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GRAFFITI -- February 07, 2011 thru February 13, 2011 >> Link to the Current Week << Last Week << Mon   Tues   Wed   Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun >> Next Week Welcome to Orb Graffiti, a place for me to write daily about life and computers. Contrary to popular belief, the two are not interchangeable.     About eMail - I publish email sometimes. If you send me an email and you want privacy or anonymity, please say so clearly at the beginning of your message.

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February 7, 2011

Wait for it ....

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February 8, 2011

2202 - I was pointed at an article by Randall Stross on the New York Times site over the weekend, Online Courses, Still Lacking That Third Dimension. (I have no idea how long that'll stay in front of the paywall.) To summarize, the key points are these:

• True online courses are software driven only on the server side, what most folks refer to as online courses are "hybrid".
• Online courses have high dropout rates.
• It depends on the course being taught.

I found this to be most interesting:

Wendy Brown, the Heller professor of political science at the Berkeley campus, spoke witheringly of the idea at a campus forum in October: “What is sacrificed when classrooms disappear, the place where good teachers do not merely ‘deliver content’ to students but wake them up, throw them on their feet and pull the chair away? Where ideas can become intoxicating, where an instructor’s ardor for a subject or a dimension of the world can be contagious? Where scientific, literary, ethical or political passions are ignited?”

No. "Where are scientific, literary, ethical or political passions ignited?" More to the point, protecting your "job" much, Professor Brown?

I've been taking classes online for a while now, at UMUC. Some of the coursework has been fully online in the sense given by that article, through a site called LabSim. LabSim provides technical courses with videos, text, and testing all bundled together. One of my courses this semester is a LabSim-based Cisco Internetworking course with no other text book. There is an additional space for discussion with both instructor and students, and there will be a proctored final.

Yeah, most of the best courses I've taken online have involved humans at the other end of the pipe. I've learned lots from every one of them, though, whether or not there was a useful instructor or motivated fellow students. That's because I have drive and goals.

That's what's missing from the article, mind you. Nowhere does it mention student responsibility or obligation. Hell, UMUC gets a not-insignificant chunk of change every year in return for educating me. I can cakewalk the experience, or I can strive to get as much as I can out of each course. I choose the latter. And really, every student should. Yeah, I sucked as a student in college the first time around. In hindsight, I should have followed in my pop's footsteps, and done some time in the military. But I didn't, and I took a different ride through life.

So here's my bottom line. Any student can succeed in the classroom, in a hybrid- or fully-online course. All it takes is motivation and perseverance. Frankly, if a subject isn't rigorous enough to be reduced to an effective online course, it probably isn't worth learning ... unless your career goal is to teach Political Correctness Studies to lazy layabouts.

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February 9, 2011

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February 10, 2011

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February 11, 2011

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February 12, 2011

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February 13, 2011

Delayed... Sorry about that, mealy-mouthed excuses tomorrow.

Our condolences to the families and units of these fallen warriors.

• Cpl. Lucas T. Pyeatt, 24, of West Chester, Ohio, died Feb. 5 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
• Lance Cpl. Aaron M. Swanson, 21, of Jamestown, New York, died Feb. 7 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
• Sgt. Patrick R. Carroll, 25, of Norwalk, Ohio, died Feb. 7 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.
• Spc. Nathan B. Carse, 32, of Harrod, Ohio, died Feb. 8 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device.

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Visit the rest of the DAYNOTES GANG, a collection of bright minds and sharp wits. Really, I don't know why they tolerate me <grin>. My personal inspiration for these pages is Dr. Jerry Pournelle. I am also indebted to Bob Thompson and Tom Syroid for their patience, guidance and feedback. Of course, I am sustained by and beholden to my lovely wife, Marcia. You can find her online too, at http://www.dutchgirl.net/. Thanks for dropping by.

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