The learning outcomes are translated into course content. Resources and an approach to the teaching and learning process enable a student to achieve those outcomes. The learning management system (LMS). The LMS interfaces with the library and other digital resources , related services, and the student information system (SIS) through a secure server that can authenticate the student login.
· My objectives: Why I wish to learn/do something, what is meaningful for me/for my group as part of the assignment i am responsible of?
I wish to learn more about the different tools for online learning and collaboration and to find new ways to integrate them in a single sytem. I think the course itself is such an attempt and studying it I can see what is really effective and what not.
I also want to see how collaboratively can be created a course online.
· What resources will i need: What software tools and resources i am going to use? Resources can be people, different artifacts, materials.
I will explore all the available resources and software tools and try to install from scratch blog, forum, wiki, etc. and see how they work.
· How will i do it: What is my strategy to achieve my objectives? What is the order of my actions? How will i use different resources in my actions?
I will read and participate in activities. Learn and explore different software tools.
· Evaluation criteria: How do I know that i was successful? Develop measurable criteria to evaluate your activities in respect of your objectives.
Was I successful in installing e-learning tools?
Was I collaborating in team activities?
· Self-reflection: Did i achieve my objectives? Use the criteria what you developed to assess how well did you work. Reflect, what worked and what did not?
I installed a blog system- b2evolution, a forum system – phpBB. I used the blog already provided in the elearning course.
I also used the google framework and edited the group course building experience in this field.
I communicated with team members mainly in skype and email.
I need to work on time management, allocating time for an engagement and following the process with the deadlines.
Networks can play an important role in public education. Networks allow different groups to work together toward a shared goal by coordinating strategies and pooling resources. Networks which include a range of organizations, groups, and individuals demonstrate to policy makers wide support for particular policies or programs. The structure and dynamics of social networks are of critical importance to many social phenomena, ranging from organizational efficiency to the spread of knowledge.
Checklist for teams:
How can a conversational personal contract improve self-directed learning?
I read about the ASKs system for online collaboration. ASKS addresses some problems of groupwork in any online environment. The system enables the instructor to build a repository of model responses that can easily be incorporated into tailored feedback for students. It makes evaluation easy and efficient. Meaningful feedback can be constructed for each student from an existing database. Frequency or quality of student contributions can be assessed. This factor reduces the subjective element common to the evaluation of online discussions.
The importance of content providers in elearning:
With the increase of social tools, learners and teachers will be able to create new ways of learning environments.
Themes in educational institutions to be changed:
Web 2.0
Weblogs (Blogger, Wordpress), microblogging environments (Jaiku, Twitter), social repositories of new media objects (Flickr, Youtube), social bookmarking spaces (del.icio.us), community portals (Facebook, MySpace) etc. give new freedom and increase creativity and responsibility for the learners.
The main change in industries will be the reorganisation of knowledge creation at horisontal (between industries and universities) and vertical (within industry) level (Beach 2003).
Main changes at new Web 2.0 social spaces:
Self-directed learning and self-management of learning objectives is paramount.
Self-directed learning leads to the need of learner defined contracts (ePortfolio)
Conversational contracts presume that as learning procedure continues the contracts should be updated.
The construction and reconstruction of the learning process should consist of:
- sustaining self-conversation with oneself about learning
- externalizing learning conversation for the learner
- passing the control back to the learner as the language of awareness and skills of learning
- this process goes in spirals, initiating learning networks
Students answer the following questions in the process dialog:
Support dialog:
peer support, resources and space for coping with the new freedom.
Referent dialog:
A set of rules - mutually agreed and then followed.
Group Contracts
Keeping this public unwritten contract is the basis of any functioning activity system, the distribution of labour and the establishment of norms inside the community
Personal Learning Contract
Step 1: Diagnose your learning needs. A learning need is the gap between where you are now and where you want to be in regard to a particular set of competencies.
Step 2: Specify your learning objectives. Each of the learning needs diagnosed in Step 1 should be translated into a learning objective.
Step 3: Specify learning resources and strategies. describe how you propose to go about accomplishing each objective. Identify the resources (material and human) you plan to use in your various learning experiences and the strategies (techniques, tools) you will employ in making use of them.
Step 4: Specify target dates for completion. Put realistic dates, unless there are institutionally or other required deadlines.
Step 5: Specify evidence of accomplishment. what evidence you will collect to indicate the degree to which you have achieved each objective.
Step 6: Specify how the evidence will be validated. For each objective, first specify the criteria by which you propose the evidence will be judged.
Step 7: Review your contract with consultants. you will find it useful to review it with two or three friends, supervisors, or other expert resource people to obtain their reaction and suggestions.
- Are the learning objectives clear, understandable, and realistic? Do they describe what you propose to learn?
- Can they think of other objectives you might consider?
- Do the learning strategies and resources seem reasonable, appropriate, and efficient?
- Can they think of other resources and strategies you might consider?
- Does the evidence seem relevant to the various objectives, and would it convince them?
- Can they suggest other evidence you might consider?
- Are the criteria and means for validating the evidence clear, relevant, and convincing?
- Can they think of other ways to validate the evidence that you might consider?
Step 8: Carry out the contract. as you work on it you may find that your notions about what you want to learn and how you want to learn changing.
Step 9: Evaluation of your learning.
I am Irina Naskinova from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.
I have studied in the E-learning Master Program at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics.
Aside from studying about e-learning, I have learned the best things online. Most of the topics I have learned weren’t in a formal course. The existence of internet and the possibility of people to share their experience in numerous minute themes make it possible to find information on almost anything online. This in itself is magnificent.
I have used MSN messanger, icq, skype, aim, yugma, CommunityServer, technocrati, flickr…
I expect to learn a lot of new software for e-learning and social networking and to learn what other people find useful and enjoyed.
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