Week 2: 
Writing Objectives. Describing a Class. Web Searching

Writing Objectives. Describing a Class. Web Searching

Web Searching

I usually used Google for searching information, as it is a good, general-purpose search engine. However, this week I have understood that  it's not the best choice if you are looking for academic sources or other specialized needs. There are discipline-specific portals, such as Intute's Arts and Humanities Hub; there are librarian-recommended sites, such as Librarians' Internet Index; and there are kid-friendly sites, such as KidsClick! and Ask Kids.

Describing a Class

It is so great to read about our classes – just a small virtual excursion like visiting our classrooms.  

Writing Objectives

You don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to search more effectively

Thanks to our course I have learnt about The A.B.C.D. method. The ABCD method of writing objectives is an excellent starting point for writing objectives. In this system, "A" is for audience, "B" is for behavior, "C" for conditions and "D" for degree of mastery needed.

1.      Audience (A) – Who? Who are your learners?

2.      Behavior (B) – What? What do you expect them to be able to do? This should be an overt, observable behavior, even if the actual behavior is covert or mental in nature. If you can't see it, hear it, touch it, taste it, or smell it, you can't be sure your audience really learned it.

3.      Condition (C) – How? Under what circumstances or context will the learning occur? What will the student be given or already be expected to know to accomplish the learning?

4.      Degree (D) – How much? How much will be accomplished, how well will the behavior need to be performed, and to what level? Do you want total mastery (100%), do you want them to respond correctly 80% of the time, etc. A common (and totally non-scientific) setting is 80% of the time.

Our Nicenet Forum has lots of examples of well-written objectives

For my coursemates I advise to watch:

http://www.wikihow.com/Write-an-Educational-Objective