26 posts tagged “ictelt”

Hazel Owen

The other day, two colleagues asked if I knew of any videos of sound practice around students using laptops in the classroom. Actually, there appears to be a dearth of such material. I have some word pictures I could paint around the experience I have had in Dubai and at Unitec, and I am sure Thom Cochrance could do the same...but not quite as visual as videos :-)

I did however, after some hunting around come up with the range of videos:

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzJDuBlIrHc
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOYg5ZMo-mA
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj45RmhaCQM
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkXeNR52w_o
5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m8Ax5NUHhg
   

• What are the assumptions around learning indicated by what is said by students and teachers/lecturers in these videos?
• What are the assumptions around teaching indicated by what is said by students and teachers/lecturers in these videos?
• Was there much evidence of 'real' collaboration and co-construction of knowledge?
• What did the educators do to facilitate 'real' collaboration and co-construction of knowledge?

I could go on, but I think four questions are about right! Thoughts, ideas, issues, concerns...?

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.

An article from The NY Times has summarised the findings of a 93-page report on online education, conducted by SRI International for the Department of Education (US). The key findings are:

"Over the 12-year span, the report found 99 studies in which there were quantitative comparisons of online and classroom performance for the same courses. The analysis for the Department of Education found that, on average, students doing some or all of the course online would rank in the 59th percentile in tested performance, compared with the average classroom student scoring in the 50th percentile. That is a modest but statistically meaningful difference."

I must admit that I haven't as yet read the report in full. However, yesterday (26th August 2009) I participated in a really thought-provoking session run by The Centre for Teaching and Learning Innovation: TPA around literacies and the huge range of 'texts' we interact with and produce...digital, visual, audio, written, academic, multimodal. The conversation covered a variety of topics, and as the session progressed a couple of things occurred to me. Firstly, a lot of the participants seemed to think of digital literacies as basic ICT skills (i.e. turning on a computer, file management etc) - and by doing so, there was little recognition of the potential offered by digital literacy around empowerment, meaning making, scaffolding, communication, and building social networks. Take, for example, the opportunity to encourage, value and celebrate Freshman students' text creation (no matter what media they are using) - their identity, world view, culture, experiences and ideas - and how this might then be incrementally linked through activities such as reflection, to Higher Order thinking skills and research. Also, if words are most effective when they create images which in turn resonate with our emotions, the use of graphics, video and audio could offer opportunities to scaffold learners who are not fluent in print literacy, thereby supporting and embracing those learners who have previously been excluded from further and higher education.

I will, however, be studying the report to see if there are any recommendations around design, facilitation, assessment and evaluation that achieves the level of effectiveness and engagement indicated by the results of this study....

SEU Teachers doing a Web 2.0 Web Quest

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).

SEUTeachers finding out about Wikis

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 :-)

SEUTeachers finding out about virtual worlds

Design & open spaces

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.

Sometimes wondered what all the fuss is about multimedia? Pondered how to express a gnarly concept? For me the answer is illustrated by this animated video "Democracy is..." (bu Lucas Szozda). It is, in my opinion, beautifully eloquent and yet hauntingly simple.

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:

• Course design and lesson planning
• Facilitation of learning
• Assessmenta
• Evaluating teaching and learning

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.

I'd like to recommend a short article that gives an brief overview of a US university that has created a free application specifically for its students' iPhones and Blackberries. The application gives students access to information about courses, faculty, and sport, as well as having an interactive campus map. One neat feature is the ability for students to directly text or email the faculty who facilitate their courses.

College creates iPhone application for its students

Posted using ShareThis

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.