Using a tool versus using a tool effectively; online teaching for dummies*

*This blog post has no endorsement from the publishers of the very popular "..for dummies" series of books.  I just liked the sentiment.

Part I: Effective Tool Use

In a past life I used to teach students in a construction apprenticeship program. One of the first lessons students were taught in that program was how to use a hammer. It seems like an intuitive tool right - hold handle, use metal head to pound nail. However, there is some real physics to be explored if you want the hammer to do the work, not your forearm.

In my present iteration of “Amanda the Professional”, I help teachers and students use online tools to enhance their teaching/learning. Same concept as my previous job, I spend time helping others use tools effectively.

In a prescribed literary review examining the value on online learning, I wasn’t surprised to see the same theme I encounter everyday - tools aren’t effective if you don’t know how to use them.

Part II: Marketing Schemes

“Touted for its cost effectiveness and convenience, online learning provides opportunities for more learners to continue their education in various settings (Oliver, 1999).”

“Technology now enables schools to offer online programs with better student and instructor collaboration, flexible (asynchronous) learning, problem specific feedback, automated interactive lessons or presentations, and simulations of almost anything conceivable (Byrd, 2012).”

Written a decade apart, these two papers reviewing online learning tout the value of e-learning in terms of features, not effectiveness.  There is nothing wrong with buying a product for its features.  As an ed tech professional, I would just like to encourage others to then pursue how to use such products to improve their efficacy.

Maxpixel Under CC0 Public Domain

So, buckle in. I’d like to offer you a short lesson on how to make online learning effective; because I think by now, we all get that educational technology tools can be fun and flashy and offer flexibility to our instructional practices - but if we take a moment to learn how to make these tools effective everyone wins.

Part III: A Short Ride to Success

Have faith, this will be a short ride as there are only two major themes for effective online learning:

• Student engagement
• Teacher involvement

Let’s start with student engagement. Research shows that students who feel engaged with their coursework perform better(Koc, 2017), enjoy the class more(Burke, 2017), and are more likely to stick with their education(Shea 2006). Specifically, students who are given responsibility for their learning feel more engaged. One way to increase responsibility is to require students to reflect on what they have learned(Angiello, 2010). Competency-based education practices that help students identify learning targets and then empower them to seek information and experience to prove mastery of learning also favorably ramp up student engagement(Mayeshiba, 2010).

Now, if the key to effective online learning is student responsibility and engagement, then you may be asking - “what then, is the role of the teacher”. Abundant amounts of research show that an instructor in an online class brings the most value through creating an online community where learners can feel safe exploring thoughts, asking questions, and seeking feedback(Majeski, 2017). “...a strong and active presence on the part of the instructor—one in which she or he actively guides the discourse—is related both to students sense of connectedness and learning(Shea, 2006).

Part IV: The Final Destination

Casey, A.(2014). End of the Road
Licensed Under CC-BySA 2.0

I mentioned that this was to be a short ride, right? This is the end of the line. Teachers seeking to create EFFECTIVE online learning environments should work toward identifying ways to promote student responsibility for learning so as to free him/herself to be responsible for the development and maintenance of a safe and active online learning community.

To slaughter a perfectly good movie line:

If you build it (the community), they will learn.

References:

1. Angiello, R. (2010). Study Looks at Online Learning vs. Traditional Instruction. Education Digest, 76(2), 56–69.
2. Burke, A., & Fedorek, B. (2017). Does “flipping” promote engagement?: A comparison of a traditional, online, and flipped class. Active Learning in Higher Education, 18(1), 11–24.
3. Byrd, R. (2010). Using Appropriate E-learning Systems to Optimize Teaching and Learning. GSTF Journal on Computing, 2(3), 47–52.
4. Koc, M. (2017). Learning Analytics of Student Participation and Achievement in Online Distance Education: A Structural Equation Modeling. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 17(6), 1893–1910.
5. Majeski, R., Stover, M., Valais, T., & Ronch, J. (2017). Fostering Emotional Intelligence in Online Higher Education Education Courses. Adult Learning, 28(4), 135–143.
6. Mayeshiba, M., Jansen, K., & Mihlbauer, L. (2018). An Evaluation of Critical Thinking in Competency Based and Traditional Online Learning Environments. Online Learning, 22(2), 77–89.
7. Oliver, R. (1999). Exploring strategies for online teaching and learning. Distance Education, 20(2), 240–254. doi:10.1080/0158791990200205

Worksheet Zombies - Can Curiosity Kill the Cat(atonic)?

Zombies Wander Among Us

So Halloween has come and gone, but as the ghosts and goblins put their costumes away for another year, I am reminded of a personal nightmare.  I write curriculum for high school students in a manufacturing apprenticeship program.  The work is all cross-content and activity-based.  At a recent staff meeting, I had a teacher ask if we could just go back to worksheets.  “That is what the students really want!” she pleaded.  Worksheet zombies.  I shudder at the thought.  Our schools are pushing out students who want to fill in little bubbles instead of think and create.  What kind of monsters have we created?

Obsolete, Not Broken

In his 2013 TED Talk “The Future of Learning”, educational researcher Sugata Mitra assured those listening that our schools aren’t broken, they are just obsolete.  Our schools, Mitra asserted were created to meet needs of a different time.  Those needs have changed and so now our schools must also change.

Guide on the Side

Mitra suggested a new role for teachers:

“The teacher stands back and watches in awe as learning happens.”

Mitra filled his TED Talk with anecdotal evidence from his research where he provided resources and gave minor prompting to young children.  Mitra shared the unexpected results - children learned as a result of exploration, not instruction.  In Mitra’s research,  the only time an instructor performed as a “sage on the stage” was when practice and skill refinement proved necessary.  Mitra challenged his audience with the idea that “knowing” is an obsolete skill.  In a monologue on the state of learning, he alluded to the idea that curiosity is now king.

Will Curiosity Kill the Cat(atonic)?

In a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, embedded in the Kettle Moraine High School - a public high school - exists not one, but two competency-based, project-driven charter schools.  The class sizes aren’t smaller.  The student to teacher ratio isn’t lower.  The school day isn’t shorter.  The students also aren’t doing worksheets.

With a list of competencies, multi-disciplinary teachers, open space and computers, students in KM Global and KM Perform let curiosity guide them through experiences only limited by their creativity.  

Kettle Moraine High School Routinely hosts visitors eager to learn about the magic.  The school is routinely honored as one of the greatest in the nation.  All the while, in the same halls as these cutting edge charter schools, teachers and students from traditional classes taught with traditional methods respond to bells and clocks, open and close their textbooks for traditional classes, and march the march of the last century of education.  I’ll stop short of calling the students of KM worksheet zombies - the school is just too progressive, but I will point out that the reason this traditional environment remains is that school leadership acknowledged that there are students who aren’t comfortable learning outside of “the system”.

So is curiosity the sword to remove the zombie’s head?  Worksheet Zombies are a cultural paradigm.  No one swipe of sword will secure our future.  But time, willingness to change and educational leaders - like Pat Deklotz, Superintendent of Kettle Moraine march us one step closer to Mitra’s vision of learning as a by-product of curiosity.

Blended, Flipped or Personalized

The world of education is awash in cutting-edge practices designed to amplify student engagement and learning. From methods that are technology driven - like “Blended” learning and “Flipped” classrooms to ideologies that describe how to best meet a student’s needs - like “Personalized” learning and “Individualized” learning; teachers are bombarded with “best practices”.   How is a teacher to know which direction to move for his/her classroom?

For what my 15 years of experience in education, youth development, and curriculum and instructional design might be worth, I would tell teachers that methodologies and ideologies are like tools in a toolbelt.  You aren’t limited to the choice of one, but you will be most effective if you choose the tool best designed for your goal.

Quick Aside: In my last post, I encouraged educators to explore the possibilities of ed tech tools; to experiment bravely in order to better know the tool.  For those who may feel that the previous paragraph contradicts bravely experimenting, please know that I would consider experimentation to be a prerequisite of the ability to “choose the tool best designed…”.

Blended

Blended learning offers students the opportunity to engage with educational technology.  The technology tools can be used to assess, practice, explore and expand understanding of concepts.  Teachers may want to consider using this tool if they have students who learn best independently, have a large class and could use help reducing the size of a group receiving instruction, and/or if they have limited access to manipulatives/hands-on activities to reinforce learning.  Clearly, blended learning can be a challenge for teachers with limited access to computers and/or the Internet.

Flipped

Flipped learning opens the door for classroom time to be used for activity and practice instead of direct instruction.  Flipped learning environments typically require students to watch videos of instructional material.  This content is then reinforced and further explored through hands-on activities in the classroom.  Teachers who wish to have more class time for interaction, practice, and observation of student performance would do well to flip their classroom.  Teachers of students who struggle to regularly attend school and/or who have little support at home with homework may also find that the flipped classroom better supports their students.  However, teachers need to be prepared for the student unable to access the video due to inaccessibility of computers/phones and/or the Internet.

Personalized

Personalized learning refers to curriculum and instructional design that allows for student choice of time, place, path and pace.  It is a methodology that allows for students to learn, practice and demonstrate understanding through avenues that meet personal interests and learning styles/needs.  Teachers looking to add student input to assignments, who wish to amplify student creativity, and who want students to take responsibility for their learning could find happiness with personalized learning.  Teachers looking for a quick fix to student engagement may feel disappointed with personalized learning as creating a personalized learning environment is a journey, not a final destination.  Adding elements of personalized learning will take time, experimentation, and piece-meal implementation.

Tools in a Toolbelt

Just as a house isn’t built with only a hammer, increasing student learning and engagement will likely require more than one tool and methodology.  In looking at Personalization, Blended learning, and Flipped classrooms as tools, you might decide to use elements of all three.  Consider adding student choice (Personalization) to how a skill is practiced by offering online learning material that a student can use as evidence of learning.  If you open a center in your classroom where they can do this, that is technically Blended learning.  If you create or use curated videos to explain the skill in question, then you could offer student choice (Personalization) for whether they practice at home and get direct instruction at school or they could watch the video at home (Flipped)  and practice online in the classroom (Blended).

“But where do I start?”

The idea that one tool and/or one methodology isn’t a panacea, may leave teachers panicked about how to get started.  I would suggest that the first step is to start with a method or idea that resonates.  Find one small way to adjust instructional practices based on this learning.  Keep what works.  Drop what doesn’t.  Then keep learning and experimenting in order to fill the toolbelt.  Every journey, whether a walk in the park or a mountain trek, is completed one step at a time.

Recommended Resources:

1. Able, Natalie (February 17, 2016). What is Personalized Learning [Blog Post]. Retrieved from: https://www.inacol.org/news/what-is-personalized-learning/
2. Blended Learning: Blended Learning (2017). Retrieved from: https://www.edutopia.org/blogs/tag/blended-learning
3. Flipped Classroom (2017). Retrieved from: https://www.edutopia.org/blogs/tag/flipped-classroom

"You aren't doing it right" - A Call for Defiance in the Use of Digital Technologies

“Necessity is the mother of invention.” Richard Franck

The TPACK framework identifies a collection of competencies necessary for mastery of technology use in the classroom. One element of this Venn diagram includes competencies related to technical knowledge - or the knowledge of and ability to use digital technologies. Practitioners of TPACK might suggest that mastery of technology skills would enable an instructor to choose a tool to best accomplish his/her goals.

By Matthew Koehler [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest alternately, that mastery of technology skills would enable an instructor to critically evaluate a digital technology in terms of what it might be capable of. Where would be if the creators of Google Docs only set out to re-create the overdone wheel of a word processing tool? Thankfully, they envisioned collaboration, citation, use of web resources, etc.

Scientists have proven that humans are inclined to stick with tools that are familiar, regardless of the original intentions of the tool and regardless of options for more effective tools. But, when I think about my four-year-old son’s passion for the phrase, “You’re doing it wrong”, a little oppositional defiance is sparked. My go-to response for him is, “No, I’m just doing it differently.”


So, while those of us in educational technology and instructional design might have “intended” uses for tools and applications; I salute those brave souls who are willing to experiment to see what awesomeness they can elicit.

(Seriously, the instructional designer in me hesitated with this post. Have you had the client who kept trying to get a tool to work in a way NEVER intended and then swore the tool was “broken”? But, in the spirit of encouraging learn-through-play, I hope educators will read this and not feel restricted to only using technology they “know.”)

Re-framing Digital Citizenship as Global Citizenship

A Fad or a Fundamental

In K-12 education, it feels as if there is a new “save-our-students” (SOS) curriculum each year. From whole language to phonics, project-based math to skill-and-drill basics, educators are always subjected to the ebb and flow of curriculum.  In the recent tidal shift, digital citizenship has made a resurgence.

Image from MaxPixel.
 Available through Creative Commons Zero - CC0

In 2002, as a program director for a Boys and Girls Club, I taught Internet safety to students through online game modules intended to teach participants to protect their personal information.  Last year, while attending the 2016 iNACOL Symposium, I found myself experiencing deja vu in a workshop on digital citizenship by one of many vendors of the new wave of curricula.

All educational cynicism aside, I am forced to evaluate whether digital citizenship is a fad or is it the rewriting of 100+ years of traditional citizenship classes.  Is digital citizenship a set of technology competencies or is it truly a set of lessons on safe, productive, and effective global interaction?

Defining Citizenship

After months of studying for naturalization as an American citizen, the individuals in this video have thoughts on how to define citizenship:

As citizenship is not a concept unique to America, I am particularly fond of these definitions provided by the Citizenship Foundation of the United Kingdom:

Citizens are members of a state or a nation. Citizenship is the process of being such a member. It is how we make society work, together.Citizenship education gives people the knowledge and skills to understand, challenge and engage with the main pillars of our democracy: politics, the economy and the law. (Citizenship Foundation 2017)

Defining Digital Citizenship

I took a moment to compare the digital citizenship outlines of several frameworks (ISTE Digital Citizenship Standards for Students, Google For Education Digital Citizenship Curriculum, and Common Sense Education Digital Citizenship Curriculum).  They share these tenets:

• Maintaining digital identity and reputation
• Positive, safe, legal and ethical online behavior
• Ethical and legal use of intellectual property
• Maintenance of personal digital privacy and security
• Information literacy/research skills

By GDJ [CC0],
via Wikimedia Commons

The knowledge and skills represented by these frameworks identify necessary competencies for safe and effective interactions in a global, online environment.  These competencies promote legal and ethical behavior, rights and responsibilities, and even personal and professional relationships. This is starting to sound like a global citizenship class and not merely a computer class.

So What?

The more I compare digital citizenship to traditional citizenship, I feel fairly confident that we are muting the importance of the digital citizenship curricula by framing it as technology skills.

The role of a teacher is to promote the development of knowledge and skills necessary for success as a productive adult.  As such, I feel teachers need to lead the charge by taking a closer look at the global skills our students will need when they leave our care.

Let’s move from teaching about digital identity as a way to stay employable toward lessons on how technology is the new historical recorder.  In history as young as the 20th century, newspapers, encyclopedias, and books only recorded the activity of famous citizens - those noteworthy for music, acting, scientific feats, or politics.  With the internet, there is no more bias toward fame/fortune.  When a picture is posted or a comment made, it becomes a permanent part of history.  The question isn’t “Would you want your boss to see that” it is “Is that the historical record you want people to judge you by”.

Safe online behavior isn’t just taught to prevent cyberbullying or becoming prey to criminals.  It is a course in legal rights and responsibilities.  It is the online version of reminders to walk in a group at night, lock your doors, let the law help you with harassment issues, etc.  It is knowing how freedom of speech extends to Internet posts.

"Bill of Rights" by Nick Youngson.
Available through CC BY-SA 3.0

On a final thought related to reframing our digital citizenship curricula, in traditional citizenship classes in America, immigrants and school-age students learn the history and events that shaped our culture.  Perhaps we ought to add that to our digital citizenship curricula.  I’m not suggesting students learn the history of the Internet, but rather, to learn a little more about the global cultures they could encounter on the web.  In America, it could be very powerful to know that our freedom of speech gives us greater access to information and more liberty in our posts than nearly any other country in the world.  Teaching this concept as means of understanding the perspective of others they may meet online and as a way of encouraging awareness of personal liberties would give more heft to classes that largely feel like a computer course.

Now What?

Whether you are a parent, teacher, coach or random Internet surfer who came unwittingly across this blog, I challenge you to consider whether you have the skills to engage globally, in a society that will largely interact online.  Digital citizenship classes may not be posed to get to you there yet, but hopefully, this post will open your eyes to what is missing and encourage you to think bigger.

References
Citizenship Foundation (2017). What is Citizenship? Retrieved from: http://www.citizenshipfoundation.org.uk/main/page.php?427

Conversation - the Gaping Hole in Social Media Learning Networks

I can't believe I'm saying this - me - a type D personality on the DiSC Personality test - a "do-er".  Well here you go world - I'll even put it in writing.

I need a little more conversation over here.

Tasked with building a personal learning network through social media, I have to tell you - I was psyched.  I LOVE Twitter chats.  Sitting on my couch in my pjs, while the husband watches 1970 sci-fi flicks, I can engage in dialogue around educational leadership (#DLNchat). I love surfing Twitter to catch up on emerging "awesomeness" reading posts from @Getting_Smart. I couldn't wait to see what else was waiting for me in LinkedIn, Google+, and Facebook.

Google+
Prior to searching out a personal learning network, I used Google+ to share class photos with families and colleagues.  As the ugly step-sister in the social networking world, Google+ served as a quiet media outlet where all of the other important posts of the day wouldn't bury the fun images of my students engaged in project-based learning.

I'm sad to say my reluctance was only reinforced when the first group I joined turned out to be a middle-eastern sales ploy with posts on obscure technology devices.  The group had 34 thousand members.  How could that be a scam?

So, I decided to look for people instead of groups.  Again, disappointment loomed.  These really amazing people I found could be sorted into two groups.  One group made a big splash of posts never to be heard from again.  The other group is full of people on their soap boxes.  No one asked provocative questions to spark conversation.  No one posted looking for ideas.  Google+ was a real minus in my book.

LinkedIn
"Look at me!"  If I remind myself that PLN is personal - LEARNING-network not personal SOCIAL network, I am able to engage with the interesting reads that land on my LinkedIn feed. TeachThought posts regularly and the content is outstanding.  I get excited when I see their logo appear on my screen.

Just in the last week, I decided to branch out and post articles that I found on other sites instead of only "liking" and "sharing".  This "bold" move brought a few more connections my way, but it left me feeling like something was missing.  It was great for the ego that others like my ideas, but where are those who want to have a conversation about the post?

Facebook
With more than one BILLION Facebook pages, I was confident that I would find people willing to talk in this venue.  I am a member of a group called "Teacher Idea Sharing", but it has been quiet since last year - seriously, not a single post since October of 2016.  It generated a few good conversations, but I guess like all non-essentials: out of sight, out of mind.  So, I sought new groups and sent join requests to two (Teachers Helping Teachers Grow and Instructional Designers in Education).  As of the writing of this blog, however, I haven't been accepted Instructional Designers, but I have fallen in love with Teachers Helping Teachers...

What, So What, Now What
In short, after a week or two of trying to make new friends, I'm going back to my old hang-out: Twitter. Folks who tweet are friendly, frequently willing to engage in discussion, adept at maintaining momentum and darn it, they just plain like me.  For anyone reading this blog hoping to glean guidance on building his/her own PLN, my advice is to think about your learning style.  If you just want to read and process on your own, LinkedIn and Twitter offer current and relevant reading material.  If you want to socialize and are willing to be patient to find the right group (Goldilocks style), Facebook has great potential.  For those who are social learners and need to talk to process content, come hang out with me on Twitter (@outofboxed), we can learn together!

Hungry for the Truth

"Reeses Peanut Butter Cups to Be Discontinued by Hershey's Before..."

Have you seen a headline like that recently?  Not only did I see it in my Facebook feed, I heard morning show DJs talking about the issue.  That makes it real right?!

As a teacher, I have spent countless hours coaching students to validate information.  Look at the website address.  Investigate the author.  Beware of adds.  Research the mission of the of the website.   In short - do your research.

When the delicious chocolate, peanut butter treat was threatened in headlines and when challenged to determine "real or fake" by Dan Russell's November 2015 blog post, "Fake or real?  How do you know?", I followed my own advice.  I let Google do the interrogation.

Szerelmi gyilkosságok (3. évad) by Lwp Kommunikacio.
Made available by CC by 2.0

I read blogs of others on the search to answer the challenge posted by Russell (2015).  I opened web search results to determine whether I could trust the source.  I researched authors.  I dug and read and researched.  And in the end, I fell back on my math/science background (you can't prove theories true you can only prove them to be false).  I determined that all signs supported the artifacts as fakes.

A healthy dose of skepticism a day keeps the frauds away.

In fair disclosure, I incorrectly surmised that a quote attribution to Thomas Jefferson was fake.  In a numbers game, however, 7 out of 8 is a decent rating when tallying the number of times I was misled by online content.

So my takeaway to share?  HURRY - go buy those Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!  Not because they are going to disappear from shelves, but because in this world of fake news and Photoshop, you are going to need some sustenance to fuel you while you research to uncover the truth.

A Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, Big Cup. by Evan-Amos.
Made available by Wikimedia Commons CC0 1.0

References:

Russell, Dan (2001.November, 11) Fake or real?  How do you know? [Blog post]. Retrieved from: http://searchresearch1.blogspot.com/2015/11/search-challenge-111115-fake-or-real.html