Thanks! My point of course was if a "highly educated" (MA in Educational
Technology) "technologically literate" and "highly motivated" user can
run into such frustrating online experiences to the point of wanting to
give up on a course, than of course, how much more challenging the same
issues would be for individuals with less technological literacy,
language skills  or motivation.
Barry

	-----Original Message-----
	From: technology-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:technology-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Melinda Hefner
	Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 12:10 PM
	To: The Technology and Literacy Discussion List
	Subject: [Technology 1146] Re: pre assessments for online
learning
	
	
	Barry, here is a cyberhug for you.   You, unfortunately, are a
victim of..........................poor instructional technology
design!!!!!!  Many schools hire tech folks who have no background or
knowledge in instructional technology so they help the instructors with
technical issues but have no idea about sound instructional design
practices for online learning.  Your "clicking in circles" is all too
common of an experience for dl learners.  Once again, institutions need
to invest upfront and hire instructional technologists who can work with
subject matter experts.
	 
	 
	 
	Melinda M. Hefner
	Director, Literacy Support Services
	 
	Basic Skills Department
	Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute
	2855 Hickory Blvd.
	Hudson, North Carolina  28638
	Office:  (828) 726-2245
	FAX:     (828) 726-2266
	 
	 
	 

	 

	>>> "Bakin, Barry" <barry.bakin at lausd.net> 06/27/07 1:11 PM >>>
	
	"Blackboard, WebCT, Campus Cruiser, homegrown content and
learning delivery systems , etc. generally offer tutorial information,
but all too often educational institutions merely regurgitate the
tutorial information.  Presenting information does not mean that
learning has taken place.  I've heard too many times from the IT folks,
"Why don't they know how to use Blackboard? We offer workshops each
semester.""
	
	It's not just understanding how to use the basic tools and
features of a delivery system.  Course developers and creators can
create extremely confusing and frustrating courses.  I have found myself
"Clicking in Circles" trying to find a particular handout to download
for the particular assignment I'm supposed to be working on on a
particular day. You click on the course outline link and then on the
explanation for the day and then on the calendar and then on the
discussion forum, and then on and so on and so forth until you find a
link to the handout which was actually never uploaded to the server so
you can't download it anyway!  You send an email to the instructor and 4
days later you get a reply saying it works fine on their computer!
etc...
	
	Barry Bakin
	ESL Teacher Adviser
	Division of Adult and Career Education
	Los Angeles Unified School District
	
	
	
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