7.4 OER Learning

     I reviewed 2 courses one that could be used for younger students or adults who are trying to learn the English Language.  I also looked an Algebra class that was geared for 5^th grade.  I completed a few units of both but was unable to complete either course due to time constraints. 

     The first course I signed up for was American English Speech which had 4 units with different modules within each unit.  The objective was to click on a word and the student would listen to audio pronouncing the word.  The student would then click on an answer breaking down the word to sounds, speech, vowels and creating patterns.  The student could send messages to an instructor not sure what the time frame was in receiving an answer back.  I personally did not think this class was good for complete online education.  It would be useful for a hybrid class where students would go to a class for help and could use this as a tool for further learning. 

     The second class I tried was Algebra for 5^th graders which had many units I tried one particular section Problem Solving with 5 different modules Quadratic equations, radical expressions, multiplying polynomials, and more.  This class seemed more interactive then the first one I tried.  It had a time clock so that a student could see how long it was taking them to complete a section.  As the student improved the answer became more difficult and was scored.  In one of my answers involving money I entered $4.5 instead of $4.50 it counted the problem wrong and gave details of what was done wrong.

     There seems to be several benefits for online learning such as increases in enrollment or

time in school as education programs reach underserved regions, broader educational opportunity

for students.  There is access to resources and instructors not locally available, and increases in student-teacher communication.  I have encountered through research and through my job that professional development for instructors is the biggest issue.  There seems to be a lack of instructors who have the knowledge needed for online instruction especially in the community colleges.  The effectiveness of distance education depends on the contexts in which it occurs.

     There seems to be more willing students to try new online technology in K-12.  Adult learners seem to take online classes at the community college level because they think it is easier or it is just for convenience of their work schedules.  Many students soon learn they lack the skills to be successful at online learning.   It is important for colleges to have excellent resources for online students to use for success.  Some resources could be online tutoring, YouTube for students to go back and review lesson content.  The universities have a mixture of students and resources to make the online learning more successful. 

     Some of the principles used in online lesson plans are critical thinking and reasoning, collaboration, self-direction, applying knowledge to new situations and create new ones.  Have students’ self-assess, reflection having students identify personal knowledge especially for adult students. Having students share ideas through webspiration, WebEx, blogs and google docs.