Learning | doug woods

Posts Tagged ‘Learning’

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

Thursday, February 24th, 2011

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?

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

Education Technology; Teaching Tool or Learning Tool?

Sunday, January 2nd, 2011

: 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?

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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 »

OneNote : A Learners’ Tool

Monday, November 8th, 2010

: Image via Wikipedia

If your school or organisation has invested in Microsoft Office, especially the 2010 suite, the chances are you are not making full use of the programs. I would go further and say that there is probably one program that you have hardly looked at or used in class. You may be surprised to learn that I am not talking about either MS Access or Publisher. The program I am talking about is called OneNote.

OneNote is, essentially, a note taking program. As such, it is perfectly placed for the education sector and is potentially an important tool for learners. Thus, it would be a great shame, having invested time and money in the Microsoft Office Suite, for this program to be overlooked.

Using OneNote, each student can create a ‘notebook’ into which they can add sections and pages. On each page, the learner can write their notes. These notes can consist of;

Typed notes
Pasted text
Images
Audio notes
Video notes
Attached files

Furthermore, if the pasted text or image has been copied from a website, the URL of the page is also copied across. This is useful when it comes to revision as the learner can check back with the site for updates or further information, it is also useful for essay writing as the URL can be used in any reference section.

The ability to add audio and/or video notes is a very useful feature. It obviously has uses for SEN pupils who may lack the ability to type and also those learners for whom text or language may be a barrier.

The ability to integrate with Internet Explorer (a third-party addon is available for FireFox) means that information from websites can easily be copied and referenced.

Notes (pages, sections or whole notebooks) can be exported in a variety of formats, noteably Word and PDF formats. Sections or pages can also be exported in OneNotes own format, meaning that they could be created by students or by teachers and then made available to learners to share or add into their own notebooks. In this way, a teacher could create learning plans, guidelines or a page of resources for the learners to add and use in their own OneNote notebooks.

Each learner’s OneNote notebook appears to be linked to their login or username. Hence, their own notebook can be immediately available when they login to the system from any computer. However, notebooks can be saved almost anywhere, such as on the web, on a SharePoint server or locally on ‘My Computer’.

Although a user can create many notebooks, essentially they need only create one and add sections for each subject, topic or project area. If they do create additional notebooks, then these are usually appended to their main notebook and can be easily accessed and notes linked or cross-referenced.

It has long been recognised that note-taking is an important part of both learning and revision. It has only been quite recent that computer software has become readily available to aid learners in making notes. While there are now a number of applications on the market for making notes, the position of OneNote within the MS Office suite puts it in a good position, especially where an institution has already invested in the Microsoft product.

In use, I do find some aspects of OneNote to be a bit ‘clunky’ and it is to be hoped that updates toi the program will make it a bit more easy or ‘fluid’ in its use. It is, however, a program that has a lot of potential to support learners and I would recommend schools and organisations to investigate its use.

To help you get started in using or exploring OneNote, I have created a pdf document, which can be viewed or downloaded from here .

What’s Microsoft OneNote For and How Well Does It Do It? (brighthub.com)
Learn…About OneNote (brighthub.com)
OneNote 2010 Now Syncs Multiple Notebooks on SkyDrive (pocketnow.com)
Curio: A Workshop for Your Creative Projects (appreaders.com)
Evernote for Windows 4.0 Keeps You Organized (pcworld.com)
How to Change Task Folders in OneNote (brighthub.com)
How to change the background image of a OneNote document (simplehelp.net)

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Tags: FireFox, Learning, Microsoft, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Suite, Microsoft OneNote, Microsoft Word, OneNote
Posted in Classroom Technology | 1 Comment »

The Real Purpose of ICT in Schools

Monday, October 11th, 2010

I don’t think anyone could deny that ICT or Educational Technology is a very versatile tool for schools.

If I were to ask you to list all the ways in which technology is used in your school, you’d come up with a list as long as your arm. Perhaps, I should rephrase that to read ‘the ways in which technology could be used in your school’ because I think it’s almost certain that few of us use the technology to its full capability.

Among the uses that you might mention, could be;

Writing reports,
preparing lesson plans,
monitoring attendance,
collecting data on pupils,
measuring progress
assessing pupils’ ability
writing letters to parents
creating policy documents, schemes of work etc.

all of which are very valid roles and tasks for the computer but they are not what the technology was originally put into schools for

When we first started putting computers into schools, we did not put them in to help teachers create reports and plans, we did not put them in to monitor and assess pupil progress, they were not even put in for teachers to use!

Computers were first put into schools to help pupils learn and, I would argue, this remains the prime reason for having computers in schools.

Yet, we seem to be in danger of forgetting this.

Too often, we see eduction technology discussed on an institutional level with its network infrastructures or as an administrative tool with its bloat of office software and services or as a ‘teachers’ tool with its aids for preparation, planning and lesson delivery. All of these have their place in schools but they do not always serve the prime role of schools, which is to educate pupils. Why is it that we feel it is right for every teacher in a school to have a laptop but not every pupil?

Even at times when we discuss how technology can help learning, it turns into a debate into how teachers can use the technology rather than the learners.

I hear people criticise schools because they have not used ICT to help save money. Yet saving money has never been the purpose behind putting ICT into schools. By all means criticise schools if they fail to utilise the technology for learning; that, learning, is the main purpose of a school. Criticise schools where money may not have been spent wsisely or correctly but please don’t criticise schools for not using ICT to save money when that was never the purpose of it.

At this time, schools, like everyone else (perhaps more than anyone else), are feeling the brunt of government cutbacks in spending and there is obviously concern as to how money, what money there may be, can be spent wisely. At such times as this, I feel schools need to refocus their attention on their core business; which is the education of learners. No matter what economic climate we live in, people expect schools to provide learning and that will be the criterion by which schools will be judged rather than their ability to maintain overblown network and administrative infrastructures.

ICT … have we spent wisely ? (dougdickinson.co.uk)
Teaching technology on a budget (guardian.co.uk)

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Tags: Education, Educational technology, Information and communication technologies in education, Learning, Lesson plan, school, Teacher, Technology
Posted in Classroom Technology | No Comments »

10 Lists a Teacher Should Write Before Retiring

Saturday, June 26th, 2010

: Image by Rex Pe via Flickr

For many of us, teaching is one of the best jobs in the world. You get to work with people, young people often, and you see them grow, develop and learn. It is a very rewarding experience to feel that you had some part to play in that growth and learning.

Although it is one of the best jobs in the world, it is also one of the most demanding. The role makes demands upon you personally, intellectually and physically, it makes demands upon your time and the time of those around you, such as your partner and family. Over time, those demands can build up and, sadly, many good and great teachers feel the need to move on or leave the profession.

Looking back on a teaching career can be full of regrets and joys, hopefully more joys than regrets. Yet how often do we teachers as individuals recognise and acknowledge the best times in our teaching careers? Perhaps we keep memories of such times to ourselves or perhaps we just forget them or perhaps there are just so many that we feel we cannot remember them all. So why not create a list, apparently teachers are supposed to be good at lists, of the best times in a teaching career?

I present here a suggestion of 10 lists a teacher might like to create;

10 pupils I most enjoyed teaching. We all know that some learners stand out from others and it’s not always the brightest or ablest that we most enjoy, sometimes it can be those learners who give us the most challenge whom we enjoy teaching the most.
10 things pupils taught me. Experience soon shows us that teaching is not a one way process, sometimes the learners show us things we didn’t know.
The most memorable school events. Teaching is not just about what goes on in the classroom, there are many other activities and events in which we get involved as teachers, from trips out, to school assemblies. Some are more memorable than others.
Best colleagues I worked with. Teaching is often about working well with colleagues as well as working with learners. Some of those colleagues can be inspiring and others are a source of help and support.
The topics/subjects I most enjoyed teaching. Some of the teaching we do, we may consider to be a drudge but, equally, or maybe even moreso, there are usually some topics or subjects that stand out for us and which we really enjoy teaching.
10 things I’d change for the better in schools. Oh yes, we all know about the grumps and the moans in the staffroom, how we’d like to change this or that but are there any changes that you’d really like to make that would makes schools better?
The best, or funniest, comments I ever heard from parents. Whether verbal or written, it is always great to receive praise or positive comments from parents, or sometimes even a thank you is nice.
The best jokes I ever learned from pupils. Keep them clean! We all know that some pupils are simply great for coming up with the latest jokes that you then go and retell in the staffroom.
10 things I wish I had done but didn’t. Ah regrets, I’ve had a few ….
10 things I’ll miss about teaching. You may think there is nothing you’d miss from teaching but think again and I bet you’ll find them…

There you go.

You will notice that my title says lists to write ‘before retiring’, you may think that you’re nowhere near to retiring or leaving the profession. I’d still say there is some value in creating these lists; they may help focus upon the good and positive side of the job, which are easy to forget on a Sunday afternoon when you’re planning and preparing next week’s lessons.

The little things that make a teacher great (parentcentral.ca)
Colleges With The BEST Teachers (PHOTOS) (huffingtonpost.com)
Teacher honored for years of service (mysanantonio.com)
Teacher Appreciation Song: A Song for Teachers – You Have Made A Difference (haroldshawjr.com)

10 Lists a Teacher Should Write Before Retiring

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Tags: Education, Educators, English, K through 12, Learning, school, Teacher, Youth
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Posts Tagged ‘Learning’

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

Education Technology; Teaching Tool or Learning Tool?

OneNote : A Learners’ Tool

The Real Purpose of ICT in Schools

10 Lists a Teacher Should Write Before Retiring

Contact me

Follow us on Twitter

Doug Woods

Posts Tagged ‘Learning’

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

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Education Technology; Teaching Tool or Learning Tool?

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OneNote : A Learners’ Tool

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The Real Purpose of ICT in Schools

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10 Lists a Teacher Should Write Before Retiring

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Contact me

Follow us on Twitter

Doug Woods