EDTECH 504-Reflection 4: 11/1/2011
Posted: November 1, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »For Module 4 Reflection, you need to critically analyze the connections among emerging technologies, learning theories, and theories of educational technology. Use what you have learned to extend these linkages to your own classroom instruction.
Through the study of learning and educational technology theories during this course, I have gained evidence to support the importance of online course design and instructional practices based on special characteristics and applications for adult online learners. My tendencies toward constructivist teaching are well founded based on the research I reviewed. In reading numerous case studies involving cognitive and social constructivism, I connected several important applications to my teaching including the need to address adult students’ specific learning needs. In my teaching I include surveys using Survey Monkey that allows me to gather information on my students. I also include an introductory forum where students share their prior experiences, work situation, course learning goals, and professional career goals.
Constructivist cognitive and social theories also emphasize the need to integrate real-world experiences of the work place and set up conditions to share these experiences. The social aspects of shared learning through online course collaborative tools and activities, community of practice for shared knowledge and support, provide models to continue to explore the best practices for the needs of the adult online learner. Providing opportunities to apply newly acquired knowledge into real work situations, adult learners perceive online learning is both relevant and satisfying to their needs and goals (Park & Choi, 2009). My course assignments are largely practice based, where students apply learning immediately in a real-world situation. Allowing students to read each others’ assignments and reflections creates a shared learning experience-based learning environment. What I want to strive for is finding a way to continue the learning community beyond the constraints of the course boundaries. A true community of practice continues and develops a culture over time.
Beyond the research completed for my synthesis paper, I also reviewed educational technology theories including transactional distance theory and the emerging theory of connectivism. Both of these theories are helpful as they define distance learning and grapple with the factors of emerging technology as it relates to learning. In my work designing and teaching online courses, as well as managing online learning communities, it is important to understand and keep up with the emerging technologies in order to use the best possible communication tools for dialogue and infuse meaningful ways to minimize the transactional distance within these virtual experiences. In using Moodle for a majority of my courses, I have explored the interactivity with tools offered within the learning platform, including interactive glossaries, synchronous chats, asynchronous discussions, as well as embedding multimedia, site-based assignments, and authentic assessments. Students are give and are given feedback in order to make stronger connections and given opportunities to construct their own meaning through inquiry questioning. To strengthen my practice, my goal is to continue to explore ways to facilitate student connections through shared inquiry methods that are both meaningful and satisfying.
Another aspect of emerging technologies is accessibility and mobile learning. Both of these elements are important as more aps are made available and cloud computing allows for almost unlimited storage. Allowing students to communicate in ways they are used to online, as well as teaching traditional skills, provides greater interactivity and means of expression. It is exciting and rewarding to be a part of this quickly changing and evolving field of education.
EDTECH 504 Reflection 3: 10-16-2011
Posted: October 17, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »In your Module 3 Reflection extend your linkages between theories of learning, theories of educational technology and your own classroom instruction.
This week I participated in a shared assignment for this course by reviewing chapter 8 and identifying key points. The chapter dealt with socially shared cognition, so it was interesting to compare the group experience, with chapter content, and my own online course assignments.
Chapter 8 presented an example of shared cognition within the context of a research collective. All researchers used the same after school program and used shared cognition as a means to gain from all members research efforts and results. In this reflection, I will take three of the elements of shared cognition presented in the chapter and reflect on these same elements as they apply to my own experience as a student, as well as how I have used these elements in my university course design and teaching.
Sharing- Two types of sharing important in Socially Shared Cognition (Cole): 1) common use or experience 2) division or distribution of resources, work or artifacts
As a student: Our group shared a common reading assignment that we chose from within the textbook. The ability to choose the chapter added to the interest and shared experience of the group. By choosing the chapter and writing the summary, my curiosity about others’ work was increased. The intent was to have a discussion to create a shared list of agreed upon key points. This in theory seems like a great way to implement an aspect of shared inquiry. In reality, our group did not respond to each others posts, which was disappointing to me. I was, in fact, the only one who responded and ended up creating the group key list on my own.
As a course designer/instructor: I think this brings up an important consideration when constructing assignments. It is difficult, as an instructor, to know how to guide a group that is not participating. I noticed that other groups did not have this same problem. I would like to learn more about constructing socially shared cognition groups and how to manage situations when students do not contribute (share).
Collective Agreement of Core Principles- a framework of shared core principles give the group a shared culture to build a socially shared cognition system.
As a student: I am not sure if our group shared core principles or not, which leads me to acknowledge that a week-long activity is not enough to create a situation where socially shared cognition can be fully explored. In the example described in the text, the researchers met for an extended amount of time while the study was going on. I am sure this would help build an agreed upon set of core principles for conducting the research. In a way, communicating shared key ideas from the chapter could be extended if we also expressed an agreement of what principles we felt were most important, rather than what the authors were presenting.
As a course designer/instructor: I can see where it can be important to group identity to guide students to communicate and discuss core values and principles. Through this deeper reflection, they can then set about coming to agreement on their shared collective core principles.
Diversity- Each participant brings to the group a perspective, schema of experience, unique learning setting, and knowledge base to share and strength the shared knowledge of group. Participants make own choices within the context of the learning environment to fit own circumstances.
As a student: The beauty of online courses, is the potential for students to come from anywhere, bringing with them a variety of experiences and situated learning sites that benefit all learners. In our course, we have a range of ages, locations, and careers represented, which adds to the interest and applications of topics presented.
As a course designer/instructor: This is a reminder of the importance of providing opportunities for participants to share their backgrounds and apply learning in their specific situations. In my READ Oregon courses, participants are teaching in many different locations and situations, from subbing, to private schools, preschools, and public schools. Participants are highly experienced to recent graduates. This presents a rich opportunity to encourage this element of shared cognition.
EDTECH 504 Reflection 2: 9-19-2011
Posted: September 20, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Course reflections, EDTECH 504 Leave a comment »For your Module 2 reflection activity begin creating linkages between your own epistemological beliefs and your classroom instruction. Do you see inconsistencies in what you do and what you believe? See if you can extend your thinking to include ways in which you incorporate technology into your curriculum.
One of the things I am appreciating in this course is time to review learning theories and trace their progression. Through the readings assigned, and on my own, I am beginning to piece together how the different theories influence the birth of new theories, as well as how they attempt to both explain and impact education. In the theorist paper assignment, I found that connectivist, a theory in infancy, is borrowing and integrating constructivist, cognitivist, and behaviorist principles as they apply to the changing constructs of education made available through technology.
I am finding that in my own teaching practice, I have a strong affinity to constructivist view points and will touch on two contructivist areas for this reflection.
Situated Cognition and Authentic Contexts- Constructionists favor authentic learning contexts over isolated knowledge. In my online education courses, I include site-based assignments, where students both observe, and actively participate in their career environment to complete tasks relevant to their practice. Technology allows the students to bring back their experiences to the group online, share their site-based projects, gain peer feedback, and exchange comments, questions, and ideas based on real-world shared experiences. The technology allows students to post assignments for classmates to read, and thread responses and questions with each assignment.
Social Constructivism- Reading about elements of learning within the context of social systems is opening my mind to how I think and experience learning with others. I tend to be a very independent learner, or think of myself this way, and am beginning to take stock on the importance and even necessity of learning a shared experience. In my courses, I strive to create an interactive environment. Interactivity, to me, goes along with real-world learning. Constructing meaning as a group puts a stronger spin on how the social aspect of online learning contributes to learning goals. This is something I would like to explore in greater depth as we continue the course. I have not personally found many “group projects” that fulfilling in the past, but this could be the way they are designed. Currently most of my assignments are completed as individual activities shared and extended on through group interaction.
EDTECH 504 Reflection 1: 9/7/2011
Posted: September 15, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 504, Course reflections Leave a comment »Where are you now, in terms of your own teaching and professional practice and the inclusion of ed. tech in that process?
Teaching is the heart of what I do in all my various current career capacities. My work life is complex, but education, and especially ed. tech, is something I am creating, envisioning, and working with every day and in each job.
Teaching at SOU/ READ Oregon- I have had the opportunity to teach online courses for SOU and READ Oregon since 2005. I was pretty much handed a syllabus and told to go at it without any training whatsoever. I found the courses I was given to be lacking in my view of what could take place in an online environment. Having, what I now know to be a constructivist view, I thought the courses were too teacher directed and lacked an approach that made connections with real-world experience, as well as the potential for interactivity within the online environment, I felt was essential for deeper learning. So, each course I was assigned to teach, I have re-designed to include these elements. I have designed and taught at least 15 different courses for SOU and READ Oregon. Education technology is a part of how the courses are created, delivered, and provide the methods in which the students learn and interact. This experience has also led me to seek other universities to contract online course design and teaching. I have been able to further explore online teaching through UC-Riverside, UC-Irvine, and Ellis University. Each venue has offered a different learning platform and format to extend ways to apply my discovery and project approach to teaching through the tech tools available. My interest in online teaching and interest in seeing how far this ed tech can go in a constructivist teaching and learning is what has led me to pursuing a second Masters’ at BSU.
In my full time job as the Director of Education and Teacher Community, I am continually working with ed. tech., as the entire program is online. I manage, design, and facilitate a national online mentoring program for students in grades 3-5. This also involves creating teacher communities to helps support teachers implementing the program. I maintain the website, create-produce-and facilitate-all training and professional development, as well as a multitude of other duties associated with keeping an online program functioning.
A third area I am involved in is writing. I write for both print and online sources, mostly in the education field. I also create activities for students K-12, as well as adult teachers. Many of these projects include elements of ed. tech from computer elements in lessons, from software in design, to online platforms for publication.
What kind of change do you hope to see as a result of this class?
Much of what I am currently doing stems from intuitive knowledge gained from many years of teaching and being a student myself. I love to learn and enjoy examining the process of learning, including all the stages, emotions, frustrations, and joys of taking on a challenge. This course will challenge me to take a closer look at theorists who have researched epistemology and identified structures behind today’s programs. I am hoping that by taking a closer look at where some of my beliefs come from, I will be better equipped to explain my reasoning to those who may question my techniques.
How might your knowledge and experiences influence the action of those around you?
I am a strong believer in modeling the approach that you are teaching. In the teacher education courses I design and teach, I strive to model active learning though a constructivism approach that allows the students to directly explore and apply learning in real life contexts. Through interviews, classroom observation, active teaching design and implementation, and collaborate online projects, students are able to make direct connections from the course to their teaching. Even more, they are able to understand how it feels to learn in this way and will hopefully impact their own teaching.
Gaining information from this course can help me communicate these theories to my students to substantiate these teaching and learning ideals.
Hello world!
Posted: September 15, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized 1 Comment »Welcome to WordPress.com. After you read this, you should delete and write your own post, with a new title above. Or hit Add New on the left (of the admin dashboard) to start a fresh post.
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