EDUC 633 - Best Practices Blog (Week 8)

Best Practices Blog

I found these three books on distance education. I am going to focus on the first book, but the third book is very interesting as well because it shows how distance education can be used in so many fields.

1^st Book : Learner- centered Theory and Practice in Distance Education: Cases for Higher Education by Thomas Duffy

2^nd: Best Practices in Distance Education by Lynn Smith (for higher education)

3^rd:  Best Practices in Distance Education Vocational Rehabilitation Training

The book by Thomas Duffy is excellent. It focuses on community building and the constructivist model of learning. Also the book explains why a traditional class cannot just be put online without careful consideration for what the students are learning. The focus of a course when it is put online needs to be the objectives and the activities that the students will be engaged in. It is not just enough to put the materials online for the students to read and take a test on. Learning does not occur through this method (Duffy, 2004).

Duffy explains that learning is an activity that the students will do and not just a “thing”. When students are engaged in an activity it makes the material so it is not abstract and is easier to absorb. Learning takes place through interaction and not just the way the information is taught (Duffy, 2004).

Duffy’s article is right on target with what I think the best online practices are, as well as face to face practices. I teach high school math and I have my students in groups where they can work together with each other. This is where the higher level thinking comes into play, because they can learn a lot from one another. Plus it makes class more enjoyable for the students. If the students are enjoying the class then their performance will be better as well.

Reference:

Duffy, T.M, Kirkley, J.R. (2004). Learner – centered Theory and Practice in Distance

            Education: Cases from Higher Education. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.



EDUC 639 - VB Week 7

EDUC 639- Wiki Reflection Blog

1^st Blog

My groups literature review is on bring your own device. Pam, our team leader set up the wiki and input all of her information in it. This was my first time using a wiki or even hearing about one, so I was shocked at how easy it was to understand. The first time I used the wiki I input all of my sources that I had gathered information from at that point. I also read all of the information that Pam had already put in the wiki. Working with the wiki contributed to my learning because I learned how to use a new technology, which is why I am in this course. This wiki has helped my future career because it is one more item that I can add to my list of knowledgeable technology tools. Working with groups is difficult, but the wiki has made it easy and enjoyable. Working with the wiki has shown me a tool that I could use to get my students to work together. My students will think using technology is cool, and it will get them more involved.

2^nd Blog

The second time I worked on the wiki I was able to input my information from my webibliography. Inputting my information helped my learning and knowledge development because I had to read and try to fit my information into where it seemed to fit with the categories. Working with the wiki enhanced my knowledge of technology tools because I had to troubleshoot through minor editing issues. Digging deeper into a program helps you understand the program better and gives you more experience in the program. Working with this program helped my attitude towards the subject because I learned more and had a positive experience with the program. Working with the program gives you more skills and problem solving ability for future programs. It seems after you know how to use more programs you have the thinking skills necessary to work through other new programs with less assistance. This helps future career options because I will know how to use this program and others to put in my portfolio. Once again it helped the cooperation in my group because it made it easier to put the paper together.

3^rd Blog

The last time I worked on the Wiki, I submitted more information for the equity and special education subtitle. Then I read over all of the other information that everyone in the group had put on the wiki. Working with the wiki helped my knowledge development overall because I can see using this program in my classes at school for projects after the students take the SOL’s. I know that they will get excited about the program and it will help them work together better. I am more open to using technology as a collaboration tool. I thought that this project would be difficult because not being able to see the other group members presents challenges. The wiki has really made it a nice experience. It has made it easy for everyone to contribute their work when they want to and you do not have to worry about emailing back and fourth. I can now show other people how to make a wiki, and show other teachers how using the wiki could be implemented in their classes. A wiki could be especially helpful in English or Social Studies courses where there is more writing and research involved. Then using the wiki would make the students lives easier when they are working together and they would hopefully have a positive experience like myself. 

EDUC 639- Muddiest Point Blog

The videos this week were very informative. These videos gave you a lot of information in a short amount of time. The first video on cheating was very informative. There were a few areas that were a little unclear. The metadata that is in a word document is a very interesting topic. The directions on how to protect some of your information were not very clear. I followed the directions to see what data goes with my word document and I could not find the statistics. This point may have been unclear to me because I did not have any idea that this type of information is there. So I think there should have been some more specifics on meta data and ways to protect yourself.

The second video also gave a lot of information about the copyright laws. The main point that resonated with me was the educational use law. I knew a little bit about the law, but I want to know more specifics. This is another topic that is very relevant to my career and I am interested in it. I think the entire slide show could have just been about that.

These points are unclear in the field of education because people are not aware that their personal information is attached to a word document. This is not common knowledge, because you cannot see the metadata. Also the educational copyright law is not taught at schools during professional development. This is an area that teachers should be aware of because not everyone goes through education courses where they could have received this information. 

EDUC 633- Webibliography Blog

Chapter 15 in Clark and Mayer Book

Critical thinking skills are skills that are desired in school and in the workplace. It is very difficult for people to be taught these skills, but research has been done to show that some of these skills can in fact be taught. Critical thinking also involves evaluation of products or ideas (Clark and Mayer, 2011). Chapter 15 in Clark and Mayer discusses the importance and possibilities on building these skills. Helping people build thinking skills enables them to adapt more easily to changing situations in the work place (Clark and Mayer, 2011).

There are three main types of thinking skills, which are creative, critical and metacognitive. A person who has good creative thinking skills is able to generate new ideas. A critical thinker is able to evaluate products and ideas effectively. Finally, a metacognitive thinker is good at planning, monitoring and is able to focus on the process behind the task (Clark and Mayer, 2011).

With the three types of thinking skills, here are some examples that Clark and Mayer (pg.342) listed:

Creative thinking can be designing an e-learning course, creating a marketing campaign, and drafting an architectural plan. Creative thinking requires a person to be creative and find new solutions to old problems. Critical thinking examples are evaluating validity of Internet resource and considering pros and cons of a new marketing campaign. Critical thinking involves the ability to conduct research and do statistical analysis. Metacognition examples are assessment of what you do and do not know, identifying skills you are not learning, and monitoring progress in a team setting. Metacognition improves the usefulness of our thinking skills and cognitive abilities.

Thinking skills can be taught. People can be taught to think critically.  Thinking skills can be trained to a certain extent. There are effective programs being used that help people develop better thinking skills. The first aspect of an effective program is that the program focuses on a few skills. The second part focuses on contextualizes the skills, and the third part incorporates social learning strategies. Also utilizing job specific training tasks in thinking workshops will help the learner to grasp the concept better (Clark and Mayer, 2011). During workshops the teacher needs to focus the learner’s attention to behaviors of expert models. The theory of the lesson should have the connection to real life skills, because this will make it more meaningful to the learner (Clark and Mayer, 2011). Lastly, the learner should always reflect upon what they learned and how it will be used in their job (Clark and Mayer, 2011). Reflection helps the learner process the information that has been given so the learner is able to develop their own ways of using the information. According to Clark and Mayer, in e-learning you have some unique opportunities to provide learners with feedback on their problem-solving processes and promote reflection on those processes.

Teachers should have good thinking skills because of the different situations they are presented with on a daily basis. There is not always a situation they can be prepared for because students are unpredictable, and teachers have to be able to think on their feet. There technology issues that arise and a lesson may not go as planned; therefore being able to be creative comes into play. When teachers are given training about how to use creativity in the classroom it helps the teacher and student be successful. Creative skills can be taught just like mathematic skills can be taught. Some people may be better than others, but ones that thought they did not have any creative skills may find out that they do.

Thinking skills are definitely a requirement for the ISD project. Working with a group that is long distance presents a lot of challenges. This is why each person in the group should try to do what they are best at. Taking the time to talk about each others strengths and weaknesses will help define the roles in the group. Time and technology are both a factor in this. That is why everyone should try to think creatively sometimes because new ideas are always welcome. Plus everyone brings new ideas to the table because of the different make up of the group.

After graduation I plan to keep teaching and pursue a technology teaching position. Therefore reading the ideas on how to introduce professional development ideas come in handy. I am usually asked to do some type of workshop at the beginning of the year, and I need to know how to effectively reach my audience.

Reference:

Clark, Ruth Colvin, Mayer, Richard E. (2011). E-Learning and the Science of Instruction.

            Third Edition. San Francisco. Pfeiffer Publishing. 

           

EDUC 633- Assessment Blog (week 4)

The advancement of online learning is phenomenal. This area of education has grown tremendously in the last couple of years. Online and mobile learning allows the student to build online learning communities regardless of the student’s location. When classes are held online the teacher can record the session so if a student misses a class then they do not get behind on the lectures and content. Programs such as elluminate give the teachers and students a chance to participate in an online classroom environment.  Students can present findings and research to the rest of the class and the teacher. This can be an assessment tool because the teacher can gauge how much the student knows just by interacting with them in real time (Arora, 2009).

Assessment can come in many forms. Assessment is generally thought of some type of test that will give the instructor data so they can plan the rest of the assignments. The definition of assessment has been up for debate in the past ten years. It used to be a test, but now there can be many different ways to measure a students understanding of content (Hricko and Scott, 2009). The teacher can have many different forms of assessment and now more school systems are moving to an application approach to assessment. This measures if the students know how to actually apply the knowledge they have been given.

Online learning should use an assortment of assessment techniques. This includes quizzes on the basics and then projects or papers that apply the knowledge the students are learning. Then if a teacher has live sessions they can determine who has an understanding of the content. This is congruent with the literature because of the changing dynamic of how students learn.

References:

Arora, R. (2009). The K-12 online evolution. MultiMedia & Internet@Schools,

            16(6), 17-19. Retrieved from

            http://search.proquest.com/docview/229749337?accountid=12085

Hricko, Mary,Howell, Scott. (2006). Online assessment and measurement:

            Foundations and challenges Information Science Publishing.

EDUC 639- Week 3 Blog

The bring your own device or technology movement is one of the next big emerging pieces of educational tools that are being used all around the United States. Since so many people and young people use technology on a daily basis it makes sense to incorporate the use of technology in the classroom or for educational purposes.

There are barriers and challenges that stand in the way of properly implementing and using devices in the classroom. This is especially true with minor students. Most schools have strict cell phone policies in place that do not allow students to use a cell phone in class. This is where there is a gray area about what devices a student is allowed to use (Quillen, 2011).  

There are laws that prohibit minors from being allowed to access anything inappropriate. Policing this is hard and not allowing the students to become distracted by the devices is also difficult. Some school systems have slowly implemented BYOD or BYOT. The way in which they have been successful, is by only allowing a little bit of device use at a time (Quillen, 2011). This way they keep it simple, which keeps teachers happy as well.

The school system that I work for has not adopted BYOT or BYOD. I am not sure how that would go over with a lot of the teachers. Teachers have to be trained in this area so they can successfully use technology in their classroom to enhance learning. This is the purpose of using technology because we want our students to learn more and be more successful in school and later in life. I am still on the fence about using devices in the classroom because I would like to see how teachers use these devices for at risk students or special education students. These students have so many distractions and sometimes I think some special education students would benefit, while the other at risk students would just want to play. I want to understand and research how teachers are using iPads or Kindles in their class to enhance student learning. The core classes are the ones that I am interested in knowing more about because the public schools are under strict schedules to complete a certain amount of information by a certain time.

Reference:

Quillen, I. (2011, Crafting your BYOT policy. Education Week's Digital Directions, 5, 22-22, 23. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/901115269?accountid=12085