Module 4 Posted to Blogs

Posted to Amy Cantymagli http://acantymagli.blogspot.com/
and
Christine Rand http://walden-crand.blogspot.com/

Module 4 Map

Modul 4 map -

Responded to storyboard:

Andree Simmons
http://andreesimmons.blogspot.com/

Nicole Harris
http://nyharris.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html

Cristine Rands
http://walden-crand.blogspot.com/2010/07/storyboard-social-presence.html#comments

Module 3

Module 3
• How should participation in a collaborative learning community be assessed? How do the varying levels of skill and knowledge students bring to a course affect the instructor's "fair and equitable assessment" of learning?

There are several ways to assess participation. One way is to assess the number and frequency of student posts. When one assesses student posts they must take into account the quality as well as quantity of posts. There is no doubt that there are diverse personalities and learners in every classroom and must understand this. While assessing one student different than another one must consider their abilities as well as how much they have achieved.

When assessing my first grade students in their collaborative learning community I assess via rubric and portfolio assessment. Social skills are one thing that we assess.

Siemens suggests allowing students to access each other. When I taught fifth grade we used rubrics where the students assessed each other using criteria given on the rubric.

• If a student does not want to network or collaborate in a learning community for an online course, what should the other members of the learning community do? What role should the instructor play? What impact would this have on his or her assessment plan?

I have only been teaching 7 years. In teaching eighth and fifth grade I used rubrics for collaborative learning environments. I had a rubric for me and one for my students to use on each other. I found the students to grade lower than I did. I am old school and believe that one should try to work with a student that is not holding up their end of the agreement. I would want the same treatment if I had a problem. I would email which sometimes can go down, if I had a phone number I would call. I believe that every means of communication should be tried before seeking the professor. Palloff & Pratt (2005, p, 150) states, “Be willing to make phone calls to people who are not participating and ask why to draw them back in.”
Flexibility is the key to a successful classroom whether online or in a traditional classroom. If you have a student that is new to some of the technology you are using many not participate because they are unsure. Communication is the key to helping all feel welcome in the class.

Palloff & Pratt (2005, p. 214) states, “some students may take longer…if they are experiencing technical difficulties or adjusting to the use of technology for the first time.” Encouragement through prompt and courteous feedback is key.

The impact on the assessment should be based on what the student did. You can’t compare a technically savvy student to a student that is new to online classes. Assessment is not a one size fits all approach.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Distance Education: Learning communities featuring Dr. George Siemens [DVD]. United States: Walden University.

Palloff, R. M. and Pratt, K. (2007) Building online learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom. (2nd ed.). San Francisco CA: Jossey-Bass.

Palloff, R. M. and Pratt, K. (2005) Collaborating together: Learning together in community. San Francisco CA: Jossey-Bass.


I RESPONDED TO Bradley Gogan's Blog and Amy Cantymagli's Blog.

Asynchronous vs. synchronous