Program Learning Outcome 8 “demonstrate the ability to make informed decisions regarding the use of technology in support of learning and leadership”

Program Learning Outcome 8 “demonstrate the ability to make informed decisions regarding the use of technology in support of learning and leadership”

Assignment Changes

The project that I chose to revise was from EDU 601 Promoting Student Success in the Online Learning. This assignment was harder to revise than the previous. I had a difficult time trying to make this assignment better under the PLO. I made sure that it was stated what the document was about and then expanded on the information that was provided and added some new references.

Evaluation

I wanted to take information that students already knew and to expand on that. Making sure to point out what we are doing at the beginning of the document. I want students to think to themselves “oh yeah I have heard of that”. I then tried to add additional information and scenarios to the document expanding on that information. As students read I want their thoughts to be “That’s cool, I did not know that.”, “Is that true? I should look it up.” “That is interesting I need to find out more.”, or something like that.

Learning Theory

 I chose to revise using the cognitive theory. I wanted to take the information that was presented and have it be information that they had seen before and then to expand on this information. Having that previous knowledge can make the experience more interesting to students. They feel comfortable looking for further information on the topic. To me it is a very important theory you get to expand on previous knowledge. You get to teach students how to question and expand on their own using this theory. 

In an online setting of any kind there is bound to be glitches along the way, this is not any different in an online educational environment. These glitches can occur with anyone. Some of these glitches can include network, files, systems, equipment and more. We need to be able to think outside the box when these situations occur. The scenario below discusses some of the short-term issues and some of the long-term issues associates with technology and internet glitches.

Scenario Start:

There has been a major issue for the whole day that is not allowing students and teachers to enter their online classrooms. Later on that the evening there is a mass email to everyone stating there was a mandatory update to the main drive that has shut down the network. They are trying to fix the problem as fast as they can.

Several students have sent email throughout the day to their instructors and other staff members wanting to know about the network issue. Once the mass email was sent there was a flood of emails wanting to know what to do, and how long it was going to take to fix the problem. Instructors and students are now communicating through email and phone.

Scenario End.

These kinds of issues happen all of the time to varying degrees and there are several ways that these can be handled. Email and phone are often the most popular forms of communication in and outside of the class room. I have had issues like this during courses. Below is one example.

This was not a problem with a network, but a classroom that did not have action buttons. The classroom looked normal and you were able to enter the different weeks of class, but nothing else worked. We could not open any of the resource links provided, talk to the instructor, post discussions, submit assignments, access the library, etc. The problem was resolved in a matter of days and class went back to normal. The class and instructor kept in touch through email, and we emailed our discussions to the instructor on the day they were due (we were hoping to be able to post them). This let the instructor know that we were still participating in class and still learning.

These little glitches happen all of the time and is not something to worry about right away. Normally the problem is fixed a few hours to a few days. Having alternate forms of communication and tools available to students and instructors is always a must in any online course. What if this end up being an ongoing issue, two weeks, a month or six months?

There needs to be a way for education to continue without the LMS (Learning Management System). There are several options for this type of scenario: shut down the school (which no one want to do), email and phone, online conference tools, other LMS and more. Knowing the options is the first step in understanding technology in any environment. Yang and Cornelius (2005) state, some of the challenges and barriers for online learning are the change of roles and responsibilities for instructors, use of technology, interaction with students and the changes in interpersonal relations, and academic dishonesty of online learners.

Institutions and instructors should have protocols in place for such long term instances. In an online learning environment everyone needs to be flexible, nothing is perfect and you will have glitches. Take them in stride and remember there is always another way to do the same thing. Instructors should be able to use the alternate form of technology and tools to help the students through the transition of an online issue. Everyone needs to feel comfortable in an online environment for it to flourish.

The article “Hybrid courses: obstacles and solutions for faculty and students” discusses the outline of hybrid classrooms and some of the obstacles that they can face such as, resistance to change, low motivation, changing thinking patterns and more. A big topic that is listed in this article is to know your technology, if you are taking an online class or have work that needs to be completed online, know your technology. If you need help with the technology ask. “Common problems are forgetting their passwords and not understanding how to access the online course materials.” (Kaleta, Garnham & Aycock, 2005) Instructors should know about the technology that is being utilized. They do not need to be masters of every tool they use but they should have a general understanding of how to use it. If a student is to ask for help regarding the tool they will ask the instructor first.

“Are Hybrid Courses for Me?” discusses how to tell if you can utilize technology in a classroom. There are four questions that students should ask themselves before enrolling in a technology driven class. The student always needs to make sure that they are getting the most out of their education. One of the most important questions is, “Are you comfortable working with computers and using the Internet?” (Learning Technology Center, n.d.)
Document Link 

References

Kaleta, R., Garnham, C., & Aycock, A. (2005). Hybrid courses: Obstacles and solutions for faculty and students. The Annual Conference on Distance Learning. Retrieved from http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference/Resource_library/proceedings/03_72.pdf

Learning Technology Center. (n.d.). Are hybrid courses for me? Retrieved from http://www4.uwm.edu/ltc/hybrid/student_resources/for_me.cfm  

Yang, Yi & Cornelius, Linda (2005) Preparing Instructors for Quality Online Instruction, https://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring81/yang81.htm