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Switzerland was the sixth country in our European tour when I was a teenager. Likewise, ETEC 565: Learning Technologies - Selection, Design and Application was my sixth course in the MET program.
Switzerland blew my mind! It was such a beautiful country that it was sad that we only stayed three brief days. I can’t wait to go back and explore Lucerne and Zurich as an adult. I remember buying a Swiss watch and lots of chocolate to bring home.
Just as Switzerland exceeded my expectations, so did ETEC 565! Everything I learned in ETEC 565: Learning Technologies - Selection, Design and Application highlighted what I have learned in 510 and 530. I am reminded of the importance of constructivist strategies and learning activities and their direct influence on improving motivation, engagement and overall academic achievement since technology tools are excellent examples of constructivist learning tools / activities and constructivist teaching tools / strategies.
Above all and most importantly, Dr. John Egan was an amazing professor who truly set the bar for online instructors. I have met few that can meet his example. He truly modeled to us, his class, how online instructors should create courses, learning outcomes and teach, scaffold, guide and interact online with their students. His knowledge of technology and tools and passion for online teaching had me engaged on day 1. The assignments were interesting, relevant, purposeful and fun! I found it rewarding and I truly enjoyed exploring the different tools available in the e-Learning toolkit – especially the LMS, the Social Software, and the Multimedia & Authoring Tools. These three tools have given me the knowledge I need to develop myself into a “Web2.0 semi-expert”. I loved having the freedom to explore and learn the toolkit at my leisure. I have used these skills multiple times since this course.
With many digital tools in my toolkit now and many more to explore, I can now confidently complement my f2f instructions with different digital tools. With not enough time during this course to explore all the cool tools, I’m definitely looking forward to having the time to explore more fun learning tools, expanding my expertise and adding to my toolkit!
Keeping Anderson (2008), Bates & Poole’s SECTIONS framework and Chickering & Gamson’s (1987) seven principles in mind, I have learned how to plan pedagogically sound technology use, create a digital story many different ways, upload and convert (if necessary) audio, picture and video files, create mp4 movies with Camtasia, manipulate and use code, create web pages with Dreamweaver and navigate Vista, Wordpress and Moodle with ease. The learning activities, case studies and e-Learning toolkit helped me garner a sense of: a) the skills my students would be learning; b) the potential barriers and road blocks that stand in the way; c) how to approach each learning situation and d) to view technology as a learning tool and not just as a teaching tool.
I used to think that a wiki was the answer to everything, now I realize there are many tools to choose from and an actual framework to follow to purposefully select technology tools and media. With Bates & Poole’s (2003) SECTIONS framework and Chickering & Gammon’s (1987) Seven Principles of Good Teaching and Learning to refer to along with many others, I can feel confident that I now know how to make appropriate pedagogical technology and media choices!
I can truly say this was one of my favourite MET courses! This is largely in part to clear expectations, prompt feedback, excellent guidance, support and modeling. Participating in a class that exemplifies online learning with an exceptional instructor has been amazing and truly inspiring! And secondly, it was one of my favourite courses because of the amazing group of people that I have been able to work with here in our dynamic eLearning community. I now know the kind of online environment I want to build and model for my students.
As I have many favourite memories from Switzerland: Lucerne and Zurich, I have selected a cross section of five different types of artifacts from this course:
I included my digital story as I’ve been able to use it in my classroom. That’s one of the reasons why I really enjoyed this class – I was able to use everything we did in my classroom. I learned that I can be creative with digital tools and that it’s not all that difficult when you have access to abundant resources and great guidance and support. I have been able to see my growth, reflect on it and share my experiences and projects like my digital story with my family and friends. A further reflection can be found on my blog.
I have a second digital story - A Toondoo. This Toondoo is on my Moodle below (Artifact #5) – Scroll down to Sinusoidal Data - it's near the bottom - here you will see the digital story cartoon.
4. Lucerne - Group Evaluation Rubric
5. Moodle – Grade 12 Math Login as a Guest
To prepare students for a global society and a global education, the LMS platform must be congruent to our goals of teaching and learning Andresen (2009). LMS is considered a learning tool, thus Moodle does meet the pedagogical requirements of our teachers. Aligning with Social Constructivism, Moodle serves as a platform where students and educators can actively engage with one another when constructing knowledge; however, it is not limited to constructivism as Moodle accommodates a wide range of teaching and learning styles.
I had no idea that I would learn as much as I have and it impacts my educational practice immensely. I have used Moodle in the past in my French 20 & 30 class but definitely not to its potential. Primarily, I didn’t have a clue of the design rationale, philosophy or framework necessary when designing and creating an online course so I really didn’t know where to start. Secondly, I didn’t have the time to explore and learn Moodle’s capabilities. So instead, I only used the basic functions like discussion forums, wiki, as well as using it for housing class resources.
Now with my new Moodle skills and knowledge I am pleased to be able to create the Math Moodle site that I did for this course. But elements of theoretical frameworks were now present. The Bates and Poole (2003) SECTIONS framework spoke to me quite loudly so I decided to assess my Math Moodle according to their framework – and it all aligned perfectly – Moodle is a great fit to meaningfully integrate technology into the classroom! A further reflection can be found on my blog.
S: Students: what is known about the students - or potential students - and the appropriateness of the technology for this particular group or range of students?
According to Bates & Poole (p.86), it is critical to know your students! They mention three main issues related to students and choosing appropriate media and technology: different learning styles, access and student demographics. Moodle can accommodate all 3 of these requirements.
E: The ease of use is very good. From a novice's perspective it is a very simple program to navigate. Options for creating and managing the course itself are also straightforward and concise.
C: Moodle is a free open-source LMS. The scripting program and the web-hosting system also have
no cost. However funding for IT management, teacher training, and time will have to be further considered and evaluated. It should be noted that Moodle has a very active group of volunteer supporters who will provide help. All posts are archived, and most questions can be easily answered. In addition, there are many videos on YOUTUBE that help with the navigation through Moodle.
T: To prepare students for a global society and a global education, the LMS platform must be congruent to our goals of teaching and learning. LMS is considered a learning tool, thus Moodle does meet the pedagogical requirements of our teachers. Aligning with Social Constructivism, Moodle serves as a platform where students and educators can actively engage with one another when constructing knowledge; however, it is not limited to constructivism as Moodle accommodates a wide range of teaching and learning styles.
I: Moodle allows us to place all of our online functionality in a single application. Highly interactive, it supports Wikis, blogs, forums, and chats. E-mail and archiving are also powerful features. Students and educators post messages on the website and then after a time-delay predetermined by the teacher, the note is sent to all subscribers. The time-delay allows one to edit and revise their message if necessary. The user can also post pictures in conjunction with the message, further enhancing the feeling of culture and community.
O: Depends on who manages this system which is of great concern – where does the money come from? Where is the IT support? Who will train the teachers? Infrastructure?
N: Moodle has a variety of novel features. Its platform is user-friendly, encouraging users to participate and take ownership – “Look at the Moodle I created!” The platform offers an enhanced forum, imbedded wiki, and an open glossary. It has powerful assessment features, where tests, surveys and assignments can be evaluated and graded directly on Moodle. It’s Open Source!
S: Once Moodle has been installed to the school’s server, the speed to access, build, modify, and design curricular templates is efficient. However, developing an effective dynamic online learning environment takes time.
References
Anderson, T. (2008). Toward a theory of online learning. In T. Anderson & F. Elloumi (Eds.) Theory and Practice of Online Learning, Chapter 2 (pp. 45-74). Available online at: http://www.aupress.ca/index.php/books/120146
Andresen, M. (2009). Asynchronous discussion forums: success factors, outcomes, assessments, and limitations. Educational Technology & Society, 12(1), 249-257.
Bates, A.W. & Poole, G. (2003). Chapter 4: A framework for selecting and using technology. Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education: Foundations for Success. New York: Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated.
Chickering, A.W. & Gamson, Z.F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39(7), 3-7.
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