Online Statistics Resources

Since I am not a "math person," I am having trouble getting statistics just be reading the textbook. So, I decided to see what resources are available online. Below is a short list of what I found. I really like the Hyperstat text and WISE resources.

*Hyperstat online textbook— by David M. Lane (Rice University). A very readable online statistics textbook, with good discussions of ANOVA and probability. Written by a social scientist. What makes this online text unique is that each chapter also contains an extensive list of links to other resources (articles, online calculators, books, etc.). So even if you don't prefer Lane's style, you will find links to other sources you'll find useful. http://davidmlane.com/hyperstat/index.html

Web Interface for Statistics Education [WISE] (Claremont Graduate University) A special feature of WISE is the sequence of interactive tutorials on key statistical concepts (sampling distributions, the central limit theorem, hypothesis testing, and statistical power). The tutorials use dynamic applets that allow the user to explore relationships on their own. Guided exercises are designed to help the learner to take full advantage of the applets to gain a deeper understanding of the concepts and logic that underlie much of inferential statistics. http://wise.cgu.edu/

Online Statistics: An Interactive Multimedia Course of Study is an introductory-level statistics book. The material is presented both as a standard textbook and as a multimedia presentation. The book features interactive demonstrations and simulations, case studies, and an analysis lab. http://onlinestatbook.com/

Electronic Statistics Textbook begins with an overview of the relevant elementary (pivotal) concepts and continues with a more in depth exploration of specific areas of statistics, organized by "modules," accessible by buttons, representing classes of analytic techniques. A glossary of statistical terms and a list of references for further study are included. http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/stathome.html

*Statnotes: Topics in Multivariate Analys is really more of a small encyclopedia than a text. There is no attempt at organization or flow. Rather there are a bunch of articles on various topics, some quite good. A good place to look up statistical topics -- not a good place to get started with the basics. http://www2.chass.ncsu.edu/garson/PA765/statnote.htm

*Introductory Statistics: Concepts, Models, and Applications by David W. Stockburger (Southwest Missouri State University). Comprehensive, conventional, well-written statistics text with a behavioral science slant. While it gives a very good explanation of the basics, it doesn't cover ANOVA beyond one-way)or regression beyond simple linear. http://www.psychstat.missouristate.edu/sbk00.htm

*Mutivariate Statistics. Concepts, Models and Applications. by David Stockburger. The place to go to learn about multiple regression, factor analysis, cluster analysis, discriminant analysis and much more.

UCLA Statistics e-book—http://wiki.stat.ucla.edu/socr/index.php/EBook

SticiGui Online Text (from Berkley)—http://www.stat.berkeley.edu/~stark/SticiGui/Text/index.htm

Java Demos for Probability and Statistics: http://www.math.csusb.edu/faculty/stanton/m262/index.html

Normal Probability Calculation Demonstrations from Seeing Statistics: http://psych.colorado.edu/~mcclella/java/zcalc.html

Rice Virtual Lab in Statistics http://onlinestatbook.com/rvls.html

• HyperStat Online: An online statistics book with links to other statistics resources on the web.
• Simulations/Demonstrations: Java applets that demonstrate various statistical concepts (downloadable)
• Case Studies: Examples of real data with analyses and interpretation
• Analysis Lab: Some basic statistical analysis tools.

SPSS On-Line Training Workshop (free tutorials and clips) http://calcnet.mth.cmich.edu/org/spss/toc.htm

SPSS Tools (has free tips, tutorials, FAQs, macros, and scripts) http://pages.infinit.net/rlevesqu/

*Annotations from the Graphpad Library.

Faculty Development and Technology Integration--research proposal

I am currently taking my final course for my Ph.D.--before I begin working on my dissertation (that is if I finish my two independent study modules--which I plan to do by May). I put off taking Quantitative Research because I am not really a math oriented person and I knew it would be a killer class. Well, I was right. At first I had a little problem with the course project since we can't propose a descriptive research project--it has to be experimental or correlational. Everything I want to research seems geared toward descriptive research. So, I had to modify my idea for an experimental design.

Purpose of Study: To determine whether participation in an 8-week faculty development course will influence instructors’ attitude toward and integration of technology in their teaching practices.

The following research questions will be used to guide this study:
1. What relationship exists between instructors’ participation in the faculty development course (Facilitating Learning Online) and their integration of technology in teaching?
Ha: There is a statistically significant difference between FLO (Facilitating Learning Online)-trained and Non-FLO trained online instructors with respect to their integration of technology in teaching.
Ho: There is no statistically significant difference between FLO (Facilitating Learning Online)-trained and Non-FLO trained online instructors with respect to their integration of technology in teaching.

2. Does instructors' use of technology in their teaching change as a result of their participation in the faculty development course (facilitating learning online)?
Ha: There is a statistically significant increase in instructors’ integration of technology in their teaching following participation in the faculty development course.
Ho: There is no statistically significant difference in instructors’ integration of technology in their teaching following participation in the faculty development course.

3. What relationship exists between participation in the faculty development course (facilitating learning online) and their teaching perspectives?
Ha: There is a statistically significant difference between FLO (Facilitating Learning Online)-trained and Non-FLO trained online instructors with respect to their teaching perspectives.
Ho: There is no statistically significant difference between FLO (Facilitating Learning Online)-trained and Non-FLO trained online instructors with respect to their teaching perspectives

4. Do instructors’ teaching perspectives change as a result of their participation in the faculty development course (Facilitating Learning Online)?
Ha: There is a significant change in teaching perspectives as a result of instructors’ participation in the faculty development course (Facilitating Learning Online).
Ho: There is no significant change in teaching perspectives as a result of instructors’ participation in the faculty development course (Facilitating Learning Online).

5. What relationship exists between instructors’ participation in the faculty development course (facilitating learning online) and their attitudes toward technology use in teaching?
Ha: There is a statistically significant difference between FLO (Facilitating Learning Online)-trained and Non-FLO trained online instructors with respect to their attitudes toward technology use in teaching.
Ho: There is no statistically significant difference between FLO (Facilitating Learning Online)-trained and Non-FLO trained online instructors with respect to their attitudes toward technology use in teaching.

Deadline Fast Approaching--Microsoft Ultimate Steal Deal

Microsoft is offering a fantastic deal for students. Get Microsoft® Office Ultimate 2007 for just $59.95. I've seen this version sell for $485 (upgrade) to $695 (initial purchase).

Deadline: Midnight April 30, 2008

Microsoft® Office Ultimate 2007: Perpetual license includes the following applications:
•Access™ 2007
•Accounting Express 2007
•Excel® 2007
•InfoPath® 2007
•Groove 2007
•OneNote® 2007 (electronic notebook--great for research)
•Outlook® 2007 with Business Contact Manager*
•PowerPoint® 2007
•Publisher 2007
•Word 2007


Microsoft Office 2007 Compatibility Pack--for those of you who have not moved to the newer version, this pack will allow previous version to read 2007 (docx) documents. I have 2007 and sometimes forget to save retroactively.

Why Technology Integration?

Today’s students grew up with technology; it is a part of their everyday lives. Technology is revolutionizing how we think, work, and play. Many homes have computers and Internet connections. Technologies such as MP3 players, cell phones, and laptop computers have the ability to empower users in a whole new way—especially with user-created Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, wikis, podcasts, and YouTube. The way we interact with the Web has changed from a pull-down model to an interactive, push model. Our students EXPECT technology to be used in the classroom and as a part of their learning experience.

More and more studies show that technology integration improves students’ learning processes and outcomes because students become actively engaged in the learning process. George Lucas’ Educational Foundation, Edutopia, the Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology (CARET) found that, "when used in collaborative learning methods and leadership that is aimed at improving the school through technology planning, technology impacts achievement in content area learning, promotes higher-order thinking and problem solving skills, and prepares students for the workforce.” reported that “

Another reason for technology integration is the necessity of today's students to have 21st Century Skills. The North Central Regional Educational Laboratory defines Digital-Age Literacy as the following:

• Basic Literacy: Language proficiency (in English) and numeracy at levels necessary to function on the job and in society to achieve one's goals and to develop one's knowledge and potential in this Digital Age.
• Scientific Literacy: Knowledge and understanding of the scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision making, participation in civic and cultural affairs, and economic productivity.
• Economic Literacy: The ability to identify economic problems, alternatives, costs, and benefits; analyze the incentives at work in economic situations; examine the consequences of changes in economic conditions and public policies; collect and organize economic evidence; and weigh costs against benefits.
• Technological Literacy: Knowledge about what technology is, how it works, what purposes it can serve, and how it can be used efficiently and effectively to achieve specific goals.
• Visual Literacy: The ability to interpret, use, appreciate, and create images and video using both conventional and 21st century media in ways that advance thinking, decision making, communication, and learning.
• Information Literacy: The ability to evaluate information across a range of media; recognize when information is needed; locate, synthesize, and use information effectively; and accomplish these functions using technology, communication networks, and electronic resources.
• Multicultural Literacy: The ability to understand and appreciate the similarities and differences in the customs, values, and beliefs of one's own culture and the cultures of others.
• Global Awareness: The recognition and understanding of interrelationships among international organizations, nation-states, public and private economic entities, sociocultural groups, and individuals across the globe.

“I’m not comfortable with technology” or “this is the way I was taught,” or “this is how I’ve taught for 10-15-20 years,” or “I don’t want to seem dumb in front of the students” can no longer be viable excuses. As society changes, the skills needed to negotiate the complexities of life also change. At the turn of the century (1900s), a person who had acquired simple reading, writing, and calculating skills was considered literate. There is an information explosion. Our students must learn HOW to access the information, HOW to analyze and evaluate it, HOW to use it to make personal and socially responsible decisions, HOW to communicate across cultures for interpersonal and presentation needs. Education can no longer be expected to disseminate a discrete body of knowledge and we must change our view of what it means to be “literate” and “educated.”

Learning Organizations, Faculty Development, Technology

This quarter, I am taking my last research course for my Ph.D. I also decided to take a course on Writing a Literature Review. For my quantitative research course, I am developing a course project--essentially a mini research proposal. I was hoping that the articles for my KAMs would help me decide on my dissertation topic/question--and that I could begin to develop my proposal as my course project. Unfortunately, I find that all my research questions seem to lend themselves to descriptive studies or qualitative research. Therefore, my project proposal is not really a project that I can implement at this point in my career. Oh, well.

I am finding that the Lit Review course is helping me focus my research more, however. The matrix is especially helpful as I create my annotated bibliographies based on the new KAM guidelines.

One thing I've found is that the plethora of terms used to describe "online learning" and "faculty development" make it difficult to make sure that I've covered all the bases. In addition, I have been focusing on faculty development and higher education. However, I'm not finding information on the relationship between faculty development initiatives and knowledge management or organizational change. I'm not sure if there has not been any discussion or if I'm not asking the right questions/putting in the right keywords. Peter Senge's book Schools That Learn is primarily directed at lower education (elementary-secondary). I can't believe that no one in higher ed has read his books. Kezar (2005) maintains that although "the learning organization has been one of the most written about topics in organizational studies. higher education institutions have been less likely to apply these concepts to their organizational functioning" (p. 1).

Higher education (especially 4-year research institutions) is such a bastion of tradition! The whole concept of being a good instructor is a relatively new idea. All too often faculty see faculty development initiatives as intrusive and meddling. They pride themselves on what they know. And they find it hard to give up "power." Admitting that they don't know something (such as how to use technology in their teaching practices) is difficult. So not only is technology integration a new innovation, but faculty development to improve teaching and learning is a new innovation. All too often technology initiatives are introduced without getting all stakeholder buy-in and without adequately establishing policies and procedures--one of which is to provide ongoing support of faculty to learn how to use the technology AND how to integrate the technology in their teaching practices (they are not the same thing.)

Google Sites Takes Aim at SharePoint

A year ago, Google introduced Google Apps, a suite of word-processing, spreadsheet and presentation software that let groups of users edit and view documents over the Web, integrated with gmail and basic personal Web site publishing tools. According to Matt Jansen at Tech Blorge, Matthew Glotzbach (product director for Google Sites) more than 500,000 businesses and several thousand schools and universities have adopted Google Apps and 2,000 to 3,000 more are added each day. NOTE: Google offers an expanded academic edition of Google Apps to schools and nonprofits.




Now Google is set to continue its assault on Microsoft with the roll out of Google Sites yesterday (only a fews days before Microsoft hosts a SharePoint conference in Seattle). The site publishing framework lets office workers create "intranets" -- centralized archives of company information that can only be viewed within an organization rather than on the public Web, which is helpful for team collaborations. In addition, individual team members can also create profile pages of their activities, interests and schedules. In school settings, Google Sites can function as virtual classrooms for posting homework assignments, class notes or other student resources. Students can work together on a Site to add file attachments, information from other Google apps (such as Google Docs, Google Calendar, YouTube and Picasa), and free-form content. Creating a site together is as easy as editing a document. In addition, users can actually edit a document together in real time. The administrator/teacher always control who has access, whether it's just him/herself, team/class, or the whole organization. Individual students or teachers can get started by simply inputting their school e-mail address.

Like other elements of Google Apps, Google Sites will be free and requires no installation, maintenance or upgrades (for education and nonprofits). All information is stored on Google's secure servers and can be accessed on any computer connected to the Internet.

One advantage of Google Sites--as far as collaboration is concerned--is that it allows groups of users to easily create and edit Web documents that include text, images, videos, spreadsheets and other types of documents. From my experience with SharePoint, including multimedia such as videos on SharePoint blog and wiki pages is not an easy task.

Although many feel that Google doesn't have a chance against megamonster Microsoft, I think that the more alternatives we have the better. Google Sites takes wiki collaboration one step forward.

Why use a blog in teaching

People are writing and using blogs for many reasons. Here are some links I found on Mark Wagner's blog: 10 reasons why blogging is good for you. Blogging for business: Top 10 Reasons for Blogging Why do we blog? Weblogs can be your backup brain! Blogger Moms talk about their reasons to start blogging. Why blog? Why blog?

There are also several sites dedicated to explaining why using blogging in education is a good idea. I especially recommend Weblogg-ed (I have Will Richardson's book and attended a conference presentation on blogging by him--he is one of the gurus on blogging, wikis, and podcasting). For those wanting a pretty exhaustive list of ways to use blogs in their classroom and/or teaching practices, I would suggest Anne Davis's list: Ways to Use Weblogs in Education
Blogs in Education - This page is designed to provide you some resources if you want to get started using blogs for yourself or with your students. There are articles about blogging as well as sample educational blogs. Matrix of some uses of blogs in education - This brief discussion includes a link to a graphic matrix.

Types of Interaction in Online Learning

In his editorial entitled “Three Types of Interaction,” Michael G. Moore suggests that distance educators need to agree on the distinctions between three types of interaction, which he labeled 1) learner-content interaction, 2) learner-instructor interaction, and 3) learner-learner interaction. He also notes, “The main weakness of many distance education programs is their commitment to only one type of medium. When there is only one medium it is probable that only one kind of interaction is permitted or done well.”

Learner-instructor interactions

The most common form of interaction in many classrooms—whether online or face-to-face—is learner-instructor. The instructor presents information (or causes them to be made); organizes the students’ application of information and ideas—either through practice of skills or manipulation of information and ideas; organize assessment procedures to determine students’ progress and to inform changes in teaching strategies. For the most part, the instructor is the students’ primary audience. In addition, the instructor may also provide counsel, support and encouragement—though the amount may vary according to the learners’ abilities and teacher’s personality and philosophy.

Learner-content interactions

This is the primary aim of education—where the learner intellectually interacts with the content, resulting in changes in the learner’s understanding, perspective, or cognitive structure of his/her brain. Texts were initially designed to impart knowledge—not to entertain—generally a one-way form of communication. However, with today’s technology, learners are able to interact not only with written text, but also with content broadcast on radio and television, with electronic recordings on CDs, video/DVD, and computer software. Moore notes “The frequency and intensity of the teacher's influence on learners when there is learner-teacher interaction is much greater than when there is only learner-content interaction.” Blogs and wikis, however, provide learners with new avenues to create their own content and publish to a wider audience—beyond just the instructor.

Learner-learner interactions

Moore suggests that the third form of interaction will challenge our thinking and teaching practices—especially related to online learning. Inter-learner interactions—between one learner and other learners, alone or in a group, with our without a synchronous instructor presence—has been deemed extremely valuable, if not essential, to the learning process in our modern globalized society. Online tools provide an alternative for large classes to interact in smaller groups and to extend the conversations beyond the classroom. In totally online courses, learner-learner interactions become even more important means for building community and avoiding learner isolation. Learner-learner interactions such as discussion boards and group work allow learners the chance to reflect on their learning and to share those ideas with their fellow learners. Through groupwork, learners have the opportunity to create thoughts, share those thoughts with others, and hear others’ reactions. The resulting group analysis, debate, and shared perspectives help them develop conceptual learning and higher order thinking skills. Furthermore, groups provide support and mutual feedback that promote self-understanding and generate an experiential foundation for learning (MacDonald, 2002).

Learner-Interface Interactions

New information technology and media have added new dimensions and possibilities to the conduct of teaching and learning, creating the potential for more interactive, interpersonal, group environments. Therefore, Hillman, Willis, and Gunawardena (1994) propose a fourth type of interaction, learner-interface. They argue that the types of interaction identified by Moore (1996) do not consider the “the interaction that occurs when a learner must use these intervening technologies to communicate with the content, negotiate meaning, and validate knowledge with the instructor and other learners” (Hillman et al., p. 30-31). Therefore, the learner must be skilled in using the delivery system or he/she may not be able to participate in any of the other types of interactions.

More Interactions

In more recent research, Northrup and Rasmussen (2000, cited in Sharp & Huett, 2005) advocate the addition of learner-feedback interaction, which involves closing the communications loop--providing the learner confirmation of receipt and accuracy of what was sent. Sutton (2001, cited in Sharp & Huett, 2005) proposes another type of interaction—vicarious interaction, which is based on the “principle that enhanced achievement and satisfaction may occur even when all students do not interact directly” (p. 224). In other words, learners can learn vicariously by observing the interaction of other students such as “when a student actively observes and processes both sides of a direct interaction between two other students or between another student and the instructor” (Sutton, p. 227).

Not only is it important to define and distinguish the types of interaction that occur in distance learning, but it is also equally important to carefully design interactions into the learning environment so that all relevant types of interaction are represented. Northrup (2001, cited in Sharp & Huett, 2005) suggests a framework of “interaction attributes” that can be employed—interaction with content, collaboration, conversation, intrapersonal interaction and performance support. Collaborative interactions are an essential element of any pedagogy which assumes that learning is a social endeavor and that understanding comes through modeling, reflection, participation in, and reaction to the behaviors and thoughts of others. Distance education, more than ever, allows learners the opportunity to interact not only with the content and the instructor but also to gain new insights through their interactions with their fellow classmates. As MacDonald notes, “While current research may not be able to ascertain which type of interaction is most valuable or necessary to students in distance education, it seems plausible that, given all the documented benefits of learning communities, the quality of distance education should improve with renewed focus on incorporating learner-learner interaction.”

How NOT To Use PowerPoint

I found this video linked to Teacher Hacks blog. Don McMillan is a comedian that has an hilarious take on ineffective PowerPoint presentations. His skit would be a great way to introduce what not to do when assigning a PowerPoint presentation to students--it might also be helpful when designing our own presentations as well. The video is located on his myspace account, which has some inappropriate comments, etc.

Life After Death by PowerPoint

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Educational Uses for Second Life

Using Blogs to Expand the Curriculum--2 ideas

I was reading David Warlick's blog "Mr. Blogmeister" where he provided several examples of assignments using blogs to fit the new ISTE standards. The following two I thought would especially be useful in higher education. I've included them with minor grammatical adjustments. Both these assignments take blogging beyond just the journaling/diary-keeping concept. The first assignment asks students to think about the learning process--how they actually found the information and to evaluate that information. Warlick only asks the teacher to respond, but I think student responses might also generate discussion about why certain information was appropriate and how the student came to his/her conclusions. As always, having students role play or take on the persona of a character in a story, poem, or play adds a new dimension to the study. But having them choose a particular place/sentence in the text requires them to read closely and to evaluate. As the other students play out the second character, the story changes. The blog also allows for commentary on why the students chose particular sections and why they answered the way they did.

Research & Information Fluency

Assignment:
As students are engaged in a major research assignment, ask them to journal daily about their experience, listing what information they have found, how they found it, and how they evaluated the information to assure its appropriateness to the assignment. Read and comment on the blog entries, giving support, tips, corrections, and other aide.

Critical Thinking, Problem-solving, & Decision-Making

Assignment:
After reading a story, novel, or play, ask students to pretend to be one of the characters, and describe one sentence that might have been spoken to another character and at what time that might have overcome the roadblocks of the problem more quickly and with less cost. Ask classmates to read the blog entries and comment what the second character would logically have said in return.

Seven Principles of Effective Teaching and Online Learning

Eugenia Conway, Assistant Director of The Teaching Academy at New Mexico State University notes that “Many instructors of traditional courses who rightly believe that learning is a social process consider ‘same-time same-place’ interaction central to a successful educational experience’” (American Federation of Teachers quoted in Conway, 2003). They dispute whether students can get an equivalent education online. Therefore, one way to ensure that quality remains in online learning is to review Chickering & Gamson’s principles, which were based on 50 years of research and have been considered the standard for best practices for over 25 years. Her paper relates the Seven Principles to online learning: Teaching Strategies for Distance Education: Implementing the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Online Education. Not only does the paper provide specific ways that technology can enhance teaching and learning, but it also contains a discussion about “opposing paradigms”—teacher-centered (traditional, positivism) vs. student-centered (constructivism) classrooms and provides specifics for developing rubrics and electronic portfolios.

I also came across the following resource which provides a, "A Framework for the Pedagogical Evaluation of eLearning Environments". The paper uses Chickering & Gamson's (1987) 'Seven Principles of Effective Teaching' as the framework for examining the potential of Virtual Learning Environments to enhance learning. It also includes a questionnaire based on the viable system and conversational models articulated by Britain and Liber (2004). The document is made available from Eduforge, "an open access collaborative learning and exploratory environment designed for the sharing of ideas, research outcomes, open source educational software, and tools within a community of educators, researchers and developers."

Instructional Designer as Consultant

Last night I attended a panel discussion coordinated by one of the professors at Queens. The topic was advertising. Since I initially wanted to go into public relations, and I was Publicity Chair for several organizations/groups, I have an interest in advertising and media relations. Therefore, I decided to attend. Although the discussion primarily focused on how the various panel participants did their jobs, I found one gem that I could relate to my new job responsibilities.

Toward the end of the discussion, one student asked how the panel members would handle a client who came in with an idea that they thought would absolutely not work or the client that came in with a "it's my way" attitude. After much discussion, the final verdict was that they worked as consultants only. Ultimately, the client has the right to make his/her own decision. Their job is to listen to the client and provide options. That means they often prepare several packages/choices for the client to choose from. One participant indicated that his company recognizes that there is the client's idea, the company's idea, and the idea that blends the two (hopefully, the one the client chooses).

The discussion had relevance to how I need to work with the faculty at Queens. My role is that of consultant--which entails building trust on both ends. The word consultant comes from the Latin word meaning "to discuss;" a consultant today is a professional who provides advice in a particular area of expertise. Like the ad people, it is my job to be familiar with the possible options that faculty have in converting their courses online and to help them develop their ideas. I need to present these options, but be aware that ultimately it is the instructor's decision on which options to incorporate and when.

During the instructional design phase, I work with each faculty member to review the course's learning objectives and consider the following questions:

• How should content be organized?
• How should ideas be presented to the learners?
• What delivery format(s) should be used?
• What types of activities and exercises will best help learners?
• How should the course measure learners' accomplishments?

The answers to these questions help create the course structure and lead to appropriate instructional strategies. When I suggest instructional strategies for a course, I am drawing upon not only theoretical knowledge (what I've read) but also practical experience. There are many different ways to sequence and present content to learners. As the panel also pointed out, part of my job is education--educating faculty about what is available to them, the advantages and disadvantages, how to use these resources, etc. Generally, the course's activities and exercises must fit with the type of learning the students' are asked to do (tied to the objectives). The course's assessments should measure the learner's progress toward meeting the learning objectives; therefore they should also fit the learning objectives. Thus, the clearer the instructor is in defining what he/she wants the learner to accomplish the easier it is to choose instructional strategies and assessments.

Feed the Hungry While Practicing Your Vocabulary

It's possible at FreeRice.com, a website that's been around for just over two months now.
Here's a description of how to play from the website:

• Click on the answer that best defines the word.
• If you get it right, you get a harder word. If wrong, you get an easier word.
• For each word you get right, we donate 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program.
• WARNING: This game may make you smarter. It may improve your speaking, writing, thinking, grades, job performance...

There are 50 difficulty levels in all, although the website admits it's difficult to get above a 48. I played and was surprised to get up to level 42 and donated 300 grains of rice in just a few minutes of play. The rice is paid for by advertisers whose logos appear at the bottom of the game screen. The site was launched on October 7 and only 830 grains of rice were donated. On December 10 this number had grown to 7,786,631,170 grains of rice. I wonder what that translates to in pounds??? What a great way for students to build their vocabulary and feed the world at the same time! Who knows—maybe you can even have a class discussion about world hunger?

How to Block Facebook's Beacon Reporting

This information comers from www.wikiHow.com. Check out the site for the visuals connected to the steps. While users can decline sending out the advertising, Facebook does not allow users to opt out of the data collection and behavior monitoring.^[3][4] Even if you opt out, click "no thanks", and log out of Facebook, Beacon will still be surreptitiously collecting your web browsing behavior data and sending it to Facebook. ^[5][6]

For some users of Facebook, this sort of information sharing causes privacy concerns. To make matters worse, there's no way to block Beacon in Internet Explorer (see Tips).^[7] Fortunately, an easy-to-install add-on for the Firefox browser can block Beacon from collecting any data about you. Follow these simple steps to ensure your private information remains private.

1. Install the Firefox browser if you do not already have it.
2. Install the BlockSite extension from the Mozilla website. You can also use the popular Adblock plus extensions.
• Scroll down the page and click on the green Install Now button. Firefox may try to block the installation; if so you will see a yellow bar appear at top of your browser window with text "Firefox prevented this site (addons.mozilla.org) from asking you to install software on your computer." If you see this message, click on the Edit Options... button on the right side of the yellow bar and a small pop-out window will appear.
  
  
  
• Click on the "Allow" button on the pop-out window to add this site to the list of sites you permit to install addons.
  
  
  
• Close the pop out window by clicking on the red circle in the upper left corner.
• Click on the green Install Now button on the Mozilla Add-ons web page a second time. Another small window will appear.
• Click on the blue button in the new window to install the BlockSite extension.
• Restart Firefox once this extension has been installed to complete the process and enable BlockSite.
3. Click on the Firefox "Tools" menu and select Add-ons (the tools menu is located at the top of your screen next to the Bookmarks menu).
4. Click on Extensions, then on Blocksite, and then on "Options" (for Windows) or Preferences (for Mac).
   
   
5. Click on the Add button in the Options/Preferences window.
   
   
   
6. Type this URL in the small box that pops up "http*://*facebook.com/beacon/*" and then click on the OK button.
   
   
7. Check Options/Preferences window to make sure that the beacon URL shows in the Locations window.
8. Click OK at the bottom of the window to complete the block.
   
   

Tips

• Be sure to enter the asterisks as shown after http, before the word "facebook" in the URL and after the /. These are wildcards that tell the extension to include different iterations of http://facebook.com/beacon/ like https://, etc.
• Even if you do not opt to share this information on your news feed, the system still collects personal information about you unless you block it.^[8]
• If you decide to opt out, this information will not be shared with your friends. However, you will have to opt out of Beacon's notification system for each company that participates in the system.^[9]
• In Internet Explorer, there's no way to block Facebook Beacon without blocking all content from Facebook.^[10]

Opera users can go to Tools > Advanced > Blocked Content and add the same URL given above to block Beacon.^[11]

Facebook Violates Privacy

When you buy a book, movie, or gift online, do you want that information automatically shared with everyone you know? Last week, the social networking site Facebook began doing just that. Private purchases made by Facebook users on other sites were posted on Facebook for people's co-workers, friends, and random acquaintances to see. Why? To benefit corporate advertisers.

Facebook says its users can "opt out" of having their private purchases made public. But the link is easy to miss. And even if you do "opt out" for purchases on one site, it doesn't apply to purchases on other sites—you have to keep opting out site by site, week by week, month by month. The obvious solution is to switch to an "opt in" policy, like most other features on Facebook.

Facebook's statement to MoveOn.org stressed that because this information is not public, it isn't an invasion of privacy. "Information is shared with a small selection of a user's trusted network of friends, not publicly on the Web or with all Facebook users.” Just because Facebook requires a sign-in doesn’t mean that the information is not available to hundreds of people. There’s no telling how many of one’s “closest” friends have access to this information.

Other sites are looking at Facebook's example to see if they can get away with similar privacy breaches. We need to draw a line in the sand—making clear that the wish lists of corporate advertisers must not come before the basic privacy rights of Internet users.

This fight is about more than just Facebook users. Sites like Facebook are revolutionizing how we communicate and could transform how we organize around issues together in a 21st century democracy. The question is: will corporate advertisers get to write the rules? Or will these new social networks protect our basic rights—including privacy? This is fundamentally about the future of the Internet as a public space.

More Info:

Demonstration of new Facebook feature:
http://civ.moveon.org/facebookprivacy/beacon_demo.html?id=11708-4873659-O0Dltb&t=7

Facebook group "Facebook, stop invading my privacy!"
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3178&id=11708-4873659-O0Dltb&t=12

Facebook description of Beacon feature:
http://www.facebook.com/business/?beacon

Facebook responds to MoveOn criticism of ad program
http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9821651-36.html

Including our students in the academic conversation

Judith A. Langer argues “that in order to use instructional scaffolding teachers need to ensure that the students have ownership of the learning event.” In his article about Instructional scaffolding, Konrad Glogowski goes on to say that “once the student is engaged as a researcher/writer/thinker, the teacher can focus on conversing with the student.”

Researcher/writer/thinker. Is this how we view our students? Do we give them the respect and authority to initiate, plan and develop their own learning and thinking? Do we see ourselves as “co-participants” in our students’ research and/or learning process? Or are we waiting for the final product to be finished so we can “grade it”. This mind shift is critical if we are to embrace a learner-centered environment.

Our “job” and the tools we use change as our students grow and learn. We, as educators, can no longer rationalize that those who can’t succeed in our classes probably shouldn’t be here. Learning is both social and active. Too often, in higher education it is isolated and passive. We must adapt, challenge and find new ways to engage our students in the academic conversation, so they are involved in the learning process. User-created content such as blogs, wikis and podcasts allow students to develop not only their own voice but also an audience who reads, responds and reflects upon what they write—an authentic context in which their own reading, writing, and critical thinking are valued.

I recently attended a conference sponsored by the Georgia Southern Center for Excellence in Teaching: SoTL Commons. SoTL stands for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. More information about the conference later. However, in relation to what I’ve said earlier about engaging our students as “co-participants” in the learning process, I attended a presentation by Brannon Anderson, Furman University and Bonnie Mullinix, Educational Consultant. The presenters asked us to consider multiple perspectives for identifying methods for identifying and capturing transformative learning as students participated in the River Basins Research Initiative. Brannon indicated that they had self-reported data as well as personal observation that the students did change their perspectives regarding science, fieldwork, and themselves as scientists. We read qualitative data—journals in which the students indicated this change. What caused them to change? In part, we all agreed it was because they were considered colleagues—not just undergraduate students. They were included in the process, in the conversation. In addition, since the research is ongoing, there was no real final product. The process was what was important.

Help Me Solve a Mystery ARG

This week John Farquhar from Western Washington University, posted an email to the DEOS-L listserv about an alternate reality game (ARG) hosted by a team of faculty, librarians, instructional designers and student volunteers. The game, which is totally Internet-based, is designed to provide practice in critical thinking and help develop information literacy skills. The game is targeted to college students yet will be open and promoted to everyone to attract a broad range of participants. The game opened September 21 and is set to end in mid-December. "Help Me Solve A Mystery" (http://HelpMeSolveAMystery.com) I'm not sure exactly what information literacies are targeted.

Below is a summary of the experience as well as a description of how students can participate:

William Lewis has a mystery to solve. He found a volume of a 1933 World Book Encyclopedia among his own books. Inside the book was a note with some mysterious and cryptic messages. How did it get there? What does it mean? And, where will all of this lead? Join William's mystery and expect to uncover new mysteries and puzzles throughout the fall.

Participate in the online forum or create your own blog of your experience. Use the online tools to:
1) describe search strategies that successfully locate additional clues
2) critically examine the clues, documents and other sources of information
3) guide other participants to successfully search for and critically examine information. Perhaps you'll
make new friends and learn new things.

I know very little about the entire concept behind alternate reality games, but I am interested in knowing more about what they hope to teach and how it would happen. I have looked at the site. It looks interesting. However, since I do not play these kinds of games on a regular basis, I'm not sure how I would incorporate it into my classroom. I'm not sure what they are asking/expecting the students to do. Does this game operate similar to a scavenger hunt? Should the students post suggestions on how to decode the cryptic page? Should they pose questions for others to answer? I am assuming that additional clues will be found or supplied by the game hosts. Or do the students provide additional clues?

If anyone can tell me more about the project, let me know. John indicated that since the project is just getting started, now is the time to get in on the fun. I would love to see how my Developmental Reading students could use this project.

Interaction Economy meets Interactive Education?

In searching for information on personalized homepages today, I came across the following information on Tim Leberecht's blog iPlot: According to a McKinsey & Company study of US economic activity, "Raising the productivity of employees whose jobs can’t be automated is the next big performance challenge." The study argues that "as more companies come to specialize in core activities and outsource the rest, they have greater need for workers who can interact with co-workers, partners, and vendors," supported by highly personalized organizing and communication tools. 40 percent of labor activity, says McKinsey, comes not from making things or from traditional transactions but from what the consultancy calls the "Interaction Economy," which it defines as the "searching, coordinating, and monitoring required to exchange good[s] or services."

Think of how this impacts higher education! It boggles the mind. The whole purpose of education must change. It's not about defining a set body of knowledge that every learned individual must know. It is more about how we enable students to efficiently/effectively access information and collaborate in solving problems. The traditional behaviorist model worked for the industrial age, but today's service-driven economy requires more. Students must be allowed and encouraged to create their own meanings--based on their experiences and interactions with others. We also need to make sure that they have a wide variety of experiences--exposure to alternative ways of thinking and approaching problems. I am reminded of Taco Bell's slogan "Think outside the bun" and now Wendy's new promotion which suggests that just because everyone else is doing it doesn't mean that it is right. Just because this was the way you or your parents were taught doesn't mean that it is the "right way" or only way to teach/learn.

Higher education (especially the 4-year institutions) has been the bastion of tradition--changing slowly. The technical schools and 2-year institutions have seen the need to change to meet the needs of their student population. Most adopted technology in teaching and learning years ago, offering online programs (not just online courses). 4-years institutions held out--sticking to chalk or dry erase markers and the lecture model. The professor was hired for his/her content knowledge, right? Then it is up to him/her to pass on that knowledge to students passively waiting to receive it. The problem comes when the students are passive--learning is active/interactive. Students must be involved in the process. Web 2.0's user-created content tools (blogs, wikis, social bookmarking, etc.) allow that interaction--in a public sphere. No longer must students create, synthesize, and produce for just the instructor or classroom. Instead, their ideas can go out into cyberspace for others to read, comment, and digest. There is an authenticity to this kind of publication.

CAVEAT: This also means that we, as instructors, can no longer "control" what and how our students learn. How does this affect assessment--what exactly are we assessing, then?

I'm still working on getting more stuff on the blog. As I mentioned in the blog, I'm trying to get a Faculty Learning Community centered around technology going. Time has been the greatest barrier--both in getting the FLC going and in blogging. Its frustrating. The FLC falls into my KAM I and KAM III application areas. For KAM I, I am looking at Rogers (Innovation Diffusion Theory) and Hall and Hord's CBAM model. I developed a faculty development proposal based on the faculty technology survey implemented last year and plan to submit it to the Interim President next week. Our Technology FLC discussed that we need a paradigm shift in how our instructors "teach"--to be more student-centered and focused more on learning. This would definitely be an organizational change. As one way of at least exposing the instructors to alternative ways of teaching and learning, we hope to present short 30 minute interactive presentations on adult learning theory, teaching the millennial generation, using technology in the classroom, Web 2.0 tools, etc. As Rogers indicates, they have to be aware of the innovation first and then begin to see its relevance. With a graying faculty, we're chipping away a little at a time.

Best Laid Plans and Good Intentions

One of my favorite sayings is that sometimes life interferes with life. We have good intentions. We really want to accomplish our goals. However, something always seems to get in the way. Since the beginning of the semester, I have intended to go to the gym and work out. I know I need to do this. I have even encouraged my students to build time into their schedules to exercise at least 15-20 minutes a day. However, there always seems to be something that I need to do during that time period. Research has shown that those people who exercise have just as crazy lives as those who do not. How then do I motivate myself to go?

I am finding the dilemma true in our Technology FLC. We developed the Blackboard component so those who were unable to meet on a regular basis could still interact with others in the team. To date, only three out of the eleven have even logged in and reviewed some of the resources. We agreed that we would create our own blogs so we could experience that activity from the student's perspective. We are to discuss this process and how to incorporate blogging in our teaching practices at our next meeting. Only one other faculty member has created her blog. When we signed up to participate in this endeavor, we all recognized that we needed to incorporate technology into our teaching practices. We all recognized that Web 2.0 tools are what are being used by cutting-edge teachers to reach their students. Just like I know that I need to exercise--So, how do we commit to spending that extra time? I don't know what the answer is.

Finding Time for Faculty Development

Time is listed as one of the major barriers to effective faculty development initiatives in several studies I have read. That is definitely true here! Our Technology Faculty Learning Community is having trouble finding a time when all of us can meet. Our 11:00 on Friday spot has been hijacked, so we set up 4:00 on Thursdays. Despite good intentions, only four of us were able to make the meeting this week. We have yet to meet with three who have expressed interest. Knowing that time would be a problem, we initially decided to also create a Technology FLC "course" in our Blackboard CMS. Our thought was that we would meet once or twice a month and then communicate online in between. It may be that the online discussion may form the bulk of our discussions. We did decide to hold the Thursday at 4:00 period open every week. Those who are able to meet can do so. I will facilitate the discussion. The face to face discussions will not necessarily be used to "present" information unless we decide to. Those who cannot meet on Thursdays have the opportunity to participate in the online discussions and take advantage of the resources, links, etc. located there. Time can also be a problem here as we must be committed to checking into to Blackboard on a regular basis. If we to truly develop into a learning community, then we must be willing to commit a piece of ourselves (time included) to this project.

We talked about needing a paradigm shift on Thursday. We have the opportunity to spearhead that shift in thinking (and doing). Several of us indicated that our students' technology literacy is often limited to gadgetry--mobile phones, IM, MP3 players. They use the web for socializing--FaceBook or MySpace--or shopping. However, there is so much more available to them (and to us, as teachers). Technology changes to quickly--it reminds me of the fashion world. Purple is in; pink is out. We are digital immigrants, those of us not born into today's technological world but at some later point in our lives became fascinated with it, adopted it, and use it. The importance in making this distinction, as Marc Prensky points out, is that like all immigrants, some learn better, quicker, more efficiently than others. We will always keep a foot in the past--our educational system was okay for us.... However, that educational system was not designed for today's digital natives. Technology has caused a "singularity," as Prensky notes, an event that changes things so fundamentally that there is no going back. As educators, we must embrace this change.

The first step in embracing that change was that we all agreed to explore the world of Web 2.0. As per the 2007 Horizon Report, user-created content and social networking are already established on many campuses and, therefore, will have the most immediate impact on teaching and learning. Check out Vicki Davis' classroom project entitled the Horizon Project based on a study of the Report. Here are two videos on the Horizon Report from her site. Our FLC decided to start with blogs--all of us are to create our own blog. We are then going to research how blogs are being used in higher education classrooms.

Faculty Learning Communities--Faculty development option

We are in the midst of organizational change where I work with the retirement of our President of thirteen years and the Interim Presidency of our Provost. Change for the sake of change is not good, but as a catalyst for improvement and development, it is powerful. As part of that change is a re-evaluation of how we, as a faculty, can work together to improve our teaching practices and thus improve the college. The Interim President is promoting a paradigm shift to a more student-centered learning environment, integrating technology as learning tools and resources. This change provides a wonderful backdrop for my KAM I (Social Change in Educational Technology in Higher Education) studies.

Rogers’ (1995) model for adoption and diffusion of innovation classifies adopters of innovations in five categories, they are: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. In the early stages of faculty development at --- College, most faculty were innovators or early adopters with high intrinsic motivation, computer technical skills, and a desire to teach using technology. In light of this, the primary focus with faculty was to provide training on the course tools and suggested applications leading toward success. This typically occurred in a computer laboratory with a small group of interested faculty. A few individualized sessions were also provided for support and follow-through with the training provided in the group session at the request of individual faculty members. However, other than the initial introductory face-to-face workshops offered by the Blackboard Administrator three years ago, no ongoing faculty training program exists to prepare faculty to develop their technological skills, to convert their courses to online, to use Blackboard efficiently or to incorporate technology into their teaching practices.

A holistic approach to supporting users in each of these stages is essential. As the late majority faculty are being “pushed” to integrate technology, the need to provide training and support in addition to technical training has become apparent. While large group, workshop-based training was sufficient for early adopters as an introduction to developing online or web-enhanced courses, it does not provide the detailed assistance necessary for the late majority. A campus-wide approach would allow for dialogue among faculty across all disciplines about best practices in technology integration, whereas "just-in-time," personalized support at the department/division level would enable faculty to adopt technology more seamlessly. I have proposed the development of faculty learning communities as a faculty development option to provide training and support as faculty endeavor to transform their teaching practices. Specifically, I have initiated a technology FLC--and hope to encourage other faculty to develop additional FLCs to address other needs such as retention, meeting the needs of the NET Generation, creating multi-disciplinary courses, etc.

"A faculty learning community (FLC) is a group of trans-disciplinary faculty, graduate students and professional staff group of size 6-15 or more (8 to 12 is the recommended size) engaging in an active, collaborative, yearlong program with a curriculum about enhancing teaching and learning and with frequent seminars and activities that provide learning, development, transdisciplinarity, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and community building" (Cox, 2004).

We had our initial meeting today. As a result of our brainstorm and discussion, the following cognitive goals were suggested:
1) develop expertise in accessing and utilizing online resources and tutorials;
2) broaden application of a variety of teaching strategies in order to better address student retention and persistence--including different learning styles, generational learning differences, student motivation, lack of technology skills as well as supporting under-prepared, disabled, and returning adult learners;
3) increase instructional technology competencies in the use of media, software, hardware, and Web 2.0 tools to enhance learning;
4) increase use of technology to streamline course administration and management duties such as record-keeping, attendance, gradebooks, and resource management.

Attitudinal goals include:
1) develop a culture of excitement and enthusiasm among participants for ongoing learning and self-improvement;
2) foster a collegial atmosphere among faculty;
3) encourage and support a community of practice (learners) willing to share expertise and experience.

Since one of the goals is to encourage the use of technology to streamline course administration and management, participants agreed to work together in a hybrid model. This model would allow collaboration beyond our abilities to meet together face-to-face as well as a means to manage our resources. We all agreed that there are numerous ways to approach our learning endeavor this year. We are to rank the following topics prior to our next session and determine a specific project or course in which to apply what we learn.

Potential topics for discussion
Adult Learning Theory

• Andragogy
• Transformative Learning
• Social Learning
• Constructivism
• Brain-Based learning

Using Web 2.0 Tools

• Podcasting
• Wikis
• Blogs
• YouTube
• Bookmarking tools such as de.licio.us
• Slideshare
• Collaboration such as Facebook, Stikipad

Integrating technology activities into teaching practices—beyond PowerPoint

• Video/DVDs
• Virtual Fieldtrips
• Webpage evaluations
• WebQuests
• Scavenger hunts
• Research activities
• Reference documentation such as EasyBib
• Note-taking/Outlining
• Online Flashcards
• Mind mapping/Concept maps/flow charts (using Inspiration)

Designing online learning environments

• Web-enhanced/hybrid model
• Synchronous vs. Asynchronous communication
• Best practices for facilitating online discussions
• Content development for the web
• PDF Conversion of files
• Organizing course content
• Developing class units
• Blackboard Basics
• Advanced Blackboard
• Elluminate

Alternative and Authentic Assessments

• Online Assessments
• Project-Based learning
• Student Response Systems
• E-Portfolios
• Self-direction and Learning Contracts

Building Faculty Learning Communities (Vol 97)
Jossey-Bass series, New Directions for Teaching and Learning

Podcasting--basic equipment

I have been interested in podcasting as a way to meet the needs of my auditory learners--especially in a totally online environment. I researched a variety of digital voice recorders, microphone headsets, and lavalieres using the reviews on Amazon.com, About.com, and other blogs. I currently use a Plantronics headset (not sure what model). It sits easily on my head, but the sound is awful--complete with hisses and outside noise--no matter how I adjust the position of the microphone and the sound quality. In addition, it records in mono, which leaves it sounding a little tinny.

The digital voice recorder I've decided to buy is the Olympus WS-300M 256 MB Digital Voice Recorder and Music Player. It's about the same size as a 25-piece pack of gum. Two other selling points were the built in MP3 player, which holds about 66 songs and the USB connectivity. Olympus also incorporates noise-cancelling technology. It runs for about 15 hours on 1 AAA battery. Amazon's price is only $78.82. The Olympus WS-320M 1 GB Digital Voice Recorder and Music Player has similar features except that it can record up to 266 songs--at a price of $124.77. The purists may hedge on the inclusion of the MP3 player as unnecessary; however, I don't currently have an iPod; therefore, being able to have just a few of my favorite songs is better than having to carry separate CDs everywhere.

I decided to go ahead and buy the Olympus ME-15 (clip) microphone since I also plan to record my workshops and lectures. I wanted to make sure that I had a clear sound. The microphone is also UPC. It's not a bad price for $21.99.

I'm looking the Plantronics DSP-400 Digitally-Enhanced USB Foldable Stereo Headset and Software for $44.98. Several reviews indicate that the headset works well for voice recording (i.e. Skype and Dragonspeak). It is foldable, stereo, USB, and noise-cancelling. One drawback mentioned often is that the long cord and the DSB component integrated into the cord. I'm not sure of it's function--but since I primarily plan on using the headset in my office, I don't think the drawbacks will outweigh the sound quality and convenience.