Endless Possibilites

Posted by Pamela Gustafson on March 11th, 2009

Online assignments in my classes were very similar to the assignments given in on site classes. There was a great deal of reading and a great deal of discussion. The major difference is online discussions are in written form, and the on site discussions of course are verbal. There is a tendency for students in onsite classes to not say anything at all, and let the more verbal students dominate the discussion. My impression is these people did not read the assignment, and simply were unable to contribute to the discussion. This doesn’t happen in online discussions, as there is a requirement for all to contribute to discussions; as well as a record of the participation. However, I still get the impression that some students don’t read the assignments in depth. Their written response is more of an opinion rather than a response to the reading. They are not able to point out the “big ideas” in the readings.

The assignments beyond the readings were usually tasks to implement with my own students. I would teach or assess something my students did and write a short paper or response about the effectiveness of my teaching. Most of my graduate on line classes were project-based and did not require examinations. This is typical of education classes at the graduate level. College professors want to improve the skill of teachers and use more authentic assessment, instead of the rote memory of facts through examinations.

The classes I took online have basically just digitized reading and writing. I am hoping to find online classes, using the new real time communication tools offered on the Internet. Google Talk or Skype can used for video conferencing or an online lecture. The lectures can be viewed at the online participant’s convenience. Elluminate and Dim Dim provide a method for verbal discussions and could digitize small group work in on line classes. The possibilities for online education assignments are endless.