Pedagogical Considerations 4

2011 Information Technoloy Services

Concordia College, Moorhead, MN

June 22, 2011

Summer Technology Academy

Workshop 4

Concordia College Information Technology Services 2


Workshop 4: Objectives

1. Participate in a presentation on copyright compliance

a) Amy Soma, Librarian (guest speaker)

2. Explore differences in facilitation techniques for ‘new’ technology

a) Structuring information for use with various technologies

b) Establishing best practices

c) Incorporating usage guidelines

d) Using rubrics

3. Handling technology issues

a) Enlisting assistance

b) Technology issues with students

c) Guest speakers

4. New ideas

5. Final homework assignment


Guest Speaker Notes: Amy Soma


Facilitating With New Technology

Considerations

We have learned that technology provides new opportunities to further students’ understanding of the curriculum. When incorporating new technology as part of our pedagogy we have the option to use technology directly or indirectly in our teaching, have students engage with technology directly, or a combination of both. Traditional methods of teaching cannot be applied when using technology as part of our pedagogy therefore it’s important to consider the impact of technology while looking at new facilitation techniques. In a classroom setting the way in which information is structured is less formal and more readily adaptive to students’ responses.

When incorporating technology as a medium for delivering information, here are some things to consider:

How the medium and/or its delivery system can change, alter or affect the interpretation of the

information delivered

The appropriateness of the medium for communicating with students

Students unique communication habits

How the medium can facilitate or inhibit understanding

The manner in which you handle and control “noise”

The organization and sequence of your presentation

Implications for recorded and archived presentations

The lifecycle of your recorded presentation

Student response options

Student-centered opportunities with the new technology

Contingency plans

IN CLASS DISCUSSION: Wimba Classroom Lecture

You’ve decided to conduct your next lecture using Wimba, a web conferencing tool, to help your education majors better understand the complexities for calculating some math formulas. Students will have the option to attend class remotely. Both you and your students will be using Wimba’s whiteboard for diagramming problems and questions. You will be recording and archiving this lecture for later viewing. This is a mandatory lecture and you will be taking attendance. Discuss the bullet points above and their implications in this situation.

Professor Students Medium


When incorporating new technology in your pedagogy, here are some general areas to think about:

Structuring your information

Establishing best practices

Incorporating usage guidelines

Using rubrics

Structuring Your Information

While lesson plans provide a format for structuring concepts within a lecture. The basic format for a class lecture is:

1. Class introduction or opener

2. Agenda review

3. Concept introduction

4. Activities, engagement, follow up

5. Assess or adapt and review

6. Concepts review – reinforce key points

7. Closer

Technology may be used for one or more items within this list or technology may be used to conduct the entire class. In either case, part or all of your facilitation will be different from what you normally do in a traditional classroom setting. For example, if you are conducting your class using Wimba, you cannot see your students nor respond to their body language; for all you know students could be eating a sandwich or reading a newspaper during your lecture! Maintaining a high level of structure in your Wimba class will be necessary to keep students engaged and actively contributing. In addition to structure, you will want to incorporate various activities to maintain attention. This may be very different from what you would do in a traditional class.

Establishing Best Practices

Over time you will eventually learn ways to use technology effectively in your courses. To reduce the learning curve, take a moment to explore what some of your colleagues are currently doing for best practices with the technologies listed below. Class activity – brainstorm on some best practices for the following technology tools:

Moodle Forums

Web Conferencing


Project web pages

Interactive video

Blogs

Other technologies

Incorporating Usage Guidelines

Imagine that you are taking a class of 12 students on a May seminar trip to Europe. You’ve created a blog to document your journey. In that blog students will post videos and images of the trip as well as create a diary of the trip for parents and the general public to read. What are usage guidelines? Why would they be important to have in this situation? How might usage guidelines be beneficial for students using these technology tools?

Moodle Forums

Web Conferencing


Project web pages

Interactive video

Blogs

Other technologies

Using Rubrics

One of the challenges you will have when incorporating a new technology is engaging students or getting students on board to use new technology themselves. This challenge becomes easier when students can see an application of the technology in a professional setting or for problem solving. You don’t have to be an expert with the technology yourself to grade students if you have a well-developed rubric. What you do need is a clear picture of the end result you want students to achieve and the degree to which students achieve that end result. Your rubric should also contain non-technology measurements such as writing, critical thinking, or content development. Example: Google Earth

You want your students to read about a major news event or story, analyze it, and present their analysis to the class using Google Earth to provide a visual impact of their presentation. Students can access Atomic Learning to learn about Google Earth plus they can research websites that explain the concept of a “Lit Trip” and provide examples of what you want your students to accomplish. The bulk of the students’ grade will be based on their analysis and a portion of their grade will be based on their use and application of Google earth. Class discussion: How will you approach designing a rubric for students’ use and application of Google Earth especially when you don’t know the ins and outs of Google Earth yourself?


Handling Technology Issues

Technology can and will fail for reasons you may not anticipate. Having a backup plan and being prepared to implement it is critical. If technology should fail, never cast blame on the technology or on any person or department; students will interpret that as a lack of preparation on your part. Students will come to the rescue of professors who take extensive time to troubleshoot problems. If you’re comfortable having students helping you troubleshoot then let them do so but decide beforehand how much time to allow and be prepared to call a time out and proceed with your backup plan if too much time passes. You may not be an expert when it comes to solving technology problems however you can show expertise in handling them. Enlisting Assistance

Don’t wait until you have a problem before contacting the Solution Center Help Desk. The Solution Center has a number of student workers and staff who are available to assist you the first few times you use a new technology. Contact the Solution Center at extension 3375 to request and schedule assistance. For assistance with Wimba, ITS can provide you with a Wimba moderator. Contact Patti Heisler at extension 4778 for more information. Technology Issues with Students

ITS has published information on Concordia’s main website regarding computing services available to students as well as minimum technology requirements. Even so, students bring a wide range of computer technologies to campus which introduces a variety of problems when students attempt to access or use a new technology you’re trying to incorporate in class. Before implementing a new technology, make it clear to students procedures they must follow:

Set an expectation that students need to be ready to go with the new technology by conducting a test run of the technology outside of class prior to using it

Students must contact the Solution Center Help Desk at 3375 for assistance if problems occur - not you

Establish consequences for not following these guidelines (examples: they may need to ask another student to share their computer or forgo the technology all together and take paper notes)

Help your students learn to be responsible and proactive when using or troubleshooting technology; be clear with students that you will not be available to help them solve technology problems during class since that impedes other students’ learning. Some problems can stem from hardware issues or incompatibilities which the Help Desk is more qualified to troubleshoot; they can better service the student. Guest Speakers

Technologies such as interactive video and Wimba can be used to connect with other classrooms globally or to invite guest speakers to class. Prior to the live session schedule time to conduct a “dry run” or shortened practice session. Use this time to discuss how the session will be conducted using the technology.


New Ideas

Moodle

Verbal feedback Use the sound recorder located in the Programs and Accessories menus in Windows to record verbal feedback for students’ grades.

Ice breaker Two Truths and One Lie: create a forum called “Introductions” and use an ice breaker such as Two Truths and One Lie to facilitate student introductions. The quicker you can engage participation in forums, the more successful your future forums will be.

Dear Bob Problem-solving forum in Moodle. Students weigh in on a solution while backing up their solution by citing resources such as their text or class discussions.

Lightbox Gallery Use Moodle’s Lightbox Gallery to post images on proper procedures such as appropriate ways to dress for a job interview or as a daily quiz to identify a correctly constructed compounds or mathematical formulas.

RSS Feeds Moodle has an RSS Feed block. You can ask students to recap some of the daily feeds and bring to class for discussion or develop assignments.

Wimba

Presentations Teach students to use Wimba to record presentations, create a lesson for elementary school students, showcase research projects or practice speeches.

Outreach Use Wimba to connect with rural classrooms or have students spend one-on-one time with at-risk youth.

Tutoring Wimba can be used as a time-efficient way to tutor students. Students can use Wimba coach and mentor underclassmen.

Meetings You can take meeting notes live by sharing your computer screen in Wimba. Meeting notes can be approved at the end of the meeting instead of waiting for notes to be typed up and approved at the next meeting.

Student Collaboration

You can embed a Wimba classroom within Moodle where students can log in and conduct group meetings without having to gather in the same physical location.

Articulate

Mobile Applications

Articulate tutorials can be viewed over mobile phones that have internet access and support Flash (Android, most smart phones).

Branched Learning

You can create branches for learning using Articulate. Student’s responses will guide their learning journey.

Learning Games Articulate contains a feature where you can create three different learning games to use in our outside of class.

Decision Based Learning

Similar to branched learning, you set up a problem, decision, or story in Articulate and have students choose from various outcomes.

Other Ideas:


Final Homework and Recommended Reading

Chapter 14, pp. 377-397 (Taking advantage of new opportunities)

Pedagogical Considerations 4

Documents

Transcript of Pedagogical Considerations 4