Application: Blog - Selecting Distance Learning Technologies

I chose the following example:

Example 3: Asynchronous Training

In an effort to improve its poor safety record, a biodiesel manufacturing plant needs a series of safety training modules. These stand-alone modules must illustrate best practices on how to safely operate the many pieces of heavy machinery on the plant floor. The modules should involve systematic processes and the method of delivery needs to be available to all shifts at the plant. As well, the shift supervisors want to be sure the employees are engaged and can demonstrate their learning from the modules.
Identify one to two distance-learning technologies you think provide the best solution for the given challenge:

1.The totally online course environment: Asynchronous can be defined as, “the fact that everyone does not have to be at the class at the same time is one of the advantages of this type of class for very busy people busy who are unable to arrange a time within their weekly schedule to “attend” class on a regular basis.” (Simonson, 2009, p. 173)

2.The Web based course environment in the form of a video in this instance. The video type of setting would be ideal because of the systematic process that needs to take place during this training. Synchronous training made into asynchronous, “In a video based class, when a student is unable to attend, one solution is to record the class and send the tape (video or audio) to the learner(s) who missed class.” (Simonson, 2009, p. 173)

All of the safety employees can view and participate in the training modules at their leisure. However, there should be a time limit imposed for the course completion.

Student Engagement: There should be an ongoing discussion board, in which all of the safety employees actively participate with one another and the Facilitator. The definition of an online discussion is, “An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages.” (Internet Forum)

Systematic Process: I would use learning how to tie shoes as an example of a systematic process in this instance. Utilization of actual systematic images with clear and concise directions should be sufficient. I know that someone posted the how to instructions on YouTube already. I love this Website’s presentation on how to tie a shoe: http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/shslow1.html
Regarding animation in relation to learning difficult concepts like learning how to tie a shoe, “Well-designed animations may help students learn faster and easier. They are also excellent aid to teachers when it comes to explaining difficult subjects.” (Educational Animation) The systematic process in the form animation with written information is ideal, keeping in mind the following concept for success, “slow the animation down and accompany it with a written explanation.” (Educational Animation)

Student Demonstration of the Knowledge Obtained: One of our readings in Week # 1 stated the following in relation to problems in measuring learning outcomes in corporate training in general, “…there is no provision for the measurement of learning outcomes our utilization. “ (Moller, 2008, p. 70) A best practice can be defined as, “…"what works" in a particular situation or environment.” (Best Practices in Education) In my instance, I would devise a set of best practices associated with each safety-training module to satisfy the student demonstration of knowledge aspect.
As far as adding extra components to my course, I would not need the following: “homework collections and grading, electronic gradebook, electronic testing, and plagiarism detection.” (Simonson, 2009, p. 243) Web 2.0 technologies that I could consider using would be blogging, wikis, podcasting, and/or YouTube. I would not use any of the social networking or bookmarking features, nor would I use virtual worlds. Our book stated the following about virtual worlds, “…believes that virtual environments “built on the very premise of online engagement and interaction” will ultimately replace the World Wide Web.” (Simonson, 2009, p. 246)
Distance learning technologies in general have four divisions: print, voice/audio, computer, and video. I presented you earlier a link to an online demonstration on learning how to tie your shoes, http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/shslow1.html - this would fall under the computer division – a web-based resource. The following Active Parenting Website provides a video-conferencing class that has become very successful: http://www.activeparenting.com/parents/

References:
Best Practices in Education (n.d.). Retrieved September 22, 2010, from http://ctserc.org/s/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=8&Itemid=28

Educational Animation (n.d.). Retrieved September 21, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_animation

Internet Forum (n.d.). Retrieved September 21, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_forum

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 1: Training and development). TechTrends, 52(3), 70–75.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Blog Assignment for Week 1

Your personal definition and observations of distance learning before starting this course. Consider what you learned about distance learning this week and how this learning has influenced your personal definition.

Let's see my personal definition of distance learning is students learning information and concepts in an online forum with the Instructor taking on a facilitator role.

Your revised definition, which combines your previous thoughts about distance learning with new information you learned this week.

I think that I am amazed that our book labels/categorizes distance learning into four components: "Institutinally based, seperation of teacher and student, interactive telecommunications, and sharing of data, voice and video (learning experience). (Simonson, 2009, p. 32)

I was rather surprised at the seperation aspect between the teacher and the student. In all of my years in taking online classes, I have never felt seperated from my Instructors. I knew that I could always contact my Instructors through e-mail, phone calls, and/or in class. It never crossed my mind that my Instructor might reside in a different state/city than me. I feel that most of my Instructors have done a good job in making their students feel that they are always accessible, therefore, eliminating the feeling of seperation. Our book stated the following, "...seperation is thought of in geographic terms - teachers are in one location and students are in another." (Simonson, 2009, p. 32)

A summary of your vision for the future of distance learning as it continues on a path of evolution and change.

For instance, our sister campus is toying with Skyping for a real time class. There is a student who resides in Washington State, and there are no special education classes available where she lives. Our sister campus (California) had this particular class that she needed, so the Instructor is skyping the class for her in real time.

Personally, I feel that we will see many more sit-down classes evolve to some type of online forum. The univeristy that I work for, we instituted blended (hybrid) learning. The student attends class from 6:00PM to 9:00PM, and the bulk of their written work is completed online.

For instance, if done correctly, the online class can take a complex concept, and turn it into a multimedia presentation where a student will grasp easily.


References:

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 1: Training and development). TechTrends, 52(3), 70–75.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 2: Higher education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66–70.

Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 63–67.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.


My Mindmap:

Learner Motivation - Reflection

My Reflection

I have to admit that I have never given it much thought as to how people learn. I knew that people learned differently, but I did not know to what extent and what depth. The extent and the depth have to do with the following six learning theories: Behaviorist, Cognitive, Constructivist, Social Learning, Connectivism, and Adult Learners, and each of the following definitive questions that go with each:

a. How does learning occur?
b. What factors influence learning?
c. What is the role of memory?
d. How does transfer occur?
e. What types of learning are best explained by this theory?
f. How is technology used for learning in your industry?

For instance, let us look at the Adult Learning Theory in relation to the above definitive questions. Learning occurs, “It is based on the assumptions that adult learners focus more on the processes rather than contents. This is because adults bring in real life experiences to the learning environment. Thus, strategies like collaborative learning, role-play, simulations, case study and self-evaluations are useful to help facilitate adult learning.” (Online Learning Laboratory) The factors that influence learning are “social relationships, external expectations, social welfare, and personal advancement, escape/stimulation: to relieve boredom, provide a break, and cognitive interest: to learn for the sake of learning.” (Principles of Adult Learning) The role of the memory is “retention by the participants is directly affected by their amount of practice during the learning.” (Principles of Adult Learning) Transfer occurs, “association, similarity, degree of original learning, and critical attribute element.” (Principles of Adult Learning) The types of learning that is best associated are life experience and knowledge. The types of technology that are used, “critical thinking, process design ability, team work, outcome oriented process, and communication skills.” (Nasseh)

As for my personal learning process, the amazement to me was the above definitive questions. It was surprising just to see how I learned, the factors that influenced my learning, the role that memory and transfer played, the different types of learning that are associated, and how technology is used. Additionally, I was under the impression that a person could only fall under one learning theory, which is not true at all. For instance, using myself, my personal learning process encompasses all six of the theories. This may be due in part to accommodating to the different teachers that I have had over the years in relation to how they taught.

Without one of the following ingredients: learning theories, learning styles, educational technology, and motivation the mind simply would not grow or thrive. Each one of these ingredients plays a huge role and intertwines in the learning process. For instance, without motivation, the learning theories, the learning styles, and educational technology would cease to exist. Motivation “is the activation or energization of goal-oriented behavior.” (Motivation) Learning theories “have two chief values. One is in providing us with vocabulary and a conceptual framework for interpreting the examples of learning that we observe. The other is in suggesting where to look for solutions to practical problems. The theories do not give us solutions, but they do direct our attention to those variables that are crucial in finding solutions.” (Learning Theory) Learning styles “are various approaches or ways of learning. They involve educating methods, particular to an individual that are presumed to allow that individual to learn best. It is commonly believed that most people favor some particular method of interacting with, taking in, and processing stimuli or information.” (Learning Styles) Educational Technology “is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources.” (Educational Technology)

What I have learned in this course will help me keep in mind that not everyone will have the same learning theories and learning styles. Some of the learning theories and learning styles maybe intertwined with others, making the factors of the definitive questions come out relatively different. I have to remain patient and keep the lines of communication open, as some of my student’s may not understand a particular concept right off the bat. I may have to spend extra time or explain a concept on a level where everybody understands. Above all, I must be accommodating, this is why I learned all about the learning theories in depth and extensively.

In conclusion, I have to say that I enjoyed this class very much; it opened my eyes up to what factors are involved with each of the learning theories. Actually, the Learning Theory Matrix was very helpful, as it examined each learning theory inch by inch.





References

Educational Technology (n.d.). Retrieved December 21, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_technology

Learning Styles (n.d.). Retrieved December 21, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_styles

Learning Theory (Education) (n.d.). Retrieved December 21, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_theory_(education)

Motivation (n.d.). Retrieved December 21, 2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation

Nasseh, B. (n.d.). Changing Definition of Teaching and Learning. Retrieved December 10, 2009, from http://www.bsu.edu/classes/nasseh/bn100/change.html

Online Learning Laboratory (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2009, from Kim, B. (2001). Social constructivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Social_Constructi

Principles of Adult Learning (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2009, from http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/adults-2.htm

Week 7 - Fitting the Pieces Together

Here is what I wrote on Week # 1 pertaining to what learning theories best suited me:

“First, my learning process is most associated with that of Constructivism, which is defined as “Constructivism views learning as a process in which the learner actively constructs or builds new ideas or concepts based upon current and past knowledge or experience. In other words, "learning involves constructing one's own knowledge from one's own experiences."” (Learning Theory) The Instructional Designer builds upon what a learner knows already. Words that are closely associated with Constructivism are “Aspects of constructivism can be found in self-directed learning, transformational learning, experiential learning, situated cognition, and reflective practice.” (Learning Theory) I feel that because I have been taking online classes since 2005, I have adopted this learning theory. For example, in order to take online classes a person needs to adopt some form of self-directed learning, because an individual in this environment takes charge of their own learning experience. If an individual is taking a sit-down class, then of course, the Instructor is in charge of their learning experience.

Second, my learning process shows some signs of Cognitivism, which is defined as, “Cognitivists consider how human memory works to promote learning.” (Learning Theory) There are many instances when I have to rely on my memory to learn a concept. An example, learning all of those passwords, which I have memorized to get into my e-mail, my class, my employee timesheet and work related programs, etc.”

I have learned that each learning theory consists of the following concepts, which can be broken down into questions:

1. How does learning occur?
2. What factors influence learning?
3. What is the role of the memory?
4. How does transfer occur?
5. What types of learning are best explained?
6. How does technology play a role?

Quite honestly, I have never really studied the different learning theories and would have never thought to attach the above questions to each one. I thought that each learning theory was cut and dry, for instance, all theories could not intertwine with one another, you had to be constructivist only or connectivist only, and not mixed with a behaviorist.

Before learning this information, I had no idea that each theory had its own set of factors, which I provided numbered above. I learned each learning theory intimately, I know what makes each one of them tick. For instance, during Week # 1, I called myself a constructivist and a cognitivist. I based the information on how I felt that learned the best, without taking the numbered factors that I provided into consideration.

The role of memory for a constructivist is if information is meaningful to the learner. When I took the statistics class, I did not find this class meaningful, because I knew that I would never use this information for anything in my personal or my professional life. Now, the social learning theory, the words associated with the role of the memory is mental images and rehearsal. The social learning theory would have worked best for me in relation to my statistics class not constructivism.

Let’s see the role of technology has served many purposes in relation to my learning. I predominantly take online classes only, so this a huge part of the role of technology in my instance. Most of everything related to the class has do with technology in some aspect, for instance, the online library, the discussions, online reading assignments, applications (actual assignments), and looking up grades for assignments just to name a few. As you can see, technology plays a huge role in learning new concepts and information for me. If technology was taken away from me for some reason, I am not sure that my learning would be up to par, as I depend and take for granted this method of delivery.



References:
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4), 50–71.

Instructional Design (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instructional_design


Learning Theory (Education) (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_theory_(education)
Schunk, D.H. (1991) Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective. New York: Macmillian

Connectivism

I chose the “Social Networking” aspect for my assignment. The word social networking simply means, “Social networking is the grouping of individuals into specific groups, like small rural communities or a neighborhood subdivision, if you will.” (What is Social Networking?) I created four categories: Professional, Personal, Family, and Education. As you can see, in my Professional Category, Meetup.com applies to my Personal Category. Under my Family Category, MyLife applies to all of my Education categories.

Social networking has changed the way that I communicate with members of the groups that I belong to, for instance, ten years ago, these forums and digital tools did not exist. In addition, I would have communicated via regular mail or by phone before digital social networking erupted. I feel like I have social networking readily available. I can e-mail or instant message someone who resides in Africa, and my communication would arrive to his or her destination in a matter of minutes or hours, depending on the Internet service provider.

An example, if I have a question in my present class, I have the option to use the Question & Answer tab for questions pertaining to the class, like clarification on an assignment. For technical support, I would have to notify the Technical Department at Walden University via e-mail or phone call. For answers to my questions pertaining to raising my son, I would seek the advice of my mother using the telephone, as she knows nothing about a computer or message or e-mail one of my colleagues on CafeMom for their advice.

My personal learning networks support the central tenets of connectivism, as this learning theory is specifically geared for the digital age. My learning networks involve my online classes, electronic Internet searches for specific information related to my class, and the online college library. All of my learning networks have to do with something that is digital, which brings us back to the connectivism learning theory.

References:
What is Social Networking? (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2009, from http://www.whatissocialnetworking.com/

Structure Learning in Action

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/delivery?vid=11&hid=2&sid=bbfd8728-655e-479d-9ba1-02f859b53771%40sessionmgr14

The phenomenon of “learning to learn” is being investigated in relation to cognition, perception, and action. The actual phrase “learning to learn” simply means learning in a facilitated way. For example, the facilitated way in this instance is a specific set of examples that have consequences. The way we act has consequences, like if we steal something; a form of punishment is on the horizon. Essentially, the sensory motor system has to adapt to different environments. This article reveals the following, “We review studies demonstrating that common features of variable environments are extracted during sensorimotor learning and exploited for different adaptation in novel tasks.” In conclusion, the article informs us “structure learning plays a fundamental role in skill learning and may underlie the unsurpassed flexibility and adaptability of the motor system.”

This article has to do with scientific research in relation to learning mixed with adaptability, flexibility, and sensory motor systems.

A Theoretical and Methodological Framework for Studying and Modeling Drivers’ Mental Representations.

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/delivery?vid=9&hid=2&sid=bbfd8728-655e-479d-9ba1-02f859b53771%40sessionmgr14

Ten years worth of study was conducted by INTRETS-LESCOT in relation to car driver’s mental representation. This representation consisted of information processing and operative activity. In addition, attention was devoted to the functional representation as well. Functional representation entailed what driver’s would do in certain situations, which consisted of implicit and explicit dimensions. The implicit and the explicit dimensions ranged from natural observations to the open road in relation to each driver’s cognition. Each driver’s cognition revealed a methodological approach, defined as “experimental continuum.”
This article is beneficial because it informs the reader of certain driving situations, in which cognition is a factor. I found this article alittle hard to follow, since I am not scientifically inclined.