While I am far from a computer guru, I know the great value of technology and have become addicted to email. I am not sure how many hundred email messages I get each week, but my OCD tendencies lead me to an irresistible desire to check and respond to my messages many times a day. Such a compulsion is, I fear, only one symptom of my personal infomania and rushaholism. And I know I am not alone.
Read more ›CURRENT ARTICLE • July 30
OTHER RECENT ARTICLES
Shortcomings of an online course are not always obvious to the person who created it or teaches it. That is why it is helpful to seek other sources of information to determine whether a course is meeting its objectives. Mary Hricko, library director and associate professor of library and media services at Kent State University Geauga Campus and Twinsburg Center, recommends doing this in the following three ways:
Read More ›To promote learning, we encourage our students to be actively involved in class discussions by asking and answering questions. Even if we do not include class participation in our grades, how a student behaves in class does influence our perception of the student’s abilities. These opinions may become important if the student’s grade in class is on the borderline or the student asks for a letter of recommendation.
Read More ›The online learning environment offers great potential for individualized learning. One way to achieve this is through adaptive hypermedia—using learner use patterns to adapt course presentation, navigation, and content to suit individual students’ needs and preferences.
Read More ›At the heart of every online course is the discussion forum. This is where ideas, information, and new material are shared, discussed, analyzed, built upon, etc. In many ways, the discussion forum mimics the classroom in a face-to-face environment. “Discussion is one of the most effective ways to make students aware of the range of interpretations that are possible in an area of intellectual inquiry.” (Brookfield, 2005, p. 22).
Read More ›Online instructors receive poor evaluations for any number of reasons, including lack of experience, inadequate training, and poor communication skills. Other times, the poor reviews are more reflective of the course design than the instructor who’s teaching the course. That distinction is unimportant to the students.
Read More ›I’m preparing some materials related to participation. It’s given me cause to reread some of the research on participation in the college classroom. Although not particularly uplifting, I thought you too, might benefit from a brief review of some of the findings.
Read More ›In a Journal of Engineering Education article (referenced below), Richard Felder and Rebecca Brent propose an instructional model that promotes the intellectual development of science and engineering students.
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