My Learning Journey-->

Author: Brittany (Page 4 of 10)

Topic 3: Community Contributions (Clara)

Hi Clara,

Very powerful and interesting blog post!

I really enjoyed how you opened up with acknowledging that it is harder to recognize different learning styles and abilities in open and online learning. I wonder what we can do to get to know more about our students learning styles
 I totally agree we need to provide means for students to meet their needs and space for growth and mistakes!

I definitely agree with what regarding a group effort versus in the classroom where it is the teacher and students who create the meaningful environment. This statement acknowledges diversity and students various learning environments when online, which goes well with the quote you chose in the previous paragraph. Great pick! This made me think of how teachers can design the lesson but cannot control the environment which parallels your idea of open and distributed learning being more difficult to address authentic environments.

I think it is super powerful that you included multiple viewpoints in your blog. As well as you made a really great reference to topic one and the importance of relationships! The part you included from Selwyn is so relatable and such a good aspect to consider. I personally have found that I thrive in asynchronous learning environments when online and so I also can relate to what you are feeling going into September. At least we will be in the same boat!

Great ending paragraph, it is so crucial to teach to diversity in all learning environments and as such UDL guidelines can help us do that as you mentioned. I think it would be super beneficial to include a diagram or something from the UDL website (I remember you sharing one in our group project) would be a great visual to include near your UDL paragraph!

Your final sentence of considering how to support these groups is very important. It reminds me of a Shelley Moore video of teaching to diversity but specifically her analogy of bowling and hitting the pins on the outside as those are hardest to reach. Same concept!

Overall great blog post love how you included multiple perspectives as well as personal experience. The asynchronous and synchronous learning I think is a key aspect that should be considered, and I love how you brought that up in relation to our reading.

Topic 3: Community Contributions (Stephanie)

Hi Stephanie!

This is such a terrific blog post and great way to address the question!

I totally agree with your point around accessibility in relation to family’s financial situation. As you mentioned it is important to meet their needs by providing them with these technologies and resources. It was great to see this being done within our local school districts when everything switched to online learning due to Covid.

I really like the way you structured your blog post; it is almost as if it is steps of what to do to meet the needs of the children. UDL guidelines stresses the idea of choice and fosters that we all learn differently.

In your third paragraph I really enjoyed how you recognized the need for different spaces and how that can create a safe and give students choice as to what environment best suits their needs. The final sentence in that paragraph is so powerful and truly speaks to how education is more than just grades and assignments. Thus, it brings back the whole idea of student-centered learning as well as relationship building that extends beyond the classroom. One of my favourite quotes is “When one teaches, two learn.” (Robert Half). This just describes the collaboration and dynamics that are intended!

Adapting is so key to teaching and learning and I love how you included it and connected it to face to face vs online and that transition. Sometimes you have to change and be creative and what you shared is so true!

Great Info-graph I like the concluding thoughts as I definitely resonate with the idea that learning happens everywhere. As such it stresses that learning is a process and not just outcome based nor within the walls of a building (classroom). It is much much more!

Loved this post, all in all, I really liked the breakdown and structure related to 1. Accessibility, 2, UDL principles, 3. Learning spaces and 4. Adapting accordingly, as well as the great use of diagrams.

Topic 3 Blog

Individual post #3: How can you ensure equitable access to authentic, meaningful & relevant learning environments for all learners in K-12 open and distributed learning contexts? What did you already know, what do you know now based on the course readings and activities, what do you hope to learn?

Prior to the readings I was familiar with the UDL principles and the idea of inclusive education, however now I am more familiar with how to meet all student needs in an online setting as well. I hope to further learn techniques to create an effective online learning environment as I think that the process of learning about online learning is ever evolving and from this pandemic we will learn many useful skills that can be used for both online classes and platforms but also for in class. Technology is always developing and therefore we are learning from it and how the resources can be useful.

A key aspect in regard to creating an equitable, accessible, meaningful and authentic learning environment in online and open learning is design. In order to ensure that all students are the centre of their learning and that they are empowered in their learning, we must consider the diversity of student learners and a good way to do that is through the UDL principles. This provides multiple ways for students to succeed as it fosters options. As such, Basham et al., (2018), suggests that this model goal is “to remove barriers in curricula and across digital as well as physical learning environments.” (p.480). To learn more about the UDL guidelines visit: http://udlguidelines.cast.org .

Retrieved from: http://udlguidelines.cast.org

According to Basham et al., (2018), these guidelines are “meant to proactively address the academic, social and cultural distinctions of today’s schools.” (p.480). As such it recognizes more than just the all external factors which makes me think of the psychological effect on children and how these considerations would lead to increased motivation. Which makes me think back to my Ed-d 301 class that addressed student needs in relation to self-determination theory and the circle of courage for example. As well as Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model as it parallels the idea that everything has an influence on the individual and the child is at the centre of their learning.

Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Bronfenbrenner-ecological-theory-of-child-development-Source-Santrock-2008-p33_fig1_308606611

Retrieved from: http://www.sd27.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/sense-belonging.jpg

These models can and should be considered when designing online lessons as they foster student engagement and motivation. Hence it allows children to be the centre of their learning. The designing principles suggested by Kral and Swab (2012) also align with this idea!

Therefore, the addressed factors above help guide us to create a purposeful design that will help empower our students in online and open learning environments. By considering UDL guidelines we are providing students with opportunity of choice that can support their individual learning styles and needs. Heather in our course Slack addressed the need of communication, this stresses the need of relationship building again online and shared a great article that helped teachers transition online. Throughout online learning I think it is important to align with FIPPA guidelines and meet student needs and worries. As such creating a safe space where the Kral and Swab principles can be accomplished through various means is crucial. As these cannot be accomplished until the students and families feel comfortable online and in open learning, we must foster the idea of the learning process and how mistakes are ok.

References

Basham, J.D., Blackorby, J., Stahl, S. & Zhang, L. (2018) Universal Design for Learning Because Students are (the) Variable. In R. Ferdig & K. Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 477-507). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.

CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org

Kral, I. & Schwab, R.G. (2012). Chapter 4: Design Principles for Indigenous Learning Spaces. Safe Learning Spaces. Youth, Literacy and New Media in Remote Indigenous Australia. ANU Press. http://doi.org/10.22459/LS.08.2012 Retrieved from:   http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p197731/pdf/ch041.pdf

Digital Equity and Perspective Pod Project

This is our Digital Equity and Perspective Resource. It focuses on a made up persona of a girl called Ella. Furthermore it addresses some of the barriers and needs of other students by addressing the UDL guidelines in relation to online and open learning. Hope you enjoy it!

Please use this link to view our 339 final group project

https://docs.google.com/document/d/105yLY2B-c1mKDM_vY6I0freG7Sbo0pCV4pl-M19HcGk/edit?usp=sharing

Please use this link to view our FlipGrid video

https://flipgrid.com/street5083

Topic 2: Community Contributions (Amanda)

Hi Amanda

I really enjoyed your second blog post! I can totally relate to what you say in the first paragraph, I was very unaware of how early the first online school was founded and that it was in BC. Crazy to think that but yet there lacks research and data on Canadian online learning


The real time answering system known “Teaching Machine” developed by Skinner is a great example of the timeline of technology. As a visual learner, I wonder if there is a diagram or timeline that puts the development of technology, online learning, open learning, blended learning etc. I would be interested what that timeline would look like after the current pandemic as well. I like the quote you used as it stresses the need for connection and how this machine extends beyond just student to teacher relationships. Therefore, you also address how technology supports interaction and relationship building, which is powerful as it builds off topic 1.

I love how you included an image of the Teaching Machine and that the chosen image includes description. I think this really benefits the post and understanding the characteristics of the machine.

All in all, I value how you chose Skinner and connected it to current technology as well as the similarities between online and open learning and the teaching machine! You address the idea of student-centered learning and how these environments allow students to be in control of the pace through teacher led instruction/ objectives all while designing a course that develops interactions. To be honest, I never really made the connection of Skinners Teaching Machine and online and open learning. As such I learned the similarities and was quite shocked of the direct comparisons and the timeline. Really interesting and creative post, I quite enjoyed it! Looking forward to your future posts!

Topic 2: Community Contributions (Clara)

Hi Clara,

I really enjoyed reading your second blog post  and I feel like I learned even more about open education specifically as the quotes you highlighted really made the intention clear. I found it very powerful how you started off with quotes. Created a really nice flow and understanding for the reader. I think my favourite quote you used was the “learners identify and locate learning opportunities for themselves as well as create opportunities for others” (Coffey et al, 2006 as cited in Roberts et al, 2018). This demonstrates the importance of design and collaboration and sums up how open learning extends beyond the classroom.

In the following paragraph you make a really strong connection to the UDL guidelines as well as the relationship to Dewey’s idea of learning from and with. Which again stresses the importance of collaboration as you addressed. I think you are really considering the relationship building aspects as well as the diversity of student learners, which is very empowering!

I totally agree with you I never knew how old and prominent online education has been in Canada and I also find it surprising of how little research has been done.

I also am curious to see what the outcomes related to online learning will be post Covid-19 pandemic and see a timeline. I believe we will see a significant jump and transition as everyone is now becoming more aware of online learning. I also did not know of CANeLearn prior to these readings and to be honest did not realize of some key benefits of online learning. Obviously each student responds to online education different and delivery is different but I wonder how students will now respond to courses being online and whether we will see an increase in online enrollment post covid-19 at a post-secondary level but also within the K-12 system
 I am curious of the children who have experienced this pandemic if they are given the option between online and in class classes what their thoughts and choice would be.

Thanks for sharing your post with me, I enjoyed learning and thinking about the concepts more! Looking forward to your next post 🙂

Topic 2: Community Contributions (Stephanie)

Hi Stephanie,

I really enjoyed reading and learning from your blog post 2! I loved how you included the history and specific years as it created a great timeline for the reader. Also, I really enjoyed the connection of our current times (Covid-19 pandemic). I totally agree and I am excited to also see what will come from all the online learning taken place during these trial times. It just goes to show how like you said it shapes our learning and teaching moving forward. I definitely think that there will be much more use of technologies and I am also interested to see the great resources made by current teachers and how that will expand and create great resources.

I also had very similar experiences and saw the progressions of technology and online tools in the classroom as described in your second paragraph. I think you did an amazing job at summarizing it and creating a timeline from when we were in k-12 education to today!

You brought up a great quote of using learning theories as learning mechanisms and not making them just shape your teaching; but rather understanding them and their impacts on education. This transitions well into key characteristics of being an adaptable teacher. Being adaptable is crucial in teaching online and in the classroom in order to meet the children’s diverse needs and I believe you addressed this very well in conjunction with the readings. This also goes into the importance of creating a safe and welcome environment online as well and how we need to promote values such as trust and sharing! I also agree that this is more difficult to do online and wonder of what resources and techniques can be used to create an accepting and inclusive environment?

Great post I really liked all the great characteristics you brought forward and how the post was centered around student needs and teachers learning and adapting! I also value the SAMR model you used as it creates a great visual and a fun yet different way of looking at the ways of using technology!

Thanks for sharing! I look forward to your future posts 🙂

Topic 2 Blog

Individual blog post #2: How would you describe the historical and theoretical trends in k-12 online and distributed learning? What did you already know, what do you know now based on the course readings and activities, what do you hope to learn?

Before the current pandemic, I never really realized how involved Canada was in e-learning. It is fascinating that Canada is known to have the most students’ per capita enrolments (before Covid) (Barbour and Labonte, 2018). I also did not realize that BC was the leader in elearning! It will be so interesting to see the growth and development after the pandemic as I think there will be a new appreciation for online learning and technology in general. Hopefully this historical transition will prompt Canada to be involved in more research.

Before doing these readings, I knew that Canada and the US have very different policies and structures related to the education system. Hence, I believe this Handbook stressed the importance of considering the diversity of online programs. Although in Canada it is within the provinces and territories ministry of educations, each has uniqueness’s.

Reflection on some of these ideas made me think of my experiences with online learning and how that has shaped my learning today. Throughout high school, I did classes at SIDES and  École Virtuelle! These experiences helped me understand of the different types of learning spaces. Whether that be distributed learning, blended, online / elearning and open learning! Prior to this topic, I would have never considered online learning other than online. Now I understand that online learning can take many forms whether that be face to face, partially online (uses online discussions for example) or fully online (Barbour and Labonte, 2018). Online / elearning according to Barbour and Labonte (2018) is “The implementation of computer technologies to education. “(p.602). It is crazy to think that with that definition in mind, I have basically done some form of online learning all my life! I have used technology for different purposes and at different levels as such the SAMR model explains this idea very well!

Retrieved from: https://lingomedia.com/stages-of-edtech-the-samr-model-for-technology-integration/ Image credit: Sylvia Duckworth, via @DavidGuerin

 

I think the historical and theoretical trends can be described by past experiences. In a world that is constantly involving in terms of technology! We are always learning! Therefore, experiences like the current pandemic can shape our new visions and approaches to teaching and learning. Learning theories have shaped our understanding and ability to create student centered learning (Bates, 2014). Theories shape the way the teacher thinks and addresses things in the classroom. As such a behaviourist approach could be to include reward systems in the classroom. This is shaped by theorists such as Pavlov and Skinner. Constructivism known theorists include Piaget and Vygotsky; Vygotsky Zone of Proximal development is still considered today! Connectivism focus is on interaction amongst peers. Thus, building connections and learning from each other as analyzed by Siemens and Downes (connectivism theorists). All in all, these have shaped our understanding and teaching practices and we can include various elements of these in order to create a diverse a student-centered approach! However first we must understand the roots in order to address student needs!

Retrieved from:from my blog post from a previous class: https://brittanyseducblog.opened.ca/2020/05/18/learning-theory-and-motivation/

 

References

Barbour, M & Labonte, R. (2018) An Overview of eLearning Organizations and Practices in Canada. In R. Ferdig & K. Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 600-616).Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.

Bates, T.(2014). Learning Theories and Online Learning. [Blog post]. Retrieved from
https://www.tonybates.ca/2014/07/29/learning-theories-and-online-learning/

Topic 1: Community Contributions (Amanda)

https://amandastreeted.wordpress.com/2020/07/10/edci-339-blog-post-1/

Hi Amanda,

Great post! I really value how you shared your experience with doing classes at Sides, I think that sharing our experiences as learners can definitely help us consider all circumstances and help us understand how students may feel. This can thus further help us support them and try to help them engage in online learning! I also did one course at SIDES and found that there may have been a lack of connection as I did not work or collaborate with any other classmates. Do you think the lack of buiding relationships and collaborating with classmates also had an impact on your motivation in regard to SIDES? I personally was thinking of the classes we are doing right now, and I wonder if I would feel as inclined to do online if I did not know anyone in the course, I wonder if you feel the same?

I think that all these aspects like you address align perfectly with the reading as well as the social presence model! Love the visuals you added and thanks for sharing my blog diagram! So glad you liked it 

That video is so perfect for both children and adult learners! I think it would be a great resource to talk about how to form safe connections online. I am curious if there is a video out there that talks specifically about FIPPA in the same format or how you would present FIPPA to your children and parents? I also do not have an account with Study.com so sadly could only watch part of the video
 however I think that even though I could initially only watch part it also shares a useful resource and made me inclined to sign up!

Great connection to privacy and safety, I totally agree that the reading made it clear that these extend beyond just cyber predators and harassment. I also learned so much from the Zoom meeting with Dr. Brown. What you said though in regard to software that is stored within Canada is crucial, would be very cool to learn more about Canadian platforms. As the only one I can really think of is Freshgrade. Do you know of any other Canadian platforms and how would you use them to build relationships specifically?

Topic 1: Community Contributions (Stephanie)

https://smaceducation.wordpress.com/2020/07/09/topic-1-blog/

Hi Stephanie,

Awesome post! I think it is great that you addressed the privacy concern of storage and data within Canada vs the US. I agree with that and have had experience with my highschool that used a US stored company Edmodo and then switched to Freshgrade for exactly that reason! I wonder if you have any examples of specific surfaces you would lean more towards regarding Canadian stored platforms. I value that you made a connection to Barbara Brown suggestion of FlipGrid and the use of videos! Is FlipGrid Canadian or US based just curious? Are there any Canadian collaborative video making companies?

Your second paragraph is a great tip as it just shows how the privacy concerns is at the heart of the whole district and everyone is working together to find the best and safest resources!

I totally agree with your connection to the reading and the benefit related to control their learning online, but also the distinction between synchronous and asynchronous learning. Control makes me further think of mastery and autonomy (circle of courage) and how we are meeting needs and leading the children to feel empowered and motivated by learning. I am wondering if you can go more in depth around these two styles (synchronous and asynchronous) of online learning? I really liked how you added in your personal experience to support the challenge of creating relationships!

I really appreciate how you went more in depth on connecting this subject to our current situation and how this will affect education moving forward! I also am curious to learn about ways to support the diversity of student learners! That is such a key element in order to include all students and to create a welcoming environment as you stated! It makes me wonder what resources or tools can benefit these learners and how can we meet their needs! Great questions to consider! Definitely makes me think too!

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