Designing for Learners

The forum discussion with our group this week went pretty well. It started with me posting a thread that designated tasks to everyone. In the thread, I asked if everyone could just confirm that they would be willing to do those tasks. I stayed in constant communication with Steve almost the whole week. By the weekend, I was in constant communication with Abby. I actually ended up speaking with Abby and Steve outside of the discussion forum through phone calls or text messages. There were a few questions asked throughout the week, such as what we were supposed to title the assignment, or whether or not we each needed to turn in a copy. Overall, the conversation went pretty well, and we all got our work done in a very timely manner. I had asked that they send me their questions by Monday night so that I could compile the paper together, and they both sent me those on time. It was definitely a successful assignment.

There are many things we need to take into account regarding learners or our audience in designing instruction. One very important thing is just the age of the audience. For example, a college instructor should definitely plan on teaching seniors differently than freshmen. Freshmen are just coming out of high school and are not as used to the teaching style of college professors. Seniors are much more experienced in college, and are able to adapt new teaching styles much more easily than freshmen. I definitely feel that instructors of freshmen should come up with a transitional style of teaching, which would help freshmen transition well fom high school to college.

Another important thing to take into account is the skills of the students in that particular class. If a professor is teaching an art class, it may not be wise to assign a 10-page article analyzing statistics, due in 2 days. That is an extreme example, but my point is that the professor needs to examine the skills of the students in that class, and assign relevant course work, accordingly.

Add a comment September 30, 2009

My Myths About the Online Environment

Before I ever took an online course, I thought it would definitely be a lot easier than a traditional face-to-face learning environment. The first course I took online, which was a nutrition course, was extremely easy and low-maintenance. My opinion about online classes quickly changed when I took an E-Management course online. It was, by far, the hardest class I have ever taken in college. We had so many assignments due, and our instructor assigned 20 question quizzes with only 13 minutes to complete them. It was insane! After researching this myth, I found out that there are many reasons that online courses are in no way easier than face-to-face classes. There is much more self-discipline involved in online learning, as well as self-motivation.

I also used to believe that the quality of online courses was much lower than that of the quality of a face-to-face course. The more experience I have gained in online courses, the more I realize that is not the case at all. Through my research this past week, I have really been able to recognize how much more teachers are able to teach in an online environment. Instructors can provide students with so many resources to learn if they are already online. It is much harder for a traditional teacher to integrate those methods of teaching into their lessons, since they are in a classroom environment. I definitely recognize that the quality can be equal, if not better, in an online course, as opposed to the quality of a face-to-face course.

Add a comment September 21, 2009

Copyright and Fair Use

As the number of internet users grow, individuals need to be more and more careful about how they are obtaining information. There are many laws put into place already, which describe the rules and regulations as to how to give fair credit to an individual if one is borrowing another’s work. According to the Center for Social Media, “Fair use is the right, in some circumstances, to quote copyrighted material without asking permission or paying for it.” With the technology available to so many Americans today, such as the internet, people have more opportunity than ever to infringe on copyright laws, perhaps without even realizing it (Center for Social Media, n.d.).

When one refers to a group of exclusive rights, one is referring to copyright. Copyrights exist to give the owner of the copyright exclusive rights concerning the reproduction, sale, lease, rental, or display of their work (U.S. Copyright Office, 2007). It is actually really interesting how the laws on this subject are made up in our country. One can technically infringe on copyright laws just by browsing a web page of copyrighted material. Because of the way computers are made to function, the random access memory on a computer stores the copyrighted material, which technically breaks the law. Fortunately for internet users, most courts allow this sort of thing to be seen as fair use (Jennings, 2002).

Another widespread issue with online resources is the use of thumbnails. When websites use thumbnails, which are basically small, low resolution pictures, as reference devices, the websites are at risk of infringing on copyright laws. Websites must be sure to avoid using these thumbnails as a tool for profits or promotion of their own site. Problems come about with streaming media, which is very common today. A transmission of even one video or song can count as copyright infringement. There have been lawsuits against companies for playing clips of videos for even only one minute, due to the fact that they were profiting from it later (Jennings, 2002).

Peer-to-peer file sharing brings up many problems for users of this product. Whether one is sharing music, pictures, movies, or copyrighted literature, one can still get in trouble for infringing on the owner’s material or work if they are trading without authorization. A very famous infringement case took place, called A&M Records v. Napster. This case occurred because Napster was making possible the sharing of digital music files among its users. Record companies were tired of losing money from the actions of Napster, and decided to press charges. Although Napster tried to convince the courts that users were making fair use of the copyrighted material that belonged to the record companies, the courts still found Napster guilty of copyright infringement. The reason was because users were getting files for free, when they should have been paying for them (Jennings, 2002).

As one can clearly see, there are more ways than one that the average internet user can easily infringe on copyright laws. It is very important for internet users to become educated on these laws so that they do not end up getting themselves in trouble with the law, just because of an honest mistake. It’s very important for individuals to remember to always respect the person who created the material, and give credit where credit is due.

References

Center for Social Media. (n.d.). Fair use and copyright. Retrieved September 14, 2009 from http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/fair_use/

Jennings, C.A. (2002). Fair use on the internet. Retrieved September 14, 2009 from http://www.fas.org/irp/crs/RL31423.pdf

U.S. Copyright Office. (2007). Stopping copyright infringement. Retrieved September 14, 2009 from http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-infringement.html

Add a comment September 15, 2009

Typical Day Online

During a typical day online, I check Blackboard 2 or 3 times for new postings in this course. I like to check the Discussions link first thing, because then I can respond to anyone who has sent me something. I can also read the new postings and leave comments for other people. On the first day of the new week, I write out the weekly checklist on paper so that I can cross things off all week long. That helps me stay motivated and feel like I am accomplishing things throughout the week. I then check the assignments that are required for that week so that I can plan out in my mind what I need to get done each day. I don’t really like waiting until the last minute to do things, so I need a mental plan as to how to chip away at all of the class work. After leaving several posts on the Discussions link each day, I try to work on at least one assignment for the class. I also check Twitter at least one time each day, just to make sure I haven’t missed anything important regarding the course.

This class is way different than a traditional course because I can work at my own pace, for the most part. I love doing things at my own pace. I am usually pretty disciplined when it comes to finishing things early, and this allows me the flexibility of doing exactly that, every single week. I like being able to be in the comfort of my own home when I do the coursework for this class, and being able to work it around my work and volunteer schedule. Overall, I usually really enjoy online courses, as long as they are truly 100% online.

Add a comment September 7, 2009

Week 2 Tests

On the first test, I found out that I am more of a reflective learner than I am an active learner. I am pretty well-balanced when it comes to being sensitive, intuitive, visual, verbal, sequential, and global. I definitely agree with this test because I feel that I like to reflect on things before I make decisions. I am not usually one to just jump into something without really thinking about it. I definitely like to see things and hear things, which is reflected by the results of this test. I would have thought that I was more sequential than global, but apparently I am well-balanced between the two. Usually I really like to follow a series of steps, but I guess I am more of a global learner than I realized.

I also found out in the first test that I am a kinesthetic learner. This means I like to learn by touching and doing. I agree with this completely because I move around a lot when I am bored, I speak with my hands, and I usually take a lot of breaks when I study. I love to do things that are “hands-on”, which is definitely something a kinesthetic learner would do. I also really enjoy experiencing things.

The second test, Kolb’s Inventory, told me that I am a reflector. In other words, I prefer watching and feeling. As I said earlier, I definitely agree with this because I prefer to reflect on things before I do them. I am all about brainstorming before doing a group project. I really enjoy innovation in projects. I like to stay open-minded to all ideas and am very interested in people.

The third test, the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator, was probably the most accurate to me. It said that my type is ENFJ. I am very extraverted, moderately intuitive and feeling-oriented, and distinctively judging-oriented. This puts me in the classification of an idealist, or more specifically, a teacher. The description of the teacher describes me almost perfectly. I care about people, I want to make a difference in peoples’ lives, and I love to be a leader. Every characteristic that described the teacher fit me exactly. I was most impressed with the accuracy of this test in particular.

I’m really glad I got to take these tests. I especially appreciated being able to take the last test because it described me with great accuracy. I feel like I definitely learned some new things about myself tonight. Hearing these characteristics actually gives me more confidence in myself for when I am interviewing for internships!

1 comment September 3, 2009

My Expectations for LTEC 3440

Hey everyone!

I am expecting to learn a lot from this course. I have already learned how to blog and “tweet”, which is a lot more than I knew before! By the end of this course, I am planning on being much more familiarized with the different forms of technology and communication that are available. I feel like I will understand how each form of communication works, as well as why each form is so important to effective communication these days. I expect to be exposed to technology that will help me in my own profession. Hopefully I will learn some useful tips on how I can relay health information to a large audience, effectively. I hope to improve my visual design skills, so that one day I can make a website that is very appealing to many individuals. I expect to be exposed to tools that will help me become a better presenter in the future. I believe my evaluation skills will improve greatly by the end of this course, as a result of the different assignments we will be required to complete in this class. Overall, I expect to be more productive and technologically efficient at the completion of this course.

1 comment September 1, 2009