Discussion Postings: Additional Content

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 The traditional classroom had for many years followed an outdated trend that was designed particularly for a bygone age.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:

Clark, D. (2013). Types of Evaluations in Instructional Design; Knowledge Jump. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/isd/types_of_evaluations.html  

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

University of Washington (2013). Facilitate Evaluation; Learning with Scholarly Technologies. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://www.washington.edu/lst/help/teaching_guides/evaluation

Lake, C. (2013). Constructivism’s Implications For Formative Evaluation; TECFA. Retrieved on December 20, 2013 from http://tecfaetu.unige.ch/staf/staf-e/vimare/staf18/Documentation/CIFFE.pdf

Clark, D. (2013). Types of Evaluations in Instructional Design; Knowledge Jump. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/isd/types_of_evaluations.html 

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

University of Washington (2013). Facilitate Evaluation; Learning with Scholarly Technologies. Retrieved on December 19, 2013 from http://www.washington.edu/lst/help/teaching_guides/evaluation

 Lake, C. (2013). Constructivism’s Implications For Formative Evaluation; TECFA. Retrieved on December 20, 2013 from http://tecfaetu.unige.ch/staf/staf-e/vimare/staf18/Documentation/CIFFE.pdf