Oh I'd definitely say it was a success, especially if viewed as a work in progress. As most assignments in this course, it introduced us to a new dimension of information sharing that we can also use with our students. Like the DL Wiki page, this is only a start. Even though some parts of the timeline seem crowded, there is still room to squeeze in more info, graphics, and the summative (comparison/contrast) statements for each decade or era. I know I learned a lot more than I posted, and I'm sure that's the same for everyone. Reading through others' posts is informative and enjoyable; I like the different types of writing in the timeline. I think in most projects, whether collaborative or individual, we tend to think in terms of templates, consistency, parallel structure, themes... I rather like that we weren't given stringent rules to follow for this one and only had a loose plan. It's been fun to watch it evolve and good to know we can continue to post and/or edit info that's there.
I would say that the experience was a good one. I enjoyed the way that the postings on the site kept building which provided for it's own narrative. I seemed to have a problem posting my information or it seemed that way since my posts did not show up for a day or two on the timeline. I think that to fine tune the process, it would help to describe how the system works or to maybe use a different web vehicle. I really got a lot out of the finished product and It seemed to stimulate discussion among classmates. I had one fellow student who e-mailed me that they liked how I set up my post and if I could instruct them on how to make additions to the blog. I think the experimental nature of the assisgnment allowed us to grow as students. Submitted by Richard Bell
Richard Bell---I worked on the online university section of the timeline. The growth of distance education has exploded in this ERA and it seems that technology has expanded in some ways faster than the number of postsecondary schools offering distance education. It seems that most distance classes and internet courses that I have seen, try to run distance education as modified traditional education. Many will set up three face-to-face classes so that the instructor and the students can interact. The technology today allows students and professor to meet in virtual space and communicate in real time by both voice and text. Only a handful of classes seem to use this technique. The technology allows students to experience a wide variety of media which bodes well for those who subscribe to Howard Gardner's concept of multiple intelligences. I think that some of the lag of technology to application is unfamilarity by the instructors but I also think that many teachers are unsure of how much expertise that students have with new innovations.
I think the timeline experience is valuable, and I enjoy reading all the "snapshots" of important events! Is there any way to display 2 parallel timelines on the same page: one for distance learning and one for technological development? It would be nice to see both at once for purposes of comparison. I like the fact that we can continue to post to the timeline as we gain more knowledge and come across more pertinent information. I feel that we learn more, and learn for longer, when learning activities are open-ended. Lisa Lehmberg
I liked the change of pace from the basic read, analyze, analyze, post discussion stuff. It was liberating to just focus on single points and post them into the timeline, constructing a larger product without having to do all the overall thinking.
However, I felt that focusing on just a 10 year period in isolation didn't encourage us to engage with the history as a whole. It's a trade off for the freedom appreciated above.
I think it might be a good idea to have the first part of the project be posting the 10 year period as we did. But the second part should be to compare/contrast a period other than the one we posted. Along with this the student would also evaluate the timeline entries done by the student for the other period. This would have the benefits of working on multiple levels of Bloom's taxonomy, engaging students in more of the timeline, and encouraging more effort on the initial part of the assignment, since students know they will be relying on each other's work for the second part of the assignment.
I liked the change of pace from the basic read, analyze, analyze, post discussion stuff. It was liberating to just focus on single points and post them into the timeline, constructing a larger product without having to do all the overall thinking.
However, I felt that focusing on just a 10 year period in isolation didn't encourage us to engage with the history as a whole. It's a trade off for the freedom appreciated above.
I think it might be a good idea to have the first part of the project be posting the 10 year period as we did. But the second part should be to compare/contrast a period other than the one we posted. Along with this the student would also evaluate the timeline entries done by the student for the other period. This would have the benefits of working on multiple levels of Bloom's taxonomy, engaging students in more of the timeline, and encouraging more effort on the initial part of the assignment, since students know they will be relying on each other's work for the second part of the assignment.
I think it worked great. I think we really had a fun time doing it, and it helped alot that there were dates to work with that showed the evolution of distance learning. One thing I learned was how old distance learning was, that it traced all the way back to the 1830s and had existed in various mediums by the present era, even before computers. Using the Internet only increased the possibilities, but realizing that the computer only extended the interest in the subject made me realize that it had been an age-old idea that many had dreamed of for generations.--Frank Fuller
I feel it is a success. It is interesting to be able to visually see the timeline of how distance learning and technology have evolved. It helps shape the timeline that was formed in my mind already. It would help if there was a little more information on how to manipulate the text on Dandelife.
-- Jill Mohler
Comments:
DistEd (February 15, 2007. 05:15am)
Oh I'd definitely say it was a success, especially if viewed as a work in progress. As most assignments in this course, it introduced us to a new dimension of information sharing that we can also use with our students. Like the DL Wiki page, this is only a start. Even though some parts of the timeline seem crowded, there is still room to squeeze in more info, graphics, and the summative (comparison/contrast) statements for each decade or era. I know I learned a lot more than I posted, and I'm sure that's the same for everyone. Reading through others' posts is informative and enjoyable; I like the different types of writing in the timeline. I think in most projects, whether collaborative or individual, we tend to think in terms of templates, consistency, parallel structure, themes... I rather like that we weren't given stringent rules to follow for this one and only had a loose plan. It's been fun to watch it evolve and good to know we can continue to post and/or edit info that's there.
Li-Lee
DistEd (February 15, 2007. 06:03am)
I would say that the experience was a good one. I enjoyed the way that the postings on the site kept building which provided for it's own narrative. I seemed to have a problem posting my information or it seemed that way since my posts did not show up for a day or two on the timeline. I think that to fine tune the process, it would help to describe how the system works or to maybe use a different web vehicle. I really got a lot out of the finished product and It seemed to stimulate discussion among classmates. I had one fellow student who e-mailed me that they liked how I set up my post and if I could instruct them on how to make additions to the blog. I think the experimental nature of the assisgnment allowed us to grow as students. Submitted by Richard Bell
DistEd (February 15, 2007. 06:15am)
Richard Bell---I worked on the online university section of the timeline. The growth of distance education has exploded in this ERA and it seems that technology has expanded in some ways faster than the number of postsecondary schools offering distance education. It seems that most distance classes and internet courses that I have seen, try to run distance education as modified traditional education. Many will set up three face-to-face classes so that the instructor and the students can interact. The technology today allows students and professor to meet in virtual space and communicate in real time by both voice and text. Only a handful of classes seem to use this technique. The technology allows students to experience a wide variety of media which bodes well for those who subscribe to Howard Gardner's concept of multiple intelligences. I think that some of the lag of technology to application is unfamilarity by the instructors but I also think that many teachers are unsure of how much expertise that students have with new innovations.
DistEd (February 16, 2007. 03:15pm)
I think the timeline experience is valuable, and I enjoy reading all the "snapshots" of important events! Is there any way to display 2 parallel timelines on the same page: one for distance learning and one for technological development? It would be nice to see both at once for purposes of comparison. I like the fact that we can continue to post to the timeline as we gain more knowledge and come across more pertinent information. I feel that we learn more, and learn for longer, when learning activities are open-ended. Lisa Lehmberg
DistEd (February 17, 2007. 03:00am)
I liked the change of pace from the basic read, analyze, analyze, post discussion stuff. It was liberating to just focus on single points and post them into the timeline, constructing a larger product without having to do all the overall thinking.
However, I felt that focusing on just a 10 year period in isolation didn't encourage us to engage with the history as a whole. It's a trade off for the freedom appreciated above.
I think it might be a good idea to have the first part of the project be posting the 10 year period as we did. But the second part should be to compare/contrast a period other than the one we posted. Along with this the student would also evaluate the timeline entries done by the student for the other period. This would have the benefits of working on multiple levels of Bloom's taxonomy, engaging students in more of the timeline, and encouraging more effort on the initial part of the assignment, since students know they will be relying on each other's work for the second part of the assignment.
Marshall
DistEd (February 17, 2007. 03:00am)
I liked the change of pace from the basic read, analyze, analyze, post discussion stuff. It was liberating to just focus on single points and post them into the timeline, constructing a larger product without having to do all the overall thinking.
However, I felt that focusing on just a 10 year period in isolation didn't encourage us to engage with the history as a whole. It's a trade off for the freedom appreciated above.
I think it might be a good idea to have the first part of the project be posting the 10 year period as we did. But the second part should be to compare/contrast a period other than the one we posted. Along with this the student would also evaluate the timeline entries done by the student for the other period. This would have the benefits of working on multiple levels of Bloom's taxonomy, engaging students in more of the timeline, and encouraging more effort on the initial part of the assignment, since students know they will be relying on each other's work for the second part of the assignment.
Marshall
DistEd (February 18, 2007. 06:53pm)
I think it worked great. I think we really had a fun time doing it, and it helped alot that there were dates to work with that showed the evolution of distance learning. One thing I learned was how old distance learning was, that it traced all the way back to the 1830s and had existed in various mediums by the present era, even before computers. Using the Internet only increased the possibilities, but realizing that the computer only extended the interest in the subject made me realize that it had been an age-old idea that many had dreamed of for generations.--Frank Fuller
DistEd (February 22, 2007. 02:35am)
I feel it is a success. It is interesting to be able to visually see the timeline of how distance learning and technology have evolved. It helps shape the timeline that was formed in my mind already. It would help if there was a little more information on how to manipulate the text on Dandelife.
-- Jill Mohler
DistEd (June 7, 2007. 02:31am)
This was my first experience with this blog tool so I was a little aprenesive. I enjoyed creating the timeline. I really learned a lot in the process.
Althea