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ttoole |
My Tutor
Oct 10 2008, 9:11 AM EDT
Hi Christine. Post a reply to this thread to announce that you are starting the module. I will then reply and begin the discussion about progressing with the module and what document you plan to produce.Tony Do you find this valuable?
Keyword tags:
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support
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word processing
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cpdavies |
1. RE: My Tutor
Oct 13 2008, 4:12 AM EDT
Hello Tony! Hoping to have at least half an hour this morning to start the module!Best wishes, Christine Do you find this valuable? |
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ttoole |
2. RE: My Tutor
Oct 13 2008, 6:18 AM EDT
Hi Christine, Welcome to the module. The idea is that you fit in the pilot exercise at whatever time suits you over the next four weeks. The actual 'learning activity' time needed should be relatively modest and the purpose of the exercise is for you to assess the effectiveness of the discovery learning approach and provide some evaluative feedback.Regards Tony Do you find this valuable? |
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cpdavies |
3. RE: starting the word processing module
Oct 16 2008, 6:13 AM EDT
Hello Tony!I've approached this task as if I were a lecturer (eg. FE lecturer) undergoing staff development, and therefore decided that my first Word document would be some sort of student worksheet. If I've got the wrong end of the stick and need to think differently, please let me know! However, making the above assumptions, my first observation is that the competency map is indeed complex and rather off-putting, and it might be worth beginning with just the central 'strand' of the diagram, and adding further detail at a later stage. My second point relates to the links to which I was directed - though a Google list might provide some excellent links, it can also throw up a lot of 'duff' ones (eg. link no.5 in the 'document deisgn' list takes you to the enrollment page of a course). 'Techno-savvy' learners may be able to do the necessary sifting, but those less so may find this frustrating, particularly if they are busy lecturer/teachers. Hope this doesn't sound too negative - just trying to be realistic! Can put these comments on the 'Word Processing Discover Learning forum' too if appropriate. Do you find this valuable? |
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ttoole |
4. RE: starting the word processing module
Oct 16 2008, 10:14 AM EDT
Hi Christine,Firstly, your choice of a student worksheet sounds fine. It's likely that there won't be many templates for you to make use of compared with other documents, but that means you'll make more use of the 'design principles' information. Secondly, I'm not surprised by your comment on the competency map! I will need to make it more user friendly and will welcome all suggestions. What I was trying to do was to relate the learning to what the learner will be able to do in practice at the end of a module rather than to a list of learning outcomes linked to a syllabus. (what do you think of that approach?) Finally, it is true that the websites identified by the Google search will produce 'duff' results as well as useful ones. My plan is to allow the group to get started and then, next week, to show how everyone can refine the search engine by not only identifying 'good' sites and giving them prominence in the search, but also identify 'duff'' sites and remove them from the search. The expectation in the 'discovery learning' approach is that learners are presented with a range of learning resources and will make decisions about which best meet their learning needs. This will take longer than just following content provided by a tutor, but will result in a deeper understanding of the subject through looking at it in the different ways presented by different resources. A discussion between learners about the merits of different sites and guidance from the tutor will also enrich the learning experience. I think it would be good if you posted this on the 'Word Processing Discovery Learning forum and I will post this response. Hopefully it will be the beginning of a lively debate! 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
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cpdavies |
5. RE: starting the word processing module
Nov 3 2008, 10:11 AM EST
Hello again Tony. Just thought I'd give a brief update on my progress. Despite refining the search engine (and having a specific one for worksheets), the searching process took me 'round the houses' and not really to a satisfactory destination! I did find a couple that were half-acceptable, though, and used these in the next step of the competence daigram, ie. 'creation'. I used the 'word processor functions' tab to look for tuition in producing a template, which involved more sifting through links that were often inappropriate or dead, though there was a link to the MS site, and I found the appropriate instructions eventually. I confess that I couldn't face looking up editing functions and made a few modifications from prior knowledge, and the result can be seen above (not brilliant, but acceptable I think).I definitiely support the concept of 'discovery learning' but suggest that it might not be appropriate for learning a 'skill' like word processing which is probably best dealt with from scratch using a single clear, reliable guide (preferably person!) and lots of practice time. Though highly motivated individuals might cope with this learning module, my 'pretend teacher' wouldn't really have engaged at all, not so much because of a lack of knowledge of ICT but because such an individual would lack the time to try out something that doesn't give quick results. The real me(!) has, however, learnt a bit about Google search engines and Wetpaint widgets, so it's not all bad! Do you find this valuable? |
JamesDarkOne |
6. RE: starting the word processing module
Nov 4 2008, 2:30 PM EST
Nice work, Christine. Did you find it difficult to separate what you know from the assumed level of knowledge of a novice? In my case, I'll need to use a numbered list but I know from training WP novices that it never occurs to them that this is a feature of the software and that they don't need to manually number items and pad it out with spaces to make it look right. So, you can see my difficulty. If I was a genuine beginner, it would never occur to me to google 'creating numbered lists'. Do you find this valuable? |
