Education, Learning, and Neuroscience
Digital Badges are useful in adult education to reflect participation in online training programs.
The purpose of the badges is to allow the participant in the course to have an indicator of what they have taken, imply what else they can do, and can document achievement on their resume or CV as to what classes they have taken. For the participants they have pride in their efforts to learn as reflected by the badge. Badges can be printed and framed and hung on their wall.
Kenney & Fisher (2017), (www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/178394/) reported preliminary research on their use of embedded questions in online presentations in a hybrid flipped classroom teaching scenario. In response to students seeming lack of attention in class and concerns about examination performance the idea was to pretest during the video presentation. This technique serves to make students to be more aware and present, being more active learners, and also to show students what the instructor thinks the important message is. In fact, Kenny & Fisher received feedback that 92% of students found that questions embedded in the presentation was helpful to them learning the materials. Active learning has been shown to be a more effective form of learning (Eggen & Kauchak, 2016).
The technology Kenney & Fisher utilized was PowerPoint videos with Camtasia Studio questions (https://elearningbrothers.com/blog/create-elearning-quiz-camtasia-studio/). A flexible and quick way for teachers to add questions to PowerPoint presentations is PollEveryWhere (https://www.polleverywhere.com/). This PowerPoint add-in allows several different question types and may be used by the instructor to see if the students are involved and understanding the materials.
Zang, et.al. (2016) found that video alone in online presentations did not improve student performance. As such, adding questions to the online videos is certainly worth testing for various classes and students to try to help their learning.
References
Eggen, P. & Kauchak, D (2016). Educational psychology: Windows on classrooms (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education, Inc.
Zhang, D., Zhou, L., Briggs, R.O., & Nunamker, J.F. (2006). Instructional video in e-learning: Assessing the impact of interactive video on learning effectiveness. Information and Management, 43 (1), 15-27.
The internet allows video and audio presentations through a variety of technologies. There are three common methods of presenting information and the types of presentations have quite different requirements and features.
Video conferencing requires specialized hardware on both ends of a communication and is typically designed for connecting two to three sites. Traditional video conferencing provides high quality video and audio communications.
Web conferencing most often uses an internet browser like Google Chrome. The presenter creates a meeting and invites participants through email. At the scheduled time participants join the meeting and may see and hear the presenter and the presentation screen. Participants may type messages or talk to the presenter and the presenter may allow a participant to become the presenter. Web conferencing is designed to connect 2 to 250 participants.
Live streaming is sharing a presentation by providing a hyperlink to the live event. Participants can hear and see the presentation and send comments to the presenter. Live streaming works well where it is not known who the participants will be but the presenter is willing to openly share their presentation. Hundreds of people may view a live streamed presentation.
In teaching with these different methods each has advantages and disadvantages.
The type of equipment required can be a limitation as specialized equipment may not be available.
The number of participants would also guide which technology would be best to use.
The quality of the audio and video is a consideration as to which technology to use.
That participants are seeing live video and audio utilizes more senses and makes the materials more life-like and more memorable.
In my teaching I use all three technologies. Web conferencing is most commonly used because it is quick and easy to setup. Participants see a video of the presentation, presenter and the narration. If I want small group point-to-point connections, typically to another university, then I may setup a video conference. For larger non-specific audiences I often consider live streaming the video presentation.
Online communication utilizing web conferencing can be utilized to facilitate several features of the educational process. Besides blogs, email, texting and social media as communication technologies, web conferencing has some important uses in education. That the connection is synchronistic presents a bit of an issue in that people must coordinate their schedules.
There are many free web conferencing programs of which Skype, Google Hangouts, Zoom, and Webex are some of the more well known.
Besides supporting one-on-one student teacher interaction, at a distance, conferences can be used for students to interact with other students, instructor communicating with colleagues, parents, and even brining guest lecturers to the classroom.
Alberta Education’s (http://www.2learn.ca/2lah/2LAHtransform.aspx) concept of the 3C’s (communicate, collaborate, and create) can be supported through web conferencing. The idea of transformative teaching includes web conferencing. An advantage of using web conferencing is that it reduces isolation by bringing participants together virtually face-to-face. Connecting is seen as a major advantage of the benefits of teaching with web conferencing:
In my experience as one who uses web conferencing, in a short period of time the technology becomes transparent and the interaction and information becomes of value.
Blended learning refers to a combination of traditional instructor led teaching and resources for students to access via a network or the internet. The increased interest in further education and part-time learning can be facilitated through blended learning (Zeiller, 2009). There are several innovations that can be utilized in the classroom part of the instruction such as group work and flipped classroom teaching. The network resources can be even more diverse. The instructor may communicate with a student or a group of students through: web conferencing, blogs, social media sites, and email.
The ” Teach Thought Staff, 2018, identify twelve models of blended learning. As a function of the instructors teaching style, the material being taught, and the interests of the students any or a blend of these models can be utilized. These styles of teaching require some degree of digital literacy, both by the instructor and the students, and also availability of the appropriate technology. Both the instructor and the students would need multimedia skills and be able to work effectively with Web 2.0 applications.
I see a blog as core to social media and an excellent way to share information. Blogs can be used to share information between students and provide feedback to the author. The instructor may used blog posts for monitoring student progress and evaluation purposes. There are numerous content management systems of which WordPress is the most popular. WordPress allows relatively easy customization, is free, and has numerous free plug-ins. Themes can be personalized and themes from WordPress are very stable.
The ”Open Osmosis” YouTube video is a great movie describing blended learning and the flipped classroom discussing the needs of the leaner relative to the model: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=82&v=paQCE58334M)
References
Zeiller, M. (2009). Web 2.0 Enabled Blended Learning. In T. Bastiaens, J. Dron & C. Xin (Eds.), Proceedings of E-Learn 2009–World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education (pp. 2070-2075). Vancouver, Canada: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved January 30, 2019 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/32769/.
Teach Thought Staff. 2018. https://www.teachthought.com/learning/12-types-of-blended-learning/
In an overview of Pedagogy for the Networked Society, McGoughlin and Lee (2008) provide a comprehensive summary of the landscape discussing both the learner and technology issues.
They discuss the Three P’s of Pedagogy: Personalization, Participation, and Productivity as it has evolved associated with the development of Web 2.0 technology.
Mobile computing has become omnipresent and adopted by the new generation of learners.
The new generation expects education to be delivered into the technology and at a time that fits their choices.
Tim Berners-Lee (2000) said that besides technology being a tool it needed to be used to create which showed that many years ago forward thinking people anticipated the Web 2.0. Eric Schmidt (2011) said that the future would see ubiquitous computing and as a result he predicted the end of internet.
Ubiquitous computing and social connectivity support the concept of self-determined learning (heutagogy) , and andragogy where adult learners determine their own learning (Hase & Kenyon, 2000).
McGoughlin and Lee use the term co-creation, where learners add value to classes, which occurs horizontally not just bottom-up or top-down. In addition, value is added by dialogue through connectivity.
There is an emerging view of learning as knowledge creation (Paavola & Hakkarainen, 2005). Learning expands through a community of participation, and exchange of information. This skill set emphasizes creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship enabled through Information Communication Technology tools such as; computers, laptops, data projector, software programs.
The key elements to Pedagogy 2.0 are; Personalization, largely driven by customization of the learning environment, Participation, supported by communication tools, and Productivity, generating learner created content.
References
McLoughlin, C., & Lee, M. J. (2008). The three p’s of pedagogy for the networked society: Personalization, participation, and productivity. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 20(1), 10-27.
Berners-Lee, T. (2000). Weaving the Web. New York: HarperCollins.
Hase, S., & Kenyon, C. (2000). From andragogy to heutagogy. ultiBASE, 5(3). Retrieved September 25, 2007, from http://ultibase.rmit.edu.au/Articles/dec00/hase1.pdf
Paavola, S., & Hakkarainen, K. (2005). The knowledge creation metaphor – An emergent epistemological approach to learning. Science and Education, 14(6), 535-557.
Eric Schmidt (2011) http://www.digitaljournal.com/technology/google-s-eric-schmidt-predicts-end-of-internet/article/424389
Coogle is a very interesting way to make a “Mind Map” and may be used collaboratively with a group of students. Being able to see the main idea and its supporting information facilitates learning. The graphical view with text and image details allows students to work on areas of interest and see how their work contributes to the big picture.
Lectures are a very common way for teachers to present information to students.
Experienced teachers can utilize lectures very effectively to present information and to keep students engaged (Washington University, 2009. Creative Commons Attribution).
With the changing face of education instructors are looking at the need to deliver courses on-line to accommodate the diverse schedules of students looking to learn.
One issue, as pointed out by Dr. Beaudin, is that today there is an effort to emphasize that teachers teach students and not just content. The task thus becomes how to deliver materials that engage the students as well as getting feedback to know if the students are understanding the materials. With the delivery of web based learning opportunities there needs to be a variety of delivery methods and mechanisms for group participation.
Kambam, 2015, describes key elements of good course design such as simplicity, logical, and clearly indicating the key concepts as a part of this design.
Wilson, et. al., 2014 emphasize that supporting students participating in on-line learning courses including ensuring they have comfort with the unique software for distance education and convenient ways to interact with the instructor should be provided.
Boettcher and Conrad, 2010, describe best practices for teaching online. They suggest the instructor being present, supportive, set clear expectations in a variety of groups, inviting discussion and getting feedback from participants.
In terms of presenting materials:
Actual instruction – the personality of the instructor and their teaching style can be relayed even through remote instruction. Instructors may add humor in distance education course which can take a variety of forms and leads to increased attention (Eskey, M., 2010) just as they would in a classroom environment. During instruction quick quizzes may be given to test the students understanding of the material and indicate what to focus on.
Text materials, such as handouts for a class, may be shared online quickly and easily.
“Talking head” Web conferencing and sharing PowerPoint materials can be delivered with programs like Cisco Webex or Zoom where participants see and hear the instructor, the materials, and the instructor can see and hear the participants.
Video movies may be created and shared through file sharing or links to sites like YouTube or Vimeo.
Unique software programs afford a broad spectrum of collaborative opportunities. Examples are, Coogle which provides an opportunity for students to collaboratively create a mind map of a particular topic. Flipgrid provides an interesting way for participants to introduce themselves to the group.
While there are many programs that can be utilized in on-line learning, the idea of getting feedback from participants and growing the instructional process is a worthy goal. Instructors will need to adjust their teaching style to meet the needs of the students. As technology changes, utilizing new hardware software such as considering using Virtual Reality may be a direction technology drives the educational process.
References
Washington University, 2009. Creative Commons Attribution. Kalpana Kambam, 2015
Wilson, B., Linder, G. & VanBerschot, J. 2014. Co-Teaching an Online Action Research Class. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, Volume 40, Issue 2
Boettcher and Conrad 2010 best practices for teaching online. https://www.saddleback.edu/uploads/goe/ten_best_practices_for_teaching_online.pdf
Michael T. Eskey PhD, 2010. https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/humor-in-online-classrooms-new-ways-to-learn-and-laugh/
I am looking forward to learning more about Web-Based Teaching. I have been developing materials for sharing through the web for many years and I have been suprised by the positive feedback from all over the world.
Unfortunately, I am largely self-taught and use a limited form of interaction so I would like to learn about more effective means of teaching that are available through the internet. I currently use pdf files, basically my handout materials from teaching, and short videos.
I believe learning occurs when people have questions and get feedback immediately as well as through the process of discovery and through discussions with others.
