Section 7 IDT Direction

Carl L. Huff

Distributed or e-learning

I will be teaching at the 9-12 levels.  I have enjoyed earning most of my higher education from e-learning.  I earned an Associate degree in computer science in face-to-face classes.  It soon became clear that I was spending more time on the road than in the classroom.  When I started at TAMU-C my grades improved and I felt that more time was spent on education than on transportation.  I would like to see some high school classes given as e-classes.  The students would have to be monitored with learning test and some may not be mature enough to study on-line. 

By reducing the class load in high schools there would be a tremendous savings on facilities alone.  I am thinking about how to introduce such a program as soon as I am in a position to do so.

Reusable design or Learning objects

Susan Smith Nash (Reiser & Dempsey, p 290, 2012) defines learning objects as building blocks that can be used to construct learning courses, assessments, and instructional materials.   I found this definition to be an excellent way to express technology in learning.  The definition does include any object, such as text and writing materials, as being learning objects but I think it puts the subject of e-learning on track for me.

I hope that I will be able to use learning objects in my classes.  Because my competences are Business and Technology Applications I will most likely get my wish.  I am eager to get into a teaching environment where I will be able to use building blocks to construct my lessons.

Networks or Web 2.0 Technologies

Web 2.0 technologies for teaching and learning agrees with my constructiveness philosophy of teaching.  As an intern I was able to observe and participate in a web design classes where Adobe Photo Shop was being taught.  The problem that I had was the practice of teaching the students minutia information about the application that would not be used by the students because it had been rendered obsolete by new upgrades.

If Web 2.0 and other e-learning techniques are to work, we have to let go of the past.  No one cares how hard things used to be, they want to know how it is today and tomorrow.  If anyone has a problem with letting go of the past it should be me because I entered the computer business in 1977.  I may or may not have learned a lot but I did learn that it is difficult to see the future if you spend all of your time looking back at the past.

What learning goals or objectives could the technologies you selected help learners foster?

A combination of face-to-face and e-learning would make it far more convenient for students to study at home and would lighten the burden on schools.  Parents would be able to spend more time with their children (assuming that they would want to).  We cannot always put dollars before children and I think that e-learning could be a positive improvement for many learners.

Could the technology facilitate attainment of that learning goal better than traditional instruction? Why or why not?

There is always a big “IF” when we discuss any change in a tradition.  The largest issue is how well will the transition will be planned.  Dumping classrooms in one big swoop would be disastrous.  I am sure that technology will be an improvement over traditional instructions but it must be done gradually and with careful monitoring of results.

2. Section IX focuses on issues related to instructional design, rather than new technologies: professional ethics, diversity and accessibility, the nature of design, and providing instructional guidance.

For each of the technologies you selected above, discuss what ethical issues using the technology might present.

1.     Does the technology enhance accessibility and accommodate diverse learning needs?

The social component is not addressed in most discussions about technology in the classroom.  The educational intuitions will have to always maintain the social awareness that a face-to-face class brings into play.  Technology will make education more accessible and some social contact may be possible.  I am very concerned about how the social component will be dealt with in an e-educational world.

2.     How and/or can you design instruction using that technology?

Technology has many features that make it convenient to the teacher as well as the student.  It will be easier to construct learning modules out of existing building blocks.  The teacher must keep the human component in the educational mix.

3.     How much guidance would instruction with that technology require?

Feedback from sampling test of students’ progress would be the best guidance for instructors because it will monitor progress of the learners.  In situations where learning progress is not progressing as expected, the instructors would have a larger pool of experienced instructors to consult for guidance.  E-learning does leave a digital trail in which there would be clues as to why learners are/or are not keeping up with the programs.  Because learning could be built upon common modules that are well known and understood the instructors would have a large knowledge base to draw from.

4.     What kinds of guidance would be necessary?

Full guidance seems to be more effective than less guidance (Reiser & Dempsey, p 369 2012).  While full guidance may be more effective, there will be unavoidable resistance from educators to what would look like dictatorial management.  Instructors will insist on flexibility and if the designs are to work they have to be friendly to the implementer's (instructors).  I would favor close but flexible monitoring of any programs and would proceed with the help of the educators in designing any learning technologies.

References:

Reiser, Robert A. and Dempsey, John V. (2012). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology, 3td ed. Allyn & Bacon, 501 Boylston street, Boston, Ma, 02116. (pp. 281-382).