I think the idea of a web based class based on the Keller plan plus the application project is a great idea! I am one of the kinds of people who would benefit greatly from asynchronous courses. I know from the classes that I teach that the chunks of information followed by the assessment and feedback make a big difference in what the students master. One of my classmates has a class web page set up with Moodle that is a great outline for this kind of class. It's like a pacing guide for the students (so it does have that kind of time element in it). But she could easily build in the other pieces to make it more of a self guided and self paced class.
After I looked at her class web page and before I read the materials for this week I was already thinking of how to use that for the students I teach. They come to me with skills all over the place. I struggle with how to move them all along the same path without outpacing some and boring others to tears. If I had a self paced plan - I could have an extra cool and different lesson(s) - iMovie or Garage Band - for the students as they demonstrate mastery of the lessons.
I think that the technology described in the Davis article is all very timely to support a modern, online version of the Keller Plan as a teaching tool. I believe UMR is making a great effort at putting together a course in this fashion with alterations for overcoming any challenges (like the team project that helps the students apply their lessons).
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I don't know much about Moodle, but I've always been intrigued. Is it very different from Blackboard? I've taken a few classes either solely through Bb or with Bb as a supplement to the in person class... and it is starting to feel very 1.0 compared to the variety of tools out there now. I'd like to think that there's a product out there that can foster individual instruction and group collaboration.
ReplyDeleteIn reponse to "mvonisenburg":
ReplyDeleteBlackboard and Moodle seem very similar in their structure to me. I find Moodle to be a little more "user friendly" and less confusing. I think the key to online course design is to integrate many aspects of the traditional classroom setting as possible -- lecture, discussion, projects, etc.
I would love to see all of our reading assignments Podcasted one day -- I could do homework while commuting!!