Month: September 2011

I am happy to present a short video on how hybrid courses improve peer-to-peer learning. The point of my internship is to create a class where the focus is off the instructor and lecturing and on self-directed and peer-to-peer learning. This concept promotes student acceptance of responsibility for their own learning experiences and seeks to direct them toward finding their own  academic path while in college. When the instructor becomes a facilitator instead of a lecturing instructor, the focus shifts. It becomes a learning process for everyone, including the instructor. The learning becomes each student’s responsibility, individually and in a group of peers with the guidance of the instructor. Most importantly the students do not have to “power down” in this environment and can continue to build on their technological skills and abilities.

My eLearning Certificate arrived last Friday. One year of work has been completed. The next step was to use the skills I had learned. I contacted Robin and was told to interview with the department chair (Charlene)  of the Criminal Justice department. After meeting with Charlene, it became very clear to me that she would be the best person to work with. She is very intelligent and grounded. I liked her modern ideas and the passion she has for all things academic, including teaching. She agreed to take me on and help me set up a hybrid course, “Introduction to Criminal Justice.”

The internship program coordinator (Michael) helped me set the 5 credit program up with Bellevue College. It will last through the end of Winter Quarter 2012. Michael was extremely helpful in reviewing my ePortfolio and directing the writing of my objectives for the internship. Robin, my instructor during the eLearning program, is my mentor. We met a week ago to begin the process of placing the hybrid course online

By the first week of Fall Quarter 2011 (week beginning September 19^th), I had attended two classes. The instructor (Mike), for the Criminal Justice course I am observing, is a criminal defense attorney for the state of Washington. He is highly knowledgeable and a good instructor. His syllabus was very detailed. The second night, he quizzed the students on the contents (I only managed to get 80% correct). From the very beginning of the first class he motivated the students to discuss the chapter contents and participate in the discussions. No small feat with circa 33 students in his class.

By the second day of the quarter, I received my instructor’s copy of the course textbook. After my weekly meeting with Charlene, I began to see the beginnings of a syllabus forming in my mind. It will be placed online in Blackboard Vista (Bb) Bellevue College’s learning management system (LMS). I want to find a common theme that threads its way through the syllabi I have received from Mike and Charlene. Charlene offered to help me get the syllabus the online instructor is using for that course for comparative purposes. Between the three of them, I should have a clear idea on how to put the information in the syllabus using my own style. I think I have the “Big Idea” or the take away idea of the course.

I will be attending a class on Wednesday of next week (September 28^th) that will give me the basic skills I need to put information into Bb. Once I understand how to operate the system and use it, I will begin to load the file. I can hardly wait to take the class. The first module will be the Intro to Course CJ 101 or the Getting Started module. I hope to place a Camtasia video in that module to help the students navigate in Bb. I want to think about using a rubric and will need to create one that fits what the students will be asked to do.

I hope to place my biographical information in the introduction portion of Bb. I will encourage the students to do the same. Having that information where it can be re-visited is often helpful in understanding where a student is at academically and where they hope to go with their studies. Also, it helps other students make contact with each other and establish what they might have in common. I have found adding a picture is very helpful. Students seem to respond better to those students who have included a picture, especially in the beginning of the course.

Finally, I hope to place all my contact information in Bb. Since I do not have an office, I hope to use Elluminate as the synchronous application for one on one or even group discussions and meetings. In closing…I hope you enjoy my definition of peer-to-peer learning and what it means to be a “teacher” in the following Walt Disney video (it appears Goofy doesn’t have an office either). No matter how old we get or how advanced we become academically, we still harbor a happy somewhat rebellious child within.

While on break I decided to go to the movie my husband wanted to see, Apollo 18. The movie was obviously not done by a professor or scientist. But, it did cause me to think and research the idea behind the movie. There is a belief by some scientists that there is some form of microbial life on the moon . And that is what was portrayed in the movie. I thought it might be quite possible for astronauts to become infected with a form of virus. In fact when the Apollo 11 astronauts return to earth they were quarantined and apparently suffered some psychological problems as well. In the movie of the supposedly secret Apollo 18 mission, the astronauts not only were contaminated by something in the moon rocks (microbial life), but suffered psychological problems. The movie seemed to imply it was some type of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder brought on by the infestation or virus.

While the movie wasn’t a great movie, it did ask some questions that need to be answered. Did NASA conduct super secret missions to the moon? Does NASA or any other military entity carry on super secret missions when it comes to protecting the United States against any enemy (real or imagined)? Should “…we the people…,” be informed?  Does NASA and the military carry secrecy a bit too far? I have some opinions on these questions. Yes, it is likely there were secret elements of the missions that NASA and the military did not want the general public to know. If we have the right to know as citizen’s of the US, I think it is not always feasible to do so until it is safe to release the information. Ten years and maybe twenty in some cases would most probably be enough time to begin the declassification process. All military agencies and departments carry secrecy too far in my opinion. It certainly serves to hide a lot of embarrassing mistakes in judgement, among other things.

I have watched hours of You Tube video, from various sources, of the moon’s surface and would have to say, Neil Armstrong’s claim that there is alien life on the dark side of the moon (who have warned us off the moon) might be less than solid eye-witness information. Yet, these statements have caused me to search for the answers to that question of whether Neil Armstrong was actually telling the truth and/or was observing a real event. After,watching many videos and reading countless blogs, I have decided that I endorse most of the Ancient Alien Theory out there. However, I do not accept alien visitation on earth today or alien encounters with humans in the past 50-100 years. My scientific mind leaves the door open to the possibilities when everything is said and done, however. I think we are far too primitive and violent a species for intelligent life forms that may be speeding past our world at break neck speeds to get in contact with.  I wouldn’t if I were them interact with us as a species!

I will continue to sort through the information on the internet about unidentified flying objects, ancient alien theory and alien encounters. I think it is a vast and interesting field. My curiosity began with the first publications I read back in the early 1970’s and will continue in the future. I am amazed we have actually developed a theory regarding the phenomena. I hope it continues to develop. I do not find the theory inconsistent with the idea of a God. I am watching the developments researchers are making while searching for the and/or a god particle.

I am including an interview with Dr. Michio Kaku. I did find his idea that aliens might be predators a bit laughable. There has been some thought given to an alien attack. I am very glad, from Kaku’s comments, that we will not be “take out” to these life forms. Dr. Kaku is a theoretical physicist and consultant for the new series Curiosity. They will be talking about these issues in the new series. There was a National Geographic video regarding this type of scenario which was supposedly aired earlier this year. Finally, to those who think Dr Michio Kaku is a New World Order proponent, I say prove it!