UNIT 1
1.3 Technology Tools in online class
Technology
Debates will rage about the effectiveness and the limitations of online instruction; but there are those educators that will avoid the fray and explore this dynamic arena of threaded discussions, chat, electronic textbooks, email, webliographies, and virtual Internet communities with their students. The "lessons learned" from these cyberclassrooms will soon be recorded, analyzed and debated for centuries to come. The importance is that enterprising instructors went exploring in cyberspace with their students and have stories to tell of their adventures. Join us now, as we explore together online learning tools that can be used either in the traditional classroom and most certainly in the virtual classroom.
CHAT
The chat tool is used to communicate in real-time; which is referred to as synchronous communication. Students join the chat room also called channel at the same time and location which is either predetermined or spontaneous. Students working on group projects may predetermine a time to meet, or students may observe an active chat discussion and join the dialogue. Chat rooms have different modes of operation. In some chat rooms you must type the entire message and send it to the chat room before anyone is able to read the message. In other chat rooms, your message can be read as you type it. Two examples of chat rooms that you can join personally are IRC and ICQ. In the ICQ chat, viewers see the message as it is being typed. They also have the option to identify each individual in their own box. This helps an individual follow the flow of the discussion. The discussion leader of the Chat room should consider the following:
BEFORE THE CHAT:
1. Pre-determine the amount of time needed for the discussion. Remember not to guide the discussion and bring closure when the discussion is still lively. Do not schedule too much time. 2. Prepare a written list of discussion stimulators (questions) that can be used if the dialogue lags.
AT THE START:
DURING:
COPY AND PASTE IN A WINDOWS ENVIRONMENT
Just as we use the cut and paste feature in our word processing software, it is efficient to use it in the Windows environment. This means that when we go to an Internet web site, we can take notes by highlighting the information and reference. Once we have highlighted our "notes," we can open our word processor from the START button. Once our word processor is open we can paste the note into our word processing document. Now both the web site and the word processor program can be accessed from the bottom bar on our monitor so that we can toggle between the two for easy note taking.
ELECTRONIC TEXTBOOKS
This type of textbook is available online so that students read from the computer screen or have the option to print the information on their personal printers. The advantage of electronic textbooks are the ability for hypertext, advanced search features, launching to related Internet sites and updating information in a timely and cost efficient method.
With movies such as "You've Got Mail," most everyone is familiar with the term and concept of email. It is personal correspondence delivered electronically to your email account. Email messages, just as postal mail, arrive in your mail box in random order. Setting a distribution list in your email software is one vehicle of having a discussion with more than one individual. Since you receive the senders messages and a list of everyone else who received the message, it is easy to return your responses to the entire group of people on the email distribution list with a click of a button. The disadvantage to this is that you may not want to participate in this discussion and that you feel that it is cluttering your email system with unwanted discussion. In order to circumvent the "email clutter," individuals are subscribing to one or more email accounts. They designate accounts for personal, school, and/or business use.
HERE'S A JOKE FOR YOU
A man was in his front yard mowing grass when his attractive female neighbor came out of the house and went straight to the mail box. She opened it then slammed it shut, stormed back in the house. A little later she came out of her house again, went to the mail box and again opened it, slammed it shut again. Angrily, back into the house she went. As the man was getting ready to edge the lawn, here she came out again, marched to the mail box, opened it and then slammed it harder than ever. Puzzled by her actions, the man asked her, "Is something wrong?" To which she replied, "There certainly is, my stupid computer keeps saying, "YOU'VE GOT MAIL."
LIST SERVE
A list serve is a like an email distribution list, but usually has a specific topic of interest. Individuals subscribe to the email distribution list to receive information and will continue until they make the conscious effort to unsubscribe to the list.
ONLINE QUIZES
The advantage of an online quiz is that the teacher has the option for the students to receive immediate feedback. The quiz can then be used as part of the instructional methodology. The instructor is using this to check for understanding.
SEARCH ENGINES
(http://minich.com/interneteducation/searching)
A variety of search engines exist such as Alta Vista, MSN, and Infoseek, which help us locate information on the Internet. There is a growing dissatisfaction from students about the results of searches using existing search engines. Typically search engines look for key words in the header (metatag) of the web site. New search engines are being designed so that the search is on different criteria and the user is able to filter out commercial sites. The above web page should be printed for your reference file for "Using Search Engines Efficiently."
THREADED DISCUSSION
The advantage of creating and using a threaded discussion for your students is that students can view it when they make a conscious decision and they have the choice to view selected messages. Another advantage is that the messages are grouped together under a specific topic called "threads." The threaded discussion area is used as the primary communication tool in online classes. It is a mandatory component in the virtual classroom because it is through this feature that the instructor can track critical thinking through the "class discussion." The advantage of written "class discussion" is that the instructor cannot only track the amount of interaction, but the quality of that interaction from each student. I have seen the term web conferencing (http://thinkofit.com/webconf/wcfuture.htm) used for the concept of threaded discussion, but it usually refers to a public area on the Internet.
VIRTUAL INTERNET COMMUNITIES
Individuals with common interests are logging onto Internet communities which focus on providing services and networking opportunities.
WEBLIOGRAPHY
This is similar to a bibliography, but rather than a compilation of books it is the referencing of web sites. Note: when the title of a URL shows up in your reading as a hot link, if you go over that title with your mouse, you will see the URL. Try it now and put your mouse over the next words Prof Sandi's web site.
WEB CONFERENCING
Web conferencing initially started as text based communication and quickly added an organizational framework called a threaded discussion. But the concept of web conferencing is evolving into a sophisticated communication tool. It eventually will incorporate video images, voice, music, white boards and three dimensional capabilities which integrates with existing web browsers.
WHITE BOARDS/DOCUMENT SHARING
This feature will allow students in real-time sessions to sketch diagrams and drawings for each other or share documents. It allows all students involved to annotate the drawing or document.