Category Archives: Assignment 4: Synthesis

Flight Path Précis

I have been working as the Coordinator of Professional Development at a law firm in Toronto for the past 4 years. Initially, my role was project and event management. Meaning, my primary focus was on program, event, and orientation logistics. This included tasks like researching offsite venues, ordering catering, arranging audio visual equipment and support, creating PowerPoint presentations and handouts, and drafting evaluations. Over time as both departmental needs, and my personal interests evolved, I started working on e-Learning projects. While I still manage the logistics for our learning initiatives, I also re-designed and now maintain our department’s intranet page, I create short video (where applicable) for our live seminars, and I will be creating some online modules for our students using Articulate Storyline.

At the beginning of the term, I outlined a few learning goals for this course. I wanted to learn how to decide if you should use learning technologies and determine what works best and for whom. I also wanted to better understand how to implement an online learning solution effectively. I hoped to expand my library of online resources and learn how to use some new technology. But foremost, I wanted to gain some hands on experience developing content and designing an online platform. This goal was far exceeded by creating my own Moodle course and digital story. I was able to experiment, learn new software, and take advantage of the knowledge and experience of my classmates. While I still have a lot to learn, I feel like I now have new skills to take back and share with my department.

Overall Experience

If I had to choose one word to describe my ETEC 565A experience it would be enlightening. This is my fifth course in the MET program and it has been both the most practical and most enjoyable. This course struck the perfect balance between theory and practice. Unlike the other courses I have taken, I walk away from this course with resources, tools, and skills that I can start implementing right away. I feel like I can go and create successful e-Learning content that I would be proud to share with my colleagues. In addition to hands on skills, I have developed a much greater understanding of learning technologies.

Module one provided me with a great framework in which to evaluate technology implementation and learning in the classroom. What I appreciated about the Chickering & Ehrmann (1996) article was that the seven principles were applicable to both academic and adult learning. While some of the good practice tips seemed a bit common sense, they touched on points that are often overlooked. For instance, good practice communicates high expectations, “expecting students to perform well become a self-fulfilling prophecy” (Chickering & Ehrmann, 1996). It is important that we challenge learners to seek out new information and develop their skills. I think in professional development we sometimes focus too much on making things convenient and appealing and end up sacrificing the challenge.

I also found the Bates (2014) SECTIONS model to be extremely helpful. It provided very clear and easy to understand categories to evaluate when selecting learning technologies. This reading was probably my favorite in the course because it addressed one of my personal learning goals – how to decide when to use learning technologies. I see myself using the SECTIONS framework when I design professional development sessions. The SECTIONS framework also helped me evaluate both the areas in which I excel and where I could use some work. I focus a lot of attention on students and ease of use but haven’t really considered networking or teaching functions. I now know what areas to improve on and I think it will make me a better instructional designer.

In Module two we started to explore the world of Learning Managements Systems (LMS). I have experienced a few LMS platforms from the end-user side but I didn’t have much background on LMS selection, implementation, and trends. The Spiro (2014) article in week three really stood out to me. It was interesting to read about the potential future of the LMS, I especially enjoyable his point about personalized/adaptive learning. As Spiro pointed out, the days of the one-size-fits-all course are coming to an end and it is our job as educators to try and create more flexible content (2014).  Towards the end of Module two we looked at mobile technologies. I really appreciated the group discussion on the topic. I think my department can do a lot more to utilize mobile technologies (since our lawyers are attached to their phones at all times). I appreciated hearing what other people have found to be successful and plan to explore this area further in the future.

Module three was the most challenging for me personally. It was very hard for to extrapolate the core concepts from the readings and apply them to the professional development context. Interaction and assessment are probably two of our biggest challenges since we work in a large organization with optional programming. I appreciated the Anderson (2008a) reading because he outlined different kinds of learning interactions. When I hear the word interaction I always think between people but the Anderson reading expanded my perception to include learner-centered and knowledge-centered interactions. In terms of assessment, Bate (2014) summarized my workplace situation quite well, “There may be contexts, such as a community of practice, where learning is informal, and the learners themselves decide what they wish to learn, and whether they are satisfied with what they have learned” (Section A.8.3, p. 2). I think we will continue to use informal assessment (i.e. group discussions and activities) until LSUC standards say otherwise. Regardless, it was interesting to read about what strategies exist.

In Module four we explored social media, multimedia, and privacy all of which are areas frequently discussed in my department. I think social media is used very differently in the educational context and the professional context which makes implementation in professional development tricky. Also trying to balance social media usage with privacy regulations poses an even bigger challenge at a law firm. What I found most meaningful in this module was reading the discussion forums. While I might have my hands tied it was great to hear about what others are doing. I will likely not work in the legal field forever so it was very beneficial to take notes on what other industries are doing. I would have liked to explore more multi-media platforms in this module but it would have been challenging due to our assignments. Perhaps the multimedia unit could be moved earlier in the term. I think it would allow for some really interesting discussions and fun projects.

Lastly, we closed the course in Module five looking at the future of learning. I really enjoyed the Alexander article. The scenarios he put forward were both realistic and extreme – or at least seemed extreme today. When discussion professional development, Alexander (2014) theorized that “Professional development most often occurs remotely, including through social media, for reasons of cost (using the Internet is cheaper than traveling) and efficiency (people respond well to rich media in this 2024)”. I found this to be a really eye opening idea. Remote professional development would make content significantly more accessible. On the other hand (as some of my colleagues pointed out in the discussion forum) there is still a need for face-to-face interaction and networking. I guess the question going forward will be what is more beneficial. I’m excited to see how it all pans out.

My reflection would be incomplete without evaluating the LMS design project. I had a lot of mixed feeling during the process of creating my Moodle course. Towards the beginning I was mostly overwhelmed and frustrated. I didn’t know how to use the platform and I was struggling to adapt my content into a multi-week program. Once I was able to re-imagine my content the rest really came together. I enjoyed the course design process – I found it fun to pick my own colour pallets and create buttons and icons.  It was also great to put our reading into practice and try to develop something reflecting core concepts like the SECTIONS model. The digital story project pushed me to think outside the box and forced me to communicate the value of what I do (which was significantly harder than I thought). Overall, I feel like I accomplished the learning goals set out in my flight path and I will leave this course with both knowledge and experience in online learning.

Next Steps

At a high level, my next steps are to further develop my knowledge of, and skills in, learning technologies. This is my fifth course in the MET program so I still have a ways to go. I am looking forward to taking elective courses on mobile learning, technology ventures, and reading and writing for the web. I plan to explore new technologies both academically and personally some of which include: VideoScribe, Articulate Storyline, and Captivate. Professionally, I plan to incorporate more technology into our programs. This might include video clips, voting polls, twitter feeds, digital stories, or learning blogs. I really want to push my department to move into the 21^st century and try some blended and online solutions. Personally, I think I will always be a lifetime learner. I have gone from my undergraduate degree to a certificate program and now a Masters. I think after the MET program I will explore MOOCs. I’ve always wanted to learn to code so maybe I will take a course on that.  I’d also like to attend more conferences to network with other people in the industry and share ideas and experiences.

References

Alexander, B. (2014). Higher education in 2014: Glimpsing the future. Educause Review, 4(5) Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/higher-education-2024-glimpsing-future?utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=Email+marketing&utm_campaign=EDUCAUSE

Anderson, T. (2008a). Towards a theory of online learning. In T. Anderson & F, Elloumi (Eds.),Theory and practice of online learning. Edmonton AB: Athabasca University. Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/02_Anderson_2008-Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf

Bates. T. (2014). Teaching in a digital age. Retrieved from http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/chapter/5-8-assessment-of-learning/ (Chapter 8) and (Appendix 1. A8)

Chickering, A. W., & Ehrmann, S., C. (1996). Implementing the seven principles: Technology as lever. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 49(2), 3-6. Retrieved from http://www.aahea.org/articles/sevenprinciples.htm

Spiro, K. (2014). 5 elearning trends leading to the end of the Learning Management Systems. Retrieved from http://elearningindustry.com/5-elearning-trends-leading-to-the-end-of-the-learning-management-system

Flight Path

The transition from the classroom to the gym has been a rewarding experience for me, and I have continued to explore the ways in which technology can be leveraged to support and enhance student learning, whether that be in the classroom setting or within the context of physical education. I have maintained my connection to student learning in the classroom setting by working with students during extracurricular activities, and this helped to form the basis for my LMS modules on Scratch 2.0. As I’m potentially moving into a classroom based teaching assignment for the next school year, I envision the LMS modules that I created in ETEC 565A as a potential component of my teaching in Grade 5 and Grade 6. I feel that this connects with one of the focus areas that I had initially identified in my Flight Path, and this aligns with the first ISTE standard (2008), as I continue to aim my teaching practice to be centered around facilitating and inspiring student learning and creativity.

Prior to my enrollment in this course, my experience with LMS had been limited to D2L/Brightspace, with a very brief foray into Moodle, and the opportunity to experiment with different LMS was an aspect of ETEC 565A that I was very much looking forward to. After having had the opportunity to review and assess different LMS styles and strategies for supporting and enhancing student learning, I feel that I have developed a deeper understanding of how LMS may be utilized to address diverse student learning styles, as well as ways to customize and personalize learning activities, as stated in the ISTE standards.

In my Flight Path, I had expressed my interest in exploring ways that technology integration could be utilized to apply neurological understandings in order to promote physical activity and engagement. In particular, I continue explore this as a means of helping students to support their ability to learn while managing concerns such as depression, anxiety and ADHD through exercise and healthy lifestyle choices, and this is an area of interest that I will further expand upon in the Next Steps section of this Final Synthesis.

ETEC 565A Experience

My experience in ETEC 565A has been both challenging and rewarding, and the design component of the course was perhaps the most practical experience of any of the courses that I have completed thus far in working towards my MET degree. The opportunity to learn and experiment with different learning technologies, in particular Moodle and WordPress, have helped me to develop a deeper understanding of the importance of design considerations when planning for diverse student needs, both academic and social. My own understanding of Design-based learning has been expanded as a result of my experiences in ETEC 565A, and I would define this as an educational approach that emphasizes designing (creating things, not just using or interacting with things), personalizing (creating things that are personally meaningful and relevant), collaborating (working with others on creations), and reflecting (reviewing and rethinking one’s creative practices). Throughout ETEC 565A, we were provided with opportunities to engage with all four of these important considerations, and I feel that the practical application of Moodle and WordPress were perhaps two of the more significant learnings that I will take away from this course and utilize in my teaching practice immediately.

The diversity of the assignments, and thus the assessment methods, that were incorporated into ETEC 565A allowed us to work with both structured and experimental tasks, and this challenged us to plan, design, collaborate, write and reflect as part of our experiences in the course. Spiro (2014) speaks to the fundamental importance of the course layout and design in creating adaptive content to meet changing needs and learning objectives, and these diverse and changing needs must be mirrored in the creation of adaptive student assessment opportunities. The challenge of working within both Blackboard and WordPress throughout the course forced us to evaluate and assess the strengths and limitations of both platforms, as we viewed both from the student point of view. When planning and designing our modules in Moodle, we were working from the perspective of the teacher or educator, and I found this change in perspective to be both challenging and illuminating. While simultaneously learning and designing with Moodle, I sometimes felt limited by my practical skills in that the ideas that I had for the course modules seemed to be beyond the scope of my abilities to translate appropriately into the context of an LMS. Nonetheless, throughout the course assignments and discussions, one aspect that I seemed to continually return to was the importance of supporting students in working within their creative and personalized means to demonstrate their learning. Much like our own experiences as graduate students in ETEC 565A, the experiences for our students should be based around providing varied assessment opportunities to demonstrate learning in personalized and creative ways while supporting the development of essential skills. Throughout the discussions in ETEC 565A, and through working collaboratively in creating the LMS evaluation rubric, I felt that we engaged in learning situations where the input and experiences of our peers represented a positive and meaningful impact on supporting the knowledge and skill development of others.

The opportunity to learn from our peers was an essential aspect to successfully working through the weekly expectations of ETEC 565A. With the use of both Blackboard and WordPress, I felt challenged in keeping up with the weekly readings, discussions and assignments through the first month or so of the course as I had to quickly adjust my expectations and learn how to best utilize two learning spaces for one course. The questions, ideas and contributions of the students and instructor in the course were instrumental for me in helping to navigate this steep learning curve, and without this peer support having been built into the course, I likely would have struggled immensely to complete the requirements of the course. This was an important point of reflection for me, as I feel that I have a deeper understanding of the potential struggles that our students might have in learning to work within a given LMS, and as a designer, these are considerations and supports that must be incorporated into any successful LMS design. According to Ciampa (2013), students enjoy having their efforts and achievements recognized by others, and in order to make this learning visible, an environment must be created that allows for the engagement of motivation through recognition. The structure of ETEC 565A provided these supports and recognition through opportunities to view and reflect on the work of our peers during the course, and I found that the postings around the digital stories and the Moodle course examples were two of the most valuable supports and recognition available to us within the course. Essentially, the importance of being able to learn from the ideas and the work of others is an essential component of student success, and this was evident throughout our shared experiences in ETEC 565A.

In terms of our course readings, the literature that represented the most significant and important ideas for my own, personal reflection were presented with the Bates SECTIONS framework (2014). Any consideration of technology assessment and selection should start with the fundamental questions of who our students are and what learning outcomes we’re aiming to achieve with them. As educators, we also need to gain an understanding of the skills and interests that our students already possess, and the areas that need to be addressed either prior to beginning the process, or to be undertaken in the early stages of our students’ engagement with technology. In particular, Bates (2014) addressed these considerations by stating that the first step in selecting technology is to know your students, their similarities and differences, what technologies they already have access to, and what digital skills they already possess or lack. In addition, the modules on Social Media and Copyright have highlighted the value and importance of digital citizenship and the ways in which the definition has changed and how the considerations evolved along with the technology itself. Effective technology integration can not be successfully attempted without the fundamentals of digital citizenship being a part of this process. Throughout my experience in ETEC 565A, these were considerations that I frequently returned to and reflected upon, and I believe that I now possess a greater understanding of my own skills and areas for future growth with regards to educational technology. As I move into my next courses in the MET program, and further my career as an educator, there are a number of ideas and understandings that will help to guide and support my pedagogy.

Next Steps

As originally stated in my Flight Path, I envision a return to a classroom based teaching assignment (perhaps as early as next school year), and one of the focus areas for my MET experiences will be a continued exploration of how my learning in the MET program will apply to cross curricular teaching situations and contexts. With my previous experience as an elementary school based technology leader, I may find myself travelling down that career path again, perhaps at the conclusion of my MET degree.

Regardless of what my teaching assignment for the next school year, and beyond, may look like, one of the key ideas that I will take away from this course will be Bates’ (2014) notion of perceptions of technology integration when he states that “the use of these tools or approaches should be driven by a holistic look at the needs of all students, the needs of the subject area, and the learning goals relevant to a digital age, and not by an erroneous view of what a particular generation of students are demanding.” I feel that the importance of starting with student needs and learning goals first, and planning for the integration of technology to help meet those needs and goals, are of paramount importance and should guide whatever next steps I undertake as an educator. Furthermore, it will be essential to continue to view technology in terms of what students need, rather than trying to determine what students want, as we can plan creative, engaging, and authentic learning experiences for our students without falling victim to the seductive nature of technology in the classroom. As I stated in the previous section of this reflection, there exists a need for continued emphasis on student learning around digital citizenship, and the responsibility of educators to stay updated and informed about the technologies readily being used by our students both during school time and at home.

Drawing on the experience of creating an LMS evaluation rubric, I intend to continue to build on my knowledge and understanding of LMS planning and design to create engaging, collaborative learning spaces for my students. I enjoyed the successes and the challenges of working within Moodle and WordPress, and I will aim to further align and integrate my pedagogy through developing online environments to meet cross curricular outcomes. I am quite new to the world of Augmented Reality, but I have attended several workshops on implementing AR into the classroom setting, including through physical education, and I would like to become more knowledgeable and experienced in working with applications such as Aurasma and Daqri and their potential for engaging and supporting student learning. I feel that there is a definite interest amongst school staff in learning about new educational technologies, and this could be an opportunity to share and collaborate around my MET experiences through professional development, collegial support and technical assistance. By having these types of collaborative supports in place within our schools, we can create positive environments, in league with school administration, to enhance the ability to promote and build teacher capacity with integrating technology amongst staff in order to maximize the impact on student learning. Technology implementation must be well designed and contextualized to be effective. Therefore, how are we supporting staff and schools in balancing the functionality and purpose of educational technology?

In one of my previous postings, concerning the future of educational technology, I had discussed the ideas of Bryan Alexander (2014), and in particular, how he envisions the early 21^st century as a “Renaissance” in education, with future classes being based around the students creating multimedia projects in various forms through developing rich content in gamified classroom structures. According to this vision, Alexander states that “games and social media are delivery mechanisms for curricular content. Much of the curriculum involves creation: storytelling, game making, collaborative media work” (2014). This vision of the future of technology integration within education is an area that I feel a personal connection with, and I am interested in fostering the potential to engage and motivate our students in ways that create powerful connections between their learning and their own personal interests and values.

To end my final synthesis, I wanted to reference a TED Talk by Sherry Turkle (2012) that I had viewed during a previous MET course. The message of this TED Talk resonated with me in terms of my own interests in continuing to explore ways that technology integration impacts communication and physical activity, and how this potentially connects to social concerns such as depression, anxiety and ADHD. Turkle raises several intriguing points for consideration during her TED Talk on the “culture of distraction,” and the implications are considerable both within the field of education and well beyond. One of the key issues that Turkle discusses revolves around the notion that “technology is seductive when its affordances meet our human vulnerabilities.” She further explains that the need for constant connection via technology (internet, social media, texting, etc.) has fundamentally begun to change the ways in which we interact and communicate with each other, and how this flood of connection potentially leads to a “dumbing down” of our levels of communication. Essentially, we are vulnerable to the constant feelings of connection that technology offers, to the extent that time spent away from our devices can lead to feelings of depression and anxiety.

The impact on the development of skills pertaining to communication and interaction within our students, at an increasingly young age, becomes a primary consideration with this need for constant connection. If, as Turkle argues, many of us would now rather text or send e-mail instead of making a phone call or having a face-to-face conversation, how will this affect the ways in which we view communication skills as educators? Are we looking at a shift in terms of the practicality of “quick and easy” communication when we simply don’t have time for a conversation, or are there deeper beliefs being cultivated as a result? If constant connection leads to a failure in developing our ability to be alone, how do we approach the skills of personal reflection and self development? Daunting questions, to be sure, but important considerations in terms of the technological and social development of our students into their futures.

References

Alexander, B. (2014). Higher education in 2014: Glimpsing the future. Educause Review, 4(5) Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/higher-education-2024-glimpsing-future?

Anderson, T. (2008a). Towards a theory of online learning. In T. Anderson & F. Elloumi (Eds.), Theory and practice of online learning. Edmonton AB: Athabasca University.

Bates, T. (2014). Teaching in a Digital Age. http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/(Chapter 8 on SECTIONS framework)

Ciampa, K. (2013). Learning in a mobile age: An investigation of student motivation. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 30(1), 82–96.

Coates, H., James, R., & Baldwin, G. (2005). A critical examination of the effects of learning management systems on university teaching and learning. Tertiary Education and Management, 11,(1), 19-36.

Spiro, K. (2014). 5 elearning trends leading to the end of the learning management systems. Retrieved from http://elearningindustry.com/5-elearning-trends-leading-to-the-end-of-the-learning-management-system

Prensky, M. (2010). Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Publishing.

Turkle, S. (2012). Connected, but alone? TED 2012: Filmed Feb. 2012.                                   https://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together?language=en

Final Synthesis

Part One – Precis of Flight Path

As was stated in my Flight Path assignment, my goals for this course were:

• to discern the appropriate scenario for this type of application,
• to know the breadth of an LMS,
• to ascertain the types of assessment effective in given situations,
• to determine if/when the use of (which) social interfaces will be optimal,
• to determine which of the many and diverse forms of media would be educationally sound, and
• to construct an LMS that perhaps encapsulates some of the pre-packageable content that I teach in the library.

See below for the reflection I have on this initial projection.

Module One: Digital-age Teaching Professionals & Theoretical Frameworks

Learning Objectives:

• Identify your personal learning goals for the course, in the context of internationally accepted standards and Seven Principles.
• Become familiar with theoretical frameworks and approaches for supporting learning in technology-enriched contexts;
• Become familiar with theoretical frameworks and approaches for evaluating technology for use in teaching and learning.

The flight path assignment due during the course of this module was difficult to do in part because I had no idea what this course was about when I signed up. Terms such as Moodle, GUIs, SCORM packages were all completely brand new territory. I often felt like a stray parachuter in a foreign land. The reading from Nel, Dreyer, & Carstens (2010), gave some hint that part of this journey would involve assisting the “Lone Ranger” in making pedagogically sound decisions when selecting educational technology.

The mystery further unraveled when we evaluated ourselves as teachers against the ISTE standards. I thought I’m on the right track when I read standard five, “Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model life-long learning . . . by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources.”

The quality of the learning environment was set by reading the professions (and educational legacies) of the other students, by the admonition to peak performance in the course introduction and by Chickering (1996) words, “expect more and you will get it. High expectations are important for everyone. Expecting students to perform well becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Module Two: Learning Management Systems, Other web-based approaches, and Mobile Technologies

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the role delivery platforms play in creating rich educational environments;
• Think about the challenges and opportunities that come with the new types of LMS;
• Estimate time and effort necessary for adopting an LMS platform.
• Assess the infrastructure available at the institution or organization in your scenario to support various delivery platforms; and
• Successfully select an appropriate delivery platform for your scenario.
• Discuss what role mobile technologies play in learning.

With my e-portfolio created it was time to decide Moodle or Blackboard. Porto (2015) notes, that learning the skills and competencies to use new technologies is essential for 21century professionals in all areas. There were moments of confusion in this process most notably while realizing the shift in the 10 years between when the Coates article was written, where they write, “LMS are in the relatively early stages of development,”(2005, p.21) to where Spiro (2014) prophesies their demise: “this will lead to an end of the corporate LMS within 5 years.” Is this really the way to go? Will understanding the structure and design of LMS be pointless? My thinking through this module was that there will probably always be a need for some form of delivery platform for learning. Learning organizations have been making the shift from planning and control to facilitating individual learner needs for some time (Spiro, 2014). Even though empowering users to use their own tools is counterintuitive to the essence of Learning Management Systems (Porto, 2015) the ability to adjust content to student level and allow self-paced learning through mobile technology is ideal for implementing differentiated instruction (Ciampa, 2013).

Module Three: Communication Tools, Interactions for Learning, and Assessment Tools

Learning Objectives:

• Describe characteristics of asynchronous and synchronous interactions and determine when and how to integrate such interactions;
• Differentiate between one-way and two-way modes of communication in relation to learning technologies.
• Identify different kinds of interaction possibilities within online and blended courses.
• Consider the role of assessment in student learning and make distinctions between formative and summative assessment strategies;
• Differentiate between assessment of learning and assessment as/for learning;
• Decide on the assessment strategies for your course.

The pieces that I held tightly to were the Bates (2014) chapters and the Anderson (2008) articles. However it was, that they worded what they were writing about, seemed to make sense to me. Perhaps the kind of learner I am, I needed the structure or frame or foundation to ground/view/build the rest of my learning. SECTIONS provided a place of orientation from what made sense to what I was unfamiliar with. Anderson (2008a) advocates for an approach whereby an appropriate mix of student, teacher, and content interaction is not only possible, but can be designed for each learning outcome. As well, Anderson’s learner/ knowledge/ assessment/ community centred explanations and images reminded me of the new BC curriculum (and accompanying flowcharts). Through both of these authors I was spanning the divide between what was familiar to what was new territory. The parallel of Anderson’s (2008) four “centres” with the BC curriculum, helped shape the way I structured the Introductory module.

I also need to make mention of the Gibbs and Simpson article in its focus on assessment design. As a teacher, assessment is part of everyday. However it is time consuming (and therefore expensive), disliked by both students (and teachers), and largely ineffective in supporting learning (Gibbs & Simpson, 2005). Assessment that supports worthwhile learning, needs to give sufficient study time for the most important tasks, be connected to productive activities, and the feedback given focuses on student performance/learning NOT on the characteristics of the learners themselves (Gibbs & Simpson, 2005).

Module Four: Social Media and Learning, Intellectual Property/Copyright and Privacy, and Multimedia

Learning Objectives:

• Become familiar with key social media technologies;
• Rethink the use of social media for social change
• Consider issues relating to copyright in digital learning spaces;
• Integrate resources and create a digital story.
• Assess the scope of a multimedia project;
• Identify the resources required to develop these multimedia in-house.

With the Introductory module complete, the next task was the digital story – media, about media within media. Seimens (2003) admonition that proper integration of media formats presents students with rich, varied learning while minimizing the weaknesses of each format, meant that the scope and sequence of this needed to be well designed. The role and knowledge of the educator is more important than ever in understanding how to use these tools to bring authentic experiences to students (November, 2012). Without clear guidelines, popular trends (or tools) can drive decisions rather than the educational appropriateness of the technology or media (Boyes, Dowie, & Rumzan, 2005).

As I reviewed the notes for this module, I think my learning edge going forward will be the move away from creating things to be consumed, toward creating spaces where anyone can contribute/edit/create.

Module Five: What’s on the Horizon, and Looking Back, Moving Forward

Learning Objectives:

• Look into new trends and ideas about educational technology;
• Examine the possibilities of realizing those ideas.
• Reflect critically upon your overall ETEC565A experience

For the final reflective reading for the course, I had to choose Bates. His observation, that education brokers seem to be operating in a policy vacuum regarding open learning in general, convey the length/depth of thought he has on this subject (2014). At some point, institutions will need to develop a clearer, more consistent strategy for open learning, in terms of how it can best be provided, how it calibrates with formal learning, and how open learning can be accommodated within the fiscal constraints of the institution (Bates, 2014). That insight seems to echo the ETEC 565 journey for myself. As an education broker I had a policy vacuum for “open” learning (especially in the form of LMS). I needed to develop my thinking for providing such a digital experience, especially within the public education context I work within. The terms by which I could now facilitate those means of learning have come into focus. I am not by any stretch proficient, but have a sense of what the height and depth and breadth could be for a specific situation. Going forward, it will become a matter of practicing what I have learned and applying it in the various situations in which I find myself.

References

Anderson, T. (2008a). Towards a theory of online learning. In T. Anderson & F. Elloumi (Eds.), Theory and practice of

online learning. Edmonton AB: Athabasca University. Retrieved from

http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/02_Anderson_2008-Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf

Bates, T. (2014). MOOCs. In Teaching in digital age, Chapter 7. Retrieved from

Chapter 5: MOOCs

Bates, T. (2014). Pedagogical differences between media: Social media. In Teaching in digital age, Chapter 9.

Retrieved from http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/chapter/9-5-5-social-media/

Bates. T. (2014). Teaching in a digital Age. Retrieved from http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/chapter/5-8-

assessment-of-learning/

Bates, T. (2014). Teaching in digital age http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/ (Chapter 8 on SECTIONS

framework)

Boyes, J., Dowie, S., & Rumzan, I. (2005). Using the SECTIONS framework to evaluate flash media. Innovate Journal of

Online Education, 2(1). Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?

doi=10.1.1.186.6505&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Chickering, A. W., & Ehrmann, S., C. (1996). Implementing the seven principles: Technology as lever. American

Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 49(2), 3-6. Retrieved

from http://www.aahea.org/articles/sevenprinciples.htm

Ciampa, K. (2013). Learning in a mobile age: An investigation of student motivation. Journal of Computer Assisted

Learning, 30(1), 82–96. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcal.12036/epdf

Coates, H., James, R., & Baldwin, G. (2005). A critical examination of the effects of Learning Management Systems on

university teaching and learning. Tertiary Education and Management, 11(1), 19-

36. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11233-004-3567-9

Gibbs, G., & Simpson, C. (2005). Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning. Learning and

Teaching in Higher Education, 1(1), 3-31. Retrieved from

http://www.open.ac.uk/fast/pdfs/Gibbs%20and%20Simpson%202004-05.pdf

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2008). Standards for teachers. Retrieved from

http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-teachers

Nel, C., Dreyer, C., & Carstens, W. A. M. (2010). Educational technologies: A classification and evaluation. Tydskrif vir

letterkunde, 35(4), 238-258. Retrieved from http://www.ajol.info/index.php/tvl/article/download/53794/42346

November, A. (2012). How Twitter can be used as a powerful educational tool. November Learning [Weblog] Retrieved

from http://novemberlearning.com/educational-resources-for-educators/teaching-and-learning-articles/howtwitter-

can-be-used-as-a-powerful-educational-tool/

Siemens, G. (2003). Evaluating media characteristics: Using multimedia to achieve learning outcomes. Elearnspace.

Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/mediacharacteristics.htmUBC

Porto, S. (2015). The uncertain future of Learning Management Systems. The Evolllution: Illuminating the Lifelong

Learning Movement. Retrieved from

Spiro, K. (2014). 5 elearning trends leading to the end of the Learning Management Systems. Retrieved from

http://elearningindustry.com/5-elearning-trends-leading-to-the-end-of-the-learning-management-system

Introduction

It might seem contradictory to title such a reflection as I have, yet it is a more accurate reflection of the truth; the tools and skills I have learned in this course have nothing final about them.  They require fluidity and flexibility as well as constant revision; they will allow for further exploration never stagnating or settling in one final destination.

I had yet to fully comprehend the true nature of learning when first entering this course.  The goal I had set out for myself was overly simplistic: I wanted to understand how better to incorporate technology in my context. I had clearly identified needed resources that aligned with the true complexities of the issue (time, knowledge and the ability to reflect on my situation and on myself) yet I was expecting a final destination or a defined toolset.  I was not expecting to gather skills that would usher me along a path of lifelong learning and discovery.

This course and the knowledge I have gained has made we want to continue forging ahead, exploring new technologies and embracing what I believe the educational system is becoming. The application, selection and design of technology are never-ending processes; a whirlwind of possibilities, of analysis and of opportunities.

I have learned so much during this course and am saddened to see it at a close. The following part of the reflection summarizes the take home messages or souvenirs I hope to keep of my journey through ETEC 565.

Souvenir 1: Take the time to Reflect

I believe one of the most important lessons I learned through the course has been the benefit of taking the time to reflect on one’s situation, one’s needs and the need of your context.  In the past, I considered such reflections as time consuming and relatively futile, yet without reflection we are left in the dark to blindly apply technology expecting it to intrinsically meet our unidentified needs and suit our comfort level.  This will undoubtedly lead to disappointment. Reflection is necessary.  Fortunately, we do not need to start from scratch.

Frameworks exist to help us better selected and integrate technology.  Through this course and in particular through the discovery of Bates’ SECTIONS, I understood that frameworks are necessary to properly evaluate the merits and limitation of the technology and the barriers to its implementation in one’s context.  Yet the framework itself needs to mirror the identified needs of your situation.  A framework that does not fit with your situation or that is not flexible enough to adapt to your context, should in all likelihood not be used.  One framework, like technology, is not intrinsically better than another; how such a tool meets your needs will determine its effectiveness (Nel, Dreyer, & Carstens, 2001; Tufte, 2003). Therefore even before applying a framework it too must be carefully considered.

Even though technology is progressing in leaps and bounds and requires a complex framework around which to structure reflection, so too does self-reflection.  The fundamental principles behind being a “good” teacher (Chickering & Gamson, 1987) might have varied only in the manner of implementation (Chickering & Ehrmann, 1996), revisiting these and acknowledging new opportunities is essential.  A tool/technology suitable at one time, might be no longer as technology evolves and as society shifts; as we mature.  All aspects must be carefully analyzed and reflected upon.

Souvenir 2: Context specific

“To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail” (Mark Twain)

I know what it is like to be so enamored by a tool or technology that you can see its potential everywhere and you begin to over apply it in an unsustainable fashion; everything looks like a nail.  Although a tool is not intrinsically good or bad, the manner in which it is used will determine its effectiveness (Ertmer, 2005).  A logical statement that came to mind while conducting the Pros and Cons activity provided in class.  It was fascinating to see how the limitations of one were often the strengths of the other.  This activity illustrated that the use of a tool is never dichotomous in nature; it can be used in varying degrees, in various situations and in various manners.  The manner in which it is used will determine its affordances and limitations.  Although promising in a situation, we cannot assume that a technology is intrinsically appropriate in all situations; the manner in which the tool has been implemented and analysed is critical. I believe this highlights that there is no one true right path to achieving balance (Anderson, 2008a) and instead the tools need to be flexible and match students and situation.

The need for flexibility in technology was reinforced through the exploration and creation of the LMS course.  Having never heard of the acronym LMS before the MET, and weary about its possibilities having read Porto and Spiro, I did not know what to expect, how rigid a framework I would find myself in front of.  I expected templates and fill in the blank boxes similar to my “traditional” class website, of which I was very proud. Yet soon as I was greeted by the blank html page I understood the importance and need for flexibility.  Instead of offering cold, uninviting passive learning, Moodle offer the opportunity for interaction, communication, assessment and feedback.  These aspects were not forced or contrived, they were possibilities that if could be realized if chosen; its existence was not merely static.  As such every aspect of the Moodle course needed to be thoughtfully considered.  I relished in the challenge.  I looked into the various tools offered by Moodle to see which ones best fit my needs in accordance to Prensky’s idea that the tool and the task need to match (Prensky, 2003). I did not just want to choose one technology and apply it blindly, I sought to select the best technology for each situation.

Souvenir 3: An endless flight

The discussion of affordances of technologies in the course, encouraged me to reanalyse tools and technologies I had dismissed without a second glance: badges and social media.  To say that after second analysis these tools became life altering would be a lie; I still do not fully grasp all the affordances of social media or how to integrate these seamlessly into the classroom. However, I have learned a more important lesson; An effective e-teacher needs to stay abreast of the technological development, content development and pedagogical reasoning behind their choices (Anderson, 2008b), and this means revisiting technologies.

Technology and society changes, by association one’s situation also changes. It is therefore unwise to categorically dismiss a tool even after a thorough analysis, for quite possibly it might suit some aspect of a future need.  For example, If I currently do not have a need for Twitter in my practicum that does not mean that that need will never arise.   Reflection and analysis should be constant.  I am pleased to say that I did find a need for badges, not as a one-dimensional reward system or motivator, yet as a manner to provide feedback and to communicate my expectations as an educator.  They provide feedback; my Achilles’ heel.

Feedback has always been a  topic I never could seem to fully handle in the manner I wanted.  No matter how quickly I corrected, when returning the papers the teachable moment was gone, my feedback to many a student was dust in the wind.  Technology offered an interesting alternative to suit this need. I hope to explore more feedback opportunity available through the use of technology to hopefully realign myself with the effective assessment guidelines provided by Gibbs, Simpson, Gravestock, and Hills (2005).

Changing directions mid-flight: destination unknown

Reflecting on my experience and development throughout the course has led me to realize that I seldom truly evaluate my situation or reflect upon my beliefs, which probably explains why I cannot keep a blog or journal if my live depended on it.  The more I advanced in the course the more I was granted the time and opportunity to reflect, the more critical I became of my foreseen final destination.

I have taught for the last 9 years applied science; a hands-on more technologically driven version.  Yet slowly the program was being phased out; for the last few years I was the only applied science teacher in my school board.  Needless to say there was not much of a local community to help hone skills and share ideas.  However, it gave me carte blanche; I could create.  Yet this freedom allowed me to realize that something was amiss; we, as an educational system, were poorly preparing the students for the challenges that lay ahead. I wanted to remediate this and better myself. I wanted to learn about incorporating technology in my classroom, to understand the reason why technology was so often quickly dismissed in spite of being useful. As I left the school on sabbatical to complete my MET, the course I had taught for 9 years closed indefinitely.  Upon my return, I would rejoin the ranks of the general science teachers. The robotics, programming and inquiry based learning I loved would be replaced by standard labs and “the” note binder that has guided teachers for years. Although, thanks to this class, I have a better grasp on  the importance of time and reflection when applying, selecting and designing technology, I still lack confidence in how I can transfer that knowledge to others resistant to change.

As I have witnessed the barriers that await me upon my return from sabbatical from both colleagues and parents, a change in path might be required. Unfortunately I am at a loss for my next destination. I want to keep learning, exploring and pushing the limits of my new found skills. I love teaching and always will, yet it might be time to embark on a new adventure; Instead of waiting for change, I want to create change.

I would like to continue to try to understand social media, to work on Moodle and to create learning environments that spark change and discussion.  Still I am afraid; unsure of what to do next or where to look.  I want the tools and skills set that I have developed in this course to serve for I enjoy the analysis of varied technologies, the challenge in design and the problem solving abilities required to effectively select technology.  I hope I can find something in which I can move education forward and continue to grow as a learner.

After taking this course, my aspirations have veered me off the original flight path towards once unchartered waters, engulfed in the creative storm of design; I no longer can content myself to idly be the recipient of technological reforms. I do not know where this will lead me, but I know that wherever it is, I will keep exploring and designing.

References:

Anderson, T. (2008a). Towards a theory of online learning. Theory and practice of online learning, 2, 15-44.

Anderson, T. (2008b). Teaching in an online learning context. Theory and practice of online learning, 273-294.

Chickering, A. W., & Ehrmann, S. C. (1996). Implementing the seven principles: Technology as lever. AAHE bulletin, 49, 3-6.

Chickering, A. W., & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. AAHE bulletin, 3, 7.

Ertmer, P. A. (2005). Teacher Pedagogical Beliefs: The Final Frontier in Our Quest for Technology Integration? Educational technology research and development, 53(4), 25-39.

Gibbs, G., Simpson, C., Gravestock, P., & Hills, M. (2005). Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning.

Nel, C., Dreyer, C., & Carstens, W. (2001). Educational technologies: a classification and evaluation. Tydskrif vir letterkunde, 35(4).

Prensky, M. (2003). Digital game-based learning. Computers in Entertainment (CIE), 1(1), 21-21.

Tufte, E. (2003). PowerPoint is evil: Power corrupts. PowerPoint corrupts absolutely. Wired.

Personal Summary

I am a K-12 teacher working in the Yukon. I have been teaching for 4 years and I have always tried to include technology in my practice. It has been an integral part of my life and it would be odd to not include it as much in my teaching as I do in my personal life. This being said, I often find myself challenged with how technology is best used in my classes, how to assess more fairly and accurately across platforms, and how that could be represented in marks. It has also been difficult proving the validity of my teaching methods to staff and parents. These are some of the challenges I was facing and the reasons why I chose to enroll on the MET program.

Précis of flight path

My main goals for this course were to learn how to better select technologies, better assess work, and spend less time struggling with making technology work the way I needed it to. The result of this being less time wasted and more time spend working with students, perfecting my delivery of blended courses.  I looked at my practice through the lense of the The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for Teachers’ survey (2008). I established student learning and creativity to be my strength due to small class sizes, student motivation, and my own creativity in lesson design. I pinpointed assessment to be an area I would like to improve in, especially as it is a focus for the territory currently. I also identified improving my skills with Moodle as a goal. I had just started working with it and no training was provided by our district

In any case, I felt like, in this world of changing technologies and ideas, we were all learning together to see what worked best in different communities and with different classroom dynamics. I identified my school climate and technological infrastructure. Since I have arrived in the school, we have managed to procure a 3d printer, laptops for every student, and I have a new smart board projector that was installed over spring break! Our principal is very supportive if we take the initiative. By taking the initiative to use more technologically to facilitate and inspire teaching, we are also helping to encourage technology use in the school. I am always open to discussing and sharing techniques with other teachers, and luckily in a small school, people are very aware of what is happening in other classrooms. I decided that a goal for ETEC 565 would be to learn about the newest technological innovations, improve my practice, and bring new ideas about teaching and learning into our school culture.

ETEC 565 Reflection

This course for me has been both enlightening and frustrating. Throughout the time of the course I have organized a festival, written report cards, gone on vacation, and continued to be an active member of the community. I struggled with connecting with a course wholly online that seemed so disconnected from my daily life. I did however enjoy what I was learning and brought it into my lessons. I discussed interesting items with students and asked their opinion for how they like to learn. I think it is important to have this dialogue with your students, at least at the high school level. Their suggestions and ideas help to keep me relevant. Keeping abreast of technological trends through them will help me to continue to be a lifelong learner. Also, taking a master’s degree (or coursework) while being a teacher is a good way to model how students should behave. They need to learn to organize their life to plan for work, school, extra curriculars, homework, and familial obligations and it is good for them to have an example for how that might look.

During this course, I had a hard time interpreting assignments and I think this is because it was online. I don’t connect very well with others in an online environment and generally my understanding of assignments comes from class discussions about plans and reminders and suggestions from professors. I let my own ideas get away from me and that became a problem. I will be finishing up the last two courses from my program next semester. I hope that the lessons I learned here will help me and that I will look more carefully at assignment descriptions in the future. My takeaways from the course will be the Moodle I worked to create, the SECTIONS model as a way of choosing new technologies (Bates, 2014), broader possibilities for mobile devices in the classroom, some improved suggestions for assessment, and some of the predictions for the future that help to identify technologies that may be better to focus upon.

Next Steps

Over the course of the the MET program I am always bringing up and discussing what I learn with my colleagues. Our district would very much like to bring more technology into the classroom but, aside from myself, there is not very much interest from the staff. This is why, when our school received funding for new epson smart projector, it was placed in my classroom. For the future I would love to experiment with it and learn how to better utilize it in my classroom. I want to continue working with Moodle as my LMS and to see how they can be used in conjunction. I was also given apple TV and a class set of laptops and I’ve purchased an iPad for the classroom. I want to work with how all of these can be combined. I want to work to adapt traditional knowledge and topics of the area to the technological age. I want to streamline my teaching process to save time for both myself and my students. I hope that as I become more adept at using these technologies, that others in the school pick them up. Since I’ve been taking this course in particular I have helped two other teachers set up their own Moodle classroom. I hope that in the future this momentum builds and grows to fulfil Alexander’s predictions (2014) and create a truly blended classroom that fits into my student’s world.

Works Cited

Alexander, B. (2014). Higher education in 2014: Glimpsing the future. Educause Review, 4(5) Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/higher-education-2024-glimpsing-future?utm_s
ource=Informz&utm_medium=Email+marketing&utm_campaign=EDUCAUSE

Bates, T. (2014). Teaching in the Digital Age. Retrieved March 30, 2016, from  http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/

The International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). Standards for Teachers. Retrieved March 30, 2016, from http://www.iste.org/standards/ISTE-standards/standards-for-teachers

Precis of Flight Path

My flight path outlined the context within which I teach, then outlined how my teaching experience motivated me to join the MET program. I was optimistic and exciting to learn new things to aid in the development of a more useful IT course for my students, or, at least, learn skills that I could adapt to fit my specific context. I outlined my wish to collaborate, in part to improve my confidence. After evaluating myself against the ISTE (2008) standards and Bates’ (2014) SECTIONS framework, I identified my course as being weak in interactions and feedback. I thought that I could learn more about LMSs to encourage more teacher-student and student-student interaction in my courses. I was concerned about my HTML skills and the challenge of using social media. I acknowledged that my goals were few, but attributed this to my inexperience in the MET program as I did not have a foundation to draw upon.

My ETEC 565A Experience

My overall experience during this course was challenging but positive. As I mentioned in my flight path, I was appreciative of Bates’ (2014) SECTIONS framework and the ISTE (2008) standards as they provided a structure for me to follow and to evaluate myself against. As expected, I discovered shortfalls in my methods—specifically in feedback and interaction. However, I had some strengths, especially in ease-of-use, which I leveraged to help make improvements in my weaker areas.

While my flight path specifically mentioned collaboration as one of my goals. I initially believed that social media would be where this happened, and I reluctantly returned to Twitter. November (2012) outlined how the use of hashtags can bring people together, and, for awhile, I did this. However, I soon grew weary of it. The main issue is that even though I was privy to useful information I otherwise would not be exposed to, cultural consideration lacking in this form of collaboration. The hashtags I was following overwhelmingly came from international school teachers with a student population and educational culture quite different from my teaching context. Following hashtags strikes me as being learner-centred, but as Anderson (2008a) cautions, teachers must respect cultural attributes (p. 47). Therefore, Twitter ended up being frustrating for me.

My only authentic experience with collaboration in this course was the group assignment and the experience taught me that, for me, collaboration becomes more important when developing proposals. In particular, it was Jo’s cultural insight forced me to look beyond my opinion and focus on the implications of a proposal on the target population. However, it can be difficult to do this as an individual, so I believe that it is important to collaborate with various interested parties to develop a complete vision.

I now see that what I was looking for was not necessarily collaborative opportunities, but feedback. In my discussion of online assessment, I mentioned Gibbs and Simpson’s (2005) Condition 4–Sufficient feedback is provided, both often enough and in enough detail states, “feedback may need to be quite regular, on relatively small chunks of course content, to be useful” (p.17). At the time, I had this in mind for my students, but I discovered that the weekly discussion posts and comments were exactly this—regular feedback on small sections of course content. Each week I would read different perspectives, and receive feedback on my perspective and this is when my confidence began to grow. I no longer felt alone—I had a community.

When I was ready to delve into LMSs by creating an intro module in Moodle, I felt excited but was concerned about not being able to receive feedback from classmates or the students I had in mind when creating the module. So, I fell back to the SECTIONS framework (Bates, 2014) with a particular focus on ease of use. This was the first time I had actually put the framework into use on a personal project and I was pleased with the results.

I encountered a similar concern with the lack of user feedback when working on the content module. However, after a false-start where I tried to cater to all learning styles, I ultimately used my digital story as the basis of the module and drew inspiration from Ciampa (2013) and sought to encourage student curiosity while extending control over the learning to the students. Using the digital story as a base confirmed that, when using digital media as a resource, it should add something to the course and not be used with no purpose in mind, a point Bates (2014) makes in the teaching and media selection component of the SECTIONS framework. Finishing the content module was what I consider the end of my ETEC 565 experience.

Moving Forward

As my flight path explained, I am only at the beginning of my MET journey, so in terms of lifelong learning, my immediate goal is to continue with the program. However, my experience in ETEC 565 did help me determine which courses will probably be of particular interest to me, thus focusing my journey. When considering how I will continue to learn outside of the MET program, I would like to continue to attend relevant conferences in my area. Additionally, I am fortunate to be in the so-called tech capital of China and I have identified a maker space that I would like to work with in order to put my goals of changing my role from teacher to mentor , as outlined in The New Media Consortium (2014) while using curiosity and control (Ciampa, 2013) to better meet the needs of my students.

I find it difficult to determine what types of technology I may incorporate into my course and my school as access and reliability are significant concerns. I believe the ISTE (2008) standards will be a useful starting place to identify approaches to technology that we can adjust. Then, I would like to use Bates’ (2014) SECTIONS framework to evaluate possible technologies. I would prefer to complete these evaluations in a group of interested parties, much like we did in the group assignment.

References

Anderson, T. (2008a). Towards a theory of online learning. In T. Anderson & F, Elloumi (Eds.), Theory and practice of online learning. Edmonton AB: Athabasca University. Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/02_Anderson_2008-Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf

Bates, T. (2014). Teaching in a digital age. (Chapter 8). Retrieved from http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/chapter/9-5-5-social-media/

Ciampa, K. (2013). Learning in a mobile age: An investigation of student motivation. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 30(1), 82-96. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcal.12036/epdf

Gibbs, G., & Simpson, C. (2005) Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 1(1), 3-31. Retrieved from http://www.open.ac.uk/fast/pdfs/GIbbs%20and%20Simpson%202004-05.pdf

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2008). Standards for teachers. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-teachers

New Media Consortium. (2014). NMC Horizon Report 2014: K-12 Edition. Retrieved from http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2014-nmc-horizon-report-k12-EN.pdf

November, A. (2012). How Twitter can be used as a powerful educational tool. November Learning [Weblog]. Retrieved from http://novemberlearning.com/educational-resources-for-educators/teaching-and-learning-articles/how-twitter-can-be-used-as-a-powerful-educational-tool/

Final Synthesis Reflection

Me

My name is Nidal Khalifeh. I am a proud father of two with a passion for edtech. Born in 1982 I went to eight different schools throughout my K-12 life. I did not do well in school. I am not sure what the reason was but this was in the past and now we are in the present. I started enjoying education when I choose my topics “University years” and even more when I was able to also choose the time and place “Distance learning”. I believe this is how I fell in love with edtech and the flexibility it can offer to learners. This is why I am here in the MET program

My career started in 2004 when I enrolled as a sales employee at my father’s factory. In 2005 my father started focusing more on the factory and less on the trading business we had since 1982. I decided to takeover the trading business and improve it. The trading business used to sell stationery & office machinery. Today it is one of the top companies in smart-buildings, home-automation, video conferencing, edtech, audio & video solutions, IT solutions, and security solutions. I did not quit on the factory. In 2008 I decided to add an interactive whiteboard to the product line and it is now doing great. Moreover, in 2012 I started working on building a learning management software. Today “2016” we launched a pivot of what we started in 2012 to become EDaura “The Teachers’ app”, which is a simply and easy to use free LMS for teachers and students.

ETEC565A

Throughout my ETEC 565A course I learned a great deal. The course took place in two virtual environments as a delivery mechanize. First the course started on Blackboard, the official university portal that we are as learners familiar with. Second the course moved to a WordPress environment that gave both the educator and the learner more flexibility, less limitations and better design or UX. ETEC 565A assignments are designed to build knowledge and experience on top of each other, resulting with a usable/real product. Furthermore, such design scaffolds and connects different skills acquired by learners throughout the course in a one complete product. ETEC 565A included Twitter as a social networking aspect of the course. Social media is considered an essential space in todays educational environments (Bates, 2014). I noticed how my peers twitted about the course and how their tweets showed in the course page side-menu.

The ETEC 565A allowed us to use different edtech tools such as; web publication, LMS, Online communication, multimedia, and social media. I did not engage as expected with my peers due to a stress of managing the launch of my new product EDaura. Yet I learned a great deal from the posts my peers shared throughout the different discussions. Participation in a digital learning environment is essential for learning (Jenkins, 2004) and I wish I had more time to engage with my peers.

The ETEC 565A course focused on creating an understanding for the need to have a framework when selecting different types of technologies for education. I used SECTION framework (Bates & Poole 2003) to assess my edtech tools. I consider it to be comprehensive and takes into account different variables effecting the learner, the content, the educator and the environment. One of the most important variables that SECTION framework covers is the organizational issues “the environment”. I strongly believe that the environment is what we learn from and it must be rich and informative for learners (Vygotsky, 1929).

I found the International Society for Technology in Education ISTE website a useful and rich resource for educators seeking to deploy technology inside their classrooms. The “National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers” (or NETS) is an excellent resource to set the expectations for education technology & teachers (ISTE, 2008). Educators must facilitate & inspire learners, use digital age tools and assessments, model for their learners how to use technology, model good-digital citizen behaviors, and nurture entrepreneurship and leadership skills for their learners.

I worked with my peers on a group assignment to build a rubric on selecting the proper LMS. It was a very interesting experience as each of use had different concerns on what a proper LMS must look like. We worked in a synchronous and asynchronous environment that supported our learning (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer 1999). We used Google Docs and Google Hangout to achieve the synchronous and asynchronous communications. Moreover, I found it very interesting how mobile learning or m-learning is a very important part of the digital learning space. Mobile learning can motivate learners through curiosity, challenge, recognition, control and cooperation (Ciampa, 2013).

I selected Moodle as one of two options provided in the ETEC 565A assignments. Moodle is open source yet requires a complex setup when first installed on servers and the user experience is difficult for educators who are new to the Moodle environment. I used assignments as a core formative assessment method in the design of my Moodle course “Building a successful startup” in order for learners to apply their knowledge (Gibbs & Simpson 2005). Furthermore, Learning management Systems are platforms that offer different features that are found to be important for education all under one roof. Throughout my experience in building a course on Moodle I estimate that a course of 4 units (1-2 weeks each) requires at least 72 hours of work if the content and design are ready.

It is important that we work to develop different strategies to support vast levels of interactions within the digital course (Anderson, 2008). One of the media content presented in my Moodle course is my digital story. I used Go Animate tool to build a short animated video that illustrates my own experience in the entrepreneurship field. Educators need to use creative and engaging tools with their learners. The digital story creates a relationship between the learner and the teacher and the learner and the content. I selected Go Animate because it allows for both visual and audio delivery of the digital story, which accommodate for different learning styles (Valley, 2011).

My Future Plan

Today I am focusing on EDaura. The platform that I have been working on for the last four years. I will be adding different tools and features as the product grows. I will keep following edtech influencers and educators on the social media in order to stay up-to-date with what they are expecting from the edtech industry. I wish to engage more in groups and organizations researching and studying different technologies and how such technologies can be deployed in the educational sector. Furthermore, I need to deepen my understanding in existing frameworks used to assess and evaluate different technologies. Such frameworks can be an outline for my next product or feature.

I will keep an open eye on my own children. How they learn and how they interact with new technologies. My daughter is using augmented reality on Snapchat without even knowing what it is. Snapchat is just a game for her. My son expects all screens to be touch and interactive. Both insist that technology is easy to use, available and connected, which means there is no place in the future for complex and disconnected systems. If I want to build edtech solutions for the next generation I need to stay close to them and understand their expectations towards technology.

I am also trying to find a way to help the less fortunate to access high quality learning. Distant learning is a good tool for university level yet when it comes to children we need to be careful how we design such environments. I do not think MOOCs as we know them will fit in such age groups. I wish to achieve this goal by build a space where teachers from allover the world participate in giving free online sessions for students on different topics in a synchronous & asynchronous manner. This can be possible with the growth of internet access around the world and the reduction in cost of owning technology.

Moving forward I seek to explore different technologies that can aid the educational process. I now have my “teachers’ app” product EDaura that is being used now by educators from around the world. I plan to understand how augmented reality can help in the educational sector. It can be an effective tool inside the classroom if enough content or creative tools are provided to the concept (Billinghurst & Duenser, 2012). Such tools can replace labs and offer learning experiences to students located in poor schools that cannot afford building labs for different subjects.

Virtual reality is becoming more hot in the technology sector after Microsoft finally released HoloLens. Again such technology is bounded with the content and tools built for it. I believe that not much content is being built for education when compared to entertainment. Yet again the virtual reality field is a space that I wish to explore.

I see the future of edtech as unified. Students will master writing code. Different programmable products both hardware and software will emerge. Learners will build learning as they learn. Web 2.0 will become Web 0. which means that people or young people or learners are capable of building environments from scratch “Zero” and make their own rules “Open/Closed”. We can see that trend today in the dark web (Bradbury, 2014). I hope that I can be part of this development and make learning better for our future generation

References

Anderson, T. (2008a). Towards a theory of online learning. In T. Anderson & F. Elloumi (Eds.), Theory and practice of online learning. Edmonton AB: Athabasca University. Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/02_Anderson_2008-Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf

Bates, T. (2014). Pedagogical differences between media: Social media. In Teaching in digital age. Retrieved from http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/chapter/9-5-5-social-media/ (Chapter 7, point 6)

Bates, T., & Poole, G. (2003). Effective teaching with technology in higher education: Foundations for success (1st ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Billinghurst, M., & Duenser, A. (2012). Augmented reality in the classroom. Computer, 45(7), 56-63.

Bradbury, D. (2014). Unveiling the dark web. Network Security, 2014(4), 14.

Ciampa, K. (2013). Learning in a mobile age: An investigation of student motivation.Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 30(1), 82–96. Retrieved fromhttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcal.12036/epdf

Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (1999). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2-3), 87-105. Retrieved fromhttp://www.anitacrawley.net/Articles/GarrisonAndersonArcher2000.pdf

Gibbs, G., & Simpson, C. (2005). Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 1(1), 3-31. Retrieved from http://www.open.ac.uk/fast/pdfs/Gibbs%20and%20Simpson%202004-05.pdf

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2008). Standards for teachers. Retrieved from  http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-teachers

Jenkins, M. (2004).  Unfulfilled promise: Formative assessment using computer-aided assessment. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, i, 67-80. Retrieved from http://www2.glos.ac.uk/offload/tli/lets/lathe/issue1/articles/jenkins.pdf

Microsoft, HoloLens. Retrived from https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us

Valley, K. (2011). Learning styles and courseware design. Research in Learning Technology,5(2)

Vygotsky, L. S. (1929). The problem of the cultural development of the child. Journal of Genetic Psychology, id, 414-434.

Flight Path Precis

Although I pursue teaching for the sheer love of it, I have also always envisioned myself working within urban public schools and kept this as my goal throughout years of preparation.  Now, 7 years after I received my certification, I have not taught a single day within any school board.  However I consider my time within a small International private school in Mississsauga as fortunate, indeed, as it has been some of the most grueling work I’ve ever done. I’ve been able to grow as an educator, leader, and collaborator in a way that may have otherwise been restricted to me if I had immediately gotten into the public system.

At the beginning of this course, what I most hoped to learn was how to best use technology to guide students in their learning in ways that teaches them not just course content, but skills like inquisitiveness, constructive collaboration, independent problem solving, and ‘grit’.  At the beginning of this course I was unsure that I needed to learn yet another LMS platform, despite knowing that a moodle was likely in my future, and thought instead that I would like to sharpen my skills in discerning the best tools to choose.   What I have found, and will discuss in this reflection, is that by making my way through the challenging process of creating an online course through an LMS like moodle, I have indeed sharpened the skills I had hoped to – I would say that I am now better at selecting, evaluating, creating, and shaping learning technologies to ensure that they meet my pedagogical goals.

Substantive, comprehensive and detailed reflection about overall ETEC 565A experience:

Module 1: Selecting & Using Technologies

Prior to taking this course I had completed ETEC510 “The Design of Technology-Supported Learning Environments”, which had within it many of the elements of this course, taught through a different lens.  I believe that taking 565 prior to that one may have been beneficial, but both have been highly instructional through constructivist techniques and have left me feeling highly comfortable in choosing and creating digital spaces.  The concept of “Technology as Lever” introduced by Chickering & Ehrmann (1996) was made explicit through both of those courses, but I think that the concept really ‘clicked into place’ in 565, perhaps because of the repetition, perhaps because it was taught in such a transparent fashion.

I returned to the Bates (2014) and Nel, Dreyer, & Carstens (2010) readings from this Module throughout the course, because although both were reviewing concepts I had been previously introduced to, they did so in new frameworks that I used more than once when justifying my own work choices.  The SECTIONS framework clearly structures the considerations needed for the kind of teaching studied in this course, and I appreciate how it could be used within professional development contexts, to help teachers newer to educational technology begin reflecting on necessary considerations to take action.

Module 2: Presentation Tools: Spaces, Places and Platforms for Learning

What I appreciated most about the content and activities of Module 2 were the small-group case studies, wherein the tasks were contained and therefore more intimately collaborative.  Having to decide on a reasonable time frame to create and implement a course through an LMS was an excellent exercise in practicality, and when I look back now, it helps me understand why creating my moodle – at only a quarter completion and borrowing from one of my past WikiClassroom sites – took as long as it did.  Spiro’s (2014) article expouses well-founded threats to the future of LMS, but so far it appears that students are integrating those ‘threatening’ eLearning techniques into the requirements of online courses – at least that is what I have done, myself.  I capitalize on my own mobile technology and personal curation of sources to better understand the course material I’m assigned, and I’m fine with still following ‘the rules’ of graduated education.  That said, I’m of the generation with my foot in two camps, both swept up in but not quite part of the digital revolution to education, so students coming behind me may indeed wish to take learning into their own hands and skip the rigors of institutional learning.

Week 5’s topic allowed me to thoroughly reflect and organize my past endeavors with using mobile technology in the classroom, and I enjoyed the chance to retroactively apply the excellent reading by Ciampa (2013) to my past practices.  The four criteria for intrinsically and extrinsically motivational activities are ones that I will bear in mind for future design, as they are succinct reminders of what I have found necessary to make effective tasks for my students.  At this point in the course I began to fully understand and appreciate technology’s capacity to meet the needs of my students, and hopefully surprise them with how engaged they can become in their work when courses are designed with so much consideration.

Module 3: Interaction and Assessment Tools

In the school where I last taught, assessment was a major focus of many professional development sessions, and thus the content of this module again felt like a review and building-upon of previous knowledge and experience.  Implementing technology as formative assessment was something we had been trying to do school-wide, and some teachers had joined me in providing digital options for summative assessments as well, although it was often a choice students could make, rather than a mandate.  If I was in a school situation where technology had been effectively integrated throughout my course, I believe I would be more comfortable now in making a summative task exclusively digital, as I could better choose the most effective platforms to channel students’ energies.   The educational interaction framework in Anderson (2008a, p. 58) beautifully illustrates effective relationships within learning, but when integrating technology we must thus consider the model of online learning provided on page 61.  It is certainly a more complicated looking approach, but as Anderson explains the autonomy it affords allows for “particularly rich…learning of social skills, collaboration, and the development of personal relationships among participants” (p. 61).

Prensky’s idea of shifting focus away from “how students learn” to “how do they learn what?” (as cited in Anderson, 2008a, p. 62) is an important one when considering effective assessment, as Gibbs & Simpson (2004) explore in the reading for week 8.  Their thorough categorizing of conditions that best support learning (p. 4) emphasize the unfortunate stress that is often put upon conventional grades, and how that can take away from the process of learning itself.  The hope when using well-integrated technology would be to make more tangible the relevant and real-world application of a course, and better facilitate feedback that both peers and an instructor can offer that can be so vital in creating a learning community.

Module 4: Social Media

What I enjoyed so much about module 4 was the important distinction that ‘interactivity’ can mean the simple act of clicking around, but that this is not what engages and inspires students.  Social media is so often demonized by the education community as a mere distraction from our purpose, and a venue for grandiose vanity.  While it certainly can at times feel that way, when a student is taking selfies or Snapchats in class instead of staying on topic, it is also be the site for immeasurable constructivist opportunities.

I had been exposed to the work of Alan November prior to this course, and his work has been a huge influence in my understanding of my role as a teacher.  In his book (and subsequent keynotes and YouTube videos) Who Owns the Learning?, he outlines the role of the new learner as “a contributor, collaborator, and leader in the learning culture” (2012, p.6).  In the week 9 reading by him, where he outlines the potential Twitter has to encourage these skills in our students, his belief that “the most essential skill of the 21^st century is knowing how to ask the most interesting questions” (p. 5) is clear.

I was glad that we spent some time explicitly addressing the issue of copyright, as this is a topic that has felt overlooked or glossed over in so many other courses.  How to best impress upon my students the importance of academic integrity is something I continue to struggle with, as with every new class it feels like a fresh battle.   Perhaps the key will be in finding a way to teaching it alongside the importance of digital citizenship and issues around privacy and rights, as we all continue to live in both physical and digital spaces.

Module 5: What’s on the horizon?

As I wrote in my reflection for week 12, I believe that the most progress in best serving the needs of our students will come through the proactive, rather than reactive, use of technology.  Instead of discerning a ‘problem’ and then looking for the best app or LMS to solve it, if a teacher designs their course so that technology is integrated from the beginning, many of the benefits I have already addressed will be able to grow organically.  If adjustments need to be made or direction slightly changed, that is obviously acceptable, but if the culture of growing as a community is already in place the students will feel part of that process rather than removed from it, waiting for their teacher to ‘fix things’.

My thoughts on this were encouraged by the vision presented by Alexander (2014), which imagines a future where medical specialists are revered among us, as our needs as a population disconnected from death grow ever greater.  Although I seem to live in a culture addicted to ‘quick-fixes’, what I have learned from this course is the importance of taking the time to objectively assess my needs, my present capabilities, and the best course of action in order to meet whatever goal I have therefore set.  This can apply to physical health, financial stability, or of course – educational practice.  There is a wealth of resources that anyone can tap to help them effect a desired change, but careful discernment based on the principles within this course will not only save on time, but help provide critical frameworks with which to assess its effectiveness.  For what is on my own horizon, I will go into that with further detail in the last section of this reflection.

Assignment #1: Rubric

This assignment was my metaphorical ‘wake-up call’ for the purposes of this course, although I entered into it knowing that my ability to fully apply myself was compromised due to the goings-on in my life at the time.  I was leaving my job and doing all of the work that such a transition entails, as well as trying to manage another course, and I made the conscious decision to put in less of an effort to this group task and accept the consequences.  That said, I found communication was difficult within my group and my role was so small that my final mark for this task reflected it – and I was not content!  The activity itself was a sound one, but at the time I found it difficult to wrap my head around it and this was evident in how I was able to contribute to my group’s attempt at a rubric.  Discerning necessary criteria to build a rubric that would help select an appropriate LMS was a relevant task, but challenging to do in a collaborative way.  All of this said, what I learned the most from this activity was that this course would demand my full attention and energy, and I have not been proven wrong since.

Assignment #2: Introductory Module

When the time came to take on this assignment, I was determined to redeem myself (if only in my own eyes) after Assignment 1, and do the best that I could.  I logged onto as many of the example moodles as I could as a ‘student’, and made use of as many YouTube tutorials as needed to wrap my head around this new LMS.  I decided to create a moodle for a course I have taught twice before, most recently in the fall of 2015, that had blended both face to face and online learning with the use of a WikiClassroom.  So while the content of my moodle was mostly taken care of, the big challenge was in choosing how to best tailor it to an online-only environment.

The greatest change I had to make was in providing more detailed expectations and more sophisticated infrastructure than would be needed in a blended environment.  I would not be able to rely on ‘checking in’ with students during class time, and thus has to predict what their needs might be and how they could communicate those to me.   The quiz I designed for Unit 1 posed one of the greatest challenges at the time, but I later understood that it would provide important formative assessment for both the student taking it and myself, as it was built around reviewing the entire unit prior to engaging in a larger summative task.   The readings around this time were related to assessment, and the criteria from Gibbs and Simpson (2004) was fresh in my memory, reminding me that students prefer course-work to examinations (p. 7) – something I knew from my own experience but was bolstered for having read.  When I have taught this course in the past it too was without an exam, but rather many smaller tasks that would hopefully be cumulative in both knowledge and skill, to prepare the students for one final large summative assessment with a long time-line and many parts.

This assignment proved to me that if I put in a strong effort, reached out to my peers (thanks again to Victoria and Colleen), and took risks, I would be able to meet my own exacting standards.

Assignment #3: Content Module

For Assignment 2 I received feedback that a more detailed explanation of the online behavioural expectations was missing at the time of my submission, and after having some time apart from the moodle I came back to it with fresher eyes and realized this was indeed a hole in the LMS.  Thus my first steps were in fixing up the moodle as per the feedback I had received, and then looking for other opportunities to stream-line the experience.  I was of course responsible for creating a full content module, but as previously stated I was able to greatly benefit from work I had done before and thus this part did not feel too difficult.  While working, I kept in mind that I wanted this course to be designed and guided by me, but require that the students show a high level of autonomy and collaboration in order to really succeed.  With each lesson I decided to incorporate the use of discussion forums, and make it a requirement that they critically reflect and comment on each other’s work.   I found it helpful to stipulate what this would mean in a ‘Course Conduct’ page that I added to the introductory module, and borrowed from a document called How to Prepare and Moderate Online Discussions for Online Learning (2013). My other course, ETEC532, leans very heavily on participation as a course requirement, and the supplied criteria for it seems to be borrowed from this document – at least according to a Google search – and I feel that it lends itself well to my own online course.

Creating a course (or at least much of it) in this style was a true exercise in designing backwards.  The only thing that I chose to exclude was the final culminating activity, because of my own time constraints and the fact that this depth of work was not required for Assignment #3.   Despite missing this element, I attempted to build a course that would provide students opportunities to learn through as many of the demonstrations as possible, as postulated by Prensky in Anderson (2008a, p. 18-19).  Even speeches and performance-tasks can be required through the use of video, these days, and the assessments I did include provided that as an option for students to choose throughout the course.  What I would hope, should this moodle actually be executed, would be to provide students a learning experience that would feel diverse, dynamic, supportive, and ultimately in their own hands.

My Next Steps

“[e]ducation is not preparation for life; education is life itself” (John Dewey, as cited in November, 2012, p. 5).

When I was acting as a department head in my last school, I felt strongly that I had to lead by example, and could not expect anything of the teachers under my charge that I was not willing to do myself.  Obviously the same must be true of my students, especially if I plan on asking them to embody the above quote.  My experience in the MET so far has shown me just how much learning is, and is going to be, impacted by the integration of technology, and that for every teacher bemoaning their students on a cellphone in class there is another voice lifting up the world of possibilities held within that device and that same student.

At present, my greatest goal as an educator is to figure out how to best teach so that my students feel empowered, and where possible I know with certainty that thoughtful design and use of technology can play a huge role in this process.  However my largest question at present is how technology can be used in under-served classrooms and communities, and my hope is to get the chance to take what I have been learning in this program and apply it to challenging environments.  My experience in the private school sector has not been easy by any means, teaching is never ‘easy’, but having a 1:1 device:student ratio and reliable wifi has allowed me to see the benefits of technology with clear eyes and few challenges.  In comparison, how can voices that do not have the same privileges benefit from all that we discuss in this program – this is the heaviest question on my soul.

At the very least the open channels for communication that social media (including YouTube) provides is one of the teacher’s greatest allies, if used correctly, and at most having technology that allows students to create and collaborate within technology-integrated learning environments is the hope.  Going forward as a life-long learner and lover of education, I want to keep my eyes open for relevant and dynamic resources that can be used not only by instructors but students as well.  My favourite discoveries are always apps, site, or platforms that I can put into my students’ hands with the instructions to ‘go, play, share what you learn!’  What I am learning and want to continue to learn is how to best focus mine and their attentions to be critical of the world as it is presented to us through media and digital venues, and how to take advantage of everything that helps us connect with each other, the planet over.  If I need to figure out Twitter, or moodle, or YouTube first before I can channel it for best practice within my classroom, then that’s exactly what I’ll do, but the end goal is to always have students see their own power and potential within these learning environments.

‘Education’ is not about what happens in the classroom, but rather how we approach all challenges in our lives as they present to us or as we seek them out.  We take risks, look for help, hope wildly, and reflect for next time – that is education, and that is life well lived.

References

Alexander, B. (2014). Higher education in 2014: Glimpsing the future. Educause Review, 4(5) Retrieved                from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/higher-education-2024-glimpsing  future?utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=Email+marketing&utm_campaign=EDUCAUSE

Anderson, T. (2008a). Towards a theory of online learning. In T. Anderson & F, Elloumi (Eds.),Theory and practice of online learning. Edmonton AB: Athabasca University. Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/02_Anderson_2008-Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf

Chickering, A. W., & Ehrmann, S., C. (1996). Implementing the seven principles: Technology as lever. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 49(2), 3-6. Retrieved from http://www.aahea.org/articles/sevenprinciples.htm

Ciampa, K. (2013). Learning in a mobile age: An investigation of student motivation.Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 30(1), 82–96. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcal.12036/epdf

Gibbs, G., & Simpson, C. (2005). Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 1(1), 3-31. Retrieved from http://www.open.ac.uk/fast/pdfs/Gibbs%20and%20Simpson%202004-05.pdf

How to Prepare and Moderate Online Discussions for Online Learning (pp. 1-13, Publication). (2013). Contact North: Ontario’s Distance Education & Training Network.

November, A. (2012).  How Twitter can be used as a powerful educational tool. November Learning [Weblog] Retrieved from http://novemberlearning.com/educational-resources-for-educators/teaching-and-learning-articles/how-twitter-can-be-used-as-a-powerful-educational-tool/

November, A. C. (2012). Who owns the learning?: Preparing students for success in the digital age. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Spiro, K. (2014). 5 elearning trends leading to the end of the Learning Management Systems. Retrieved from http://elearningindustry.com/5-elearning-trends-leading-to-the-end-of-the-learning-management-system

I always find it interesting to look back at my goals from the beginning of the course and reflect on what I have accomplished during these last 13 weeks. I had many goals this course and they were:

• learn about LMS in general
• Develop my own expectations for what I want in an ideal LMS
• Create a course/module in a LMS
• Use the skills I learned and apply them to my current environment
• Learn skills and obtain tools that will help incorporate more creativity into my lessons
• Model digital age works and learning for my students
• Take away as much as I can from my peers

I believe I have accomplished many of these goals through this course. I certainly learned about LMS and specifically I learned how to use Moodle. Learning how to use Moodle through making a mock course was very effective, as learning was situated in the environment in which it was meant to be used (Brown, Collins & Duguid, 1989). Not only did this help to learn how to use Moodle, but it was also instrumental in my development as an educator. It helped me think about how I wanted to structure the course and how I wanted to assess what was learned in the course. It made me reflect on my pedagogical beliefs, and how I would incorporate that into an online environment, restricted by the affordances of Moodle.

Working within Moodle helped me to develop my ideas of what I would want in an ideal LMS. For example, from a course editing perspective, I found the chart function not as user friendly as other programs such as Microsoft Word. I also found importing of images to be slightly cumbersome and would ideally like less steps each time I import images. I would also like to make the process of linking pages easier (through hyperlink). Perhaps it was my inexperience with the program which caused my inefficiency but once I hyperlinked one page, and gave it a title, it would be nice if linking it again would be an easier process. I found I had to cut and paste the link each time which was time consuming. I wish moving around module was an easier process, such as a drag and drop. In this version, I had to make my own graphic interface but I wish there was an easier method to do this. I think my expectations for LMS could be further developed if I had the opportunity to be a student using Moodle. I had a chance to look at courses developed by my peers using Moodle, but experiencing a whole course would give me a whole different perspective.

However, I was able to experience Connect and UBC blog as a student, and this also gave me some ideas. For example, I really liked the way the discussion forum was laid out in Connect compared to the blog site. I feel this had a direct impact on my motivation to read each post. I found it easy to look at discussions and reply in Connect whereas the blog made it more cumbersome. Once I read a discssuion thred in the blog site, I found it more difficult to get back to the posted page to look at another post. I also liked the video collaborate session, though my audio/video kept cutting out. I`m not sure if it was a connection problem on my end or an issue with the LMS. I liked the alyout of the blog site over Connect. I found it easy to move from one module to the next and the badge system was an added bonus and motivator. I also really liked getting RSS and mobile access with the blog. Based on my experience, I would like an LMS that has the following:

• user friendly chart function (especially sizing and outlining of the chart)
• More drag and drop
• Easy to import and use images (perhaps with citing images built in so it’s entered once and will appear on the website)
• Easy to hyperlink existing course pages
• Easy to make GUI
• Well laid out discussion forum
• Video/audio collaborative session activity function
• Visually appealing interface that’s easy to navigate
• Mobile compatible
• RSS feed feature
• Plus all features already built into Moodle

From a course development perspective, I gained an appreciation for the importance of assessments. Given that student learning is most influenced by assessments, I will place a lot more effort on this aspect of my teaching (Gibbs & Simpson, 2005). This includes the incorporation of frequent, useful feedback as well as group based projects.

Bates` SECTIONS criteria was also a valuable tool I learned and used during this course, which I will surely use during my academic career (2014). The act of reflection and use of this tool during this course has critical in proving its usefulness and practicality.

I am a commited life long learner, both in medicine and education. I will continue my education in Ed Tech by  engaging in my remaining ETEC courses and by learning from my peers. As mentioned by many students in this course, I have found very useful information on Ed Tech through social media. I plan to continue to read these feeds to further my education in this field. Furthermore, as I have taken on a bigger role at our medical school as a course coordinator, I will participate both at a local level and national level in medical education planning. This in turn will lead to  will continued learning in Ed Tech that is specific to my field of interest.

I believe that simulation will be a large component in medical education in the upcoming years. Therefore, I plan to further my knowledge in this area as well. I am conisdering a course out of McMaster University for this purpose. Of course, I think I will wait until I complete my MET courses first. Other technologies I am interested in are differnt forms of digital media. This course, including experiences of my classmate, has opened my eyes to the pedagogical possibilities of differnt forms of media and I hope to become familiar with them by using them and incorporating them into my classes. I think using them for my projects and classroom activities is the best way to learn to use these varied resources.

As mentiond earlier, I am now a course coordinator for our undergraduate medical program. Our course has much to improve upon as it is rated quite poorly compared to other courses. I am hoping to use what I learned from this course to make improvements. Specifically, I would like to include more team-based learning activities, frequent formative assessments and feedback, and incorporate differnt forms of digital media. I believe this will lead to a greater level of engagement, and help with student learning. I plan to make substantial changes to the current form of assessment, which is single best answer multiple choice examination. I do not think this form of assessment achieves the learning outcomes I am looking for, which is higher order thinking skills specific to our field. None of our patients come to see us with a list of possible diagnoses of which we choose the best one, so why should our students be assessed in this manner? I will be making these changes this summer and starting the course in October of this year. I am exctied that I have an opportunity to apply what I have learned. I am aware that this will be an evolving process, in which my course will change from year to year as I gain more experience and recieve feedback from the students. I am hopeful that the changes I make will be in the positive direction and will help my students become competent physicians.

I would like to take a moment to thank everyone in this course. I have learned immensly from their experiences and discussions. I find that my learning is takne to another level because they share their experiences with me through the course discussion forum. Finally, I find the level of engagement by Natasha to be another aspect of the course that I apprecite greatly and feel that it deserves mention. I have found that in some of my other ETEC courses, my instructors did not have the teaching presence that Natasha gave us and this added greatly to my learning experience.

References

• Bates, T. (2014). Teaching in digital age. Retrieved from  http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/
• Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989) Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-42. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1176008
•  Gibbs, G., & Simpson, C. (2005) Conditions under which assessemnt supports students` learning. Learning and teaching in Higher Education, 1(1), 3-31. Retrieved from http://www.open.ac.uk/fast/pdfs/Gibbs%20and%20Simpson%202004-05.pdf

A final ePortfolio synthesis reflection, posted in the Synthesis page including a:

1-2 paragraph précis of your flight path;

2015-2016 is my eleventh year teaching. I have worked in both middle school and high school grades as well as some teaching in K-2. I have used technology consistently in my classroom for six years. The last six years were a mix of grade levels and subjects, but roughly (except this current school year as I am teaching Grade 2) I was teaching Social Studies to the two earliest years of middle school (ages 11-13). In my Social Studies classroom about 25% of what happened in the classroom was in a digital learning environment. The most common technology used in my classroom was blogs (especially for reflections), an LMS (as a repository for resources and a place for online chat/ collaboration/a venue for peer evaluation and feedback) and various web 2.0 tools/ websites. My goals in ETEC 565a are to gain knowledge and skills in the LMS Blackboard Learn, refine my understanding of setting up a Moodle course and gather tools to judge effectively and choose appropriate technologies for different learning situations.

I have experience with course design and teaching in Moodle, Google Classroom, and Edmodo. I have moved away from Moodle in the last three years. One reason that I stopped using Moodle was that it was easier to use Google Classrooms to reach my course goals. Whether looking at Moodle or Google Classroom, I have had few issues when dealing with multimedia; most LMS systems are user-friendly for the course designer. I sometimes consider becoming more proficient in LMS course design in case I want to leave face-to-face K-12 teaching and work solely in online learning. There could be several scenarios where this would be advantageous.  Since I live abroad and work on contracts, I could potentially have the freedom to live in more places if teaching online. Secondly, I could teach online when/ if I move back to Canada solely or as I seek a face-to-face teaching job. There are three resources that I think I will need to master the technologies in this course: time, examples and a troubleshooting system (whether that is self-directed such as a Google search or Youtube video or a more formal system, potentially even reaching out to my past mentors). Time is finite in the course but my time management will be important. I hope to allow myself the time to explore and tinker in course design/ LMS course building. Examples are equally helpful as well as detrimental.

Substantive, comprehensive and detailed reflection about your overall ETEC 565A experience

My overall experience in ETEC 565A will be described in 6 sections. I will comment on the course based on each of the four assignments that I completed, as well as my 565A ePortfolio and lastly, a catch-all section for thoughts that don’t fit specifically to the assignments or my ePortfolio.

Assignment #1 – Online Delivery Platform Evaluation Rubric.

I enjoyed working with my group to create this rubric. It was also considerate that the group assignment was early in the course. Otherwise, group assignments can be onerous when nearing the end of the course when everyone is busy working individually on final assignments. This makes it much more difficult to work in a synchronous way especially depending where group participants are located globally. To see my reflection from after Assignment #1, please click here.

Assignment #2 – LMS Introductory Module

I began ETEC 565A with prior Moodle experience. However, what I hadn’t anticipated was the difference between when I had constructed Moodle courses for my classes and what it would be like to construct a Moodle course (or part thereof) as an assignment. There were two major differences between these two constructions: a blended versus a fully online environment and an authentic audience vs. a potential future audience. As noted in my week 13 video discussion, I had not realized, before ETEC 565a, the volumes of work that go into the course design of a 100% online course. When I received my grade and feedback after handing in Assignment #2, I was equally pleased and frustrated. The grade reflected the work that I had done, but I was frustrated because when I read the feedback many of the omissions or areas that needed attention where things that I was capable of doing but had overlooked. Of course, hindsight is when we see the error of our ways, but I had wished that I could go back and clean up some areas that I hadn’t.

I also struggled at times to create a course for students I hadn’t met.  I suppose that this is ‘business as usual’ for online instructors, but I am a face-to-face teacher,. Except at the beginning of the school year, I am usually armed with the knowledge of who my students are, how they learn best and what activities/ assessment/ environment is going to suit them best. Not that I tailor everything I make to their particular needs as there are other areas to focus on such as curriculum indicators to cover or what works best for a particular activity, but I have some data and experience to work with.

Assignment #3 – Content Module & Digital Story

I was engaged and focussed while I put my Content Module and Digital Story together. This focus was born out of many areas – good organization and direction I utilised and drew from the course requirements, pre-constructed course goals I specified by having already designed the assessment during the Introductory Module and lastly, my prior knowledge of using most parts of Moodle.

I struggled with a few requirements. The small group forum and the banner/ icons as title were both areas that I had to seek help with. I am pleased with the overall flow of the activities within the content module. I think that I have balanced the variety of activities, students have some choice as to how they complete their assignments, and the activities allow students to inquire.

Again, my biggest hurdle was to design a course that could be used but was not going to be used with any students that I currently know. During decisions that I made, there was no threshold or limit that stopped my work but also no ideal or expected overall experience that I was trying to achieve. Besides, of course, trying to stay firm to all that I know from my teaching practice and experience, connections to learning theories such as constructivism and best practice pedagogical standards.

My digital story – My digital story reflection is contained here.

Assignment #4 – Final Synthesis

Having arrived at the end of the course which coincides with the end of my Master’s work in the MET program, I am elated to have made it to this point. I was working on ETEC 590 simultaneously as ETEC 565a, and I think that both of these courses though demanding, are a great finish line for my program. Writing this synthesis has allowed me to look back over the last thirteen weeks and comprehensively analysis what was covered, what I did and the concepts/ ideas that were encountered.

565A ePortfolio

Since posting my Flight path on January 17th, I have made an effort to post all work including discussions/ case study discussions, reflections and assignments to my 565a ePortfolio. I like to post to my ePortfolio at the same time as I post to our New Learning Space blog as this gave me a sense of accomplishment to see my ePortfolio grow as the course progressed. Not to mention that it has also created a great space to showcase all of the work that I completed in the course.

I wish that every course within my MET program had allowed me/ prompted me to create an ePortfolio, or I had taken the initiative from early on. All of my coursework is contained in organised folders in my Google Drive. If I wanted, I could flip this into blogs or another type of ePortfolio. I suppose that by completing ETEC 590, I have done this in a critical and reflective but not comprehensive way.

Other experiences

As Natasha had indicated early in the course, ETEC 565a is an intensive course that asks a lot from its participants. I agree with her! The other experience that I should reflect on is taking part in the weekly case study discussions and discussions. To complete the assigned readings and prepare a substantive response, I learned early on to schedule enough time for this process every week. Google calendar was my best friend to be able to do this. The one area in this process that I wish I had had more time is in reading and responding to my classmate’s posts. By mid way through the course, I was struggling to participate as much as I would have liked to but my time was being taken up by working on assignments and especially in my LMS Moodle course.

Substantive, comprehensive and detailed reflection about next steps for you, in terms of your practice in educational technology, which could include what technologies you hope to explore moving forward, or how you plan on engaging as a lifelong learner in terms of educational technology;

1.Next steps in educational technology- Technology I hope to explore more moving forward

Regarding LMS, I am still interested to see more planning and design in Connect albeit I say that in consideration of the attitude promoted by Porto (2015) who foresees the downfall of traditional LMS due to social media and the popularity of MOOCs. At this point in my career, the use of proprietary LMS systems does not extend beyond Moodle and mainly focuses on those attached to my places of employment. Regarding the K-12 system, many schools take advantage of the suite of apps offered by Google Education.

My interest in Connect is more from a personal stand point. In the same way that I love to explore new Web 2.0 tools, I also like to discover the inner set-up and configuration of LMS systems used in post-secondary institutions.

2. Next steps in educational technology- My plans as a life long learner, in terms of ed tech

I think for the time being I will remain, at most, a blended learning teacher. ETEC 565a has made clear to me the investment of time and thought that online instructors put into their course design. Which doesn’t mean that I will never teach a fully online course in the future, but I am more realistically able to judge what that might look like now.

References

Bates, T. (2014). Teaching in a digital age, Chapter 8. Retrieved from http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/

Everhart, N., & Harris, F. J. (2002). Using Primary Sources and Creative Writing to Teach Middle School History. Knowledge Quest, 31(2), 52-54.

Hodges, G. C. (06/01/2013). Changing english: Reading within families: Taking a historical perspective University of London, Institute of Education. doi:10.1080/1358684X.2013.788292

Lin, Y., Lin, Y., & Huang, Y. (2011). Development of a diagnostic system using a testing-based approach for strengthening student prior knowledge. Computers & Education, 57(2), 1557-1570. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2011.03.004

McNamee, S. and Moscheta, M. (2015), Relational Intelligence and Collaborative Learning. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2015: 25–40. doi: 10.1002/tl.20134

Nel, C., Dreyer, C., & Carstens, W. A. M. (2010). Educational technologies: A classification and evaluation. Tydskrif vir letterkunde, 35(4), 238-258. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ajol.info/index.php/tvl/article/download/53794/42346

Porto, S. (2015). The uncertain future of Learning Management Systems. The Evolllution: Illuminating the Lifelong Learning Movement. Retrieved from http://www.evolllution.com/opinions/uncertain-future-learning-management-systems/

Sumerian School Days [Text and Object]. (2016). Children and Youth in History. Retrieved 10 March 2016, from https://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/408