EDTECH 522

Module 6: Edtech 522 Teaching Hybrid/Blended Courses

December 12, 2012

Where do I begin? I have learned a lot about adult online learning and about myself as an educator and educational technologist. Both were personally and professionally significant.

Module 2, Comparing Online Courses, was an eye-opening exercise in what counts as quality and where there is room from improvement. I learned what constitutes a quality and usable online course on my own, with the support of our class resources. With my GCE audience and goals already defined, re-creating the course still is a challenge because I must decide what technologies to use to make it a quality course.

Module 3, Online Learning Tools allowed me the freedom to research many different types of learning tools. I choose MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online teaching) as the tool to research and share with the class. MERLOT is a free and open online learning resource. This tool is a collection of online learning tools that are peer reviewed and available to the International community under creative commons. This tool will continue to prove valuable now and in the future.

The Rich Media assignment in Module 4 proved to be the most difficult professionally and personally (with my lack of camera presence). Coming up with a topic and creating the learning tool was the easy part. Creating a professional presence and maintaining it for more than seven minutes was more than a struggle for me. However, my take away from that assignment is that practice makes perfect! I will be working on my camera presentation skills.

Module 6, Teaching Hybrid/Blended Courses fits right in with my profession as a Program Manager working with required multi-cultural education. Knowing that the multi-cultural technical writers' audience learns differently and yet similarly to the US-based technical writers. Now that I have learned about the benefits and drawbacks hybrid learning, modifying my purely PowerPoint class will evolve into a blended course. I have various elements to think about - new interactive activities, a discussion board, breaking up the course into like segments to not overwhelm the learners, and improving the course based on feedback and improved writing skills (that require less editing).

I plan to take the online course development of the Global Clean English PowerPoint class slowly so no one becomes overwhelmed. I plan to elicit the help/skills of the company's course ware developers in India. My short-term goal is to have the class broken into smaller segments and create a discussion board to get the ball rolling. My long-term goal, based on time, is to have the first draft on a hybrid course ready in 7 -10 months. Timely feedback and management approval will prove essential to meet these goals!

Thanks to my peers and Dr. Hall for all of your support and constructive feedback! Happy learning!

 

Module 5: Edtech 522 Designing an Online Course

December 2, 2012

What an opportunity! I have been teaching Global Clean English to the technical writers at my company (and sometimes to customers) and have been toying with the idea of taking the course online. Our HP customer requires that all technical documentation that the writers create/edit adhere to the GCE standards.

Since the class is usually presented via ViOP with live feed of the Power Point slides I know where the students have struggled in the past. Most of the technical writers who take this course are non-native English speakers from India. Yes, they do speak English but it is more British English and too formal and wordy. All new USA writers are presented this course as well.

The entire course usually spans two to three days, depending on the learner and the location. So, I took a small section of the course and created my Moodle course so I could get my feet wet and use feedback from my peers and Diane to improve this small piece before I tackle the entire course.

The practice sessions are important as the student’s progress, but the final quiz will provide a grade for each student. I plan to a MS Communicator meeting (with the web cam and real time chat) with each student to gather feedback and provide feedback and guidance if necessary. The technical writers from India are less likely to ask questions and will need more attention. Cultures and learning styles will be very important when creating this course 100% online.

The most difficult experience with this assignment was getting started. I had created a course in Moodle a few semesters back, but could not recall how to get started. I watched a few videos and proceeded. My thoughts on online teaching now that I have created my own I found it is a lot of work but very rewarding in the end. However, finding the time to convert the very long Power Point course to online will be challenging. I plan to solicit some assistance from our Instructional Designers and Graphic Illustrators in our Mumbai office. Only after my manager approves!

Module 3:  Edtech 522 Online Learning Tools Reflection

October 10, 2012

Initially, when I began the readings for this module, I did not expect to learn so much in a mere two to three weeks. In chapter 7 in Teaching Online (Ko & Rossen (2004)), the examples for collections and portals got my attention and ultimately lead me to MERLOT, the learning tool I presented in the Module 3 discussion. The collection of learning material available can seem overwhelming, but MERLOT's search engine helps you find a resource very quickly.

With all of these resources on the Internet, we don't need to recreate the wheel to get ideas or enhance your lessons or courses. Working collaboratively in a virtual world just amazes me and sparks my interest on using these web sites. Another interesting part of chapter 7 was the text on cross-cultural exchanges.

Corporate and higher learning realms are crossing the bridge into many different countries, languages, and cultures. The team that I manage at work is cross-cultural between Idaho, Oregon, and Mumbai India. Even though we all speak English - the English is not the same. I teach Global Clean English to all the technical writers and editors as this is required by our clients to ensure a reduction in translation costs and improve readability. The course is given in real-time using VoIP (over the Internet using a PowerPoint presentation, microphone, headset with microphone). Time wise, I have three time zones to consider for scheduling. This usually means early morning for Idaho and Oregon, and evening for India. To reduce how late the Indian writers had to stay at work, I broke the course into two-hour modules taught over three days. This helped the US-based writers by letting them get their day-to-day jobs done, and the Indian writers could leave when the last transport left around 9:00 PM.

What will I remember from this assignment? I will remember there is no need to re-invent the wheel when there are so many available resources on the Internet. I will also remind myself, when I get frustrated with having a Global team to manage, that I am not alone and this will continue to increase while working/learning globally increases.

 

 

Module 1: EdTech 522 Online Teaching for Adult Learners
September 9, 2012

Summarize the six key assumptions about adult learners as described by Malcolm Knowles.

Knowles' six key assumptions are known as the foundation of adult learning. He was one of the major players in defining andragogy specifically for adult learning (vs. children learning). While defining andragogy, how adults are taught differently than children, he documented six key assumptions of adult learning. The assumption of self-concept means that adults want to own their decisions and direct themselves as they wish. Adults have more life experiences than children have and want to use these to learn as much as possible. With age, adults want to learn to handle life and work-related situations effectively. Also, adults are anxious to learn in problem-solving tasks that affect their daily lives. Moreover, adults are more motivated than children, in the fact that they want to reach their goals without being distracted. Unlike many children, adults need to know why they are learning a subject and how they will apply it, whether at work or in their personal life.

Much of today's adult education development is based on these six key assumptions as explained by Knowles. These assumptions state that adults, due to age, have more experience and want to know why they need to learn, and feel responsible for learning decisions for themselves.

Knowles' six assumptions are the infrastructure for andragogy, or adult learning. He identified that adults learn differently than children in several ways, which he outlined in his six key assumptions to adult learning, as explained above (Taylor and Kroth, 2009). In his adult learning theory, he emphasizes that adults:

·         are self-directed

·         want to take responsibility for their learning and decisions,

·         want to solve a problem with their learning

·         want to know why they are learning something and how it will immediately be of value

·         use experience to enhance learning

Knowles' framework for adult learners vs. child learners point directly to the level of experience and that adults want to know why they are learning something and the value of it.

Reference:

Taylor, Bryan, & Kroth, Michael (2009), Andragogy's transition into the future: meta-analysis of andragogy and its search for a measureable instrument. Journal of Adult Education, vol. 38, 1- 11.

 Summarize 2 - 3 concepts that you learned from the reading and how you plan applying this information.

Adult Learners

Knowles' assumptions of adult learners are so evident yet so thought provoking. It is true that, when I create and implement learning to adults I work with, the class is solving a problem, the students draw from their own experiences, and they will immediately practice what they have learned. It is satisfying to me that I followed Knowles' key assumptions, the foundation of adult learning, and I did not realize it. More importantly, the adult learners who I taught did, in fact, learn and apply what they learned and immediately improved their performance. I plan to use this expanded knowledge to improve my existing and future training material so my learners will learn to their highest potential.

Online Discussions

In Teaching Online (Rossen & Ko , 2004; 2010), the discussion of how important the Web is in online teaching opened my eyes. The focus on why online teaching using the Web is effective for different types of learners. Blending the face-to-face learning model and online learning enhances the learning experience for a diverse learning group. However, those learners who may be timid or shy may not join in activities such as group discussions. Offering the discussion online, rather than verbally, allows these learners to take part in the discussion without the anxiety of learners who are more aggressively verbal or domineering. As a result, the online discussion allows all learners to participate, which enhances the learning of all participants. Learners learn from each other in a neutral environment. I plan to apply this in my existing course for Global Clean English. Creating a discussion will help open the lines of communication between the US technical writers and the Mumbai, India writers (who tend to be shy and quiet during training classes). I feel confident creating a discussion will prove an invaluable tool and increase retention.

References:

Taylor, Bryan, & Kroth, Michael (2009), Andragogy's transition into the future: meta-analysis andragogy and its search for a measureable instrument. Journal of Adult Education, vol. 38, 1- 11.

Rossen, Steve, & Ko, Susan (2004; 2010). Teching online, A practical guide. New York, New York: Taylor & Francis.