What do I believe the best practice is for online/distance education?

I found this topic to be quite interesting to think about.  As a people person and someone who thrives on interacting with individuals, I chose the aspect of building community in an online class.  The video below shares some of the information that I found on this topic.

Believe it or not... I've attempted to re-record and re-upload this video at least 5 times.  YouTube was not kind to me today.

References:

Cerniglia, E. G. (2011, May). Modeling Best Practice through Online Learning: Building Relationships. YC Young Children, 66(3), 54-56.

Finch, D., & Jacobs, K. (2012, September). Online Education: Best Practices to Promote Learning. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomic Society Annual Meegin, 56(1), 546-550.

Maddix, M. A. (2013). DEVELOPING ONLINE LEARNING COMMUNITIES1. Christian Education Journal, 10(1), 139-148. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1344055966?accountid=12085

A Review of Chapter 8 from Clark and Mayer Text

My required reading this week was Chapter 8 of Clark and Mayer’s “E-Learning and the Science of Instruction” (2011).  Chapter eight was dedicated to things that inhibit learning.  In a traditional classroom, it may be the lighting, the way the room is set up, or perhaps noises.  However, when one enters the world of e-learning, these distractions change.  Clark and Mayer (2011) point to three areas that can distract students from learning in the world of online education.  

The first area that is covered in this chapter is the overuse of audio within the website during presentations.  Clark and Mayer (2011) argue that because of the amount of cognitive work that is happening from the information students are trying to learn, music, regardless of what style and volume, distracts more than it helps (2011).  This means that by incorporating music in the lesson could cause more problems than help.  The studies used to support this show a comparison of students who went through a class with a music and another without music.  The students who were a part of the classes that did not have music scored consistently and significantly better than those with music (Clark and Mayer, 2011).

The second area covered was the overuse of graphics. Similar to the overuse of music, too many graphics or distracting graphics can keep students from their full potential of learning (2011).  Clark and Mayer (2011) want to ensure that it is okay to add pictures, but there comes a point when they may distract from the learning that is attempting to take place.  In fact, they say if the only purpose of adding a picture to your page (whether online or paper) is to decorate, odds are it will not cause learning to take place (2011).  To prove their point even further, they become very critical of Math curricula for adding pictures that many times do not have anything to do with the problems being used (2011).  Another issue that is discussed is the use of more simple graphics.  When using very detailed drawings, studies have shown that learning takes a hit.  In other words, the more simplified the drawing, the more retainable information is for the students (2011).

The last area that can prevent learning is the use of irrelevant or unconnected words.  This means there are a couple of words that may need to be left out, such as: excessive words used to make interesting, to expand on ideas, or vocabulary that does not aid in the lesson (2011).  The overall idea that Clark and Mayer (2008) attempt to get across in this area is keeping it simple and to the main point is the most effective manner in learning.  By adding words that may be interesting or extravagant in use, it may ultimately distract a learner from actively learning.  A study is used to point to this concept.  Inside the study, there was an extra phrase added to a picture.  When quizzed over the lesson, many students remembered the added phrase, but scored significantly lower than students who had the same lesson without the extra phrase (2011).

All of this was very interesting to me.  I found that I tend to be overboard in all three areas.  It seems that I have the attitude from the saying  “dress to impress”.  As I reflect on it, I may even use some of these in the traditional classrooms that I have taught in past years.  There comes a point that a teacher needs to step back and look at the distractions that may be coming from the curriculum that has been designed, both traditional and online.  This is also an important point when looking at the current project that my group is working on.  We need to balance the desire of making our project attractive while keeping the distractions to a minimum.  This chapter has caused me to reevaluate how I have designed my PowerPoints and online forums.  If learning is the desired outcome, the distractions, whether visual, audio, or unnecessary need to be put to rest as much as possible.

References:

Clark, R., & Mayer, R. (2011). E-Learning and the Science of Instruction (Third ed.). San Fransisco, CA: Pfeiffer.  

Online & Mobile Learning

Hey everyone,

I've decided to split my post into two parts.  There was too much information to say in under two minutes.  So what I decided to do was to post the video about my learning theory meeting the needs of online/mobile learning at the end while the rest of what you see below is the other information I could not fit into this post.

Enjoy!

Overall, online and mobile learning has changed how education is done.  The thing that was changed most was probably flexibility (Carter, Michel, & Varela, 2012; Liang & Chen, 2012).  Going from all learning happening in one classroom with everyone present to students learning at their own pace (Carter et al., 2012).  Carter, Michel, and Varela (2012) also pointed to saving costs as a student.  These costs are saved through various means of traveling and everyday needs.  Other areas include student interactivity as well as collaboration (Liang & Chen, 2012).

Online and mobile learning, as great as it is, does come with some challenges and problems.  One of the biggest problems that arises in the discussion of online learning is the quality of education being received (Carter et al., 2012; Liang & Chen, 2012).  Because of the emphasis of using technology, especially online learning, there are classes being created that have not thought through the quality of the class.  In essence, they are merely doing it for the sake of doing it.  Among these issues also rises high dropout rates,delayed feedback (Carter et al., 2012), and copyright issues (Liang & Chen, 2012)

References:

Cater, John James, I.,II, Michel, N., & Varela, O. E. (2012). Challenges of online learning in management education: An empirical study. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 17(4), 76-96. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1114670307?accountid=12085

Liang, R., & Chen, D. V. (2012). Online learning: Trends, potential and challenges. Creative Education, 3(8), 1332-1335. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1282096373?accountid=12085

Review of Gagne’s Nine Steps of Instruction

The ISD I have chosen to review is Gagne’s Nine Steps of Instruction.  Personally, I find this type of instruction to be one that I can relate to the most.  Throughout the the “nine steps” I enjoy that it uses relevance and facilitation.  Gagne’s Nine Steps of Instruction starts by introducing the content by seeking a relevant ground that all students can relate.  The teacher plays the role of facilitator, guiding the learning as seen fit.  Feedback is provided and the assignment is assessed for learning.  Buscombe (2013) states that Gagne’s steps are arranged in a way “to maximally enhance the learning process, improve session flow, and ultimately, ensure lesson objectives are comprehensively address” (p. 302).  Another upside to this form of learning is that it can be used in multiple fields outside of education.  Buscombe (2013) noted that the process of Gagne’s steps are easily transferred to the realm of teaching psychomotor skills to patients who have had certain surgeries.  

However, there are no ISD’s without critics with some being more harsh than others.  When looking for critical evidence that describes the weakness of this instructional design, it was difficult to find some solid evidence.  However, there were some modifications that were found.  Modifying notes that the original is not good enough and needs some form of change.  For instance, Ilie (2014) noted that it was viewed as incomplete.  Through his observations, he was able to see that teachers in Romania  had added their own parts to the theory.  There are other designs that combine Gagne’s design into less numbers and then add their own steps to the process.  Areas that have been added by other designers include discussion related steps, organizational steps, and more (Ilie, 2014).  Ilie (2014) also pointed out that in order for this learning process to work, it was required that teachers know their students well.  If teachers are unfamiliar with their students or do not know them well, this instructional design can cause some serious struggles for teachers..  

As for applying this design to distance education, I find that I relate to this the most through the introductory materials and concepts.  Instead of just jumping in the curriculum, there is time spent fostering interest and relevancy to the topic.  Personally, I find this to be the most effective with me.  When there is something that I can find relatable to the topic, it not only becomes more interesting, but also more effective in my life.  There have been classes and subjects that have been covered in college and graduate level classes that I have struggled to find relevant and relatable in my life.  This doesn’t mean it lacked importance, but it does point to the idea of creating a foundation of relatability and relevance.  Secondly, I find that the role of the facilitator to fit the role very easily in distance learning.  The teacher presents some materials.  The teacher may start the discussion (even making it relevant and relatable) and turns the reins over to the students to interact, develop, and learn while assessing students’ performance and providing feedback.

References:

Buscombe, C. (2013). Using Gagne’s theory to teach procedural skills. The Clinical Teacher, 10(5), 302-307. doi:10.1111/tct.12051 

Ilie, M. (2014). An adaption of Gagné’s instructional model to increase the teaching effectiveness in the classroom: The impact in Romanian Universities. Education Tech Research Dev Educational Technology Research and Development, 62(6), 767-794. doi:10.1007/s11423-014-9353-6  

Introduction

Hey guys- this is a blog that I created that is dedicated to a class that I am taking concerning online learning.  I was asked to create an introduction video of my self as the a part of the first post to this blog.  Enjoy!