TREEWalk w/ PNPCSI Powerhouses

At 42 (and soon 2b 43), I still learn something new everyday :)  Thanks to Patrick, Ronald and Anthony=2ndliner powerhouses of Philippine Native Plants Conservation Society Inc.  I look at these fellow UP facs/UP grads in awe for who they are now= the carriers of  knowledge on Phil Native Plants from their original host Leonard Co. This is the 3rd time we've had them as resource persons for UPOU's CWTS Ecology Track.   I arrange for resource persons to come in and deepen our knowledge of ecology +environment, forest conservation and advocacy in the Philippines.

This time however, knowledge is now sticky to my memory as we did an actual Treewalk at UP Diliman. Starting from Unive Ave Checkpoint, I now enumerate all the native trees  in their Fil-Eng names which I'd like to remember them for, to include their location in UP Diliman:

A. Checkpoint mini garden:
1.Tanao=anahaw like palm tree
2. Phil Date Palm Tree=used by folks from Batanes--combed into head and body coverings as protection from the weather
3. Manila Palm= Bungang Tsina
4. Balakbak

B University Ave
5. Ylang-ylang
6. Talisay
7. Pili

C. Quezon Hall to Lagoon Area
8. Narra
9.  Nananangis na Bayawak
10. Balite=Phil Fig tree

D. Lagoon Area to Faculty Center
11.  Malugay (hindi malunggay)
12. Antipolo
13. Anahaw

E. FC to College of Science--Chem
14. Kamagong=mabolo
15. Utot ni Judas

F. FC to MSci
16. Dao
17. Lubi-lubi/Niyog-niyogan


G. College of Science
18.Dagat Kamagong
19. Philippine Mahogany
20. Molave
21. Niyog


Other  Ideas to Remember:
-fiscus
-interactions among dipterocarpo + flying mammals in SE Asia
-3.5k=species of Philippine Trees
-we are the first when it comes to endemicity

Now, I my jogging-running moments at UP Area have new found meaning as I will try to remember all these endemic Philippine Trees. What a joy!

Future plans:
-have the CWTS students become Tree Walk guides to educate children=younger generation about Philippine Trees;
-co-create educational materials on Philippine trees for schools
-spread the word about PNPCSI

WizIQ: Why does it even matter...

These past two weeks have been hectic at work. We had a series of meetings and tasks to:
-prepare course sites and build on these for this semester's opening
-formulate course proposals for program revision in our MAEd Social Studies Education
-committee work to open a new BDegree program

In the midst of work, I'm trying to insert time to do my online course to learn Moodle admin=M4TA while waiting for some ACP Office at Singapore to finally finish all site-content migration to UPOU MyPortal/Moodle 1.9 so I will know the state of plug-ins to finally see WizIQ integration in our online classes.  My source of joy is to see this wonderful tool being equally enjoyed by fellow faculty members and their students with an org account to make this happen.  And so I still had brain energy to come up with a proposal.  Sometimes I wonder, why do I even have to be the one doing the proposal? Or who am I even having no techie backround?Isn't that up to our Techsupport folks?...but ME a satisfied customer and ME happy teacher and ME impatient ME. Might as well do this.

As always, I take it upon myself not to simply take things sitting down. I am one impatient person whose patience is being tested in a bigger institution which I committed myself to. I managed to swing neat ideas here and there borne out my capacity to dream dreams and pick up from online and offline exchanges with students.  My prior and initial  involvements with the UPOU Community Site enabled me to develop a sense of community with students and a few young faculty members who share a common connection with the UP identity. Negotiating for approval of activities wasn't so hard to do, and so all these happened with the help of the UPOU community members: UPOU Lantern Parade, Fellowship and Orientation, Sem Enders, Elections for the Student Regent, Biomodd Art Installation at PIGGFEX, which I consider peripherals and extra-curricular. I mean, it didn't require major UPOU funding to start with, hence it wasn't hard to get the nod of the Deans and Vice Chancellor.

But everytime I am placed in such a situation to bring matters up to my bosses, I see it as a self test: How long can Aleta keep herself focused and be tolerant of people to get the things she needs/wants for her program? I'm used to working with small organizations wherein in 1 or 2 meetings, we get to decide on things and give it a GO. We experience the fruits of our labor=immediate gratification. In UPOU, the experience has been quite different. Initial meetings, more meetings, other agenda overlaps with prior agenda before WHAM, it happens. By that time, the WHAM doesn't come as YEHEY or WOOOHOOO, and instead it goes=haaaay salamat OR Good riddance... hhwhaat a relief and thank God that was over.

And so this Proposal for WizIQ I consider very much a test and task which started months ago. To be able to get people to listen, I had to go through these, most of which weren't originally planned but opportunities I picked up on to get here:
1) April-May >Experiment with labrats:  I found an ally among a few students and few co-facs (Sol and husbandry) who think that it would be good to have this tool as an add on to their experiences over Moodle
2) June>Join a class in IT4All to see myself in an online learner-mode in order improve my teaching skills alongside use of Moodle + WizIQ
3) June&July. Share a bit during  Faculty Moodle Workshop 1 and I found an ally: Bobby, a user of WizIQ, BigBlueButton and Academiacs
4) June-Aug> Faculty Research Grant: where  I found theory-concept of Teaching Presence as an area for research mostly in asynchrononous platforms, hence a neat idea to see how this  happens  in synchronous platforms; I  had a panel of 5-6 reviewers and convinced them that this case study among WizIQ exemplary teachers is worth doing vs a case study of UPOU teachers at WizIQ as there has yet to be concrete data for me to work on. We dont even have a WizIQ plugin yet for our course sites.
5) August>Presentation during the Fac Congress: to have others  see and enjoy Moodle+Google+WizIQ with me
6) October> 2 Conference presentations: to let the higher ups see the branding of my paper as grants for presentation have our Deans and VC's as signatories
7) Sept-Oct> Email bugger me + attendance in meetings: to stay connected with Bobby and Al, professors who have done research in other tools=my allies=signatories to my proposal; also to offer demo sessions with fellow facs interested in learning about WizIQ=Kat, Mam Jossie and Mam Caring, Registrar Bagarinao, Dean Jhun Buot, and drummer boy Luna of FMDS.
8) November> Brief WizIQ demo stint during Fac Moodle Workshop 2; await plug ins to be done once UPOU has migrated to Moodle 1.9

And so, this 2nd week  of November is like the coming together of forces to finally finish and submit the WizIQ org account proposal and get the nod from the higher ups.  Looking back, this was a combination of groundworking and lobbying, the Aleta kind, again to get what I want which is even something I want NOT for myself (as I do have my precious premium solo account I'm still bent on keeping) but for fellow teachers whom I know will make good use of this tool. I was equally putting UPOU to a test: how will government run institution in a 3rd World country like org-systems view or respond to bottom-up recommendations. That has yet to be seen once the proposal is submitted.

BUT a roadblock I didn't expect was WizIQ itself.  This ultimately breaks my honeymoon stage with WizIQ folks.  Here I was almost done with a 2 page proposal and waiting for attachments to come from WizIQ. There has to be something more official coming from WizIQ in terms of concrete advantages (over other vc tools), pricing and plans packaged for easy viewing and comparison so that the target and ideal pricing+plan  will come out practical, reasonable and justifiable in terms of costs. So I emailed key folks in academic and sales team.

For the first time, emails weren't returning with concrete answers and actions. I emailed academics@wiziq.com to inquire about WizIQ vs Open Meeting and BigBlue Button. I got a brief answer via chat which was workable/acceptable. Thanks to Mr Sarkar that even Jai emailed me this superneat Powerpoint which I easily attached as handout to my proposal. Effort from their end was obvious and consistent to their image of WizIQ Support=Happy to Help.

The Sales however were consistent to who they were since Day 1.  Day 1=sometime summer  or June I received 1 email, then later on 1 call out of nowhere from some sales person without good prior intros, offering  a discount of some sort.  Then from colleagues Bobby and Al, I've been hearing comments about how sales can be such a bugger.  After an email to VP Chris of WizIQ, I finally got 1person to follow me through=Shravi. She is one professional WizIQ gal.  But then this last week, when I needed her (and she    was on leave), enter Mr Pankaj Kumar. He seemed eager and at some point I find overfriendly.That was fine as long as he gets me what I need and puts into writing the meat of our conversation--a simple attachment in a format which I deem to be strategic in getting the GO signal.  I took notice of his profile pic and even told him to look professional or professor like in case he would need to answer questions from a panel of Deans and VC's should they ask for it  and do this over Skype.  Then enter 2 more emails, from sales folks who seem to be not in the loop of my exchanges with Shravi nor Pankaj. I sensed that they are not aware of what I needed at that crucial time. I got invites via Skype and was starting to doubt these guys. Besides a wiziq.com attached to their nicknames, there was nothing  else identifiable with WizIQ.  I googled them and tried to find a decent profile over at WizIQ. Clearly they are who they are: merely sales folks and they hardly come across as users of the product they are selling. Hence all they can pull were discounts and in a manner to convince me to commit without even knowing that I'm not the one to be convinced to pay. It wasn't clear to them that they are dealing with a govt run organization with decision makers who will put the stamp of approval based on clear justifications for amount of money to be spent.

In anything, I set deadlines of 'letting go". So finally I did let go...I submitted my proposal to 2 Deans, got 2 additional signatories for extra backing, an attachment from Jai and I simply printed out what was in their website of plans and pricing.  Perhaps from the side of WizIQ sales, they already did what they could. Perhaps this is my battle alone and not theirs to wage. But in my letting go, I just had to speak up. I was hesitant because the last thing I wanted was to come out like some demanding customer.  But I had to say my piece to one  consistent and reliable person to get a message across.  I  sent an email which was forwarded to key individuals at sales. I got three apologies in one day. I have renewed trust in folks who know to acknowledge their shortcomings for that is the way to go forward. They could have merely viewed me as some nobody from Southeast Asia or ignored me completely. But thanks to Faisal, and Sai, I still see sincerity in their emails. You Indians still amaze me.

These days when we are very much connected through the internet and the tools of technology, that everything and everyone seems to be accessible,  that we have become not only consumers of info/content delivered online but also seekers of what is true and good out there.  We seek credibility, constantly establish honesty and trust, test it, and in doing so evolve our online identities as that is the only face we have to show of ourselves in place of real time F2F interactions. It is easy to judge, to pretend, simulate and yet there are innate and tested ways to judge character and credibility through online profiles+ pics, signature lines, skype ID, online language use, which are all attached to online identities=real people  who represent products, communities and nationalities. So to the sales team and the good folks I've met online, wear your WizIQ pic badge of honor. I suggest go for consistency-- that you are a good team to have which other VC tools have yet to make for themselves. Match these offline actions with concrete steps to tweak your online image to come across as a solid, united front,  for your name and country  deserve it.

Now, I ask myself, why does this even matter at all. To a member such as I, WizIQ ain't a vacuum cleaner nor a pair of shoes. It is an educational product, whose users are real people in the serious business of education. In a poor country like mine, where folks are already in doubt of winning battles in corrupt government agencies, this small step to have WizIQ approved, and if so, is a small step/battle won in the area of innovations in online teaching=real classes happening online.  I see India, through DigitalLearning Online Newsletter, to be getting there and arriving with all the government support for IT and education. I am not sure even if that's just an online image but check out profiles of educational backgrounds and loaded IT courses of  Indian folks, plus all the conference listings in India when you google search+that TIME feature article  of  Indian CEO's--they are a country geared to succeed in their own way. 

Then, I  see my country not even being able to win cases against corrupt leaders who refuse to see their faults, committing similar acts  and I ask, how can we even start to reform the education sector.  Recently, I see rays of hope in  the recent talks for a move to adapt a K-12  system, and the mushrooming of Open HS  in Philippines. But I still ask, do they have all the right tools, training and the right framework+perspective to make it succeed?  What is the role o f my Open University in all these? And as a group of online teachers in UPOU, a national university,  we need to start creating models of good and effective online teaching. It all starts with experiments in our online classrooms. This is where WizIQ comes in as a platform , that when used with Moodle and  other tools, become the vehicles to deliver good online classes.


That is how much it matters.

A Real LIVE Audience this Time

Well, it was indeed a GR8 experience learning and presenting at the recent GloCALL 2011 held in Manila. I had a few participants but they were very much alive. These were teachers from Bukidnon State Unive, southern Philippines and St Paul's Pasig.  Showing the WizIQ 2010 screen cap series and the Jan 15 class recording of Dr Nellie Deutsch got them buzzing. It was a good 25-minute run, enough to share my research findings of emerging themes of teaching presence in a synchronous environment, afforded by this great platform called WizIQ.  Their questions revolved around these:  how to access WizIQ, how I eventually learned to use it,  how it was like attending Nellie's class, any free classes they can attend online to enrich their skills as teachers. 

Live Audience Chopped, so Blog Away....

Hmmm...how should I say this.  The experience of presenting at LitCon was not as satisfactory as the process with which I came up with my study. I shouldn't feel bad, but I do. Maybe because I've worked hard on this for months then the trip was terrible on my sleep/rest cycle due to the unholy hours of arrival and waiting for my connecting flight etcetera etcetera etcetera. I had a small audience and I noticed my presentation didn't capture the essence of my study.

BUT, I am telling myself to be content after all this is how some conferences turn out to be. You got a shrinking audience towards the afternoon. Half of that shrinked portion are half-listening. There's not much to expect really. AND after all, I already was superglad enough that I was able to write what I wanted to write plus received 2 comments here in my blog.  So, I blog away here another portion of my case report...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Engaging and Sustaining Language Learning and Interactions

At the onset, the choice of topics tackled in 'Speak English Now' appear to be practical and functional for any language learner. Examples of conversational topics in her sessions are marriage, money, uniforms, leisure time, and holidays. The interactions are facilitated mainly through the use of discussions, debates, songs and storytelling. Nellie's choice of content and techniques can be likened to that of F2F language classes as she uses a combination of direct instruction, facilitation and modelling. These techniques are aimed at oral language development and fluency in English while teaching basic spellings, vocabulary and word usage which naturally arise from the interactions based on the discussion topics or debate questions. Some of these may be directed to an individual's response but since there is a chatbox where she sometimes does this, then everyone gets to see it and benefit from these interactions.


Beyond these are responses which I refer to as language teaching points or opportune moments when Nellie decides to pick up from a salient interaction in order to explicitly teach or point out aspects of the English language. One example was when she takes the conversation to a different level when 2 student asked via chat respectively: “Why is your stress american?” and “Which english is better American/British?”. This allowed for Nellie to segue into forms or versions of English around the world as well as languages other than English. In other times, appreciation for all types of English is one aspect Nellie implicitly imparts in her classes as she acknowledges nuances of the accents.


Upon viewing transcripts which appear in the chatbox, one may think that exchanges are relatively simplistic, hardly indicative of complex language use among persons involved. However, once a learner speaks up upon receipt of audio control, the level of discourse starts to elevate and is maintained for everyone to listen to. This maybe attributed to the fact that Nellie herself gives her adult learners the chance and freedom to do so. In fact one can safely say that the learners are provided with good opportunities to control, direct and sustain the type of discourse going on. To sustain the level of discourse, Nellie herself does not water down her vocabulary nor choice of sentence patterns to use just to make herself understood. Alongside this, she is keenly able to listen to the learner on the mic and respond in the chatbox by typing key points, vocabulary words, and popping questions for everyone to see and learn from even while learners themselves may be using the chatbox for social purposes. Since learners maintain a good degree of motivation to use English, the quality of teaching-learning acts happen at a pace all participants are responsible for even if the mic control is relegated to one person at a time. A sample of the flow of 2-3 ongoing interactions, merging at some points, is illustrated as follows: (image with chat—audio response—using speech balloons)


[image needed]

Having control over the features of the virtual classroom afforded by WizIQ, Nellie tries to make use of these efficiently and uniquely to engage and sustain the quality of language interaction in her class. Uniquely to mean interactions are sustained by the nature of her responses which happens to her choice of content, resources and responses through the multimodal features of the classroom. Efficiently to mean that manipulating the features of WizIQ happens simultaneously and seamlessly with Nellie. Through the chatbox, she is able to listen closely to the learner on the mic, type important words to emphasize key points being said by the learner while showing spellings and word meanings via the chatbox. Then she can simultaneously respond to a student query via chat. She is quick to remember a technical problem raised via chat and addresses this either at once or when she finally has the audio control. Similarly, the learners also manage to follow the interactions happening, respond and sustain their engagements even during instances when technical problems arise while the class is going on.

[insert script—Nellie multitasking with audio control]


In sum, one can imagine Nellie occupying different spaces in the virtual class, as if she is also moving in her own F2F classroom to fulfill varied roles as an online participant in her class. She behaves as a master teacher taking center stage when she points out and models good and creative language use of English. She behaves as a facilitator when she asks questions, affirms or summarizes for the class to equally respond to. She exemplifies an image of a guide on the side figuratively and literally whenever she allows a student to freely speak up using the mic and she steps back as the teacher and uses the chatbox on the side while the learner's voice takes center stage. She is one with the learners when she occasionally chitchats via the chatbox and is able to sustain her focus in responding to the learner with the audio control. Add to that, she is clearly a curator when she recommends other online tools and resources she has reviewed and used herself.


This multiplicity of roles Nellie is able to fulfill is heavily mediated through communication---seen, heard and felt via video and audio, read through printed text in chatbox and equally personified through her choice of music and content. So much so that the virtual environment did not even prevent Nellie from pulling a prank on April Fool's Day. This sets an atmosphere of real time learning which is afforded by technology and Nellie's knowledge of pedagogy and technology as well as teaching style. Each class becomes an integrated act of all these roles, initially teacher directed and some equally fulfilled by the learners themselves.

NO Chopping Allowed Here!

I can imagine a panel of reviewers finding ways to chop here and there as that is their job.
But this is my space so NO Chopping Allowed here...unless you are Nellie or the learners in her class:

Still here and finding Nellie..
Validating the Online Teaching-Learning Process



Nellie's February 18 and February 25, 2011 sessions are telling of how she consciously engages her students in relevant discussions and information exchange about what it means to teach and learn online  through these questions: “What's the difference between learning online and learning ina face to face classroom?”. She spends a big chunk of these sessions to facilitate and drive the discussion towards understanding active participation, collaborative and social learning while affirming the participants' perspectives about language learning,  A learner expresses how he does not like the idea of being corrected for his language, and to this Nellie goes:


“...I like what you say about being corrected. Yes, English teachers and teachers in general, uhm....like to correct students and this could have a bad effect on many students. You're right, being corrected too much can take away your confidence. So we don't really need to correct students. I don't believe in correcting students even if some want it. I think the best thing for learning is actually to model.....and we all make mistakes and this is online interaction, interacting with people. We are all learners and we are all teachers because we are all sharing information. So let's talk about active learning because one of the differences between ah...face to face classrooms and the uhm...online class is the fact that you get active learning....”


Interestingly, it is also through these sessions that learners willingly exchange their ideas about online learning and language learning per se. Through the chatbox and audio interactions, the learners surface a variety of direct links, online tools and resources to learn English and these are You Tube, Google Docs, Facebook, MSN, LiveMocha, ICQ, BlipTV, BBC and Second Life, to include sharing about countries where a few of these are blocked.


In these sessions, Nellie manages to emphasize a valuable point by bringing in Richard Green, a New York City English teacher and his class of language learners real time. It was a good way to show to everyone the limitless possibilities of learning English 24/7 using a live synchronous platform such as WizIQ to engage in “Speak English Now”, have a F2F class join in during the live session and then later on continue learning English using an asynchronous “LEO4U” or “Learn English Online For You”. Nellie wraps up the healthy online exchange through these statements:


“This was a great class...The class is you. You make the classes what they are. I'm just here to give you a chance but you are doing everything and as Cata said people teach people. It's not one person—it's not teacher teaching. It's everyone teaching everybody. And that's what's wonderful because we are from all over the world and we're teaching, we're connecting. And I think that's what's the internet is bringing to us. And I think it's wonderful. Thank you. Thank you everyone.”


From my view, these explicit communicative efforts are what can be labelled as metacognitive acts or ways for a teacher to make learners know and reflect about the how's and why's of one's learning in an online environment. In the case of Nellie's classes, this was done in 2 substantive sessions and later on, at every chance she gets to emphasize the buzz words in online learning environments, and these are: active participation, interactive, learning collaboratively, learning via the Internet 24/7. Such acts may also be attempts to build a semblance of online class identity or sense of community among language learners which Nellie at one time labelled as “It's a global class.“ ... "Because online, there is no hierarchy. Everyone can be a teacher and everyone can be a learner.”

To Chop or not to Chop? So Blog It is!

In Quali R, I have found space to do the kind of writing I'd like to do which is basically a merging of heart and mind. This usually happens when I feel it's finally time to just let it out. In the past, I've struggled with the "I" point of view  and whether this is even acceptable in the academic world. I wring  and wrestle with my brains whenever I need to decide which portions to chop and which to make sticky due to the page limitations set by conference submission requirements.  Then I get pressured and go through an oc-oc mode. Whenever that happens, my energies are spread thin. By the time I do my presentation, I sometimes feel I sound like a robot---I stick to reading parts of my paper for fear of getting lost and failing to connect with the audience. My Fil-Am English may sound good but that simply does not make the cut for me, especially if I am carrying the name of my unive!!!


And so I blog now. I have here the freedom to include an excerpt from my initial case study report about Nellie, one of the  exemplary teachers at WizIQ. [ Why not you do the chopping cuz I just can't!]. And before you go on...Happy World Teachers' Day! Cheers to this one great teacher I met through WizIQ. Of course, I thank the WizIQ community  for your  indications of "following" and thumbs up= "recommendations" as seen in Nellie's profile page. You guys  led me to her (and to Namrata and who can even miss George of EduPunk!)

Connecting with Online Learners All over the World
Nellie (audio+video):“Ok...let's see. We got Romania, India and any other countries?
sali: iran
Nellie (audio + video): Taiwan...Lithuanian. Iran, yes. I see. Great. So we've got almost the whole world....
arun(chat): diversified session
Nellie (audio + video): Diversified session...thank you, Arun.

Nellie takes time to introduce herself  as "Dr Nellie Deutsch" or simply “Nellie”, a female from Canada, in the same way that she bothers to place her learners geographically by asking “Where are you from?”. Learners' responses are seen one after the other via the chatbox and she is quick to acknowledge their country of origin or nationality while also mentioning their usernames right after the learners do their greetings.  At times, Nellie sets the mood: “I am in Toronto and the weather is absolutely beautiful and it's snowing.....Tonight we are going to be really interactive. Elena says it's a beautiful day, it's snowing, it's cold. Ok you can share that in the chatbox. Let me try and see if we can have some background music...” Nellie is also keen when it comes to knowing her learners' names by passing on the mic to them so she can have them properly pronounce their names while she tries to listen and get her pronunciations right enough. She continues to welcome learners anytime in her class even while she is in the midst of a discussion and she quickly restates the context or topic the class is already tackling.


To a few ones, Nellie comes across with more warmth as her tone changes to greet particular learners: “Oh, hello Aka Ken!”... “Virginia, I haven't heard you in such a long time. I miss your voice and I miss seeing you very much...” After a student had his/her turn to speak over the mic for everyone to hear, she naturally pours out praise and encouragement. She does this to each and every student as a way to connect with them and reinforce speaking in English in whatever accents they bring. After all, she names her series of classes at WizIQ “Speak English Now”.


To Nellie, connecting with learners does not stop with finding out names, timezones, geographical settings or nationalities. She does this at a personal level by sharing personal anecdotes about her self, her family roots, her husband, and her daughter. She candidly expresses “I love....” then refer to an object or activity which is to her most liking. Talking about herself becomes an act of sharing that even one time she a matter of factly stated her areas of expertise in response to a student who nonchalantly inquired about her library of books as seen from the learner's video/webcam. Even stating so was perfectly done in context since this response happened in one session which Nellie devoted to facilitate a topic about online language  teaching and learning at WizIQ, and using other online tools and resources.


Connecting with learners is about Nellie revealing her personality as teacher and as a lifelong learner, including her beliefs about teaching and learning online through her online classes: “What is the common goal? It's learning English and not just listen to English but to actually speak it, live it and enjoy it!”. Her manner creates a safe, warm and fun atmosphere for learners to comfortably be who they are, share their views or experiences and even disclose their reflections about themselves as English speakers and language learners. Because Nellie comes across as a person whose curiosity is well meaning then learners equally build rapport with each other through the chatbox by typing their simple 'hi's' or 'hello's' and using the same questions to learn more about each others' backgrounds. Learners naturally respond to sharing their views and experiences due to the topics selected by Nellie which make functional, practical as well as personal use of language. Connecting with online learners all seem to be about taking actions which are grounded on the values of sincerity, sharing and trustbuilding. To my mind, these are the key ingredients which make for learners to equally engage in language use to share about themselves. Hence, communication in Nellie's class is not just about speaking English but even more about communicative acts toward building online identity and connections for all participants. And communication through the tools of technology become the primary vehicle to do just that.

Teaching Presence: Restating Themes

Initial coding was done via:
-previewing of videos of selected teachers
-focused viewing of selected recorded videos and taking notes of 1 exemplary teacher

Then another layer of coding based on synchronized audio-chat transcripts have  finally refined themes which I'd like to identify here.

A.connecting with online learners
-sharing of personal information
-sense of geographical space/location/time
-acknowledging presence of all learners
-addressing learners by name
-remarking about accents and Englishes

B validating online teaching-learning process
-metacognition about online learning
-praise and recognition for actions

C. engaging and sustaining  interactivity
-use of relevant topics: culture related, current events, everyday culture
-choice of topic which encourages speaking and vocabulary building
-language teaching moments
-direct instruction
-modelling-
-facilitation--chat and audio and both
-providing timely information and prompt feedback
-use of online tools/resources
-level of discourse--
-
*facility in use of vc features--multitasking chat,


D.managing the virtual classroom
-troubleshooting
-comments about technology
-developing codes for vc usage

E. building identity of teacher, learner and community of learners!!!
-recognizing cultural backgrounds
-global classroom
-i love...

***This is what it means to learn language online, this is what it means to become an online teacher, this is what it means to be an online learner, this is what it means to be in a community of online teachers-learners

Batch 2 of Exemplary Teacher 1 will allow me to examine interactions more closely.

You Saying No to a Computer for Xmas!!!

Miranda dear, your father had this neat idea and asked you my M&M's whether you'd like a brand new desktop for Christmas. Of course Mauro asked what a desktop is because all he sees us using are laptops. But you vehemently said NO! You go, you already have a laptop and you would not want to be a computer addict. So I go, is that what Nanay is already? Of course you gave me that usual look only you can give me your Nanay. I kinda sensed why so I merely verbalized your thoughts: "So you don't like a computer because it's practically my work over the computer which takes up much of my time--and this is actually time away from you."

I assume that you daughter is quite content with having me as your teacher and you see me everyday anyways. I assume that your cousin Sam keeps you company like everything else: your books, tv time, books, video games, more books, your phone, your books, your laptop, your books, etc. I can't seem to understand your need of my company at all. Honestly, I don't even know if my company is good at all for you. You and Mauro get along at home pretty much. Your dad and you spend quality time. So what am I for?

So upon hearing me verbalize your thoughts, you kept quiet and I just had to hold you close to me....I think you tears were about to crawl out of your eyes then. It made think for a moment about my incapacities or little moments when I've failed to be just around for you and simply be.

Just the same, I went back to work. Perhaps you won't be able to understand me now and perhaps you may never will.  I rest in the idea that you are who you are and I'm glad enough I have not seen myself in you yet. It gives me a sense that you will grow up to be you, maybe a better mom to your kids in case you choose to have your own.

Now, I just tucked you in for the night. And the mood seems to be lighter so I ask, what do miss about us being together---you go ice cream---yeah our ice cream moments afterschool whenever I drive you back home and we pass by Ministop for a snack.  Then you say "Starbucks"--I treat you to a high end snack after seeing Dr Jamie. Then you say.."Japanese Food"...yups that's like Teriyaki Boy every payday.

Hmmm, makes me look back a bit....
I thought caring for you as a fulltime mom while in Aussie land when you were 3 yrs old was enough. I thought  a year of breastfeeding was good enough. I thought baking your bday cakes for the first 6 yrs of your life was quite alright.  Or driving you to Hawaiian dance lessons one summer was already fine. I should stop now as mommyhood is in fact a lifetime committment I need to remember while I still can!

These  little things you ask for shouldn't be hard to do after all. No worries then. Nanay hasn't given up on herself in becoming a better Nanay for you me love.

What THIS is NOT

Funny how my shifts in music/video over youtube are indicative of my actions in my paper writing and everything else I need to produce from my brains. I've been listening to the music of Duncan Sheik --Gabriel & Dresden remix like for a week to get report cards over and done with in my small school.  This work on report cards practically suspended  my work for  the paper I'm writing.

But now, I've just shifted to   the 80's Pretty in Pink soundtrack, all because I've managed to get back into research mode. I've done a skeleton-draft of the paper I plan to present 1.5 weeks from now at LITCON IDAC Asia in Penang. I've identified emerging themes and the task at hand is to review the transcripts and coding to get me into writing thick descriptions.

Writing the paper requires discipline and focus on my part because I need to be able to let go of unnecessary layers to my writing. This blog, again, is a way to remind me what my study is NOT about!!!

Here goes....in ALL CAPS lest I fall into the trap of writing much more than I need to:

-THIS PAPER IS NOT ENTIRELY ABOUT WIZIQ AS THE TEACHING PRESENCE I AM INVESTIGATING HAPPENS TO BE  AMONG EXEMPLARY TEACHERS AND LEARNERS

-THIS  PAPER IS NOT REALLY ABOUT EFFECTIVE ONLINE TEACHING--THAT WILL BE AN ENTIRELY A POST-STUDY THINGIE I CAN LOOK INTO LATER ON

-THIS PAPER DOES NOT HAVE TO GO DEEPLY INTO COI'S DEFINITION OF TP--IN FACT IT AIMS TO LOOK FOR ANOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT TP

-THIS PRELIMINARY STUDY DOES NOT INTEND TO MAKE DEFINITIVE CLAIMS OF TP--IT ONLY AIMS TO INVESTIGATE EMERGING THEMES OF TP

-THIS PAPER'S VERSION SHALL NOT END WITH CERTAINTY OF WHAT TP IS...INSTEAD THE CONCLUSION SHALL END WITH AN INKLING THAT  TP MAY IN FACT ENCOMPASS SP AND CP IN THE CONTEXT OF SYCHRONOUS LIVE CLASS= TP=TEACHING AND LEARNING HAPPENING ARISING FROM DYNAMIC INTERACTIONS AMONG PARTICIPANTS OF THE CLASS--INTERACTIONS WITH CONTENT, INTERACTIONS AMONG LEARNERS, SHIFTS IN  TEACHER-LEARNER ROLES--INITIALLY TEACHER HAS THE UPPERHAND BUT AS PARTICIPANTS GO THROUGH LEARNING--THIS HOWEVER COULD BE LARGELY DEPENDENT ON THE TEACHING STYLE OF THE TEACHER

Por Dios Por Santo...now how to arrive at all these...

QR=P.O.E.M.

A helpful link to help me focus:
http://psychsoma.co.za/qualitative_inquiry_growt/ontology-epistomology-paradigm/

P-aradigm
O-ntology
E-pistemology
M-ethodological

"It is important that there is a fit between the research design and the researcher, with regard to (p. 36):



1.Paradigm—what is the basic belief system or world view of the researcher that defines the nature of her/his world, the individual's place within it and the range of p[possible relationships?


2.Ontology—what is the form and nature of reality and what is there to be known?


3.Epistemology—what is the relationship between the researcher and the would be 'knower' and what can be 'known' about it?


4.Methodological—how can the researcher go about finding out what s/he believes can be known?"


Goulding, C. 2002. Grounded Theory—a practical guide for management, business and marketing researchers. London: SAGE.

My P.O.E.M.....again and again.
P: I am here as a novice online teacher learning from exemplary online teachers at WizIQ. It is a unique perspective I would like to take because there is no other way I can view the recorded classes--I am primarily here to examine how they do online teaching therefore describe the  nature of teaching presence in these live classes. I am not here as an ESL learner nor an ordinary teacher.  I have a clear purpose to capture the online teaching happening and interpret it from the point of view of a novice online teacher.

O: What I want to know is the TP that happens in a synch platforms. What has been studied in TP is based on asynch platforms therefore I ask: What is TP like in synch platforms? 

Then hunches here after a few recordings:
Is TP just about the teacher? Why does it feel like TP-LP both among teachers and learners. Could it be that: TP-------------LP  as a range of online behaviors, actions and interactions among teachers and learners which eventually make for TP----LP in synchronous classes? TP cannot be viewed in isolation in synch classes then.

E: Why is my E similar to P?  :(

M: See my revised research proposal for the  UPOU Faculty Research Grant .

Forked Path: Which is which?

I am at this point when I am tempted to do something nitty gritty for my study vs. keeping focus on what I think I should do first. The nitty gritty is this: I have 4-6 audio transcriptions in. for Nellie's classes. I want to align the data, meaning to say on a sheet of paper, I'd like to align the audio flow vs the chat--make the data in sync. That's the best term I can think of.

Recalling here the steps I've  done so far in terms of data gathering:
1) Scheme through 1 recording per teacher: N, G and NA. This gave me a sense of their classes.
    Then I've selected classes based on most recent recordings (due to recent WizIQ changes in the virtual class, consecutivity---how close the sessions are so I can follow the flow of content)
2) Transcribe 1 recording per teacher--this is to get used with the language they have; the communication happening and start taking down notes on what is happening.
3) View more of Nellie's recordings to examine her teaching and what's going on in her classes. I've started to take note of segments in the recordings and code teaching moments on my scratch sheet.
4) After viewing the first identified batch, I decided to select more classes.
5) Then I've asked 2 people to start with the audio transcriptions as I move on with viewing the Batch 2 recordings and noting  more segments to highlight.
6) I've seen emerging themes and would want to exhaust the data hence viewed  Jan-mid Feb recordings.
7) This time I've experienced a shift---I have now started to pay close attention to the chat to audio interactions, chat-chat interactions, audio to chat responses.

Since now I have the transcriptions in for Batch 1, I am torn between:
Plan A= doing a chat-audio sync of the data on paper  OR
Plan B=simply focusing on the audio transcriptions.

Plan B goes this way:  I review  Nellie's recordings again=2nd level. This means my goal is to look at the audio transcriptions then start highlighting segments based on my initial notations=coding.  I see the need to do this lest I forget the context of my notations.  This time, I shall follow a more systematic flow--starting with (Feb 18), Feb 25, March 5, March 12, March 25, April 1. 

So here goes.... I will go for Plan B.  Do this for 1 week....and keep blogging. I need to get over school reports then writing proper for research start first week of October.

Photo finish in time for October 11-13 Conference at Penang. My paper will end with a degree of certainty=emerging themes + uncertainty=possibilities for future investigation of the 'interactions' which is about a semblance of not just TP---but tp + lp= as role both T and L do.  Final questions raised=is this just unique to the style of teacher and how her perspective of online teaching and language learning? or are there in fact observable patterns in among exemplary teachers w/ a range of  teaching style.

Side questions:
1)How is teaching presence diff from teaching style and online teaching? Or what are the relations?
2) May I do a first person writing? What justifies such? Where/which part/how should I write about the choice to do first person?

I feel like I'm scribbling co centric circles in this QR path---it ain't linear at all. But it's a path I feel safe in navigating with the knowledge that this is all part of the process.  After all, I realized that I am going through this with ample reflections---I am not yet in the-wanting- to- get- this- over- and- done- with phase. I am still learning something new and look forward to seeing more recordings of N & G....G most especially!

Morrrre Hworrrrk Ahead

I've definitely snapped out of Kesha and Iglesias, now into Duncan Sheik. The music allows me to do some mech stuff of cutting and pasting  chat transcripts and audio transcripts of recordings  from Nellie's classes at WizIQ....cutting and pasting into a table. The next step is to align chat with audio transcript to show a text version of the sequence of interaction.  Then there's the need to highlight segments to match with the first level of  handwritten notes. This is like the second level of coding I need to do though I've already started to see themes I will be discussing in my findings.

This is kinda nitty gritty but a step beyond what I did with my study on Virtual Communities 2 years ago.
I would like to believe that I'm not rushing into things nor doing more hits and misses. In fact, my observations are now shifting.  With the first set of recordings (Mar to Apr 2011), my focus was on the facilitation/direct instruction/design, aspects of TP as defined by Garrison et al 2001 in their COI framework.  Now, I'm looking into the interactions, ex learner responses which fuels the teaching process. These are interactions which go on, even without the teacher explicity directing nor facilitating, even learner responses which allow the teacher to respond on the dot---the spontaneity of discussion happening which show how TP can be dynamic and interactive in a synch class vs a non synch class.  I'm starting to think if this interactivity is similar to an F2F kind of interactivity.  Is there interactivity innate to an online synch class vs an F2F version? Meaning if Nellie were to tackle same content with same type of students, will the interaction take place differently and therefore the TP happen differently as well? I find it a weird question to ask, lol.

Lately, my questions about the Quali-R  process are popping here and there...quite different from prior questions I've raised. Like should I have observed the earlier recorded classes first (last year)?  Will my observations differ if  let's say I joined the live class vs relied on the recorded  version? 

And a major question goes this way:  is teaching presence online teaching perse?  Who dictates the parameters of online teaching vs teaching presence if in the context of the paper, I am not merely relying on the TP from the COI perspective. Is my study then more about online teaching OR teaching presence? Isn't online teaching=teaching presence in synch classes?

I hope this confusing doesn't mess things up for me. It has to be a disciplined confusion=the act of knowing one is confused but accepting this as part of the process of research; a conscious effort to be aware of one's confusions so that one becomes conscious of these being resolved later on. And that this is NOT about confusing one's self for the sake of getting confused. Darn....

Twistwacted: Open HS+BES-LTS+Online Tutorials@WizIQ&Moodle

I was looking at the discussion re Wiki to Speech (by John Graves NZ) started by Nellie at our WizIQ forums when this popped.  Now, I'm pretty much Twistwacted...but only just a bit compared to how I can actually be virtually distracted. I'm am now learning the skill of Disciplined Distraction while on the Net=the capacity to maneuver ones distractions in order to still get things done at the end of the day.  I've allowed myself to get twistwacted for just 30 mintues....only because my Open HS ideas are cropping up every now and then while I'm in the midst of learning from a network of  WizIQ Experts=Nellie of IT4ALL, George of EDUPunk, and Chris '6Geeks& ZDNet and prepping myself to view class recordings for my current paper.

Here it goes:

Doc Nemah H one time at the UPOU Fac Congress told me about a possible UPOU-LTS (=Literacy Training Service)-Marikina Open HS hook up. So with UPOU's prospective undergrad degree on Education, perhaps we can develop modules for Literacy Training Service through which our undergrads can learn how to tutor students of Marikina Open HS using blended online teaching=WizIQ+Moodle.  This is a means to break in and immerse our students in actual online teaching experiences even before they start their actual practice teaching. 

Interesting to study what prior knowledge (=TK+TPK?) UPOU undergrads will bring into this service learning experience of doing LTS. LTS 1=modules to prepare them for online teaching using 2 platforms to include use of social networking to establish rapport and do initial investigation of prospective students from Marikina Open HS. Then LTS 2=Actual Tutorial Experiences and Reflections.

Our Bachelor of Education Studies=BES undergrads can use the upcoming virtual community site  hatched by Prof Sol with the help of Prof Bobby. Then of course, there's  a good reason to start  EPortfolio pages for our BES students with their blogs and hands-on experiences with LTS-Open HS-Online Teaching.

How do I plan to contribute? I would like to co-develop a set of modules and train students to use tools in Online Teaching --facilitation and direct instruction (future product of my current research on Teaching Presence at WizIQ) via Moodle+WizIQ. Then maybe I can be FIC of this LTS, whose job includes bringing in basic ed subject area experts (ex Teacher Vic + Readability clinicians) who can mentor LTS students in terms of the basics of literacy teaching and learning.

Now that I have dumped this here, I shall return to my current priority.

Aumm....

After 2 years of living without it, I am now struggling to get back to it. I've always wanted to but I guess now seems to be the right time. I sort of panicked for a week---thinking that I've wasted time in viewing the data samples---recorded classes of WizIQ. I thought my process was wrong only to realize that I was dealing with so much junk in my brain. Yeah, I tend to read and think too much hence get stuck with scheming, reading, rereading then doubting if I will ever be able to write in the same way.  And lately the thinking part is bordering in the worried kind of thinking and self doubt creeps in. I wanted to free myself of such useless worries in order to get back on track...I turn to yoga.

Finally I grabbed my former yoga teacher's number so the Aummm is back.

I can't believe how I've forgotten my basics  so noting these all over again, with great humility: 

-4 Sureya A

-4 Sureya B

-Forward bends--fingers grabbing toes then palms beneath feet

-Sideward bends--side bend, then triangle,  side angle bend knees bent then kneel w/ praying hands

-preps for bridge, then plough to shoulder stand

I'm guessing next session, my teacher will add a few more for encouragement:

-wide leg stretch and bends

-standing leg stretches

-sitting poses with leg stretches

Maybe a few inserts/faves later on:

-warrior pose 1& 2

-eagle

-kneeling back bends

And to think sometime at certain points in my mid-30's  I was into the yoga practice and reached points when I was into self practice. I need a class once again to get back into the groove.

As I try to recall and relearn, it's the breathing which I do my best to remember.

The breathing empties my brain so I come out with nothing up there---a brainrest to be able take in MORE later on.

I've gotten into more recordings of Dr Deutsch who recently emailed me an updated version of her bio.  This should be for inclusion in my paper as part of the exemplary teacher profile, also to add to my presentation at the conference.  The conference secretariat didn't ask for my bio, so how can I even manage to include more about Nellie. I managed to add a few sentences in my abstract submission about her. I should be able to introduce her well in my presentation, alongside the George and Namrata. 

Now, I've started reviewing  midyear 2010 recordings MORE means having these to  discuss my preliminary data about how Teaching Presence is happening at WizIQ:

• connecting with online learners-establishing rapport, setting atmosphere, harnessing interaction, sharing about one's self/ self introductions, encouragement and positive feedback,
• providing information--related to class, esl or otherwise, other online resources to learn English
• managing the virtual classroom--usage of features, troubleshooting; simultaneous use of features to share content, or give direct instruction
• use of multimedia resources--(choice reflects what of the teacher ?)
• critical language teaching moments: intentional and as result of the interaction; addressing individual student needs; explicit______ through language mediation (bridging student interactions to facilitate understanding each other); maintaining or elevating discourse---does not water down sentences or discussions; tips on learning English
•  providing for self practice and extended learning   
• metacognition--the how's or what it means to do  learning online or about learning english

A few reflections re the construct of Teaching Presence via  synchronous mode of teaching vs TP in the COI framework:

-COI framework as applied to  research in online teaching identified these elements and indicators to measure effective teaching. Data sources were mainly transcripts based on asynchronous courses. It is possible that these may not readily apply when trying to understand Teaching Presence in live synchronous classes where teaching may be partly a result of interaction and totality of teaching which one cannot observe and understand separately as  social presence, teaching presence and cognitive presence. In other words, TP is TP  Or perhaps TP is TP in another sense. 

This study then is being pursued with conscious effort not to latch on the COI framework as this was developed in the context of asynchronous classes. It only cares to mention TP of the COI because of its major following these previous years and as an initial framework to understand online teaching and research related to this.

This study is more likened to recent quali  research in understanding TP, and exemplary online teaching  which sheds light to a different way of looking at TP: works of  T Morgan 2011, A. Jezegou 2010, 

Then I still need to have a second look at  Hayes andVickers 2010, Baker 2010, Stone and Chapman 2006,  Perry and Edwards 2005, Lewis and Abdul Hammid 2006

Hmmm....

 ഓമ്മം  ಆಮ್ಮ್ಮ್ औम्म्म्म  ਔਮਮ੍ਮ  اممم   ઔમ્મ્મ  اممم 

أمم aummm



Stuck...!

A few transcriptions are coming in. I've made rough/draft notations on 5 or more recordings. I thought I can just simply carry on but for the past days I've been blogging like hell trying to clear my mind so I can focus. Obviously, I am stuck. I thought I can do this study smoothly once the transcriptions are coming in  but I'm still here worried about something.

I reviewed my proposal and looked at my review of lit and I know that I missed out on writing what I should.  I've been doing case studies before but nothing like this.  My prior work was kinda in the bag---I have  a clear direction in mind, I have the data in my hands, then I add all these theories/lit review to support my study.  All I had to do was come up with thick descriptions, examine these using existing theories etc.

It's quite tempting to do the same for this paper...I can just use the indicators  set by Garrison, et al in the COI framework which has gained support throughout the decade.  I can do my observations, describe the teaching presence based on this indicators and reinforce what COI has been saying about Teaching Presence.

At this point however, I'd like to dump my written proposal and come up with something different= Discuss construct of TP based on prior research done, surface 2-3 recent studies which tried to question TP.... then raise my simple question about TP---I'd like to simply write about what I'm seeing while immersed in the recorded classes---like  a novice teacher learning from an expert online teacher. I have to let go off all these wasteful trimmings I've put in my proposal and trust that  my interpretation shall be credible.

I do not know if that is a kind of Quali R writing that is acceptable.

And now, I  am  badly wishing for a mentor who can patiently read all my prior case studies/published works, tell me what I can work on, tell me what I'm learning and tell me if my experiments are even taking me anywhere. I'm obviously lost and trying my best to get out of this hole.

Funny and even silly that this is making me emotional. I am giving myself only 1 more day to get stuck.

A few resolutions:

1) Go back to what I enjoy best in this study---viewing the classes

2) Continue blogging and perhaps blog about your 1 sole subject for now.

3) Have a psysolution: believe that I will get there because I've always had...except my f****** PhD!

4) Music therapy or jog or yoga :)

5) Now whether or not I will resort to a safe mode or  take chances and dare trod in uncertainties---I simply have to visualize myself on a plane on my way to Penang or Kerala or wherever because I did try to do something than nothing at all.

R.I.P. aLeTa!

Summative Notes/Perspectives on Teaching Presence

-TP as lens to look at online teaching research
-TP as a set of observable actions performed by teacher
-TP as being content centered than learner centered
-TP as roles/tasks online teachers carry out
-TP as negotiated by teacher-learner depending on context grounded on activity theory (?)
-TP as a shared task/responsibility of teacher-learner but largely dependent on teacher
-TP as experience of the viewer/observer--whether 'teaching' is in fact happening or not depends on the participant--participant not solely member of the class--but a novice teacher such as I--observer.

Starting to question the construct of social presence---why do I see it as part and parcel of Teaching Presence--that is in fact inevitable--TP cannot be achieved without social presence in synchronous classes...one cannot study without not looking at the other. In asynch classes, teaching through lessons will continue,,,teachers do not necessarily have to establish social presence. But in synch classes--it becomes part of teacher actions that cannot be separated from her teaching esp in language learning---language as tool to mediate learning--learning in a social context. Social presence happens effortlessly then....

Filtering Ideas=Pure and Simple TP

I need to remove unnecessary eklavoos before I start viewing+interpreting more classes at WizIQ and writing. Hence a few more reminders here for me:

1) Remove the idea of effective teaching from my pie.
2) For lit review---veer away from the whole COI framework and instead focus on what is said about teaching presence only---instructor presence...therefore look for Kessler's work
3) I can still afford to write about synchronous online platforms--only to establish that much research on TP + indicators are along the lines of asynchronous classes.
4) Mention emerging themes perhaps from prior research but mention also the nature of the data gathering---one is based on interviews of students, one is based on interviews of teachers---how about recorded classes and as interpreted by the researcher.

The above only mean that I as researcher, am doing this study to provide an interpretation of TP as viewed from a novice teacher's view---an outsider looking into the classes to observe how TP is happening.

I am not asking nor measuring nor relating this to the idea of effective teaching...instead I am plainly and purely looking into TP and what it is.

So if I am not even relating this to effective teaching, the significance of my study then is this: I am contributing to research on TP by providing another data source, another data gathering methodology to interpret TP. ...or perhaps another way of looking at TP?Is that it? What is f****** missing!!!


Preliminary Findings point to this one research question....
"How is teaching presence happening in live synchronous classes of exemplary language teachers?"

"Oh YESSS I Like It!"

That's the Enrique Iglesia tune which has kept me company in this 4 day break ala home alone mode which has given me the time and space to rethink my study therefore reflect on Quali-R. Prior to Iglesias, I was in a Kesha mode for 2 mos just to come up with the research proposal on TP@WizIQ. Now, I'm in a path of disequilibrium which is still within my zone of proximal development, not yet an upsetting nor frustrating level kind since I've managed to postpone gratifying myself with a Cold Chai Frappe or Banana Cream Pie. I deserve to be gratified once I have something settled in my brain.

First thing to settle is this: the term EPISTEMOLOGICAL ASSUMPTION. No matter how many times I've come across that word, the meaning still isn't sticky to me. For one, it sounds like EPISTLE--so suddenly I relate it with the GOSPEL of Paul. Then that -OLOGY reminds me of some science word along with the other -OLOGIES I have to retain in my brain. Then ASSUMPTION, thaaat other Catholic sosyalerang private school which reminds me of a school uniform silly alumni members wear everytime they have a reunion. How did they ever come up with such a hellish idea! And to think it's a tradition they've passed on and on. I'm so glad to be a Maryknoller and UP grad. Anyways... EPISTEMOLOGICAL ASSUMPTION=a way of viewing at knowledge... a positioning....

What is my positioning in my current research of TP@WizIQ? I am an experienced teacher basic ed + developing higher ed online teacher + novice at synchronous platform. This is my reality hence I wanted to observe expert online teachers because....I want to learn from their practices. I am not here to measure how effective they are. I am here to see what and how they are doing it which make them connect with their students and make their interactions come alive as if everything is F2F. As researcher, I'd like to write it--as if the learning interactions are in right in front of my readers--and reflect on what I'm getting--what do their interactions mean. This is the reality I would like to document.
Whenever I view a recording, I do not take notes as if merely to describe--I go straight to interpreting what is happening=this is what I think about what they are doing.

Validity is gradually arrived at after adequate engagement in data collection, member checks (if possible) or stating my research position
. The 'rich & thick' description will be the test of this case study.
As to whether the results are consistent to the data collected...I do not know, YET what that means? :( Why does Quali-R make one delve in a state of uncertainty?

To carry on, I have to slay the obstacle---paper deadline and trust that I will be able to come up with something good to share on October 11.

Need to read on sample study---to see the portion where/when researcher discloses her positioning, and more importantly, how.

May I write this paper using the first person?

As opposed to Iglesias, I would not want to stay in this state for a long time. I would like the idea of arriving at something with having moments of this in bits....fear of being bogged down...hala LAGOT!

EXT-ended Learning in Quali-R

Now I can claim why I got an EXT(=incomplete requirements) in my Quali-R course. My teacher gave me an EXT for lack of forum participation which may earn me a grade lower than 2.0, the EXT is to allow myself to catch up with the DB's but I chose not to because back then, I just got overwhelmed with finishing my paper in time for presentation at Singapore. After 2 semesters, here I am and thinking why the EXT is well deserved--- it is only now that I am learning what it means for Quali-R to be valid and credible. My concerns then was how to structure the paper, and come up with thick descriptions, while working with a co-writer at that.

In the usual view of doing a course, one is to complete requirements to show evidence of learning. However, in the context of lifelong learning, most often genuine learning comes after the course when one is completely satisfied with one's evidence of learning. Back then, I knew I missed out on something when I did that SOC research. And it's only now that I am seeing what I missed because now I've raised questions about validity and reliabilty.

With this new research endeavor on Teaching Presence,
it turns out, my current questions about Quali-R are in fact valuable and indicative of learning something new--and in my own time and effort.

Key words to remember:
internal validity and credibility

In the context of Quali-R, validity is the goal and not the product.
There is no objective reality and data do not speak for themselves.
Instead the researcher is the instrument of data gathering--hence it is through 'I'="me" that reality is interpreted by purposive sampling, making use of multiple data gathering methods, choice of data analysis methods and discussion/interpretation of findings--the researcher becomes the instrument of data collection closest to the data available from which a certain reality shall be examined or constructed.

How does that come into play then? How does my 'view'/'reading' of a certain situation become valid. One is through triangulation, achieved through multiple data sources, multiple methods as well, multiple perspectives/theoretical lens to view my data. For example as planned, in choice of exemplary teachers=sampling is purposive--there is consideration given to consultation with AA of WizIQ alongside public profile and data provided from user interface.

In terms of multiple data sources--I am currently gathering data from: chat/textbox---audio, video. Next level would be looking into the interactions. I also plan to gain member response--go back to the teacher samples about some observations and ask them about it.

In a post modern perspective however, it is crystallization one is after and not triangulation---the idea that what you interpret depends on the angle you choose in order to build/establish a certain reality.

This is my quote:
It is in the process of knowing that one is thing is made known which will mostly like be unknown unless the interpreter makes it known.
Thus the interpretion of that one which makes it a valid act.

Hence internal validity= "how congruent are one's findings with reality(participant's perspectives)"--"are the results consistent w/ data collected and NOT whether research findings can be replicated...

Another strategy I can make use of is "adequate engagement" in data collection... sufficient time spent in collecting data such that data become saturated.


MUST DO's:
1) I need to exhaust the data--until no more themes arise. So does that mean I have to observe more recordings per teacher or do I go for recordings across all teachers until I exhaust the data? Do I treat 1 teacher as 1 sample until I exhaust one or the the totality of recordings as samples until I exhaust all?

2) I have to do this systematically if my goal is to be better with my research technique--hence focusing on one teacher at a time will allow me to do so. I have to keep files, carefully match chat w/ audio then video observations---do printouts of all these transcripts. Then do my usual notations.

3)I have to take this slow and enjoy the learning and self-practice for a purpose.

4) I have to do this systematically because I am accountable---this is not my usual research of my school/classroom practice nor simple pursuit of my curiosities in the area of instructional approaches nor self journey type of narrative. This is about an excellent platform--with a decent award; excellent teachers and I am under a university grant--I have to do better than my prior research undertakings. This is not even about getting published at all. This is something that is meaningful and should matter not just to myself but to the teachers and to WizIQ.

5) I am ready to tasking for weekly accomplishments.

Next read would be reliability...

Before Death Becomes Me

Before Death Becomes Me

I'd like to....
-become a vegetarian
-yoga train for 2 mos in India
-dive with Miranda
-have a new laptop from UPOU
-hold a headstand for 1 minute or two
-see Mauro at 12 and Miranda in U.P.
-have my Rajasthan dream
-any of these: Palawan, Bohol or Camiguin w/ the kids
-go back to volunteer work
-smile at 2 people for the last time
-go Bangkok or Vietnam w/ my M&M's
-hug my dad
-see my mom happy
-hold V's hand and truly mean it

Hitting Angry Birds with One Stone of a Research

Yeah, aren't all these Angry Birds soooo cute!!! My son made his sketch of Angry Birds on his own. While he is driven and fixated with his all types of drawings, I bring myself to do the same for my research on Teaching Presence. I am now taking note of emerging themes from my observations of exemplary teachers. Thanks to Nellie, George and Namrata, plus a few hired teachers to help with the audio transcriptions, this research has more reason to go on.

For one, my questions are growing: Can 'teaching presence' be taught? Was it meant to be viewed this way? If so, what is the best way to do it for preservice online teachers? Is there some kind of teaching presence particular to synchronous live classes vs f2f? particular to each subject matter?....How is teaching presence best learned by student-teachers/would-be/ novice online teachers? Are there differences between how novice and expert F2F teachers perceive and learn about teaching presence in synchronous platforms?


Secondly, I need to remind myself why I chose to do this over other things:
-I'd like to know how to amply prepare Bachelor of Education Studies student-teachers to run synchronous classes in K-12/ Open HS;
-I'd like to see whether observing of recorded live virtual classes will influence the way they teach and if so, in what ways;
-I'd like to build on this study in order to observe online teachers of K-12 abroad and how they teach synchronously;
-I'd like to design a workshop training on how local teachers can effectively use a videoconferencing platform;
-I'd like to model good teaching practices using WizIQ to our BES/pre service teachers; and lastly,
-I'd like to get into teaching Filipino as a Second Language online via WizIQ, and do this effectively

Now as to whether I can sustain this interest and action in as much as how my son is forever into Naruto-Angry Birds-Wrestling-Manga-Anime-Megalodon-Fossil drawing+video games+cartoons, then this could really be like hitting a bit of everything in one stone of a research.

More Quests re Quali Research

I can't help but stop and think or maybe this just me delaying my work. I am starting to think about possible themes for my research on Teaching Presence and I'm asking myself again and throwing it all here. As an observer of recorded live classes, I am taking down notes from my own perspective. I question what makes my observations valid? If another person observes the same set of recorded classes, will he or she be able to come up with similar notes? Or let's say I have a younger-novice teacher version of myself, would I be able to see what I'm seeing now as an older, more experienced teacher? Should I be even asking these questions...

Aside from that, I'm also thinking of a way to write and present findings re the exemplary teachers. Does it have to go by themes right away? Or can it be done this way---I discuss my findings per teacher + set of classes(not by themes yet) then in the end recommend a set of themes through which Teaching Presence can be observed and examined in live synchronous classes...thereby contributing to the body of knowledge of how research into effective online teaching can be conducted.

Now, to delay more work which needs to be done (=clean my work cubicle, file-file-more filing), I am now back to reading where I left off in Merriam's 2009 Book "Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation", Chapter 8: Quali Data Analysis and Chapter 9: Dealing With Validity, Reliability and Ethics.

Syn- + chron + (ous): Teaching of the 3rd Kind

It's been a few weeks since the Faculty Congress where I got to share my mini- bag of goodies with fellow colleagues of the University of the Philippines. I'm trying to understand where my apprehension was coming from when I was asked by my Dean to handle this presentation in front of faculty members. I mean, out of all facs, why me? Could it be due to my buzzing about a research colloquim, Moodle Moot Aussie, or my sneak previews of Google sites and WizIQ during a workshop, or am I just the easiest one to bully for a performance of some kind? My portion for the Fac Congress was about "Engaging Learners", a task which I was uncertain of doing since I started my work as an Assistant Professor at the University of the Philippines Open U. Whenever I hear THAT title, it sounds more like an ASS-Prof since half of the time I feel like I am making an ass of myself while teaching online with all my trials and errors, and more errors.

To date, my work at UPOU is the worst teaching experience I've ever had in my life. If there is such a thing as best teaching practice, this is where the opposite of it happened to me--online. Something about higher ed and U.P. as THE state university, which make people assume that once called a 'Prof', one is an excellent teacher to start with. And so the expectation is great and that rubbed off on me: I too expect myself to be a good enough teacher to start with since I've been teaching for 20 years.

My 20 years was colored by teaching in schools/ set ups with very unique causes in the Philippine context: progressive education=Community of Learners, learning disabilities=Wordlab School, IBO-PYP=The Beacon School, teacher to the barrios=UP Oblation Corps. These were pioneering schools/programs in the Philippines.

Then comes UPOU...one of the pioneering open and distance learning institutions within the residential top state university of the country. Though I do have an agenda in Social Studies and Teacher Education to start with, my bigger cause is for the Filipino learners. I see distance education and UPOU as the university which can accommodate the kind of graduates from the types of thinkers and doers I encounter at the basic ed level. ODL is what my children at the K-12 will get into, a few years from now.

My cause is great and very much in place, but my teaching isn't at all.

How am I supposed to sustain this act...especially in front of an audience who are part of the bigger UP system which haven't fully embraced our presence as their Open University. Residential experts and scholarly faculty members view us with skepticism despite allies who see ODL as an opportunity to further the cause of their field. So the pressure of having to face senior faculty members teaching in the residential mode most of their teaching lives was something to reckon with. I don't think I even have enough experience with teaching online to swing a presentation.


Online teaching when I first taught at UPOU equals asynchronous. The first platform we used was IVLE. It felt like I was a frozen delight the whole time--I had so much warmth to give as an F2F teacher but trapped in some ice cold freezer of a platform. I was simply scheming through my students responses which I liken to responding to some email groupie, only that you aren't chums nor friends with these folks without faces and worse, what you're trying to talk about isn't about life at all. It was like going through the motions of Q's and A's to finally give a grade. It's as frozen as can be because teaching then wasn't an 'experience' at all.

Then came Moodle...but this time, I call my teaching as half baked despite my becoming more in touch with the undergrads under my supervision as Program Chair of Associate in Arts@UPOU. In my undergrad class, I was making gains as the course itself had to do a combination of online and offline activities. It's the blended formula I learned through the UPOU Community Site where I get to socialize with students and do informal consultations for ideas to implement program improvements. This virtual forum served as springboard to organize offline community building activities which facilitated my performance of administrative duties in monitoring and handling a big population of undergrads. When they see me F2F or online, I will always be Prof V, their program chair, ready to give academic advice. But this is not the major responsibility I have. On paper, professor=40% teaching, online teaching that is.

Teaching to grad level students was the part of me I was most dissatisfied with. It took an amount of effort to schedule an F2F with my grad students to let me feel connected in the first place. A common time was hard to find given that weekends are either make up time for catching up with other online classes or make up time with family. My students were mostly employed fulltime and already teachers at that. Sometimes it felt like they just wanted to get over my course in order to earn enough credits to become qualified examinees for teaching certification and licensure. It came to a point when I actually questioned my existence at UPOU and if in fact college teaching is the path for me.

Hence the apprehension to even share about 'Engaging Learners' as I may come across as superficial...well, almost not. Good thing I was able to dig into my bag of tricks as I experimented with WizIQ, a synchronous platform which allowed for things to finally come together for me as an online teacher. It's a kind of teaching I fondly call now as the 3rd Kind, lol. If the F2F was the 1st kind for me, and online ala asynchronous is the 2nd Kind, then going synchronous is teaching of the 3rd Kind!

WizIQ came at a time when I realized that part of me was indeed 'settled' in my job at the university. My recent attempts to do an autoethnography which I presented at Pune was telling of that journey into student support and distance education. I would not even come close to saying that learning about WizIQ was some form of divine intervention..hardly at all, lol. In fact, I learned about this online tool from a UPOU student with troll like behavior over at our virtual site. I tried to pick it up after I had a brief 1-1 finding out at Pune, to be continued via skype conversation and an actual demo. I have yet to be convinced of course. I finally decided to go for premium membership over the summer after reading some blog comparing WizIQ with a dimming Dimdim. I was being my usual self as a gradeschool teacher, fond of seeing a new toy and wondering how I can make functional, practical and crazy use of it.

As I was saying, I did have fun experimenting with my WizIQ toy over the summer. I tinkered with the virtual classroom features first with my gradeschoolers a few days before schoolbreak, like a show and tell session of some neat artifact I found in India. Then come April 2011, I was on a 30 day trial and tried it out with few UPOU forum members and colleagues---still in seclusion thanks to the private class setting. I didn't dare go public yet as it did take time to get myself comfortable hearing my kiddish voice. I patiently went through a few more demos handled personally by the WizIQ Support Team, viewed tutorials and even attended classes as a real student. I lurked in the discussion area of the E Learning Community to get the feel of the other teacher-members. I observed a few classes and I thought perhaps it will still take a length of time before I can give this tool a GO in my classes at UPOU.

As classes finally opened this June at UPOU, I found myself making good use of my toy. One time, this toy felt like a hi-tech gadget when our Moodle was down for almost a week--my class was up and running still at WizIQ while the rest of my colleagues were disappointed with some glitch in our asynchronous platform. Funny even, that when I first met my grad level students online, they commented on me as being approachable and cybergenic, lol--proof of the fact that the video+audio makes the teacher alive thereby making them feel alive enough to say those things about me. These live sychronous classes complement the revamps I was doing in my Moodle with the help of Google Sites and html codes. I had a bag of tricks to share with fellow facs after all :)

Looking back, this WizIQ tool a few months ago felt like a precious Parker pen I'd hardly use for the fear of misplacing....now it's becoming more like a whiteboard marker and my laptop which I can't do without. In the near future, perhaps it may turn into an ordinary ballpen or book I will easily misplace and eventually forget about. Technology, my teaching and I will surely move on.

These days however, I plan to enjoy going synchronous while I still can.
Teaching of the 4th, or 5th kind or whatever new toy will just have to wait. With improvements coming along at WizIQ, slowly but surely, I hope to see it happening more for Open HS and K-12 in the Philippines.

Snippets from WizIQ Observations

Top of my head kinda thinking here after scheming through a few recorded classes---like if I were to present WizIQ exemplary teachers at a conference, which video shots/ audio portions should I share and why?


Nellie--the part when she shakes her head while listening to music as she allows her students to enjoy music at the start of her session or even midway. This is a teacher establishing a relaxed atmosphere with her students. Then later on a student responding to Nellie's question by using music as well :) Portions of both video and chatbox show how she seamlessly shifts between modes of teaching to address individual concerns related to language learning. Add to that are splices of Nellie sharing something about her self to genuinely connect with her online learners...and boy, that APRIL FOOL's prank is a MUST SEE!

Namrata--asking about her students' background and line of work. She maximizes the use of audio+ppt, most especially her tone of voice as she tries to model speaking and point out 'emphasis'....or her tone of voice while managing to discipline a student who bothers a fellow student in class....a teacher who is able to sustain attention and consistent attendance of cautious, beginning level learners eager to practice their spoken English.

George--using his face while attempting to mimick word pronunciation and show speech production in order to drive a point in a light and humorous way... a teacher who manages to bring in lots of personality into his direct instruction. He says something about the brains and language learning--metacognition=thinking about one's learning. He also equips students with self-monitoring/ independent learning skills--opportunities to choose worksheet level, ways to continue learning/self-practice.

I am now thinking of creative ways to present these snippets of observations:
-a chart to show segments of: chatbox entry vs audio transcript vs screenshot of teacher's video then a hyperlink to 'play' or 'run' the segment;
-authorStream is now a MUST learn for me

I also have a series of questions to ask out of sheer curiosity as I've consistently seen tech glitches in the class recordings. Also because I am seeing perhaps one aspect of Teaching Presence in synchronous platforms: managing virtual classroomm features and coping/dealing with technical problems= teacher/student actions + interactions to troubleshoot in order to sustain class participation.

A few questions here for these exemplary teachers:

-Do you see tech glitches as major obstacles to how you want the teaching and learning to happen in your live classes?

-How do you feel about these unexpected audio glitches? Have you observed the same glitches whilst using other synchronous platforms and how do you deal with these?

-Are these glitches something you can forego because in the end, you see teaching and learning happening after all?

-Despite these technical challenges which go with the platform, why do you still choose to use WizIQ even if you already have ESL websites? ?

Possible Recurring Themes

Alas, I've managed to transcribe 3 recordings= 1 per teacher to get the feel of things and identify possible themes which may recur in the next few recordings. Good news is that WizIQ + teachers permitted me access to download recordings so now I have hired transcribers to help me out. This means I can devote my energies to start thinking through what I've observed.

Possible themes which may recur throughout the recorded class observations in answer to this question:
What is the nature of teaching presence in synch live classes?
(and maybe I'm also curious if there really is a diff with asynch and realtime F2F sessions)

So....here's what I'm seeing so far: TP in synch classes=

-rapport building done in a certain way (each teacher having a diff style)

-coaching/modeling to students use of VC to acclimatize them with online learning via a virtual classroom

-direct instruction---language lessons to address both individual needs and whole class concerns

-facilitation or teaching through multi media resources---and seamless of manner of using these features (like how an F2F teacher uses AV aids)

-reinforcements, support for/encouragements to speak and use English


(perhaps a next follow up study would be comparing TP in Live Synch classes in Higher Ed vs Basic Ed)


Hmmm, this is still scratching the surface...I NEED TO REMEMBER THAT QUALI RESEARCH AIM TO SURFACE THE MEANINGS BEHIND THESE THEMES...right! Why do I sense that I may be missing out on something here. :(

On to viewing 2 more recordings to specifically get 'critical teaching moments' which make for TP.