Thoughts About Jona

Respondents to the teacher survey expressed concern that student access has became linked to demands for courses to be “serviced” seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

Consider the following. How flexible is flexible? How is it possible to capitalise on the potential offered by learning communities in practice in a context where flexibility (time, place, pacing) takes on a whole new meaning? This question is now one that is critical for the future direction of online education.

Flexible access technologies – without these I wouldn’t be able to study this Masters.

Perhaps the most critical challenge to traditional universities is develop capacity to change.

Jona “Learner choice is the touchstone of the paradigm shift that needs to take place in education and in how it is delivered.”

Natural Human Learning
• Natural learning is goal-directed -
• Natural learning is driven by expectation failure – enable risk taking
• Finally, natural learning is case-based – enable personal experience

What does this mean for the future. I think that the future holds a blended approach for schools in the the contact time will be shorter and firmly focussed on action, drama and sport activities.

The pillars of “The Vicarious Learner” project then are action and conversation

“Instructional methods that use a constructivist approach to teaching and learning focus on dialogue, learning partnerships, and the joint construction of knowledge. This approach is used for the design of many of the online courses at USQ”

is the level of teacher participation sustainable? Does “more” necessarily mean “better”?

“Palloff and Pratt (1999, p. 15) note that “in the online classroom, it is the relationships and interactions among people through which knowledge is primarily generated”.

Disinhibition (Suler, 2002) is one of the more frequently mentioned effects of online learning. It is sometimes described as the increased likelihood that a shy student will speak up, for example, or that students will be more forthright. – I have witnessed this myself when my students engaged in blogging. The shy students were more able to participate given that they could spend more time cultivating their responses and not have to engage F2F.

A major difference between F2F and online is - Operating in the online environment means that bodily differences and social values attached to visible differences are invisible and irrelevant - teachers and learners online construct themselves through text in the discussion forums, for example (distinctions of gender, ethnicity, body shape or impairment, accent or speech styles ‘don’t matter’ – visual cues of difference are missing) and the challenge is to know more about online sociality and the ‘special circumstances’ of learners.

USQ Approach

Intelligent tutoring systems – look this up!

The fifth generation of distance education is essentially a derivation of the fourth generation, which aims to capitalize on the features of the Internet and the Web.

How does it work? In the USQ approach, many teaching staff makes use of discussion groups, which entail students posting “reflections” via the asynchronous CMC system. The teaching staff also post comments, which are aimed at engendering student engagement and ensuring that the focus and depth of the online threaded discussions are appropriate to achieve the learning outcomes.

Results

I got back my results. This is the worst mark that I have ever had. I feel like such a failure! To think that I had hoped to get all HD in this Masters! That's not going to happen now!

Assignment 2

Well this assignment was really confusing to say the least. I found it quite difficult to get into as I felt that the readings were quite out of date. I tried to look for more recent stuff but was unsuccessful. It is very lonely in this course as the discussion forums really aren't very active. I am so glad that this is not my first experience online as I would be very confused. I finally got a go on when I decided to compare online learning with that of current my classroom. I couldn't see why I should compare it to the 20th Century classroom as that is no longer an issue. I couldn't see the point of doing that as I have never taught in such as rigid way especially now as I am an IB teacher. In fact the last time that I was in a 20th Century set up was when I was at school! Too long ago to remember it!

Changes in Roles of Instructors and Students -> The educator as a tutor -> Re: The educator as a tutor

Hi Janet,

I liked reading your post. I agree that a learner centered environment requires more from the learner. I teach in an IB school and the inquiry approach promotes just that. I also struggle with collaboration as it can be stressful to be relying on others yet essential to learn how to do that as our world requires us to develop collaborative skills. My students complain when having to work together and it can be hard to place difficult students as they can be ostracized by their own group.
I have a quote that I got from a recent film that I watched at the K12 Online Conference site. http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=150 check it out! It is worth watching Clarence Fisher's video about Classroom Web 2.0. This quote from Tom Carroll was mentioned in the video to illustrate how Fisher sees his classroom "Every classroom is a collective effort, not an individual accomplishment."
I am working on assignment 2. I struggled through the concept part as I found it quite a challenge to put those principles into my own words without repeating what others have said. I kept going around in circles - but it made me think so I am learning to make sense of it. I haven't come across much that only happens online. Most is the same as in offline learning.

I just wish that I had more time to work on this as it is little crazy at the moment at school with preparations for Student-Parent-Teacher Conferences with digital portfolios that are the 18 and 19th September. It makes me so tired which really only leaves the weekends to study.

Jane

PS I'll leave you with another quote from Alan November, "Every classroom should be a global communication centre." I believe that online learning is not just for older students who have developed independence in their learning but for all classrooms and for younger students such as mine - a blended approach is needed to bridge the gap. I am currently modeling online learning in class using Ning which I intend to later shift to at home for homework tasks.

Apple Teachers Camp

Hi All,

I attended Apple Teachers Camp today and watched this film as a part of the activities. I though that I'd share it with you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

Jane

PS The camp was great! It was all hands on stuff about creating units of work infused with technology. I have one other share - I learned to use Sequence which is a great software that allows you to draw and record an assessment on top of a video. This way you can talk about a students video and then point out the area with drawing. It then saves as a movie file with a small inset screen of the teacher talking through the assessment points and the drawing animated over the video itself. Very nice!

The contribution of the Gunawardena and Zittle article -> Sensory Impact

Hi Everyone,
I have read the article and tried to break it down.

Gunawardena and Zittle identify five themes:
● Learner-centered instruction; (both synchronous and asynchronous) Gunawardena changed her teacher role from that of a teacher in front of the classroom to that of a facilitator as guide and learning support. Isn’t that just following current F2F teaching trends? I think that the question is “Do learner-centered learning environments promote transfer of learning? I myself follow constructivist-learning approaches in my classroom, which is mostly F2F. I have found that this promotes faster learning, as there is less formal instruction, which suits my Digital Native learners.

● Interaction; (both synchronous and asynchronous) 3 types have been highlighted; learner content interaction, learner instruction interaction and learner-learner interaction. The learner-instructor was stated as being the most essential and highly desired. I agree with this as an online learner I am looking for confirmation and I feel that this can only really come from the instructor. I believe that this is because the instructor is one who determines the assessment. This has been the case too when using online learning with my Primary aged students all of whom tell me that it is my comment on their posts that is most awaited.

● social presence; is the ability to communicate well by using the technology. I feel that this area is often neglected in online learning and many courses just encourage text responses and some form of concept mapping. I personally would like to see a deeper exploration of using technology well to get the message across more succinctly. I encourage my students to teach the class what they know through using the technology. This is an area that I am most interested in developing further in my own practice.
Personally I feel that I can cultivate a better social presence in asynchronous than synchronous communications as I need time to think over my responses. I can’t think clearly under pressure and in a synchronous online communication I am often ‘silent’ preferring text responses rather than using a webcam. I would rather have the luxury of thinking and rereading at leisure rather than the panic of instant relay. I guess that it is the thought that I am being recorded (or could be recorded) that puts me off.

● cognitive strategies: this is an internal process by which learners select and modify their ways of attending, learning, remembering and thinking. How can the information become personally meaningful and easy to remember? For me it is similar to F2F in that I highlight text using different colours and organize my notes into folders. I try to connect to my own experience as much as possible and find ways to integrate what I am learning into my teaching practice.

● collaborative learning.
Learning in a group. Online impacts differently as difficulties to work together are impacted by technology. For example in Indonesia, the speed of the Internet isn’t reliable and this impacts when trying to attend virtual classes. Time differences also impact. I have found that online learning is enabled yet hindered by the technology itself. I can’t see this changing, as there will always be a gap in that some people will have better Internet access than others.

Sensory Impact
I can’t think of any more beyond what Gunawardena and Zittle have defined. Except this one … that online to me often feels disconnected (even with great webcams) and for me that can feel very lonely. In a F2F we can benefit from body language and being able to watch the reactions of others in the classroom. We can see by the way a student is sitting or their body language that they are using when communicating which gives the instructor clues about how the learning is progressing. We can reach out and touch one another. I also miss smells and other factors such as the light in a person’s eye that shows that they understand. I can’t pick these up online.

What do you think about this?

Learning from watching others learn. -> Learning from Watching Others Learn -> Re: Learning from Watching Others Learn

Thank you Judith.
I struggled through the article but when I thought about the key phrase of this discussion forum, "Learning from Watching Others Learn", I decided to do just that and read through what everyone else had written. You highlighted a point from Mayer that made me realize that Mayer is coming from an Inquirers' perspective. Being that I am in an IBO school, this is something that I can relate to.

To go a little further I googled the term 'Vicarious Learning Online' and found the following:

As many of you know, when surfing the Internet it can lead you to the most interesting corners. One click led to another and I found myself at this blog http://eduspaces.net/csessums/weblog/138352.html
where my attention was held by this picture capture which is at the bottom of this post.

What caught my eye was the two students with raised hands and it made me reflect that in this course the discussion forums that get the most response are those with questions.

Oh oh, am I getting off the track here? What do you think about students asking further questions as a way of engaging response and provoking 'Learning from watching others learn'?


Jane

BTW Here is the Jim Waters link if you want to check it out:

Waters, J (2008) The iSchool at Drexel http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~jw65/jimwaters.htm Accessed on 1/9/08

Finishing First Assignment

I felt so relieved to have done the first assignment. Things are so flat out at school so I really had to stay up late to get this done. I got my results back and they weren't that great. I misinterpreted some of the requirements. This has never happened before. I feel that this course is rather disconnected compared with the others that I have done. I tried really hard to give an example of a critical incident that had affected me recently in this course. I was rather dismayed to find that I struck out with this one.

Flexible Learning -> Making flexible delivery learning and learner centred -> Re: Making flexible delivery learning and learner centred

Thank you all for this interesting thread. I have a mixed approach to online learning. Sometimes I am a big participator and other times a quiet observer. In most courses I like to try to gauge the tone of the forum before contributing. I prefer informal because then I feel that I can write with more spontaneity. I am very quiet when it comes to using tools such as Skype as I prefer to type and quickly reread before posting rather than using audio or video!. Perhaps this shows my lack of confidence? I too like to combine reading the forums through my email as well as logging in. I guess that's why we can call this flexible as it is up to the individual to follow their personal preferences.

Questioning Online Learning -> Technology creates its own context -> Re: Technology creates its own context

This is quite an interesting discussion that I would like to join if I may. I am discovering directly how technology creates its own context right now in my Grade 5 classroom. I have just started the academic year with (for the first time) a one to one laptop facility. I am now finding myself challenged to find directions as to how can the technology enhance the learning. For the first couple of weeks I did the usual desktop publishing that we all know so well. So what next ...
Well multimedia is the next obvious choice. Slowly I'm finding my way. It helps that there is a big LCD screen in the school cafes on which we can run student work. So now I'm trying to develop my students skills in sharing. I'm about to have a go at helping my students to turn their narrative stories about the digestion of a virtual sandwich into a Magic Schoolbus kind of animation using Keynote. It's like the learning, has turned into students teaching others by using technology.

School has never been so cool!

Traditional-Online-Traditional-Online -> Paradigm Shifts in Indonesia

I read the two articles and felt that the Harasim article made more sense to me in my current setting. In Indonesia technology gallops along at an alarming rate. Technology advances in chunks here rather than in stages. Broadband is still quite illusive but suddenly this year people are able to buy modems to plug into their laptops giving them access wherever there is mobile phone coverage. Yet schools are still functioning in the 19th Century paradigm. I will try to explain further:

Schools in Indonesia
Define “traditional models” of teaching and learning in your context. The traditional models of teaching and learning in Indonesian schools are:
Methods: rote learning
Space: rectangle shaped classroom with desks in rows and the blackboard and teacher’s table at the front of the room
Resources: Government textbooks. The students copy the lesson into their own notebooks. Libraries are few and far between. Book rentals are available for reading. These are sometimes mobile (on a bicycle)
Assessment: quarterly government issued exams for Gr 1 – 12
National exams at the end of Gr 6, Gr 9 and Gr 12 and Tertiary Entrance exams
Time: School is divided into 2 sessions to allow more students to use the building. Morning 7am – 12.00 and 1.00 – 6.00pm, Monday to Saturday.
Groups: Kindergarten (not compulsory) Gr 1 – 6 Primary (compulsory but not enforced), Gr 7 – 9 Middle School (compulsory but not enforced) and Gr 10 – 12 High School. There are also technical High schools and then College or University

Did the introduction of distance education challenge these models? If so, how? If not, why not?
Not aware of any distance education happening in Indonesia. Universities are starting to have an online presence but only in a hybrid approach. This is at the National level. Broadband is still hard to access.

International education it is quite different:
I am currently teaching in a National Plus school. That means that we offer the National Curriculum plus overseas curriculum. My school is a candidate for the IBO. It is a new school (we have been running 3 weeks now) and the first ever to be Technology based because all students from Gr 5 up are given a Macbook with their tuition fees. All teachers are given a Macbook and lower grades share sets of Macbooks of 20 across 4 classes. There are Smartboards in every building and LCD projectors with speakers in every classroom.

What do you value in teaching and learning?
I value the way the IB program encourages students to take charge of their learning. The Inquiry approach.
What key principles do you employ when you teach?
We have the Learners Profiles which are:
Inquirers, Communicators, Risk-Takers, Balanced, Caring, Principled, Open-Minded, Knowledgeable, Thinkers and Reflective. I must focus on developing this profiles in all of my students by modeling them myself. I also value that classes at my new school are highly encouraged to be technology based. It’s awesome!

Could all students be taught successfully using distance education/open learning approaches?
I love integrating the use of Web 2.0 tools in my classroom. All students require motivation and the younger the students, the more direct and immediate that motivation needs to be. My son uses http://www.mathletics.com.au to help him with his Maths. That is entirely online, open ended and flexible. However, he does need my pushing him to do it from time to time as he can lose focus and get bored. I am also in the middle of creating an online learning portal for Indonesian children. It is here at http://www.anak-online.com
This will be to teach Indonesian children (Gr 4 – Gr 10) how to use the Internet by teaching them to keep a blog. The mentors will be able to award tokens for good posts will check the blogs weekly. It will be supported by a Children’s newspaper called “Koran Berani” in which I will have a weekly IT column. I think that it will be possible to have online learning for children however I will demand that all members sign an AUP along with a guardian.
I don’t agree that distance learning or online learning is only for those in isolation. I think that given the right set up with motivation and some support from print media it can be for a younger audience. I am excited to be trying this soon.

What are the main issues involved for you in adopting online approaches in your context? I am about to launch into all kinds of online activities here at my new school. We will use StudyWiz and PowerSchool. StudyWiz is to support academic and PowerSchool is to support other services such as parents being able to go online to check what their child has eaten at the school café. This is done by everyone having a Smartcard that records all money transactions and library books. I will be holding weekly IT classes for parents to support the use of these tools and to further their knowledge of online environments.

I am very grateful to USQ for enabling me to take on this new job. This Masters in Education Technology has given me a whole new direction. Thanks USQ!

Moodie Mutterings

Is Moodie talking about online education, flexible learning, distance education or all three?

●What does he mean by “online education”?

Learning that is available online and that is web-based.

●Why does he suggest it is inappropriate for some learners? Who are they? Do you agree?

Moodie suggests that learners that are most suited for web-based online learning who have well-developed learning skills.

●Is Moodie arguing from a position which acknowledges a post- industrial position or is he anchored in the past?

I believe that Moodie has a point that entirely online, flexible learning is only for independent learners who have developed their learning skills.

Moodie (1998) considers flexible learning as “guided independent learning” and as such assumes that learners placed in such environments need to be equipped with fairly well advanced learning skills and be able to demonstrate some level of independence and autonomy over their own learning.

Observational learning is therefore very time-consuming.

Directed Learning - The essential elements of directed learning seem to be a highly structured presentation of the material to be learned, a continuous monitoring of learners’ attention and ideally a continuous monitoring of their comprehension.

Guided Independent Leaning - students are provided with structured study materials that they work through at their own pace, with varying levels but relatively limited interaction with the teacher and other students, and then present for assessment. Responsibility is more placed on the learner.

Autonomous learning - Just to complete this typology, we may add autonomous learning for the learning that may require an educational environment and resources but not a formal structure presented by a teacher.

Since online education is but one form of guided independent learning, I conclude that online education is not suitable for learners who have not reasonably well-developed learning skills. But online education is ideal for more autonomous learners. It extends learners’ learning skills so that they may become increasingly independent learners, which is surely one of the ultimate goals of education.
Reflections

Why is it that the emergence of “fourth generation” technologies represents a watershed in open and distance learning?
I believe that it requires teachers to be more open about their practices in the classroom.

●What are the features of using totally online education (as we know it) that might make it difficult for young learners to participate?

I agree with Moodie (1998) that online education requires learners to be self directed when used in a stand-alone mode. In my context the web allows us to extend the classroom walls and invite in the world. I couldn’t imagine online education replacing school unless used in connection with a tutor like in a home schooling situation.

●What factors might make it eminently suitable for students in higher education?

Learners need to be able to cope with learning independently as there is no teacher directly present to observe. Learners need to be able to cope with meeting deadlines and directing their learning themselves.

Listen to the Natives - the Digital Ones!

Hi All,
I have been studying online for about 1.5 years now and I have changed my habits a lot since I first started.

My advice is to try to become more Digital Native in your approach to your study.

When I first began online study I used to print out all the readings. I soon ended up with piles of paper the thickness of telephone books. After learning about Prensky's "Digital Natives", I began to question my practice of printing out everything to read.

I bought myself a laptop - a Macbook Pro. My life changed! I was a PC girl for 17 faithful years but now that I've gone Mac - well all I can say is "What took me so long!".

So, what has changed?

The screen on my Mac is really soft on my eyes so I am able to read off the screen. Now I just download the files and create sticky notes that I can attach to the PDF files. I can organize all my reading into folders for the different modules. I think that because its a laptop, I am able to read more easily as I can sit on the sofa or take my Macbook to the hair salon or cafe to read my notes. There are free programs that you can use to highlight PDFs so It's just like using a pen on paper. I like to use different colours.

I can also backup to my portable hard drive and keep all the readings without creating piles of paper.

I like the flexibility of being able to study anywhere. Jakarta has more WiFi available but now that I have a dongle I can literally study anywhere.

I do agree with logging in often. I have also found that it takes a few weeks to get into the habit. I will find this harder this semester as I am starting a new job which makes me very busy. I am trying but the most I can manage at the moment is Sat, Sun and maybe one other weekday.

Anyway, that's my advice for what it's worth.

Flexible Learning in the 21st Century

Hello Everyone,
Over the past 2 years I have experimented with online learning with my gr 3 and gr 5 classes. I teach Primary so I use a blended approach. I have used blogs and websites with students because they are free and easy to set up. I ventured into this as a result of learning about blogging as a part of my current online Masters in Education Technology. What I have gained from those experiences is a deeper understanding of how to use Web 2.0 tools to extend my classroom beyond its four walls. By having a ‘mother’ blog with links on it to each of my students blogs I have effectively added windows into our learning space. The blogs are used like an online portfolio with most homework tasks posted to the blogs as well. As a direct result we are now collaborating with a school in New Zealand whom we met online.

Flexible learning to me is just that – a classroom that isn’t contained within the four walls. My classroom is open to the world. The way I teach (and learn) is also open to the world. That means that it is no longer about what the teacher says. Even the way in which I run the class blog is negotiated between the students and myself. I think that being flexible is being open-minded about how we learn.

I have just moved into a new teaching job at a new school (Sinarmas World Academy click here to see a slide show http://mrsjane5.blogspot.com/2008/07/sinarmas-world-academy.html) that prides itself on being a 21st century learning space. As a teacher in this school I am encouraged to be flexible. The campus is fully WiFi and all students from gr 5 – 12 are issued with a Macbook as a part of the tuition fees. The younger classes share sets of Macbooks. I am encouraged to teach anywhere on campus. There are no canteens. There are cafes with sofas – like Starbucks - and we can teach there too - or in the adventure playground or the rainforest that is onsite.

I am currently teaching my students to use their mobile phones. I consider it to be a tool as we have just learned how to download pictures using bluetooth to our Macs. Why? You may ask? This effectively gives most of my class (the ones who have a mobile phone) immediate access to a digital camera.

Garrison speaks about how we can use technology to enhance the constructivist approaches to teaching and learning. The demands are for meaningful and worthwhile experiences. Technology enables us to connect with one another directly and immediately. In fact I'm writing this whilst having a deep conditioning treatment for my hair at the local hairdresser here in Jakarta. I am using my dongle to connect to the Internet. That is very flexible - don't you think!

Introductions

Hi Everyone,
Looks like I'm the first one here! I'm Jane Ross and this is my 6th course in a Masters in Education Technology. I am an Australian but I teach in BSD in Java, Indonesia. I am about to start a new job at a brand new school and I'm very excited about it! My job is to assist all teachers (Pre K-12) in the integration of technology in their daily teaching program across all subject areas. We will use StudyWiz, Power School and every teacher gets a free Macbook as a part of their package. Not to mention Smartboards in every shared area and 5-12 get Macbooks with the tuition fees. The school is ground-breaking in that it is committed to 21st Century learning with a huge emphasis on technology infusion. The school is called Sinarmas World School and you can see the website here http://www.sws.co.id/

I love blogging - yes I do. I have been blogging with my students (mostly Grade 3 - Grade 6) and it has changed the way I teach. I have had several successful blogging experiences with my classes and you can see my blog from last academic year here http://mrsjane5.blogspot.com
It has had over 15000 hits! We even managed to do some collaborative work with a school from New Zealand that we met online.

I have been teaching for 17 years K-12 but mostly at the primary school level. My husband is Indonesian and we have 3 kids. I have put a picture here of us.

One last thing ... I have just gone mobile! I am trying out my new portable modem which has a telephone card inside so that I can get Broadband Internet access where ever there is mobile coverage. It's quite good for $7 a month so long as I don't go over 1.5MB.

Jane

This blog

I will use this blog to keep a track of my online study for FET 8601. I will post reflections and all my Moodle forum posts here so that it is all in the one place.

Welcome Post

Hi Everyone,
Looks like I'm the first one here! I'm Jane Ross and this is my 6th course in a Masters in Education Technology. I am an Australian but I teach in BSD in Java, Indonesia. I am about to start a new job at a brand new school and I'm very excited about it! My job is to assist all teachers (Pre K-12) in the integration of technology in their daily teaching program across all subject areas. We will use StudyWiz, Power School and every teacher gets a free Macbook as a part of their package. Not to mention Smartboards in every shared area and 5-12 get Macbooks with the tuition fees. The school is ground-breaking in that it is committed to 21st Century learning with a huge emphasis on technology infusion. The school is called Sinarmas World School and you can see the website here http://www.sws.co.id/

I love blogging - yes I do. I have been blogging with my students (mostly Grade 3 - Grade 6) and it has changed the way I teach. I have had several successful blogging experiences with my classes and you can see my blog from last academic year here http://mrsjane5.blogspot.com
It has had over 15000 hits! We even managed to do some collaborative work with a school from New Zealand that we met online.

I have been teaching for 17 years K-12 but mostly at the primary school level. My husband is Indonesian and we have 3 kids. I have put a picture here of us.

One last thing ... I have just gone mobile! I am trying out my new portable modem which has a telephone card inside so that I can get Broadband Internet access where ever there is mobile coverage. It's quite good for $7 a month so long as I don't go over 1.5MB.

Jane