Journal Review E-Learning (Format might not copied over correctly from MS Word)

New Answers for E-LearningWikis and avatars are improving the educational experienceBy Kim ClarkPosted January 10, 2008With dorm bills and gasoline prices skyrocketing, it's no wonder 3.5 million students are now opting to stay home and take online college courses. Unfortunately, as many of those students have discovered, E-learning courses have disadvantages, too. Online courses often can be more boring and less educational than traditional classes. They also tend to have higher dropout rates and—on average—yield lower grades than regular students get.

New Answers for E-Learning - US News and World Report

Clark, Kim (2008,Jan,10). New
answer for e-learning: Wikis and avatars are improving the educational                      experience. U.S. News,
Retrieved March 2, 2008, from http://www.usnews.com

As a teacher I would want my class to be as fun as possible
and as effective as it can be. I have used some of the suggestions made in this
article. "VoiceThread" http://www.voicethread.com
is a great tool to engage the students and to make learning fun. As an administrator
you could use VoiceThread for a staff development exercise. You could post a
picture of a situation that you have seen on your campus and ask the staff how
they would handle the situation. They can each add their own opinions and
understand where their administrator, who would tell them how the situation
should be handled, stands on each issue. You could also use this too as a way
to see which curriculum each staff member would like to use. With VoiceThread,
a teachers best e-learning web 2.0 tool is a blog. I use this even in the third
grade. My students write on different questions or topics I propose to them. I
might post a picture and they have to write a story about it. One of the best
uses of a blog I have seen from an administrator is GLS Insights & Wanderings.

The second item that is beneficial is the statement
Sierra College Student Matt Kerr makes, He was, "...immersed in research,
thinking, writing and learning," with E-Learning. As a teacher, this is
what we want and as a student this is what we should be doing. So many times
you hear the story, that a teacher is celebrating their 40th year teaching. In
reality, however, they are celebrating their first year teaching 40 times. They
never changed one word from their lesson plans. We are teaching kids for jobs
that are not created yet. This is stated in the video "Did You Know?"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xHWTLA8WecI.
It is our duty and job to change how we do things to keep students immersed.
Even if that means that we as teachers need to be immersed in research,
thinking, writing, and most importantly, learning.

I also found interesting the higher dropout rates
for E-Learners compared to that of regular students. The article states
Isolation is the most common reason. With the cohort, I would believe this will
eliminate any feelings of isolation. I do understand the statement that
students are not honest with themselves about how much time they have to
dedicate to learning. Personally, I have to cut a few things out of my life
that I enjoy doing. I need to stay up later or wake up earlier. A good support
system is what everyone needs. I am hoping the cohort will be a good support
system besides my family.

This article offers several of the best methods the
student should look for in any online learning program. I believe CUW is
meeting all the practices thus far.

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