Module 5

Podcasts are original audio or video recordings that are recorded broadcasts of a television, radio program, lectures, or even a performance. The benefits of podcast are numerous in nature.  The recordings of podcasts are public and thousands already available on the internet. Some are private and available for purchase, while others are free. Podcast can be used in learning environments for students to create, analyze, remember material, and comprehend text.

Podcasts can help improve student’s academic performance or learning enrichment.  They allow students to learn more information at their own pace and faster without the distraction of other students.  Every student has a unique learning style and podcast has the ability to reach and engage each of these types of learners.  For students who are struggling in online environments, or in the traditional classroom settings, podcast can be a brilliant way to build their self-esteem, and provide academic support. Students’ can listen, see, and hear directions to foster student engagement.   

The strategy to sustain the podcast technology in the learning environment is derived from Dr. Tony Bates (2013c).  He suggested using a plan to determine when to evaluate whether or not the technology is working.  The objective is to make the plan a systematic approach to check every so often and continue the system until a decision is reached.  Heuer (2010) in his review involved offering stand-alone courses to support individuals. He concluded with learning outcomes offered by each participant.  In essence, it is good practice to monitor new implementations of technology to ensure it meets your needs, while meeting the objective of the course.

References

Heuer, M. (2010). Foundation and Capstone: Core Values and Hot Topics; Ethics-LX; SkyTech: and The Green Business Laboratory: Simulations for Sustainability Education. Academy Of Management Learning & Education, 9(3), 556-561. Doi:10.5465/AMLE.2010.53791837

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013c). Dr. Tony Bates: Overcoming resistance to technological change and sustaining change [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Module 4

The technology I chose to enhance lessons in my classroom is fake book, not face book. Fake book is a program almost exactly like face book, but it is a learning social platform media.  My students have exceptionalities. Therefore, the idea is for them to watch/read literature scenarios. Then create a fake book account of the characters and their perception of the characters. Instructions and assignments would require each student to complete the tasks and assignments associated with the lesson.

The benefit of fake book is that students enjoy being part of the current trends of social networking and society. They have the opportunity to actively engage in the learning process (Garrett, 2011).  Similarly, Fake book enable students to collaborate, communicate, share and exchange comments. However, there are challenges when engaging students with exceptionalities in technology. Each student has varying abilities thus requiring additional technological devices for support. These devices are not always compatible, convenient, or simple to use.  As a result, I have to improvise and attain other means to include the student, such as interacting with personal assistants.

To further engage students, we discuss tasks, share ideas, and include links to work together in groups. This also means collaborating with others outside the learning environment. My students are not passively receiving information as experience or wisdom. Online virtual learning allows my students to make their own experience, It is a great way to empower students to actively exchange (engage) their ideas and concepts (Garrett, 2011).

Personally, I thought I knew all about blogging. However, I had to re-familiarize myself (my challenge) with how to create a blog, set it up for viewing and comments. As a teacher in a post secondary work/training program for special needs students, the benefit of Fake Books provides me the platform to communicate with my students.  Fake Book is also a technology tool that qualifies as Universally Designed (UD) instructions recognizes that individual learning patterns differ (Borgemenke, Holt, & Fish, 2013). Fake Book accommodates varying abilities.

Garrett, C. (2011). Defining, detecting, and promoting student engagement in college learning environments. Transformative Dialogues: Teaching and Learning Journal, 5(2), 1–12.

Borgemenke, A. J., Holt, W. C., & Fish, W. W. (2013). Universal course shell template design and implementation to enhance student outcomes in online coursework. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 14(1), 17-23.

Module 2 Assignment 2

I employ a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas to multiple audiences.  There are at least five classroom technology resources that are available as resources: webinars, multimedia, e-books, grammarly, and web-based pedagogy games. Although I am familiar with most of them, I do not have sufficient experience teaching or learning with webinars.  I have attended and participated in webinars. To accomplish the task of integrating webinars as a teaching and learning resource my skills need to be developed. I have considered working or collaborating with other faculty members in the IT department for instructions.

My institution also offers professional development opportunities once every quarter.  The professional development courses differ each quarter, meaning the same course is not always offered every quarter. Besides, I don’t have the time to attend the professional development.  Another option is a student-driven lesson, such as a text document or a You-tube video illustration of the step-by-step instructions on how to create webinars.  These are merely starting points and ideas. These are some ideas for me because I really want to learn more about technology and want to extend my skills further and across disciplines.

To improve support of classroom technology, I would recommend multiple sensory avenues.  Providing full academic access to students and not offer them the opportunity to maximize their learning from the instructions through multiple sensory avenues, and a variety of abstract and concrete frameworks, has no significant benefit to students according to Dr. Tony Bate (Laureate Education, 2013b).  Diverse student population suggests different teaching strategies in the classroom (Almeida & Mendes, 2010).  To accommodate the multiple sensory avenues (Video, audio, text) Dr. Bates suggested abstract to concrete teaching because it enables knowledge to be spread permanently.

Reference

Almeida, P., & Mendes, R. (2010). Learning style preferences across disciplines. International Journal Of Diversity In Organizations, Communities & Nations, 10(2), 285-302.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013b). Dr. Tony Bates: Evaluating technology for teaching and learning [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Higher Education Compliance Alliance. (n.d.). Americans with Disabilities Act & Section 504. Retrieved from http://www.higheredcompliance.org/resources/disabilities-accommodations.html

Module 3 Assignment 2

Colleges and universities use different types of online learning technology as a resource to teach and communicate with students. Teachers and students alike must be able to navigate through processing programs, spreadsheets, even presentation programs.  The online learning technology resources available at my local Community College are: Blackboard, synergy, web conferencing, media library, LinkedIn, smart boards, and blogs.  Others include resources such as live chat with advisors, and social media applications.

The basic knowledge and Microsoft Office skills acquired was easily transferable to other software programs, including Google Drive, importing, exporting, and embedding web link functions.  Social media such as Facebook and Twitters has also proven to be a worthwhile resource investment for my institution. Synergy is a powerful grade-book and learning management interface where educators house everything in one place, the curriculum, content resources, student work, assessments, performance data, and more.

Many educators at my institution use synergy. However, I do not even though I have considered it.  I’m not comfortable using synergy for teaching and learning because I lack the confidence and experience. I plan to enroll in a synergy course this summer.  The course is being offered July, 2015 to professionals for development. I will use the knowledge learned to bring everything I need together to teach and provide my students with support and a collection of resources.

More adults are returning to college to obtain certifications, or to advance in current employment (Xu & Jaggars, 2013).  Online learning resources are convenient and accessible. However, learning online can have a significant negative relationship to both course persistence and course grade (Xu & Jaggars, 2013).  This may be due to the lack of or limited free resource support available online.   As a result, I would recommend free forms of online resource support to minimize this problem at my institution. A series of free videos or podcast on a topic, including training, that offers an additional supply of assistance that is outside or in addition to the scope of the course syllabus.

Xu, D., & Jaggars, S. S. (2013). Adaptability to Online Learning: Differences across Types of Students and Academic Subject Areas. CCRC Working Paper No. 54. Community College Research Center, Columbia University.