Multimedia Interview/Integrating Technology

Recently I sat down with Tammy, Director of Teacher Training, at Fundamental Learning Center in Wichita, KS. to discuss their incorporation of distance learning as an option for teacher and parent training in a multisensory structured language program.

Tammy found that a surprising number of her students maintain blogs.  This may be because they are teachers or parents with children with different needs.  Although not a requirement of the course, the instructors encourage the students who do blog to post about their class experience.  This was not included in the interview.

While I am appreciative of Tammy for taking the time to help me with this project, I am most thankful that my iMac, which appears to now be on its last leg, was able to hang in there until the project was complete!  After losing many edits, downloading a new version of iMovie, and struggling with Quicktime locking up the virtual classroom, I was able to breathe a big sigh of relief when I finally had the video uploaded to YouTube.

Oh, the joys of technology!

Please click here to watch the interview.

Podcasts for Adult Learning?

My sons have been listening to podcasts for years.  I’d ask H, “What are you listening to?”  The response? “The newest Rooster Teeth Podcast”.  Then he’d turn to his brother and ask, “Hey, Z, have you heard the new podcast?”

At the time I never really thought much about podcasts.  What exactly is it?  The boys had iPods and were listening to a series of broadcasts—hence podcast.  According to Roy & Roy (2007), a podcast is a “cognitive medium and is available on demand for a specific topic. The term ‘cognitive medium’ suggests that it helps the user know, not do” (p. 481). Now I realize the potential podcasts have for adult learning.  One of the advantages of the podcast is convenience of accessing and listening.  A podcast can be accessed on a computer, downloaded to a portable device, or even live-streamed through a web service (King & Cox, 2011).  This gives the user options to listen any time or any place—at home, in the car, even while exercising.  According to the Pew Research Center, in 2010 47% of American adults owned an mp3 player, such as an iPod with 75% of young adults ages 18-29 owning one (Smith, 2010).

The options for non-formal and informal learning through podcasts seem almost limitless!  According to Huang & Yang (2014), Apple launched the educational app iTunes U in 2007 allowing users to access free audio and video lectures from elite universities such as Stanford, Yale, MIT, Oxford, etc. Although some are private, iTunes U offers over 50 million free files, including podcasts.  In March 2013, iTunes U had been downloaded more than a billion times; users from all over the world access digital files from over 1200 colleges, universities, and organizations.

Podcasts are being used for formal learning also.  In their study on podcasts and adult learning theories, Luna & Cullen (2011) found that students felt more productive when listening to podcasts than they did from just reading the material.  They tended to multitask while listening, predominately taking notes.

While I’ve covered the potential for podcasts, there can be some downsides.  Podcasts on their own are a passive medium with no option for collaboration.  Audio only podcasts can be dry or boring and may not be suitable for complex topics.

As for me, I am going to check out Yale University’s Roman Architecture on iTunes U as well as a podcast series on Italian Survival Phrases.

Ciao

rlm

Huang, R., Lu, L., & Yang, J. (2014). The evolution of university open courses in transforming learning: Experiences from mainland China. In D. G. Sampson, D. Ifenthaler, J. M. Spector, & P.

Isaias (Eds.), Digital systems for open access to formal and informal learning (pp. 25-39).
Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

King, K. P., & Cox, T. D. (2011). The professor’s guide to taming technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.

Luna, G., & Cullen, D. (2011). Podcasting as complement to graduate teaching: Does it accommodate adult learning theories? International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 23, 40-47. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ938577.pdf

Roy, A. K., & Roy, P. A. (2007, November 2007). Intersection of training and podcasting in adult education. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 47, 479-491. Retrieved from files.eric.ed.gov

Smith, A. (2010). Americans and their gadgets. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2010/10/14/americans-and-their-gadgets/

Incorporating Wiki into an 8 week course

This assignment was a stretch for me as I am not teaching any adult courses right now.  However, I do like to incorporate the history of the English language when teaching high schoolers, so I chose to base my 8-week course on this topic.

I will be honest in saying that up until this course, I thought of wikis as only Wikipedia.  I had no idea the scope of collaboration or uses of a wiki!  So for my course wikis, I chose a getting to know you exercise for collaborative learning, a time-line for knowledge construction, and a collaborative research paper for critical thinking.

To implement this course would require much more planning than I could complete in a short time, but this is the general idea.  However, I'm still not sure if this fulfills the assignment requirements.

rlm

Unlocking the History of the English Language

An online course utilizing technology for adults who would like to learn more about the structure of the English language and improve their understanding and usage

Required text: Word Detective: Discovering the History of the English Language by Suzanne Caraker

Worksheets and Wiki link located within Learning Management System (LMS)

Week 1:  The English Language—ever changing

Required reading/viewing:

 www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3r9bOkYW9s 

The History of English in 10 minutes

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY 

Wikis in Plain English

Learning Activities:

Complete your assigned groups Wiki Icebreaker Activity: Stem Statements (collaborative learning) (West & West, 2009)

Objective:

Receive a quick and humorous overview of the evolution of the English Language.

Familiarize yourself with the use of Wiki while getting to know your classmates

Week 2: The three periods of English

Learning Activities:

            Read pp 1-2 Caraker (2004)

            Complete Worksheet 1

Construct a Wiki Timeline for the three periods of English with your assigned Wiki Group (knowledge construction) (West & West, 2009)

Objectives: 

Use the workbook and wiki project to construct knowledge about the three periods of English and history surrounding them

Week 3: Anglo Saxon Words

Learning Activities:

            Read pp 3-14 Caraker (2004)

            Complete Worksheet 3

            Additional handout Root Clues for Identifying Anglo-Saxon Words

Retrieved from http://www4.esc13.net/

Objectives: 

Discover the 25 clues for identifying Anglo-Saxon words

Week 4: Latin Words

Learning Activities:

            Read pp. 15-23 Caraker (2004)

            Complete Worksheet 4

           Additional handout Root Clues for Identifying Latin Words    

Retrieved from http://www4.esc13.net/

Objectives: 

Discover the 16 clues for identifying Latin origin words

Week 5: Greek Words

Learning Activities:

            Read pp. 23-27 Caraker (2004)

            Complete Worksheet 5

            Additional handout Root Clues for Identifying Greek Words

Retrieved from http://www4.esc13.net/

Objectives:

          Discover the 10 clues for identifying Greek origin words

Week 6: Identifying Anglo-Saxon words

Learning Activities:

            Complete worksheets 6-10

Produce flashcards on http://www.quizlet.com using worksheets 6-10.  Place words on front with origin and clue on the back.

Objectives:

            Gain proficiency and confidence in identifying Anglo-Saxon words

Week 7: Identifying Latin and Greek Words

Learning Activities:

            Complete worksheets 11-18

Produce flashcards on http://www.quizlet.com using worksheets 11-18.  Place words on front with origin and clue on the back

Objectives:

            Gain proficiency and confidence in identifying Latin and Greek origin words

Week 8 Final Product: Wiki Research Paper: How Technology Has Changed the English Language

Learning Activities:

Collaborate with your wiki team to produce a wiki research paper on how technology has changed the English language (critical thinking). (West & West, 2009)

 Be sure to cite your references.

Objectives:

            Gain understanding of our ever-changing English language

Rubric for Wiki grading

https://www2.uwstout.edu/content/profdev/rubrics/wikirubric.pdf

Caraker, S. (2004). Word detective: Discovering the history of the English language. www.neuhaus.org

West, J. A., & West, M. L. (2009). Using wikis for online collaboration. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Using Wikis for Collaboration in Adult Learning

When it comes to integrating technologies in adult learning, which ones are best?  So far we have covered the use of blogs—this week the validity of using Wikis for collaboration will be discussed.   Ward Cunningham introduced the first Wikis in the mid-1990’s  “as a tool to support fast and easy text collaboration over the Internet” allowing users to “add, delete, or change any part of the published text” (Baltzersen, 2010, p. 795).  

While I am still grappling with the use of a blog, I do believe assigning Wikis for adult learning collaboration has its benefits.  According to Hazari, North, and Moreland (2009), “Wikis can promote collaboration in group assignments, encourage negotiation, and make students comfortable with new generation of technology tools” as well as allowing students to build collectively on classmates’ knowledge (p. 195).  It is true that I have only been involved in one Wiki assignment; however, it was a positive experience with valuable learning opportunity.  Not only did I obtain a new technology, I was able to effectively collaborate with a classmate and gain knowledge on the subject matter at hand.

Wikis are not only being used in educational environments, but for workplace learning also. According to Lee and Bonk (2014), corporations are using Wikis as a way “to enhance their production efficiencies and knowledge management” (p. 15).  Examples include corporate training, engineering projects, and research.

Although Wikis do allow for ease of editing collaborative work, one item to consider is the reluctance to change work of classmates or coworkers.  Balztersen (2010) found in his research that many students felt a sense of inadequacy or a feeling of wrongness when editing or adding to work that the originator considered finished.

All in all, I am a believer in the power of the Wiki for adult learning, especially Wikis integrated within Learning Management Systems (LMS).  This allows for all users to be authorized and the integrity of the institution or corporation maintained and under the control of LMS site managers (Forment, De Pedro, Jose Casan, Piguillem, & Galanis, 2012).

rlm

Baltzersen, R. K. (2010). Radical transparency: Open access as a key concept in wiki pedagogy. Australasion Journal of Educational Technology, 26, 791-809. Retrieved from ajet.org.au

Forment, M. A., De Pedro, X., Jose Casan, M., Piguillem, J., & Galanis, N. (2012, October-December). Wikis in collaborative educational scenarios: Integrated in LMS or standalone wikis? International Journal of Distance Education Technologies, 10, 72-81. Retrieved from lib.k-state.edu

Hazari, S., North, A., & Moreland, D. (2009). Investigating pedagogical value of wiki technology. Journal of Information Systems Education, 20, 187-198. Retrieved from lib.k-state.edu

Blogging for Adult Learners: The Pros and Cons

In recent years I have enjoyed reading a variety of blogs but had never thought about starting one of my own.  The requirement of a blog for a graduate level course changed that for me.  I had just become accustomed to the discussion board—time to expand my comfort zone with an Adult Ed blog!  So will blogging be an effective way to learn in my graduate course?

Let’s first look at some benefits derived from blogging:

• Blogging can improve writing skills.  According to Davi, Fydenberg, & Gulati (2007), blogging encourages students to evaluate their writing and critical thinking skills as their thoughts, ideas, and opinions will be available to a larger public audience.

• Maintaining a blog is a creative way to share information allowing the author to insert their own “voice” in the posts.

• Blogging as a long-term educational strategy can “facilitate the development of knowledge conversion, knowledge sharing, and effective instruction” with the encouragement of student participation and healthy and civil debates (Chhabra & Sharma, 2013, p. 4).

• Blogging is well-received and popular among students.  The Brisbane Graduate School of Business at Queensland University of Technology experimented with MBA students recording their educational experiences via a blog.  Research shows that most of the students involved were in favor of continuing the blog for the facilitation of both teaching and learning.  Their blogs allowed them to engage in self-directed learning while maintaining interaction with their peers (Williams & Jacobs, 2004).

But what about the downside of blogging?  With pros, surely there must be cons:

• “Blogs are easy to set up but difficult to maintain” (Chhabra & Sharma, 2013, p. 12)   In order to maintain an effective blog, the author must submit frequents posts and replies which can be time-consuming.  Is this an effective use of time for a busy adult managing daily life which may include a career and family?

• Blogs have privacy concerns.  Any information provided is open to public viewing unless the blog is created in a Learning Management System with closed blogging capabilities.

• If a blog is open for comments, the comments must be read and monitored for spam, incorrect information, or offensive content.  Again, this a time-consuming process.

• While blogs are a great way to share information, inaccuracies may occur.  Anyone can create a blog without the benefit of an editor, leading to possible transfer of misinformation.

And how is a blog different from a discussion board for adult learners?  The most prominent difference I see is privacy.  Discussion boards are usually open to only class members while blogs are open to the public.  And “unlike a blog, where posts appear in reverse chronological order, discussion groups are hierarchical, and the newer material generally appears at the bottom” (Davi, et al., p. 223).

So while there are definite advantages to maintaining a blog for learning such as sharing information with a larger audience than just classmates, there are disadvantages also including time demands and privacy concerns.  Will blogging be a positive learning experience for me?  Only time will tell!

rlm

Chhabra, R., & Sharma, V. (2013, March). Applications of blogging in problem based learning. Education and Information Technologies, 18, 3-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10639-011-9168-6

Davi, A., Frydenberg, M., & Gulati, G. J. (2007, September). Blogging across the disciplines: Integrating technology to enhance liberal learning. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 3(3), 222-233. Retrieved from jolt.merlot.org

Williams, J. B., & Jacobs, J. (2004). Exploring the use of blogs as learning spaces in the higher education sector. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 20(2) 232-247. Retrieved from ajet.org.au


"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” Mahatma Gandhi

First Adult Ed post

I love to write, but starting a blog for a graduate class will be a challenge.  Posting my thoughts and ideas for all to see was never in my plan--but here we go.  I look forward to sharing with my classmates and learning from their ideas this term!

robin m