UNHCE Information Technology & Distance Education Blog: June 2007 Archives

An article on When and HOW to use PowerPoint, titled, "PowerPoint No, Cyberspace Yes," is available at: http://www.ntlf.com/html/sf/cyberspace.htm

Some of the key points re:good pedagogy that contribute to meeting your delivery goals include:

1. Courses should focus on learning rather than teaching (student-centered vs. teacher-centered).

2. Interaction with the material should be student-controlled rather than teacher-controlled.

3. Content delivery should be based on student knowledge, driven by frequent formative feedback (classroom assessment).

4. Courses should be structured so that students interact with material in a pedagogically sound way.

Using many text bullets with voiceover saying the same thing is actually counterproductive to the learning process. A better approach is to use a PowerPoint slide with a meaningful graphic, and then present the information orally.

For further info, here are some research-based articles:

Help! My Brain is Overloaded! http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2007/mar/Cognitive_load_theory.html

Effective Teaching: Learning Theory Approach http://connect.educause.edu/library/abstract/EffectiveTeachingwit/43763

An innovative way some colleges & universities (including places like Harvard) are conducting some classes is in a virtual reality environment. IT is unconventional, to say the least, but has some potential for some audiences.

CNN had an article covering the basics at: http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/11/13/second.life.university/index.html

IN addition, a review of one Harvard professor's class is posted at : http://www.computerworld.com/blogs/node/5553

Educause Connect offers helpful information as far as designing learning experiences using technology as a mode of delivery.

Their offerings include publications, conferences, articles, and virtual communities.

To see their offerings related to Instruction Design, go to:
http://connect.educause.edu/term_view/Instructional+Design

This article has pointers on 7 ways to increase the effectiveness of your PowerPoint presentations.

http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/ezine/07/issue4_24_print.asp

The attached article has information on when and how to effectively use on-line learning. It also includes some pointers on conducting web conferences.

Download file

If you're a GoToMeeting organizer, or just want to learn more about the GoToMeeting software, Citrix has an organizer tutorial on-line that runs about 40 minutes.

If you'd like to get set up to run your own GoToMeeting or Webinar, contact Steve Judd.

Judy Baker, of Foothill College, has developed this slide show on considerations when offering learning experiences on line.

Lifehack.org has a recent post on 5 Uses for a Wiki at Work:

• Operations Guides


• Dashboard


• Water Cooler


• Fact and FAQ Lists


• Making Plans

Follow these Ten Tips for Smarter Google Searches, and you're sure to find what you're looking for faster and more easily.

Via HighTouch

I found an interesting blog (Scouting Around) today, written by John Dorner, IT Trainer for NC Cooperative Extension. Check out these two recent posts:

Can Blogs Replace Newsletters: "Make your blog better than the hard copy issue - put more in your blog articles than your hard copy articles - because you aren't limited by the size of the piece of paper. Use photographs and links to related information - because you can. In the hard copy newsletter, be sure to mention that there is more in the blog and where to find it. This will encourage your clients to opt for the method that is better, faster, easier and cheaper for you to deliver."

"My audience doesn't use the internet": "I've heard more educators say - "My audience doesn't use the internet" or they "don't have email". If your audience isn't extremely poor (i.e. living in assisted housing or homeless), maybe you could do them more good by teaching them about the benefits of using the computer and the internet than anything else you can teach them. Teach them how to learn and the best tool to do that with is a computer connected to the internet."