Alix’s Exploration of Learning Technologies

I have worked collaboratively before on a wiki for a course assignment. In the previous case however, I was working with only two other people and we each prepared our own separate pages. As such, no one did any major changes on the others’ pages. This experience working on a wiki was different. The contributing group was much larger and we were all editing a single page. The advantage of this is each student contributed a small section, but we ended up with a large artifact documenting social media “sightings” and key challenges and strategies for implementing social media into education. Another advantage is that we were able to edit mistakes that the original contributor may have missed. Collaborating to produce a single artifact with many contributors and editors is not without it’s challenges though. A wiki is often edited by contributors separated by space and time leading to a number of issues. For example, there is an issue of consistency and voice in an artifact. When collaborating in this manner, the contributors need a way to communicate and make democratic decisions. In the wiki activity where we contribute 5 challenges and strategies, one student came up with the idea of puuting an “x” next to the submissions we would like to contribute to the “top 5” . The submissions with the most “x”s would become the final 5.  Another issue is that whole contributions can be deleting or greatly modified by other users leading to feelings of frustration by the original author.

In my LMS, I have included a variety of opportunities for both formative and summative assessment. Moreover, I have included opportunities for peer, self, and teacher feedback.  Under Topic 2: Cell structures, formative assessment is afforded by a discussion forum enabling peer feedback  and a quiz tool enabling self assessment. In the discussion forum, the students must develop a cell analogy (eg. the cell as a city or a school) and read and critique the analogies of other students. By participating in this forum, students must translate their knowledge into an analogy and then defend the analogy based in peer feedback, thus engaging in the social negotiation of learning. Self assessment is afforded by the completion of a study guide and a quiz. The study guide requires the students to summarize information from a note package. The questions are designed to focus the students attentions on key concepts and the desired learning outcomes. The self-assessment quiz provides pre-programmed general feedback that reminds students where they should be focusing their study efforts. The overall feedback from the quiz provides suggestions for further action based on the quiz results. Formative assessment  and teacher feedback is provided by a concept map assignment that must be submitted online and an in class exam. The time spent creating the concept map also serves as review of the material in preparation for the exam.

The development of the assessment tools in moodle was, as usual relatively intuitive. Setting up the discussion forum, uploading the study guide and adding the concept map assignment did not take long. The discussion forum options give the administrator the option to grade participation either by number of posts or by allowing peers to rate postings. The assignment tool allows the administrator to control the submission time line  and there is an option to receive an e-mail when the assignment is uploaded.

The quiz tool was much more time consuming. Each question has to be created and saved separately. Each response can be given specific feedback and each question general feedback. Overall feedback at the end of the quiz can give feedback specific to the quiz results. Feedback and grading is not available for essay questions and thus must be graded manually. There are options to control: the number of times students may attempt the test, the time between attempts, and which grade will be counted (if at all).

After completing this assignment, I would think twice before developing an online test using moodle as creating a question bank along with the pre-programmed feedback is very time consuming. However, once a question bank is established, the quiz tool could serve as a powerful assessment tool providing valuable feedback to the students with little effort from the teacher.

Assessment is a powerful  determinant of the goals of both teachers and learners (Jenkins 2004). According to  Brown and Glasner (1999), assessment can be used for the following reasons:

•    providing feedback
•    grading
•    enabling students to correct errors
•    motivating students
•    consolidating learning
•    applying abstract ideas to practical examples
•    estimating students’ potential
•    guiding selection or option choice
•    giving staff feedback on how effective their teaching has been
•    providing statistics for internal and external uses.

Gibbs and Simpson (2004) purport that  it “assessment has an overwhelming influence on what, how and how much students study” .
As such, they describe ten conditions under which assessment can support learning.:

A. The effects of design of assessment tools on volume, focus and quality of studying
Conditions:
1. Sufficient assessed tasks are provided for students to capture sufficient study time

2. These tasks are engaged with by students, orienting them to allocate appropriate amounts of time and effort to the most important aspects of the course.

3. Tackling the assessed task engages students in productive learning activity of an appropriate kind

B. The effect of feedback on learning
Conditions:
4. Sufficient feedback is provided, both often enough and in enough detail

5. The feedback focuses on students’ performance, on their learning and on actions under the students’ control, rather than on the students themselves and on their characteristics

6. The feedback is timely in that it is received by students while it still matters to them and in time for them to pay attention to further learning or receive further assistance

7. Feedback is appropriate to the purpose of the assignment and to its criteria for success

8. Feedback is appropriate, in relation to students’ understanding of what they are supposed to be doing

9. Feedback is received and attended to

10. Feedback is acted upon by the student

References:

Gibbs, G. and Simpson, C. (2005).  “Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning.” Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

Jenkins, M. (2004).  “Unfulfilled Promise: formative assessment using computer-aided assessment.” Learning and Teaching in Higher Education , i, 67-80.

I included the following four communication tools in Unit 2: Cell Structures of my LMS: forum, wiki, chat and database. As my LMS is used to support and enhance a f2f course with opportunities for live discussion, synchronous communication in my LMS was not a priority. The activity for this unit is to review the power point notes covered in class and then to contribute the wiki, database and forum. The wiki requires the students to contribute images and functions for the cell organelles, the database requires them to add useful websites,  and the forum requires that they develop a cell analogy and respond to others’ posts. It was very easy to add these communication tools to my Moodle. The options available for each tool allow the administrator to control student contributions. For example, how much editing privileges students have on the wiki can be set for particular groups. I find the Moodle wiki tool to be rather rudimentary, but this could be an advantage in that students can focus on content and not design. The database tool allows for students to contribute quantitative and qualitative data. I could foresee this tool being used to collect experimental data in a central location. I have also included a weekly live chat for students to discuss questions in real time. This chat could also be used to prepare before quizzes and tests. Although there are more powerful communication tools outside of Moodle, by keeping all of the platforms inside of the course, the administrator can monitor student contributions in one place.

This entry can also be accessed on the communication tools page.

The social nature of learning is emphasized by many learning theories such as Vygotsky’s social development theory, Wegner’s communities of practice, and constructivism.  In online learning environments, Anderson (2008) purports that establishing a social presence is key to fostering deep and meaningful learning. My Biology 12 LMS is designed to support and enhance a face-to-face learning environment. My hope is that the LMS will serve as a platform where students can extend the social negotiation of learning beyond scheduled class time. As such, I have embedded communication tools into my LMS. Under Unit 2: Cell structure, I have included the following four communication tools: forum, chat, wiki, and database. In the following, I will discuss the affordances and limitations of the Moodle forum and wiki.

1. Forum:

a. Why I chose it and affordances:
I chose the include  a forum because it is an informal and asynchronous platform where students can present, challenge and develop ideas. In addition, the instructor can track participation and monitor discussions to seek out and correct possible misconceptions. The forums are informal in the sense that students are not expected to present perfectly formed ideas. Rather, the goal of the forum is to provide a space where students can feel free to explore the material by posting partially formed ideas and responding to others, thus engaging in the social negotiation of learning. Additionally, some students who do not feel comfortable speaking in class, may feel more comfortable expressing their ideas in this manner. Because the forums are asynchronous, students can post and respond at their convenience.

b. Limitations:
The text-based nature mandates that students have a minimum level of literacy and typing skills. Without the benefit of the visual and auditory cues  (body language and intonation) afforded by f2f discussions , miscommunications can result. If clarification is required, there can be a significant time delay before it is addressed. Clear rules of etiquette should be established to foster a climate of respect.

c. Does it work?:
In my experience, discussion forums are more focused and developed when the instructor provides a prompt and a minimum number of required responses.  In the forum under Unit 2: Cell Structure, I have provided  the students with a prompt, I have asked them to develop an analogy for the cell, for example “the cell as a city” or “the cell as a school”.  The students are required to post their analogies and then read and respond to at least two other students’ posts.

2. Wiki:

a. Why I chose it and affordances:
A wiki is a tool for organizing ideas that are contributed socially. Wikis are searchable, and can serve as a resource for information. Because wikis can serve as a source of information for others, wiki contributions are more formal than in forums.  Students are accountable to each other and must collaborate to present well developed and accurate contributions. This added accountability of authorship can serve as a motivator for the students to spend time covering the material and preparing accurate contributions. The end result of a wiki is an artifact that represents the collective learning of the group. It can be published for outside viewing and is a valuable resource for reviewing course content. . In Moodle, the administrator can determine the level of editing access different student groups have.

b. Limitations: A study conducted by Vratulis and Dobson (2008) investigating the implementation of a wiki in a teacher education course found issues with power dispersal. Some students “became frustrated when their ideas were misrepresented to the balance of the community”. One student, “struggled in asserting her voice within her group because of dominant-member control over the group postings.” This result suggests that roles need to be established as well as a protocol of respect for negotiating what should be included in a contribution.
The wiki writing tool in Moodle appears to be quite basic without many bells and whistles. This rudimentary wiki tool in does not provide much opportunity to incorporate aesthetic design elements. However, this may allow the students to focus on the content and not the design. Finally, the wiki can only be accessed by signing in to the Moodle course and is thus not accessible to those who do not have access to the course.

c. Does it work? I have included a wiki in Unit 2: Cell Structure where students can contribute information about each of the organelles.

3. Chat (Live Forum): I have included a weekly chat scheduled for Sunday evening at 5 pm. This forum is intended to summarize and address any remaining questions from the previous week’s lessons. The advantage of the live forum is that it is synchronous and in real-time ,affording  immediate feedback and responses to questions. As they are not mandatory, issues regarding availability are not an issue. Moodle has an option that allows users to view archived chats.

4. Database: Moodle has a database tool that allows users to contribute quantitative and qualitative data. In Unit 2: Cell Structures, I have set up a database for students to contribute links to useful websites that cover topic content.

References:
Anderson, T. (2008). Teaching in an Online Learning Context.  In: Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Athabasca University. Accessed online 3 March 2009

Vratulis, T., Dobso, M. (2008). Social negotiations in a wiki
environment: a case study with pre-service teachers. Educational Media International, 45 (4) p. 285 – 294

In “Towards a theory of online learning”, Anderson (2008) purports that the internet “affords a vast potential for education delivery that generally subsumes almost all the modes and means of education delivery previously used – with, perhaps, the exception of rich face-to-face interaction in formal classrooms”. Moreover, Anderson contends that  in an online environment, “sufficient levels of deep and meaningful learning can be developed as long as one of the three forms of interaction (student–teacher; student-student; student-content) is at very high levels.” Anderson defines the challenge for online instructors to construct a learning environment that is simultaneously learner-, content-, community- and  assessment-centered. In the following, I would like to consider to what extent my experiences with online learning environments have addressed these four centres.

1. Learner centered: A learner centered environment acknowledges the unique personal history of each learner. An important starting point for a learner centered environment is diagnosing pre-existing knowledge and experiences. In my experiences this has been addressed through mandatory “introductory forum posts”.  These posts stimulate student-student interaction and “break the ice”. In one online course I have taken, students are encouraged to discuss a series of “pre-test” questions to assess prior knowledge. However, I  have not yet had an experience where an instructor collects data regarding students’ previous experiences.

2. Content-centered: According to Anderson, “the Net provides expanded opportunities for learners to plunge ever deeper into knowledge resources, providing a near limitless means for them to grow their knowledge and find their own way around the knowledge of the discipline, benefiting from its expression in thousands of formats and contexts.” However, Anderson cautions that the vast amounts of information can be difficult for a student to navigate and filter. As such, it is the role of the instructor to guide  students to relevant and quality information. In my experience this has been accomplished through suggested activities, readings and resources  as organized by an LMS.

3. Community-centered: Vygotsky’s “zone of proximal development” and Wegner’s “communities of practice” mandate the importance of social interactions in challenging and supporting knowledge development. Community development and the social negotiation of learning are supported online through synchronous and asynchronous communication tools such as e-mail, discussion boards and chat functions. Although these tools afford freedoms from restraints of space and time, I have yet to experience collaborative experiences of the same quality as collaborating in a f2f environment.

4. Assessment centered: Feedback is a crucial element to successful knowledge development. Frequent assessment gives important information to both learner and instructor about the learner’s progress. In my experience, online tools such as programmed quizzes, peer feedback circles, and instructor mark-up are excellent for formative assessments.

References
Anderson, T. (2008). Towards a Theory of Online Learning.  In: Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Athabasca University.

When purchasing my Mac PowerBook G4 over 4 years ago as a 4th year undergraduate student, I opted not to purchase a DVD burner. At the time, the extra $?, was too much and I could not foresee needing to burn DVDs (I would never illegally copy a DVD!, and had no inclination to make my own productions). This decision has  haunted many times since. As such, while undertaking the DVD toolkit activity, I could not fully complete it. However, I do have the iDVD application on my Mac and spent some time playing around with it. Like most iApple applications, I found iDVD to be very user friendly with drag and drop ease, and aesthetically pleasing themes. I decided to make a DVD using photos from my wedding (as I have yet, 5 years later, to print these). I created a menu slideshow using some of the best photos, and then created a chapter using a slideshow of the wedding photos that I had previously made in iPhoto. Very much out of character for my trustworthy Mac, the program crashed in the middle of editing and a lot of my work was not saved.  If I do choose to author DVDs in the future, and after undertaking this activity, I realize how easy it is, I would have to upgrade my computer.

Please visit the LMS page to find my LMS proposal, or you can also download a .doc copy here LMS Proposal.

I worked through introduction to web design and html authoring in the e-learning  tool kit and completed the suggested activities. After completing the activities, which included introductory readings, exploring  suggested software, assessment checklists, story boarding, and considering design elements, I have to say that I really had not considered how much goes into designing a good webpage.

Nothing exemplifies this point more, than exploring webpages that suck. I was particularily intrigued by one webpage for a company called Brill Publications, the page relys heavily on “metaphic navigation”, where an animated elevator takes you to different pages. Although there is a novelty element to the navigation strategy, it takes FOREVER to find and get to any specific page. If I was genuinely visiting this site, I would probably leave it rather quickly due to frusteration.

Truth be told, I did not create a new webpage for the webpage design activity, instead I used my MET e-folio as a point of analysis. This is the e-folio I have been developing over the course of my MET. It is made using wordpress. As such, I used a preset CSS “theme” and I developped posts using WYSIWYG HTML editor. I will admit, I have no idea how to change the CSS only have a slight idea of how to change content by editing html. I have used a small amount of html in Vista blackbourd discussions, but only by cutting and pasting from a webpage with common chatroom html codes. I know that there will be a point where  the limitations of WYSIWYG editors become evident to me, but that has not happened yet, so for the time being, I will stick with pre-set CSS and WYSIWYG editors.

My wordpress blog uses a two column theme with mostly white background. It is evident within 4 seconds what the page is about (Alix Gray Burdett’s EduBlogFolio: An exploration of the space where education, science and technology merge). I chose not to set up page navigation, instead I organize content by categories that are displayed on the right hand side. All posts are connected to the main page and a visitor can navigate to older posts when they reach the end of the 10 posts I have displayed on the first page.If a visitor clicks on a category of interest, all posts filed under that category are compiled. I always try to include links in my posts, and clearly tell the visitor where they will be navigating to. Finally, when I used the WAVE tool to test for the accessibility of my webpage, two errors were found, but I had a difficult time finding out what they were?

Before starting this activity, I knew that I was a fan of clean, clear webpages with simple navigation. However, I did no appreciate how much intention goes into designing a clean webpage. Definitely the lesson of the day is “less is more” when it comes to webpage design.

Today I set up my first moodle course. I was given step by step instructions on how to set it up from the ETEC 565 e-learning tool kit . I learned about moodle last fall and was very excited about the prospects of potentially incorporating a moodle platform into my f2f science courses but didn’t really know where to begin. One of the main reasons I signed up for ETEC 565 was for the supported introduction to moodle. While setting up my course today, I found using the step by step instructions and activities on the tool kit very easy to follow and I appreciate the scaffolded support.  I am looking forward to more scaffolded support while gaining more confidence and competance with moodle.