Create 3.1.1. – Open Educational Resources and Creative Commons Quest

For this quest, create an entry in your blog in which you develop a definition of open educational resources and explain the various Creative Commons licenses one may encounter when searching for these resources.

According to the Hewlett Foundation, "Open Educational Resources (OER) are high-quality, openly licensed, online educational materials that offer an extraordinary opportunity for people everywhere to share, use, and reuse knowledge." My own definition is OERs are educational materials for sharing with everyone, everywhere within the rules of citing the originator. Every Creative Commons (CC) license requires the user of material to give credit to the originator.

There are 6 licenses available through Creative Commons. 
1. Attribution - Allows users to use and change the work as long as the originator is given credit.
2. Attribution, Share Alike - Allows changes, used by Wikipedia, any new works based on original will carry the same license and allows commercial use, must credit the originator.
3. Attribution, No Derivs - No changes allowed, may copy and distribute commercial and non-commercial as long as credit is given to originator
4. Attribution, Non-Commercial - Allows changes, may not be used commercially, must give credit to originator.
5. Attribution, Non-Commercial ShareAlike - Allows changes for non-commercial use, must give credit to the originator, and the same license must be applied to any new works.
6. Attribution, Non-Commercial, NonDerivs - Most restrictive, may not change, for non-commercial use only, must give credit to the originator.

Resources:
"Creative Commons and Open Educational Resources." - Creative Commons. N.p., 15 Oct. 2012. Web. 21 Feb. 2016. <https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Creative_Commons_and_Open_Educational_Resources>.

"Open Educational Resources." Hewlett Foundation News. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016. <http://www.hewlett.org/programs/education/open-educational-resources>.

"Open Educational Resources (OERs)." Jisc. N.p., 9 Dec. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2016. <https://jisc.ac.uk/guides/open-educational-resources>.

Create 2.1.3 – Using Web 2.0 Tools to Differentiate Student Assessment Quest

Aside from traditional assessments, alternative assessments are more realistic and provide far more opportunities for creativity. For example, my number one choice is PowToons, a digital-story creator. 

Directions for the assessment: Create a digital story showing the three methods of heat transfer. 

Having to create their own PowToons, students interact with the content in a different manner than when completing a paper and pencil test.

Create 2.1.2 – Using Web 2.0 Tools to Differentiate Teacher Instruction Quest

Interaction with content and other learners are important to an online learner. In order to differentiate instruction for various learning levels and learning types, different tools should be used. I selected Powtoons for visual/auditory learners and Easel.ly for learners preferring to read. I like both tools for different reasons. Powtoons attracts attention with movement and sound while Easel.ly uses graphic design to attract attention. Powtoons is a video that can be paused or started over whenever the user needs to do so. I like Prezi but have a friend with MS who has difficulties watching because of the zooming. I'm not sure if this is specific to her, or could be an issue with other people as well. I still like Prezi, but like to prepare the material in an additional format to accommodate those who have difficulty with it.

Powtoons

Easel.ly

Create 2.1.1 – Web Tools Quest

Use the internet to research a variety of Web Tools that can be used for student learning or instruction. Then, create three categories and elaborate on the value of the tools referenced. Describe each tool explaining its use, associated cost and how the tool would be implemented in a learning environment.

Create 1.1.3 – Appearance Quest

Please identify ten instructional sites, and isolate five sites which exemplify sound design ideals and five that do not adhere to these standards and document in your blog.

The appearance of a website can repulse viewers, or attract viewers.

Sites following website design best practices:

• PBS Learning Media - text is primary, contrast good for colorblind, no "dancing bears," ample whitespace, text size differences adequate, sans-serif, adequate font size, uses CSS (as seen when viewing source) and has elastic-width
• Discovery Education - text is primary, contrast good for colorblind, ample whitespace, text size differences adequate, sans-serif, adequate font size, uses CSS (as seen when viewing source), but some pages are fixed-width, some are elastic, no "dancing bears"
• FreeRice.com - good contrast, text is primary, "whitespace" is actually green but still contrasts nicely with text, sans-serif, adequate font size, uses CSS (as seen when viewing source), no "dancing bears," fixed-width so some devices would require a lot of scrolling
• eLearning for Kids - text is primary, contrast good for colorblind, ample whitespace, text size differences adequate, sans-serif, adequate font size, uses CSS (as seen when viewing source) and has elastic-width, nice, clean looking site
• http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/ - colorful, clean with white background, uses squares for links with images, text is included with image, sans-serif, CSS (as seen when viewing source), flexible width, amlple whitespace, good contrast, no "dancing bears"

Not so great:

• http://www.chemtutor.com/ - serif, good factual information, "Pretty is not our aim, but we think there is a lot of useful information here," white background with blue underlined links, flexible width, no CSS or color 
• http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html - recently improved colored header with horizontal navigation, white background with blackline content area, many links, difficult to find needed material unless one knows where to look, difficult to use
• http://www.factmonster.com/ - good information, but some of the text sizes are too small, has a new look that is much cleaner and user-friendly
• http://www.refdesk.com/index.html - white background with blackline table, very busy, difficult to navigate, fixed-width, serif, homepage is very long with many links,
• http://www.homeworkspot.com/ - content area white background with blackline table, busy with lots of links, difficult to find needed information, long homepage, bright yellow navigation side-bar could be difficult to see for colorblind, fixed width, does not use CSS

Create 1.1.2. – Creating a Content Map Quest

Using a format explored above, create a Content Map for the chosen topic. Post the completed Content Map in your blog.

created by C. Thornton

Create 1.1.1 – Time Management Quest

By NasimAhmed96$ (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)],
via Wikimedia Commons

List five time management tools in your blog and briefly describe their use and relevance to the online world. Does the tool relate to personal, professional, or a combination of both?

Google Calendar - schedule appointments, view a daily agenda, receive customized notifications, can layer personal and business calendars. This tool can be used both personally and professionally.

Stay Focused Chrome extension - A timer that closes a specific site after spending a specified amount of time there. I would use this personally on games, social media, or other distracting sites when I need to focus on getting some work completed.

RescueTime - Records length of time spent in each app/site/activity. Analyzes where time is spent and creates a report to use for next week's planning purposes. RescueTime could be an eye-opener for a lot of people. Think of using this as a parent on your child's computer when they are supposed to be conducting research for a project. I would use this both personally and professionally for the analysis of where I spend my online time. I am thinking of the Digital Health quest completed a few weeks ago. I can't wait to use it myself and then to suggest its use to others! 

Daily Agenda - app syncs all calendars into one place to view on one screen showing appointments and meetings for the day. I use Google Calendars and have a calendar for school, class, professional schedule, personal schedule and family schedule. This app could be used both personally and professionally to view what is happening in all areas on a specific day.

Remember the Milk - an app I cannot wait to use! I would like to make a grocery list and send it to my husband, send myself reminders of appointments, meetings, and conferences. It is basically a to-do list that can be used with Siri and sent to Gmail, and Google Calendar. Could be used both personally and professionally.

Communicate 4.3.1 The Synchronous Session Quest

How does integrating synchronous learning sessions within the online environment assist in developing a learning community for students? Discuss this question at length in your blog.

Synchronous tools provide humanization in the online world. Students learn better when they know the teacher cares about them and their success. A personal connection can be achieved through real-time meetings. Synchronous meetings allow participants and teachers to develop a learning relationship virtually. Online meetings allow shy students a safe place to communicate with the teacher. Students should be encouraged to share useful information (sites) that would help others with their work or understanding. Through sharing and collaborating a strong learning community can be built and maintained. Another area of interest is that a real-time meeting allows the facilitator to share expertise on the subject that might not be contained within the course module, strengthening the connections in the course learning community.

Guidelines:

• Publish a backup plan in case internet connectivity is lost; gather student contact information to use in case of internet issues; record the session and publish it within the course.
• Have an orientation and welcome session with students. Show learners how to use the features of the synchronous software.
• Begin and end "office hours" or synchronous meetings on time. Participants need to be able to count on the hours being available as published. Weekly synchronous sessions are an effective way to provide detailed instructions, sharing any pitfalls students may encounter with assignments.
• Publish an agenda. Make sure all content windows are open and ready prior to beginning the session.
• Check audio and video to make sure everything is working properly.
• Ask participants to check their settings.
• Stay on topic during the session.
• Keep up with improvements to features of the synchronous platform.
• Use the chat feature to provide individual assistance to those who require extra help, or conduct an additional meeting.

Resources:

Kipp, Kristin. "Thinking About Synchronous Sessions." Education Frontier. N.p., 06 Jan. 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2016. <http://educationfrontier.org/thinking-about-synchronous-sessions/>.

Kelly, Rob. "Build Community, Extend Learning with Online Synchronous Sessions." Faculty Focus. Magna Publications, 14 Mar. 2014. Web. 13 Feb. 2016. <http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/asynchronous-learning-and-trends/build-community-extend-learning-online-synchronous-sessions/>.

Kosalka, Michelle. "Using Synchronous Tools to Build Community in the Asynchronous Online Classroom - Faculty Focus." Faculty Focus. Magna Publications, 10 Aug. 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2016. <http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/asynchronous-learning-and-trends/using-synchronous-tools-to-build-community-in-the-asynchronous-online-classroom/>.

Communicate 4.2.3 – Discussions Quest

• What role or purpose do discussion forums serve in the online classroom and are they effective?

Discussion forums can be the most effective part of an online classroom. Participants use the discussion prompts to reflect upon the content, expanding their own knowledge and the knowledge of others. Learners are able to post questions at the moment they think of them without the snickering of peers that could happen in a face-to-face classroom. Students who might not have a chance to speak out in other situations, are able to do so in an online forum.

• How do discussion forums function as a teaching tool? 

Discussion forums allow students to solidify ideas about the content, to discuss their understanding with other participants and to reflect upon what they have learned. Misconceptions are often revealed in a discussion forum where they can be carefully addressed using evidence from the course. When the facilitator asks questions, learners are guided toward clarifying any ideas and understandings that are not clear. 

• How could they be used effectively and ineffectively? Furthermore, what are some best practices for facilitating forums online?

Posts should always remain polite, considerate, and respectful. Use spellcheck and grammar check to be more easily understood. Those reading your writing cannot see you and will judge the value of what you are saying by the quality of you writing. Write your ideas concisely using only what is necessary for others to understand your point. If your post is lengthy with unnecessary language, the reader is likely to stop reading your posts. Stick to the topic of the discussion. Keep in mind participants will not see your 
expressions or hear your tone of voice in your written posts. One will not see other participants' reactions to reading your posts, make sure you are respectful with both your posts and responses. Sarcasm and jokes must be avoided at all costs. Someone will be offended. Never post an address or phone number in a public forum. All posts should be read by the facilitator. Toward the end of a discussion, the teacher should provide a "landscape" post outlining ideas and concepts contained in the discussion forum. The facilitator should be actively involved without taking over the discussion.

Laycock, Nick. "Elearn Magazine: How to Build and Lead Successful Online Communities: Behaving Appropriately." ELearn Magazine, an ACM Publication. The Association for Computing Machinery, Inc., May 2012. Web. 07 Feb. 2016. <http://elearnmag.acm.org/featured.cfm?aid=2232816>.

Communicate 4.2.2 – Digital Feedback Quest

Three digital resources: ImageChef.com, Voki.com, VoiceNote (Google), Voice Recorder Pro, Camtasia, Screencaster...so it is difficult to list only three. Each tool has its own merits. ImageChef is easy and provides a visual for our visual learners. VoiceNote is also easy to use within Google Drive and allows us to record voice comments to specific documents. Camtasia or Screencaster captures the computer screen and your voice as you scroll through content. Using digital tools for feedback certainly will give learners a more interesting way of viewing their work and provide for reflection.

Communicate 4.2.1 – Feedback Quest

Choose three standards for area of study, create an assignment, and method for assessing students work, utilizing one of the mediums discussed. Ensure the tool demonstrates an instructor’s employment of effective feedback.

Feedback of "I agree, well said," or "nice job" does not provide enough information for a student to improve or continue to do well. Feedback should address misconceptions, incorrect facts with links to helpful information, not I agree, or nice work...be specific. Effort should be encouraged, making a connection between effort and success.
Standards-based feedback provides information on where points were lost so students are able to do better in the future. It points out where the student struggled and should then provide instructional information to improve learning. Feedback should be positive, focus on what the student is doing well with an offer for further assistance if needed and encourage more effort.
Timely feedback is the replacement for direct instruction and should be made within 48 hours on formative assessments and 7 days (sooner) on summative assessments. If the feedback is not close enough to the work completed, it will do no good. Feedback is a form of instruction when done well.

Rubric, Instructions and standards for animal project

I used Camtasia for my feedback.

Communicate 4.1.2 – Rubrics Quest

I used RubiStar to create a rubric for an invention.

Communicate 4.1.1 – Evaluation Methods and Communication Practices Quest

• Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed)

• How do communication practices in the online environment correlate to effective feedback?

When feedback is effective, it has been processed by the learner, not simply seen. In order for feedback to actually be effective, it must be communicated in a manner the learner is able to receive and then comprehend it. By using differentiated methods of presenting a communication, there are more chances the feedback will be effective.

• Why is authentic feedback important for online learners?

Authentic feedback is important for all learners, not only online learners. However, online learners do not have the same feedback opportunities that face-to-face learners might have and could be left wondering "how in the world did I score that score?" When providing feedback on assignments, a facilitator should never use "you" so as not to offend the learner. It is far better to say "Far more details are needed in the first paragraph" rather than saying "You need more details." Feedback should also include what is good about a learner's work so they may continue to do the things that make their work so good. Learners can use constructive feedback to improve their knowledge and how they learn. Voice feedback seems to be particularly effective.  Debbie Morrison recommends Voice Record Pro for providing feedback using a smartphone.

• In what ways might an instructor enrich a student’s online experience through feedback? 

Deeper learning can be achieved through effective feedback. Feedback can prompt reflection and self-assessment. Feedback can be used for learning. For the learner, effective feedback feels more personal and the learner feels more connected and they will pay more attention to it, and possibly will work even harder on assignments.

Resources

Linskens, Jenna. "Meaningful Feedback in the Online Learning Environment." Meaningful Feedback in the Online Learning Environment. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2016. <http://www.slideshare.net/jalinskens67/meaningful-feedback-in-the-online-learning-environment>.

Morrison, Debbie. "'Speaking to Students' with Audio Feedback in Online Courses." Online Learning Insights. N.p., 06 Apr. 2013. Web. 07 Feb. 2016. <https://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/speaking-to-students-with-audio-feedback-in-online-courses/>.

Watson, Gavin. "Characteristics of Good Student Feedback." YouTube. YouTube, 03 Aug. 2013. Web. 07 Feb. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Huju0xwNFKU>.

Communicate 3.2.2 – Differentiation Quest

Differentiation of announcements is important when facilitating an online course. One reminder might not be enough for some, an audio file could be just the trick while sending a simple text will suffice for others. I plan to use the announcement section on the homepage of the course as shown below:



as well as using Remind to send messages through text;



and then sending a Voki using voice and animation as shown here. Using these tools for differentiating announcements is only the beginning of how and where the tools should be used. It is important to remember differentiation within the course when providing directions, or assistance.