The web offers to nearly limitless opportunities for educational experiences. The only thing that limits educators for using the internet and internet applications is a lack of knowledge. I have used the internet for educational purposes in many ways already and have learned a great deal for using things in the future. I have utilized online tutorials which are simply made available for any learner to come along and learn the content. I have used Google Docs for creating these tutorials, giving online assessments/assignments, and have made resource pages that allow students the opportunity to review and research at their leisure.
The web makes all types of communication possible in ways that the world has never seen before. This is the first time in the history of the planet that run-of-the-mill people can talk to each other at the same time from different sides of the planet. The educational possibilities include opening students up to different cultures by actually taking them there, meeting the people, and communicating in real-time.
There are, of course, limitations to this wondrous world-wide-web. With any technical application comes the need for the knowledge for how to operate such technology. The technology also has to be available for the educational experience to be worth-while. This weekend I was reminded of how things once were. My dad’s internet went out this weekend as we were staying with him. I had 3 assignments due and I had to improvise on ways to turn these in. People who do not have a readily available internet source probably would not find online learning to be something beneficial.
Just as we discussed earlier, straight-forward designed websites are the most effective in communicating the site’s purpose. This not only holds true to main-stream websites, but to online courses as well. The layout for an online course should be intuitive, straight-forward, and simple to navigate. The student should not have to guess or “go around the world” to try to find things inside the course. I’ve really come to realize the importance of well-designed layouts as I’ve been working at the learning enhancement center. I do realize the personalization and creative outlet that some feel is important when designing a class, but I feel that the most important aspect of the design should be a good student experience. We have been preparing the new Blackboard 9.1 that will be implemented next fall for the entire campus. We have a “template” of sorts with a predetermined design that is intuitive in nature and designed to give the students and instructors the best possible experience with this new product. This is in no way to meant to hamper the creativity of an instructor, only to help keep the online experience at the university similar so that student won’t have to learn how to navigate each course for each professor. There are lots of other very great features with the new blackboard including wikis, blogs, mashups, and a ton of addins called building blocks. I am also very much looking forward to the new mobile apps that Blackboard is releasing. We’re all expecting great things from that new aspect of Blackboard. I’m very excited about this release. I think that when Blackboard is used as the primary tool for online courses and outside tools are used for supplementary purposes, rich and authentic learning experiences are the result.
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