Sunday, October 28, 2007

Assignment 8, Literature Review

Integrating technology in secondary learning institutions is becoming more common. There are many universities that offer bachelor’s and master’s degree fully online. By using tools such as blog’s students are encouraged to participate and apply what they have learned. It’s imperative that professors be well informed about the most effective use of new technologies. Technology is not here to replace a professor, but as a powerful aid to deliver information. In this review, literature relating to adult learning and andragogy, new media in online education and social presence and learning with new media are observed.

Adult Learning and Andragogy

Androgogy is the process of educating adults which is different than education children, because adults bring experiences, biases, opinions and their own individual perspectives to the classroom. The instructor needs to consider available resources and the learners ability to use them. An instructor needs to understand all the dimensions of an adult learner and how they will interact with their learning environment (Burge 1988). Different online learning tools and new media can be used in different ways at different stages of the learning process for different type of learners. The R2D2 method introduced by Bonk, “read, reflect, display, and do—is a new model for designing and delivering distance education, and in particular, online learning. Such a model is especially important to address the diverse preferences of online learners of varied generations and varied internet familiarity” (Bonk & Zhang 2006).

Adults tend to be less familiar with the internet and new technologies’ such as chatting and instant messaging. Instant messaging is often believed to be a “teenagers chatting tool” but its used by students in undergraduate and graduate classes. Several students attend class with their laptop and the IM window will appear in their screen. Many times they are chatting with their friends but they are also communicating with classmates instantly (Sparks 2006). No matter what types of new technologies emerge in society, education is an absolute endeavor for every citizen living in this world. New technologies are not only prominent in education but also in business enterprises. Technology has made businesses more productive by facilitating the work of their employees such as online ordering instead of calling in an order. Businesses need to be aware that not all employees are technology literate. Business managers need to pay more attention to older employees and aid them in becoming comfortable in using the new technologies (Zhang 2005). The less anxious people feel the more they will easily pick up on using new technologies.

New Media in Online Education

The thought of presenting “new media” in online education is an exciting idea, but also terrifying because there is a concern regarding its effectiveness as an educational tool. Blogging is a new media in online education that I have had the opportunity to experiment with. Blogging went from “simple, online personal diaries, to the latest disruptive technology, the 'killer app' that has the capacity to engage people in collaborative activity, knowledge sharing, reflection and debate (Williams & Jacob 2004). It’s a way to be in communication with fellow classmates and instructors that facilitate learning. “Blogs serve as a form of instruction because you see how other students process the information that is presented in class. Instructors and students must “explore the potential of blogs as learning spaces in the higher education sector [and] conclude that blogging has the potential to be a transformational technology for teaching and learning” (Williams & Jacobs 2004).

The most innovative form of new media in online education is the use of a mobile learning. In developed countries people are fortunate to have the devices needed for online learning that allows individuals to communicate through the world wide web. In third world countries like India internet access is a luxury. In India not all students own a computer, but 83% of the population owns a mobile phone which allows for the opportunities for open distance learning (ODL). “Low cost mobile technologies can be used to maintain and enhance contact with students and teachers, and, by logic, improve retention in ODL institutions” (Fozdar 2007). Mobile learning is an enticing idea but factors such as the amount of information that can be shared by phones is questionable. Information such as assignment feedback and due dates is feasible, but information such as study guides and large textual materials is unrealistic. Furthermore it has been “reported that mobile technologies do provide strong support to underpin different types of learning” (Fozdar 2007).

Podcasting is probably the form of new media that took me by surprise, because it has the potential for creating inspirational and practical learning. The versatility of podcast to allow “students [to] experience the full power of education through eloquent communication and maximized technological implementation” (Luanne & Martin 2007) is incredible. A student is able to download their podcast to their personal computer or iPod. A text version of the podcast may also be included so a student may fallow along and take notes. Unlike podcast video instruction is a unique characteristic that posses the ability to use both audio and visual components. Baggett (1984) stated that, “learners can construct a mental representation of the semantic meaning of a story from either audio or visual information alone, but it appears that when presented together, each source provides additional and complementary information that retains some of the characteristics of the symbol system of origin” (Hee and Johnson 2005). Baggett observed that that information given visually was retained longer than information given by an audio device.

Social Presence and Learning with New Media

Podcast, blogs, instant messaging, and wikis are new tools that are being utilized by professors to encourage student interaction and collaboration in online courses. These tools create a social presence that helps eliminate isolation in distance learning programs and promote a successful learning experience (Dickey 2004). “Although Brookfield and Preskill (1999) have advocated useful iterative techniques that promote more meaningful classroom discussions, successfully promoting discussion in virtual courses can be challenging because virtual students have a tendency to lurk rather than participate” (Glogoff 2005). Blogs serve as online communication to form a community within a course, but when there is no participation the blog fails to influence social presence in the course. “As a valuable e-learning tool, blogging can be used in a number of ways to engage students in discussion, exploration, and discovery” (Glogoff 2005). If students are require to comment on their classmates blogs this initiates a connection between the classmates. Introverted people would be more successful in online courses than extroverted individuals. This would create a problem for professors who are trying to create a social environment in their courses, because introverted students tend to take online courses more often than extraverted students.

These are many educational tools that an educator can choose from but the ability to effectively choose and utilize any of the new technologies is essential in a student’s learning process. Its true that new technologies such as blogs, podcast, IM, wikis and video conferencing are more common in undergraduate and graduate course work but teachers utilizing these tools in middle and high schools. Whether the educator is teaching children or adults new technologies need to be applied effectively.

Citations:

Glogoff, S. (2005). Instructional blogging: Promoting interactivity, student-centered learning, and peer input. Innovate, 1 (5), 1-6.

Williams, J. B. & Jacobs, J (2004). Exploring the use of blogs as learningspaces in the higher education sector. Australasian Journal ofEducational Technology, 20(2), 232-247

Fozdar, B.I., Kumar, L.S. (2007) Mobile learning and student retention. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 8,

Luanne F., Martin M., (May 2007). Plugging into Students’ Digital DNA: Five Myths Prohibiting Proper Podcasting Pedagogy in the New Classroom Domain. Vol.3, No 3.

Hee Jun, C; Johnson, S. (Dec. 2005). The Effect of Context-Based Video Instruction on Learning and Motivation in Online Courses. American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 19 Issue 4, p215-227.

Sparks, P., Mentz, L. (2006). Electronic note passing: Enriching online learning with new communications tools. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 2(4), 1-6. Retrieved October 21, 2007.

Bonk, C & Zhang, K. (2006). Introducing the R2D2 Model:
Online learning for the diverse learners of this world.
Distance Learning,27 (2), 249-264.

Burge, L. (1988). Beyond andragogy: some explorations for distance learning design. Journal of Distance Education, 3(1), 5-23.

Zhang, Yixin. Age, gender, and Internet attitudes among employees in the business world. Computers in Human Behavior 21(1), 1-10.

Dickey, M. (2004). The impact of web-logs (blogs) on student perceptions of isolation and alienation in a web-based distance-learning environment. Open Learning, 19 (3), 279-291.

I was not able to get direct quotes from some of the annotations because I could not find the articles and some of the articles did not have the text available. If any one has any suggestions I would appreciate it.

8 comments:

James said...

Hi Carla,

You had ask what I thought about online learning regarding the K-5 students. I believe that students would be able to achieve online learing in the grade levels K-5 with proper supervision and the proper tools (computer, internet access, instruction). Currently, it is probably more difficult at this level to teach online because the students for the most part are not disciplined enough or dedicated at this age, although a few might be.

James

Anonymous said...

Hi Carla,

Nicely written. I too had some trouble locating a couple articles for the lit review. Normally I'd Google & then try Ebsco or Eric.

On James' article, I copied his title directly into Ebsco and searched title. Nothing showed. Then I did author names and got it to come up. I thought it was strange that the title didn't pull it up. I typed in just the first 4 or 5 words of the title and then it did show. Go figure...

Somehow each of us was able to retrieve articles in one way or another, unfortunately everyone's search style & database usage are different.

After locating James' article though, I think that I have learned that the search engines are a little sensitive. Good to know for future research.

Sometimes I'll find something partial or abstract only on Google and then want to locate the whole thing at the library. From now on I'll start using a variety of keywords from a known article just in case the precise title doesn't grab it.

James said...

Hi Carla,

For some of the articles, I had to log into the CSUSB Pfau Library system first, using your id# and your last name. Or sometimes there is a link on the website that allows you to download the PDF of the article. I hope that this helps at least a little bit, and I am not sure if you tried this method already.

I agree with your statment in stating that adult learners do bring many biases, opinions and experiences to the classroom that many children have yet to encounter. I notice that when I teach during the day and during the evenings at the community college. I can be teaching the same class, using the same lecture notes, but the flow of the classes are entirely different. The teacher methods must be changed because the daytime students are mostly under the age of 25, whereas the evening students are mostly working adults that have full time jobs already during the day and take classes in the evening. It is very interesting to study both of these groups of learners and see the differences in their learning styles.

James

Maria C. Pallares said...

Hi Carla

Regarding your comment on being a shy person, I'm also shy. for this reason I prefer online education, but sometimes this media is overwhelming with technology that I haven't learned how to work.

Michele said...

I agree with you that adults bring into the classroom with them biases and opinions based on thier own personal experiences. Its difficult for many adults to re-enter a classroom. My dad re-entered college at the same time that I was in my under graduate program. He struggled with being an older member of the class and felt that he could not relate to the younger students. It was very difficult for him to fit in, especially when group projects were a neccessity. I think all professor should take this into consideration when working with adults. Not all of us are comfortable with jumping in feet first and several of us need an extra hand to hold.

MsKathyK said...

I appreciated your comments on how the new media is here to assist the professor, but not replace them. I attended the Technology Conference this past weekend and I was really impressed with many comments from the main speaker as well as the professors who spoke, or presented. They all had one common theme and that is if new media is not introduce and used with today’s learners then we are not offering them the style of instruction that will truly effect their learning and their future lives.

The conference covered much of what is in your lit review. I think the most important thing is closely related to what you stated about adults tend to be less familiar with the internet and new technologies’ such as chatting and instant messaging. I know that I am now learning about all of these things, but my grandchildren use them with the greatest of ease.
Kathy

Charles Lee said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Charles Lee said...

I had similar problems finding the articles, and most times was able to do so by entering several key words, then sifting through the list. Sometimes, even that didn't work though.
I agree with you that different age groups bring different perspectives and biases.
It may be an advantage for a K-12 teacher to observe adults, to learn their biases, and see how they form in children, and possibly to re-direct the influences that cause those biases.
I see a major problem with education being that it takes so long to see if the strategy worked or not, but working with adults and children may provide some insight ?