Ocotillo Spotlight on Instructional Technology
Note: The Ocotillo Spotlight is no longer published, but all previous issues will remain on this site.
spotlight for November 2003
In this November 2003 Ocotillo Spotlight we travel north to Paradise Valley Community College to "hear" how Accounting Faculty Jeanne Franco has transformed the important "end of a pencil" practice from her face to face class, to interactive, streaming audio narrated review and practice for her online students.
End-of-a-Pencil Experiences Online
written by Jeanne Franco, Accounting Faculty, Paradise Valley Community College
jeanne.franco@pvmail.maricopa.edu
"In accounting, deep learning can only occur at the end of a pencil." I say this to my accounting students every semester to help them understand that they have to interact with the concepts they are learning to fully grasp accounting.
When taking an accounting course in a traditional classroom, part of an accounting student's learning experience comes through the sights and sounds of a concept application demonstration followed by a hands-on activity that allows students to use their pencil and try it themselves. Because this in-class demonstration and end-of-a-pencil follow up is lost in an online course, I needed to find an equally effective replacement that could be accessed online. I found that creating interactivity and end-of-a-pencil experiences online could be as simple or as complex to create as I had time to devote to it.
On the simplicity end, I created 8 simple web pages that give students an overview of a concept, a demonstration of the application, and a series of opportunities for students to evaluate their learning through an interactive, end-of-a-pencil experience. This simple to create and easy to use tool has proven very effective.
On the more complex end, I used Adobe Photoshop to create some images, the Paradise Valley studio sound booth to create some audio, and Macromedia Flash to bring an interactive, end-of-a-pencil, illustrated audio learning tool to life.
This project involved selecting six difficult accounting concepts to illustrate, creating a storyboard and script for each concept, recording each script, turning the storyboard ideas into Flash animations, coordinating the audio files with each animation, publishing each Flash file to both the web and a CD (for online students who do not have high-speed internet connections), and testing the final product to be sure that it worked on all platforms and with all browsers.
Each accounting concept illustration is divided into three elements: an explanation or "overview" of the concept, a "demonstration" of the application of the concept, and a "test your knowledge" area where an interactive tool allows students to see if they have grasped the concept presented.
Overview
This element of each illustration contains an explanation of an accounting concept in general terms. Here terminology is defined, rules are explained, and reasoning for each concept is developed.
Demonstration
This element of each illustration contains a demonstration of each concept's application to a question or problem. A question or problem is stated, solution computations are illustrated, rules are applied, and the question or problem is solved. In most cases, each concept is demonstrated several times using different question and problem scenarios.
Test Your Knowledge
This element of each illustration contains a combination of true/false, multiple-choice, and "click and drag" tools that prompt the student to solve concept related questions and problems. When answering true/false and multiple-choice questions incorrectly, the student is consoled and prompted to try again. Correct responses are praised and the student is directed to move forward. Click and drag questions give the student an opportunity to move values around the screen and drop them in the appropriate place to correctly solve the problem. Incorrect placement of a value causes the value to snap back into its original position, and the student is allowed to try again.
Student Feedback
I conducted a student survey at the end of both the fall 2002 and spring 2003 semesters to determine how many students used this tool and to determine the perception of each student as to the usefulness of the tool in his or her learning process. Of the 62 online (and traditional) students who responded to the survey, 68% said they viewed all six of the concept modules offered. Of the 68% who made full use of this tool, 90% rated the learning value of the tool as "very high" while 10% rated the learning value as "moderate." Further, of this same group, 95% earned grades of either "A" or "B" in the course.
Based on student input, my conclusion is that students who took advantage of the interactive, end-of-a-pencil, illustrated audio learning tool perceived value added to their learning, and the value gained resulted in improved concept mastery and overall grades.
 See more examples of Jeanne Franco's work, including the Learning Grant that supported this project, in her collection of packages in the Maricopa Learning eXchange (MLX)
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