Learning Objects April 23, 2010

I do not like reinventing any wheels so I really like learning objects. I have actually been using them in my courses for a while now, but just realized with this lesson that there is a recognized structure to them and a name – “learning objects”. Dr. Oliver mentioned this concept came from object-oriented programming and I can see why. This takes me back to an undergrad class in Java – an object-oriented programming language. I remember in class planning out the programs we would write and sketching out the structure on paper. We separated each piece of the program into a manageable “object” and drew it in a circle. Then those circles could be “called” every time we needed them instead of writing new ones.

Here’s an example: To write a program that will display a working calculator on the screen, you can’t just draw out the calculator body, put in the buttons and assume the computer knows what the buttons mean. You have to start from scratch the computer doesn’t know anything besides 1 and 0, which mean true and false. So, that means you have to first teach the computer what a number is, and then how to add them, then multiply them, etc. Here is where the objects come in. Creating objects like “add”, “multiple”, and so on is super efficient. They can be used over and over again, not only in the same program, but in future programs – paralleling what we are learning about learning objects.

Learning objects typically have three parts: learning objective, unit of instruction that teaches the objective, and some way to measure the outcome. The key advantage is that you can reuse them and save money and time. Learning objects are probably pretty large. Therefore, streaming on the web is important so that many people at the same time can use the object and have it download or function in a reasonable amount of time. There are sites like YouTube, TeacherTube, and Vimeo for this, However, I’m not aware of any free places to store and deliver interactive software like flash content, so I guess the school’s server would have to work.

I think this “learning object economy” is going to keep getting better and better. Yes, some content areas have more learning objects available than others. My teaching area is unfortunately one of the ones that doesn’t have a whole lot out there since it is still emerging, but I keep looking! I wish I had more time to make some of my own.

I don’t think there are any significant barriers to using learning objects. I realize the debate is hot about decontextualizing learning objects, but I think teachers can incorporate context in other ways. Ensuring quality may be an issue, but this would fall on the teacher to evaluate it beforehand and choose another one if needed. Maybe cost could be a barrier, but hey, we are in the App revolution! Most of them are free or only a buck! For the future, I hope schools realize the cost savings and resource benefits of creating reusable learning objects and will come up with creative ways to encourage teachers to use and create them.

The article Dr. Oliver emailed us is super interesting. One site I really like that the article discusses is Connexions http://cnx.org/. You can build your own textbooks out of content contributed by others and you can contribute your own. It’s really neat. Students can even pay a small price to get the book printed or just use the e-book for free. I attended a talk by their founder, Richard Baraniuk, a couple of years ago at the UNC Teaching and Learning conference in Raleigh. It was great and I was super moved to start collaborating with other teachers. Anyone who hasn’t checked out Connexions should definitely do so.

Here are some other places I have found some interesting reusable stuff for my courses:

MIT Open Courseware – http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm

WISC-Online (Dr. Oliver mentioned this one) – http://www.wisc-online.com/

MERLOT – (Dr. Oliver mentioned this one too) http://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm

National Institutes of Health – Science Teacher Resources – http://science.education.nih.gov/home2.nsf/feature/index.htm

Cognitive Flexibility Theory April 19, 2010

CFT is a very interesting theory and I agree that these “ill-structured” and complex learning situations should not be taught in the same way as straightforward content. I like how in this model, simple solutions aren’t provided and multiple cases are presented for students to compare and form their own ideas for how to solve cases and how to create mental models that will help with new cases. This model is very representative of real-world situations.

CFT would be a great model for me to use in my teaching, but of course, barriers would be that it will take a lot of planning and resources. I like to think I will incorporate this model in the future. Maybe I can start off in small lessons. The best example for me to use this model is a type of testing I teach called Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring. This model is perfect because it takes into consideration the extreme demands, and the radically, quickly changing environment in the operating room (OR). In the OR monitoring environment, workers must be able to move and make decisions very quickly. Plus, since every case may have different challenges, workers must be able to apply their knowledge to a variety of situations, hence the importance of the flexibility aspect of this model. Interestingly enough, these OR monitoring surgeries are actually called “cases” so this seems to be a pretty natural fit. I like the way the model provides multiple content representations. This is very useful for learning situations where there are multiple solutions or no one right way to accomplish a task.

For multimedia, I think videos, photos, and audio clips will be very useful for this theory. These will help students create their own mental model probably better than simply text alone. Delivering this model via the Web can be accomplished many, many different ways. There is always the more expensive route of actually hiring developers to build super modules. The budget approach would be to use static web pages with lots of external links to useful websites, and possibly embedding youtube/vimeo/etc… videos, audio clips, and photos. Simulation software would also useful in certain learning situations, such as medical procedures.

I am interested to learn more about how this theory supposedly changes the way students store and structure their knowledge. I have a hard time believing that this theory alone will have a significant impact on how flexible they will be with the knowledge gained from the theory. I think most of this is innate, but I can see where this model can someone manifest these qualities.

Sorry it took me so long to post this week. My post was written earlier, but I was gone to a conference and surprisingly didn’t have Internet to actually post it until now.

Case-Based Methods and Reasoning Environments April 11, 2010

Case-Based Learning and Reasoning emphasizes learning in context and like other models, uses stories as cases. I like the idea that students benefit from “lessons learned” from their peers. In case-based reasoning, I like how each new case will add to students’ memories and their libraries; and that they will use that information to help them in solving future cases. In Jonassen’s article, I thought the bulleted list on page 2 talking about the functions of stories was very interesting.  I also thought the Turfgrass Case Library was really neat. There weren’t a lot of cases, but I can see this being really neat if a lot of people started contributing to it.

This model is perfect for my teaching area and I plan to incorporate it into lab courses. What makes this model fit so well for me is that students will retrieve information learned in past lessons and experiences to apply to the new case, which are mostly patient cases. An important aspect of this model for healthcare students is that students aren’t given direct solutions, but the tools they need to come up with the solution on their own. In the real healthcare world, every patient’s case will vary and be more or less complex. Nothing ever really follows the textbook cases in medicine. What I see as the most important component of this model is it gives students opportunities to practice concepts they have learned and apply them to real situations.

Like many of the other models we have looked at recently, I think the primary barriers to putting lessons like this on the Web are time, expertise, and money. However, there is good news for certain areas like healthcare and the environment. I’ve recently seen government and private funds being offered for curricular developments like these. I’m not going to go into any details about that here, but I’ve seen some people that have received new outside funds for this.

I think that combinations of Web based tools and multimedia will work well for this model, like online journals or note-taking software, discussion boards so students can share ideas, and audio/video for showing different aspects of the case. Simulation or demonstration tools would be helpful for this model. Text-based stories are also useful and can be accomplished with regular static webpages. These can be pretty easily produced with free sites like Weebly and within the schools content management system, like Moodle. Artificial Intelligence was also mentioned for this model, and I think this would be a very interesting addition to a Web-based model, but I’m not aware of any tools for this other than just hard-core programming. Who really wants to do that? Not me! I do think it would be neat though, so if anyone knows of any AI tools, let me know. One last thing, in thinking about the Turfgrass Case Library, social networking sites may be an interesting way to build libraries. I haven’t used the social networking site Ning before so I’m looking forward to using it for our final project.

On a side note – several years ago, I read a book that is great for those interested in building case studies. The foreward is by the same author as one of our readings (Jonassen). If you plan to use this method, this book is a good resource. It’s title is “The ID Case Book” and is by Peggy Ertmer and James Quinn. It’s got lots of great examples.

MOST Model April 1, 2010

The MOST model is meant to support literacy, which comes in many flavors and as the reading states, is “foundational for lifelong learners”. The example from the Swiss Family Robinson really helped me make sense of this model. I won’t think of TV the same again, or well at least I can now see at least a hint of use in it. I definitely can see how MOST can influence how students read, write, and interpret information. I think models like this will work very well for young students just getting started learning how to communicate verbally and in writing. I also think older students would benefit a great deal from these models, for example, learning about other cultures (cultural literacy). MOST will be particularly useful for students with learning disabilities because students will be presented the information in a variety of ways, not just text or verbal lectures. As pointed out in the reading, MOST can really help these at risk students by allowing them to learn from one another, not just from the teacher. Actually, it seems that just about everyone has some sort of visual element to their learning style (well, at least everyone I’ve talked to about it), so it would make sense that MOST would work in many situations.

Doesn’t Rosetta Stone use a model something like this? I haven’t actually used the software, but I watched a demo at the mall and it used multimedia to teach languages. Hmmm. MOST must be pretty effective given the good reputation of that software.

Using streaming services, like YouTube and TeacherTube (http://www.teachertube.com/), would help so students could easily go back and review video/audio clips and not have to worry too much about download time. Things like Podcasts would be useful. Using avatars might be interesting – students and their peers could have avatars they use to help them retell the stories, or act them out. For students to download video clips so they can mix and rework them, there is a plugin for FireFox called Download Helper. That plugin will allow you to download all sorts of media from the Web to your personal computer, like from YouTube, CNN, etc. Otherwise, there is no other way to actually download streaming videos from those sites. This would help for students to be able to cut/combine/rework video clips.

STAR Legacy Model March 20, 2010

The STAR Legacy Model is yet another great “real world” teaching and learning model. What I think is interesting and useful in this model is that direct solutions aren’t provided, but “experts” drop hints. Plus, students are encouraged to document their initial thoughts on how they would react to the scenario or problem. Then, at the end, there is a final “wrap up”. It is important and I believe effective for students to see how their ideas changed from when they first answered the questions to after they have worked through the module. It helps students not only reflect on the actual principles they learned but why they are important. The idea that students leave a “legacy” to help the next group of students as they explore the topic is very intriguing.

This model allows students to see how their views and thought processes changed after going through the information in the module. They see that they are actually getting something out of their education. I can’t see any immediate barriers to this model other than having the time to plan it out and the skills to build it if done on the Web. I am definitely interested in using this model.

Dr. Oliver mentioned that the STAR Legacy model is sometimes used in cycles (i.e. students solve one part and then go through the same steps again to solve the next part, and so on). This idea of “iterations” is very interesting to me. It reminds me of a class I took in undergrad called software engineering. In that class, we learned about software development models as well as business models. Two I remember in particular are the “waterfall method” and the “iterative model”. The waterfall method is just how it sounds, each piece is completed and then you move to the next piece. The problem is that it is hard to go back and fix problems. For example, if there are 10 steps, and you find out during the 10th step that something went wrong in the first step, you basically have to start completely over. The “iterative model” on the other hand works by developing something in increments so you can test stuff out during the process and fix problems as you go. That said, the STAR Legacy model is the first one I’ve seen that can utilize this process, which I think is very useful in many different learning situations.

Video, audio, and images are particularly important when this model is used on the Web. While watching the video from Vanderbilt, I agree that using still images can be just as effective as actual video footage. Actually, I’ve been looking into something lately called “motion graphics”. This is using graphics that use stuff like photos, video clips, or animations to create an illusion of motion. They are mainly used on the Web for multimedia type projects. Most examples I see are commercials that involve only still images and music, with maybe some voice over and text. These are relatively easy to put together and can really make an impact. The photos can move, zoom, fade, change color, etc. to really give that “real” effect. Here is an interesting example incorporating animation, photos, voice over, music, and text: http://mgfest.com/09/Online/?link=597 This example is from Creative Commons and is about the beginnings of Creative Commons and copyright info. What makes it particularly interesting is that it incorporates real world examples, like current music artists, etc.  Adobe After Effects CS4 is a great tool, but very expensive (http://wwis-dubc1-vip60.adobe.com/products/aftereffects/). I have also listed other software in my previous posts that will be useful.

Tools for the “jotting” down of initial answers can be easily and freely done online by software like blogs, which are in essence online journals. We know of several blogging applications, like blogger, WordPress, etc. Some useful applications include A.nnotate, which is a tool for collaboration and indexing of documents and images (http://a.nnotate.com/). It has a free individual account. Discussion boards are also useful and there are plenty of free ones out there. WebNotes is another good tool and can let you add “sticky notes” and “highlights” to Web pages with your initial thoughts and ideas (http://www.webnotes.net/).   Google notebook is good too (http://www.google.com/notebook/#b=BDQ0SSgoQtbqMy_ck).

Anchored Instruction March 12, 2010

The anchored instruction model is a great model for “real world” instruction and helps students develop problem-solving skills. This model is useful for teaching combinations of skills, even across subjects. So I think this model would be good for interdisciplinary instruction. I can see this model being effective in many if not all subjects/situations as long as it is designed properly. The main barriers I see are cost and expertise. I think to keep this model interesting enough to engage students; the design needs to be really good. This can be expensive (i.e. software, training, etc.). Expertise can be a barrier because scenarios like these cannot simply be put together overnight. The data or “story” provided to students must be very carefully thought out AND tested. I can see this model going bad very easily without testing the questions vs. data given.

What I really like about this model is that it challenges students to pick out the relevant information out of a whole bunch of facts and other stuff, and actually do something with it. The Jasper Experiment article talks about students becoming “independent thinkers” rather than just fetching and computing. Students actually have to figure out what the problems are instead of relying on someone else to state them. I think this is what makes this model so effective and so much like real-world problem solving. I also think it is interesting that this model helps instill in students how important further learning is. It may even help them to want to be life-long learners (that term we hear all the time in education – actually, that term is appearing more and more in school mission statements).  I can see this model working well in my area, like for health related case studies.

I really like the Everglades example. The way the videos help the students develop “mental models” before they begin their tasks was great. It was also helpful to have the interactive activities, like the text boxes that pop up for students to practice typing words or speaking them.  The support features in the software were nice. The project “A Walk to the Pier” was also a good example and the videos were helpful. I also think it was a good idea that a recap of the “facts” was included as text at the end of the videos. The Jasper Series is also interesting. After reading about it, I checked out the summary of the stories and I can see where this series would be very engaging for K-12 students. I also think the Scientists In-Action series described in the second and fourth articles is very interesting as far as simulating apprenticeships and allowing students to actually test out the theories they are learning about.

I definitely see a need for multimedia when anchored instruction is delivered over the Web. That is made very clear in the third article where all of the teachers and students immensely hated the paper and pencil tests, but liked the videos. At a minimum, photos need to accompany the stories to help the students understand and relate to the people, places, and things. There are several free online resources for photos that can be used for education that don’t have typical copyright constraints. A couple of examples are Creative Commons http://creativecommons.org/ and Stock.XCHNG http://www.sxc.hu/. Stock.XCHNG also has photographs for sale and they are pretty cheap (like $1) if you can’t find any free photos that will work for the story. I’ve been using both of these resources for several years and have been very happy with them. In addition, videos and “virtual worlds” as well as audio would be great too. Software I’ve mentioned before (i.e. Flash and SecondLife) can accomplish this. For audio, GarageBand (http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/) is a good tool, but even better is the free tool Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/). FruityLoops use to be a really great free audio tool, but it isn’t free anymore. I’m sure it is still really good though – for those that can afford it. iMovie (http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/) is a good video/audio tool and is very easy to work with. It can record your voice, plus you can put in photos, other video clips, and PowerPoint slides and export it all for the Web. Alice (http://www.alice.org/) is a free virtual reality tool for teaching computing. ActiveWorlds is another neat virtual reality tool (http://www.activeworlds.com/). One last tool that would be useful is interactive games. Panda3D (http://www.panda3d.org/) is free software for building games – really neat!

Overall, I think this model is very useful. It would be very time consuming to do it right, and probably expensive if you had to hire designers and programmers. I would definitely be interested in using this model in my own teaching. I’m wondering – does anyone know of anywhere that either has free or sells modules like this for health care?

Goal-Based Scenarios March 4, 2010

I have enjoyed learning about goal-based scenarios this week. This model is very applicable for teaching students how to react in real-world situations and provides life-learning skills. I really like what Dr. Oliver said – the “idea is not to abandon curriculum, but to teach it less explicitly. I remember in grade school, in college, and even now in my experiences as the teacher; students asking, “Why do we have to learn this” and stuff like “We hate math, it’s pointless” or “I’m never going to use this”. I’m guessing those feelings come from not being able to make the connection between the material and something in their own lives. Using goal-based scenarios definitely will answer the “Why” question. Now that I understand this theory, I do plan to investigate using it in some of my classes.

As great as I think this model is, my concern is finding something that truly interests the learners and finding a way to fully incorporate the standard curriculum without being too obvious. Nowakowski’s article pointed out that students need a support system to learn new skills and knowledge. This is another potential barrier if the support system isn’t in place, or is in place but not very effective. Another barrier could be the make-up of the class. In a large class interests are highly variable.

One way to overcome the barriers above is to utilize small groups so each group can be separated according to common goals or interests. Small groups may also help if there is a support system problem. In small groups, students may be more comfortable with one another and will be more apt to support one another. As an example, I was teaching a math class a couple of years ago and I was trying to get creative teaching the geometry section. I didn’t realize it then, but what I was doing was similar to the goal-based scenario model. When I was teaching area, I had the students virtually go to Lowes and pick out carpet and paint to redecorate their houses. This worked very well and the students learned the material, and made the real-life connection. Here’s the kicker; I only had two students. Both of them were female and all three of us enjoyed decorating. I’m not sure if the effect would have been the same with different people.

The web is very appropriate for goal-based scenarios. I do think this model should include a high level of interactivity to be effective on the web since students will be making decisions and outcomes will be different according to decisions. Tools such as Adobe Flash and other animation tools would be very effective, but are expensive to develop. Virtual reality tools, such as SecondLife and 3D rendering/modeling would also work very well for this model. Dmoz has a list of some open source VR software at http://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Virtual_Reality/Software/. Gaming software would also be great. For the cost-conscious, I think static webpages will achieve about the same outcomes with some very careful planning and a very good navigation system. Video and audio can also be embedded into the static pages.

Situated Learning Environments and Cognitive Apprenticeships February 27, 2010

I think this approach will be very useful especially in younger children to help them develop leadership and problem-solving skills.  I also think this model is great in helping students develop planning and organizational skills. The idea that students will practice the tasks within their group under direction of their teacher and other group members will likely have more benefits that relying on them to independently practice in homework. I like this model and am trying to think of some ways I can incorporate it into my distance courses. My students are older, but this model should be very effective for them as well. This model should fit very nicely in a management/leadership course.

The barriers to this model would be similar to the barriers of any other type of group learning. There may be some students who don’t get along, some who are shy and have trouble expressing themselves in the group, and some who don’t want to take on a lead role or some that want to totally take over. I think careful planning by the teacher should help deal with these issues. The model identifies the teacher as doing more coaching during the beginning of the lessons and then backing off as the students gain understanding of the material and understanding of how they perform the tasks and take the teaching role. Even though the teacher gives the students more control in the later parts of the instruction, the teacher is still carefully watching and can intervene.

Screencasts and screencaptures should work very well for using this model via the Internet. Teachers can use screencasts and screencaptures in sections as the “cues” and for coaching. I also think streaming videos can be very useful in a distance setting. The streaming videos could be of a teacher working with and coaching a group and then show individual students within the group playing out their roles, working with one another and taking the lead in tasks. This may help give distance students a better grasp on how this system works and what their individual role is. And also, this model is for groups, utilizing some sort of group work software or meeting software would be necessary.

Problem Based Learning February 19, 2010

I am a firm believer that understanding of the whole comes from understanding the details of its parts. I do think that this can work in either direction, depending on the situation (i.e. understanding the parts first vs. understanding the whole first). I see Problem Based Learning (PBL) as presenting the “whole” or problem first and the students then solving it through the details. The reading explains that PBL focuses more on “depth”, not “breadth”. So, the question becomes: Do you want your students to know a little about a lot, or a lot about a little? Again, this can go either way and is situation dependent.

I’m very interested in the interdisciplinary aspect of PBL. I think it is extremely mind opening for students and will help them find many other applications for what they are learning. I do agree with the reading that despite other claims, factual knowledge is not sacrificed with PBL. I like that PBL helps students develop research strategies, since they aren’t given direct resources. I like the idea of giving the open ended resources so they can decipher what is and isn’t relevant. However, I do think this model is probably pretty time consuming from the students perspective so this will definitely need to be taken into account as teachers are scheduling assignments. Presenting the student with open-ended resources is a great idea. I’m assuming students will have training in using the scientific method before taking on a model like this, but if not, it would be helpful to give them a little background information about how to perform research. Especially if they are new at this type of model. Otherwise, they may become overwhelmed or easily sidetracked.

Several of the readings focus on PBL for medical education. This makes perfect sense since the whole backbone of medicine is problem solving, thus PBL is a natural fit. I plan to explore new ways to incorporate this model into my own teaching. Dr. Oliver stated that the challenge for PBL is what series of tools can be strung together to make this model work. Some of the bigger collaboration systems, like Elluminate and Adobe Connect would probably work well, but as more or less a “shell” for pulling in other tools and resources. Like giving open-ended resources, how about the same idea for web tools? One of the most important pieces of problem solving is figuring out what tools are needed, so maybe letting the students take control of tool choice (with some guidance) would be even more beneficial for them and for the teacher. I keep thinking “There’s an App for that”.

Cooperative Learning February 14, 2010

As I think about cooperative learning, the first thing that comes to my mind is – it is perfect for lab type classes, especially those where students have to learn how to physically do something. Cooperative learning has so many benefits in these situations. In addition to students actually mastering the material or performing the task correctly, they also gain (hopefully positive) communication skills, ability to work in teams, organizational skills, etc. The cooperative learning environment provides a support structure and will help students learn to support one another to solve problems and complete tasks. I am a firm believer that one of the best ways to learn is to teach.

Cooperative learning can be just as effective online as it is face to face. Our group work in this class is a perfect example. The tools we are using to communicate with one another make me feel just as connected with my group in this class as I have in face to face group work in other classes. My experience with the first module completed as a group in this class has given me a new appreciation for group work (and definitely gave me new ideas for my own courses). I’m not saying it was easy by any means, but separating the group work into “roles” made all of the difference.

I greatly appreciate that Dr. Oliver helped us get started with our modules by giving such detailed descriptions and examples of how we might split up our group work.  In my previous experiences, I think the lack of initial structure is what makes group work so painful. I give group assignments to my classes, but I always assume the groups will organize themselves around the topic I give them. Unfortunately, this is usually not the case. What typically happens is I find the group in the library the day the project is due. All of the students are frantic. One or two of them are actually doing any work and the others are so stressed out that they can’t come to grips with what they should be doing and they are hovering above the ones who are working. I now realize I have been making terrible mistakes in the way I have been trying to incorporate collaborative learning. That said, I am very thankful for this week’s readings. I also like the idea put forth in Dynamics of Peer Education in Cooperative Learning Workgroups about doing team-building exercises before the actual assignment begins. That should really help overcome the problems that usually arise because of peoples different work ethics, views, ideas, resistance to group work, etc.