Category: EDCI 339: Blogs

Topic 4 Blog Post

On July 22, 2020

How can teachers find, build & share resources and content to support learners in K-12 online & open digital contexts? What did I already know, what do I know now based on the course readings and activities, what do I hope to learn?

What I Know

Before this topic I was aware of Open Educational Resources but was only slightly aware of the detail of what they entailed and the guidelines behind what could be considered an open educational resource and what doesn’t.

What I learned

Being able to find, share, and create resources and learning content to support K-12 online and digital contacts is essential to providing students with an enriched education that provides them with accurate material, new perspectives, new experiences, and opportunities. There are many open resources available for educators and students to explore new material. Many can be found online through programs that allow educators to share and receive free advice and resources in order to freshen up learning plans or create more personalized, open, or exploratory learning opportunities. These open educational resources (OER) can be determined by the license that their are created and distributed under. This would included an open license, a Creative Commons license, or anything within the public domain. This licenses serve as a copyright license which allows educators to engage in any of the 5Rs:

Retain – The right to make own, and control copies of the content.

Reuse – the right to use the content in a wide range of ways.

Revise – the right to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself.

Remix – the right to combine the original or revised content with other material to create something new.

Redistribute – the right to share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others (Wiley and Hilton, 2018, p.134-35).

The use of these open educational resources (OER) are used to engage students and educators in OER enabled pedagogy which is “defined as the set of teaching and learning practices that are only possible or practical in the context of the 5R permissions that are characteristics of OER (Wiley and Hilton, 2018, p.133)”.

OER are also important to implement and make use of within the K-12 eduction system. Most often many resources such as textbooks are used; however they are bought in abundance and can soon become out of date as school don’t necessarily have the funds to continuously repurchase and update their physical resources as the resources consistently update and come out with new editions (Kimmons, 2015). By educating teachers in how to find accurate and openly licensed materials, they can be better equipped to provide and share new and accurate resources for their students. Some of the resources that are found may even provide real-life experience or connections that can help make the learning journey more relatable and meaningful to students. OER is filled with large amounts of potential to support the benefits of learning in K-12 online and open learning environments.

What I want to Know

I am looking forward to learning more about finding OER and how to best distributed and use them within a classroom especially at the primary level.

References:

Kimmons, R. (2015). OER quality and adaptation in K-12: Comparing teacher evaluations of copyright-restricted, open, and open/adapted textbooks. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. 16(5), 39–57. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v16i5.2341

Shellynvc. (August 22, 2013). OER (Open Educational Resources) Introduction II. [Youtube] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yfl1B6Qmp5g

Wiley, D. & Hilton, J. (2018). Defining OER-enabled Pedagogy. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 19( 4). http://dx.doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v19

Digital Equity and Perspectives Pod Project – Kate and Carly

by katerose

On July 17, 2020

In Distributed and Open Learning, EDCI 339: Blogs

Digital Equity and Perspective Pod Project

Kate McGowan and Carly Heemskerk

Part 1: Persona

Please take a look at our mind map chart of our Persona!

Persona

Part 2: Pitch

We have created a pitch that highlights the steps we would take to create a safe learning environment, where Bob can be successful. We decided that Bob would be best suited in a blended learning environment where he is able to learn asynchronously and synchronously, online and face to face. This would allow Bob to learn at his own pace and with choices that would personalize and ultimately optimize his learning experience. Roberts et al. share that blended environments have a “higher level of effectiveness than fully online or fully face-to-face environments. In addition, they found that when online courses are either teacher directed or contain a great deal of peer-to-peer support, the effectiveness of the approach is greater than courses that use a purely independent study (2018, p.539)”. To provide a better idea of what this would look like, here is an example lesson that we would share with Bob in a blended learning setting (Example Lesson). This lesson plan was created based on the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines and it has been aimed to provide multiple means of engagement, representation and expression. We know that UDL “supports, and challenges, and maintains high achievement expectations for all students, including students with disabilities and students who are limited english proficient. (Basham et al., 2018, pp. 477 – 78); blended learning is a great opportunity to put UDL into practice because it is so flexible.

In their article, Basham et al. describe a series of studies which aim to study the effects of utilizing UDL in the classroom. One Study stood out to us in particular as it occurred at the middle school level and looked at increasing engagement for students with learning disabilities. This study UDL in the Middle School Science Classroom: Can Video Games and Alternative Text Heighten Engagement and Learning for Students With Learning Disabilities, followed approximately 60 middle school students with learning disabilities as they rotated their use of traditional learning materials with alternative games and texts (based off of UDL) between science units. This allowed students to engage in multiple means of expression and representation and did report an increased level in student engagement (Basham et al., 2018). This study replicates the ideas that we had to support our student, Bob. We aim to encourage his learning and the achievement of his goals through positive engagement and learning activities. We believe that a learning program where he is able to explore topics through familiar and enjoyable means of expression and representation will ultimately encourage understanding, motivation, and learning.

In response to Selwyn’s article “Online Learning: Rethinking teachers’ ‘digital competence’ in light of COVID-19” (2020) we sought to provide our student with as much support as possible throughout his learning. As Selwyn describes the importance of providing support academically and emotionally for students during these times, we would be sure to provide Bob with maximum support such as web chats or video calls to check in and see where and if help is needed as well to help him keep on track. This can be seen in the Handy Hints! section of our example lesson and would be expanded upon if this learning plan were to carry over during the COVID-19 period.

Universal Design for Learning Considerations

Multiple Means of Engagement – Checkpoint 7.1

“Optimize individual choice and autonomy”

Roberts et al. (2018) confirm the importance of engaging their students by stating that “educators need to promote students’ engagement in their own learning and the various environments in which it occurs”(p. 540). By providing Bob with various options to engage in the project, he is more likely to get engaged and finish with a sense of accomplishment. We provided activities that span through difficulty level and this will provide the option of challenging himself in a safe environment because if he runs into a problem he knows he can choose one of the easier options.

Multiple Means of Representation – Checkpoint 2.5

“Illustrate through multiple media”

Bob struggles with reading due to dyslexia so it is crucial we provide him with different options as opposed to just words. In our example lesson we used words, pictures and a voice over to help Bob follow along in whatever way he chooses.

Multiple Means of Expression and Action – Checkpoint 5.1

“Use multiple media for communication”

We provided Bob with options to supplement his prior readings in a way that interests him. For example, we allowed Bob the chance to communicate his new knowledge using videos, drawings, pictures, words or a blend of all these.

We understand that Bob and his family are dealing with digital equity issues at home and we kept this in mind when creating this lesson plan. Bob has access to a device and to wifi, however, due to his large family he does not have access throughout the whole day. This requires us, as educators, to plan ahead and be ready to answer Bob’s questions in the short time we have together. Additionally, we provided work that can be done at a pace that works for the students and that can be done without using digital resources. Although this specific lesson plan is asynchronous, it provides opportunities for Bob to interact with his classmates and demonstrate his work if he chooses to. As we shared in our mind map, Bob is extremely sociable and therefore, relationships in an online learning environment are crucial in order for Bob to be successful and happy.

Expanding upon providing multiple means for engagement, we are giving Bob autonomy by allowing him to work through this project at his own pace; however, the checklist will provide structure and support to ensure he does not fall behind or get confused. We believe that our pitch will allow Bob to feel like he is in control of his own learning and provide him with a sense of responsibility. Bob would be much more successful in this new blended learning environment because it offers him support when he needs it, however, it also provides him with autonomy to work at his own pace. Support in a blended learning environment can come from many different people; it is not only just the teacher responsible for sharing the knowledge. Online learning opens many new doors for students because it is “based on the respect of individual differences; it emphasizes the individual learner’s growth within today’s world; it changes the role of the teacher to an indirect influence thus contrasting to an older model that emphasizes the direct role of the teacher…”(Roberts et Al., 2018, p. 529). Blended classrooms provide more opportunities for students to learn from their peers and collaborate with each other in new ways. Ultimately, this provides the teacher with more time to help students that are struggling in the same ways that Bob is!

References:

Basham, J.D., Blackorby, J., Stahl, S. & Zhang, L. (2018) Universal Design for Learning Because Students are (the) Variable. In R. Ferdig & K. Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 477-507). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.

CAST (2018). Optimize Individual Choice and Autonomy. Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org/engagement/recruiting-interest/choice-autonomy

CAST (2018). Use Multiple Media for Communication. Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org/action-expression/expression-communication/use-multimedia

CAST (2018). Illustrate through Multiple Media. Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org/representation/language-symbols/illustrate-multimedia

Common Sense Video. (n.d.) We the Digital Citizens. Common Sense Education. Retrieved from: https://www.commonsense.org/education/videos/we-the-digital-citizens

Flipgrid [Web page]. (n.d). Retrieved from: https://help.flipgrid.com/hc/en-us/articles/360007460474-Getting-Started-Educators

Giarlia, A. (June 17, 2020). The Benefits of Blended Learning. TeachThought. Retrieved from: https://www.teachthought.com/technology/the-benefits-of-blended-learning/

Kahoot [Web page]. (n.d). Retrieved from: https://kahoot.com/schools/how-it-works/

Roberts, V. , Blomgren, C. Ishmael, K. & Graham, L. (2018) Open Educational Practices in K-12 Online and Blended Learning Environments. In R. Ferdig & K Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 527–544). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.

Selwyn. N. (2020). Online learning: Rethinking teachers’ ‘digital competence’ in light of COVID-19. [Weblog]. Retrieved from: https://lens.monash.edu/@education/2020/04/30/1380 217/online-learning-rethinking-teachers-digital-compet ence-in-light-of-covid-19

Texthelp. (2018). Read&Write for Google Chrome – A how to guide for students [Video file] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ5N1BQc0bc

Woodfine, B.P., Baptista Nunes, M., Wright, D.J. (April 2008). Text-based synchronous e-learning and dyslexia: Not necessarily the perfect match! Computers and Education Vol.50, Issue 3. P. 703-717. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131506001217

Topic 3 Blog Post

by katerose

On July 16, 2020

In EDCI 339: Blogs

How can you ensure equitable access to authentic, meaningful & relevant learning environments for all learners in K-12 open and distributed learning contexts? What did you already know, what do you know now based on the course readings and activities, what do you hope to learn?

Ensuring that there is equitable access to authentic, meaningful, and relevant learning environments for all learners inside and beyond the classroom is vital for providing students with an optimal learning experience. By making sure that students are each able to access all materials, engage in all the same experiences, and have the same opportunities, students will be able to have a more enriched learning experience and equal opportunities for growth and development. As stated by the Basham et al. (2018) classrooms are continually increasing in regards to student diversity. It important that each student is provided with the means to ensure their success and this can be done by providing each student with equitable access, materials, support, and autonomous learning opportunities based upon their individual learning needs. This can be done by considering the Universal Design for Learning Guidelines to design learning activities.

Universal Design for Learning: “a scientifically valid conceptual framework for guiding educational practice that provides flexibility in the ways information is presented, in the ways students respond or demonstrate knowledge and skills, and in the ways students are engaged (Basham et al. 2020, p.480)” . The guidelines for the UDL are based on three main principles which are meant to addresses and provide support for the large variability of students within today’s classroom. These principles are:

Multiple means of engagement: provide options for

recruiting interest
sustaining effort and persistence
self regulation

Multiple means of representation: provide options for

perception
language and symbols
comprehension

Multiple means of action and expression: provide options for

physical action
expression and communication
executive functions

For more check out: http://udlguidelines.cast.org

To help ensure equity in learning environments we can also consider the design principles suggested by Kral and Swab (2012).

(1) A space young people control

(2) A space for hanging out and ‘mucking around’

(3) A space where learners learn

(4) A space to grow into new roles and responsibilities

(5) A space to practice oral and written language

(6) A space to express self and cultural identity through multimodal forms

(7) A space to develop and engage in enterprise

(8) A space to engage with the world

By providing students opportunities to learn in environments where they have control, take new responsibilities, and engage in real-life experiences, students my develop a new found respect and motivation for learning as they become invested and interested in what they are learning as they explore ideas beyond traditional classroom work.

I am looking forward to learning more about various strategies for implementing the UDL concept in online learning.

References:

CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org

Kral, I. & Schwab, R.G. (2012). Chapter 4: Design Principles for Indigenous Learning Spaces. Safe Learning Spaces. Youth, Literacy and New Media in Remote Indigenous Australia. ANU Press .http://doi.org/10.22459/LS.08.2012 Retrieved from: https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/learning-spaces %EF%BB%BF

Topic 2 Blog Post

by katerose

On July 13, 2020

In EDCI 339: Blogs

How would you describe the historical and theoretical trends in k-12 online and distributed learning? What did you already know, what do you know now based on the course readings and activities, what do you hope to learn?

Topic 2 Notes – EDCI 339

Before this topic, I was unaware of how far back the use of online and distributed learning went especially in Canada. It was interesting to read about the inner workings of distributed and online learning in Canada and how it varies across the country as well as how learning theories and the definitions of open, distributed, online, and e-learning have developed, grown and changed over the years.

Learning Theories:

Behaviorism:

Behaviorists believe that “it is possible to reinforce through reward or punishment the association between any particular stimulus or event and a particular behavioral response (Bates, 2014).” Behaviorism promotes the use of reward and punishment to encourage students to reach the outcome desired and encourages the use of determining student learning and growth through “pre-defined and measurable outcomes (Bates, 2014)”.

Cognitivism:

Cognitivists believe that “if we are to understand learning we cannot confine ourselves to measurable behavior, but must also concern ourselves with the learner’s ability mentally to reorganize his psychological field… in response tp experience (Bates, 2014).” In other words, the learning occurs through the student’s personal interpretation of the knowledge as they engage in real-world experiences. “Cognitive psychology is concerned with identifying and describing mental processes that affect learning, thinking and behavior, and the conditions that influence those mental processes (Bates, 2014).” Most importantly, cognitivism focuses on teaching students how to learn.

Cognitivists also link mind to computer as basic mental processes is considered to be “hard-wired (Bates, 2014)” which can be affected by external factors. This idea has led to growth in technological education. This includes intelligent tutoring systems, artificial intelligence, pre-determined learning outcomes, and instructional design approaches.

Constructivism:

Constructivism focuses on the personal aspects of a learner’s education including social interaction and free will. It is argued that “individuals consciously strive for meaning to make sense of their environment in terms of past experience and their present state (Bates, 2014)”.

Most importantly it is stated that learning must be a social experience to gain the most positive outcome. interaction between the student, their instructors, and their classmates is essential to optimum learning.

This links back to the importance of social communication for optimal learning suggested by Garrett Dikkers (2018) and Roberts et Al. (2018),

Connectivism:

Connectivism focuses on learner autonomy, openness, diversity in content, and interactivity and is more geared towards the role of the individual learner. This learning theory is more acceptable for an informal learning environment (Bates, 2014).

Definitions

Open Education Practices:

Practices which “support the productions, and reuse of high quality open educational resources (OER) through institutional policies, which promote innovative pedagogical models, and respect and empower learners as coproducers on their lifelong learning path (Roberts et Al., p. 528)”.

Originally named open learning
initially introduced to remove the barriers of a closed environment and open up learning
Now includes Open Software, data, and learning.
Supported by:
- Dewey (1916) – learning from and with each other
- Vygotsky (1978) – learning is shaped by sociocultural factors
- Paquette (2005) – based on individual differences, growth, teacher acts as an indirect influence, developmentally appropriate learning outcomes (Roberts et Al., 2018).

Open Learning:

8 principles
- learner-centeredness
- lifelong learning
- flexibility in learning
- removal of barriers to access
- recognition of prior learning experiences and current competencies
- learner support
- expectations of success
- cost effectiveness (Roberts et Al., 2018, p.529)

Blended Learning:

Part through online learning, some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace
Part in traditional school setting
Modalities in each learning journey within subjects are connected to provide an integrated learning experiences (Roberts et Al., 2018, p.539).

E-Learning/Online Learning

“The implementation of computer technologies to education. E-learning can take many forms, whether it is used face to face in classrooms, as a share of required classroom activities or stroke work (e.g. online discussions), or to deliver a fully online course. E-learning can include distance education as well as traditional in-class instruction (Barbour and LaBonte, 2018, p. 601) “

Canada

Education varies across the country, ministries develop curriculum to respect the uniqueness of each province
Distance Education used for almost 100 years
B.C. began using distance ed. in 1919 and began virtual schools in 1993
Online and blended programs vary from traditional distance education models, to all online or a blended model
One of the highest per capita student enrollment in e-learning programs
one of the first countries to use the internet to deliver distance eduction
Most programs in Canada use a blended learning format, asynchronous online format, or video conferencing (Barbour and LaBonte, 2018).

British Columbia:

59 district distributed learning schools
16 private distributed learning schools
The ministry of Education manages a list of all courses offered by distributed learning schools and provides content and online hosting services (Barbour and LaBonte, 2018).

Moving on:

I am interested to look further into the affect of social interaction on student growth, development, and learning. How can we promote this with younger students?

How can we promote the use of blended learning system with younger students and those with exceptionalities?

How can we encourage collaboration through online medium with our exceptional students and our primary students?

To what scale do each of the learning theories fit with distributed and open learning> What about multimedia learning theories?

References:

Roberts, V. , Blomgren, C. Ishmael, K. & Graham, L. (2018) Open Educational Practices in K-12 Online and Blended Learning Environments. In R. Ferdig & K. Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 527–544). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.

Barbour, M & Labonte, R. (2018) An Overview of eLearning Organizations and Practices in Canada. In R. Ferdig & K. Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 600-616). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.

Bates, T.(2014). Learning Theories and Online Learning. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.tonybates.ca/2014/07/29/learning-theories -and-online-learning/.

Topic 1 Blog Post

by katerose

On July 9, 2020

In EDCI 339: Blogs

How can teachers effectively build relationships by encouraging safe communication and interactions in K-12 online & open learning spaces? What did you already know, what do you know now based on the course readings and activities, what do you hope to learn?

Topic 1 Question Response:

Response Slides

Throughout my elementary and high school career I never truly engaged in purposeful online learning. It wasn’t until I began taking some upgrading courses after graduation that I participated in a course where the entirety of the material was presented online. These courses were mainly delivered using a learner-content interaction method as I was never given the opportunity to explore material alongside or communicate with an instructor nor fellow students.

With the recent events regarding COVID-19, I have been able to engage in various means of online learning as the end of the past school year moved online and future courses have gone digital. The courses I have taken have allowed me to engage in multiple means of interaction and learning experiences including learner- learner, learner – content, and learner- instructor. Each course uses different activities and modes of delivery to promote student engagement and encourage student interaction and collaboration. Personally, I have found that being able to interact and communicate with fellow students as well as having the ability to reach out and gain further explanation from an instructor throughout an online course allows me to ultimately better understand material and assignments given rather than attempting sift through and develop an understanding of the material alone.

The societal push for further online learning in the recent months has really emphasized the opportunities available for online learning in K-12 education as well as the benefits for developing an online presence. I have rarely seen students within the K-7 levels participate in structured online learning. As students now engage in digital learning on a daily basis, it has made students, parents, and teachers aware that learning can be fulfilling outside of the classroom as students are given more choices on how to complete projects and material as well as how they make their way through the material. Further, If educators can build an understanding for creating a strong online presence they may be able to foster relationships with their students that may further their academic success. For example, some students may feel more comfortable completing work online and communicating with their instructor digitally rather than face-face this could allow those students to deepen their understanding and develop a strong relationship with their instructor. Furthermore, if students are able to communicate with their fellow classmates and instructors they can build relationship that may allow them to gain better understanding of academic material as instructors can introduce the instruction in a variety of ways vis text, email, video, or face to face web video and peers can deepen discussion and inquiries that further learning.

References:

Garrett Dickers, A. (2018) Social Interaction in K-12 Online Learning. In R. Ferdig & K. Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 509-522 ). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.