Posts by Laurie Trepanier:
- Students are forced to cooperate with other students in a venue that the instructor can track all submissions and edits;
- Wikis are easily created and amended. Students will little technological knowledge can easily engage in Wiki activities;
- If a student is not performing equally within the assignment preparation, the instructor is alerted via electronic means. Instructors can track each addition and amendment to determine if the students comprehend the required materials; and
- Since all students and instructors are permitted access to the Wiki, students should endeavor to ensure proper grammar, spelling and content.
- The student can feel that the conversation is limited. If the student would like to create “side-bar” discussions that are not part of the assignment or the activity, the student may not want to or feel permitted to diverge from the topic; valuable opportunities to create dialog may be lost;
- While all students have to engage in the activity, the Wiki may leave the student feeling as if the interactivity is lost;
- As an instructor, the amount of information can be substantial leaving little time for interaction with the student and excessive time deciphering the “gems” within the Wiki; and
- As the Wiki grows, if it is not constantly monitored, vetted and organized it could potentially become chaotic.
Mar
20
To begin with, I did not enjoy the wiki activity. To illustrate why I disliked the use of the wiki, I would like to point to a co-student’s contribution.
In the individual contribution section, Denis wrote: “…a student set up a Facebook page with the sole purpose of trashing our school. He/She was sending out messages and invites to others to join a group that supports each other in their hatred for the school. On Monday the admin team found out that this was going on, made an announcement that the student who created the page needed to come forward to apologize or the police would be called upon to track the site and an expulsion would take place.”
This topic intrigued me and I wanted to converse with Denis to ask if the admin team or the school has a right to suspend a student over a private action – such as the creation of a Facebook page. It seems to me like an infringement of one’s right to speech!
Through the wiki page, I did not know if I had the right to talk directly with Denis. And if I did have this right, how was I to go about creating the dialog! If this was a discussion forum, I would directly ask Denis if about this topic, possibly generating a new discussion thread that may create interest and engage other students.
With this small frustration aside, I will identify what I believe to be the advantages and challenges to working with others in a collaborative wiki space.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Mar
2
As the Olympics are now finished and the TV no longer becomes a magnet for my attention, I begin to re-focus on the task at hand; completing the ETEC 565 course. While I had every intention of working during the two week break, I was a little hampered by my lack of access to the Moodle site. So now, I have a file full of text that I will begin to add to my Moodle course. Thus, my experience to date with the platform is rather limited. To date, I have enjoyed this course immensely.
The readings that I have benefited from the most are Bates and Poole Chapter Four: A Framework for Selection and Using Technology and Anderson’s Towards a Theory of Online Learning. This literature will and have already reframed my perceptions of courseware design, acquisitions for e-learning and usage of technology in the classroom.
The group activity focusing on the LMS evaluation was also highly beneficial. I have taken some time to review my current work processes and I have added criteria focusing on 1) Integration with Existing Systems and 2) Compatibility. These were two areas that I did not focus on prior to beginning this course. As technology rapidly changes and new software providers enter the market, I believe that these two issues will be almost as important as the pedagogical and user interface criteria.
My goals posted under Flight Path are as follows:
1. Develop a stronger understanding of effective formative and summative assessment in a digital format;
2. Develop a wider understanding of individual learning goals within standardized performance oriented content. (With a focus on digital environments); and
3. To learn more about educational technologies that may benefit the schools in my organization.
I believe I am achieving these goals through my own individual work, research and participation in discussion forums. In my opinion, I am learning more from my co-students experiences and perceptions then I am learning from the course instructional materials.
References
Anderson, T. (2008). Towards a Theory of Online Learning. In: Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Athabasca University, Accessed online 3 March 2009.
Bates, A. W. and Poole, G. (2003) Chapter 4: A 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.
Feb
4
Hi all,
I wanted to put some info on my Blog about the LMS that I use in my day to day activities. DNDLearn is a D2L product. Most of the technical support for this product is provided in-house.
DNDLEARN Site
Jan
28
I wanted to grab a snapshot of the criteria identified in the different Rubrics by the MET 565A Jan 2010 class.
Reliability Compatibility
Stability Integration with existing systems
Adaptability Extensibility
Hosting Support
Accessibility Interactivity
Pedagogical Allowances Security/privacy
Administration (access control, registration)
Training Appearance
Course management tools (templates, class lists, discussion forums)
User Interface (Designer/Instructor/Students)
Assessments Costs (licensing, upgrading)
Jan
25
I would normally have my instructional materials created at work by a small team of developers – technicians trained to create instructional materials under my guidance. As I have a limited supply of educational technology in my personal collection, I decided to complete this activity by creating a family scrapbook at home. This scrapbook includes some family photos, a video of my children ice skating, and some updates on the “family life” for the grandparents. I figure that this is akin to instructing our family on what we are doing in Cold Lake, AB since the big move (from Ontario) this past summer!
For the activity, the materials I selected includes several Word Documents (my children’s’ creations from school), a basic HTML document that the grandparents can open on their computer within a Browser and a three minute video. The word documents and the video are embedded in the HTML formatted document. The DVD creator I used was the Toshiba Disc Creator. I wanted to experiment with the off-the-shelf version that anyone would have at their disposal.
Reflections:
While the creation of the DVD was relatively easy, I was not impressed by the number of files present on the disk. My first instinct was to attempt to open all the files and see if there was anything interesting in each. Strange since I was the person that burned the files! I would prefer to have all the files hidden, with the exception of the one html file that supports all of the others. Perhaps I can do this at home, but I have yet to discover how.
Please leave a comment if you have any ideas on hiding the other files from the viewer when creating a DVD from home on this type of software.
Laurie
Jan
23
During the last week, I was on a business trip to CFB Bagotville, near Chicoutimi, Quebec. During this trip, I worked long days and was limited in my evening movements. Unfortunately, the base does not offer any Internet access during the evenings, so my academic work was essential put to a stop. This had the effect of limiting my participation in group work and discussion forums, as well as a lingering feeling of “lost”.
I often complain to course developers who provide online training of their lack of flexibility and for not offering more consideration to the students’ situations. CF members – and many private and public sector employees – are called upon travelling, often for week-on-end. This often results in the student been penalized as a result of limited Internet connectivity. I would assume that the MET program has student who also travel. (In my experience there have been a few.)
For many students, the choice between in-house courses and online courses boils down to flexibility; flexibility of access, assessment, participation and content. My last week has reinforced that the students’ situations must be given careful consideration when developing online materials.
Laurie 🙁
Jan
12
I just wanted to provide some more general info about my work. Check out the following link to the School for Training Development in the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces Training Development Centre
Jan
8
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Check out my flight path page!
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Jan
7
The International Society for Technology in Education produced the National Education Technology Standards (NETS) 2008, which outlines five broad categories for “standards and performance indicators for teachers” (NET 2008). This aim of this self-reflection is to use the five broad categories as a basis for the assessment of my skills and confidence. As I am not a teacher by profession, this self-assessment will be focused on my role as educational and training advisor to the military chain of command.
Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
As a Training development officer, it is my job to encourage instructors to go beyond the lecture method, and use collaborative methods including peer-to-peer learning, experiential learning, as well as many others. As an advisor on training and education, it is imperative that I encourage CF instructors (who are tradespersons first!) to engage in activities that promote learning through authentic scenarios that are based on events that student my face upon graduation. The use of digital tools, emulators and simulators provides the realism to training while keeping the student safe during the training event, and allows the student to explore without worry of injury or costly errors.
Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
Formative and summative assessments are tools used to ensure that the content delivered was retained by the students. Assessments at the formative level can be developed and designed in a digital format, but all summative assessments must be completed in a practical application.
Personalize learning activities are also limited in the military training system. Individuals are expected to perform in training in a manner that would be acceptable to the performance expected on the first day of the job. Thus all training is standardized to ensure that each graduate has a baseline set of skills.
This category would be my weakest area due to the emphasis on performance oriented systems approach to training used in the military.
Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
As a student in the MET program and a professional that engages in continuous learning, the modeling of current technologies and informing co-workers of relevant information related to information and educational technology is paramount. While I believe my knowledge in this area is limited, I attempt to discuss and use technology so that I can speak to employability, easy of use and relevance to military training and Intranet limitations.
Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
This category probably is the most relevant and important to the CF. Copyright infringement is a serious incident and can be one of the hardest topics to education individuals upon. In my role, it is my responsibility to ensure that knowledge regarding appropriate use of materials is disseminated to all staff in my school. It is also important to ensure that when training is developed in a digital format, that the training is applicable to the needs of many learners by use of a wide variety of instructional strategies.
Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
Engaging in professional growth is a skill that I hope to have mastered in my academic and professional career. Learning, both formally and informally, in the area of educational technology has been my focus for the last four years. Participating in training conferences and conventions, engaging in professional Communities of Practice to further my knowledge within the military community and creating dialogs with other have allowed my knowledge to grow. This is an area that I can say with confidence that I have achieved all points within the category.
Reference:
ITSE. (2008). The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers. Retrieved 6 Jan 2010 from the World Wide Web: http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
Jan
7
Welcome to my ETEC 565 Blog.
This first first posting will be short and sweet 🙂
I welcome any recommendations and suggestions to make this site more interesting to visit.
Laurie