Module 6 Video Link

Blended Learning is the combination of face to face and distance learning.  The challenge is to train students to be learners and teachers along with having instructor's also trained to be both learners and students sharing in the learning community.  I like the analogy in Dr. Moler's new book, "The Next Generation of Distance Education" He states that today's traditional model of education is the cattle approach where the learner is herded into a particular space and time to learn and then prodded along to reach the desired goal at the desired time. He continues with the analogy by saying, he new model of distance education is more of a watering hole approach where the teacher provides the space (watering hole) and the water (curriculum) for students to take what they need and move on when they are full (Moller, L. 2012).  The learners should not be bound by space and time but rather learning should be limitless.  The problem with education in the brick and motor module is that the design is for that of the industrial age of spitting out products (workers) that can function in the factory system of being at work at a specific time and at a specific location and doing repetitive work day in and day out.  The global economy needs different skills for the worker of the information and technology age and that is one that has 21st century skills of collaboration, communication, creative and innovative, and constructors of their own knowledge (21.org. (2010). The blended learning model is based upon that of the constructionist and the humanistic theory's of learning.  The constructionist theory holds that learners learn best when they construct their own learning by discovery and application.  The humanist theory holds that the individual is responsible for their own learning and they must be self motivated to learn.  Anderson holds that it is more important what the learner does with the the technology that what the instructor does with it. (Anderson, 2008).  In other words the learner must utilize technology to construct knowledge in the 21st century model.  According to the Department of Education the goal for changing education is to utilize technology for a blended learning environment (US Department of Education, 2011)).  The blended learning environment is the combination of face to face (F2F) and digital learning based upon digital learning online.  The effective model according to Dr Dede is one in which the teacher is the instructional coach who utilizes Web 2.0 tools to create individualized lessons that are onto bound by time and space of the brick or motor learning environment. He has created software called, "Time to Know" which is a comprehensive program to assist the teacher in  individualized blended learning. However, their is a cost factor and the program must be purchased by the school system.he blended learning technologies aid the teacher in promoting individualized instruction.  However, the open source software is lagging and this type of curriculum design is very time consuming for a single instructor of 30 to 40 students.   According to Dr. Christensen part of the problem of the transition to the blended learning model is the lack of cost effective software for distance learning.  Christensen proposes that by the sharing and collaboration of resources and the change in the competitiveness of learning education can disrupt the traditional learning environment by around 2014. (Christensen, 2008). The transition can occur if learners and teachers share both roles and collaboratively share in both success and failures without criticism.  The learning environments must be supportive of both success and failure.  The link to the following video is the presentation for the topic of  Blended Learning

References
Anderson, T. (Ed.). (2008). The theory and practice of online learning (2nd ed.). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press

Christensen, C. M. (2008). Disruptively deploying computers. In Disrupting class: How disruptive innovations will change the way the world learns (pp. 89-119). New York, NY: McGraw Hill

Dede, C. & Richardson C. (2012) Digital Teaching Platforms:  customized instruction for all classroom  learners. New York. Teacher’ College Press, Columbia University.

Moller, L. & Huette, J. B. (2012) editors. The Next Generation of Distance Education. New York. Springer Science+Business

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Blended Learning

Copy of Digital Story Storyboard Template - Google Drive

Copy of Digital Story Storyboard Template - Google Drive:

'via Blog this'

Engaging Learners in a Digital Environment (Graphic organizer)

21st Century teaching and learning requires new environments for learning in a digital world.  The world on the outside of the brick and mortar school is a world immense in digital tools that are being used by both student and teacher to work and connect with the world around them.  The educational world has not made the digital transformation and there is a great digital divide between the real world and the educational space within the school buildings and classroom of the traditional educational setting.  A transition to the digital format of teaching and learning must occur in order to address the 21st century skills of community, collaboration, and self directed learners.  The greatest challenge for the 21st century is to create self directed learners who are responsible for their own learning. (MCGee). The recommended technologies are technologies that promote self-directed learning, access to information, and mobility of learning.  The challenge is to manage the enormous amount of knowledge that is available anywhere anytime.

The tools for engaging learners in the digital environment according to Durrington, Berryhill and Swafford involve practices that facilitate learning environments that are open, respectful  and supportive.  The pedogody should include both asynchronous and synonymous learning platforms as will as problem based learning (2008. p. 109-193). The roles of the teacher should be that of a curator, who draws the map of how to arrive at the destination, but the learner is responsible for arriving at the destination. (Siemens (2008),.

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Reference:

Durrington, V. A., Berryhill, A., & Swafford, J. (2006). Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an online environment. College Teaching, 54(1), 190−193.

McGee, P. (2008). Blended course design: a synthesis of best practices. A Journal of Asynchronous Learning Network (16) 4 p. 16.  

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

Module 3 Storyboard

The following video is the storyboard for the video project.  I used PowerPoint to create the slides.  I saved the slides as png files and uploaded to Photostory 3, which can be edited later.  I can edit each slide and add sound, narration and change the slides one segment at a time if I need to.

Comments to storyboards:

Devonee   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1O0RW84jgDK91PGzXsm84zqkagD5VmH47GB59VAkjW0I/edit?usp=sharing,

Troy: http://troygordonsite.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/gaming-and-education/comment-page-1/#comment-2

Module 3 Assessment of Collaborative Learning

Ideally the learning community will be self directed and builders of knowledge,  however online learning is in the transition process.  Traditional education; is such that the teacher imparts instruction on the student who receives the knowledge. The The paradigm shift is moving from the teacher-centric to the student-centric collaborative model.  Students have to be in charge of their learning in the collaborative model.  Students today prefer to interact socially and instruction is becoming more  of a social event. (Palloff 2007. p. 15.)  The collaborative model must include according to Picciano, (2007 p.l7) active engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction and feedback, connections to real-world contexts.  

Students have been accustomed to teacher centric model of instruction and both the instructor and the learner have to be taught how to learn and participate collaboratively to be part of the self directed group. The role of the instructor for the student who does not not want to work collaboratively is to intervene and offer suggestions or further training Palloff, 2005.  p. 40) 

The assessment of collaborative learning according to Siemens is also a collaborative process whereby students can assess one another by giving feedback and answering rating surveys.  The instructor has to build the infrastructure for collaborative environments that will encourage students to contribute.  The collaborative learning can be assessed by looking at the time on task for each student and the substance of contributions, (Laureate, 2008).  Siemens further states that fairness of assessment may be addressed based upon stated desired outcomes and equitable assessment should be based upon the consideration of the starting point of the student and the amount of growth from that point (2012 Laurette).

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References

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

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community (pp. 3-54). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Palloff, R. M. & Pratt, K. (2007). The human side of online learning. In Building online learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom (pp. 45-65). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Piccano, A. G. (2012) Educational transformation through online learning:  To be or not to be. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Netoworks (14) 4. 

Distance Education: Introduction

Distance Education: Introduction: Hello and welcome to my blog!   I invite you to share discussions with me regarding the Principles of Distance Education.

Growing Acceptance to Online Learning. Module 2

According the Siemens the growing acceptance of online learning is due to the way the general society is now communicating online to keep in contact with family members and friends who are located across the globe. (2003).  The use of online video, which is now very good quality, has made connecting with video and audio applications  a natural way of communication.  Skype and Social networking such as Facebook have revolutionized connectivity across the word.  In addition to the improved quality of online video and sound tools the access to the internet through the use of Smart phones, tablets, and computers. The amount of people with access to the internet has increased to 35% as of 2012 (Siemens). People are becoming more comfortable with using technology as  daily usage of communication technologies increases.  The evolution of the sources of communication have become mainstream and include the business, education, and government, and personal  sectors of society,  I do agree with Siemens view as I have experienced  the growth of networking over the internet myself and have seen it become commonplace.  According the Christensen, the grown and acceptance of mobile connectivity will change the way we teach and learn (2008). Other evidence for the acceptance of online learning is that it is expected in all educational settings. The following resource would be helpful for the development of distance learning instruction. USLA Distance Learning Organizaion

References

Christensen, C. M. (2008). Disruptively deploying computers. In Disrupting class: How disruptive innovations will change the way the world learns (pp. 89–119). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Siemens, G., (200 Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore, MD

Siemens, G., & Conole, G. (2011). Special Issue - Connectivism: Design and Delivery of Social

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

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