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Māhoe or whitey-wood (New Zealand native) By Tatters:) |
Helen G describes Honey & Mumford's adult learning theory - I wonder is anyone else using this? She has also posted about technologies and has linked to two examples of some resources she is experimenting with creating using the visualizer and adobe connect as a screen capture method. She would welcome feedback I am sure.
Jayne's plan is coming together nicely in her most recent post. See what you think of her ideas for introducing more flexibility.
Nick in his post about sustainability has discussed some of the factors that are impacting on engagement in the project-based learning he is facilitating. In the technologies for learning post, Nick describes a strategy used to create videos of skills so students can review them in class on ipads to check their technique Do you agree with my suggestions to enhance accessibility?
Helen B has some wonderful ideas, on her technologies for learning post, for teaching induction for anaesthesia with veterinary nursing students. See if you can also suggest other ideas. Her post about sustainability is fabulous and really brings out attention to issues around individual sustainability as well as global approaches. Helen's success story with a student is well worth a read on her post about indigenous learners.
Cat impassionately describes her reasons for choosing an humanistic learning theory to underpin her teaching approaches. It is a wonderful post about humanistic learning theory. Cat has described, in her post for Activity Nine, how she intends to create resources using TED ed. See if you agree with my response and suggestions for developing digital information literacy in students and teachers. Cat also offers her ideas for strategies to be sustainable in the post for Activity 10.
Annette has come up with some creative strategies for providing supervision to third year students on her Strategies for flexible learning post. Can you assist her with some feedback? In her OER post, the dilemma about where the money for free education comes from has surfaced. It would be great to hear your views on this. Annette reminds us on her Sustainability post, about "the concept of paideia...that the goal of education is more about the person than mastering the subject". Annette also makes some valid points about indigenous learners in a later post.
Lisa S has created an interesting list of strategies for teaching propagation in horticulture. See if you think my suggestions are too way out there. In the post about the Tertiary Education Strategy, Lisa has pushed my buttons - her impassioned discussion about the strategy is excellent reading.She also asks - What is all the fuss? - about Open education practices. Do you agree with Lisa?
Labels: flexible learning 2012, summary part three
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bygarlandcannon |
Gina has posted three short presentations of her Flexible Learning plan, and they are well worth a look. The way she has structured the aspects of the plan is what I am looking for because the concepts of flexible learning are explained according to the strategies she has chosen and in her context. Please give her feedback before she presents in person on Monday.
It is worth looking back at the posts that led to her final Flexible Learning plan. You may wish to start with her discussion about strategies that could be used in two occupational therapy courses that are in the process of being re-mixed. Gina mentions in her post of examples about flexible learning that choice is an important component of flexibility, ... it goes deeper than this ...". Perhaps this highlights something that prickles educators - how much choice should there be to be truly flexible? Check out her table showing an analysis of flexibility in the course she teaches. In the post about using discussion forum strategies, Gina has come up with a cunning plan for engaging her students in studying symbols and rituals.
Maari has some insightful discussion in her post about learning theories. See if you agree with her ideas about communities of practice, and constructivist learning, and my comments to her ideas. She continues with linking Kolbs' Experiential learning theory to ePortfolios in her post about Technologies. See what you think about these ideas. Maari's post on sustainability in relation to writers is interesting and gives a whole different perspective. Well worth a read. Maari describes a tricky situation in her post about cultural sensitivity because her learners are global. So how can she integrate indigenous cultural approaches in this situation? See if you like my suggestions for addressing cultural diversity.
Laurie in her post about access and equity, diversity & inclusivity discusses an interesting article by Honey & North (2009) article which is specially useful because it is based on Honey's thesis and research into flexible learning with post-graduate nurses. See if you agree with the remark in the article about the % majority they believe is required to go ahead with online learning. Is 40% of the class needing upskilling in technologies a reasonable expectation? Laurie has also posted about blended learning and shared some strategies (check out my comments). In this she has shared a model of learning using the eLearning ladder. I discovered an article which is a critique of this ladder and two other different models - the five-stage e-moderating model for teaching and learning online, e-tivities, and communities of practice.
Reference
Watts, N. (2010). Reflecting on models for online learning in theory & practice. Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (AISHE-J), 2(1), p 19.1 - 19.12. Retrieved from http://ojs.aishe.org/index.php/aishe-j/article/view/19
Jayne is really getting into the swing of using video resources in her teaching, and describes her ideas for using ipads in tutorials in her post: Technologies for learning. The place of creating real world cases about Occupational Therapy practice using video and wikis in open education is discussed in her post: OER and Practices. In her fabulous post about Sustainability, Jayne explains how she is facilitating reasonable workloads for herself and her students and using sustainable practices. Remember it is not just about saving paper - as Jayne says it is about reducing workloads for students, and using cost-effective ways to provide them with materials. Te Whare Tapa Whā for education discussed by Kate Timms-Dean in her presentation is similar to the four corners for health mentioned by Jayne in her post on cultural sensitivity and indigenous learners. The post about learning theory shows how hard it is to pick just one, and Community of Practice learning theory appears to be preferred by Jayne although she discusses a mix.
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Annette has posted the questions she used in a survey of teachers and she is developing a snapshot of some examples.
Nick has described an interesting approach to teaching dry topics such a Pythagoras's theorem in his post on open education resources. What do you think of my idea for involving the students in creating and sharing open education resources? In a post about Adult learning theories and approaches, he also describes the project-based model of learning used in his teaching, and uses some big words like Zone of Proximal Development. Who coined that phrase - do you know?
More to come later.
Labels: flexible learning 2012, Summary
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A light at the end of the tunnel by Lauren Manning |
Web conference: Wed 20 June: 13:00- 14:00 - Adobe Connect.
Workshop: Thurs 21 June - Onsite: 13:00-15:00 - Venue: H606.
For Activity 13, you need to choose a format for the presentation of your Flexible Learning plan and prepare for the mini-conference. Use this week to work on finalising your plans, and post the draft plan to your blog so you can get feedback from the lecturer and the class. It would be great if you can make it to one of the class sessions to discuss your plan prior to the assessments next week.
Dates for assessment.
- Wednesday 27 June, 2012 - 13:00 - 14:00 via an Adobe Connect web conference.
- Monday 25 June, 2012 - 13:00 - 15:00 in D314, on-campus.
When you add the draft plan to your blog or link to the presentation on your blog, please add links to previous blog posts that contain additional detail to explain aspects of your plan.
Please confirm or add your name and title of your presentation to the table on the course wiki: Mini-conference
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Kārearea By xoque
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The tertiary education sector is highly competitive, and now that funding is shrinking even further organisations are scrabbling for a slice of the pie. Is Flexible Learning the answer? How does this fit with the Tertiary Education Strategy for New Zealand?
In this topic we will explore and justify some approaches to providing flexible learning environments for adult learners in the tertiary sector.
Activity Twelve
- Explore the Tertiary Education Strategy for New Zealand (TES for NZ).
- How do your ideas for flexible learning, and those of your organisation or consultancy fit (or not) with the TES for NZ?
- What do you need to include in your plan to fit with the TES for NZ?
- Post a response to your blog.
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Aoraki Mt Cook by Mathieu Poumeyrol |
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Kotare by dcysurfer / Dave Young |
Kate Timms-Dean will be presenting this week's topic in an Adobe Connect web conference - Thursday 7 June 13:00-14:00. A recording will be made available if some of you make it to join in the discussion.
So what is the week 12 topic about?
Indigenous people are ethnic groups who live in a geographic area with which they have the earliest known historical connection. Historically, many Indigenous groups, including Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand, have been the subject of colonial expansion. This has often resulted in territorial and cultural conflict, and the intentional or unintentional displacement and devastation of Indigenous populations (Wikipedia, 2010). In the contemporary context, Indigenous people often feature strongly in the lower echelons of society in terms of employment, socio-economic status, health status and educational attainment. As a result, it is important to consider the needs of Indigenous learners in the development, design and delivery of flexible learning programmes and courses.
Activities
Post responses to the following activities on your blog - after you have accessed the readings and media material for Indigenous Learners. An additional article has been emailed to you.
- How can you include examples of New Zealand's indigenous culture in the design of your eLearning courses - language, society, history, political issues etc.?
- What approaches can you utilise to meet the needs of indigenous learners?
- Outline any experiences you have had working with indigenous learners.
- What were some of the challenges that you and the learners faced?
- How did this affect their learning?
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The Education for Sustainability swirl |
- How can you become a more sustainable practitioner?
- What sort of learning and teaching strategies meet your philosophy of sustainability?
- Post your reflections about sustainability to your blog once you have viewed the presentations and completed the readings.
- Read the article on student workload and find out how to calculate it - Lockwood, F. (2005). Estimating student workload, readability and implications for student learning and progression. Australia: ODLAA.
- Watch Sir Ken Robinson discuss Do schools kill creativity?: "we are educated out of creativity not into it". He ends with saying: "we have to educate the whole person". This 20 minute video is well worth watching.
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Internet minute infograph by intelfreepress |
Technologies for learning and teaching are in a constant state of flux. Therefore, it is important for teachers to stay informed about the trends, and be confident about trying new approaches. Technologies such as mobile devices, ePortfolios, and social media (Web 2.0 tools and approaches) are now relatively common terms in education. The Horizon report (2012) underpins this topic so please use this resource as the starting point for your explorations. For this topic you are asked to design a learning activity using a ‘trend’ technology. Since this is a huge area, some resources are suggested, but you need only focus on one specific area in your explorations. For example, mobile devices, or ePortfolios or social media. The technology you choose may be something from the Horizon report, or the other types mentioned here. Six trends in higher education are described in the 2012 Horizon report. Read more about the activities and resources for Technologies on the course wiki.
Classroom sessions this week
Web conference: Adobe Connect
Wed 23 May: 13:00-14:00
Workshop: Thurs 24 May
Onsite: 13:00-15:00
Venue: H606
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http://irudiak.argazkiak.org/276df12b972b1b876f80402474acdf8d_c.jpg |
In the Flexible learning subject, you need to choose a theory which underpins the flexible learning strategies you are planning to introduce. Before looking further afield, you may wish to refresh by looking at previous work you have done in this area.If you find a learning theory that you wish to use and it is not mentioned in the course materials, please add information about it to the wiki in the section called: Theory
Activities: Adult learning theories for Flexible Learning.
- Explore adult learning theories relevant to your context.
- Choose a learning theory for your Flexible learning Plan.
- Describe the learning theory on your blog. Include the following:
- Define the theory.
- Explain the reasons for choosing the theory to support your FL plan - including the features of the theory which suit your students and style of teaching.
- Start with looking at Four Orientations to Learning
- Explorations in Learning & Instruction:The Theory Into Practice Database
- Find out more about some different theories - a keyword search of Google Books and the library catalogue will bring up lots of books on this subject. You may be interested in:
Lisa M has shared a range of strategies. I am interested to hear about the how for some of them. For example, how is content "kept updated to reflect what is happening in society at a local, national and international level"? How does she "Encourage class discussion and the sharing of thoughts and ideas"? Can this occur outside the face-to-face classroom as well, and how might this look? I also ask about ways to connect students to professional networks so they can sample real world situations at a local, national and international level. You may wish to help out here folks.
Ron has brought an interesting idea to the mix - should flexibility mean an encroachment on teachers' time, and does it mean higher resource costs - time and money? See what you think about Ron's discussion of the issues. Ron has also posted a video blog - listen for the birds accompanying him. He is seeking alternative ways for students to access the learning while he is away on trips such as this. He also mentions connecting assessments to the tasks to get students to engage. See if you agree with his suggestions and mine about how to engage the students while he is not there.
Annette has written an excellent post about access and inclusive teaching and learning. See if you agree whether inquiry learning and good IT skills, are necessary for preparing OT students for practice in the real world.
Helen G has compared and contrasted a school example with one from the polytechnic. Which one has the most flexibility do you think? She has also discussed access and equity and some of the issues affecting inclusive teaching and learning in the most recent post. Perhaps resilience is the key for students and teachers so they can deal with whatever crops up.
Helen B has her strategy document ready with a great example of flexible learning design. In an earlier post about access and equity, she discusses how peer support has been used in the classroom. See what you think about the example for IT support.
Jean is really going to town with QR codes and Pinboard spaces for her fashion students. Can you give her more inspiration?
Jayne has a great example of some strategies she has designed. This is your opportunity to let her know if she is heading in the right direction. I like the idea of developing case studies and have suggested an extension of this.
Cheryl mentions the dilemma of students getting access to a practical placement. I have suggested using a virtual clinic for the students who cant get
placements. I refer to a blog describing dog
training in second life: http://sltranimal.blogspot.co.nz/ It
isn't that expensive to get someone to create something like this in a
virtual world. There is already a midwifery
clinic in second life and a virtual hospital. Here is a link to information about the virtual vet clinic at Melbourne university.
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The Meerkats say Nah! |
Cat has written a very funny piece about the wonderful flexibility offered by the Vet Nursing school. Can you beat these strategies in your programmes or courses? It makes me want to do the courses just so I can play with the animals.
Lisa M's post demonstrates that she has considered a variety of ways to support inclusive teaching. Check out the Cone of Learning about passive versus active learning. The diagram prompts us to think about the importance of offering choice to students to encourage deeper learning. Who would be happy with 10% engagement when 90% is possible? Lisa believes that: "... everyone learns and comprehends at a different pace. No 2 students are the same." Two questions spring to mind for me from her post.
- Do you agree that peer support is important for Lisa's students?
- What strategies could she use to encourage peer support and address the diversity in her learners?
Fifi has shared an excellent example of truly student-centred learning obtained when she interviewed a colleague. See if you can spot the flexibility in the approaches she describes. In a later post about access and equity, she also discusses some of the factors impinging on students' learning, and mentions: " More flexibility brings with it more independence but also the need for more self-direction and more self-motivation. These traits are not automatic in many learners."
Interaction could be key to the approach Lisa takes when designing her plan for flexibility - see what you think about Lisa's post with her ideas and goal for flexibility, and if you can give her any suggestions. Read on to her latest post and you will find that her goal may be changing.
Laurie is interested in using blogs with third year nursing students. See the example that she is basing some of her ideas on, and the reasons for using blogs with her students. Perhaps you can contribute to the suggestion I put forward about addressing confidentiality issues. Also, Laurie in the most recent post has discussed the links between the theoretical basis for her teaching - relational capacity, and the practicalities of learning - networked learning. Is she on the right track?
Bend it like learners makes an excellent point - "flexibility gives us the opportunity to take control of our own learning at a time and place that suits our busy lives" is so true. This fits with the findings of a 2012 article called The relationship between flexible and self-regulated learning in open and distance universities. The authors discuss the connections between self-regulated learning and the dimensions of flexibility, including learning styles, and also flexibility of teacher contact, time management and content. Their research concluded that SR learning and flexibility are strongly connected. How do you think their ideas fit with the models used in your courses?
Nick has posted several interesting examples of flexibility in a project-based learning environment. He may be feeling a little lonely out there, unless some of you give him encouragement for the great flexible teaching he is already doing. What do you think about the dimensions of flexibility described in the post about the block course - could additional strategies be used? You may be interested in this 2003 report: The project method in vocational training.One of the factors they claim is important relates to self-directed learning. How do you currently support and guide students to become good at doing this?
Maari has provided us with lots of ideas to ponder and debate about providing access for the diverse groups she teaches. Check out her comment about a situation where open discussion would be very inappropriate. The later post shows two examples she developed using the flexibility grid, and a discussion about when flexibility must have limits. See what you think and please do give Maari some feedback on her ideas.
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Freedom-Quilts-02 by The Confluence |
Somehow I managed to skip a week in my posts - last week was a focus on you thinking about your plan for flexible learning. All the resources can be found under the topic: Planning. I will be looking at your blogs to give feedback on your initial ideas. This week, we are taking a look at open education resources and practices. A web conference ( Adobe Connect) is scheduled for Tuesday 8 May 13:00-14:00.
During the early years of the 2000s, the words "open education" were only heard in the context of the broader phrase "open educational resources." This usage pattern unfortunately focused the minds of people almost exclusively on content, subtly nudging them away from considering the broader potential for the application of the principle of openness in education generally. And while OER are a critically important portion of modern educational infrastructure, they are only that - infrastructure.
Across a variety of contexts, the development and availability of high quality infrastructure is important for enabling valuable services and facilitating innovation. Education is no different. As OER became more widely available in the mid-2000s, thinking began to extend to open education itself - the practices, policies, and pedagogies that enable the sharing of OER as well as the new practices, policies, and pedagogies enabled by OER (Wiley, 2011).
The book from which this excerpt is taken - Open Education Practices: A User Guide for Organisations - describes some of these practices and policies. The Guide is based on practices at Otago Polytechnic.
Activity Seven - Open Education Resources and Philosophies.
- Explore Open Education Practices: A User Guide for Organisations.
- Listen to the recording of the web conference presentation by Leigh Blackall about Open Education practices.
- Explore Open Education Resource Foundation at Otago Polytechnic and Wikieducator to find out more about the vision for free education to all.
- Discuss on your blog:
- a definition of open education practices;
- some strategies you could use; and
- why you believe open education resources and philosophies are important for teaching and learning.
Labels: flexible learning 2012, OER, open education, week 8: OER
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http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/440306 |
It is great to see that so many of you have introduced yourselves on your blogs. We have people from lots of different disciplines - health - occupational therapy, nursing and midwifery, veterinary nursing, sport, animal training, psychology, hospitality, social services, Treaty education training, design, automotive engineering, creative writing and horticulture. I have met about half of you in either the web conference or in the on-campus classroom, and others are meeting me outside class times. Most of you are on track and on the path to experiencing flexible learning with this group, and a diverse one it is too. Some people are experienced bloggers, and others have just made their first post.
I have linked to a few blogs that stand out. I will feature different people each week. Please make sure you encourage your classmates to keep blogging by going to their blogs and leaving comments. A good way to do this is to choose three or four people's blogs each week, and choose different people each time so you get round them all. It is best not to try and read each blog each week (unless you want to of course) as this will be too much work. If you are set up to get email alerts as people post this will make it much easier to do.
Featured blogs
Sarah has introduced herself superbly with a photo - spot the student. She has quite a different clientele to the rest of you since dog training is targeting people directly in the community. Spot the similarity with Nick's post where he describes the work he does with students (building grass karts and mini pit bikes). Feebee has given us a great introduction to her professional area, and has linked to further information to illustrate the point she is making. Note: It is a good idea to get into the habit of inserting hyperlinks to extend the reader's experience. Lisa has the most gorgeous picture in her blog, and explains the challenges with teaching students complex software applications for design. Gina has shown us the correct way to give attribution to images, and I love her witty image. She discusses some of the challenges associated with technology when two different groups study in disparate locations. Brendon has his finger on the pulse and has responded to my comment with a further blog post about his area of teaching. His description of artistry versus science in his teaching is interesting. Jayne has added a really good profile to her first time blog, in addition to some superb goals for flexible learning. Laurie has also told us about her goals for exploring flexible learning. Ron illustrates the need for flexible teaching in his role so that students can continue to study while her is otherwise committed. Helen has taken the leap as a blogger, and makes an excellent point about how stressful learning situations can affect the end product. I may have missed some of you, if you are not yet added to the course blog, but you will be featured next time. Annette has made a wonderful entrance to the course with her introduction and given us a great deal of insight into who she is and has been brave enough to include a picture of herself. That will be a great picture for your profile as well. Lisa M has made a great start and created a profile with her pic - good on you! Suzanne has reconstituted a blog from last year, with a wonderful picture of herself, and a great explanation of her teaching and goals for flexible learning around assessment.
Some pointers
Over the years, I have found that the best way to understand some of what my students' are dealing with is to experience it myself. So when I wanted to introduce online methods into my teaching, I used online learning to update my knowledge. When I wanted my students to use blogs, I started keeping a blog, and now that my interest lies in mobile learning, so I am teaching myself how to use a mobile phone for some of my professional development.
Some of you have mentioned that you use the Vark Learning styles questionnaire with students. You may also wish to explore the Index of learning Styles (ILS). This has 44 questions so is big, but helps learners explore whether they are reflective or analytical, sequential or holistic learners and much more. It is worth a look.
Labels: flexible learning 2012, summary week 1