Coming Full Circle

As my fifth course in the Masters of Ed program comes to a close, I am left to think back and reflect on all the wonderful experiences and bits of knowledge I have acquired throughout the last 12 weeks in EDUC5101G.

1. Online Learning Theories:

Learning about different Online Learning Models such as Siemen's Connectivism Theory (2005) and Linda Hasarim's Online Collaborative Learning Theory (2012) has made me think about how this course has been carefully structured and designed by our professor Dr. Powers. Both theories recognize the importance of collaborating in an online setting as a means of engaging students and facilitating in the acquisition of knowledge. Both models understand that the teacher acts as the main link to the learning and the community. How the educator sets up this experience is crucial.

I think that Dr. Powers has ensured to create a learning environment that promotes this group connectivity and collaborative experience through our PBL activities as well as within our Blogs. Working with the same students in the PBL tasks allowed us to feel comfortable and make meaningful connections with our peers. Together, we joined our experiences and our respective expertise to solve authentic problems. The tasks were open ended which enabled us to make decisions on the direction we wanted to take the assignments.  The blogs were also open-ended allowing us to focus on our own personal interests and learn from each other. As such it is evident to see how Dr Powers has set up a collaborative learning environment to facilitate information sharing and the co-construction of knowledge for all of us to thrive in.

2. Instructional Design:

This is the first time I've had the opportunity to learn the theory behind instructional design. It has really opened my eyes to the different models like ASSURE, ADDIE and ARC and how each can be catered for different instructional goals. It was great being able to use these first hand too and really get to apply our knowledge in the PBL activities!

3. Tech Tools and Social Media:

One of my favourite parts of this MED program is being introduced to new tech tools I can then bring back to my classroom.

Some of the tools I was introduced to in this course include: Explain Everything, Happy yak, Tinkercad and Moovly.

The Blogging requirements of this course have also made me more comfortable blogging and has exposed me to other programs other than Blogger available for blogging (ex. weebly and wordpress). Sharing these with social media has also led me to learn how to use my twitter account which has been idle for so long! This is something I will definitely be using on a more consistent basis in a professional realm.

4. Peer Reviews:

To top our overall experience, Dr. Power has incorporated peer reviewing into our course. At first I was a little skeptical, but after having gone through this experience it is one I am surprised more professors don’t use more of! It provided me with another opportunity to think about my learning and allowed my own knowledge base to continue growing by seeing how other peers have interpreted the assignment and how they have merged and connected what we have all learned in our course. It truly encourages self assessment and adds a piece of extra accountability into the projects. The fact we can choose to publish our papers is icing on the cake.

Overall, this course has been one of my favourites. In just 12 weeks I have learned and applied so much of what I was learning. It is great seeing a professor teach and model the right way of doing things through the use of technology! 

Thank you friends and thank you Dr. Power.

References

Harasim, L. (2012) Learning Theory and Online Technologies New York/London: Routledge

Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: Learning theory for the digital age. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2(1), January 2005. Retrieved May 25, 2008, from http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jan_05/index.html

Instructional Design Models Week 9 Blog

Instructional Design Models

As I continue my journey with education, I become excited when I find something new to learn about. I really do feel that this journey is never-ending and that if I do stop, I am not looking hard enough at the areas I can improve on. Professional Learning keeps us reflecting and evaluating our own practice and is how we can ensure we are being the best educators we can be for our students that depend on us each day.

This week, for our third PBL assignment, we have been asked to choose an instructional design model (or framework) that can be used to guide the instructional design process of the grant proposal we submitted in our PBL2  and justify why we chose that particular model. Reading the task left me dumbfounded. Instructional design model? What is that? I felt like as an educator, this is one of those things I should have been exposed to! ADDIE, ASSURE, KEMP? These all sounded like made up words to me. Although I remained puzzled and confused, I thought this was a perfect opportunity to learn more about the topic, especially if it falls in my professional realm!

1. The first thing I decided to clarify, was the difference between a model and a framework.

I learned that a framework forms the “support” or “backbone” of a task. Ex: “They’re operating within the framework of a military bureaucracy. The agreement outlines a framework and schedule for resolving the issues.”  A model on the other hand, is a representation of a task. Ex: “The architect showed us a model of the planned hotel.”

2. Next, I investigated various Instructional Designs (ID) to see if I had been exposed to any in Teachers College.

I learned that we had in fact learned about ID Models in Teachers’ College (Well at least one)...  The Backwards Design Model. This model is used when planning units and begins with the end in mind. You determine the big idea, goals and expectations that are expected for the students to acquire by the end of the year. This allows the instructor to then pick what he/she will teach in order to achieve these pre-determined goals. According to Wiggins and McTigue (2006), having the teachers determine what they would accept to ensure a deep understanding of the content, supports them to remain focused on the desired goals. I have been using this model for 4 years now. While I appreciate the thinking behind this method, I also know how much time it can take to plan the units.

3. A third step in my journey to learn more about Instructional Design was to research the ASSURE model. Our PBL group decided to split up the different models in order to learn more about each and explore some of their advantages and disadvantages. Here is what I found about the ASSURE Model:

What it is:

An Instructional Design process that was modified to be used by teachers in the regular classroom. The ASSURE model incorporates Robert Gagne's events of instruction to assure effective use of media in instruction. It is centered on the principle that humans learn in different ways and therefore require different means of instruction.

STEPS:

A — Analyze learners

S — State standards & objectives

S — Select strategies, technology, media & materials

U — Utilize technology, media & materials

R — Require learner participation

E — Evaluate & revise

PROS:

-Student focused: focuses on the learner’s general characteristics, identifies specific entry competencies required and evaluates learning styles.

- Allows the use of external resources and technology other than simple lecturing using textbooks.

-Allows careful planning of technology and resources used in the lessons

- Provides lesson planning foundation while allowing creativity from the instructors.

- Chance for revisions

-commonly used by teachers

-helps plan lessons

-Requires learner participation

- active participation to ensure engagement in activities

CONS:

-Limited to what it can be used for

- Some technologies like tablets and computers may be in limited quantities. Instructors may not be able to obtain a copy for every student in class.

-Linear- no revising until the end

4. My fourth step is to meet with my group this Friday and learn about more Instructional Design models. I am excited to keep building this knowledge especially one with such a direct effect on my teaching profession!

References

Driver, K. A. Instructional Design Models Comparison.

Grant, M. M. (n.d.). ASSURE. Retrieved March 09, 2016, from http://www.instructionaldesign.org/models/assure.html

Megaw, A. E. (2013). Deconstructing the Heinich, Moldena, Russell, and Smaldino instructional design model. Laman Web Rasmi IPGM Kampus Pendidikan Islam.

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2006). Understanding by design (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Peasron Prentice.

Response 2 Week #8

In response to : http://melissataaffe.weebly.com/blog/week-8-a-library-evaluation

Hi Melissa,

I enjoyed your redesign of Chan's checklist. Even though our group focused on the LORI checklist, I too think that some of the criteria used will either be outdated, or irrelevant depending on the Learning object being evaluated.

As I read through your modifications, it surprised me when you mentioned that nowadays we are not looking for tools that could accomplish a number of different tasks (flexibility). Personally, I find that this is what separates a good tool from a great tool. With so much technology, sometimes it is hard to keep organized and know where/how to use each tool.  If I can be productive and accomplish my goals in one place versus using 5 different tools, I will definitely opt and vouch for this choice!

Rachel

Response 1 Week #8

In response to: http://michellerivers13.blogspot.ca/

Hi  Michelle,

Thanks for sharing that great peer- evaluation app! I hadn't even considered using technology for peer assessment and what that may look like. This app seems like it would work great with my Google Classroom and would eliminate a lot of the tediousness that comes with collecting multiple assessments and dustributing them to the students.

I think peer peer assessment is so important. The students have a chance to think metacognitively and really understand what the assignment is all about. It also keeps the students extra engaged in the presentation of information because they understand that they are responsible for another person's grade.

Do you use it in your courses you teach?

Rachel

Digital Anecdotes Week 8 Blog

 

As a relatively new educator, an area I can benefit from improving is collecting anectodes and observations on my students. Data gathering and interpretation is arguably one of the most important responsibilities of a teacher.  As a member of the Ontario College of Teachers, it is my responsibility to follow the "Professional Practice" Standards of Practice:

"Members apply professional knowledge and experience to promote student learning. They use appropriate pedagogy, assessment and evaluation, resources and technology in planning for and responding to the needs of individual students and learning communities. Members refine their professional practice through ongoing inquiry, dialogue and reflection".

Assessment lets us see a child's progress and enables educators to take a step back and reflect on how they can/should modify their lessons in order to bring about learning in the class. It lets us differentiate, or cater lessons for individual students, and acts as a wheel that helps guide our instruction.  "Assessment for learning is designed to give teachers information to modify and differentiate teaching and learning activities. ...Teachers can also use this information to streamline and target instruction and resources, and to provide feedback to students to help them advance their learning" (Government of Ontario). 

While I understand the importance of collecting anecdotal information and recording student observations, I find that this is the part of my job that a) takes the longest and b) interrupts the flow of my day c) I am the least organized about.

I decided to look into what sort of relief the edtech world could provide me with:

Confer:  An app that makes it quick and easy to take notes on your students. You can add multiple classes, students and expectations. It is customizable, you can share the notes with other teachers and even has a sorting feature which helps you group students based on needs. It is available on the Apple store as well as in Google Play.

Snapfolio: From the makers of Confer, this app will enable users to do the same as Confer, but adds in the features of being able to take pictures, videos and link them with the students’ files.

Evernote: This app is designed for note taking, organizing, and archiving. It is not specifically designed for teachers in mind, but can easily be adapted for their use. Evernote allows its users to create different formatted notes (pictures, webpages, file attachments etc).  Like the other apps aforementioned, the app enables you to create “notebooks” that can be tagged and edited and shared. 

Apart from my initial hesitation to try something different, I am also a little skeptical about adding even more tech time to my working hours. I sometimes worry about what it must look like to a bystander seeing me constantly sitting in front of my computer whenever I am not teaching a class. In order to take these anecdotals I would be snapping pictures of student work and walking around with my tablet. I do not want to take time away from my students and I know that learning to use a new program always takes time. At the same time, I need to keep reminding myself that this would only be short-lived and that these overall benefits would outweigh the “costs”.

I am very excited to try these new tools out and begin my paperless assessment journey. Please let me know if you are familiar with any of them and if you have any tips!

References

Government of Ontario. (n.d.). Education For All. Retrieved March 4, 2016, from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/LearningforAll2013.pdf

Standards of Practice | Ontario College of Teachers. (n.d.). Retrieved March 04, 2016, from http://www.oct.ca/public/professional-standards/standards-of-practice

Response 2 Week #7

In response to: https://laurasmartblog.wordpress.com/2016/02/28/accessibility-within-distance-education/

Hey Laura,

Thanks for the educational post! I did not even know that there were accessibility guidelines for websites. I discovered this in our PBL project when evaluating the tools we chose using the LORI checklist.

I found an easy check in one of the websites you provided us with in your blog:  https://www.w3.org/WAI/eval/preliminary.html

It's great knowing that there are guidelines out there to make the virtual world accessible for all.

Rachel

Response 1 Week #7

In response to: https://swerdfegereduc5101g.wordpress.com/2016/02/27/week-7-hack-the-planet/

Hey Dave,

Thanks for bringing up such an important topic. I am currently teaching online safety in my Grade 6/7 class and found your post very relevant! My students love to spend most of their time online and unfortunately very few of them even know how to create a safe password.

Last week one of my students asked "Why is it important to create a safe password anyways if I don't have anything of value stored online?" We dove into a big discussion about hackers' intentions and about how this may change as they get older and someone already has their personal info.

The video you posted was terrifying and very real. It made me question my own online safety and whether I do need to get a Mac antivirus software!

Thanks for bringing this very important issue to light.

Rachel