November 3rd, 2008 by Learning Systems
The way in which you arrange and display the text in your courseware system is another critical element. The key here is unification. It’s important to remain consistent with writing style throughout the courseware system to help users quickly identify ideas and understand context.
A unified writing format helps information flow easily and clearly. This means the consistent use of numbers, bullets, columns, and other tools showing the relationship between different parts of the course, and different sets of information. Using these tools also helps to break up long, dense blocks of text, making the content easier to read and understand.
A unified format helps to coordinate information, create a sense of continuity and consistency for the courseware system user, and aid the flow of learning content.
October 31st, 2008 by Learning Systems
When designing a logo for your courseware system, you’ll want to first understand the history, nature, definition and function of logos. Your logo is the image embodying your courseware system, representing its content and fostering immediate customer recognition. Logos can be a name (logotype), an icon, sign or emblem (ideograms). Most logos are a combination of the two. Ideograms are sometimes recognizable without a name, like the McDonald’s arc, or the Red Cross. Ideograms are especially useful for logos of organizations that are being marketed in different alphabets, but logotypes can also be designed in a way that is instantly recognizable in different languages.
Though some companies and organizations hire a graphic designer to design their logo for them, it’s not necessary to do so. Since you’ve already designed an entire courseware system, why not add your personal touch by designing your own logo?
October 14th, 2008 by Learning Systems
The ability to assume anonymity online is ideal for cyberbullies. In the real world, bullies humiliate their victims face to face. Online, cyberbullies can create temporary email accounts and chat and IM pseudonyms. These identity-masking venues help to free cyberbullies from social restraints on behavior.
One problem is that electronic forums and the spaces for posting damaging learning content about a person exist unregulated, and free of supervision. Additionally, most teenagers have been exposed to more technological learning content and know more about computers and cell phones than their parents or guardians.
Some ways that victims can escape cyberbullying are changing email addresses and cell phone numbers, and logging out of chats where cyberbullying is taking place. On the other hand, once defamatory learning content is posted about a victim, there is little the victim can do.
October 14th, 2008 by Learning Systems
The explosion of social networking websites and programs has had both positive and negative effects. Perhaps the most widely discussed catch-22 is their power to bring people together online while, some argue, drifting people further apart from their relationships with those around them in real life. While great possibilities for online community-building and the sharing of learning content exist, alienating possibilities are also very real. One increasingly rampant phenomenon is cyberbullying.
According to the National Crime Prevention Council, cyberbullying is when technology is used “to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person.” Cyberbullying takes many forms, including repeated and unwanted emails, humiliating learning content, threats, hate speech, unwanted sexual comments, or ganging up on victims by making them the subject of gossip or ridicule on online forums. Oftentimes, the posting of personal or degrading learning content does great damage to victims.
October 14th, 2008 by Learning Systems
But do these pros outweigh the cons? It’s debatable. There are many arguments against professor evaluation website learning content. One major con is that professors’ privacy is invaded. Of course, professors hold considerable power in the classroom. But outside, they don’t abuse that power by, say, writing about their students’ performances or personalities on websites, or posting their grades online.
Another con is that the website learning content isn’t necessarily true or accurate. Anyone can post learning content about a professor, pretending to be a student–from any grudge-holding acquaintance to those who have never even met the professor before.
On the RateMyProfessors.com, there’s also a link to “Professors on Facebook,” creating the opportunity for students to search for professors and increasing the potentiality for others to create fake accounts for professors and provide embarrassing learning content.
October 14th, 2008 by Learning Systems
Websites like RateMyProfessors.com, which provide learning content about over a million professors, have many pros. One is obvious: students are able to access learning content about professors and their style of teaching. In doing so they have a better idea of what they’re getting into before registering for a class.
Another is the anonymity of the rating system; student evaluation sheets are often hand-written so that the possibility of professors identifying the evaluator is greater. Online, students can be more honest.
Additionally, one might argue that sites like this put pressure on professors to improve their teaching and quality of learning content. Even though some professors may not care too much about the feedback on these sites, some do, and most people would rather not have negative reports of them publicly posted.
October 13th, 2008 by Learning Systems
Besides professor evaluation forms, students have online opportunities to rate their teachers’ style and success at delivering learning content. On RateMyProfessors.com, students can join a conversation or begin their own thread about a favorite or loathed teacher. Stumbling upon this website one day, I punched in my most adored professor’s name and was shocked to find, among the praises of her, some horribly offensive entries. One went so far as to call her “soulless” and “an abomination.” Many writers didn’t even mention the learning content of the class, but went straight for the most personal attacks.
Though websites like this are certainly helpful to students deciding on which courses to take, they are an enormous invasion of professors’ privacy. Should the learning content be censored or limited in some way? What do you think?
October 13th, 2008 by Learning Systems
So how can higher education systems work to create better teaching of meaningful learning content? The system’s status quo is so entrenched, it’s going to take a variety of different efforts to effect change. One way in which higher education learning content can be enriched and developed is to concentrate on students’ future career contexts. Professors should consider what students will actually be able to do when they have their degrees and step out into the job market.
Another solution is to open more dialogue between students and professors, concerning learning content as well as its format and delivery in a course. At the end of each semester, students fill out faculty evaluation sheets. But what happens as a result of this feedback varies from school to school. In some, these evaluations are merely a gesture, while in others, teacher performance is closely scrutinized.
