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.