It is a whole lot more complex to get somebody to go to class for you than it is to call 'em over and tell you how to write this paragraph or essay... a whole lot more tempting to do the latter.
We've had students who got B on their "midterm progress reports" because everything had been taken home... and they'd "gotten help." In some cases, the student was extremely illiterate and unable to construct a single sentence independently; school had *always* been an exercise in "sharing" the work.
"Old school" or not, too, many students don't learn independently. Our schools don't exactly teach it. If I remember right, the success rates for online courses in the basics are pretty dismal -- even more so than the rates for Face-to-Face.
Susan Jones
Academic Development Specialist
Center for Academic Success
Parkland College
Champaign, IL 61821
217-353-2056
[log in to unmask]
Webmastress,
http://www.resourceroom.net
http://bicyclecu.blogspot.com
>>> "William W. Ziegler" <[log in to unmask]> 7/2/2009 12:55 PM >>>
Some ideas can be found at http://www.uri.edu/online/integrity/, but no
guarantees. Just as there are no guarantees in conventional classrooms.
Any assignment not composed in front of me could have been written by
anyone. Take it a step further: I don't check photo IDs at the beginning
of the semester to see whether the student sitting in front of me and
calling herself Patty Duke really is Patty Duke or her cousin.
"...Identical cousins!..." Does anyone?
(If you get that reference, it's as good as showing your AARP card.)
-----Original Message-----
From: Open Forum for Learning Assistance Professionals
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Anne Messner
Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 12:40 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: U.S. Push for Free Online Courses : Community colleges and
high schools would receive federal funds
The oversight issue is an important one as it relates to academic
integrity. At my college we are trying to sort out how we insure the
integrity of the online courses that we now offer. How can we be sure
that the person doing the work is the person who signed up for the
course? We use programs like Turnitin.com, but they still leave the
essential question unanswered. How do the rest of you handle this
problem?
Anne H. Messner
Instructor, English and Reading
Chattahoochee Valley Community College
334.291.4976
[log in to unmask]
________________________________
From: Open Forum for Learning Assistance Professionals on behalf of
Kathryn Schrader
Sent: Thu 7/2/2009 12:29 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: U.S. Push for Free Online Courses : Community colleges and
high schools would receive federal funds
It sounds wonderful; however, many of our students who would be in need
of foundational literacy type courses have neither the computer skills
nor the motivation to be successful in an online environment. How will
we weed them out? Or do we merely do them the disservice of setting
them up for failure? I guess I'm just ole school because I still
believe that a warm, breathing and in your face human is the way most
first year community college students develop good learning skills.
Please don't anyone read this as an apology---'cause it's not.
Kathryn J. Schrader
Tutoring & SI Supervisor
Muskegon Community College
221 S. Quarterline Rd.
Muskegon, MI 49442
231-777-0393
fax:231-777-0624
-----Original Message-----
From: Open Forum for Learning Assistance Professionals
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of William W. Ziegler
Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 11:13 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: U.S. Push for Free Online Courses : Community colleges and
high schools would receive federal funds
Design and oversight are crucial, but if these are handled properly,
there's no reason for online courses to be less effective than
conventional ones. Potential for abuse exists with any mode of delivery.
-----Original Message-----
From: Open Forum for Learning Assistance Professionals
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Stephen Ewen
Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 10:54 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: U.S. Push for Free Online Courses : Community colleges and
high schools would receive federal funds
I'm not a huge fan of purely online undergraduate courses. For
especially
first-year foundational literacy courses, including college level
English, I
have seen more damage than good come from them.
Stephen Ewen, M.Ed.
On Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 10:24 AM, William W. Ziegler
<[log in to unmask]>wrote:
> Come again??
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Open Forum for Learning Assistance Professionals
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alan Stern
> Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 10:09 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: U.S. Push for Free Online Courses : Community colleges
and
> high schools would receive federal funds
>
> So, it looks like your tax dollars will be used to create competition
> for
> you!
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Open Forum for Learning Assistance Professionals
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dan Kern
> Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 8:59 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: U.S. Push for Free Online Courses : Community colleges and
high
> schools would receive federal funds
>
> U.S. Push for Free Online Courses
>
> June 29, 2009
>
> Bottom of Form
>
>
>
> WASHINGTON -- Community colleges and high schools would receive
federal
> funds to create free, online courses in a program that is in the final
> stages of being drafted by the Obama administration.
>
> The program is part of a series of efforts to help community colleges
> reach
> more students and to link basic skills education to job training. The
> proposals are outlined in administration discussion drafts obtained by
> Inside Higher Ed. A formal announcement could come in the next few
> weeks. In
> addition to the free online courses, the plan would provide $9 billion
> over
> 10 years to help community colleges develop and improve programs
related
> to
> preparing students for good jobs, and a $10 billion loan fund (at low
or
> no
> interest) for community college facilities.
>
> John White, press secretary for the Education Department, said Sunday
> that
> the department would discuss the plans "when the time is right." He
said
> that there is a lot of "high level discussion and excitement" around
> these
> ideas related to community colleges.
>
> The funds envisioned for open courses -- $50 million a year -- may be
> small
> in comparison to the other ideas being discussed. But in proposing
that
> the
> federal government pay for (and own) courses that would be free for
all,
> as
> well as setting up a system to assess learning in those courses, and
> creating a "National Skills College" to coordinate these efforts, the
> plan
> could be significant far beyond its dollars.
>
> The draft language suggests that the administration is throwing its
> weight
> behind the movement to put more courses online -- and offer them free
--
> and
> is also pushing that movement in the direction of community colleges.
>
> Continue reading print version:
> http://www.insidehighered.com/layout/set/print/news/2009/06/29/ccplan
>
> Rootage: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/06/29/ccplan
>
> Blurb: If this program provided more skills training and education to
> even
> a small percentage of those leaving high school without a diploma or
> those
> who have no college education, he said, the impact on the individuals
> and
> the economy could be huge. "I couldn't think of a more important
target
> than
> high schools and community colleges for open courses," he said.
>
> According to the draft materials from the administration, the program
> would
> support the development of 20-25 "high quality" courses a year, with a
> mix
> of high school and community college courses. Initial preference would
> go to
> "career oriented" courses. The courses would be owned by the
government
> and
> would be free for anyone to take. Courses would be selected
> competitively,
> through peer review, for support. And the courses would be "modular"
or
> "object based" such that they would be "interoperable" and could be
> offered
> with a variety of technology platforms.
>
> Under the plan, the government would also support a "National Skills
> College" at a community college that would, among other things, work
to
> develop examinations that could be given at the end of the courses so
> that
> colleges, employers and students could judge how much learning had
taken
> place. Course developers would be asked to consult with colleges on
> standards, so that the offerings could be created with the goal of
> having
> credit transferred to many institutions. And the National Skills
College
> would work to promote programs that might mix the free courses with
> tuition
> courses so students could earn degrees at lower cost.
>
> While the program is described as one that emphasizes community
colleges
> and
> high schools, it would be open to public agencies and to private
> for-profit
> or nonprofit groups.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Dan Kern
>
> AD21, Reading
>
> East Central College
>
> 1964 Prairie Dell Road
>
> Union, MO 63084-4344
>
> Phone: (636) 583-5195
>
> Extension: 2426
>
> Fax: (636) 584-0513
>
> Email: [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner. Put
>
> yourself in his place so that you may understand what he learns and
>
> the way he understands it. (Kierkegaard)
>
>
>
> To freely bloom - that is my definition of success. -Gerry Spence,
> lawyer
> (b. 1929) [Benjamin would be proud, I think.]
>
>
>
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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