With so many methods and tools that could be used for distance education it is important to know what will work and what won't work. Seeking feedback from students is vital in this situation, but also challenging. After a year of taking distance education classes online, I must say that I am impressed at the willingness of the instructors to seek feedback from students. The instructors here at USU, seem to be very interested in what students have to say about classes, and are willing to make changes and adjustments as student needs direct them to. I have felt that the online evaluations have been an effective tool for gathering feedback. Since these are anonymous, students should feel comfortable to speak their minds about courses. USU's methods of obtaining feedback should serve as a model for the rest of us as we design or offer distance education courses. Up to this point, it has been very beneficial to see some of the concepts that we have learn, in live situations.
Developing an effective distance education course takes time, testing, experimentation, and above all feedback from those who use the course content and features.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Google Sites
I am amazed at the many tools that Google has created in the past few years. Many of these tools are useful, easy to use, and very innovative. One of these tools would be Google Sites. Google Sites is a simple and easy way for an individual to create a website without having to know HTML.
I think there are a number of uses for Google Sites in any industry. My wife and I are part of a group of citizens in our county who are trying to promote the idea of having an aquatic center to replace our existing run-down pool. To do our part, we decided that we would create a Blog about the proposed center. Since I am busy this summer going to school, my wife took the lead on this project and ended up creating a decent blog. However, in the process of doing so, she become frustrated with the lack of control that she had while using Blogger. She was limited to where she could place text and graphics. After all was said and done, she was able to create a nice blog, but I realized that Google Sites may have been the tool to use for this situation. Google site may have given her more flexibility in creating the layout that she wanted.
I think this is the beauty of these Google tools. There seems to be a tool that will work in most situations. I see these tools as being very useful to students and teachers in and out of the classroom. I would just how many of our students are aware of what these tools provide and what they can create using them.
I think there are a number of uses for Google Sites in any industry. My wife and I are part of a group of citizens in our county who are trying to promote the idea of having an aquatic center to replace our existing run-down pool. To do our part, we decided that we would create a Blog about the proposed center. Since I am busy this summer going to school, my wife took the lead on this project and ended up creating a decent blog. However, in the process of doing so, she become frustrated with the lack of control that she had while using Blogger. She was limited to where she could place text and graphics. After all was said and done, she was able to create a nice blog, but I realized that Google Sites may have been the tool to use for this situation. Google site may have given her more flexibility in creating the layout that she wanted.
I think this is the beauty of these Google tools. There seems to be a tool that will work in most situations. I see these tools as being very useful to students and teachers in and out of the classroom. I would just how many of our students are aware of what these tools provide and what they can create using them.
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