7 posts tagged “design”
You can access the mindmap at http://www.mindmeister.com/25663129/chan-sook-learner-eportfolio and the accompanying scenario (which includes a list of Web 2.0 tools she uses, and how she uses them) at http://docs.google.com/View?id=dcqj5jv4_50cfd7tbfw.
Any comments, feedback or ideas that you may have would be gratefully received :-)
Yesterday, Monday 31st August, Diana, Ed, Trisha and I made our way over to the Sports' Department building and having located important things (like the kitchen to make tea) we set about re-arranging the furniture so that everyone would be able to sit around the table and share laptops between them. We promptly fired up the laptops, opened the browser and the Ning that had been set up specifically for Sports. Several people had already added their profiles and a sense of community was being built by the addition of photographs from.
Diana artfully facilitated the session as I typed notes like a mad woman and fielded the occasional request for technical assistance. The session started with introductions and each person chose a category off the board which they had to describe (around assessment, evaluation, and design etc). The activity encouraged a lot of engagement, with a healthy mix of competition, encouragement and humour.
After an overview of some of Fink's ideas, Diana encouraged everyone to login to Mindmeister and start putting together the key aspects of a Level 5 course. There were some of the 'so what do we do? ' questions, but then everyone got up to speed. Someone commented that they were chuffed that we were using the same software that was used to create some of the earlier graphics that Diana had used. There was a continual buzz and exchange of ideas, with everyone on task and engaged - in fact everyone was so involved that Diana had to work hard to get everyone back into focus.
Diana wrapped up by giving everyone a quick tour of some of the key resources in the Ning and encouraged people to go and have a look at some of these resources, thereby modelling some of the uses of the Ning. She in particular introduced reflective evaluation, introducing the blogs and targeted feedback, and described what the participants were going to do as 'homework' before the next session.
All in all there was a great mixture of fun, inquisitiveness, and professionalism, which Diana worked to encourage. Roll on the next session which is on 22nd September.
Just wanted to jot a couple of thoughts down in response
to this podcast "Teaching outside the limits of space and time" which I listened to while running along the waterfront
in Auckland a couple of days ago. The podcast features the EdTech Posse who pretty regularly have entertaining discussions around a whole heap of aspects of ICT enhanced learning and teaching. (They have a laid-back, pretty unstructured approach, sometimes featuring pub-settings, and often with guest appearances by the dogs...you just have to listen :-) )
In this particular podcast a lot of what they were saying hit a
note of accord and I found myself grinning like an idiot (not a good
look at the best of times). Some of the key topics they covered were designing programmes and what (if any) is the optimum duration for a course for effective learning, and aligning assessment (types as well as content with course design) - i.e. if you have a course that encourages open learning, then more traditional forms of assessment are unlikely to measure the effectiveness of the learning that has taken place. They also mulled over the importance of building learning networks, but that these too need time to develop, and that it is hopeless to try to force a community to develop. The final point was about podcasting - taking offline conversations and putting them online...but in a forum where futher discussion from disparate voices from around the globe is encouraged.
I did think there were a couple of points I'd like to add into the mix. For example, when they discussed the optimum length of a course, one aspect that I don't think was mentioned directly was motivation (extrinsic or intrinsic), although there was discussion about how interest in a subject can shape the learning experience (irrespective of duration). Alongside this factor is the notion of whether a learner is 'ready'...if they have developed the necessary cognitive framework that can be built upon with this next set of thinking and/or skills. If the learner is in just the right spot then an hour may be all it takes to turn the tide; something that just falls into place that makes sense of everything else. I think that this may be the case irrespective of whether it's a content based or process based course.
The other thing that really struck my imagination was the embedding of one discipline with in another that really 'smokes the tyres' of the learner. The example was the art class with embedded math. Awesome. We did something similar (but not as sophisticated) at Dubai Men's College where we had a project-based ICT enhanced blended-learning programme over 40 weeks. Math, English, academic literacies, ICT literacies, and Arabic were all integrated into the incremental, experiential learning course. Students would gradually produce one artefact over 10 weeks, building cumulatively another 'bit' each week, and the focus was very much on the process - the learning journey - rather than the end product.
I reckon I've drivelled on for long enough. I'd highly recommend the podcasts as thought-provoking and entertaining.
If
you are involved in any sort of academic support or, on the other hand,
are a faculty member who is working at an institution where new
technologies are becoming a focus, you may well find this podcast
created by Gerry Bayne (EDUCAUSE) on April 15, 2009, of interest.
One
of the key points made is that it is all about the learning and
teaching, and very little to do with the tools. The blurb on the site
advises: "In this forty-two minute podcast we feature a conversation
from the ELI 2009 Annual Meeting. Participants in our lively roundtable
discuss their experiences with introducing new technology to faculty,
approaches to digital literacy, and ways to think about teaching with
(or without) technology". Sometimes thought provoking, and well worth a
listen:
ELI In Conversation: Introducing New Technology to Faculty
Access the Mp3 file by clicking here.
A few days ago I was out running and listening to podcasts, one of which was by Sarah Robbins-Bell entitled "Social Media and Education: The Conflict Between Technology and Institutional Education, and the Future" (which can also be watched as a streaming video).
I was very impressed with the accessible way that she described the
potential of Web 2.0 and social media with learners, and the potential
of these types of ICT to enhance teaching.
She emphasises the role tertiary education in helping students develop critical literacy skills to enable them to evaluate and analyse the resources and information that they locate, and the knowledge creation that they become involved in. Key concepts that she mentions are active participation and collaboration, especially in blended sessions...if the students are on Facebook instead of participating in a session it is to do with the design and facilitation of the session...not, necessarily, the learner.
The Educause site provides the following summary of the session: "Today's technology enables users to form and join communities of common interest to learn and share information. In opposition to the privileged learning spaces of higher education, social media encourage learners to seek out their own answers and construct knowledge as a community rather than as individuals. Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, and Second Life offer new learning spaces, but how do they fit into the learning expectations of institutions?"
I am in the process of developing a draft process diagram that may be of help to teachers wishing to adapt existing resources to take advantage of ICT enhanced learning solutions. Any comments of feedback would be appreciated as this is only a draft! (Medium size version of the image)
(Please cite as: Owen, H. (In press). Embrace the new era: integrating ICT enhanced learning into curricula. In Student Success; A New Era in Ways of Learning. Napier, NZ: Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT).)
I'm just working on a conceptual framework to help situate educators who would like to integrate ICT into their curricula and their teaching. However, I am keen to emphasise the underlying pedagogical beliefs, as well as the existing knowledge, and the intentions that underpin the design process, rather than focussing on the technology. So far I have developed two figures. If you have any comments, please feel free :-)
