Google Apps Expanding

I have been trying to convince people for a while that education could harness the power of Google Apps.  There is even a branch of the Google Apps Marketplace just for education, called, oddly enough  Google Apps for Education.  Here is an bog post from Google that explains the new offerings in Google Apps, Ten times more applications for Google Apps customers.  I think the embedded video here should quell the fears of most information technology service divisions of educational institutions.  There is also a security white paper in PDF form for those afraid that Google owns their data once they sign up.  They do not and they do not keep you from taking it with you if your institution leaves the service and they do not share it with outside business or advertisers.

With all that said, the real power of these apps is in integration and the collaboration that can occur between colleagues.  I have recently found an affiliate company that runs a web based project management software called Many Moon that sits on top of or works very closely with Google Docs, part of the Google App suite.  Many Moon is extremely useful and an absolute treasure find in a market flooded with productivity tools.  I will be writing a post very shortly on the benefits I found using this service.  I hope you find this information helpful and I look forward to your comments and questions.

Components of an Effective Learning Activity

There are a number of components to an effective learning activity that engage students, involve critical thinking, promote discussion or interactivity and general lead to good quality learning.  Those components are listed as such:

• A good descriptive title
• A set of detailed learning outcomes that students will meet by the completion of the activity
  
• An initiation to whet the appetite of the student and orient them to the topic
• A set of thorough academic instructions with an included main question or activity
• A description of how the learner will be evaluated
• Notes for other instructors (*optional)
• Non-academic directions for completion dependent upon the course management system or method of delivery

*Notes for other instructors come in to play when multiple instructors may teach the course but those instructors were not the course developers.

It is my feeling that if you ensure that your learning activity contains these components, learners will be more likely to complete the activity, be less lost, be more likely to interact with each other and the instructor, and meet the required learning outcomes for that activity and the course.  The diagram to the left illustrates the connection between learning outcomes, activities, and the assessment of those outcomes and thus the activities.  If the learning activities include the components mentioned above including the related learning outcomes, and the method for assessing whether or not those outcomes have been met and to what degree, then a cycle is produced that strengthens the curriculum by providing a strong foundation and with the right class management provides students with the best possible learning experience.