Comments on: LTGR Ep. #46 - “What We’re Learning” http://www.ltgreenroom.org/episodes/60 The LT Green Room is a podcast for Renewal, Retooling and Conversations about Learning. It is co-hosted by Susan Manning and Dan Balzer and its show topics are often drawn from members of LearningTimes.org, a free online community of education and training professionals from across the globe. The LT Green Room gives listeners (and ourselves) an opportunity to reflect on what they're doing behind the scene that results in an effective learning experience. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:50:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.4 by: Dorothy Goldsborough http://www.ltgreenroom.org/episodes/60#comment-38520 Sun, 06 Jul 2008 19:29:24 +0000 http://www.ltgreenroom.org/episodes/60#comment-38520 I have just condensed a 15-week deviancy course into six weeks. It has been "hellish" as many of the students have had difficulty accessing the Sakai program and have sent assignments to me through other email addresses, including my general university address. I have spent many hours trying to assemble all assignments in to the course online. Also, since the accreditation process for the "live" classes is the same for the online courses, how do we evaluate (excepting through quizzes and exams) whether the students have learned as much in online as those sitting in a 15-week class? I have just condensed a 15-week deviancy course into six weeks. It has been “hellish” as many of the students have had difficulty accessing the Sakai program and have sent assignments to me through other email addresses, including my general university address. I have spent many hours trying to assemble all assignments in to the course online.

Also, since the accreditation process for the “live” classes is the same for the online courses, how do we evaluate (excepting through quizzes and exams) whether the students have learned as much in online as those sitting in a 15-week class?

]]> by: Susan Manning http://www.ltgreenroom.org/episodes/60#comment-38060 Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:29:20 +0000 http://www.ltgreenroom.org/episodes/60#comment-38060 Wonderful thoughts, Alan! You always extend our conversations so well :-) The cycling metaphor has some very practical considerations, too. I recently introduced a simple course map into one of the courses - a graphic about how the various modules fit together and what would be the ultimate project at the end of the course. A preview of the next turn and the ascent uphill! I have noticed a decrease in confusion about where we're headed. Students seem to have a better understanding of how their weekly assignments are going to fit together. As for old/new models of learning, this will be interesting to watch over time. As more students complete degrees and certificates online, what level of brand loyalty will they have? Will they return to the same institutions for continued education? Susan Wonderful thoughts, Alan! You always extend our conversations so well :-)

The cycling metaphor has some very practical considerations, too. I recently introduced a simple course map into one of the courses - a graphic about how the various modules fit together and what would be the ultimate project at the end of the course. A preview of the next turn and the ascent uphill! I have noticed a decrease in confusion about where we’re headed. Students seem to have a better understanding of how their weekly assignments are going to fit together.

As for old/new models of learning, this will be interesting to watch over time. As more students complete degrees and certificates online, what level of brand loyalty will they have? Will they return to the same institutions for continued education?

Susan

]]> by: Alan Selig http://www.ltgreenroom.org/episodes/60#comment-37783 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:03:41 +0000 http://www.ltgreenroom.org/episodes/60#comment-37783 An audio reply from Alan Selig:<BR><BR><iframe scroll=no width=124 height=29 frameborder=0 scrolling=no src="http://PlayAudioMessage.com/play.asp?m=513330&f=GXYJSN&ps=14&c=FFFFFF&pm=2&h=29"></iframe> My initial reflection as I was listening to this episode is that we really are continuing to move into a new understanding of learning that challenges old methodologies and patterns. Susan's comment about "learning takes time" is an example. In the old metaphor learning was made up of discreet blocks (courses) that supported one another but were largely independent of one another. In that model shortening the time to create a block is akin to ignoring the "curing time" a brick needs to achieve sufficient hardness. But newer metaphors see learning in a different way. A course is not discreet (as evidenced by both your comments about the need to understand learning that is measured 2-3 years after a particular class or training session is over. In this newer understanding perhaps a course can be viewed as a branch being grafted onto a tree. There is a need to determine a suitable site for the graft, to prepare that site and aftercare to ensure that the graft succeeds (or at least increase the likelihood of success). The actual grafting is a relatively brief time event. So an 8-week online course can be successful if it isn't intended to be an old building block case in a new medium. Instead, if the learning contract is understood to be life-long, if there is an ongoing relationship or series of activities, within which the course is one subset, then any length of time may be appropriate (one-hour training session, one-week workshop, four or eight or sixteen week course). It will depend on how the course is conceived within the larger learning goals. Alan Selig An audio reply from Alan Selig:

My initial reflection as I was listening to this episode is that we really are continuing to move into a new understanding of learning that challenges old methodologies and patterns. Susan’s comment about “learning takes time” is an example. In the old metaphor learning was made up of discreet blocks (courses) that supported one another but were largely independent of one another. In that model shortening the time to create a block is akin to ignoring the “curing time” a brick needs to achieve sufficient hardness.

But newer metaphors see learning in a different way. A course is not discreet (as evidenced by both your comments about the need to understand learning that is measured 2-3 years after a particular class or training session is over. In this newer understanding perhaps a course can be viewed as a branch being grafted onto a tree. There is a need to determine a suitable site for the graft, to prepare that site and aftercare to ensure that the graft succeeds (or at least increase the likelihood of success). The actual grafting is a relatively brief time event.

So an 8-week online course can be successful if it isn’t intended to be an old building block case in a new medium. Instead, if the learning contract is understood to be life-long, if there is an ongoing relationship or series of activities, within which the course is one subset, then any length of time may be appropriate (one-hour training session, one-week workshop, four or eight or sixteen week course). It will depend on how the course is conceived within the larger learning goals.

Alan Selig

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