DistanceAndPersistenceDiscussion
From LiteracyTentWiki
Discussion on Distance and Persistence
From Marian Thacher, OTAN
I've been interested in using the Internet to support classroom activities, and to support learners to see the Internet as a way to get information about anything. Hearing about the research on learner persistence at the Meeting of the Minds conference in December, 2004, caused me to think about using various forms of virtual connection between teacher and learners to bridge those times when learners "stop out."
For example, I do a workshop for teachers on how to create a website for your class. It has been in the context of how to support classroom work, teach online skills, and provide information and publishing opportunities for learners. But what if the class website was seen as the way to keep in touch with your teacher and fellow students when you can't come to school because of job, illness, new baby, or whatever? What if we had policies that supported maintaining the connection? For example, what if programs could document attendance through student emails and online work, if the student had been previously enrolled? Just thinking here. Please add to these thoughts.
--Marian 12:50, 8 Jan 2005 (EST)
From Dennis Porter, California Distance Learning Project:
I have several thoughts regarding distance learning and learner persistence as well as a research reference. For me learner persistence and engagement are intertwined. Learner engagement makes distance learning a success. The engagement comes from the quality of the learning materials and the process that allows the learner to progress at his or her own pace (asynchronous learning) and usually from home. In California adult school distance learning, student progress is demonstrated by completing a unit of instruction and a test of the content. For accounting purposes these units of instruction are linked to similar hours of instruction in the classroom. The distance learning hours are not awarded for each unit until mastery is demonstrated, usually at a 75% - 85% success rate.
Marian’s example of extending classroom learning to include distributed learning is useful. When it is done at an onsite lab, the hours of attendance are easily recorded. However, as distance learning integrates more closely with classroom instruction, I would prefer that the awarded attendance for distance or distributed instruction be based on outcomes only (the completed units of instruction and demonstrated mastery). Agreement on the value of the units of instruction vis a vis hours in the classroom is necessary.
I advocate assigning learners to instruction based on individualized learning plans. This is an old and quite refined approach. For some learners it may start with the classroom and include distance learning. For others it is likely to begin with distance learning and gravitate to the classroom. Teacher and learner roles should be clearly defined. This is not to say that they will be clearly understood.
Current California data show over 50,000 unduplicated students participated in adult school distance learning in program year 2003 -2004. California Distance Learning Project (CDLP) research of adult school distance learning shows that ESL learners perform as better and in some cases far better than their classroom counterparts. The data, while significant and impressive, require more analysis and explanation. The research is found at http://www.cdlponline.org/fivepercent.htm.
Dennis Porter
California Distance Learning Project
WhosHere#Dennis Porter
From Melinda Thomsen, LaGuardia Community College: 4/27/05
I teach vocational ESL and started using an internet classroom about a year and a half ago for exactly this reason. Students qualify for our classes because they are low income and have children under the age of 18, so absences can be an issue. They take temporary jobs or miss classes when they or their children get ill. A year and a half ago I didn't see much evidence of the Internet classroom being helpful but I am now, as computers are getting a little cheaper and students have them at home.
Last year, two students that were ill for an extended period of time were able to finish the class because they logged into the internet classroom and I emailed them assignments. My current students are using the websites to practice grammar and listening on their own. Several come to school early and go to the study lab before class. They really enjoy the websites that we use and they are making more progress than if they didn't have that extra time. One student is pregnant and told me she's following the class at home and will return for the next session. Another reason why I have the Internet classroom is because sometimes I get sick or have to be away. Last year the students went on a "teacher-less" field trip to the Queens Museum. The next day they had computer lab and reported on their trip through a conferencing question I posed in the internet classroom. I was up in Vermont and able to monitor the conferencing at the same time and respond to their posts. I was pleased to see that the students were able to go on a field trip by themselves and no one was absent that day!
For me, it is a little bit of extra work in setting up the classroom. I use http://www.nicenet.org, which I find easy to administrate. The students need to sign in themselves and if they forget their password or sign-in name they have to do it again. Once the classrooms are set up and the links posted they function pretty well on their own. For the new classes, I set up a class using links from earlier courses and keep the classroom active for a year after the students finish.
If the purpose is to keep the students connected to their course, it seems that the teacher can moderate the classroom by posting conferencing topics and answering emails. I don't know if it is necessary to have another person to oversee this part of the class. For me, it is woven into course itself. I really think it has helped in my level of student retention.
Melinda Thomsen
Vocational English Instructor
Center for Immigrant Education and Training
LaGuardia Community College
From Nancy McKeand, 4/28/05:
I haven't used Nicenet for this purpose, but I would like to second the fact that it is extremely easy to use - both for students and teachers. I have been using it for three years now. One thing that Melinda didn't mention is that Nicenet is free. That makes it perfect for my budget!
As Melinda says, it can be a problem when students forget their usernames and passwords, but I figure that is good training for them, too. We all have usernames and passwords to remember. I would rather they tried to learn to remember one for me than go through the experience of forgetting a password when it is job related.
I use Nicenet with all my ESL classes. It allows students to go online and verify what the homework was, to turn in homework, and to do a variety of other tasks. If you aren't familiar with Nicenet, please check it out at www.nicenet.org.
Nancy McKeand
ESL Instructor and Program Coordinator
St. Joseph Seminary College
St. Benedict, LA 70457
From Emily Hacker, 4/28/05:
I tried out Nicenet yesterday after reading Marian's message and also found it quite easy to use. It combines the ease of use of Filamentality (which is great for creating individual online lessons and is also free - [[1]] with the classroom architecture of Blackboard (which is no longer free). I was able to create a class site in under 5 minutes, following very clear instructions. Thanks Marian and Nancy for the recommendation.
Emily Hacker
Director, Learning Technologies & Web Resources
F.E.G.S
315 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10013
http://www.fegs.org
From M.E. Duclos
NiceNet sounds like a great tool to involve my online Adult Ed students in participating in an online discussion. Several have been reluctant to participate in chat rooms. But, a more organized class structure may encourage them to participate. I am looking forward to giving it a try.
M.E. Duclos
http://FATDEC.org
Tampa, Florida
June 9, 2005
From Caroline, Toronto, Ontario, CA
I am currently participating in the Summer Institute Technology and Literacy Conference in Montreal. David Rosen has just introduced us to this wiki. I am most interested in this Nicenet and other software or web environments that support creating and delivering distant learning. I am going on Maternity Leave for the first two sessions of the next school year. I would love to be able to continue to provide my level 3 students with my weekly Communication Management Techniques Course. Do you think this Nicenet would help me? And how time consuming is it to manage? I've wanted to move this course into an online environment for sometime, because I feel just by the nature of its curriculum it would best be taught online, anyway. So I'm up for experimenting now. For more information about my course try the OLC website we are featured in their online newsletter...March issue under Spotlight section...when I locate URL I will post link to PDF.
Caroline
Montreal,Quebec CA
June 27, 2005
