Pit Bull Brainstorming: A Writing and Research Activity
Topic: Instructional Activities
Podcast

Brainstorming is an invention strategy for composition that can take many forms. While some find it useful to use diagrams, outlines, decision trees, and clusters, those tactics tend to focus on the "what" instead of the "how" and the "why." In order to approach deeper issues, and to trigger chains of thoughts, a very powerful technique is to develop series of questions. The brainstorming revolves around questions that trigger questions. It is a chain of questions, or, one could say a "great concatenation of questions." This approach is extremely useful for causal essays, as well as basic argumentation. One topic that certainly helps illustrate the technique is that of the pit bull, which can encompass a number of breeds, including the American Pit Bull Terrier. It seems that attacks by pit bulls just keep increasing. Cities such as Denver are banning them. Neighboring towns are fearful that they will become "pit bull dumping grounds" (which leads to all kinds of rather bizarre mental images, back yards packed shoulder-to-shoulder with pit bulls). Why is the pit bull phenomenon happening? What are we doing about it? Are some dog breeds being labeled "bad breeds"?

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Podcast

Text Representation and Cognitive Processes: How the Mind Makes Meaning in e-Learning
Topic: Instructional Activities
Podcast.
Since e-learning relies still relies heavily on text-based learning, it is very helpful to have a basic idea of how the mind makes meaning from discourse. Understanding how the various forms of textual representation operate will help one design more effective instructional materials, activities, and assessments. According to discourse theorists, written language has the following aspects or components in the text itself, which consist of Surface Code, Textbase, and Situated Text. It also helps to understand the factors that influence how an individual processes that language. Finally, the mechanisms used for comprehension matter a great deal when one is trying to achieve uniform learning outcomes. Achieving standard outcomes is simply not possible without first understanding when and how to activate relevant knowledge, and then how to guide the learner so that he/she acquires skill in selecting the correct meaning-making processes.

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Eating Disorders and the Extended Definition Essay for Online Writing Courses
Topic: Instructional Activities
Podcast. It is an ironic counterpoint to the obesity epidemic. Adult women weighing as little as 56 pounds and so malnourished that their bodies are shutting down continue to starve themselves, continuing to believe that they are fat, or are teetering on the edge of out-of-control weight gain. Any sense that the weight loss was to become more attractive wears away as one looks at the frighteningly skeletal bodies. When one compares "before / after" photos, one finds oneself wanting to blurt out that the anorexia or bulimia-driven woman looked more attractive before, even if she considered herself a bit plump.

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Diverse Teams: Key to Effective Online Collaborations
Topic: Leadership in E-Learning
Podcast (audio file) Diverse groups experience higher levels of interaction, and thus performance, resulting in higher persistence, satisfaction, and retention. This applies to e-learning as well as face-to-face settings, and is reinforced by work I recently rediscovered which was published more than ten years ago by teams investigating the impact of diversity on team performance.

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Goal-Setting and Self-Regulation in Online Courses: The Basics
Topic: Leadership in E-Learning
Podcast (downloadable mp3 file) Goal-setting, which is an aspect of self-regulation, can be a vital part of an adult student's success in online learning. It increases motivation dramatically, not only by building in rewards, but also by increasing skill levels and perceived self-efficacy.

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