Taking a Closer Look at Performance Assessments

Questions for consideration Instructor’s Perspective: What are some of the benefits of developing, implementing, and scoring performance assessments? Instructor’s Perspective: What are some of the challenges an instructor or instructional designer might face when creating a performance assessment for an online environment? Learner’s Perspective: What are some of the benefits of performance assessments? Learner’s perspective: What are some of … Continue reading →

Collaborative Learning

  The book excerpt, “Promoting Collaborative Learning” by Paloff and Pratt (2007) presents many positives associated with group collaboration and learning.  Specifically, group collaboration “helps learners achieve a deeper level of knowledge generation while moving from independence to interdependence, thus strengthening the foundation of the online learning community” (p. 157).  Further, “students have the opportunity … Continue reading →

Has Assessment Evolved with Technology?

  What are the opportunities today’s technologies provide for assessment in the online environment? The advances in technology over the last five years alone provide instructors with an entirely different landscape of assessment opportunities within the online environment. For instance, social and/or (synchronous/asynchronous) communication technologies through mobile devices, texting, video and audio chat, blogs, and … Continue reading →

The Benefits and Drawbacks of Incorporating Games and Simulations

As with any activity in learning, the key is to ensure that it is not simply “activity for activity-sake.” Gaming and simulations are no different in this regard. There are a few possible situations likely to occur. Ideally, the instructors and/or designers of the online learning environment are experienced, have extensive skills in developing interactive, … Continue reading →

Online Learning Communities

How do online learning communities significantly impact both student learning and satisfaction within online courses? According to Dr. Palloff and Dr. Pratt an online learning community is “a community of students and faculty who explore content together to construct meaning and knowledge about that content” (Laureate Education, Inc. (n.d.) ). Further learning both learning and … Continue reading →

Deciding Upon Priorities: An ID Perspective

How does the role you assume influence your thinking and priorities at the beginning of an ID project? Although the role of the ID has a great deal in common with the role of PM, both utilize a “systematic approach…engage in careful planning and focus on consistency as a means to deliver quality. Both try … Continue reading →

Interviews re Perceptions of Online Learning

I have to admit, at first I did not take this interview/question assignment very seriously. Once I had the results, however, I understand why the assignment was important. I managed to get responses from four different people and since they were not very long-winded in their responses, I am providing them for you to see … Continue reading →

Evaluating Distance Learning Experiences

    Example 2: A foreign language course that is intended to promote learners’ spoken and written fluency of the language.   I admit I selected this example because of the three it had the best possibility of success in a strictly distance learning environment. The other two examples could be successful in a blended/hybrid … Continue reading →

Converting to a Blended Learning Environment

Consider the following scenario: A training manager has been frustrated with the quality of communication among trainees in his face-to-face training sessions and wants to try something new. With his supervisor’s permission, the trainer plans to convert all current training modules to a blended learning format, which would provide trainees and trainers the opportunity to … Continue reading →

Learning Theories and Distance Learning

A theory is a “systematically organized body of knowledge applicable in a relatively wide variety of circumstances, especially a system of assumptions, accepted principles, and rules of procedure devised to ANALYZE, PREDICT, OR OTHERWISE EXPLAIN the nature or behavior of a specified set of phenomena” (“Theory,” 2002, p. 1) (emphasis added). “Theory is a coherent … Continue reading →