Evaluation of Online Instruction Site: MIT Course Title: Nature of Constructionist Learning Course URL: http://ocw.mit.

edu/courses/media-arts-and-sciences/mas-962-the-nature-ofconstructionist-learning-spring-2003/ Evaluation by: Jason Cribbs, Nicole Moon, Susan Moore, and Angie Starrett **It is important to note that this course is a part of the MIT OpenCourseWare. This means that these courses are available to all online, even though students will not receive college credit. It is clear that this was a course given in 2003, and the readings and assignments are now available online for any user. The Nature of Constructionist Learning is a graduate education whose online version is not well organized or comprehensive. The course does offer the self-motivated learner a variety of reading material on constructionist learning theory. Each week Dr. Mikhak provides a list of one to five presumably required readings, as well as probing questions for a short paper assignment (2-3 pages in length). The main weakness for this course lies in the interaction. Since the course ran in Spring 2003, no possible communication exists from student-to-student or professor-to-student. Also, since it is offered as freeware, no course credit can be earned from completing all the reading and writing assignments. No attempt is made to appeal to different learning styles, since all readings are textual and the formative and summative assessments are all of essay form. A future design would benefit from incorporating more diverse learning and testing accommodations. Furthermore, in our evaluation we found that several of the reading links were broken and no link was provided for fifteen of the assigned readings. Lastly, even though the self-pacing student can complete the writing assignments, no rubric or formally stated learning objectives are provided so it would be extremely hard for one to ascertain whether or not he or she has fully comprehended the material. While one short paper exemplar is provided, twelve different papers are assigned. Thus, we found it hard to determine the overall benefit of this one exemplar. Course Overview and Introduction- The overall design of the course is made clear at the beginning of the course. Positives: Easy-to-read and navigate Course Home provides links to syllabus, readings and short paper assignments Clearly visible link to the terms of use by MIT OpenCourseWare Syllabus provides course overview and professors expectations Instructions make clear how to get started and where to find various course components. After reading the course description the students are aware of the goals and the purpose of the class.

Negatives: Students are not asked to introduce themselves, but the first assignment instructs students to write a paper on their opinion of this course in their personal lives. The professor does not introduce herself/himself to the students. No means of communication or feedback from the professor Can only assume no prerequisite course(s)

Learning Objectives- Learning objectives are measurable and clearly stated. Positives: A short description is provided for each short paper describing expectations Student exemplars are provided for both a short paper and the final paper Instructions to students on how to meet goals are stated in the calendar and assignments page

Negatives: No formally stated learning objectives are provided No rubrics are offered for the writing assignments The course states what they want the students to learn and take away from this class, but this information is not measurable.

Assessment and Measurement- Assessment strategies are designed to evaluate student progress by reference to stated learning objectives; to measure the effectiveness of student learning; and to be integral to the learning process. Positives: Weekly short paper assignments are meant to measure student comprehension of weekly readings It is clearly stated that grading is based on class participation, class presentations, and papers The types of assessments are consistent with course activities and resources. The assessments are varied, and appropriate to the student work being assessed Students have opportunities for self-reflection about their learning from short papers Example assignments are included as a model for students

Negatives: No grading rubrics provided for any assignment Grading policy in terms of assignment weight is not stated on the syllabus All assessments for the online version of this course are writing assignments

Instructional Materials- Instructional materials are sufficiently comprehensive to achieve stated course objectives and learning outcomes. Positives: The instructional materials contribute to the achievement of the stated course goals The purpose of instructional materials and how the materials are to be used for learning activities are clearly explained All resources and materials used in the course are appropriately cited. Instructional materials are easily accessible and easy to use for the student

Negatives: The instructional materials are not current

Learner Interaction and Engagement- Forms of Interaction incorporated in the course to motivate students and promote learning. Positives: The learning activities promote achievement in the course Learning activities provide opportunities for interaction that support active learning The instructors plan for classroom response time and feedback on assignments is clearly stated The calendar informs students of the timeline assignments are due The requirements for student interaction are clearly articulated Student-student and student-text interactions are encouraged The class mailing list is provided to encourage student-student collaboration

Negatives: Multiple learning styles are not supported

Course Navigation and Technology- Course navigation and technology support student engagement and ensure access to course components. Positives: The tools and media support the course goals Navigation throughout the online components of the course is logical, consistent, and efficient Students can readily access the technologies required in the course. All content items function as expected. Negatives: While the technology is current and supportive, it does not encourage student interaction with others

Learner Support- The course facilitates student access to institutional support services essential to student success. Positives: ReadMe.txt links to MIT OpenCourseWare Terms of Use Email provided for trouble using the downloaded materials

Negatives: No academic support services from MIT are provided No student support services from MIT are provided

Accessibility- The course demonstrates a commitment to accessibility for all students. Positives: Each week offers easy-to-understand topics for the short paper The course design facilitates readability and minimizes distractions

Negatives: No guidance is provided on how to obtain accommodation All assigned readings are textual No assistive technologies are provided Course does not provide multiple means of engagement

Course Administration Positives: The course is designed in a weekly topic format The duration of the course is fifteen weeks The amount of time students will spend reading and writing is reasonable for a working adult

Negatives: No grading of assignments is available

Strengths: The duration of this course is fifteen weeks. The course syllabus, reading materials and assignments are provided for the students and this allows them to see a basic overview of the course. After students read the course description they are aware of the goals and the purpose of the class. There are instructions to students on how to meet goals, and this is on the calendar and the assignments page. The course clearly states that grading is based on class participation, class

presentations, and papers. The purpose of instructional materials for this course and how the materials will be used for learning activities are clearly explained as well. Students know from the beginning of the course how much interaction the will have to have in the course and student-student and student-text interactions are encouraged. Weaknesses: There are quite a few weaknesses in this course that could not lead to as much learning as we would like to see from an online course. First, there are no means of communication or feedback from the professor for students accessing the class through MIT OpenCourseWare. When students cannot get feedback from the professor there is no way a student can make improvements on the quality of work he/she is producing. The course also has no formally stated learning objectives. This can lead to numerous problems including the setup of the class as a whole. The professor has no grading rubrics in place for any of the assignments, and consequently students do not know what is expected of them. Multiple learning styles are not supported which hinders student engagement, and there are no student support services from MIT provided. There is a lot of room for improvement in this course.