Ashford 3: - Week 2 – Discussion
Technology-Enhanced Strategies
“If it is pointless to consider
tailoring instruction to each individual student, it is equally misguided to
imagine that a single one-size fits-all
approach to teaching can meet the needs
of every student” (Felder & Brent, 2005, p. 57).
Reflect on the required resources
for Week 2 and your personal and professional experiences in relation to the
points conveyed in the resources. Discuss how instructional design principles
and theory influence the use of technology-enhanced instructional strategies to
support the needs of all learners. Use additional resources in addition to
those provided with Week 2 to support your evaluation. Providing specific examples to illustrate
your understanding of the question and incorporating opposing views to
demonstrate critical thought is encouraged.
I
found that this week’s video resources were very interesting, but they also
bring up a very important point, one that now many educators and academic
institutions are focusing more on in order to bring a positive paradigm shift
in education, particularly now that technology has become such a vital tool in
teaching our students. The traditional classroom had for many years followed an
outdated trend that was designed particularly for a bygone age. As we enter
further into the 21st century, we are beginning to understand that educating
our students is a more complex process than simply delivering instruction to a
classroom as whole. It now asks of us to go further and realize that
instructional design must take into account students as individuals with
different learning styles, but above all things, it also asks of us to bring
back the element of individual student creativity by allowing them to learn
content through discovery. An interesting quote made by Ken Robinson in the TED
Talks was “If you are not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with
anything original”. I think this described exactly what was wrong with
traditional education and it’s no room for errors approach that chastised
students for making a mistake, canceling their need to be creative.
Now
schools are beginning to adopt more innovative methods of allowing students to
explore their creativity and be educated through the use of technological tools
that complement instructional designs that take into account the academic needs
of individual learners.
Instructional
design is the systematic development of instructional specifications using
learning and instructional theory to ensure the quality of instruction. It is the entire process of analysis of
learning needs and goals and the development of an instructional system that
meets those needs (Moallen, 2001). These are guidelines or sets of strategies,
which are based on learning theories and best practices.
Constructivist
models provide designers with a set of very general guidelines and principles
that can facilitate designing a constructivist-learning environment. While several models embody constructivist
concepts, (such as cooperative learning, project-based or problem-based
learning, reciprocal learning, etc.), all models use concepts such as embedded
learning in a rich authentic problem-solving environment; the providing of
authentic versus academic contexts for learning; the incorporation of provisions
for learner control; the fact that errors are used as a mechanism to provide
feedback on learners’ understanding; and finally, social experiences lead to
learning(Moallen, 2001).
Instructional
designs that integrate this principle lead to many opportunities for providing
individual learners the necessary tools to learn by complementing their unique
learning style. Some of these learning
styles can be managed through different methods such as Active Learning which is
a strategy for education in which students take personal responsibility for how
and what they learn by becoming involved in learning rather than being
audiences for instruction. Teachers create an active learning situation by
assigning a complex topic and helping the students to identify the resources
they need to investigate it (Little wound School, 2013). Technology can applied
to this by implementing learning software such as online libraries and
Scholarly Journal Databases for example, were students can log in and perform
unlimited research on the content they are studying.
Cooperative
Learning is also an excellent way to engage students in social learning. It is a strategy for education in which
students work in groups to achieve shared goals. When students are engaged in
cooperative learning; they work together to learn information and skills, to
formulate concepts, to build products, or to refine ideas. Teachers create
cooperative learning environments by establishing groups, helping students to
determine group goals, and teaching students cooperative learning skills
(Little wound School, 2013). Students can use technologies like PowerPoint to
create presentations together or even use wikis or blogs were each has access
and are able to edit and create content in collaboration.
Finally,
Individualized Learning is a strategy for meeting the diverse needs of learning
styles of students. Students learn in different ways, at different speeds, and
at different times. Many of them learn easily by reading, some by listening and
watching, and some by hands-on experience. Students may be visual learners in
one area and auditory in another. In addition, developmental issues and
preferences may also affect how students learn. When teacher provide for
diverse needs and learning styles, they vary the subject matter as well as the
tools and materials their students use. Many classrooms are now using
innovative LMS (Learning Management Systems and Blackboards, to help students
with different learning needs. Some go as far as providing individual academic
instruction for students with certain learning styles (Little wound School,
2013).
References:
Little Wound School (2013). Learning Styles and
Technology; Little Wound School. Retrieved on December 5, 2013 from http://www.littlewound
Moallem, M. PhD. (2001). Applying Constructivist and
Objectivist Learning Theories in the Design of A Web-Based Course: Implications
for Practice; University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Retrieved on December
5, 2013 http://www.ifets.info/journals/4_3/moallem.html
Ashford 5: - Week 4 – Discussion
Assessments and Evaluations
Reflect on the required resources
for Week Four and your personal and professional experiences in relation to the
points conveyed in the resources. Discuss how instructional design principles
and theory influence the evaluation of technology resources to facilitate
effective assessment and evaluation. Use additional resources in addition to
those provided with Week Four to support your evaluation. Providing specific examples to illustrate
your understanding of the question and incorporating opposing views to
demonstrate critical thought is encouraged.
Using
educational technology for assessment and evaluations can be very beneficial
particularly as a measure of student learning. It is becoming more common to
perform these assessments as educators find new educational tools that can aid
them in the process. Still, it is important to recognize that technology and
instructional design must be combined in an effective way in order to carry out
these assessments or evaluations. With the aid of the emerging technologies and
eLearning; it has become much easier to take into account each student as an
individual learner and no longer as a piece of group unit. There are already
available, learning models and technology that are already equipped with these
features which will record the student’s monitoring and progress. Technology
nowadays provides both students and educators with many new prospects for
innovation in educational assessment through rich new assessment tasks and
potentially powerful scoring, reporting and real-time feedback mechanisms
(Scalise, 2006).
It
is also important to note that computer based assessments are more accurate in
determining what a student is capable of accomplishing and evaluating their
progress. Assessments present authentic tasks on which the students demonstrate
their knowledge, understanding, and skill (Reiser & Dempsey, 2012). These
assessments are also set up to give immediate formative feedback to the
students and teacher. Educational Technology facilitators apply technology to
facilitate a variety of effective assessment and evaluation strategies. They
apply technology in assessing student learning of subject matter using a
variety of assessment techniques and also assist teachers in using technology
to improve learning and instruction through the evaluation and assessment of
artifacts and data.
Evaluations
are normally divided into two broad categories: formative and summative. A
formative assessment is a method for judging the worth of a program while the
program activities are forming. This part of the evaluation focuses on the
process. They allow the instructional designers, learners, and instructors to
monitor how well the instructional goals and objectives are being met. Its main
purpose is to catch deficiencies so that the proper learning interventions can
take place that allows the learners to master the required skills and knowledge
(Clark, 2013).
A
summative assessment is a method of judging the worth of a program at the end
of the program activities (summation). The focus is on the outcome. In this
form of assessment there are several ways of collecting data such as
questionnaires, surveys, interviews, observations, and testing. The model or
methodology used to gather the data should be a specified step-by-step
procedure. It should be carefully designed and executed to ensure the data is
accurate and valid (Clark, 2013).
When
it comes to evaluations, effective technological tools in education can help
determine the skills, needs, and interests of students. They also help assess
student understanding of course content and collect information to assist in
mid-term course adjustments. Finally through these, an educator can solicit
student feedback about course content and organization. Some of these tools are
online interactive surveys, quizzes, and questionnaires which you can use to
get feedback from your students. Some tools can also help create a threaded,
Web-based discussion board for your students to compare notes, discuss
assignments, and work together online (University of Washington, 2013).
When
it comes to learning theories, there are constructivist assumptions that impact
formative assessment. These are that knowledge is constructed, not discovered,
by the learner; learning is a social process of negotiated meanings; the role
of a teacher (or other form of instruction) is to scaffold student’s learning,
and learners should participate in establishing goals, tasks, and methods of
instruction (Clark, 2013).
References:
Reiser,
R. & Dempsey, J. (2012) Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and
Technology. (3rd Edition). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Scalise,
K. (2006) Computer-Based Assessment in E-Learning: A Framework for
Constructing “Intermediate Constraint”
Questions and Tasks for Technology Platforms; The Journal of Technology,
learning, and Assessment. Retrieved on May 27, 2013 from http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/jtla/article/view/1653
Reiser,
R. & Dempsey, J. (2012) Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and
Technology. (3rd Edition). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Scalise,
K. (2006) Computer-Based Assessment in E-Learning: A Framework for
Constructing “Intermediate Constraint”
Questions and Tasks for Technology Platforms; The Journal of Technology,
learning, and Assessment. Retrieved on May 27, 2013 from http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/jtla/article/view/1653
