Engaging K-12 Learners with New Strategies & Tools - Module 4

Hyperlink to Graphic Organizer:  https://acrobat.com/app.html#d=GprlsNmzB0CjY5-3vKwFTQ

Current students in K-12 education received most of their technical knowledge at home rather than school.  These youngsters are a part of the Net Generation that can’t remember a time without the Internet and World Wide Web.  The majority of them grew up with a computer in the house and evolved with social media and mobile devices.  With this being said, it is difficult to understand administration and teacher fears of technology influenced pedagogy and the possibilities for the future.  Reservations about technology innovation in K-12 need to subside before any true implementation can be feasible.  The best way I can think of to alleviate some of these fears is to express to these professionals that a large majority of the students are using a lot of these tools on their own out of school.  These tools can be used for different purposes and are relatively simple to figure out.  That once you learn how to use them, you should not forget.  Many would say that it is like riding a bike, sort of. 

Here is a short description of the tools and strategies seen in the graphic organizer above.  Certain tools provide certain benefits to different learning context.  Remember, online teaching has three primary objectives which are to deliver cognitive, social, and teaching presence (Anderson, 2008).  Furthermore, it is believed that student interactivity is the key to effective instruction and contributes to learning success (Durrington, Berryhill, & Swafford).  Keep this in mind as you read through the tools below.  This will be an attempt to clarify some basics of what online tools work well for what and why. 

Content Tools – Databases, Search Engines, Cyber Library, Instructor/Facilitator, Resources

·         Databases are content oriented electronic filing systems that deliver peer and professional reviewed documents, journals, articles to specific key words.  This tool is best for educational research and should be the primary tool locating other research studies.

·         Search Engines, like Google & Bing, will deliver researchable, non-specific web-sites and are common knowledge to most all students.  These are normally best suited for secondary informational resources that are commonly used to support other research.

·         The majority of online learning environments have cyber libraries.  These virtual information filers are real people that aid students in finding what they need.

·         The online instructors themselves are providers of content information as well.  This can be requested in asynchronous environments as well as synchronous via other online tools.

·         Resources are the links to normally mandatory videos, web-sites, and documents to be analyzed for the lesson.   

Communication Tools – Email, Discussion Boards, Instant Messaging, Smartphone, Skype

·         Everyone knows Email, right?  Well, not quite but it is getting there.  This is the most common communication online tool that has evolved into the multimedia tool it is today.  Assignments could certainly be handed in this way from mobile device to teacher.

·         Predetermined discussion boards are awesome places for intermittent communications between all class participants.  They too work asynchronously in an ongoing conversation sort of way.  Students have critical thought conversations this way about specific ideas.

·         Instant Messaging (IM) begins the move towards  more synchronous conversations between students and their peers or teachers.  IM is almost synchronous but not quite which offers a quicker return on inquiry from another student or the facilitator.

·         The Smartphone devices that are common today have a wonderful ability to make learners mobile.  This tool is the “flux-capacitor” that transcends time and place.

·         Don’t forget about Skype.  This two-way video and two-way audio is face-to-face, second generation synchronous conversation.  Get good lighting for sure. :/

Collaboration Tools – Chat Rooms, Eluminate Live, Wiki, Blog

·         A chat room is a text-based online environment that facilitates group collaboration.  It too borderlines synchronous conversation and is recordable.  Archives of past conversations are available to students as well as teachers for future assessments.

·         Eluminate Live is a multimedia web-conferencing program that allows synchronous online conversation while also accommodating visuals with a white board.  This is a virtual conference room meant for collaboration or interactive discussions.

·         When it comes to asynchronous collaboration tools, nothing beats a wiki.  Here, students and instructors can talk and comment on each other’s critical thoughts.  He or she who makes the guest list is a collaborator and an editor of the wiki itself.

·         Weblogs are becoming popular as well.  Blogging is about as asynchronous as you can get.  Blogs are more individualized for the blogger is the only one who edits it, but is still functional as a collaboration tool.  Best for critical thought conversation between participants.  

With a good mix of these content, communication, and collaborative tools, engaging learners in online education usually happens.  I say a mix because a new blended learning teacher does not have to implement all of these, but rather a select few from each category that meets his/her own needs concerning pedagogy.  The ability to generate and collect data goes much faster than our own abilities to organize, manage, and utilize it (Learn Online, 2007).  With this being said, there is much room for trial and error in the K-12 learning environments to effectively use these tools with the specific purpose of engaging learners. 

References

Anderson, T. (2008). Teaching in an online learning context. In T. Anderson (Ed.). The theory and practice of online learning. (2^nd ed.). (pp. 343-365). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press.

Durrington, V. A., Berryhill, A., & Swafford, J. (2006). Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an  online environment. College Teaching, 54(1), 190-193. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Learn Online. (2007, September 20). Re: 10 minute lecture – George Siemens – curatorial teaching [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://learnonline.wordpress.com/2007/09/20/10-minute-lecture-george-siemens-curatorial-teaching/