Week 12 Blog 6

What does learning mean? Learning is aquiring knowledge. According to Billings & Halstead (2005), In general, Learning is considered a change in a person that has abeen caused by esperience as quoted by Slavin, 1998 in chapter 12 in the Billings & Halstead text. Learning is a process of understanding, clarifiying and applying the meanigs of the knowledge acquired (Billings & Halstead, 2005). This text continues to describe learning as including exploration, discovery, refinement, and the extension of the meanings of knowledge.

Learing can be defined by either the behavorist or cognitivist viewpoint. The behavorist would say that learning is the result of change in behaviors that are observed or performed by some outside force that results in change. In addition, the behavorist believes that learnng happens by interaction in the environment (Billings & Halstead, 2005).

The cognitivist would say that learnng occurs when a new experience changes some unobservable mental process that may or may not be manfested by a change in behavior or performance (Billings & Halstead, 2005). This text discusses that there are different types of learing: directive, item, and rational and are associated with technical aspects and may be observed. The last three are associated with mental prcesses that may or may not produce an observable change and are: contextual, inquiry and syntactical learning (Billings & Halstead, 2005, pg 232).

What does it mean if you say that "students have learned"?
To say that a student has learned, it would seem that the student would be enabled to produce some sort of proof of material incorporated as a result of studying. There are several ways to measure outcome. Students may answer questions via a test over material studied. Demonstraton of material learned may show that the student has indeed incoporated the material and can demonstrate what is learned. I am thinking of students who are taught how to do some technical skill and then is required to do a return demonstration of the same skill. Learning can be evaluated by the use of writing and summarizing what one has studied.

2. Based on your review and synthesis of the readings, what does "quality" of online learning mean to you? Please backup your statement with references.
I think that quality learning takes place when one designs a course or program with specific goals, objectives and content that supports the goal of the material to be learned. I think that the methods of measuring learning must reflect the goals and objectives of the course. According t0 Davis in chapter 4 of Anderson & Elloumi, an ideal learning system is based on a plan that flows from a full understanding of the needs of the intended students and the learning outcomes of the course. I think that the objectives of the course must be tested by the course evaluation since the objectives state the plan for what the course will teach.

3. Based on your review and synthesis of the readings and discussions this semester, brainstorm a conceptual framework to evaluate the quality of an online learning community. What dimensions and factors would you consider?

I think first of all, I would be clear as to what the goal of the learning community is. I would then devise learning objectives that supports the goal of the community. I would decide on the goal and objectives after doing a needs evaluation or assessment to determine what the members are receptived to learning. I would present the content to members in a method that supports the goal by answering the objectives. Evaluatiion methods should be devised to measure the members accumulation of the learnng content. Methods used can vary from using question and answer format, writing summaries of content, return demonstration of items learned. The use of Bloom's or Gagne's taxonomy to devise questions which support areas of learning can be used as well. The interview of Scott Howell by J. L. Morrison states that the alignment of content with test items is content validity. The use of test blueprints ensures ths alignment (Morrison & Howell, 2007).

References:
Anderson & Elloumi chapter 4 written by Davis, A in 2004.
Billings, D. M. & Halstead, J. A. (2005), Teaching in Nursing: A Guide for Faculty, (2ed) Elsevier Saunders, St. Louis. pg231-233.
Morrison, J. L. & Howell, S. (2007). Teaching one way and testing another: An interview with Scott Howell. Innovate: Journal of Online Education. 3(3). Retrived from http://learn.ou.edu.