Project Based Learning

Project based learning allows students to  work in teams and to experience and explore relevant, real-world problems, questions, issues and challenges; then create knowledge and make meaning which they share using presentations to demonstrate what they have learned, focused on the identified objectives. The teacher’s role is one of coach, facilitator, guide, adviser  or mentor; it is not one of directing and managing all student work.
In a  Multimedia learning environment,  Project based learning enhances social learning through collaborative action learning. On how to craft objectives and learning outcomes for an effective learning process, Reiser and Dempsey (2012) advise to ensure focus on the following: 

• what the teacher expects the student to know, understand and be able to do, 
• how the student will be engaged in the learning, and 
• what evidence the teacher will accept that the student has demonstrated mastery of the identified knowledge, skills and concepts noted.

To demonstrate this, I created a Multimedia learning environment to enhance social learning through collaborative action learning. I teach a foreign language, Kiswahili, which is aimed at enhancing language and cultural skills and to strengthen multiculturalism.This Google maps and concept mapping lesson will assist the students to take a virtual tour and communicate in Kiswahili as they build vocabulary around their host country and the activities they would normally be involved in on a real study abroad tour.
The students will in groups map out the following activities: Create concept map of our tour and activities and use Google Earth and Maps to locate and discuss Nairobi as a multicultural city. Kalamazoo will be our start point and Nairobi, Kenya will be our learning center, while Dar es Salaam, Tanzania will be our co host. 

See the map here 

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/u/0/viewer?mid=zm6E-CVHR5a0.kem2pp22weN8

and the whole lesson and concept map here http://fredahtech.pbworks.com/

Instructional Design Roles and Challenges

The aspects of a job that are considered most important are satisfaction, pay and environment. Job security is a major concern in the US and especially in these economic times.

On job security, recognition and appreciation, Professor Jack Dempsey as quoted by Reiser and Dempsey (2012) says that much of the work of a full professor in most universities goes unnoticed. My professional working environment could learn from the IDT environment  in areas of research and mentoring. Mentoring others helps both the mentee and the mentor. The mentor increases on job satisfaction, social and professional interactions and self development while the mentee learns the tricks of the trade and gains experience.

Very little literature is available on mentorship programs in the academic field. Most professors are busy publishing or researching to meet the requirements of the next level of promotion, they have little or no time for mentoring junior professors or graduate students.

One very relevant lesson for me is developing an area of expertise and in it using a variety of sources and skills in the production of instructional media. This aligned very well with what I have learnt in my IDT graduate classes.  Since technology is always changing, and learning demands are increasing, it is imperative to keep up with the innovations.

The other lesson was becoming active in professional organizations. This hit me squarely in the face. I have always viewed these organizations as places where they grow out of membership fee (some are quite steep) and not where I could actually take a leadership position, work and develop others as I develop myself. Lesson well learnt, thank you.

Free web-based software review

Office Suites

What I liked about Zoho is that it gives me a total package of free tools that I can use personally or expand the package for business use. Whether for personal use or for business the following tools are very user friendly:
Collaboration Applications such as chat, mail, discussion, meeting, and so on  make it easier for self managed teams to organize themselves around a project, organize their schedules and tasks, allow for easy team leading and coordinating, and an easy way to track and evaluate team goals more efficiently. 

The Business Applications such as survey, reports, books, recruit, Project Management, Invoicing, and Web conferencing and so on allow organizations and their teams to make effective decisions, report and give feedback fast, track customers and the quality of service and generally be effective.

The Productivity Applications include calendar, notebook, spreadsheets and many others that help employees stay focused, connected and on track.

Image Editing

Sumo paint is a free online image editor with its focus on illustration than editing by use of its simple to use tools such as uploading, commenting on, and rating images; creating and modifying images online.

I played around with this tool and found it easy to use and very powerful. The color resolutions are amazing. I have uploaded a “thing” I created using it just so you see how easy it is to use it and how much fun it was.

Jing and Screencast

This week I used Jing.com to create a lesson on how to use the APA formatted word document from Microsoft Office suite. I found it difficult to use because I have to afterwards log in to sreencast.com to retrieve the link for the class, unlike other publishers where you get the link on the same page.
The reason I choose a lesson on APA is because many of my students struggle to format an ordinary word document to conform to APA standards. Unfortunately the margins and spacing are not the same. This lesson will save my students time and frustration.
APA Formatting
According to APA Style guidelines, the document should be formatted with margins one inch top, bottom, left, and right; written using Times New Roman font in 12 point; double-spaced; aligned flush left; and paragraphs indented 5-7 spaces. Page numbering appears one inch from the right edge on the first line of each page, excluding the Figures page. Acquire a copy of the APA guidelines 6th edition book here apastyle.org/ for more details.
Watch the lesson here to learn more about the APA formatted word document.
APA_formatted_doc_lesson2_2013-08-02_1418_001

Kiswahili Study abroad Tour Plan: Concept Map

Hi class, I hope you are excited as I am about this tour to Nairobi. As we all are aware, we are leaving on the 9th of September at 8 a.m. What I would like you to do is, in your groups, create a mind map of the whole tour starting with the planning session all the way to the activities that we will be involved in or would like to be involved, places we will visit and others we would like to visit. Each group will expand the map of two other groups to ensure we cover all aspects of our tour. Below I have a sample of how I would like you to proceed. Group 1 will cover our travel documents, group 2 our ticketing issues and group 3 our various activities. If you think of something else incorporate it by using the blank box. Don't forget accommodation plans.
Find the mind mapping tools here:https://bubbl.us/

Figure 1: Sample Mind Map

Kiswahili Study Abroad Program tour

This is my sample of the Kiswahili Study Abroad Program tour map. For your group project, expand Nairobi town to include your host University and hotel  
 
Watch more on Nairobi's culture here

Critical Thinking Skills Podcast

Critical thinking skills enable students to be creative and innovative. If such skills are not fostered in the classroom, future leaders and employees will lack same skills in the workplace.


Listen to more details here on my PBworks site. You may be required to click the "Download" tab. 


http://fredahtech.pbworks.com/w/file/67813673/Audio%20Lesson-podcast%20Critical%20Thinking.wma

Or listen to it here at podomatic.com http://70242fredcriticalskills.podomatic.com/entry/2013-07-25T07_40_13-07_00

Photo sharing using Photobucket

Hi Class, I am sharing a few photos here incase you did not find them in the post on images and other media. Follow my link at photobucket here:

Use this link to enable your browser to become an assistant to help you mark/tag that favorite site/link. Save this on Delicious

Educational podcasting

Educational podcasting can be a creative way to capture learners' imagination and make learning exciting. It can also be an effective way of presenting instructional materials and providing resources in an audio format, called podcasts or in an audio-visual format called video podcasts. This emerging technology provides a way of sharing and transmitting audio for teaching and learning in schools and at home. to record, produce and publish on the Internet. One can upload a lesson with images that change at predetermined times when the podcast is played and hyper links to websites. You can also easily move to different chapters in the podcast, a feature used extensively in audio books.

This week I used a number of pocasts sites to learn more.

Access these sites and learn more

http://recap.ltd.uk/podcasting/

http://dvorak.podomatic.com/entry/2007-09-20T16_41_44-07_00

http://powertolearn.typepad.com/teaching_with_technology/ and 

using SMART Boards in the classroom at http://pdtogo.com/smart/

I subscribed to Inside Higher Ed  at http://www.insidehighered.com/audio and was fascinated and at the same time surprised by the debate on teaching with technology on the Udacity Project http://www.insidehighered.com/news/focus/teaching-and-learning.  

I listened to Candace Thille, director of the Open Learning Initiative and a leading advocate of intelligent teaching software, talk to Inside Higher Ed tech reporter Steve Kolowich about massive open online courses, data, and about how students learn.How can people oppose technology that is aimed at expanding access and lowering costs?

Delicious bookmarking

Delicious bookmarking site can be used together with wikis and blogs for project planning and by the teacher for effective support of group activities. Unlike tagging a link on a web browser, one can personalize a social bookmarking site, and access it anywhere there is internet access or through other social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Use this link to enable your browser to become an assistant to help you mark/tag that favorite site/link. Save this on Delicious

Social Bookmarking

A cool way for saving that website that you landed on by some flux but liked what you found, is to use Social Bookmarking. As a method for storing, organizing and sharing favorite websites online, it is very effective. One such tool is Delicious. Teachers and learners with no or little knowledge or experience of using social bookmarking tools can use it for collaborative projects and research which can benefit learning and teaching through its features of space and group activities. see and join mine here

https://delicious.com/mkfreem

Other popular social bookmarking sites include Google Bookmarks, Digg, and StumbleUpon.

Read more here http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7001.pdf

And here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_bookmarking_websites

My Travel and sailing map

View Larger Map

I love sailing and traveling. My favorite places to go sailing are around Lake Michigan, in Chicago, Traverse City, Mackinaw island and back to Kalamazoo. Others include Niagara falls on both USA and Canada side
See map above and some photos here:

Involving Students in the Learning Process

Learning technologies should offer more than convenient access by involving students in the learning process which strengthens knowledge retention and meaning making. 

The learning paradigm has changed but the classroom is yet to fully transform.  According to Project Tomorrow/ Speak Up surveys poll on students indicate an increase in interest in online learning and mobile learning – “the leveraging of small, portable devices to facilitate anytime, anywhere, un-tethered learning” despite continued frustration by the way technology is filtered currently in classrooms.

Learnng should be as much fun as is play and gaming: research indicates children never get tired of these. 

Wordle is one way to keep the fun going in the class among other tools.

Check this out just as Iwas working on it, then took a snapshot of it with my phone before saving it on my laptop and then sharing it with you here:

You can create your own too at wordle.com

Technology has contributed greatly to the world of transformative thinking, learner centered classrooms, and interdisciplinarity. Multiple learning theories can now work together towards improving instructional design, learning environments and styles. Learning communities are being created daily in collaborative efforts by diverse members from diverse locations, a thing that would not be possible without technology,
Open Source and social networking sites.

Now what we need are more trained, talented teachers and appropriate school leadership to get us there or... I present to you the fate of the classroom.

Interdisciplinarity

Technology has contributed greatly to the world of transformative thinking, learner centered classrooms, and interdisciplinarity. Multiple learning theories can now work together towards improving instructional design, learning environments and styles. Learning communities are being created daily in collaborative efforts by diverse members from diverse locations, a thing that would not be possible without technology, Open Source and social networking sites.

Read more here

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~etc-c/etc667/2006/readings/gustafson1a.pdf

and here

http://sth.sagepub.com/content/15/1/105.short

Using images and other media in class

Uploading is easy -if you create it effectively- using easy and user friendly tools like photo bucket, YouTube or your own albums in any of your gadgets. I have shared a number of photos here http://s1295.photobucket.com/

For example this photo here of a favorite country side, I uploaded it from my albums on my laptop:

While this poorly done video of my birthday in 2011 was also uploaded from my laptop albums

I love sailing. I loved when the crew on one of my tours entertained us. This nicely done video, using the same camera used for above video still captivates me. I hope it does the same for you. Enjoy

In my previous class with Dr. Horvitz, I created a very poorly designed podcast. I have learnt a lot since as you can see.

The Future Classroom

The learning paradigm has changed.  According to Project Tomorrow/ Speak Up surveys poll on students indicate an increase in interest in online learning and mobile learning – “the leveraging of small, portable devices to facilitate anytime, anywhere, un-tethered learning” despite continued frustration by the way technology is filtered currently in classrooms.

Learn how to flip the classroom and assess learning so that your class looks more like this:

Listen/Watch more about The Future of Learning:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoSJ3_dZcm8

2009 Computer User Education Conference Keynote, part 1 & 2 

http://www.schooltube.com/video/62d8c79ed3314263b9b2/2009-CUE-Conference-Keynote-part-I

http://www.schooltube.com/video/3d8cf1cd535c4d9990d8/

What is next for Web 2.0

If Web 2.0 is "a set of principles and practices that tie together a veritable solar system of sites" as  Tim O'Reilley (2005) says, then where is the theory to ground the principles? With the speed at which technological innovations change, who is to predict what our favourite web 2.0 will be in a couple of years?

What I agree with O'Reilley (2005) about is when he says that "that the web is more important today than ever, with exciting new applications and sites popping up with surprising regularity". This prediction made in 2005 is so true and that might just confirm to us that we do not know what our favourite web 2.0 will be in a couple of years.

Reference

What Is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software. 

O’Reilly Media, Inc.

See more on technology and interoperability on my other blog here:

http://fredahtech.pbworks.com

Infusing and Integrating Technology

Reigeluth and Joseph’s case for technology transformation and integration caused me to ask critical questions for me as a trainer such as:

How can teachers and trainers use technology to enhance learning, create meaningful learning environments that support active, constructive, goal directed, reflective, authentic, and collaborative learning? I use content management systems but most of my students are not computer literate enough to engage the technology fully. So what is my role in this?

What specific strategies will be effective to help instructors overcome technophobic behaviors, and eliminate the barriers to change that they face as they work towards technology transformation and integration? Most of my colleagues are stuck to traditional ways of teaching yet they admire technology and its efficiency. Not because there is no technological support for them to transform, but because they are afraid of the constant changes and innovations.

What I liked about this article is the author’s focus on learners and learning as a collaborative event rather than a process of teaching and curriculum completion, testing and post testing. Principles of authentic  learning where students are exposed to diverse methods of learning, given ample time to practice and master a skill using their own learning style, freedom to choose content that is relevant to them, and solving real world problems collaboratively is what new learning technologies is all about (p.2-3). 

Reigeluth, C.M. & Joseph, R. (2002). Beyond technology integration: The case for technology transformation. Educational Technology, 42(4), 9-13.

Techos: Neil Postman's Article

When any technology is used effectively it helps a society advance and improve itself. When it is used by greedy unscrupulous people it harms all. Part of today’s technology, especially instructional technology, is helpful in research and in the classroom. With the help of Open Source and The Digital Commons, students can easily and conveniently access information for their projects more readily than would have been possible even 10 years ago.

I do not agree with Neil Postman about is his view on school and individualized learning. America is such an individualized society; competition and performance is always measured on individual achievement and rarely in team effort. So when did American schools become a place to teach people about community, sharing everything and playing fair?With transformed and integrated technology American schools can actually learn and teach key leadership skills such as teamwork, collaboration and coalition building locally and globally.

However, I found myself swayed by his arguments in disfavor of technology. Take for instance a new technology like internet that has driven away an old technology and ways of communicating, record keeping and updating and sharing. For example yesterday at work we had no internet. Almost all functions of the organization came down due to a storm that had interfered with our connectivity. Even a simple word document could not be processed in these days of online support for everything. Billing could not be done or records updated because to access our cloud backup system we need internet, to connect with some of our customers’ servers we need internet.

In the good old days, we may not have noticed the damage a storm had caused the previous night unless it had caused a tree to fall on your roof. Manual data management was effective regardless of how slow, tedious and unreliable it was.

Postman, N. (1993). Of Luddites, learning, and life. Technos Quarterly, 2(4).