Future for Virtual Education

What does the future hold for course management systems in the classroom?

What message do you think is being portrayed through this image? 

    

I feel as if the course management systems will take over the actual class room especially for online classes. There will be no need for a teacher because eventually there will be a way where the computer is programmed to be the teacher. I fear for when this moment happens because a lot of students who do have to take online courses will be lost and left behind. They will have had a bad experience with virtual education as a whole and will refuse to take it again and probably end up telling other not to take it as well.

   

  If the course management system is used correctly then virtual education can thrive and gone on to be a wonderful learning alternative for students who can handle it. Even for students who are not too fond of virtual education and being taught by a computer they can definitely utilize their teacher’s office hours to get that in person communication.

    

Also be mindful that all technology is not perfect and will have glitches from time to time. Always back up your work on multiple devices just in case Blackboard decides to break down. There have been many times where Blackboard will have an error or will be closed down for technical reasons. Be smart about it and save your work. This brings me to the traditional way of things. The way when we would print out our work and actually come in to class to turn it in. We did not have to worry about our papers getting lost. If anything we had to worry about the professor misplacing our work, which was pretty rare. 

Let us not forget about the cost of virtual courses. They seems to be a bit more expensive than sitting in an actual classroom and being taught by a professor. This is very confusing to me because you would think it cost less money to be taught online since the professor is not required to do much, but sit on the other side of the computer screen and post information to a course management site.

In an article titled What is the Cost of Virtual Ed? Written by Katie Ash, states that “The fourth in a series of papers called Creating Sound Policy for Digital Learning, it found that virtual schools spend about $5,100 to $7,700 for each student, compared with $7,600 to $10,200 for blended learning programs, and $10,000 per student for regular brick-and mortar schools.”

I personally think that is a ton of money being spent on this new learning system that is not as successfully effective as the traditional learning way. I understand the school administration can be a bit excited about the entire virtual education but at the same time we must remain wise and reasonable.

   

  Nonetheless, course management systems can enhance the learning experience but if you do feel lost in any way along the course it would be smart to utilize your professors’ office hours. Your professor should make things easier for you to understand since they know that communication is limited, due to the type of course it is. I understand we must advance and grow with communication but at the same time it has to be meaningful to our lives in order for us to grow with it. If virtual education seems to be making students dumber as oppose to smarter then we would have to do away with it.
                                                                       

Typical set-up for an online course.

For instance, another academic article titled, Can virtual schools thrive in the real world? states that “Before making another impetuous move to expand virtual schooling, now is the time to pause, scrutinize, and reflect on current practices.” I really agree with this statement because we are so focused on moving forward and advancing with virtual education that we fail to see if this method is actually working.

Let’s all give virtual education a try but also remember that the human body can do tons of things that a computer or a course management system cannot do.
                                                                   

Ash, Katie. "What S the Cost of Virtual Ed?" Education Week 31.17 (2012): 9. EBSCOHost. Web. 26 Nov. 2015.

Wang, Yinying, and Janet Decker. "Can Virtual Schools Thrive in the Real World?" TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning 58.6 (2014): 57-62. EBSCOHost. Web. 26 Nov. 2015.

Course Management Systems; Are they Good or Bad?

If you guys don’t recall from my earlier blog post, I stated how I feel as if virtual education is not the best way to learn any material. My reasoning being is because the students will feel lost and on the professor’s end they do not need to be an expert in the topic that they will be “teaching”. I completely disagree with that topic because students like clarification and confirmation sometimes just to make sure they are understanding the material. For me personally if I feel that my professors is not well rehearsed with the material I start to second guess myself and that then leads to even more problems.

Now as far as the course management system goes it has a great effect with the teaching and learning components seeing how this would be the main source of communication between the student and the professor. The course management system honestly is the students go to for everything that they may need in regards to the course. The course management system usually has the syllabus, course schedule, and contact for teacher’s assistant and their professor, the course library, announcements section and many other features. These are all helpful features because without them the student would definitely feel disconnected from the course.

The course management system does many things for the student but it does not really transform traditional instructions into something that is new. If anything the students would have to read a big chunk of text to know what the assignment is, the requirements for the assignment and the rubric that goes along with the assignment. That can be a ton of information to take in at once. Then of course, there are always those open-ended question that are bound to be asked. Since the students don’t have a set class time they would then have to set up a time to meet the professor and then finally ask the professor their questions on the topic. If you ask me that is a long drawn out process for the student.

Check out this video to see how Blackboard really functions. We think that we have it figured out since we use it on a daily basis but there are a lot of features that we do not know about. 

I can only see the course management system working in regards for the professor. There are different portals set up on the course management system for students to turn things in which makes it easier for the professor because they have everything all in one place. These type of systems are very organized and neat so it creates less work as possible for the professor. In an academic article titled Course-Management Systems by Susan Gibbons, states that “While “saves time” was the top CMS benefit perceived by all faculty, when limited to just those who actually use courseware, the benefit of “saves time” falls to just 7 percent. Instead, “better access” is found to be the top benefit by faculty with CMS use”. Basically what I took from this is that professors like this idea because it is more time convenient and requires less work for them. However, when educating someone I don’t think time should be a factor. Making sure students grasp the concept is what is important, in my opinion. All students learn at different rates so when the professor only thinks about themselves that is when students get left behind.

Overall the course management system can definitely be an asset to the learning environment but professors should not rely solely on that as the only learning method. Professors are being hired for a reason and we should definitely take advantage of that. There are some things that technology can’t do but the human body can.

 Blackboard Learn: Simply Better for Educators. Dir. Blackboard Inc,. 2008.YouTube. 1 Feb. 2008. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.

Gibbons, S. (2009). Course-management systems. Library Technology Reports, 41(3), 7-11.

Popularity of Course Management Systems among Online Courses

Many people are interested in knowing why the Internet has become so popular and why it is a part of our daily lives and apart of everything we do. Well, as humans we tend to be very lazy. We like things that are fast, efficient and things that require us to do little to no work at all. Unfortunately, the Internet does all those things and more. This explains why we have incorporated it into the classroom.

Honestly, I feel as if it could be an enhancement to the learning environment but having the Internet become the teacher is really pushing it. When we allow the Internet to become our very own personal professor that is when things start to take a turn for the worse. We become lazy, we continue to allow the Internet to do the work for us as opposed to trying to actually learn and making information stick to memory and then we find short cuts and ways around things because the Internet is good for that.

Economically, the Internet has become very affordable which allows a lot of families the privilege of being able to have it in their own homes. When kids know that they have wireless internet in their own homes that is when they feel that they can take on an online course. They know they can do the work at school, at home or whenever they please.

Moving away from the Internet and focusing on the wide spread of course management systems we can say that these types of tools that are used for virtual school or just for most college courses in general are used because of the convenience for the teacher. Let’s take Blackboard for an example. Blackboard is paid for by the school so that is another incentive to use it for both professors and students. Then looking at Blackboard on a technological scale we can see that it’s a pretty neat site for students and professors to navigate through. It does not require much brain power to function which is another reason why most universities choose to use it as their primary source of communication for the teacher and student in regards to course material.

In an online academic journal titled Whats new with learning systems it compares all the learning management systems used in different universities to each other. It gives you some insight on what each management system has to offer without you downloading them all and testing them out. Looking at the article, I learned that sites like Haiku, Canvas and Schoology offer a free version for individual professors. Knowing that small bit of information I automatically see why these course management systems are used by the professor. For example, the article states that Canvas, a course management system is compatible with iOS, Android and kindle. Also Canvas offers other features such as announcements, calendar, chat, checklist and many more efficient tools.

I have used Canvas before, but not for an online course. However, I definitely see it being used in an online course because it has a checklist of assignments that the student has to do and as they turn in the items it checks it off the list for them. Also talking to the teacher using this app is extremely quick and easy. It comes right to your phone just like any other notification. It is course management systems like these that make it easier for both the teacher and student when taking or teaching an online course. I know for a fact I wouldn’t feel lonely or lost if Canvas was used for any online course that I decide to take.

Chart from "What's New with Learning Management Systems" portrays the comparisons of Blackboard and Canvas. 

Mersand, Shannon. "WHAT'S NEW WITH LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS." Tech & Learning 35.11 (2015): 48-49. EBSCOhost. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.

My Theory of Virtual Education

“Hello Class, Welcome to your online Nutrition course. Your assignment schedule, syllabus and contact information for your professor and TA’s have all been posted on the Blackboard website. Good luck and have an amazing semester.”

This is what an online course seems like to me. l would prefer for my professor to look me in the eyes and shake my hand or at least know what my face looks like. Granted, some of us are not forced to take these online courses but for those who have to it should not feel as if they are not left alone with no help.  Although, this does make the student more responsible for their own actions and pushes them to keep up with their work it does there are still some downfalls within it as a whole. 

I have come with a theory about the way Virtual education works. I have come the conclusion that it is not as effective as learning inside a classroom. The reasons being that virtual education is done majority all on the computer you do not see your professor unless you request to do so. With that being said, when the students are learning the material they do not have access to their professor to ask him/her certain questions they have at the moment. Questions at the moment really helps the student understand the material because they are interpreting it in a way for them to grasp the concept.

Imagine reading through a chapter and as we read we find ourselves confused about what we read, we would have to write our questions down on a sticky note and make an appointment to see our professor to clear up the confusion. That seems like a very draining process. I’m use to seeing my professor at least a minimum of two times a week so I can just ask him in person and move along. Also, another reason why virtual education is not as effective as the traditional learning style is because I have noticed that when professor are giving lectures they use examples that are around us. For instance, my speech professor uses Florida State football as the primary bases of his examples. He knows that we are all Florida State students, we love our football team and then it is very relate able across the board. By our professor using this as an example throughout his lecture, it keeps us interested and makes us look at the information we are receiving in a different way.

This academic article titled Increasing Creativity in Virtual Learning Space for Developing Creative Cities pointed out a good point about virtual education as far as the virtual teacher goes. It states that "Teachers in smart schools not required being an expert in the field of information technology, but they should be aware of the school system and use its facilities well. A good teacher must know that resources are where, when students have questions, they can guide them well."
I strongly disagree with the requirements to be a virtual education teacher because when students can not understand what the text book is saying to them they will want to seek out extra help from the virtual education teacher. If the teacher is lost just as well as the student then why is she/he the professor to begin with. Yes, it is very important for the virtual education teacher to know how to function the course management site but at the same time she needs to be familiar with the material as well.

Textbooks and even online books no matter if it is customized for the school will not make us remember information and make it stick to memory. Virtual education relies heavily on textbooks or e-books for that matter and even when students are being taught in the traditional learning environment they do not really read their textbooks, just being honest. So what makes the student want to start reading the textbook thoroughly now that they are enrolled in an online course? I really believe that the professor plays a big role in the way that a student is being taught.

A textbook cannot make a student pay attention to the textbook as he/she is starting to fall asleep or divert their attention to a text message.

To conclude, virtual education may teach students a few things in the course but nothing will really stick with them for years and years to come because the students are just memorizing the information for their on-line quiz or an assignment. Once they are done with the on-line quiz or assignment the information that they stored in their brain is now forgotten about. So, if anything virtual education teaches students how to function their short term memory skills. 

Comics on Virtual education

References: 

Fariborzi, Elham. "INCREASING CREATIVITY IN VIRTUAL LEARNING SPACE FOR DEVELOPING CREATIVE CITIES." 7.1 (2015): 99-108.EBSCOHOST. Islamic Azad University. Web. 4 Nov. 2015.