Evaluation Period
We are in the middle of the course in the IOE and there is a mid-course evaluation about the different kinds of VLEs and the activities given each week. My comments about the questions given are the following:
For the first scale of the question, this kind of communication, either from the blackboard or the blogs, has not been the easiest for me. I used the blackboard for the first time five months ago but i still find it quite difficult to handle. What i mean is that this way of discussion is asynchronous and sometimes i lose the right order of the discussion. I am expected to sign in three or four times a week but although i do it every day, i can’t find it easy to read all the responses and understand what the point is about. Someone else can intervene in someone else’s answer and as a result the discussions may not lead to a certain way.
Moreover, you have to click on the first answer given, then to the next, and finally i tend to forget what the first question was about.
Also, as some people have already mentioned, what will happen when we cannot access the blackboard any more? Should we photocopy the answers given? This would be a great waste of time.
On the other hand, i haven’t used the blog for communication purposes. There are some comments on which i try to give a response but that’s all. I have used lots of videos since they give a different view on the blog and make it easier for some people to understand what the topic is about.
Next, as far as the readings and the pace of the module are concerned, i have to say that i am really satisfied. The balance between theory and practice has been just fine. As i mentioned in our discussion in Second Life on 10th of June, in my first online module, the readings and the activities where so many that i couldn’t really keep up. Every week i spent so many hours reading articles they gave us, that i was really stressed. In this module the pace is great. What is more, the readings are so interesting and informative. I really enjoy reading them since they are written in plain language and i am not stressed at all. We where given lots of time to familiarize with the blogs and we were allowed to have any content we want. The residentials have been very useful. I met the other colleagues and this made it easier for me to read and comment on their blogs. It was good that the residentials took part in two different days and i would recommend that there should be, at least for next year, another residential so as to help those who still feel that they can’t cope with their blogs, or any other matter they might be having.
Ruth Linton said,
June 15, 2008 at 7:20 pm
I absolutely agree about the pace Elda. It is just right.. And the balance between practical (the blogging) and the amount f prescribed reading. It is through reading other people’s blogs, following their links and wrting our own that we are lead onto more reading. The interesting thing is that it means each one of us is doing different reading. It therfore becomes more individualised as we are able to follow our own particular interests.
This makes me think how to use such an exercise to motivate my students.
emeraja said,
June 15, 2008 at 7:41 pm
I agree with you Ruth. It is a great that we can read the blogs and obtain knowledge from there too. There are some blogs from the course that are really interesting and have some information that i would never have learned about …
Today i realized that when we won’t have access on the blackboard , at least we will be able to access our blogs and see from there what each one has written about (some people have posted their answers on their blogs, instead of the blackboard).
It is a nice idea to give the students the task of maintaining a blog. They can have any content they want to. As a result, they will be more motivated to write about they like and they can organize their thoughts in their blogs.