When rereading my flight path in preparation for this reflection I was pleasantly surprised at how similar my initial thoughts and goals were in comparison to the outcome of the finished course. One thing that I found intriguing in my flight path was that I discussed that it is important to for educators to learn how to teach students the proper way to use modern web 2.0 technologies. It is integral for the educator to make sure that students are properly educated for the current and upcoming digital age/revolution. Without meeting this goal, we are failing our students and not preparing them in the current educational technology vernacular. We have evolved from logo writer and flash games. I felt that this topic was addressed in this course through our interactions and collaborations with our peers, which is paramount to educational technology to me. It was truly a proper community of learning and it helped to prove that often the best forms of education are learning though hands on experiences and through interactions with peers.
One of my other goals in my flight path was to hone my LMS design skills throughout the semester. I have certainly achieved this. I have created a Moodle LMS site that I am proud of that incorporates many different technological aspects. As I progressed through my e-portfolio and LMS site I started to think about what type of technology is the most relevant for the learner I work with. It’s easy to set up a forum and a WordPress page, but is this the right thing to do? This started when I was reviewing the ACTIONS model by Bates & Poole. “T: Teaching and learning: what kinds of learning are needed? What instructional approaches will best meet these needs? What are the best technologies for supporting this teaching and learning? (Bates A. W. & Poole, 2003).” As mentioned in my flight plan I am ideally looking for a career move to a smaller community in distance education. The experiences that I have had in this class and program have certainly helped me with this possibility.
In my flight plan I referred to Ong and his views on writing. It has been said that often new forms of writing are often seen with derision and with distrust. I believe that through my work in technology education and in LMS design I can help to persuade my potential employers and my students that online education is a modern language and needs to be treated as such. I question our current education assessment practices. Is it possible that we are simple propagating the status quo, and refusing to evolve our educational goals? Why shouldn’t we be encouraging digital storytelling, and other electronic forms of education? Perhaps through route testing and discouraging creativity we have developed a lack of innovation that has alienated students. “It was the unquestioned assumption that “getting by” is the name of the game. Our students are so alienated by education that they are trying to sneak right past it (Wesch, 2007).” I have realized that in my teaching practice I need to challenge my students to use new technologies to express themselves. It is my hope that by having learn these newer technologies they will not be as academically lethargic, and feel more comfortable and relaxed in their work.
I believe that through LMS systems and by encouraging and fostering creativity and proper (virtual and regular) educational relationships that we can help to alleviate this educational malice and help to form a new form of educational reform. We need to allow students to communicate and learn is ways that are relevant to them. This is one of the benefits of Web 2.0 and we need to take advantage of it.
My e-learning toolkit experience was varied and overall quite beneficial. I found the HTML component quite useful and educational. I have experience using Dreamweaver and iWeb, however, neither are full fledged HTML editors. These programs offer a very standard interface that is user friendly. I’ve always been the type of person to want to understand how and why something works and the tutorials certainly helped me get a better grasp of HTML editing.
I found the entire toolkit wiki to be an excellent compendium to this course. I found the layout to be clean and well designed. I have bookmarked the site and will be using it quite often in the future. The weblogs and wiki entries will be quite useful in teaching high school students these technologies.
The next step for me in my professional practice is to work on enhancing my overall ability to manage and create LMS courses. In my classroom practice I will be creating as many Moodle sites and blogs as possible. Fortunately one of the subjects I tend to teach is alternative education. One key component of alternative education is to be inquisitive and to form questioning techniques. “Web 2.0 therefore supports queries for information and reflections on current events of all sorts. Given bloggers’ propensity for linking, not to mention some services’ ability to search links, blogs and other platforms readily lead the searcher to further sources. Students can search the blogosphere for political commentary, current cultural items, public developments in science, business news, and so on (Alexander, 2008).”This will come in very useful as I personally believe that alternative education and online coursework can be used together with great results. The communal and instantaneous aspects of Web 2.0 are ideal for older students in this type of learning environment.
One thing that I noticed in writing my reflections this semester was that they were often thematically linked. One theme that I noticed was that many of my reflections dealt with the inherent issues of using technology as a crutch. I have met many educators and administrators who seem to see technology less as a way to enhance learning, but as a way to supplement it. I can understand this argument, however I tend to believe that technology is a tool, much like a pen or a pencil. Students need to be taught how to use it properly, or they will not receive the proper benefits. “Students need the opportunity to show their talents and learn in ways that work for them. Then they can be pushed to learn in new ways that do not come so easily (Chickering and Gamson, 1987).”
My e-portfolio certainly has much in common with the SECTIONS framework model, particularly in the cost and students aspect. One thing that I particularly appreciate about WordPress is the fact that it is a low cost alternative to web design. I am a huge open source advocate, as I mention in my reflection on my digital story, low cost or free educational options important to me. “Cost is generally a good discriminator in media and technology selection and use. Costs vary a great deal between different media in particular (Bates and Poole, 2003).”Many of the schools that I have worked at are lower income school where the students are often not able to use computers regularly and certainly cannot afford other costs related to technology. Open source software and any other form of free or affordable software have become essential for my teaching practice. Using open source software also helps to create excellent discussions in my IT classes about copyright infringement. These discussions (or arguments) are an excellent example of engaging students in a way that is relevant and important to them. This coincides with the student and ease components of the framework, this technology is very appropriate for my students and easy to use.
In creating my e-portfolio I realized that there are many different ways that one can use a blog for a reflective process. It could be used as a simple container of sorts to hold ideas. Or it can be a constantly changing process. I have had trouble accepting a finished reflection or assignment in this course. I am constantly changing my assignments and my opinions. Opinions and views change as we progress in our pursuit of knowledge. I believe that it is unfair to assume that the first draft of a reflective piece is the end result of one’s final view.
In creating my digital story I was impressed about how technology has made it easier for students to create art forms that are relevant to them. When I was growing up not all students had this opportunity. Some students were excellent drawers, some were musicians and some were not very artistic at all. These later students did not have artistic tools that they could use to express themselves. They were not encouraged to nurture their artistic side. Current digital devices can act as a new type of canvas to paint on. I certainly explored different aspects of my teaching philosophies through digital means in my e-portfolio. “We can welcome laptops, cell phones, and iPods into our classrooms, not as distractions, but as powerful learning technologies. We can use them in ways that empower and engage students in real world problems and activities, leveraging the enormous potentials of the digital media environment that now surrounds us. In the process, we allow students to develop much-needed skills in navigating and harnessing this new media environment, including the wisdom to know when to turn it off. (Wesch, 2007)” Using web 2.0 technology we can educate using this knowledge. I will be making this a part of my online course design work from now on.
We are constantly changing and learning new information, both as educators and as students. We need to keep this in mind when working with our students. What is important to one person often isn’t relevant to others. It is shown that students often choose what they see as important in school and concentrate on learning that material. “It has been claimed that students have become more strategic with their use of time and energies since the 1970s and more, rather than less, influenced by the perceived demands of the assessment system in the way they negotiate their way through their studies (MacFarlane, 1992).”
I am still pleasantly surprised when I look at my e-portfolio. I see many reflections that I have nearly forgotten, and those that I am quite proud of as well. If I can feel this amount of pride in my work by seeing it presented in this open work, I can just imagine the way that a student must feel seeing their work in a similar environment. This is the type of work I enjoy working on with students. I like to challenge them to reach their full potential by feeling pride in what they do. Improving confidence is often neglected by teachers. Everyone feels better about themselves when confident, which can only help with the learning process.
Wesch, M. (2007) A Vision of Students Today (& What Teachers Must Do). Accessed online 25 March 2009. http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2008/10/a-vision-of-students-today-what-teachers-must-do/
Chickering, A.W. & Gamson, Z.F. (1987). Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39 (7), 3-7. Accessed online 11 Mar 2009
http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples1987.htm
MACFARLANE, B. (1992) The ‘Thatcherite’ generation of university degree results, Journal of Further and Higher Education, vol. 16, pp. 60-70.
Bates A. W. & Poole, G. (2003). A Framework for Selecting and Using Technology. In A.W. Bates & G. Poole, Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education (pp. 75-108). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 4.
Anderson, T. (2008). Towards a Theory of Online Learning. In: T. Anderson & F. Elloumi (Eds.), Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Edmonton AB: Athabasca University. Accessed online 3 March 2009 http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/02_Anderson_2008_Anderson-Online_Learning.pdf