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September 24, 2004
Reaching New Users of RLOs
This afternoon, we held the Ocotillo Orientation for New Faculty. Each of the four action groups gave an introduction discussed our plans for the year and then we spent some time talking to many of the new faculty.
As an introduction, I shared a story, let me share it with you...
My computer got a virus and all of the materials that I had for my surface water hydrology class were lost. In other circumstances, I would be panicking, imagining how much work it will take to re-create the materials that I must replace. I am not in a panic because I am aware of Reusable Learning Objects (RLOs). I will make a list of some of the key concepts that I need to cover, then I will visit the RLO repositories and query them to see if they have any objects that cover this information. I will then evaluate them and if they meet my needs, I will utilize them in my hybrid class. For those concepts that I am unable to find objects for, I will create objects and then share them with the repositories so others can use them. This is a true story. In 3 weeks, when my class begins, I will let you know how it went for me.
During my visit with the faculty, a number of excellent topics came up for us to pursue:
1. When using learning objects to customize courses to student interests, example English, what type of rubrics can we use. Are there general rubrics that we can use, or must a rubric be created for each subject assignment?
2. What tools can be used to develop RLOs? (In response to this, we will create a resource list of tools and how faculty can receive training in these tools)
3. Macromedia Flash came up as a potential tool to create RLOs and it was questioned as to whether it is ADA compliant. (I'll be checking into this)
4. How we plan to hold our virtual events was asked. At this time, we plan to use moderated discussion boards and Blackboard for asynchronous participation. I shared that there are tools available for sychronous conferencing as well.
5. Miguel Fernandez shared that he has created RLOs in regard to classroom technology. He'll be sharing it with me. (I can't wait to check it out!)
6. I encouraged the faculty to check out the MLX and see what RLOs are available through our very own repository. A great place to start is with seeing what RLOs exist and using them; then, assessing what RLOs need to be developed and working on those.
It was an excellent Orientation! I left feeling really excited about the year ahead and felt that the faculty in attendance were excited about Ocotillo's initiatives! It made me think that it would be wise to set up shop in CTLs at various Colleges to visit with the faculty on a drop-in basis.
Posted by lyoung at September 24, 2004 04:41 PM in category
