Here is a project that Joni Dunlap and I worked on while at EDUCAUSE ELI.
You can see the original page about the project on EDUCAUSE Review Online.
8 Lessons Learned from Teaching Online
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Category Archives: Publications
Problems Measuring Social Presence in a Community of Inquiry
Our paper can be downloaded at: http://patricklowenthal.com/research/problems-measuring-social-presence-in-a-community-of-inquiry/
Call for Chapters: Assessment in Online and Blended Learning Environments
Call for Chapters: Assessment in Online and Blended Learning Environments
Editors: Selma Koc, Patrick Wachira, Cleveland State University; Xiongyi Liu, University of Maine-Orono
Online and blended learning require the reconstruction of traditional instructor and learner roles, relations, and practices. Assessment becomes an important issue as a multidimensional process influenced by many factors in online and blended learning environments. Literacy in assessment is critical for both instructors and students for effective learning in online and blended environments. Instructors need to identify effective assessment strategies and techniques appropriate to online learning and understand the potential of technology tools for monitoring student learning and improving teaching. At the same time, how students are assessed show the students what is important and how they should approach learning; thus, engaging them in self-regulatory cognition and activities.
The focus of this book will be on assessment for learning, assessment of learning, assessment strategies, and factors facilitating and impeding assessment in online and blended learning environments. Providing both a research and a practice perspective, this book can help educators make the connection between pedagogy and technology to maximize their teaching when planning, designing, implementing and assessing for active learning and teaching.
The editors of the proposed book approach assessment as a responsible, responsive and integral pedagogy of any teaching and learning environment that actively engages instructors and learners. The objectives of the book will be:
· to help understand assessment as a responsible, responsive and integral pedagogy of teaching and learning in online and blended learning environments
· to present research or practice with respect to assessment in online and blended learning
· to present technology tools and applications that are used with respect to assessment in online and blended learning
· to provide suggestions for improving instruction and assessment in online and blended teaching and learning
Recommended Topics
1. Assessment in online/blended learning: Establishing a framework
2. Summative and formative assessment in online/blended learning
3. Assessment and instructional design in online/blended learning
4. Factors/processes that influence assessment in online/blended learning
5. Technology tools for assessment in online/blended learning
6. Assessment techniques and strategies in online/blended learning
7. Self-regulation and assessment in online/blended learning
8. Assessment and role play in online/blended learning
9. Self and peer-assessment in online/blended learning
10. Assessment of learning groups in online/blended learning
11. Authentic assessment in online learning/blended learning
12. Perspectives and experiences of instructors in assessment in online/blended learning
13. Perspectives and experiences of learners in assessment in online/blended learning
14. Rubric-based assessment in online/blended learning
15. Embedded formative assessment in online/blended learning
16. Assessment of teaching in online/blended learning
17. Web-based testing and assessment
18. Asynchronous and/or synchronous discussions as assessment in online/blended learning
Chapter topics are not limited to the list above. Please inquire about topic suggestions.
Submissions
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit by October 31, 2012 a 2-3 page (500-750 words) proposal and chapter outline. Describe the content of the chapter including relevant literature adhering to APA 6th edition style. Email your proposal as a Word or Open Office attachment to Selma Koc at Assessment4Learning@yahoo.com. Include a cover page with a working title, the topic (see above) that best matches your proposal, affiliated institution, a brief biography along with an indication of whether your proposal focuses on research or practice.
Content and outline of the proposals should include:
· an overview of the research/project including purpose/objectives
· indication of significance to teaching and learning
· for research proposals, include a brief overview of theoretical framework, methodology, overview of results, implications and recommendations for research and practice
· for practice proposals, include a brief overview of the key elements of practice, with conclusions, implications and recommendations for research and practice
Final chapters should be between 20-30 pages (approximately 5,000-7000 words) including references, tables and charts. Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by December 1, 2012. Guidelines for preparing your paper and terms and definitions will be sent to you upon acceptance of your proposal.
Important Dates
October 31, 2012: Proposal Submission Deadline
December 1, 2012: Notification of Acceptance
February 28, 2013: Full Chapter Submission
March 31, 2013: Review Results Returned
May 15, 2013: Final Chapter Submission
XXX 2013: Anticipated Publication Date
Publisher Information
This book is scheduled to be published by Information Age Publishing (IAP).
Getting to Know You: The First Week of Class and Beyond
Check Out! Chapter 10: Getting to Know You: The First Week of Class and Beyond
Joanna C. Dunlap & Patrick R. Lowenthal
“The first week of class… whether on-campus or online, we always plan a few orientation and get-to-know-you activities in an attempt to get our courses off on the right foot. One thing we have learned about these types of activities is that they
cannot—and should not—take place only during the first week of a class. To really support students and help build a productive online learning community, these types of activities need to occur throughout the semester. Below are a few activities we have
used to help students get oriented to and familiar with the course structure and materials, their course colleagues, and us…”
Situational Qualities Exhibited by Exceptional Presenters
Joni Dunlap and I just published an ECAR research bulletin called “Situational Qualities Exhibited by Exceptional Presenters”.
Bad presentations are commonplace, but rather than focus on what is wrong with bad presentations, the authors looked at what makes an exceptional presentation. They referenced recent work on the aesthetic qualities of learning experiences by Patrick Parrish and others, which describe aesthetic learning experiences as those that involve learners in the right level of challenge and heightened engagement. Aesthetic learning experiences are memorable and often transformative, leaving learners with enhanced confidence and capabilities—the very definition of exceptional. By attending to the situational qualities of aesthetic learning experiences, presenters are more likely to create exceptional presentations that establish relevance and engagement—and, therefore, have a better chance at achieving specific learning objectives and outcomes. To do this, the authors identified the most viewed presentations on the TED website as the sample for their study. They created a matrix based on the situational qualities of aesthetic learning experiences and analyzed the top six “most viewed” presentations (as of July 15, 2011).
Citation for this Work: Dunlap, Joanna C., and Patrick R. Lowenthal. “Situational Qualities Exhibited by Exceptional Presenters.” (Research Bulletin). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, October 18, 2011, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.
You can access it here: http://www.educause.edu/Resources/SituationalQualitiesExhibitedb/238961
If you have problems getting it, just let me know and I get you a copy.