{"id":18,"date":"2010-01-17T19:46:49","date_gmt":"2010-01-18T03:46:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mccallumetec565a\/?page_id=18"},"modified":"2010-04-16T16:15:39","modified_gmt":"2010-04-17T00:15:39","slug":"synthesis","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mccallumetec565a\/synthesis\/","title":{"rendered":"Synthesis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Flight Path Experience<\/strong><\/p>\n

In hindsight I think my Flight Path was clear and reasonable \u2013 and that I achieved what I laid out, though not exactly the way I envisaged. I didn\u2019t become exposed to very much that was \u201cnew\u201d \u2013 in fact, nothing is ever really new anyway, especially this late in the MET program. But we did cover a \u201crepresentative\u201d and \u201cbroad-as-possible range\u201d of technologies, many of which I came to consider in fresh ways, particularly in the realms of social software and \u201cthe capabilities and applications\u201d of LMSs. Looking at this range of technologies as a whole<\/em> was illuminating.<\/p>\n

e-Learning Toolkit Experience<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m fairly experienced with authoring technologies and tend to be critical of how they function \u2013 hence, for example, my early disappointment with the blog software, although, really, it was pretty good and quite similar to Blogger, the one I\u2019m familiar with.<\/p>\n

Moodle was another matter. I\u2019d dabbled with it in a previous course, but this was more extensive and, as a result, I became more aware of both its capabilities (e.g., surveys, groups) and frustrating limitations. I respect the way we were left on our own regarding Moodle and the other technologies \u2013 forcing us to find or devise solutions. The pedagogical reasons for this approach are apparent to me: as educational technologists we need to develop our abilities to learn, because the tools themselves will be constantly changing.<\/p>\n

One example of this methodology: after some time and frustration, I was finally able to embed a Flash game that I had developed a year ago (and which has been sitting on my Shaw Cable webspace) directly into a page of my Moodle course. This involved both figuring out the URL of the SWF itself (i.e., not<\/em> the URL of the html page where it resides<\/a>) and finding some <embed> code so the Moodle page could pull it in. Part of the revelation is that (a) Moodle doesn\u2019t allow uploading of SWFs, so they have to be embedded; and that (b) you have to find space on an external server for the Flash learning object to reside (this basketball game I\u2019d done just happened to be sitting on one).\u00a0 In the process I learned to use the Moodle support site \u2013 a much more enduring<\/em> skill than if I\u2019d simply been handed the information in the ETEC 565 course. In other words, I\u2019ve learned to learn, via active learning, which itself has been a lesson in how to design effective instruction.and<\/p>\n

I agree with Boyes, Dowie & Rumzan (2005) that “we still needed to decide when and how to use Flash.” But because it can be embedded without access to the <head>, I see it as the natural replacement for the interactive learning objects I used to develop with DHTML and javascript. Such interactions, in my view, can provide an active or experiential complement to textual descriptions\u00a0 (and a break from reading!) while accommodating additional learning styles.<\/p>\n

I also learned I could design in Dreamweaver, paste the HTML into Moodle, and then adapt the <a href> tags so they pulled the jpegs and gifs from the Moodle image folder, not my hard drive.<\/p>\n

As a result I\u2019m curious as to how many other \u201climitations\u201d that I see in Moodle could be overcome with some persistence \u2013 e.g., a true splash page w\/GUI, perhaps (although, as an occasional Web designer, I\u2019m not a fan of gratuitous splash pages).<\/p>\n

We were asked to \u201cprogram\u201d the release of some modules so that students couldn\u2019t access them until later. But all I found I could do was \u201chide\u201d the modules to allow manual release<\/em> when the time comes. I don\u2019t consider this \u201cprogramming,\u201d in that I could not specify and automate<\/em> the release date \u2013 at least, I couldn\u2019t see how to do that, and my searching of the Web and the Moodle support site didn\u2019t yield any methods for doing so. But maybe it\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n

The Road Ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n

The bigger revelation is that in using Moodle for an (imagined) information literacy course I was forced to reconsider how information literacy is traditionally taught, and how technology-enhanced active and social learning could be brought to bear to make the learning of info lit\u2019s concepts and skills more resonant and enduring. Like many librarians I\u2019ve tended to see info lit usually as solo learning in small bites \u2013 self-accessed, self-paced, peripheral and thus, too often, passive, even when lessons are given in classrooms<\/em>. I\u2019ve long chafed against that, even while I know that it stems partly from the peripheral (brief, episodic) nature of info lit instruction. I\u2019m not entirely sure how to reconcile those limitations with the need and potential for more active, social leaning, but I\u2019m resolved more than ever to try.<\/p>\n

SECTION-ing my Moodle course
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Students <\/em>— My concern was that, being new to college, they would be very unfamiliar with the Moodle (or any) online course environment, so I wanted to make the navigation as clear as possible — hence laying the course components out in a table, right up front. Their generation is accustomed to games, socializing online, etc., so I included some interactivities, an\u00a0 introduce-yourself forum, etc. I used the motif of a smiling man holding a newspaper as a unifying element but also to convey a relaxed feeling.<\/p>\n

Ease of use <\/em>— I don’t consider my small use of Flash a risk to accessibility (certainly not now, five years after <\/em>Boyes, Dowie & Rumzan (2005) published their caution in that regard) especially since the little game is not core material but more of a complement or reinforcement to the text. While I ran out of time, I wanted to build in redundant navigation at the bottoms of the html pages, for students who don’t intuit the forward navigation in the top right.<\/p>\n

Cost structure<\/em> — Much of the development work is up front, figuring out the LMS design and development methodologies. Once that’s done, development can proceed smoothly & quickly and most of the remaining work is content-writing and pedagogical design. Overall, I think the lion’s share of the task is determining what, specifically, to teach and then the instructional design. The LMS work itself proceeds quickly once the look & feel, navigation and structure are in place. Learning objects such as the (unfinished) flash basketball game are very cost-intensive, however. As Boyes, Dowie & Rumzan (2005) note, with Flash, “development time is determined in part by the complexity of the interaction and the sophistication of the animation,” and, “total development time is dependent upon on the programming skills of the faculty or staff members” — in my case, somewhat limited. I developed the game on my own time last fall as an exercise — I couldn’t have justified the work for ETEC 565, and I doubt that I could for Info Lit 101, either<\/p>\n

Teaching and Learning<\/em> — I feel I could have done with less text and more activity and illustration. For the module on using the online article databases (which I didn’t build), I would probably have the students using <\/em>a <\/em>database, e.g., in a pop-up window, with structured activities (searches) designed to help them understand and experience\u00a0\u00a0 database functions and approaches, which is necessary to achieving learning outcomes. I did this in a small way when I used database permalinks in the analyzing citations<\/a><\/span><\/span> exercise, so the students are using the citiations in situ<\/em>, rather than my pasting them into the LMS.<\/p>\n

Interactivity <\/em>—\u00a0 note that “feedback is an essential element” in interactivity. I tried using Moodle’s quiz engine to design\/develop quizzes that don’t so much test knowledge as provide interactive activities with instant formative feedback as a way of learning rather than assessment (i.e., like the basketball game). Whether students would perceive it this way, I’m not sure. Actually, I have my doubts — Moodle’s quizzes don’t come across as relaxed or fun.<\/p>\n

Organization <\/em>— In this context, it consisted of Moodle having been already set up for me (shell, permissions, etc.) by UBC. I may or may not have this luxury in a real-world context.<\/p>\n

Novelty <\/em>— Bates & Poole (2005) include novelty in the Sections model because they do see it as an asset, albeit a limited or minor one. Elements like the basketball game offer “a welcome relief from instruction that relies heavily on text” (Boyes, Dowie & Rumzan, 2005).<\/p>\n

Speed <\/em>— One danger is that one or more of the databases mentioned in the basketball game is discontinued or changes its name. I believe this would not be an onerous “fix”, however — the text could be changed in the FLA and it could be re-exported as a SWF. I believe, though, that the costs of authoring and editing such learning objects are a vital consideration in the planning stages — e.g., are they worth it, are the subject to change, are they pedagogically sound, will they look ‘dated’ in a few years.<\/p>\n

————————<\/p>\n

Boyes, J., S. Dowie, and I. Rumzan. 2005. Using the SECTIONS Framework to Evaluate Flash Media. Innovate 2 (1).
\nhttp:\/\/www.innovateonline.info\/index.php?view=article&id=55 (accessed April 14, 2010).<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Flight Path Experience In hindsight I think my Flight Path was clear and reasonable \u2013 and that I achieved what I laid out, though not exactly the way I envisaged. I didn\u2019t become exposed to very much that was \u201cnew\u201d \u2013 in fact, nothing is ever really new anyway, especially this late in the MET […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1727,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-18","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mccallumetec565a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mccallumetec565a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mccallumetec565a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mccallumetec565a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1727"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mccallumetec565a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mccallumetec565a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":336,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mccallumetec565a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18\/revisions\/336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/mccallumetec565a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}