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Doris Stockton

AJET 26(3) Drexler (2010) - The networked student model for construction of personal le... - 0 views

  • Personal learning suggests learner autonomy and increased self regulation (Atwell, 2007; Aviram et al., 2008). However, increased responsibility and control on the part of the learner do not necessarily equate to learner motivation (Dede, 1996). Students engaging in networked learning research must be more self-directed. Not only are they navigating a number of web-based applications for the first time, they are also required to take an active role in the learning process by making decisions about how to search, where to search, and why certain content meets a learning objective.
  • Teachers, on the other hand, are challenged to provide an appropriate balance between structure and learner autonomy in order to facilitate self-directed, personalised learning (Beaudoin, 1990; McLoughlin & Lee, 2010).
  • The role of a teacher within a student-centered approach to instruction is that of a facilitator or coach (Wang, 2006). "He or she supports the students in their search and supply of relevant material, coordinates the students' presentations of individual milestones of their projects, moderates discussions, consults in all kinds of problem-solving and seeking for solutions, lectures on topics that are selected in plenary discussions with the students and conforms to the curriculum" (Motschnig-Pitrik & Holzinger, 2002, p. 166).
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  • Figure 1: The Networked Teacher (Couros, 2008)
  • ouros (2008) developed a model of the networked teacher that represents an educator's professional personal learning environment (PLE). A teacher is better equipped to facilitate networked learning if he or she has experienced the construction of such a model first hand. The significant connections in Couros' view of the network include colleagues, popular media, print and digital resources, the local community, blogs, wikis, video conferencing, chat/IRC, social networking services, online communities, social bookmarking, digital photo sharing, and content development communities (Couros, 2008).
  • Networked teacher model
  • Developing a model of the networked student The Networked Student Model adapts Couros' vision for teacher professional development in a format that is applicable to the K-12 student. It includes four primary categories, each with many components evident in the networked teacher version (Figure 2).
  • Figure 2: The Networked Student
  • The networked student follows a constructivist approach to learning. He or she constructs knowledge based on experiences and social interactions (Jonassen et al., 2003). Constructivism encourages "greater participation by students in their appropriation of scholarly knowledge" (Larochelle et al., 1998).
  • Technology supports this appropriation as a collection of tools that promote knowledge construction, an information vehicle for exploring knowledge, an active learning tool, a social medium to promote conversing, and an intellectual partner to facilitate reflection (Jonassen et al., 2003)
  • In a traditional classroom setting, the teacher has primary control over the content. He or she selects or designs the curriculum. Networked learning gives students the ability and the control to connect with subject matter experts in virtually any field.
  • That connection expands to include access to resources and creative artifacts. Computers and mobile devices continue to broaden access to all types of information and learning sources. As quickly as content becomes available, web applications are released to assist in the management of that content
  • The networked student constructs a personal learning environment one node at a time. Once these connections are formed, they must be revisited and built upon to facilitate further learning. The personal learning environment lives beyond time spent in a classroom
  • With so much information to manage, it is increasingly difficult to stay abreast of changes in a given field, much less track implications arising from related fields. Really Simple Syndication (RSS) allows learners to subscribe to changing content and makes tracking changes easier.
  • Ultimately, meaningful learning occurs with knowledge construction, not reproduction; conversation, not reception; articulation, not repetition; collaboration, not competition; and reflection, not prescription (Jonassen et al., 2003).
  • Construction of a personal learning environment does not necessarily facilitate comprehension or deep understanding. Learning potential exists in what the student does with the compilation of content and how it is synthesised. The networked student model is one of inquiry, or the process of "exploring problems, asking questions, making discoveries, achieving new understanding and fulfilling personal curiosity" (National Science Foundation, as quoted by Chang & Wang, 2009, p. 169).
  • Principles of connectivism equate to fundamentals of learning in a networked world. The design of the teacher-facilitated, student-created personal learning environment in this study adheres to constructivist and connectivist principles with the goal of developing a networked student who will take more responsibility for his or her learning while navigating an increasingly complex content base.
  • Nine out of 15 students indicated that time management was the most difficult aspect of the course. Yet, of the fifteen students participating in the project, thirteen were able to manage weekly assignments per the schedule. Two students fell behind and expressed frustration at the amount of work required to catch up. Teacher intervention was required to facilitate their successful completion of the course. They were given a daily list of tasks designed to scaffold the time management aspects of the project. Time management issues were less associated with construction of the personal learning environment and more concerned with the blended format of the delivery. It was an adjustment for students to manage work outside of class even though they enjoyed the freedom of attending a formal class meeting only 3 out of 5 days a week.
  • Achieving the delicate balance between teacher control and student autonomy is an ongoing challenge when facilitating student use of new technologies for self-regulated learning (McLoughlin & Lee, 2010). Motivation, self direction, and technical aptitude are key considerations for implementing a networked student design. The students constructing personal learning environments in this test case were successful in the contemporary issues course.
  • spite of the challenges highlighted above, the Networked Student Model offers a design and framework through which teachers can explore a student-centered, 21st century approach to learning. It further provides a foundation for constructing a personal learning environment with potential to expand as new learning avenues emerge. The student is challenged to synthesise diverse and extensive digital materials, connect to others interacting in respectful and meaningful ways, self-regulate an active approach to learning, and develop an option for life long learning that applies to virtually any curricular area. Once a student has learned how to construct a personal learning environment, he or she is left with a model of learning that extends beyond the classroom walls, one in which the learner assumes full control. Regardless of teacher control, the students' success will depend on how well they have been prepared in the processes that support learning in an ever changing, increasingly networked world.
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    I have highlighted many sections that pertain to student centered online learning.
Doris Stockton

JOLT - Journal of Online Learning and Teaching - 0 views

  • The Barriers to Online Teaching and Learning
  • Although instruction provided through the Internet offers a viable alternative to the need for “physical” space, the need for faculty involvement in online learning remains a prevalent issue for those institutions that plan to continue offering instruction at a distance (Matsom, 2006; Nelson & Thompson, 2005; Schifter, 2004). In many institutions, faculty members are expected to participate in online distance education as a part of their regular duties as faculty (Kim & Bonk, 2006). However, many faculty members are hesitant to convert their traditional courses to an online format. This resistance is attributed to a lack of support, assistance, as well as training by institutions of higher education (Allen & Seaman, 2008; Keengwe, Kidd, & Kyei-Blankson, 2009).
  • Nelson and Thompson (2005) cited faculty time, rewards, workload, lack of administrative support, cost, course quality, student contact, and equipment concerns as barriers to online teaching practices. The researchers recommended that program leaders keep abreast of the technology issues; courses integrate more collaboration between instructors and learners; training be provided to faculty to overcome negative dispositions; leaders attempt to incorporate the need for distance education courses in institutions’ missions, and that a reconsideration of tenure and promotion decisions should be examined in an attempt to support faculty workloads.
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  • Similarly, inadequate hardware and software, slow internet connections, learners’ procrastination, lack of technical expertise among the instructors, insufficient orientation for learners, and a lack of release time for instructors to develop and design their online courses have been cited as barriers to faculty participation in developing and teaching online courses (Nkonge & Gueldenzoph, 2006). The researchers recommended training and support for instructors. Supporting faculty becomes significant because of the number of faculty who begin the online teaching experience with little knowledge of the process of designing, developing, and instructing an online course (Cuellar, 2002).
  • Both novice faculty, who may have been reluctant to participate, and expert faculty play a significant role in guiding the types of support, assistance, and training provided by institutions of higher education. Rockwell et al., (1999) evaluated the types of education, assistance, and support that faculty felt were needed to be successful in online teaching and learning. Faculty responded with the assertions that assistance and support for developing instructional materials, developing interaction, and for applying certain technologies were critical to their success in online environments. Faculty regarded teaching online as more difficult than teaching traditional courses (Gerlich, 2005) as well as complain that online delivery were more labor intensive because of the amount of time required to grade papers and respond to questions (Lao, & Gonzales, 2005; Wegmann, & McCauley, 2008; Sellani & Harrington, 2002). In other studies, faculty felt that additional instructional and technical support were needed because faculty were genuinely concerned about the quality of their online courses and the amount of technical assistance and training available to them at their institutions (Allen & Seaman, 2008; Keengwe, Kidd, & Kyei-Blankson, 2009).
  • Surveys conducted by Brogden and Couros (2002), Grosse, (2004), and Lorenzetti, (2004) suggest that the time and effort demands to develop online courses and to learn new technologies are also causes for faculty member’s frustrations. Additionally, some faculty members may resist online teaching because they are concerned that those courses may require more time for advanced planning (Matsom, 2006). Further, faculty members may be hesitant about this shift due to the fact that they may lose autonomy and control of the curriculum, lack of technical training and support, and lack of release time for planning. Generally, understanding the differences between traditional face-to-face learning environment and online learning environment, and the process of being able to shift from one modality to the other, will give faculty members the ability to design better online courses and focus more on course delivery (Conrad, 2004; Harlow, 2007; Marfoglio, 2006, Sugar, Martindale, & Crawley, 2007). Faculty members may also need to rethink (a) the nature of the content to be taught (b) their role as faculty members and (c) the needs and requirements of the students (Ben-Jacob, Levin & Ben-Jacob, 2000; Lee & Busch, 2005; Jones, Kollof, & Kolloff, 2008).
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    This is the article that I used for response to Kelly's Speak out discussion post.
Diane Gusa

Bringing Life to Online Instruction with Humor - 1 views

  • Based on our experience using humor as an instructional strategy in traditional and online courses, we explain how instructors can incorporate humor into online courses
  • Of the personal dimensions of teaching, humor is the most human of them all. T
  • Humor is not a pedagogical panacea, and the mere inclusion of humor will not assure that learning will occur. I
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  • simpler forms of humor that would “bomb” in a comedy venue, such as word-play (e.g., puns, oxymorons) and clever or witty observations, can be used successfully in online course
  • e, the educational purpose of the humor is the most important consideration. As a pedagogical device, humor can promote various objectives, such as to increase student interest and attention, facilitate the student-teacher relationship, provide students with a “mental break,” or promote the understanding and retention of a concept. In contrast to humorists, who gauge success by laughter, educators measure the effectiveness of humor by how it promotes learning. Although humor can be used to increase students’ overall enjoyment of the online experience, most of the humor incorporated into an online course should serve an instructional purpos
  • The challenge for instructors teaching online courses is to learn to use humor to create interesting and inviting virtual learning environments while minimizing any potential pitfalls of humor as an instructional device
  • Visual humor is especially effective in online courses, and cartoons, illustrations, and photographs, can easily be integrated throughout the course
  • e, we strongly encourage instructors to consider the guidelines for pedagogical humor mentioned in the previous section. First, does the humor promote an educational objective? Second, will the students understand and appreciate the humor? Third, is the target of the humor appropriate for the course?
  • journals devoted to humorous research (e.g., Journal of Polymorphous Perversity, Annals of Improbable Research).
  • nstructors recognize that potentially offensive humor, such as sexist or racist jokes, is not appropriate (Perlman & McCann, 1998). The safest target is the instructor, because self-deprecating humor avoids offending or alienating others, and allows students to view the teacher as more “human.
  • Humor can allow students a brief “mental break” from an online lecture, and instructors can use transitions to illustrate a concept with topic-related tangents or self-deprecating stories.
  • For this type of humor to be effective, the visual punch line needs to be hidden behind a hyperlink.
  • We strongly believe that integrating personal photographs or “home movies” into online instruction adds a more personalized and intimate feel to the often sterile nature of online courses
  • use an extra-credit activity called the “Contributing Editor” that requires students to locate potential sources of humor on any course topic.
  • For a more detailed explanation of the techniques and principles of humor writing, instructors can refer to various comedy writing books (e.g., Carter, 2001; Helitzer & Shatz, 2005).
  • the most suitable joke formulas for the online course are word-play and exaggeration. A word-play joke involves the modification of a word, clichés, definition, common phrase, or concept. Examples of word-play pedagogical humor include silly names, funny unit subtitles, oxymorons, and factitious definitions. Word-play is a relatively simple form of humor, and instructors should expect smirks (or moans) rather than big laughs. Also, word-play jokes will only be successful when instructors follow the principle of “knowing your audience” (i.e., students must recognize the word, concept, or phrase that is being reformatted or embellished).
  • The final step of humor writing is to edit the joke by following the four principles of “aggressive editing” (Sankey, 1998)
  • The placement and duration of humor used in online lecture modules are critical to the flow of instruction.
  • several ways that instructors can enhance visual humor for the online environment
  • ules as an opportunity to use humorous personal examples and commentary to expand on previously discussed lecture topics. By clearly identifying the tangent, students recognize that the rant is separate from the lecture
  • For instructors who are comfortable using humor in course examinations, there are several approaches for adding humor to multiple-choice tests. First, an additional distracter (e.g., choice “e”), such as a joke at the expense of the instructor, can be added to select items. Second, names that appear in items can be reformatted by inserting the instructor's name or creating fictitious names. Third, a “final” item can be added with the setup “The test is over and you...” with funny distracters targeted to the students, instructor, or course. (See Berk, 2000 for additional strategies for infusing humor into multiple-choice examinations.)
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    Thinking back to our conversation on humor. (I was only a lurker in that conversation, but maybe now I have time to revisit this idea). Hope this adds to your thoughts.
Diane Gusa

What Is Education For? - 0 views

  • Ignorance is not a solvable problem, but rather an inescapable part of the human condition.
  • Fifth, there is a myth that the purpose of education is that of giving you the means for upward mobility and success.
  • The plain fact is that the planet does not need more "successful" people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every shape and form.
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  • "Our culture does not nourish that which is best or noblest in the human spirit. It does not cultivate vision, imagination, or aesthetic or spiritual sensitivity. It does not encourage gentleness, generosity, caring, or compassion. Increasingly in the late 20th Century, the economic-technocratic-statist worldview has become a monstrous destroyer of what is loving and life-affirming in the human soul."
  • First, all education is environmental education.
  • The goal of education is not mastery of subject matter, but of one’s person.
  • MBAs, educated in the tools of leveraged buyouts, tax breaks, and capital mobility have done what no invading army could do: they destroyed an American city with total impunity on behalf of something called the "bottom line." But the bottom line for society includes other costs, those of unemployment, crime, higher divorce rates, alcoholism, child abuse, lost savings, and wrecked lives. In this instance what was taught in the business schools and economics departments did not include the value of good communities or the human costs of a narrow destructive economic rationality that valued efficiency and economic abstractions above people and community.
  • we cannot say that we know something until we understand the effects of this knowledge on real people and their communities
  • knowledge carries with it the responsibility to see that it is well used in the world.
  • nd the power of examples over words.
  • the way learning occurs is as important as the content of particular courses.
  • Campus architecture is crystallized pedagogy that often reinforces passivity, monologue, domination, and artificiality
Tiffany King

EBSCOhost: Online Collaborative Learning: Relating Theory to Practice - 0 views

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    Abstract: Educational institutions have rushed to provide online courses; however, too often schools have discovered the difficulty in transferring effective teaching strategies in the classroom to an online environment. A unique aspect of quality online courses is how they rely heavily on effective collaboration to create a meaningful learning environment. Unfortunately, online instruction is not as simple as replicating the community atmosphere that is found in the traditional brick and mortar classroom. New strategies are demanded for the successful transfer of knowledge utilizing the Web. Investigating the pedagogical strategies of a program that promotes dialogue and collective intellect in a community model could benefit faculty designing courses. We will present a detailed case study using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods (including observation, focus groups, transcripts from synchronous and asynchronous discussions, surveys, and interviews) collected over a two-year span to identify perceptions of effective online collaboration and performance. Community formation, support, and sustainability are also explored. Examples are included that not only describe what participants perceive as enabling aspects of the support system but also ways in which educators can enhance program development by learning from other pioneers in this area.
Diane Gusa

Learning Domains - 1 views

  • The affective domain is critical for learning but is often not specifically addressed.  This is the domain that deals with attitudes, motivation, willingness to participate, valuing what is being learned, and ultimately incorporating the values of a discipline into a way of life.  Stages in that domain are not as sequential as the cognitive domain, but have been described as the following: Receiving (willing to listen) Responding (willing to participate) Valuing (willing to be involved) Organizing (willing to be an advocate) Characterization (willing to change one’s behavior, lifestyle, or way of life)
  • Videos and audio clips are also excellent ways to engage the affective domain. These should be short and may include the following: Former students giving tips on how to be successful The instructor informing the students of the value of the course Professionals who are using the knowledge from the course in their lives An overview of the program with key support personnel and facilities visible to the student Streaming audio files throughout the course encouraging students and providing helpful tips Short video clips of the instructor explaining course content
Tiffany King

Formative and Summative Assessment in the Classroom - 0 views

  • nother distinction that underpins formative assessment is student involvement. If students are not involved in the assessment process, formative assessment is not practiced or implemented to its full effectiveness. Students need to be involved both as assessors of their own learning and as resources to other students. There are numerous strategies teachers can implement to engage students. In fact, research shows that the involvement in and ownership of their work increases students' motivation to learn. This does not mean the absence of teacher involvement. To the contrary, teachers are critical in identifying learning goals, setting clear criteria for success, and designing assessment tasks that provide evidence of student learning.
  • Formative Assessment is part of the instructional process.
  • it can only help in evaluating certain aspects of the learning process.
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  • Summative assessments happen too far down the learning path to provide information at the classroom level and to make instructional adjustments and interventions during the learning process.
Diane Gusa

Learning-Centered Syllabi - 0 views

  • Learning-Centered Syllabi Workshop
  • Creating and using a learner-centered syllabus is integral to the process of creating learning communities.
  • we focus on the process of learning rather than the content, that the content and the teacher adapt to the students rather than expecting the students to adapt to the content, that responsibility is placed on students to learn rather than on professors to teach.
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  • students and their ability to learn are at the center of what we do
  • facilitate student learning rather than to act as "gatekeepers" of knowledge
  • A necessary first step in creating a learning-centered syllabus, according to most sources, is to spend some time thinking about the "big questions" related to why, what, who and how we teach.
  • thoughtful discussions with ourselves and our colleagues about our teaching philosophy and what it means to be an educated person in our discipline
  • We also need to think about how we encourage responsibility for learning in our students.
  • students should progress from a primarily instructor-led approach to a primarily student-initiated approach to learning.
  • participate in planning the course content and activities; clarify their own goals and objectives for the course; monitor and assess their own progress; and establish criteria for judging their own performance within the goals that they have set for themselves, certification or licensing requirements, time constraints, etc.
  • Your first objective is to facilitate learning, not cover a certain block of materia
  • According to Johnson, "course objectives should consist of explicit statements about the ways in which students are expected to change as a result of your teaching and the course activities. These should include changes in thinking skills, feelings, and actions" (p. 3)
  • Don't use words that are open to many interpretations and which are difficult to measure. Make sure that all students understand the same interpretation.
  • here are three primary domains of development for students in a course
  • The Cognitive Domain is associated with knowledge and intellectual skills. The Affective Domain is associated with changes in interests, attitudes, values, applications, and adjustments. And the Psychomotor Domain is associated with manipulative and motor skills
  • "A learning-centered syllabus requires that you shift from what you, the instructor, are going to cover in your course to a concern for what information and tools you can provide for your students to promote learning and intellectual development" (Diamond, p. xi).
  • An effective learning-centered syllabus should accomplish certain basic goals (Diamond, p. ix): define students' responsibilities; define instructor's role and responsibility to students; provide a clear statement of intended goals and student outcomes; establish standards and procedures for evaluation; acquaint students with course logistics; establish a pattern of communication between instructor and students; and include difficult-to-obtain materials such as readings, complex charts, and graphs.
  • Clarify the conceptual structure used to organize the course.
  • Students need to know why topics are arranged in a given order and the logic of the themes and concepts as they relate to the course structure
  • Does the course involve mostly inductive or deductive reasoning? Is it oriented to problem-solving or theory building? Is it mostly analytical or applied? In answering these questions, acknowledge that they reflect predominant modes in most cases rather than either/or dichotomies.
  • Use a variety of methods.
  • Identify additional equipment or materials needed and sources.
  • "Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. Please contact the Disability Resources Office at 515-294-6624 or TTY 515-294-6635 in Room 1076 of the Student Services Building to submit your documentation and coordinate necessary and reasonable accommodation."
  • Critical Thinking
  • Critical thinking is a learned skill. The instructor, fellow students, and possibly others are resources. Problems, questions, issues, values, beliefs are the point of entry to a subject and source of motivation for sustained inquiry. Successful courses balance the challenge of critical thinking with the supportive foundation of core principles, theories, etc., tailored to students' developmental needs. Courses are focused on assignments using processes that apply content rather than on lectures and simply acquiring content. Students are required to express ideas in a non-judgmental environment which encourages synthesis and creative applications. Students collaborate to learn and stretch their thinking. Problem-solving exercises nurture students' metacognitive abilities. The development needs of students are acknowledged and used in designing courses. Standards are made explicit and students are helped to learn how to achieve them.
Diane Gusa

WPI Teaching with Technology Collaboratory - The Benefits of Learning Contracts, and Ho... - 0 views

  • Idea Center Assigning Multimedia Projects to Students Motivating Your Students Promoting Student Collaboration Gathering Student Feedback Enhancing Presentations Engaging Students Through Alternatives to Written Assignments Encouraging Class Discussion Benefits of Using Discussion Boards Improving Use of Discussion Boards Grading Online Discussons The Benefits of Learning Contracts Survey Design Best Practices Blended Learning How-To Center Learning Objects Faculty Technology Grants Distance Teaching Faculty Stories News & Events Technology Tips Contact Us Search ATC site only All WPI IT sites ATC Home Related Sites Distance Learning Morgan Teaching & Learning Center The Benefits of Learning Contracts, and How to Design One
  • "Allowing students to decide which grade they wish to strive for, which activities they will engage in, and how they will demonstrate that they have satisfactorily completed their studies permits a teacher to seize upon powerful motivating forces within individual students ... This notion shifts responsibility for learning from the teacher to the student, but at the same time offers an incentive by insuring success under known conditions. Students are challenged without being threatened." (Frymier, 1965)
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    "A learning contract is a collaboratively written agreement between a student and a faculty member that delineates what is to be learned, how it will be learned, and how that learning will be evaluated. There are many different ways to design a learning contract, incorporating as many or as few elements as you wish. Despite this flexibility, there is a general format which the majority of learning contracts follow: Identify what content will be learned Specify the methods and strategies that will be used to learn the content Specify resources to be used in order to learn the content Specify the type of evidence that will be used to demonstrate learning Specify how the evidence will be validated, and by whom"
Doris Stockton

Building Intelligent Interactive Tutors: Student-centered strategies for ... - Beverly ... - 0 views

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    This looks like an interesting book.   I thought I was going to use it to research for my discussion post, but I thought I would share in case someone else might find it interesting.  
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