Eclaircissement (Definition - in conclusion or to clarify, Origin - French) I believe that as educators in today's digital world, it is crucial that we offer extraordinary quality and readily available online instruction using technological tools to benefit all learners of all ages. 1) Online learning should provide instruction and support for new technology teachers, as their job is so multi-faceted and they often are the leaders of technology and digital learning in their schools. 2) Professional development should be provided in the way of synchronous learning and discussion to learn from other teacher's experiences. 3) In order for an online learning module to provide robust and rigorous learning opportunities, an online course should have these key characteristics:
a well-planned and defined design
a focus on digital wisdom
cultivate social presence between teacher-student and student-student
provide thorough assessments
provide timely and constructive feedback
Using online education enables our education system to teach anywhere and anytime whether it is to students or new technology teachers across the globe or in our own community. Using online education empowers the learner to learn anywhere and anytime and that makes all the difference to the new technology teacher as a self-directed learner. NYU Stern. "The Future of Higher Education in a Digital Age - Introduction." YouTube. YouTube, 20 Nov. 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
Every online learning module should have a detailed strategy and clearly understood performance goals and objectives. Taking curriculum used in a traditional school and simply tweaking the content to create an online course is not only unacceptable, it simply does not work in practice. As I stated in an earlier post 'what works well in a traditional classroom does not necessarily translate over into an online learning environment'. This is true of teaching students, as well as, training new technology and library teachers. Listed below are 10 key elements I believe are highly significant to an online learning module's content:
The goals and objectives clearly state what the participants will know or be able to do at the end of each unit or course.
A clear, complete course overview and syllabus are included in the course. A concise overview of the objectives and expectations of what a technology/library teacher needs to know for their position with its many responsibilities.
Expectations for academic integrity, use of copyrighted materials, plagiarism and netiquette (internet etiquette) regarding lesson activities, discussions and e-mail communications are clearly stated. Technology teachers need to model netiquette and teach the proper use of copyrighted materials and what plagiarism is, the OLM will model these expectations to the technology teacher.
Online instructor resources and notes are included. For the technology/library teacher that wants to refer back to notes or review micro lectures of some or all of the training at a later date in the school year, resources and notes are included for reference and review.
The course is organized by units and lessons that fall in logical sequence. The OLM will be organized by topic, as well as, by what the technology/library teacher needs to know sequentially for the first few months of school. Additional units or information will be posted mid-year and end-of-year.
The course instruction includes activities that engage teachers in active learning. Just as students need to be engaged in their learning, so do adults. The average attention span for adults is just 15 – 20 minutes. A variety of learning technologies will be utilized – microlectures to discussions to webinars or live meetings.
The course design provides opportunities for instructor-student interaction and student-student interaction, including opportunities for timely and frequent feedback.Students no matter what age learn a lot from each other’s experiences and feedback. To promote social presence and community and to ensure that the technology teacher does not feel like an island in their school, it is very important for the new teacher to be involved in interactive opportunities like discussion posts, blogs or live meetings.
Teachers have access to resources that enrich the course content. Being technology teachers means that these teachers need to be “in the know” on various types of technology, web tools and resources. The OLM will be a go-to place for the new and for the experienced technology teacher.
User interface has clear and consistent navigation and includes rich media in multiple formats. The OLM needs to be easy-to-use and have a variety of learning opportunities in order for it to be used by the new and the experienced tech teacher.
The course is updated periodically to ensure that the content is current. If this OLM is to be the go-to place for the technology teachers – the new and the experienced – it needs to have up-to-date information and able to have information that other tech teachers can share with each other.
"ISTE Standards for Computer Science Educators." Standards for Computer Science Educators. ISTE, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
National Standards for Quality Online Teaching (n.d.): n. pag. INACOL. International Association for K-12 Online Learning, Oct. 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
For an online course to be successful and meaningful for the students and teachers, individually and as a group, there needs to be constructive feedback. Feedback has also been called assessment or critique and it's benefits can be huge to the student and the teacher when it is mutually shared between the two. In order for feedback to be constructive, there are 3 key elements that need to be included in the process:
the type of feedback
howthe feedback is communicated
the timeliness of the feedback.
Type of Feedback - Online learning should have a combination of different types of feedback to gauge student learning and understanding in the forms of summative and formative assessments. Both, summative and formative assessments, facilitate student learning and engagement. With assessment it may be discovered that the online learning module (OLM) should be scaffold-ed with the activities or assignments to create an optimal learning environment and to make sure students use all the resources available. Training new technology teachers is no different. There are many digital tools and apps available to give meaningful feedback and an online learning module should utilize various types to deliver guidance and instruction. How Feedback is shared - Communicating the feedback is just as important as providing various types of feedback. . An OLM should be able to provide various types of communication student to teacher or student to student. Communication such as, comments or annotation inserted into the assignments handed-in or use of digital tools to provide face-to-face interaction via MS Lync or Google Hangout or other app. When training new technology teachers, the instructor should use a format that is readily available to all the new teachers since many of them will also be working at their teaching positions while participating in an online learning module during planning or after school hours. When to Provide Feedback - In an online learning module the teacher must provide timely and consistent feedback to monitor the students progress through assignments and projects. This is especially important when the use of digital tools facilitates or empowers student learning and the new technology teachers need to quickly process new learning to use it in their own teaching positions. All of these key elements of feedback bring the focus back to the importance of social presence. When student's do not receive on-time and regular feedback, throughout the online course "students will miss out on numerous opportunities for scaffolding, higher order learning and the development of meaningful learning" (Kerr, 2011). "Formative vs Summative Assessment - Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation - Carnegie Mellon University." Formative vs Summative Assessment - Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation - Carnegie Mellon University. Carnegie Mellon, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. Kerr, Shantia. "Tips, Tools, and Techniques for Teaching in the Online Classroom." TechTrends 55.1 (2011): 28-30. Web. Morrison, Debbie. "Online Learning Insights." Online Learning Insights. N.p., 28 Feb. 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. Pappas, Christopher. "9 Tips To Give and Receive ELearning Feedback - ELearning Industry." ELearning Industry RSS. N.p., 03 July 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
Social presence allows for a
connection between individuals that empowers the people involved. For the
learner and the teacher to both be successful in the learning experience,
social presence in online learning must be clearly evident and robust. “Social
presence has been seen as conceptually and empirically linked to the quality of
the online learning, including levels of student participation, satisfaction
and student engagement” according to Kia Bentley in her paperThe Centrality of Social Presence in Online Teaching and Learning. In The Power of Social Presence, it was noted that "faculty and student satisfaction plays a key role in retention rates and because increased social presence often leads to an enriched learning experience, it is advantageous for organizations to support faculty as they integrate social presence into learning environments" (Whiteside, 2014).
If social presence is a key component for an online learning
module, a Learning Management System (LMS) needs to function as a conduit for
the social presence between the educator and the students. In order to
promote social presence, several strategies or key features need to be in place
for an LMS to build and maintain social presence.
Edmodo, Lore and Schoology promote social presence in upper elementary and middle school with key features such as:
classroom management
creating personal profiles
collecting assignments
posting group discussions
providing self-service learning.
Canvas and Teamie seem to be
similar to Blackboard and function well for higher academic levels such as,
high school, collegiate or graduate. These
LMS’s are social based platforms that “facilitate easy communication,
discussions, sophisticated learning opportunities, content
distribution/sharing, etc” (Goel, 2013).
Kia Bentley suggests three elements in her paper The Centrality of Social Presence in Online Teaching and Learning, that interact in complex ways to create a successful online community learning experience: teaching presence, cognitive presence and social presence. All three elements must work together to create a meaningful connectivity and learning experience for both the student and the educator. Teaching presence and cognitive presence are readily understood by the experienced teacher. However, it is “social presence, along with cognitive and teaching presence, that must be well-established for student engagement in online learning course” (Dunlap, 2009). Without social presence the new technology teacher, in an online module, will probably learn the material from the instructor (teaching presence) and have head knowledge (cognitive presence) but active participation and engagement will be lost. That will make all the difference to the success and satisfaction of the learner. "Social presence can maximize the reification and participation in the online learning process. Cultivating supportive online learning environments is an art that begins with nurturing connectedness and community through social presence" (Whiteside, 2014).
Bentley, Kia . "The Centrality of Social Presence in Online Teaching and Learning." VCU.Edu. Virginia of Commonwealth University, 14 May 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2015.
Dunlap, Joanna C., and Patrick R. Lowenthal.
"Tweeting the Night Away: Using Twitter to Enhance Social Presence."Journal of Information Systems Education20.2
(2009): 129-35.
Goel, Vivek. "LMSs and More: Drupal in
Education."LMSs and More: Drupal in Education. Fourword, 14 Feb. 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
Pacansky-Brock, Michelle. "What Is the Value of Social Presence in Online Learning?" YouTube. YouTube, 277 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. Whiteside, Aimee. "The Power of Social Presence for Learning (EDUCAUSE Review) | EDUCAUSE.edu." The Power of Social Presence for Learning (EDUCAUSE Review) | EDUCAUSE.edu., 19 May 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
Digital Immigrants + Digital Natives = Digital Wisdom
I believe that the distance learning experience needs to accommodate the
digital immigrant to a certain degree. Digital natives have grown up with technology while digital immigrants began their education with paper and pencil and have migrated toward note taking on personal devices. Age can be a handicap for the digital immigrant rather than a mark of experience. Marc Prensky's Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants writes that "Today's students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach."Not only have today's students grown up with using technology all day long, but these students also "think and process information fundamentally different" then what digital immigrants do.
I agree with Prensky when he asks “which is harder – “learning new
stuff” or “learning new ways to do old stuff?” (Prensky, 2001). The older we become the more accustomed we
are to a specific practice or tool whether it be our favorite phone or the
tools we use to teach with. This affects
us so much that we, as digital immigrants, have a fixed mindset although we
believe that we don’t because we are attempting to try new technology. Digital immigrants need a growth mindset to
move above and beyond in teaching and learning. (Listen to Carol Dweck talk about mindset in this TEDTalk.) In designing an online learning module for teachers, it is imperative to keep in mind that the teacher may be either a digital native or a digital immigrant. Therefore, a learning activity or practice needs to accommodate all types of digital learners and promote cohesiveness between the 'natives' and immigrants' with practices, such as:
clear and detailed instructions on how to use an online learning module
specific procedures for discussion boards & posts
options for teachers on presentations for their assignments and projects
constant availability for questions and technology support.
Distance learning must be designed to facilitatedigital wisdom but the
key factor is not to use technology just because it’s online but rather the
digital tools used must assist in the learning and pedagogy. Recently, teachers in at my building have been asking me how to take what they already teach and
just add a 'tiny bit of technology' to acclimatize to the way their students learn. But this is the wrong approach! Some of what we currently teach is adaptable
for the digital natives, however, teachers need to learn to think creatively and
really listen to their students. I agree
with Marc Prensky, in From Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom, when he is dismayed at “how little educators really listen to the kids they teach” (Prensky, 2011). I can tell which teachers in my school building actually listen to
their students. These are the teachers
that get creative with their curriculum - by reading about, learning and experimenting
with different digital tools. These are the teachers that get out of their comfort zone and move beyond using the tried and true just because it seems to work. An 8th grade social studies
teacher, that I know, realized that her students didn't want to just create another
presentation of someone famous. Instead, her students wanted to know what it
was like to be that person by virtually traveling to that time and place in
history or creating a game about that person’s life or videotaping themselves
as that person living today. That’s
using digital wisdom – taking what needs to be taught, listening to what and
how students learn and then letting students use digital tools to create the experimenting
and learning.
Distance learning can candidly incorporateempathy and passion. Everyone wants to be heard or listened to, as
well as, be provided with constructive feedback on their thoughts or work. Without that, the online learning environment
suffers and it feels that there is little learning gained. In a recent Edutopia article Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement, several 8th grade
students were interviewed and one 8th grader’s comment is
particularly striking… “It isn't necessarily the subject or grades that really
engage students but the teacher. When teachers are truly willing to teach
students, not only because it is their job, but because they want to educate
them, students benefit. It’s about
passion. That extra effort to show how
it will apply to our own future.”
Students everywhere – in class or online – want teachers to love what
they do and have a passion for the students and
what they teach. In designing an online learning module for new technology teachers, we need to use digital wisdom. Perhaps even more so as we are modeling what teachers must use when they teach and create an online learning module. We need to listen to what the new teachers need and acclimate the digital immigrants and digital natives to learn together in a distance learning program modeling for the new teachers empathy, passion and how constructive feedback works in an online learning environment.
CEMP Videos. "Marc Prensky - What Is the Role of the Teacher in Todays World?" YouTube. YouTube, 21 Oct. 2010. Web. 25 Apr. 2015.
Dweck, C. S. (2006).
Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House. Happy & Well. "Marc Prensky 'Brain Gain: Technology and the Quest for Digital Wisdom' at Young Minds 2013." YouTube. YouTube, 26 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2015.
Prensky, Marc.
"Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants." MCB University Press, 2001.
Prensky, Marc. “From
Digital Natives to Digital Wisdom”. Hopeful Essays for the 21st
Century, Corwin Press, 2012. Wolpert-Gawron, Heather.
"Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement." Edutopia. N.p., 24 Feb. 2015.
Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
To teach students and teachers anywhere and anytime makes online learning and an online learning module (OLM) an extremely valuable asset to education. One of the most
important elements to an OLM is the organization and
structure. The layout and design is key to its usability and ultimately
the frequency that it will be used as a learning tool by the learner (student or
teacher). Therefore, it is imperative that an online learning module have key features that relate and resonate with the learner in today's digital
age.
Several innovative ways of thinking about teaching and learning have emerged in
the online learning field, such as video communication, micro-lectures, badges,
gamification and challenge-based learning. EDUCAUSE 7 Things You Should Know AboutTM….
Learning Technology Topicsseriesprovides information on developing education
technologies and interrelated practices.One of the most promising of
these practices for training new technology teachers is the use ofmicro-lectures.
New
technology teachers typically attend or participate in a new teacher
orientation where they learn about how to use software programs (library,
technology and school-wide curriculum), technology and/or library curriculum,
best practices for teaching technology and how to manage and care for the
technology in their school building. After an intense day or few days of
training, the new teachers have a lot of information to process and remember
for the upcoming school year. Referring back to notes is only moderately
helpful when needed to refer or relearn something from previous training. Micro-lectures
provide a clever tool for teachers to recapture information from
training.
Micro-lectures are short recorded audio or video presentations on specific topics
that enable the learner to refer back to topics learned or studied. These short presentations focus on single topics and explain
basic concepts that new teachers could refer to immediately after training
or several weeks or months later as needed. This empowers a new teacher to select lessons to review and move through at their own pace. A new tech teacher would be able to select a specific video lesson when repairing
or problem-solving tech issues in their school. The teacher would, also, be able
to access these lectures on personal devices and stop and start or rewind the
instructions as needed.
Instructors
can create activities and follow-up assignments in a micro-lecture format for the learner to ensure that the learner understands the material being taught. The
short lecture format, also, gives instructors the ability to tweak course
content when curriculum software or school technology is updated or changed.
For the new
teacher that is hired when the school year has already begun the micro-lectures
serve as a flipped class model. These new teachers can watch the
micro-lectures on their own (self-directed). As follow-up, the new
teacher and instructor can use video communication with MS Lync or Google
Hangout, to discuss the learning, follow-up activities and/or questions about
the micro-lecture. This format, also, adds a personal touch to the
instruction when the instructor can refer back to the micro-lecture on a
point or topic talked about in the video or audio presentation.
"7 Things You Should Know About... Learning Technology Topics." 7 Things You Should Know About... Learning Technology Topics. Educause, 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
As a Teacher Leader of technology and library for 80+ schools, I am often asked if teachers could observe or shadow me for day or two. Unfortunately, many teachers do not have the budget or means to travel across state lines to easily do that. How, then, does a Tech & Library teacher 'teach' a new teacher how to do her unique job with its multifaceted responsibilities? What if teachers could learn from teachers in another way than through face-to-face instruction? What possibilities could happen if new teachers could have synchronous discussion online with their coaches about best practices, pedagogical and assessment strategies? An online framework for PD across ours schools can dramatically enhance our ability to learn, share, and strengthen our offerings to our teachers.
Online educationor distance learning (E-learning) has been defined as a method to teaching and learning that employs the internet to communicate and collaborate in an educational framework. With the world’s population growing and the need for education exceeding the availability of schools or specific programs, distance learning has quickly become the latest hot topic in the field of education.
However, the current state of online learning necessitates a change in strategy and implementation as there is much in distance learning opportunities that do not always live up to its promising potential. Performance goals and objectives are not always clear and should not be just copy and pasted from brick and mortar classroom formats. What works well in a traditional classroom does not necessarily translate over onto an online class. Changes need to be implemented in design, pedagogy and measurement of student learning. Key elements or best practices, such as, constructive feedback, online content and literacy skill building, assessments, and social presence are often missing from current online learning modules.
In order to keep up with the demand for educational needs around the world, educators need to offer high quality and readily available instruction using the technological tools in this digital age to benefit all learners world-wide. As educators, we are responsible for teaching students (and teachers) in a learner centered approach and online learning is one of the creative ways we can teach students or teachers anywhere and anytime.
Facilitador Tube. "E-learning: How to Deliver an Engaging Virtual Classroom Presentation." YouTube. , 2 Feb. 2010. Web. 25 Apr. 2015.
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