Designing Learning Experiences Online Part 2

Designing Learning Experiences Online Part 2

Date: 4th Sep 2020/Friday

So how do we choose the best tools for online and blended learning. Do we need to choose all tools that are freely available or do we need to look for some criteria. What elements do we consider when we select tools for our digital tool box? 

Michele Eaton my course instructor for  Designing Learning Experiences Online with #ISTE says that in times of this pandemic you could give your students and yourself some grace, because everybody is stressed at times, they must understand each other. Technology should not be just used for delivering content online but for creating meaningful learning experiences online, formative assessment online, encouraging collaboration, communication online.Though there are a lot of free tools available but not everyone needs to be explored. Be comfortable with using the tools students already know well. Be intentional with creating online learning experiences because learning is social. 

There were two criteria shared for choosing tools online in the course. Ill share both here. One of the criteria considers the following elements, these are performance, usability, differentiation curriculum connection, feedback, engagement and thinking skills. These are part of an evaluation checklist.

Performance means that the chosen tool performs well, loads without technical issues, and is reliable. Usability means that the tool provides clear instructions for use and students can upload without the teacher guidance or assistance. Differentiation refers to providing flexible and adaptive content to meet students needs. There is a curriculum connection available, the content can be taught directly through the tool. Tool provides ample opportunity for feedback , both by the teacher and the student, and this can be customized. There is also data analysis possible. Students are motivated and engaged in using the tool. Its interactive. And the tool offers the use of higher order thinking skills like critical thinking, creativity, evaluation and analysis.

The next list is the digital tool checklist which looks into the purpose of using the tool, its alignment with the content to be taught, does it offer best educational practice, is it user friendly,logistics and does it abide by the data privacy rules. Lets look at each, purpose and alignment look at whether the use of tool is developmentally appropriate, it meets the needs of the lesson and matches the academic standards. When we speak of best educational practices, does the tool provide opportunity for differentiation, does the tool provide opportunity for development of ICT skills and does the tool ensure every learner has accessibility. Does the tool provide an easy to use user interface, can students navigate without teachers assistance. Does the tool have a clear policy defined for use, the tool will not use teachers and students data to market online, the provider will ensure safety of the users and their data, and no data regarding anyone will be shared without consent of both parties. Logistics looks at the way the tool could be logged in by the users, does it use class code, google sign in, google classroom, or it does not require a sign in? is the tool compatible with the districts devices or the devices available in your school?what is the cost of the tool? is it free or reasonable? and the last does the tool support sharing and integration with other platforms.

Other than the criteria shared above I found something interesting about choosing media online, it was an e-book by Tony Bates (2015) shared in the same course that uses SECTIONS (students, ease of use, costs, teaching function, interaction, organizational issues, networking, security and privacy) to choose media online. In the very book, the author refers to McKenzie who suggests building technology selection around Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligence. 

Why do we need a model for technology selection?why cant we do without it? a number of reasons. the author suggests that the model could work in different learning contexts, it allows decisions to be taken at both the strategic, institutional and tactical level. It focuses on both educational and operational issues, it will identify differences between technology, it will accommodate new developments in technology and can be easily understood and can be cost effective.

Lets now explore the SECTIONS model and what it offers for us as educators. When we talk of students, we need to look into student differences, accessibility to the tool and their demographics (all students come from different places though they may appear to be in the same class online). Its important to know about your students because all students in class have a different prior language, may speak and know a different language and may have different learning styles. So before making a decision about technology use in class as an educator we must gather data about our students. Next we must know whether students have equal access to technology or no?does the school have a network policy, can students use a device, or there are limited devices available for student use? can students use their own devices? which applications do they need on their device? what skills would they be needing? what are the policies regarding accessibility for students with special needs? 

Ease of use means that students should be comfortable with the use of technology. Most time should not be spent on just learning about technology. Institutions could prepare a plan to support students and teachers use of digital media. They could initiate programs that build students and teachers skills. These programs could be about privacy policies, data protection online, explaining whats involved in studying online, how to prevent cyber bullying, and how to maintain a professional presence online. Ease of use also includes simple to use user interface with no technical glitches, preferably the standard ones. It should be reliable from known sources and could be updated easily and timely. Another important factor is the cost of technology, can the institutions afford all technology, but costs should not be a discriminator in choice of technology. Teachers could use a mix of technology that meets both students and teachers needs, but it does effect at times, there are production costs, delivery costs, up-gradation costs, software maintenance costs, training costs, installation costs, overhead costs (licensing

) etc.

Next we look at the teaching and media element. Meyers identified 12 design principles that need to be considered while selecting a multimedia and they affect the cognitive load. These include coherence (people learn better when extraneous words, pictures and images are excluded), signalling (people learn better when there are cues about the  organization of text on screen, students need to know what to look for in the multimedia materials), redundancy (people learn better from graphics and narration, rather than graphics, narration and text), spatial contiguity (people learn better when corresponding images and words are presented near each other rather than far away), temporal contiguity (people learn better when corresponding images and word are presented simultaneously rather than successively), segmenting (people learn better when a multimedia lesson is presented in user paced segments), pre- training (people learn better when they know the names and characteristics of main concepts),multimedia (people learn better from words and pictures than words alone), modality (people learn from graphics and narration, then from animation and on screen text), personalization (people learn better when the multimedia is presented in a conversational style and not in a formal tone), voice (people learn better when the multimedia is presented in a human voice then a machine voice), image (people do not necessarily learn better when the speakers image is added on screen). Talbert's key design principles include keep it simple, keep it short (5 to 6 min video), keep it real, keep it good.

The next element looks at the interaction of students and teachers. This interaction could be of three types, first it could be interaction between the student and the multimedia, interaction between students and their peers and third interaction between teachers and students.This interaction could be inherent (simulations, computer marked assignments), designed (text books, podcasts, LMS) and learner centered (TV broadcasts, novels. podcasts, YouTube videos). Learner to teacher interaction could e face to face, online (synchronous or asynchronous),discussion forums, chat rooms etc could be through email or e-portfolios. Learner to learner interaction could be through discussion forums on LMS, group work, using social media etc So you need to think what sort of interaction will encourage meaningful learning, skill development , student comprehension and understanding? and then choose the technology.

Now, lets look at the organizational issues faced by institutions as far as technology selection is concerned. You need to consider whether there are already technology infrastructure in place, technology polices and procedures in place, how does the institution structure their teaching and learning activities, what support is in place for media and technology use? Mckenzie says that teachers have always made the best of whatever they have available, but it is what we have to work with that teachers make due. If an institution does not support a particular technology teachers will not use it but if they support it teachers will find the best way to use it. Institutions that support technology provide professional support to their teacher, faculty etc 

The next element looks at networking, which means how important is is to allow learners to network beyond a course, connect and collaborate with their learning community?with professionals and experts in the field? Students at times create their own resources like wikis, institutions have their own password protected learning management systems, some buy the technology for their institution use only. If this interaction with the external community is beneficial, then what should be the best way to do it,who should be made responsible, students or teachers or both?

The next element looks at the security and privacy issues. Security is a technical concern where as privacy is connected with the policies and practice in place in the institution to protect infiltration in important data whether its about students, teachers or other official users. learning management systems provide password  protected safe places to work and share data which cannot be accessed by anyone else. Both teachers and students need to work in a safe and secure environment where their communications remain safe, share without fear of bullying and harassment, and know for sure that their data would not be used by strangers or given access to people outside the organization.

The author further suggests that you begin with the technologies you know about, and then move throuhj all questions or criteria listed in the SECTIONS model shared above. Based on the responses of your questions you could then decide which technology to use and which to discard. I have already shared media selection does not happen in vacum and it has to be linked to the learning goals, resources available, instructional strategies to achieve the learning goals, students in class, and the characteristics of technology and how they will help meet the learning goals or targets.

So, now you are in a better position to create your digital tool box,  you know your students, learning outcomes, technology available, policy and procedures , are aware of data and security issues, interaction needed, ease of use etc. What is that you want the students to do? collaborate, create, evaluate, analyze ? You could also look into Blooms Taxonomy and SAMR model before selecting technology. There are tools that match the various cognition levels. Google forms could be used to create adventure stories with different ends or students could be asked to write their own blogs about a topic, or students could take notes in Google Keep, they could take a virtual trip through Google Earth and create a travel diary, they could analyze data about the occurrence of a natural phenomena like rains or floods and suggest precautions etc but this all comes from the learning objectives. Even TPACK could be beneficial for teachers as far as technology selection is concerned. There are website which have curated list of web tools you could assess them using the SECTIONS model. 

Now that we know about the SECTIONS model and how to leverage technology for meaningful learning to occur, we need to move on to design content to reduce cognitive load. My next blog post will explore how can we reduce cognitive load.

Hope you have enjoyed reading :) more in my third blog post on designing learning experiences  part 3 soon InnShaaAllah.

Regards and prayers

Sheeba Ajmal

 

References:

1. Bates, A. T. (2018). Teaching in a digital age: Guidelines for designing teaching and learning.

2.  Free Tech for learning by ISTE and EDSURGE, https://www.learningkeepsgoing.org/free-tech-for-learning, accessed online 4th Sep 2020

3. Kathy Schrocks guide to everything, https://www.schrockguide.net/bloomin-apps.html, accessed online 4th Sep 2020