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Eric Calvert

Final Reflections - Voice Thread Debate | Ginnette Clark's blog - 0 views

  • I think that the Internet has made us more efficient and better equipped to find out things that are important to us. When my daughter was born with Spina Bifida, I looked at every site that was available about the subject. I wanted to learn as much as I could about the prognosis of my child. Also, the Internet has connected other families together that have children with Spina Bifida. The Internet has proven to be a great resource to those people.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      Could "distraction" be in the "eye of the beholder" then? (It sounds like you had little trouble focusing when you were trying to learn about Spina Bifida online, but that staying focused takes more energy when you don't feel as strong of a personal connection to the content.)  Is a take-away lesson for learning designers that providing choice in content can help make some of the distracting qualities of the web non-issues?
  • Learners are also busy at work and employers do not always have the budget for travel for education. Online learning modules that can be accessed at any time can serve a great amount of people that need to know things. Training can be done from the workplace, reducing the need for travel and extra expenses that an employer will not necessarily budget and provide for.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      Good observation.  I think this is probably why we've seen so many job postings for learning designers despite the recession and job cuts in other fields.
Eric Calvert

LRND6820 Carr Debate Reflection Post | greenm's blog - 0 views

  • I am a bit undecided if I support one ‘side’ or the other……solely.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      That's okay.  I think the reality is somewhere in between the poles, too.
  • For some reason it is bothersome to me to read lengthy material on the web.  Maybe I have just taught myself this, but I do think there is some validity to the lack of actual reading that is taking place on the web.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      I've heard others say this, too.  Do you print online articles because paper is less straining on your eyes, or because not being able to follow a link means it's harder to be distracted? ( I've known some people on diets who change the route they use to drive home to avoid going by fast food restaurants so that indulging a temptation will require extra time and effort.  I wonder if printing web pages is a similar strategy for some people.)
  • Possibly in the future, maybe you could include a guideline of tasks, allow an extra day in-between rebuttals, and/or allow for peer feedback participation form of sorts within the team.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      Thanks for the feedback.  Others have also suggested adding some time between rebuttals.  I think I'll definitely build that in next time around.
Eric Calvert

Ginnette's blog post on the VoiceThread Debate - 0 views

  • With learning design we need to make sure we incorporate as much experience and variety as we can.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      You're right -- incorporating as much experience and variety as possible is important.  Equally key, however, is making sure there's some scaffolding in place to help learners connect/relate these new experiences to previous ones.  Otherwise, they are likely to be quickly forgotten.
  • People are distracted by the Internet because there are tons of things that can be done instead of homework. But to the benefit of Internet, I remember doing all sorts of things (as a elementary/high school student) instead of homework and they weren’t Internet related. We will always try to find ways to do something else when we do not want to do something.
  • When my daughter was born with Spina Bifida, I looked at every site that was available about the subject. I wanted to learn as much as I could about the prognosis of my child. Also, the Internet has connected other families together that have children with Spina Bifida. The Internet has proven to be a great resource to those people.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      This is an interesting point.  "Distraction" could be "in the eye of the beholder" in some cases.  It might be quite easy for some to be very focused when using the Web for "informal" learning.  In this case, you were no doubt very motivated to learn as much as you could because you were learning about a topic that was very important to you personally.  Perhaps "focus" is less of an issue for designers to worry about if learners have choice is what they learn about?
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  • I believe that by using recorded webinars and educational seminars we will be able to teach the most people. This way, learners can access the education when they have time…they will now miss out on the things that they need to learn.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      I generally agree with this, but think learning designers should build in some ways for learners to check their comprehension after viewing an online webinar.  I'll admit to being guilty of tuning in to a webinar, then at some point thinking, "okay, I'm already familiar with the content of this section, so I'm going to keep it in the background and take a quick peak at my Twitter feed..." Usually I THINK I'm doing a good job of managing my attention, but in reality I do probably miss some important stuff.  
  • Training can be done from the workplace, reducing the need for travel and extra expenses that an employer will not necessarily budget and provide for.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      I think this helps explains why the demand for learning designers for both K-12 students and adult learning situations has continued to grow despite the recession.
Eric Calvert

Wesley's blog post on VoiceThread debate - 1 views

  • I wouldn’t say that Google is making us “stupid,” but it is most definitely challenging our self discipline.
  • I think that providing a handful of proven resources would be beneficial for getting them started, then encouraging them to analyze the “quality” materials before moving on and searching for additional resources on their own. This allows them to see examples of what to look for before going out on their own.
Eric Calvert

LRND 6820-Voice Thread Debate | mmieure's blog - 1 views

  • It was very nice to get to know some of the other student better and more personally.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      A couple of other students have made similar comments to me.  Do you think it might have been helpful to have this activity closer to the start of the semester so it could do double duty both as a learning/critical thinking activity and as an ice-breaker/teambuilder?
  • I just think if my entire team could have sat down in the same room with a few notebooks we could have gotten a lot more done as everyone would have been focused on the project at the same time.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      Others have commented that at least one synchronous meeting with teammates would have been helpful at the beginning.  (Although "face to face" may not be practical since not everyone lives in the same area.)
  • Conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project and Elon University’s Imaging the Internet Center.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      I'm glad you stumbled on to this resource, Matt.  There's some fascinating work going on there, and it's ongoing, so we'll hopefully get to see some trends unfold over time.
Eric Calvert

mmieure's blog - 0 views

shared by Eric Calvert on 15 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • We know the educational system has to change and be more effective, however if you are teaching a biology class of 40 students, and you are intorducing text books, smart boards, lab experiments and field trips, what more can you do?
    • Eric Calvert
       
      You're right.  The curriculum is getting very "crowded."  I think our tendency is to look at curriculum and ask, "what more needs to be added," when sometimes we could actually improve things but cutting things out -- especially where there's not currently time for students to think deeply enough about the content for it to "stick."
  • It would seem impossible to taylor the curriculum to each student.  As relative to this article, it makes the point that learning can come in a variety of packages depending on the individual, and this is true.  However,  I see it also as a difficult road to capitalize on these ideas when you have too many students, not enough time and not enough money.
  • It just brings me to another question, are the digital natives and their knack for being able to multi-task multiple technological devices at the same time really smarter than the rest of us because of it?  Or are they unknowingly being overwhelmed with too many distractions?
    • Eric Calvert
       
      We'll explore this question in great depth during the VoiceThread debate next week!
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • For instance, the non-interactive learning is more beneficial to basic skills whereas the interactive learning is more beneficial to high order skills.  Again, I believe studies such as this could benefit education enormously.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      Yes.  Going back to your earlier point, sometimes less really is more.
  • According to this model, it seems that in order to enhance the long term learning of a student we should consider a “learning how to learn” class
    • Eric Calvert
       
      You might be interested in some of Arthur Costa's work on explicitly teaching metacognitive skills to young students.  
Eric Calvert

LRND Weekly #9 "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" - Ian Poor - 0 views

  • First off I would like to point out that I am extremely torn about this subject, and am actually more confused after going through this process (haha).
    • Eric Calvert
       
      That's okay, Ian.  Some educational psychologists argue that "cognitive dissonance" is a necessary precondition for new learning.  (Put another way, when we're "sure" about our opinions, we tend to stop listening and thinking.)
  • e need to use new and upcoming technologies (like the ones we are researching for our PLE’s) to help students gain the techniques and work patterns that can help them “dive deeper” into the “right” content.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      Amen!
Eric Calvert

LRND 6820 VoiceThread Reflection | Aaron Carpenter's blog - 0 views

  • I am personally amused by some of the materials that take an extreme stance that it is either a gift from the gods and answer to all life’s problems or the worst thing to ever happen to teaching.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      This reminds me a bit of the Homer Simpson quote, "Ah, beer.  The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems." 
  • I believe Carr’s article makes some good points but it goes too far. I imagine if it was a more balanced piece it would not have received as much commentary, hence the inflammatory headline.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      Good point.  I think Carr's book-length work on this topic is a little more balanced (although IMHO still too negative), but he is trying to sell popular-press magazines and books.  
  • Collaboration has never been easier and this hive mind mentality where we can pool all of our resources to create will become even more advanced as more people jump on board. Conversations involving people from all points of the globe will help foster new ideas and innovations and the Internet is the thing that makes it all possible.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      Yes, and I think collaborating online involves some "learned" skills.  As people become more adept at using online tools (and as the tools themselves get more powerful and user friendly), positive effects will increase and will become more obvious to people beyond the pool of tech enthusiasts and early adopters.
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  • One answer is open source software. If we let people change what they think would improve the product then everyone wins. New ideas can be passed to others and sooner or later we end up with a solution that will work for everyone. This will let us design new learning tools that are flexible and able to change with the requirements for adverse groups of learners
    • Eric Calvert
       
      Beyond open source software, what do you think about the idea of open source curriculum? See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb0syrgsH6M&feature=player_embedded#at=15
Eric Calvert

LRND 6820 Week 9 Reflection | fkohler's blog - 0 views

  • Moreover, research discovers that transferring tacit knowledge is challenging when using “traditional e-learning.” It requires shared observation to deliver effective information.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      I think this is an important point, Frank.  I do think we learn more and think more deeply when we have forums for discussing ideas with others.  This is true both for adult learners and children. (For example, there's evidence that kids learn little from "educational television" unless they have an opportunity to talk about it with a parent, teacher, or peer.)
  • The Affirmative Team’s organization was great with members volunteering for roles. Collaboration effected from the Wiki with Rachel and Misty leading the research effort. Yours truly created and posted the first VoiceThread, with Wes and Melisa providing a succinct organizational statement of Affirmative Team’s supportive research.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      As an instructor, it was great to see you all use some of the collaborative tools to organize yourselves and your collective efforts.
Eric Calvert

Is Google Making us Stupid? | M. Partin-Harding Blog - 0 views

  • Information that took hours to find can now be found in minutes.  We still need to cross check our references for accuracy and authenticity, but that is also true when researching in the traditional sense.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      Good point, Melissa.  I think if we only teach students to think critically about content when they view it online, we're sending a message that they don't need to be critical of content in textbooks, newspapers, and mass media. 
  • Observation of my own behavior since reading this information has proven this true, however that is probably equally true when researching in the traditional sense
    • Eric Calvert
       
      Another good point.  Apart from novels, how many books did people really read from cover to cover? (How often do people who don't use the Web at all now read every word in every article in a printed newspaper or magazine?)
  • Learning Designers should embrace technology and the power is holds as an alternative to presenting course information in a creative and engaging format.
    • Eric Calvert
       
      Yes.  I think learning designers and educators could probably find some new ways to keep students engaged by exploring the things that pull students away.  (For example, look at some of the exciting new curriculum that's starting to come from people applying lessons learned from studying how and why people play games.)
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