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A group blog from Accomplished California Teachers: Classroom expertise for better education policy. Home About ACT ACT Publications Blogger Bios My teacher . . . the computer?

 “One of [a successful student's] key skills in school is his ability to bond with teachers. We’ve spent a generation trying to reorganize schools to make them better, but the truth is that people learn from the people they love.”

computers and technology cannot replace the ability of skillful teachers to develop a young student’s ability to think critically, be innovative, and believe in the potential that he or she possess.  A computer will never be able to provide a safe environment for a child seeking stability and support.

RESEARCH IN ONLINE LEARNING COMMUNITY

High Social PresenceLearning in an online learning community occurs as an active social process that is defined as: "the level of social presence depends upon social context, online communication, and interactivity (Tu & McIsaac, 2002)." Online social presence (Hiltz, 1998) is required to ensure the online interaction necessary to sustain community activity. Social presence is a critical factor that affects the online learning community. Gunawardena and Zittle (1997) found that social presence is the predictive of the satisfaction of online learners with their learning. Social presence, online learners' social relationships, tasks being engaged in (Tu & Corry, 2002b), communication styles and personal characteristics have impacts on online learning (Tu & McIsaac, 2001). Therefore, researchers concluded that to foster an ideal online learning community, one should increase and idealize the level of social presence

Computer-mediated communication democratizes the online learning environment (DiMatteo, 1990; Rheingold, 1993; Sproull & Kiesler, 1991a

Interactivity: A Forgotten Art?

Interactivity in learning is "a necessary and fundamental mechanism for knowledge acquisition and the development of both cognitive and physical skills" (Barker, 1994:1)

Interaction is intrinsic to successful, effective instructional practice as well as individual discover

Presentation Objectives are to: 1) Educate faculty on the pedagogical uses of avatars in the online classroom, 2)Provide an opportunity for participants to practice developing their own avatar and 3)Promote interest and improve confidence in using avatars as part of established learning activities and spark generation of new ideas. Presentation Audience: Faculty who desire to see improvement in the richness of their students’ online experiences will find this presentation interesting and beneficial. Faculty who have never considered using or developed their own avatars will find practical assistance. Presentation Activities: In this highly interactive session, participants with laptop computers will have the opportunity to create and publish an avatar, which can be posted on their faculty webpage or other Web 2.0 forum. The facilitator will also present avatars developed by undergraduate students as part of a class project and will invite participants to generate ways that they can use this medium in own classrooms. Description: Avatars have typically been associated with gaming, recreation and entertainment, and most recently were the central characters in a hugely successful blockbuster movie. Their use in learning environments is much less popular, although it is growing. A central definition has not emerged, although the following are generally accepted: “a digital representation

Online instructors lament some of the same problems expressed by their students, not the least of which is the feeling of disconnection in the learning environmen

Allmendinger, K. (2010). Social presence in synchronous virtual learning situations: the role of nonverbal signals displayed by avatars. Educational Psychology Review, 22(1), 41-56

: A “one-minute paper” may be defined as a very short, in-class writing activity (taking one-minute or less to complete) in response to an instructor-posed question, which prompts students to reflect on the day’s lesson and provides the instructor with useful feedback.

What was the most important concept you learned in class today? Or, “What was the ‘muddiest’ or most confusing concept covered in today’s class?

more as a student-centered reflection strategy designed to help students discover their own meaning in relation to concepts covered in class, and to build instructor-student rapport

Most five year olds are totally confident that they can draw, sing, and dance.  Tragically, within three or four years this child, if she is typical, will experience a crisis of confidence

She will no longer feel competent or creative. 

As Siegel (2006) points out, “children have always engaged in what are now called multimodal literacy practices” (pg.65) Children naturally talk about, dramatize and draw ideas that they are reading and writing about. Furthermore, using multiple modes or sign systems can provide new and deeper meaning (Siegel, 2006, pg. 71)

Research to date shows that when curricular changes include multimodality, those youth who experience substantial success are the very ones who’ve been labeled “struggling reader” or “learning disabled” (Siegel, 2006, pg. 73)

Many progressive pedagogies such as constructivism, experiential learning and inquiry learning emphasize the importance of building upon students’ experiences, knowledge, skills and interests (Rowsell, Kosnik & Beck, 2009.)

this self-awareness that he’s smart hasn’t always translated into fearless confidence when attacking his schoolwork. In fact, Thomas’s father noticed just the opposite. “Thomas didn’t want to try things he wouldn’t be successful at,” his father says. “Some things came very quickly to him, but when they didn’t, he gave up almost immediately, concluding, ‘I’m not good at this

Why does this child, who is measurably at the very top of the charts, lack confidence about his ability to tackle routine school challenges?

Carol Dweck and her team at Columbia (she’s now at Stanford) studied the effect of praise on students in a dozen New York schools.

We learn by externalizing, interacting, connecting with others, recognizing patterns that have relevance and meaning, and reflecting all of these throughout our personal learning network. The content or input we receive is of little significance, it’s what we do with it that matters.

Learning-Centered Syllabi Workshop

Creating and using a learner-centered syllabus is integral to the process of creating learning communities.

students and their ability to learn are at the center of what we do

The nature of the learning process: McCombs and Whisler (1997) defined the learning process as a natural one of pursuing personally meaningful goals.  This process is active, volitional, and internally mediated.

It is a process of discovering and constructing meaning from information and experience, filtered through each learner’s unique perceptions, thoughts, and feelings (p. 5

Motivational influences on learning: These influences reflect the importance of learner beliefs, values, interests, goals, expectations for success, and emotional states of mind in producing either positive or negative motivations to learn.