Achieving Student Success in Distance Learning Dr. Steve Broskoske Misericordia University EDU 568 Distance Education and Hybrid Technologies

Outline Class Activity: – From research, examine the following issues leading to student success in distance learning: Characteristics of successful distance learners. Personality type. Student perceptions. Readiness tests. Creating a learning community.

Outline – Introduction to podcasts and podcasting. Hands-on activity: – Planning and creating a podcast.

Factors Leading to Student Success in Distance Learning

What kinds of learners to best in a distance learning environment? What characteristics lead to success in distance learning? discussion

Characteristics of Successful Distance Learners Self-motivated. Good at balancing personal obligations. Able to maintain a study environment conducive to learning. Good reading comprehension skills. Good time managers. Don’t procrastinate. Minimize and not affected by distractions. Good with minimal social interaction.

Personality Type Study of 146 college students taking DL. Used Kiersey Temperament Sorter (KTS) personality inventory (similar to Meyers-Briggs). Measures 4 variables: – Extroversion or introversion. – Intuition or sensing. – Thinking or feeling. – Judging or perception. Compared satisfaction with DL vs. traditional courses. Daughenbaugh, Daughenbaugh, Surry, & Islam (2002)

Personality Type Extroverts vs. introverts: – Extroverts: Preferred ways in which information is presented in online courses. – Introverts: Had little participation in chat or threaded discussions. Intuitive rather than sensitive learners preferred online environment. Researchers suggested that DL teachers should increase student interaction. Daughenbaugh, Daughenbaugh, Surry, & Islam (2002)

Factors Leading to Satisfaction with Distance Education Timely feedback: Course assignments, exams, and projects (Egan, et al., 1991). Involvement in small learning groups: Groups provide support, encouragement, extra feedback on course assignments, and foster the awareness that help is near if needed. Frequent contact with instructor increases motivation: More structured contact might be utilized as a motivational tool (Coldeway, et al., 1980).

Factors Leading to Satisfaction with Distance Education On-site facilitators for video conferencing: Facilitators at teach site who develop a personal rapport with students and who are familiar with equipment and other course materials tend to increase student satisfaction with courses (Burge & Howard, 1990).

Student Perceptions Empowerment – Students have more freedom in class; teacher is less controlling. – Students have to be more independent due to teacher at a distance. McLoughlin, 1998

Student Perceptions Collaboration – Collaboration is essential due to teacher at a distance. – Students realize help is there when needed, but students try to help each other. – Students “bounce” ideas off each other and share. – When students don't understand something, they rely first on classmates instead of asking the teacher. McLoughlin, 1998

Student Perceptions Higher order thinking – Students become more critical thinkers, and question each other. – Students need to be more independent-minded, and at the same time collaborate. McLoughlin, 1998

Student Perceptions Factors that impact the success of an online learning experience: – Course design, learner motivation, time management, and comfortableness with online technologies. Challenges to distance learning: – Technical problems, a perceived lack of sense of community, time constraints, and the difficulty in understanding the objectives of online courses Song, Singleton, Hill, & Koh, 2003

Readiness Guides and Tests for Distance Learners Due to the unique requirements of distance education students, many institutions either recommend or require prospective distance students to take a readiness test.

Readiness Guides and Tests for Distance Learners Readiness Tests Palm Beach CC DEARS Distance Education Aptitude and Readiness Scale Readiness Test Harper College SORT Student Online Readiness Tool eLearners Advisor

Learning Community Learning community: A group of learners who interact and collaborate to meet a common intentional learning goal. The community constructs a shared knowledge through the interactions and agreement of its members.

Fostering a Learning Community 1.Write a welcome letter. 2.Post ice-breaker questions on a discussion board. 3.Have teacher and student create Web pages that introduce them. 4.Birds of a feather: Make a way for students to meet like-minded, similar interested students.

Fostering a Learning Community 5.Provide prompt feedback to students. 6.Include discussions after presenting material. 7.Utilize activities in which students are prompted to collaborate. 8.Monitor the class activities daily, and lead students to do the same.

Introduction to Podcasting

Podcasting podcast: An audio recording that can be listened to via an iPod, other MP3 player, or any computer. In addition to the entertainment industry, many teachers are creating podcasts to support their classes. Many podcasters will offer an RSS feed to alert users of new podcasts available at the site.

Podcasting The term podcasting comes from the name iPod, an.mp3 player manufactured by Apple, Inc. The term podcast no longer specifically relates to the iPod, but rather to any portable MP3 player or PC software/hardware combination that allows a user to download and play files. MP3 players have primarily been used to download and play audio files, but have expanded into playing video files as well.

iPods iPods are digital audio (and video) devices. Also known as MP3 players. iPods are not: – Not just for kids. – Not just for music. – Not just for playing costly files.

iPods Are Compact! Size and weight – Height: 2.75” – Width: 2.06” – Depth: 0.26” (6.5 mm) – Weight: 1.74 oz. (49.2 grams) Nano – Height: 1.07” – Width: 1.62” – Depth: 0.41” (including clip) – Weight: 0.55 oz. (15.6 grams)

What Does an iPod Do? Music. Movies. TV shows. Podcasts. Audio books. Games.

iPods Hold Tons of Information! Capacity (4 GB or 8 GB) – Holds up to 1,000 or 2,000 songs. – Holds up to 3,500 or 7,000 photos. – Holds up to 4 hours or 8 hours of video. – Stores data via USB flash drive. Will not erase if battery dies. Memory is measured in gigabytes (billions of bytes), written as GB.

iPods Hold Tons of Information! Units with larger memory: – 16GB: 3,500 songs. – 32GB: 7,000 songs. – 80GB: 20,000 songs. – 160GB: 40,000 songs (or 200 hours of video).

iPod Cost Depends on Memory and Features Price Range: – iPod Nano with 1 GB memory $49 – iPod Classic with 160 GB memory $350 More memory = higher cost. Video = higher cost. More memory = higher cost. Video = higher cost.

iTunes iTunes is Apple’s online store for the iPod. You can easily search and purchase (some free!) content from iTunes. When you connect iPod to a PC, iTunes automatically downloads new content.

How Can a Teacher Use iPod? Download music for use in class. – Purchase from iTunes. – Import music from other sites. Download podcast (audio only or with video). Download audio books. Download video and show on TV. Record class activities (student-created content songs).

Finding Podcasts Educational Podcast Network iTunes (largest repository of podcasts) EPN iTunes Podcasts also play on PC’s. We will look at creating our own podcasts later this semester.

Hands-on Activities Scripting and Planning a Podcast Recording a Podcast

Let’s Make a Podcast 1.Let’s learn about podcasts. 2.Let’s download the Audacity sound recording program, and the Lame plug-in (required to save.mp3 files). 3.Let’s experiment recording and editing sound with Audacity, and locating and incorporating signature music.

Listening to a Podcast Let’s listen to a podcast to get a feel for what they are like. You can download a podcast to a PC or an MP3 player (iPod). You can also subscribe to a podcast’s RSS feed so you can hear future shows as they come available. Podcastalley.comEducation Podcast Network

Overview of Creating a Podcast with Audacity Prepare. Record: – Press the record button. – Talk! – Press the stop button. – Edit as needed. – Add voice over, intro, outtro, and music as desired. Save: – Select file—export as MP3.

Scripting a Podcast Prepare – don’t make it up as you go along. – Moderate end: Create a bulleted list/outline. – High end: Create a script. Don't focus on creating the perfect script for your podcast. You don’t have to follow the script exactly when you record—use it as a guideline. Once you have created an outline for your podcast, use it later to make notes to publish later in your blog.

A Typical Podcast Show intro monologue. – (who you are, what you're going to talk about): 30 seconds Intro music jingle. – (repeat for each show so listeners identify the jingle with your show): 20 seconds Material. – Educational material: 4 minutes Closing remarks. – (thank audience, talk about the next show): 1 minute Closing music jingle. – (suggest same as Intro music jingle): 30 seconds

Download Audacity 1.Download Audacity from 2.Download the “Lame” plug-in required to output an.mp3 file (standard format for podcasts). Lame Encoder (Enables saving.mp3 files) Download Audacity

Set Recording Preferences in Audacity

Introduction to Audacity Recording/playing controls. Decibel meters. Time shift tool. Selection tool. Track mute/solo. Zoom controls.

Recording and Editing Audio 1.Press the record button. Press pause if needed. Press stop button when finished. 2.To edit: – Adjust track volume as needed. (Mix down.) – Select audio data using mouse, shift, home, & end keys. – Select effects—fade in/out to create professional effect. – Use the time slider tool to move audio tracks and sync them as desired. – Cut, copy, and paste audio data to different tracks if needed.

Add Music Types of music files to import into Audacity: –.wav –.mp3 –.mid Actual recordings Midi files are not recordings. They are like player piano rolls. They teach the instrument how to play.

Add Music 1.Select project—import audio (or Midi). 2.Select part of song to be included/deleted. 3.Select effects—fade in/out to complete professional effect. 4.Use the time slider tool to move audio tracks and sync them as desired.

Assignments/Activities 1.Create an audio podcast to provide educational content to students at a distance. 2.Continue: – Post your blog address to our discussion board. – Online discussions. – Maintain your blog.

Assignments/Activities For more assistance, try viewing the following Audacity tutorials: how-to-podcast-tutorial.com Jake Ludington Audacity tutorial

Next Week Good teaching practice in distance learning. Hands-on experience with a Promethean Board.