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I just completed my doc courses. Does that mean I am not an official ABD?
Friday, April 24, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
No More Grades!!!
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In less than two weeks, I will finish my doctoral program with no more teamwork, papers, or trying to get 95+. I will have freedom from grades forever. I will have reached the top; no more grading for me. Can you imagine the freedom of that? All my life I have been plagued by being graded out of 100. I will never be graded by teachers again.
In less than two weeks, I will finish my doctoral program with no more teamwork, papers, or trying to get 95+. I will have freedom from grades forever. I will have reached the top; no more grading for me. Can you imagine the freedom of that? All my life I have been plagued by being graded out of 100. I will never be graded by teachers again.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Pressure to implement blended learning and technology in higher education
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Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice
Issue: Volume 10, Number 1 / 2008-2009
Pages: 3 - 19
URL: Linking Options
Technology and Higher Education: The Impact of E-Learning Approaches on Student Academic Achievement, Perceptions and Persistence
Amaury Nora A1 and Blanca Plazas Snyder A1
A1 University of Houston
Abstract:
While e-learning, Web-enhanced instruction, and other forms of instructional technology have been touted as an effective way of addressing student withdrawal and academic performance, there are those (Carr, 2000) that report both program and end-of-semester course completion rates in distance education courses as merely acceptable compared to more traditional courses. This disagreement, coupled with the need to establish empirically-based instructional techniques, drives the desire to fully grasp the true impact of different forms of technology on retention and graduation rates among students. The purpose of this article is to provide readers with a comprehensive overview of the literature concerning technology at the post-secondary level. We discuss studies that have examined the various uses of technology in the classroom, student perceptions of technology, student usage of technology, student attitudes toward technology, and the direction in which technology is heading. Specifically, the main objective was to highlight the findings with regard to the connection between technology and student learning, and between technology and student persistence.
Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice
Issue: Volume 10, Number 1 / 2008-2009
Pages: 3 - 19
URL: Linking Options
Technology and Higher Education: The Impact of E-Learning Approaches on Student Academic Achievement, Perceptions and Persistence
Amaury Nora A1 and Blanca Plazas Snyder A1
A1 University of Houston
Abstract:
While e-learning, Web-enhanced instruction, and other forms of instructional technology have been touted as an effective way of addressing student withdrawal and academic performance, there are those (Carr, 2000) that report both program and end-of-semester course completion rates in distance education courses as merely acceptable compared to more traditional courses. This disagreement, coupled with the need to establish empirically-based instructional techniques, drives the desire to fully grasp the true impact of different forms of technology on retention and graduation rates among students. The purpose of this article is to provide readers with a comprehensive overview of the literature concerning technology at the post-secondary level. We discuss studies that have examined the various uses of technology in the classroom, student perceptions of technology, student usage of technology, student attitudes toward technology, and the direction in which technology is heading. Specifically, the main objective was to highlight the findings with regard to the connection between technology and student learning, and between technology and student persistence.
Pressure to implement blended learning and technology in higher education
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Community College Review, Vol. 34, No. 4, 324-343 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0091552107300331
Connecting Organizational Environments With the Instructional Technology Practices of Community College Faculty
Matthew M. Mars
University of Arizona, Office of Technology Transfer
Mary Beth Ginter
Pima Community College—West Campus
The ongoing integration of instructional technology within community colleges has occurred for a variety of reasons. First, community colleges have implemented technology-based models to make operations more efficient and cost-effective. Second, instructional technology has been used to expand student markets through alternative course-delivery methods that reach those students unable to attend traditional campus courses because of geographical locations and constraints related to rigid work and family schedules. Third, community college courses are regularly updated to increase enrollment capacities and in many cases to better align content with today's high-tech economy. In this study, the authors use Karl Weick's conceptualization of loosely coupled organizations to explore the organizational environments of three community colleges in relation to the emphasis each institution places on the use of instructional technologies.
Key Words: community colleges • organizational environments • instructional technologies • college faculty culture
Community College Review, Vol. 34, No. 4, 324-343 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0091552107300331
Connecting Organizational Environments With the Instructional Technology Practices of Community College Faculty
Matthew M. Mars
University of Arizona, Office of Technology Transfer
Mary Beth Ginter
Pima Community College—West Campus
The ongoing integration of instructional technology within community colleges has occurred for a variety of reasons. First, community colleges have implemented technology-based models to make operations more efficient and cost-effective. Second, instructional technology has been used to expand student markets through alternative course-delivery methods that reach those students unable to attend traditional campus courses because of geographical locations and constraints related to rigid work and family schedules. Third, community college courses are regularly updated to increase enrollment capacities and in many cases to better align content with today's high-tech economy. In this study, the authors use Karl Weick's conceptualization of loosely coupled organizations to explore the organizational environments of three community colleges in relation to the emphasis each institution places on the use of instructional technologies.
Key Words: community colleges • organizational environments • instructional technologies • college faculty culture
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Program Evaluation
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I am on my last course and feeling very strange as I will be leaving my current comfort zone and entering a new domain. The new territory will probably change me forever. I am currently searching for motivators for programmatic evaluations. I found money and improvements. However, I think the main driving force is funding. No one will conduct a program evaluation unless they are paid.
I am on my last course and feeling very strange as I will be leaving my current comfort zone and entering a new domain. The new territory will probably change me forever. I am currently searching for motivators for programmatic evaluations. I found money and improvements. However, I think the main driving force is funding. No one will conduct a program evaluation unless they are paid.
Humour and Doctoral Studies
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Saturday, February 21, 2009
EDD732 on Analysis of Policymaking Development in the USA (UOP)
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The past weeks have gone by very quickly. I had very little knowledge of the policymaking process before the course. The course helped me understand that policy development is a complex process with many variables that need consideration and teamwork to ensure successful development and implementation. (Cooper, Fusarelli & Randall, 2004). Normative, structural, constituentive, and technical dimensions can help explain the complexities but do make things any simpler (Cooper, Fasarelli & Randall, 2004). The reason for the complexities are multiple ideas (normative) on what needs changing, by whom (structural and constituentive), and how (technical). Professional workshops would help members learn how to listen and collaborate with all the stakeholders involved. Learning to listen in order to gain information will unite and increase collaboration among the constituents and the policymakers (Rouk, 2000).
I liked the idea of "study circle dialogues" that can provide policymakers with information from experts in the field of education as well as from parents, students, and the community (Rouk, 2000). The study circles help policymakers gain a better understanding of the public needs and interests (Rouk, 2000). Policymakers need to learn to relate to a diverse population with multiple ideas (Cooper et al., 2004). The policymaking process must include professional development in self and social awareness. It is important for policymakers to improve their understanding of the different. Training can provide the tools on how to improve relational processes at a learning organization so that learners will be treated fairly (Chernis & Goleman, 2001). Emotional and moral teachings can help policymakers learn about themselves and the way they relate to differences. The focus should be on relating to conflicting interests as an asset and not a barrier (Chernis & Goleman, 2001). I believe that becoming aware of our selves and social awareness are the keys to a better understanding and acceptance of different opinions. The class discussions exemplify the kind of social awareness and respect of others' that policymakers should have.
Dr. Williams has done an incredible job at evaluating individual and teams papers on the second final course on Contemporary Policy Analysis and Development (EDD732). EDD 732 Contemporary Policy Analysis and Development provided me with an excellent background on the political environment educational leaders must understand policy development, implementation, and analysis at the federal, state, local and institutional levels in the United States of America. I gained a good perspective on contemporary educational policy at all levels and investigated two policies, IDEA and Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. I learned about the complexity of political relations and the factors that influence these interactions. I would like thank my fellow classmates at the University of Phoenix and my instructor. I learned a great deal from the class discussions and teamwork onjavascript:void(0) the debate and team paper on IDEA. I also learned from my instructors assessments. I hope our paths cross as we continue to engage in improving instruction and learning.
I would like to add that I found the topic of Dr. Williams' dissertation (2006)very relevant to what I do online as I attempt to engage educators in collaborative learning. Teachers at all levels find that the process of online collaboration enriches their personal and professional lives. I belong to Webheads in Action (WIA) a professional community of learners who teach English as a foreign and second language worldwide. As a Webhead and the EVO09- TESOL initiative, I have been co-moderating a free online course on a voluntary basis with 3 other educators called digifolios on digital ID and personal learning spaces. The final results produced by the online teams and the feedback has been creative and heartwarming. I believe EDD732 has had a contribution to making digifolios ning a success.
I am sad that we will be parting soon. As much as the courses take a lot of my time, they are great learning environments. I have enjoyed learning by discussions and writing individual and team papers.
I would like to thank Dr. Williams for doing a great job in facilitating the class.
I have one more formal course to go before I attend to chapters 1-3 and my research project.
References used in the implications and conclusion part:
Chernis, C., & Goleman, D. (2001). The emotionally intelligent workplace: How to select for, measure, and improve emotional intelligence in individuals, groups, and organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bas
Cooper, B. S., Fusarelli, L. D. & Randall E. V. (2004). Better policies, better schools: theories and application. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Rouk, U. (2000, November). Policymakers build bridges to the public. Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL), 13, Retrieved February 11, 2009, from http://www.sedl.org.
The past weeks have gone by very quickly. I had very little knowledge of the policymaking process before the course. The course helped me understand that policy development is a complex process with many variables that need consideration and teamwork to ensure successful development and implementation. (Cooper, Fusarelli & Randall, 2004). Normative, structural, constituentive, and technical dimensions can help explain the complexities but do make things any simpler (Cooper, Fasarelli & Randall, 2004). The reason for the complexities are multiple ideas (normative) on what needs changing, by whom (structural and constituentive), and how (technical). Professional workshops would help members learn how to listen and collaborate with all the stakeholders involved. Learning to listen in order to gain information will unite and increase collaboration among the constituents and the policymakers (Rouk, 2000).
I liked the idea of "study circle dialogues" that can provide policymakers with information from experts in the field of education as well as from parents, students, and the community (Rouk, 2000). The study circles help policymakers gain a better understanding of the public needs and interests (Rouk, 2000). Policymakers need to learn to relate to a diverse population with multiple ideas (Cooper et al., 2004). The policymaking process must include professional development in self and social awareness. It is important for policymakers to improve their understanding of the different. Training can provide the tools on how to improve relational processes at a learning organization so that learners will be treated fairly (Chernis & Goleman, 2001). Emotional and moral teachings can help policymakers learn about themselves and the way they relate to differences. The focus should be on relating to conflicting interests as an asset and not a barrier (Chernis & Goleman, 2001). I believe that becoming aware of our selves and social awareness are the keys to a better understanding and acceptance of different opinions. The class discussions exemplify the kind of social awareness and respect of others' that policymakers should have.
Dr. Williams has done an incredible job at evaluating individual and teams papers on the second final course on Contemporary Policy Analysis and Development (EDD732). EDD 732 Contemporary Policy Analysis and Development provided me with an excellent background on the political environment educational leaders must understand policy development, implementation, and analysis at the federal, state, local and institutional levels in the United States of America. I gained a good perspective on contemporary educational policy at all levels and investigated two policies, IDEA and Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. I learned about the complexity of political relations and the factors that influence these interactions. I would like thank my fellow classmates at the University of Phoenix and my instructor. I learned a great deal from the class discussions and teamwork onjavascript:void(0) the debate and team paper on IDEA. I also learned from my instructors assessments. I hope our paths cross as we continue to engage in improving instruction and learning.
I would like to add that I found the topic of Dr. Williams' dissertation (2006)very relevant to what I do online as I attempt to engage educators in collaborative learning. Teachers at all levels find that the process of online collaboration enriches their personal and professional lives. I belong to Webheads in Action (WIA) a professional community of learners who teach English as a foreign and second language worldwide. As a Webhead and the EVO09- TESOL initiative, I have been co-moderating a free online course on a voluntary basis with 3 other educators called digifolios on digital ID and personal learning spaces. The final results produced by the online teams and the feedback has been creative and heartwarming. I believe EDD732 has had a contribution to making digifolios ning a success.
I am sad that we will be parting soon. As much as the courses take a lot of my time, they are great learning environments. I have enjoyed learning by discussions and writing individual and team papers.
I would like to thank Dr. Williams for doing a great job in facilitating the class.
I have one more formal course to go before I attend to chapters 1-3 and my research project.
References used in the implications and conclusion part:
Chernis, C., & Goleman, D. (2001). The emotionally intelligent workplace: How to select for, measure, and improve emotional intelligence in individuals, groups, and organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bas
Cooper, B. S., Fusarelli, L. D. & Randall E. V. (2004). Better policies, better schools: theories and application. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Rouk, U. (2000, November). Policymakers build bridges to the public. Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL), 13, Retrieved February 11, 2009, from http://www.sedl.org.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Phenomenology
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Presented by the late Professor Robert C. Solomon:
Edmund Husserl was the founder of phenomenology, a philosophical method seeking certainty. His most illustrious student was Martin Heidegger, who took Husserls method into the realm of existentialism. Heidegger called his philosophy a fundamental ontology and began with an examination of Dasein--our Being-in-the-World. Unlike Husserl, however, he rejects mind and consciousness. But Dasein has an identity crisis. It wants to know who it is. So, too, Heideggers own identity has proved to be very controversial.
Category: Education
Tags:
edmund husserl martin heidegger phenomenology existentialism philosophy cartesianism
Presented by the late Professor Robert C. Solomon:
Edmund Husserl was the founder of phenomenology, a philosophical method seeking certainty. His most illustrious student was Martin Heidegger, who took Husserls method into the realm of existentialism. Heidegger called his philosophy a fundamental ontology and began with an examination of Dasein--our Being-in-the-World. Unlike Husserl, however, he rejects mind and consciousness. But Dasein has an identity crisis. It wants to know who it is. So, too, Heideggers own identity has proved to be very controversial.
Category: Education
Tags:
edmund husserl martin heidegger phenomenology existentialism philosophy cartesianism
Existentialism, Mindfulness, Poetry, and Phenomenology
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Today I listened to Tolle Eckhart discuss object consciousness and manifestations vs. space consciousness and non-manifestations. The ideas took me into my past and present.
I am discovering that my past reading of Greek and Roman plays along with Jean Paul Sartre, Camus, and Ayne Rand at the age of 16 has left its marks. My background in reading, drawing, writing poetry, and in studying literature as an undergraduate student seems to align with my interest in existentialism and phenomenology.
Phenomenology deals with the phenomenon of being. I have been consciously learning about myself as a living phenomenon since the age of 4. I have always been fascinated by perception and reality: Is what I perceive as real, real? In addition, I have spent hours thinking about the value of thinking about reality. In other words, what is the point of thinking about something I will never know? And yet, existentialism, mindfulness meditation practice, and phenomenology seem to appeal to my sense of being.
Ayne Rand Misunderstood and Feared
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Today I listened to Tolle Eckhart discuss object consciousness and manifestations vs. space consciousness and non-manifestations. The ideas took me into my past and present.
I am discovering that my past reading of Greek and Roman plays along with Jean Paul Sartre, Camus, and Ayne Rand at the age of 16 has left its marks. My background in reading, drawing, writing poetry, and in studying literature as an undergraduate student seems to align with my interest in existentialism and phenomenology.
Phenomenology deals with the phenomenon of being. I have been consciously learning about myself as a living phenomenon since the age of 4. I have always been fascinated by perception and reality: Is what I perceive as real, real? In addition, I have spent hours thinking about the value of thinking about reality. In other words, what is the point of thinking about something I will never know? And yet, existentialism, mindfulness meditation practice, and phenomenology seem to appeal to my sense of being.
Ayne Rand Misunderstood and Feared
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Friday, January 16, 2009
Quality Learning
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I was very pleased to read
At M.I.T., Large Lectures Are Going the Way of the Blackboard because it's high time we understood that education is about quality learning. The debate of education vs learning and student vs teacher centered instruction should have been resolved by now. Learning should be the focus of both instructor and learner as they engage in the learning-teaching-learning process. It should be a give and take situation where teachers and students interact and learn from each other. Teachers learn about student needs and best practices on how to make instruction conducive to learning for the specific students at hand and for future instructional learning improvements and students learn from interacting with the content, instructor, and each other. Learning is a collective process.
I was very pleased to read
At M.I.T., Large Lectures Are Going the Way of the Blackboard because it's high time we understood that education is about quality learning. The debate of education vs learning and student vs teacher centered instruction should have been resolved by now. Learning should be the focus of both instructor and learner as they engage in the learning-teaching-learning process. It should be a give and take situation where teachers and students interact and learn from each other. Teachers learn about student needs and best practices on how to make instruction conducive to learning for the specific students at hand and for future instructional learning improvements and students learn from interacting with the content, instructor, and each other. Learning is a collective process.
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