Week 9 -- YouTube, TeacherTube, and the Future of Shared Online Video

A vision of students today --

http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=9564

I have seen this video before, and came across it again today.  I thought I would share it here because it relates to the issue of significance in teaching/learning.  The week 9 topic of the instructional use of video has caused me to reflect on significance a lot.  I also read an article by Michael Wesch that challenged me to consider the lack of significance in many of our traditional approaches to education today. 

The use of video in the classroom…this idea has been around for quite awhile.  I watched plenty of videos when I was in school (elementary and high school).  Sometimes we got to watch movies as a reward for other work; sometimes we watched videos to learn class content; sometimes we watched videos just to be doing something.  As a teacher myself, I have often used videos when teaching. 

Sometimes I have used videos to fill in content gaps; sometimes I have used videos to grab students’ attention; sometimes, I admit, I have looked for a video that would take the place of lesson planning for a day.  Videos can be a powerful tool, but, just like everything else, they can be used in ways that do not contribute to significance. 

I was recently talking to my cousin, who is eagerly approaching his college graduation.  He has been a student for a long time and is now finishing up by taking a full load of 19 credit hours.  He talked to me about feeling frustrated, sitting in class listening to a professor read from a powerpoint presentation.  Why, he wondered, can’t the professor send the powerpoint to students via email, making it available for them to watch on their own time?  What is the purpose of attending a class session anyway?  He was intrigued and very interested by online learning opportunities that might allow him some flexibility. 

Then, I read a short article by Dian Shauffhauser, who shared about the use of streaming video for class lectures.  Some instructors are offering these to students as an alternative to attending class lectures.  Students seem to respond very positively to this.  Why, I wondered, is this not available to more students?  As an online student of three years now, I don’t know if I would have the patience to sit in a traditional classroom anymore. 

All of this led me to consider that instructors (of which I am one) need to evaluate the goals of each educational endeavor and choose the tools that best meet those goals.  If students can get necessary course content from sources other than a class lecture, what is the purpose of still having class lectures?  If students do come to class, what will happen there that will be significant?  If nothing significant, then it seems to me that we are wasting everyone’s time.  What needs to happen within the walls of a traditional classroom (or within the parameters of an online environment) in order to make it a significant, relevant event?  If I use a video, what is my rationale for doing so?  What can be accomplished with a video that cannot be accomplished any other way?

Learning … this is the goal of education.  Videos can be a powerful tool to assist our learning.  But, let’s not use them simply because they are available.  I, for one, hope to take advantage of some resources I learned about this week that can assist me in my home schooling efforts.  But, I still need to consider my goals and how a particular video can help in accomplishing those.  This is the constant tension…one that empowers me to strive for meaningful learning.  Significance is critical.  In the midst of so many useful tools, the ultimate goal remains the same…..LEARNING!

References:

Michael Wesch, Anti-Teaching: Confronting the Crisis of Significance."  Education Canada 48(2):4-7. Jan 2008.  http://www.scribd.com/doc/6358393/AntiTeaching-Confronting-the-Crisis-of-Significance

Dian Schaffhauser (2010, September 15). College Students on Streaming Video: Get Me Outta Class! Campus Technology. http://campustechnology.com/articles/2010/09/15/college-students-on-streaming-video-get-me-outta-class.aspx

Week 8 -- Wikis, Wikipedia, Wikibooks, and Collaborative Writing

When I was little, I really never thought that I could create something.   This may sound strange to some people…as I get older, I’m learning that there are people who actually like to invent and create.  I don’t think I’m one of them.  I don’t think much about inventing something new; I take what’s already available and assume that it’s sufficient for what I need.  As I write this, I realize that this is a pretty sad outlook, huh?

My own children have caused me to reflect on this.  Not only are each of them very creative, they also assume that they can do just about anything they want to do.  My oldest daughter has researched various publishing companies and has been asking from a very young age to send a book to a publisher…just like that, like it must be simple process!  One of my children was convinced that she was going to buy an old building and make it into a bookstore.  Most of my children have asked to start their own businesses, have created various things in this pursuit, and assume that whatever they make can be sold for a lot of money.  I don’t know what has inspired them in this way…maybe all children have these thoughts.  Maybe I did at one time too.  What is different, though, is that now creativity has a larger outlet. 

Our study during week 8 was on collaborative sharing through wikis.  My first thought when reading this information is that my children are growing up in an era in which it is very possible for them to contribute to something big.  They can post their writings to a blog, they can email real authors of real books, they can express their own creativity through various websites.  They can be a part of a collaborative wiki project.  This was not possible when I was younger. 

Over the years (I’ve been a mom now for almost thirteen years), I have struggled with how to encourage my children when they come to me with grand ideas.  Because it is not in my nature to embark on something completely new on my own, I hesitate when my children have their own, new ideas.  My first inclination is to redirect them to other, safer, easier pursuits.  But, I’ve begun to think a bit differently.  Now I realize that they are fortunate to be living at a time when it is easier than ever to share work with others and to create something that might be used by many other people. 

The Web 2.0 has opened doors for most everyone to make an impact.  No longer is it only the elite who become authors, movie producers, musicians, inventors, and scientists.  It is everyone.  I’m excited to have some tools by which to encourage my children in their creative pursuits.    And, who knows, maybe I’ll explore some ideas of my own someday too!

Bryant, S. L., Forte, A., & Bruckman, A. (2005). Becoming Wikipedian: Transformation of participation in a collaborative online encyclopedia. In M. Pendergast, K. Schmidt, G. Mark, and M. Acherman (Eds.); Proceedings of the 2005 International ACM SIGGROUP Conference on Supporting Group Work, GROUP 2005, Sanibel Island, FL, November 6-9, pp. 1-10. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.62.5337&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Week 7 -- Connectivism, Social Knowledge, and Participatory Learning

Honestly, this week has been an interesting one for me philosophically.  I may as well start by saying that I have some philosophical disagreements with George Siemens, a prime proponent of Connectivism.  Siemens was a featured guest speaker for our class meeting this week, I read several of his articles in preparation for our online discussion forum, and I also watched a couple of videos where he shared his views.

On the surface, I agree that we learn as we connect with other people.  And, we are able to “connect” now more than ever.  The acquisition of knowledge, in many respects, has never been easier.  So, this is not what bothers me about Seimens’ view.  What I have issue with is the notion that we are “creating” knowledge as we connect with others and collaborate, share ideas, etc.  Catherine McLoughlin and Mark JW Lee, in their discussion about Connectivism, say, “Students are no longer passive consumers but active producers of knowledge” (emphasis mine) (2008).

The way I see it, knowledge is knowledge.  Truth and information is out there…maybe I don’t know something yet, and maybe I need to connect with other people before I discover it, but to say that I will “produce” or create my own knowledge goes against some of my foundational beliefs.  I have a similar philosophical disagreement with Constructivism as well.  I feel that it’s important to at least state my disagreement, but I don’t want that to be the focus of my blog post.  So, I’ll move onto how I might be able to incorporate Connectivist methodology.

First, for my own children, I can see how Connectivist methodology can be of benefit.  Internet resources for collaboration and social networking allow us to take advantage of the opinions and knowledge of other people.  Even in our local setting, outside of the Internet, we are able to collaborate and share ideas.  Encouraging children to value and seek out learning with others cannot be a bad thing.  The videos I found online that show the practical side of Connectivist methodology were helpful to me in gathering practical ideas. 

As I’ve alluded to in previous weeks, I think that I would be doing my children a disservice to not allow them to access the multiple resources available to them on the Internet.  In fact, I am becoming more and more convinced that this is not a luxury; Internet access is a necessity.  However, this access cannot be completely open, without limits.  While my children are young, I must monitor the online resources they are accessing.  Also, while they are younger, I need to be vigilant to equip them with the critical thinking skills they will need to self-monitor later on. 

Some practical ideas that I would like to implement in my home school: 

·         blog for learning and sharing purposes

·         encourage my children to email authors and publishers of the books they read

·         utilize document sharing tools for collaboration (within and even outside of our family)

Connectivism….I’m not sure that I agree with the underlying philosophies regarding the nature of knowledge and learning , but I can still glean practical ideas to enhance teaching and learning.  I have certainly learned something this week and am very thankful for the connections I am developing with others who teach me so many things!

References: 

Catherine McLoughlin & Mark Lee (2008, June/July). Future learning landscapes: Transforming pedagogy through social software. Innovate. 4(5). http://www.innovateonline.info/pdf/vol4_issue5/Future_Learning_Landscapes-__Transforming_Pedagogy_through_Social_Software.pdf

Week 6 – Open Educational Resources and Open Course Ware

With our discussion of OER this week, I can’t help but think that we need to prepare for a new “look” of education, especially in the arena of universities and higher education.  The college that my children attend will most likely be completely different than the college I attended.  Will it be necessary for my children to attend a brick and mortar school to earn a postsecondary education?  Will their tuition costs be higher or lower?  Will they spend just as much on textbooks as I did (nearly 20 years ago)?  Or, will they no longer be using printed textbooks and exclusive materials? 

I would like to address two issues related to OER…

First, OER is opening doors to new ways of learning that must be accommodated by our modern institutions of learning.  The reality is that people can learn without the help of a formal institution.  And, the reality is that people are learning independently all the time.   Why, then, do we so heavily rely on a degree from a formal institution to give credence to a person’s abilities, knowledge, and learning?  What does a formal degree really mean these days, anyway?

I am intrigued by Peer2Peer University, University of the People, and Western Governor’s University – universities which are bridging the gap between what people can learn openly and (more) freely and how such learning is credentialed.  This only makes sense to me.  We must start recognizing other ways of learning as valid.  We must start expecting students to be able to provide evidence of learning beyond a college diploma.  How about electronic portfolios that demonstrate a particular skill set?

Second, the need for critical thinking and quality assurance cannot be ignored in this age of “open” education.  Yes, there are many resources out there.  It can be argued that one could piece together the makings of a degree from combining instruction from a variety of sources.  However, to just leave everything wide open, as if every open resource is equally valuable, is foolishness.  We must put both personal and institutional policies in place that protect us from an overload of poor materials by which to learn.  People should be able to access materials from an established, credible source, with the understanding that certain quality standards have been upheld.  Students also must develop critical thinking skills so that they can independently evaluate all open educational resources. 

Reference:

Anya Kamenetz (2009, September 1). How Web-Savvy Edupunks Are Transforming American Higher Education. Fast Company. http://www.fastcompany.com/node/1325728/print

 

Week 5 -- The Movement Toward Free and Open Source Software

The thing that stood out to me most this week was our class meeting with invited guest, Julie Young, from the Florida Virtual Schools.  I was intrigued by what she has developed for the state of Florida.

As a side note, I was at first reminded of how much influence one person can have.  Julie Young is a great thinker and innovator, one who is not afraid to step out and do something new.  The Florida Virtual School had to start as a vision of someone.  Just like all other inventions and innovations….they start as an idea.  My mind, once again, turns to my own children, the students of my classroom.  Am I encouraging them to create, to innovate?  Do we study people in history that changed the world and do my children see them as real people?  Do my children see themselves as a world changer? 

I am also fascinated and excited with the possibilities that schools such as this bring to the home school community and also to those within public or private educational settings who may have circumstances that make it difficult for them to attend a face to face class.  We now live in a world where educational alternatives are becoming the norm rather than the exception.  No longer do we educate every student exactly the same way.  We don’t have to!  There are options available that make it feasible for us to individualize instruction.

We are certainly navigating new waters, but the waters are becoming less rough.  More innovations, brought about by up and coming innovators, will spur us on even further.  Now, I wonder if I have any ideas in my own head that might be worth exploring a bit more?? 

References:

Hilton, J. L. (2005). In praise of sharing. EDUCAUSE Review, 40(3), 72-73. Also available at: http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM05310.pdf

Week 4 -- Blended Learning

The topic of study this past week was “Blended Learning.”  As I listened to Dr. Bonk’s lecture on blended vs. online learning, I realized that I actually teach a “blended” class right now as part of a home school co-op that my family is involved with.  So, it has been interesting for me this week to consider the positives and negatives of a blended learning environment, realizing that I have a good opportunity to see this instructional delivery format in action.

I teach a World Religions class for home schooled high school students who are part of the Wildcat Creek Home Educators Cooperative in Lafayette, IN.  The class meets face to face two times per month, September through April.  Because of the low number of face to face class sessions, part of my strategy when designing the course was to encourage participation beyond the face to face meetings.  My solution was to form an online class discussion forum that would allow class members to have ongoing interactions about class topics. 

This online component, I have learned, qualifies the course for “blended” status.  So, the question now is…does the blended environment enhance the instructional quality of the class?  For this particular class, I would say that it does, and it certainly has the potential for greater benefit.   Because the class only meets face to face 16 times over the course of a year, the online element allows the class to have more interaction than would otherwise be possible.  It also helps the students (and the teacher) to remember the class content between sessions, which allows us all to have more productive face to face meetings.  The online forum provides some accountability that would not be there otherwise.

I do have to acknowledge that the online discussion forum has posed a challenge to a few students because they have limited internet access.  In some cases, this is due to parents not allowing internet access and, for others, it is due to poor internet service in their area.  Regardless of the reason, these kinds of limitations have made it impossible for me to “require” that students post to the discussion forum.  I encourage them to do so and try to monitor postings and give feedback, but I cannot make the online element a requirement.  I have also run into some minor technical problems with the NING site we use for the forum, but these have been quickly resolved.  Ultimately, I would like to find a more effective tool to use for this particular class, but for now it’s serving the purpose I intend. 

Most students are familiar with various chat tools, blogging tools, etc., but I have found that it has worked best when I have given them specific guidelines for posting to our online forum.  I set a deadline for making an initial post and also for responding to the postings of others.  As a class, we have discussed some “rules” for making posts, such as being respectful and using words wisely.  In the future, I think it would help for me to also set some “minimum word number” parameters for their postings.  This would encourage them to think more deeply when replying to the posts of their classmates. 

So…blended learning environments…my experience teaching this World Religions class has shown me that blended options have the potential to enhance instructional quality.  However, I still must keep in mind that technology is only a tool.   The use of technology must be considered in light of the overall objectives of instruction.  I have learned that internet technology offers options for teaching that were not present even just a few years ago, and I plan to continue to take advantage of those options when it is appropriate.

Week 3 -- The Transformation of Reading with Digital Devices

The surge of eBooks and eReaders is another reminder of the kind of impact new technologies can make on the way we learn.  This week’s readings and discussion forum posts have taught me a lot about the potential impact of the eReader surge on the world of education.  I do not have much experience with an actual eReader, but I have had access to several digital resources for the classes I have taken over the past two years.  Two of my children received eReaders for Christmas this year, so I’m becoming a bit more familiar with them.

As I consider the way reading a book is changing, I compare it to the way my writing methods have changed over the years.  When I was first in college nearly twenty years ago, I initially wrote all of my papers out with a pen on paper.  I would then type the final copy on an electric typewriter, which I thought was much advanced beyond the standard typewriter my mother was used to.  Now, I can’t imagine writing any paper without my computer, using all of the editing tools that are so easily accessible. 

Word processing software for computers has transformed my writing process.  I now edit by copying/pasting text, highlighting sections that need to be changed, and considerable brainstorming and rearranging of my initial thoughts and scribbles.  In my opinion, this new way of writing is much more efficient than the pen and paper process I used before.  While this is true, I have not given up my pen and paper altogether.  I still like to take notes on paper, write personal notes to friends and family, and keep a written journal.  I use digital tools when it is most efficient for the task at hand, but continue to use traditional tools when that is preferred as well. 

I imagine that in the years to come, I will become more and more comfortable with reading a digital book.  While it seems a bit strange to me now, I am sure there will be increased efficiency in some respects.  Digital textbooks make the most sense to me.  It is quite feasible to imagine students of all ages carrying around an ipad or a Kindle to access their school reading materials.  Software that enables highlighting and note taking make these devices even more popular to the modern student.  As Jennifer Wortham points out, eReaders have the potential to make reading much more of a “social” activity as applications are developed that allow the sharing of books and personal reading reflections with friends (2010). 

With that being said, I believe that “old fashioned” printed books will not become obsolete.  There’s just something about curling up with a traditional book that cannot be replaced.  The most special books in my library will continue to be in a paper format.  Regardless of the format, reading is important.  I hope my own children will take advantage of emerging technologies that may make reading more fun and/or efficient.  As they have shown me so far, though, since having personal eReaders, they’re not ready to give up their love of a printed book.  Again, some things never change!

References:

David Pogue (2010, November 4). The Trouble with E-Readers. Scientific American. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-trouble-with-e-readers

Jenna Wortham (2010, November 11). Social Books Hopes to Make E-Reading Communal, New York Times.http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/social-books-hopes-to-make-e-reading-communal/