Author: diwilkes

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ETEC 565- Learning Technologies Selection: Design and Application Module 3- Interaction and Assessment Tools

Interactions to support learning

“When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.”

Anderson indicates that good theories assist us in making things and this theory enables us to reflect on our own experiences- whether participating in or creating one (trying to!)- in online learning environments.  (2008, p.46) I choose to pull out some main points from Anderson’s chapter on online learning in order to explain my experiences.

LEARNER-CENTERED- Anderson explains that to have learnING centered online learning “a teacher makes efforts to gain an understanding of students’ prerequisite knowledge, including any misconceptions that the learner starts with in their construction of new knowledge.” (2008 p.48).  I have experienced learner-centered online learning through the MET program, Elluminate PD sessions and an online ESOL course.  The courses offered within the MET program are by far the most learner-centered in that we are encouraged to participate in Icebreaker activities which give our instructors background information about ourselves.  Also, through our asynchronous communication we share a plethora of information about our personal experiences and are given ample opportunity to pose questions and have them answered through discussion with others.  We are also afforded with the ability to communicate directly with our instructors when we need specific help (or clarity) provided.  I’m not convinced there are extensive ‘diagnostic tools’ but everything is pretty transparent.  With Elluminate and the online ESOL course there was a much-less learner-centered approach- it was all about imparting knowledge and demonstrating retention of this through participation and/or assignments.

KNOWLEDGE-CENTERED- Although online learning environments can provide the disadvantage of overwhelming the learner with content Anderson describes how the internet can provide increased access to almost limitless resources that enable the learner to cultivate their knowledge of the topic which can be beneficial due to the variety of layouts, designs and perspectives they are exposed to (p.49, 2008).  I have felt overwhelmed many times, particularly while doing 2 courses concurrently, at the sheer volume of resources we have at our fingertips.  As wonderful as it is to have this access, I am developing a new skill-base for determining what is absolutely essential for me to immerse myself in to what is beneficial to what can wait until….  I wish I had more time!

ASSESSMENT-CENTERED-

Online learning provides an abundance of opportunities for learners to participate in authentic assessment tasks.  They are often constructed collaboratively, encourage peer and expert reviews and are “infused with opportunity and requirement for self-assessment” (Anderson, 2008, p.50).  I believe that online learning and blended learning experiences provide invaluable opportunities for ‘assessment of learning and for learning’.  The ability to do online quizzes (html), practical tasks (WIMBA voiceboard), group projects (LMS rubric), personal projects (proposal), peer review (thinking ETEC 500 Article Critiques) and authentic/practical tasks (Moodle course and EDUBlog) has certainly enhanced my learning in this program.

COMMUNITY-CENTERED-

I think community-centered learning is fantastic.  Anderson highlights one drawback:  that “Participation in a community of learners almost inevitably places constraints upon this independence – even when the pressure of synchronous connection is eliminated by use of asynchronous communications tools.” (2008, p.52).   Many of us joined the MET program because it enables us to participate when we have the time.  However, as we quickly realized, if you are away from the forums for more than a day or two you will be welcomed by a full discussion forum and have a lot of reading/responding to do before we can begin our own contributions/assignments.  This can be attributed to time-management.  The opportunities for knowledge building in this truly constructivist learning environment have a)kept me out of any remotely possible comfort zone; b)ensured that I am constantly learning new things (IT related and otherwise); c)made me remember an abundance of skills/tools I forgot I had; and d)built my confidence as a 21st century learner (and educator!).  Every time I open up a discussion I know that one of my colleagues will pose a thought-provoking question, share a personal anecdote or contribute a brilliant idea. 

References

Anderson, T. (2008a). Towards a Theory of Online Learning.  In: Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Athabasca University.

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ETEC 565- Learning Technologies Selection: Design and Application Module 4- Social Media

Wiki Collaboration within the wiki space

Reflection of my participation:

I began fairly early in the week and read the first 8 sightings and added my own as the ninth.  It was interesting to see so many similarities in how people have been using or have seen social media being used in their context.  The differences I think were in the depth of their use- what I mean is that some of us are using social media for real and authentic learning experiences and some us (for a variety of reasons) see social media used more outside of the ‘classroom’.  I also added my suggestions to the wiki discussion about what I felt were the strategies and challenges for promoting the use of social media with students:

  • Diana-to me the 5 primary challenges to engaging students in social media are: cybersafety/privacy, managing on task behaviour, assessment, providing feedback and the ‘novelty factor’ (familiarity and personal use may make it boring so how do we keep them intrinsically motivated?)- also I question if our students can multi-task: read http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95256794
  • Diana- my suggested strategies are: begin with an introduction to social media using a social network (this could highlight a number of the challenges identified above- I co-created a ning for this purpose in 510), identify clear expectations/guidelines/consequences so students understand their role and yours, involve/invite/empower the parents, make sure the context is relevant to the students and FUN, variety-change it up and use a variety of social media to keep them engaged, agree Kathie,(introduction to student, parents and admin)(Evonne agrees here too!) Evonne would love to see Diana’s NING – sounds like a great set up! See here for the wiki and ning: https://teachingsocialnetworking.wikispaces.com/ and http://etec510.ning.com/ (the modules are under Events)

My Wiki Collaboration Opinion:

The Good:

It was a change of pace and kept most of us well out of our accustomed comfort zone!  I have used Wikis before and I find them useful but for SMALL groups.  It helps one understand/reminds them of how Wikis and Wikipedia word- it is amazing that Wikipedia is so coherent!  It was also a reminder that we need to understand and practice html since you never know when you will need it!

The Bad:

At first I thought that this tool would be a highly effective way for a group to collaborate.  I quickly realized that because it is unthreaded it was exceptionally difficult to organize and recognize new contributions and who the contributors were (unless they wrote their name).  I found it much more challenging to use than our usual forum within the WebCT/\|Vista LMS particularly because you could not follow the flow of the discussion.  Wikis are great for small group collaborations, my opinion.

The Ugly:

I had to remember to use html (mostly by copying everyone elses!) format to ensure that it was organized.  I almost immediately noticed that some people were incredibly frustrated by the chaos that was our discussion- and because we cannot read each other’s minds, everyone had their own technique for ‘organizing’.  I think some of us may have taken one look at our jumbled collaboration, freaked out and ran in the other direction.  Had I contributed later on I may not have known where to ‘contribute’ new ideas and where to ‘discuss’ the ideas that had already been articulated.  I also think that people were afraid to’edit’ the ideas of others so this needs to be clarified as well.

I think for a Wiki to work for a large group there needs to be clear criteria for how to ‘discuss’ and ‘contribute’ and put it together in the end.  Perhaps an editor IS required (since our final product is complete but still a mess!).

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