course-evaluation.doc

What are my expectations …

What outcomes do you expect to achieve? I expect to improve my writing skills and learn more about the fundamentals of writing. I also hope to compile a short book with at least 3 short stories by the time Christmas comes around to give as a gift to my two cousins who I am hoping the book will give encouragement and enjoyment to, but as we are only required to complete 4hrs of the course I expect to complete one short story.

What do you expect the learning experience to be like? I expect the learning experience to be challenging as I will be learning independently and will need to really try and tap into my creative side. I also need to organise my time better so that I stay commited to the project and need to keep an eye out for inspiration for my stories.

What type of support are you expecting from the course? I expect to find links to additional resources to help supplement our learning and I expect there to be some form of feedback mechanism that we can use.

At this stage of my process I feel very excited about starting the course. I have many ideas floating around and also have ideas about how I can aid my online learning such as borrowing children’s books from my local library, getting input from my young cousins and collaborating with a few of my design friends to bring to life my characters visually. I think the reason why I am excited is because it’s something different and I am confident that I can create something that will truly be enjoyable.

I’ve already posted my course selection on the discussion board but am still waiting for a reply from Mark but hopefully it will come soon because I really want to get started!

In my search I came across a few useful sites:

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/onlinecourses/
• http://www.latitudeu.com/course/user/search.aspx

I think I need to expand on my search as I’m not getting many good results. I am really interested in the BBC site as I either wanted to learn a language or do something that had to do with cooking but I came across the creative writing section and am considering it as an option.

Palloff & Pratt covered lots of ground on how to be a succesful online learner providing many tips to instructors about creating an environment and building a relationship to foster this. They concluded with the following:

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFULLY WORKING WITH THE VIRTUAL STUDENT

• Do not assume that students will automatically know how to learn online. Do welcome them to this new learning experience and create a warm, supportive environment in which they can learn.
• Provide some form of orientation to students as they embark on an online learning experience. If the institution does not provide an orientation course for students, an instructor can include some tips and guidelines for success on the course site.
• Construct a course that is varied and addresses different learning styles. This does not mean using complex forms of technology, but instead designing assignments and approaches that require both action and reflection.
• Encourage and empower students to take charge of the learning process. Provide them with assignments that allow them to explore, research and work collaboratively.
• Pay attention to changes in participation levels and address them promptly.
• Stay present and be responsive to student needs and concerns. The instructor should engage in a balanced level of participation so students know that he or she is there. (p.124)

I have found that throughout my e-Learning Experiences classes that my tutor, Mr Mark Lee, has done well in facilitating an environment in which we can become successful e-learners. Although I haven’t yet begun my short online course, the e-learning activities that I have completed have shown me the diverse nature of e-learning. From simple things as researching efficiently through search engines, becoming familiar with e-learning jargon, using a range of online tools such as netvibes and del.icio.us to collaborating on a wiki and becoming a vigilant blogger. I do believe that my experience in this class has made me more aware of my role as a university student to be the guardian of my own education. I understand now how important it is to be an independent learner but also appreciate being a collaborative learner.

Watkins was more concerned with the issue of learner readiness and like Palloff & Pratt, also provided many tips and guidelines for instructors but with the focus on gauging learner readiness and helping learners become ready.

This is, I believe, fundamental to being successful in e-learning as without the basics, it would be impossible for a learner to move on with their learning. I think it is this reason why taking note of the publishing dates are important to consider. It shows that in these four years, literature surrounding e-learning has shifted to elevate the issue of learner readiness above being a successful learner. That is, the issue of learner readiness is more prominent and important and this is justified as to be a successful learner, one must first be a learner whom is ready and prepared and supported before engaging in e-learning. Palloff & Pratt did recognise this issue but did not put much emphasis on it, rather their emphasis was on maintaining the success of online learners.

These articles were interesting to read and I believe they do help me in preparing to undertake a short online course. They were very similar and provide great tips that I will take in consideration as I am going through the course but also in my future organisational learning contexts.

Palloff, R.M. & Pratt, K. (2001) ‘Working with the Virtual Student’ in Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom: The Realities of Online Teaching, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, pp.107-124

Watkins, R. (2005) “Preparing Learners for online success”, Learning Circuits http://www.learningcircuits.org/2005/sep2005/watkins.htm

What are both articles suggesting about online learners? Both articles were slightly varied in their approach to the subject of online learners. Palloff & Pratt based their article around what it takes to be a successful learner and how to encourage a learning environment that leads to successful learning. On the other hand, Watkins was more concerned about the issue of learner readiness, gauging this and preparing learners for online success. Nevertheless, both articles suggest that to be succesful online learners, students need to develop their study skills and learning strategies to adapt to the online environment which is based on collaborative and reflective learning. Students also need to take responsibility for their learning process.

Palloff & Pratt identify successful online learners as those who are “active, creative and engaged in the learning process” (p.107). “The successful online student tends to enjoy learning for learning’s sake. He or she becomes energized by the ability to be set free to explore a topic with peers. Successful online students demonstrate good thinking skills, an ability to work and do some amount of research independently and an ability to work with a minimal amount of structure” (p.109)

Watkins identifies that “learners have been informally developing updated study skills and learning strategies in a relatively adhoc manner” (para.2). “Two essential skills for success in e-learning are adapting old skills and habits from the traditional classroom for use in e-learning and developing and applying new e-learning skills and habits for e-learning” (para.6)

LEARNING STYLES

After completing the questionnaire available through http://www.vark-learn.com, my learning preference was classed as multimodal. What this meant was that I have multiple preferences which is the same as the majority of the population. My scores were:

• Visual: 7
• Aural: 9
• Read/Write: 8
• Kinesthetic: 7

What do you already know about your preferred learning styles? As a multimodal learner I am given the choice of multiple modes to use in different learning environments. This is helpful in the sense that I can, as the website says, “match or align their mode to the significant others around [me]“. From the helpsheets provided by the website, I looked specifically at my top two preferences (Aural and Read/Write) and was able to gather the following key points about these learning styles …

To maximise my intake of information, study/revision process and my performance in any assessment some things I can do include:

What influence will your preferred learning styles have on your e-learning experiences? I think the advantage of being a multimodal learner is that I could easily adapt to the online learning environment. However seeing as though my greatest preference is aural learning I would probably struggle seeing as though most e-learning activity would probably not incorporate the aural aspect as what I find is that most e-learning activity is reading/writing based or visual based. But then again, with the emergence of new technologies and methods, such as podcasting, learning can be enhanced for aural learners. Also thinking about online courses, kinesthetic learning is also catered to as in these courses, learners need to take charge of their own learning and learn by doing the activities themselves.

So in summary, my e-learning experiences will probably be enhanced by the fact that I am a multimodal learner as I can approach these experiences with a range of learning strategies. Furthermore as evident in my blog I am a highly reading/writing oriented learner as my blogs are quite lengthy, I am also very concerned with the visual appeal of my blog and in the future I’d like to incorporate aural aspects to the blog so as to make the most of my multimodal learning preferences.