Blended Learning Courseware:Introduction to Poetry

Overviewo My Contexto My Puzzleo Pedagogical Consideration in response

to my puzzleo Online platform with Moodleo Pedagogy in practice with Moodleo Further thoughts

My Context Private university Large class Mixed ability classroom Teacher centred classroom environment Exam-oriented activities Lack of proficiency in productive skills Non-use integrative technology

My Puzzle

How could students be engaged in out

of class activities along with face to

face traditional classroom format that

would facilitate them with

opportunities for collaboration and

active learning, generate in them

confidence in language use and enable

them to get individualised feedback?

Response to my puzzle Blended Learning Social Constructivism Collaboration Formative Assessment

What is Blended Learning? Combination of face-to-face teaching and

learning with online teaching and learning “It is a design approach whereby both face-to-face and online learning are made better by the presence of each other” (Garrison & Vaughan, 2008, p.5).

“Thoughtful fusion of face-to-face and online experiences” (p.5).

“Combines the properties and possibilities of both to go beyond the capabilities of each separately” (p.6)

Online activity/discussion

      

  Online activity/discussion

     

Online activity/discussion

F2f activity/discussion

F2f activity/discussion

F2f activity/discussion

F2f activity/discussion

Collaborative wiki tool, forum, Blog

External specialist websites,links

E-resource

Demonstration, PPT

Lecture

Books

The Blend in my context

Wrapping around F2f activity

Wrapping around online activity

Social Constructivism This learning theory defines the acquisition

of knowledge as a social process. Learning is done in a social context with

other learners. Vygotsky, the father of social constructivism,

believed that social interaction was a very important part of learning. Social constructivism is based on social interactions of students combined with their own critical thinking (Vygotsky, 1962, p.93).

Social Constructivism (cont.)

Social Constructivism

Philosophy How to learn

Electronic Support

Knowledge associallyconstructedmeaning

Learning isexperiencing andreflectingrelative to asocial context

E-Learning: Setof manageable,content-richtools andKnowledge sharingandcollaborationtools (e.g. wiki,blogs, forums)

Instructional approaches and their consequences for e-learning (Walker & Baets, 2008:245)

Collaboration The principal tenet of social constructivism is

collaboration. Beatty (2003, p. 102) defines it “as a process in

which two or more learners need to work together to achieve a common goal, usually completion of a task or the answering of a question”.

Collaboration helps the weaker students to develop through the assistance of able peers. Vygotsky (1978) calls it ‘the zone of proximal development’ (ZPD)

Collaboration (Cont.)

Source: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/ITFoundations/index.php?title=Present ( link)

Formative Assessment Formative assessments are assessments

that are used during the learning process. These assessments can be marked, but the marks usually do not contribute to the final mark of the learner.

It is unlike summative assessments that do

contribute towards the final grade.

Formative Assessment (Cont.)Cauley & Mcmillan (2010:2) found four reasons why students learn more through formative assessment:

• Frequent, on-going assessment allows both for fine-tuning of instruction and student focus on progress.

• Immediate assessment helps ensure meaningful feedback.

• Specific, rather than global, assessments allow students to see concretely how they can improve.

• Formative assessment is consistent with recent constructivist theories of learning and motivation.

Online Platform Moodle & Why Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic

Learning Environment) is my preference for the online platform for my students.

It is a CMS

It is a open source software

CMS A course management system (CMS) is

a Web based software system that is specifically designed for teaching and learning. (Morgan, 2003).

“CMS allow non-technical individuals to set up and maintain a Web site where students can log in, access course information, interact, share and teach others” (Rowe, 2005).

Open Source Software Open source software is software

“whose source code is available to the general public for use and/or modification from the original design free of charge. It is typically created as a collaborative effort in which programmers improve upon the code and share the changes with the community” (JAHA, 2006).

Why Moodle? The design of Moodle is rooted in social

constructivist pedagogy, which emphasizes interaction between students and the use of student-generated content as a learning resource’ (KnowMoodle, 2006).

Open Course Software, cost effective in my context.

Institutional look ( secure log in, personalisation, privacy, monitoring)

Pedagogy in practice with Moodle

A tour to my Moodle Space

My Moodle Space

Topic 1 & 2

Topic 3 & 4

Topic 5 & 6

Topic 7 & 8

Topic 9 & 10

Activities & aspects of my Moodle Instruction Forum Quizzes Chat, messages Glossary, Wiki, Assignments Blogs and Reports

Instruction

Groups

Forum

Quizzes

Chats & Message

Glossary, Wiki, Assignments

Blogs & Reports

Further Thoughts

Challenges• Digital Literacy• Teachers become busy 24/7

Looking Ahead• University wide Moodle Environment

Reference

Beatty, K. (2003). Teaching and researching computer-assisted language learning. Harlow: Longman.

Cauley, K. M., & Mcmillan, J. H. 2010. Formative Assessment Techniques To Support Student Motivation and Achievement. The Clearing House, 83(1), 1-7. [Online], Available: http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/recordDetail?accno=EJ862818, [2011, March, 11].

Garrison, R., & Vaughan, H. (2008). Blended learning in higher education: Framework, principles and guidelines. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

JAHA Design (2006). Web Glossary. Retrieved March, 2011, Web site: http://www.jahadesign.com/glossary.htm

KnowMoodle (2006, November 11). What's Moodle?. Retrieved March 18, 2011, from Use KnowMoodle Website: http://knowmoodle.ca/moodle1.7/mod/resource/view.php?id=742

Morgan, Glenda (2003, May). Faculty use of course management systems. Retrieved March 11, 2011, from ECAR Web site:http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERS0302/ekf0302.pdf

Rowe, Joe (2005, August 29). Building Educational Web Sites with Moodle. Retrieved March 2011, from TechSoup Web site: http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page4814.cfm

Peter Rich, P. The Current State of Instructional Technology Retrieved March 2011, from Web site: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/ITFoundations/index.php?title=Present

Vygotsky, L. S. (1962). Thought and language. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyPress.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind and society: The development of higher psychological process. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Walker, R & Baets, W. 2008. Instructional Design for Class-Based and Computer-Mediated Learning: Creating the Right Blend for Student-Centered Learning, in Donnelly R. & McSweeney, F. (eds.). Applied E-Learning and E-Teaching in Higher Education. Hershey: Information Science Reference.

Thank you for Listening.

Any Question?