My first lesson as an on line teacher

To be honest my first time went pretty well. I could manage to do everything what I planned and I could interact quite smoothly with the people who were in Nivala. In Haapajärvi the mics didn´t work, they could hear me but I couldn´t hear them.They were anyway using the chat (which is also good tool).We reviewed verbs with the help of the music and some videos. I used Prezi but not the dynamic way (AnyMeeting won´t allowed me): share the screen will make the system too slow. I used normal word documents and shared the screen.
I used some polls too. 3 people on 15 said that it was difficult. 12 said it was fun.
Let´s keep this on positive way. Receiving good feedback is stimulating to continue and do better. I knew the students before hand. All of them studied italian with me from the past 3-5 years and their level it´s different. However I think that this new contest made them quite egual: all of them were experience the online learning. The course was longer than usual: 3 hours. Technologies take time. I tried to cover different kind of learners and I hope the learning went through.

My blended course starts next week: thoughts

Here we go again. Next week, little by little, all the courses will start. And with them challenging. I am full of enthusiasm and I am ready to begin. The real new adventure will be this on line Italian course: we will use "AnyMeeting" as platform. I don´t know the program but it´s cheaper than Adobe Connect. I though that I could use Google hangouts (as my colleague suggested) but I have at the moment over 16 students so it´s not the best solution.I spoke a lot in this blog about the e-learning and the advantages that e-learning can give to the students. However me and the principal we decided don´t take away the social part of the learning.The students will be in the same room and once in a month I am going to visit them. I will then understand the deeply meaning of evaluation: how to evaluate myself at first and how to evaluate the learning. It will be interesting.
I will try to use all the tools what I learnt from my path in OAMK but I am also looking forward the feedback from the students at the end and during the course.
How evaluation in e-learning can be done? by evaluation I don´t mean numbers, but I mean "how can I know that students are learning". And also: using the computer is going to be (for some of them) distracting from learning the language? with Adobe Connect at the beginning I had the feeling that I was learning something new and not related strictly with my field of work (education). At the end I realized that I can use the IT competences also in my classes. Not only books, teachers material form teacher guide.  I started to use programs as Prezi and Popplet also during my classes. Why not try on line course?
My work situation is changing so I have to change according with it. This is only the first step.

this picture is from:
http://virtualschooling.wordpress.com/2010/02/21/webinar-recording-blended-learning-make-it-work-for-your-district/

My adventure on e-learning starts next fall

I was surprised when my boss said YES on my idea on teaching Italian through computer. First time that I am going to teach without being actually in class but sitting at my place. I have long summer in front of me: I have to prepare the material and start to see the limits and the possibilities of on line learning. In order to do that I applied to Cursera to one course that teach how to implement an on-line course. It will last 5-7 weeks and it's going to be very intresting hopefully. Stay tuned cause I will write about this in the blog.

Sharing some thoughts after winter holidays

This evening I had opportunity to watch a video by Daphne Koller, co founder of Cursera about the potential of e-learning and what we're learning from online education. The video was really inspiring so I went to look what courses they have to offer and it seems that I found a couple of them which interested me.
Lately I have been thinking quite much at the potential of the e-learning and how I could use my skills in that field of education: the reality is that there is not a school ib Oulu area ready to take me on board. I have to make a move and start to dance according to the music. Nowadays is not the world what they were teaching me at school and that's the problem of my country. We should start to look around us and go to looking for opportunities. I won't have perhaps ever a permanent job from 8-16 5 days a week so I have to organize myself with the plan B. I have the biggest motivation sleeping in the next room and I will never let him down. I will provide for him opportunities to have an education, possibilities and choices. Those that I never had.
The potential of e-learning is extremely wide: is quite democratic cause everybody could access to the courses, it supports collaborative learning and last but not the least give a chance to re-invent your entire career if it is necessary. I find this last aspect very positive: I define myself as a person that could always change like a chameleon and give me the possibilities to become someone else (in potential) is like giving to an hungry animal food.
Here is the link to the speech:
Ted Daphne Koller What we are learning from online education

All the teaching at the vocational education level can and should have a measurable outcomes?

This picture is from:
http://www.uri.edu/quadangles/issue/may-2008/roadmap-for-academic-success/

All the teaching at the vocational education level can and should have a measurable outcomes? 
In Internet there are many publications and documents in support of pro position. Learning outcomes have their advantantages and they are used by many governments in many countries.
While reflecting during the last few weeks about the statement at the beginning and wondering - why I have joined the cons position? - I came up with a small research about learning outcomes: limits and advantages. 
I think that learning outcomes seems to be the ONLY method for  defining expectation of learning: the reality is that learning outcomes are defined by Governments on the basement of what a learner should achieved. Learning outcomes also responde to the needs of certain stakeholder in a specific area of their working place. Learning outcomes alone cannot fully capture the qualities of learner´s and we cannot be sure that the learning process delivered trought programmes achieved the goals. (cause so many things we should take into account). In add of that we should remember that some learning outcomes cannot be measurable.To implement an effective strategy for the learning outcomes it takes time and not all the countries are ready to do in all level. The individuality of learning is also one issue that too often learning outcomes methods they don´t consider.
In add I would also argue that:

- the learning in higher education cannot be constricted and reduced to a series of learning outcomes that inhibit and prescribe the learning process.

- The implementation of learning outcomes involves a huge staff development process as well as cost in term of time and money.

- written learning outcomes limits the creativity and they can be written too general or too specific.
 - There no one single way to describe a programme: if it would be possible this will inevitably leads to a narrow view on the results of the programme. 

and other questions: 
are the learning outcomes killing the creativity? what Maria Montessori would say about it? 
is it real that  simple: learning outcomes, activities and assessment?  
Here there are some links in support of the cons positions:
http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/doc/eqf/note4_en.pdf 
  "Shift for Learning Outcomes" Policies and practising in Europe, Cedefop Reference series; 72
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2009, retrieved on
 http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/Files/3054_en.pdf

Killen, R. (2000). Outcomes-based education: Principles and possibilities.
Unpublished manuscript, University of Newcastle, Faculty of Education (Australia) http://drjj.uitm.edu.my/DRJJ/CONFERENCE/UPSI/OBEKillen.pdf

http://www.eair.nl/forum/vilnius/pdf/561.pdf

My core plan for the teaching training

Here is the link to my core plan.
The core plan is still working in progress since some sections needs still to be covered. Here you are the link, please be free to leave a comment there.
Sandra´s core plan for the teaching training

Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL)’ and the use of Virtual Learning Environments suggest that learning at the vocational education level can take place completely on-line

The evidences supported by the planet Earth in the EduSci presentation on 12.12.12  (you can find them here https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qUIXxB2VMAaFUnljLQ-J3WthN9YTgehO25U4lnCsTTc/edit#slide=id.p) about CSCL and Virtual Learning suggests that actually the learning can take place completely online. We have to be careful on the word "completely": Can we really teach some disciplines completely online? Yes we can. But we will need also some practice. That´s why we have a training period, which helps us to apply the theories.

Social aspects of learning online: and here we have to consider the meaning of two different words: cooperation and collaboration. Cooperation is when individuals are developing a single sub task and then put together the work. So as partners they don´t learn how to negotiate for instance. Collaborative learning in CSCL means that in order to design technology and build knowledge we learn how to negotiate, share things, sources and we synchronize the activities. 

Technology is different than online experience. Even using a pen is a form of technology. Nowadays there is no job without technologies. I see the good side on internet technologies: the use of Skype lets the students for instance work with students on the other side of the world. We also have to consider the global rising of the population: soon we won´t have any more financial resources to give to everybody frontal education and we have to reach the people on line.
Another statement that we debated was: All teaching at the vocational education level can and should have measurable outcomes.
I was not involved in the presentation but I had to choose a side.
First question: what makes a good measure and what is a bad measure?
Second question: How would for instance creativity be measured?

Third question: How the measure effect learning?

There are some facts that in a way measure teaching: for instance when pupils are looking forward to attend the teacher´s class, when the classroom is a place where learning happens through engagement with the subject being taught. Learning is seen as a collaborative effort - the teacher does not see him/herself as the "Giver of all knowledge". Also teacher engages in regular professional development - shown by the journals read, seminars attended and teacher regularly takes learning's outside the classroom. (do you mean he teaches outside…) When employed (used) carefully and thoughtfully student’s outcomes may contribute to evaluation of teaching. But learning outcomes are influenced by a complex interplay of factors particular to an institution, teaching context and student’s disposition. Learning is dynamic and constantly changing. Measurement of these outcomes must employ a variety of methods, both short and long term. In addition, the judgment of teaching should be conducted within a process of overall program evaluation that examines many dimensions affecting student learning outcomes.

Picture from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563202000572

References: 

• Gerry Stahl, Timothy Koschmann, Dan Suthers Computer-supported collaborative learning:  An historical perspective retrieved on http://gerrystahl.net/cscl/CSCL_English.pdf
• Centre for research on networked learning and knowledge building http://www.helsinki.fi/science/networkedlearning/eng/
• International Journal of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning http://ijcscl.org/?go=contents&article=77#article
• Pál, Pentelènyi Virtual Learning Enviroment Training Material retrieved on: https://docs.google.com/open?id=1e7a9ra4aSwxjSPx5glkgHVjXyVqg_fusrVRHIpdrhWJ5GVEkdGJ8JBDiqJaq
• Tara J. Fenwich, Using students outcomes to evaluate Teaching: A Cautious Exploration, 4 feb 2002 retrieved on  http://edweb.sdsu.edu/bober/montgomery/Article003.pdf

Assessment or not assessment: this is the question

Picture from Black Hills State University
retrieved on: http://www.bhsu.edu/FacultyStaff/AcademicServices/Assessment/tabid/6923/Default.aspx

Virtual Session 3 is approaching. Our theme this time is: HOW DO YOU ASSESS LEARNING and my team and I were wondering (before getting some clues from our tutor) would it be a good idea to speak about ASSESSMENT IN 21ST CENTURY?
In time like this learning is already different than before: we have so much information to select that it´s not always easy decide, what to use and most of all how to evaluate students.
The retorical questions: When, why and how we evaluate are the main issues nowadays and has been for the last 10 years. We have to consider so many things that effect our evaluation. In addition to that we have also to consider that there are still teachers who evaluate in the old way and with old tools: it´s not easy to change mentality of those from"old school".
When we speak about learning in 21st century we should consider tree important factors: virtual community, complex materials and new technologies. Without them we probably cannot speak about e-learning.
Inside e-learning I see a lot of collaborative learning. So when we evaluate we probably want to evaluate also the quality of individual learning of the participants, the interaction they have between different channels, and the contents of the course (actually built by the participants).
How do we evaluate the e-learning? In my opinion we can evaluate the products (things such as for instance a translation, a solution for a problem) the process (the students acutally don´t produce anything, but they are able to put in act process).
I really hope that in our VS3 people are going to ask themselves this same question (How to assess learning in 21st century) and try to find with Martian answers. I look forward to hearing from them.