CCEL Final Presentation!!

CCEL Implementation Plan

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Apologies that there is no sound audio with this slideshare.
However! if you would like to access via my Blackboard posting you can hear it there!!

cheers
Mereana

CCEL - Assignment 5 -Evaluation Plan

Hi all. this info is also listed on Blackboard discussion site as requested by Course requirements.

In anticipation of you being able to view my Presentation of my course design (which i have yet to do as i haven't quite mastered how to present it in a correct format via the EXE programme. !!) i thought i would outline my plans for evaluation and some associated thinking/linking !! One of the key resources that has informed my thinking and commenting has come from the Warwick Learning and Development Centre its a great resouce...take a look!! another useful site might be Survey Monkey
How will you evaluate the success of your new course design? and How will you monitor its success as you use it, and at the end of the first offering?I anticipate that i will be able to guage the success of this course by the evaluation processes which i put in place. See below for more information. I would also anticipate being able to access some information about how often students are acessing the site and what resources are being utilised. ie: attendance at elluminate sessions, participation in discussion boards. However, some of the evaluation data will not be available until the course is completed. At the end of the course an full evaluation will be required as part of our school requirements.
Who will you ask to review your design and test it before you go live?I anticipate that i will be asking colleagues from within the School of Nursing and Midwifery who are currently utilising Blackboard /Moodle sites and who are familiar with e learning resource development and facilitation to be able to access my site and to provide feedback to me regarding the resources i am developing. I have had committments from several colleagues already to make themselves available in early February 2009 to do this. This has been factored into my timeline for development (see course design presentation for further info)
I would also involve other educators from around New Zealand who are engage in teaching similar content ie: Maori Nurse educators and cultural safety educators to participate in providing feedback as to the design prior to it going live.


How will you gather your data?
What criteria will you use to judge success?

Some of the potential ways of gathering evaluation feedback on the effectiveness of my course changes (which are all e learning based) will be:

1)A pre-course survey or questionnaire to discover aspects of what each student brings to the course session, e.g. prior experience, personal motivation (also: one minute questionnaires)

2)Confidence logs after each kind of activity

Both of these options could be placed on the Moodle site as an identified link.

3)Post course questionnaire to elicit personal reactions to the experience, and to ask about the relative value each individual put on various resources or activities

And potentially the offer of a face to face interviews of a sample of students ie: focus group type setting for those student who would prefer to engage in feedback in this way
Other institutional requirements and School of Nursing course evaluations maybe able to be adapated to include questions relating to these topics as well. At present each course in evaluated on a bi annual basis if not major changes are made - in the instance of this course i would anticipate that a yearly evaluation wil be conducted in 2009.

What will you do with the information obtained?

I anticipate critiquing any feedback which is received during and at the end of the course to iniate changes if required. Formal evaluations are tabled with our School of Nursing External Advisory Committee for their information. There is also the intention that the feedback is published in Nursing Journals/ OP forums for wider dissemination.


Again , i welcome your feedback on my comments..

regards

DFLP Self Evaluation.

Fingers crossed that this works.
would you please reply if you have been able to open this link to view my self evaluation

CCEL - Implementation Plan - Assignment 4

What are the steps and the approximate timeline for the implementation of your course design? How can you be sure that this plan will satisfy the needs of the learners and the other stakeholders? At what stages will you need the resources that you have identified?

This information should be set out in a clear plan on a static webpage with links to relevant references, conversations, letters of support, minutes of meetings or any other relevant information. A Word document converted to a web page using Course Genie is the recommended technology to produce this (and training in its use will be provided), but any html editing programme with which you are already familiar may be used.
Marking criteria:
 Web page produced showing steps and timelines
 At least three relevant internal links and three relevant external links.


Watch this space as i struggle along with understanding the EXE programme formatting.....i've decided to take Carolyns advice and go with this option over the Course Genie option.....

If there is anyone out there that has some time to spare tomorrow that could assist i would be greatful.

DFLP - Flexible Learning Proposal Audio!!!

Click to Play

Piaget & Constructivism.....

Thanks Merrolee for your inquiry regarding Jean Piaget's and his role in the development of Constructivism/ Constructivist learning theory. Well spotted! and You are absolutely right the Vygotsky is a contructivist.....he is attributed to the social constructivist perspective, Piaget with the cognitive perspective (surprise surprise!) There are lots of overlaps betweent the two but maybe you might want to checkout this this link for some extra info....re: Cognitive Constructivism and Social Constructivism

DFLP - Flexible Learning Proposal

Hi all
After much angst!! i have managed to get some audio to accompany this slideshow
if you scroll up you will see a Blip.tv Icon which if you activate will accompany this show.
if you time it right you might be able to understand what i'm talking about!!!

Blip.tv is a fantastic alternative to Internet Archive which if found rather slow going for uploading MP3 audio files. Thanks to Dave McQuillan for the heads up on this link.

Final Copy Flexi Learning Plan

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Creating Course to Enhance Learning - Assignment 3

Development ideas
Create your own learning weblog (Blog) in which you record your developing ideas about the practicalities of the proposed design of your course. You must address how you are going to provide an appropriate balance of face to face and flexible learning materials and assessment methods. The language and style may be quite informal, and technical assistance will be provided.

Marking criteria:
 Existing learning activities critically reviewed – what works and what doesn’t.
 Proposed learning objects, media and activities are described, as well as the way in which they will be used.
 Reflection on resourcing, including any new technologies, staffing and training provided.


1) Existing learning activities critically reviewed - what works and what doesn’t

Introduction:
A reminder about the course which i am proposing design changes
in. It is a compulsory course within the Yr 2 Bachelor of Nursing programme(Level) . I have been responsible for co coordinating this course for the last 10 years so have been able to observe trends in students participation levels and changes in student feedback during that time.Constraints around design changes which need to be noted are: 1) That the format of the course as listed in the curriculum document is
non negotiable. ie: 15 Credit course, 150 hrs total learning time 52 hours theory and 98 hours self directed hours. the course is delivered in 9 weekly blocks over two semester ie: full academic year. From an educator/course co coordinators point of view one of the key challenges I face is maintain learners interest in the course as these teaching blocks are in dispersed by clinical placements and of course holiday breaks. One of the motivating forces behind my design changes was to address this issue.

Current learning activities within the course i am proposing design changes in are:
Lectures x 27 hrs, Tutorials x 18hrs and self directed learning workbook. Each of these earning activities have limitations in the following ways: Lecture: The student group consists of 90-100 students. This means that the venues for lectures is usually large - and not Conducive to creating an atmosphere where dialogue and
Interchange of ideas between myself as facilitator and the learners
is possible. This is a variable which can not be changed without Timetable and room allocation. For those who do not attend lectures can only source the information via the Course on Student programme in PDF format of the lectures PowerPoint presentation slides. This limits student learning to the abridged version of the
lecture content. Another limitation is the non compulsory nature of the tutorial learning experience. Whilst this maybe seen as being the learners opportunity to have a smaller group learning situation - again the trend over the last 5 yrs is that attendance is dropping off to less than 30 %. ( This is a trend across the School of Nursing in a number of theory classes) In 2008 there has been no blackboard/moodle site. As a result of my GCLT learning I initiated a student evaluation survey of the 2008 students in regards to which learning mediums they would prefer to have access to a wider range of learning opportunities ie: blackboard or moodle sites which gave them access off campus, quizzes, workbooks, etc were also seen as being desirable changes. Other suggestions were Discussion boards and the need to have a wider range of ways to access teachers in the course for more direct feedback/advice particularly when they were not in polytechnic campus (when out on clinical placements) 100% of students identified that they
considered lectures to be their primary choice for learner engagement. Tutorials they saw as also being important and needed to be retained.


2) Proposed learning objectives, media and activities described as well as the way in which they will be used.

Proposed changes are consistent with my DFLP plan outline. ie:Information formats:Establishment of Moodle site (already started thanks to Terry M) Preparation of resources will utilise either Course Genie Communication Strategies: Discussion Board via Moodle site. Elluminate Sessions
Assessment: use of online drop boxes for potential assessment such as worksheets or quizzes. Turnitin Programme will be utilised for submission of assessment.


As always,,..your feedback and comments on my postings would be appreciated.

Creating Courses to Enhance Learning - Assignment Two

Design overview
Participate in the setting-up of a collaborative website (a wiki) on design theory and design models appropriate to your course. Technical assistance will be provided


Marking criteria:
Your contribution will include one theoretical perspective which you have researched and referenced; and is appropriate to your course and learners
Your planning will link learning outcomes to learning activities and teaching strategies, content and assessment.
Your contribution will show learners, disciplines, as well as industry/professional body expectations and requirements.



Hi there everyone
some thinking and linking around my design overview is looking at educational theory perspective of Constructivism. Some easy read resources about this approach are linked here Contructivism a Paradigm for teaching and learning and also thats "Concept to Classroom".
Essentially constructivism is a theory based on observation and scientific study and it is about how people learn. It says that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. For us as educators it usually means encouraging students to use active techniques (experiments, real-world problem solving) to create more knowledge and then to reflect on and talk about what they are doing and how their understanding is changing. The teacher makes sure she understands the students' preexisting conceptions, and guides the activity to address them and then build on them.


My own design overview is focused on revamping the level 6 Bachelor of Nursing course which i co ordinate " Contemporary issues in Maori health"

From my perspective as the educator I would like to make the course more learner focused whilst also trying to incorporate more flexible ways of learning such as use of electronic media. this is based around the course delivery which is 10 weeks of timetable classes over a full year. This poses challenges for both the student and the educator in how to engage the student for this long timeframe in meaningful learning.

How and what i revamp is still not clear however, some of the contextual issues which I need to consider are our school curriculum philosophy which is based on Habermas' Critical Social Theory. ie: that there are three primary generic cognitive areas in which human interest generates knowledge. These areas determine categories relevant to what we interpret as knowledge. That is, they are termed 'knowledge constitutive' -- they determine the mode of discovering knowledge and whether knowledge claims can be warranted. These areas define cognitive interests or learning domains, and are grounded in different aspects of social existence -- work, interaction and power.
It is also essential that whatever, changes are made in whatever form they must align with the curriculum philsophy. Another contextual issue is that of the Nursing Council of New Zealand Competencies for Registered Nurses in particular competencies which relate to the registered nurses competence in the area of providing culturally safe care to a diverse range of Maori. The course outcomes for Contemporary Issues in Maori health identify critical thinking and reflection as being core learning outcomes.

It's with these two wider contexts in mind that I have begun to explore the potential to develop a range learner centred resources which will enable students to explore core course knowledge in a medium that best suits their learning style. Potential resources will be explored more fully as my thinking clarrifies however at this stage the use of case studys and /reflection exercises in an online site such as Moodle is a possiblity. Feeback from the current student group also indciate a desire for online medium such as short quizzes and potential mutiple choice exam questions to be made availalble. Further exploration of these will made in Assignment 3.

Creating Courses to Enhance Learning - Assignment One

Analysis of learners and context:

Kia ora koutou /greetings to you all,

For those of you i haven't met and heard some of this information before ! I work i the School of Nursing as a fulltime lecturer my key teaching areas in the second year of the Bachelor of Nursing programme in courses titled Contemporary Issues in Maori health and Medical Surgical Nursing practice Skills. Both of these courses are compulsory and delivered to on avaerage 90-100 students per year. the demographic of this group is that they are predmoninately female, and have come directly to the programme as either school leavers or after one year of university study. the pre entry criteria for the course is such that it is anticipated that they have the necessary academic skills to cope with the course requirements.!! In saying that I'm sure it is no surprise to those of us who have been in this environment for a while that increasingly students are challenge by the need to complete the range of assessment required using frameworks of critical anaylsis/ discuss whilst also being required to integrate their theory knowledge to their nursing practice.

Another key consideration of delivery of education to student nurses in preparation for Registered Nurse status is the legal requirements which all Registered Nurses in New Zealand are bound by =- the Health Practitioners Competency Assurance Act (2003); The Registered Nurse Competencies for registration as a nurses ( Nursing Council of New Zealand) Education Programme standards for Registered Nurse Scope of Practice (NCNZ 2005) So whilst i anticipate looking fow ways to enhance my student learning in the courses which i teach I am mindful that i have these overarching requirements to consider.

The learner diveristy is considerable. Gender, Ethnicity, Migrant experience, Socio economic status, learning styles and academic capabilities. Each of these is also a key consideration which will need to be carefully considered during my exploration of this course. One aspect of this diversity which I intend to confirm at the next teaching block which i have with students is to assess learning styles which is something that i had not undertaken earlier in the year.


Look foward to seeing you all Friday.
Keep warm!!

Week 13 - National and International support for flexible learning development

To do

• Identify funding opportunities that could be appropriate for your plan (assignment 3) and write to your blog a brief outline of how you would apply for their funding and incorporate it into your over all development
• Include notes of funding opportunities in your presentation (assignment 2) and in your plan (assignment 3).

I do not anticipate that my proposed Fexible Learning development plan will require extensive financial assistance! Now that is thinking sustainably! Most of the development can occur with the assistance of either EDC staff who have indicated their availability to assist with Digital literacy of programmes such as Moodle. Likewise the development of Course Genie and Discussion boards. Time release to develop these tools will need to be negotiated with my Head of School - this will not be able to be confirmed until later in November 2008 when all staffing allocations for 2009 are made.

Week 12 - Flexible learning in educational organisations

To do

1. Locate your educational organisations strategic plan (or equivalent). It is usually a public document with mission statements, aims and objectives, and performance indicators.
2. Highlight statements that refer to or relate to flexible learning.
3. Listen to Otago Polytechnic's Chief Executive, Phil Ker, present on a web conference and how the organisation is approaching flexible learning development. Audio files available here
4. On your blog, reference and discuss the statements from the organisational document you are using and use them to begin relating your planning ideas (assignment 3) to the strategic direction of your organisation.

Otago Polytechnics Stratgic Goals are listed in the 2006-2010 Charter Document and for those of you who havent' accessed it it clearly states the intention of our organisation to:
In its Vision.... that we will be recognised for:
"the flexibility of our delivery and the willingness to accommodate the specific learning aspirations of students" (pg 4)
We aim to "provide flexible and accessible learning opportunities which build capability, are stimulating and foster life long learning. (pg 8)
Committement is also noted to: providing programmes which are flexible in nature so as to meet the communities needs (pg 11)


No surprise then that Phil Ker our CEO's session reinforced this direction. Phils opening comment of around flexible learning and emphasised that it is a key element of our teching and learning strategy.

I identified three key themes in his comments. Firslty was that of access ie: that we need to engage with more learners that what we are. secondly, the promotion of learner autonomy and the third was that of cost effectiveness. My musings on these positions were that the autonomy perspective relies heavily on learning intiative and may be difficult if staff /student ratios remain high. for example i am responsible for teaching 90-100 per year as a sole lecturer responsible for teaching /administration keep this group of students motivated to engaged in their learning is one of my challenges. Phils reinforcement that flexible learning is not just about on line learning but a range of options provided the reminder that block course. elluminate and web discussions are all part of the mix for my proposed framework. where or not it will provide the cost effectiveness Phil talks of remains difficult for me to see at this stage whilst i struggle with the new technologies i want to utilise- i'm sure with more digital literacy it might become easier. A consideration to how assessment maybe completed in a flexible way requires more exploration as this potentially could provide an opportunity for students to have more autonomy as to where /when they completed their work. for example the online option of Turnitin digital assignment drop box. rather than printing out and hand delivering to School office.

I intend to utlise the OP Charter comments to support my Final flexible learning plan. In respect of utilising some on line options such as course genie, moodle , discussion board and turnitin within my course.

Week 11 - Issues with flexible learning - Cultural diversity

1. Listen to the recorded Elluminate presentation by Kate Timms from Otago Polytechnic's Educational Development Center - cultural diversity in educational institutions. Learn about the Polytechnic's policy for cultural inclusion and discuss thoughts and ideas on how to be more culturally sensitive in our work designing for flexible learning practices.
2. Write to your blog the following:

• any observations you have made of systemic cultural insensitivity in an educational organisation or institution and ideas on how you as an individual might address those problems through the development of flexible learning.
• You may wish to include some ideas for inclusiveness and cultural diversity in your flexible learning plan.

Kates korero was awesome..It was great to hear her wider brief of identifying the cultural diversity context of teaching and learning and i think that many educators here at OP could benefit from hearing this session as a way of expanding their understanding on how cultural perspectives impact on an individuals learning experience.

Exploring the sociological context of 'culture' and the New Zealand Nursing Councils Competency Cultural Safety is part of Bachelor of Nursing curricula so this aspect of our DFLP course and the relevance to my core teaching topics is highly relevant. NZNC definition of culture safety is: " The effective nursing practice of a person or family from another culture,and is determined by that person or family. Culture includes, but is not restricted to, age or generation; gender; sexual orientation; occupation and socioeconomic status; ethnic origin or migrant experience; religious or spiritual belief; and disability. (2005, pg 6)

The nurse delivering the nursing service will have undertaken a process of reflection on his or her own cultural identity and will recognise the impact that his or her personal culture has on his or her professional practice. Unsafe cultural practice comprises any action which
diminishes, demeans or disempowers the cultural identity and wellbeing of an individual.
Cultural Safety Education

The purpose of cultural safety in nursing education extends beyond the description of practices, beliefs and values of ethnic groups. Confining learning to rituals, customs and practices of a group assumes that by learning about one aspect gives insight into the complexity of human behaviours and social realities. This assumption that cultures aresimplistic in nature can lead to a checklist approach by service providers,which negates diversity and individual consideration. Cultural safety education is focused on the knowledge and understanding of the individual nurse, rather than on attempts to learn accessible aspects of different groups. A nurse who can understandhis or her own culture and the theory of power relations can be culturally safe in any context.

My musings on how we can improve our practice in teaching is explored by Linda Jeffs in her article "Teaching in a culturally safe way" (Nursing Praxis in New ZealandVol. 17 No.3 - November 2001) this identifies key strategies by which educators can role model culturally safe frameworks to learners.

Week 10 -Issues with flexible learning - access and equity

1. Listen to this recording of Pam McBride from Otago Polytechnic's Disabilities Unit discussing issues with access and equity in flexible learning
2. Locate and read at least one article on access and equity issues and related to flexible learning.
3. Write to your blog the following:

• a summary of an article you have read.
• your observations on how issues to do with access and equity can enhance and compliment your working context;
• issues which may affect access and equity for your students/clients and some possible solutions.
• You may wish to include some of these issues and solutions in your flexible learning plan.

Pams presentation around access and equity issues here at Otago Polytechnic was a reminder of the wider range of issues which need to be considered by all of us as educators when we are planning, implementing and evaluating our courses. The disabilities services and focus of her discussion prompted me to explore what is currently offered within my own school /programme in regards to access/limitations for potential students. Entry requirements specify a range of criteria relating to academic abilities and fluency with English language Selection criteria reflects the Nursing Council of New Zealand requirements into a Bachelor of Nursing programme. Applicants must declare any criminal conviction, physical limitations or health concerns that may impact on their ability to complete the Bachelor of Nursing and gain registration as a nurse in New Zealand. Course counselling is available to determine suitability. However, as Pam alluded to in her presentation there are a wider range of disablities within the student population many of which are 'invisible' and many of which we as educators may not be made aware of until their unit instruct us via exam instructions such as extra time/or reader writer status. With these two perspectives in mind i am mindful that the within our school access and equity issues relating to disablities is the domain of the specialised service. A further search of NZ resources which could also provide some more information for us as educators can be found "Code of Practice for an Inclusive Tertiary Education Environment for students with disablities"
this provides some clear guidelines to assist us with strategies and ways to increase access to this group of learners.
Wider thinking about this topic led me to the article by Zondiros in summary Zondiros is commenting on globalisation and its impact on developing countries accessing education. He adds that because of new information and communication technologies, online education there is more opportunity for people to access education by way of mediums appropriate to their circumstances. Factors which influence whether people are able to access these are:
limited digital literacy, low socioeconomic status, limited or not internet access. He notes taht thes issues have meant that access and inequity has inceased rathe than decrease the gaps in educational success. the further extends the social exclusion that these individuals may already face. He challenges those who are developing online IT technolgies and courses to consider how
they are going to improve educational access to these individuals.

My musings about Zondiros comments are that we have aspects of all of his critiques here in New Zealand and within our geographic context of Otago Polytechnics community of learners. Socio economic disadvantage has been identified by numerous Ministry of Education, Health and Social Development as being the key factor in influencing educational success at all levels. Socioeconomic status directly affect health status and so the cycle continues. "The evidence shows that ethnicity and culture, socioeconomic status and home language all impact on student achievement. Children with access to higher levels of human and material resources, such as high levels of parental education and computers, have higher achievement than children whose families do not have these resources, but the evidence identifies alternative means of providing some of these resources." New Zealand Education Gazette 2004

Some of the strategies that could be explored in regards to the programme in which i teach would be to provide targetted programmes which assist learners from lower socioeconomic groups to transition into nursing education more easily than is currently possible. However, the trade off is the cost effectiveness of this approach. Applicantions to enter our programmes far exceed places offered therefore selecting those most likely to succeed is a preferred option. However, is this socially just? are we continuing to aid the access /equity gaps? more disucssion to follow in my next posting............

Week 9- Sustainability

I can't believe how much i've heard this word in the last 18 months around our campus!! but despite this "buzzword' and targetted information sessions for staff around the OP core competencies i have had minimal knowledge about this until prompted by our DFLP work! so hats of to you Leigh and Bronwyn for getting us to examine this !! Listening to Sam Manns elluminate session on sustainability issues along with exploring the triple bottom line articles/links relating to flexible learning gave me food for thought.

Some of my musings are: The OP Graduate Profile context /target of having all OP graduates working as ' sustainable practitioner's by mid 2009 sounded like a tall order however, when i linked through the OP wiki which outline departmental progress lead me to consider how this approach could and would inform any potential changes to the courses which i facilitate.Within the School of Nursing profile its noted that one of the key contexts which requires consideration for discussion relating to sustainabilty is that of the Nursing Council of NZ Registered Nurse Comptencies around Professionalism require nurses (ie: our graduates) to demonstrate knowledge and practice which ensures we are accountable to our actions and descision whilst promoting environmments that promote health and safety of clients. Furthermore, our focus on cultural safety (yet another of Nursing Councils Registered Nurse Competencies)extends this concept to ensure that students can examine the social, historical, cultural and structual context of health. each of these align with the sustainable practitioner particularly within the social sustainablity.

Cultural safety is a core concept in the course which i am focusing on in this programme. ie; providing students with the knoweldge, skills necessary to work across a wider range of clinical setting with diverse range of clients who identify as Maori. Some of this involves providing them with case study /scenario examples which allow them to consider what descision making processes need to be made by the nurse to ensure their practice is 'culturally safe'. Currently this is facilitated by utilising a range of printed materials which require replication for each student to utilise - The ecological sustainability issues that Sam Mann and the refer to have prompted me to consider how this could be facilitated in a more sustainable way. Digital mediums such as Course Genie / Moodle sites would permit each student to access the case study work at times/venues that suit them with the added advantage on reducing costs of printing etc. The aspect of economic sustaintability is causing me some minor consternation! Sam Mann identified the wider political context that sits outside why we (OP ) are doing what we are doing... " as Sam stated in his session we (OP) are leaning into the political - we do want to change peoples values" is a reminder to us all that we part of the educational ethos that to some extent is beyond our direct control as educators. however, with that distractor aside i can see that revisiting the flexiblity of course delivery to ensure that learners can potentially remain in their own home/environment lends itself to advancing econonomic and ecological sustainablity. reduction in travel time/costs/carbon emissions/etc could be considerable. The workload implications for myself as the facilitator is something which i have yet to be clear of. Changes which i am proposing are minor in some aspects however, whilst much of the media /IT knowledge that is related to them is unfamiliar i have a bias towards if changes will reduce workload are not as clear to me.....more thinking/reading needed on this one!

Week 8 - Issues with Flexible Learning.

"What are some of the issues that you think are significant in terms of what the modern internet has to offer to flexible learning?"

I''m sure that this topic has been plagued all of us as we have been searching to develop our plans for how we will each make our own teaching more flexible. The thinking which has impacted most on my perspective was that around open platforms and the positives and negatives associated with this approach. Raewyn and i have both discussed our concerns about the need to have some information related to our course in a forum which is not open -ie; contextual issues relating to be able to identify client/patients/ or clinical settings from what is being discussed in forums such as Wiki's. the proposed changes which i envisage making to my course may require students to share information which relates to and could identify either clients or the health setting/provider.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Downes video - as it provided some more depth to my thinking around this topic. His promotion of Web 2.0 was interesting in respect to his principles ie: Interaction :The capacity to communicate with others who are interested in like minded information, to social necessity to be with others in a face to face setting. I continue to hold the position that this is vitally important for nurses as part of their undergraduate education pathway. ie; providing them with a learing environment which assist them to develop their communication skills. to be able to engage in face to face provides them with this context. All that said. Downes profiled other online media which were unfamliar to me ie: skype, weblogging, Elluminate, CIDER. I'm keen to find out more about these and how they may assist the learner engagement. Simple interaction techniqhes on how to keep the learner engaged eg: by blogging after lectures was a great idea that i hadn't thought. Setting up email accounts
Usability - again , a reminder to keep things simple and consistent. for the learner and the teacher - a simple concept but when i reflect on the complex nature of how learners currently acesss knoweldge from the courses i work in much of it is focused solely on the visual learner - the aural, kinesthetic learner is not catered for well. Downes also alludes to the need for teacher to use their own langugage -/vocabularly to be convey their message - this made me consider the technical language that nurses use on a daily basis. much of this isn't able to be reinterpreteed for safety reasons likewise within the course which i teach- contemporary maori health issue - Te Reo Maori - Maori words can not be reinterpreted or translated to a different meaning however it maybe possible to offer a personal interpretation of a concept to provide a complimentary view for the learner eg; Tapu - concept of restriction. an explaination/audio link to my interpreation of this concept with a example from a nursing /health care setting./scenario
Relevance: a huge challenge for me in regards to the course i faciltate. often learners do not see the relevance until they can see or experience some of the knowledge in the clinical setting. ie: until they engage with clients who identify as maori in a health setting they do not see the value of this .....Downes refers to this as relevance is determined by Function ie; what is needed for the here and now.....he reinforces that relevance is 'hard' to ensure and teachers need to employ guerrilla tactics!!! now that is something to explore....at another time.

conversely Keen vs Weinberger viewpoints we an echo of many of use who have considered the negatives for much of this new media led teaching methodology. Raewyn talks of big brother syndrome and i think she has a valid point. The databases that are created around each of us already are extensive. however that said from an educational viewpoint the academic credibilty of many educators around the world has surely been open to more scrutiny with the open platform approach, and the plethora of media which can be utilised to advance 'knowledge' To me each person has to consider their own 'philosophy' or approach to how/when and where they will utlised different electronic media to convey their knowledge. this said for many it is becoming a 'requirement' driven by our employers? and to some extent the learners. For educators this may signal a change is direction? for others such as ourselves it is the beginning of a totally new way of viewing our teaching pratice..