Forest Gump on Learning Theory

Education is like a box of chocolates . . . oh wait, wrong channel . . . but maybe not.

Bill Kerr’s post regarding the isms of the educational world is indeed a lively and informative discussion. As Brad Boute stated, it is interesting to note that the debate over the isms is not new and may continue indefinitely, or perhaps, I’ll throw in, until some theorists discovers the be-all, end-all, all-inclusive learning theory. Though, one has to wonder if that will ever occur. It is not so much that an all-inclusive theory may not exist, but rather, no two minds may be alike and therefore it may be impossible for all minds to agree on one definitive answer.

At the end of Bill Kerr and Karl Kapp’s posts, they both chime in that each theory has its merits and that there is not a one size fits all. I agree with them. I think both behaviorism and cognitivism are both applicable to learning. In our classroom discussion for EDUC 8845, Module 2, Dr. Moller questioned how both parties can play together nicely in the sandbox when they have such opposite views. But I wonder if they really are opposite views. Who made them appear to be such opposite views? Was it the strong proponents on each side? Aren’t the right side and left side (creativity versus logic) of the brain sometimes considered opposites and yet they play together in the sandbox. Could those two cerebral hemispheres have some parallelism with cognitivism and behaviorism?

Or, better yet, I enjoyed reading Karl Kapp's response (to Tony Forster’s post) about education versus training. Kapp equated training to behaviorism, where there are objectives with measurable outcomes. He then states that education should not have specific nor necessarily measurable outcomes. Kapp takes on the perspective that education is an opportunity for learners to explore. It shouldn’t and can’t be pre-planned, but rather, going back to the Forest Gump reference that started this entry, “It happens.”

P.S. Forest Gump's simplistic, black and white view of life carried him very far in life. Granted it was a fictional piece, but was his resulting learning outcomes do to behaviorism or cognitivism?



Boute, B. (2009). Matters of perspective. Retrieved from http://r-elearning.blogspot.com/2009/06/matters-of-perspective.html#comments

Kapp, K. (2007). Out and About: Discussion on Educational Schools of Thought.
Retrieved from http://karlkapp.blogspot.com/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-
educational.html

Kapp, K. (2006). Definitions: abcd objectives. Retrieved from http://karlkapp.blogspot.com/2006/12/definitions-abcd-objectives.html

Kerr, B. (2007). _isms as filters, not blinkers. Retrieved from
http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html

EDUC 8845 - Module 1

Metaphors of the Educator in the Digital Age

Siemens (2008) stated that the digital age has opened completely new doors to learning opportunities with participative tools and greater and easier access to information by learners. A new environment calls for a new role for the educator in the digital age. Describing possible roles, Siemens provided four metaphors of educators, all which include and lean more toward the constructivism perspective (versus instructivism).

The four metaphors as listed seem to fall on a spectrum of high to low in the amount of constructivism. The first metaphor, the Master Artist (atelier model) places the emphasis on the learner creating in an open space. The description put the image in my mind of a blank sheet that is created from the learners mind without direction or interference of the Master. Yet the fourth metaphor of the curator is a balance of using the curator’s expertise and fostering learner discovery. This metaphor “understands the frustration of exploring unknown territory without a map” (p. 17). In other words, it does not start with a blank page.

For me, the key to Siemens (2008) metaphors is in his introduction when he stated, “each approach may have value in different contexts” (p. 15). If I had to choose a metaphor, I would use Siemens suggestion of considering the context. I think younger, elementary learners may benefit more from a curator while university level learners may glean more from the Master Artist. As well, learning basic factual information may be more efficient and effective in a curator led environment.

If I were to come up with a metaphor, I would use a banker metaphor that would perhaps cover the spectrum of Master Artist through Curator. A banker allows simple deposits and withdrawals, which is equivalent to questions and answers, back and forth interaction, and direct instruction as needed. The deposits and withdrawals are the baseline level of learning (and banking). But building on that are CDs, Money Markets, and other ways for a learner to implement creative use of their money (what they have learned) and to learn the results of their choices. Then the next level is investment in the stock market. Much like the concierge metaphor, the banker provides the learner with possibilities, and the learner explores, invests, orchestrates, and creates his portfolio of learning. From here, much like the Master Artist, once a portfolio of learning is established (good investments, growth, earnings), the possibilities are endless. Lastly in this metaphor, the stock market depends on the global economy and learning in the digital age is a global activity.

Here is an interesting metaphor of the teacher as the skipper of a yacht, where the students visit new places, learn new skills, and learn new processes. The journey is the curriculum and the skipper sets the course. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaTjeJEiO74&NR=1


Siemens, G. (2008). Learning and knowing in networds: Changing roles for educators and designers. Paper presented to ITFORUM. Retrieved from http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/Paper105/Siemaens.pdf

8840 Part II of Project

There is a few second pause before the sound begins.

The main chart is difficult to read. Use a Word version of the chart to view a better copy of the chart. The Word version can be found here:
Get "3 decades" chart




Resources

America 1900. (1999). PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/1900/tguide/tguideindex.html

Dede, C. (2008). The Next Wave, Part 2. [Audio Recording]. Laureate Education, Inc. Educational Technology Timeline. (1999). http://cter.ed.uiuc.edu/cter2/ci335/timeline.html

eMints National Center. (2004). http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/by-title.shtml#D Koop, M. (1998).

Aviation Resource Center. http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/4294/history/ Life in the 1950’s. (2008).

Rewind the Fifties.
http://www.loti.com/fifties_history/life_in_the_1950s.htm

Management, History of and Timeline. (n.d.) http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/hfrr/Stevenson/Management%20Timeline.pdf

Management Technique Timeline. (2009). http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pgG8Enw7a_0Xb5nysFClfQw Presidents. (n.d).

The White House. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/ Rider, M. (2009).

Instructional Design Models. http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~mryder/itc_data/idmodels.html Rozycki, E.G. (2000).

Using the Gallery of Educational Theorists. http://www.newfoundations.com/GALLERY/Gallery.html Saettler, P. (2004).

The Evolution of American Educational Technology. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing. Space Age Timeline. (2008).

A&E Television Networks. http://www.history.com/content/space/interactive-space-timeline

Timeline of Computer History. (2006). Computer History Museum. http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/ Timeline of the Dust Bowl. (2008)

PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/timeline/index.html

Thornburg, D. (2008). The Next Wave, Part 1. [Audio Recording]. Laureate Education, Inc. Toffler, A. (1980).

The Third Wave. Bantam Books, Inc., Random House Inc. New York.

8442 Project

Here is a link that will lead you to the annotated bibliography for this project: Click here to go to the page where the annotated bibliography is uploaded.

This is the class project for EDUC 8442. The project was to create an introduction to a Keynote speaker for a Distance Education Conference, choosing any related topic. The conference name and keynote speaker are fictional.




Reference list for the 8442 Multimedia Project

Adamsick, C. (2008). “Warex” the copyright violation? Digital Copyright Infringement: Legal loopholes and decentralization. TechTrends, 52(6), 10-12.

Chanock, K. (2008). When students reference plagiarized material – what can we learn (and what can we do) about their understanding of attribution? International Journal for Educational Integrity, 4(1), 3-16.

Nemire, R. (2007). Intellectual property development and use for distance education courses: A review of law, organizations, and resources for faculty. College Teaching, 55(1), 26-30.

Recording Industry Association of America, (n.d.). Piracy online and on the street. Retrieved January 15, 2009 from: http://www.riaa.com

Rosen, B. (2007). Copyright law and the distance education classroom. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 8(1), 71-76.

Stephens, J., Young, M., Calabrese, T. (2007). Does moral judgment go offline when students are online? A comparative analysis of undergraduates’ beliefs and behaviors related to conventional and digital cheating. Ethics & Behavior, 17(3), 233-254.

Talab, R. (2008). Copyright and you: Using digital materials in online courses: A cautionary tale of the Georgia State University. TechTrends, 52(4), 30-32.

Talab, R. (2007). Copyright and you: Faculty distance courseware ownership and the “Wal-Mart” approach to higher education. TechTrends, 51(4), 9-12.

Wallace, L. (2007). Online teaching and university policy: Investigating the disconnect. Journal of Distance Education, 22(1), 87-100.

Wang, Y. (2008). University Student Online Plagiarism. International Journal on E-Learning, 7(4), 743-757.

8442 Project

Here is my introduction to the Keynote Speaker project. I didn't want to pay a person to do this professionally for me since it is a school project and not a real intro. If it were for a real conference, I would have perhaps hired a professional to make the sound more smooth and perhaps the graphics more clear. The Conference name (LHK) and the speaker (Dr. Smith) are "made up" for this project.
The annotated bibliography will be posted shortly.

Module 5

Please click on the photo to see a larger picture.
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I am currently relatively new to this whole dynamic and DE environment. This quarter at Walden was my first exposure to a Blog page (in EDUC 8442) and my first exposure to a Wikipage (in EDUC 8441). It is also my first exposure to creating a video (for 8442's project) and a Power Point with voice (8441 project). So I believe I started this course on the static end of the continuum but have gradually worked my way a little bit up the scale.

I do believe the best way to learn and to continue heading east on this graphic organizer (toward the dynamic end) is by just doing it. In the 1980's, people took courses to learn word processing, database management, etc. But today with the rapid speed of technological developments, it seems the best way to learn is OJT (on the job training) or by just doing it.

References
McGreal, R., & Elliott, M. (2008). Technologies of Online Learning (E-learning). In T. Anderson (Ed.), The Theory and Practice of Online Learning (pp. 144-165). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press.

Moller, L. (2008). Static and Dynamic Technologies. [Study notes]. Retrieved January 27, 2009 from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=3206859&Survey=1&47=5050260&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Module 4

CLICK ON PICTURE TO SEE BIGGER IMAGE.



This Structured Online Learning Environment depicts a combination of methods and theories as offered by Anderson (2008), Moller, Prestera, Harvey, Downs-Keller, and McCausland. (n.d.), and Durrington, Beryhill, and Swafford (2006).

Structure:
The main structure shows that the student is the center of the structure but sits upon a strong foundation that has been built by the university, the community, and the facilitator (teacher).

Facilitator:
The role of the facilitator is as offered by Moller, Prestera, Harvey, Downs-Keller, and McCausland. (n.d.), that of a “guide, mentor, catalyst, coach, assessment-giver, and resource-provider” (p. 20).

Medium:
Once given guidance and a starting structure by the facilitator, the student utilizes current technological tools to achieve the outcomes of learning. The list of tools reads: Multimedia, blogs, wikipages, webpages, social networking sites, discussion boards, email, chat forums, synchronous methods, and ___________

The blank line denotes that even by the time this discussion is posted, a new technological advancement might appear and should be used in lieu of blogs or wikipages. The purpose of the “Medium” box is to demonstrate that technology offers many means to reach learning outcomes that were never before available and that educational outcomes should not be limited by platforms of the past.

Activities:
The activities represent the areas as outlined by Durrington, Beryhill, and Swafford (2006) and Moller, Prestera, Harvey, Downs-Keller, and McCausland. (n.d.). They include interaction and discussion with both peers and facilitators in various modes including guided discussions, generated discussions, and informal discussions/inquiry. As well, the activities include content knowledge building as discussed by Moller, et al. (n.d.) Finally the last piece of problem solving together with all the activities culminate in an application of learning project.

Note:
1. The arrows attempt to connect all phases and the flow runs both ways.
2. The diagram is meant to look a bit 3-D, lifted off of the page. This is a subtle representation of the idea of seeing “outside of the box” or in this case “off the page.”

References

Anderson, T. (Ed.). (2008). The Theory and Practice of Online Learning (2nd ed.). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press.

Durington, V.A., Berryhill, A., & Swafford, J. (2006). Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an online environment. College Teaching, 54(1), 190-192.

Moller, Prestera, Harvey, Downs-Keller, McCausland. (n.d). Creating an Organic Knowledge-Building Environment within an Asynchronous Distributed Learning Context. [Study notes]. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=3206859&Survey=1&47=5050260&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1 on January 21, 2009.