Module 6 - Responses

I  responded to Curt's Walden blog, as well as Karen Wondergem on February 20. 

Module 6 - Learning Styles

Building upon previous experiences becomes essential and non-negotiable in teaching and learning. I agree with Driscoll (2002) that learning experiences should adhere to a set of principles. The underlying principles states that learning occurs in context, it is active, it is social, and it must be reflective. It is creating experiences the learner builds upon. During the experiences, reflection becomes most relevant to long-term memory. No matter which learning styles or multiple intelligences building upon a previous experience becomes critical in mastering a new concept (Dewey 1938/1997).

Progressivism is essential to my style of learning. Technology adds to progressivism, but also forces my weaker style to emerge. Online learning require the application of visual learning or spatial, the less dominant of my styles. Often I struggle with the linguistics, to understand the true objective. However technology offers many resources to supplement my deficiency (e.g.Youtube, blackboard). According to Dewey, (1938/1997) if one build upon experiences this must occur during a time frame. When there is large lapse among Q & A, my thought processes have disconnected from the topic or objective. These gaps require me to start again at the beginning. Fortunately, our digital world offer several alternatives for all learning styles (e.g. Ellumination/blackboard, Skype) provide an excellent resource for online collaboration with visuals by adding the instant gratification to questions or concerns.

References:

Dewey, J. (1938/1997). Experience and education. New York, NY: Touchstone.

Driscoll, M. P. (2001). Computers for What? Examining the Roles of Technology in Teachingand Learning. Educational Research & Evaluation, 7(2/3),

Module 5 - New Technologies "A Motivational Design"

I am familiar with an organization that underwent renovations. Prior to the renovations, the only visible signs of technology were a few random Macintosh PCs. The current administrator came to the organization with a vision to motivate teachers in order to implement change into a community where change had not been evident in decades. The mentality of the staff reflected technology innovations were never required or warranted in order to maintain a satisfactory rating within the district. Although based on a new classroom assessment tool, the organization is lacking proficiency to integrate technology into their classroom curriculum and it change would become inevitable. 

No longer surviving in historical traditions, their non-acceptance of technology would have a long-term effect on the organization's mission statement, “Providing academic excellence for all students.” The majority of instructors fail to effectively integrate technology as mandated by the state standards and newly created classroom assessment tool  (Clark, 2010). During an interview, the administrator identified the area of biggest concern among this assessment tool was teachers demonstrating knowledge of resources and technology.

Teachers were surveyed to gain insight towards the hesitation with technology. Based on the results, the common factors were identified as: a lack of hardware resources, maintaining the equipment already in possession, and providing adequate professional technology training. Less than 2% of the educators freely elect to participate in district technology training. Teachers collaborately agreed that trainings were pointless due to the event the resources must become available, properly maintained, and adequate training must be provided in order to demonstrate an understanding of resources.

 According to the Keller's ARCS model (as cited in Driscoll, 2005) there are four conditions to motivate learners. Attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction are essential in effectively meeting the motivational needs of organizations. Integrating interactive whiteboards during staff meetings and school advisory councils will serve to arouse a sense of mystery and trigger an attitude of inquiry (p. 334). Integrating technology is applicable to meet the instructional discipline relating to the demonstration of knowledge of the technology resources. In addition, techonology will provide opportunities to differentiate classroom instruction to meet the learning challenges of all students. To establish confidence for the organizational staff, it will become necessary to provide on site professional development training, as well as an ongoing support and accountability system. Building a support system will function to ensure the successful and effective integration of technology creating the confidence required by each member to make a successful transition (p. 336).

Lastly, grade level teams will be encouraged and supported to integrate one new feature of the interactive board during the next staff meetings. Allowing others to celebrate their learning development will assist in generating satisfaction (p. 339).

References

Clark, T. (2010). Florida standards: Florida Department of Education Retrieved from:              http://etc.usf.edu/flstandards/index.html

Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson

Education.