MD4: Blog Post: Engaged Learning Strategies
Instructions: With your graphic organizer, include a reflection describing how you can bring the technological tools learners are using outside the classroom into the educational process, and which tools and strategies are best for this purpose. Make sure to explain why each tool works well in a learning environment and the benefits and advantages it provides.
Content: The students need to be engaged in the content for a course. The content needs to be challenging in order to hold the interest of the student. Podcasts, videos and online databases can be accessed in order to make the content more interesting. problems cannot be resolved unless one seeks solutions in different venues. The tools mentioned above help to connect knowledge to what is already known.
Collaboration: It is important for students to collaborate, particularly if they are completing group assignments. Tools available for collaboration include web chats
(Skype, Google Hangouts and Virtual Worlds). Social interaction is necessary to prevent a feeling of isolation in distance learning. Collaboration aids in getting new ideas and information that could be useful to an individual project or a group project. In Virtual Worlds, avatars can role-play as well as in game simulations like Minecraft. Students can experience and engage indirectly.
Communication: Unlike brick and mortar schools, online students do not have an opportunity to have physical contact with other students. Communication is essential to the success of students’ participation in coursework. Therefore, blogs, wikis, blackboard discussion forums, e-mail, hangouts and virtual worlds are the solution to communicating with other students. Although you don’t visually see the person, through these methods of communication, you can establish a rapport. As an aside, in several of my elementary and middle school classes, we had pen pals in other schools before the use of technology was available in the classrooms. Students find all of the above very meaningful.
Reflection: All of the tools are great. If we are speaking online learning environments, I think Virtual Worlds is one of the best tools because students who are shy can feel safe and free to speak and voice their opinions and suggestions. It provides an interaction with other classmates as though in a live environment. Blogs are also great for expressing one’s thoughts in writing. As I said, all of the above are excellent tools and strategies because they provide students the opportunity to explore and work outside the box and gain more knowledge relative to what is already known.
References
Bourne, J., & Moore, J. C., (2005). Introduction. In Bourne, J., & Moore, J. C., (Eds.), Elements of quality online education: Vol. 6. Engaging communities (pp. 7–10). The Sloan Consortium.
Durrington, V. A., Berryhill, A., & Swafford, J. (2006). Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an online environment. College Teaching, 54(1), 190−193.
Siemens, G. (2008, January). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. ITForum.