Assessment Task 1 - Learning Design Brief - Conclusion

Over the past 2 weeks I have participated in three wiki’s within the course ICTs for Learning Design. After participating in each wiki I posted blog reflections on the activities revealing my personal experience from the activity and a discussion relating to the learning theories and scaffold present and the structure of the activity. Therefore I aim provide a conclusion that evaluates these core ideas that tie together the wiki activities.

The four learning theories that I have been introduced in this course are behaviourisim, constructivism, cognitism and connectivism. All three activities, profile wiki, learning theories wiki and mobile phone wiki included elements from the learning theories constructivism, cognitism and connectivism. Behaviourism targets low level content, processes and routine skill development and was not present in the activities because they all strived to develop higher order thinking skills in the participating students (Fasso, 2011). Cognitism was needed in the activities to support the other learning theories. Congnitism requires for students to receive information and process the information in order to transfer it to the long term memory for storage and future use. Connectivism was important because it encourgaged students to take control of their learning by advising them where to find information using various tools of technology and it amplifed the importance of connections and networking in strengthening the learning process. Constructivism also allowed for students to construct knowledge rather than be given knowledge through instructions and it ensured that the students could apply the information broadly (Modritscher, 2006)

Wikis are technological tools that aid eLearning and where a teacher’s guidance is essential to ensure learning in its entirety. It is evident through the learning frameworks present and the scaffolds implemented into the activity of creating and maintaining a wiki. There are various strategies that can be used to scaffold learning however it is important in wikis to bring students ideas to the surface and this can be done by scaffolding thinking through strategies including PMI & Bono’s Six Thinking Hats that were employed in the wikis for this course. The ultimate goal of scaffolding is for the student to become an independent and self regulating learner and problem solver (Van Der Stuyf, 2002. When using a wiki for eLearning, the TPACK framework should be present. However, other frameworks such as the engagement theory framework and blooms taxonomy can also be present along with the TPACK framework to ensure that students are engaged in the activity and that learning is creative, meaningful and authentic. (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999)

A wiki is a website that can be visited by any one person, where information can be read, reorganised and updated by the person where they find it appropriate.  It is easy to use and has a fairly simple edit style.  For this course learning occurs predominately in an online environment and the wikis perform multiple tasks to support the TPACK framework. The basis of the TPACK framework is that knowing how to use technology in pedagogically sound ways for the learning of specific content. (Fasso, 2011) Wikis facilitate the ongoing interaction between the flex and internal students in the online environment as seen in the profile wiki completed for the course. They provide the opportunity for information to distributed, student ideas to be voiced and group work to occur. The wikis also allow students to share authority and empower themselves with the responsibility of building on their foundational knowledge (Augar, Raitman & Zhou, 2004). Overall wikis are a technological tool that if employed correctly enhances the experience and enables collaboration for eLearning.

To conclude learning theories, frameworks, scaffolds and wikis have played an important role in my elearning and can also be implemented into my teaching to play the same roles for my students learning.

REFERENCES

Augar, N., Raitman, R. & Zhou, W. (2004). Teaching and learning online with wikis.

In

R. Atkinson, C. McBeath, D. Jonas-Dwyer & R. Phillips (Eds), Beyond the comfort zone: Proceedings of the 21st ASCILITE Conference (pp. 95-104). Perth, 5-8 December. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/perth04/procs/augar.html

Big Dog & Little Dog’s Performance Juxtapostion. (2010). Blooms Taxonomy of

Learning Domains The Three Types of Learning. Retrieved from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html#cognitive

Drexler, W. (2008, November 26). Networked Student [Video file]. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwM4ieFOotA

Fasso, W.  (2011, February 28). Active Learning, Learning Diversity and the Theory.

Retrieved from CQUniversity e-courses, EDED20491 ICT’s for Learning Design, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=163840

Fasso, W. (2011, March 7). Effective eLearning Design. Retrieved from CQUniveristy e

courses, EDED20491 ICT’s for Learning Design, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=163843

Kearsley, G., & Shneiderman, B. (1999) Engagement Theory: A framework for

technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.html

Modritscher, F. (2006). E-Learning Theories in Practice: A Comparison of three

Methods. Journal of Universal Science and Technology of Learning, 0(0), 3-18.

Van Der Stuyf, R. (2002). Scaffolding as a Teaching Strategy. Journal of Adolescent                

            Learning and Development, 0500A, Fall 2002.

Mobile Phones Wiki Reflection

The mobile phones wiki has definitely increased my awareness of mobile phones and their potential use in the classroom as well as identifying their disadvantages. The activity refreshed my memory of the scaffolding concept of Bono’s Six Thinking Hats.  The thinking hats allow for students to donate not only the facts on a topic but their creativity, emotions and opinions. In addition, the activity had a structure where students processed the information provided generated the table for the six thinking hats and contributed to the table provided in the wiki. Overall, the activity is authentic and supports learning by engaging and embracing the diverse range of students and I am excited to employ it in my classroom relating it to accounting and business content.

Elements of various learning theories are also present in the mobile phones wiki and are identified below:
Constructivism

Bono’s Six Thinking Hats was a scaffolding strategy that drew out facts and ideas from the students. In addition, the activity enabled students to have a text record of the collaboration of bono’s six thinking hats so that the students can return to the record to justify, elaborate & build knowledge.

Cognitivism

Information was provided in different modes to accommodate individual processing and to facilitate transfer to long term memory and the students were required to use their metacognitive skills (Modritsher, 2006). The six thinking hats also had an organisation effect which categorised the information making it easier to remember. Different modes – meta cognitive skills

Connectivism

Students are required to determine important and unimportant information to be included in the six thinking hats and there is allowance for the diverse range of opinions in the activity.

Learning Theories Wiki Reflection

As a student my learning was assisted through the learning theories wiki. The learning theories wiki reinforced the content provided in the readings and the repetitious manner supported my learning style. I am an interpersonal person so I also enjoyed learning through a group work. As a teacher, I could issue for homework an accounting and business wiki that requires the students to complete a PMI for the topic as an individual, in pairs or in a group. Usually homework is completed by the individual student therefore by implementing a wiki the students can also work in groups. Thus engaging the students with the, relate create donate framework and supporting their various learning styles.

Of course these learning theories were also underlying in the activity and were visible in the following instances:

Constructivism

The learning theories wiki drew out facts and opinions from the students regarding the learning theories by scaffolding thinking in the form of the PMI model. The activity also required for collaboration to occur with a partner before sharing the PMI model with the course.

Cognitivism

The students mentally processed the information provided by the resources through their sensory, working and long term memory so that it can be applied to the PMI model.

Connectivism

The activity connected information sources to students and the students were required to determine the most relevant information to use in their PMI.

The learning theories wiki required students to read, watch, listen etc to the resources provided for their chosen learning theory (ours being 21^st century learning), construct the PMI table, a scaffolding strategy, and then share their PMI with the group. Throughout this process the students should have also comprehended, applied, analysed, sythesised and evaluated the information provided in the resources (Big Dog and Little Dog’s Performance Juxtapostion, 2010). Thus, the learning theories wiki employed the cognitive domain of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning along with the Engagement Theory framework.

Profile Wiki Reflection

As a learner I value the profile wiki because it has allowed me to get to know other students studying the Graduate Diploma in Learning and Teaching (GDLT). I have befriended students that are similar to me whether it be their teaching areas or previous experiences in life and I hope that I can refer to these friendships through the course for assistance with studying and even as support once I have completed the diploma and teaching full time.  As a high school accounting and business education teacher, the profile wiki activity can also easily be implemented into any of my classes to support the learning of students. The profile wiki can be completed by students at the start of the year so that all students get to know each other, even those that have intrapersonal traits and find it difficult speaking to large numbers. The same profile wiki would also include relevant questions to display the different learning styles of the students so that as the teacher I can ensure all lessons support these styles.

The learning theories, constructivism, cognitivism and connectivisim are visible in the following elements of the profile wiki:

Constructivisim

Students can utilise the profile wiki to identify others that may have similar mental processes due to prior experiences and this can further assist other activities such as the scaffolded learning theories wiki.

Cognitivism

The word template provided to create the profile wiki acts as a concept map for the students. It organises information, such as distinctive qualities of other students, chunking and linking it to transfer to long term memory of the students so that they can recall the information when required, for instance deciding on partners for group work (Fasso, 2011).

Connectivism

The connectivism theory presumes that learning occurs as part of a social network of many diverse networks and ties (Drexler, 2008).The profile wiki contributes to both social and formal networking between students to help strengthen the learning process.

In order to complete the profile wiki students were asked to view a word template displaying a form of profile, construct their own profile and share it through the wiki link. This is a clear indication that the engagement theory framework had been placed in the activity as the students, related, created and donated their profiles. (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999) The word template also acted as a form of scaffold as it demonstrated what kind of information that could be placed in the student’ profile.

Activity 1 - Learning Styles

 Learning Styles Results

Dimensions:

Active - Reflective

Sensing - Intuitive

Visual - Verbal

Sequential - Global

• If you score on a scale 1 - 3 you are well balanced on the two dimensons of that scale.
• If you score a scale 5-7 you have a moderate preference for one dimension of the scale and will learn more easily in a teaching evironment which favours that dimension.
• If you score on a scale 9-11 you have a very strong preference for one dimension of the scale. You may have difficulty learning in an environment which does not support that preference.

What is your learning style? What sorts of learning experiences would suit you best with your learning style?

Before I undertook the Felder & Solomon Learning Style test I was unsure on my exact learning style. However, I am now aware that my learning style is quite distinct as evident in the results.

The results suggest the following:

•        I show a moderate preference to active and verbal learning than reflective and visual learning respectively.

•        I am anything but an intuitive learner, thus I am a sensor learner.

•        I am a well balanced sequential/global learner.

Thus the following learning experiences would suit best with my learning style:

•        Active Learning = Group work & Hands on activities

•        Verbal Learning = Group work & Summarising Course Material

•        Sense Learning = Memorising activities

•        Sequential & Global Learning = Prepare an overall outline of a terms course of work and then logically order all the material in that course.

In a traditional classroom of 25 students, how would you support the range of learning styles each lesson?

As we are aware each person has their own individual learning style. Therefore as a teacher of 25 students I would utilise various learning experiences to engage the interests of ALL students.

Accordingly, I would:

•        Include interactive activities where the student must think about what they are doing before they perform the physical/active part and reflect on the activity afterwards.

•        Allow students to brainstorm and think intuitively before providing real facts that they can memorise.

•        Provide both a visual and written aspect to lecture to a class about whilst teaching a topic.

•        Outline to the students the BIG picture of a topic and relate it to any relevant information that they may already know and then take the students through the more detailed points of the topic. (I remember my high school teachers using this method in most classes)

With your current knowledge of ICT, how could your design and digital pedagogy support your learners better?

Today students tend to be digital natives, learn better when content or teaching relates to the REAL world in some form and may expect digital technology to be automatically included in the classroom. Therefore to support these learners I will ensure that I provide many opportunities to use various ICTS to cater for the different learning styles of each student (explained further in the answer to question 5) and to help relate content back to the REAL world. Most importantly I will use ICTs to facilitate quality learning experiences for the student.

What sorts of profiling questions would you be asking about your learners to ensure you cater for everyone's preferences?

Do students like to work in groups or by themselves?

Do they like to read and write about topics? or

Do they prefer visual aids such as diagrams, sketches, schematics, photographs and flow charts?

Do they like an interactive part included when learning a new topic?

Do they like memorising content to a topic?

Do they mind being tested on material that has not been explicitly covered in class?

Do they like learning a topic without knowing the BIG picture or outline of it?

Do they like the content of a topic to be related back to the REAL world?

How does ICT support differences in learning styles?

Firstly, ICTs can be employed to help determine each students individual learning styles. Secondly, they can also then be applied in the classroom scenario to cater for the different learning styles. There is a huge range of ICTs that can be used in the classroom to cater for different learning styles, some of these include:

Laptops and Ipods – These can be used individually and enables access to other various ICTs and interactive learning activities such as spelling games etc.

Interactive Whiteboard – To be used by the whole class or by group work that also allows access to other various ICTs and interactive learning activities.

An Introduction

Hi all and welcome to my online abode.

In this year of 2011 I will be completing the Graduate Diploma in Learning and Teaching with CQ Univeristy through an external form.

This year is definately going to be a lifetime experience and hopefully will enable further out of this world experiences in the education industry of QLD, Australia & The World for myself and my fellow students.

I will note that the blog has been created for the course, ICTs for Learning Design. As such, most of the posts will be centered around the topics introduced by this course.

Arrivederci

Laura