I
was asked to reflect on online technologies and their applications in my
teaching experience. I may not be an educator per se, but I am elbow deep in
online education in my occupation. Supporting my organization’s online course
management system is one of my primary duties.
I
have seen all types of content online, from nursing to astrology to speech
courses. In most cases online content is mainly run through a learning
management system (LMS). My organization has two LMSs, one for student course
work and another for Human Resources. HR
utilizes a seemingly “homegrown” windows binary script LMS to train new
hires on policies, hazards and sexual harassment awareness. Enrollment Services
and the academic departments use a contracted service LMS (currently Angel) for
new student orientations and course management.
Every
course is given a section in Angel. This allows teachers in face-to-face
classes an opportunity to post handouts, grades, extra credit and maybe even “flip”
the classroom. Classroom flipping is essentially recording your lectures for
students to take home, and then use the class time to work on assignments and
team projects.
Another interesting
note, outside of LMS, training content is also delivered online within a few of our divisions
and departments. In my division there is one department (PC Techs) who use a
wiki to update and comment on common issues and fixes. We, in the Help Desk
have a “Handbook” which is really just a word document saved on a secured workspace server.
I would
imagine that the list for pedagogical strategies that would work with online
technology is pretty long. I think it would be important to be aware of
strategies that would be less efficient online, things that may require hands
on or physical sensations like tasting. Even still, these challenges can be a
lesson in themselves. And in history, these types of challenges have
contributed the innovations that have helped made the online environment a
reality.
What are
the technologies that tend to be difficult for students? I think this a great question and the heart
and soul of online learning. I really think the buck stops here. As a
communication major and a career customer service provider, I really think end-user
usability is paramount in any informational technology application, especially
online learning. As level one support, I
have a unique opportunity for candid feedback from students and instructors.
Firstly I
think that there are good and bad version of a lot of technologies, so for example,
the “homegrown” LMS for HR is a lot more unfriendly then Angel, which is arguably
more unhandy then Moodle. The HR system requires the trainee to be using a
school machine with a school email account profile set up in Outlook, bah!
Angel is not terrible (though some may argue) my experience in Moodle rooms leads
me to feel that it is more intuitive then Angel, for both the instructor and
the student.
But even
within any given LMS, courses can be unorganized and misleading. Some teachers
in an effort to liven up their course add fonts and colors, which if not select
with some degree of awareness can make things difficult to read, especially for
partially blind or color blind. Over use of “Flash” will bug iPad users. Big
long high res video lectures can take a long time to load, keep in mind some
students are still dialing-it-up out in the boonies.
Your perspective on this issue is very rich. "I really think end-user usability is paramount in any informational technology application, especially online learning." Furthermore, you make insightful comments on "livening" up a LMS, and the difficulties that may arise on the other end. I would also add that what a "creator" sees on their computer may not be seen identically on the "user's" computer (this can be seen with Mac and PC users...).
ReplyDeleteGreat post!