Serf

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Serf

• Server-side Educational Records Facilitator

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What Is Serf?

• Invented in 1997, Serf is a self-paced multimedia
  learning environment that enables students to
  navigate a syllabus, access instructional
  resources, communicate, and submit assignments
  over the Web.
• Instructors create courses without having to know
  HTML.

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LoggingOn
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Viewing the Course
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Student Control Panel
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Instructor Options
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Editing a Serf Syllabus
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Kinds of Syllabus Events
Textual Content (adds text to the current
cluster) Class title (starts a new class
cluster) Generic title (starts a new generic
cluster) Preamble title (starts a new preamble
cluster) Multimedia graphic (adds content with a
graphic icon and link) Multimedia movie (adds
content with a movie icon and link) Multimedia
sound (adds content with a sound icon and link)
Multimedia Web site (adds content with a Web
site icon and link) Observational assignment Web
portfolio assignment Web query assignment Submit
file assignment True/false question Multiple
choice question Fill-in-the-blank question Image
map question Short answer question Slider
question (Likert scale) Examination (launches a
test) Strand (launches a tutorial
module) Diagnostic (launches a self-assessment) Su
rvey (administers a questionnaire) Control panel
(creates a customized control panel) Menu bar
(replaces or augments the current Serf menu
bar) Banner (replaces or augments the current
banner) Trailer (replaces or augments the current
trailer)
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Creating an Event
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Editor Viewer
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Navigating via the Index
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Editing the Calendar
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Setting the Date
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Jumpstarting the Calendar
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Editing the Style
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Rostering Students
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Using theGradebook
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Assigning Grades
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Discussion Forums
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Controlling ForumAccess
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Reading ForumTopics
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Writing In aForum
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Serf 2.0Summer 1998

• Version 2 added to Serf a testing system that can
  administer and grade objective test questions in
  a traditional exam style, or present
  competency-based tests according to Blooms
  mastery learning model.

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Kinds of Test Questions

• True/False
• Multiple Choice
• Fill-in-the-Blank
• Image Map
• Short Answer
• Slider (Likert Scale)

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Editing aQuestion
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Editing aPool
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Editing aModule

• Practice vs Graded
• Weight of Module
• Criterion
• Repeats
• Reviews
• Deadlines
• Time frames

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Editing aSection

• Relative weight
• Question pool
• Random or sequential
• Length
• Competency
• Origin
• Hide or see scores
• Time limit
• Allow skipping questions
• Allow changing answers
• Branching on condition

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Serf 3.0Summer 1999

• Version 3 added support for surveys, diagnostic
  assessments, and tutorials.

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Creating aDiagnosis
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Making aDiagnostic
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Teaching in the Zone

• Helping All Students by Giving
• What They Need, When They Need It

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Identifying the Zone

• Vygotsky defined the zone of proximal development
  as the difference between the difficulty level of
  a problem a student can cope with independently
  and the level that can be accomplished with help
  from others.
• Systems like Serf identify the zone and provide
  the help from others.

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Throwing the Zone Away

• In traditional teaching, we throw the zone away.
• Students take tests, the results of which often
  are never handed back.
• Students hand in term papers at the end of a
  course with no chance to rewrite them.
• We are throwing the zone away.

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Teaching in the Zone

• Constructivist teaching via the Web brings the
  student into the zone.
• The instructor becomes a coach who helps the
  student achieve goals.
• Time shifting makes the process efficient and
  manageable for student and teacher alike.

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A Hypothesis

• The effectiveness of an online learning system is
  directly related to the degree in which it
  facilitates teaching in the zone.
• Methods I use to do this include
• Giving the student another try
• Just-in-time discussion
• Customized scaffolding
• Gallery of other students work

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Problem-based Learning

• The problem with problem-based learning is
  assessment.
• How do you assess what each student has
  contributed in a cooperative learning
  environment?
• Systems like Serf solve this problem by logging
  what each student contributes.