EdTech 522: Online Course Evaluation assignment

Lindsay Davis

EdTech 522

Compare & Evaluate Two Online Courses

Rubric (3 points each)	Finite Math Online	Tech Tools for Teachers
Course overview and Introduction:  Instructions make clear how to get started and where to find course contents.	3Getting Started link makes clear the technology requirements, and gives an overview for the course	3The Front page  of the site makes it clear what new students should do.
Learning Objectives:  Stated clearly and written from the student’s perspective.	2Topics are listed, but are not worded in the format of learning objectives.	3Each unit has clearly and ‘casually’ worded goals.
Assessment:  The course grading policy is stated clearly.	3On the Grades page there is a clear description of what will be graded and how much weight it will be given.	0It is not clear if grades are given, if the course is available for credit, or if any feedback is given on student work.
Instructional Materials:  Contribute to the achievement of the stated learning objectives.	1There are well presented videos on how to solve various problems, but without course objectives stated, it is not clear if they relate.	3There is a direct link between the goals of each unit and the materials used.
Learner Interaction and Engagement: activities provide opportunities for interaction that support active learning.	2Help available through the ‘Ask a Teacher’ forum.  Interaction among students not available.	3Active assignments such as creating websites and customizing browsers.  Interaction available through discussion format.
Course Technology: Navigation  the online components is logical, and efficient.	3well laid out calendar page makes it easy to navigate site.	3Sidebar table of contents makes it easy to navigate.
Learner Support:  there is a clear description of the technical support offered and how to use it.	1Support for Content help is available in ‘Ask a Teacher’ Forum, but technical support is not described	1Students are encouraged to use the discussion forum if they have questions, but technical support is not listed.
Accessibility: Course design facilitates readability and minimizes distractions.	3Each page is well laid out.	3Each page is well laid out.

I chose to evaluate the Finite Math Online and the Tech Tools for Teachers courses because each held a special interest for me.  As a Math and Science teacher, I could see myself one day instructing a course similar to the Finite Math Online course.  And, the Tech Tools for Teachers could be a resource to help me with tech support I might require as I work through the EdTech program.

I enjoyed this activity, and found it helpful to think about what are the most important components that contribute to the success of an online course.  This analysis helped me to narrow down the topics for the rubric I adapted from the Quality Matters Standards. Out of those I think the most important two are to have clear instructions on how to get started, and a clear description of how to find technical support.  Both of the classes I evaluated had clear instructions on how to get started, but were lacking in technical support.  This was a surprise to me, since it seems like an easy and obvious component to include in an online course.  I think it is important for instructors who are lucky enough to have technical support available to their students to make it clear what the difference is between content questions and technical questions, and where to go for each.  This will help instructors to avoid getting bogged down with tech questions and to be able to focus on the content of their classes.

I plan on using a rubric to self evaluate any online courses I teach.  This will help me to make sure I have all components necessary for student success included in my course.

Rubric adapted from: http://howto.wikispaces.umb.edu/file/view/QM+standards+2011-2013.pdf

Finite Math Online:  http://www.math.ncsu.edu/ma114/114/General_Info.html

Tech Tools for Teachers: http://learn.caitlincahill.com/moodle/course/view.php?id=2

Tech Trends Assignment

This assignment started with reading the Horizon report on technology trends in Education.  I found the report to be informative, and thought provoking about how education will change over the next few years with the changes in the technology available.

In my classroom, where I have been teaching for six years, I have actually found that I am using less technology currently than I was when I first started.  This is because the computers I have for student labs are all nearly ten years old; they freeze often and take longer and longer with each passing year to run physics lab software.  I have found that it is not worth the high level of frustration on my students part and on my part to try to use out of date computers to run new software.   This issue is why I focused in on the tech trend of using educational apps that students can download to their own device.  I feel that as more students have their own smart phones, laptops, and tablets,  education could take on a “Bring your own device” approach and the lack of current classroom computers will not keep us from using this new technology in our classrooms.  This approach is already being used on many college campuses in purely online classes, and in classes that are a hybrid of face to face instruction and online content.

The app I chose, Vernier’s video physics cost $2.99.  There are other free apps out there that have similar features, but after playing around with all of them I found Vernier’s to be easier to use and worth the small fee.  This $2.99 per device is in contrast to software that costs hundreds of dollars for a site license to do “almost” the same thing.  I say almost because the more expensive software makes motion graphs for moving objects in front of motion sensors, but does not also take video to analyze with the graphs.  I feel that the app is better than the software because of the fact that you can watch the video of the motion as you analyze the graphs.

Designing this lesson relates to the AECT standards 1.1: Instructional Systems Design, 3.1: Media Utilization, and 3.2: Implementation and Institutionalization.  I had to consider the objectives of the lesson and how the app could enhance the lesson’s objectives and the best way to utilize the app in the course of the activity.

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