Professional Foundations: Collaborating, Researching, and Networking

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Busy Women...

Professional Foundations: Collaborating, Researching, and Networking

Motivational Theory

Based upon two options PERCEPTUAL AROUSAL: uses surprise or uncertainly to gain interest. ; or INQUIRY AROUSAL: stimulates curiosity by posing challenging questions or problems to be solved

PAST USAGE: In Social Work 505, Human Behavior and the Social Environment, the professor found an activity wherein students would draw a representation of their public face (the figurative masks that they wear when at work, school, dealing will colleagues, peers, family) an then write out (below the drawing) what their true feeling and motivations are and how they differ from the above art, then the class discusses
PROPOSED USAGE: In Social Work 505, This week, I actually got the opportunity to rethink this activity for a fully online course, employing digital assets, drawings, and multimedia (if the learners choose to use them).

Synchronous course meetings take place using Bb Collaborate UltraStudents are sent into breakout groups of two and they work in a Google Slides environment, creating a collage of images, text, drawings, and multimedia. Then they discuss the significance of the chosen elements with their peers before convening with the larger class. They have the opportunity to share their findings, differences, and similarities with the class, and their finished collages.

Partners share their peers work...as opposed to each creator presenting their own

Online Collaborative Learning

Wherein students work together to explore ways to innovate, invent, and seek to create knowledge.

PAST USAGE: In my undergraduate course, CMAT212, Digital Publishing. I encouraged (mandated) students to regularly compose blog posts and share commentary on each other’s articles. They worked to collect free/cheap graphic design resources with which to use throughout their undergraduate careers

PROPOSED USAGE: In CMAT 212,  I do want to continue using this option as a means by which students share resources and grow their body of tools.
I believe a much better tool in making this useful is an open WIKI that students can: access and share with others outside of their courses, make any relevant commentary on same, and update when some tools become obsolete.

 Multimedia Theory

Based upon the Cognitive Learning Theory, wherein learning is acquired and memories are built by minimizing cognitive load on earners, whil introducing the Germane load and Intrinsic Load.

PAST USAGE: Working with formatting tests/exams for online presentation—this is a process that I help faculty perform fairly regularly. This is independent of reformatting tests and offering a diversity pf question-types to gain a greater understanding of whether students comprehend. We place questions from the bank/pool into a multi-page test presentation, with 5 – 10 questions per page of the tests.

PROPOSED USAGE: In looking through the eLearning/Multimedia theories, I wonder if it’s not better to further decrease the number of problems per page for online tests...and show a progress bar at the bottom of the page

Professional Foundations: Collaborating, Researching, and Networking

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Busy Women...

Coming from an island nation in the developing world, I have vivid memories of learning the alphabet, multiplication tables, and phonetic pronunciation in a schoolroom full of children—all speaking in unison. Rote repetition and strict adherence grammatical rules were the order of the day. Although it doesn’t seem like it should have, this lead to my early reading and comprehension (by age five I had skipped over seeing spot run in favor of Alice’s Adventures).

As I grew, my instructors favored different types of learning models. In fact, I was able to experience all of the major leaning theories in my education; without knowing their characteristics specifically. From recent study, I’ve begun to understand—and plan to further explore—specifics of these theories in action. I’m over-simplifying it a bit here, but here’s a synopsis:

• Objectivist (includes both Behaviorist and Cognitivist) learning theories can be characterized by an instructor-led environment learning through drills and practice.
• Instructional Design Theories: Motivation Theories of Learning, Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, eLearning Theory
• Instructional Model: ADDIE, ID, ARCS

• In a Constructivist learning environment, the focus is on group work and peer-to-peer collaboration.
• Instructional Design Theories: Motivation Theories if Learning, Online Collaborative Learning, Communities of Inquiry (CoI). ELearning Theory
• Instructional Model

• In the Connectivist environment, students work—primarily individually—to gain knowledge and understanding from a variety of different media and sources.
• Instructional Design Theories: Motivation Theories of Learning, eLearning and Online Collaborative Learning tempered with Communities of Inquiry (CoI) and Practice (CoP)
• Instructional Model: ADDIE, ID, ARCS

Concept Mapping Learning Theories <!--[if gte mso 9]>

Final version of my concept map outlining the major learning theories.

 

(a work in progress) Click on the image to see full size-details

Click on the image to see full size-details

To make sense of the differences and similarities of these theories, my goal was to create a concept map. Surprisingly, this was an extremely difficult activity for me to tackle. I don’t think in mind-map—an organic chart is not a useful chart for me—I think in outlines and grids. I think in words and images, spreads and layouts.



So, as this is an activity to create a resource—not faculty or students—I decided to map for me. This decision came to me after three tries using some of the ‘styles’ of the multiple examples.



Putting It to the Test How can these theories be applied to real-classroom scenarios? Let’s take a look:

• SCENARIO: Math 111-Students will formulate and solve algebraic equations.
• LEARNING THEORY: Applying the Constructivist Theory, students are placed in small groups (4-5), then they first work individually to devise a series of algebraic problems of varying levels of complexity. They then test their knowledge by having members of the group each solving the entire pool of questions. This is followed up by the groups members comparing/explain final answers.

• SCENARIO: Econ 201-Students will understand how households (demand) and businesses (supply) interact in various market structures to determine price and quantity of a good produced.
• LEARNING THEORY: Connectivist theory (with a smattering of Constructivist) can be employed here as students work with a variety of resources; not least of which are their in-class peers, via a survey or poll, then of course online research utilizing visual analytics, articles and case studies to build their body of research.

• SCENARIO: Hist 301 Learning Objective: Students will demonstrate knowledge of the chronology and significance of major events and movements in U.S. history
• LEARNING THEORY: Objectivist theory seems to fit well in this scenario. Historical dates and significance can be learned by reading and practicing drills to build memories. In 14-Hundred-and-Ninety-Two, Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue.

Excellent Sources:


Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing Critical Features from an Instructional Design Perspective
Why Educators Need to Know Learning Theory

It’s been 6 months, and time to revisit the communications plan in the Office of Academic Technology Services (ATS). The team has been fighting an uphill battle (one with forward progress, at least) to grow their client base, and educate constituents about our proficiencies, resources, and services.

My brain has been racked for the past couple weeks, in anticipation of today’s team meeting: I’d be unveiling a new tagline and marketing materials that grow on the ones developed about half a year ago. Well, the reception was good. And the ATS team is ready for the continued roll-out. Picture it:

Academic Technology Services: Learn. Create. Grow

It builds back from our university mission and tagline; Growing the Future. Leading the World.

Click on a thumbnail to view full-sized "LEARN." poster:

Articles outlining the Digital Divide began appearing in Ed Tech journals a few years back but I could not get a clear understanding of what it really was. At the time I worked in a small private university, with less than 20% financial aid kids and less than 14% minorities; our constituents were the direct heritors of the positive side of the divide. While the digital divide was definitely happening, it was happening a long way away.

HERE'S WHAT I DID KNOW

At that time, as now:

• Practically all college students had smart phones, 
• Many students that I encountered opted to complete homework (writing papers and discussion posts, etc.) using their phones, and 
• Every poor person I encountered in Baltimore owned a smart phone.

I simply conflated the groups to develop my opinions on the subject; poor, inner-city black, students. Embarrassed, I recall once saying to my director, “The digital divide is largely becoming a myth…today more students than not [particularly poor inner city students] have access to the internet, online tools, and applications to get schoolwork done.” While superficially true, I had no empirical evidence of what poor kids were actually doing.



Impecunious youth at our private university were the ones who had to get work study jobs as part of their financial aid packages, but even they had grown up with the web at home.




It didn’t help my understanding not personally knowing people living in poverty and unable to afford the supremely necessary home computer. I simply could not relate.

A Commodore 64

As a kid of the 80s, I got my first computer at age 8—about a decade before computers became a necessary accessory for US households. My sister and I programmed computer games—in Basic—for fun. In high school and college I always had both a Mac and Windows computer on which to work—as a graphic designer and artist having both was a personal imperative. Between undergrad and graduate schools I purchased, used, and equipped with the appropriate software packages, a total of four personal computers (two Mac, two Windows).

Like I said, I didn’t know. And that was the missing piece in my puzzle.

Today, I work at a state school; a  public, historically black university with over 80% of its students in receipt of financial aid. The majority of whom are black Americans, a vast majority of those from the Baltimore area, and many of whom are using their first personal computers, ever.

Back in the private university world of privilege, undergraduate students—who opt to complete homework on their phones grew up with desktops, laptops, and tablets in houses with secure internet access, wired and wireless routers, and monthly bills that were paid on time. They had the opportunity to bring their own laptops to schools that boasted open WiFi, or were given computers on which to work, by their schools. The poor Baltimore kids, some the first in their families to go to college, never had an equivalent or anything close. Even though today all of these kids have smart phones that can allow them to complete projects and do research on the fly, only the first group actually takes advantage of that fact.

On the wrong side of the chasm that we call the digital divide are the poorer, blacker students.

Personal Interactions with  Students Opened my Eyes

NADIA, CLASS OF '17

My department shares an office with the university’s library tech support team. Often students walk in with a computer or network problem. Rather than have them wait for one of the two technicians or leave a message, I usually field the easier questions to help get students back to the two things I’ve always taken for granted, understanding and access [to the computer].

On the morning before our first and only snow day of the year a young woman came in asking for help to install and start up Skype. She was scheduled to have the first important interview of her career on the following day. Nutrition and Dietetics undergrads are required to complete a six-month, 40-hour per week internship before they sit their certification exam. This university senior was nervous and excited for the upcoming virtual meeting.

Her problem was that Skype was hanging up instead of starting quickly, as it had earlier. I ordered her to grab a seat at the coffee table, plug in the power cable, and start up her Macbook while I finished writing an email at my desk.

As she did this, I informed her that one way to avoid any issues with virtual meetings was to “ALWAYS use a wired connection, rather than rely on WiFi.”


" What do you mean by wired connections...I don't understand," she replied.

I explained what an Ethernet cable was and where to plug it in. She was still confused.

Admittedly, a bit perturbed, I asked her how she accessed the internet at her off-campus apartment. In her entire life, she had only ever used a library computer or WiFi hotspot from a phone to get online, never having a secure wired internet connection in her own home.

Understanding her predicament, I asked a few probing questions while I connected my spare Ethernet cable to her laptop and played with the Skype application. I started and restarted Skype, “have you used Skype on your computer—your phone—another campus computer before…experienced any similar problem…do you ever change network settings…do you have a login password for this Mac…what time is the interview…” etc. While we worked we also talked about her ambitions for the interview and beyond.

Within minutes I showed her how to see and edit her network settings, adjust and test her audio, uninstall and reinstall the Skype app (we got it working), and then gave a few tips about what to do during the interview to avoid technical snags.

This is a young woman who has a 3.5 GPA, and a passion for working with children suffering rare genetic disorders. She has excelled in a difficult educational field and has applied to one of the more competitive internships for her major—accepting under 50 students per year, nationwide. In her undergraduate tenure she has worked at the campus library, become well-respected in the Mathematics department (she told me that they would loan her of one of their laptops to take home for a backup interview computer), and has developed larger ambitions for a doctorate in the field of public health. If anyone does, this woman deserves every opportunity to succeed.

MICHAEL, CLASS OF '18

A few days earlier, a young man came to my office with a problem, his professor had recently posted the weekly quiz online, but his computer did not allow him to download the necessary test-taking plugin. Please recall that I’m not tech support and I don’t actually know the precise fix for this problem. However, it’s something that has slowed my progress in the past. I suggested to him that the Windows firewall settings might need to be changed to allow the software download. An easy fix, if it works.

This young man did not have his computer with him, so I queried him more about the error messages then I gave him the number for the help desk and told him to call them while at his computer—he could then relay the specific errors or prompts to the Help Desk agent in real time.

The next day he returned to my office with his laptop and asked for my assistance. Normally I would have handed him my phone and restated my directive from the previous day, but the touchscreen laptop in his hand was the Toshiba Satellite, my latest Windows laptop, and frankly the bane of my existence (it’s not great). Rather than my sending him to the experts, we walked through a solution together. My assumption was right, a quick adjustment to his settings allowed download of the application.

On his way out, this third year student thanked me profusely and remarked in the doorway, “this is my first computer, y’know.” My heart melted for him. In another year he would enter the world of work (or graduate school) with only a 12-month experience in working with and trouble shooting his own personal computer.

The impact of his innocuous statement hit me. This thing—that I and a large segment of Americas youth take for granted—is foreign, a difficult concept, a largely unknown and misunderstood commodity to many poor black students.

AT LAST I UNDERSTAND

Now, as back then, practically all students have smartphones, but the poor ones, the black ones, the ones from underprivileged Baltimore have never had a computer at home on which to write a paper, use the calculator app, or plagiarize from Wikipedia. So, they never developed the skills to transform their powerful smartphone into a powerful educational tool. They rarely make the leap to write that paper in Word 365 or Google Docs, using their thumbs and built-in spell check.

The Digital Divide is real. And it’s growing.

On what do you want students to focus?

Whether in Graphic Design, Corporate Marketing, or Instructional Design…my focus is always design for ease of understanding, readability, and visual cleanness. It’s my design background, it permeates everything I do. Basic graphic design principles are the cornerstone of effective communications. TMy first rule of instructional design is “Less is More.”

This is also the basis of the Cognitive Load Theory of learning. Plainly, the theory states that the more disparate, combatting elements on a page, the less likely a learner is to grasp the full meaning of the content. Whereas, the more simplified design, the more uniform the presentation, the easier content is to grasp.

Here’s an example that I use in many of the faculty training courses I’ve recently developed (this is peppered into courses that cover online accessibility, educational video, and of course building e-learning). I’m deadly serious about reducing the cognitive load for students.


In this example, the instructor wanted to call out various parts of the text content to ensure students did not ignore them. However, the multiple colors, text sizes and weights work to confuse learners. Is it immediately obvious what the important content is on the left-side example?

On the right, I used built-in formatting to organize the type cleanly and succinctly...headings, body text, and lists dictate hierarchy.

Guidelines to simplify course content and increase readability of online courses

Text Contrast

The most readable text is simple black text on a white background. It offers the greatest accessibility for learners using assistive technologies. It is the MOST readable color combination, and it works.
Resist the urge to add more colors to your course, if you must select another dark color that offers a high contrast to the white background. Sticking to these guidelines you’ll find there is no need ever to use the color Red, extra-bold, 20pt fonts, and exclamation points to catch your students’ attention.

Font Sizes and Decoration

Hierarchy dictates importance in the written word. Use it to your advantage!

Stick to one size/style for body text, headings, subheadings, and lists. Don’t rely on ever=increasing sizes of text to add emphasis.

Fortunately, the Learner Management System (we use Blackboard) already includes distinctive preset styles for these various hierarchical text elements. There is little or no need to then introduce extraneous colors sizes and weights to the text.Using the existing styles, and then breaking up your text content will increase readability across the entire course.

Paragraphs

Large blocks of text are difficult to read. So are long lines of text that span from the far left to far right of the screen.

Simply stated, text is easiest to read when you deliver it in short paragraphs – ideally, no more than a few sentences each. Relevant images add interest and break up visually dense columns of text. Use images sparingly, and be sure that they are properly placed---not distracting. We've all seen sites where text and images are butted up against one another (that decreases readability and your credibility as an educator, sorry too say).

White Space

If your eLearning design consists of wall-to-wall text, I guarantee no one is going to read through it. Use margins around your text blocks, and try two line breaks between paragraphs, instead of one—to distinguish paragraphs more clearly

Ideal Alignment

• Left-Aligned type is the easiest for us to read (in American culture)
• Centered and Right-Aligned text is more difficult to read.
• Justified text is also more difficult to read on screens–because the algorithms that allow for that spacing can move letters extremely close together or uncomfortably far apart, to keep the line widths consistent; resulting in uneven gutters of white space.