In Thursday night’s presentations there were many presentations regarding the K-12 context. Some were direct in their connection, while others were more indirect. A common theme for me in the evening, of which there were many, has to do with the need for skilled and trained teachers within an e-learning context. I think back to a quote in my research paper. “In spite of the fact that the synchronized online teaching tools afforded interactivity, the teaching approaches did not afford it” (Murphy et al., 2011, p. 589). Teachers who may very well be innovative in a face-to-face environment, do not appear to use the same constructive theory and pedagogy in an e-learning scenario. Within the same article teachers reported that “interactivity did not play a prominent role in teachers’ descriptions of either asynchronous online teaching or synchronous online teaching” (p. 589), and that one of the few synchronous tools used within an asynchronous context was the use of text chat format. The research tells us that a collaborative, constructive and interactive environment is needed in an e-learning environment, yet many high school e-learning environments conduct classes in an opposite format.
One of the other points in the presentations that caught my attention was the need for a solid design team. Good instructional design plays an integral role in any e-learning environment, and perhaps more so than in a face-to-face environment. In a K-12 context, I believe physically not being in the same room as your students is going to make the task more difficult. Therefore, more energy, and more effort needs to go into knowing your learner in context. In connecting a prior course (EDER 673: Instructional Design) to E-Learning, how would we apply the instructional model that Kenzie Rushton and myself developed based on the work of Dick and Carey (2001) and the systematic design of instruction.
McCracken & Rushton Student-Centred Model of Instructional Design
Applying this model to an e-learning environment would more than likely result in changing the model. However, what if we did apply the above model? To start, how would instructors get to know their learners in context, and how would that affect instructional goals, and how would that cause instructors to sequence their learning objectives? This simple beginning causes so many questions to be asked. The age and background of students dictates a lot all by itself. In an e-learning situation would you set out to discover what students knew about a topic, and then adjust your plan accordingly if your expectations for prior knowledge are not met? Can teachers be that flexible in an online context?
What I do enjoy about the above instructional model and a connection to E-Learning is the different approach to be had between students with prior knowledge, and those students who do not have sufficient prior knowledge of a subject area. Perhaps in this situation the use of synchronous and asynchronous tools can be used in terms of direct teacher guidance. The goal would be to build student knowledge and understanding as they engage in a problem-centred learning activity/project. Surrounding the model is the idea that assessment is ongoing (assessment for learning), and that the opportunity exists to revisit concepts with students at any time, and the opportunity exists to revise the plan at any time depending on what needs to occur. Have instructional models that develop skills of students, while involving them in a constructivist and collaborative atmosphere been applied to current k-12 e-learning contexts? This task is difficult enough, and we haven’t even talked about the pedagogical reasons behind what interactive technology tools to use, and how they will be introduced and implemented.
This blog is a bit random, however these are the thoughts I had after Thursday night. Also in an effort to bring together, and make sense of the masters program as a whole is something I endeavour to do from time to time. Instructional design is a critical and I fear a missing aspect needed in creating a constructivist and collaborative e-learning atmosphere.
References
Murphy, E., Rodriquez-Manzanares, M. A., & Barbour, M. (2011). Asynchronous and synchronous online teaching; Perspectives of Canadian high school distance education teachers. British Journal of Educational Technology, 42(4), 583-591. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535(1010/01112.x)
