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Category: EDCI 339 (Page 2 of 2)

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!

Topic 1: Community Contributions (Clara)

https://clarakucher.opened.ca/category/edci-339/edci-339-blogs/

Hi Clara,

Great post! I agree with so many of the points you brought up, especially the idea of realizing and finding techniques on how to build relationships through online learning. I definitely find it more difficult but as you said the readings also opened up my perspective on the less obvious online resources that can help us facilitate this. I also referred to the wide range of technology and how these are assets to help students succeed, therefore I totally agree with you! I also appreciate how you gave the example of Zoom as a useful technology; I am wondering if you have any more ideas of specific features or even other surfaces that may help build relationships amongst teacher-student but also student-student relationships?

A connection I made between both of our posts is that we acknowledge how online and in person learning can have both benefits and challenges and that one style may work better for one individual but not the other. As such we as educators need to consider all circumstances! You referred to this being “true for both open and online learning”, I wonder if you could maybe make it clearer to the reader the difference between open and online learning?

My absolute favourite quote is the one you used ““their learning [rather] than the online modality within which they are learning” as I think it is such a crucial thing to understand and consider when thinking of the importance of relationship building

Great connection to safety as well in regard to privacy and safety! I am wondering how you can demonstrate this to younger students or to parents, like how would you explain FIPPA. Throughout the post you included many personal experiences and considered all students as well as current situations in the world! Great work!

Topic 1 Blog

Prompt: Individual blog post #1: How can teachers effectively build relationships by encouraging safe communication and interactions in K-12 online & open learning spaces? What did you already know, what do you know now based on the course readings and activities, what do you hope to learn?

I have always believed in the collaboration aspect of education as well as the use of zone of proximal development. As stated by Garrett (2018), the zone of proximal development “reinforces how knowledge and learning increase through interaction and collaboration”. However, now I can further expand my knowledge and understand some of the impacts of online learning and how we can select tools to support growth and peer learning. It is interesting how research demonstrated there was positive outcomes related to progress of learner to content interaction. However, the others (learner to learner and learner to teacher) had less of an impact (Garrett, 2018). In contrast, it also recognizes that it could be due to the design of the courses. This realization stresses the need to effectively consider all situations as it demonstrates the need to create purposeful online learning surfaces. As such, this aspect leans into the social presence model as described by Garrett (2018). Therefore, educators must create a lesson plan that supports meaningful connections and interactions.

Made using Tech Smith Capture, retrieved from: https://secure.onlinelearningconsortium.org/effective_practices/integrating-social-presence-model-maximize-blended-and-online-learning-experienc. Quotes from Garrett (2018) reading

In order to build safe conversations and relationships, courses must follow a purposeful design. For example, group projects and peer comments create a dialogue between students. Without these aspects it would have been hard to collaborate especially if you did not enroll in the class with a friend. This makes me think of students who are transitioning to a new school (whether that be due to moving, or grade level) who are supposed to form new connections and work collaboratively. As such measures and tools must be in place to do so. If we as educators set parameters that support interaction, there can be connections made. As such, including group work and various multimedia surfaces (Padlet, Slack, Freshgrade, Google… etc) can benefit the learner, which can thus expand beyond classroom work and into friendships. It is also important to consider the privacy of these and where the information is being stored as this can cause ethical concerns and make it inaccessible. As discussed in Regan and Jesse (2019) article, privacy is a key concern amongst parents and we as educators need to be aware of that. In my previous courses, I met new people, expanded my PLN as we collaborated using Facebook messenger and now the class is over, yet we are still connecting!

All in all, I believe that technology has served as a great tool especially during these uncertain times, however I still believe that in person classes are essential as it is harder to meet human connection. Therefore, I still think that although it may be effective for some, it is not always ideal for all circumstances. The same can be said for in person as there are benefits and challenges for different models as we all learn differently!

Made using Tech Smith Capture retrieved from https://www.leadsv.com/hcn

However, with these readings I am able to learn and further discover techniques and tools that can further develop skills that may seem to be missing online!

References

Garrett Dickers, A. (2018) Social Interaction in K-12 Online Learning. In R. Ferdig & K. Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 509-522 ). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.

Regan, P., & Jesse, J. (2019). Ethical challenges of edtech, big data and personalized learning: Twenty-first century student sorting and tracking. Ethics and Information Technology, 21(3), 167-179. DOI: 10.1007/s10676-018-9492-2

What is Human-Centered Instruction? https://www.leadsv.com/hcn

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