Applying Research to Internet-Based Teaching & Learning

The articles in the section Podcasting & Blogging/User-Created Content, explored the issues of how effective these types of resources are in the classroom. There are many arguable points on both sides of the debate of integrating technology in the classroom. As teachers we do not have any specific guidelines on what is “too much” technology. When does it become a point where we are taking away from the education of the students and letting computers and gadgets take the place, or does this new wave of technology enhance and broaden students ability to learn and ways to relate to their generation.

The background of this discussion was in the article, Distance Education Trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student interaction and collaboration. The purpose of this article was to explore the benefits of using new technology such as, wikis, blogs, and podcast to enhance learning. This type of education came in response to the need of providing access to those who would otherwise not be able to participate in face-to-face courses. It allows the instructor to provide communication in a multiple of ways. Technology allows and enables learners to access education at anytime or any place. The article discussed the seven principles for implementing new technologies in distance education programs. These include:

(1) Encourage contact between students and faculty.

(2) Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students.

(3) Use active learning techniques.

(4) Give prompt feedback.

(5) Emphasize time on task.

(6) Communicate high expectations.

(7) Respect diverse talents and ways of learning.

With these seven principles along with the specific needs of the course, will help determine the purpose of applying a particular technology into the classroom and the benefits it will provider for the students.

In finish, since workplaces require that individuals create and collaborate within the constraints of time and place. The need of this has allowed for technological advancements that allow real-time communication among peer and co-workers who stay connected over the internet. The challenge will be for educators to meet the needs of a mobile diverse population who is more technology-savvy than any previous generation. We know the demand for distance education will only grow. As educators, we will have to keep evolving our skills and find new ways to keep up and create different ways to use this technology and teach. We have the tools and resources, so it’s our job to use these to the best of our ability.

In the article, The New Podagogy: Incorporating Podcasting into Journalism Education, it examines students’ use of electronic devices like, I-pods, MP3 Players, etc. With new technology it is possible for professors to record different materials from class on audio. This could be anything from lectures, further material, discussions, which could be beneficial to the class. The issue with podcast becomes a problem because it’s arguable if by having so many resources outside of class available will the student still come to class. The study in this report dealt with college students. The conclusion of the test was the researchers were satisfied that the experiment goal was accomplished. Podcasts brought trendy technology to the curriculum, engaged student interest, and expanded time available for discussions and lectures in class. Students indicated the podcast were informative, accessible, and added value to their class experiences. The nearly unanimous support from students shows the Podcast enhanced teaching and learning. On the other hand, the workload mostly fell upon the teaching because of planning and production of the podcasts. The study showed it added approximately three hours per week to the faculty workload.

Expanding on this topic and applying it to high school students this type of technology could be helpful in the classroom. In this setting student really don’t have the option of coming to class so attendance issues may not be a big problem. This could actually be a way for students to keep up with class and homework if they do become ill. The teacher could record class notes and extra help assignment to make the students become more engaged in the learning. In this study it did mention how a teacher would use this avenue to post extra credit assignments. This way those students who wanted the extra credit and more learning could utilize this option on their own time. One problem with the high school setting is all students are not guaranteed to have access to computers. In college, majority of the students have laptops, computers, or have on campus access to go to and use one. Depending on what demographics you are teaching in students may or may not have access to a computer. Therefore, it would be important not to totally rely on this as the best way to teach students. Extra credit is a good idea for something like this because those students who don’t have a computer at home could go to the library over the weekend and use the computers there.

Another new wave of technology being introduced to the classroom is blogging. This topic is researched in the article, Blogging in the Classroom: A Preliminary Exploration of Student Attitudes and Impact on Comprehension, This study explored student view of blogging in the classroom regarding , which specific characteristics of educational blogging are most helpful for understanding course content and other characteristic of the instructional blogging experience, such as the process of providing and receiving peer feedback to and from other students. There are several aspects and features that are incorporated in blogging. Online discussion groups have allowed individuals to share ideas, information, and support. Recently, such systems as Blackboard have allowed instructors to create online discussion groups for students. Another form is Electronic Portfolios (e-portfolios) are digitized collections assembled in World Wide Web site or recorded media such as CD-ROMs. These collections can include things such as course assignments, student artifacts and reviewer’s response to students work. One benefit of e-portfolios allows students to engage in learning by creating, compiling, and editing. Also, with students being able to edit a collection of material they will be able to see the progress made over time and reflect upon these changes and see how their learning experience has broaden. Moving along to weblogs educational consultant Will Richardson claims that blogging allows students to reflect on what they are writing and thing as they write and this it, carry on writing about a topic over a sustained period of time, maybe a lifetime, engage readers and audience in a sustained conversation that then leads to further writing and thinking, and lastly synthesize disparate learning experiences and understand their collective relationship and relevance. His point is blogging exposes students to a wider audience for their writing, we can guest that student might attend to their work more carefully as opposed to papers turned in to the teacher. Since blogging has students reflect on specific text the students interpretation and thought process will be more careful.

The test given in this article was conducted in a junior and senior non-required course at a large Midwestern university focusing on the social impacts of new communication technologies. The results for many students blogging was a new experience and students expressed general approval of the blogging citing the added convenience. However, technical concerns were an issues and some expressed anxiety of wonder if the teacher received the assignment. Students also liked the ease of the form of the blog entries. They felt as if they could talk in their “own voice” more than a written paper assignment. Blogs are more personal so students will tend to write more personable then traditional so no blog entry will come off as “stupid” or “fake” as a normal paper may. On the other hand, students did admit that they do not take blog entries as seriously as a formal paper turned into the teacher, so it can cause laziness sometimes. In addition, a question was raised of how substantive feedback was provided by peers. Students like to read what others wrote, but don’t think it help with understand this issues of the assignment.

The conclusion of this study claims students need explicit guidance in regards to defining their positions and how to reflect their ideas to others. Only by this can the purpose of blogging be met. Blogging can potentially provide a window with a global audience and a way for students to reflect on their own writing and thinking. What this is showing us as teacher is that even though this can be a helpful way to engage students we still need to be conscious of how we have students do the work. The basics of writing still need to be taught by teachers. This way when students are blogging they will be able to take it more seriously. Even though this is a more personal way for students to engage in learning proper etiquette and guidelines still need to be addressed and followed. By combining both of these aspects the learning experience for this type of resource will be met.

After reviewing the articles the consensus is that technology is here to stay and as educators we need to keep coming up with creative ways. Students can benefit from these resources but we need to give them guidelines and not make technology the only important part of learning. Technology needs to be used as a supplement to what we are already teaching in the classroom. By combining, “old school” teaching with “new school” technology students will benefit from the best of both worlds and be able for the challenges of the workforce as adults.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING (C.Rogers)

Rogers distinguished two types of learning: cognitive and experiential. Cognitive learning is teaching children things such as math problems, vocabulary words, physics equations, and facts they have to remember. Experiential learning is giving the children hands on approach to learning. The key in understanding the difference is that experiential learning addresses the needs and wants of the learner. The child will want to learn something that he or she is interested in.

In addition, this goes in hand with a student’s personal growth. As teachers it’s our job to facilitate the learning. We have to remember not to be dominating at times and let the students be able to learn on their own. Rogers lists these qualities of experiential learning: personal involvement, self-initiated, evaluated by learner, and pervasive effects on learner. As teachers we should be able to set the tone for a student to learn. Roger includes: (1) setting a positive climate for learning, (2) clarifying the purposes of the learner(s), (3) organizing and making available learning resources, (4) balancing intellectual and emotional components of learning, and (5) sharing feelings and thoughts with learners but not dominating.

According to Rogers, learning is facilitated when: (1) the student participates completely in the learning process and has control over its nature and direction, (2) it is primarily based upon direct confrontation with practical, social, personal or research problems, and (3) self-evaluation is the principal method of assessing progress or success. Rogers also emphasizes the importance of learning to learn and an openness to change.

His point is to engage students in learning by finding out what they are interested in and get them involved in their own learning process. We should provide them with clear directions and the proper tools for them to solve what we are teaching. Drilling information into students’ heads is not the best method. Normally, they just remember the information for the test then they can’t recall it again. By providing those with the tools to be able to learn on their own and ways to engage them they will want to learn more and the force will not have to given.

This is a great method to incorporate into Internet-based applications because internet it two-fold: navigating the internet and doing the work. When using the internet for assignment students are learning how to use the internet and different software. This has to be taught and learned before the child can do the assignment. By putting the two together we are incorporating two processes into one. And by doing applications on the web it gives students hands on approach to learning. Also, students will be able to work at their own pace. The anxiety of having a teacher call on them may be curved. The whole point of Rogers Theory is the learning has to meet the needs and wants of the learner. Currently, one need and want of students seems to be the internet. Instead of fighting this need and want we should try to embrace it and gives students hands on approach. Learning has changed and teachers are still needed, but instead of just teaching subjects we need to be teaching students how to learn on their own.

Challenges Using Internet in the Classroom

Using the internet in the classroom can be beneficial to students and teachers. As we know the internet can provide faster communication, information, and more knowledge then the average text book. The video this week has numerous of interesting facts that opened my eyes to many facts I didn’t realize. One of the most intriguing facts I found is the top jobs in 2004 don’t exist in 2010. Also, the jobs students in the classrooms are being prepared for are not created yet. When it comes to communication it brought up the average MySpace is viewed 30 times a day. From this we can learn teaching and communicating is moving all cyber. Which is okay, but as teachers we need to know how to monitor it with our students. Having a classroom full of kids who all have laptops, we have to find ways to get them from not going to visit MySpace during class or find ways for them to use MySpace as part of the assignments. Going into the field of English one main issue I will need to teach my students is about plagiarizing. By having the internet available and so many papers being available online, I will have to teach my students the consequences of copying someone else work and that is a form of stealing. As teachers we don’t want students to get lazy and rely on the internet for everything. They need to know how to interpret, paraphrase, and learn how to cite. Since the internet is so broad it makes plagiarizing easy, and this is a problem students get themselves in. It’s so easy to “Google” whatever you need.

Even though the internet has many challenges it has positives that can save lives. On the video clip, “Making a Connection Online” from previous lesson, it shows how one person story helped save many more. Many teens suffer from depression and may try to cause harm to them. Renee use to cut her arm, so the blog was named “To Write Love on Her Arms”. A friend started this for her. This blog is a place where young people can connect to talk to one another and give each other hope. Now the site has more than 200,000 members. By having this available it gives people like her strength to keeping living and be able to help others keep living. This saved her life as well as others. This is the cool feature about the internet. You can be all alone but with the click of a button you can connect to many people who are just like you and not feel alone