miller d engaging learners with new strategies and tools

10
Engaging Learners with New Strategies and Tools EDUC-7102-2/EDUC-8842-2 Principles of Distance Education Module 4 October 25, 2011 Graphic Organizer Learning cannot exist without there being topics and CONTENT. And that content cannot be transferred if COMMUNICATION does not occur. 1

Upload: b767miller

Post on 16-Jul-2015

258 views

Category:

Education


4 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Miller d engaging learners with new strategies and tools

Engaging Learners with New Strategies and Tools

EDUC-7102-2/EDUC-8842-2 Principles of Distance Education

Module 4

October 25, 2011

Graphic Organizer

Learning cannot exist without there being topics and CONTENT. And that content cannot be transferred if COMMUNICATION does not occur.

1

Page 2: Miller d engaging learners with new strategies and tools

During the learning process, it is also helpful to work COLLABORATIVELY. However, it is impossible to have collaboration without some type of COMMUNICATION.

Finally, to connect the cycle, the CONTENT that needs to be COMMUNICATED, can be COMMUNICATED through multiple avenues that include COLLABORATION with others.

2

Page 3: Miller d engaging learners with new strategies and tools

WIKISPACES is an example of educational technology that allows for students to collect and build content, communicate, and collaborate in multiple fashions. Students can participate in "Discussions," create "Webpages," "Email" each other to communicate, and build other collections of work together.

3

Page 4: Miller d engaging learners with new strategies and tools

Movement from the static towards the dynamic end of the continuum requires

flexibility and earnest resolve in restructuring pedagogical and instructional methods for

the 21st Century and its learners. A teacher’s job is not only to educate others but to glean

some wisdom for themselves. This may mean finding equilibrium between what has been

done and what needs to be done. The tools of the trade have changed. Technology and its

resources have provided new means of finding information and creating knowledge. In a

static stage we remain fixed and predetermined in our ideas while dynamic interactions

can be characterized by growth and progress.

Teaching and learning in the 21st Century has evolved to include technological

tools that facilitate collaboration in an online environment. Some of these tools provide

authentic scenarios in which students can communicate with their peers and instructors.

Siemens (2007) and Durrington, Berryhill, & Swafford (2006), posit that distance online

learning can result in high levels of engagement when we reconsider the role of educators

and the tools implemented with ‘millennial’ learners. Through use of tools that are

already part of 21st Century students’ repertoire the strategies educators employ must

include those which they are familiar with such as those mentioned in the graphic.

The overabundance of data available online presents the challenge of using the

appropriate tools to sift through information in an effort to make a connection which

results in new knowledge. The educational process can only be enhanced through the use

of technological tools that have value in bringing students closer to experts in the field,

current research, and significant learning experiences.

The number of online course offerings in higher education is growing at a rapid

pace. According to a 2008 study conducted for the Sloan Consortium, 3.94 million online

4

Page 5: Miller d engaging learners with new strategies and tools

students were enrolled in courses in the Fall of 2007 (Allen & Seaman, 2008). This figure

represents more than twice as many online students that were enrolled in 2002. The

continued increase in the demand for online instruction compels more and more faculty

to learn to change from the traditional face-to-face instruction format to the online

medium (Durrington, Berryhill and Swafford, 2006). The on-line instructor’s integration

and support of high degrees of presence in this collaborative environment promotes

instructor-student interaction. This may bridge the potential physical and psychological

gap associated with distance learning. The amount of interactivity with the instructor is

significant to student retention in distance education and higher levels of interactivity

tend to lead to positive student attitudes and increased performance in the virtual

classroom. This interaction can be accomplished with one-on-one communication with

the students via email and through prompt and regular feedback. It can also be

accomplished in a global fashion, with weekly or bi-weekly updates with upcoming

deadlines, matters of import and progress reports. This continual form of communication

creates an environment conducive to student interaction with the professor.

Content-student interaction is accomplished through the use of a variety of modes

to deliver course content that go beyond a primarily text-based web environment to

ensure that the learners stay connected and motivated to return to the course each session.

The use of lecture videos developed by the instructor can promote engagement and

strengthen the instructor’s presence in the virtual classroom. These videos can be

produced with footage of the professor or narrated PowerPoint slides for instructors less

fond of the camera. A plethora of engaging instructional material can also be located at

5

Page 6: Miller d engaging learners with new strategies and tools

numerous online resources. Conventional websites such as Google Video, Blinx, and

YouTube feature information that can be adapted for online instructional use. In addition,

specialized educational online repositories exist that contain a wide variety of learning

objects, such as videos, simulations, and demonstrations indexed by the subject matter.

Many of them are prepared by instructors and hence they contain ancillary instructional

materials, such as exams and assignments. MERLOT.org, and DiscoveryEducation.com

are two such resources. If an instructor is unable to locate specific materials appropriate

for the course, these resources provide the user with inspiration for ideas that can be

adapted to meet the user’s needs.

Because technology has changed a great deal in the last 5-6 years, one should be

knowledgeable in what each of the following technology is and how it may be used in a

classroom.

1. Google Tools Knowledge- Google Tools can be an important part of every

catechist’s tool kit. All you need is a computer with Internet access in your

parish, school, or home. Often we would like to have our students go beyond

what they have learned in the classroom. Or maybe we would like to ENHANCE

a class session with technology.

2. Google Earth Knowledge- Google Earth can help you bring a world of

information alive for your students. It can be used with all grade levels, and the

possibilities are endless with your imagination! Students can use Google Earth to

explore topics like the progress of human civilization, the growth of cities, the

impact of civilization on the natural environment, and the impact of natural

disasters like Hurricane Katrina. Teachers can use Google Earth demos to get

6

Page 7: Miller d engaging learners with new strategies and tools

their students excited about geography beyond the static map, or use different

Google Earth layers to study transportation, demographics, economics, and in

specific local or exotic contexts.

3. Wiki Knowledge- The Wiki is gaining traction in education, as an ideal tool for

the increasing amount of collaborative work done by both students and teachers.

Students might use a wiki to collaborate on a group report, compile data or share

the results of their research, while faculty might use the wiki to collaboratively

author the structure and curriculum of a course and the wiki can then serve as

part of each person’s course web site.

4. Blogging Knowledge- In a broader and more educational system, blogs are

about communicating. You observe your experience, reflect on it, and then write

about it. Other people read your reflections, respond from their perspectives by

commenting or writing their own blog article. You read their perspectives, often

learn something through their eyes, and write some more. Blogging is about

reading and writing. Literacy is about reading and writing. Blogging is about

literacy.

5. Spreadsheets Skills- Educators should be able to use some type of spreadsheet

program to compile grades and chart data.

6. Database Skills- Educators should be able to use some type of database program

to create tables, store and retrieve data, and query data.

7. Social Bookmarking Knowledge- This is a method for Internet users to organize,

store, manage and search for bookmarks of online resources. Unlike file sharing, the

resources themselves aren't shared, merely bookmarks that reference them. In other

7

Page 8: Miller d engaging learners with new strategies and tools

words, it is the practice of saving books marks to a public website and tagging them

with key words. Tags can also be thought of electronic file folders. Social

bookmarking has also been defined as a network of people who collect favorite or

bookmarked websites, categorize them with keyword tags, and share them with

others.

8. Social Networking Knowledge- A social network service is an online service that

focuses on the building of social/internet networks among people who share

interests/activities. This service consists of some type of representation of each

user (often a profile), his/her social links, and a variety of other related services.

Most social network services are web based and provide a way for users to

interact over the internet, using e-mail and instant messaging. Social networking

sites allow users to share ideas, activities, events, and interests within their

individual networks.

9. Web Resources in content area - Each teacher should have access to and

knowledge of web resources in their content area. The Internet has a vast amount of

education related material in every content area. This material is easily accessible,

downloadable and instantly usable. With the advent of Web2.0 tools there even more

usable interactive, relevant tools for teachers of every discipline. All that is needed is

the ability to find the information and to use it. There are a large number of

educational portal type sites on the web that provide easy access to needed web based

resources in all content areas.

10. Web Searching skills- All educators should understand how to use the world

8

Page 9: Miller d engaging learners with new strategies and tools

wide web to search for and find information quickly. Many web sites have turned to

databases to create web pages on the fly when requested by a user. The database

contains the information, which is inserted into a web page template on demand.

References

Durrington, V. A., Berryhill, A., & Swafford, J. (2006). Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an online environment. College Teaching, 54(1), 190−193.

Siemens, G. (2008, January). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. ITForum.

9

Page 10: Miller d engaging learners with new strategies and tools

10