Section 7: New Directions in Instructional Design and Technology

E-learning environments

In order to apply an e-learning environment in my own position I searched the Internet for literature and examples of schools which have successfully applied them in their classrooms. The Adam Scott Collegiate and Vocational Institute in Peterborough, Canada implemented a program that combined cloud computing and portability by using Google apps and netbooks to support e-learning in the classroom. By using Google, educators and students created documents, presentations, spreadsheets, webpages, shared calendars, e-mail, etc. Students showed improvement in learner outcomes as well as student engagement. (Nevin, 2009)Personally, I have seen teachers at my school use Google apps because they are free, but also because they are easy to use across different platforms and devices and lend themselves to data collection and collaboration.  I have also noted an increase in tools such as Blogger, gmail and Googledocs in my college courses and less LMS tools. The greatest advantage of e-learning tools such as these is that they offer more than a platform (e.g., a learning management system) but provide a contextualized, meaningful experience for students. Learning is not limited by what links and learning objects the teacher provides (teacher-centered), instead an e-learning environment in which knowledge is synthesized in a real-world experience (student-centered).  A free LMS platform such as Moodle is a good tool for teachers because it could incorporate Google apps into a well-designed e-learning environment. My main concern is how a library will fit into an e-learning environment. I believe my focus should be in making sure students and families have access to my library catalog, databases and services to support learning, whether the links are within a Moodle course or the district website.

 

Learning Objects

I took from this chapter that learning objects should above all, achieve successful learning outcomes.  We should make good decisions and select relative learning objects because if we are not careful students can get caught up in an interactive game, flashy video or image and lose sight of what is trying to be taught. A way that I would like to use learning objects is in the form of short tutorials created with software such as Camtasia or Jing. I have created a couple of these videos in my grad courses and they are an easy way to create a reusable learning object that engages and helps students make connections to prior knowledge.   One problem I have with learning objects is organizing and classifying them in order to be able to use them again (it’s the librarian in me).  Teachers are using less of the library resources such as DVD’s CD’s and finding material on the Internet.  I believe what keeps some of them coming back is the fact that they can rely on the objects to physically be there – or if not, when it will be available.  The learning objects we collect to use in our curriculum, however get “lost” and we can’t remember which one of the ten thumb drives it is on. My goal is to use my classification and tagging skills to provide our campus with a repository that will organize these collective LO’s in one place such as Livebinders.

 

Rich Media

Rich media can enhance a lesson and improve learning, but this chapter suggests that one should be careful about when, how much and what kind of rich media is selected.  Teachers should recognize the learners’ memory capacity and prior knowledge before introducing rich media to a lesson.  The learners’ capacity to remember information has very little to do with learning styles, so all learners can benefit when images are used. I couldn’t help but think of all of the PowerPoints I have watched, filled with too much text and very little images.  When presenting new material to students, in the form of a video or animation, it is good to pause sometimes to give the students time to process and reflect. Reflecting on my experience as a librarian I have noticed that some students have an extremely difficult time transitioning from picture books to “chapter books” with no illustrations.  This chapter suggests because audio helps bring greater understanding than text alone and I can apply this in the library by making a point to read aloud as often as possible. When an emerging reader sees a book with endless words and no illustrations, panic sometimes sets in and the mind shuts down.  Book trailers have been a great way for me to “sell” novels and books to reluctant readers because they provide images, and limited text that the students can understand.

Emerging instructional technology

My experience with emerging technology is mainly with Web 2.0. I believe these tools should be integrated as much as possible because they reflect the experience of students outside of school in the way they socialize, interact and search for information.  For example, Edmodo is a great way to give students a Facebook-like social experience within a safe environment, and Glogster is a great alternative to Powerpoint. The issue we have at our school is the need for filters. Anderson states that by restricting the use of these tools forces “an unhealthy bifurcation between learning and education” (p.  305). It was explained to me that because of e-rate funding, our school must implement a filter that limits resources such as YouTube, blogs and photo-sharing sites.  As a result, I have searched for ways to help teachers find alternative resources that are not filtered, such as SchoolTube and providing steps for them to download YouTube videos at home. The need still remains for educators to integrate the informal learning students encounter out of school within the confines of the formal learning they experience in school. My goal is to search for good tools for teachers to use in class and continue to be an advocate for using this form of emerging technology at my school.

Nevin, R. (2009). Supporting 21st Century Learning through Google Apps. Teacher Librarian, 37(2), 35-38.