This week Mariah, Bridget, and I hosted class. Mariah was the lead and had some great ideas to start with. I believe with all of us working together we made a great plan. I loved her idea of interviewing Lee for this topic. It was so helpful to hear from someone with practical experience.
Dan focused his post around the effects of a solidly designed course and he would need help in designing one. I am in total agreement. I love playing around with technology and trying new things but would need help to make a course that would meet the objectives I set out. There is so much knowledge when brains are combined instead of working in solidarity. He states that most of us get to where we are today in isolation, and I agree. I feel this even more so in a small village where my colleagues all teach different subjects and grades. It is hard to collaborate with others in our district due to the distance between sites. Also my schedule is so full I don't know how there would be a common time to collaborate. I wish working together was easier but from reading I know it is hard for anyone. Josie talked about how some argue that instructional design is not necessary. This was not something that I had come across but it makes some sense. I don't agree with it but I can see where they are coming from. Although it is possible to learn on your own, it is not easy. I know from experience how challenging it is because I start so many things that I don't finish. You also have to be highly motivated in having a desire to learn something new. I'm really glad Josie brought this up. It relates to my post in knowing why you are doing something. You can know how to do something, but you really need a reason to learn it. I am in total agreement with Josie that instructional design is very relevant.
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Essential Question: How do instructional design stages help us understand online teaching?First lets start with the process of making a course. Above is an diagram that help puts it all together. This is similar to ADDIE which was mentioned by Moore & Kearsley (2011) and then elaborated on by Gordon (n.d). ADDIE is more popular and has been used for longer but is very similar to the above process.
This brings me up to the next point on development teams. A course with better content usually has more than one author. There are two main types of development teams noted by Moore & Kearsley (2011): the“author–editor”model and the “course team”model. The author-editor model is cheaper and quicker to develop whereas the course team model is more expensive and labor intensive, taking more time to fully develop. Also the author-editor model has the knowledge of few while the course team model combines the knowledge of many experts, making content superior. After you have decided on the best approach to your development team you must start to assign roles and sketch out your course. This is where I found the most useful information. There were so many good tips, that could even be applied to face-to-face classrooms, and I will share some of my favorites.
Sources
Block, J. (2015, October 20). Designing Learning That Matters. Retrieved October 06, 2016, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/designing-learning-that-matters-joshua-block Gordon, A. (n.d.). Instructional Design Roles and Responsibilities. Retrieved October 06, 2016, from http://instructionaldesign.gordoncomputer.com/IDRoles.html Moore, M. G., & Kearsley, G. (2011). Distance education: A systems view of online learning [Kindle Edition]. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. This week has been absolutely crazy!! At least I got the post done for this class on time.
Amy posted on my blog about feeling a connection. This really hit home. It made me think about this school year and last. I feel challenged because our staff doesn't seem to completely gel. It's not terrible but it doesn't seem like my first two years. It makes me want to take a step back. Then the students ask me about afterschool activities and are super excited. This makes me reconsider stopping activities. I know if I don't do it no one else will and the students will not have the opportunity. I do what I do for them. It is a great reminder. Just today my junior runner told me I needed to coach him next year otherwise he would suck. It really pulls at my heart and I feel connected. This is the reason I have been able to teach in rural Alaska for 5 years. Bridget talked about how using online tools we are constantly creating connections with others. I find this to be so true. I can't think of a time when I don't use online to connect or maintain some sort of human interaction. Even when I make lesson plans I use google to help me out. My favorite phase is "just Google it." I think the bigger dilemma is how to make meaningful connections online and how to create a group that forms knowledge. So many connections I make online are mindless. Theresa post a quote that really got my attention as well. “Indeed, one of the major breakthroughs to emerge was a growing acknowledgment that online learning, with attention to pedagogical design, could be not only as good as face-to-face classroom education but better” (Harasim 2012). I wasn't sure this could be true just as she stated. Then I realized how different each teacher is and that there can be good and bad teachers. If you have the right person to teach they could create an online environment that is more conducive to learning than someone else who creates a different learning environment in a face-to-face classroom. There is just so much variety in education. This is not necessarily a bad thing as long as best practices are used. Even though I had not heard of CoPs before this week they are very familiar to me. I just didn't realize there was a specific name for them. Essential Question: What lessons might we take from successful (and unsuccessful) OCL Institutional Innovations and from the concept of the Community of Practice (CoP)?Communities of practice (CoP) are quite literally a community. But not in the traditional sense. I really like quote in Learning Theory and Online Technologies "Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis…. These people don’t necessarily work together every day, but they meet because they find value in their interactions ...However they accumulate knowledge, they become informally bound by the value that they find in learning together. This value is not merely instrumental for their work. It also accrues in the personal satisfaction of knowing colleagues who understand each other’s perspectives and of belonging to an interesting group of people"(Wenger et al., 2002, pp. 4– 5). It sums up that this community is more than just a group and how important having a good structure can be. We have to build up the community in order to gain the knowledge that everyone in the group desires. "Knowledge is thus an outcome or a product, but it is also part of human practice. It is not just a 'thing'; it is formed by communities and reification of practice" "The Internet is littered with dead and abandoned online communities and special-interest groups (SIGs)" (Harasim 2012). So what can we learn from these? First we need to understand what a CoP can do. Online access has really helped these communities grow due to the increase in available communication. This increase in communication is important to note because it changes how people can communicate. Here is a list of some outcomes of successful CoPs (Cambridge, Kaplan, Suter 2005):
Another aspect to not is how a CoP grows. No CoP starts out at full capacity and there are some key phases that successful CoPs go through. Most successful CoPs follow the follow timeline. As far as success and failure go there are many characteristics that can help prove a CoP to be successful. According to Baker and Beames (2016) There are several factors that characterize successful CoPs including:
Failure can be predicted based on the following characteristics indicated by Baker and Beames (2016):
Sources
Baker, A., & Beames, S. (2016). Good CoP: What makes a community of practice successful? | Baker | Journal of Learning Design. Retrieved September 30, 2016, from https://www.jld.edu.au/article/view/234/239 Cambridge, D., Kaplan, S., & Suter, V. (2005). Community of Practice Design Guide. Retrieved September 29, 2016, from https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/nli0531.pdf Harasim, L. (2012). Learning Theory and Online Technologies [Kindle Edition]. New York, NY: Routledge. Theresa commented on my blog about how it is important to know how to find the answer we don't always have to have the answers in our brain. I feel like this is something I am constantly trying to teach my students. I don't want them to ask me everything. They need to know how to find some things for themselves and then ask me when they don't understand it. I always tell students to google things. It is probably one of my favorite sayings. Many times students get frustrated because they just want the answer and they don't want to have to work for it.
Josie talks about how technology has made higher education possible for her. This is a true statement for me as well. With being in bush Alaska I would have to wait until I moved somewhere closer to a university. I have been very surprised by how much discourse and collaboration are a part of classes. I was very leery of the idea of online classes at first but have now come to enjoy them. I am learning so much and I believe it is do to the communication and discourse we have with each other. I really liked how Bridget used this quote “There is a serious and persistent gap between how the digital youth of today learn in school and how they interact and work outside of school.” I too highlighted this quote, but then didn't use it in my blog post. It just didn't fit with everything else I was talking about. She supplemented this quote by using a personal example about a friends son who played video games. She wasn't sure that his skills would translate to the real world. I think she is right that video games and school are very separate. Even though they can provide many skills the challenge becomes the application. I want to include games in my classroom, but you have to carefully plan out your classes to be successful. I think it might have to be summer project for me. Essential Question: What is the role of discourse, collaboration and technology for distributed learning in online courses?"The Internet revolution is the fourth and most recent shift in human development and is the basis for the 21st-century Knowledge Age" (Harasim 2012). Education is changing so fast. Education used to be thought of as a transmission of knowledge for teacher to student but now education is moving away from this. Educators are realizing the importance of collaboration and discourse to really help students connect with content. This theory is called online collaborative learning (OCL). This theory holds a lot of promise with the growth in online learning with Knowledge Age students. Harasim (2012) advocates that students want to find better ways to solve a problem rather than following the instruction. This is a big change from previous education models. More than that is that students are starting to see advantages of online learning. “The real promise of online education, experts say, is providing learning experiences that are more tailored to individual students than is possible in classrooms. That enables more ‘learning by doing’, which many students find more engaging and useful” (Harasim 2012). We must engage students if we have any hope at teaching them. Providing opportunities for collaboration are key. "Collaborative learning discourse and processes contribute to the growth of understanding and knowledge in a cyclical or spiral manner (not linear), progressing and improving through experience, discussion and new information over time" (Harasim 2012). Connectivism is another learning theory that can be connected to OCL. "As knowledge continues to grow and evolve, access to what is needed is more important than what the learner currently possesses" (Siemens 2004). We are starting to realize that it is not important to know everything but more important to know how to find the answers we desire to know. "Connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing" (Siemens 2004). A way to see connectivism in action is through a MOOC. MOOCs help to remove barriers in education. With a MOOC anyone who wants to join this community and grow their knowledge is welcome. "A MOOC provides the means for connecting, interacting, and sharing across diverse cultures, attitudes, and skill sets in short order and with low cost. A MOOC differs from more established models of online education in its scale and openness" (McAuley, Stewart, Siemens, Cormier 2010). There are some major benefits of online education, but it is not for everyone. Harasim (2012) list some of attributes that can be both positive and negative:
Sources
Harasim, L. (2012). Learning Theory and Online Technologies [Kindle Edition]. New York, NY: Routledge. McAuley, A., Stewart, B., Siemens, G., & Cormier, D. (2010). The MOOC Model For Digital Practice:. Retrieved September 22, 2016, from http://www.edukwest.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/MOOC_Final.pdf Siemens, G. (2004, December 12). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. Retrieved September 22, 2016, from http://www.ingedewaard.net/ Wood, C. (2005, March 23). The Virtual Classroom Redefines Education. Retrieved September 23, 2016, from http://www.edutopia.org/online-education-virtual-classrooms Dan commented on my blog about how students are forced to problem solve on their own when they are given tasks from a distance. This really made me think about my classroom and my beliefs for learning. I firmly believe that when you construct your own model or representation you will remember it. Most students remember the project they did on class not the fascinating lecture that I gave. They remember the interactions they had with others. This is something that I am trying to remember and focus on as I create my lessons.
Theresa commented on constructivism and behaviorism in her blog post this week. She made a great post and with her in that a lot of online courses are rooted in constructivism and behaviorism. She commented on grades as being behaviorist and this was one of my first thoughts this week. Grades determine the quality of work that is turned in. If we are unhappy with a grade we either work to resubmit or work harder on future assignments. Then she talked about constructivist because we have to construct our own learning because we are not physically present with others for most of the class. I think if our classes were more module based we would notice cognitivism, but this is not the case and I am thankful for that. I feel like the design of these classes is more conducive to my learning style. Mariah focused on the cognitivist theory. I had not thought about my resources and how many have the component of cognitivism embedded with other learning theories. Computer assisted curriculum has become very popular and beneficial to me. I can create so much and reuse what has already been created. I use a lot of things from EDpuzzle, actively learn, and Kahoot. These sites are all rooted in lessons with questions to help process information. These fit with all 3 learning theories but a prominent one is the cognitivist theory because of the question and answer process that is embedded. She also talked about and interesting method for teaching mathematics called the Moore method. I'm not quite sure I understand how it works but if it involves constructivism I would be very intrigued. I always think it is hard to incorporate constructivism into math. Anyway you can increases learning, but without as much direct teaching I think it would be hard to get all students to learn what is necessary. This week I hosted class with Genevieve and Dan. It is hard to collaborate from a distance and Dan's microphone wasn't working on Blackboard. Even without his microphone Dan was able to figure out ways around this. It was not the easiest but it worked. I think next time would be a little easier. I am not used to using Kahoot with people who aren't in the same room as me. This made it challenging. I think the suggestion of putting a timer on would be good in the future. Overall I feel good about our lesson and I had fun presenting. Essential Question: How do learning theories manifest themselves in online courses?I think in any online course you would see bits of all 3 of the learning theories from our reading: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. These are not the only 3 learning theories out there, but theses are 3 of the most dominant learning theories. I believe much of education is shifting towards constructivism, but the other 3 are still valid and widely used. "There are a variety of methods that serve different learning needs. It’s the skilled and intuitive educator that analyzes a learning situation, leverages the resources at his or her disposal and is able to analyze the situation and design the very best learning experience for his or her student" (Morrison 2014) Behaviorist learning theory focuses on a stimulus and response. "Skinner explored how a direct stimulus led to a positive response that created a behavioral change" (Harasim 2012). So many online programs include badges and rewards to keep students engaged and willing to learn. Skinner found that "a behavior followed by the reinforcing stimulus results in increased probability of that behavior occurring in the future, whereas a behavior no longer followed by the reinforcing stimulus results in a decreased probability of that behavior" (Harasim 2012). So these badges reinforce the learner to keep learning. ClassDojo and Classcraft are 2 other behavior modification tools for teachers. These tools allow teacher to either give points to students for good behavior and take away points for behavior that is out of line. Technology has come so far from the "Drill and practice, and 'electronic page turning,' both associated with CAI, were the earliest forms of educational software" (Harasim 2012). "Cognitivism is concerned with identifying and describing mental processes that affect learning, thinking and behavior, and the conditions that influence those mental processes" (Bates 2014). According to Harasim (2012) cognitivism came about because behaviorism did not explain the brain. Cognitivists wanted to to know why we did what we did. This is how cognitivism became known as the "mind as a processor of information, much like a computer" (Harasim 2012). This is a huge application to online courses. We must know how the brain processes information in order to develop courses that will allow learners to engage in course content and develop our skills at a higher level than we were when we entered the class. Below is an image of some of Bloom's taxonomy on the different parts of cognitivism. With cognitivism there are lower level types of thinking and higher level thinking as well. You need both to successfully make sense of new concepts. The constructivist learning theory is very easy to incorporate in online courses unless it is an online lecture course. If students are given tasks then they must complete the task in their own way. It is up to the student to make their own meaning through "problem solving, experiential and/or social learning experiences" (Morrison 2014). Constructivist pedagogies have been characterized by terms like active learning, learning-by-doing or learning-by-making, scaffolded learning and collaboration. (Harasim 2012). From these terms it is easy to tell that this is a student centered philosophy. I have been trying to incorporate this theory into my teaching more and more. It is so hard as a teacher to allow students this much freedom. As a teacher we have specific goals in mind and these are harder to be sure they are met when the student is behind the wheel. Sources
Bates, T. (2014, July 29). Learning theories and online learning. Retrieved September 16, 2016, from http://www.tonybates.ca/2014/07/29/learning-theories-and-online-learning/ Harasim, L. (2012). Learning Theory and Online Technologies [Kindle Edition]. New York, NY: Routledge. Morrison, D. (2014, January 31). Why Educators Need to Know Learning Theory. Retrieved September 15, 2016, from https://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2014/01/31/why-educators-need-to-know-learning-theory/ Josie talked about how grades in distance classes have been about the same as those in face-to-face classes. I remember reading this and found it interesting. It made me wonder if the difficulty level was the same for both classes. There are some things that are hard to do when you are working remotely versus students who attend a face-to-face class. However Josie does point out that she has found distance classes to involve a lot more work. I find this to be true in that the work seems to be more productive and I find myself reading more and more and I dig deeper into the content. This was not the same in a face-to-face class because all content was given by the teacher so I didn't explore extra. Josie also talks about how grades are more reflective of the work you do in distance classes whereas in face-to-face classes your grade is partly showing up and participating as well as a grade of the work you do.
Genevieve also talked about transactional distance just as I did. We both found this theory to be the most applicable to our teaching. For me transactional distance seemed bizarre that it could be in both a traditional classroom and a distance one. The more I read the more it made sense. Just because you are physically present with your students does not mean that you have the dialogue and structure present to keep students connected. It really made me consider the structure of my classroom and how I could better assist students in feeling more connected to my class. ESSENTIAL QUESTION: WHAT THEORIES OR RESEARCH CAN INFORM YOUR CURRENT PRACTICE OF DISTANCE LEARNING?The term distance education is defined as "the universe of teaching learning relationships characterized by separation between learners and teachers" according to Moore (2011). In other words, this means that the teacher is separate from the learner. So how can this be a good thing to have the teacher separate from the learner? "Moore (2011) was attracted by this idea of learner independence and the possibility that distance could actually be a positive force, in helping adult learners, individually and in groups, to have greater control of their learning and more independence from the control of educational institutions." If the teacher is not there the learner learns to be independent and learn on their own. However this does lead to transactional distance. Transactional distance says that "physical separation leads to psychological and communication gaps, a space potential misunderstanding between the inputs of instructor and those of the learner" (Moore, n.d.). Even with a face-to-face class there can be transactional distance. There are 2 variables to consider when looking at transactional distance: dialogue and structure. "Dialogue describes the interaction between the teacher and learner when one gives instruction and the other responds", and "structure expresses the rigidity or flexibility of the program's educational objectives, teaching strategies and evaluation methods" (Moore, n.d.). For me this was the biggest takeaway that could be applied to my classroom, even though "Hopper (2000) found that students who reported a perception of high transactional distance did not think it impeded their achievement or satisfaction with their learning experience" (Moore, 2011). I think because of the face-to-face aspect of my classes distance should be low. Students need to feel connected. In a distance class students know there will be distance but with face-to-face it is expected that distance is low. Distance education offers a lot of potential but so little research has been done and most research only focuses on distance education in relation to a face-to-face classroom. There has not been much that has been studied with distance education in relation to other distance classes. Right now it is "no more than a hodgepodge of ideas and practices taken from traditional classroom settings and imposed on learners who just happen to be separated physically from an instructor" ( Sources
13.3 Theory Of Distance Education. (2001, August 3). Retrieved September 09, 2016, from http://www.aect.org/edtech/ed1/13/13-03.html Moore, M. G., & Kearsley, G. (2011). Distance education: A systems view of online learning [Kindle Edition]. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Moore, M. G. (n.d.). Theory of Transactional Distance. Retrieved September 9, 2016, from http://faculty.jou.ufl.edu/mleslie/spring96/moore.html |
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