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
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
