Distance Learning Technology

黑板和远程学习技术
 

这些年来，机关工作者们用了许多的技巧、方法来努力减少他们的教学工作量。是不是所有的事情都能在不牺牲质量指导下都能完成从而减少教学工作量？是的，那就是网络。

最终像WebCT系统和黑板系统这些应用系统极力创造理想的软件来支持远程教育的应用，这些产品为你提供一位教育者——拥有及传统课堂展示与虚拟能力集一身同时还能拓展你的学校穿过街对面，甚至全世界。他们的创造和发展使得你工作起来更容易，是时候按照你自己的意愿来统治技术让他为你服务了，而不是成为他的奴隶。

一个先决的学习环境将会提供给你一个框架和一套工具，然而，他们不会比放在文件柜里的演讲稿更方便你的教学和学生们的学习。

你应该让科技为你服务，而不是其他的方法。开始的地方很可能是你们全部通过在线应用学习的。广告承诺了什么？其他的教育者或者用户应该对它说什么？想象一下，如果你能够让你的学生一次性15-30分钟不分散注意力，你想让他们学习什么？学习技术你便将成为他的主宰。
 

Blackboard and Distance Learning Technology 

 

Over the years there have been numerous tips, tricks and gimmicks educators have used in an effort to reduce their teaching load. Is there anything that can be done to lessen the scholastic load without sacrificing quality instruction? Yes there is, it's the Internet. 

 

Finally applications such as WebCT ™ and Blackboard™ have merged to create the ideal software support application for distance education. These products provide you - the educator - with the ability to seamlessly integrate your traditional classroom presentation with the virtual capability and extend your scholastic "reach" across the street, or around the world! They were developed or created to make your job easier. It's time you took hold of the reigns and bend technology to your will, rather than be a slave to it! 

 

An e-Learning environment will provide a framework and a set of tools, however, by themselves they are not more likely to facilitate your teaching and the students' learning than the filing cabinet in which you keep your lecture notes. 

 

You can and should make technology work for you - not the other way around. A place to start might be by learning all you can about these online applications, what do the ads promise? What do other educators or like users have to say about it? Imagine, if you could get your students undivided attention for 15 - 30 minutes at a time, what would you want them to learn? Learn the technology and you will become its master. #p#分页标题#e#

 

Overcoming Traditionalists 
 

One common concern I hear from fellow educators is "if I use this online stuff, students will stop showing up for class." At the college level, the struggle for consistent class attendance has always been a struggle. Online presentations can actually "pull" students back in the classroom if they're effective. 

 

Students need a good reason to use an e-Learning environment so if use is optional and there is not real added value then the most you will attract will be a few early-adopters and even they won't hang around too long 

 

Consider this technique; announce to your class that your lecture notes or presentation will be available on Blackboard™ for the upcoming class. Let them know that the lecture notes will aid them in studying and preparing for quizzes, tests or examinations. Now look through your lecture notes and highlight key terms that you want your students to remember and key phrases or ideas that you want them to recognize and understand. Save this copy of your lecture notes in a document file. Now reopen the file and everywhere you previously identified key points or significant information, delete those terms, words and/or phrases. Now upload that to Blackboard™ or whatever scholastic product you're using. 

 

Remember too that a professor whose dominant teaching style is teacher-centered may include assignments or course materials which are more student centered. Even a "purely didactic" approach can be more appealing with interactivity, feedback, and perhaps discussion added 

 

In order for your lecture notes to be complete and in some cases to make any sense to the students, they will need to attend the lecture and fill in the blanks with the missing information. 

Some would argue that such a tactic is too simplistic to work, and perhaps given the dynamics of your students, it may be. In that case, you may wish to support your lecture notes with essay questions focused at the material discussed during the lecture. This can also be accomplished online. 

 

Bending technology to your will also suggests you seize the assets made available by major textbook publishers and some textbook authors. Many have test generators that extract information from the text and create ready-made quizzes or examinations on selected chapters. Typically, these exams are exportable to Blackboard™, WebCT™, etc. Some authors and or publishers support Companion websites to the textbook which elaborate on chapters, host video or audio clips relevant to the material or support readymade chapter tests and quizzes online. One advantage is that online tests can be scored automatically and with initial results instantly posted for student review. Further, quizzes and exams are modifiable and can generate specific instructor authored responses for correct or incorrectly answered questions for the student upon selecting an answer. #p#分页标题#e#

 

Rather than use valuable class time for routine activities such as writing short essay answers to questions or even conducting open book exams, all this can be done accurately, securely and with a high retention of quality online. Because you control the technology, you can have the test "timed" to limit the students' access to the test and simulate the same (or similar) time constraints they might face in a traditional setting as well as randomize the questions to reduce collaboration between students. This would tacitly force the student to engage with the course material and lessen the likelihood of compromise. Students who are inherently poor performers may show an improvement in their academic performance when given the tools, training and control to interact with the material at their own pace. 

 

Of course not every class or course is suitable for 100% migration to online, but most courses have aspects that could be adapted to the online delivery. 

 

Well - for those who have been able to follow my logic or rationale, I believe you'll agree that one way to lighten your academic load focuses on allowing technology and in this case, applications to work for you...instead of the other way around! 
 

Bibliography 
 

"Teacher-Centered Styles" Teach Online [cited February 24, 2007] http://teachvu.vu.msu.edu/public/designers/teaching_and_learning/index.php?page_num=5 
 

"Blackboard and WebCT, Better Together" Blackboard [cited February 24, 2007] http://www.webct.com/ 
 

"Pedagogy" Eleearning@Bath [cited February 24, 2007]