It is a requirement of Managing E-Learning that I start a blog, to reflect on my learning and to present my assignments.
So here I am, typing away. Wondering what I should say. Wondering about my poor grammar and spelling. And deciding to just get on with it. (And that seeing as though blogs are quite casual, deciding that starting a sentence with 'and' will be ok.)
This week we are led to explore images, audio and the combination of the two in video.
Research from previous weeks has made it clear that students will learn better if text is accompanied by images. So here's a thumbs up for images. Also check out the Cisco report at the end of this post. (a thumbs up re sized to 450px wide and maximised for web, in paint.Net)
We also now know that videos are quite engaging, a 'normal' information source for the digital natives and and in some cases the most effective way to pass on information. But as I discovered each mode has its place...
Images The old quote 'a picture says 1000 words' (not needing to be referenced as it is classed as common knowledge) can definitely be true but I sometimes find that images are used unnecessarily in adult learning materials. Having designed materials like this myself I know I have used images that are at least 'somewhat relevant' simply to break up text. In this form images don't offer a great deal; they don't really encourage higher order thinking, but they do break things up and can help make content interesting. Much like the Photo Story images below.
More irrelevant images... My Photo Story of my hot air balloon experience many years ago. Set to some beautiful free music from Microsoft. Published via YouTube as it did not work uploading it directly.
*Photo Story was easy to use! Give it a try. As it is a drag and drop program it will be suitable for very young learners and persons with limited computer literacy. It would be a great way to capture the events of the day and I can imagine having students retell what is going on in the images. Photographic evidence is also a lot easier for younger children to participate in independently and the image can be used after capture in multiple ways. It also creates a source that can be used to extrapolate more detail or explanation after the event. As a learner I have found images such as graphs very useful in understanding large volumes of psychology data. In this format the images are used as a summary and an alternative way to understand the data.
Overall images are powerful tools but sometimes are not used effectively. My readings this week will make me think twice and think harder about the use of images.
Audio Audio is great for the auditory learner and those who can not read effectively (the wee little ones). And lets not forget the role music can have in learning, from the reassuring 'ding' of getting a question correct, setting the mood of a story, or helping with recall (when encoded with the same music). Initially though I debated with myself that anywhere audio could be used video could be used - and would be a better choice. I have now come to the conclusion that audio has its place as an equal with video (as well as a component of it).
Audio options like pod casts are quicker to download than videos which may not only be larger and slower but may need to be streamed Audio files can also be used 'on the run' or in the background, whereas a video demands full attention.
Video I have said that video can be a great mechanism for teaching someone something and at first I though of this as one-way instruction, think of a video about tying shoelaces as an example. As I thought further about its applications in learning I found I was initially stuck coming up with ideas on the benefits of students presenting their work in video format, apart from it being more engaging for the viewer. Then I considered the same skills based activities that made video so great as a teaching tool and decided it would be a great way to demonstrate a skill back to the teacher/assessor, particularly a skill that normally occurs outside the classroom or needs to be demonstrated over a period of time. It may also be the perfect tool for students that are too inhibited to perform the skill in the traditional school setting.
I can imagine that too many videos would be a little exhausting though and not entirely representative of how information is handled in current workplaces and so they must be limited to remain effective and retain the engagement factor. *As a video can be made of still images, is the ballooning Photo Story above an example of images or video? Hmmm..... Multimodal Learning I know that different modes of learning can be processed in parallel, and this bombarding of modes is quite normal for digital natives, but it can be distracting for digital immigrants. I know I can multitask, so could happily listen to an interview, a recipe or lecture while driving, cooking or typing, but some people can not multitask and need to devote adequate attention for the learning to be effective. For this reason the learning designer must use multiple modes as tools to aid the learning and not have each tool trying to cover something different at once, losing some of the learners. It is also important to remember that everyone has learning preferences and one approach will not be best for every learner in the group. Some informal references The effectiveness of multimodal learning can be explored further in this report:
Analysis: How multimedia can improve learning
New research sheds light on students’ ability to process multiple modes of learning
By Meris Stansbury, Assistant Editor, eSchool News
Prelude Before I get started I would like to say that blogs and wikis are websites. A website is the patent category with blogs and wikis one of the many sub categories.
In this learning activity I think we are supposed to recognise that the tools differ in the level of community involvement and who can make a change.
Wikis enable community involvement and the members can view and change their own work and the work of others; the work evolves. The user interaction with a wiki is frequent.
Blogs offer a medium level of engagement with readers being able to leave a comment but not change the original content. The user interaction is periodical.
Static websites (in the context that I think we are supposed to think about it) is a 'read only' site; you can not comment on or make changes to it. The author may write the site and then make no or very little change to it and a user may visit only once.
More information on the definition and history of Wiki can be found here, on the popular wiki website Wikipedia.
Reflection on the use of wikis in elearning As I work for a website development company (I do projects and admin, not developing or designing!) I thought I have a pretty good understanding of how websites can be used and given we are required to write this blog, I thought the logical topic to explore this week was wikis. Egh, 'wikis' (said with a grimace)... Wikis I had no experience with wikis prior to the mobile phone wiki and now that I have participated in the activity I am a skeptic. Surley it can offer more than that? What is it really for?
I thought it was a factual space. An evolving, interactive edditable dictionary or encyclopedia. There has to be more to it...
Wikispaces says that a wiki is simply a platform for sharing you creation (Wikispaces http://www.wikispaces.com/ accessed 13 March 2013). Ok, so that seems more useable....
I have looked into the login process for wikispaces and how businesses and groups have used a wikispaces wiki and it is just wonderful. I am converted. It offers more functions than a blog and is more novice user friendly than a website. Did I mention there are packages that are free?
Here is my wiki. You will need to have a wikispaces account to sign in.
There are a number of positives for using wikis in a learning context. First is that you can have a number of 'owners' in the form of multuple authors. Content evolves and you build a real community of users. Tasks can be broken into its componenets and small teams or individuals can work on a pice of a larger project. Wikis also enable students to contribue to the wiki page in different ways, for example with a video, written text or images. It also has the benefit of being able to be a one-stop-shop for a course or topic. Like the YouTube video above explains, you dont need to keep track of a project through multiple sources as a wiki can support the multi media.
Unfortunately a wiki does not allow concurrent editing, which seems odd for a collaboration tool. The wiki I created did not have a spell-check function, which is an enormous dissadvantage for me as I am a terrible speller! I presume it woul be somewhere in the system thouhg.
It is quite interesing that there is an unwritten code of conduct for the use of wikis, although it makes sense. One expectation I have of a wiki is that contributors reference their sources. It isnt always going to be appropriate to use Harvard or APA referencing but I would expect acknowledgement and links, taking care not to breach copywrite.
On this topic, I think most people (myself included) are not aware of their ethical and legal responsibilities. A great excersise could be set up at the begining of each blog or wiki that politely forces members to get to know their responsibilities. In a wiki this could be a set of scaffolded questions, like the mobile phone wiki that are edited by the group until the optimum response is achieved.
One feature that must be present to make a wiki successful is trust amoungst members. Having a common goal or interest would be beneficial too!
A wiki could be a fantastic tool in a learning environment, however I think it is best suited for use with a cohort who are likely to regularily engage with it, rather than for one off interactions. A class, interest group or committee, - a community. Blogs Now that I have a better udnerstanding of a wiki I think blogs are quite flat! Visually as well as functionally. I want more. For me blogs are person of interest/business 'news' sites or a private personal diary.
In a learning context I think a blog would be best when the focus is on the single author up to a small group. A blog would be a good way to record an activity or experience over time. It would also be good as a dissemination tool for example an orginisation could use a blog for each department to distribute news items, reminders, liks and event information to (compulsory) subscribed staff.
Here is a blog I made some time ago in Wordpress (with no prior experience) for a friend who set up a foundation to raise awareness on organ donoation www.taylorsgift.org.au You will notice that there is a lot more functionality than Blogger. I have created multiple tabs/pages and have used WYSIWYG functions like an calendar.
Websites With my knew perspective I see websites as business orentatied tools. Businesses generally speaking want to convey a message and may have ecommerce functions. A business, personal or government website is less likely to foster an active community. Some websites may have functions like forums that allow a two way exchange however on the whole websites are a place to go for inforamation or to buy something. No doubt I am bias, given my work exposure to business websites! Static websites Here is my understanding of web 1.0 and 2.0 Web 1.0 = Old school static site where content changes only when the site master changes it. Many websites that I use would fall into this category, even though they are dynamic, and the owner (not the developer) can change the content. Web 2.0 = Interactive sites that really have a life of their own. They can be changed by the users and therefore the experience may be different for each user. Overload I am feeling a little overloaded with sources. I have a friend with whom I interact in the following ways:
fact-to-face (with kids, at events, happy, sad)
phone
text message
picture messages
face book posts, messages and functions (pokes etc)
her cooking blog
her personal blog
I am not even sure if she is on Google+, Twitter or has a Pinterest account otherwise I would probably add those too. I like this person, but where do I look? Am I missing something if I don not keep an eye on a blog? Is it ok to just check them periodically?
If you have this going on in your personal life, academic life, work life and then for every group and committee you are involved with it gets too much to keep up with. For me, I want a single summary from all the sources and a subscription to just a few of the best mediums. I guess this is part of the 'engage or enrage' debate. I couldn not be bothered with interactions that are not pleasant (I rate visuals highly), simple and to the point. Other people will want a different experience, and I will need to keep that in mind when planning and designing platforms. Try an avatar
The talking avatars from http://www.voki.com/ are amazing. Easy to use and extremely customisable. I am so glad I gave them a try.
"While the use of ICTs in schools is varied, there are two main skills that teachers should have. These are, using ICTs to teach, and, providing opportunities for student use of ICTs to facilitate, support, extend, enhance and transform learning".
Reflection on the 'mobile phone in classroom' wiki
Plus other engagement activities.
Activity 3: Reflection on the mobile phone in class wiki
Good instructions were provided in the technical manual and on moodle yet l I was hesitant to just start writing. My global learner preference (and my detailed/sequential preference) meant that I understood the why and how of the activity but I needed to see the relevance of the task before fully committing, and I must agree with it too! I was unwilling to engage when I didn't understand why we were using a wiki for this activity. I understand a wiki is a tool for recording facts and I felt a forum would have been a more appropriate tool for this activity.
Additionally everything I wanted to say was succinctly said by another class member. I didn't know what to do! I tried to add snippets but found it hard to improve on what was said. Being in a hurry I chose not to prove my position with research or reference my material. If I was asked to do a 200 word summary I would not have made the same decision.
I viewed the format as informal, and once I saw how others were writing I decided I could get away with a quick answer approach.
And so onto the connection with our learning.... Learning styles The wiki activity offeredindividual research into the topic with a collaborative answer. It was literacy/linguistic based. Reading and hearing comments made by others in the class I would consider most students approached this as digital immigrants, which may explain why so many of us had trouble engaging with the wiki.
If any one reads this and has suggestions on how I should be referencing please let me know! Yes, with more time I will find out myself. Next week!
Learning theory The learning theory I believe the wiki activity demonstrated is social constructivism. This can be demonstrated by the following points, from the moodle learning theory explanation:
the activity was based on interactions within a learning community
working with our peers we were in a zone of proximal development.
we had the support of the teacher
we had the use of a suitable tool
we worked in collaboration
For some learning tasks I think using a group activity like a wiki or forum where students can learn from each other and be supported by a teacher is a valuable tool.
Scaffolding The scaffolding for this activity was De Bono's six thinking hats We were given the has framework so that we considered multiple perspectives.
The teacher structured the activity so that we were guided in our learning. If this was not the case it would have been a dog's breakfast of formats, thinking levels, opinions etc and it would not have been easy to compare responses across participants.This framework for thinking worked well to draw out our ideas.
Using a wiki or forum as a way to construct the knowledge means everyone is visible, the responses are recorded and the teacher can see the thought process for each answer.
The purpose of scaffolding is to try to lead us to a higher order of thinking. Considering Bloom's Taxonomy I consider the activity covered the base levels. However if we have not researched the topic, and rather have made comments based on opinion and current knowledge, I debate whether we have actually contributed to the first step; 'knowledge/remembering'.
The downside of this activity is that a person that is not motivated to participate may just sift through others responses and create an agreeable response. Alternatively someone that is hesitant to commit their answers to 'paper' may sift through others responses and feel more confident that they are correct and provide their answers.
In a controversial topic like this it was important to provide your answers, but not comment on the answers of others (not directly anyway).
I think some people didn't use the tool as a wiki - a source of fact. They did include opinion, however the scaffolded questions also led to this response.
*Note made after this was submitted: After reading some class mates blogs I may be missunderstanding the word 'scaffold'. I have used it here, as I understood at the time, as a framework to structure the participants response, however it is more than that in that it allows multiple angles of ananysis for a simgle item and is aiming to introduce a higher level of thinking.
Also, I want to make this note on connectivism, from one of the linked articles.
"The
capacity to form connections between sources of information, and thereby
create useful information patterns, is required to learn in our knowledge
economy."
I guess that is the definition really.
Activity 1: Productive pedagogies
I could not get the links to work so I ran through this mentally. I think this is a tad harder for me to imagine how to use these tools in a classroom setting as I am not an education student.
It is a straight forward system and I found it helpful to look at the suggested terminology. I do wonder if it is just 'naming' what you are planning to do rather than ensuring you have good learning design.
Activity 2: TPACK A plain English explanation of technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK).
I couldn't top the video posted by a fellow student (Casey Williams) This made it all clear!
TPACK = teacher knowledge about teaching with technology.
Previously it was viewed that teachers were experts in a content field, and had pedagogy knowledge. Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is when a teacher had a knowledge of a subject and knowledge of how to teach it. Then came along technology! Technology and TK started to be visualised as another field of expertise required by a teacher.
The question here is whether connectivism is a pedagody, like behaviourism, congnitivism and constructivism, or a state of learning.
I see connectivism as falling into both categories. On one hand it is a framework for achieving the 3 padegodies just mentioned, and on the other hand it is itself a complete system for obtaining knowledge. The outcome of connectivism is a learned skill, an experience and if it is correct that it is changing the brain of users, then it is an physiological change as well.
The difficulty comes in distinguishing learning
packets of information that are recalled are classed as knowledge
demonstrating a physical task with skill is calssed as knowldege
being able to access, evaluate and manipulate multiple sources and formats of information is also knowledge
Connectivism can be used as a platform for the first two examples and is also a skill that the person aquires. It combines the external and internal collection and creation of knowledge
Regardless of what you are learning
On at least some levels Siemens idea will be unsettling to academics as it challenges the institutional system that is education. It must be frightning to hear that everything you were taught and the way you are doing things needs to change. Not supprisingly many are waiting for the proof before jumping on board.
In conclusion and after a couple of days thought I think its a new state of learning, the 'art an science 'of modern learning. I guess that makes it a pedagogy then!
A number of authors contest Siemens'
ideas. It is unsettling to be challenged about existing perceptions of
"knowing", in particular, the lack of purpose in asking our students to
KNOW and be able to RECALL what they know in assessment. Many academics
contest these ideas because they are not yet supported by research,
rather, they are a position about the nature of learning. They also
contend that learning is a state within the individual, and therefore
connectivism cannot be regarded as a theory of learning, rather a theory
about how learning is best supported.
Do you agree with them?Can you see Siemen's point of view? What is your position?
Give an example of ways in which you
could use this theory in your classroom/learning context? Optional Blog
posting - add your reflection to your blog.
Engagement Activity 3: Reflection on Prensky's Ideas My snippets of commentary are based on the two articles provided; 'digital natives, digital immigrants' 2001 and 'engage me or enrage me' 2005 both by Marc Prensky. (Marc has a Marsters in Teaching)
Article 1: Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants
Part of this argument is not whether ITC is being used, but the usefulness of it.
Prensky opens with the idea that "today's students are no longer the people our educaional system was designed to teach". While it is true that school students are very different today I believe the education system was never and is still rarely ever designed for the students.
So the idea is that students are natives and teachers are immigrants. Being an immigrant suggests the person is unable to fully adapt to the technology, they may consciously resist it or just not make the most of it. Prensky is suggesting that
Teachers, being older than the students (school students) are always going to have differences, prefer different hair cuts and like different music. having different preferences doesn't mean a teacher can not engage a student or take them on a learning journey.
So school may not be the same faced paced multi faceted experience as kids are getting through their devices, but then neither will most jobs. While moving towards a digitised education system may be most interesting for the student it is going to leave other parts of their life lacking. How will they cope with having to sit down to a family dinner? What are the down sides to so much stimulation? Do we need a break occasionally? Are there some instances where sequence and logic are still needed? What will happen to relationships if we stop communicating verbally, physically and with body language?
Is Prensky suggesting that we simply adjust the old way so that it is presented faster, electronically and with multiple elements going on at once? This seems like old teachers using new tools badly.
It is going to require significant 'training time' to teach old dogs new tricks. Or a new career path for someone like me, who is interested in teaching and has a background in learning and works for a web technology company. I want to be the in between person that designs learning activities that meet the teachers requirements and are interesting to the students.
Article 2: Engage Me or Enrage Me
I am not sure that education should be competing for attention.
Its true that our school aged children are bombarded by energetic, creative digital media, but they like it, they are using it and it is not going to stop. Their life will be self perceived as boring with out it. But in most cases it probably isn't being used effectively, and it was pointed out that students are using the same limited number of programs. Students still need to be taught how to use digital tools in a learning context.
For me the take away is that we can use some of the concepts that make these programs interesting, addictive and engaging in the design of our e-learning materials.
It will take more effort and therefor more money to create this type of experience and as a result the first wave of designers will have to use current research to justify why it is necessary until corporates/schools get the picture that this new type of design is normal and essential. Good riddance to the 'click through text and do a quiz at the end' modules!
TED talk - "we get educated out of creativity", yet it will be vital for children's future careers to be creative. Our current education system (particularly for children) is based on behaviourist teaching "in the future it wont serve us".
Multiple intelligence test This test is based on Gardner's 8 areas of intelligence. The wording suited the young target market.
Note: Prior to taking the test I can not see where I would fit. Perhaps naturalistic followed by visual/spatial.
The results show my strongest areas of intelligences as intrapersonal and visual/spatial, followed by linguistic naturalistic and logical. I am not good with people or music. I like music, but I am not skilled at it, nor do I use it to help me learn. In fact music puts me off of learning. I feel akward in social situations (although others say they don't notice) and I find confrontation difficult.
The learning area I see this test to be most useful is in grouping people together. Either combining similarly minded people, who can get along on a project task, or a mix of people who form a balanced team. From the multiple intelligences point of view I can see that you could combine a number of intelligences into a learning activity. For example a group of students who are particularly kinaestheric may need activities that include movement while linguistically minded students will preffer words. A spelling/reading activity could be made more effective for these two sets of students by placing words on the floor and having students follow a path of words by jumping between them and say them out loud. Musical and visual/spatial could easily be combined into this activity too.
The main point of multiple intelligences is that intelligence can be considered on more scales than just academic smarts.
So how would I use this in an ITC context? I am not sure yet. I can picture class room based applications but when thinking of myself as a uni student I find it harder.... I think I just need more exposure to the tools that are available. I imagine that there would be programs that could make quizzes that move words about on a screen and you have to click on the correct word as it is moving. Something fun, like the old 'whack a mole' but more dynamic. Perhaps this will satisfy the kinisthetic? I wonder how the kinasthetic respond to touch screens. Hmmm, how can I get the 'eye-move' responsive games and tilt screen games into learning.....
Below you will find my Felder and Solomon results as a graph.The short questionnaire is based on the Felder-Silverman learning style model.
I tend to have difficulty filling out these types of questionnaires as base my answers on my recall of specific examples or situations. This raises the questions a) whether I would answer them the same if I completed it again, b) is my recall of and c) is what I perceive to be the best match to each question the same as everyone else sees it? I am often told that I am detailed, however I don't always see myself that way. In addition to these three questions you could ask if I have I interpreted the question correctly and if I able to use the questionnaire effectively (language skills, sight, hand mobility etc).
My learning style results:
The learning styles referred to are: ACT = active REF = reflective SEN = sensing INT = intuition VIS = visual VRB = verbal SEQ = sequential GLO - global
The graph indicates that (on this occasion) I was fairly balanced on three of the scales, and have a moderate preference towards reflection on the first scale.
I agree with a moderate preference towards reflection. I like to jump in and try solutions (active) and like to discuss it (active, although this may actually be a reflection of scenarios where I like to verbalise instructions) however I like to think problems through (reflective) and have a preference to work on my own (reflective) once I understand the requirements.
Scoring mid range for sensing and intuition is accurate also. I much prefer non-fiction to fiction and documentaries to movies, however having a need to understand the bigger picture (global) I also want to know the relationships that exist. Reading though the attributes for sensing v intuition I can see how I would swing between the two depending on the situation.
I seem to remember more about an idea when I have a visual representation - 'a picture speaks 1000 words' (visual). However when learning something new I like to ask questions and hear the global overview (verbal). I have a preference to present information visually. Sequential v global is another area where I see myself strongly one or the other depending on the situation. I acknowledge that I have trouble with or don't see the importance of information if I don't know the purpose of it (global). I find that if I have a global understanding I am more able to make use of the details and are more likely to find a way to solve problems myself. I also like to study one subject in depth (global), not short bursts of many subjects. Being mid range means that as a learner I would be comfortable with most learning experiences. I will want to know the big picture and will appreciate time to think about the content of what I am learning and make connections with the bigger picture (global). Like everyone I will have different preferences in different situations.
The best way to support a group of learners it to accommodate all learning styles. This may mean that a portion of information is presented in the opposing style or that additional information in the alternative style is made available. I am not an education student, but I presume that the most important idea when supporting others is to simply acknowledge that everyone learns differently and that as an educator you are trying to engage the learner and reach an outcome, and this will only occur if they can use their preferred learning style at least some of the time. I note that the provided 'overview of learning theory' suggests it is critical to understand how participants learn in the current context. This is an interesting idea, one that I would like to explore more over this course. Is it as simple as identifying that young people are connected with their technology? Perhaps instead of schools seeing mobile phones as a nuisance in the classroom we will see them used as tools. Thinking a little deeper I wonder about the effect of such exposure to electronic devices, for example text messaging, on learning. Are young learners more likely to respond better to frequent short, succinct messages? Will they need to be taught how to read and evaluate complex documents? Or should complex documents be condensed, and come with short text speak captions? Is it too much to expect a uni student these days to sit attentively and take notes for two hours of droning reading from the text book? (Yes, CQU lecturers who do this please stop!). Those people who are used to multiple activities going on in front of them - think listening to TV/music/lecture while at a computer with multiple gadgets running and flashing and streaming and playing and then pausing, no, make that diverting a portion of attention to reading and responding to 12 second interval text messages. On the other hand this bombardment could be quite overwhelming for someone not conditioned to splitting and flitting their attention.
With your current knowledge of ICT, how could your design and digital pedagogy support your learners better? ICT provides a greater opportunity to offer multi modal learning to students. I presume it would also be easier to manage the outcomes of having multiple strategies and would be more able to be changed to suite a new cohort of learners.
What sorts of profiling questions would you be asking about your learners to ensure you cater for everyone's preferences?
How does ICT support differences in learning styles?
You may wish to post an OPTIONAL posting in your blog
identifying your own learning style, the accuracy of the test, and a
reflection on the implication for online learning design.
