7 posts tagged “elearning”
Yesterday was an inspiring day. I came away from work refreshed and energised, even though it had been a long day. The reason was because my colleague, Vickel Narayan and I were privileged to work with a visiting group of academic faculty (international languages, and accountancy departments) from Shandong University (China). They have 2 weeks in New Zealand, much of which they are spending on an intensive Professional Development course at Unitec NZ, which is ranging in subject matter from, to name but a few, facilitating large classes, assessment, and eLearning.
I went to see another colleague, Ed Flagg beforehand to get an overview as to what our visitors might be hoping to do, and consequently planned a hands-on, interactive session where they would enrol into a Ning community and follow up with a Web 2.0 web quest (using resources we had hosted in Moodle).
The group from the very beginning were engaged, enthusiastic, and willing to try anything. They all signed up for their Ning, took photos with the laptops they were using them and added them to their profiles, participated in discussion forum, and made blog postings. The Web 2.0 quest involved pairs or groups of three choosing a Web 2.0 tool they were interested in and knew little or nothing about, and then doing some research in the Internet to find out what the tool was. The next stage was to think how learners might use the tool and how it may enhance learning and encourage active engagement. Finally, the group presented their findings and shared their ideas, before identifyng some opportunities as well as some issues...and were overall incredibly positive. At one point, the three accountancy teachers, who had never heard of virtual worlds before, but chose it as the tool to research and think about for their teaching, became really excited. They now have plans to set up their own virtual business, and run simulations and role plays there! It was so...uplifting...to witness people really engage with ideas, and even though they face far greater barriers that the privileged folks here, they instead chose to dream a little. It was a joy. I came away inspired :-)
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.
This video is
an extract from a workshop that was facilitated by Diana Ayling and
Hazel Owen with the Business Department at Unitec NZ. The workshop was
part of an initiative initiated by the Business Department to revisit
the programmes that they offer students, and the learning experience.
Formal and informal sessions focussed on aspects such as:
A sense of the dynamic discussions that have been ongoing is captured, as well as a feelings of excitement, seeing potential, anxiety, and concerns around pragmatic issues.
The extract features discussion around the results of the ICTELT survey that participants had completed before the session, as well as dialogue around blended learning in general, and what a course that uses the ICTELT design mindmap as a foundation may feature.
(If
you would like to find out more about the work that underpins some of
the workshop and the ICTELT mindmap, please feel free to visit the ICT Enhanced Learning and Teaching wiki.
Out running on Friday, I was totally absorbed by what Morris W. Beverage Jr. had to say (Educause podcast).
He started from a point around technology which actually switched me
off to begin with, describing technology as 'things' communicating with
'things' rather than, apparently, seeing the key focus as the
communication and co-construction of artefacts/knowledge that is
enabled through technology.
Anyhow, once I had stopped bristling and listened to what he went on to say, a lot of it seemed to make sense. One point in particular where he spoke about issues in education (for example, plagiarism) are not technology problems, but rather social problems. It make such a lot of sense. Yes, technology such as Turnitin may be developed to attempt to address the problem, but in fact what it needs is a recognition of the reasons behind the plagiarism, which tend to be academic literacy challenges and questions around ethics.
Well worth listening to this podcast as it is likely to strike a few chords no matter what your role is in, or supporting, education.
The Educause blurb is: "Campuses today face a growing number of clashing cultures. Faculty struggle with traditional methods of teaching in an environment where demands for flexibility and convenience are rising. Learners increasingly treat a college degree like a commodity. Battles rage over resource allocation. External constituents exert influence on campus operations and outcomes. This session addresses these issues and the role IT departments need to play to help higher education not just survive, but thrive."
The
Learning Light literature road map (pictured above) is an interactive
format where the user selects an area they are interested in from
drop-down lists. This takes them to a bank of literature around that
subject. The review of literature has particular relevance to
e-Learning research in the workplace.
The University of Sheffield Dept of Information Studies (2007). Saber Professional Solutions Ltd & Learning Light. Retrieved 18th March 2009 from http://ogma.shef.ac.uk/learning_light/index.html
Over the last few days I have been using a new tool - Twine
-designed for bookmarking, describing, tagging, sharing, finding and
commenting on resources and tools on the Internet. I've found it really
easy to use, and it has performed seamlessly on both my Mac and my PC.
There are also a wide range of people using Twine, especially around
the subject of eLearning, Web 2.0, and collaborative creation of
knowledge. So far, I have found no down sides!
I was doing some research around the subject of professional development (PD) in academia, with especial reference to ICT enhanced learning and teaching and came across: "Out of Isolation Circles:Web 2.0 for Teacher Professional Development" by Hala Fawzi (http://englishonlinects.blogspot.com/ - who is based in Khartoum, Sudan). The slideshow looks at the various meanings and aspects of PD and Web 2.0, and then explores ways of forming communities of inquiry that enable the sharing of experiences, ideas, and expertise globally.
