Learning Research: Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology

Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology opens by contrasting the traditional policies and curriculums that prevent educational technology developments in K-12 schools with the ever widening educational opportunities available using the same technology outside of schools. The view of both the technology enthusiasts and the technology skeptics is reviewed followed by a historical account of major developments in schooling in American history. Based on the current mass schooling model of education, Collins and Halverson suggest two solutions that have the potential to revolutionize learning today.

• New curriculum designs would place children in classes based on goals, not age. These classes would be administered over several years, so that students gain a deep understanding of complex tasks and content within chosen interests. Established professions would be used as the basis for the new curriculum design, and would incorporate the use of course management systems and video games. The authors then introduce a four stage model of student learning in which students gradually progress from novices to mentors to leaders via a series of projects.

• Instead of standardized testing, performance based assessments would be implemented in the form of certifications: academic, generic, and technical skills, each having credentialing requirements. New technology would be used to assess student progress in the form of “computer adaptive testing systems [which] use a test taker’s prior answers to select which items would best measure what the student knows.” (115) Upon successful completion of credentialing assessments, “students would [then] create a portfolio of credentials for purposes of employment or college applications,” (116) using word processing and multimedia software used in many professions.

In closing, Collins and Halverson call to the audience and say that in order “to be successful [in this revolution], political and educational leaders will need to carefully consider the changes in our society and mobilize the government’s resources to address the problems we’ve raised and to achieve the great potential ahead of us.”(128) “This demands rethinking education not in isolation, but considering the interplay of society, education, and learning.” (129)

The complete review can be found here: http://bit.ly/lDzLRV

Reference:
Collins, A., & Halverson, R. (2009) Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology: The Digital Revolution and the School, Teachers College Press, New York

Learning Management: Resources and Support

Online support and resources are required to foster a meaningful distance learning environment; it imperative in an eLearning situation that learners have access to instructional, counseling, and technical support.

Depending on the pedagogy of the learning framework in which the eLearning is designed, and in combination with the fact that not all students will need and/or want support services, it is difficult to determine the exact levels of learner support needed at various stages of the program. However, Fritsch recommends that following general phases of learner support be available and implemented as necessary:

Information Phase - Decision/ Sales
Guidance Phase - Admissions/ Long-term plans
Registration Phase - Financial/ Administration
Integration Phase - Orientation/ Pedagogy
Help Desk - Technical Troubleshooting
Learning Phase - Social/ Instructional/ Resources
Final Results Phase - Assessments/ Career Counseling

Fritsch gives us a range of areas in which learners may require support, and strengthens the notion that "learner support is defined as all those elements capable of responding to a known learner (...) before, during, or after the learning process."(Thorpe, 2002)

For additional resources, check out: Christopher Pappas, eFront: Refreshing Learning Tools blog, "e-Learning Programs' Support Services to Learners" post.

References:
Fritsch, H. (2003) The role of student support services in e-learning (Hagen, FernUniversitat ZIFF Papiere 121).

Thorpe, M. (2002). Rethinking Learner Support: the challenge of collaborative online learning. The Open University, Institute of Educational Technology, UK. Vol. 17, No. 2.

Learning Design: Culture

“E-Learning courses are cultural artifacts, embedded within the cultural values, preferences, characteristics, and nuances of the culture that designed them”, and they “inherently create challenges for learners from other cultures” (Uzuner). Culture can be defined as the acquired behaviors, perspectives, and value characteristics of a particular group or community. In that, instructors/trainers often teach using the dominant cultural attitudes and values of the group, neglecting those of the minority. So, what are the some of the effects of culture in asynchronous/ synchronous learning environments?

First lets compare the learner differences between Western (United States) and non-Western cultures. Western learners tend to honor individual interests and are extremely independent. Western education also tends to reproduce the ideologies of its society through educational credentials that maintain individual privileges of class, perhaps neglecting the surrounding community. In contrast, non-Western, indigenous cultures feel that learning is collective, in which the Self is interdependent on the community, society, and the universe. The purpose of learning is not self advancement, but empowerment to be active in the community, and be in balance and harmony with one’s surroundings.

Instructional considerations toward being sensitive to culture in eLearning environments include:**Providing a safe environment so users have a high comfort level for participation and use of personal opinion and emotion in online discussion. **Have set rules, expectations, and requirements for personal involvement, and forewarn learners of the cultural impact of material. **Encourage learners to expand their social presence, and depend on both teacher and peers for learning.

References
Uzuner, S. (2009). Questions of Culture in Distance Learning: A Research Review. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 10:3, 1-19.