Good & bad outcomes from a technical glitch

There was a technical glitch with the web-server over the weekend resulting in students and myself unable to access the online course material. There were good and bad outcomes from this.

BAD: Obvious stuff...

1. Students could not complete the homework that was set (due this week).
2. I was unable to update the course material with this weeks material.
3. There may also have been some erosion of confidence in the online platform.

GOOD:

1. The problem prompted a class discussion about our reliance on technology. Whilst it is engrained in the way we live (and learn), there is a need for individuals to problem solve to get around the odd glitch here and there. Problem solving usually means lateral thinking skills. It was good to turn the negative around and make something of it. I posed the discussion question - do you feel 'incomplete' if you havent checked your email or facebook for a day or two?
2. The keen students had either emailed or approached me to tell me about the problems they were experiencing -- it informally identified those who are committed to doing the work.
3. The blended approach (some classes online and some face to face) means I can fall back to more traditional delivery when the technology lets me down. In this case I quickly repurposed the online resources for the f2f class and was good to go.
4. My workplace is becoming more reliant on online formats for learning -- but this is not always supported or understood by support departments. On this occasion the IT area saw first-hand the impact of an interruption to our online delivery (there were a number of departments and students affected). Hopefully this will reinforce the need to re-prioritise IT resources to avoid a repeat performance -- or at least to minimise it.
   

Voice board problem fixed

Noticed a problem today with the voice board on Blackboard -- students could view the previous posts but couldn't post new ones! Not much point in that!
I think it was an oversight of mine when I created the board, as there is a small checkbox to click to enable this obviously important feature. Anyway I recreated the board, tested it and deleted the old empty board. All works now!
This actually gave me the opportunity to send the class-list a group SMS and an email to ensure they knew the problem was fixed and that I expected them to get the small task finished before we meet again. I used a feature of our student record management system (enabled at enrolment) to send the group messages. Down the track, I'll make sure I refer to the group SMS/email as an example of e-communication aiding the whole distance-learning process.

Online learning tools

I know the tools merely enable a carefully conceived learning strategy -- but some great tools inspire some great strategies too.
Today I discovered some useful online tools suitable for e-learning, these are shared by Steph Hendy on her various blogs and slideshare presentations.
Some of my thoughts are...

1. Project idea : students use an online character creator (list here and here) to develop characters and backgrounds for comic-style instruction. They could develop a concept that incorporates the comic character as an instructor within an e-learning product for children or adolescents.
   Eg: alien or animal teaches primary children about enviro issues; historic character teaches a history, art or geo lesson; superhero teaches teens about cyber-safety, etc.
2. Tools for a collaborative mindmap or brainstorm exercise
3. A simple and familiar example of e-learning --> typing tutors

I'll develop these ideas further over the next couple of weeks.

I discovered the reports

Just discovered the reports feature in Blackboard -- it's early days for the course so I can't read too much into the stats yet, but I can see this is going to be a useful tool to diagnose how the learners respond to the online material.
In my structure I've made deliberate decisions about the groupings and the order of content elements. It appears that the ideas are working and students are moving through the elements the way I planned, with some obvious deviations for self-discovery.

Voice Tools

I've been experimenting with the voice tools available in Blackboard and have decided to incorporate an activity where students can record some reflective thoughts on 2 e-learning examples I have provided. The examples both deal with the same subject matter (How to Dissect a Frog... YEWW!), but they each use a different approach.
By asking the students to reflect and compare the advantages and disadvantages of each approach verbally I am going for a dialogic approach to the learning (ala Freire and Vella) and this will also make the activity more interesting. Responses are limited to maximum 3 minutes.

Two observations to make later:

1. Will they say a lot or a little? How spontaneous or rehearsed are the responses?
2. Their recordings will be available for the entire class to listen to -- will this hinder or enhance the process?
   

Getting started online

The Diploma of Interactive Digital Media students (approx 16) commenced classes this week and they are studying a unit titled "Design e-learning resources" (CUFDIG503A) with me. The subject involves content of both a research (theory) and design (practical) nature with clear links between the two. I will adopt a blended approach using an online format for the theory and a face-to-face format for the practical aspects. Approximately 2 hrs per week has been allocated for each format, making 4 hrs overall in the subject.

The students responded well to the idea of some flexible delivery and are looking forward to experiencing e-learning as both a developer (f2f) and user (online). We will use the Blackboard LMS for the online component, and I spent a few hours today initialising the course, enrolling students and setting up the first activity which involves collectively developing a glossary of e-learning terms using an online discussion tool. I'm considering expanding this later with a second activity involving threaded discussion where students can expand and give feedback on the terminology entries.

Our next f2f class will introduce the Blackboard online environment - I have some PDF notes and a short (15 min) introductory course to work through some of the online tools in class. My plan is for srudents to do this intro in the f2f environment with me so that any technical problems can be ironed out before students try it at home alone. Even though these students are reasonably tech-savvy I'm trying to create the softest landing possible into the online medium.