Allison Bingham's Edublog

Whew – A busy week this was. Two activities summed up the week:  BLOGS and INTERACTIVE ASSESSMENT INVENTORIES.  We dove into the world of Blogging and its applications as an online assessment tool (called Edublogging). For more about this, see my “About Allison’s Edublog Page” on this blog site.  Our crown jewel this week was to actually create a blog and start to use it, and, discuss its advantages and disadvantages with other classmates. I selected the software, Edublog, for use. You are experiencing it now! The discussions were great as many people already have both personal and classroom experience with blogs – I am still sorting through the discussions to capture all the great advice!

ADVANTAGES

I am a real newbie to blogs. I’ve followed a few blogs at times, primarily in the financial sector, however, generally speaking this is not a service that I have found the time or use for, or that is required as part of my current job.  This really started as a Gen X and now Millenial generation technology.  And, new to us Baby Boomers. The article by Lee and Allen (Lee J and Allen K. Edublogs as an online assessment tool. In Current Developments in Technology-Assisted Education, pp. 391-395, 2006). provides an excellent rationale and argument for its potential. They state:

• Blogs open the assessment process to an infinite number of people who may express interest in the subject thus expanding the learning process.
• Blogs also allow for assessment and correspondence on a continual real-time basis, which is to often a feature of traditional instruction methods.
• Blogs are not bound to time, class structures, or the physical limits of a classroom.
• Blogs could be an effective tool for educational use particularly when students are separated by time and place between classes. The learning and assessment process can be supported outside of the classroom.

After reflecting on several other readings in the course, I do see a promising role of the use of weblogs in online learning, and, particularly as a way to actively engage students in their own learning process. The blog can also be a way to establish good working relationships, and, solidify group cohesiveness that may be needed with certain learning activities. This is particularly important in settings where time zones or even students who speak different languages frame the learning environment.

CHALLENGES

I also see several challenges in its use.  First, there may be a big learning curve for students in order to learning blog software, and, time limitations in the creation of, and maintenance of a blog, especially for busy professionals. I am personally experiencing this.

Time management. In the Case Study, Benefits of Cooperative Learning in Weblog Networks by Wang, J. & Fang, Y. (2005), the issue of time management came up.  This raises the question of the appropriate use of this method with large class sizes and blog reviews.  This could also be very challenging and too time intensive for busy professionals in a workplace based e-learning setting, or in contexts where varying language capabilities exist. Certainly an option would be the use of the weblog in the context of small group work, where engagement is intensive but with a smaller number of students/learners who work together and follow each other’s work over a period of time.

Privacy when posting on the worldwide web. The public visibility of blogs and use of Edublogs as an alternative assessment tool could be tricky.   when the classroom may consist of established professionals who are also engaged in a professional educational context.  The blog as a reflective tool, and posted publicly, even if for educational purposes, may be viewed very cautiously where professionals may want to keep their portfolios private, or even “student status” private for whatever reasons. With public postings, I do wonder to what extent this may affect what students are likely to write and or share. (the Public face).

As the course continues, I will gain more first hand experience on using a BLOG a part of an educational experience.  This will be a key focus of subsequent posts.

Other takeaways:

The Interactive Assessment Inventory Tool is a very promising alternative assessment (and packaging of information) tool.  I really enjoyed it.  See my posting for a more detailed discussion of my experience with this tool.

Allison in snowy Roslyn, WA

The exercise: Students were exposed to an online assessment inventory that is an assessment example of a reusable learning object survey.

Source: Assessment:  Teacher-centered or Learner Centered? An Interactive Assessment Inventory (https://uwstout.courses.wisconsin.edu/d2l/orgTools/ouHome/ouHome.asp?ou=1127419)

Reflection: This is a very interesting way of presenting information and then using it visually on the screen.  I really like this way of interacting a bit with new information.  May be very appropriate  for people who may be more visual learners – or who may have challenges with the English language (or language in which the course is being taught in).  Feels alot like some of the visual participatory learning approaches we’ve used in group settings – where you can move things around a bit.   * I was surprised that the “assessment is a way of monitoring learning” was in the teacher -driven model. I tried to put in thelearner centered approach. I am a bit confused here.  ** It would also be helpful to understand better how the “backward design approach” to education plays in with a learner-centered approach where the goals and evidence are defined in advance. In a more student -driven process though, I am not sure how this takes place.

The exercise:

Introduce yourself and ask a couple of questions about the person. Then share their responses with the rest of us in the discussion area.

Reading: (Using Think-Pair-Share in the College Classroom)

Reflection: Technique works best when partners have an interactive experience, that is, building in several question -response – prompt to allow for follow-up as done in a conventional interview. Asynchronous or synchronous communication can work. In the latter,  Live mail, skype texting or some type of real time interactive e-based format might work well.

The exercise:  – Allison’s Interview

*  Why have you chosen this course, this university and/or this program?

A-    I enrolled in the Online Teaching Certification program in order to gain the conceptual and practical skills and experience to develop online courses and training modules for professionals living all over the world who work in the area of global public health.       I work as a research scientist in a non-profit organization aimed at improving health care in low resource settings globally (developing countries). Part of my job is to train others in using research in designing, implementing and evaluating health programs. I provide technical assistance to project teams conducting research and developing health programs all over the world.  I would like to leverage my expertise by going virtual.

* Tell me about your background, experiences, and/or skills.

A- I am currently employed with  PATH, (for 10 years) an international nonprofit health organization.  I work at our main headquarters in Seattle, Washington. I am a program officer in our Reproductive Health Global Program.  I work on a team that is conducting clinical trials on a promising malaria vaccine and also provide research support to our HPV vaccine team, working hard to show that this vaccine can be introduced successfully in four poor countries. I also work with a team that is providing design specifications to industry engineers in order develop “lab tests on a card” – aimed at bringing sophisticated diagnostic tests that are affordable to the poorest of the poor. My training is in applied medical anthropology, and, at PATH I am a researcher, trainer, program developer, and evaluator. My special focus is on community-based research, and research to develop health education materials, behavior change and communication impact evaluation, and health interventions. I also train others in program-related research.  I speak and write Spanish and speak a bit of Swahili. Been working in this field for about 25 years.

* What do you expect from this course?

A -  I hope to become exposed to the different forms of assessing learners, understand the conceptual underpinnings of different approaches to assessment, types of learners that most benefit, and different methods and formats/media for conducting the assessments. I also want to learn how to better tie assessment to the learner, the learning objectives, and content.

* What is one thing we might never have guessed about you?

A – That I was an intercollegiate athlete and tri-athlete in my younger days! Perhaps too, that I love classical music.

* Who is that special someone, thing or event that you cherish and would never want to give up?

A – My dear family – and, my love of nature, the mountains, and serenity it brings to my life. The five senses that all work, enabling me to enjoy nature at it finest!