Last day of the course

Well today's the last day of the extension.
I'm glad the finishing is finally over.
And I'm really getting into H807 now.
I've started a new H807 blog.
So I'll continue there.

Update: I've just discovered that Nigel S has linked this blog in his own new Blogger OU blog! Hi Nigel!!

http://nigelsouode.blogspot.com/

I've been given an extension till 1st Feb

Yesterday I wrote to the forums:

From: Jose Martel Penate 20 January 2009 14:50:40
Subject: Extension given till 1st Feb
To: H808 08I ECA Queries

Hello all,

I would encourage others who have also had problems accessing MyStuff in the past and in the last few days (that means everyone) to ask for an extension of equal length as the rest of the students on H808.

I asked for an extension today and a few hours later I was given an extension till 1st February. (I assume that means till midnight on that day.)

I'm still going to try to finish the ECA for 23rd Jan though. Then I can try to improve it.

Jose

-------------

And I am going to try to stick to my (original) plans. In truth, having an extension is actually annoying! I don't want more time. I only asked for more time coz it would be silly not to ask for more time to double, triple, quadruply, check my work. More time means more time revising text and looking for evidence, and I'm tired of it. I was looking forward to almost 2 weeks' rest before H807 starts on 7th Feb. Now I have an extra week of checking and revising and trying to keep stress at bay.

Backup, backup, backup

I think the recent online access problems just demonstrate that we should all keep systematic backups of ALL our OU work - even the stuff we think we couldn't possibly need.

Below are messages on the subject sent to the forums:


From: Jose Martel Penate 20 January 2009 07:00:56
Subject: Further to: On one week extensions
To: H808 08I ECA Queries

Dear all

This email follows on from my last email (see below) where I stated:

"It seems to me that I am being penalised because I was unfortunate enough to have had very little access to MyStuff and because other students were not prudent enough to fully backup their MyStuff files."

And that:

"I am fine with others being given a one week extension, but in that case, then so should I (and others)."

Are we not all adults here, with years of experience using computers? Are we not students attempting to call ourselves eElearning Professionals?

Then surely our years of experience using computers and our expertise as Elearning Professionals should have taught us that one should ALWAYS backup one's important information. I imagine we would all consider work produced for H808, and stored on MyStuff, as important.

Have we not all been abundantly aware of the continual MyStuff access issues?

Are we not all aware of the option to use Word for the ECA compilation that Helen and Robin have been all but pleading us to use at the slightest sign of problems using MyStuff?

I ask you then, is it reasonable that fellow Elearning Professional students are given a one week extension for neglecting to backup all their MyStuff files and thus being unable to produce the alternative Word ECA compilation?

I, for one, think IT IS perfectly reasonable. But, if it IS reasonable, then it IS as equally reasonable for ALL H808 students to be given an extension of equal length.

And I am curious, how does one prove that one has had problems accessing MyStuff, and how does one prove that one has only one copy of certain files and that that one copy is inaccessible on MyStuff?

Jose

-----------------------


From: Jose Martel Penate Tuesday, January 20, 2009 12:42 AM +0000
Subject: On one week extensions
To: H808 08I ECA Queries



Dear all,

I have just read that those students who consider they have lost time due to MyStuff accessibility problems over the weekend may request an extension of one week to submit their ECA.

At the risk of seeming unreasonable, I feel the need to protest that others may be given an extension of one week to submit their ECA, yet I will not.

Let me explain that I am fine with others being given a one week extension, but in that case, then so should I (and others).

I have repeatedly stated that I usually have no access to MyStuff. Throughout the whole course I have wasted many, many hours - I honestly don't know how many hours, but a lot - trying to access Mystuff without success. For this reason I have not been able to use MyStuff to store most of my work. I have it stored on my computer at home.

However, if I had been able to regularly access MyStuff, (and regardless of the scarcity of access problems) it would have seemed prudent to me to store full backup copies of my work on my home computer as well as "screen-dumps" of relevant MyStuff pages.

It seems to me that I am being penalised because I was unfortunate enough to have had very little access to MyStuff and because other students were not prudent enough to fully backup their MyStuff files.

Jose

For blog - 13-01-09

This is my first real day of ECAing
And it's going slow
As these things usually do with me

I can never seem to go from A to B
As the crow flies
But all too often from A and
Spiral round and round
In ever decreasing "circles"
Till I finally reach B

Approximation thanks to the
Centripetal force (duty/obstinance)
Being slightly greater than the
Centrifugal force (ease/laziness?)

Reflections while doing CA10.1 (partial)

I found this activity very interesting and even exciting as I could relate and even envisage using/trying to use wikis in my own professional context. This could radically change how I teach (or one aspect of it). I need to reflect further on how I can best apply wikis and other technology (pod/videocasts, blogs, mobile phones, etc.) to my teaching context/my students' learning context.

There were various links I found interesting and useful (see below).

There was a paper on using games in education. I already know that perhaps 80% of my male students and 50% of my female students play computer games regularly or daily. Finding an interesting/attractive way of putting those gaming skills/skills used in gaming to use as a means of enhancing their English speaking skills would be a good way of centering learning on the students and not vice versa. But I can't find it now - maybe it was one I read for Unit 9 (blogs)??

Writing this I now realise I forgot to include in the briefing document that wikis can appeal to the students' "digital native" character. Though I feel it's not wise to presume that my Chinese students (of around 20 years of age) are the same as US or UK students. My students have lived their entire lives in the highly developed city of Shanghai and have many of the latest gadgets and seem interested in the latest fads, but I should be cautious when adapting western studies to an asian environment. Which is something I've already learnt the hard way when trying to apply a more interactive/communicative/student-centred style of teaching to my lessons.


References
Ferris, S. and Wilder, H. (2006) ‘Uses and potentials of wikis in the classroom’, Innovate, vol. 2, no. 5. [Online], Available from: http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=258 (Accessed 11 January 2009).

http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/Articles+and+Resources

Lamb, B. (2004) ‘Wide open space: wikis, ready or not’, Educause Review, vol. 39, no. 5
(September/October), pp. 36–48. [Online], Available from:
http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm04/erm0452.asp (Accessed 11 January 2009).

Prensky, M. 2001. Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon 9 (5).
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf. (accessed 11 January 2009).

TeachersFirst (2006-2008) 'Index' http://www.teachersfirst.com/index.cfm

CA10.1- Putting knowledge into practice

So, explain to other English teachers:

- What are wikis?
- How can wikis be used in teaching English as a foreign language?
- What the teachers would need to do technically?
----------- to set one up
----------- to keep it working


What are wikis?
"Wikis are collaborative Web-based sites with "open editing." That is, the information on a wiki can be edited by any and all users. Once users visit wikis,they can read and, if they wish, edit or change the text by using a Web-browser to re-write, re-organize, or update the structure and content of the site. In wikis, readers are writers, and readers and writers jointly form a community of collaboration. Wikis can best be seen in action through the very popular Wikipedia [http://www.wikipedia.org/] and Wiktionary [http://wiktionary.org/]." (Ferris and Wilder, 2006, pp 2-3). If you haven't seen/experienced a wiki I suggest you take a look at Wikipedia before going on.

So, generally speaking, anyone can enter text onto a wiki page, edit any text, or create new pages and new hyperlinks. However, as you'll be using the wiki for class, you will probably want your wiki to have certain restrictions. You can make yourself the administrator/moderator/chief editor and "lock" certain pages that you want to be always visible and free from changes/edits. You can also specify and control who has access to the wiki. You can give all students in a class unique passwords so that additions and changes can be tracked. This can encourage students as they have (a kind of) proven ownership of their work. Or you could give the same password to all the students, but then you can't track changes by student. This may help encourage proactivity in the Chinese classroom with less outgoing students who may not participate for fear of making a mistake and being seen to lose face. However, this option also leaves more room for vandalism.

Wikis are simple to use because if you know how to use Word you can use a wiki. Students may need to learn a few more simple things, but the wiki itself will explain them and they can practice them straightaway without fear of ruining the wiki because another important point is that wikis are easily reversible. With this I mean that wikis automatically keep a history of changes so that things can easily be put back the way they were. This encourages bolder editing as any mistakes/changes of mind can be rectified straightaway or months later. It also helps discourage vandalism.

In case anyone asks, the word "wiki" was "coined by programmer Ward Cunningham (1949- ), from Hawaiian wiki-wiki ‘quick-quick.’" (Apple, 2009)

How can wikis be used in teaching English as a foreign language in China?
Obviously, as wikis are text based they lend themselves more readily to the skills of reading and writing. However, listening and speaking skills can be directly enhanced as wiki pages can have podcasts or videocasts embedded into them which students could listen to and watch, or even produce. Another important aspect is the sense of community collaboration/community learning that the wiki foments. Conversational English students could be assigned written wiki projects to complete together that they can later comment on/discuss (orally) in class. Thus the wiki would help provide a real reason to use English, while its asynchronous, online nature would tackle the typical excuse students use that they could never find time to get together to collaborate.

A wiki can encourage peer teaching/learning/support in that one student's text can be edited/corrected by other students. However, in a Chinese context this aspect of wikis needs to be carefully considered before being used - and I'm not even sure that many Chinese students would (initially) publicly want to correct other students for fear of shaming them. But I think that the idea of collective-ownership of work with all contributors being able to unilaterally edit fellow students' work can be a valuable life-experience for many Chinese students. Chinese students nowadays may suffer from "little-emperor syndrome", a direct consequence of the one-child policy. This condition manifests itself in arrogance, ego-centricity, and general anti-social behaviours - none of which are traits that western companies generally look for in their employees. This is a concern, because more than half of my students at this university state that they wish to work for a western company. So the lessons in teamwork, group goal over personal gain and initiative/proactivity can be far reaching. Though, for any lessons to be learnt, the students need to take an active interest in their contributions and what happens to them, which is something not always easy to achieve in a conversational English class taught by a foreigner in China. But as Clay Shirky observes: "A wiki in the hands of a healthy community works. A wiki in the hands of an indifferent community fails" (quoted in Lamb, 2004).

Archives of constantly updated information, relevant to the students and subject, can be created. Once a supportive environment has been established, students can share their knowledge and find out how teaching helps learning (or at least how organising/reflecting on one's thoughts helps deeper understanding).

Of course, the class wiki can lead to inter-class wikis if other English teachers are happy with the idea. I have no idea how inter-school or inter-country wikis would be viewed by students or school administration.

Separate areas of the wiki (or separate wikis) could be set up for certain students to collaborate on in private for debate or presentation projects for example.


What the teachers would need to do technically? - to set one up - to keep it working
When thinking about choosing a wiki, there "is no unified set of software characteristics that are shared by all wikis. The dozens of prominent wiki engines freely available for download on the Internet vary in approaches, programming languages, and architectures. Technical quirks of wiki systems, indicative of the often anarchic programming communities that have developed them, need to be considered before choosing a system" (Lamb, 2004).

Of course it goes without saying that the wiki should be set up and maintained at no financial cost (to you or the school). This means you need to set up a free wiki that can be password protected.

Working at a university in China means that certain western considerations may not be necessarily applicable. In the west, one might be well advised to first seek administrative approval and learn what the policy is on posting student information (names, photos, etc) on the internet is, and perhaps parent permission should also be sought (teachersfirst, 2009).

However, in China, two things advise against troubling school administration with such considerations. One is that the average foreign English teacher is merely tolerated (as a legal requirement for the teaching of English) and not actually expected or encouraged to go to great lengths to improve his/her students' level of English. Actively pointing out how teaching may be improved could be badly received as it could be understood as a criticism of current teaching methods. In order to save face the administration may resort to actively ignoring any requests to change teaching methodology. Absence of response may also be designed to save face for the foreign teacher as, in Chinese eyes, having their request denied would make the teacher lose face. Another complication would be that the school administration may agree to implement the use of wikis but actually do nothing about it. This again may be designed to save face for the teacher, and in Chinese eyes may not be considered misleading, a trick or deceitful in any way.

Another reason not to trouble school administration is that personal information doesn't seem to be as highly protected in China. A foreigner will find that without permission their personal details are passed on to 3rd parties if asked for and companies never heard of will send him/her letters, emails, sms and call at any time of the day or night. I would simply advise the teacher to set up a wiki that is password protected for viewing and editing. As for parental permission, I think parents may not understand why permission is being asked. Parents will agree to their son/daughter using a wiki provided you claim it's good for their child, and the child passes their oral English exams - which in China very rarely doesn't happen. It will be up to the teacher to try to make sure the student actually deserves their pass mark and makes the most of their wiki experience.

If school administration hears about the wiki, and takes an interest in it, you can give them a password that allows them to view the wiki. If they actually view the wiki and do see anything they don't like - which would probably be open, moderate to severe criticism of the school, China or its policies - then you could be fired, the police informed of your actions, you could be detained and then deported. If you're unsure of what you shouldn't discuss with students (and in many cases, teachers) then do an internet search.

Try to involve students in creating the editing policies/rules for the wiki. The greater their involvement in creating the wiki environment, the more likely they will follow those rules and participate in general. See http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/wikistep1.cfm for some ideas for polices.

Perhaps try to use the wiki as a shared English environment that students (don't have in real-life but) can experience, and refer to in discussions in class. However, the teacher should be cautious when intervening in the construction of this environment as to " truly empower students within collaborative or coconstructed activities requires the teacher to relinquish some degree of control over those activities. The instructor’s role shifts to that of establishing contexts or setting up problems to engage students. In a wiki, the instructor may set the stage or initiate interactions, but the medium works most effectively when students can assert meaningful autonomy over the process. It’s not that authority can’t be imposed on a wiki, but doing so undermines the effectiveness of the tool" (Lamb, 2004).


References
Apple Inc., (2005-2007) Apple Dictionary Version 1.0.2 (Accessed 11 January 2009).

Ferris, S. and Wilder, H. (2006) ‘Uses and potentials of wikis in the classroom’, Innovate, vol. 2, no. 5. [Online], Available from: http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?
view=article&id=258 (Accessed 11 January 2009).

Lamb, B. (2004) ‘Wide open space: wikis, ready or not’, Educause Review, vol. 39, no. 5
(September/October), pp. 36–48. [Online], Available from:
http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm04/erm0452.asp (Accessed 11 January 2009).

TeachersFirst (2006-2008) 'Index' http://www.teachersfirst.com/index.cfm

SA9.2

The Google Doc table as it looked after my latest additions to it.

The activity gave me the opportunity to use Google docs for the first time.

[Need to add to this entry. E.g. mention the other collaborators, especially Nigel S. See Cafe forum]

CA9.1 - desktop research

[<-- Click on the image to enlarge in the same window, then use the browser "back" button. Or open in separate tab or window]

In this activity your task is to research the use of blogs in education. You should locate a variety of sources that might include some or all of the following: - journal articles - news articles - blog entries - podcasts - case studies and examples - conference papers.


Having started this activity later than everyone else (on the forums), and having read the information they have posted, it seems rather futile to spend a great deal of time on this activity.

So I've googled "education blog"; "education blog UK"; and "what are blogs used for". There is tonnes of information out there and many many people have already provided their answers to the questions posed. It simply seems illogical to try to make my own categories of blogs for education when other people have made perfectly good categories already. I can't believe that we are being required to work "hard" instead of "smart".

Wikipedia (2009) defines a "blog" as:
A blog (a contraction of the term "Web log") is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Then goes on to say:
Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketches (sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting), which are part of a wider network of social media. Micro-blogging is another type of blogging, one which consists of blogs with very short posts. As of December 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 112 million blogs.[1] With the advent of video blogging, the word blog has taken on an even looser meaning — that of any bit of media wherein the subject expresses his opinion or simply talks about something.

Wikipedia lists types of blogs as:

Personal Blogs
The personal blog, an ongoing diary or commentary by an individual, is the traditional, most common blog.
Corporate Blogs
For business purposes. Blogs, either used internally to enhance the communication and culture in a corporation or externally for marketing, branding or public relations purposes are called corporate blogs.
Question Blogging
A type of blog that answers questions
By Media Type
A blog comprising videos is called a vlog, one comprising links is called a linklog, a site containing a portfolio of sketches is called a sketchblog or one comprising photos is called a photoblog.[4] Blogs with shorter posts and mixed media types are called tumblelogs.
By Device
Blogs can also be defined by which type of device is used to compose it. A blog written by a mobile device like a mobile phone or PDA could be called a moblog.
By Genre
Some blogs focus on a particular subject, such as political blogs, travel blogs, house blogs,[6] [7] fashion blogs, project blogs, education blogs, niche blogs, classical music blogs, quizzing blogs and legal blogs (often referred to as a blawgs) or dreamlogs. While not a legitimate type of blog, one used for the sole purpose of spamming is known as a Splog.

Further down the same page wikipedia talks of an "edublog" and defines it as (wikipedia 2009b):

a blog written by someone with a stake in education. Examples might include blogs written by or for teachers, blogs maintained for the purpose of classroom instruction, or blogs written about educational policy. The collection of these blogs is called the edublogosphere by some, in keeping with the larger blogosphere, although that label is not necessarily universally agreed upon. Others refer to the community or collection of blogs and bloggers as the edusphere.

It goes on to list:

Notable Edubloggers
Stephen Downes [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Downes]
Michael Feldstein [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Feldstein]
Will Richardson [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Richardson]
James N. Farmer [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_N._Farmer]


Multiuser edublogging platforms
Free Edublogs - Widely used edublog by teachers. [http://edublogs.org/]
Classblogmeister - Widely used free edublog for students and teachers. [http://www.classblogmeister.com/]
EduSpaces - Social networking site for educators which includes blogs. Uses the Elgg platform. [http://eduspaces.net/]
TeachFor.Us - Teach for America teacher blogs, running Lyceum [http://TeachFor.Us/]
Teacher Lingo - Community of teacher blogs. Uses Community Server platform from Telligent Systems. [http://teacherlingo.com/]


-----------------

Jim in (http://discuss1.open.ac.uk/Login/FAVC-002C5775/FAVC-002C577B/FAVC-002C577C/I09C6F084?Templates=Printable) wrote:

"Educause ‘Additional Examples of Blogs’, Educause Learning Initiative, [online] Available from: http://www.educause.edu/ELI/ELIDiscoveryToolGuidetoBloggin/AdditionalExamplesofBlogs/13561 (Accessed 5 January 2009).

categories mentioned
* slices of life
(stream of consciousness writing by a blogger)
* topic blogs
(politics, library issues, learning technology)
* marketing blogs
(usually by a small business, providing extra information on a service or product - i.e. a new book)
* event blogs
(chronology of things happening at a conference, meeting, broader event from the perspective of the blogger)
* learning journals
(to gather reflections)
* scholarly blogs
(to share ideas related to a specific field)
* how to or best practices blogs
(how to create effective blogs)

I thought all of these categories could be linked to education in the broadest sense. At least five of them could be linked to "formal" educational use - topic blogs, event blogs, learning journals, scholarly blogs.. and how to / best practices. They could be further reviewed from the perspective of a teacher, student, administrator - each of these would have a different reason or point of view in how the blog might be used. "

------------------------

Nigel S, has used:
Personal) Reflective blogs
Collaborative blogs
Advisory/ informative blogs
Archive blogs

Source: forum message
-------------------

Keely has used:
Sharing general educational news
Blogs to learn from (informative blogs)
Sharing experiences
Advisory blogs
Reflective blogs (students engaged in courses)
Sharing resources and links
Learning & technology information news

Source: http://learn.open.ac.uk/mod/oublog/viewpost.php?post=5498
------------------------

Colleen has used:
Advisory blog written by educational organisation
Blog maintained by an individual with expertise in learning technologies
Reflective blog written by a student on a course
Blog maintained by teaching practitioner to share good practice
Publicly available blogging opportunities for teachers and students

Source: forum message

----------------------

for CA9.1 @ 09-01-09

I tried to access the links given in the unit resources in order, but http://technorati.com/blogs/tag/education , http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm04/erm0450.asp?bhcp=1 and http://edublogs.org/ would not open but http://oedb.org/library/features/top-100-education-blogs did. I read the first paragraph on the oedb site page that opened (oedb, 2009) and it supported my understanding that my research can only be peek at what the internet has to offer because there are far too many blogs on the internet for me to carry out detailed research. The first pragraph states that "There are over 30,000 blogs hosted at edublogs.org alone" (oedb, 2009). Jim and Nigel S also commented in the forums on how necessarily incomplete our research must be due to time constraints.

The oedb page went on to list its "Top 100 Educational Blogs", and separated the list into 10 categories. I used the listed categories as a starting point for my own search.



References
oedb (2009) http://oedb.org/library/features/top-100-education-blogs (accessed 09/01/09)

wikipedia (2009a) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog (accessed 7 January 2009)
(wikipedia 2009b) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edublog

When the impossible's finally impossible, you can actually get down to what's doable

Everything's working today and is fast, even Mystuff and the wiki and my OU blog! (But the OU blog is still kaput - I'm sticking with the Blogger blog).

I got my results back for TMA02. I got a pleasing 72%. For TMA01 I got 73% so that makes 36.16% of the final score according to my calculations:

73% --> 16/100 x 73 = 11.68

72% --> 34/100 x 72 = 24.48

and 11.69 + 24.48 = 36.16% of the final score

So, to get a distinction, in the ECA I would need to get 97.68% (!!!) which (thankfully) isn't going to happen even in my wildest dreams, so I can simply focus on trying to ensure I get a pass (40%) and then anything over that is a plus. Actually knowing I can't attain the impossible lets me calmly work on what is achievable.

85% - 36.16% = 48.84% --> 50/100 x 97.68 = 48.84

To pass the course I need to get at least 40% in the ECA.
So that means that the minimum I can get (if I pass) is 56.16%

50/100 x 40 = 20% of the final score (and 36.16 + 20 = 56.16)

Hmmmm, I wonder if it's noticeable that I'm not feeling stressed out at the moment??

Reflection for blog at 06-01-09

Right, things are getting serious now; if I want to leave 2 weeks for the ECA I need to finish units 8, 9 and 10 this week.

I'm amazed, with so little time left till the end of the course, that the tutors still haven't made a meaningful return to the forums.

I've read some other people's contributions (from the forums and their shared blogs) which have helped calm my nerves and given me some ideas (Emma, Colleen, Jim, Nigel S, Keely, Karen).

Let's see if I can post this to my blog today. I've had access problems again lately. Now I can usually view the blog but I can't edit the posts (I wanted to add tags to the posts that don't have them, which is about 90%), I wanted to change the name of the blog from "Metacog-what??!!) to something more formal/boring like "H808 blog". As I write this I'm still waiting for the blog to open. This morning I woke up thinking that I should perhaps move to a blog that actually allows me to use it 24/7. Some 3 years ago I blogged for about half a year. The experience was very positive as access was 24/7 and the blogs themselves had much greater functionality/"customisability". There was a definite sense of community that was enhanced by the blogs - not impeded by them.

It would be very nice if I got my TMA02 results back. I'd like to see the comments well before I have to write for the ECA. But Alan gave me an extension and my TMA02 was finally handed in on 26th Dec (coz of a couple of days of formatting problems).

Well, after 20 mins the blog still isn't opening. I started a blog for my students on Blogger so I know that it's accessible here in China. I'll open one for H808 now. This is very disappointing. Not at all what I expected when I started this course.

Ok, I've set up my new blog. It's at http://jmartel-h808-blog.blogspot.com/ . But I can't move posts over because I can't access my OU blog!!!!!!!!!! I've tried using Safari, Firefox and IE on a Mac, and IE7, Firefox and Safari using XP. At least my blog is showing no favouritism...Ah, I spoke too soon, a few minutes later IE7 on XP opened my blog - with errors, however the main text is visible. Then I tried to add a post and it's now loading interminably. Ok, time to forget moving the blog. I'll do that when I can.

More on CA8.1

00:39 today

Visible to all Open University users

(For CA8.1 podcast link and transcript see below.)

So, technology related competence for Unit 8:
- Installed and learnt to use Audacity and Lame encoder
- Used these to make a podcast
- Also learnt to use Keynote (Mac's PP style presentation tool)
- I already knew how to use iTunes
- I had already knew how to upload mp3s to podcasting website

I finally decided on a topic for the podcast; wrote some text and recorded it using Audacity and Lame.

Not having a sound studio is a problem when you live in downtown Shanghai - not the quietest of places at any given time! But I used a headset with mic and hoped for the best. The sound quality seems ok though of course not studio quality. My delivery of the text could be better, but generally I think vocalisation is ok and I did try to use different speed of delivery to differentiate between the podcast text itself and example-text (listen to the podcast and you'll understand what I'm talking about).

I didn't re-read any instructions for Audacity (if I did actually read any in the first place) and managed through some trial and error to make an mp3 recording of just under 6 minutes. I decided not to edit using audacity so I had to rerecord the whole thing or almost the whole thing a few times. I decided that would be more straightforward and probably quicker than trying to figure out how to edit using Audacity. But if I had to use the tool, I now feel confident that it can do the job and that I could learn to edit using it if needed. Of course I still prefer iMovie for audio and video editing.

While experimenting with the idea of using podcasts in the classroom, I decided to try out Mac's Keynote (Power Point (PP) Mac style, as it were). I wanted to see if it was easy to embed podcasts into a PP style presentation. I found out that Keynote is wonderfully simple to use. Adding photos, music or video is as simple as drag and drop. Then you resize and reposition using mouse/trackpad and cursor. I watched a single, brief, online video tutorial and was compiling my presentation seconds later. I added text and photos to "slides". I added video to slides and then added music on top. I had slides with different themes and had text, photos and video on the same slide. And all was achieved very intuitively and with great control over the results. I now feel confident that I can make a good-looking multimedia presentation for class that I can fully control/adjust in real-time. Using video-podcasts embedded in a mult-media presentation like this can be a very useful and effective way of highlighting various aspects of western culture for my Chinese students. I'm sure the excellent visual quality and clean finish of Keynote will impress and help maintain students' interest. Topics can be introduced and referenced very effectively leaving more time for students to actually practice their English speaking.

Podcasts can also be a great way for f2f TEFL teacher to save his/her voice from overuse in class. The podcasts (especially videopodcasts) can also be used to expose students to different authentic, native, English accents in a "natural" environment (on screen) - vital if the student is to communicate effectively in the real world.

And of course, the podcasts and whole presentations can be uploaded to a site or blog for the students to access at will in their own time.

Problems/issues that the students may encounter accessing/using the podcast/keynotes are:
- many students don't have computers and so getting access to a computer can sometimes be a problem

- some students claim not to have much practice using a computer - which could in turn lead to problems/delays accessing files in their own time. [Though I tend to think that this "excuse" is used to explain why they haven't done homework/accessed the files etc.]

- in class, equipment may fail or be incompatible.

- as there is only a computer for the teacher in my classrooms, the students won't have accessibility problems/issues when viewing the podcasts in class.

---------------

My podcast for CA8.1 will open directly clicking on http://www.switchpod.com/users/jm4298/JoseMartelH808PodcastforCA81.mp3 or go to feed://www.switchpod.com/users/jm4298/feed.xml to choose the link from the 4 OU podcasts I've published there. The file is just under 6 minutes long and 5.3MB.

Transcript:

Hello and welcome. My name is Jose Martel and I'm a student on the open University's course H808 The Elearning Professional. This podcast is a requirement for Core Activity 8.1.

I will briefly talk, from a personal perspective, on some aspects and issues of student group-collaboration in an asynchronous forum, especially when different time zones are involved.

It might be helpful to hear something I wrote when participating in a group collaboration with students in a time zone 8 hours behind my own:

"Most of the time I felt isolated, working alone in a time zone 8 hours ahead of the rest of the group. I could only hope for replies to my comments towards the end of my day (from 4pm onwards), by that time I had often been working on the activity from 7am to 10am then gone to work for 7 hours and returned after 6pm. My comments seemed distant in time and thought by then. It was sometimes hard to keep an interest in my point of view when I had posted a reply 12 hours before and had moved on in thought, but then would have to go back to reply to the old thoughts that were still being dealt with by other members of the group. It is possible that rest of the group also found it bothersome having to allow for the my late replies."

Something else that can negatively affect group collaboration are time limits. For the group activity just mentioned we had one week to prepare for, discuss and produce the required result. Here's a related text I wrote at the time:

I often had the impression that the group as a whole wanted to complete the activity with, "the easiest/less problematic route being taken" [...] that their overriding concern was finishing the activity (and moving on). Perhaps the asynchronous forum with time constraints and the fact that members were/are strangers may have been contributing factors. The general consensus seemed to be to try to integrate as many ideas as possible, to make it an inclusive-[activity] (regardless of an unsatisfactory outcome).

At the time I felt strongly enough about the issue to post a forum message. Here's an excerpt:

I'd like to question whether these quickie group activities are useful enough to us to warrant the additional stress and opportunities for discord and even antipathy that they bring. Also, I think often the lack of clear leadership (coupled with lack of time) within the group will result in the easiest/less problematic route being taken or an "ok, whatever you think is best" or even an "ok, whatever" attitude. All/some group members may not express their true thoughts through lack of interest, a desire to accept anything just to move on, wanting to avoid even the slightest confrontation, wanting to feel part of the group, other.
There may not be a good opportunity for real discussion, especially if members are in distant time zones.
These group activities can merely emphasise how much some of us are not part of the group activity or H808 cohort. And at best (worst?) they may only help to form cliques.

I feel it's essential that teachers/tutors need to give clear instructions and be actively monitoring the forums in order to pick up on problems/guide/give advice in a timely manner. I wrote that:

Perhaps given more time, clearer guidelines and guidance, the activity could have been more successful. However, even with improvements of presentation, H808 does not seem to have students who are ideally placed to participate effectively in, and learn from, group activities.

That also questioned whether group activities carried out via online asynchronous forums by students (and in particular, students who have full-time professional occupations) who have little time or inclination to collaborate will provide good opportunities for learning. At the time I said that I thought there was little deep-learning being achieved.

To sum up:

Group collaborations using online asynchronous forums can be problematic. Some issues to bear in mind can be the danger of pronounced feelings of isolation students can feel, especially when additionally displaced by time zones.

The group should be given enough time to complete the activity without feeling too pressured into avoiding discussion in order to finish the task.

An issue not previously mentioned, could be the need to make sure that students (especially students who don't know each other well) understand that asynchronous forum dynamics require a more cautious approach to discussions and problem solving. Verbal and non-verbal aspects of face-to-face discussions/meetings are absent so the risk of misunderstandings is greatly increased. And the resultant need to clearly state and clarify points made can add additional stress to the situation.


This has been Jose Martel presenting a podcast for Core Activity 8.1 of the open University's course H808, The Elearning Professional. The podcast briefly outlined, from a personal perspective, some aspects and issues of student group-collaboration in an asynchronous forum, especially when different time zones are involved. 

Thank you for listening.

Re CA8.1

2 January, 03:14

Visible to all Open University users

Ok, in an attempt to create some (more) evidence to show I can use new technology, I decided to try to use Audacity and Lame to create a podcast on the XP partition of my MacBook. [Using Mac's Boot Camp I have partitioned/divided the hard drive and loaded XP on one part. Now I can use the MacBook to boot directly into Mac OS X 10.5.6 or XP professional 2002 SP3.]

Being used to the simplicity of Mac installations it seemed to take some time to set up Audacity and Lame and I was a bit confused trying to locate the files to download. Audacity itself seems quite easy to use though (the basic functions at least). I didn't expect to have to search for the Lame encoder on behalf of Audacity. After a couple of hiccoughs I successfully linked it though and created my 1st MP3 using the software which played directly on iTunes for Windows.

All the while I was muddling through the instructions and trying to keep track of the IE windows (for a more authentic experience I decided not to use the much more convenient tabs in Safari for Windows -[Update-Windows automatic update offered me IE7 which has tabs so I switched; I also installed Firefox 3]). I couldn't help thinking that it's just so much easier and elegant using iMovie on Mac OS X.

I watched an interesting 2 hour long video podcast from Stanford University ("1.Darwin's Legacy: Course Introduction"). Then I thought I should perhaps simply listen to a podcast, so I listened to the 22+ min, "A World of Change: The International Initiative at Stanford University". Then I thought I should listen to something more elearning related, so I listened to the 9:34 min, "Listening to students - Innovative responses" from JISC (http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2008/11/podcast63betsywilson.aspx) found thanks to Emma and a link in her blog post "Unit8 Part 1".

I was surprised by the informality of the video podcast. I had expected studio quality delivery/presentation, and found all the ums and ahs and fumbling of a live, unrehearsed performance. The 1st speaker was especially unprofessional/unrehearsed/lacking in confidence in his delivery. Also the PP presentations seemed rather amateurish/basic and not what I had expected of acclaimed and experienced professors/lecturors.

The Stanford podcast did have studio-quality audio. It seemed professional and interesting. However, half way through I found myself wanting to look at something in order to help focus my attention. I would have liked a transcription to follow as I listened, or actually be able to watch the various speakers.

The JISC podcast had good quality sound, though it seemed to have been recorded in a cafe and the interviewer seemed unexperienced and nervous. There was again no transcription, but the shorter duration made this less necessary for me.

Now to choose something to talk about...
- Professionals Vs service providers?
- The perceived need for legitimisation in the eyes of academics?
- ????

--------

02-01-09

Ok, some days later now.

I've continued to watch the Stanford Darwin series. Am on to lecture 5 of 10 now. Sometimes they can be too high-brow for me but they are interesting.

Perhaps I should try to listen/watch elearning podcasts!!!

Still can't think of something "that [addresses] an aspect of this course that raises issues for elearning in general" (unit8 part1 guide, p2) that I feel confident enough about to podcast on. Interviewing Chinese teachers on their thoughts on elearning (or foriegn English teachers) is an option, but would probably take some (considerable) time to prepare a face-to-face meeting/interview/discussion. Using something like Skype is a possibility though. But again the prep work and the actual production of the podcast seems prohibitively time-cinsuming at the moment. And leaving it for later doesn't seem an option either with work for the ECA drawing ever closer.

So my blog, wiki and FCC are all working again...

1 January, 08:05

Visible to all Open University users

So my blog, wiki and FCC are all working again...at the moment.
Ah, how did you sort that out?
I logged on a number of times everyday.
But how did that solve the problem?
As far as I know it didn't.
But they're working now!
Yes.
Which is good news?
3 days ago, yes.
But today?
I'm not working on OU stuff today.
Ah...
Yes, ah...
Well maybe tomorrow they'll still be working...
Yes, maybe...