August 2006
August 30, 2006
Translated Dutch entry.
The internet is a cool place, yesterday I asked if someone could translate a blog entry that I found that was in Dutch. Pierre Gorissen was nice enough to do the translation. Language is no barrier for the TADO community.
With a web 2.0 smile..
The translation:
As part of the discussion about copyright etc. a number of people (no no links) have expressed their ignorance about the question "what is allowed and what isn't". For that was enough reason to decide to not write about it any more.
But I wanted to store the link to this article in Informationweek here because it contains information that is very relevant to me as a blogger that writes a lot about work related topics. It deals with the topic I discussed in previous posts: who is the owner of the content that I post on this blog. Now that my employer is becoming more interested in blogging (and we're doing a number of blogging related pilots), it is becoming something that could be considered "work as part of my work for my employer". Especially when I use presentations that I created as part of the work for my employer. But if that is the case, the things I post here are no longer automatically "mine", the copyright then belongs to my employer.
It is time for me to check out how to formally take care of this internally before it becomes a problem.
(link by Darren Cannell who got the link from Joanne Tzanis).
One Girl's Opinion of School (funny)
This made me laugh out loud it is 2.85 MB long but worth the download.
I am not promoting this concept but it is funny.
Remember this MP3 is just a joke, so relax...it is just a joke. Don't send me a pile of comments about how it is unbelievable that I would include this...laugh once in a while.
August 29, 2006
Ict and Onderwijs Blog
This has my name in it, so if someone speaks Dutch, let me know what it says please...
In de discussies over copyright e.d. de afgelopen dagen is op een aantal plaatsen (nee, geen links) blijk gegeven van onbegrip over de relevantie van de vraag "wat mag en wat mag niet". Voor mij was dat eigenlijk juist aanleiding om er maar juist niet meer over te schrijven.
Colleges eye LMS patent fight
Learning management systems (LMS) provider Blackboard Inc. has sued a smaller business rival over a patent it was issued in January covering its LMS technology. The patent, and subsequent lawsuit, have significant implications for the future of eLearning at colleges and universities nationwide. Critics say Blackboard's patent is overly broad and could stifle innovation in the eLearning industry.
August 28, 2006
Creating a Behavior Management System for your Classroom.
Children need structure, an orderly classroom is an achieving classroom, and so forth. We have the responsibility of keeping the peace in our classrooms. The problem for most new teachers when they attempt to create the structure is usually not in the setting of the regulations, but rather their promotion and enforcement. This page will help you create a civil, considerate, fair-minded, and orderly social classroom environment.
Creating a Behavior Management System for your Classroom.
So you think it's easy?
I like this time of year, not because of all the sappy ideas like;
It's a new year, fresh beginnings
A chance to get back into my choosen vocation.
Fresh face students just waiting to soak up what we have to offer in schools.
The real reason I like it, is that it is one time of year where I have a great answer for all those non-teachers who bug us teachers about the time we have off in the summer.
All you non-teacher parents out there who are celebrating your offspring going back to school remember, you might have one or two maybe even four students in your household. We the teachers of the world on the other hand look after 30-40 of your beloved offspring for five hours a day for ten months. Celebrate all you want but remember you get them back next summer. And who will be laughing then.
We are always looking for good teachers. If you think it is such a good job, get out there, get educated and you see how you feel after looking after 30-40 of your children in a room made for 25 students and see if you need two months off to get ready to do it all again.
In truth I love teaching and would never want to do anything else, but it does make for a great answer to all those parents who bug us about the two months we have off. And it only works for a few weeks while they are feeling so excited about their offspring going back to school. Enjoy the celebration you parents, but remember you get them back in 9 months 30 days.
Leave PC on or off
Q. OK, settle a debate between me and my brother. Should you leave your computer on all the time or turn it off when you are not using it?
A. This question has bedeviled computer users for years. If you turn the computer off, you probably save on power. But turning the computer on and off everyday potentially could cause extra wear of parts.
August 27, 2006
Thanks for the link
I checked out a site of Darren Cannell’s on Blogs & Blogging. This has to be the best site I have seen on this topic. The research that has gone into finding all the blog sites would have taken many hours.
What I did this last weekend before school starts.
Ok...I might be stretching the truth a little.
August 23, 2006
What? Bill didn't say that!
No, this list didn't originate with Microsoft head Bill Gates. (It's frequently cited on the Internet as having come from his book Business @ The Speed of Thought, but it didn't.) Why it's attributed to Gates is a mystery to us; it doesn't really sound the least bit like something he would write. Possibly, the item the Internet-circulated version of the list generally ends with ("Be nice to nerds") struck a chord with someone who views Gates as the ultimate successful nerd of all time.
August 22, 2006
Bill Gates Speaks Truth
This is a good one to have around to remind our young people that 'things don't come on a silver platter' and that parents 'are NOT banks!'
Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a BOSS.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
If you agree, pass it on.
If you can read this - Thank a teacher!
August 18, 2006
TADO vistitors...holy crow.
TODO does have a world-wide audience.
| Countries | Unique Visitors | Percent |
| United States | 5609 | 37.17% |
| Canada | 5546 | 36.75% |
| United Kingdom | 550 | 3.64% |
| Australia | 349 | 2.31% |
| Unknown | 222 | 1.47% |
| India | 193 | 1.27% |
| Singapore | 151 | 1.00% |
| Philippines | 137 | 0.90% |
| Spain | 133 | 0.88% |
| France | 129 | 0.85% |
| Hong Kong | 113 | 0.74% |
| Taiwan | 99 | 0.65% |
| China | 93 | 0.61% |
| Malaysia | 92 | 0.60% |
| Japan | 86 | 0.56% |
| Germany | 85 | 0.56% |
| Mexico | 82 | 0.54% |
| Netherlands | 81 | 0.53% |
| New Zealand | 79 | 0.52% |
| Belgium | 77 | 0.51% |
| Israel | 58 | 0.38% |
| Austria | 51 | 0.33% |
| Thailand | 45 | 0.29% |
| Brazil | 43 | 0.28% |
| United Arab Emirates | 43 | 0.28% |
| Korea, | 43 | 0.28% |
| South Africa | 42 | 0.27% |
| Sweden | 41 | 0.27% |
| Saudi Arabia | 38 | 0.25% |
| Portugal | 38 | 0.25% |
| Italy | 36 | 0.23% |
| Kuwait | 32 | 0.21% |
| Switzerland | 31 | 0.20% |
| Egypt | 31 | 0.20% |
| Turkey | 29 | 0.19% |
| Oman | 29 | 0.19% |
| Finland | 25 | 0.16% |
| Indonesia | 25 | 0.16% |
| Denmark | 20 | 0.13% |
| Norway | 18 | 0.11% |
| Qatar | 18 | 0.11% |
| Czech Republic | 17 | 0.11% |
| Ireland | 17 | 0.11% |
| Pakistan | 17 | 0.11% |
| Chile | 16 | 0.10% |
| Iran | 16 | 0.10% |
| Vietnam | 15 | 0.09% |
| Argentina | 15 | 0.09% |
| Colombia | 14 | 0.09% |
| Croatia | 14 | 0.09% |
| Romania | 14 | 0.09% |
| Poland | 13 | 0.08% |
| Puerto Rico | 12 | 0.07% |
| Venezuela | 12 | 0.07% |
| Bahrain | 12 | 0.07% |
| Nigeria | 12 | 0.07% |
| Barbados | 11 | 0.07% |
| Mauritius | 8 | 0.05% |
| Russian Federation | 8 | 0.05% |
| Jordan | 7 | 0.04% |
| Dominican Republic | 7 | 0.04% |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 7 | 0.04% |
| Hungary | 7 | 0.04% |
| Greece | 7 | 0.04% |
| Latvia | 6 | 0.03% |
| Iceland | 6 | 0.03% |
| Bulgaria | 6 | 0.03% |
| Jamaica | 6 | 0.03% |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 6 | 0.03% |
| Ghana | 6 | 0.03% |
| Sri Lanka | 5 | 0.03% |
| Slovenia | 5 | 0.03% |
| Uganda | 5 | 0.03% |
| Kenya | 4 | 0.02% |
| Antigua | 4 | 0.02% |
| Estonia | 4 | 0.02% |
| Ukraine | 4 | 0.02% |
| Algeria | 4 | 0.02% |
| Peru | 4 | 0.02% |
| Cyprus | 4 | 0.02% |
| Saint Lucia | 4 | 0.02% |
| Malta | 3 | 0.01% |
| Palestinian | 3 | 0.01% |
| Lithuania | 3 | 0.01% |
| Ecuador | 3 | 0.01% |
| Slovakia | 3 | 0.01% |
| Bhutan | 3 | 0.01% |
| Yugoslavia | 3 | 0.01% |
| Morocco | 3 | 0.01% |
| New Caledonia | 2 | 0.01% |
| Bolivia | 2 | 0.01% |
| Senegal | 2 | 0.01% |
| Armenia | 2 | 0.01% |
| Libyan | 2 | 0.01% |
| Bermuda | 2 | 0.01% |
| Luxembourg | 2 | 0.01% |
| Sudan | 2 | 0.01% |
| Costa Rica | 2 | 0.01% |
| Belarus | 2 | 0.01% |
| Guatemala | 2 | 0.01% |
| Bosnia | 2 | 0.01% |
| El Salvador | 2 | 0.01% |
| Cote D'Ivoire | 2 | 0.01% |
| Botswana | 2 | 0.01% |
| Tunisia | 2 | 0.01% |
| Rwanda | 2 | 0.01% |
| Bahamas | 2 | 0.01% |
| Brunei Darussalam | 2 | 0.01% |
| Mozambique | 1 | 0.00% |
| Europe | 1 | 0.00% |
| Syrian Arab Republic | 1 | 0.00% |
| Benin | 1 | 0.00% |
| Mariana Islands | 1 | 0.00% |
| Panama | 1 | 0.00% |
| Macao | 1 | 0.00% |
| Paraguay | 1 | 0.00% |
| Bangladesh | 1 | 0.00% |
| Uruguay | 1 | 0.00% |
| Azerbaijan | 1 | 0.00% |
| Tanzania | 1 | 0.00% |
| Madagascar | 1 | 0.00% |
| Georgia | 1 | 0.00% |
| Zimbabwe | 1 | 0.00% |
| Andorra | 1 | 0.00% |
| Lebanon | 1 | 0.00% |
| Uzbekistan | 1 | 0.00% |
| Guyana | 1 | 0.00% |
| Suriname | 1 | 0.00% |
| Belize | 1 | 0.00% |
| Yemen | 1 | 0.00% |
| Ethiopia | 1 | 0.00% |
| Gabon | 1 | 0.00% |
| Honduras | 1 | 0.00% |
August 17, 2006
BECTA to Europe: Don't Panic About the Blackboard Patent (Yet)
Patents are valid only in the jurisdictions in which they are granted. The US patent granted to BBI will not have any direct/immediate impact on the Becta procurement process. There is currently no restriction on the supply of products within the United Kingdom which fall within the scope of the US patent.
BECTA to Europe: Don't Panic About the Blackboard Patent (Yet)
Why Desire2Learn CEO John Baker is Our Hero
While most folks paying attention to the Blackboard patent scandal have sympathy for Desire2Learn, I’m not sure how many people realize just how altruistic the company is being by fighting the patent. From a purely financial perspective, it is clearly in D2L’s interest to settle and pay a royalty, even though doing so would harm the rest of the community. I’d like to lay out exactly why I think Desire2Learn is doing an enormous public service and what we can all do to help ensure that their good behavior pays off in the marketplace.
Why Desire2Learn CEO John Baker is Our Hero
Shades of Another Battle of Waterloo
Blackboard, a U.S.-based LMS company that recently merged with Canadian-based WebCT to become the largest company in the market, took the academic community by surprise late last month when it announced that it had been granted a broad patent in the United States covering 44 claims related to learning management systems. It added that it expects similar patents to be granted in nearly a dozen countries around the world including Canada, Australia, and the European Union.
On the same day that it publicly disclosed its patent, Blackboard initiated a patent infringement suit in a Texas court against Desire2Learn.
Both the patent and the lawsuit have generated enormous anger within the academic and open source software communities. For universities and colleges, learning management systems are an essential part of the education experience as they provide access to group discussion lists, interactive teaching lessons, and collaborative online work spaces that take the learning experience outside the traditional classroom.
Shades of Another Battle of Waterloo
August 14, 2006
blackfate
There’s been a lot of conversation about getting to the specifics of Patent Law; unfortunately, nobody in the education community has been privileged enough to have access to a patent lawyer yet. However, this could be the next best thing. Thanks to my contacts at IP Australia, I have sourced the Online version of the Australian Patent Examiner’s Manual - the guide for patent examiners themselves when processing patents as well as challenges to patents.
24-7 Learning Communities
There's a movement underway in many schools, and it's growing by the day. Fueled by the internet and the rise in new tools for communicating round the clock, this movement aims to transform school communities into 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week learning environments--where school stakeholders can get instant access to grades, assignments, and other information, and students have all the tools and support they need to succeed while at home or at school.
These "24-7 learning communities" are strengthening the home-school connection and boosting parent involvement in their children's education--a proven factor in school success. With the generous support of Pearson School Systems, we've assembled this collection of stories and articles from the recent eSN archives highlighting how schools around the country are capitalizing on the 24-7 learning community movement--and are succeeding as a result
Canadian Living; Caine and Caine
"If we want students to use their brains more fully, we have to teach for meaningfullness" (p. 91). A story is given to underline this point...
"Two stonecutters...were engaged in similar activity. Asked what they were doing, one answered, 'I'm squaring up this block of stone.' The other replied, 'I'm building a cathedral' " (p. 91).
Instead of teaching "stuff" that merely needs to be memorized, we need to teach for deeper understanding...meaningfullness. Caine and Caine (1991) compare rote learning to locating important places by memorizing the route. They suggest that there are times this is important but more often we should be teaching them how to navigate using a map. "Maps are a frame of reference" (p. 46).
Canadian Living; Caine and Caine
Thanks muchly
Thank for the nice comments.
I believe this site is valuable as this research is very good for the high school teachers but can be also used by the vocational sector very easily in my opinion. The site is designed to help teachers better their teaching and onlone skills.
Suing Blackboard (eh)
I have been keeping track of this attempt by Blackboard to rule the world, I am trying to decide to clap or get angry. A very good business move on their part but us education types don’t really like those business types. Would one e-learning system be a good thing? Seemed to work for Microsoft and their operating system, maybe as an online educator, developer and administrator, I should sue Blackboard for taking away, my right to choose my cyber school’s LMS, and my students’ right to choose what system is best for them. There must be a lawsuit in there somewhere, come on you Americans help this Canadian out eh…we don’t do much suing up here in the North.
I am not against Blackboard, but I am for competition. It will make the LMSs stronger, faster, better.
August 10, 2006
Taking Action re BlackBoard Patents
Wow! It seems that BlackBoard wants to take over the world, with claims that most Learning Management Systems contain proprietary inventions. And most of the commentary I've read so far seems to be offended by these claims, citing numerous examples of prior art.
Taking Action re BlackBoard Patents
How to Think About the Blackboard Patent
A fictitious conversation between Blackboard's CEO and Blackboard's Spinmeister.
CEO: We seem to have gotten ourselves into a bit of a pickle. How do we spin this?
Spinmeister: First, avoid any substantive comment in public about what the patent covers and what it doesn't cover. You can say something like: "Because this is in the courts, I can't comment."
CEO: I don't understand. Just because we have filed a lawsuit it doesn't mean I can't talk about what the patent covers.
Spinmeister. Yes. You and I know that. But you can use the fact of ligitation to evade answering any tough questions. Our goal is to intimidate Desire2Learn and raise the spectre of litigation. Talking specifics about the patent doesn't advance either goal.
CEO: So, what DO I say?
How to Think About the Blackboard Patent: Part IV. Blackboard's Spin Strategy
A Little Personal History with Blackboard
Here's a short piece I wrote today about my personal experiences with Blackboard that puts some of their claims into perspective. This personal history makes clear that, even within just the truncated time frame of the last decade, there have been many LMS alternatives to Blackboard, both commercial alternatives and open source alternatives. Anyone exploring a wider timeframe will find even more examples of LMS software that included features which Blackboard is now claiming as their own
A Little Personal History with Blackboard
Grounds for Challenging a U.S. Patent
Some information is being passed to me from various community members who have spoken with lawyers and am beginning to get a clearer picture of how the prior art must be framed. Note that this is all generic patent advice so far; I have no information yet about a lawyer’s analysis of Blackboard’s specific patent.
Grounds for Challenging a U.S. Patent
August 9, 2006
Cyberbullying on the rise
"There's good news and bad news out this morning about the dangers facing children when they go online. It appears all the news reports and educational efforts to warn parents and kids about online dangers may be having an impact.
In a study released today by the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, fewer kids report being solicited by strangers online for sex. On the other hand, there is an uptick in kids who report being exposed to unwanted sexual material such as pornographic spam; and there's a sharp rise in something experts call cyberbullying. If you're not familiar with that term, you will be soon."
Blackboard patent - The sky, my friends, is falling.
I read two not so cheery blog posts this morning that indicate that things are now actually starting to get seriously bad. Michael Feldstein is telling us about another patent pending for blackboard and i got this blog post dropped into a comment from my second post on blackboard.
So, it seems that blackboard is also trying to patent ““Content and portal systems and associated methods.” This would pretty much mean anything on the internet that’s associated with anything. Anyone who believes that their system is going to escape and all they have to do is wait around for the LMS industry to implode should really go over to michael’s blog and read his post.
Blackboard patent - The sky, my friends, is falling.
Little Fella
I am not sure what to make of this... it is interesting!
August 8, 2006
A response to Blackboard's statement.
On Mon, 7 Aug 2006, Michael L. Chasen wrote:
> During the past week, I have had a chance to speak with some of you
> individually about Blackboard's patent and the current legal action
> against Desire2Learn, Inc. I wanted to take a moment to reach out to all
> of you and share some more details on this very important topic.
After reading the text of the patent, my fears about this lawsuit have
increased, not decreased.
Mister Chasen says he is not trying to patent "learning management
systems". He's just trying to patent specific innovations developed by
Blackboard.
When I read the patent, the "innovations" include:
- Having to type a password to log in
- Having different roles (instructor, student) once logged in with
different privileges.
- Having an assignment dropbox where you can upload and download files.
- Having graded quizzes
- Having a gradebook to record marks and report them to users
- Having a way to post announcements to students.
- Having a way to do synchronous and asynchronous communications with
students.
- Having a web page specific to a course that can link to other
course-related web pages and course tools.
- Ability to get statistics about the course.
BB may not be trying to patent learning management systems, but if you
take all the above out of any learning management system, you don't have
much left. About the only part of an LMS I don't see listed above is the
ability to integrate the LMS with other systems to automatically manage
class lists or communicate with external apps.
I mean, what's next, a lawsuit against the people who developed the IMS
specifications so that anyone who uses that specification must pay a
royalty to Blackboard? So much for "open standards".
The thing that really upsets me is that Blackboard didn't invent ANY of
that stuff. WebCT had all of those "Blackboard Innovations" several years
before Blackboard even existed as a company.
This is EXACTLY the kind of thing I was worried about when Blackboard took
over WebCT. Who needs innovation when you have lawyers?
Kevin.Lowey
Blackboard President and CEO speaks out.
From: Michael Chasen
To: WebCT Users Listserv
Re: Blackboard Patent
Dear Client Community:
During the past week, I have had a chance to speak with some of you
individually about Blackboard's patent and the current legal action
against Desire2Learn, Inc. I wanted to take a moment to reach out to all
of you and share some more details on this very important topic.
From recent discussions and posts on various listservs, it seems there
is quite a bit of confusion about the scope of the patent and our
intentions behind the legal action. I hope that the information I am
about to share will help to clear up some of this confusion.
I'd like to start by providing background on the history around our
patent. After the release of our first products, we looked at the
course management system (CMS) technology available at the time and
identified improvements that would enable the CMS to function as a true
enterprise application for educational institutions. We focused our
resources on developing solutions with the student-centric functionality
which would allow the Blackboard CMS to serve the increasingly complex
needs of our clients. Though we were still in our early stages as a
small player in the software industry, we recognized the importance of
protecting our innovations in our products. As a result, seven years
ago, we filed for patent protection on these developments in various
countries around the world.
Some of the outside commentary about the patent misrepresents the scope
of the patent and appears to be creating confusion for many people. The
Blackboard CMS patent covers only specific features and functionality
contained in the Blackboard system that were developed by the Blackboard
team. We certainly did not invent e-learning or course management
systems, and I am personally embarrassed that this is what some people
thought Blackboard was claiming. Over the last decade and longer,
fantastic advancements have been made throughout the e-learning industry
by a diverse and passionate community of individuals and institutions
and Blackboard is privileged to have been a contributor.
We are asking Desire2Learn for a reasonable royalty for their use of our
intellectual property, which is in line and consistent with industry
practices. Blackboard, for one, pays royalties to numerous companies
and we are asking for Desire2Learn to do the same in return. We hope
that you will come to see that our patent and law suit are not a
dramatic change for the industry, but a fair course for us to protect
our investments in our technology and your investment in Blackboard.
Our aim is to build an organization that will endure and be there to
support you as your needs evolve.
Having invested well over $100 million in developing our products (and
being one of the few companies who have committed such investment to the
development of technologies for educators), we embrace the
responsibility we have to continue to deliver the innovations you need
to fulfill your institution's mission. Since Blackboard was founded, our
primary goal has been to enhance teaching and learning worldwide through
hard work, investment and innovation. We neither intend to depart from
that tradition nor limit the wonderful work being done outside of
Blackboard to extend our products throughout our growing community of
practice.
To provide you with further information on our patent and the law suit,
we have posted a press release and FAQ about our patent, as well as a
recent article from The Chronicle of Higher Education on our website at
www.blackboard.com/patent.
Should you have any questions regarding the above, I welcome you to
contact your Blackboard representative. Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Michael Chasen
President and CEO
Blackboard Inc.
August 4, 2006
Blackboard Awarded Patent on e-Learning Technology
As I commented earlier today, it was like poking a stick into an anthill. The Blackboard patent and subsequent action has prompted a furious reaction, one they must have anticipated (which is probably at least part of the reason for waiting from January 17, when the patent was issued, to July 26, to make the announcement).
"In addition, patents corresponding with the U.S. patent have been issued in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore and are pending in the European Union, China, Japan, Canada, India, Israel, Mexico, South Korea, Hong Kong and Brazil."
To say that the reaction was negative would be to understate the matter considerably. Donald Clark writes, "I'd start selling Blackboard stock NOW!" Leonard Low writes, "Blackboard's claim of patent is both outrageous and repugnant." Dave Cormier writes, "In the span of a couple of weeks the educational landscape we've all come to know and care about has taken an awful beating. It seems that DOPA is taking away our open ed-web and blackweb is taking away our walled gardens." John P. Mayer writes, "How can you access the 'full power of the Internet' [as Blackboard says] if you are dealing with litigation fears and limitations of choice as a result?" Wesley Fryer exclaims "Crazy!" and asks, "Were the people in the US Patent Office really thinking clearly when they have this supposed 'patent' to Blackboard?"
Blackboard Awarded Patent on e-Learning Technology
The 150 day schedule.
The Greater Saskatoon Catholic School System has been a frontier in the development of education in the cyber world. Various teachers in the division have created subject curriculums online and ultimately taught these subjects as accredited courses. Having the opportunity to learn online as part of the Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School (SCCS) has been very beneficial to the 3400 students who have taken courses in the past 4 years. To continue its role as a frontier the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School System has allowed the SCCS to explore different educational approaches and delivery systems. This empowerment has resulted in the development of the “150 day schedule” to replace the standard dual semester system.
Stage one: Analyze
“Every part's worth does not simply depend upon its role in its localized subsystem; it also depends upon its relationships with the rest of the parts, subsystems, and the entire system as well as its relationships with potential parts that are not yet (but could be) part of the system as well as the past history and relationships of the system!” (Ottenberg 1994)
The “Entry and Exit” system is a subsystem of the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School (GSCCS). The “Entry and Exit” system is a subsystem of the Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School (SCCS). The Cyber School itself is a sub-system of the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School System. This, in turn, is a sub-system of Saskatchewan Learning.
“The mandate of Saskatchewan Learning is to advance the social, economic and personal well-being of Saskatchewan people. This is accomplished through leadership and support programs from Early Childhood Development, through Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12, to technical training and post-secondary education, and public library services. The Department provides responsive leadership to meet the learning and development needs of Saskatchewan children, youth and adults, and to meet the employment needs of the Provincial labour market. “ (Saskatchewan Learning 2004)
The second level of the system is the Saskatoon Catholic Schools (SCS) and is described below: “Saskatoon Catholic Schools has more than 15,000 students in five high schools, 34 elementary schools and two associate schools. The division employs approximately 1,550 teaching, service and support staff. The purpose of Saskatoon Catholic Schools is to assist parents and the local church community in the formation of students in heart, mind, body and spirit.” (Etcheverry 2004) Working with the Saskatoon Catholic Schools system (SCS) is the Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School (SCCS) and it is described below:
“The World Wide Web continues to gain popularity as an instructional medium for high school students. Recognizing this, Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School offers cyber courses taught by teachers in our Catholic high schools. Cyber classes create an environment which will motive and inspire students to become knowledge builders. Through the use of technology and the internet, the student will inquire, encourage, discourse, collaborate and engage in active learning with their peers and their instructors.” (Miller 2000)
The Exit and Entry is a sub-system used by the students with the SCCS. This sub-system replaced the normal semester system which is used within the SCS. The semester system was used by the SCCS for the first years of operation. The semester system divided the school year into two equal semesters. Each semester consists of between 90 and 100 hours of classroom instruction. The students attend the face to face classroom for an hour a day for approximately 100 school days. The flexibility of seven days a week, twenty four hours a day availability which the Cyber School offers did not match a system which was designed for an hour a day, 100 school day system.
“This simple fact, along with a number of specific replies, only serves to demonstrate once again that many of us are venturing into uncharted territory and we cannot attempt to use the new technologies in exactly the same ways we have used older methods of reaching our goals. Every new approach to any task brings both challenges and opportunities -- new possibilities as well as different limitations. Our task, first and foremost, must simply be to recognize this and act accordingly rather than attempting to force the new round peg into the old square hole.” (Wade 2004)
The second reason the 150 day calendar system was devised was to solve the issue of low student success with the Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School students who started the courses after the semester had already begun. The success rate of student who started their courses at the beginning of the school year or at the beginning of the second semester was 86%. (Climenhaga, 2004) These students were not the issue. However, the majority of our students were beginning their courses a week or longer into the semester. The first semester began on August 26th and the largest registration spike is shown two weeks later. Second semester started Feb 2nd and largest registration spike is again shown two weeks later. There was never any time during the year in which students were not registering for classes.
The students registering late had a disengagement rate of 40 percent, largely due to the student feeling of not being able to complete the course in the time allotted. A student who started the course online three weeks into a semester was still required to complete the course by the end of the semester. “This was setting the students up to fail.” (Tunison 2001) By eliminating the end of the semester barrier, the main reason for students disengaging would be removed.
Stage two: Design
Based on this research we started to look at different approaches to course pacing.
“There are several course pacing options, including:
Course operates on one timetable with a set of beginning and end dates
Course is completely self-paced
Instructor makes a recommendation after specified trial period and invites/assigns students to join appropriate timetable for completing coursework.
Student picks a timetable at the beginning of the course and may be allowed one switch within prescribed time period.” (Freedman, Darrow and Watson, 2002)
It was not so much the pacing of the courses; it was the beginning and end dates that were causing the disengagement. Or as stated by Freedman, Darrow and Watson (2002)
A lack of predictable patterns of timing for course entry” The result of the studies and research was a decision to attempt a 150 day system. It was known that even by changing the course pacing as stated by Grace and Smith (2001) where students are self-directed learners; there are still many issues that can present barriers to their success in flexible delivery. The 150 days system will at least remove the time barrier created by the semester system and give the students adequate time to complete the 100 hours of course material. Courses would still be based on the curriculum standard of 100 hours set forth by Saskatchewan Learning.
Stage three: Develop
A student could register at anytime of the year and would have 150 calendar days from that time to complete the course. One hundred and fifty calendar days is approximately the same number of days a standard school dual semester system gives for a student to finish a course. Keough, E. M. and McKinnon (1995) states “Education that is flexible, effective, responsive to learner needs, and sensitive to time, distance, and location-these characteristics are the important basic ingredients that distance education can offer schools interested in changing and improving their quality of education.”
The 150 day system allows flexibility for the students by allowing them to register at any time of year. A student will be given 150 calendar days to complete the course. (This means weekends are included.) There will be no semesters recognized within this system. Each teacher in the Cyber School will teach 30 students at any given time. Once a course is filled, a waiting list will be created and when a spot opens, the next student will be placed into the course. Midterm grades will be submitted 75 days from the day the student started or the closest work day to that date. Final grades will be submitted 150 days from the day the student started or the closest work day to that date. The Cyber School teachers will not be working during the summer months of July and August. During this time no access by students will be allowed. Any students who register later in the school year and their 150 days would normally include time during July and August will have 60 days or a portion thereof added to their course. The 60 days or any portion thereof will be added to their active course time after the summer. The students will not be placed in the course or on the waiting list until they have finished the preparation course and get the email with their start date and welcome email to the Cyber School. The preparation course is a two to three hour course that explains the workings of the Cyber School. Each and every student is required to complete and show mastery within the preparation course to gain access to their requested courses. The Preparation course will not be counted in the 150 days.
Stage four: Implement
The implement stage was the one that caused the most problems. Once analyzing, design and development of the process was done, implementation needed to be done on three levels. The three levels are as follows:
Implementation from the students’ point of view
Implementation from the teachers’ point of view
Implementation from the home schools’ point of view.
The implementation from the students’ point of view was done via the communication tools that had already been developed for the Cyber School. Since the main method of dispersing information is the website, the result was a bold, strategically placed notice indicating the change in entry and exit into cyber school courses. This was then supported by a change in the registration process, highlighting the change to the entry and exit system as well as information sharing via the phone when interested students contacted the Cyber School.
The implementation for the teachers of the new system was the most difficult and problematic. To support the change for the semester to the 150 day system a couple of applications were developed. The standard calendar application which was used for the semester system to inform students where they should be in the course on any given day would not work for the 150 days systems because each student requires a personalized schedule. The application that was designed allowed the teachers to create a schedule that was based one day into the course. This in turn would allow a student to log into the application, enter their start date and it would generate a personalized schedule. The second application that was built was a tool that would assist in the tracking of students. It allows a teacher to keep track of students within the course, giving the teacher a calendar that contains information with all their students’ progress through the course.
The problems that stemmed from the implementation of the system for teachers was the testing of new applications and is very well explained by Fullan (2002) “appreciate early difficulties of trying something new — what I call the implementation dip. It is important to know, for example, that no matter how much pre-implementation preparation, the first six months or so of implementation will be bumpy;”
The implementation from the Home School’s point of view resulted in some issues due to the lack of communication of the new system. Many of the issues that did arise came from students being involved in both the semester system as well as the 150 day system. Due to the fact the two systems do not match, important dates like honour roll calculation, university entrance marks, grad requirements, pre-requisites for in school courses were problematic because of the variation of end dates.
Stage five: Evaluation
Evaluation has been ongoing throughout the entire process of changing from the one system to the other as well as all level, home schools, administration, teachers, students and parents. The early evaluation has shown that the change has been the most positive to the least positive for students, parents, administration, home schools and teachers. Least positive for the teachers because of the amount of work necessary to implement the new system, lack of release time and hiccups in the new application needed for the system to be successful.
By following the steps, it allowed for a sound decision making process which justified the need for change through the analysis stage. The time needed to design a system which would answer the problems identified in the analysis stage. The development of a system using the outputs learned in the analysis and design stages. The implementation stage, although the weakest of the stages, gave a template to make that change happen. The evaluation stage still ongoing is starting to show the value of the change. The ISD process was a concrete approach to change and is best said by Fullan (2002) “the goal is not to innovate the most, but rather to innovate selectively with coherence; (2) it is not enough to have the best ideas, you must work through a process where others assess and come to find collective meaning and commitment to new ways;”
Evaluation Purpose
This evaluation will answer the following questions:
1.) What issues (if any) or benefits (if any) does the “150 day schedule” cause for the students?
Standard 1. The 150 day schedule is a better system for the students.
Criterion 1. The students achieve higher grades.
Criterion 2. The retention rate of the students is lower.
Criterion 3. By choosing their own start date, the students are more ready to do online learning.
Criterion 4. The system allows students to be in more control of their education.
2.) What issues (if any) or benefits (if any) does the “150 day schedule” cause for the instructor?
Standard 2. The 150 day schedule is achievable for instructors.
Criterion 1. The instructors find the system is better for the students
Criterion 2. The system is a positive for educational purposes.
Criterion 3. Community can still be built within the courses.
Criterion 4. The system does not make too much more work for the instructor.
3.) What issues (if any) or benefits (if any) does the “150 day schedule” cause for the students’ face to face schools?
Standard 3. The 150 days schedule can be integrated into the face to face school schedule.
Criterion 1. Face to face schools accept the challenges created by the system.
Criterion 2. Face to face schools understand the system to help their students.
Criterion 3. Deadlines in the face to face schools are aware of the system.
4.) What issues (if any) or benefits (if any) does the “150 day schedule” cause for the cyber school administration?
Standard 4. Administration of students with the 150 day schedule is possible.
Criterion 1. Procedures for registering the students in the system are logical.
Criterion 2. Report cards can be issued within the context of the 150 day schedule.
Criterion 3. Integration with Saskatchewan Learning credit and graduation is possible and effective.
Evaluation Approach
The form that will be used for the evaluation will be Form E – Impact Evaluation. This form will be used because as stated in the MDDE 617 study guide “The evaluation is directed at impacts and outcomes for accountability purposes, and it occurs after the program has operated for a period of time- or at least one complete run through.”
References
Climenhaga, S. (2004). [Data collected from current students in Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School] Unpublished raw data, Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School.
Etcheverry, M. (2004, February 10). M. Etcheverry (Ed.), Saskatoon Catholic Schools Home Page. Retrieved February 10, 2004, from Saskatoon Catholic School Division: http://www.scs.sk.ca
Freedman, G., Darrow, R., & Watson, J. (2002). University of California College Preparatory initiative & G. Lorenzo (Eds.), The California Virtual School Report: Vol. . A national survey of virtual education practice and policy with recommendations for the State of California (pp. 7,10,47,48,75). California: University of California.
Fullan, M. (2002, March). Principals as Leaders in a Culture of Change (Special issue) [Paper prepared for Educational Leadership]. Retrieved February 27, 2004, from http://www.michaelfullan.ca/
Grace, L. J., & Smith, P. J. (2001). Flexible delivery in the Australian vocation education and training sector: Barriers to success identified in case studies of four adult learners. [Special issue]. Distance Education, 22(2).
Kennedy, M., MDDE 617 Program Evaluation in Distance Education. Case Study Text, p.77 - . Athabasca, AB: Athabasca University.
Keough, E. M., & McKinnon, N. C. (1995). J. M. Roberts (Ed.), Why the Information Highway: Vol. . Lessons from Open and Distance Learning. Toronto Ontario: Trifolium Books Inc. (Original work published 1995)
Miller, K.. Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School (2nd ed., Vol. 1) [Brochure]. Saskatoon: Mr. Print. (Original work published 2000)
Saskatchewan Learning (Ed.). (2004, February 15). Saskatchwan Learning website. Retrieved February 15, 2004, from http://dol.sasked.gov.sk.ca/
Ottenberg, M. (1994, December). The Newsletter Of The International New Generation Education Workgroup. In Systems Design Of Education: chap.. 2. Retrieved February 11, 2004, from http://www.nhpress.com/nge/lib/news/newsv2n7.html#Authors
Owen, J.M., & Rogers, P.J. (1999). Program evaluation: Forms and approaches. P, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Trochim, Willian, M.K.. The Qualitative Debate. (2005, ). Retrieved May 24, 2006, from
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qualdeb.htm
Tunison, S.. A study of instruction and community in a virtual high school. Unpublished manuscript, University of Saskatchewan.
Wade, A. (2004). Technology 3rd Question [What might the effect of technology be on interpersonal relationships and communication and the dynamics of the teaching and learning process?]. Retrieved March 9, 2004, from http://www.acpa.nche.edu/tech3.htm
More reaction to Blackboard
I think it's a break with end-user confidence. Knowledge as an entity has changed. Some organizations don't seem to understand that, and continue to function as if they can bully competitors and end users (even Microsoft has seen the light and made changes).
August 3, 2006
Birthday Celebration Number Three
Highway Sign Celebration
Birthday Street Party
Review of Teaching and Developing Online (page boost)
"I just saw TADO.
The underlying source is standards-compliant. Seeing Teaching and Developing Online, I'm simply out of words. Cool. Really, really cool! Well, I expected the creator to achieve only the best. The page contains 130 links, a balanced amount. Stunning. The URL has 41 characters. Not too long, or too small.
(...)
It must have taken many years to craft the page. The color scheme is rich. If only the Linux Homepage would have a cool page like that. What a high-quality page! This explains why
-- Nelson Marshall, Gigantic Web
Blackboard Patenting Educational Groupware
The reaction continues:
Interesting Article.
Blackboard Patenting Educational Groupware
August 1, 2006
Blackboard Patents the LMS…The End of Moodle and Elgg?
Dave Cormier just Skyped me with a link to this article that details the patents on learning management systems that were just awarded to Blackboard. By the looks of it, Blackboard now owns learning management systems. The day the patent was awarded, Blackboard sued Desire2Learn for infringement, and although the Moodle board doesn’t seem to indicate a great deal of panic, I’d be interested to know what people in this community make of this. Dave says it’s not good…here is his depressing Skypequote:
“DOPA takes all the open sites, and Blackweb all the closed ones…”
Oy.
Blackboard Patents the LMS…The End of Moodle and Elgg?
Blackboard wins patent for Internet education technology
The D.C.-based provider of software and services to the education industry said on Wednesday that it was issued a U.S. patent for a particular type of Internet-based technology.
Click for more.
Blackboard wins patent for Internet education technology
Blackboard Sues Desire2Learn for Patent Infringement
That didn't take long...let the fun begin.
Blackboard Sues Desire2Learn for Patent Infringement
Blackboard Patents the LMS
I’m surprised there hasn’t been more uproar about this yet. The ever-brilliant US Patent and Trademark Office has apparently granted Blackboard a patent for...well...pretty much anything remotely related to learning management systems. As I read it, Blackboard basically owns the patent on any sort of groupware at all that is used for teaching purposes. This could have very serious consequences for both proprietary and Open Source competitors--and I define “competitors” as loosely as possible.
