Synthesis

Flight Path

In my flight path, I outlined several goals that I hoped to accomplish through ETEC565A.

• Experience a shift in thinking in terms of technology integration
• Learn to more effectively integrate technology for teaching and learning
• Learn to assess the feasibility of online tools
• Become more aware and competent in social software tools for learning
• Increase my comfort level in using technology
• Learn about assessment for Education 2.0 types of learning
• Be scaffolded in the learning process through communities of practice in and outside the course
• Learn how to and gain confidence in setting up a Moodle course with the integration of social learning tools

As I look back on these goals, I am pleased to say that each one has been met to some degree through this course. The readings, activities, and assignments, along with the class discussion have been invaluable in helping me reach my goals. The one goal that was only minimally met was the assessment factor. I have grown in my understanding of this, but would like to grow further.  There is much discussion in education today about how to assess Web 2.0 and digital learning (See the Kyrene District story).  The standardized tests that exist are not adequate and alternative assessments need to be sought. I do recognize though, that these goals are ongoing and will remain in place for many years to come. As I build my reflection, I will seek to designate where each of these goals has been met.

eLearning Toolkit

The eLearning Toolkit acted as a tutor/guide/chaperone for this course. It was easy to navigate and the expectations of how it was set up were laid out very clearly.  There were many useful tools within each section and exploring the appropriate section alongside the same module was helpful.

There were a few drawbacks that I found. Firstly, some of the links did not work and there was no way to know the link address.  I would suggest both a link and an address to make resources more accessible.  Secondly, some of the activities required equipment that might not be available to a student.  For example, the lesson on video suggested a camera, tripod etc. I did not have a tripod and so could not participate fully in this activity. Finally, time was an issue.  While there were many good activities to explore, I could not find the time for each one.  I did participate in a few, but in the end, I needed to focus on my Moodle assignment since there was such a steep learning curve in that one project.

In terms of my goals, the eLearning Toolkit helped me with each of my goals except perhaps the one on assessment. It is a great resource and one which I will continue to refer to both in my professional life and as I move on in the program. Thanks to fellow classmate, Kathy, I have turned it into a PDF book for future reference.

Note: I wrote about links not working, but thanks to further exploration, I found a way to open them in a new window and they all worked fine. I’m pleased to have figured this out, although it would have been more beneficial earlier.  I realize that when I am more relaxed, my learning increases.

Overall ETEC565A Course Reflection

 Methodology

The methodology of this course was very helpful to me.  While my previous core courses in MET were constructivist in nature, they were more theory focused and not hands-on like this course.  I found that I was pushed to seek out answers that were beyond my scope and expertise. The need to produce products that met criteria and worked well was a motivating factor.  I was also completely engaged to the detriment of other things in my life!

Community of Practice

Flight Plan Goals:

• Be scaffolded in the learning process through communities of practice in and outside the course

A community of practice that occurs in situated learning, is made up of a group of people who have a common interest.  Key to learning is the inclusion of members at varying expertise levels.  This allows those who are less knowledgeable to grow in their expertise.  I found that our class functioned quite well in this respect. Most of us contributed to the areas where we felt we had something to give.  Some were able to contribute more than others, scaffolding those with less knowledge and expertise. Classmates were quick to share what they had just discovered as well, making our course very conducive to learning. In addition, there were excellent resources made available such as in the eLearning Toolkit.  The wider Internet community also contributed greatly to my knowledge. There is a very robust Moodle community of practice in addition to other kinds of technological information that people have take the time to post for the benefit of anyone.

 

Resources

Flight Plan Goals:

• Experience a shift in thinking in terms of technology integration
• Learn to more effectively integrate technology for teaching and learning
• Learn to assess the feasibility of online tools

This course offered a plethora of excellent resources that will be invaluable for the future. Of particular significance was the Bates and Poole (2003) SECTIONS framework. It was extremely useful to see it used for a single technology tool  (Boyes, Dowie, & Rumzan, 2005) in one of our final readings. NETS for both teachers (2008) and students (2007), as well as the Chickering (1987, 1996) articles are useful guidelines when planning and designing lessons. While I have encountered the Anderson (2008) articles before in MET, they were a good refresher in terms of making sure that sound theory preceded the excitement of technology. The Cogdogroo Website is one that I will continually be referring to in the future, as is the eLearning Toolkit, which I now have in PDF form.  The prescribed readings, along with assigned activities did serve to precipitate a shift in thinking about integrating technology into learning.

Activities:

Flight Plan Goals:

• Learn to more effectively integrate technology for teaching and learning
• Increase my comfort level in using technology
• Learn to more effectively integrate technology for teaching and learning
• Learn to assess the feasibility of online tools
• Become more aware and competent in social software tools for learning
• Learn how to and gain confidence in setting up a Moodle course with the integration of social learning tools

Each of the activities contributed to my goals.  Of particular significance was the main project: Moodle.  Creating a Moodle course was a tremendously rewarding albeit frustrating experience.  I had a little experience with Moodle in a previous MET course but that was only adding content and not setting it up.  I learned so much through this activity.  I learned to be tenacious in the face of problems. For the most part I was able to get it to work.  I gained an appreciation for those who are skilled enough to fix bugs in open source software.  I learned that I must weigh carefully whether using a technology is worth it based on the time I have available and the outcomes needed. The assignment required that we use html pages.  While I can see the value of this and I did learn something new, I’m not sure that in the end it was worth my time other than completing a criterion. Although a page can look better by using html, I felt the time that it took to prepare and then rework it in order to get links working was in the end not worth the effort.

Next Steps

The next steps for me include completing MET (by August) and looking for a new job.

Final Courses in MET

ETEC520 will provide practical guidance for thinking through and setting up an online program

ETEC565G will help me think through the cultural issues of an online learning environment, particularly as I am involved with students from China.

ETEC530 will help me explore constructivism further which is one of my goals as an educator

Future Employment

As I look for my next place of employment, I am actively seeking out schools that are interested in growing in technology for learning.  I would like to use what I have learned to help train teachers in how to think about and use technology in education. MET is equipping me with resources to be successful.

Future Learning

In terms of life-long learning I will continue explore the Web 2.0 tools we have touched on in this course in order to become more familiar with each one.  In addition, I have been bookmarking resources that are of interest so that I can keep current on technology for learning.  I also plan to look further into blogging for education as I feel that this has many merits for learning. I will also be doing some further exploration in Moodle to continue what I have started in this course.  There are some specific issues I want to learn more about including the creation of html pages. I have signed up for and downloaded Moodle to my computer for this purpose.

Final Thoughts

At the beginning of this course, I wrote:

I’m excited to see where this course takes me, and looking forward to expanding my technological capabilities. I want to look back on this course without regret, knowing that I gave it my best.

This course has been a tremendous learning experience. As I look back over the last 13 weeks, I can see tangible growth in my ability to work with and think about technology and I can say without any regret, that I gave it my best effort.

 References:

Anderson, T. (2008). Towards a Theory of Online Learning.  In: T. Anderson & F. Elloumi (Eds.), Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Edmonton AB: Athabasca University. Available at http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/02_Anderson_2008-Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf


Anderson, T. (2008). Teaching in an Online Learning Context.  In: Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Athabasca University. Available at  http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/14_Anderson_2008-Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf

Bates, A.W. & Poole, G. (2003). Chapter 4: Aran Josse  Framework for Selecting and Using Technology. In Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education: Foundations for Success. (pp. 77-105). San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers.

Boyes, J., Dowie, S. & Rumzan, I. (2005). Using the SECTIONS Framework to Evaluate Flash Media. Innovate Journal of Online Education, 2(1).
http://www.innovateonline.info/pdf/vol2_issue1/Using_the_SECTIONS_Framework_to_Evaluate_Flash_Media.pdf

Chickering, A.W. & Gamson, Z.F. (1987).  Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education.  American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39 (7), 3-7.http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples1987.htm<a

Chickering, A.W. & Gamson, Z.F. (1987).  Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education.  American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39 (7), 3-7.  http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples1987.htm

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

Learning Theories Knowledgebase (2012, September). Situated Learning Theory (Lave) at Learning-Theories.com. Retrieved September 13th, 2012 from http://www.learning-theories.com/situated-learning-theory-lave.html

National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_for_Teachers_2008.htm