Lesson Builder

Yesterday, I went to a class on Lesson Builder software put out by soft chalk. It looks fun and very easy. I might try to do something like that for my classes next semester. I also want to incorporate a WebCT component. Both of my classes are night classes, and those students don't usually have a lot of time to come to the lab. They still need the extra practice and the instruction that the lab provides, so I'm trying to see if there is a way to handle that. The Lesson Builder software is supposedly located on a couple of computers here. I'll have to see if I can have it put on my computer. Check out the demos on the web site. They're pretty nice.

Ingenuix II

The session was great, and Ingenuix gives us a lot of options. I'm so excited about using it, but I don't have any time! I took on three prep English courses as an adjunct and added 9-12 hours to my work week. Next semester, I'm signed up for 2 classes and 1 might not make, so I hope I'll have more time. The site is up for loading information, but it probably won't go live until spring. We were also given an Ingenuix playground to learn the new system and try out new things. I haven't done much in it, though.

PantherTrail

Our new student tracking system changed from PantherTrac to PantherTrail since some college publication had the same name. As always, when you start something new, there are a few difficulties to overcome. Since whoever operates PantherTrail will have access to student information such as picture, student ID, and current schedule, all the tutors and learning specialists had to receive security clearance. Everyone had to retake the FERPA training (some of us had to take it several times for some reason) and get cleared by several people. That took several weeks. We had a few initial obstacles with the card scanners, as well. The system now works fine, and students are used to signing in with their PantherCards. The reports are the current obstacle. We print reports for various reasons: to show students their lab hours, to see our peak times, to note participation in various events, to track student progress, etc. The reports are currently done in excel, and are very confusing. The old Accutrack gave a lot of hassle at the front end, but the reports were nice and easy. I definitely can't say the same for these. Hopefully, a better system will emerge. It took me half the day to print reports for one math class. I'm not prepared to invest that much time in printing reports for every prep class scheduled.

Ask Online III

The online tutoring component for our lab has really flopped. I still believe this has a lot of potential, though. I attribute the failure of this program mainly to the "marketing" I haven't done. I tried to target classes given out at the high schools for students who don't actually come to the lab at all. While that idea worked in theory, it was hard to implement. I relied on an instructor to relay the information to the students. Since the instructor doesn't know much about the online tutoring, he was not able to promote it very well. Only a couple of students signed up, and I just couldn't see having a tutor wait online for a couple hours each week for three students who may never use the program anyway. Last summer I had 20 some signed up, and none of them used it either. I will continue to think of new ways to promote the online tutoring.

Igeniux

New web content management system for the college. I'm going tomorrow for training. So far my web space looks pretty basic. I was told that this new system will allow us to personalize the pages and make a lot more modifications than our current system does. We'll see.

Web Space

The webmaster showed me how to upload pdf files to the website today. This will be very useful for posting handouts. Oddly, the only thing that I'm putting off is taking pictures for the site. I don't know what type of pictures to take. All I can think of is a student in front of a computer for everything. Honestly, that's what will probably take me the longest. I'll obviously have to do it sometime this summer, though. I plan to have the site up and running before fall. I have 9 interested Comp I students for AskOnline. This evening I'll find out about Comp II students.

Learn to Write

The web-based software Learn to Write has a lot to offer. Combine Comment with Exercise Central and you have a general idea of what it's like. It seems just slightly easier to maneuver than those other two softwares, though. I'm thinking about it. If I went with this, it would be silly to use AskOnline as well. The thing about AskOnline is that it is so userfriendly and can be used for all subjects. I start the pilot program with AskOnline tomorrow. Once again, the more features added to the program, the more complicated it becomes for the student. Occasionally I feel bogged down by all the technological wonders available to me. Am I letting my obsessions with gadgetry get in the way of the real purpose - to assist students in their subject matter? I wonder if sometimes all this extra stuff just gets in the way. The thing is we live in a technological age, and students pursuing an education should receive a full education that familiarizes them with technology. But how much is necessary, convenient, or beneficial?  

New Stuff

A couple of reps have contacted me. I already wrote about Grammar Sense. Another rep contacted me about some reading software that I should be receiving soon: Learning 100 and Access 21st Century. Another Learning Specialist is promoting Learning to Write. I requested an access code to try out the demo.

My Skills Lab/Reading Road Trip

I have some unpredicted obstacles with this program:

1. Apparently I need to have a lot of faculty support for the reps to bother molding this program to my needs. I know some faculty members are not very fond of the program because of the hassle it has given us in the past. I'm going to have to convince them that this will help us conquer those past problems.
2. The reading instructor I have the most contact with has decided she does not like this program at all. She wants to go in an entirely new direction which means I'm going to have to redo lab assignments for her. She wants each student to have an individualized program to address his/her specific needs. While that would be ideal, I don't know if that is feasible. I'll do my best, but, ironically, I think my solution will be to modify Reading Road Trip.

Catch 22.

TutorTrac/PantherTrac

Oops! Next time I better read the overview. I was misinformed about this program. It is not for online tutoring; it is for tracking lab activity. Since I am part of a committee designing the PantherTrac (Accutrack replacement) program to do exactly that, I have no need for TutorTrac.

TechXplore III

It seems like all the bugs have been worked out of the program. The speech class met again today. They adjusted the mic settings on the computer, and they all seem to be working fine. That's the fun part about computers. Troubleshooting. Troubleshooting is just like it sounds - shoot from the hip until you find the right answer.

AskOnline II

I contacted two comp instructors about allowing me to pilot this program in their classes. One instructor has responded very positively about Ask Online, but the other is putting me off a bit. We'll see if he goes for it. I received 14 licenses and my administrator's code. While I'm excited about starting this, I'm not making any decisions until I check out some other options. I have an appointment with TutorTrac on 6/21 to go through a demo with one of their reps. I've definitely decided against Comment, but it had some things I definitely liked that I plan to ask for. Apparently we are supposed to be able to work closely with Ask Online to mold the program to our needs.

Grammar Sense

The EAP cluster is looking into a new ESOL series. Grammar Sense is a program that specifically targets ESOL students. We used to use Focus on Grammar, but it's very outdated. It's so bad, that recently after starting here, the disks were unusable. An instructor is looking at using the Grammar Sense books with the new Houghton Mifflin series that is currently being piloted. We'll see what we do. I figured the software should be mentioned here, however. It is brand new and not quite finished yet which has made a couple of people a little nervous about purchasing it. The new texts probably won't be in place until fall 2006 anyway, so I think there's plenty of time.

AskOnline I

As I have previously written, I've acquired web space to start an online English and reading lab with online tutoring being a main focus. I've looked into Comment, and decided it is not appropriate for my needs. The math lab on another campus is using AskOnline. This medium is supposedly appropriate for all forms of tutoring. I was originally under the assumption that it was geared toward math. I've contacted the math lab and have a meeting with a learning specialist over there tomorrow. I've looked at it a little bit, and I think it might suit my needs.

TechXplore II

The speech instructor using this software has left, and is using it long-distance with his class. Apparently, everything is working out fine. One of our tutors happens to be in that class, so I think he's helping to iron out the wrinkles. He told me that only two students were unable to speak to the instructor, but they all could hear him. A webcam was set up in the classroom so that the instructor could see everyone, and he had his tiny little webcam with him. I'm supposed to collect the webcam when the course is over. I wrote it here so I won't forget.

Comment

Comment is an interactive site put out by Bedford St. Martin's. I think it will be a valuable resource for instructors, but I don't think it's really appropriate for a lab setting. The software allows the instructor to set up a class, give assignments, and link to specific spots in various Bedford St. Martin's grammar and writing books. While that last feature is really cool, I haven't spent enough time in the program to figure out how to do it. I think this would be an ideal set up for an online course. One thing I didn't like was that the student had to upload their work in html format. For someone who's not computer literate, this program might be a bit overwhelming. It would be a lot of fun for me, though. :)

Web Space

Some exciting news. I met with the web master and acquired a bit of PBCC web space to start my online tutoring program. Be on the lookout for updates regarding this project.

TechXplore trial

On Thursday, I assisted a speech teacher with a project exploring technological communication. Using a web-based system called TechXplore, the instructor was able to talk to his students using headsets and headphones. There's a lot of possibilities here with the web cam and the classroom set up. (It even has a "raise hand" button.) It did have some negative aspects to it that may be smoothed out over time. Not all of the students were able to communicate. Also, sometimes the option to press "talk" would vanish for no reason. Ideally, the instructor would be able to see each of his students through a web cam and talk to each one. He could hold class discussions from remote locations. Students could type and pose questions while another student talks allowing them two forms of communication at the same time. Students could record speeches in advance for their peers to review. This is very cool in concept, but so far this reminds me of free and therefore poor-quality chat rooms. In 1999, my friend Greg showed me how to set up a private chat room. We set one up and were able to talk through the computer. There was a lot of background noise and a bit of a delay (just like this program). It was actually quicker to type then to talk. I haven't been in one since, but I've heard these types of chat rooms have improved a lot. I don't know. I have a cell phone, and I have aol's instant messenger, so I didn't see the need. It definitely has potential for distance learning courses, though. PBCC is always trying to increase its distance learning programs. I'll write more as the wrinkles are ironed out. He plans to use it several more times this semester.

Accutrack

Accutrack is the system the college's libraries, student learning centers, computer labs, and media services use to track student usage. It is a flawed system because each location creates its own activities so there is no way to track college-wide data. This is a problem since a community college gets a lot of grant funding which is based on progress. If progress isn't made, the funding is pulled. In my lab, I plan to use the reports to show that we need more lab space. One of the major problems with Accutrack in just our lab is that the activities are so numerous that students don't choose the right ones. They pick whatever is automatically selected which keeps us from having an accurate record of how many Prep II Math students have visited the lab, for example. I also wanted to accurately show how much the English and reading attendance has increased since I started working here. I don't think that is truly possible, either. I have joined a committee to design a college-wide system that is based on an interface that already holds the students' records. The students' schedule will pop up and universal options will be displayed as choices. The only hang up is that each lab performs unique functions, so it will be a little tricky to design universal activities for every lab. I'm looking forward to dealing with these challenges, however. Apparently this is supposed to be a web-based interface that hopefully I can also use to track online tutoring which I would like to pilot in the fall.

Lab Surveys II

I received the last of my surveys. I did get some responses asking that we not have lab assignments, but their complaints were legitimate. This final class was an evening class. The average night student has a full-time job and a family to care for. These students do not have the time to come to the lab. Our seminars are not always convenient for them to attend. Keeping these factors in mind, I've decided that I want to keep the computer assignments despite their complications. I will continue working on simplifying the process.

Lab Survey

Since this is the first semester English, reading and EAP students have had lab assignments and have been accountable for lab work, I sent out a survey to see how students perceived the lab and what we could do to help their learning experience. I expected to get a lot of responses like, "No more lab work" and "Don't make lab time required." Surprisingly, the students took the survey seriously and gave some good feed back. For instance, several people reported that one of the major hindrances in the lab was the noise level. I'd never really considered that as an obstacle. A lot of them wrote that the lack of space was a hindrance which I had predicted and hoped for. Eventually we hope to expand into the computer lab. I got mixed responses about the book work vs. The computer work. I think the overall consensus was that the book work was more helpful, but the computer work was more convenient. I'm not sure what to do about that. I don't like to have all of their assignments coming from different places because it causes confusion, especially for the older students. I think that may be one of the issues. The younger students prefer the computer work, but the older students who are not computer literate prefer the book work. I don't want to add one more task - learning to work the computer - on top of their reading or English instruction, but I don't want to take away the convenience of the computer assignments away from the students who have trouble getting to the lab all of the time. I could offer them the choice, but that might make it even more confusing. I'll have to figure out a good compromise.

Educational programs in our English, Reading, and EAP lab

• SkillsLab 2.0 - I'm piloting this site for the college. So far I've found it to be extremely complicated. The students are so focused on maneuvering through the program, that they have difficulty focusing on Reading. The program gives the students a lot of options, but it's poor organization makes it hardly worth the effort. I'm currently working with our sales representatives and their IT department to customize the software. The material available, especially in Reading Road Trip makes me want to work this out. Each topic is thoroughly covered with multiple exercises for practice.
• My Skills Tutor - This program is so easy to work with. Students rarely ever have difficulty navigating this site. The program covers many subjects from English to Math to Information Skills, so it does not go into great detail with any one topic.
• ELLIS - This ESOL software was a little difficult to install, but definitely worth the effort. The students love it. Its eye-pleasing graphics and interactive multimedia make it the most enjoyable program for students to work with while allowing to practice all their English language skills.
• Exercise Central - This software accompanies our prep English texts. It provides a lot of practice exercises, but no tutorials. All information is presented in the text. The multiple choice exercises are fine, but the fill in the blank and complete the sentence exercises need to be a bit more flexible. If the student does not have the sentence word for word, the computer marks it wrong. This site also comes with the Bedford Researcher which is a great help for writing papers.