Hello, and welcome to the Center for Online Learning article review, written (and thus "facilitated") by Oriana Neulinger. This time, we'll be discussing the article called "How Technology Changes Education", written by Olga I. Agapova and Alex S. Ushakov, published in the Technos: Quarterly for Education and Technology, Spring 1999. I chose this article because this division in thinking of "technology and education" seems to be where most FPU teachers and professors are at. Even though it was written 11 years ago, it still strikes at the heart of people developing online courses and preparing supplemental material for lecture-based courses. The original article, which can be found for free at How Technology Changes Education, has several specific references and suggestions for the interested online professor.

SUMMARY:

There are two main directions that people go when viewing technology in education: they can either view it as an "additional tool" or as an "innovative teaching and learning process". The question addressed is this: exactly what can new technology change in education -- and how does this affect the student?

Agapova and Ushakov explain that using technology as an "additional tool" refers to the use of technology to present information and resources in the same or similar manner as traditional classes. However, using technology as an "innovative teaching and learning process" refers to the use of technology in a manner that encourages learning and doing for oneself in an active way, highlighting familiarity and mastery of tools provided and also proficiency in learning new tools.

The different ways to use technology stem from the different needs of the different generations - Learning used to be about filling out a checklist of things mastered, but now learning is about shaping the student both in study and in life. A presentation of knowledge formerly included only static, sectioned content, but increasingly the intertwined nature of science, life and society forces new mediums of knowledge presentation into the limelight - mediums such as Wikipedia and a learning tool called ChemQuest.

Agapova and Ushakov participated in the creation and testing of ChemQuest, and they explain how the application brings a level of interactivity into the learning process that a traditional lecture would not possess. For instance, the student can choose how to learn "core material" by choosing from a variety of topics of interest to them. When the student engages and enjoys the context picked, learning becomes easier. Of course, not only can they pick between case studies, but also between various learning styles, allowing equal opportunity for success. The interaction of the student brings focus to active, independent and somewhat informal learning.

Assessment in the "innovative process" should contain similarly informal, continuous tests and checks mixed with new ideas in a manner designed to teach the student how to work from real life data, rather than data in a textbook. However, it must still include formalized, "traditional" tests and checks for learning, as these are designed to train the student for later school. Some combination of both is best, as the more tools are given, the more opportunities are provided to learn.

The three most important improvements of the "innovative" program, ChemQuest, over the statistics of the "traditional" program are well-documented in various field tests from schools scattered across America. These results we may now take for granted, but our strengths can always be made stronger. The change of role of teachers - from lecturer to facilitator to collaborator - leads to a trust and pride in learning; the change in how the learning program adapts to students allows for many more students to be successful than before; and the high sustained interest levels throughout the school year leads to noticeably higher grades and greater learning retention.

However, the authors warn, these changes are truly dramatic only if the "traditional process" of teaching and learning is completely scrapped, and all involved are set free from it's restrictions.

RESPONSE:

A learning system like ChemQuest is amazing to me. A program that allows you to follow the path of the way that you learn best, that allows you to interact and create rather than simply react and consume - this seems to me to be some kind of dream course.

By reading this article, I was able to learn a little bit more about what I would look for in an online course. With the tools we have now, quite a bit is possible - from live presentations held using Elluminate, to "in-person interactions" in a virtual reality using LindenLab's SecondLife or the Open Source Grid. I don't think I would be satisfied with a class that didn't experiment with some exciting technology.

This post will be the master list of all the different tools that are helpful to people involved in distance education and online learning, sorted by what platform used.



Browser-based Tools

• Blackboard - Commercial server-side learning management system used to add online elements to courses traditionally delivered face-to-face and to develop completely online courses with few or no face-to-face meetings. Similar to Moodle.
• Blogger - Google-provided weblog service tied to your Google Account. Integrate other Google tools like Picasa image hosting, use forms made in Google Docs, share your Google Calendar or Google Books Library, and update your Google Reader with different blog's posts.
• CampusCruiser - commercial course/learning management system with integrated communications such as email, news, forums, chat, and mobile alert functions.
• Google Docs - Google-provided office suite tied to your Google Account. Create, share, and collaborate rich-text documents, presentations, spreadsheets and more. Download created files in most open and proprietary formats. Upload "any file" (with size restrictions) and share it for free. Only the owner of the file must have a Google Account, collaborators and downloaders may be anonymous.
• Streaming Media - Fresno Pacific University has a streaming server that the Center for Online Learning uses to host files for the faculty and staff teaching courses on campus and online. Often we convert videos from VHS and DVD formats to do so.
• Mindomo - Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization,problem solving, decision making, and writing. Mindomo is an online mind map application where users can create, view and share a number of mind maps in their browser.
• Moodle - Open Source course/learning management system designed to create online courses with a focus on interaction and collaborative construction of content. Extended through "modules" that allow you to do almost anything you can imagine. Similar to Blackboard.
• Ning - Create-your-own social network. Commercial. Educators may have an option for a free 150 member network, but that hasn't been finalized yet.
• Prezi - web-based presentation application and storytelling tool that uses a single canvas instead of traditional slides.
• Stickam - free service to host and embed video files and live videos - chat live with up to 12 people at a time.
• TaskStream - commercial learning management system with similarities to Moodle and Blackboard.

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iPhone, iPad, iPod Tools
We currently have no iPhone, iPad, or iPod tools listed. Please check back later, thank you.

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Win/Mac Tools

• Dropbox - Cloud storage of your files means that you can access them from any computing device that has internet access. Dropbox is a free or paid utility that gives you the ability to sync files directly from the file browser.
• Open Source Applications

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Windows Tools

• Notepad++ - Open source text and source code editor that supports syntax highlighting (and folding) for 48 programming languages, including web-programming languages such as JavaScript, PHP, ASP, and HTML. Vim and Komodo Edit are other Open Source programming text editors that run also on MacIntosh and Linux.
• Raptivity - commercial tool for schools to develop learning tools and games to use and embed in online courses.

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Mac Tools
We currently have no Mac-only tools, check also the Win & Mac Tools section.

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Linux Tools
We'd also list Linux-only tools, but the list would be much too long simply from the tools you can download for Ubuntu using the Software Manager!

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