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I'm opening up this conference to receive specific examples of things that have worked to help students learn and that could be or have been applied online. The idea is to collaborate in producing a resource list.
I have suggested specific roles for some people in this, but I don't seem to have suggested a specific role for myself! I think I'd better stick to a student's perspective as that's really the role I'm most experienced in.
On that basis, something that has worked well for me as a learner is seeing the same information or concept presented in more than one way eg visually as well as by text.
I find that this reinforces the message and allows me to perform more complex mental functions. An example is: I recently had to look at and analyse a volume of figures on the occurrence of asthma worldwide. When this was also presented in graph form I could relate the figures to each other and make comparisons (higher order skills?) I did not find this so easy just faced with the figures in text form.
Sue

I read something on the LeTTOL completers email list which I thought was an example of good practice:
'Managing expectations of feedback and providing feedback to students on an on-line course'. The contributor felt students 'like to know how they are getting on. In a classroom they get physical and verbal clues'. I would add that in traditional distance learning they get written feedback if they submit coursework. In 'virtual land', especially in the collaborative parts of courses like this, 'no such luxuries exist'.
Sue

Sue Rivers wrote 'Managing expectations of feedback and providing feedback to students on an on-line course'. The contributor felt students 'like to know how they are getting on. In a classroom they get physical and verbal clues'. I would add that in traditional distance learning they get written feedback if they submit coursework. In 'virtual land', especially in the collaborative parts of courses like this, 'no such luxuries exist'.
I remember stating this point before regarding that we don't seem to get any feedback during this course so it is hard to know how we are doing. It is a bit like sailing at night with no stars for navigation! Forget "longitude" we need "Lesitude" but our digital sail journey appears to take place before this was invented. I know we are supposed to get feedback from our peers but lets face it (certainly in my case) this is about as often as we get told we are doing a good job by our manager - not often enough.
Phil James

Hi Phil
Re Your below:
On 12/10/02 8:55:00 AM, Philip James wrote:
>I remember stating this point before
>regarding that we don't seem to get any
>feedback during this course so it is
>hard to know how we are doing. It is a
>bit like sailing at night with no stars
>for navigation! Forget "longitude" we
>need "Lesitude" but our digital sail
>journey appears to take place before
>this was invented. I know we are
>supposed to get feedback from our peers
>but lets face it (certainly in my case)
>this is about as often as we get told we
>are doing a good job by our manager -
>not often enough.
I take your point. I have had quite a dilemma here. In this Section as you say you are supposed to get feedback from your peers. The ITOL course is designed to be very student-centered and I think we intend that the participants as a whole will interact and take responsibility for their own learning via the process of Action Research as flagged up in Activity 1_2 - through to the Case Study in Section 5.
I agree with you entirely that more opportunity for tutor led feedback and guidance is desirable. Group collaboration and messaging has not been as we would have hoped it would be throughout the course. Had it have been so I believe that there would have been more opportunity for me to provide relevant feedback. For me, this is a problem of our course design, in the case of this Section the emailing of Logs has not really worked out at all.
My dilemma has been one of should I try to allow the course to work as we hoped/intended that it would (by trying to encourage all to communicate on the WebBoard and by email) or to intervene and adopt a more traditional tutoring role. OK in retrospect I may have got the focus wrong. The way the course has worked/not worked for you may be something you might wish to reflect on a little in your Case Study.
This is only the third run of ITOL and we are of course looking for ways to improve the course delivery and Section 4 especially. My suggestion is that you contact the course leader Sue Horner with your views and comments.
Les

I appreciate that we all make decisions and then have to live with them.
I have one point though Les when you stated that "The ITOL course is designed to be very student-centered and I think we intend that the participants as a whole will interact and take responsibility for their own learning via the process of Action Research as flagged up in Activity 1_2 - through to the Case Study in Section 5."
The actual course handbook doesn't really ask anyone to document any action research following activity 1.2 so I haven't. Is this a problem?
Phil James

Adding to my last point I have now noticed that you had added "If any of you would like me to review your notes on the learning accomplished so far during your action research. Then please feel free to let me have anything you feel you would like me to comment upon.
I'm not expecting a finished piece of work - an outline or summary notes would be fine. It's the personal learning progression I'm interested in - rather than specific details of the advancement of your own project. The actual 'official' evaluation phase begins with Section 5, but I thought some might want to test work out and/or seek advice before then.
I haven't got anything documented - only the log entries as nothing was stated in the handbook about this. I could make something up...
Phil James

Hi Phil
Yes. I posted this 12 November in the Tutor Advice and Comments conference, and I remember your emailing me to enquire about it at that time. I think that the Course Contents state that we expect you to use Action Research as an - "appropriate methodology for ITOL . . . Action/Teacher Research" - throughout the course by implication. Perhaps we could have been clearer about this.
My advice before (as I recall) was that this could be included as a part of your Case Study if you wanted.
No problem that you may have not done this by way of a formally documented process.
By reflecting on events and issues as they have occurred when you put together your Case Study you will indicate that you have used Action research to some degree, and this should cover it OK.
Les

I seem to have hit on something here with my original message about feedback. I sense Phil's frustration and entirely emphasise that.
Thinking about it, I suspect that tutor feedback would have to be handled very sensitively, for example on our 'performance' on the Webboard, otherwise it could be discouraging.
In terms of the logs, I have to say that I have found it very difficult to give people feedback because I don't really understand their subject matter and their courses are so much further on than my own. I have found it extremely difficult to submit logs in view of the delayed start date of my own project.
I may well be repeating myself (old age and all that!) but I think there are some specific lessons to be learned here:
(1) The cohort mix is important - I feel it is rather random on this programme
(2) The balance of Webboard activity to logs has been difficult because a small number of us have had to spend a fair amount of time keeping the webboard going - it's tricky trying to do the logs as well. I am a bit sad that my suggestion about putting the logs up onto the webboard didn't really work out - it might have got people on here and once they were they may have contributed to other discussions. Also it may have led to more group feedback on the logs which could have worked better than individual responses.
(3) Somehow all the members of a cohort have to be lured onto the Webboard otherwise we end up in duets(at best at times!)and the tutor has no choice but to become a participant/pseudo-student which isn't his role
(4) Maybe this section of the course is too long or too onerous? I think it should start with working out people's hopes and expectations of this part. We need to be able to identify what will motivate people to take part. What's in it for them?
I also wonder if it is too 'samey' - on LeTTOL the webboard bits were interspersed with solo activities which broke it up more and gave more variety, which helped you work through the course.
(5) Should would-be students be warned that the course will be easier if they have a project about to start in the very immediate future? I'm glad I wasn't banned from participating but have struggled with this aspect at times.
Sue

Hi Sue
Re. Your below
On 12/12/02 7:56:00 AM, Sue Rivers wrote:
>In terms of the logs, I have
>to say that I have found it
>very difficult to give people
>feedback because I don't
>really understand their
>subject matter and their
>courses are so much further on
>than my own.
I think that what you say here is very true. I always think that the LeTTOL Activity 422b 'peer feedback on an activity design' is one of the most difficult tasks in that course. It is also one of the most worthwhile, because it makes for appreciation and understanding of OLL in a wider more global context than just each participants own needs.
>I am a bit sad that
>my suggestion about putting
>the logs up onto the webboard
>didn't really work out
The next ITOL will involve posting logs on WB.
Your input has helped in this.
>(3) Somehow all the members of
>a cohort have to be lured onto
>the Webboard otherwise we end
>up in duets(at best at
>times!)and the tutor has no
>choice but to become a
>participant/pseudo-student
>which isn't his role
This has been a problem here with smaller numbers.
>(5) Should would-be students
>be warned that the course will
>be easier if they have a
>project about to start in the
>very immediate future?
We do ask that participants are working on a 'real' project. Again, we have tightened up on this by starting to use pre-course assessments which ask for more detail.
Thank you for these suggestions Sue - very constructive and helpful.
Les

I also have been looking at the learning logs submitted, and I have found that there is not really much useful feedback I can offer, because the projects relate to individual expertise, which I cannot and do not really want to comment on. With my own log, there is nothing really new to add since my last entry.
Derek
023 8057 7497
email:

This is interesting - I posted up a message I think on Friday, but it hasn't made it onto the Webboard. I think the reason is that my ISP at home is only free until 8am. I pressed the 'post' button just on the dot of 8am and it obviously didn't accept it.
What I was saying in that message is that I would hate to have been banned from taking part in ITOL just because my project had been postponed - which I had no control over. It has made aspects of the course - mostly the logs - more challenging for me but that's all. I think it's more a case of making sure people know that logs will be needed etc rather than ruling them out of participating. Back to the idea of being inclusive rather than exclusive.
Sue

Sue wrote "What I was saying in that message is that I would hate to have been banned from taking part in ITOL just because my project had been postponed - which I had no control over. It has made aspects of the course - mostly the logs - more challenging for me but that's all. I think it's more a case of making sure people know that logs will be needed etc rather than ruling them out of participating."
I does make the assessors role harder even though you have no control over the postponement. Your body of evidence will be somewhat limited as you are not in fact 'implementing teaching on-line'. While you can carry out the analysis and design stages of your project the implementation, testing and evaluation stages cannot be done so it is nigh on impossible to measure the success of it.
I am sure that you of all people would make a success of it, if it had not been postponed and it is a shame as I for one would have liked to look at your completed project. But, I suppose that dealing with the postponement of a project is in fact managing the implementation of on-line learning as projects get postponed!
Phil James

Hi Phil and Sue
Re:
On 12/17/02 7:41:00 AM, Philip James wrote:
>I does make the assessors role harder
>even though you have no control over the
>postponement. Your body of evidence will
>be somewhat limited as you are not in
>fact 'implementing teaching on-line'.
>While you can carry out the analysis and
>design stages of your project the
>implementation, testing and evaluation
>stages cannot be done so it is nigh on
>impossible to measure the success of it.
Fortunately it is possible to collate and present evidence towards learning achieved during the ITOL course as biased towards being either, course-activities 'heavy' and own-project 'light' - or vice-versa - as course-activities 'light' and own-project 'heavy' depending on which you feel presents your own individual case for a successful pass best.
We as moderators appreciate that there probably will be problems with projects moving ahead during the period participants are involved with ITOL.
Les

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