My experiences with assessment:
Growing up, assessment was never really a forte of mine. I remember getting really nervous during formal testing wherein multiple choice answers or true/false questions were the way to demonstrate understanding. I was never quite certain how to study for tests and never did too well on these types of assessments. Up until today, I haven't mastered the art of test-taking. I definitely prefer more project based assessments, expressing understanding through writing, in-class discussions, or presentations. I feel like I can connect more to these assessments because it brings more out of me through creativity and effort.
It's funny how test-taking isn't my choice of assessment, but as a teacher that is exactly what I give to my students. Around our school, like many others, "test-taking" practice and format seems to be a buzz word. We need to format our tests like the CST so that kids familiarize themselves with this way of testing, and it's starting as early as 1st grade. Although multiple-choice testing and scantrons is the easiest way to correct and check for understanding, it's not always the best way. As a learner, I think that feedback in written words from the instructor as opposed to check marks is more effective. I internalize feedback when instructors comment on my work rather than seeing a +21/25 at the top of a test.
Our book stresses how "the most influential purpose for assessing learning gains is to provide feedback to learners and instructors" (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek, 2009, p. 265). This feedback from the assessment is not only to assess gains but to make further decisions on where to go next as a learner or an instructor, whether it be reteaching or enhancing a particular concept. Knowing that assessment and feedback is a key component when designing a class, it's important to choose assessments that fits the need of the class, teacher, and student. There has to be cohesiveness between three when designing the assessment. I liked how Mueller (2005) discusses authentic assessment. When choosing an authentic assessment, the instructor must think of its worth and value to the demonstration of understanding. Creating these real-world tasks for the students to perform will be more meaningful, but before creating these tasks it's important to develop meaningful goals and objectives. Just like Maxwell did for her course in the article "Continuous Assessment", here is a list of probable objectives that would be included in my course. By have these objectives set, assessments can be made based on the goals for the class.
1 - Define and describe visual learning.
2 - Define and describe multi-media learning.
3 - Identify the different uses for the InterWrite program.
4 - Develop a lesson using the InterWrite program.
5 - Describe how to use the different tools for the program.
6 - Present the created lesson to the class.
With these objectives set, I can now develop the needed assessments that will support each.
Objectives 1 and 2 (discussion - asynchronous): After reading required materials about visual learning and multi-media learning, students would participate in a threaded discussion and reflect upon their reading as well as other students' reflections. Students would post their understanding in a blog.
Objective 3 (journal): As students are exploring the InterWrite program, they would journal their strengths and weaknesses of the different tools and put ideas down to use for the development of the lesson.
Objective 4 (lesson development posted): Students would create a lesson using InterWrite (minimum of 5 slides) that fits their grade-level standard. Post the lesson on their blog. Critique other students' lessons. Make improvements on slides after critiques have been done.
Objective 5 (flow map): Develop a flow map the describes the process when the slides were created. Post on blog and read other student blogs to get ideas.
Objective 6 (presentation): Either face-to-face or through DimDim, present the lesson to classmates.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Session 7: Effective Message Design
Assuming that the students just watched a presentation on how to use Interwrite:
For this design, I am having the student use this handout as a reflection piece after exploring the different tools on Interwrite. This handout would then be used as a guide when sharing information at the next discussion (probably synchronous discussion).
I decided to choose the four most used tools, based on my experience, and added a graphic to guide them. It tells them what to practice and to practice changing the different features for each tool.
I thought the chart form for strengths and areas of improvement gave balance and a direct area to put ideas. I tried to stay consistent from top to bottom of the handout.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Session 6: Instructional Methods for e-Learning
"The more the distance education teacher knows about the individual students within the whole class, the more elegant the application of education tools to the learning situation" (text, p. 169). This stood out to me because knowing who your participants and how they learn are vital. Learning styles is definitely a key component to consider when designing a course for e-Learning. It is important to know my strengths as an instructor so I can convey the information in the best format possible, but knowing my learning style is not the only consideration. It will be important to know how the participants learn best and somehow fuse it with my own learning style. It said in the text that an e-learning course will need to be engaging. One way to keep the participants engaged is to play upon their strengths in how they learn best.
My three main learning styles, based on the Multiple Intelligence Quiz, was musical, kinesthetic, and visual learning. For this course, visual learning would probably work best. With the use of demonstrations through online resources, e-mailing PowerPoint presentations, or uploading videos, the information can be easily delivered through a visual means. Learning musically might not be as effective. The participants might not respond to the genre of music that is being used. I personally enjoy music but don't think it would be a good fit for an e-Learning course. Bringing in kinesthetic learning would be a challenge to incorporate in an e-learning course. I would really need to know the specific resources that I wanted the learners to use. A lot of research on different resources will be needed as well as exploration. Kinesthetic learning might be tedious for some learners. I would have to make sure that the reason for the activity is meaningful and relates directly to the content of information.
Student characteristics/attributes are important to consider. That is why a survey would be beneficial to see what learning style fits the majority of students, the prior knowledge of the technology, and the reasons for taking the course. Then I would plan accordingly. "When an instructor accounts for the background and prior knowledge of students, the learning setting is more successful" (text, p. 168). I want the students to be confident in taking the course. I know how frustrating it can be when one is unfamiliar with a certain technology that is required or their reasons for taking the course are not being met. As the instructor, I don't want to discourage them from taking the course based on uncertainty or neglect. Knowing the students and building their confidence will help to establish a relationship between the instructor and student, promoting a true learning community.
Establishing classroom management seems to be the most difficult when designing an e-Learning course. It is important that the instructor is organized when preparing all the information for the students. A syllabus with student expectations and general information is needed right away. E-mailing this might not be enough for the class. Just like Dr. Baek did during the first week, I would go over the syllabus and answer questions students may have through synchronous learning. This is not just for a help session, but it shows students that the instructor is there for them on a more personal level rather than just typing an e-mail. A dependable CMS such as Blackboard would help in facilitating the learning. I would also back this information on a class website. This keeps the information in one area where the students and the instructor can refer back to. To make this course more student-centered rather than teacher-centered, it will be important for the instructor to provide the information needed to succeed in the course but even more important to allow the student to learn through exploration. The design of the activities will need to be ones in which the students takes on the most responsibility for obtaining information.
For my course, I was thinking about having students learn more about the Interwrite and how to incorporate it into their own classrooms. A learning objective that I would include is to have the students demonstrate their understanding of how to use the different features on Interwrite. Exploration would be a great activity for this, where an "I do, you do" strategy would target both visual and kinesthetic learners. Through the use of video capturing like Camtasia, I would record how to use the different features. Then the participants would not only watch how it is done, but actually practice themselves on their own computer. To demonstrate their understanding, they could also use some type of video capturing resource to show a feature that would best be used in the classroom. The student could then e-mail their video to the class as well as the instructor and build a library of ideas for students to share and use in their own classroom. This will definitely make the course more meaningful when they can take something back to their own practices.
My three main learning styles, based on the Multiple Intelligence Quiz, was musical, kinesthetic, and visual learning. For this course, visual learning would probably work best. With the use of demonstrations through online resources, e-mailing PowerPoint presentations, or uploading videos, the information can be easily delivered through a visual means. Learning musically might not be as effective. The participants might not respond to the genre of music that is being used. I personally enjoy music but don't think it would be a good fit for an e-Learning course. Bringing in kinesthetic learning would be a challenge to incorporate in an e-learning course. I would really need to know the specific resources that I wanted the learners to use. A lot of research on different resources will be needed as well as exploration. Kinesthetic learning might be tedious for some learners. I would have to make sure that the reason for the activity is meaningful and relates directly to the content of information.
Student characteristics/attributes are important to consider. That is why a survey would be beneficial to see what learning style fits the majority of students, the prior knowledge of the technology, and the reasons for taking the course. Then I would plan accordingly. "When an instructor accounts for the background and prior knowledge of students, the learning setting is more successful" (text, p. 168). I want the students to be confident in taking the course. I know how frustrating it can be when one is unfamiliar with a certain technology that is required or their reasons for taking the course are not being met. As the instructor, I don't want to discourage them from taking the course based on uncertainty or neglect. Knowing the students and building their confidence will help to establish a relationship between the instructor and student, promoting a true learning community.
Establishing classroom management seems to be the most difficult when designing an e-Learning course. It is important that the instructor is organized when preparing all the information for the students. A syllabus with student expectations and general information is needed right away. E-mailing this might not be enough for the class. Just like Dr. Baek did during the first week, I would go over the syllabus and answer questions students may have through synchronous learning. This is not just for a help session, but it shows students that the instructor is there for them on a more personal level rather than just typing an e-mail. A dependable CMS such as Blackboard would help in facilitating the learning. I would also back this information on a class website. This keeps the information in one area where the students and the instructor can refer back to. To make this course more student-centered rather than teacher-centered, it will be important for the instructor to provide the information needed to succeed in the course but even more important to allow the student to learn through exploration. The design of the activities will need to be ones in which the students takes on the most responsibility for obtaining information.
For my course, I was thinking about having students learn more about the Interwrite and how to incorporate it into their own classrooms. A learning objective that I would include is to have the students demonstrate their understanding of how to use the different features on Interwrite. Exploration would be a great activity for this, where an "I do, you do" strategy would target both visual and kinesthetic learners. Through the use of video capturing like Camtasia, I would record how to use the different features. Then the participants would not only watch how it is done, but actually practice themselves on their own computer. To demonstrate their understanding, they could also use some type of video capturing resource to show a feature that would best be used in the classroom. The student could then e-mail their video to the class as well as the instructor and build a library of ideas for students to share and use in their own classroom. This will definitely make the course more meaningful when they can take something back to their own practices.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Week 5: Instructional Design
Using the ADDIE, here are specific tasks that would be performed at each stage of the process. It begins with the analysis phase because like the text stated, "Taking the time to learn about the learners in the class yields a more productive learning environment" (p. 128).
Analysis:
During the analysis phase, I would need to gather general learner characteristics: reasons for taking the course, experience with content, experience with technology, learning styles, background information. As the learners provide me with the information, I would be able to design the course that best fits the needs of the learners.
To gather this information, I would use an online survey for a needs assessment. Questions would be focused on certain areas to get a better understanding of learner's experiences. For example, if I wanted them to Blog for the use of class discussion, I would ask a question such as "On a scale from 1 to 6, how well do you know how to create a blog, post a blog, and respond to other blogs." Hoping that most of the students know how to blog, I would then have them write freely about themselves and maybe some topics about the course. I think this would build a sense of community as other students begin to find commonalities with others. The needs assessment will also help steer the design of the course.
Along with the needs assessment, I would need to find more information about the content area. Through resesarching about the topics and choosing a gernal area to discuss about the topic, I could have the class respond to their knowledge about the content area.
Design:
Learning objectives would have to be somewhat set before the course started, but with the use of the analysis phase, it would help to tweak areas needed and finalize the objectives. Now that there is a better vision for the course, it’s important to view the instructional environment as a system that connects the instructor, the learners, the material, and the technology (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Avacek, 2009).
There is a lot of consideration that goes into the design of the course. I would need to keep these ideas in mind throughout the design: 1. What material needs to be covered, 2. What will the instructor do, 3. What will the learners do, and 4. What is the delivery method (technology approach) in which the instructor will present the material and the learners will demonstrate what they’ve learned. These ideas will help to "match the content of the subject to the needs of the learners" (text, p. 132).
It's important that the learner be the main focus and that all activities are engaging. They must be thought of first because they are the ones that need to take on most of the responsibility for the learning that will be going on, wherein the teacher will take on more of a facilitator role. This constructivist approach will see the students as being the center of the course.
The design will begin with choosing a course management system to help organize and manage the classroom environment. From there, choosing the technology that is visually appealing to the learners will be based on instructor experience as well as the needs assessment from the analysis phase. Choosing the content and breaking it up into specific topics will be easier for the learner to organize and take responsibility upon. Once the content and technology are somewhat set in place, last would be to set expectations for the learners. Give them a timeline of when materials and responses are to be expected. The text also stated to "set aside specific periods of time during the week for the students to work on the course.
Within the design phase, it would be beneficial for students to provide insight on the lesson design and instruciton delivery (text, 2009). Since they are the focus, providing feedback would be beneficial before moving onto the development phase.
Development:
Now that the design is set, development is the next phase within the ADDIE. Resources and materials will be uploaded, presentations will be created, and programs will be "ready." It's important that the instructor workout any hardware or software issues before going into the implementation phase. The instructor must also "be prepared with alternatives for each lesson in case of system problems" (text, 135).
Implementation:
Alpha testing of the course will be done during the implementation stage. Allowing the learners to view the resources and materials, view presentations, communicate with others, and take assessments will help to further workout kinks.
Evaluation:
After implementation, formative evaluation will be most helpful in making further decisions about the design and the development. A survey will be useful to see what they've learned and the learner's perspective on the overall design of the course. This will allow the instructor to make revisions and possibly go through a beta testing.
That ADDIE will be useful in designing an effective course that follows the sytem of conntecting the instructor, the learner, the material, and the technology. Reflective practices will be needed to make changes within any phase of the instructional design.
Analysis:
During the analysis phase, I would need to gather general learner characteristics: reasons for taking the course, experience with content, experience with technology, learning styles, background information. As the learners provide me with the information, I would be able to design the course that best fits the needs of the learners.
To gather this information, I would use an online survey for a needs assessment. Questions would be focused on certain areas to get a better understanding of learner's experiences. For example, if I wanted them to Blog for the use of class discussion, I would ask a question such as "On a scale from 1 to 6, how well do you know how to create a blog, post a blog, and respond to other blogs." Hoping that most of the students know how to blog, I would then have them write freely about themselves and maybe some topics about the course. I think this would build a sense of community as other students begin to find commonalities with others. The needs assessment will also help steer the design of the course.
Along with the needs assessment, I would need to find more information about the content area. Through resesarching about the topics and choosing a gernal area to discuss about the topic, I could have the class respond to their knowledge about the content area.
Design:
Learning objectives would have to be somewhat set before the course started, but with the use of the analysis phase, it would help to tweak areas needed and finalize the objectives. Now that there is a better vision for the course, it’s important to view the instructional environment as a system that connects the instructor, the learners, the material, and the technology (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Avacek, 2009).
There is a lot of consideration that goes into the design of the course. I would need to keep these ideas in mind throughout the design: 1. What material needs to be covered, 2. What will the instructor do, 3. What will the learners do, and 4. What is the delivery method (technology approach) in which the instructor will present the material and the learners will demonstrate what they’ve learned. These ideas will help to "match the content of the subject to the needs of the learners" (text, p. 132).
It's important that the learner be the main focus and that all activities are engaging. They must be thought of first because they are the ones that need to take on most of the responsibility for the learning that will be going on, wherein the teacher will take on more of a facilitator role. This constructivist approach will see the students as being the center of the course.
The design will begin with choosing a course management system to help organize and manage the classroom environment. From there, choosing the technology that is visually appealing to the learners will be based on instructor experience as well as the needs assessment from the analysis phase. Choosing the content and breaking it up into specific topics will be easier for the learner to organize and take responsibility upon. Once the content and technology are somewhat set in place, last would be to set expectations for the learners. Give them a timeline of when materials and responses are to be expected. The text also stated to "set aside specific periods of time during the week for the students to work on the course.
Within the design phase, it would be beneficial for students to provide insight on the lesson design and instruciton delivery (text, 2009). Since they are the focus, providing feedback would be beneficial before moving onto the development phase.
Development:
Now that the design is set, development is the next phase within the ADDIE. Resources and materials will be uploaded, presentations will be created, and programs will be "ready." It's important that the instructor workout any hardware or software issues before going into the implementation phase. The instructor must also "be prepared with alternatives for each lesson in case of system problems" (text, 135).
Implementation:
Alpha testing of the course will be done during the implementation stage. Allowing the learners to view the resources and materials, view presentations, communicate with others, and take assessments will help to further workout kinks.
Evaluation:
After implementation, formative evaluation will be most helpful in making further decisions about the design and the development. A survey will be useful to see what they've learned and the learner's perspective on the overall design of the course. This will allow the instructor to make revisions and possibly go through a beta testing.
That ADDIE will be useful in designing an effective course that follows the sytem of conntecting the instructor, the learner, the material, and the technology. Reflective practices will be needed to make changes within any phase of the instructional design.
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