Florida Digital Educators
Today, I came across this interesting site about Digital Educators. They have some very interesting workshops and seminars. Below is their mission statement. Make sure to check them out if you are interested in the topic of Instructional Technology.
“The mission of the Florida Digital Educator is to: Enable students to achieve world-class standards by transforming the learning environment through professional education, follow-up mentoring and support, use of digital tools for the creation of content, the development of collaborative communities and rigorous evaluation and research activities.”
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Western Illinois University
The Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) department seeks to develop in students the ability to apply new and existing technologies to achieve educational goals in a wide variety of instructional settings including, but not limited to, schools, industry, government, health-related agencies, and institutions of higher education.
Students will accomplish these objectives by learning to design, develop, and evaluate instructional materials and information resources.
Students in IDT will have opportunities to acquire conceptual and hands-on experience with collaborative design and development of professional instructional materials.
Furthermore, internships, course projects, and practice will provide students with chances to apply their skills in such real-world settings both on and off campus.
The Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) department seeks to develop in students the ability to apply new and existing technologies to achieve educational goals in a wide variety of instructional settings including, but not limited to, schools, industry, government, health-related agencies, and institutions of higher education.
Students will accomplish these objectives by learning to design, develop, and evaluate instructional materials and information resources.
Students in IDT will have opportunities to acquire conceptual and hands-on experience with collaborative design and development of professional instructional materials.
Furthermore, internships, course projects, and practice will provide students with chances to apply their skills in such real-world settings both on and off campus.
Visit their site at www.wiu.edu
The Student’s Orientation to Learning
Adults are life, task or problem-centered in their orientation to learning. They want to see how what they are learning will apply to their life, a task they need to perform, or to solving a problem. Technology-based instruction will be more effective if it uses real-life examples or situations that adult learners may encounter in their life or on the job. Allowing flexibility in the design of a lesson will permit student input on issues that need to be addressed in a class. If students can bring real-life examples of school discipline challenges to a chat session in an online course on behavior management they will be anxious to participate and gain the practical experience which will help them to do better at their job.
The Learner’s Need to Know
Adults need to know why they should learn something. Under the more standard pedagogical model it is assumed that the student will simply learn what they are told. Adults, however, are used to understanding what they do in life. They want to know the reason they need to learn something or how it will benefit them. This may be accomplished before students even engage technology, such as if a Spanish class is required to fill a language elective to complete a degree, however, it is wise for the faculty member to help students understand how what they will learn will be of use to them in the future. The required Spanish language lessons will be more affective if the student feels that it will increase her/his ability to understand a bilingual colleague on the job.
One way to help students see the value of the lessons is to ask the student, either online or in an initial face-to-face meeting, to do some reflection on what they expect to learn, how they might use it in the future or how it will help them to meet their goals. Patricia Lawler (1991, 36) suggests that these goals and expectations can be used throughout the program to reinforce the importance of learning activities. The design of technology-based lessons can incorporate not only the students’ original reflections but can solicit feedback about the relevance of the ongoing learning process throughout the course. It is incumbent upon the instructor to review these reflections and to adjust the technology or suggest an individual lesson structure to more effectively meet student needs.
What is Andragogy?
Andragogy is a set of assumptions about how adults learn. Its roots can be traced back to Alexander Kapp, a German grammar teacher who used it to describe Plato’s educational theory (Knowles, Holton, and Swanson 1998, 59). It appeared again in 1921 when another German, Social Scientist, Eugen Rosenstock claimed that “adult education required special teachers, special methods, and a special philosophy.” (Knowles, Holton, and Swanson 1998, 59) There is evidence that discussion of andragogy continued in Europe until Dusan Savicevic, a Yugoslavian adult educator, first discussed the concept in the United States. Malcolm Knowles heard about the term and in 1968 used it in an article in Adult Leadership. From that point on, Knowles has become known as the principle expert on andragogy although numerous adult educators including Brookfield (1986), Mezirow (1991), Lawler (1991) and Merriam (1999) have addressed the concept and/or discussed how it can be used to facilitate adult learning.
A Student’s Readiness to Learn
Adults become ready to learn something when, as Knowles explained, “they experience a need to learn it in order to cope more satisfyingly with real-life tasks or problems.” (1980, 44) It is important that lessons developed in technology-based opportunities should, where possible, be concrete and relate to students’ needs and future goals. These may be adapted from the goals of the course or learning program but can also grow out to the requests for student expectations that were mentioned earlier. In addition, an instructor can encourage students’ readiness by designing experiences which simulate situations where the student will encounter a need for the knowledge or skill presented. Students in a personnel management course may not see the need for learning about the Family and Medical Leave Act but an interactive role play that puts students in the place of a manager who must deal with an employee’s request for leave due to a child’s illness will help them see how an understanding of the topic will benefit them in the future.
The Taxanomy of Educational Objectives
COGNITIVE DOMAIN:
Knowledge: recognize or recall information.
Q: What is the capital of Maine? Who wrote “Hamlet?”
Words typically used: define, recall, recognize, remember, who, what, where, when.
Comprehension: demonstrate that the student has sufficient understanding to organize and arrange material mentally.
Q: What do you think Hamlet meant when he said, “to be or not to be, that is the question?” (Rosenshine, among others, would argue that one of the best ways to teach is to teach pupils how to ask their own questions about the topic under consideration.)
Words typically used: describe, compare, contrast, rephrase, put in your own words, explain the main idea.
Application: a question that asks a student to apply previously learned information to reach an answer. Solving math word problems is an example.
Q: According to our definition of socialism, which of the following nations would be considered to be socialist?
Words typically used: apply, classify, use, choose, employ,write and example, solve, how many, which, what is.
Analysis: higher order questions that require students to think critically and in depth. [Unless students can be brought to the higher levels of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, it is unlikely that transfer will take place, i.e., this is stuff I can use rather than this is just more dumb school stuff that I can forget after I take the test. If teachers don't ask higher level questions, it is unlikely that most students will transfer school work to real life. They may not even be able to apply it to school situations other than the one in which it was "learned." E.g., we "know" that students know more than scores on the CAP Test or SAT would suggest.] In analysis questions, students are asked to engage in three kinds of cognitive processes:
identify the motives, reasons, and/or causes for aspecific occurrence (Q: Why was Israel selected as the site for the Jewish nation?),
consider and analyze available information to reach a conclusion, inference, or generalization based on this information (Q: After studying the French, American, and Russian revolutions, what can you conclude about the causes of a revolution?), or
Words typically used: identify motives/causes, draw conclusions, determine evidence, support, analyze, why.
Synthesis: higher order question that asks the student to perform original and creative thinking. Synthesis questions ask students to:
produce original communications. (Q: What’s a good name for this invention? Write a letter to the editor on a social issue of concern to you. Make a collage of pictures and words that represents your beliefs and feelings about the issue.)
make predictions. (Q: How would the U.S.A. be different if the South had won the Civil War? What would happen if school attendance was made optional? What is the next likely development in popular music?)
solve problems–although analysis questions may also ask students to solve problems, synthesis questions differ because they don’t require a single correct answer but, instead allow a variety of creative answers. (How could we determine the number of pennies in a jar without counting them? How can we raise money for our ecology project?
Words typically used in synthesis questions: predict, produce, write, design, develop, synthesize, construct, how can we improve, what would happen if, can you devise, how can we solve.
Evaluation: a higher level question that does not have a single correct answer. It requires the student to judge the merit of an idea, a solution to a problem, or an aesthetic work. The student may also be asked to offer an opinion on an issue. (Q: Do you think schools are too easy? Is busing an appropriate remedy for desegregating schools? Do you think it is true that “Americans never had it so good?” Which U.S. senator is the most effective? To answer evaluation questions objective criteria or personal values must be applied. Some standard must be used. differing standards are quite acceptable and they naturally result in different answers. This type of question frequently is used to surface values or to cause students to realize that not everyone sees things the same way. It can be used to start a class discussion. It can also precede a follow-up analysis or synthesis question like, “Why?”
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Affective Domain of the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives.
The Affective Domain addresses interests, attitudes, opinions, appreciations, values, and emotional sets.
The original purpose of the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives was to provide a tool for classifying instructional objectives. The Taxonomy is hierarchical (levels increase in difficulty/sophistication) and cumulative (each level builds on and subsumes the ones below). The levels, in addition to clarifying instructional objectives, may be used to provide a basis for questioning that ensures that students progress to the highest level of understanding. If the teaching purpose is to change attitudes/behavior rather than to transmit/process information, then the instruction should be structured to progress through the levels of the Affective Domain:
Receiving. The student passively attends to particular phenomena or stimuli [classroom activities, textbook,music, etc. The teacher's concern is that the student's attention is focused. Intended outcomes include the pupil's awareness that a thing exists. Sample objectives: listens attentively, shows sensitivity to social problems. Behavioral terms: asks, chooses, identifies, locates, points to, sits erect, etc.
Responding. The student actively participates. The pupil not only attends to the stimulus but reacts in some way. Objectives: completes homework, obeys rules, participates in class discussion, shows interest in subject, enjoys helping others, etc. Terms: answers, assists, complies, discusses, helps, performs, practices, presents, reads, reports, writes,etc.
Valuing. The worth a student attaches to a particular object, phenomenon, or behavior. Ranges from acceptance to commitment (e.g., assumes responsibility for the functioning of a group). Attitudes and appreciation. Objectives: demonstrates belief in democratic processes, appreciates the role of science in daily life, shows concern for others' welfare, demonstrates a problem-solving approach, etc. Terms: differentiates, explains, initiates, justifies, proposes, shares, etc.
Organization. Bringing together different values, resolving conflicts among them, and starting to build an internally consistent value system--comparing, relating and synthesizing values and developing a philosophy of life. Objectives: recognizes the need for balance between freedom and responsibility in a democracy, understands the role of systematic planning in solving problems, accepts responsibility for own behavior, etc. Terms: Arranges, combines, compares, generalizes, integrates, modifies, organizes, synthesizes, etc.
Characterization by a Value or Value Complex. At this level, the person has held a value system that hascontrolled his behavior for a sufficiently long time that acharacteristic "life style" has been developed. Behavior ispervasive, consistent and predictable. Objectives are concernedwith personal, social, and emotional adjustment: displays self reliance in working independently, cooperates in groupactivities, maintains good health habits, etc. Terms:
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PSYCHOMOTOR DOMAIN of Educational Objectives.
Instructional objectives and derived questions/tasks typically have cognitive/affective elements, but the focus is on motorskill development. The suggested areas for use are speechdevelopment, reading readiness, handwriting, and physical educa‚tion. Other areas include manipulative skills required inbusiness training [e.g., keyboarding], industrial technology, andperformance areas in science, art and music. American educationhas tended to emphasize cognitive development at the expense ofaffective and psychomotor development. The well©rounded and fully functioning person needs development in all three domains. In the psychomotor domain, performance may take the place ofquestioning strategies in many cases.
Reflex movements. Segmental, intersegmental, and suprasegmental reflexes.
Basic-fundamental movements. Locomotor movements, nonlocomotor movements, manipulative movements.
Perceptual abilities. Kinesthetic, visual, auditory and tactile discrimination and coordinated abilities.
Physical abilities. Endurance, strength, flexibility, and agility.
Skilled movements. Simple, compound, and complex adaptive skills.
Nondiscursive communication. Expressive andinterpretive movement.
Sample general objectives: writes smoothly and legibly; accurately reproduces a picture, map, etc.; operates a [machine] skillfully; plays the piano skillfully; demonstrates correct swimming form; drives an automobile skillfully; creates a new way of performing [creative dance]; etc.
Effects of Educational Technology
In a 1994 Software Publisher’s Association (SPA) study, research found that:
- Educational technology has a significant positive impact on achievement in all subject areas, across all levels of school, and in regular classrooms as well as those for special-needs students.
- Educational technology has positive effects on student attitudes.
- The degree of effectiveness is influenced by the student population, the instructional design, the teacher’s role, how students are grouped, and the levels of student access to technology.
- Technology makes instruction more student-centered, encourages cooperative learning, and stimulated increased teacher/student interaction.
- Positive changes in the learning environment evolve over time and do not occur quickly.
What is the difference between the learning theories in terms of the practice of instructional design? Is one approach more easily achieved than another? To address this, one may consider that cognitive theory is the dominant theory in instructional design and many of the instructional strategies advocated and utilized by behaviorists are also used by cognitivists, but for different reasons. For example, behaviorists assess learners to determine a starting point for instruction, while cognitivists look at the learner to determine their predisposition to learning (Ertmer & Newby, 1993). With this in mind, the practice of instructional design can be viewed from a behaviorist/cognitivist approach as opposed to a constructivist approach.
When designing from a behaviorist/cognitivist stance, the designer analyzes the situation and sets a goal. Individual tasks are broken down and learning objectives are developed. Evaluation consists of determining whether the criteria for the objectives has been met. In this approach the designer decides what is important for the learner to know and attempts to transfer that knowledge to the learner. The learning package is somewhat of a closed system, since although it may allow for some branching and remediation, the learner is still confined to the designer’s “world”.
To design from a constructivist approach requires that the designer produces a product that is much more facilitative in nature than prescriptive. The content is not prespecified, direction is determined by the learner and assessment is much more subjective because it does not depend on specific quantitative criteria, but rather the process and self-evaluation of the learner. The standard pencil-and-paper tests of mastery learning are not used in constructive design; instead, evaluation is based on notes, early drafts, final products and journals.
Because of the divergent, subjective nature of constructive learning, it is easier for a designer to work from the systems, and thus the objective approach to instructional design. That is not to say that classical instructional design techniques are better than constructive design, but it is easier, less time consuming and most likely less expensive to design within a “closed system” rather than an “open” one. Perhaps there is some truth in the statement that “Constructivism is a ‘learning theory’, more than a ‘teaching approach’.” (Wilkinson, 1995)
Principles of Adult Lerning
Adults are autonomous and self-directed. They need to be free to direct themselves. Their teachers must actively involve adult participants in the learning process and serve as facilitators for them. Specifically, they must get participants’ perspectives about what topics to cover and let them work on projects that reflect their interests. They should allow the participants to assume responsibility for presentations and group leadership. They have to be sure to act as facilitators, guiding participants to their own knowledge rather than supplying them with facts. Finally, they must show participants how the class will help them reach their goals (e.g., via a personal goals sheet).
