Digital Learning Continuum OLTD502
An exploration of the continuum of learning that can take place in online environments from supplementing face-to-face class teaching to mounting hybrid/blended or fully online courses. Topics include comparing pedagogical approaches, creating and selecting resources, building levels of interactivity for learning, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and facilitating change.
Reflections on Learning
First Reflection
This reflection is based on an article I wrote, It's Not a Fire Hose, It's Niagara Falls, that outlined the characteristics and challenges of digital and social media for many people today. Namely this is the perception and reality of an over-abundance of information and choice for many people and how that can, and does, overload them. In addition, this is often amplified by a lack of evolving curation and prioritization skills.
This reflection is based on an article I wrote, It's Not a Fire Hose, It's Niagara Falls, that outlined the characteristics and challenges of digital and social media for many people today. Namely this is the perception and reality of an over-abundance of information and choice for many people and how that can, and does, overload them. In addition, this is often amplified by a lack of evolving curation and prioritization skills.
The learning outcomes I feel this article and associated learning addressed are:
As a result of my reflections i realize that:
- Develop practical and technical skills in all phases of concept, development, design, implementation, etc. for face-to-face, blended and online learning environments.
- Develop skills to optimize learning experiences through personalization based on characteristics, needs, stages of development, current personalized learning mandates, and misconceptions.
- Become familiar with common terms, definitions and elements related to face-to-face, blended and online learning environments.
- Demonstrate basic competency with design and implementation within face-to-face, blended and online learning environments.
- Plan learning opportunities most suitable to the strengths and challenges of face-to-face, blended and online learning environments.
As a result of my reflections i realize that:
- It is essential that students are greatly supported through the structure of courses and Learning Management Systems to be able to choose the optimum access to information and methods of curating that information.
- It is also essential that the design, structure and process of courses does NOT contribute to additional stress or pressure to investigate and search out more information that they can source and research effectively.
- Any program, that incorporates digital research, should also provide training and options for curation and effective Digital Citizenship, Responsible Digital Citizenship should also include an awareness of information overload and methods of dealing with it.
- Instructors should model effective curation, have conversations about, and support healthy boundaries concerning the increasing availability of digital information and the impact this can have.
Second Reflection
This reflection is based on a template I developed to assist adult educators to re-design Face to Face (F2F) courses for an online or Blended environment. This template would also be effective with many K-12 courses or re-designing online courses to be more effective and engaging.
This reflection is based on a template I developed to assist adult educators to re-design Face to Face (F2F) courses for an online or Blended environment. This template would also be effective with many K-12 courses or re-designing online courses to be more effective and engaging.
The learning outcomes I feel this article and associated learning addressed are:
As a result of my reflections and developing the template it has been hit home to me once again the importance, and necessity, of careful planning, implementation, maintenance and continuous improvement that is required to deliver high quality courses. A course does not need to evolve only when it is no longer being delivered. As culture and cultural memes shift, courses also need to shift and develop to continue to be pertinent and highly effective. Of course this means instructors also should be evolving and developing throughout their careers to hopefully keep pace with shifts in the teaching environment and to accommodate demands, requirements, and wishes of their teaching environment and stakeholders. These stakeholders include:
- Become familiar with common terms, definitions and elements related to face-to-face, blended and online learning environments.
- Demonstrate basic competency with design and implementation within face-to-face, blended and online learning environments
- Develop and design intentional learning activities suitable for the learning environment and the learner
- Incorporation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles; and
- Selection of strategies and resources appropriate for the learning environment, learners, and learning outcomes.
- Integrate current cognitive learning and change management theory.
- Examine current research on emerging practices for face-to-face, blended and online learning environments.
- Develop practical and technical skills in all phases of concept, development, design, implementation, etc. for face-to-face, blended and online learning environments.
- Develop skills to optimize learning experiences through personalization based on characteristics, needs, stages of development, current personalized learning mandates, and misconceptions.
As a result of my reflections and developing the template it has been hit home to me once again the importance, and necessity, of careful planning, implementation, maintenance and continuous improvement that is required to deliver high quality courses. A course does not need to evolve only when it is no longer being delivered. As culture and cultural memes shift, courses also need to shift and develop to continue to be pertinent and highly effective. Of course this means instructors also should be evolving and developing throughout their careers to hopefully keep pace with shifts in the teaching environment and to accommodate demands, requirements, and wishes of their teaching environment and stakeholders. These stakeholders include:
- students
- potential students
- parents
- teaching organizations they are affiliated with
- support personnel and structures
- Personal Learning Networks (PLN)
- the greater global community of potential learners and instructors