Selecting Distance Learning Technologies

Scenario 1:

            “A new automated staff information system was recently purchased by a major corporation and needs to be implemented in six regional offices. Unfortunately, the staff is located throughout all the different offices and cannot meet at the same time or in the same location. As an Instructional Designer for the corporation, you have been charged with implementing a training workshop for these offices. As part of the training, you were advised how imperative it is that the staff members share information, in the form of screen captures and documents, and participate in ongoing collaboration.”

            Technology has changed the way people view the world. Technology especially has helped to change learning. Learning can be done in a face-to-face classroom, a hybrid/blended classroom, and even a web-facilitated classroom. The face-to-face classroom learning is still going strong for my students, but the blended/hybrid and web-facilitated numbers have been rising due to more students wanting to participate in distance learning environments. “Distance education is institution-based, formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources, and instructors” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, 2012, p. 7). Distance learning (education) gives the students endless possibilities for learning if they cannot participate in the face-to-face environments. Even recent corporations have started using distance learning to provide the employees proper training in certain areas.

Wikis

            Within this scenario, the staff is not centrally located in one section, which means they are located throughout many different offices, which may make it hard to meet. So for these people, they would have an asynchronous distance learning environment. This type of environment is where “learners choose when and where to learn and when and where to access instructional materials” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, 2012, p. 10). For this situation, I would choose the staff to use a Wiki to communicate and share thoughts among one another. According to Simonson, Smaldino, Albright and Zvacek (2012), “a wiki is usually thought to be a space designed to be created and edited by groups of persons” and “a wiki can be an excellent tool for collaborative online writing assignments and group activities compiling information in a single online resource (p. 129).

            “A natural tool for distance education, wikis enable instructors to create interactive activities for their students, and to present course information such as resources, external links, project information, and frequently asked questions” (Schwartz, Clark, Cossarin & Rudolph, 2004). The wikis will be used so the staff members can collaborate with one another about the information they found. According to Schwartz, Clark, Cossarin and Rudolph (2004), wikis are a growing trend, and they provide efficient, flexible, user friendly and cost-effective interface for collaboration, knowledge creation and archiving, and student interaction. This resource shows after viewing 24 universities that were using wikis for distance education, it was a positive environment. “It appears that the full Distance Education potential of wikis remains to be realized” because Wikis have only just started becoming a bigger deal (Schwartz, Clark, Cossarin & Rudolph, 2004).
According to Piotr Konieczny (2007), wikis represent far more than just new shiny gadgets for students to play with, they are new tools with potential to help teaching and learning, a continuation of the Internet revolution which happened barely over a decade ago that gave us new tools. This gives us new opportunities for educating, face-to-face or in distance learning. In the article, Wikis and Wikipedia as a Teaching Tool, they used Wikis to help students collaborate on ideas and how Wikis can be used for learning. “Studies on collaborative and cooperative learning suggest that interaction is the most important part of the virtual classroom; the interaction with others tudents” (Konieczny, 2007). If the staff is located in different office buildings, then a Wiki would be a perfect example of how they can communicate about the information. Konieczy (2007) stated although much technology needs yet to be developed before the concept of virtual universities becomes truly functional, Wikis offer an intriguing way for students to collaborate on real assignments in cyberspace. As you can see, there are many reasons that Wikis work for distance learning.Resources

Konieczny, P. (2007, January). Wikis and wikipedia as a teaching tool. Retrieved from http://www.itdl.org/journal/jan_07/article02.htm

Schwartz, L., Clark, S., Cossarin, M., & Rudolph, J. (2004). Technical evaluation report 27.educational wikis: features and selection criteria. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 5(1), Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/163/244

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Distance Learning

               

              My personal definition of distance learning before storing classes at Walden University, was receiving an education by going into a classroom or library to do school work (classroom) and not having a teacher in the room. Doing all your work online and submitting work via the internet. In my high school, we had a distance learning lab and it was the newest thing to the school. No other schools around us had anything like this, and students from other schools would come to our school just to use it. Everyone wanted to be a part of this classroom, but only a select group of students were able to do this. Later on, I realized it was a college level class where high school students were able to receive college level classes. In the room, it had a huge projector and once a week their professor would Skype with them on it and they were able to converse with their instructor. Also, at the school I teach at now, we have a virtual learning lab. In this lab, students are able to use school computers to attend their distance learning classes. Students in high school have the option to opt out of traditional classes and they can participate in the distance learning one. I have had many experiences with distance learning, but I did not realize how big it was until I started working at my school and starting classes at Walden University.

                After one week of reading resources about distance learning, I realized my definition has changed a bit from my earlier thoughts. My new definition of distance learning is a program that allows students to get an education without having to learn in a traditional classroom. With distance learning, students have a little bit more control on their own learning than in a traditional classroom. Traditional classrooms is teacher lead and oriented, but in a distance learning class students have more control of when they have time to get things done. My earlier definition of distance learning and my current definition seem to match up a bit, but I did leave out a few important details.

                I also came to my conclusion on distance learning after starting classes at Walden University. Never before, did I realize how nice it could be by learning and gaining an education online vs. traditional classrooms. According to Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek, (2012), distance education is defined as institution based, formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources, and instructors (pg. 32). I feel through my online classes, I am learning through distance learning. I am receiving a formal education, and every person connects to the online class through telecommunications systems and they help to connect us to other students; all resources needed for classes, students, and instructors. It is nice having people who live all over the world as classmates because you learn many things from each individual classmates and it is nice to hear difference experiences.

                The future of distance learning is something that will constantly be changing. The future could be 5 years, 10 years, or even 20 years down the road and I cannot even begin to imagine in 20 years what distance learning will be like. In the future, I see distance learning becoming more and more popular. People always say you can do everything online, and now you can get a high school education, a college degree, and eve a masters degree without ever having to step in a classroom. Distance learning's definition will keep changing and I believe it will start getting more detailed. According to Moller, Foshay and Huett (2008), the growth of online distance learning is explosive in almost all sectors and in many developed and developing countries (pg. 66). I feel in the future, almost every country will have the capabilities for distance learning. Within the higher education section, I see all majors becoming a possibility through distance learning (Moller, Foshay, & Huett, 2008). Also, I see many more students participating in distance learning because it lets the students do the work on their own time and many higher education students have jobs or families that makes it nearly impossible to go to college classes all day. "Learning through virtual schooling is one of the fastest growing areas for K-12 schools" (Huett, Moller, Foshay & Coleman, 2008, pg. 63). In the future, I see many students opting out of traditional classroom settings and they will be participating in distance learning. With each new generation of kids, they will each be more advanced with technology and want to use it in the best way they can.

                The definition of distance learning is always changing because of the growth of technology. With technology growing more and more each year, the definition of distance learning will keep getting more specific. I feel distance learning will always be affected by how much technical knowledge a person has on a program or software. An example of how technology keeps growing is with the computer. A few years ago (5 or 10 years), no one could have predicted how the definition of a computer would have changed so much because of the new technologies we have today. When the computer first started out, we could play games and used very little. Today, almost every person has a computer/laptop and it is daily. Within the category of distance learning, it could be the same as the computer, it started off very little with only so many people participating in it, but in the future, it may be the only way to get an education. 

                                       

References

          Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 63-67.

           Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 2: Higher education). TechTrends, 52 (4), 66-70.

           Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Distance Learning

I am currently starting my 7th online class through Walden University in a field of Instructional Design and Technology. I am excited to start the Distance Learning class.

Welcome to my blog :)

Reflection on Learning Theories and Instruction

       The most surprising thing I learned during this class was about all the different types of learning theories. I never realized how many there were and how detailed they were. After completing the matrix on the different learning theories, how important each theory was. I had heard of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism from my undergraduate psychology classes. I always thought I would never need to know these theories, and I always had a hard time paying attention. Now I realized after this class, that I use one or many of the theories many times a day and I never noticed it before. Another thing I learned is there are three other learning theories, Connectivism, Adult Learning, and Social Learning Theory. I have learned about many of the theorists that were described in all six theories, but I never remembered their theories, I guess. It is funny, out of all the theories we reviewed I think the most interesting theories for me was Adult Learning and Connectivism.  Adult Learning is known as Andragogy, and this is the art and sciences of helping adults learn (Conlan, Grabowski & Smith, 2003). I think I find this one the most interesting because I can relate to many things that Conlan, Grabowski & Smith discuss. I thought many of the problems I was having with balancing my other responsibilities were just me, here I find out that many people have the same problems. Being an adult learner, I realize why I am sometimes struggling to read topics, it is because adults are more interested in learning about subjects that have immediate relevance to their job or personal life (Conlan, Grabowski & Smith, 2003). I also found Connectivism very interesting because this is learning theory that integrates technology, social networks, and information (Laureate Education Inc., 2009). I am the type of person that loves to stay connected via the internet with emails or Facebook, and I like to surf the internet to learn new information. 

                 After this class, I have learned a lot of information about learning processes.  Before this class, I just knew I was visual and kinesthetic. Now after learning all the information about learning processes, I understand why I learn the way I learn.  "People learn in many different ways and may even have distinctive styles for learning and processing new information" (Laureate Education Inc., 2009). This sentence sticks out to me because I have to always remember, being a teacher, not every student will learn the same way. This class helped me to have a better understand of how some of my students learn.

                I have learned that learning theories, learning styles, educational technology, and motivation are all connected because it helps a student learn. Learning theories help students or teachers to understand what approach, or theorist, they can relate to and why they learn the way they learn. Then, this feeds into learning styles. The three different types of learning styles are Visual, Auditory, or Kinesthetic. Each individual student has a specific learning style that may be different from every other student. Educational technology is connected to learning styles because some students may learn better by seeing things on a computer, or just by learning from the technology on the computer. There are many educational topics to do on the computer, and students seem to learn better, when they are on the computer. Lastly, motivation is very important to students learning. Without motivation, the students will not learn the necessary topics needed to move forward in life. With motivation, students are able to understand and take with them the topics that they are being taught. Doing different types of activities, visual, auditory, or kinesthetic, may motivate more students to want to learn. For example, Science classes should not take notes all the time, you should be doing labs which would change the notes (visual or auditory)to labs (kinesthetic) because they are up moving and creating their own learning by what they are doing. We need to get students more motivated, and many times using the educational technology can help achieve this goal. Many of my students are more motivated to work when I tell them we will be using a computer. Something to always remember, the motivation of your learners is important factor that can affect the learning environment and the overall effectiveness of the learning experience (Laureate Education Inc., 2009).

                To be a successful Instructional Designer, you need to realize what types of technology are better for learning, and which would hinder the learner. After this class, I know I need to create appropriate learning environments that include different types of learning styles. I also, if it is an adult learning situation, I need to try to incorporate ways for the information to relate to their work or personal life. I have to be able to motivate the students to make them want to learn. In doing this, I need to plan lessons/activities that are more directed towards the students. This may increase motivation, and they will want to learn more.

 

 

 

 

References

Conlan, J., Grabowski, S., & Smith, K. (2003). Adult learning. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Adult_Learning

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Introduction to scholarly writing: Purpose, audience, and evidence [DVD].Connectivism. Baltimore, MD: Author. George Siemens

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Introduction to scholarly writing: Purpose, audience, and evidence [DVD].Learning Styles and Strategies. Baltimore, MD: Author. Dr. Jeanne Ormrod

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Introduction to scholarly writing: Purpose, audience, and evidence [DVD].Motivation in Learning. Baltimore, MD: Author. Dr. Jeanne Ormrod

 

Learning Theories and Learning Styles

After learning about the different learning theories and learning styles, I have to say I am not sure about my learning theories but I do not think my learning styles have changed. I still feel I can relate more to the Cognitive Theory than the Behavioral Theory because I am always thinking, "how are my students going to learn this?".  Although, in the Behavioral Theory, I do feel positive and negative rewards and punishments are important. I feel more confident in the Cognitive Theory, but I can also relate to the Behavioral Theory now that I have learned so much information about it.  My learning styles I feel have not changed since I was in high school. Even after learning about the learning styles, I still feel strongly about being a visual and kinesthetic learner. Sometimes I wish I was an auditory learner because I think it would help with being a teacher, but I cannot seem to change this.

                After researching all the interesting learning theories and learning styles, I think the best learning theory that sticks out that explains my own personal learning would be Adult Learners. I am the type of person who gets bored if I am not reading about subjects that I find interesting, or relates to my job. According to Conlan, Grabowski & Smith (2003), Adult Learners need to be involved in the planning of their instructions, adults are most interested in learning about subjects that have immediate relevance to their job or personal life, and learning is problem-centered rather than content-oriented.  This explains why I cannot get into some of the readings, because as Conlan, Grabowski & Smith said, the articles have nothing to do with my work or personal life. A negative against myself is I waited a little too long to start my masters, I should have started right after a year or two of receiving my job, instead I waited until almost six years. I know that does not seem like a long time, and to many people it is not, but to me, it is. I have been away from the college experience, writing papers, reading, and studying for many years, and it is hard to get back into the habit. "Most common reasons for adults to place themselves in learning environment is a life changing event, but once in the environment there are many factors that affect the learning experience: life experiences, work experiences, positive/negative previous adult learning experiences, time between learning interactions, and aging factors " (Conlan, Grabowski & Smith, 2003). Personally, I find the articles on Adult Learners the most interesting to read.

                Technology plays a huge role in my work and personal life.  At work, when given a break I am always on my laptop. I like to look up new games for the students, find new lessons/activities to help the students learn, or find articles to read to help myself become a better teacher. Even without the internet, I am always using Microsoft word to type up student information, to make up worksheets or accommodations of tests/quizzes, or to create organizers for myself for keeping the kids work organized.  At home, I am using the computer to look up information for my graduate papers, reading discussions online, and sometimes reading articles online. I am always searching for information when at home, because I am the type of person who enjoys getting on the internet and looking up information.  Technology is a big part of my life now because if I have a question or a concern I check the internet, I do not need to look any further.

 

Conlan, J., Grabowski, S., & Smith, K. (2003). Adult learning. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning,                                                                       teaching, and technology. Retrieved from      http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Adult_Learning

Connectivism

 

Connectivism

 

 

How Connections Faciliate Learning

With technology having changed so much in the last few years, you have access to information without ever having to pick up a book or even leave your house. If I were to teach a lesson on tornadoes, I would look online and find a few videos to help show and describe what a tornado is and how it works. I would then reference the students to a book. The internet plays a huge role today for helping students to better comprehend. When I was in elementary school, we did not have computers in the classrooms or a computer lab to look up information, instead we were given books. When I got into high school, I maybe had a computer in one or two of my classes, but we were never allowed to use it. That was only for the teacher to use, we had one computer lab with 15 computers in the library. When we had big reports to do, we were only allowed to use the internet for one source; the other sources had to come from books. In college, I bought a laptop and I started using the computer for everything, to search, write papers, and talk to friends. It is funny, just this week some of my students were told to look up eight vocabulary words in the dictionary. Many of them did this but struggled because the students are not used to using the dictionary. The ones who did not even attempt to pick up a dictionary, was asked what they were doing and more than one said, "I would rather do this for homework, so I can go home and look them up online". The internet is a great source, but I feel many kids do not even know how to locate information in books because the internet has given them everything at their fingertips.

            Being a teacher, I like to utilize the internet or computer as much as possible in the classroom. Many times when I am using the internet, I only like to use the Google search engine. Google is very interesting with the changing of logos almost every day, and very easy to navigate. On the computer, I like to use Microsoft Word, Power Point, Excel, and Smart board Apps to create Smart board activities. In my school, every room has a Smart board. This board is one that is interactive and you can do everything from the Smart board as opposed to the computer. When I have a question, I always search for the answer in Google. If I want to find a new activity on how to teach the students their nouns and verbs, I search the internet. There are endless amounts of ideas or activities online and many teachers use this to help with teaching.

            Connectivism is described as a learning theory that integrates technology, social networks, and information (Laureate Education Inc., 2009). My mind map helps describe the technology I use, the social networks I have and information that I find important. All the ideas I listed on my mind map are important and I am always learning something new. Something that may have taken a long time ten years ago can now reach millions of people around the world within a matter of seconds (Davis, Edmunds & Kelly-Bateman, 2008). It is incredible how fast something can travel across the internet, and just imagine in years to come what it will be like.  

 

Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from

http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Connectivism

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Introduction to scholarly writing: Purpose,     audience, and evidence [DVD].Connectivism. Baltimore, MD: Author.



 

 

 

Week 2

Website #1: (learning and the brain)

       This article is very interesting to me, it is about how teachers can become more effective with how the brain senses, processes, stores, and retrieves information.  Apparently, how the brain works can tell a teacher about how they teach. The first step in being a good teacher is being able to get the students attention. Dr. Perry (2012) states that attention can be lost in three to five minutes. For a teacher, that is not a lot of time to teach a lesson or even one idea. I believe this website is important, especially for me, because it helps me to understand that what I teach is important and I need to make sure I am only teaching and saying the morning important things. Dr. Perry (2012) also states that in four to eight minutes of teaching can be tolerated before the brain starts to daydream or drift away. Teachers have a lot of pressure on them now if the students can only have attention for three to five minutes and now will start daydreaming after four to eight minutes. Teachers always need to be doing activities with the students that is constantly keeping their brains workings, and not looking towards that needing to shut down. This article is extremely important to me because now I know why sometimes my students have a hard time focusing on the days they call the "boring stuff".  Teachers, including myself, need to find ways to jazz up different materials to get the students thinking so after these minutes are up, the students brains aren't even thinking about losing focus or trying to daydream.

Perry, B. (2012). How the brain learns best. Retrieved from http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/brainlearns.htm  

 

 Website #2: (Information processing theory)

      I became a teacher because I wanted to make a difference and I wanted to help students learn. Teaching is not just telling them what to do and giving them worksheets. Teaching is helping students to learn and understand new ideas and topics that they did not get before they were in your class. Information Processing Theory is the study and analysis of events that occur in a person's mind while learning new information. Teachers not only have to teach the information, but we have to be able to make sure they understand the information we are presenting to them as well. I like this website because it breaks down the steps of the Informational Processing Model. When teaching, you never know what the students are thinking or what they are processing when you are teaching or asking them questions. This website helps you to better understand how they might be taking the information that you say and perceiving it. I am always trying to find new articles or journals that can better my teaching skills, or help me to better understand my students. This website is important, to me, because now I understand information processing theory a bit better and maybe I can help my students when it comes to thinking and learning new information.

 

Thadani, R. (2010, 05 29). Information processing theory. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/information-processing-theory.html