There were a number of interesting points made by Dr. Mechaca's powerpoint slides on brain research and online learning that I could help me in the online products that I create.
"Temporal Contiguity: Words and pictures should be simultaneous not successive" How many times have you sat through a powerpoint presentation where a picture came up followed by successive bulleted items that flew in or appeared from seemingly random directions. You get so distracted by the text flying in that you forget to see the links between the words and pictures. Seems like such an obvious best practice, but I know I have been guilty of separating them in the past. "Modality: Animation with narration better than animation with text" Again, I have been guilty of this one. A descriptive animation showing a complicated process (i.e. how tsunamis are generated) with text below describing the process. Instead of having text, it should either be accompanied by narration or better yet, the presenter should describe the animation as it is unfolding. Conclusion: "Students are more likely to interact with their peers when using collaborative, online tools." This would seem to be extremely important in encouraging a dynamic online environment. The small group interactions that we have had during our Mon synchronous sessions have probably been the most valuable for me in being able to bounce off ideas with my peers and learn from there experiences. I teach an introductory online class, I will definitely look to employ synchronous group work in future classes because of my personal experiences. A follow-up question that came to mind that I would love folks thoughts on: Is it more effective to assign students' roles when working collaboratively or have them assign the roles themselves? R2D2 Article: Loved the conclusion where the author stated, "May the force be with all of those who attempt the R2D2 model on such research and development journeys in the coming years." I have to give the author credit for being able to put in a Star Wars reference in a journal article. In all seriousness, it is an easy acrostic to remember (read, reflect, display and do). I wonder if there are more extensive learning gains in courses that use the R2D2 method over those that do not? Quality Matters Rubric Standards: A great checklist to go through when preparing to teach an online class. As an instructor for an introductory level class, there were a number of points that I will definitely take into consideration for future classes. Many of them were assumptions that I made about the students in the class, that perhaps are good to make. Netiquette expectations and accessibility requirements were the two biggest issues that I need to address. While I have never had an auditory or visually impaired student in my class, I think it's important for the course to address the needs of these students should the need arise. Overall, great discussion in class and looking forward to any comments or feedback!
2 Comments
Alia
9/16/2011 07:44:07 pm
I too appreciate the information from the checklist and I feel very inspired about your comment on addressing the needs of students with disabilities i.e. students with auditory or visual impairments. Some times overlooked the teacher can have the greatest ability to be inclusive especially with the increase of online classes and other technologies that offer access to education to some students that would otherwise be excluded.
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9/18/2011 06:57:45 pm
Thanks for the post Alia! While it can be time-consuming to address the needs of all students, it's definitely a best practice and probably helps all students with diverse learning preferences.
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