E-tivity 6.1

E-tivity 6.1

My avatar on second life is Narbell3. My first venture was on 25^th July. I found it very lonely, although I did grab a couple of t-shirts! Many years ago when I did a course with Charles Sturt Uni, we had a meeting place – but there were no graphics. It was all imagination. I would have had to type “walk down stairs”, “look around room”, and so on. There was a set time to go there, and after milling about in the foyer, having a drink and chatting to each other, we were ushered into a theatre where the tutor asked questions and we had a chat session (all in text).  I read somewhere (can’t remember where) that people tend to choose an avatar which represents themselves. If mine does it is an accident. I just chose the first one I was offered, thinking I would change it once I got into the new world, but haven’t managed to do so successfully yet. Hopefully when we meet on 2^nd life, I will not be a goth!

Second life seems to be a similar idea – but much more advanced.  It looks like it could be fun. The spark for e-tivity 6.2 suggests that students get a ‘sense of presence’ by using an avatar. It does add more realism, and is definitely an improvement on texting. Kapp and O’Driscoll (2010) make a case for using a three dimensional world. They explain that since Avatars are often an extension of the person, someone can become fully immersed in the virtual world. “(L)earners act and interact in real-time with each other and the instructor to accomplish a challenge or task”.  This means it fits in with constructivist theory very well. TAFE NSW Western Institute (2010) made good use of it for their tourism program. It may be a tool to be considered in the future for larger cohorts of remote students to get together and foster the sense of collegiality and learning from each other. The examples provided also show that it would be very successful to use for role plays, team work and case studies, where the situations can be as realistic as possible. In fact when someone is totally immersed they respond as they would in the real world. It makes learning fun, while people have a sense of gaming – where they can achieve what can’t be achieved in the real world, and yet they are learning while they do it. Prensky (2007) says games are great teachers and great motivators, so a learning tool which resembles a game should be very successful.

Reference

Kapp, K.M. and O’Driscoll, T. (2010) Escaping flatland. Learning in 3D: adding a new dimension to enterprise learning. Wiley, Hoboken.

Prensky, M. (2007) Sims vs. Games: The Difference Defined. Eutopia. (online, accessed 27 July 2013).

http://www.edutopia.org/sims-vs-games

TAFE NSW Western Institute (2010)The virtual tourism project. (online accessed 26 July 2013).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh91KbvhCHU

E-tivity 5.2

1.     Which of the tools Siemens lists have you used before and/or do you see how you might use them in your teaching?

Have used                                                                                        

Blog – the blog was used in a class on technology, to show the students how to use blogs. They had to create their own blog and make comments on each others, much as we are doing in this course.                                                  

Wiki – in the same class we formed a wiki for the students to contribute to. They were given a topic each and encouraged to edit each other’s pages. They were all in the same room at the same time, so being able to talk to each other really detracted from making it an online activity.

Social networking – Facebook. This was used for a ‘quick fix’ when the learning management system wasn’t available. We set up a page just for the selected students who needed the learning materials. I could upload documents, powerpoint, links to videos etc. The students were able to comment and ask questions and I could see who had seen the posts. The only problem was that posts would be elevated when someone made a comment, so the lesson material would be out of order and people tended to miss things.

Games – I’ve only introduced this since I started this course. The students were given a link to a page and told which game I wanted them to try. After they had conquered it, they voluntarily tried others. It was motivational for them because they had instant results and feedback, so they knew if they had to improve in an area, and it was highly interactive. Ally (2004) mentions these requirements often.

Audio/podcasting – I have linked to podcasts, but not created my own. I like the theory of providing students with lectures to listen to, so they can spend class time on other activities. Ally (2004) suggests that learner should receive information in a variety of sensations, so making it aural offers an alternative format for learners.

OER – I have used a variety of resources available on the Internet. I try to have readings, videos and online interactive tutorials to provide variety and appeal in the lessons.

Haven’t used                                                                                                           

Social bookmarking – I can see potential for using this to encourage teamwork and sharing, which are important aspects of constructivist theory.                                                

Image sharing – We should encourage the students to use this for the sharing aspects as well as that it seems to be featured in a lot of libraries.

Microblogging – All the students have some face to face and class time, so we can give them information and links at that time.

Webconferencing – I have been a student in this, but not hosted one. I know the advantages and would like to include them in my classes, but currently we are not doing any online courses. All the students have some face to face and class time, so a web conference is not necessary.

Aggregation – I’ve just started making use of RSS feeds for this subject. I have subscribed to everyone’s blogs. It’s a great idea to keep up with any changes without having to check in regularly to see if anything has happened. It could be used for learners to be alerted whenever new material has been posted to a class page on a blog site for example.

2.     How important is web 2.0 to you and your students?

My students need to be familiar with web 2.0 because it is part of their vocational choice. Libraries use blogs, wikis, Facebook, Flickr etc. Currently it is not part of the teaching strategy except where it is actually what needs to be learnt. The students use web 2.0 to learn about web 2.0, so it could be called authentic learning. When we introduce our online course, many of these features will be useful as learning strategies, not just blogging for the sake of blogging. Siemans and Tittenberger (2009) suggest blogs are useful for reflection, whilst wikis are good for collaboration. There are many ways web 2.0 tools can be used to enhance learning.

3.     What do you see as the pedagogical implications of incorporating social networking and web 2.0 into instructional design?

Social networking and web 2.0 sit very neatly with constructivist theory. Ring and Mathieux (2002 in Ally, 2004, p4) suggest online learning should have “high authenticity…high interactivity and high collaboration”. When we are using blogs to teach about blogs, it is authentic. Social networking encourages collaboration and requires interactivity. Siemans and Tittenberger (2009) discuss social networking as an external learning network in their theory of connectivism, where individuals connect with each other, the work and experts.

4.     Do you use a lot of rich media and what are the implications for over using rich media?

“The defining characteristic of rich media is that it exhibits dynamic motion. This motion may occur over time or in direct response to user interaction” (University of Washington, 2013). This suggest videos or interactive quizzes with a lot of action. I believe all media has a place as long as the content is relevant and contributes to the learning experience. As Siemans and Tittenberger (2009) suggest, it is not desirable to select one media format over another. “The brain processes different media differently” so a variety of media would be more suitable to meet all the learning requirements. Too much rich media could saturate one form of brain processing – apart from other mundane issues such as expense and bandwidth.

References

Ally, M. (2004) Foundations of educational theory for online learning in T. Anderson, and F. Elloumi, Theory and Practice of Online Learning. (Online, accessed 30 June 2013)

http://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/index.html

Siemans, G. and Tittenberger, P. (2009) Handbook of emerging technologies for learning. (online, accessed 24 June 2013)

University of Washington (2013) What is rich media and how can I learn more about its accessibility? (online, accessed 24 July 2013).

http://www.washington.edu/accessit/articles?1146

E-tivity 5.1

This is a wish list of technologies I’d love to make use of for my classes. I am just identifying some of the sites I have found and explaining how I could use them.  I haven’t used them, so I cannot say if they are easy to use or problem free.

1. Edmodo

I have signed up, and done some introductory tutorials. It appears similar in appearance to Facebook.  It offers extras such as tracking progress, awards (badges) and claims to  engage students. The students are mostly familiar with Facebook, so learning the actual program should not be too difficult and allow them to concentrate on learning the content.  I have used Facebook as a means of communicating subject material with the students and I think Edmondo would be a great alternative because it will keep the education account separate from social life. One problem with Facebook is that posts can end up out of order if someone makes a comment on an earlier post. That may still be a problem with Edmondo. Other than setting up folders in a library, I cannot see another way of structuring the lesson material. Therefore Edmodo is not suitable for the particular project I have in mind. it may be useful for a different type of lesson in the future.

2. Scribblar.com

This is an online collaborative whiteboard with text and audio.  It says it can do document and image upload, but doesn’t mention sharing desktops. I have used Adobe connect with work – but it would be good to find a free and simple program for students to use. Chat can be via audio or text, but there is no video. This is not a shortcoming to me, because video requires so much bandwidth. Having a tool which allows people to communicate in real time can be valuable to increase a sense of collegiality and facilitate groupwork. Interaction with other people is a “key learning component in contsructivist learning theories”. (Jonassen, 1991 in Ally 2004, p.43)

3. Jing

This program facilitates the capture of screen images and videos. I envisage using it to create tutorials for online students showing how to navigate certain web sites, or to use some on-line tools we have for cataloguing. Voiceovers can be recorded as you move the mouse around the screen and explain what is being done. The end product is saved online and a link is available to share the end product. This is advantageous for learners, because they have control over when to download the video. The concept of being to provide demonstrations to remote learners is something to make use of whenever necessary. A very user friendly tutorial is available, which also suggests downloading camtasia which enables editing as well. I did use Jing and put it into my project, but the resulting video could not be viewed on a mobile device. I remade the video in Camtasia, with a much better result. Unfortunately Camtasia is only a trial version.

4. Google Docs

I have found a tutorial which shows how to use Google docs in the classroom. Byrne, R (2012) Google Documents for teachers. This gives lots of ideas beyond just having a page to which everyone can contribute, including creating self-assessing quizzes. This would be great for formative assessments. Bransford et al (in Ally 2004) describe instant feedback to students as motivating as well as providing information, so having a tool which enables me to create self-assessing quizzes is very useful. From the experience of using Google Docs to list our class blogs, it would seem to be a much easier tool for asynchronous collaboration than a wiki. I am concerned about tracking the editing though.

You can find the various documents in Google Drive. Anything you create here can be saved in the “cloud” and accessed from any computer, anywhere with access to the Internet. You can allow others access to just see the pages or to edit them. It would be a great facility for students to submit assessments, and the teacher to be able to add feedback directly.

5. Hot Potatoes

I have installed this and had a little play. It seems very easy to use. It is a program which can create interactive activities such as crosswords, jumbled sentences and gap fill.  Although they are not complex problems to solve, I believe there is still a place for simple activities to reinforce some learning. They can be used in conjunction with other forms of online learning to ensure the learner is engaged with the material.  I introduced my class to some word games where they had to identify key words, secondary statements etc. It was a great experience for them, because they were getting instant feedback – and no-one was getting 100% at first. This was a great motivator for them to improve and they kept at it for much longer than I expected. As Ally (2004, p18) says, “learning should be an active process”, and McGonigal (2010) enthuses about the motivation games provide for learning.

I did create some puzzles in Hot Potatoes, but found I could not embed them in my web site. I had to create a link to an external site. Since I wanted to keep things simple, I found another quizmaker to use. See proprofs http://www.proprofs.com

References

Ally, M. (2004) Foundations of educational theory for online learning in T. Anderson, and F. Elloumi, Theory and Practice of Online Learning. (Online, accessed 30 June 2013)

http://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/index.html

McGonigal, J. (2012) Gaming can make a better world.  TED Talks (online accessed 17 July2013).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE1DuBesGYM

E-tivity 4-2

Why do instructional designers pay more attention to motivational and volitional factors now than in the past?

Separate studies into learning and motivation seem to have been around since Freud’s psychoanalytic theories in the early 20^th Century. There were Skinner’s behaviourism and Maslow’s ‘hierarchy of needs’ in the 1950s. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, Bandura, Bruner, Piaget, Vygotsky and Gagne were theorising about cognitivism. In 1979 Keller published an article called “Motivation and Instructional Design: A theoretical Perspective” which drew together the theories of instructional design and motivation (Keller & Deimann, 2012, p.84). According to Keller and Deimann (2012, p.84) there “has been a steady growth of interest in this topic”. Keller (2008) also points out that “technology-assisted learning systems are being developed at ever increasing rates”.

Technology has changed in the last 30 years with the introduction of computers in the 1980s, the World Wide Web in the 1990s and the explosion of social media in the early 21^st century. These have all impacted on the methods used in learning. There are more options for learning than the traditional classroom concept. Since learners are increasingly self-directed, instructional designers need to understand motivational and volitional factors so they can incorporate techniques and strategies in the learning packages to keep the students focused and working on their learning. The new technologies also create more opportunities for learning objects to be more inspirational and motivating, which should mean the learners are more likely to work towards their learning goals.

References

Keller, J.M. 2008 First principles of motivation to learn and e3-learning Distance Education

Vol. 29, No. 2, 175–185. (Abstract online retrieved 20 July 2013)

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01587910802154970#.Ueppxo3I27k

Keller, J.M. & Deimann, M. 2012 Motivation, Volition and Performance in R. Reiser & J. Dempsey (eds) Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology. (3rd ed) New Jersey:Merrill. pp 84-91.

Further reading:

Edgar, Don W. 2012 Learning Theories and Historical Events Affecting Instructional Design in Education: Recitation Literacy Toward Extraction Literacy Practices. Sage (online retrieved 20 July 2013)

http://sgo.sagepub.com/content/2/4/2158244012462707.full

What are some of the points from the reading that have either changed or confirmed your views about motivation in learners?

The categories in the ARCS model provide a good description of why someone may want to learn. Learners certainly begin with a need to know something, (Attention). They must also want to act on that need (Relevance) and believe they will succeed, (Confidence). This belief in success may be internal, but could also be a result of external factors such as encouragement from others. The corollary to this belief in success is that when a student is not confident they will not necessarily put in much effort. I have seen students work extremely hard to master some concepts, whilst saying they didn’t believe they would ever understand. The need to know is more motivating than the belief in success. Satisfaction is also a good motivator. When a student realises they can achieve something, they are willing to put in some effort to continue to succeed.

References

Keller, J. 2008 An Integrative Theory of Motivation, Volition and Performance. Technology, Instruction,Cognition and Learning, Vol 6. 79-104.

What do game designers know about motivation?

In the TED talk, McGonigal (2010) describes the feelings of an “epic win”. This is the feeling of success in achieving something that may have seemed unachievable. She says using games makes people feel better. She also refers to gamers having a desire to immediately tackle an obstacle. In her interview with Zetter (2010) McGonigal describes how game creators use emotional and storytelling strategies to keep the gamers’ interest. McGonigal (Zetter, 2010) claims that 62% of executives play games to feel more productive. Apparently getting instant results in a game creates a sense of “blissful productivity”. According to Conrad and Donaldson (2004, p.94) games are motivating learning methods because participants can get involved and make decisions. They claim “instruction through the act of involvement is the goal of effective simulation”.

I have observed that intense concentration when people play games. I have been there myself, when I think “I’ll just reach this target and then do something else”. However there often appears some other challenge that needs to be achieved before the initial goal can be reached. There seems to be more than just an escape from reality. Problems can always be solved, and characters can have second chances if something doesn’t quite work out. The gamer also has control over a lot more in a fantasy world than the real world. Having control, and a more likely chance of success, seem to me to be the motivation behind people playing games. Game designers know this and employ the tactics of being challenging, letting users make decisions and be part of a big picture.

McGonigal (2010) also refers to the collaboration and social aspects of the success of gaming. These could also be very useful features to incorporate into learning material. Students do not have to feel isolated. This is important, not as a motivating attribute, but what I consider something to stop people from losing motivation.

References

Conrad, R. & Donaldson, J.A. 2004 Engaging the online learner: resources for creative instruction. Jossey-Bass. (online. Retrieved 22 July 2013)

http://eltandtech.pbworks.com/f/engaging+the+online+learner.pdf

McGonigal, J. 2010 Gaming can make a better world. TED talk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE1DuBesGYM#at=33

(transcript) http://dotsub.com/view/87e58675-24ba-408b-abbe-97718a3b17b5/viewTranscript/eng

Zetter, K. (2010) TED 2010: Reality Is Broken. Game Designers Must Fix It. Wired (online retrieved 21 July 2013)

http://www.wired.com/business/2010/02/jane-mcgonigal/

Gaming

This isn't an e-tivity, but I thought this was worth mentioning.
Have you watched Jane McGonigal's video about gaming (E-tivity 4.2)? She makes some great points about how people will aim to achieve so much in a game, but won't try in real life. She has plans to turn games into real life. She speaks so well - it's very exciting. The TED conferences must be amazing to attend.

E-tivity 4.1

I have found 2 motivating videos. The first one is pertinent to this subject, the second I will show my class as I think it will be very meaningful for them.

CEL2012 Andrew Douch – 45 mins

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJiDKSUq2uc

Andrew Douch has given some presentations at our campus, which I found very motivating, so I thought I would see if I could find anything on Youtube.  The above link is to a talk he gave of about 45 minutes. It is directed to high school educators, but much of what he says is relevant to all contemporary instructional design. He’s not as funny as Sir Ken Robinson, but he does refer to one of his books. Douch is very passionate, and his enthusiasm for the way technology can transform learning is inspiring. The slideshow behind him is not often visible, but this doesn’t detract from the message of the presentation. He refers to the theme of swimming against the rip constantly, and intersperses plenty of personal anecdotes to keep the talk interesting – even if you are not fully fascinated by what he has to say.

Information literacy in the digital age – Brian Peters – 6 mins

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjyjxJQ9Ai0&list=PLkmq7tfKXW_gfFqUfqP1rvbsAgngRzp5N

This is a much shorter video which highlights the need for evaluating webpages. It emphasises the importance of the role of the librarian in ensuring students can find appropriate information. This is beneficial to my students who for the moment are students researching, but will one day be the person in the library to help the students from all areas. The narrator isn’t really passionate or inspiring in delivery, but hopefully the students will get the message that information literacy is important and that their work will be valuable.

E-tivity 3-2

Deconstruct Dick and Carey’s systems approach

Define a ‘systems approach’ to instructional design.

A systematic process identifies all the components and their relationships, to produce a particular outcome. Virginia Tech (2003) describes a systematic process as being methodical and step-by-step, as well as “an interdependent group of items that form a unified whole”. In a systematic process of instruction, the components would include learners, material, delivery, instructors and feedback or assessments, all contributing to a specific learning outcome. These are all presented by Dick and Carey in a model which shows the relationship between the components as well as the steps to be followed to achieve the outcomes.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of adopting a systems approach to instructional design?

Having all the components interdependent can be a strength and a weakness. As Siemens (2002) points out, only one component has to change, to change the entire system, so if one element is changed, it will lead to changes in every step. For example, if the learning environment moves from the classroom to the workplace, the strategies and materials will have to be altered.  It may be that some of the work may need slight adaptions, or the entire process may have to be redone.

Dick, Carey and Carey (2005) start their process with objectives. They can then measure in the end if they have met their target(s). Siemens describes the process as translating principles of learning into plans, focusing on the “most effective way to present content”, that learning, not technology, is the focus. Devilee (n.d.) also sees this strength, where the process can help identify the “right technology to support good pedagogy”. Following the process, where all the components are linked should ensure that nothing is missed out when an event is being planned. The focus is on the outcomes. Dick, Carey and Carey (2005) describe their process as flexible,adaptable and can be accessed and updated at any point. They say there is not much research on the success of a systematic process, however since it has been applied since 1975 in variations of the same model (Addie) that would suggest many instructional designers find it satisfactory.

Devilee, A (n.d.) Instructional design Australia. Accessed online 19 June 2013

http://instructionaldesign.com.au

Dick,W., Carey, L. & Carey, J. (2005) The systematic design of instruction, 5^th edn, Harper Collins : New York.

Siemens, G. (2002) Instructional design in Elearning. Elearnspace. Accessed online 8 July 2013

http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/InstructionalDesign.htm

Tsapatsoulis, N. (2004) Analysis and design of distance learning systems: Instructional design models. University of Cyprus accessed online 7 July 2013

http://www2.cs.ucy.ac.cy/~nicolast/courses/cs654/lectures/cs654l09.pdf

Virginia Tech (2003) Lesson 1 – overview of design. Accessed online 8 July 2013.

http://www.itma.vt.edu/modules/spring03/instrdes/lesson1.htm