1. 709 FINAL PROJECT Michael Carothers Spring 2009 April 23, 2009

2. Option B video review In looking around TeacherTube, I was pleasantly surprised to find an interesting video regarding the learning environment of on-line courses. Although I have no plans on leaving the classroom, I feel that many of the issues mentioned not only relate to our course work, but also comprise good teaching regardless of the situation.

3. The Video basic information The video that I decided to focus on was created by Dr. Elizabeth Murphy, an Associate Professor in the Education Department at Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada. Dr. Murphys titled her video Perturbations and possibilities in the virtual classroom. The video is embedded on my wikipage.

4. The Video main idea The main idea that Dr. Murphy presents is that on-line courses need to build a sense of community amongst the learners just like courses that physically meet do. The key benefit of this sense of community is that students will feel more connected to the course and they will be more focused on learning the content that is presented.

5. The Video concerns Dr. Murphy brings up several concerns, or obstacles, regarding establishing a sense of community in an on-line course. There are no ice-breakers or get-to-know- 1. you activities in the on-line environment. While technology can allow for some face to 2. face interaction (in a synchronous learning environment), there is still the veneer of technology separating all of the participants.

6. The Video concerns Dr. Murphy presented several key concerns: It is easier to access your (the teachers) bag of 3. tricks to encourage/build the sense of community when you are face to face with your students. As a teacher, you are able to quickly assess 4. where your students are when the class is physically meeting (facial expressions, body positions, etc.). This is far more difficult in a virtual classroom.

7. The Video concerns Dr. Murphy presented several key concerns: Many of the tools that are used in on-line 5. learning environments (such as IlluminateLive!) are very teacher centered and allow the teacher to have a lot of control over the learning. Many of these tools limit, or prevent, students 6. from exploring on their own during the synchronous class time.

8. The Video concerns A secondary concern that Dr. Murphy raises focuses on student involvement. Face to face interactions allow teachers to know 1. when students are lost and need greater details or a different approach. In a synchronous web-based class it is difficult 2. to know what else is competing for the attention of your students. This is less of a concern in an asynchronous 3. learning environment.

9. The Video concerns Dr. Murphy posits that a key reason on-line students are off-task is because they do not feel connected to what is happening in the course. The tools that teachers use are partly to blame. 1. Primarily, however, students are being 2. presented with an active learning environment yet they are expected to remain passive learning is happening to them rather than something they are doing.

10. The Video concerns To summarize, Dr. Murphy sees three key challenges for on-line learning environments: It is more challenging to establish a classroom 1. community. Many of the tools used in web-based courses 2. create teacher-centered environments. Students in such passive learning situations are 3. easily distracted. All of this creates students who are distracted and disconnected.

11. suggested solutions and their The Video relation to the theories and principles that we have covered in our studies The teacher in an on-line course should be a moderator rather than the leader. This incorporates aspects of the Guided 1. Discovery principle. Although learners need to find their own path to 2. knowledge, it does help if several paths are started for them.

12. suggested solutions and their The Video relation to the theories and principles that we have covered in our studies A sense of community is just as important in an on-line course as it is in a class that meets. The idea that a sense of community is important 1. is supported by the Collaboration and Self Explanation principles. Students need to trust each other in order to 2. successfully work together. A strong community of learners encourages 3. dialogue and discourse. One must have reflected on the learning in order to participate.

13. suggested solutions and their The Video relation to the theories and principles that we have covered in our studies Provide opportunities (assignments) that allow students to explore the web for other sources of information regarding the content. Allowing students to explore the content that the 1. course covers at their own pace is a form of the Segmenting principle.

14. suggested solutions and their The Video relation to the theories and principles that we have covered in our studies As a continuation of the previous recommendation, Dr. Murphy states that the democratic nature of the web allows learners to create their own path to knowledge and allows learners to make more interdisciplinary connections. Not only does this recommendation relate to the 1. Segmenting and Self Explanation principles, it also involves accessing prior knowledge, which is a key aspect of the multimedia theories.

15. suggested solutions and their The Video relation to the theories and principles that we have covered in our studies The teacher needs to build in opportunities for the students to engage in reflective. Reflective thinking is a powerful tool because it requires the students to look at the body of knowledge that they have already established through previous experience and to integrate the new ideas they are discovering. Reflective thinking involves the Self Explanation 1. principle as well as accessing prior knowledge, which is a key tenet of the multimedia theories.

16. suggested solutions and their The Video relation to the theories and principles that we have covered in our studies As instructors, we need to think about why students are instant messaging each other during class. Without doubt, some discussions would bear no relevance to the content, but what about the ones that do? Allowing, and even encouraging, students to 1. share ideas and questions in this format again support both the Collaboration and Self Explanation principles.

17. suggested solutions and their The Video relation to the theories and principles that we have covered in our studies Dr. Murphys key contention is that courses need to be more student centered: We should use tools that students are comfortable with rather than ones that the instructors are most comfortable with. Courses should be structured in a way that emphasizes the strengths of the learners. Having students be active participants in the course work increases their engagement.

18. suggested solutions and their The Video relation to the theories and principles that we have covered in our studies While none of the previous recommendations are specifically stated in any of the 4 key multimedia theories, they all do relate: All 4 theories all mention the limitations of working memory as a hurdle to learning. Dr. Murphy advocates increasing student interest and involvement in on-line courses. Interested and involved students are more likely to make the mental connections necessary to build the long-term schema known as learning.

19. The Video summary Dr. Murphy proposes that on-line classes need to be made more student-centered. The 4 multimedia theories that we studied all do acknowledge (some only by inference) that engaged students are going to be more successful then unengaged peers. Although Dr. Murphy does not implicitly discuss them, many of her recommendations reflect the principles of multimedia learning that we have studied.