Blog post 2; remote class
Welcome to blog post number 2; the saga of the remote classroom.
...alright, its most definitely not a saga. In fact, I really enjoyed the remote classroom idea. The vibe that it gave off to me, though, was very 'online class-esque'. In the past, I have loathed having online classes. I liked the concept, but the actual execution for me was not good at all. For example, two summers ago to fulfill my foreign language requirement for undergrad I took an online Spanish class. The reason why this was so terrible was that I consistently forgot that there were quizzes due every Sunday and it was hard to regularly check when homework was due because there weren't reminder emails. My Spanish final was also basically a Skype call (much like how the BlueJeans website worked) but it was scary for me because we were required to have our microphone and video camera on. I do see how online classes overall are very beneficial, especially for non-traditional student usage.
The reading by Veldof, Creating the one-shot library workshop was an interesting one where it taught us as information professionals on how to work together as a team but also how to create a project. The first piece that I took from this piece was the steps in creating a design: Analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. While reading the section, I had to agree with everything that they said however I would have thought they would have switched the order of design with development. It makes more sense to me that development would come first only as a prototype, The design element can come later once focus groups have been made for the original prototype and tweaking things that need to be fixed.
The next portion of this article that I found interesting was in the section talking about the different design aspects and the four main ways to follow a design process. The process of a sounding board was one that I was not familiar with but it is something that I feel we as students use quite often. To me, a sounding board is just someone or a group of people that can go over your work/idea with you and give constructive feedback. Another assumption that I would have as a professional is that you would already or consistently have a sounding board always there for you. Maybe once you are used to your job or the things that you are accomplishing are old hat then you wouldn't need a sounding board, however, this is something that I would think someone would always have.
Screencasting: Screencasting is a term that I have never heard before outside of this class but from what I have gathered it is a very simple concept. I am a little bit confused however and what the overall point of a screen cast is... Basically, it is an interactive website. When I heard this (and while reading the article by Stephen Flynn), the thoughts that came to my head were 'is the idea behind screencasting like the interactive economics homework that I had in high school? Is that really the main gist of this?
When I learned about the interlibrary loan screencasting thing that really just threw me for a loop since I work with Interlibrary loan through my job on a pretty regular basis and never had the idea of using it as an interactive system. The interactive idea is a super smart one though, I have to admit. Having a step by step guide is so helpful in difficult situations, but having an interactive one that works with you at the same time is awesome. The 24 steps for screencasting is another thing to prompt my ideas for the future. It seemed a lot like Kristin's BlueJeans class (minus the live recording). It also seems a lot along the lines of a regular YouTube video, which could cater to a younger generation as well as older.
...alright, its most definitely not a saga. In fact, I really enjoyed the remote classroom idea. The vibe that it gave off to me, though, was very 'online class-esque'. In the past, I have loathed having online classes. I liked the concept, but the actual execution for me was not good at all. For example, two summers ago to fulfill my foreign language requirement for undergrad I took an online Spanish class. The reason why this was so terrible was that I consistently forgot that there were quizzes due every Sunday and it was hard to regularly check when homework was due because there weren't reminder emails. My Spanish final was also basically a Skype call (much like how the BlueJeans website worked) but it was scary for me because we were required to have our microphone and video camera on. I do see how online classes overall are very beneficial, especially for non-traditional student usage.
The reading by Veldof, Creating the one-shot library workshop was an interesting one where it taught us as information professionals on how to work together as a team but also how to create a project. The first piece that I took from this piece was the steps in creating a design: Analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. While reading the section, I had to agree with everything that they said however I would have thought they would have switched the order of design with development. It makes more sense to me that development would come first only as a prototype, The design element can come later once focus groups have been made for the original prototype and tweaking things that need to be fixed.
The next portion of this article that I found interesting was in the section talking about the different design aspects and the four main ways to follow a design process. The process of a sounding board was one that I was not familiar with but it is something that I feel we as students use quite often. To me, a sounding board is just someone or a group of people that can go over your work/idea with you and give constructive feedback. Another assumption that I would have as a professional is that you would already or consistently have a sounding board always there for you. Maybe once you are used to your job or the things that you are accomplishing are old hat then you wouldn't need a sounding board, however, this is something that I would think someone would always have.
Screencasting: Screencasting is a term that I have never heard before outside of this class but from what I have gathered it is a very simple concept. I am a little bit confused however and what the overall point of a screen cast is... Basically, it is an interactive website. When I heard this (and while reading the article by Stephen Flynn), the thoughts that came to my head were 'is the idea behind screencasting like the interactive economics homework that I had in high school? Is that really the main gist of this?
When I learned about the interlibrary loan screencasting thing that really just threw me for a loop since I work with Interlibrary loan through my job on a pretty regular basis and never had the idea of using it as an interactive system. The interactive idea is a super smart one though, I have to admit. Having a step by step guide is so helpful in difficult situations, but having an interactive one that works with you at the same time is awesome. The 24 steps for screencasting is another thing to prompt my ideas for the future. It seemed a lot like Kristin's BlueJeans class (minus the live recording). It also seems a lot along the lines of a regular YouTube video, which could cater to a younger generation as well as older.
I totally agree with you, online class sessions are not my favorite. I cannot even imagine trying to take a foreign language class online! Have you had any other remotely taught classes at UMSI? Is there anything you think could have made these experiences better for you?
ReplyDeleteI actually think that you need a sounding board as much or more once you've gotten comfortable doing something. In my experience, someone who is less comfortable is more likely to uncritically accept outside input on their actions, which (I think) makes the sounding board a little less valuable. By contrast, once someone is comfortable and has an established routine, it's easy for them to get locked into patterns, so having external input is important to avoid holding patterns. They'll also have a better idea of where they struggle or have issues in the past, and can target those areas for their sounding board to weigh in on.
ReplyDeleteI agreed with your opinion that the concept of remote class is great but hard to manage. I believe it depends on who are the main users of remote class -- for people who cannot go to school/college easily? Or for people who can get in-person teaching but prefer to stay at home and drink a coffee? Or for people who just have to take this class online? For me, personally speaking, if I can take a class in-person, especially a language class, I definitely won't rely too much on remote class for the same reason like you.
ReplyDeleteAnd before I did the reading assignment, I have never heard about "screencasting" as well. I think it is generally used in a science lesson, for example programming. The goal is to let users visualize how something works when the teacher walk them through the lesson.
Screencasting (as a term) was new to me this semester too (I'm so glad I'm not the only person who didn't know what a screencast was...). And the idea of an interactive/choose-your-own-adventure-style screencast sounds pretty cool. Given how much work our 2 1/2 minute screencasts were to make, I'm sure it's a beast of a project to put together something that involved and interactive, but it sounds like SUCH a cool idea for walking someone through a multi-step process with lots of potential side-steps (like a research project: start with some databases here, follow this research trail there, here's how to find these things in person, here's how to do a citation, etc).
ReplyDeleteI would like to add to what Zixi has said. Remote classes are beneficial for some because it allows those who cannot typically attend college courses because of work or family obligations to have access to education. In one of my courses this semester I wrote a paper about distance education, and while there are some drawbacks, the biggest plus is that they are flexible with almost anyone's work schedule.
ReplyDeleteI agree that I am a better student for in person classes, but I also have grown up in this environment. having to switch to an online course is difficult for me like it may be for someone in the workforce to adjust to in-person courses.