A Distributed Learning Educational Perspective  for the 21st Century

By Katia DixonLIBE 477

"Content Creator"

• Focus on being a "content creator" • "teachers must become content creators [...]. To teach those

technologies effectively, educators must learn to use them effectively" (Richardson 154).

 Goals:To continue working with Web 2.0 tools alreadytried and explore new tools in order to be able to teach them to students and staffeffectively and efficiently. To enjoy the experience of creating  content through new forms of mediaand/or tools.

Share Resources• Focus on keeping track of resources available to share with

colleagues.• Share current research and articles about Web 2.0 Tools

and Learning in the 21st Century articles.• Collaborate with colleagues using Web 2.0 Tools to

enhance our knowledge and distributed learning courses. • "It is not essential  to know what the answer is as it is to

know where to find it" (Richardson 151).  Goals:To keep up to date with Web2.0 tools and current education theories for the purpose of knowledge and collaboration.Continue working on: Web 2.0 ToolsPW: kdixonsd68

Interactive Education

• Making sure students have the opportunity to engage with what they are learning, rather than just reading and responding.

• "new literacies classrooms are places of student engagement in which students report achieving a 'flow' state" (Kist 44).

 Goals:To add more audio and visuals to the online courses I currently teach.   To use tools that engage students, whileletting them interact with the class andthe content of the course.

Privacy and Safety• "Risks can be greatly reduced by having the appropriate

information in hand and by planning" (Richardson 12). • "Teachers have to be ready to discuss what should and

should not be published online" (Richardson 13).  Goals:To continue to familiarize myself with the varying privacy rules and safety issues that exist for students and staff. To teach students about their digital footprint.

To ensure students have the tools needed to deal with any privacy and safety issuesthey may face.

Flexible Student Centered Learning

• Give students freedom with their learning through choice and giving them a voice.

• "these technologies are demanding that we reexamine the way we think about content and curriculum, and they are nurturing, new, important shifts in how best to teach students (Richardson 149).

Goals:To create and/or use a variety of digital content that also gives students a choice in displaying their learning and skills. Adjust topic choices to meet the needs of student interests and goals.

Open Communication• "All these spaces allow for some community to form, even if

for only a few seconds" (Kist 4). •  Opening up conversations in order to develop connections

between between a community of learners.• "developing students who can flourish in the networked

personal learning spaces that they will inhabit the rest of their lives" (Richardson 149).

 Goals:To assist students in building appropriate learning networks.

To communicate with students, parents,and staff using multiple mediums in order to collaborate together and maintain an open dialogue.

Facilitator of Learning for Learning• "Our students are learning that their voices matter, that

people are listening and responding, and that their ideas count" (Richardson 151).

• Show don't tell • Lay the foundation for the path that will be built from each

student's stepping stones.  Goals:To facilitate individual and community learning through demonstration, rather than content driven education.  Thus, leading students to the ability to be successful finding their way in their student centered learning.

To give students their voice to be individual and be involved.

Problem Solving & Critical Thinking• "the ease with which people can now publish to the Internet,

consumers of Web content need to be editors as well as readers" (Richardson 148).

• "We need to give kids practice using these new media in school, where there can be a dialogue about all the issues that come up when communication in these new ways" (Kist 7).

 Goals:To teach students to solve their own problems through tools and methods available to them.

To teach and use critical thinking skills to evaluate and/or change content available on the Read/Write Web

Paperless Online Courses•  "Students can display mastery in countless ways that

involve the creation of digital content for large audiences" (Richardson 153).

•  Perhaps a currently idealistic idea, but the tools are available to make it a reality.  Example: turning grammar printable worksheets into an online form to complete.

 Goals:To continue to create content for students that requires direct online submission. To develop online courses that allow students to understand an assignment without needing to print off information in order to be successful.

Active & Progressive Teaching

• "teachers must begin to see themselves more as learners alongside their students (Richardson 154).

 Goals: To not allow myself to become comfortable in routine, but make myself continue to adapt to change  To keep up with trends and research in education and tools available. To not become a sedentary teacher... 

        ... ever.

Biggest Challenges

• Computers in schools need upgraded to support the new and changing technology that teachers are working to incorporate into their courses.

• Distributed Learning Educators face negative attitudes and lack of support from "regular" teachers who assume we "are taking their jobs."

• Time: time to be a content creator, while balancing  course development and a high volume of students.

• Trying to create a online classroom      community when the courses are      self-paced and students are working at      different points in the course at the      same time.• Avoiding information overload.

Sources

Kist, William. The Socially Networked Classroom: Teaching in the New Media Age. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin, 2010. Richardson, Will. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin, 2010. Background Image Source  www.wordle.net