Reflective synopsis
There was so much for me to
learn in this course taking into consideration my digital native background .My
learning experience involved the use of text books, blackboard and
examinations. Learning the different tools has been very time consuming, with
lots of trial and error, confusion, frustrations and some occasional ‘aha’
moments. I am glad that I have persevered and I am transforming into a 21st
century learning manager. I have not yet had the opportunity to use these tools
in a classroom as my attachment to a learning site is still pending. I have
acquired heaps of understanding, clarity and ideas through reading other
people’s blogs. The blogs reflections have been an encouraged for me as I
figured out that I was not alone, some people were also in the same predicament
as I was but persistence pays. By the end of the course I would have acquired
sound e-learning skills and continue to improve in the application of these
acquired tools.
E-Learning
E-Learning is about learning
electronically. It involves the use of technology especially the computer to
facilitate learning. The National Training Information System (NTIS) defines
e-learning as including:
“...any learning that is
assisted by information and communication technology. This mainly includes
computer-based online learning, but also covers interactive CD-ROMS, videos,
handheld computers, mobile phones, teleconference and video conferencing. “
It involves engaging the
learners with online material in blogs or wikis, online quizzes and downloading
or printing resources. It enables teachers and students to interact online
using written, visual and audio content.
In this reflective synopsis, I will discuss
the learning theories, legal issues, scaffolding learning, blogs and wikis
activities and other digital technologies.
Learning theory
It is important to have an
overview of learning theory in instructional design in the context of
e-learning. Behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism and connectivism are the
four learning theories to be discussed.
Every learner is unique with
regards to their learning styles, experience, attitudes and perceptions,
intelligence, knowledge and personality. Attitudes and perceptions influence
learning such that the use of technology engages the learner positively. Every
learner’s learning style is catered for using information communication.
Visual
and verbal leaners learn best through
pictures, demonstrations, flow charts, graphs and videos.
Behaviourism
Mergel (1998) states that behaviourism
is based on observable changes in behaviour known as “black box”. Behaviourism
is characterised by what you see rather than what you feel or think. Reinforcement
is used until a targeted behaviour becomes internalised and automatic.
Behaviourism is designed for
mastery of content (knowing what).The tasks require low degree of processing,
low level of content, and routine skill development. This is the knowledge
category (Blooms Cognitive domain) where leaners are required to recall data or
information.
Strength - the learner is
focused on a clear goal and can respond automatically to the cues of that goal
Weakness – the learner may not respond if there is an anomaly occurs
Opportunities – suitable for online quizzes
Threats – Not suitable for higher level of thinking
Weakness – the learner may not respond if there is an anomaly occurs
Opportunities – suitable for online quizzes
Threats – Not suitable for higher level of thinking
Cognitivism
It
is based on thought processes behind the behaviour. The observable changes in
the learner’s behaviour are used to indicate what is happening in his mind.
There are three stages in mental processes namely sensory, working and long
term memory.
The
sensory memory is used to perceive incoming visual and or audio information If
the information is interesting and relevant to the learner, it is transferred
to the working memory. The working memory (short term memory) organises
information for the long term memory. Short term memory capacity can be
increased if information is chunked or grouped. The long term memory capacity
is unlimited and deeper levels of mental processed are retained.
Weakness
- the learner learns a way to accomplish a task, but it may not be the best
way, or suited to the learner or the situation.
Strength
- the goal is to train learners to do a task the same way to enable consistency
Opportunities
- Online concept mapping tools can be used effectively with this theoryThreats – Cannot support chunking or organisation of information
Constructivism
Based
on the principle that we all construct our own perspective of the world,
through individual experiences and schema. Constructivists believe that every
function appears twice, firstly at a social level and then at an individual
level. The learner is prepared to focus solving problems.
Weakness
- in a situation where conformity is essential divergent thinking and action
may cause problems.
Strength
- because the learner is able to interpret multiple realities, the learner is
better able to deal with real life situations.
Opportunities
– Suitable for blogs, wikis, web conferencing, discussing forums. Learners can
negotiate their own understanding through social interactions.
Threats
–
Designing
of learning environments
Connectivism
Connectivism
is a learning theory of the digital age proposed by George Siemens(2004).He defines connectivism as “is the integration of principles explored
by chaos, network, and complexity and self-organization theories” . Siemens
emphasises that it is more important to know how and where to find information
than it is to know it.
Weakness-
Connectivism does not describe how and what we learn or how we make
the connections inside of ourselves.
Strengths
– There is
information and knowledge in electronic networks that are always moving and
being shaped. Information does not only lie in human brains
Opportunities
– Relevant to the 21st century as it engages the learner.
Threats- Designing of learning environments
Technology
is ever changing and one needs to keep abreast of these changes to be relevant
in our pedagogy by meeting the needs, strengths and interests of our learners.
For a 21st century learning manager it is an obligation that one
should be competent in their use of Information Communication Technologies, technology,
art of teaching and your content.
In this reflective synopsis,
I will discuss the learning theories, legal issues, scaffolding learning, blogs
and wikis activities and other digital technologies.
Working legally, safely and ethically
Understanding the
implications of uploading and using online material is very critical for the
teacher and students. Migrating to Australia with teenagers who did not have
much exposure to the internet was a great challenge. There was such a high risk
of children surfing unsafe websites and pop ups. I had to address these safety
issues at home working collaboratively with their school teachers. This topic
is beneficial to learners and parents as it addresses matters that can have
detrimental effects on the students and our own children.Copyright issues are of
great concern such that students need to acknowledge sources appropriately.
Safety issuesSome of the risks involved in using internet are: the exposure of inappropriate material such as pornography, sexually explicit, offensive, hateful, violent, dangerous or illegal material. Children should be monitored when doing online activities These safety issues occur through social networking sites, notice boards, emails, etc. These channels can be used to enable learning managers to investigate these sites if there are any threats to the students. Students need to be taught not to open emails from unknown sources. Password should be kept secret and incorrect online profiles should not be used for example, students can use nicknames, incorrect birthdays etc
Other risks associated with internet use are stranger danger. This risk affects the children as well as adults and this can be very dangerous. The following website provides more information kids rule for online safety
Scaffolding learning
The strategies for scaffolding thinking I used are
1. PMI – Plus, Minus, Implications
The strategies for scaffolding thinking I used are
1. PMI – Plus, Minus, Implications
2. SWOT – Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats
3. De Bono’s thinking hats
White –identifies facts and detailed of a
topic
Black- Examines the problem associated with
the topic
Yellow- Focuses on the positive aspects of
the topic
Red- looks at topic from the point of view of
emotions and feelings
Green- requires creativeness, imagination and
lateral thinking about a topic.
Blue- focuses on reflection, metacognition, understand
big picture.
The DeBono’s thinking hats
was used in the mobile phone wiki. It was interesting to see how different we
think when we are in a different environment.
Blooms Taxonomy using online concept mapping tool
Blooms Taxonomy helps learning manager to understand the types
of thinking that he wants to support. For example, if he wants students to know
the safety rules (knowledge), he can use verbs like list, describe, or identify
safety rules.Blooms taxonomy are learning behaviours that are achieved by the end of the lesson when a student has acquired new knowledge, skills and or attitude (KSA).Blooms taxonomy consists of three domains namely, cognitive, affective and psychomotor.
Cognitive domain involves mental skills
Affective domain involves growth in feelings or emotional
areas
Psychomotor involves manual or physical skills (Pohl,1999)
Blog
As a first time blogger, the
journey has been full of mixed emotions. Being able to create, edit, view,
preview, post and publish a blog was very exciting. Blogs enable teachers,
parents and other stake holders to have access, give feedback, and guide the
students work and reflections. By incorporating blogs in the classroom, students can interact with their peers by commenting their work and learning from each otherThe teachers and learners’ attitudes and
perceptions can be realised and addressed earlier in the teaching and learning
journey. Feedback and comments from peers is very encouraging as it enables you
to know if you are on the right track.
Prezi
Prezi is a digital tool that
is easy to use once you get to know how to use it. The following steps can get
you started:
Prezi can be used as a
brainstorming activity for a particular topic for example, the big five animals
in Africa. Students can use images, text and animations to create a brochure. I
used PMI to analyse prezi
Plus
|
Minus
|
Implications
|
·
Easily accessible and free
·
Information can be zoomed in and out
·
Can incorporate images, animations,
texts, videos
·
It is non linear
|
·
You cannot change the font or
background colour
·
Can be very frustrating for first time
users
|
·
Students can refer back to it for
revision and writing assignments
·
Teachers need to monitor student work
and model the correct use of the tool
|
Digital Video
Digital videos are
multimedia tools that are important for use in e-learning. Students learn more
when a combination of audio, visual and text are used. Cognitive theory about
sensory memory is supported using videos as students can see, hear information
presented to them. If the information is interesting, it can be transferred to
the working memory. Students store this information in the long term memory
where it can be accessed at any time.
Plus
|
Minus
|
Implications
|
·
Easy to create
·
Audio can be recorded
|
·
Can take longer to load
|
·
Recourses are available through you
tube
|
Conclusion
The digitals tools I have
explored can be very useful in engaging 21st century learners if they are
utilized effectively within a classroom. The learning manager needs to be
creative in order to use these tools correctly. Students respond positively
when tools that are interesting and relevant to them are used. However, I would
require more time to practice and familiarize myself with the tool before I use
them on my students. I hope to get more guidance from my mentor when I start my
portal task. I will try to enjoy my journey to become an ICT savvy learning
manager.
References
Fasso, W. (2012) Readings: Learning theories and e-learning. Retrieved July 31,2012
http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=12562
Fasso, W. (2012) Readings: Working legally, safely and ethically online issues.
Retrieved August 3,2012
http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=12575
Fasso, W. (2012)Readings: Group 3 technologies, University Australia. Retrieved
August 3, 2012
http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=12606Mergel, B. (1998).Learning Theories of Instructional design. Retrieved August 6, 2012
http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/mergel/brenda.htm
Otenhttp://www.otenstudyskills.tafensw.edu.au/content/01_elearning/elearning_intro_pop1.htm
Schuman, L. (1996). Perspectives on instruction. [On-line]. Available: http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec540/Perspectives/Perspectives.html
Siemens, G. (2004).Connectivism: A learning Theory Retrieved August 7, 2012
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
Smartcopying.(n.d.). The Official
Guide to Copyright Issues for Australian Schools and TAFE
http://smartcopying.edu.au/scw/go/pid/944
