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Facebook has taken a beating in the media over the last few years for what three studies have found to be the dire toll it takes on the academic lives of students. The most frequently cited of these studies, from Ohio State University in 2009, found that Facebook users often had GPAs up to one full point lower than non-users. The publication of this study caused a brief media whirlwind, as outlets from MSNBC to Time published stories on the study with sensational headlines, drawing dramatic conclusions.
But it turns out that none of these studies of Facebook’s impact on academics, including the OSU study, has been rigorous enough to draw the conclusions that the media has drawn. The OSU study, for instance, surveyed just 219 students – a relatively small sample size. The other two studies used comparable samples. Further, these studies used simplistic models of what it meant to actually ‘visit Facebook,’ usually just looking at overall time spent on the site per day. The results were significant, sure, and as the first studies in a very new field, they were doing the good work of breaking new ground. But the bad reputation with the media and educators that the studies lent to Facebook use was, in all likelihood, incommensurate with its actual effects on grades. And, worse, there has been no study that contradicts this data at all – until now.
Leading social media researcher Reynold Junco has published a new study on how Facebook affects grades, and it’s the most thorough study to date on the topic. Using a sample size of more than two thousand university students, and employing a complex model of Facebook use which broke it down into the individual activities performed on the site, Dr. Junco found that the claim of Facebook’s hampering of grades is partially true – but very, very, partially, and even insignificantly. If you use Facebook for many hours a day, a tiny drop in GPA can occur. But very few people can or will use it often enough to make that difference. The real story is that there are bigger effects depending on how you use Facebook – both for good, and for bad. Posting status updates, for example, predicts grades negatively. But checking up on friends and sharing links with others actually positively predicted grades. Yes, you heard that right – Facebook may actually be good for grades, depending on how you use it. Dr. Junco collaborated with us on this infographic, the very first to present this game-changing data. Source Article from http://www.onlineeducation.net/blog Posted in ednews Facebook has taken a beating in the media over the last few years for what three studies have found to be the dire toll it takes on the academic lives of students. The most frequently cited of these studies, from Ohio State University in 2009, found that Facebook users often had GPAs up to one full point lower than non-users. The publication of this study caused a brief media whirlwind, as outlets from MSNBC to Time published stories on the study with sensational headlines, drawing dramatic conclusions.
But it turns out that none of these studies of Facebook’s impact on academics, including the OSU study, has been rigorous enough to draw the conclusions that the media has drawn. The OSU study, for instance, surveyed just 219 students – a relatively small sample size. The other two studies used comparable samples. Further, these studies used simplistic models of what it meant to actually ‘visit Facebook,’ usually just looking at overall time spent on the site per day. The results were significant, sure, and as the first studies in a very new field, they were doing the good work of breaking new ground. But the bad reputation with the media and educators that the studies lent to Facebook use was, in all likelihood, incommensurate with its actual effects on grades. And, worse, there has been no study that contradicts this data at all – until now.
Leading social media researcher Reynold Junco has published a new study on how Facebook affects grades, and it’s the most thorough study to date on the topic. Using a sample size of more than two thousand university students, and employing a complex model of Facebook use which broke it down into the individual activities performed on the site, Dr. Junco found that the claim of Facebook’s hampering of grades is partially true – but very, very, partially, and even insignificantly. If you use Facebook for many hours a day, a tiny drop in GPA can occur. But very few people can or will use it often enough to make that difference. The real story is that there are bigger effects depending on how you use Facebook – both for good, and for bad. Posting status updates, for example, predicts grades negatively. But checking up on friends and sharing links with others actually positively predicted grades. Yes, you heard that right – Facebook may actually be good for grades, depending on how you use it. Dr. Junco collaborated with us on this infographic, the very first to present this game-changing data. Source Article from http://www.onlineeducation.net/blog Posted in ednews
As mentioned earlier, I’m honored to have been invited to a conference held by the Center for Children and Technology last week. The title of the conference was Making Games That Teach Difficult Concepts, and it brought together game designers and academics to discuss issues perplexing to both. We broke into small groups to focus on games for middle school science, middle school social studies, and early childhood. I was in the social studies group, admirably led by Bill Tally at CCT, where among other things he is the PI for evaluation studies of Mission US, a history game focusing on revolutionary America. One of the challenges of history games we mulled over is the question of game mechanics. As I’ve opined elsewhere, good game mechanics involve key learning elements. The classic example is traditional dominoes, which requires players to count by fives in order to succeed, making it a great game for teaching basic arithmetic to children. In history games, though, the primary learning dynamic often takes place through text. Narrative action is thus often the key mechanic in which learning takes place. This led to much discussion regarding the problem of compelling game play, with fascinating insights from participants such as Bert Snow, lead designer and VP at Muzzy Lane, and Tracy Fullerton over at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Conferences such as this one are important in bringing together multiple perspectives. Knowledge and understanding gleaned from these discussions further preparations for research and development of future educational games. My thanks to all the good people at CCT who made this conference possible. Source Article from http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/EducationalGamesResearch/~3/dX9NPgCu8oI/ Posted in Ed Gaming Getting to know classmates before grad school begins can help put you at ease when you arrive on campus. Congratulations. You’ve been accepted to graduate school and will start in a few months. It’s normal to feel nervous, stressed, or anxious, but don’t let emotions get in the way of setting yourself up to succeed once your new program starts.
Here are five tips to help you get ready for grad school: 1. Make sure your documents are in order: There’s nothing worse than arriving on campus only to learn important documents are either incomplete or missing. Make sure all of your student and financial aid forms are complete and on file at your school, before the semester starts. In addition, make an appointment with your academic adviser, sign and return all scholarship or loan agreement forms, and where possible, set up your student account with the bursar’s office and make an early tuition payment. Failure to do these, and on time, could cause some major difficulties when you arrive on campus. [Read about loan changes for graduate students.] 2. Learn about your classmates: Now is a good time to find out about your new classmates, and establishing relationships with other students before you arrive on campus will help you feel more at home when you get there. You can access information about the admitted class on the school’s website. Ask the admissions office to put you in touch with other admits. Try to organize or help facilitate a get-together with other students in your area. 3. Research the curriculum and professors: As an incoming student, you’ll likely have access to information on course syllabi and text books. Familiarize yourself with these. Purchase some of the text books in advance, and read the introduction and table of contents. Most schools provide student-generated evaluations of professors and courses online, which typically go back two years, so be sure to check them out. This information will help you make more informed decisions about which electives to take; If you have trouble finding it, contact the admissions office. [Learn how to choose your M.B.A. concentration.] 4. Explore ways to get involved: Begin thinking about ways to get involved outside the classroom. Check out information on student government or sports and other campus activities. During my time as a grad school dean, I saw incoming students create their own unique student groups—like cigar, wine tasting, and opera lovers’ clubs—so consider starting one if there are no student groups in which you are interested. It offers a great way to develop personal friendships and advance your professional network. 5. Start thinking about life after graduation: Yes, you are just beginning. However, it’s never too early to consider life after grad school; time will literally fly by. And before you know it, you will be graduating. That’s why it’s so important to take time now to check out your school’s career development office and learn about the services provided. Thoroughly review the website, and if you can, set up an appointment to visit the office. Dr. Don Martin, Ph.D., is a higher education admissions expert, author, and former admissions dean at Columbia University, Northwestern University, Wheaton College, and University of Chicago Booth School of Business. To learn more about graduate admissions, visit gradschoolroadmap.com. Source Article from http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/2012/5/18/5-tips-for-preparing-to-begin-graduate-school?s_cid=rss:5-tips-for-preparing-to-begin-graduate-school Posted in ednews The steep learning cliff that was in front of ‘early adopter’ teachers in the 1990s became more manageable as the Internet grew into a more functional environment. Web browsers and content tools evolved with operating systems and computers grew faster and easier. The turn-of-the-century mass adoption of Blackboard and Moodle, even with the glitches, meant we could develop within familiar content environments that supported structured online interaction. By 2005 more publishers were getting materials out in formats we could finally work with and social media tools were extending the types of interaction we could integrate across courses. Multiple media types and open content flooded the web creating some problems but many more opportunities. By 2010 most students had high speed internet access, using readily available laptop or desktop computers, and basic navigation abilities across an online course landscape that was not fixed in stone, but familiar to most students. From 1990 to 2010 working in online education was like being in a nearly empty warehouse that became, year after year, a brightly lit mega-superstore. Every year new shelves were wheeled in and stocked with more goodies. More features and services were added, and the whole Internet mega-store is now something like a gigantic digital Walmart, Costco, and Barnes and Noble– all rolled into one. But for me, teaching within course management systems (and I’ve used several) was like being required to set up my own mini-store. Course management systems have always been a mix of student enrollment management and assessment, communication frameworks and walled-off content gardens. Institutions needed these functions to control access to tuition-based courses while trying to expand the reach of those same offerings. Built from database structures they are based on the need to track student enrollment, activity, and assessment data in systems secured from outside access. Course management systems were never designed, they accumulated tools through digital gravity. Features were added as new applications were released or one company bought another. Social media features were bolted on top of text-based discussion forums. Teleconferencing features were wedged in next to the grade book. Over time course management system became dense, screen-filling interfaces filled with multiple buttons, menus, indecipherable icons, breadcrumbs, and layers of functionality conceived for mouse-driven desktop computers. This is a trend that runs counter to how people access and use information. Apple released the first iPhone in 2007 and has since sold some 160 million of these devices in five different generations of increasingly powerful technology. Apple released the iPad in April 2010, and sold 3 million of the first version of this tablet computer by July. In just under three years they have sold almost 60 million of these devices. Other smart phones and tablets have been released in the past two years as well, running similar-looking but different operating systems and accessing different app and data systems. Pulling this data together means the world’s information architecture has shifted in the past two years — to move from a desktop window version of information access to an app-based system. Even for the majority of Internet users, still using traditional computer systems, this means a change in how the world of information is accessed. But the changing interface is not the central issue. The change from browser window to app is happening while other technologies are moving together. Commentators talk about “convergence” as the linking and combining of technologies. Information services converged with the combination of telecommunications systems, computer networks, and television broadcasting. Where once were separate devices and services there are now increasingly linked systems on the same device. But an app, a software application designed for a specific service, relies on this long term trend to create an entirely different information architecture. To extend my earlier metaphor, apps are being designed as entrance doors to the Internet mega-store, but your experience will be utterly different depending on what door, the app, you choose. In an era of course management systems the task of an online teacher was similar to handing a student a shopping list and an empty cart. You could guide and suggest, but in the end you could do little more than check to see if they came back out of the store with everything on your list. Course management features added options to how you structured the learning tasks, and how students interacted with you and each other, but those features also added complexity. The sometimes arcane navigation of a CMS creates roadblocks for some students while encouraging “worksheet disease” for some instructors. Instructional design, for faculty struggling with the layers and layers of tools, sometimes morphs into creating academic obstacle courses for online students. For some faculty the overwhelming number of options, processes, and tools offered by a CMS is just ignored and they create Blackboard or Moodle versions of an interactive syllabus with links to readings, a midterm, and final exam. In my experience at several institutions I have noticed that most online courses use a tiny fraction of the features of any CMS. It is not because faculty lack the desire to teach well, but the daunting tasks associated with learning to use, create, adapt, develop, and deploy online teaching in these increasingly complex systems. I once showed an experienced online teacher how they could integrate audio recording software into a course for both their own presentations and student use and their response was an exasperated, “I probably could, but I don’t really want to do that right now.” It was a powerful, stable, useful tool for teaching, but it was just one more thing they would have to deal with in order to use the system. It meant an investment in yet more time and effort in a course into which they already poured hours upon hours. Teaching an online course within an app framework, focused on the topic and not driven by how much technical skill the instructor has, changes the way online teaching works. Instructors are constrained by their technologies in the same way they are constrained by physical classroom seating limits. It is an ironic truth that modern course management systems limit instructional design possibilities because of the large number of options and tools that are available. I’ve seen the eyes of teachers glaze over when confronted with the fourth option for releasing a lesson, or the fifth way they can structure a discussion. Every semester online instructors are confronted with tools they do not need that inevitably hide features they would use. Apps are different. The CMS is designed to hold any course, be useful for any subject, and offer options to accommodate any teaching method. Apps can be created to support very specific types of interaction and live apart from other apps. Apps represent a new medium. They can look like books (see Apple’s new iBooks or the new ePub format) but this resemblance is much the same as saying an email is just like a letter. The initial form created by early users may bear a similarity, but functionality will trump cosmetics. A compact disc looked like a miniaturized record album (remember those?), but the first time you pushed a button to skip a song you learned something new about how you use media. When iTunes, Spotify, or Rhapsody offer you musical choices based on what you like, you learn something new about ‘navigating’ through music. Apps are not just software. They are media in themselves. They offer specific, multi-functional information environments that are not the same as what they may represent. The Economist has an app that is not the magazine it is named for, and not even the website that contains much the same content. You use an app rather than read it or view it. Teaching online used to be about translating in-class assignments and presentations to web-based formats. Then we were able to add assessments and text-based interaction. New technologies added visual communication and audio capabilities and we could, with effort and patience, make it all work inside a course that lived in a CMS, accessed through a web browser. In just two years a new information medium has exploded on the scene and adapting to it will mean fundamental shifts in the way we teach, and way students learn. Ready?
Source Article from http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OnTeachingOnline/~3/rKyyzYmwnbs/ Posted in ednews, instructional design
Topics in Spectral Theory
Publisher: McGill University 2005 Description: Visitor comments on Topics in Spectral Theory by Vojkan Jaksic Add your comment Source Article from http://www.e-booksdirectory.com/details.php?ebook=7465 Posted in opensource The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security will hold a hearing on H.R. 2168, the “Geolocational Privacy and Surveillance Act,” focusing on the circumstances where acquiring geolocation information is permitted. May 17, 2012 @ 10 am Source: http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/Hearings 2012/hear_05172012.html Source Article from http://www.educause.edu/node/251545 http://www.educause.edu/sites/all/themes/educause/images/e_rss.png Posted in ednews Facebook has taken a beating in the media over the last few years for what three studies have found to be the dire toll it takes on the academic lives of students. The most frequently cited of these studies, from Ohio State University in 2009, found that Facebook users often had GPAs up to one full point lower than non-users. The publication of this study caused a brief media whirlwind, as outlets from MSNBC to Time published stories on the study with sensational headlines, drawing dramatic conclusions.
But it turns out that none of these studies of Facebook’s impact on academics, including the OSU study, has been rigorous enough to draw the conclusions that the media has drawn. The OSU study, for instance, surveyed just 219 students – a relatively small sample size. The other two studies used comparable samples. Further, these studies used simplistic models of what it meant to actually ‘visit Facebook,’ usually just looking at overall time spent on the site per day. The results were significant, sure, and as the first studies in a very new field, they were doing the good work of breaking new ground. But the bad reputation with the media and educators that the studies lent to Facebook use was, in all likelihood, incommensurate with its actual effects on grades. And, worse, there has been no study that contradicts this data at all – until now.
Leading social media researcher Reynold Junco has published a new study on how Facebook affects grades, and it’s the most thorough study to date on the topic. Using a sample size of more than two thousand university students, and employing a complex model of Facebook use which broke it down into the individual activities performed on the site, Dr. Junco found that the claim of Facebook’s hampering of grades is partially true – but very, very, partially, and even insignificantly. If you use Facebook for many hours a day, a tiny drop in GPA can occur. But very few people can or will use it often enough to make that difference. The real story is that there are bigger effects depending on how you use Facebook – both for good, and for bad. Posting status updates, for example, predicts grades negatively. But checking up on friends and sharing links with others actually positively predicted grades. Yes, you heard that right – Facebook may actually be good for grades, depending on how you use it. Dr. Junco collaborated with us on this infographic, the very first to present this game-changing data. Source Article from http://www.onlineeducation.net/blog Posted in ednews For those of you actively job seeking at the moment don’t forget that finding and applying for a new role couldn’t be simpler with our help. Firstly take a look at the thousands of jobs on offer at Schools Jobs and then skip to our lovely new careers page here where you will find top advice on how to make your application really stand out, how to find the school that is right for you and how to use body language to your advantage at interview. Of course if you have recently been handed a resignation letter and need to fill a post, then do talk to our friendly and helpful jobs team – we’ve got a great reach and lots of really satisfied customers who have found their ideal candidate through us. Call the team on 020 3353 2010 or email schools.enquiries@guardian.co.uk. This week the Guardian Teacher Network was very proud to co-host the awards ceremony and workshops for the winners of the Amnesty International Young Human Rights Reporter of the Year – more than 3,000 students entered this inspirational competition and you can read all about the winners on the GTN blog on Tuesday and in Guardian Education or read the shortlisted entries here. On a similar theme our colleagues on The Observer, who organise the Ethical Awards, are looking for some teachers to join an advisory group to help refine the Ethical Kids award. If you would like to help, and also be in with a chance of winning two tickets to this year’s glamorous awards party on 30th May at St Pancras Hotel, Kings Cross, London* just answer this question: How would you make ethical issues as exciting to children as computer games, TV or the internet? (50 words max). *Winners will be responsible for their own travel and/or accommodation. Microsoft We have teamed up with Microsoft to offer you access two excellent eBook resources and some great free software. One eBook is about how to make cost savings in your ICT provision, and the other is on computer games in education. Microsoft is also giving GTN members access to its Learning Suite where you can download free software such as Mouse Mischief, Kodu and World Wide Telescope. To access the Microsoft Learning Suite simply click here. Primary resources Night-time – a non chronological report Three Little Pigs (Guardian style) Secondary Introduction to Shakespearean Language National Deaf Society lesson plans A couple of weeks ago we launched a new Saturday slot called Secret Teacher. We have been bowled over by the level of response to the idea of having a Secret Teacher with so many of you wanting to anonymously share your stories that we have decided to make it a permanent weekend fixture. If you want to let off steam about anything to do with education, teaching, parents, pupils or (dare I say it…Ofsted or the government), then here’s your place to do it. Send your blog posts (600 words max) and a brief biography to blogs editor Emma Drury emma.drury@guardian.co.uk marked Secret Teacher. Contributions will remain anonymous. We are very excited about the launch of our latest seminar on June 21st – called Teaching Computer Science in Schools. This seminar is designed for ICT leads, heads of department and teachers with a special interest will enhance your knowledge of teaching computer science and coding with both strategic and practical sessions, plus a sharing of expertise and views. There’s 20 per cent discount for GTN members – to book your place click here. We’re also counting down to the launch of Guardian Students on May 22. Students are about to get their own space on the Guardian website for the very first time – but it’s not just for students but anyone teaching those in their final years at school – and parents too. There’ll be live chat, advice on which course to pick and even a bit of budget cooking too! Hope you have a wonderful week and good luck to anyone starting SATs tomorrow! Wendy Berliner Head of Education, Business and Professional Guardian News and Media • Follow us on Twitter @guardianteach • Check us out on Facebook • See our Teaching Jobs app Source Article from http://www.guardian.co.uk/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2012/may/13/teacher-network-newsletter Posted in ednews
Isabel Chagas [michagas@ie.ul.pt], Cláudia
The objectives of this project were to:
Key-words:
The highly variable and unequal participation
There is therefore a need to innovate
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) has been
PBL is a strategy that promotes active
In PBL, students are faced with a
The basic working unit in PBL is the
With the intention to promote
Since its creation in the 1960s for use
During the first steps, students activate
The model has been systematically tested
When applied to online environments,
The project reported here is part of a
The participants in this study were 30
Table 1: Number of students’ and
Problem 1
Problem 2
Problem 3
Total
Group 1. Tutor A
6
5
11
22
student 1
6
4
5
15
student 2
4
3
1
8
student 3
4
5
7
16
student 4
16
6
8
30
student 5
24
1
5
30
Students’ total
54
19
26
99
Group 2. Tutor B
12
5
6
23
student 1
4
2
1
7
student 2
9
7
3
19
student 3
5
4
11
20
student 4
12
2
3
17
Students’ total
30
15
18
63
Group 3. Tutor C
9
4
6
19
student 1
9
4
8
21
student 2
5
7
4
16
student 3
4
8
5
17
student 4
4
12
8
24
student 5
7
7
8
22
Students’ total
29
38
33
100
Group 4. Tutor D
16
12
11
39
student 1
7
1
3
11
student 2
7
4
15
26
student 3
15
12
17
44
student 4
7
9
11
27
student 5
7
11
8
26
student 6
8
3
15
26
Students’ total
51
40
69
160
Group 5. Tutor D
12
6
4
32
student 1
10
23
18
51
student 2
18
31
24
73
student 3
15
22
27
64
student 4
4
14
15
33
Students’ total
47
90
84
221
Group 6. Tutor C
8
6
2
16
student 1
6
2
1
9
student 2
2
0
0
2
student 3
1
12
1
14
Students’ total
9
14
2
25
Group 7. Tutor D
14
3
0
17
student 1
26
2
6
34
student 2
11
8
0
19
student 3
11
5
2
18
Students’ total
48
15
8
71
All the interactions of each member of
The first edition of this course on
In each one of the three consecutive
The general structure of the course was
The second classroom session occurred
The remaining sessions (n=12) were
The work within each tutorial group was
The synchronous sessions were scheduled
For the asynchronous sessions, a group
The number of interactions made by each
With respect to the tutor, it appeared
Figure 1. Average number of
The interactions identified and analysed
Table 2: Number of students’
Categories
G1
G2
G3
G4
G5
G6
G7
I. Problem resolution
Showing scientific content
23
32
38
61
96
14
27
Elaborating over others work
8
5
22
28
63
6
13
Presenting new resources
8
4
1
8
2
1
3
II. Group Functioning
Giving positive feedback
5
5
10
15
11
2
16
Informing about its own progression
1
10
7
16
3
1
34
Encouraging to work or to participate
1
2
3
1
3
1
5
Organizing the group work
1
3
9
9
15
1
6
Deciding with the group what to do
1
1
1
1
5
1
5
Concerning the second category, group
Table 3: Example of students’
Categories
Examples
I. Problem resolution
Showing scientific content
“I leave you the summary of what I’ve
Elaborating over others work
“I built a scheme based on the issues you
“I was thinking about what you said … I
Presenting new resources
“I am sending you a link to a site I
II. Group Functioning
Giving positive feedback
“I agree with what you said.”
“That is an excellent summary of the situation.”
Informing about its own progression
“I am going to start the lectures about
“I am going to search for the definition
Encouraging to work or to participate
“I think it is lacking look up the
“Contributions are expected…”
Organizing the group work
“It is time to distribute tasks…”
“I think now we should focus on
…”
Deciding with the group what to do
“Let’s decide what we will consider
“It seems to me that it is a good idea,
Finally, considering all the data
In this study, there were two main
Concerning the first aspect, students’
These results showed the potential of
These results are consistent with the
With regard to the final evaluation of
So, engaging students with a PBL online
Concerning the second aspect under
Posted in journalsFacebook and Grades
Textbook Shakedown
http://www.onlineeducation.net/blog
http://www.onlineeducation.net/feed
Online Education Blog
Information about online education and careeersFacebook and Grades
Can Tech Save Education?
http://www.onlineeducation.net/blog
http://www.onlineeducation.net/feed
Online Education Blog
Information about online education and careeers
Teaching Difficult Concepts Through Videogames
Teaching Difficult Concepts Through Videogames
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/EducationalGamesResearch/~3/dX9NPgCu8oI/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/EducationalGamesResearch
Educational Games Research
Research and discussion concerning instructional video games
5 Tips for Preparing to Begin Graduate School
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/2012/5/18/5-tips-for-preparing-to-begin-graduate-school?s_cid=rss:5-tips-for-preparing-to-begin-graduate-school
http://www.usnews.com/rss/education
U.S. News – Education
Teaching today is extraordinarily different from what teaching was just a few years ago. It’s the most important shift in educational technology in decades, and it occurred in a startlingly fast two years.
Teaching on mobile devices
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OnTeachingOnline/~3/rKyyzYmwnbs/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/OnTeachingOnline?format=xml
On Teaching Online
Online teaching and design strategies
http://www.onteachingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/OTOpodcasticon.jpg
by Vojkan Jaksic
Number of pages: 79
The subject of these lecture notes is spectral theory of self-adjoint operators and some of its applications to mathematical physics. The main theme of the text is the interplay between spectral theory of self-adjoint operators and classical harmonic analysis.
Topics in Spectral Theory
http://www.e-booksdirectory.com/details.php?ebook=7465
http://feeds2.feedburner.com/E-booksDirectory
E-Books Directory
Recently added e-books for free download or online reding.
Rayburn House Office Building – Room 2141, Washington, DC
DC News: US House Judiciary Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Geolocational Privacy Bill – 5-17-12
http://www.educause.edu/node/251545
http://www.educause.edu/blog/all/all/feed
EDUCAUSE | BlogsFacebook and Grades
Why America’s Education Isn’t Worth the Money
http://www.onlineeducation.net/blog
http://www.onlineeducation.net/feed
Online Education Blog
Information about online education and careeersAmnesty Awards and would you like to advise The Observer?
Please email ethical.awards@observer.co.uk with your answer and your contact details by Friday 18th May.New teaching resources on the network:
Calling all Secret Teachers…
Seminars coming up
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Teacher Network newsletter: Microsoft, Amnesty and Secret Teachers
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Education news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk
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Faria [cbfaria@ie.ul.pt], Dulce Mourato [dmourato@gmail.com], Gonçalo Pereira
[goncalobarreiro@yahoo.com], Afonso Santos, Institute of Education, University
of Lisbon, Alameda da Universidade, 1649-013 Lisboa, Portugal
[http://www.ie.ul.pt]
i) describe the experience of implementing Problem-Based Learning in an online
course over three consecutive academic years, ii) analyse the learning
environment generated, iii) discuss impacts on students’ active participation,
based on the analysis of their interactions. The participants were 30 students,
working in five groups, and four tutors. All the interactions of each member of
the five groups and their tutors in the discussion forums were identified and
counted. The interactions identified were subjected to content analysis. The
results showed a great variability in the degree of participation of each
member of the group as well as the development of a group dynamic that did not
appear to depend on the activity of each tutor. Moreover, in most groups,
tutors reduced their participation during the semester. Regarding the ways
students participated, and despite the individual variability observed, most
students kept actively involved in the work contrarily to what research has
shown about the uneven students’ participation in online courses. Two
categories of interactions were identified in the groups according to the
underlying objectives: learning-problem solving and group functioning. Whereas
all groups were able to solve the problems under investigation, only a few
demonstrated self-regulation capabilities leading to a great cohesion among the
group members. The discussion of the results generated some guidelines for
future investigations regarding the use of PBL in online environments.
problem-based learning, higher education, online teacher training.
of students in online courses is a recurring problem already addressed by
several authors. Indeed in 1989 evaluation studies about the introduction of
electronic communication tools in distance education courses led to the
identification of three groups of students with different participation: a
group with those who failed to participate; another group with the so-called
“lurkers” who keep logging on and downloading “the information and comments
provided by tutors and peers but contributing little of their own” (Gray, 1989,
p. 188); and a third group of “regular contributors who participated fully and
interacted with each other and with the system to good effect (Gray, 1989, p.
188). Gray’s results with a sample of 34 students were comparable to the
results of Robin Mason’s study with a sample of 1,364 students (Mason, 1989).
More recently Rosewell (2009) revisited these categories referring to the rule
of “the three thirds” concerning students’ participation in online forums: one
third post many times; one third post very few times and one third are limited
to glancing at the forums. In a preliminary study looking at patterns of
messages, no content included, he analysed 4 courses, 36 forums containing
27,000 messages. The wide range of data were consistent with the three thirds
rule, highlighting that in general students of online courses have unequal and
extremely low participation rates. However, Miller and Corley (2005) summarized
the principle, consistently supported by research and sustained by the
constructivist theory that in every learning context, either in person or
online ones, it is essential that students assume an active participation to be
successful. Consequently, a question that has been raised is how to promote
such involvement. Miller and Corley (2005) and Pallof and Pratt (1999) reported
the importance of continuously monitoring students’ participation and their
level of activity, together with constant feedback from the teacher or tutor,
for students to realize their progression throughout the course. However, how
to promote and maintain such participation, while ensuring its quality, remains
an issue for further study and research. Hrastinski (2008) claims the need for
a clear definition of online participation. After a literature review of 36
articles centred on online participation available in the ERIC database he
identified six levels of participation:
pedagogical practices in online courses in order to achieve students’ effective
participation, which promotes critical thinking, autonomy and the ability to
solve problems.
applied in online courses as a strategy to promote students’ participation and
collaborative work (e.g. Savin-Baden, 2007; Savin-Baden & Wilkie, 2006).
According to Savin-Baden and Wilkie (2006), the diversity of operationalization
of PBL, in both classroom and online contexts, requires research to clarify the
use of different strategies and their effects on students’ learning. Lou,
Bernard and Abrami (2006) concluded that more research is needed to establish
the educational strategies, based on PBL that would be appropriate to promote
collaborative work in online learning environments.
learning based on authentic and meaningful problems (Albanese and Mitchell,
1993). What is at stake is not to provide students the opportunity to solve
problems but rather, the opportunity to perform meaningful learning based on
the resolution of problems. Albanese and Mitchell (1993) argue that PBL, at its
most fundamental level, is an educational strategy characterized by the use of
real problems as a learning context for students to develop problem solving
skills and to acquire scientific knowledge about the subjects under study.
problem-situation they need to solve. Working in a group, they engage in a
process in which they clarify, define and investigate the problem; access,
process and apply information from a variety of resources available; interpret
the results of their research and propose solutions; and share the information
obtained with the other elements of the group in order to build a collective
answer. It is a student-centred process, in which the responsibility of each
individual is to ensure an active participation, not only for his/her own
learning but also for the learning of the other members of the group.
tutorial group, in which students are organized in groups of six to eight with
a tutor. Visschers-Pleijers, Dolmas, Wolfhagen and Van der Leuten (2005)
stressed the crucial role of the interactions among students during the
tutorial group meetings. These authors emphasized the importance of
‘elaboration and co-construction’ by students for an effective functioning of the
group. The elaboration, which is an individual process as a result of the
interactions with others, takes each student to a much richer and broader
viewing about the topic under study. Co-construction occurs when two or more
students discuss in a way that enables them to reach a shared understanding of
the problem. The lack of elaboration and co-construction, which usually results
from disorganized tutorial discussions, is recognized by tutors and students as
an obstacle to learning and to motivation (De Grave, Dolmans & Van Der
Vleuten, 2001; Visschers-Pleijers et al., 2005). Tutors play the role of
learning facilitator rather than a knowledge transmitter and their role is to
stimulate group discussions and to monitor social interactions that occur in
the group.
interactions among all members of the group, different roles are assigned to
each member (moderator, scribe, and member). In each tutorial group, these
roles are rotary. The moderator assumes the role of guiding the discussion,
encouraging all members of the group to participate and assuring that the
different steps of the process of solving the problem are experienced by all
members of the group. The scribe summarizes the contributions of the members in
group discussions and the remaining members of the group participate in the
tutorial discussions, collaborating to solve the problem under study
(Visschers-Pleijers et al., 2005).
in medical courses, PBL is a strategy which has been evolving very rapidly
(Savery, 2006). The author states that currently, it is not limited to higher
education, and it has been used at different school grades, and in various
subjects. Its wide adoption by teachers, in both classroom and online courses,
has given rise to a diversity of practices showing that PBL has developed and
changed over time as a successful method for learning in a wide range of
educational contexts (McDonald & Gibbons, 2009). At the University of Maastricht a model for PBL implementation has been developed and disseminated
(Visschers-Pleijers et al., 2005). The “seven jumps” model applies to tutorial
groups of 6 to 8 students in the presence of a tutor. It unfolds according to
the following steps:
information acquired.
relevant prior knowledge by identifying what they already know, organize their
common knowledge and discuss what new knowledge they need to acquire. They
identify the learning objectives they have to pursue through self-directed
study. The results of the self-study are discussed, appraised and schematized
in order to solve the learning-problem (Moust, Roebertseni, Savelberg & De
Rijk, 2005).
and validated, and so it remains true to the essential principles of PBL, as
well as reveals an internal and organizational cohesion that makes it
accessible for application in different contexts.
research evidences have shown PBL affordances as a pedagogical strategy (e.g. Donelly, 2009; Savin-Baden, 2007; Savin-Baden & Wilkie, 2006) enabling
interaction, collaboration, discussion, and participation. Garrison and
Anderson (2003) consider that PBL in an e-learning context is not significantly
different from PBL in a classroom setting. However, it requires specific tools
enabling group synchronizations, document management, discussion and task
assignment in order to engage students in group investigations as required in
PBL activities. Designing such activities and tutoring students throughout
their investigations are demanding tasks for the development of any e-learning
course.
broader investigation of the implementation of PBL in an online training course
for graduate students in the context of health education. Its objectives were
to i) describe the experience of using PBL in three consecutive academic year
groups ii) analyse the learning environment generated and iii) discuss the
impacts of this learning environment on students’ active participation, based
on the analysis of their interactions throughout the course.
Participants
Portuguese students of an online course on health education, in three
successive academic year cohorts (2007/2008, 2008/2009, 2009/2010). All
students were graduates and, in most cases, they were teachers currently
working in a school. The professional areas were diverse, including both the
Humanities (Philosophy, Languages) and the Natural Sciences. All school grades
were covered, from kindergarten teachers to secondary teachers. In addition to
the students involved, four tutors were involved in the first academic year (A,
B, C, D) (2 males – A and C, and two females – B and D), two tutors were
involved in the second year (C and D), and one tutor was involved in the third
year (Tutor D) (see Table 1). The reason for this selection in the 2nd and 3rd year relates with the fact that in these academic years,
some of the groups chose communication tools other than those provided by the
MOODLE Learning Management System. In this study only those groups that used
the tools available by MOODLE were considered.
tutors’ interactions.
the five groups and their tutors in the discussion forums, used to solve each
research problem, were identified and counted. The interactions identified were
subjected to content analysis (Milles & Huberman, 1994). Through an
iterative process of reading and rereading the data, categories were assigned
to the different types of interactions.Course structure
health education took place in the second semester of the academic year
2004/2005. Since then, it has been implemented in all academic years up to the
present time, as an online optional course for the 2nd semester, as
part of a graduate program that follows the usual face-to-face model. MOODLE
has been the learning management system used since 2005/2006, since the
students of the course, mostly school teachers, are familiarized with it due to
its extended presence in Portuguese schools as a result of the government
decision to encourage the use of MOODLE in schools. PBL was also first applied
in 2005/06 in the health promotion course as a way to address the unequal
participation of students observed in the previous year (Chagas & Mourato,
2007). Since then the process of PBL implementation in the course has been
improving over the years, based on evidence from our own research, as well as
on theoretical principles such as the “seven jumps” model (Visschers-Pleijers
et al., 2005) and the guidelines of Savin-Baden and Wilkie (2006) and
Savin-Baden (2007). For example, we added a new role to the tutorial group, the
“reporter”, who writes the group decisions and conclusions and posts them in
the forum dedicated to his/her group; moreover, smaller tutorial groups were
formed than face-to-face ones. The role of the tutor has also been analyzed and
evaluated by us, resulting in some guidelines for their performance in the
tutorial group (Chagas, Faria, Pereira, Sousa, Mourato & Santos, 2009).
years in which this study is focused – 2007/2008, 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 –
three problem-situations were presented to students: a problem of practical
nature which focused on a research on health-promoting practices of a
particular school; a problem of reflective nature which focused on a research
about the cultural and historical evolution of some concepts related to health
education; and a problem of an interventional nature which focused on the
development of a proposal of action to promote health education in a particular
school.
maintained throughout the three years. There were three sessions’ face-to-face,
in accordance with Lou et al. (2006) who argue that when students are
unfamiliar with PBL it is advisable to follow a blended model, with both online
and face-to-face sessions. In the first classroom session, the program of the
course as well as the methodology of PBL was presented to students.
Additionally, the first problem-situation was presented and analysed through a
tutorial session. In this tutorial session, students organized in groups,
defined the rules of conduct of the group and the roles assumed by each member
of the group for the resolution of the first problem. Based on the analysis of
the problem-situation presented, each group defined its own learning objectives
to be achieved through the resolution of the problem proposed.
about a month later during which analysis of the outcome of the first
problem-situation took place. The main objective was for the whole class to
analyse and discuss the perceptions and difficulties experienced by each
participant. Finally, the third classroom session occurred at the end of the
course and provided an opportunity for each group to present their work to the
whole class. This session was organized as a workshop, in which each group was
not just limited to presenting the work they did, but organized activities for
their colleagues to perform and identified issues for discussion.
online. The MOODLE platform was organized into repositories of documents and
forums. In the repositories of documents, all the information concerning the
functioning of the course (e.g. schedule, evaluation criteria, important dates)
was available, as well as some relevant resources for solving each problem
(research articles, national and international reports, chapters books,
websites). Two types of forums were created – general forums and discussion
forums. In the general forums, a space for news was created, where general news
associated with the theme could be shared, a space for questions (open to any
type of question about the functioning of the course) and a shared space, where
students could post information and documents they considered relevant. The
discussion forums were the space that each group could use to solve the
problems presented. Each group therefore had its own discussion forum.
organized according to two types of online sessions: synchronous sessions
(using Windows Live Messenger) through a chat room, and Google Docs, used as a
whiteboard where students could write their main ideas discussed during each
chat session; and asynchronous sessions, using the discussion forums created in
MOODLE.
in advance by the group. Usually the tutor started the conversation room with
all members present. During the session, a document was opened in Google Docs,
to which all group members had access, which acted as a traditional classroom
whiteboard, and in which the scriber could summarise the discussion. The entire
session was audio-recorded so that all interactions remained available. In
general, synchronous sessions such as these were used to start the discussion
of a new problem-situation, in this case the second and third scenarios. Following
the “seven jumps” model (Visschers-Pleijers et al., 2005), students used to
begin by clarifying the terms or expressions they were unsure concerning the
statement of the problem-situation that was presented to them. After this
phase, they defined the problem or problems they were expected to solve,
discussed the strategies to follow, structured the key ideas involved and
formulated their learning objectives. They also defined the roles that each
member should assume in the group and discussed difficulties they felt
regarding the on-going process.
and a shared forum were created for each problem. The group forums were used
for the presentation of the individual research of each member of the group,
and were the actual place where the entire process of elaborating and preparing
the answer to the problem by the group occurred. In the shared forum, after the
end of the project, each group presented to the other members of the class the
solution they proposed for the problem presented. The aim of this forum was to
compare and discuss the paths followed by each group, the strategies developed,
the knowledge applied and the results achieved.
member of the groups was highly variable between groups (Table 1).
Although five groups showed a mean number of interactions per student that was
relatively similar (from 16 to 27 interactions/student), two groups showed
extremely different mean values (8 interactions/student
and 55 interactions/student) (see Figure 1). Moreover, in most cases, the
number of students’ interactions performed over time (Table 1) also varied
greatly between groups, although there was not a very marked tendency to decrease (Group 3, 4 and 5). However, two of the groups (Group 6 and
7) seemed to be an exception, showing a very sharp reduction in the number of
interactions over time. These two groups were very small (three members) and
they reported that they had also begun to meet in person to work on the
on-going problem, so the number of interactions in the forum was no longer an
accurate reflection of the actual work performed by these groups.
that the number of interactions was not correlated with the level of
participation of students in the group (Figure 1) (Spearman rank
correlation: R=0.631, n=7, p>0.05). Each group presented its own dynamic
which did not seem to depend exclusively on the activity of the tutor. Finally,
it appeared that in most groups (except in Group 1) the tutor significantly
reduced their number of interactions over time, which may reflect an increasing
autonomy by students in solving the problems.
interactions per student and total number of interactions by tutor.
were organized in two different categories, according to their main objective:
one related to the resolution of the problem itself and the other related to
the internal functioning of the group (Table 2). Considering the sum of
all interactions, in most groups (with the exception of Group 7) the
largest number of interactions was related mainly with the resolution of the
problem (first category considered) (70 % to 80 %). This is an expected
result since the students’ final evaluation on the course depended of this,
namely by presenting the individual research done by each student. In most
groups (except for Groups 1, 2 and 6) a large number of
interactions were also observed in which a member of the group produced work
based on the work of others and in which he/she shared new resources with the
other members. This is reflective of the presence of collaborative working in
the production and/or reorganization of knowledge (see Table 3).
interactions in each group according to the categories considered.
functioning, a wide range of interactions was observed. With the exception of Groups 1
and 6, the interactions associated with this category achieved a
relatively high percentage (20 % to 30 %). For most groups, the
largest number of interactions of this kind was related to giving positive
feedback on the work already done by the other members and keeping the entire
group informed about what each individual member were doing. These interactions
are associated with the creation and maintenance of group cohesion, reflecting
a sense of belonging to the group and an engagement by all. Other interactions
were also observed that intended to promote a more active participation of all
elements or of some in particular, such as “collective calls” to search for
specific information needed to pursue the work, and some attempts to organize
the next working steps (see Table 3).
interactions according to the categories considered.
read.”
have raised…”
think…”
found.”
…”
of…”
definition of…”
hereafter …”
but how can we do it?”
obtained, two of the groups (Groups 1 and 6) seemed to have developed
a somewhat different dynamic. In the case of Group 6, formed by three
students, all of them showed a marked difficulty in the use of technology and
so they had difficulty in using the discussion forums. This explains the low
number of interactions observed. As a result of the different digital skills
possessed by each individual, students failed to develop a sense of belonging
to the group, presenting a great imbalance in the level of participation of
each member (almost only one element intervened in the forum). In the case of Group 1,
the group seemed from the outset to be divided into two distinct sub-groups,
showing no internal cohesion. This group appeared focussed only on solving each
problem-situation presented in order to achieve the course final assessment.
aspects that deserve to be highlighted. One relates to the level of
participation of each student. Although some interpersonal variation observed,
the majority of students seemed to be actively involved in the group work. The
other aspect, relates to group autonomy and functioning. Indeed, it was evident
that some groups revealed a very good capability for self-regulation.
participation, the experience of using PBL in an online course, described and
analysed in this study, revealed a learning environment where most students
actively participated, worked collaboratively and, in most cases, reinforced
their autonomy in solving problems. The variability in the average number of
interactions by individual group members is consistent with the literature in
this area (see for example Lindblom-Ylänne, Pihlajamäki & Kotkas, 2003; Wun, Tse, Eileen, Lam & Lam, 2007; Visschers-Pleijers, Dolmans, Wolfhagen
& Leuten, 2004) although these participation rates were very different to
those proposed by Mason and Kaye (1989). There were indeed some students that
participated very often, but the majority presented a moderate frequency of
participations and only very few of them were silent, remaining just like to be
“lurking”. Moreover, as they became more familiar with PBL and the online
technology, they appeared to need less support from the tutor, even though
he/she remained available to give the necessary guidance to help solving the
problem and to assure that learning objectives were achieved.
online PBL as a strategy, not only for promoting students’ autonomy in managing
the work needed to accomplish the activities, but also to promote significant
participations from the majority of students, based on the knowledge they
acquired, through the researches they made, the analysis of the resources they
posted in the forums, and the interactions they established between them.
work of Wun, Tse, Eileen, Lam and Lam, (2007) which, when comparing the
performance of students with a PBL curriculum versus students with
non-PBL, observed a more active participation and interaction among students
during the group tutorials. According to Ronteltap and Eurelings (2001) this
type of strategy may have a decisive role in promoting a greater involvement of
students in their learning because it provides a wider range of situations that
triggers reflection and discussion. It also provides more time to explore in
more depth the resources available. Other studies have already shown that
students consider PBL as an effective way to enhance their confidence in
judging alternatives for solving problems, help them acquire social study
content, improve their learning of basic science information, and develop
thinking and problem-solving skills (see Hung, Bailey & Jonassen, 2003).
students’ performance in the course it was observed that, during the three
years under review, students developed strategies for addressing the
problem-situations proposed that were highly pertinent, relevant and diverse.
These findings are consistent with the observations of Valaitis, Sword, Jones
& Hodges (2005) in a study of a group of medical students and their
perceptions of the PBL learning environment in an online course versus a
classroom context. According to these authors, students recognized that PBL
favoured greater flexibility in the learning process, increased their capacity
to learn the scientific content involved and promoted access to a wider variety
of important resources for their learning. Yip (2002), in a study about
students’ perceptions of the technological support to assist problem-based
learning, also found that students remarked favorably on what they learned
including better problem analysis, understanding how to formulate a project
plan and subsequent control of their work, better written and oral
communication, teamwork, practicing leadership skills, and better information
searching via the Internet.
learning environment could help to promote all students active participation
and involvement in the learning tasks, a difficulty usually present in online
courses, while promoting critical thinking, autonomy and the ability to solve
problems.
discussion, group autonomy and functioning, the PBL tutorial groups are
self-regulative in nature. Groups are expected to solve their communication
difficulties and to find solutions to problems that arise spontaneously.
However, there were differences among groups in their skills in self-regulation
and in solving communication problems (Lindblom-Ylänne et al., 2003). Indeed,
in this work it was evident that some groups showed a capability for
self-regulation, being able to maintain cohesion in different situations,
namely in those in which students are generally more fragile and insecure (for
example at the beginning of a new approach to a problem). Particularly in short
intensive courses, as in the case of the present study, self-regulative,
well-functioning groups could have a substantial advantage over groups who lack
these skills. So, the investigation of the different dynamics of the groups and
the identification of the factors that could be responsible for this
differentiation (e.g. the familiarity with the use of technology), as well as
the clarification of the role of the tutor in these different situations, are
topics that deserve further investigation, constituting the subject of future
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