RJA #8c: Field Research Plan

Field research plans

  I have two options for my field research, I would like to either do an interview of a teacher who currently teaches an online course and has taken online courses in their recent educational experience or do an electronic survey of students currently enrolled in online classes. I think the easiest way would be to send out an email to fellow online students saying what the survey is about and asking them to participate.

  If I do an online survey I will use most of the questions I used in the online survey that I created for class, this is the link. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHhRZzJFY1Q0NGxLMDhHSHhMMjhpSXc6MQ

I would modify and add some questions such as being able to list the pros and cons of online education. I am in several online classes so finding people to do the survey shouldn’t be a problem.

  If I interview a teacher for my field study I would like it to be someone who’s been on both sides of the online education system, having both taught and taken online classes. I know several of my teachers who are willing to do a short interview about online education. Some of the questions I already posted in the interview discussion such as;

1) Do you feel the online courses you teach provide the same educational value as traditional in room classes?

2) When you took online courses did you feel you received the same education you would have if you were in a face to face classroom situation?

3) What are some of the pitfalls and changes that need to be made in online education?

4) Do you think that employers, including schools and universities, look at online degrees the same way that they do a traditional degree?

5) Do you think that online education will make traditional schools go the way of the dinosaur or is this just a technological fad?

6) Is online education just the beginning of a larger change in higher education for the masses?

7) Do you think that online homeschooling for K-12 provides enough education and enough socialization for our future college students?

RJA #8b: Background Essay Plan

Thesis statement for Background essay

  Advances in technology have made the educational value of online degrees just as valuable or better than the traditional classroom experience.

1.       Large increase in online education due to time constraints in most people’s lives.

2.       Technological advancements such as IM and video bring online degrees on par with traditional education.

3.       Employers no longer see online degrees as less valuable than a regular college education.

4.       Statistics and reports show that online learners consistently get better scores.

RJA #8a: Summary

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26458424/ns/business-personal_finance/t/online-colleges-earning-respect-degree#.TprvTnJVXkY

This article helps you understand the change in the way that employers are looking at online degrees these days. The article cites a specific example of a woman who was laid off and went back to school using an online college. While going to school she was suspicious of how employers would see her degree but after she graduated she discovered that employers had no problem with her degree being from an online school. It also discusses the recent surge in online degrees and the advancements such as video streaming and instant messaging that help make online education a better way to get an education and gives advice on picking an online school and questions which help evaluate whether you should attend an online school.

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Sentence1: "This article helps you understand the change in the way that employers are looking at online degrees these days" No Plagiarism detected Sentence2: "While going to school she was suspicious of how employers would see her degree but after she graduated she discovered that employers had no problem with her degree being from an online school" No Plagiarism detected Sentence3: "It also discusses the recent surge in online degrees and the advancements such as video streaming and instant messaging that help make online education a better way to get an education and gives advice on picking an online school and questions which help evaluate whether you should attend an online school" No Plagiarism detected Sentence4: "The article cites a specific example of a woman who was laid off and went back to school using an online college" No Plagiarism detected

RJA #7b: Webpage Annotation

Link to my diigo library 

http://www.diigo.com/user/arodriguez1020

Annotation

http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2011/09/pew-reports-that-online-learning-doesn%E2%80%99t-offer-the-same-value-as-f-2-f-%E2%80%93-yet/

Highlighted and made notes.

http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2011/09/pew-reports-that-online-learning-doesn%E2%80%99t-offer-the-same-value-as-f-2-f-%E2%80%93-yet/

Highlighted and made notes.

http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2010/03/29/online-degrees-dont-impede-job-searches

Highlighted and made notes.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3325/is_4_5/ai_n28887163/pg_2/?tag=content;col1

Highlighted and made notes.

RJA #7a: Evaluation of Sources

The Book

Title: Elements of Quality Online Education into the Mainstream

Author: Stephan Laster

Edited by John Bourne & Janet C. Moore

Published by The Sloan Consortium in 2004

Volume 5 in a series

This is a book written by Stephan Lester and published by the Sloan Consortium analyzing case studies of the quality of online education. “The report discovered that leaders believe the quality, scale and breadth of online learning will continue its growth and trans-formative effects, resulting, within the next three years, in online learning outcomes that surpass learning outcomes in other modes. With these expectations in mind, the summer research workshop participants reviewed each other’s work in progress on effective methods, needs, and the art of the possible.”

The purpose of this long term study is to help educators understand the trends in online education, analyze the statistics and data to see if online education is working and to solve problems associated with online learning. It compares both sides of the topic and the typical audience would be mostly educators.

 sloanconsortium.org/publications/books/vol5summary.pdf

The Periodical

http://www.campuscomputing.net/sites/www.campuscomputing.net/files/Green-CampusComputing2010.pdf

Author: Kenneth Green

Published in October 2010 in Anaheim, CA for the 2010 EDUCAUSE Conference

The Campus Computing Project-It is the largest continuing study of the role of computing, eLearning, and information technology in American higher education. Started in 1990, the projects national studies draw on qualitative and quantitative data to help inform campus IT leaders, college faculty and administrators and policy makers.

There is no place for feedback because it is a PDF file but they do have a website that does.

The purpose of this periodical was to present the summary of an ongoing study of the role of computers in higher education. This article is a little one sided but does a lot of comparing ans statistics. There are links to other sites and it is simple enough to navigate between the PDF and the website and other links.

The Website

http://aboutonlinedegrees.org/blog/online-colleges-versus-traditional-college/

This website “is a comprehensive online education specific blog. It gives detailed reviews on various Online Degree Programs including Art & Design, Legal, Engineering, Technology, Health Care, Nursing as well as Psychology & Counseling. Each Online Degree Programs section has in-depth information on courses and their availability at specific colleges. AOD has helped scores of students find out about the course of their choice and make an informed decision regarding their educational aspirations through online courses.”

It is obviously one sided but gives valuable information about online education from varying authors. It is also pretty easy to navigate with links to tons of other sites and schools. I think the audience would mainly be people who are looking into online education either for the first time or for a specific degree.

RJA #6c: Multimedia

Multimedia 10/2/11

Did a search on blinkx.com

Searched online education vs. traditional

Received 92,000 hits for videos

Quite a few were relevant, bookmarked and labeled all

Rates a 3 on a scale of 1-5