Learning | doug woods

Posts Tagged ‘Learning’

mLearning: It’s Not About Delivering Content to Mobile Phones

Friday, April 27th, 2012

mLearning : It’s Not About Delivering Content to Mobile Phones
mLearning, it’s one of those terms you see bandied about quite a lot nowadays but have you ever wondered what it could mean? Okay, so the ‘m’ in mLearning stands for ‘mobile’, just like the ‘e’ in eLearning stands for …. whatever.

So it’s easy to establish that mLearning is about using mobile devices, not just mobile phones but tablets and other handheld devices, for learning. So the first problem facing an education company is that they have all these electronic resources for learning available on the web, on old-fashioned DVD or CD or, even, on paper, all of which need to be re-purposed and packaged for delivery to mobile devices.

300px HTC Juno2 mLearning: Its Not About Delivering Content to Mobile Phones

A T-Mobile Shadow (a rebranded HTC Juno). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It seems a number of companies think that this is the first hurdle. I have come across a slew of seminars, conferences, webinars etc. which aim or claim to tackle the issues of delivering content to mobile devices. To my mind the problem is not how to deliver existing content to mobile devices because once you have overcome that problem, you are offering nothing new!

The problem with the approach is that it overlooks the features of mobile devices, features which the learner can use to aid their learning. The approach sees the learner as a passive end user to whom ‘stuff’ is delivered via their mobile device. I doing this, companies overlook the fact that most mobile devices can take pictures, record sound, capture text, create video and, of course, make phone calls … many can even locate themselves geographically. Not only can they do these things but they can also share and communicate them with other devices.

It is the existence of these features in the hands of the learner which is the real challenge of mLearning. They create new possibilities for learning and new opportunities for the learners, not just in a narrow geographic location, such as a school or a neighbourhood but nationally and even internationally.

If you think about it, the original mobile learning device was probably the book but with that you could only read and, possibly, make notes in the margin. Modern mobile devices are so much more versatile and offer the learner so much more. So why are we at danger of losing or overlooking this?

Practical Mobile eLearning Today: Real Solutions for Creating mLearning for Your Organization Right Now, Part 1.(blogs.adobe.com)
The age of mobile is now(elearningstuff.wordpress.com)
Mobile Learning: A Quick Start Guide(downes.ca)

Training: Transitioning from eLearning to mLearning (blogs.adobe.com)
This Week in mLearning Podcast – Thinking Mobile-First [Episode 3] | The Mobile Learning Revolution Blog (techcommgeekmom.com)
The Ethics of Mobile Learning – Troubling and Complex (moocblogcalendar.wordpress.com)
Mobile Learning – Let’s Get Started! (slideshare.net)

mLearning: Its Not About Delivering Content to Mobile Phones

Possibly Related Posts:

Tags: iphone, Learning, mLearn, mlearning, Mobile Computing, Mobile device
Posted in education, Handheld Learning | 1 Comment »

Education Technology; Teaching Tool or Learning Tool?

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

: Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday, I read this great short blog post from @kylepace entitled Good Vs Great Teachers. In the article, Kyle criticises another author who appeared to believe that educational technology was a waste of time because it would never replace good teachers. All in all I would agree very much with Kyle’s response, which is basically that good teachers embrace the technology and what it offers, to become Great teachers.

I posted a tweet on Twitter, inviting my followers to take a look at the article but I also posed the question, does the article still look upon education technology as a teaching tool rather than a learning tool? The purpose of this post on my blog is to attempt to explain what I meant by that.

We’ve had computers in schools for around 30 years now. I’m still surprised when I encounter a colleague who still questions whether we should have computers in schools. I remind them just how long they have been around in education and, if I’m feeling particularly narked, I ask what my colleague has been doing all this time? (I wonder why I have no friends!)

As I say, we’ve had computers for around 30 years and, in that time, the nature of the technology and its uses have changed considerably. No longer is a computer a device which only one, or possibly two, people could use at a time when sat at a monitor screen. Nowadays, we can project computer images to large groups and classes via interactive whiteboards. The computer in the classroom is no longer the sole preserve of the teacher, who says who can use it and when. Now each pupil can have their own computer, on a desk, on their lap or in their pocket.

Originally, pupils could engage in the learning software that their teacher presented to them. Nowadays, pupils can locate their own resources and share them with peers. They can use computers to collaborate on projects and other learning work. They can create their own materials and display or broadcast them to an audience. Their audience, or their peer group, is no longer confined to the members of their own school, year or class group, that audience is now to be found beyond school or even national boundaries.

What is echoing in my mind, are the words I first heard from John Davitt, “we need to move learners from being passive consumers of technology into becoming creative users of that technology” . I feel that this shift has been happening over the years and needs to continue to progress. The technology is no longer just a tool for the teacher, it is no a tool for the learner.

I sometimes find myself saying to teachers, particularly those who have some reticence or lack confidence in using ICT, that it does not matter so much how you use technology, what matters most is how you allow and enable your learners to use technology.

So, for me, educational technology is a tool more for the learner than the teacher. That is not to deny the role that technology has in supporting the teacher in their work and in their approaches to learning but that it is the use of technology by the learner that is key to the future of education.

For me, a good teacher is one who uses technology in their work ( see my article elsewhere on good teachers and technology), a great teacher is one who extends that to encourage, support and develop their learners’ use of technology in their learning.

Technology Everywhere (slideshare.net)
Action plan for integration of technology (slideshare.net)
Students as Creators of Multimedia Instruction (boisebarbara.org)
SWGFL ICT Conferences – Torquay & Bristol (dougdickinson.co.uk)
Does ICT Improve Learning? (ictineducation.org)
New Technology and Outdoor Learning: Introduction (olliebray.typepad.com)
Outfitting 21st Century Classrooms with 21st Century Teachers (isteconnects.org)

Education Technology; Teaching Tool or Learning Tool?

Possibly Related Posts:

Tags: Author, Education, Information and communication technologies in education, Interactive whiteboard, K through 12, Learning, Technology, Twitter
Posted in Classroom Technology, Transforming Learning | 2 Comments »

E-learning, Why does it have such a Bad Name?

Monday, March 5th, 2012

Image by dougwoods via Flickr

E-learning is unpopular with learners, and not always popular with teachers, there can be little doubt about that but why should that be the case?

I have made quite a bold statement there and some of you may question it, that’s great and please add your view or experience in the comments. Before you do though, I’d like you to consider this question;

If you had the choice between studying a subject being taught by a teacher in the classroom or online via the internet, which would you choose?

Almost without fail, most people would opt for the first option. Why would that be? Is it because that’s what they’re used to? Is it because they feel that offers a better educational experience? Is online education perceived as a second best option?

My own experiences as a learner of e-learning has not been very good; I found the e-learning course to be very didactic and geared more towards instruction or training rather than education or study. I know that I am not alone in this experience as I have come across many others who have had similar expeiences.

Most tools for elearning appear to have been developed first for the commercial sector and were employed by companies or global organisations to train their workforce. The requirement in such instances has been more for training, instruction or presentation. These tools have since been adopted to provide elearning experiences within the education sector but here the demand would be for education and learning. It seems that the tools have not been completely adaptable for these different approaches. The result is that students find online courses restrictive and teachers find themselves limited by the technology.

Of course, this shouldn’t be the case, technology should be enhancing and enabling rather than limiting. If you were to attend a learning technologies conference, you would hear many presenters talk about new and exciting possibilities in using elearning, if you attend a learning technologies market place, however, you are likely to find that what is on offer is the same old tools. Nowhere has this been more evident to me than at the Learning technologies exhibition held in London, where there seems to be a very marked dichotomy between what is presented in conference and what is on sale in the exhibition space.

So, where are we going wrong, if we are? Is it that we are trying to take pre-packaged tools rather than design the learning experiences from scratch? Is it that we still design elearning from the point of view of a teacher or trainer rather than the learner? Is it, quite simply, that elearning is only an option when traditional teaching methods are not available? Or maybe the problem is that there’s a darn cat sat on my computer? (see pic)

Quite honestly, I’d very much welcome any views or comments on this matter, either here in the comments or via twitter.

eLearning Startup Opportunities (elearningtech.blogspot.com)
Focus on the technology or not? (elearningstuff.net)
Mark Smithers: eLearning at Universities: A Quality Assurance Free Zone? ” higher education management group (higheredcrm.wordpress.com)
Lectora Inspire eLearning Software Wins Bersin & Associates 2011 Learning Leaders Award for Product Innovation (prweb.com)
Traditional Learning without Frontiers! (elearningstuff.net)
E-Learning: The Product of a Risk Is a Lesson | American Libraries Magazine (americanlibrariesmagazine.org)
Collaborize Classroom – An Online Learning Platform (freetech4teachers.com)
Stories as instructional design technique for e-learning (sparkyourinterest.wordpress.com)

No sooner had I posted this article than I came across this post http://bit.ly/gVyusu which in part compares traditional learning in the HE sector with online learning. It presents a quite different point of view and is well worth reading.

E learning, Why does it have such a Bad Name?

Possibly Related Posts:

Tags: Distance Learning, E-Learning, Education, Educational technology, Learning, Technology
Posted in elearning | 20 Comments »

Lesson Plans or Learning Plans?

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

: Image via Wikipedia

In a previous post I mentioned the opportunity I had to observe a group of teachers doing team planning. As well as the observations I noted in that post, there was a further observation that I want to talk about in this post. It appeared to me that most of the teachers taking part in the team planning exercise were essentially still creating what I’d regard as an old style lesson plan. That is to say, it was to be a lesson that was to be delivered by the teacher and the planning focused more on what the teacher was going to do or what the teacher was going to get the pupils to do and what resources would be needed. The lesson, while not always a straightforward ‘sage on the stage’ approach, was certainly one that emphasised teacher direction or teacher facilitation, focused more on the teaching rather than the learning or the learner.

This type of planning was very familiar and would have been easily recognisable to a teacher 10, 20, even 30 years ago, it was only the resources available which were different; the approaches were much the same. This led me to wonder how might we change lesson planning to be more reflective of modern learning approaches?

It seems to me that the plan could be less about the structure of the lesson and more about the learning. I know they are called ‘lesson’ plans and in the past they have tended to describe the content of the lesson. Nowadays, though learning doesn’t just take place in the lesson; it can extend into the home and via out of school activities. There are also a wide range of informal learning opportunities which a learner can bring to contribute to their learning. So there is no need now for our planning to be restricted to a traditional lesson structure.

I know some people will argue, quite correctly, that we have always given homework to learners, where appropriate, to supplement their learning in school. However, the concept of ‘homework’ is quite dated now. It would be wrong, perhaps, to continue to think in terms of schoolwork and homework. It would be better to think simply in terms of ‘learning’ and what formal learning that takes place at home is an integral part of the ‘school’ work that takes place also in school.

So instead of presenting the learners with schoolwork in a lesson and then giving them homework to be done afterwards at home, a teacher would present learners with, say, an area or topic for study. A lesson or a series of lessons would be made available for the learners to study this in school, supported by the teacher, a range of resources and the face to face guidance of the teacher. In addition to these school sessions, a learner would be required to continue or extend their studies outside lessons, bringing in any experiences, resources available to them together with outcomes from any informal learning they may feel is relevant.

So Learning Plans would contain more than just plans for a lesson, they would seek to set out a number and range of ways in which learners could explore a subject area. Each of these ways would be designed to ensure the learner encounters particular objectives. Each of the ways could incorporate a different learning style, so as to appeal to different learners. There could even be discussion between teacher and learner as to what particular types of activities they would like the chance to explore.

In a way, I guess you could see a learning plan a bit like a treasure map but with different routes to the treasure, or maybe even several different treasure locations.

Developing independent young learners through learning how to learn (slideshare.net)
Diverse Children’s Learning Styles And Activities (brighthub.com)
Creating and Using a Learning Styles Chart (brighthub.com)
Lesson Plans Integrating Differentiation (brighthub.com)
Designing Informal Learning (elearningstuff.wordpress.com)
Learning Score, a lesson-planning tool. [Review] (dougbelshaw.com)

Possibly Related Posts:

Tags: Education, Educators, K through 12, Learning, Learning styles, Lesson, Lesson plan, Teacher
Posted in Transforming Learning | 2 Comments »

The Push and Pull Models of Education

Monday, December 19th, 2011

photo credit: squant

I think it would be fair to say that most of the education delivered to pupils in schools during the last couple of centuries has followed a ‘push’ model of delivery. That is to say that what is taught to pupils and the way(s) in which it is taught has been determined by a central body, usually the school, the teacher, perhaps the local authority or district or the central government.

That is not to say that there have not been elements of a ‘pull’ method of delivery; where the learner has the decision what they want to learn and, maybe, how they want to learn it. Such a system, though, has probably only been evident in Higher Education, where potential students have had the opportunity to decide which institution they wish to attend and base that decision upon which subject(s) are offered by the institutions.

It would be quite foolish to suggest that 20th century education was all ‘push’ and that 21st century education will be all ‘pull’ in design and delivery. Nevertheless, I do feel we shall see more of the ‘pull’ style entering our school systems in the coming years. I feel that schools would be foolish not to prepare for this; failing to do so will only lead to a reduction in enrolment numbers and the possible closure of schools.

So, to allow for a ‘pull’ system in which learners choose what they wish to learn, where and when they wish to learn and the method of learning, schools need to become adaptable and technology will be an important tool in this. Delivery of learning will not merely be in the classrooms but also via online and mobile delivery. It is quite possible that learners will no longer be enrolled only in one institution but will be able to join a number of institutions to study different subjects. Distance learning and non-timebased learning will become much more important.

Schools should also consider that they can now use technology to attract distance learners from other countries, well beyond their traditional locality or catchment areas. In order to do this, the technology needs to be in place and staff have to be prepared fully to utilise it.

So, if I say that there is likely to be more ‘pull’ in the delivery of education in the 21st Century, what implications does that have for teachers? Well, it does suggest that teachers will need to become more savvy in their use of technology, it may also mean that they have to present their subject in new ways to help make themselves stand out from other teachers. Rather than the use of technology, though, or the choice of pedagogy, perhaps the biggest hurdle for current teachers would be the idea of marketing themselves and their approach to potential learners.

We have already started to see the emergence of ‘super teachers’ in some parts of the world, though this may just be one ‘extreme’ form of marketing for teachers. We see certain ‘star’ teachers presenting their lessons on websites such as educator.com or thinkwell.com . Again, many teachers may feel uncomfortable with this type of approach but, I feel, this could be the future direction. Even Sal Khan of Khan Academy has become well known as an educator and, to the best of my knowledge, he is not a fully qualified teacher.

Possibly Related Posts:

Tags: Education, eLearning, Learning, Salman Khan, Technology
Posted in elearning | 2 Comments »

Do Learners want Teachers?

Monday, December 12th, 2011

: Image via Wikipedia

Do Learners want Teachers?

It seems a strange question, doesn’t it, but do learners want teachers?

Over recent years there has been a shift in emphasis away from teaching and teachers toward learning and learners. This has been to such an extent that even a major quango spent thousands changing one of its departments from Teaching and Learning to Learning and Teaching.

I will say, though, that I think the change in emphasis is justified; learning is more important than teaching.

A teacher in a school can teach and teach as much as they can but if the people they are teaching do not learn, then the teacher has been wasting time; the role of the teacher is to enable and ensure that learning takes place. Of course, any and every teacher knows this and also knows different strategies and approaches to facilitate learning. At the end of the day, a school is judged on how/what the learners have learnt (or parts of what they have learned) rather than on what teaching took place.

Increasingly, we hear people say that the learner is responsible for their learning and that the role of the teacher is to guide the learner through their learning. The teacher standing in front of the class is something that is frowned upon nowadays, rather the teacher should be at the side of the learner to give support and direction; this is the ‘sage on the stage’ versus ‘the guide at the side’ argument.

While we can accept that the role of the teacher is changing, that learning is now seen as more important than teaching and that the learner now has responsibility for their learning, does this mean that teaching or the teacher are no longer valued?

I think not. It still seems that people want teaching and value good teachers. Let us consider an example; if you wanted to learn something completely new and, all things, such as price, being equal which approach might you choose? You could choose to learn from an online course, from text books or attend classes led by a teacher/tutor/facilitator.

Most people would appear to opt for an approach that involves a teacher over a completely self-learning approach. Even if the approach had just one session with a teacher, it would appear to be preferred over an approach that has no teaching element. It would seem, therefore, that learners do value being taught or, at least, having some teaching input.

Consider the training courses you have been on, though, and ask yourself what have been the most valuable parts of those courses. The chances are that you will say the most valuable parts have been those times when you have been allowed to trial, play, or explore for yourself. These have probably been the times when you have been able to learn what you have wanted to learn or to learn what appears most relevant to you or your work.

Other valuable parts may have occurred when you found yourself ‘lost’ or had made a mistake and called upon the teacher to help you fix the situation and to avoid it happening again.

How many of us, also, have been on a course that we initially thought would be a ‘waste of time’ only to have new light or new possibilities created because of the enthusiasm, passion or skill of the teacher?

So the value of having a teacher would appear to lie in having an expert on hand, in having someone to at least introduce an area of learning to us and in having someone open our eyes to new possibilities. So while it may be clear that the nature of teaching and the role of the teacher may be changing, it is also clear that teaching and good teachers are also highly valued.

Inspiring active learning with limited resources (guardian.co.uk)
Examples of Diverse Learning Styles (brighthub.com)
Reflections (gartmanbarryedm310.blogspot.com)
Fred Garnett on how to create new contexts for your own learning (alchemi.co.uk)

Possibly Related Posts:

Tags: Education, Educators, K through 12, Learning, Learning Theories, Methods and Theories, school, Teacher
Posted in Training INSET and CPD | 1 Comment »

The Purpose of Technology in Education is Not to Enhance, Extend or Support Teaching

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

Image by Scott Adams via Flickr

Thirty, Twenty, Ten, even perhaps five, years ago, if you had said to me that the purpose of technology in education is to enhance, extend or support teaching, then I would have said that that was a very perspicacious summary of the role of educational technology. Now, though, that view seems very old-fashioned and outdated.

In their early days, I would suspect that the role of chalk and blackboard would have been seen as enhancing teaching whereas when I was a pupil, they were seen as much more fundamental to teaching. The same may also be true for textbooks, at one time they may have been seen as enhancing teaching but by my time as a school pupil they were pretty much fundamental.

I would argue that the same is now true for technology, which was once regarded as an enhancement but which should nowadays be seen as fundamental to good educational practice.

I say it is fundamental for two reasons; firstly we have over 30 years of experience of using the technology, we have built up a great deal of insight and experience in using technology in a variety of ways. It is now commonplace and usual to see computers and other devices being used in our schools. As I have argued elsewhere in this blog, a good teacher who does not use technology is not a good teacher.

Secondly, there has been a subtle but fundamental shift in the way the use of technology is viewed in schools; in the past it has been regarded as a teaching resource ( a role it still fulfils) but in recent times it has become much more regarded as a learning resource. That is not just a play with semantics, it is a significant change; it means that technology is viewed more as a tool for pupils and students to capture, create and share their learning and experiences.

I have a third objection to the notion that the role of technology is still to enhance, extend or support teaching but this is one which is more difficult to express. If we accept that these three roles are the purpose of technology, then if the technology does not enhance, does not extend nor support teaching, then we have a reason for not using the technology. This then leads to teachers foolishly and narrowly planning or evaluating their use of technology based upon whether it meets one of these criteria or not. When planning a lesson, if the teacher does not know how the technology can be used to enhance, extend or support the lesson then they will not use it. Yet, this comes down to a lack of knowledge or experience on behalf of the teacher rather than a failing of the technology. It is often when they try to use technology or allow the pupils to use technology that the teacher learns how it can be used. Without that prior experience, experimentation and exploration, a teacher will often not know whether technology can be used. It is important that teachers are encouraged and supported to explore the uses of technology before they are allowed to reject it out of hand.

The world of education has moved on from where a single computer was the only piece of modern technology in the class. Nowadays we have to consider the world of e-learning, where learning is delivered online and the technology is not an enhancement or an extension but becomes a delivery system.

Okay, so this post risks becoming a bit of a rant but there are influential people in schools and in wider education who maintain that the role of technology is only to enhance, extend or support teaching and I sincerely believe that view is wrong and that it could hold back the future development of educational technology. To my mind, the future of educational technology lies not in regarding it as an add-on or enhancement but as being fundamental to education.

You Know You’re a 21st Century Educator When … (7 signs) (dougwoods.co.uk)
The Push and Pull Models of Education (dougwoods.co.uk)
The Future of Computer and Internet Use in Schools (education.com)
Tech and Teaching (leafturned.wordpress.com)
Adaptive Learning Technologies are the Future of Education (educationinnovation.typepad.com)
Education Technology; Teaching Tool or Learning Tool? [Douglas Woods] (ecademy.com)
How can new technology support teaching and learning? (joedale.typepad.com)
Effects of Technology on Classrooms and Students (maysayparn.wordpress.com)
21st Century Educating, Part 3: Innovation (azjd.wordpress.com)
How People Learn (and What Technology Might Have to Do With It) (education.com)

The Purpose of Technology in Education is Not to Enhance, Extend or Support Teaching

Possibly Related Posts:

Tags: Education, Educational technology, eLearning, K through 12, Learning, Technology
Posted in education, elearning | 8 Comments »

Posts Tagged ‘Learning’

mLearning: It’s Not About Delivering Content to Mobile Phones

Education Technology; Teaching Tool or Learning Tool?

E-learning, Why does it have such a Bad Name?

Lesson Plans or Learning Plans?

The Push and Pull Models of Education

Do Learners want Teachers?

The Purpose of Technology in Education is Not to Enhance, Extend or Support Teaching

Contact me

Follow us on Twitter

Doug Woods

Posts Tagged ‘Learning’

mLearning: It’s Not About Delivering Content to Mobile Phones

Related articles

Education Technology; Teaching Tool or Learning Tool?

Related articles by Zemanta

E-learning, Why does it have such a Bad Name?

Related articles

Lesson Plans or Learning Plans?

Related articles by Zemanta

The Push and Pull Models of Education

Do Learners want Teachers?

Related articles by Zemanta

The Purpose of Technology in Education is Not to Enhance, Extend or Support Teaching

Related articles

Contact me

Follow us on Twitter

Doug Woods