Module 4 - Assessment in E-Learning

The article that was most thought provoking to me was How Customized Learning will Benefit Students.  In the first two sentences, the author mentions that many schools are moving to cloud based computing because it makes applications available anytime, anywhere.  I am big proponent of cloud based storage and applications for students, but have recently learned some possibly disturbing news regarding how advertisers are using our free storage space to their advantage.  The article located on Byte, proposes that the new Google Drive’s Terms of Services leaves the door open to scan your documents to provide advertisers with information regarding your preferences.  True or false?  If it is true, advertisers could start tracking your preferences beginning in elementary school.  I think this would be a great discussion in a future online course:  What is the real cost of free applications?

The other interesting discussion in the article is the idea of the “School-as-a-Service” philosophy.  I do find several of these ideas beneficial to students, but also find that some of the dimensions could be potentially detrimental to instructors.  Undergraduate schools in the past five years have been slowly catching on to this philosophy and are working to tailor education to the customer.  Since recruiters and admissions representatives are competing for a smaller group of students (due to the decreased population numbers in the U.S.), they have begun to treat students as consumers.  This article reflects how learners may also start to be treated as consumers. 

I believe that educators have always tried to tailor their instruction to individual students.  When I did not understand a concept in school, the teacher would provide extra assistance to me or other students individually to help understand the task at hand.  I think this has always been a core philosophy of teachers who care about their students’ success.  I believe the only difference is that now instructors have additional technological tools to aid them in student comprehension.

What did I not agree with in the article you ask? Get the point Kelly! Well, I did not agree with the idea of individual scheduling for students discussed in #4 & 7. Our institution is trying to implement this strategy and many hurtles have suddenly appeared.  Our administration is going to have rolling start dates for online classes where students can enter on one of three different dates until the class is full.  Thus, instructors will have 3 different groups of students to track in one course. Yikes!  Additionally, the course will not end until the middle of the following semester.  What happens when the next rolling class starts?  Then, you will have to track 6 different groups of learners and continue to teach your 6 other traditional face-to-face classes.  How can an educator keep all the deadlines straight, help individual students, grade projects and maintain all of the other responsibilities associated with teaching 6 traditional classes? 

The other problem derives from the financial aid system in the United States.  FAFSA is a first come, first serve program.  The sooner you apply the more likely you are to receive aid.  Once the money is gone, you are out of luck for receiving aid.  If students start at later dates, will they receive any financial aid?

Finally, did the article mention working year round? YIKES!  I can’t imagine working 60 hours a week year round.  Many people who do not work in education do not understand the time that is exerted during the school year by educators.  I work weekends, nights, and holidays to keep up.  I could not keep up that same pace for 12 months.  Administration would need to drastically alter their teaching assignment philosophy to implement a year round schedule in higher education. 

I think that the philosophy outlined in the article has many valid points, but also has many other institutional forces working against the comprehensive implementation of these dimensions.  I do believe many undergraduate institutions are moving in this direction, but I think there are many roadblocks that will need adjusting along the way.  I am not a negative “nelly”, but I do think that this philosophy does raise some legitimate concerns for instructors and students.

Garden update!

HOT, HOT, HOT!! Although it has been extremely hot and humid that past week, the rain we have received has kept my garden happy. The raspberries have been amazing! I made some raspberry pie, cobbler and sorbet. I will have pickling cukes ready next week. Yahoo!

As my garden continues to grow, so does my knowledge about assessing students online!