My e-portfolio- WordPress November 24, 2010Weblogs For my latest E-Learning Toolkit exploration I decided to discuss the creation of my computer audio blog http://www.computeraudioguy.com. Now I have to admit that I had already started this blog about a year ago but I don’t think that should stop me from reflecting on the process as I regularly update my blog with […]Joseph Turco
- Wikis November 8, 2010Collaborating with my peers on the wiki activity this week was an enjoyable experience. I found many aspects of using the wiki to be both advantageous to traditional methods of communication and challenging. In the paragraphs below I will discuss my thoughts and experiences with this week’s activity. I found many advantages to using wikis […]Joseph Turco
- Audacity Rocks November 4, 2010For my latest E-learning toolkit experience I decided I would try my hand at working with the free audio editor Audacity. As a digital audio enthusiast I will admit that I have used Audacity in the past for basic audio editing needs. I have also recommended Audacity to a number of my clients for its […]Joseph Turco
- Picasa E-Learning Toolkit October 18, 2010Working my way through the Picasa E-learning toolkit activity was a lot of fun because it allowed me to get reacquainted with one of my favourite pieces of software. In addition, it reminded me of how powerful and useful the Picasa software is. The first step I had to do before I could work through […]Joseph Turco
- Interactions to Support Learning October 13, 2010I really enjoyed reading the Anderson article for this week as it revealed some poignant information. Having little experience myself with online learning, it was interesting to get Anderson’s take on the matter. As well, I think that the article has provided me with some good insight in how I might structure my own online […]Joseph Turco
- My First Moodle Experience October 6, 2010Last week I decided to take a stab at working with Moodle for the first time in my life. Although I would like to say that the experience was mainly positive, a feeling of frustration in working with Moodle would be a more accurate description. In the next few paragraphs I will comment on my […]Joseph Turco
- Creating the DVD September 27, 2010This week I decided to take a look at the DVD wiki and use iDVD to create my very own DVD. As someone who embraces the use of technology in the classroom, I never thought about the DVD as part of this technology. For me, DVDs’ have always been a great way to provide my […]Joseph Turco
- SECTIONS September 24, 2010Since I am primarily an elementary school teacher, Bates and Poole’s Sections Framework seemed to resonate a little more with me than Chickering and Gamson’s framework. I am all too familiar with the problems associated with the costs of technology. For example, it can be quite the problem if you are trying to implement a […]Joseph Turco
- WordPress November 24, 2010
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Interactions to Support Learning
Posted by: Joseph Turco | October 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment
I really enjoyed reading the Anderson article for this week as it revealed some poignant information. Having little experience myself with online learning, it was interesting to get Anderson’s take on the matter. As well, I think that the article has provided me with some good insight in how I might structure my own online learning environment in the future to provide for a better online learning experience.
Like I had previously stated, my experience with online learning has been limited to only the courses that I have taken within the MET program. Looking back at these courses, I am confident that each and every one of them followed what Bransford, Brown, and Cocking believe provides an effective learning environment which they call the “attributes of learning” (learner centred, knowledge centred, assessment centred and community centred). The one area that perhaps some of these courses could improve is with assessment. While Anderson argues that an online learning environment provides ample opportunity for assessment, within the MET program there have times when I desperately needed more assessment from the instructor. In one course the assessment didn’t come until I was given my final grade. This was obviously a situation which was rather stressful as throughout my MET journey, I have sometimes doubted my abilities to be successful. I feel that if a learning environment such as an online or mixed mode course is to be successful, that all the attributes of learning need to be in place. This includes an online environment where students feel comfortable and competent. As Anderson states, “…the effective online teacher is constantly probing for learner comfort and competence with the intervening technology, and providing safe environments for learners to increase their sense of Internet efficacy” (Anderson, pg. 4). I will say, however, that collaboration amongst my peers has always been high in all of the online courses I have taken which has fostered peer assessment. Perhaps this is the constructivist way?
How I might use the learning technology tools to help create meaningful interactions is through the use of video blogs. I have always had an immense interest in using video in an educational environment. With my grade 7 class a few years ago, I began experimenting with having the students create video blogs about themselves to share with the rest of the students. The students would follow the criteria to create a video blog, and then they would proceed to respond to other students’ video blogs. I feel that this type of meaningful interaction provides the students with a collaborative activity that assists them with knowledge construction. Perhaps in the future, I will use video blogging for a social studies or science unit to help students share in ideas.