Boyds Blog

A casual reader of my bloggin could easily infer that I have a negative attitude to E-learning. This course has been extremely enlightening, I see the value of E-Learning, but I also have recognized it’s current constraints. Teachers can not make assumptions about student readiness for E-Learning. They must identify that E-Learning is the best delivery solution. Similarly teachers must avoid the use of technology that is still experimental or to expensive for the participants.

The aim now is to follow this process and integrate effective E-learning into my delivery.

Distractions are over and I am back on course. Module 3 focused on planting schemes, showing variations such as formal, informal and traditional. I see my particular style leaning to the informal approach.

Results for module 3 are shown below.

You scored 12 out of 15 (80.0%).

‘Paths of bark or gravel winding through a dense carpet of low-maintenance perennials’ is a description of which type of border?

The answer you gave was: Prairie planting.

Correct.

You’re about to make a new bed, the first thing you should do is:

The answer you gave was: Mark out the bed with a hose and see how it looks.

Correct.

Frothy plants are good ‘fillers’. Where would a spiky plant look effective?
There are two correct answers.

The answers you gave were:
As an ‘exclamation mark’ at the end of a border
AND
As a centrepiece in a bed

Correct.

Which of the following plants are considered dome shaped plants?
There are two correct answers.

The answers you gave were:
Rhododendron yakushimanum ‘Rhododendrum’
AND
Lavendula ‘Lavenda’

Correct.

When combining plant shapes together in a planting display, repeating the same shape at regular intervals could be described as what? There are two correct answers.

The answers you gave were:
Introducing harmony
AND
Giving a sense of rhythm

Correct.

The theory of colour is based on the colour wheel. What is the colour wheel?

The answer you gave was: The full spectrum, from red to violet, bent into a circle.

Correct.

On the colour wheel, what do opposite colours do?

The answer you gave was: Contrast.

This is the wrong answer. You’ll find the correct answer by returning to the section on Colour theory

Which colours would make a very effective monochrome bed or border? There are two correct answers.

The answers you gave were:
Green
AND
Blue

Only one of these answers is correct. You’ll find the correct answers by returning to the section on Colour theory

What are the 5 P’s?

The answer you gave was: Practical, Planning, Produces, Pretty, Patterns.

This is the wrong answer. You’ll find the correct answer by returning to the section on Do your research

How should you begin to arrange plants on your planting plan? There are two correct answers.

The answers you gave were:
Do it bit by bit
AND
Use triangles

Correct.

The course and website offer a great deal of information, one has to be careful not to get to side tracked. (Which I have been.) I sat down to attempt module 3, but instead of starting I look at an on line survey.

Cotttage

What type of gardener am I. The following is the result of an online survey or interactive quiz

Romance is in the air! Soft pastel colours, fragrance and borders filled with flowers make your heart skip a beat. Try sowing hardy annuals among your perennials to fill gaps in the boarder.

This reflection is not very accurate as I am a mixture of raw Australian Native Landscapes and fruit and vegetables.

Plant List

Similarly I looked at the plant list supporting module 3 and found myself searching a local nursery site to see what was available. Why this was not formal course material, learning still occurred. This process took approximately ¾ of an hour and added both meaning and structure to my learning experience.

The course is taking longer than I expected. Module 2 took approximately 1.5 hours. The material and delivery method though is quite interesting although the video require me to install extra software. (Real player). This module was focused “understanding plants” and while I had a general appreciation of plant characteristics this module cleared up some misconceptions. Similarly to module 1 of have included the outcomes of my on line quiz.

Module 2 Test

Read your results below.

You scored 10 out of 13 (76.9%).

When should you sow the seed of half hardy annuals in the garden?

The answer you gave was: Not until the last frost has passed.

Correct.

How long will a perennial last?

The answer you gave was: Several years.

Correct.

Which of the following type of plants DOES NOT have a trunk?
There are two correct answers.

The answer you gave was: Hardy perennial

This is one of two correct answers. You’ll find the correct answers by returning to the section on Woody plants

Which of the following statements are TRUE?
There are two correct answers.

The answers you gave were:
Deciduous trees grow a new set of leaves every year
AND
Evergreen trees never lose leaves

Only one of these answers is correct. You’ll find the correct answers by returning to the section on Evergreen and deciduous plants

What type of bulb is a tulip?

The answer you gave was: True bulb.

Correct.

What does the Latin word annus mean?

The answer you gave was: Year.

Correct.

Which parts of a climbing plant’s anatomy can be adapted to provide a hold on support… There are two correct answers.

The answers you gave were:
Stems
AND
Leaves

Correct.

The binomial system for naming garden plants uses, at is most straightforward, which two names?

The answer you gave was: Genus and species.

Correct.

If a plant has a third name in roman (rather than italics) type, surrounded by quotation marks, such as Thuja plicata ‘Zebrina’ is it a…?

The answer you gave was: A cultivar.

Correct.

If, while walking in Turkey, I discovered a plant of Tulipa turkestanica with blue flowers rather than its usual white ones, it would be a new…

The answer you gave was: Variety.

This is the wrong answer. You’ll find the correct answers by returning to the section on Plant names

Module 1 took just over 1 hour to complete. The course material is both varied and interesting, the interactive videos being the high light. There is an online test at the end of this module which gives instant feedback of both understanding and learning. The following are the results from module 1.  

You scored 11 out of 13 (84.6%).

   
Which of the following gardens will get the most light?

The answer you gave was: The one with a South aspect.

Correct.

   
In general, as altitude increases, what happens to temperatures?

The answer you gave was: Fall.

Correct.

   
Camellias do not like direct morning light, so a location with what aspect should be avoided?

The answer you gave was: East.

Correct.

   
What can you do to minimise wind causing damage to plants?
There are two correct answers.

The answers you gave were:
Plant a perimeter hedge
AND
Build a wall

Only one of these answers is correct. You’ll find the correct answers by returning to the section on “Wind worries Damage limitation”

   
If a soil has a pH level of 6, what kind of soil is it and what plant would grow well in it? There are two correct answers.

The answers you gave were:
Ericaceous and Rhododendron
AND
Acid and Rhododendron

Correct.

   
Which of these can be used to improve both moist and dry soils?

The answer you gave was: Well-rotted organic manure.

Correct.

   
What are the three types of particle which together with humus make up soil?

The answer you gave was: Clay, silt and sand.

Correct.

   
In an exposed coastal location, what is the best form of protection from the prevailing wind? There are two correct answers.

The answers you gave were:
A brick wall
AND
A tamerisk hedge

Only one of these answers is correct. You’ll find the correct answers by returning to the section on “Assessing your plot”

   
You do the touch test, and squeeze a lump of soil in your fist. It feels slimy and sticky, and when you release the pressure the lump stays in shape. What type of soil do you have?

The answer you gave was: Clay.

Correct.

   
Which position does Lavender prefer?

The answer you gave was: Full sun.

Correct.

Check out the hyper links to correct my mistakes. Very cool.

2 attendances left and unfortunately my motivation is still in limbo. In fairness I finally received some feedback this week (although it was very brief and had a generic feel to it). My current task is to complete a short online course, which i will be blogging as I participate. The chosen topic is gardening, I have had a verbal conformation that this course is appropriate. This was followed by a written reply suggesting it is “not a course but a guide based on a program.” A fellow student received similar advice formally but after exchanging e-mails with the lecturer has been allowed to continue. This course was a suggested This blogging will appear as a separate page.

I have lost it. E-learning experience has become derailed (at least for me). There are multiple reasons for this situation. External factors include an increased workload from both work and  other UTS  topics, this combined with the warming weather and a need to be outdoors to regain some sanity. The internal or course related factors though are critical to this current situation. The lecturing style has no appeal to me. This style seems to have limited preparation or direction and is not a good example to new teachers. The session structure is repetitive  involving pre-reading  and then discussion (these discussion generally follow similar themes). Today session is based on an article by Watkins regarding students readiness (something that was never investigate with the current group I am involved with). The biggest issue though has been the feedback. Currently I am preparing for the third and final assessment tasks and have had two comments on my previous/current work. Comment 1 “you seem to have a lot of words there” . Comment 2 “you will need to submit 4 to 5 similar on-line learning course for me”. The second comment relates to assessment task 3 where I attempted to establish an  appropriate online course to study. The lecturer comments came without even hearing my full explanation of the course or any investigation of the on-line course.

The outcomes from this online learning has been extremely positive. I now see many of the flaws associated with poor delivery and its effect on participants in an on-line environment.

This post has been prompted by an article written by Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt (2001) “Working with the Virtual Studnet in Lessons from Cyberspace”.This article identifies the issues  face by teaches using on-line teaching techniques in regards to ensuring positive outcomes for participants. In short the teacher in the virtual world is hinded as he/she cannot identify body language etc. Thus on-line teachers must develop strategies to ensure students engagement.

As previously discussed in this blog e-learning has its place in effective delivery. As a teacher I see my motivation for adopting e-learning is need. That need being, is this method of delivery in the best interest of the student cohort. I believe flexibility and technology work well together. This UTS process though has convinced me that e-learning needs to integrate  those parts of delivery which teachers have  found effect prior to this technological change. Student must be engaged and they require feedback.

The final semester at UTS has had a focus on flexible delivery and has exposed weaknesses in previous attempts of e-learning. The issues are similar to anytime that change occurs in educational direction. That is a lack of research and a poor understanding of the change by educational practictioners, which in turn leads to opposition to the change. I am confident though that e-learning is a powerful tool and is here to stay. I don’t feel that I am in any position to influence the research, therefore my direction is to attempt to grasp an understanding of e-learning.

How to do this is the question? One thing I have come to realise is that I don’t wish to be dependent on IT experts, commercially driven software (which is likely to be gone tomorrow) or expensive/fad hardware. So does this mean my direction is open source software and gaining an understanding of Lynx or similar. Possible but not probably. I think simplicity is the key. Forget learning management systems, use HTLM pages, emails and existing forums. This seems a far cheaper and easier solution. Mail students DVD’s disc don’t rely on bandwidth. Use the phone. I think the answer is to use tried and true technologies, so what if they are dated, education is about content. Let others be the researchers and pioneers.