Learning in a Digital World

Learning in a Digital World

I have found it very difficult in this transition to digital learning for my students. They are very familiar with digital learning but do not grasp the concept of knowledge building through networks.  They still need so much direction and are not self motivated. They still expect the teacher to spoon feed them. We are on the threshold of educational change and must realize we as educators and students are blazing the trail.  Technology will be the glue that sustains the learning environment in the digital world.

According to Siemens, the acceptance of online learning has grown due to the way in witch people communication everyday using digital technology (Siemens 2012). Today's learner must be able to manage high volumes of information and make it useful for knowledge construction. Students prepared for the 21st century must be self motivated and able to work in a collaborative networked digital environment.  However, learners need "soft" guidance towards desired learning outcomes.   (Siemens 2008).  Students need someone to guide them towards what needs to be learned and accomplished to meet the expectations of educational standards. The way in which we learn and communicate has changed overnight but education has not kept pace with those changes. According to Christensen (2008), the traditional model of education will be disrupted when the value chain is broken by networks of instructional designers and users who share technology. The commercialization of instructional design (the value chain) will be replaced by networks of open source contributors.

One of the major issued with designing construction for digital learning has been the lack of available software at no cost that can provide time effective individualized instruction.  I believe students in the k-12 education will need both face-to-face and online learning.  We must prepare this generation for the 21st skills that include cooperative learning, creativity, problems solving, and communication (Partnership for 21st century skills). One of the ways to accomplish 21st century instructions is to collaborate and share knowledge freely.  According to the Horizon Report(2013). Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) will provide tools to create online learning.  For now the course components available for use to create courses are relatively similar to the traditional format of lectures, quizzes, and homework assignments.  The beauty of the MOOCs is that the course components are meant to be used and re-purposed.  The MOOC components will grow and evolve as learners and teachers share and build towards digital learning components.  

References

Christensen, C. M., Horn, M. B., & Johnson, C. W. (2008). Disrupting Class: How disruptive innovation will change the way the world learns. New York. McGraw-Hill.The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2009). http://www.21stcenturyskills.org.

New Media Consoursium. (2013). The Horizon Report. Austin, TX. NMC. Retrieved from:  http://www.nmc.org/publications/2013-horizon-report-higher-ed

 Siemens, G. (2008, January 27). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. Paper presented to ITFORUM. Retrieved from http://itforum.coe.uga.edu/Paper105/Siemens.pdf

Siemens, G., (2012). Networked Learning. International Review Of Research In Open & Distance Learning, 12(3), 1.

Motivation of resistant employees

Many times people are resistant to change using new technology.  The resistance is not do to the change but rather the fear of failure of using the technology.  If people are encouraged through their failures as well as their successes then they will have the confidence to forge forward through the change.  According to Januszewski, 85% of employee failure is due to work environment rather than with the employee’s ability or desire to succeed (Januszewski, 2008). People are less likely to be successful when they doubt there skills to perform a new task or learn a new skill. Bandura proposed the idea of self efficacy, which states that if people are in doubt of their skills and they make judgments about their ability to succeed based upon their lack prior knowledge towards the new technology.  Employees lack motivation when they believe the task is too difficult (Driscoll, 2005 p. 316).

John Keller developed a model for motivating learners to apply effort and attention towards learning task (Driscoll, 2005).  The model acronym is ARCS and the description and example below has been incorporated in my school to motivate teachers to use the SmartRecorder to record lesson instructions.

Attention:  Must get teachers using the technology

Relevance: Teachers must see the benefit of using the technology

Confidence:The teachers must feel they are able to succeed at using the technology.

Satisfaction: Teachers will be amazed and encouraged when the technology is successfully implemented.

Many of the teachers at my school have been very frustrated when students come to class late or miss a day entirely.  When students miss valuable instruction the teacher cannot always take time away from the rest of the class to tutor the absent or tardy student..  I have suggested that teachers record instructions using SmartRecorder, which records voice and screen actions. The recording can be replayed as needed to students. Many of the teachers were reluctant to use the technology because they did not feel comfortable with technology, and they had never done anything like that before.

Getting their attention and getting them engaged involved setting them up with a microphone and walking them through the recording process.  They were instructed to record their introduction to a class-just a couple of minutes of instruction.  When the late-comers arrived the instructor was able to direct them to a computer to watch the instructional video, leaving the teacher free to continue the class. The teachers understood the relevance of using the technology, as they said, they wished they had used the technology a long time ago.  They also stated they were going to use it to record the mini lectures so students could view them at home or anytime they needed to go over the material again.   Teachers were amazed at the ease of recording and impressed with the usefulness of the recording.  They had developed a new skill by taking small steps towards success.  They know they can use the technology and that they have the skill to do so.  According to Keller, learners are motivated when they are guided through a task given just enough of a new task to succeed.   They become confident in their skills and are motivated by their success. And eventually they do not need guidance to succeed at learning the new skill because they have become confident in their abilities and can move forward on their own (Driscoll, 2005).

References:

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

Januszewski, A. & Molenda, M., (2008). Educational Technology:  A definition with commentary. New York, Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.



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Connectivism

The above mind-map depicts my  networks for learning.  I connect with are the people who have similar hobbies, similar jobs, or similar interest.  The social media available to connect has changed the way in which we look for and find information.  I can remember when the internet was first available for civilian use it was very difficult to find the information that you were looking for.  I can also remember searching many search engines because they all had a different database of information and the returns or hits on the search would all be different.  Google has cornered the market on search engines.  For instance, when someone asked you a question you may tell them to “Google it”.  I have never heard anyone say, “bing it,” yahoo it”, or “Wikipedia it”.

 I do not use Wikipedia for my research; I use online libraries such as the Walden Library, The Library of Congress, or my local library.  I also use books from my own collection.  Some are digital and some are hard copies in my personal library. I do use Interest for both DIY and educational learning.  I can connect and follow many different people and compare and test the answers to my questions. 

The best digital tools for my learning really depend on the area of desired knowledge.  If I am working on best practices for blended learning I would connect with my network of colleagues and students.  I use Google docs for sharing documents, Blogger for dialog with other learners, and YouTube for visual demonstration.  I would rather listen to a lecture via YouTube then to read the content out of a book. 

The Internet and access to information over the internet has totally changed how I search for answers and information.    I look for connections to people who are in the know of the information I seek.  I don't  look to share what I know with the network, but it happens spontaneously.   According to Siemens Connectivism is the process of building networks (Siemens, 2006).  The networks do overlap and intermingle, but they are based on contributions for learning.

Reference

Siemens, G., (2006). Knowing Knowledge. George Siemens.

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Constructionism and Collaboration Module 3 EDUC 8845

Humans are social beings and need social interaction with other humans.  The evidence is all around us in the world we live in, especially evidenced in the expansion of social media. It is the expansion of social media that is precipitating the buzz of collaborative learning.  Technology has the ability to connect learners around the world and makes meeting convenient without barriers due to distance.  According to Rheingold  humans are distinctly social, but the "prisoners dilemma" which he states has made them unable to collaborate due to mistrust.   He referees to the prisoner dilemma as one having the goods and one having the money, but neither will let go due to mistrust and both end up losing out (Reingold, 2008). Continued collaboration builds trust and if carried out long enough a collaborative trustful environment evolves.  Technology has been used to build such environments and ebay and wikipedia are examples of collaborative environments that will not work without trust relationships.



Rheingold

Collaborative learning has shown to increase the willingness of teachers to share in discourse with students, higher expectations for students, and greater respect for student ideas, (Bruce, 2013). One of the ways in which technology can foster collaborative learning is by the use of massively open online courses(MOOC), which learners can take courses online and share learning with other learners.  The technology is readily available and easy to use and use such tools as, YouTube, Googe Hanouts, Wikispace and Skipe to mention a few (Horizon 2013)

Reference:

Bruce, C. D., & Flynn, T. (2013). Assessing the Effects of Collaborative Professional Learning: Efficacy Shifts in a Three-Year Mathematics Study. Alberta Journal Of Educational Research, 58(4), 691-790. http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=6bb6fa59-3008-4f0f-a9b1-5ba8c14a6253%40sessionmgr111&vid=8&hid=112

Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Cummins, M., Estrada, V., Freeman, A., and Ludgate, H. (2013). NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.  Retrieved from: 

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/hr2013.pdf

Rheingold, H. (2008, February). Howard Rheingold on collaboration [Video file]. Retrieved from  
http://www.ted.com/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html


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Cognitivism as a Learning Theory Module 2 -7105

According to Cuban, the author of "Oversold and Underused", the purpose of education has shifted to meet economic goals of society.  When the public school originated it was to provide literacy and prepare students for their civic duty and it was not for the purpose advancing the economy.  Today's educational goal according to the 21st century organization is to prepare students to compete in the global economy (21org. 2010). According to Cuba, the constructionist believes technology can expose students to real world situations that they would not have access to otherwise (Cuban, 2001). Cuban asked the question, "Are computers in the school worth the investment?  I would say yes, because computer skills are necessary in every aspect of 21st century working and living.  However, students and teachers must have the skills needed to effectively use the technology or it will not promote learning.  Anderson states, that it is more important what the learner does with the technology than what the teacher does with it.  He further states,  that the instructor must be media competent instructors (Anderson, 2008, p. 171). Technology can be an effective tool and our schools have been intimidated with the latest and greatest technology, but training for instruction using the technology is not providing the expertise needed.

My Middle School has experienced the disparity between available technology and training to use the technolgy.  In the Race to the Top program we have equipped every classroom with a SmartBoard   (US Dept of Ed, 2009), but have failed to give teachers the needed time and training to master the technology. Consequently, the technology is not being used as intended, which is a detriment to the desired outcomes.  Classroom teachers have resorted to using the SmartBoards for display of lessons rather than interactivity. Teachers do not have  time to learn new technology and there is a lack of funding to provided training to use the technology effeciveley.  Unfortunately, this technology has been "oversold and is being underused", Cuban proposes in his book.  Even if teachers could use the technology as intended, I do  not think the technology would engage the entire class of students.  I would call this an attempt at connectivism, which has grossly failed in my school.  This brings me to the point Bill Kerr makes about "isms", they come and go.

Bill Kerr makes reference to a statement made by Stephen Downs, who said he did not understand why the education community was still continuing practices of behaviorism when it had been abandoned 30 years ago (Kerr, 2007).  Kerr holds that we can take something from each of the "isms", which I concur.  The way in which a person learns is a change in what they know and with each theory there is something that can be helpful for the learning process.  Learning is dynamic and ever evolving, therefore to be open minded is necessary to open doors for new "ism".  Some behaviorist theorist hold that develop and maturity played a role in the learning process.  This is true because an infant, as far as I know,  cannot be taught to drive a car.  However, I will not totally disregard that notion.

The Cognitive Theory is important for learning in today's digital format.  The cognitive theory of conecttivism in particular is useful for the collaborative learning environment.  However, Educational design is still using the standardized model of the "No Child Left Behind" era,  and we are leaving children behind.  According to Karl Kapp, schools have not updated the way in which they address the explosive digital world of young people.  Schools have the technology but are not utilizing it to educate in a dynamic game based learning environment, which will engage students (Kapp. 2010).  Is this a new "ism" evolving,  "gamism", which can fall into the Cognitive Learning Theory for today's learning needs?

References

21st Century Organization (2010) 21st Century Skills. Retrieved from: http://www.p21.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=504&Itemid=185#maps

Anderson, T. (2008). The Theory and Practice of Online Learning, 2^nd Ed. Edmonton, AB. Athabasca University Press

Cuban, L. (2001). Oversold and Underused., Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press.  

Kerr, B. (2007, January 1). _isms as filter, not blinker [Web log post]. Retrieved fromhttp://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html

Kapp, K. (2010, July 16). Out and about: Discussion on educational schools of thought [Web log post]. Retrieved fromhttp://karlkapp.com/change-our-traditional-approach-to/

United States Department of Education (2009). Race to the top executive summary. Washington, DC. US Department of Education.

The Purpose of Learning Theory in Educational Design

Learning theory is according to Driscoll's definition it is the laws and principles learning. (2005, p. 3.) of how people learn based upon what can be explained by observation.  As an instructional designer it is important to identify ones believe about how learning occurs.  In order for the instructional design to be effective it must be structured to meet the learning theory criteria.  For example, if the desired theory is that of the behaviorist which would be suitable for teaching a skill such as keyboarding, then the instructional design would follow that theory.  The objective would be clearly stated and activities specified with feedback and reinforcement for changed or improved techniques  I would have to say I would lean more towards the constructive learning theory.because of how today's students are designed to learn in a digital and social environment.      However, when a specific skill is needed the behaviorist theory because of the necessity of drill and practice design.   Certainly, the circumstances of the learning environment would dictate the learning theory needed.  For instance, not every skill to be learned can be done by inquiry so instruction has to be flexible to fit the need.          

I would lean more towards the constructional theory of learning because today’s student is wired to build knowledge based upon their own inquiry.  They are good at multitasking and become disinterested when learning is structured in the traditional model of lecture and discussion.  I  have found students like to be self directed but still need coaxing.  I started the year with giving students one week of assignments and I let them set their own goals to complete the objective by the end of the week.  They did not keep up with their goals and I had to give them a little more direction.  We have not trained the students to be self directed.  They are still expecting the teacher to poor in the learning, but yet want to be independent learners.  Marie Montessori's  theory of 1909 that would work for what society desires of learners today, which was not accepted for her time. The theory was based upon respect for the individual learner and freedom for the learner to choose his or her learning path .  The teacher would gently guide or redirect towards the learning goals (Saettler, 2004. p. 62).This I believe can be compared to the modern version of constructivism because learners are in charge of their own learning through inquiry.  Montessori understood that small children are predisposed to learn on their own.  We need to implement this theory early on so that students realize the importance of being self directed in the learning process.  I have seen in my own middle school that children are not interested or motivated to build their own knowledge through inquiry.  They still want to be spoon fed.As a society we need to make the change to have the youngest leaners develop the skill to be self directed so that they can be self directed.  I believe this theory will work, but learners have to be trained to be self directed, which I find to be difficult at the middle school level.  According to Siemens (2008), constructionism involves meaning that is constructed by the individual learner within the current context, and involves a social aspect for transfer (Siemens, 2008). This is what Montessori tried to implement, and this is the the constructionist model.  I also want to train students to learn this way.

References

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

Saettler, P. (2004). The evolution of American educational technology. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

Siemens, G. (2008, January 27). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. Paper presented to ITFORUM. Retrieved fromhttp://itforum.coe.uga.edu/Paper105/Siemens.pdf


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