App Review: Chromie

Chrome has been my primary browser for nearly three years. I love the omni box, lightening load times, and the tabbed browsing. On my iOS devices, however, I have been forced to use Safari-- until now.

On May 26 the social bookmarking website Diigo announced that they were launching a Chrome-inspired browser for the iPad. Chromy looks and feels a lot like the Chrome browser including tabbed browsing and an omni box.

The announcement by Diigo highlighted some of the key features of Chromy, but did not offer any technical specifications. It is unclear if Chromy simply looks like Chrome or if it is built upon the Chromium open source code.

One of the neat features of Chromy is the ease with which links can be shared through Twitter, Facebook, Diigo, etc. You can also do some basic but previously impossible things such as open a link in a new tab, see what tabs you have open at all times, and save pages for offline use.

Chromy is a free app available from the iTunes App Store.

One of the downsides to using a browser other than Safari on an iOS devices is that all non-browser links (in an email for example) automatically launch in Safari. There is currently now way to remove Safari as the default browser, unless you jailbreak your device.

I am now using Chromy as my primary browser on my iPad. What's your favorite iOS browser?

iMovie on the iPad 2

I am helping launch an iPad initiative at my school and was excited to get my hands on one a couple of weeks ago. Last week I had the opportunity to try out iMovie for the iPad ($4.99) while taking 45 9th grad students on a field trip to the Detroit Zoo. Throughout our trip I took pictures and video using the integrated camera. All of the editing was completed on the fly using the mobile version of iMovie. Here are the results:



I was very impressed at the ease of editing a movie on the mobile version of iMovie. Adding, trimming, and moving clips is simple. The mobile version of iMovie is limited in terms of transitions and theme, but it is the best mobile video editing app that I have used.

The only thing I don't like about my video is the abrupt ending. Anyone know if it is possible fade out the music in iMovie for the iPad?

4 Keys to Student Success Online: Part 4

Note: While research regarding best practices for online learning is difficult to obtain due to the relatively infancy of the industry, four key areas of focus critical to program success have been identified. This week I will be posting four keys to student success in online courses. These "best practices" were gleaned through research that I conducted through a wide variety of sources. This is part 4 of 4

Read Part #1 Here
Read Part #2 Here
Read Part #3 Here

4. Student Preparation and Attitude

While teacher quality and mentor support are critical components to helping students succeed in online courses, the attitude and preparation of the student is also a contributing factor. Students will not be naturally successful in an online program. Rice (2006) indicates that “younger students need to be provided guidance in developing characteristics of successful distance students.”

When making the transition from face-to-face to online instruction, most students think that the level of work will decrease and that their level of flexibility and free time will increase. Adjusting takes time and requires careful support. Online students to have a greater sense of autonomy and flexibility, but the work load remains the same. Deadlines still exist.

Assistance is need from mentors and parents to help students create a schedule and work-flow that will allow them to stay on task and on schedule. Being self-motivated and managing time well are critical components to the success of a student. The younger the student, the more guidance, oversight, and accountability is required.

While student attitude and skills are an important component, research continues to point to teacher quality as the most important factor to student success. As mentioned before, a quality teacher can help students without the proper attitude and worth ethics succeed in an online program. As Rice (2006) concludes, the effectiveness of distance education appears to have more to do with who is teaching, who is learning, and how that learning is accomplished and less to do with the medium.

References:

Rice, Kerry Lynn. "A Comprehensive Look at Distance Education in the K-12 context." Journal of Research on Technology in Education 38.4 (2006): 425-448. Web. 29 Apr 2011. .

Allen, I. Elaine, and Jeff Seaman. "Learning on Demand: Online Education in the United States, 2009." Sloan Consortium. The Sloan Consortium, January 2010. Web. 29 Apr 2011

4 Keys to Student Success Online: Part 3

Note: While research regarding best practices for online learning is difficult to obtain due to the relative infancy of the industry, four key areas of focus critical to program success have been identified. This week I will be posting four keys to student success in online courses. These "best practices" were gleaned through research that I conducted through a wide variety of sources. This is part 3 of 4

Read Part #1 Here

Read part 2 here

3. Mentor Support:

Because students in an online program are typically not physically present at a specific location, an additional layer of student support, called the mentor, is strongly recommended. This adult supervisor assists in keeping track of a students overall progress whereas a teacher focuses on their progress in a particular course. Fride (2001 in Rice 2006) discovered that the amount of engagement by the adult supervisor seemed to influence the amount of and quality of participation by students.



Closely associated with mentor support is the importance of parental support (Rice 2006). Both the parent and the school mentor serve a similar role in being concerned for the overall progress and success of the student. The parent has the additional benefit of being physically present with the student allowing for a higher level of accountability. It is recommended that students have a mentor in addition to parental oversight.



Mentors are also called learning coaches or student advocates and is an important member of the learning team which includes the student, the teaching staff, and the parents. Most commonly the mentor is employed by the school however some schools require students to find their own mentor (a parent or other adult) who is kept appraised of the students progress and is used as the primary contact for the school.



Nearly all online schools have identified the mentor as a critical role on the academic team and offer this service as an amenity included with tuition.

References:

Rice, Kerry Lynn. "A Comprehensive Look at Distance Education in the K-12 context." Journal of Research on Technology in Education 38.4 (2006): 425-448. Web. 29 Apr 2011. .

Allen, I. Elaine, and Jeff Seaman. "Learning on Demand: Online Education in the United States, 2009." Sloan Consortium. The Sloan Consortium, January 2010. Web. 29 Apr 2011.

4 Keys to Student Success Online: Part 2

Note: While research regarding best practices for online learning is difficult to obtain due to the relatively infancy of the industry, four key areas of focus critical to program success have been identified. This week I will be posting four keys to student success in online courses. These "best practices" were gleaned through research that I conducted through a wide variety of sources. This is part 2 of 4

Read Part #1 Here

2. Teacher Quality:

While social interaction is important, several research studies point to teacher quality as the single most influential factor to student success (D. Hammond 2000 in Rice 2006).



Rice (2006) indicates that the importance of positive relationships between teachers and students is critical to student retention. The impact of quality teachers reaches beyond the quality or preparation of students in the online program. A good teacher can help a student, who is not particularly well suited for an online class, succeed.



Measuring teacher preparation is challenging however Huges et. al. (2005 in Rice 2006) indicate that a significant correlation between teacher effectiveness and the number of professional development hours they have logged.  



Because research clearly indicates that quality teachers are imperative to the success of an online program, considerable care and thought should be given to the hiring of teachers. Additionally, teachers should be highlighted as a unique and differentiating resources.

References:

Rice, Kerry Lynn. "A Comprehensive Look at Distance Education in the K-12 context." Journal of Research on Technology in Education 38.4 (2006): 425-448. Web. 29 Apr 2011. .

Allen, I. Elaine, and Jeff Seaman. "Learning on Demand: Online Education in the United States, 2009." Sloan Consortium. The Sloan Consortium, January 2010. Web. 29 Apr 2011.

4 Keys to Student Success Online: Part 1

Despite the misconceptions held by the general public regarding online learning, several comparative studies have determined that there is no significant difference in the outcomes of online classrooms when compared to traditional face-to-face classrooms. (Rice 2006). While this is encouraging, it is also clear that not every student is destined to be successful in an online learning environment:

“The undeniable fact is that some students succeed in the virtual educational environment and some fail just as they do in traditional classroom environments. The key lies in understanding the critical components in an educational context that promote and encourage student success, not the media that was used to deliver instruction.” (Rice 2006)

Some students will thrive in an online environment while others will be better served in a face-to-face classroom. The key is determining the attributes of a successful online student.

While research regarding best practices for online learning is difficult to obtain due to the relatively infancy of the industry, four key areas of focus critical to program success have been identified. This week I will be posting four keys to student success in online courses. These "best practices" were gleaned through research that I conducted through a wide variety of sources. 

1. Social Interaction:

One of the concerns expressed by both parents and students when confronted with the issue of online learning is the issue of social interaction. One of the common misconceptions is that students in online courses interact with their peers and instructors less because they are not physically present with one another.

Downs and Moller (1999 in Rice 2006) indicate that “students have a real need to make connections with their instructors and their peers and research consistently supports the concept that faculty-to-student and student-to-student interactions are important components in student satisfaction and student retention.”

Vrasidas & Zembylas (2003 in Rice 2006) identified high quality materials and frequent teacher-student interaction as key components to student success.

McLoughlin (2002 in Rice 2006) identified reflective thinking and feedback from peers and mentors as types of interactions which lead to student learning and success.

These three studies indicated that a critical component to any online program is the interaction between instructors and students and between students.

References:

Rice, Kerry Lynn. "A Comprehensive Look at Distance Education in the K-12 context." Journal of Research on Technology in Education 38.4 (2006): 425-448. Web. 29 Apr 2011. .

Allen, I. Elaine, and Jeff Seaman. "Learning on Demand: Online Education in the United States, 2009." Sloan Consortium. The Sloan Consortium, January 2010. Web. 29 Apr 2011.

Check Out EdReach

I am a contributor to a collaborative blog, edreach.us, designed to encourage positive change in education. EdReach launched in January and it has grown considerably. You can read my post about the purpose of EdReach here.

I contribute a bi-weekly post and am a contributor to the Google Educast show which you can download from the iTunes music store [iTunes link].

Today I contributed a post regarding the state of online education in the United States. I'd encouraged you to take a look at it. While you're there, click through the EdReach site, I'm sure you find something that you you will enjoy.