Graduate Student Project

Below is the link to an online learning module for a first year writing course designed by a team of students in ENG 6390, a graduate course in online learning. I thought this team did an excellent job, so much so that I wanted to share their work with others. This link is to the website students in ENG 102 would see. The team also submitted extensive documentation that included SLOs, criterion for success, means of assessment, and an essay that explained the theoretical underpinning of the module. Congratulations on a job well-done, Matt Nolan, Robert Longoria, and Rosa Perez.

ENG 102: Service-Learning & Literacy

Digital Writing Studios

Interesting article on Kairos about Florida State's Digital Studio and the Handbook designed to train tutors to work in that environment.

http://praxis.technorhetoric.net/tiki-index.php?page=PraxisWiki%3A_%3AProcedures_Projects_Programs#Digital_Studio_Tutor_Handbook_as_Training_and_Recruiting_Tool

MOOCS for Freshman Year?

I don't know whether to be impressed for flabbergasted. As this article from Inside Higher Education tells us, Arizona State will start offering the entire Freshman year through MOOCS.

MOOCs seem to be a pretty good medium for certification and professionalization classes. I'm taking a MOOC on gamification myself right now. Given the low completion rates of MOOCs, I'm not sure about a full academic years worth of work, particularly for Freshman. We'll see. 


https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/04/22/arizona-state-edx-team-offer-freshman-year-online-through-moocs

Looks like Arizona State still has to get their MOOCs for credit past the accreditation process. Sounds like I'm not the only one wondering about this.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/04/24/arizona-state-u-moocs-credit-program-faces-unanswered-accreditation-questions

Arizona State is moving fast. Just got this advertisement in my e-mail.

https://www.edx.org/gfa?utm_source=edX+Course+Announcements+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=f7f4fe142b-Student_Newsletter_April_23_ASU_IA&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_237694b56d-f7f4fe142b-81628597

Reading Notes: Gee--Learning Models

In Chapter Six, “Cultural Models,” Gee writes about the difference between the cultural models of learning most of us carry with us, and how those models differ from learning models in video games. The following passage haunted me for several days: 

“If the player [of the game Metal Gear] is inclined to move as straightforwardly and efficiently as possible toward the goal, this game, and almost all video games, will punish this inclination. The player needs to take the time to explore, even if this means moving off the main line toward the goal and delaying getting there,” (172)

As I read this passage I knew that the “straightforwardly and efficiently” model was the one I gave allegiance to, even as I knew it was the one I should not give allegiance to. The more I thought about the “explore” model, the more I realized that this is the model I’d prefer students use, not simply in freewriting, but in every aspect of learning.

How might that change the way students write, the way they study, if they researched the way they played video games? If they didn’t give up until they found every crumb of information, then went on to what that suggested, then dug deeper, even if that meant they went way past what was necessary to find that quotation they needed? Every one of us would love a student like that.

Yet, we do not to reward a desire for learning that works like that. It doesn’t fit our rubrics or SLOs. As to say, we’ve reached a point where if it isn’t measurable it isn’t learning, even if the end goals of learning are all unmeasurable. 

Gee, James Paul. What Video Games Have to Teach us About Learning and Literacy. New York: Macmillan, 2007.

 

Bloom's Taxonomy is Getting Complicated

This revised and interactive Bloom's Taxonomy, though involved--and admittedly a bit complex--is also fun to play with. Not sure if it is immediately applicable to class. But, playing around on it makes me think about what I'm doing in class.

http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching-resources/effective-practice/revised-blooms-taxonomy/

Comparison Shopping for eBooks

Reading about a new handbook from Princeton University Press on Inside Higher Education (Link to article) I came across something interesting: When I clicked on Princeton's link to see how much the handbook was ($24.95) I found links to the ebook websites that carried the book.   I compared prices on those sites and found a price range from $14.72 to $19.95. Way to go Princeton UP for providing this information. (Never thought I'd find myself giving kudos to any textbook publisher; I'm OER all the way.)

Here are the ebook publisher websites below. As might be expected, the major players, Amazon and B&N, had the best prices. Of course, if you don't have a Kindle or Nook, those prices have no appeal.I was glad to see some independents stepping up: Kno and Kobo. Hopefully they can become more competitive as they develop a following.  I couldn't find the book on Apple iBooks. They are fairly new to book selling online, so they may not have their site in working order yet.

• Amazon Kindle Store
• Apple iBooks
• Barnes & Noble Nook Store
• Google Play eBook Store
• Kno eBook Store
• Kobo eBook Store