Good Design

Online leaning and planing can be a richly rewarding experience and also a very challenging experience.

During my eLuminate experience I started looking at online learning from the perspective of a designer. Wow does this look different. There seems to be many different considerations in planning an online course – keeping in mind the objectives and experience for the learner.

Meeting the learning needs of students in any educational setting can be ever so challenging but meeting needs through in an online environment comes with it’s own set of issues.

Ethics plays a huge part in online learning. Very interesting questions and considerations came from discussions today with colleges. One particular question that spark debate was “is Internet access a basic human right? A question that came to my mind was “is internet access a basic need!”

Addressing ethical questions with online learners can be a bit tricky. What I struggle with is that some learners throw the role of digital citizenship out the window which can produce complications online. Learners need to be aware that what they put out in the digital world is there for the world to see. How you communicate with others can have serious consequences if not done in an appropriate way. Cultural issues are another concern. What is ok in one cultural may not be acceptable in another. How do we deal with this when designing a program. Is it up to the facilitator to deal with these issues or should others handle these problems? What are the support systems that are put into place and can they help address these issues if need be?

Another cause for alarm is the potential cheating or plagiarizing that may happen online.  Sure this happens in face to face environments however the internet brings advanced communications technologies and the perceived absence of the facilitator, to the table giving learners a false sense of security and mind set that no one will notice them if they do it. (Simonson. 2012)

What then does a successful design look like? One that is ethically sound and above all one that meets the ever so diverse needs of the learner.

References

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Image by Stuart Miles, courtesy of FreeDgitalPhotos.net

Defining Communities

Communities. What does it take to build?

Build a community and will they come? Or will they?

So what is a community? This question sparked great debate as to not only what a community is but how we define a community and do connections lead to communities or does communities lead to connections.

The definition of community really depends on the context in which it is applied.Is it applied to a farming community ? A learning community? A religious community? A cultural community? An online community? The term community will vary under each of these circumstances but one commonalty remains the same for all these groups and that is that each of these communities from around a common goal.

I believe that a common goal is necessary but there also needs to be some sort of social connection or an emotional tie-in to community building. But creating this social element in some types of communities can be tricky.

Creating that social component with an online community can be especially challenging. Many factors need to be thought though. How and will there actually be a social connection built into an online community? Is there really a need to be socially connected in order to belong to a community? If in fact social connections are being made in an online community are there then considerations for a safe space to go.

Creating a sense of community in a distributed learning environment can be a challenge. It may not be for everyone?  In the course textbook, Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek (2012) have shown that completion rates for online learners increase when the students have an added social component to the experience. Noncompleters tended to be more task orientated and focused on course content with a diminished capacity towards social interaction (pg.72)

There is defiantly merit to adding a social component when building an online community. Social collaboration whether it’s online or face to face is very important for building an online community of successful learners.

References

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Image by bplanet, courtesy of FreeDgitalPhotos.net

An Article Review

Well I didn’t think it could be done but at the stroke of midnight my article review assignment was handed in. Who knew researching an article and then writing about it could take so much time!! I must admit after finishing this assignment and finally having a chance to sleep on it I was pretty happy with the topic I chose. – Professional Learning in a Digital Age. I was so enticed by the topic that I think I will pursue it for further study – Maybe even another paper!

This article resonated with me for several reasons. Professional development is an expectation and obligation in teaching and yet a lot of the time I don’t feel that I really took anything away from these development days. If we are to engage students in their learning then doesn’t it make sense to also engage ourselves? Perhaps this is why I chose to pursue studies in Educational Technology. In this rapidly changing world, education needs to change but so does the way teacher teach. Our strategies for student leaning and engagement have to stay current. So why is it then that I can’t seem to find quality professional development to satisfy my professional needs?

This brings me back to the article that I reviewed. This article focuses on online professional development. Why can’t we connect with other teacher world-wide? Wouldn’t it be exciting to see what engages students in Australia, Ukraine, Netherlands or Japan! What does teaching in these areas look like? If we are trying to connect our students in the classroom using real world situations wouldn’t be just as engaging for teachers to connect as well!

 

“Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net”.

A Starting Point

In the last few days I have consumed many new concepts and ideas on and about educational technology. One particular idea/question that was put forward for discussion was “What is your vision for schools 10 years from now?” I have been pondering this somewhat simple question for the last several days. It is a little hard for me to envision what 10 years from now will look like in a school because of our rapidly changing society but what I do know for certain is that I will have to keep up with new trends if I want to have an impact in my classroom. The fast paced flow and easy access  to information provide both challenges and opportunities for teachers. We will have to come up with ways to keep learning meaningful and engaging for students. Our goal is changing and as educators we need to now facilitate students learning. We need to guide students in their ability to make connections and to sift through the endless stream of information so that they can find what is useful and meaningful for them. Students need to be engaged in their learning and to become excited about the world around them.  To be and feel connected to students is important.  Educational tools are just that – tools. They will come and go and be replaced by better, faster versions but in the end students will still need to know how to make learning connections and analysis information in order for them to become problem solvers. I see K – 12 schools 10 years from now becoming greatly involved in distributed learning using technology to help students stay connected to the real world.

As students move through the traditional K-12 path of education they will need to be prepared for distance education opportunities. Students have choices of how, what and where they want to learn as they graduate from grade 12 and they need to be prepared for these opportunities. Distance education has opened up a world of opportunities and possibilities for students but they need to be prepared to take advantage of these opportunities and that now has become the job of the educator.

“Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net”.

“The principle goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done”.     Jean Piaget