Online Distance Learning for English Language Teaching

This assignment had me paired up with another classmate and we review the literature associated with the use of online courses for English learning. We reviewed three distinct programs from China, Spain and the United Kingdom. We learned a great deal from this review. Mainly that there is definitely a need to have guidance for online programs. Although the attraction of online courses is the ability to work alone and at your own pace, the data reflects that without the guidance of moderators or tutors the success rates are low and the dropout rates are high. Another imporant aspect was the correlation between dropout rates and the motivation of students to learn the material. Those students who had some incentive to learn the language obviously did better than those who just took a class to explore the online experience.

ED P 595 - Qualitative Research Methods in Education

This class was a great introduction for me to the fundamentals of qualitative research. I chose to take a closer look at blogs in the classroom. For this class, I reviewed literature on my subject and I interviewed other educators to get their opinions about blogs in the classroom. This assignment gave me some insight into what it takes to research and gather data. I had my challenges like scheduling issues for my interviews but in the end it was a great learning opportunity. In my discussion, I state that blogs are still a viable tool for classroom instructions. However, withouth planning and support, it is much more difficult to have success with this technology.