When I started this course I was a little naive. I like many other use a computer daily and have my smart phone attached to my thumbs. So, this course should be a breeze and what more could I possibly learn that I REALLY need to successfully teach my courses.
Boy was I wrong!
I found out that there is a whole world of technology out there that I can use to ramp up my teaching and create an exciting and engaging environment for my students.
The world is changing and we have to keep up. Technology is only going to keep evolving and we have to be willing to go on the journey with it.
TPACK was a great starting point for me to look at my teaching and where to go. I realized that I know a lot about my content area and an ok amount about technology, but through the semester I learned how I could become a great teacher, or at least try. I gained tools on how to flip my classroom and use blended learning to create an environment where I am not so focussed on spitting content at my students, but allowing them to use design thinking and problem based learning to really tackle and understand real life problems.
I learned that it takes work.....I mean a lot of work to stay on top of the endless and ever changing technology resources out there. That I have to be committed to seeking out new opportunities whether that is conferences, websites, podcasts, blogs, twitter, or Facebook to build my PLN.
There is an endless amount of resources out there and I have to be willing to go find them!
So what have I learned? That I have to always have a drive to learn, change, and grow with technology because if not I will be left behind. I have to put myself out there and try new things knowing that some might fail, but be willing to look at that failure as success and growth. That the use of technology can help our students and allow us to really personalize their experience!
I hope to always be this open to new technology and my plan from here is to take what I have learned and apply it to my future courses to really be the best I can be.
In this assignment we had to spin a digital wheel and use the tools we were given to complete a task. My trusty 3 year old assistant Hadley took a turn at the wheel for me and we ended up with toilet paper. Our task was to use our tool to carry an egg across the room.
The Challenge
I feel like I lucked out in this challenge even though there may have been more suitable items to complete this task as you will see in the video the toilet paper worked, especially when doubled.
Spinning it to the classroom
So here is what I think we can learn from this assignment and apply to the classroom:
It is important to select the right tools for the assignment. We have talked about how we should not choice technology just because, but rather choice our activity and then find the technology tool that works for that activity. This will help us enhance learning and achievement.
When life gives you lemons make lemonade. Sometimes in life you don't always have what you need, it is important to be able to adjust and think outside the box. This also applies to the students we may have. All students are going to think and learn differently, and how I may best use a tool may completely different then how someone else learns or uses a tool. Adapt, grow, change.
Take a spin with TPACK all the tools are there to create the perfect learning environment.
Go spin the wheel and see what your students can create!
Citizenship and Digital Citizenship so what's the difference?
When I think about citizenship in the traditional sense thoughts of democracy, being a part of a community, having rights, pride for your fellow man and country, and freedom come to mine. Citizenship may mean different things to different people depending on what part of the world they live in.
Unlike the traditional sense of citizenship, digital citizenship can cross from country to country and should have a standard no matter where you live in the world. Since technology allows for us to connect with people near and far we need these standards to help guide us when interacting in the digital world. Digital citizenship allows for responsible technology use, and this is very important because in a technological world once you hit the keys your words are out there for the world to see and there is no taking it back.
We have to be responsible and respectable digital citizens.
So how do we relay this to our students. I think this is hard students today have grown up with technology, they were given devices as toddlers and may know how to use most technology better than people in their 40's and 50's. It is hard for them to understand that what they do online from the beginning will carry with them the rest of their lives. Let's be honest it is a good thing we didn't have technology like this when we were kids! We have to teach them that no matter how many times they hit the delete key once something is published to the world it is stamped forever into there digital identity. This is a hard lesson to learn as a young adult. As educators we have to A. be a good role model and demonstrate appropriate digital citizenship through our actions, B. use others mistakes as examples so that they don't make the same ones, and C. hope that they understand the magnitude of how much weight our words can carry even from millions of miles away.
As educators we must mirror being a good citizen in the traditional setting and the digital one. We must know what resources are out there to help govern digital citizenship, and use those to our advantage as protection for us and our students.
For more information follow the link to learn about themes of digital citizenship and age appropriate incorporation:
We all must take steps to protect our digital citizenship. We must begin teaching digital citizenship early and often. Will you take the steps to become a Super Digital Citizen?
So, I thought to myself this shouldn't be too hard. I am pretty connected. I have a twitter account that I check occasionally, I have Facebook which well that may be a little more than occasionally, I have Instagram, I have a Google+ account, and well I blog now, so I am covered right? WRONG. I quickly learned that I had so much to do and learn about building and sustaining a PLN and nothing about it came easy or quick.
I was tasked with finding a twitter chat and actively participating, but what is a twitter chat. After watching the video posted about it I started to feel a little more confident. Basically a twitter chat is where a group with a common interest set aside a certain time to discuss a topic, network, and gain feedback through asking and answering questions. My teacher was nice enough to share a schedule of twitter chats with us and I set out to find one that interest me. Before I get ahead of myself lets talk a little bit about the platform you use to follow and engage in a twitter chat tweetdeck. Tweetdeck makes things flow a lot easier you can add a column (see below) specifically for the chat where only post that use the # of the chat will be seen. I couldn't imagine trying to keep up with the pace of the chat in the normal twitter view with other tweets coming in at the same time.
The Chat that I participated in was #edtechchat. Multiple questions were asked throughout the hour time span and responses began like a water fall, and by water fall I am talking Niagra Falls has nothing on how fast this chat was moving. This was overwhelming to say the least. as soon as a question went up within seconds the answers began pouring in. It took me a few questions to get a hold of myself and start to make some sense of everything that was going on in front of me. Anyone who used the #edtechchat appeared in my column.
After the first two questions I saw the third question come in and thought ok lets give this a try and dive in and hope for the best. I answered question three and much to my surprise my computer didn't blow up. I was a little worried since it had been working so hard to keep up. My response was short and brief, but got my feet wet and let me gain a little confidence about how this whole twitter chat works.
I answered a few more topics with some still brief responses.
I started to really enjoy seeing the answers people were giving, it started to get me thinking about the topic in a whole new light. One of the questions talked about what would you like to see in the future in devices. Many responded with battery life. I never really thought about that. As simple as it is, but very important if you are looking at trying to put a device in each students hand.
As the chat ended I scrolled back through to review some things and found some people that were interesting to me, and people I felt I could gain from following them on a daily bases.
I also found some other chats and groups that I believe can be useful for me in the future and added those as columns to easily follow the conversations taking place.
Man I am glad that is over
Like I said before the whole experience was very overwhelming, but one I am glad I did. Yes I am glad that first experience is over, but by the end I felt more confident in using my PLN to participate in chats and gain vital information as I learn more and more about education and technology. In the future I plan to look for more chats and jump in where I can as well as try and find as many resources that can help me along this journey.
Technology is every where and as educators we have seen an increase in the availability and use of technology as tools to enhance the teaching and learning environment for our students. When I first started a class on technology and teaching I thought about all the ways I currently use technology in my instruction. I find technology very useful when I am trying to substitute it in an assignment, or augment an assignment to make it easier for myself and my students. Technology is not going away and we must find a way to embrace it and use it when necessary to the best of our abilities. This leads me to SAMR.
To me SAMR is a perfect balance. Somedays I just need enough technology to keep things running smoothly like a tall dark coffee, but then other days I want to make it fancy especially in the fall and spice my technology up to a pumpkin spice latte. This is the beauty of SAMR you get to choose what best suits you and your content and fit it perfectly. It keeps technology in education from getting so overwhelming. I like to view the SAMR model as a continuum where you don't have to always aim to stay above the line as I have seen many articles describe it, but yet like a swimming pool where you explore and swim laps linking each portion of SAMR to your specific needs.
This is one of the best arguments I can make for SAMR. It truly allows you to fit the technology to the content. Not every assignment is going to need modification and redefinition, and that is ok. Sometimes its ok to swim to the shallow because treading water can be exhausting and when you begin to tire of trying to stay a float quality quickly begins to sink. The adjustability of SAMR can be useful in any subject, and allows users to start out easy and move between the levels without becoming overwhelmed.
Enquire Learning
"Through merging enquiry with the versatility of the iPad and the range of applications this digital Swiss army knife offers learners, the doors are not only opened for redefinition, they are blown right off! A simple concept or topic can be introduced and each learner could take it in a different direction. Here's an example task - understand the principles of adaptation in animals. Having set their own enquiry questions, the learners are then set free to research, collaborate and present in any form they see fit. Rather than have all students complete an identikit worksheet or formal writing task, some choose to make iMovies, some make multimedia ebooks, some use Morfo or Puppet Pals or Explain Everything or - the list of potential applications grows daily." (http://www.ipadeducators.com/a-fresh-look-at-the-samr-model)
Isn't enquire learning really what we are striving for as educators. Through redefinition the sky is the limit for students. They are able to connect with peers and resources, and use technology in ways unimaginable. It allows their creativity to shine, and puts the focus on the students strengths and how they learn best. SAMR allows for this to happen.
Straight from the Big Dogs Mouth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6j8soDYoaw
In conclusion by letting the SAMR model guide you in diving into the ever changing world of technology educators can find ways to enhance the learning environment. So pick up your type writer and chuck it out the window and open up the possibilities that our advancing technological world allow for.
Monday, August 8, 2016
A Journey through Instructional Design
When I started my first Online Teaching and Instructional Design course
I was surprised by how little I knew about the process. I had been
teaching for a few years now and had the content knowledge solidly secured. I had put little thought into the actual
design portion of the course, which looking back now seems silly.I had put the cart before the horse.I had designed courses without ever looking
at the nuts and bolts and details that go along with making a successful
class.While taking EDU 657 I learned I
needed to slow down and look at the courses I develop piece by piece in order
to enhance the learning opportunity of my students.
Design
Models
I had never heard of a design model.ADDIE, SAM, UbD, UDL were just letters on a page.I wrote this in my first blog post regarding
design models:
“When I started an instructional design course a few short weeks ago I
knew as much about instructional design modules as I did about speaking German.
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! It all seemed so foreign to me. I mean I
kind of had been living in the country for many years as an adjunct instructor,
but never had learned the language. I had been fumbling from town to town
trying to design courses with out ever taking time to find a tudor or buy a
book.”
I was fumbling and doing it very poorly.I learned that I use UbD as a design model most often, and through the
readings, discussions, and assignments I learned how I could begin to
incorporate the other design models into my courses.
I realized that maybe the answer isn’t using just one model, but a
combination of models in order to relay the information in a manageable way
that can be useful and individualized to our learners.Each course and set of students is unique and
we have to bring our full tool kit if we want to bring about positive
outcomes.
Feedback
I firmly believe that constructive feedback is vital and allows for
growth.All though it can be hard to
swallow sometimes when we learn we have not done well, we must be willing to
look at how we can improve in order to do our job well.It also allows us to see our strengths.We can be our own worst critics and we need
to know it is ok to have pride and take pride in what we do.
My main source of feedback has been our end of semester course
evaluations.I am really good at using
this information to tweak a course for the next semester, and while this is a
great source for looking at how we can grow and change a course in the future,
it gives us little feedback for change in the present time.From the use of the different design models I
have learned that evaluation throughout the courses and design process is
critical.Moving forward I look to
incorporate ways that I can evaluate my design as a develop content for a
course as well as once the material is delivered how can I use evaluation and
feedback to enhance the course on the next assignment.
I also want to look at relying on my colleagues more.I am lucky to work with professors who have
many years under their belts as successful instructors.Using them as a tool to grow would allow me
to take success in the past and pair it with the new and exciting design tools
I am learning today to create a winning design.
Individualized
The main goal of instruction is learning.Merriam-Webster defines learning as:
“the activity or process of gaining knowledge or skill by studying,
practicing, being taught, or experiencing something”
As instructors we have to find ways
to make our instruction individualized so we can promote learning for all.From taking this course I learned that we can
and should use different platforms to present out material, assess or material,
and evaluate our material in order to make sure we are doing our best to reach
each student in our course.This can be
a time consuming process and hard at times, but in the future I hope to
incorporate as many individualized opportunities for my students as possible,
whether this be through incorporating more discussions, more visual aids within
presentations, case studies, hands on assessment, research, or simply through
having a conversation.Any way that I
can convey information to my students in a way that allows for growth and
understanding I hope to do so.
Conclusion
Instructional design is a mountain
and I feel that I have just scratched the surface. I hope that I can get out the digging tools
as my courses progress and begin to find deeper understanding of the design
process and ways I can incorporate them into my pedagogy. I have enjoyed learning about my strengths as
an instructor. One of those being that I
use the UbD model well (I just now know the name), I accept feedback, I am
organized and can design a course that allows for learning, and I have a
passion for learning and watching my students succeed. I look forward to turning my weaknesses of evaluation
and feedback throughout the course, research, use of multiple design models,
and individualization in to strengths along the way. I cant wait to see what technology will
unfold and look forward to how that will shape online learning and instructional
design in the future. So grab your travel guide and lets learn a little more about this country.
This week we look at the research behind instructional design (ID). What are the trends, implications, and recommendations. Now I know you are thinking instructional design trending? Maybe not trending like Taylor Swift and her feud with Kanye West, but in a world where education is rapidly changing instructional design trends are sky rocketing.
ID a key component of education
The common goal that ties education across subject areas is the outcome. The outcome no matter the subject is always the same to present material to an audience, form achievable goals, and at the end of the educational experience have the audience walk away with the goals met. With the increasing number of delivery methods available to instructors today a shift in the ID models must occur.
Research from shows that we may need to use a variety of ID models, or a revision of current models to achieve our instructional goals. "As the number and diversity of ID practices grows, implicit doubts regarding the reliability, validity, and usefulness of OD models suggest the need for methodological guidance that would help to generate ID models that are relevant and appropriate to the ever-changing design challenges in our world."(Lee,J.,Jang,S. 2014) That sticking to one model instead of using a combination of models may not present desirable outcomes depending on the instructional setting and audience. That perhaps there needs to be room to take a detour and that even though it may take you a few miles out of the way the straight path may not always be the best path.
Technology
"Inclusive and accessible education should aspire to include all learners. Mobile learning appears
to have the potential to do that. SMS and MMS technologies offer excellent opportunities to open
up education to many who have long been excluded from it. This effort, however, will involve
the development of creative techniques for relatively simple technologies and the design of
universally accessible educational materials for them."(Elias, T. 2011)
As the study above from Elias states the technology is available, and allowing for avenues for education that weren't there 10 years ago. We have to be able to see the potential of online learning and how we can incorporate current technology to reach our students.
Educators must be able to evolve and adapt when looking at ID. With the increasing number of students choosing a non-traditional setting for education research shows that taking the ADDIE model and adjusting it a blended course can bring about educational growth for students. Online learning is not going away and we have to be able to adapt the current ID models to fit a technology driven world.
Watch this video about how technology is incorporated in the 1st and 2nd grade. Kids know more about technology than an adult at a young age and we must find ways to take advantage of this and use it in ID to enhance learning.
Also, here is an article regarding the use of technology in education in the 21st century.
One concept that was evident throughout the research is that education has become learner driven. Online and blended learning environments are allowing for individualized instructional models that meet the needs of all learners. It is no longer acceptable to teach to one type of learners, educators must use ID so that each student is presented and assessed on the information in a way that is individualized to their specific needs. Although time consuming for the designer a structure that allows students to move at their own pace, interpret and be assessed on material in a variety of ways will lead to greater success and achievement of goals and outcomes.
So what does all this mean? Research shows that we have to look at our audience. We must be willing to get a little lost and take the detour, knowing that by not taking just the straight path, i.e. one ID we are allowing for growth and greater design that will reap great benefits when applied to our courses. Don't be afraid to take that detour, don't look back, but yet evolve and adapt because when you combine the best that ID has to offer the road trip is fun and successful for everyone!
References:
Elias, T. (2011, February). Universal Instructional Design Principles for Mobile Learning. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 12(2), 1-15.
Lee, J., & Jang, S. (2014). A methodological framework for instructional design model development: Critical dimensions and synthesized procedures. Education Tech Research Dev Educational Technology Research and Development, 62(6), 743-765. doi:10.1007/s11423-014-9352-7
When I started an instructional design course a few short weeks ago I knew as much about instructional design modules as I did about speaking German. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! It all seemed so foreign to me. I mean I kind of had been living in the country for many years as an adjunct instructor, but never had learned the language. I had been fumbling from town to town trying to design courses with out ever taking time to find a tudor or buy a book.
The first assignment in the course addressed the different instructional design models and that is where I realized I had been using bits and pieces of multiple models (sometimes very poorly) without even knowing their names. Once I took some time to learn the language this foreign country became much more interesting and the design process became more enjoyable. With a little bit of background in the models I found that all though each model has very similar and sometimes very different components the end goal is always the same. Develop a product that is useful to the consumer. In this post I will contrast two of those design models looking at those differences and how two things that are very different can get us to the same end goal. Come along and explore a little bit of the foreign country side with me. BACKGROUND:
UbD is a very structured form of design. For online courses where evaluation and adjusting are not as easy, or courses that have strict set outcomes that must be achieved UbD will make sure you check all the boxes. Criticized for being a "teach to the test" design model UbD is strictly focused on desired results and how to get there. This model will still allow for multiple ways of assessment and learning experiences, but the focus remains on the outcomes and whether the student can show acceptable performance on the assessment. This model may lead to less question sparking teaching moments due to the depth of the designed curriculum and lack of improvisation. There is substantial time, background knowledge, and prep work that must go into a course months before it is to go live in order to use the UbD model. A timeline is very important in this model, and moving too far from the original timeline will lead to problems with instruction and assessment. This model when used appropriately can be effective in evoking deep understanding of concepts. This design overall can make your head spin if you allow yourself to get overwhelmed by the extent of thought and preparation that has to go into making this model successful.
UDL puts tremendous focus on the learning style of the student. This can be very complicated when designing a course. N0t only do you have to design content to meet the individual needs of each student, you must also have multiple ways of assessing the students based on their individual learning styles. This can be an enormous task when designing a course. The amount pre-planning that must go into a course using UDL is tremendous. Each topic taught and assessed would need multiple formats of delivery in order to meet the needs of all students. This also could lead to labeling of students. If a student is seen as a visual learner they may start to see this as a limit and become frustrated when put in a situation where they have to be auditory learners. Students need to be exposed to the ways they learn best, but also challenged to grow and become better learners no matter the setting. For UDL to be successful flexibility has to exist and time to prepare the course in different manners has to be available.
Let us Compare
Both models start with a very different approach and end with the same result of meaningful instruction that gains desired results. While the UbD focuses on goals and looks at what should be achieved while working backwards to obtain those goals, the UDL model keeps the students learning needs as top priority and finds ways to allow each individual students learning style to be assessed. Depending on the instruction being provided each model will bring a number of pros and cons to the table. The more I learn the more I am becoming an advocate for not using one single model of design. When we take the best parts of multiple models it allows us to create instruction that becomes valuable to all learners and an easy process for instructors. Hopefully these two models have become a little less foreign to you and you can start to see how they can benefit your specific teaching needs.
Let us continue to pick up that travel guide and exploring those foreign countries. Pack your bags and good luck on your instructional design journey.
