivering pizza to promote his business, then that is what he did. He never spent a dime on advertising, self promoted, and within three years had over a hundred regular clients per month, and two large industrial contracts. He kept delivering pizza to build up his equipment and more of a customer base. This pizza delivery person built up to having five people working for him, three snow removal trucks, and two lawn tractors.    

If you are ready to take ownership of a successful future, you do not need to be enlightened by people who made it prior, have a fortune to get started, require bank financing. Just set out a path for yourself, be willing to pay your dues, and become a doer instead of a dreamer. If you need a business coach or some basic business training that is where the Startup business doctor can help. The first step is you making the decision to succeed.

Arnold Nadler is the founder and CEO of The Startup Business Doctor, a highly successful collection of how to business guides, consulting services, business education courses, expert business tips on the website, and low cost advertising solutions. All designed to assist new and existing business owners achieve their goals. For more information, visit at startupbusinessdoctor.com.

TeacherJay is working on a large post compiling links and descriptions of places to get free software, but he was so excited about a new (to him) site that he didn't want to wait to post it. Thanks to Ionut Alex Chitu over at Google Operating System, TeacherJay has learned about Zoho.com. This site is mostly free and has online services that can be used in place of many office/productivity applications, such as a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation builder, chat, planner and even a project manager (a few of the apps are limited before a subscription fee is required). This goes a little above what is offered on ThinkFree.com and even Google Docs & Spreadsheets. Although all three services definitely need some work, it is exciting to see that someday we may be able to run all of our software over the 'net.

Why is this important to a blog concerned with education you ask? Read the rest of this entry »