December 5

E-learning methodologies: A guide for designing and developing e-learning courses (2011)

Monday 5/12/16. Before class.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2011) E-learning methodologies A guide for designing and developing e-learning courses.

The Links between my E-Learning Resource and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2011):

 Page 11
  • ‘E-learning reaches a wider target audience by engaging learners who have
    difficulty attending conventional classroom training.’
  • ‘Facing difficulties with real-time communication (e.g. foreign language learners or very shy learners).’
  • ‘E-learning can offer effective instructional methods, such as practising with associated feedback, combining collaboration
    activities with self-paced study, personalizing learning paths based on learners’ needs and using simulation and games.  Further, all learners receive the same quality of instruction.’
  • ‘Most e-learning courses are developed to build cognitive skills; the cognitive domain is the most suitable for e-learning. Within the cognitive domain, thinking skills may require more interactive e-learning activities because those skills are learned better by doing.’
 Page 12
  • Self-paced learners  – encourage autonomy
  • Facilitated and instructor-led – ‘provide different levels of support from tutors and instructors and collaboration among learners.’
 Page 13
  • Collaborative (Opportunity in 2 session activities).
  • Interactive (Opportunity in 4 session activities).
 Page 16
  •  Learner centred content (relevant to practice and curriculum).,

 

Document available at:

https://moodle.roehampton.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/402282/mod_resource/content/1/Designing%20e-learning%20activities.pdf

*****************************

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2011) E-learning methodologies A guide for designing and developing e-learning courses. Available at: https://moodle.roehampton.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/402282/mod_resource/content/1/Designing%20e-learning%20activities.pdf (Accessed: 07/11/16).

Word To HTML (2016) The Easiest and Cleanest Way To Convert Your Text To Clean HTML. Available at: http://wordtohtml.net/ (Accessed: 05/12/16).

Category: Presentation, Reading Reflection, Reading Resources, Research, Theory | LEAVE A COMMENT
December 2

Research Reading – EYFS (DfEa, 2014) & KS1 National Curriculum (DfEb, 2014) & Teaching Standards (DfE, 2012)

Friday 02/12/16 – Research Reading.

Links between My E-Learning Resource and the EYFS (DfE, 2014a);

Page 5
  • ‘High quality early learning together, to provide the foundation children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as the grow up.’
  • ‘Ensuring school readiness […] giving a broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through school and life.’
  • Quality and consistency that ‘every child makes good progress and does not get left behind.’
  • A secure foundation ‘learning and development opportunities that are planned around thee needs and interests of each individual child.’
  • Partnership working ‘between practitioners and with parents and/or carers.’
  • Equality of opportunity ‘and anti-discriminatory practice, ensuring every child is included and supported.’
  • ‘Areas of learning and development must shape activities and experiences.’
  • Assessment arrangements for measuring progress (and requirements for reporting to parents and/or carers).’
 Page 6
  • ‘Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.’
  • ‘Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their
    experiences respond to their individual needs.’
  • ‘Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates.’
 Page 7
  • ‘Crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive.
    • communication and language;
    • physical development; and
    • personal, social and emotional development.’
  • ‘Support children in four specific areas
    • literacy;
    • mathematics;
    • understanding the world; and
    • expressive arts and design.
 Page 8
  • Involvement of activities and experiences in
    • communication and language ‘opportunities to experience a rich language environment, to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves.’
    • physical development ‘providing opportunities […] to be active and interactive.’
    • personal, social and emotional development ‘to have confidence in their own abilities.’
    • Literacy ‘access to a wide range of reading materials […] to ignite their interests.’
    • Mathematics ‘providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces, and measures.’
    • Understanding the world ‘guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.’
    • Expressive arts and design ‘enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials […]providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art and technology.’
 Page 9
  • ‘Planning and guiding children’s activities […] following the three main characteristics of effective teaching and learning
    • Playing and exploring to ‘investigate and experience things, and have a go.’
    • Active learning to ‘keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements.’
    • Creating and thinking critically to ‘develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.’
 Page 11

 Mathematics

  • Numbers ‘count reliably with numbers from 1 to 20, place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number. Using quantities and objects, they add and subtract two single-digit numbers and count on or back to find the answer. They solve problems, including doubling, halving and sharing.’
 Page 12

 Understanding the world

  • People and communities ‘talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. They know that other children don’t always enjoy the same things, and are sensitive to this. They know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions.’
  • The world ‘know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another.’
  • Technology ‘recognise that a range of technology is used in places such as homes and schools. They select and use technology for particular purposes.’

Expressive arts and design

  • Exploring and using media and materials ‘safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.’
  • Being imaginative ‘represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology and stories.’
 Page 30

 Information for parents and carers

  • Providing ‘the range and type of activities and experiences provided for children, and how parents and carers can share learning at home.’

 

Links between My E-Learning Resource and the KS1 National Curriculum (DfE, 2014b);

 Purpose
  • ‘Mathematics is a creative and highly interconnected discipline […] providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems.’
  • ‘Essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment.’
 Aims
  •  ‘Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics […] through varied and frequent practice […] so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge.’
  • ‘Reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry.’
  • ‘Solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems […] breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.’
  • ‘To be able to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas.’
 ICT
  • ‘Teachers should use their judgement about when ICT tools should be used.’
 Spoken Language
  • ‘The importance of spoken language in pupils’ development across the whole curriculum – cognitively, socially and linguistically.’
  • Children must be ‘assisted in making their thinking clear to themselves as well as others, and teachers should ensure that pupils build secure foundations by using discussion to probe and remedy their misconceptions.’
 Key Stage 1 – Years 1 and 2
  • A ‘principal focus of mathematics teaching in key stage 1 is to ensure that pupils develop confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value.’
 Year 1

Number

  • ‘Count to and across 100, forwards and backwards.’
  • ‘Count, read and write up to 100 in numerals’
  • ‘Count in multiples of 2s, 5s and 10s.’
  • ‘Identify and represent numbers using objects and pictorial representations.  Including number line, use language of equal to, more than, less than.’
  • ‘Read and write numbers from 1-20 in numerals and words.’

Geometry

  • ‘Recognise and name 2D and 3D shapes.’
 Year 2

 Number

  • 3+7=10 and 10-7=3

 

Links between My E-Learning Resource and the Teaching Standards (DfE, 2012);

 Page 9

 Parents

  • ‘To include carers, guardians and other adults acting in loco parentis.’

Statutory Frameworks’

  • ‘Includes all legal requirements, including but not limited to the requirement to promote equal opportunities.’
 Page 10

 Part one: Teaching

  • ‘Establish a safe and stimulating environment for pupils, rooted in mutual respect.’
  • ‘Set goals that stretch and challenge pupils of all backgrounds, abilities and dispositions.’
  • ‘Be aware of pupils’ capabilities and their prior knowledge, and plan teaching to build on these.’
  • ‘Guide pupils to reflect on the progress they have made and their emerging needs.’
  • ‘Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how pupils learn and how this impacts on teaching.’
  • ‘Encourage pupils to take a responsible and conscientious attitude to their own work and study.’
 Page 11
  • ‘If teaching early mathematics, demonstrate a clear understanding of appropriate teaching strategies.’
  • ‘Impart knowledge and develop understanding through effective use of lesson time.’
  • ‘Encourage pupils to take a responsible and conscientious attitude to their own work and study.’
  • ‘Set homework and plan other out-of-class activities to consolidate and extend the knowledge and understanding pupils have acquired.’
  • ‘Contribute to the design and provision of an engaging curriculum within the relevant subject area(s).’
 Page 13
  • ‘Communicate effectively with parents with regard to pupils’ achievements and well-being.’

 

 

****************************************************

DfE (2014a) Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/335504/EYFS_framework_from_1_September_2014__with_clarification_note.pdf (Accessed: 28/11/16).

DfE (2014b) National Curriculum in England: Mathematics Programmes of Study. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-mathematics-programmes-of-study/national-curriculum-in-england-mathematics-programmes-of-study#key-stage-1—years-1-and-2 (Accessed: 28/11/16).

Word To HTML (2016) The Easiest and Cleanest Way To Convert Your Text To Clean HTML. Available at: http://wordtohtml.net/ (Accessed: 02/12/16).

DfE (2012) Teachers’ Standards Guidance for school leaders, school staff and governing bodies. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/301107/Teachers__Standards.pdf (Accessed: 04/12/16).

Category: Planning, Presentation, Reading Reflection, Reading Resources, Research | LEAVE A COMMENT
December 1

Week 9 – Allsop (2016) Does Technology Improve Learning – The Value of Constructivist Approaches to Technology-Based Learning?

Monday 28/11/16 class.  To read article and blog.

Does Technology Improve Learning – The Value of Constructivist Approaches to Technology-Based Learning?  (2016) by Allsop.

 

This interesting article focuses on the constructivist approach, in the inclusion of technology being used in education.

‘Constructivism is a learning theory that focuses on knowledge and explores how people learn’ (Allsop, 2016).  This approach has been focused on by many theorists:

Manus (1960) suggests that ‘through interactions and experiences’ a significance is created and meaning is developed.

Piaget (1970) children will be ‘motivated by their own desire to make sense of their world,’ therefore through active learning, playful interactions and new knowledge can be constructed, through ‘supporting children when they need it and guiding them to take control of their self-directed learning experience.’  Collins & O’Brien (2003, cited in Edwards, 2015) and Niemi & Nevgi (2014, cited in Aksit et al, 2016) both discuss the influential aspects of active learning, which encourages philosophical processing and questioning.

Providing this support where required, is simiarly following the approach of Vygotsky’s (1978) Zone of Proximal Development.

Dewey (1938) suggests that ‘knowledge occurs only from situations in which learners have to draw out of meaningful experiences,’ which are engaging through community of enquiry with creative thinking and philosophical questioning (Fisher, 2013).

Bruner (1960) proposes that through individual learning and ‘discovering the knowledge on their own,’ children are able to process through the three stages of representation: enactive, iconic and symbolic.

Papert (1991) ‘suggests that schools are well behind the rapidly changing society which is deeply shaped by changes in technology.’  Therefore, to increase the level of engagement in learning, Papert (1991) developed Logo Language; which ‘provided opportunities for learners to experience collaboration, visualisation, simulation and programming […] Logo Turtle, a small robot’ […] through solving problems could ‘strengthen children’s ability to learn knowledge.’

This is the first time I have read about Papert and Logo Language, so I decided to look further into it and have a go myself.  Looking at Logo (Transum, 2016), took me a while to understand the instructions and realise what I had to do.

Click here to see my first attempt.

 

So can technology enhance the learning experience?

Dewey (1938, cited in Allsop, 2016) ‘believes that education should not stop in classrooms but extend to life out of schools; by using computers visually, auditorily and actively […] can had a positive effect on attitudes because they feel more successful, are motivated to learn and have better confidence.’

Having access to a wider variety of resources, working collaboratively and interactively, child-driven, and engaging more with topical information through a different medium to typical learning instructions, can ‘develop more complex thinking skills.’

Using technology in this way, creates a portfolio of work, which can enhance children’s learning, as well as the planning process.  Activities can be planned ‘according to individual learner’s needs and interests which will motivate the learners to learn.’

 

 

Journal Available at:

http://www.ictinpractice.com/does-technology-improve-learning-the-value-of-constructivist-approaches-to-technology-based-learning/

*************************************

Transum (2016) Online Logo. Available at: http://www.transum.org/software/Logo/ (Accessed: 01/12/16).

Edwards, S. (2015) Active Learning in the Middle Grades. Middle School Journal. 46(5) pp26-32. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1059827

Allsop (2016) Does Technology Improve Learning – The Value of Constructivist Approaches to Technology-Based Learning? Available at: http://www.ictinpractice.com/does-technology-improve-learning-the-value-of-constructivist-approaches-to-technology-based-learning/ (Accessed: 28/11/16).

Aksit, F., Niemi, H. & Nevgi, A. (2016) Why is active learning so difficult to implement: The turkish case. Australian Journal of Teacher Education. 41(4) Available at: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,athens&db=eric&AN=EJ1098142&site=eds-live

Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, Mass; London: Harvard University Press.

Fisher, R. (2013) Teaching Thinking: Philosophical Enquiry in the Classroom. (4th edition.) London: Bloomsbury Academic.

Bruner, J. (1960) The Process of Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Category: Presentation, Reading Reflection, Reading Resources, Research, Theory | LEAVE A COMMENT
November 28

Researching for Presentation

  • Punie,Y., Zinnbauer, D. & Cabrera, M. (2006). A review of the impact of ICT on learning. European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Working Paper prepared for DG EAC   http://ftp.jrc.es/EURdoc/JRC47246.TN.pdf
  • Chapter 2 in: Clark, Ruth C., and Richard E. Mayer. E-learning and the science of instruction: proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer, 2011
  • https://moodle.roehampton.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/370378/mod_resource/content/1/Cognitive_load_theory_and_instructional.pdf
  • http://www.hartford.edu/academics/faculty/fcld/data/documentation/technology/presentation/powerpoint/12_principles_multimedia.pdf
  • https://moodle.roehampton.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/402282/mod_resource/content/1/Designing%20e-learning%20activities.pdf
  • Mayer, R. E. (2002). Multimedia learning. Psychology of learning and motivation, 41, 85-139.
  • Paas, F., Renkl, A. and Sweller, J., 2003. Cognitive load theory and instructional design: Recent developments. Educational psychologist, 38(1), pp.1-4.

 

Category: Planning, Reading Resources, Research | LEAVE A COMMENT
November 11

Additional Reading – Approaches to Children’s Learning 11/11/16

Today I had a class for one of my other modules – Primary Education.

The class session was focused on Approaches to Children’s Learning.  I felt that this was a very interesting class, which provided information on how children learn.

I decided that it would be useful to reflect on this class, and to incorporate into this E-Learning module and assignment E-Resource.

Link to this Blog post: Approaches to Children’s Learning

Category: Planning, Reading Reflection, Reading Resources, Theory, Uncategorized | LEAVE A COMMENT
September 27

Week 1 – What is E-Learning?

27/9/16

E-learning enables us to ‘obtain and deliver knowledge anytime anywhere’ (Horton, 2000:6).

Technology has advanced so quickly, which has enabled e-learning to be incorporated into our daily lives, such as education, home, work and is accessible anytime and anywhere (Welsh et al, 2003).  Most people have mobile phones and tablets, among other technological devices, even televisions incorporate e-learning.

Children that are currently in education have been growing up with access to advanced technology and can appear to be more tech-literate than their parents and other relatives.

I remember my childhood when I only had four television channels; then we got our first computer (when you had to connect to dial-up to get online); then a little later we got a 5th television channel.  At age 16 I got my first mobile phone, which was originally my mothers, passed down from my father and my brother; prior to this, I had a BT phonecard that had about 12 digits to remember, to make a phone call using a public telephone box.

I feel that I had the best childhood and I would not change it; however, comparing it to today’s childhood, there are so many differences, which have mostly been due to technological advances.

Having studied ICT GNVQ and ICT AVCE in college, and having originally studied an engineering degree at Portsmouth University where some assignments were about building websites through coding rather than visually building it; I feel that I am very technologically literate and able, however, this is my first time writing a blog and using wordpress.

As this is my first time in the blog world, I have to be honest…it feels very daunting to write and reflect but not get to continue redrafting what I have written before I submit this assignment in May.  As I am applying for teacher training for a Sept 2017 start, I am extremely focused on achieving high grades this year as I need to achieve a 2:1.  However, having written this post, I now feel more confident in just going for it and writing what I feel is right at the time, as well as being interactively reflective .

I feel that e-learning is now very much at the forefront of our lives and very strongly influential in education.  I am very much looking forward to advancing my knowledge and understanding in this e-learning module; through interacting with different types of e-learning, multimedia principles, and developing a different appreciation of e-learning, for future advances, future generations and future implementation into my own classroom.

 

************************************

Horton, W. (2000) Designing Web-based Training. New York: John Wiley and sons.

Welsh, E.T., Wanberg, C.R., Brown, K.G., & Simmering, M.J. (2003) E-learning: emerging uses, empirical results and future directions. International Journal of Training and Development. 7(4) pp.245-258. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-3736.2003.00184.x (Accessed: 26/09/16).

Category: Reading Reflection, Reading Resources | LEAVE A COMMENT