Learning Theory and Educational Technology (Mod One)

The beliefs as for how people learn best. There are numerous beliefs and theories out there about individual learning styles. It is very important that you have some familiarity with that particular individual. Each person has a certain learning style that best meets their needs and how they learn. Learning styles have been studied by many educational and psychological experts for years. A lot of instructors are also trying to find out how their students learn best so they can adapt their lessons and make it better for kids in their classroom. According to Driscoll (2005), learners learn from what they do and practice what you learn in a variety of settings. Most important some people learn best at their own pace and the different kinds of learning require different training processes.

The purpose of educational technology allows ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources. Educational technology will also allow individuals experience with multiple use of software, hardware, research or project on the internet, blogs, wiki’s and social networks. Technology of education is most simply and comfortably defined as an array of tools that might prove helpful in advancing student learning.

Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

I have post a comment to the following blogs.

Alison Parker

Sandra Dykes

Moving Toward Dynamic Technologies

Static and dynamic concept mapping is a great way to exhibit and demonstrate the learning tools that can support distance learning in any particular environment. Static technology does not allow user interaction. Dynamic technology has features that respond automatically to user input or database edit (McGreal & Elliott, 2008).

The static concept basically identifies information in limited potential versus the dynamic concept. The dynamic process allows learners the opportunity to relate the learning process from a distance. It's important that educators benefit for the use of virtual simulations and simulations and ensure that all students are actively engaged in learning. One plus is that virtual worlds allows learners the opportunity to put skills and strategies in place and try new ideas in a secure atmosphere and learn from their mistakes without adverse consequences. I have continued to gain knowledge with several technologies throughout my distance education experience. Some of the technologies are webpages, podcast, wikis and discussion boards. Technology is continue to play a significant role in our daily lives. The most important is that educators and teachers have to continue looking at the rapid advances in computer and telecommunications capabilities have made possible the development of learning modules that include elements such as video transmission, e-mail, the Internet, and the World Wide Web.

References

McGreal, R., & Elliott, M. (2008). Technologies of online learning (e-learning). In T. Anderson (Ed.), The theory and practice of online learning (2nd ed., pp. 143-165). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press

Moller, L. (2008). Static and dynamic technological tools. [Unpublished Paper].

Engaging learners with new strategies and technology is very important in this technological driven era. Instructors have the opportunity to utilize various diverse technologies that will surely help keep students actively engaged in their classrooms. Technology can help students become more knowledgeable and associated with the content. There are so many technologies that can help students from a communication standpoint such as Skype, email and social networks. Blogs can allow learners the opportunity to keep up with information and updates that may go on in the classroom. One of the most important goals of applying technology in the classroom is to ensure that education is very effective and give students new resources and options with technology. Technology can also have a tremendous impact on teaching strategies and methodologies of an instructor. It’s just important for all instructors to develop an effective plan that will feature all main elements. According to Siemens (2008), the students would be actively engaged in online environment by changing the assessment model. This process will work because it will allow the students to be creative and work collaborative with other peers in the class.

Reference

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

Storyboard Outline

 Storyboard Outline:
Social Presence

 By: Keith Phillips

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Introduction to Social Presence
   

—  What is Social Presence?

—  What role does Social Presence plays in distance education?

—  What are the effect of Social Presence?

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Examples of Social Presence

—  Table 1. Identifies the categories and indicators of Social Presence

—  Table 2. Identifies the dimensions and variables of Social Presence

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Establishing and Maintaining Social presence

—  Level of Participation

—  Quality of Interaction

—  Responsibility

—  Expectations

 
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Summary

—  Review main points on Social Presence

—  Identify perceptions of Social Presence

—  Tools to improve Social Presence

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References

Assessing Collaborative Efforts

In a collaborative learning community, individual implementation should not be the main attraction because all members of that particular learning community should play an active and engaging part in the group assignment. Teamwork should be stressed. The collaborative learning community should plan learning activities together, assign task equally among the community members, put their plans in action, and display a well-organized project or findings as a team. One important viewpoint about collaborative learning community is that each member will bring their different strengths and weakness. In collaborative endeavors, students inevitably encounter difference, and must grapple with recognizing and working with it. According to Siemens (2008), it is important to have a high level of trust, well-connected information sources and external connections to tightly knit groups that will support a successful learning community. Collaboration is a very important part of mastering huge tasks when working as a group.

If you ever manage to experience a student who does not want to work collaborately in your learning community the members of the learning group have to come together and complete the task. Regardless of the student who fails to participate accordingly, the group is still responsible for completing the task in a timely matter. All members of the learning community are responsible for completing a task but that particular student didn’t. It is important that the group report it to the instructor. As an instructor, I will ensure that each student is assessing accordingly, fair and direct. The instructor should also assess each student on their outcome and equitable. Learning communities can be challenging and the best way to get students to participate in a learning community is to ensure students are contributing in a high functioning learning community (Pallof &Pratt, 2005).

Reference

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Siemens, G. (2008). Assessment of collaborative learning. Vodocast. Laureate Education, Inc.

Elements of Distance Education

I agree with Mr. Siemens regarding the growing acceptance of distance education in today’s corporate and educational areas. With all the new online communication and new tools provides an effective approach that will help accelerate interactions among learners by global diversity, communication and collaboration interaction. One of the new tools that allow distance education to have better communication and comfort level is Skype. This new form of technology allows users to communicate to other users through voice over IP technology. The new tool will also allow students to communicate to other students as though they are in face-to-face classroom discussions. All the new technologies will allow students an opportunity to interact with other students in the world. According to Siemens (2008), distance education will continue to increase the use multimedia, games, and simulations over time. Distance education will be influenced by all the different technologies that will allow people the opportunity to continue their education from their homes, offices, and wherever there is access to their classroom. It is very important that learners find that level of comfort when enrolled in an online setting. If you feel comfortable about what you’re doing and how to use the classroom portal, good communication with instructors and peers you would more likely enjoy your distance learning experience.

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore: Author.

Distance Learning

Distance education can be defined as formal education in which the learning groups are separated by characteristics and time. Distance learning requires interaction between the student and the "instructor" varied but most often was minimal. The quality of the courses varied widely. A lot has changed since the beginning to now. Institutions of higher education are being challenged to provide high quality learning opportunities in the face of shifting market conditions and declining budgets. Many schools and colleges are coming to the same conclusion. The only way to constructively respond to this challenge is by developing distance education programs that apply technological innovation to the fastest growing market in higher education. After reading the article of Huet, Foshay, Molly and Coleman, they believe that distance learning will continue to grow rapidly in the upcoming years. Simonson (2008) also agreed that if we look at the past pattern of educational technology, we can expect exponential growth of distance education to continue. Institutions have to be sure that all instructors who are facilitating the courses trained appropriately.

The week’s readings and discussion have made me more aware of how important it is to provide equivalent learning experiences to those face-to-face instructions when relating to distance learning. I clearly understand how important it is to ensure that your students understand their expectations and instructions when designing courses online, so that they can have the same learning results you will receive in a traditional classroom.

Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W.R., & Coleman, C. (2008). Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (part 3). Tech Trends, 52(5), 63-67.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008b). Equivalency Theory [Video program]. Available from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5260640&Survey=1&47=9024095&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1