Week 10: The Finale

I am composing this blog as of late, having just been made aware that a final blog entry was deemed necessary to close out the class. Having just completed all of my assignments, I find that I am in more of a reflective state, taking into consideration all that I have learned in professor Kim’s class over the past ten weeks. This has been a class that (as an artist) I have come to really appreciate. I was allotted time and freedom to explore a topic of emotional interest to me. The tools taught were extremely helpful as they assured that my presentation was well thought out and thorough in its execution. The prototype that was developed is something that I feel great about using for my final project for the LDT program. So many of my other classes here at Stanford assisted in the design process. Taking into consideration things like the user interface, psychology, educational policy, learning theory and marginalized populations, I believe that I have come up with a final project piece that could revolutionize the way teachers teach, students learn and parents participate in the education system. This is very exciting and I am grateful for the support of my professor and the 2010 LDT cohort for their inspiration and feedback.

Our final week of class was spent preparing for our formal presentations. We anticipated many companies coming to see and hear about what we had designed. It was a great! As I listened to each of my classmates present, I noticed considerable difference between how they and their prototypes had evolved over the course of the class. The designs were very thorough and each student was confident and passionate about what it was they were presenting about. We must have made a good impression during out two-minute pitches, because our corporate visitors came ready to ask questions. For the most part we were all able to give sound responses to their questions and I know for particularly for myself, people walked away impressed, congratulating me on my project and wishing me success with it as I moved forward. Although I made no official contacts with any of the corporations present, I feel that I have the makings of a good mobile application on my hands. The only criticism I received was with regard to how well it could be implemented, without disrupting the student classroom and parent-working center. I do admit, this will take a great deal of communication and organization on behalf of the parent and teacher, but this is a relationship worth while building as it supports the child. The biggest error a parent can make is to believe that they are too busy to take part in their child’s education, especially since they are such a huge motivating factor. This is the beginning of a new way of teaching; a way I have that I have been waiting in anticipation of for a long time.

My goal over the next couple of months is to develop a functional prototype and conduct some user testing in one of the neighboring schools that caters to children who are at risk, or who are with special needs. I am inspired! This has been a great experience for me.

ENGAGING IN CONVERSATION WITH PROFESSOR BONK

Curtis J. Bonk, Professor, Indiana University

OVERVIEW:

This week we had a guest speaker via Teleconference. This was a fun session. I enjoyed the enthusiasm and surrounding the information that was being presented. I was great to hear and see how innovative people are being with educational topics of interest. I get the message that people are looking for means to make extreme impact and revolutionize the ways we obtain, process and utilize information for advancement within given fields. Spending time with Professor Bonk made for a very entertaining experience. He was eating dinner in another state (with a three hour time difference), while presenting to us in real-time and informing us of developments in e learning globally over the course of five years. So I had multiple experiences going on at once, which was very fun and sent home a powerful message; we are on the brink of transcending barriers to education.

ENGAGING IN CONVERSATION WITH PROFESSOR BONK:

After the first twenty minutes of listening to our guest speaker, I could see Professor Bonk and Professor Kim being friends; only because they have this enthusiasm surrounding the e learning revolution and both are admiate about promoting the cause. Professor Bonk has written prequels and sequels surrounding the topic and seeks to use these texts as a means of promoting society changes in how individuals are educated.

So what is Professor Bonk’s big idea? Capturing Technology and how it is “Changing the World”.

A Few Questions From the Austin Peanut Gallery That I Hope to Have Answered During This Presentation:

1. What has made information worth while sharing where we do not exclude the individual?

2. How do we hope to benefit as a nation, considering the fact that we are spearheading this evolution of educational technology?

3. Who are we really taking into consideration as we are doing this?

4. What amount of educational value are we placing on e-learning?

5. How much time and money is being invested?

6. What teaching methodologies are being incorporated and for what audience?

Things that have happened globally that have changed the world and learning.

UCLA Summer Digs Program (Meg Sullivan): Blog posting on their digs

Michael Perham and Zac Sunderland Summer 2009: youngest sailors to sail around the world solo and us the web to broadcast live. Learning from them online about their experiences.

David Thomas, Archeologist, La Trobe University, Australia (Discovery News). He has become one of the most famous archeologists.

Ten Forces that Opened the Learning World:

Web searching in the World of e-books

E-learning and Blended Learning

Availability of Open Source and Free Software

Leveraged Resources and Open Courseware

Learning Object Repositories and Portals

Learner Participation in Open Info Communities (You Tube)

Electronic Collaboration and Interaction

Alternate Reality Learning, Simulations and Virtual Worlds

Real-Time Mobility and Portability

Networks and personalized Learning

The World is Open.com (a book he wrote): maps out how we went from a culture that did not share information, to a culture that extends education, so as to make it accessible to all.

He is watching the progression of digitized knowledge and I get the impression that this is a race to conceptualize educational technology, do it, do it well and be a master in the field. Everyone wants real estate in this arena and there is a lot of room to be as innovative as you possibly can. Society as a whole is gravitating to it and is willing to invest mounds of money into the field. It was at one time that tech groups were not serving up enough educational technology and now that there is a huge demand, corporations are ready to supply this demand. It would appear to be an exciting time in technology (this is the feel that I get from Professor Bonk).

For those who are not buying in to these technological advancements. E learning is being mandated for completion of a credential, degree or diploma. The reason is because it has become evident as to wear we are going as a nation and hopefully, globally. Access to large masses of information in rich detail creating what may be close to an authentic experience. This is considered to be just as valuable and relevant as sitting in a classroom, if not more so.

Professor Bonk then posed a question to us with regard to online learning. First had we ever taken an on-line class and how was it? Ricardo shared that his entire undergrad was online and while he had one good class the others were poorly instructed, as he didn’t feel that the teachers knew what they were doing. Professor chimed in on supporting his belief that educators do need training and exposure so as to optimize the amount of information available to enhance the learning experience. And more and more teachers are now; more than ever; being required to take some technology class in order to complete their credential or degree. I personally can recall having to take a tech class before completing my multiple subject credential.

Lots of people use e learning as a means promoting their learning platform.

AN AMAZING STORY EXAMPLE!! A retired biology professor from Cal enters back into her field of research and by way of conducting a broadcast online; she is turned into a celebrity within hours. Phenomena’s like this are happening all over.

Okay I am going to stop now so I can further engage in the last 60min of the presentation.

Bye!!!

Week 8: Artifact 2 Presentations

Week 9: Class Presentations

Today is the dress rehearsal for the big day. Presentation day! Today we get to see how innovative we are with regard to using technology to support marginalized educational populations. I had been working on my assignment for weeks and it turned into a 24hour implementation. I was very satisfied with the results. It allowed the viewers to engage in roll play again and was progressive in its approach to the identity of a child with attention deficit disorder.

Late again, I walked in just having been able to partake in the last 5minutes of Paul’s presentation. He was the first speaker and I was disappointed having missed what appeared to be a really interesting take on literacy.

Up next was Ashley’s project, and she appeared to be promoting the improvement of English skills through the use of sharing stories globally (her current focus students in India). She envisions a website called “TuneItUp!” She foresees continued work with the NGO where she is employed working with high to low resource schools. Comics share stories and encouraging literacy and cultural awareness. She finds her stick designs to be sufficient enough to stay true to the authenticity of the written quality; so much that anyone can partake and feel empowered to share their experiences.

Jacob I noticed has taken a great interest in video games as a teaching aid. When I asked him weeks back, he said that he wasn’t much of a gamer growing up so I find he current interest to be intriguing. He seems to be working off of a perception that video gaming is a motivational aid. He draws correlation with the way that the body works and the possibility in demonstrating the rigor in the curriculum associated within the subject matter demonstratable through games. He discusses how gaming is very common in homes and transferable in use within schools and home. I like that he uses symbolic and metaphoric representation of anatomy tin inanimate objects and how they function. He spoke on the genre of mystery and how it works with science and how media can support a rich learning experience that can draw on sensory and psychomotor skills. He has really done his research on society depicts science in the media and what makes it exciting. He brings up good things to consider in the area of teaching science such as bringing in integrating the scientific methodological practices in meaningful ways. This is something he will continue to explore. He is definitely a filmmaker.

Yaa was next up and is someone I know spent a great deal of time and effort working on her presentation. Her topic addresses the issue of loss of language and the need to archive this information for future generations. The program will train the people of the country on how to use technology in ways that are relevant to their lives, so as to educate outside populations. She draws on her wealth of experience working with the nationals (of which she is one), inferring that the nationals will gravitate towards this project out of a desire to keep their history alive. She maneuvers around common methods of supporting, financing and sustaining by gravitating towards partnering with NGO’s, selling packaged lectures and seminars to educational institutions. There is great interest in seeing this archive draw public interest so as to keep dying languages alive.

Man I am tired of writing…

Mike is up next. Mike has put together a You Tube video that promotes the use of flashcards as a means of promoting letter recognition, which is pivotal in the diagnosis of dyslexia. Parents or practioners are encouraged to use and score their child’s progress in the usage of the flashcards. He has found literature that discusses an algorithm by which to score a child’s response, which is translated in the use of a five-point rubric. Mike wants parents to feel empowered to invest in the skill sets that promote cognitive shaping and literacy over time. His system keeps the usage simple enough for any parent to use. He is going to great efforts to make sure the parent and user is comfortable and will maintain continuous use of the program. This project employs the usage of sensory and cognitive learning modalities. As it repetitive and offers minimal variation or I see it possibly loosing steam overtime. However I do foresee the mass usage of this program for initial diagnosis’ I like Amrita’s suggestion of building upon mastered skill levels (moving towards phonetics- which is the learner’s goal). It was awesome to have a person with dyslexia in the room to offer other interface suggestions dealing with audio and color scale (with regard to distractibility).

Okay I am going to stop now…

Week 7: Brainstorming with Guest Speakers

EDUC 391X Week 7

Today in 391X we had two guest speakers and we participated in a brainstorming session geared toward checking the ABCD’s of their product. The first guest speakers: PhD candidate in Engineering and MBA student (names not recorded). They were pitching an idea for our consideration and feedback.

Their site was called ViewExtreme, which serves up video onto the web in a richer format.

After doing some research in the area of video web servers, they found traditional video viewing to be problematic. They decided that they needed to explore how to make the video viewing experience vivid and spoke on finding a way for video viewing to match the classroom experience. They felt that this would allow students to focus in on parts of the lecture that were important to them.

Their attempt to solve the problem:

In order to allow the user to effectively navigate the scene, they made it so that the viewer could maneuver and zoom in to specific visual points of the lecture by using high-resolution photography. A fixed camera would capture the whole scene and the user would select relevant aspects of the classrooms by using their mouse. It is also configured so that the camera tracks the professors or slide changes. Slides will also be listed on the site so that you may use the slides to navigate through the video. These video clips will be streamed to the web and while the current videos that are up are prerecorded they hope to have a live-feed up in the future.

Class evaluation:

When asked how they would record student questions or statements, they informed us that this could be problematic, but can be remedied by having multiple drop-down mics or seat mics. This however could be costly.

When asked how they might take notes on the computer while they are watching the video, they agreed that this might also be another issue. But they could foresee the use of implementing a writing tablet. As a side note to this question they brought to our attention the use of screen shots from board clips that can be labeled and shared with other participants creating a shared learning experience. (Questions and comments)

Benefits:

When going into the benefits of the ViewXtreme Suite, they shared some comments from their teacher feedback. The teachers they spoke with said they had some difficulty with the aspect of teaching to a camera. They spoke on how this process was seamless as teachers could teach class as normal and still make use of the video functionality available to them on campus.

Brainstorming with 391X class

Students were given the floor to make suggestions.

Thoughts on the table were:

-Interaction between online users.

-Options with regard intense users and laid back users: audio, video, quiz, and chat rooms.

-Highlighting and marking clips for storage.

Summary:

I find that much of what we are discussing deals with study habits and learning modalities. There is much room for scaffolding video lectures for student use. The technology has an innovative start but is need of much more functional classroom environment exposure. Students manipulate their classroom environment in a variety of ways to enhance their learning experience in ways that are relevant to them. They will find that many options are needed.

2^nd Speaker from Chicago (Veronica Anderson)

Platform: Urban and Racial consideration/ Focus on the activist community

Background:

She works with a magazine that writes stories about lack of support for marginalized children and their efforts to make it in public education system. (Specifically getting into the network of schools.)

Her Question: How might we aid people in getting comprehensive information about schools; with parent and student feedback, school resources, rankings, deadlines for application, exam dates, and what schools are still available.

Current Sources of Information: realtors, family and friends

Problem: How can she bridge this information gap for parents and students?

Interest in: The usage of mobile technology.

Summary:

I personally find her idea to be highly resourceful. The only potential problems are the early access to this time sensitive information and the legal matters surrounding the ranking of teachers on an organized website. Within the open realm of the public this is fathomable but if facilitated by an organization there could be a potential lawsuit as it infringes on individual constitutional rights.

My hope is that the federal government will make such a site possible so that families participating in the public education system can make well informed decisions as to where to send their children.

Week 5: Guest Speaker Yeah!!!

Edison Learning Presentation:

We had three guest speakers come in to speak with us in regard to web-based learning aids. It was interesting to hear them speak about their experience as teachers and how it led them to work with this particular company. The history of the company is quite interesting as, they ran in to some difficulties with regard to Blackboard and using it to assist the teachers and classes they were working with. Apparently the model did not fit the population they were working with. They needed to engage students, organize information and track students in a less complicated and more efficient way.

The Provos Learning Management System is something that they started working with, which catered to what they were trying to do. Student’s perspectives were considered. Textbooks were customized to work with their curriculum. It came in various modes of media (audio, video, gaming, ect…) and it was placed in a depository (to accompany the lessons they already had on-line) so to later be selected to work within the different learning modalities. They are now able to build course modules anyway that they want. This lends them to flex with multiple markets (across state lines). They are able to be as broad or as focused as they want with their services and product. This is a lot of scaling and filtering, to draw on all sorts of resources on the web, that may work with their students. They were looking to be more efficient in such a way where they reached a massive amount of students simultaneously.

COMMENTS AND CONCERNS:

This service reminds me of one of many e-learning web-based technologies that are out there. It is intensely scaffolded which is nice, but with regard to teacher feedback? I am curious. What variations can a teacher make (or student) to customize the software so that it fits not only the curriculum, but also individual learning needs (besides assessment, tutoring, and media)? I like that there’s a forum to discuss and share out information and there is an online tutor who is live and ready to assist students. I also like that the educator is able to monitor the discussions happening on the forum board. What I would like to know is if they have more manipulative devices. Other than the forum, and the chat-room, students aren’t able to customize their learning. While there is a feeling of empowerment because there are multiple options available to the student to explore a concept, there is still a restrictive and dictative nature to the software. Exploration is limited and depth of investigation is lost to searching for an alternative way of teaching the curriculum. This a great teacher aid and would most definitely be an asset in the classroom, to the teacher who needs supplemental aids for their students.

Does this piece of technology foster motivation? Possibly, by the sheer fact that technology is being implemented and there are a variety of choices. However, I still believe that my students (from my previous employment as a 5^th grade teacher) would probably be bored. They often look for ways to use technology to socialize and build relationships around learning. They want to interact simultaneously and they want immediate feedback from each other, with options to manipulate information and see the effects of their actions with an opportunity for in depth analysis and reasoning. They want something of their own. They want to investigate. They aren’t as concerned with whether their answers are right or wrong. They are looking for stimulating feedback. So, with all this said, I was disappointed by the minimal amount of collaboration that their service allowed. As a science teacher, I was disturbed by how they conducted scientific experiments ;-p. Can you say “Boring”? Science provokes the use of all five of our senses and doing science on the computer is limiting. The only thing that saved them on this was their hybrid program. It is more classroom-friendly but still does not cater to collaborative group learning.

On a positive note, I could definitely see me using this service to offer my students further enrichment opportunities during Independent Work Time, or afterschool tutoring.

Week 4: Artifact 1 Presentations

This week in Web-based Technologies the class did their first digital artifact presentation. I could really appreciate the variety of underserved populations that were being addressed in class. My classmates did a great job of creatively presenting these populations and the technological resources that they were using to promote learning.

Anthony did a phenomenal job using audio to bring to life his research on youth career radio. I was also impressed by the passion Yaa displayed in her iMovie for Street Kids. Jacob also did and iMovie which displayed how people living in war zone areas within the Middle East were being educated in order to bring about peace and communication. I would love for Jacob to follow up on the research being done on this topic.

Katy was another class member whose artifact made an impression on me. She placed emphasis on a rural population I wouldn’t normally consider and made their obstacles for advancement real. I can tend to leave people who deal with agriculture on the farm and fail to see that they need to be acclimated to a mainstream network of education.

I was tickled by Paul’s website presentation, as it was simple, but full of cultural topics of concern to that population. Paul’s presentation displayed influential Hawaiian figures and the technological efforts that they were making to motivate and educate there at risk population. It is great that Paul caught a passion for the culture and built such a wonderful repor with influential Hawaiian natives in his travel and work with the community.

I also enjoyed Christopher’s use of a simple data table to communicate the characteristics of bullies, in comparison to the bullied and spectators. He has done a lot with his previous elementary school to advocate against bullying. Catherine also kept things simple, by using a concept map, to illustrate the major effects of childhood depression. I could tell she put a lot of thought and consideration into her presentation. I also like that she was able to draw comparisons between her topic and Christopher’s, with regard to powerlessness and self-esteem.

By the end of the presentations, you could see that there was not a lot of technology being used to service these populations effectively and what was being used was on a small scale and lent itself to further investigation and testing for large scale cultural impact. This is rather unfortunate, but it lets us know that there is a lot we have to offer to these marginalized communities. Overall, I appreciate the novelty of my peers and they addressed their topics of deep interest. They appealed to the viewer in me, while dignifying their subject.

Two Thumbs Up!!

Week #3

This past week, in class, we focused on distance-learning. We discussed the motivation behind developing online learning communities like The University of Phoenix and other organizations like it. It was interesting to here the stats and discuss what type of people were more disposed to participate in distance learning. I have always been one that has appreciated the classroom environment, so online classrooms can be difficult as they don't allow me the full interaction of a classroom setting. For some, this is much appreciated as it is more convenient to their lifestyle needs.

Needs are things that we are being called to address as we move forward into designing an artifact for the underserved population we are addressing. In an effort to support an under served, Professor Kim has noted, we are to pay attention to the population needs. Topics like ease vs. difficulty level and zone of proximal development were addressed. Designing an efficient artifact requires careful thought, with regard to a calculated effort not to make the device to easy or to difficult in its use. An application that is to easy or difficulty may cause your audience to lose interest. Even if your desired effect should be a progressive one, where the user is encouraged to participate leu of a learning gap, by initiating a (ZPD) zone of proximal development, students are able to achieve their learning potential by engaging in collective intelligence practices.

We were then given an opportunity to use this in a real world senerio. As an design team, we were to construct a learning program for a business seeking to empower its employees. Taking into account the assets and needs of the organization, a plan was devised so as to help the company reach their goal. Different web-based modalities needed to be implemented to instruct, assess, and enrich the learning process. Technology was used to perform as many functions necessary to educate, motivate and accommodate the company participants. There were some limitations as it addressed the quality of learning experience and making sure that the technology that was being used was effective in its teach practice. Some technology was on point as it was the perfect medium for the information being presented. Others fell flat in their inability to properly support the learning experience. Overall, it is important to consider the type of media being used to effectively illustrate particular learning concepts.

Week 2

So I have completed week two in 391X “Web-Based Technologies in Education” and I am still trying to piece the class together in such a way that it will prove beneficial to my final project. I hope to design a piece of technology that will empower students to become life long learners as they develop a sense of autonomy around technology. It is my belief that technology should allow for more creative expression as it infuses a ridiculous amount of information into the classroom environment. Such capabilities should permit teachers to play more of a supportive role and less of a dictator role in the classroom. While this is my ambition, the classroom is not what this course focuses on, as much as transcending beyond the four-wall institution and I can really appreciate that.

Professor Kim settled us into a discussion on web-based aids that are creating a global tech culture. Undoubtedly, these aids (like GLORIAD) are revolutionizing the way things are being done in scientifically and politically. People have access to a high volume of information, in a variety of ways, over a high-speed network, from all over the globe. Although, access to such devices are limited to the highly affluent, Professor Kim makes no differentiation between social classes; as all people (having some technological device) can be privy to an affluent education; with the right enabled body resources. This is all possible through what is called “cloud computing”, which enables any hardware-limited device to connect with a more powerful computer and perform the task for it. While not noted in the discussion, I wonder if Kim has any desire to optimize the use of such a source, in the use of his Learning Mobile System or what could also be called Pocket School (applications downloaded onto old generation Nokia phones used to engage students in a number of academic lessons that span from reading to math).

While I was impressed by the limitless possibilities of these high functioning systems, I was most curious about the concept mappings that teachers were being asked to construct as a means documenting what they were learning. As I have been told, these reflectionary aids are being used to cross-reference data and support finding in a variety of academic fields. This is all well and good, but this device poses another use that would serve me more beneficially as a teacher; which would be to align student work to content standards. Now my head may be stuck in the classroom, but the level of impact could be global. Imagine a kid in India getting a high school diploma in New York, because the work he put out aligned with the New York State Standards. In my class, students are always being asked to construct concept maps across a multiple academic disciplines. What if teachers didn’t have to fit students into the small confides of the state standards, but the standards where brought to life in the vast creativity of student inquiry and creativity. I LOVE IT!!! Total paradigm shift and much needed (though a small step in the right direction). I could see us being more of a portfolio-based society; empowering students to take hold of their own learning.

Professor Kim’s research (as shared in his class) alluded to the new trends in how children work around the use of technology. Although we did not get into deep discussion on this topic (as I don’t know if he necessarily understood what I was asking him) the whole concept strikes me as being an evolutionary movement towards teachers being less hands-on and allowing children to explore devices and make their own connections in learning. I have seen the progression of things happening in my own household. My mother knows little to nothing about computers and yet my younger sister is maximizing the use of it on a daily basis; so much that my sister has become a reference source of information for my mother. Children are no longer dependent on adults’ educational capacities. They functions independently more and more everyday; accessing and utilizing information in a variety of ways; that I must say can be productive or unproductive (this still needs to be watched and governed). I have a great deal of interest in observing any new trends in how children work collaboratively around the use of academic based technology.

Week #1

September 23rd was my first day in Web-based Tech. InEducation. I initially thought that we would be exploring the learning processes as it is infused into web-based applications. This has been a deep interest to mine, for some time, as I have sought to address how children of different cultural backgrounds process information in a variety of ways that bring about cultural relevance, personal investment and deeper understanding.  Having taught in an underprivileged community, I have sought after media that would educate and empower my students learning. Sadly most of what I have encountered has been dry and impersonal and has not allowed my students to engage in a meaningful learning experience (as in our collaborative groups). This is disheartening, as media has much to offer students, by way of empowering them to transcend beyond their socio-economical boundaries. Coming into the class, I pretty much came prepared with my boxing gloves on ready to do some constructive damage :-p. Yet I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the class was going through some restructuring. Apparently the class is taking on a cultural focus, with the goal of presenting an artifact that addresses the educational needs of the underprivileged.  I was pleasantly surprised!

 

Some of what the professor alluded to, in discussion, was that technology ought to be used to present information in ways that are meaningful to the demographic. I believe that this is a great challenge for the designers of today/tomorrow. The quantitative question is being posed. Is it enough just to present set information and in an entertaining venue? What is the goal of this? Are we approaching learning from a two-dimensional perspective?  I am apt to revisit my days as a filmmaker, where not only was the message pointed and direct, but the development of background and plot made for a much personal and lasting impression. 

 

I have great interest in having these and many more questions like these answered. As we explore this more, I hope to see myself, as well as my peers, take an invested interest in the cultural psychology of underprivileged or marginalized learners. As I looked at last year’s artifacts I find myself saying: "Wow! That's impressive." "I feel challenged?"  But I find that this has more to do with the creativity and entertainment value of the presentation and less to do with a personalized learning experience. Wow doesn't mean I've learned something, it just means, wow. Then I think: "How am I okay with this?" "How can I allow myself to be reduced to playing spectator to my own learning experience?" If don't own my own learning, I am left with reduced to shallow academic constructs that minimize my understanding/capabilities. How can we as designers draw out the learner and make them more conscious of there responsibilities? This question I posed to my classmate following class: "Did I really learn anything from these presentations and how do I know that I learned anything at all?" As a result, I would like to explore the construct of interactive web-based applications; with respect to life-long learning.