Introduction From what I have learned thus far in OLTD, if I were to design a non-LMS online learning environment I would want it to include all three aspects of the Community of Inquiry Framework. The tools that I select must provide the ability to establish the social, cognitive, and teaching presences. I feel that if any of these three aspects are not present, the online learning environment would not be as successful as it could be. In order for a non-LMS based online learning environment to equal the functionality of an LMS based environment it needs to ensure that three critical areas are covered:
The toolkit provided below addresses these three areas while ensuring that the social, cognitive, and teaching presences of the CoI Framework can be established within the course. In selecting tools to use in my non-LMS build I tried not to include too many different websites and apps. I feel that asking students to use too many mediums to access course material, complete assignments, and collaborate with others can result in information overload and too much time spent learning how to use websites and apps rather than the content of the course. I have chosen to use the Google suite of apps as the primary tools because I feel that the ability of these apps to integrate and complement each other makes for a much more seamless and smooth user experience. Also students can access multiple apps and switch between apps easily with just one user account. 1. Building Community and Inspiring Discourse Of the three aspects of the CoI Framework, I believe that the social presence is the most important to building a successful online learning community. Programs and courses that overlook this key element are typically not successful in the long term as students can feel very disconnected and distant from their peers and instructors leading to a lack of motivation and low completion rates. The following tools can be used be build the social presence in an online learning community:
2. Providing Content, Interactivity, and Organization The non-LMS tools in this section provide instructors the ability to establish the cognitive and teaching presences of the CoI Framework. They can be used to create structure, organization, and content for an online learning course or program.
3. Assessment for and of Learning The non-LMS tools in this section also help to establish the social, teaching, and cognitive presences of the CoI Framework by ensuring that the course/program learning outcomes are achieved and opportunities for reflection and discourse are provided in assessment for and of learning.
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Here is my Pecha Kucha for Learner Led Seminar #4 in OLTD 503. The theme is key elements for building online virtual communities. I chose to use an animal theme (with a surprise for all the Star Trek fans in the cohort). Based on the article:
The Truth About Research on Screen Time by Kayt Sukel Pre-reading Prediction: Prior to reading this article I predict that technology has a negative effect on brain development in children and teenagers. I have no scientific research to back up anything I am about to say, but I have had the opportunity to observe teenagers in the high school that I teach at over the past 8 years and can compare that with what I can remember about myself and my friends when we were in high school and university when smart phones and social media weren’t nearly as prominent. I have found that teenagers have shorter attention spans, poorer research skills, less grit, and higher levels of anxiety than they did 10 years ago. If students cannot find the answer to something immediately they usually give up. Despite the fact that they have access to exponentially more information than teenagers did 10 years ago they lack the skills to find and vet information. The pressures to share everything you are doing, fit in, and look good on social media apps like Snapchat and Instagram has created heightened levels of anxiety. Post reading: The article seems to state that researching this subject is currently very difficult and that there is no consensus in science or education about how technology affects our lives. There are so many variables to this situation and it is such a new phenomenon that it is nearly impossible to come to one conclusion that applies universally to all scenarios and people. The main conclusion of the article was that setting limits to how much screen time and information children get is a good idea but there is no exact number that is correct. I think this applies to education because it is important that we make an effort to educate children and teenagers on the potential negative effects of technology use and information overload. I think that parents and teachers also have a responsibility to role model appropriate use of technology and information. If we make an effort to reduce the amount of time that kids spend on their phones it could have a positive effect on their lives. I feel that one of the most important elements of effective online communication is to make sure that the message being delivered is clear and gets everyone in the group on the same page about a topic. Regardless of which methods are used the message should be consistent and easy to interpret. I think that students appreciate a safe, structured environment and effective use of online communication is an important aspect of establishing that. Ineffective communication can make an online learning environment feel fragmented and distant, effective communication can make the environment feel connected and supportive. If everyone in a group is on the same page is much easier to work together towards a common goal.
Our learning activity for weeks 2 and 3 in OLTD 502 was to immerse ourselves in the ‘firehose’ of information available through the Global Education Conference and Twitter and to start building our own personal learning network. This blog post is a summary of my experiences with this over the past week. My experience started with registering for an account on the Global Education Conference website and familiarizing myself with how to use the site. I found it very easy to find sessions that I was interested in and I was able download Blackboard Collaborate so I could join the live video conferences prior to starting my first session. The first session I attended was the conference opening keynote on Nov. 13th 2017 with Michael Furdyk and Terry Godwalt. There were over 150 people watching the session which was less than I was expecting. Michael Furdyk was broadcasting from Toronto and talked about designing engaging global learning experiences, making education relevant, authentic, and have depth beyond the curriculum and school day. He said that the top skills of 2020 are around complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, working with people and coordinating with others. Terry Godwalt was broadcasting from Alberta and talked about making education global and tools that can be used to help people connect, share ideas, and collaborate. Michael Furdyk started #Decarbonize, which is the world’s largest synthesis of youth research around climate change. Terry Godwalt discussed how they have created a global network of students from all areas of the world who are collaborating to research and present their ideas to the United Nations. This year students focused on the effects of colonization on climate change. The second session I attended was titled Developing Globally Competent Students. It was run by a group of 7 teachers from Millersville, PA, USA who are graduate students in Educational Leadership. There were under 20 people attending this conference including 3 moderators and the presenters shared a slide show using audio but not video. At the start of the conference the moderator explained how we could put a pin on a map to show where we were watching from. The presenters talked about the importance of integrating global education issues like sustainability and racism into classrooms in the United States. Although neither of the sessions I attended were directly related to the subjects I teach, I found the experience of being connected in real time with educators from around the world very interesting. There was a map displayed in each session showing where people were viewing from and there were people from all over the world tuned in. I feel like this is a great source for professional development and I would have liked to attend a session on coding that I found but I was not available to watch it at the scheduled time. There were so many sessions offered that I think anyone could find something of interest to them and learn something that they could use in their classroom. Although I was initially a bit anxious about how this experience would go it turned out to be very easy and eye-opening. In addition to attending a couple sessions at the Global Education Conference I created a Twitter account for my personal learning network in the OLTD program. I have had experience with Twitter prior to this course as I have had a Twitter account since 2013 that I primarily use to make announcements to the basketball team that I coach at Enver Creek. I was aware of all the information available on Twitter as I follow some of my colleges who retweet educational content regularly. The Surrey School District has a hashtag #sd36learn that people use to share information and connect with each other. I started off my OLTD Twitter account by following Randy, CANeLearn, and the other members of Cohort 6, then I searched for and scrolled though the #OLTD hashtag. I quickly discovered that there is a lot of quality information being shared about online learning resources which I am sure will be useful to me in the OLTD program and beyond. Please feel free to comment below. You can follow me on Twitter @JeffOLTD This is my first blog post!
My name is Jeff and I am a Business Education and Information Technology teacher at Enver Creek Secondary School in Surrey, British Columbia. I am currently enrolled in the Online Teaching and Learning Diploma at Vancouver Island University and will be using this website to share my learning journey with you. I welcome everyone to comment and contribute to by blog! |
AuthorJeff Brisbois is a Archives
April 2018
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