Reflections

Technology and media tree

Q: Reflect on what you have learned in this course. How will you apply the things that you have learned to your professional practice?

As I look back on the blog entries I have made this course I can see a progression of knowledge that will help me become a better eTeacher.  Many of the lessons have direct applications that I can begin to use in my classroom.

Week 1: Technology and Media

Technology is the hardware, software, and tools required to make the connection to students in the online world. (Smaldino p. 4) Media is the way you can communicate to and reach the students.  Examples include text, audio, visuals, video, manipulatives, and people. (Smaldino p. 5) 

I can apply the media examples I learned about in this course to my teaching by incorporating more people and manipulatives in the way I teach.  I think the addition of experts and more creative hands-on items will bring dividends to my teaching.

Week 2: Teacher Centered vs. Student Centered

In the student centered classroom the teachers role changes to a facilitator or mentor. The students are given the essential question but then must find the answers in a way that is meaningful for them. The learning must be authentic.  Student must believe that the information they are gathering is relevant to their lives and community.  Therefore, the essential questions should reflect concerns that the students can get behind and really strive to find answers.  The teacher shall give direction and guidance to aid the student and point them in the right direction.  In student centered learning, the student is an active learner. (Smaldino p. 71)

I was trained in a teacher centered community but it is now a student centered world.  Applying this to my classroom is very hard to do.  As a traditional teacher, I have a hard time letting go of the practices I am comfortable with.  Slowly I have been moving toward the student centered side of education and finding that the results are just as good and students seem to enjoy the change once they get used to it as well.

Week 3: Roles of the eLearning Teacher

The textbook mentions further differences between eLearning teachers and face to face teachers. Because the online learner is more often going to be self motivated to learn, the teacher will become a facilitator of learning rather than direct leader.  Distance educators will be classroom monitors. keeping an eye on the activities of the students in order to make sure that no one is falling behind.  It is also the online teacher's responsibility to organize the lessons to encourage interactivity and to guide students on how to act appropriately in the online environment.  Lastly, distance education teachers provide two-way communication. (Smaldino p. 86)

The true distance educator has a very different type of job than the traditional teacher.  Knowing what I do now, I can apply this to my Virtual Classroom and expect my students to realize that working in the virtual environment will require them to be more self sufficient learners as well.  The role of distance teachers is more advisor and not information giver.

Week 4: What is Visual Literacy?

"Visual media design, development, and production; digital creation; and Web design and development all utilize critical thinking skills and can enhance students' abilities to learn, exhibit their learning, work, and succeed in an increasingly visual world."  (Smaldino p.137)

Skills that are needed in the increasingly digital world will rely on students abilities to be literate and able to function in a visual world.  I can apply this knowledge by adding more training and practice in visual creation programs and symbolism in general.  This will aid my students in encoding and decoding visual basic skills. 

Week 5: Instructional Materials and Media for eLearning

Manipulatives also are instructional aides that can be used in the eLearning environment.  In the distance learning environment a manipulative is anything the student can exercise control over in the way of a simulation, game, or constructive creation. A beneficial type of manipulative webware is called Diorama Designer, Globster or Wordle and allows the student the freedom to create visual dioramas and collages that can be used as assignments or assessments. (Smaldino p.196)

I must say that my most favorite section of this course was learning about these types of programs that I can use immediately in my classroom.  The function and ease of using Wordle is becoming a go to program for me to use with my students.  I love to use this as an alternative to the standard vocabulary definitions assignment.

Week 6: Reaching the Student Through Technology

The instructor of a K-12 learning environment can use instructional technology and media to help reach all kinds of learning styles and preferences in distance-learning.

I have always tried to include each learning style in the way I teach my students.  However, I was pleased to find out a few new things I can do that include technology in the mix.  I had never thought of using podcasts as a way of reaching the audio student.  This is something I will apply in the upcoming school year.

Week 7: Challenges to Using video Media

One of the largest time consuming challenges that a teacher will face when selecting video for the classroom is previewing the video in order to select short segments that are content related instead of showing the entire video. Video segments should be between 8 to 12 minutes at any one time and shorter for younger students. (Smaldino p. 246)

Finally, this passage reminds me that to be a good distance learning teacher I will have to put in the extra time to edit and hone the media resources I use.  I can already apply this to my professional career knowing that each time I use instructional media I want to engage the student and not put them to sleep.  Short concentrated bursts of media work better than a long entertaining video that has a thimble full of content.

My reflection of this course has been beneficial.  It has given me many tools and resources to ponder and integrate into my classroom.  My ultimate goal is to design a "good" working virtual classroom that is meaningful and relevant for my students.  The virtual classroom will be an extension of my regular classroom and I hope the two work together hand in hand.  In this class I have created blogs, podcast, and even produced a video instructional segment for my classroom.  I may not have had these experiences if not for this class.  If I apply these activities with my students, and they feel as accomplished as I do now, then they will feel incredible about themselves as they continue onward in this digital world.

Photo Credit: http://research.usc.edu

Challenges to Using Video Media

I have learned in previous classes and Internet research that the majority of students prefer to learn visually. Therefore the integration of video into the classroom is an important tool that teachers can deploy to help their students learn. However, much like any tool in the shed, video can be used poorly and its effects can have a negative effect. In this blog entry I will discuss some of the challenges faced by teachers that are willing to incorporate video dynamics in their classroom.

The biggest legal challenge to implementation of video in the classroom will be copyright concerns. Most traditional classrooms and school districts have video libraries where they house and distribute purchased copies of media on all subjects. The online educational world may not have the same freedoms. Many online schools will need to subscribe to video services in order to digitally access licensed media. Video media found on the Internet is also protected by copyright law as well as programming taken from the television. Guidelines are set in place that educators are asked to meet that allow fair use of a program for 45 days post broadcast. (Smaldino p. 248) Video media on the Internet is more available than ever with the advances in HTML 5 media technology and the ability to share video media via social networks. It is up to teachers to become familiar with and remain knowledgeable about copyright laws in order to make the virtual classroom a dynamic place to learn.

The next challenge to online teaching with video is working with students with disabilities. For example, students with visual impairments may have to have the use a technique called descriptive video where the video image scene is described to them as the video is playing. (Smaldino p. 244) Additionally, students with hearing disabilities would need to have close captioning or receive a hardcopy of the text or script included with the video (Smaldino p. 243) Closed captioning is a service that not all video media uses especially if the video is an original creation that the teacher might create. In this case the teacher should choose to include subtitles in their video or have a printable hardcopy of the text to go along with their presentation.

One of the largest time consuming challenges that a teacher will face when selecting video for the classroom is previewing the video in order to select short segments that are content related instead of showing the entire video. Video segments should be between 8 to 12 minutes at any one time and shorter for younger students. (Smaldino p. 246) It is undeniable the power moving pictures have to capture the attention of the viewer, however the double edge sword to that is the children's attention spans may be played out well before the essential content of the video is presented. It is more beneficial for the student if video media is used in short bursts and used in conjunction with other media in order to reinforce a concept or idea. This is the concept of Multimedia education that I was taught 20 years ago in my under graduate classes and it still is relevant today. Therefore the teacher must pay their due diligence and preview video media sources in order to select the best and most meaningful segments to display.

Video media is an educational juggernaut if used correctly. As I watched one of the video clips in the Multimedia Resources section of this week's lesson, students appear to be very interested in viewing actual moving pictures that inserts them in the time and place of the characters or subjects they are watching. (From the video: Choosing Media-- http://digital.films.com/play/RGHWDN) Several students were seen in the clip talking about how much better Mr. Soandsos class is because he uses video segments instead of just pictures. True testament to the power of video media.

Photo Credit: http://www.chromedata.com

Reaching the student through Technology

There are three basic learning modalities. There is the visual learner, the tactile learner, and the auditory learner. Of these three learning modalities studies show that a combination of learning styles tends to be the most effective for learning, for instance a combination of video and audio will be more effective than using just one single modality alone. The instructor of a K-12 learning environment can use instructional technology and media to help reach all kinds of learning styles and preferences in distance-learning. In the following paragraphs I will provide several examples of instructional technology and media for each learning modality.

For the child that is a visual learner one interactive website would provide excellent visual learning centers for that student. This site called Glogster.EDU and it specializes in providing multimedia style visual learning centers. A teacher can create stunning multimedia visual learning centers from the site. The advantages of learning centers for the online student include self pacing active learning and as for the teacher they have opportunity to take on a coaching role rather than being the information deliver. (Smaldino p. 170-171) Another visual learning technology tool is prezi.com. A prezi is a internet based style presentation that has the ability to take one visual image and twist it and turn it and hide information in zoomable places and create moving multimedia displays. (It really turns PowerPoint on it's ear) Once again this visual presentation can offer a wonderful opportunity for critical thinking, organizational skills, artistic endeavors, and communicating through the content all in the visual learners range.

For the tactile learner, simulations and games provide the student with the opportunity to physically interact with the virtual environment. One simulation that never seems to go out of style or get old is the virtual frog dissection lab (http://frog.edschool.virginia.edu/). In this lab, in a real classroom, students might object to handling the preserved squishy specimen. Therefore it is advisable to allow the student to perform a virtual dissection on a digital frog. The online student will benefit from this because they are going to receive the same experiences that a students in a traditional classroom would. The virtual frog dissection will walk the students through the steps of dissecting your virtual frog using the same tools and techniques that are generally recommended in the classroom. This will help the tactile learner experience science as it was meant to be, hands-on learning. This falls under the category of computer software and manipulatives in which the benefits are realism and interest in the subject matter. As the textbook states, "manipulatives arouse interest because they're multi-sensory." (Smaldino p.179-180)

And finally, for the auditory learner, distance education instructors can use podcasts as one way of reaching their students who preferred this learning style preference. Podcasts can be used in a multitude of ways, for example a teacher can record their lecture, a podcast can be used for English Language Learners (ELL), and podcasts can be used as dramatic pieces to re-create the scene in a play or book, or to invoke feelings through the use of sound effects, music, and the spoken word. The applications, Windows sound recorder, or Audacity (audacity.sourceforge.net) are two applications that allow the student and teacher to create MP3 files which can be shared online over the Internet and distributed as podcasts. Advantages of podcasts include the fact that they are relatively inexpensive, reproducible, provides current information, portable, and repeatable.(Smaldino p. 217-218) The repeatability of podcasts to me seems the most handy for the auditory learner because they could pause, rewind, and play again the selection that they need additional help on. Incidentally, the exact same software mentioned for podcasts can also create CDs and MP3 files of auditory media as well. These files can be used for visually impaired students who need a copy of the textbook that has been digitized in an audio platform. Or a musical selection can be put on an MP3 or CD for study in art history class or music classroom.

Instructional Materials and Media for eLearning

Instructional materials and media can include the use of learning centers, instructional modules, manipulatives, and printed materials.  It brings to the classroom authentic learning experiences, critical thinking skills, questioning skills, and multimedia experiences.  Students learn better when they can experience "the real thing" so using materials and media can play an important role in education. (Smaldino p.169) However there are benefits and challenges that go along with the use of these strategies as well as learning when and where these strategies should be used.  I will try to illustrate a few of these below while looking at the problems both as infrastructure and as instructional concerns in turn.

Distance learning infrastructure is the basic physical requirements needed for the operation of a eLearning system.  When you look at eLearning and instructional materials like instructional modules, we find a benefit in the fact that these modules can be networked together and linked to other classrooms across the hall or across the country.  This adds a "window to the world" to the distance classroom. (Smaldino p. 175)  Modules are self contained learning units that guide the student through an established series of objectives.  An infrastructural challenge of module learning is selecting the proper software in order to allow necessary networking components with communication abilities, testing features, and a variety of other teacher oriented tools to make the learning environment functional. (Smaldino p. 175)  Another great benefit is the fact that eLearning can be web based.  Therefore taking students on a Virtual Field Trip is convenient and flexible for the learner since they can use the Internet asynchronously to visit the site at any time. (Smaldino p.192-193)

Instructional concerns add another layer of complexity to the selection and use of instruction materials and media in eLearning.  One benefit of instructional modules is they are self paced for students and validated instructional units for teachers.  The student benefits by being able to complete the coursework at their own pace and at the own time.  This is flexibility that students like in coursework.  For teachers, the module courses are validated prior to publication and therefore worry free as far as content is concerned.  A challenging drawback to module learning is curriculum integration.  Sometimes the preset module will not always agree with the educational institutions curricular objectives. Therefore, careful review and rigoruos evaluations are required in the selection process for any module prior to implementation. (Smaldino p.175)  Manipulatives also are instructional aides that can be used in the eLearning environment.  In the distance learning environment a manipulative is anything the student can exercise control over in the way of a simulation, game, or constructive creation. A beneficial type of manipulative webware is called Diorama Designer, Globster or Wordle and allows the student the freedom to create visual dioramas and collages that can be used as assignments or assessments. (Smaldino p.196) The student can use photos from the web or photos taken themselves and create a visual presentations complete with interactive text and videos as well.  A challenge for this type of webware is privacy concerns.  You see many of these types of sites ask that you "sign up" or join their site.  This operation usually asks for permission to link to your personal Facebook, Google+, or Twitter account.  This seemingly innocent action is the end routine of data mining.  As a teacher, I find it hard to ask my students to create a document that might allow a third party to view, store, and possibly sell their personal information.

There are benefits and challenges for all kinds of instructional materials and media.  Use of instructional materials and media brings authentic learning experiences, critical thinking skills, questioning skills, and multimedia experiences to the classroom.  Students are naturally very intuitive and appreciate their learning more when they feel the experience is "the real thing" and directly applies to their educational goals. The trick is in knowing how and when to use them.  It would not be good to try and orchestrate an entire course with only one type of instructional material and no other.  Also it doesn't really matter if they are used in the traditional classroom or the distance learning classroom.  Good instructional practices are adaptable across all classroom environments.



Photo Credit: http://vft78.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/0/5/11052204/9961878_orig.png

Visual Literacy

To paraphrase a popular song, "signs, signs, everywhere signs," and we live in that world now more than ever especially in science.  The science laboratory is filled with safety symbols and signs everywhere.  It is vitally important that children know and understand each and every symbol for their own safety and the safety of those around them.  Therefore, visual literacy becomes an important key to learning in the science classroom.

What is visual literacy?
Visual Literacy is the learned ability to interpret images correctly. The students need to learn how to decode a visual image into a message and encode data back into visual images. (Smaldino p 136)  Examples of visual literacy in the distance classroom can include the following: digitally scanned photos or drawings, clip art, computer generated presentations, cartoons, animations, and video.  In each case the student will have to look at an image and decode the meaning behind the visual.  Take for instance the OSHA Fire Diamond seen in the photo above.  This diamond tells the reader the kinds of chemicals that are housed inside the door or room they are entering.  The red is for flammability, yellow is for reactive, white is for special notices (like oxidation), and the blue color is for health hazards.  The number system tells the reader how potentially dangerous each diamond is from zero to four with four being the most hazardous.  Whether you are a firefighter, teacher, or student you need to be able to read this sign and know the dangers and information that this sign tells you. (By the way, don't go in that room if you don't have to.)

Why is it important for K-12 eLearning? 
The online environment is the perfect platform for visual imagery and hence the importance of visual literacy.  An excerpt from the text says it well.

"Visual media design, development, and production; digital creation; and Web design and development all utilize critical thinking skills and can enhance students' abilities to learn, exhibit their learning, work, and succeed in an increasingly visual world."  (Smaldino p.137)

 Visuals play import roles in the online classroom. They can provide concrete references for ideas or abstract concepts.  They can motivate the learner or direct attention to relevant parts of the visual.  Visuals can present the information in different formats or allow the concept to be seen from a different point of view.  Visuals can help in the recall of prior learning and possibly reduce the learning effort for the student. (Smaldino p. 139-140)
The digital classroom is an environment unlike any other in the case of visual imagery.  Computer screens can deliver a color palette that can not be seen in the real world.  A digital image can be altered with the help of filters that could enhance the image in many ways.  Images can be zoomed or cropped to direct attention to relevant parts.  Students have many online/computer tools they can access to manipulate and create visual imagery that can display their work or communicate ideas to the public.  Creating a visual in the place of writing a term paper is a great way to alternately assess your students' understanding of a concept or idea.  This provides them the necessary practice at encoding data into a graphic format which is a needed skill as well.
The digital classroom seems to be tailor made to work hand in hand with visual images.  Visual images are becoming more and more prolific in our society as we move faster toward a worldwide digital superhighway.  Visuals have the potential to pack lots of information in a simple design that can be read and understood by all people regardless of their native language (Just ask any world traveler who was in need of a restroom.)  Therefore, visual literacy is a vital skill to teach students in the eLearning environment.  It will be a skill they will use and is relevant to their daily lives.

Photo Credit: Beige Alert via Compfight cc

Teacher Roles in Distance Education

As I learned from Activity 2 in the weekly lesson, the differences between teacher roles in the distance classroom and traditional classroom are not as diverse as one might expect.  Both types of teacher are responsible to present content to the learners. Assess student learning.  Include a variety of learning resources that covers all learning modalities. Encourage students to create projects and /or artifacts that demonstrates they have gained the content knowledge.  Provide timely feedback.  Engage in parent-teacher communication when needed (and often IF needed). And provide homework and practice time for the assmilation of content presented in class.

One item that remains clearly in the field of the classroom teacher is the facilitating of record keeping such as attendance and lunch count as Activity 2 points out.  Distance educators don't have to worry about daily attendance concerns because the student is learning in an asynchonous environment.

The textbooks mentions further differences between eLearning teachers and face to face teachers.  Because the online learner is more often going to be self motivated to learn, the teacher will become a facilitator of learning rather than direct leader.  Distance educators will be classroom monitors.  keeping an eye on the activities of the students in order to make sure that no one is falling behind.  It is also the online teacher's responsibility to organize the lessons to encourage interactivity and to guide students on how to act appropriately in the online environment.  Lastly, distance education teachers provide two-way communication when the teacher and students are not in the same location at the same time.  Since the nature of asynchronous education removes the face to face daily contact, it is important for the teacher to replace that missing element with meaningful communication with the student.



Photo credit: 123RF.com

Teacher Centered vs Student Centered learning

The differences between teacher centered classrooms and student centered classroom are like night and day.  In the teacher centered classroom the teacher is the information deliverer.  The student is passive  and will listen, take notes, and occasionally ask questions for clarity.  In the student centered classroom the teachers role changes to a facilitator or mentor.  The students are given the essential question but then must find the answers in a way that is meaningful for them.  The learning must be authentic.  Student must believe that the information they are gathering is relevant to their lives and community.  Therefore, the essential questions should reflect concerns that the students can get behind and really strive to find answers.  The teacher shall give direction and guidance to aid the student and point them in the right direction.  In student centered learning, the student is an active learner.  They seek information, sort out data, ask questions, refine hypothesis, ask more questions, compare data, and share/publish results.

In the eLearning environment, the student is responsible for their learning.  The teacher, who may be miles away cannot be the information deliverer.  The student must rely on their own skills and suggested readings to find the answers they seek.  It is easy to see that the student centered learning environment is better suited for the online classroom.

image: http://teachingaheadofthecurve.blogspot.com/2012/09/morphing-into-student-centered.html

Technology and Media

What do you need to know about technology and media in the classroom?  Technology is the hardware, software and tools required to make the connection to students in the online world.  Media is the way you can communicate to and reach the students.

Technology:  Computers are usually the first thing that people think about when they discuss technology.  But computers are just scratching the surface.  Today's students have access to a multitude of technology at their fingertips.  Smart phones, for example, are capable of so much from connecting to the internet to voice and facial recognition.  Compact digital cameras can video conference with sharp HD picture quality that fits in the palm of your hand.  And software designers are making thousands of small yet powerful apps that give the technology its  form and function.  For the K-12 classroom technology is the great barrier at times to distance learning.  Budget concerns and teacher training are big hurdles to jump before a technology grant can be put into place.  Then there is the systems testing and extended time it takes to get the package classroom ready so that it is functional for both teachers and students. Once it has been overcome, however, students are ready to learn anything anytime anywhere.

Media: If technology is the Tin Woodsman, then media is the beating heart.  Media is the content and communication necessary to reach the students.  From audio podcasting to videoclips on YouTube or visuals from Google Earth, it is the media that drives the content forward and provides the means of communication to the learner.  Once again with a simple smart phone a student can access podcasts, videos, and use apps to see Google Earth all within a few clicks of virtual buttons.  For the K-12 classroom the teacher must take the time to find appropriate media that ties into the course objectives or create the materials themselves.  At any rate this is a time consuming task.  Yet if the distance education program is to be successful, that is exactly what needs to be done to best serve your students.

Both of these concepts go hand in hand with distance learning.  You can't have one without the other.  Combining technology and media allows students to learn asynchronously and at their own pace.