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.

Module 4 - I have posted to:

David Davis http://8845ltedtech.blogspot.com/2012/01/module-connectivism.html?showComment=1327769339644#c1509785347831921160

 Debbie Morris http://debbiemorrislearningtheory.blogspot.com/2012/01/module-4-january-252012.html?showComment=1327769986467#c8189922397773745901

Collaboration, reflection

Networking has changed my way of learning by offering an generous amount of resources that were once impossible to obtain. Networking provides collaboration that enables one to reflect upon facts and opinions which allow the comparison and contrast more quickly. According to Siemens (2006) networking via technology enables one to open the doors to conversations, Siemens continues, “Every nuance, every characteristic, can be dissected and represented in multiple ways and perspectives,” (p. 77).
Digital devices are plentiful. The digital device that best facilitates my research is known to be the Elluminate/Blackboard collaboration tool. Elluminate/Blackboard has the ability for one to use their an variety of their various intelligences to listen, question, and express thoughts effectively and collaboratively with professors and classmates. The innovation allows interpersonal as well as intrapersonal opportunities in which to understand others’ intentions while adapting and adjusting to one’s own fears and motivation.
When seeking new knowledge YouTube, TeacherTube, or Teacher Domain is typically referred to for visual presentations as well as interactive suggestion that address my concerns.

Siemens, G. (2006). Knowing knowledge. Retrieved from http://www.lulu.com/. 

Connectivism

Social Networking

Collaboration

Howard Rheingold (2008) gave a summary to the fact that people naturally have an instinct to seek out alliances to collaborate. He quoted, “Technology provides tools for collaboration across time and space, as exemplified in Wikipedia.”

I am unsure I agree with this statement. I believe the truth to this comment lie in the fact of the prior knowledge one may have to offer to the discussion. According to George Siemens (2006) human existence is a quest to understand (p. 4). The more knowledge, the more one would seem amenable to collaborate. I do not think individuals strive to appear ignorant in any subject area, which may influence their amount of involvement.

Face-to-face communication devices (e.g. Skype, ooVoo) are essentials tools for effective collaboration for certain personality types. Furthermore, individuals who learn linguistically may choose devices such as, blogs or wikis in order to use written language to express their thoughts, questions, and concerns.

A vital area in education research is the effects of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) on students’ academic learning gain and students’ motivation toward school. To achieve the goals set by NCLB, an educator must seek the required variables to ensure all academic students will obtain adequate yearly progress (AYP) by NCLB’s deadline in 2014 (NCLB, 2001). Parental involvement, either directly or indirectly, has been identified as a crucial variable (Rogers & Wright, 2007). Parental involvement is linked to students’ outcome in various ways, including higher academic achievement, greater self-efficacy, and more positive attitudes toward education (Rogers, et al., 2009).

Communication between classrooms and families is essential for establishing trusting relationships that foster parental involvement in the child's learning experiences. Communication technology (CT) offers elementary school parents the means to become actively involved in their child’s learning experiences. CT offers the mean for parental involvement without losing valuable time from their work place. It creates a balance for active participation of the elementary school parent without being visible in the classroom setting, therefore, cultivating adolescent independence in a collaborative fashion (Rogers & Wright, 2007).

For further information: http://ejite.isu.edu/Volume7/Rogers.pdf

References

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 20 U.S.C. § 6319 (2008).

Rheingold, H. (2008, February). Howard Rheingold on collaboration [Video file]. Retrieved from  http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html

Rogers, M., Theule, J., Ryan, B., Adams, G., & Keating, L. (2009).  Parental involvement and

children’s school achievement: Evidence for Mediating Processes. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 24, 34 – 58.

Rogers, R. & Wright, V. (2008). Assessing technology’s role in communication between parents
and middle schools. Electronic Journal for the Integration of Technology in Education.Vol. 7

Siemens, G. (2006). Knowing knowledge. Retrieved from http://www.lulu.com/

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