Teresa Carrillo Blog

“Testing, 1-2-3. This is only a test.”  The familiar words cross our eyes and ears. Testing is a vital part of e-learning and as in any face-t0-face instructional situation, good principles apply.  Horton reviews general test production practices that all educators/instructors must answer:  what is being tested? how will the test be scored? what types of questions will be asked (true/false, multiple choice), and when to use various types of questions (Horton, 2006).   Interestingly, Horton adds a new dimension to the “old” composition or essay question:  “allow learners to record a voice answer or upload a recorded audio file, or . . . require leaners to create their composition using a template you supply” (Horton, 2006).  By moving the student to the “create” level of cognitive functioning, he follows Robert Gagne’s “higher order rules-”  having the student create something new given certain perameters (Gagne). 

There are a variety of online test-making tools available to today’s instructors.  These tools provide support and structure for the creation of a variety of tests. The following chart summarizes/ compares two current test tools:

Gagne, R. Instuctional development timeline. http://my-ecoach.com/project.php?id=12152&project_step=28465. Retrieved on 12/17/2009.

Horton, William. (2006). E-learning by design. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. San Francisco, CA.

Here is a sample screencast of a Quizmaker creation:

Web 2.0 is the next generation of web activities.  It differs from its older and now out-dated big brother web1.0.  The main difference is that now individuals can discuss, create, collaborate, and even experiment — on-line.  Tim O’Reilly aptly notes that the web is now seen “not [as] a boundary, but a . . . core” (O’Reilly).  O’Reilly compares web 2.0 technology as the sun with the web users (whether they be companies, individuals, shoppers, students, or professers) rotating around that sphere (2004). He also points out that the customer is in the driver’s seat and once “blogging” was born, the idea of “collective intelligence” came to fruition; now, through discussion boards, blogs, and online video information can be collected and passed on (O’Reilly).

Web 2.0 is a “platform” where the public can unite ideas. Wikis, blogging, google-ing, and screencasting all provide individuals a chance to “participate” vs. the web 1.0 version of “publishing” (O’Reilly). “‘[T]he blogoshpere is the equivalent of constant mental chatter in the forbrain’” (O’reilly).

An interesting article was published in Phi Delta Kappan in June 2008 called, “Don’t Be Afraid to Explore Web 2.0.”  The author, John Thompson, encourages educators to try out these new technologies. “‘[You] . . . take the approach of our students. Go online and click unbridled’” (Thompson, 2008).  This article was  a huge encouragement to me as I am trying  to make the jump from 1.0 to 2.0. 

Here is a short evaluation of two teachertube videos; Youtube, Teachertube, and other video sharing is considered a web 2.0 technology.  Clip one is titled:  How to make an Upholstered Valence http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=104798title=How_to_Create_an_Upholstered_Valence

Clip two is titled:  How to Write a Persuasive Essay http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=683378title=How_to_write_a_persuasive_essay_

References:

Clark, R.C. &  Mayer, R.E.  (2008). E-learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning. 2nd ed. John Wiley & Sons. San Francisco, CA.

O’Reilly, T.  O’Reilly Media, Inc., tim@oreilly.com http://oreilly.com/pu/a/web2/archive/what-is-web2.0.html? retrieved on December 12.

Thompson, J. (2008). Don’t be afraid to explore web 2.0. Phi Delta Kappn, 89, 711.

“I see and I forget, I hear and I remember, I do and I understand” — A Chinese Proverb

Simulations have become a popular way to give learners a real-life experience without the costs or dangers (sometimes) of real-life (Clark & Mayer, 2008).  The definition between “game” and “simulation” can be very close, but in general, Clark and Mayer define a simulation as “differ[ing] from games in that they test or use a model that depicts or mirrors some aspect of reality in form, if not necessarily in content” (2008).  Each educational simulation should be evaluated for the learning benefit. A simulation should teach a concept or skill that is used in real life; it should not simply entertain the user. 

            Good simulations will follow good research data when it comes to the value of that simulation.  Because simulations will inherently be interactive, good simulations will follow both the contiguity principle and the modality principle (Clark & Mayer, 2008).  The contiguity principle deals with text and its positioning according to a graphic; research shows that text should be placed near the graphic so that the learner does not experience cognitive overload – the keeping of information in memory while trying to learn new information (Clark & Mayer, 2008).

            The modality principle is the idea that learners will better learn when “information is split across two separate cognitive channels – words in the auditory . . . and pictures in the visual . . .rather than concentrating both words and pictures in the visual channel” (Clark & mayer, 2008).  Simply stated, words should be spoken instead of shown as text when engaging in e-learning design.

            The following is a brief evaluation of The Jamestown Online Adventure. This simulation allows the student to “govern” the new settlement by making choices regarding safety, food, health, etc.  Then, the student’s decisions are compared with the actual living situation that the Jamestown settlement faced and feedback is given. The student will see if his colony survived the winter in better condition or worse than the original settlers.

  Click here to  play the game!  History of Jamestown Adventure 

What is the subject matter of the simulation?

• The survival decisions of the Jamestown colony is the subject matter.

Who is its intended audience:

• Middle school students

Where can people access or locate it online?

• http://www.historyglobe.com/jamestown/

Describe the process involved in completing the Jamestown Online Adventure?

• The learner clicks to begin the game and a question appears.  For example, “Where would you like to begin your colony?  A. the marsh  B. inland  C. the wooded area”  The student is shown a map with each area marked.  The student then selects his choice, and the next question pops up.  It the student struggles, he can click on the colonist picture, the Indian picture, or the charter book to get advice from these sources.  In the end, a score is given that compares the student’s choices to that of the real Jamestown.  Based on that score, the townspeople have had a better/worse survival rate than the original colonists.  In the “Now We Know” section the student gets an explanation for his survival rate.

What media formats are used?

• The simulation uses multiple graphics – maps, pictures, symbols (corn and sassafrass symbols are moved with the mouse to symbolize planting), some background music is used, but the music has no educational purpose – it simply is a pleasant sound. The entire simulation is read with text – there is no audio speaking.

Did you find its design consistent with the Modality Principle, or not? Why?

• I found that this simulation did not consist with the modality principle.  Because the entire simulation was read by the learner, that task meant that both the pictures and the text had only one channel to enter – the visual (Clark & Mayer, 2008).  The music may have even been a distraction as it did not direct the learner to better choices. A good reader would have no trouble handling the amount of text, but a poor reader would struggle.  The contiguity principle was nicely exemplified (Clark & Mayer, 2008) as the text was next to each choice and both the Indian and Colonist had text bubbles that popped up to give advice in the same window that the learner would be observing.

References:

Clark, R.C. &  Mayer, R.E.  (2008).  E-learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning. 2nd ed. John Wiley & Sons. San Francisco, CA.

Here is a spelling game that I evaluated:  http://pbskids.org/lions/games/soup.html

Here is my evaluation of this educational game:      

Evaluation Instrument based on 4C/ID-model

Game Lab Study

Please rate the following statements after reviewing the game with a 4-point Likert Scale:

                1= Strongly disagree

                2= Moderately disagree

                3= Neither disagree nor agree

                4= Moderately agree

                5= Strongly agree

— – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

Team number/name of the student(s): Teresa Carrillo

Name of the game: Alphabet Soup

Location (URL) of the game: http:// pbskids.org/lions/games/soup.html

Subject matter of the game: spelling

Target audience: 2^nd-5^th grade

Try your best to respond to each question. You should locate at least one example within the game that supports your response. List the example(s) under each question if it is available.

Example:  

Screen Capture Sample    IRA 2.wmv 

 A screen capture tool is exactly what it is called:  a tool that captures what you are looking at on the screen.   Sue Chastain has a nice quote on About.com: Graphics software.  She notes, “Graphics software has a pretty broad definition in many people’s minds, but . . . it is any kind of software which can be used to create, edit, and manage 2d graphics” (2009).   Sometimes people include animation and video’s in this defintion.  In my searching of the internet, I found that most people do include 3D images as part of a screen capture tool.

As far as instuction for educators, screen capture tools can be used for a variety of activities.  A teacher can leave a picture of lesson plans for the substitute, show students an interesting website for a topic being discussed, collaborate with another instructor, or give feedback on an assignment.  These tools are an example of technology constantly changing and improving, and these tools can make instruction that much more inviting and exciting for the student.

Chastain, Sue.  (2009).  Graphics software.  About.com — The New York Times Company.

There are a number of learning management systems available today such as Moodle, Blackboard, and Angel. What exactly is an LMS? Mildred Roqueta defines an LMS in her article Learning Management Systems: A Focus on the Learner: “A Learning system is a type of tool used to manage the knowledge assets of an institutuion and make them available to learners” (2008). Learning Management Systems are often called course management systems (CMS), but that is not totally accurate. A CMS is concerned with content, while an LMS is concerned with the learner response. Because students learn very differently — short bursts, and short attention spans — an LMS is designed (or should be) with the learner in mind (Presby, 2007).
Both the CMS and the LMS share common attributes, but a good LMS has evolved to include attributes that focus on the learner.  

As a company that is searching for a top-notch LMS I would like to suggest Angel with the following high-quality characteristics:

Based on the research and high marks that Angel has received, I suggest the purchase of this LMS. Angel is used by two of the largest universities in the United States — Penn State and Michigan State University, and nearly 100,000 students on six Indiana University campuses us this LMS (Presby, 2007). Angel keeps the learner’s needs in mind while making the instructor’s efforts more timely.

References:

Presby,Leonard. (2007). Can an angel become our friend? The journal of applied business and economics. vol.7, 13-25.
Roqueta, Mildred. (2008).Learning management systems:  A focus on the learner.  Distance learning. vol.5, 59-67.