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Last week I read an article by Anne Bartlett-Bragg called “Blogging to Learn“.  (It was a little bit of a light-bulb moment). In this article Anne outlines the different stages that learners go through.  I could see my blog fitting in quite well with these stages.

1. Establishment- set up an initiating blog, my two posts on “Hello World” and “Sunday Reflections” fit into this stage well.
2. Introspection – start paying attention to emotions, learning to record events, and often dealing with software challenges.  Aptly displayed in by blog on “e-Frustration“.
3. Reflective Monologues – starting to become aware of their reflective process,evaluating experiences from structured questions and reviewing articles, e.g. my post on “The Virtual Student“
4. Reflective Dialogue – more enthusiasm, contributing to the blog regularly and a sense of self direction.  e.g.  my blogs on Virtual Class Room and Second Life.
5. Knowledge Artefacts – move to reflecting on knowledge learned and providing guidance to readers.  I did attempt this in “Can the Virtual Classroom replace the traditional Classroom”

When I first commenced my degree in Adult Education we were asked to keep a reflective diary and I must admit that after a couple of entries I found this tedious and didn’t keep it up, even though I recognised the value of reflecting on my learning. I have found using my blog a great way to reflect on my learning. However, I must admit that I think I have taken to the idea of blogging and find it a much more rewarding medium for reflection. I like the fact that you can link with other resources, e.g. your photos, del.icio.us, and other blogs of interest.  It is also a great way to receive feedback  and hits from other bloggers who are interested in similar topics. Yes! I agree with  Anne Bartlett-Bragg “Blogging does provide the learner with a creative interaction”. 

My focus for my final assignment is on developing an evaluation criteria which can be used to assess the effective of an online course.  Where do I begin??  In the recent experience of doing a short online course I have come to realise there are a many issues that need to be considered.  It is a little overwhelming trying to think where I should start.  I then realised that a good starting point was to look at what I expected to gain from the course and move on from that point.  I have started of with a short list of issues that I think are important in assessing the value of an online course.  They are:

•  course design, structure and resources
•  technical support
• technical skills
• resources
• Language
• interactivity and feedback.

I think this is a pretty good starting point.  Lets see how it develops.

I was interested to find that Second Life has recognised this and established a virtual language lab called Languagelab.com.  They are at present running this program for English language classes for free and asking for feedback.  There are future plans to run a similar program in Spanish.

I think that the development of virtual classrooms in an online virtual classroom is the next step in online language learning.  I am looking forward to when Second Life develops it’s Spanish site.  Learning a language in a virtual environment will give the learner a more realistic experience and a virtual immersion in the language.

Some interesting additional resources on this are:

Avatar English:  Language Classes in SL, http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/2007/09/28/avatar-english-language-classes-in-sl/

Norman Cole, The Virtual Language School for university students, http://www.uoc.edu/humfil/articles/eng/coe0303/coe0303.html

Micheal Erard, A boon to Second Life Language Schools, http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/18510/

Howard Vicars, Language Teaching Gains Second Life:Virtual Worlds Offer New Methods to Teach Languages, http://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/secondlife.php

Yesterday I did manage to take some time out to explore the Second Life site.  I logged in, and yes I managed to enter the imaginary world again.  I reflected, it is a little like being on site for the production of a Shrek movie. (Don’t get me wrong, I love Shrek). The graphics are amazing, (think I have said that before).  Today I made the bold step of actually communicating with a couple of the other avatars.  (just a quick wave and hello, can’t be too friendly on the first meeting.)   To my amazement, one of the other avatars did the whole flex the muscle macho bit!!! and then ran away.  It cracked me up!!!

I then thought I should explore some of the options that Second Life had to offer and discovered their Education Grid.  Very Interesting!

After reading through the extensive information provided on this site, and joining their education mailing list, I am beginning to see the value of using Second Life in virtual education. 

As the Web page states, it creates:

“ a safe environment to enhance experiential learning, allowing individuals to practice skills, try new ideas, and learn from their mistakes. Prepare your students or employees for real-world experiences by using Second Life as a simulation”

The Site features a variety of mailing lists to keep you in touch with new developments in many fields of education, opportunities to share information on Second Life wiki  and information about  the Education Campus on Second Life.

I am now looking forward to the end of next week, when all my assignments and exams are over and I will have time to explore this a little more.  I will keep you posted.

In the short time I have been blogging I have found that I am now looking at issues in a more critical and analytical way. I plan to keep up my blogging habit, even thoughI have almost finished this course. I really like the way you can collect your thoughts under a tag and just go back to them later for further development.

Decision made!! If I am going to understand and learn about Second Life and its uses in respect to e-learning and the virtual classroom, I will have to join and experience it for myself. 

Well, I have now joined, downloaded the software I need to run the program and logged on.  This may seem a naive comment to the many who are experienced in  Second Life or playing 3D games, but Wow!!!! this site is amazing.  And I have no idea what I am doing? I am determined to keep going. 

Firstly, I have to create my avatar, or my virtual world persona.  I can be who ever I like???  With the flick of a switch (or should I say mouse) I can loose 20kgs, grow my hair and get a sun tan!!

My avatar completed, I decide to venture into the 3D world, experimenting with running and flying (crashing as well).  I have to admit I am very much a novice however I managed to fill a couple of hours exploring this new 3D world.  And I am fascinated!!!  This virtual learning experience will certainly be continued.  Further reports on Second Life to follow.

Apparently this learning style accounts for about 60% of the population, so it certainly is not to be ignored when looking at program design.  People who fit into this learning style generally use a combination of learning styles, switching their learning styles to suit the learning project.

During my experience with the online Spanish course I have noticed that I have enjoyed the variety of ways the information has been presented.  When learning the oral Spanish I have found the interactive video and conversations very rewarding.  However, when it comes to learning vocab and rules of grammar I prefer to write down the words and rules. This process seems the reinforce my learning and I can recall the vocab and grammar more clearly. Another good resource on multi-modal learning style is an article written by Neil Fleming in September 2007 Multimodality

I was interested to see the that the example of School of the Air was brought up as an example of a successful virtual class room, especially since I had recently posted a blog on School of the Air. I think we must agree that School of the Air presents a very successful example of a virtual classroom.  However, the administrators and teachers of School of the Air recognise that the virtual class room experience does not provide a fully balanced learning experience for its pupils.

Recognising this, they have introduced several initiatives to complement the virtual classroom.  These include:

• at least one face-to-face visit by teachers to all students per year
• each student spends one week a year at the School of the Air headquarters in a classroom with other students.
• Camps – where groups of students,parents and teachers meet for a weekend camp (at woolshed or shed on one of the properties). These camps include sports, games, music and other interactivity as well as feedback and information sessions for parents.
• group excursions are organised for students to places such as Canberra and the Snowy Mountains
• annual sports day where students all meet at a central place to compete in athletics and games
• at the end of the year there is  presentation day and christmas function

All these functions and activities are designed to complement the virtual class room and give the students a better balanced learning experience.

Some Interesting Resouces on School of the Air:

Canarvon School of the Air

http://www.carnarvonsota.wa.edu.au/Information/Information%20Booklet%202006.pdf

Evantheia Schibsted, “Bringing the outback in: Distance Learning Down Under”

http://www.edutopia.org/bring-outback

 Russell, G. “Virtual Schools, A critical view”.

http://www.idea-group-ref.com/downloads/excerpts/1591401542E.pdf

Crump, S. and Goodyear, P.”Interactive distance Learning in Australia: Replacing Radio with Satellite Technology for “School of the Air”.

http://www.newcastle.edu.au/campus/ourimbah/professorcrump/InteractiveDistanceeLearninginAustralia.pdf

The article talks about a different approach to learning. A collaborative approach in which you share your learning goals on an on-line site and use this site to develop a resource network with others who share your interests and goals.  The site uses a combination of social bookmarking and shared learning goals in a collaborative elearning environment.

The site is called Two Brains, click on this link and you can register. 

I find the concept of this site very logical and straightforward and I think this is an obvious step for future collaborative learning.  I have signed up and am looking foward to sharing and discussing my learning goals with others.  I look forward to reflecting on this site in a few weeks time.