As I explore the pedagogical differences between various forms of media, I am also becoming aware of a number of current educational trends. Examples include: adaptive learning, flipped classrooms, makerspaces, mobile learning, etc. Each offers different methods of delivery in and out of the classroom, and they all use media/technology to facilitate learning in a different way than traditional methods.
There also seems to be a general understanding that learning outcomes should drive the evaluation and selection of media and technology (i.e. don’t use media for the sake of using the latest new thing). However, considering these trends, and how they have the capability of enhancing the learning process, I am beginning to wonder if the availability of technology, and its different affordances through media, is actually changing learning outcomes. It seems that different outcomes would be available depending on the media selected. How can media be selected based on pedagogy if pedagogy is affected by media? Module 2: Bringing the Right Mix: Choosing the Right Tool
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In an exercise listing the tools I like to use in each area of media: text, video, audio, social media, and computing, I realized how prevalent technology is in my work and life. As a result, this is a work in progress. I'll be more mindful of the media I use going forward to see where it fits within these areas.
I've used ThingLink to depict my list. Hover over the hotspots to view the lists for each area. Pinterest is an online tool for creating and sharing visual boards of collections. Items added to boards are called “pins”. Users can categorize and circulate their boards as well as create boards for collaborating with other users. In order to explore boards and pins of similar interest, users can follow other pinners to find pins to save to their own boards. There is also the option to upload pins directly from websites. As a digital curation tool, Pinterest focuses on collecting information, enabling users to gather content around particular themes. It is highly visual with the ability to annotate a graphic representation of the resource. The resource may be an image in itself, such as an infographic, or include a link to the originating website. In one course reading, Leona Ungerer discusses Digital Curation as a Core Competency in Current Learning and Literacy: A Higher Education Perspective. She suggests Pinterest as one of many tools that might be used in a curational learning process; each tool offering different features that supports the process. Although Pinterest does not have all of the features suggested for digital curation as a learning tool, there are features that support some of the stages. From a user perspective, Pinterest is accessible on multiple devices, free, and easy to use. Using the application as a learning tool is a new concept for me. Although I’ve mastered the “collection” aspect of the process, how it aids learning depends heavily on what is done with the information. It is easy to add items to boards and never think about them again, and challenging to sort through a large number of pins unless they are well organized on themed boards. With a number of boards comes the challenge of cross referencing pins between themes. However, there is a search feature that allows users to find pins on specific topics either on their own boards or others. To see how I’ve begun to use Pinterest to collect EdTech information, follow my EdTech board. (Note: A Pinterest account is required to view this or other Pinterest boards.) For all of my tangents, there was a focus this week on pedagogical differences between different types of media. As we move toward methods to choose technologies for teaching and training, our first stop was considering technology from the perspective of media. Media becomes the conduit for communication, where technology is the system used to transfer it. That being said, different media have different dimensions that allow us to compare them based on their affordances. Considering the context and the content to be communicated, what is the best media used to deliver the message that allows the receiver to decode it in a meaningful way? Keeping in mind the media used to send the communication will determine how the message is received. As I type that, I find myself thinking about Marshall McLuhan’s “The medium is the message”. Over fifty years, and the concept is still relevant today. The specific media has evolved, but key dimensions remain the same. Bates (2015, p. 209-221) describes each on a continuum. In the context of education, the pedagogy determines the communication and the receivers of communication are the learners. Dynamic in their own right, each learner will perceive the message with different levels of understanding. Their outcomes become the first consideration as we move toward discovering methods for choosing media.
Module 1: Analyzing Current Trends in Educational Technology Weebly, the platform for this blog and ePortfolio, is a Web hosting service that offers both free and low-cost website hosting options. The site uses a drag-and-drop interface designed to allow anyone to build a website, even without knowledge of HTML or scripting. (Reference.com) Long before this technology was available, I developed websites and online applications from the first <HTML> tag. Back then, drag-and-drop was cut-and-paste. Since then, I've used various content management systems (MS CMS, Joomla, Interwoven, etc.), Google Sites, and Blogger to create websites. Although they became less do-it-yourself, none of them were as simple as Weebly. After deciding what I wanted for my site, and selecting a template, I was up and running in about fifteen minutes. The intuitive features allowed me to focus more on the content than how to structure a page. Although I opted for the free version to start, there are enough of features available that I have all the flexibility I need at this point. Formatting options are the only limitations I can mention as I begin building out my site. Unless, I'm missing something, font is based on the template selected and I can't seem to change it. It's not really an issue as I don't mind the font provided. The defaults for size and colour can't be changed, although they can be changed manually within the text element. Spacing within and between elements is also limited. Line and paragraph spacing options within the text element is non-existent, and it seems there is built in padding for spacers and dividers that provide limited sizing options in relation to the rest of the page. I've spent a little time figuring out how to make the text and image elements play nice together so I can achieve the format I want, and sometimes it requires using a section element. Some of these limitations may be features available in the premium version and they are minor in relation to the number of elements available to build a page. The time I need to spend building my site is minimal compared to the time I want to spend developing my presence within it. In my ThingLink introduction, I mention my goal to help adults learn how to learn. In response, a colleague asked, “Do you think helping one to learn is the same or similar to the idea that we have to learn how to learn and that is what we are doing as educators? Not just focusing on the subject content, but helping one learn how to learn about the content?” These are my thoughts: When you say "helping one to learn", I immediately think about facilitating the process of learning. So, yes. However, even though facilitators are educators, not all educators are facilitators. The difference is between subject-matter oriented “teaching” and learner-centered “facilitation”. They definitely both have their place in learning, and they are both a different process. Even though one of the characteristics of adult learners is self-directedness, we can’t assume that learners have the same abilities to be self-directed. This is where helping them learn how to learn comes into play. It’s not just remembering facts that someone else thinks are important, it’s about enabling learners to explore information and expand on it so that it is meaningful to them, and allows them to continue the process for whatever purpose they require. Rounding back to EdTech, using technology may facilitate learning by providing different methods of exploration. It might also may mean facilitating the use of the technology to enable learners to do that, like using ThingLink as an introductions activity in class. Module 1: Analyzing Current Trends in Educational Technology
Welcome to my journal of educational technology discovery! I find myself in week one of a new adventure in my learning journey: Using Technology for Teaching and Training. We begin with some new tools for communication as well as resurrecting an “old” one.
Hello Weebly! One of the new tools. As with all good portfolios, this one will be continually under construction. Let’s see how Weebly’s gadgets, widgets, and what-nots will help me describe my experiences. For now, I'll start with a blog page. To your right (and maybe further up on the page), you will see my new and improved Twitter timeline. Never thinking I had much to add to the Twitterverse, @smrtang was dormant for a while. However, there are so many interests to follow and share! Finally, behold an introduction to me via the newest “thing” in my repertoire, and first EdTech Exploration. ThingLink replaced “Hello, my name is…” introductions and opened the door to a new world of visual media communication. Hover over the hotspots in the image below to learn more about me. Welcome to my EdTech blog and ePortfolio! Both exist to capture my explorations in Educational Technology while working through a course on Using Technology for Teaching and Training. It is one of the final courses I’ve selected to complete my Certificate in Continuing and Adult Education (CACE).
The course takes a hands-on approach to exploring, using, and evaluating technology for teaching and learning. It also represents the evolution of education and delivery methods I’ve witnessed during my own learning journey. I’m excited to use this platform to collect, reflect, and share my experiences! |
What's this about?Documenting my exploration of Ed Tech and how it applies to the field of Adult Education. These are my Ang-ventures. ...see more Archives
April 2017
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