Life as Edward Jensen

By way of preface, this post is sort of a semantical rant on the state of online learning (or e-learning). I have the unique perspective of working on both ends of the spectrum: having taken courses that are partially (or fully) online to helping faculty and staff in the ASU College of Public Programs develop online learning courses. What’s more, I work with Dr. Colleen Carmean, who knows a thing or two about e-learning best practices.

What really inspired me to write this post was the discovery that the assessments (read: quiz) feature of Blackboard (ASU’s course management system) is incompatible with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8. And then I got to thinking about the big questions of the Internet: the whys and the hows.  Over the summer, I was enrolled in a non-ASU online course (the institution shall remain nameless for its sake) that required the use of Internet Explorer and whose accompanying e-textbook was solely for Windows environments.

I understand that I’m in the minority of home computer users: I solely run Ubuntu (a Debian-based Linux distribution) on my machines. A few programs I use still require Windows, and so I have a virtualized installation of Windows XP on two of my machines that I can call up whenever I need (but if and only if they don’t work in WINE). But in the end, I’d like not to use Windows or have my computer masquerade around as Windows. If the world is moving more toward the Internet, shared knowledge, and cloud computing, then shouldn’t the operating system be irrelevant?

But here’s the big question: Isn’t the point of the Internet (let alone distributed learning and shared knowledge) that it transcends operating systems and Internet browsers? Isn’t that why we have standards like HTML (hypertext markup language)?

Forget Internet Explorer and its slow adoption of Internet standards. Forget the fact that some instructors and institutions mandate certain computing requirements for their courses. As I see it, if an instructor is going to have an online course or if an institution is going to mandate an online course management system, then it shouldn’t just support 90% of computers (read: those that use Windows). It shouldn’t just support the big two operating systems (read: Windows or Macintosh). It should support the entire realm of computing, so the Windows-based instructor can talk to their Ubuntu-based student who can in turn talk to others in class who run Macintosh or Windows.

At the macro level, the Internet, it seems, is a standard. All browsers should support 100% of that standard. Enabling “compatibility modes” in an Internet browser seems silly and stupid, as IE8 users in Blackboard must do.

Come on, people. Goodness gracious.

-Edward Jensen

[author's note: Since April 2009, I've been working with the IT and e-Learning side of the ASU College of Public Programs in a new endeavor that combines my passion for technology and the advancement of learning. Don't get me wrong, I'm still working with the Student Ambassadors (StARs). The StARs group we have assembled at the moment is an energetic, passionate, and eager bunch and I'm humbled and honored to call them all my colleagues and friends.  Do please check out what these future world-changers have to say.  But this added gig lets me work with CoPP faculty to reach out to new students in newer and more innovative ways.]

[editor's note: At least once a week, we'll try and have an e-learning post online wherein we share our thoughts about technology in the classroom, social media, emerging technologies, and anything of the sort. You can find all these assembled posts under the Online Learning subtheme of the ASU theme.]

About a couple of months ago, ASU announced that it had partnerned with Inigral to bring ASU on Facebook (click to launch), a Facebook application that connects students to each other in the same class, major, school, and college.  The application also allows students to connect with instructors, view class schedules and find other students from the same hometown. The premise of ASU on Facebook is that it links a student’s Facebook account to the ASU Student Information System via the ASURite single sign-on (SSO) system.

With the introduction of any new system comes lots of questions. Borrowing from a popular format by Educause, I co-wrote (with Dr. Colleen Carmean) 7 things you should know about ASU on Facebook for the College’s e-Learning team.  You can click on the image at right to download a nice 1-page flyer (on legal-size paper, 8.5×14) of what this Facebook application is (and is not) or you can check out a more detailed version on the College’s website, http://copp.asu.edu/facebook. In the context of a hypothetical scenario of Sheila, an undergraduate student in the College’s Social Work program, the flyer outlines the what, who, how, significance, downsides, where, and implications for learning of this new application.

The thing that will be interesting to see is how this ASU on Facebook application works with – and quite possibly even complements – the existing Blackboard course management system.  Most students are probably on Facebook more than they are on Blackboard (sadly), so will students treat this new application as though it were Blackboard?

Probably not at the outset.  Notably lacking from the ASU on Facebook application – and probably by design – is a system where students can submit their assignments and review their grades.  ASU can make people use Blackboard, but it cannot make them create a Facebook profile, the crux of this entire system.

Facebook is an informal system, something that Educause discussed in their September 2006 flyer, 7 things you should know about Facebook (PDF).  This is something we felt would challenge the academic tone that instructors are trying to establish in their classes.  But given the wide popularity of Facebook – 200 million active users by Facebook’s own count – who knows if this will supplement Blackboard or start to replace it.  As Dr. Carmean and I wrote as a concluding thought:

ASU on Facebook is an informal approach to discussion and connection in a course. Since many students already use Facebook, this initiative provides a familiar approach for students seeking connection outside the classroom. Will faculty embrace the initiative, accept course invitations to join their students at ASU on Facebook, and embrace informal course communications? Time will tell.

If you’ve skipped reading everything I’ve written above and just want the link to the flyer: it’s at http://copp.asu.edu/facebook.  The ASU on Facebook application is at http://facebook.asu.edu/.

-Edward Jensen