Advance Topics in Educational Technology

1. Advance Topics in Educational Technology Pedagogy and learning based on ICTs K. Vassilakis / M. Kalogiannakis

2. Pedagogy and learning based on ICTs – Contents Issues about the influence of media on learning Learning theories and e-learning Pedagogical designs for optimizing e-learning Assessing and feedback e-moderations Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I understand. (Chinese proverb) Material is taken from: - A Guidebook of Principles, Procedures and Practices, Som Naidu, 2006 -The Theory and Practice of Online Learning, Terry Anderson, AU Press, 2008

3. Impacts of ICTs on learning • Learning must use sound instructional design principles. • Thus, the development of effective e-learning courses, modules and materials should be based on proven and sound learning theories. • It has been recognized that specialized delivery educational ICTs can provide efficient and timely access to learning materials. • But there is a longstanding debate about whether the use of ICT can actually influence learning. • Clark R.E., claims that ICTs are merely vehicles that deliver instruction, and do not themselves influence student achievement. • Kozma, R. B., on the other hand, argues that the particular attributes of ICTs are needed to bring real-life models and simulations to the learner; thus, ICTs do influence learning. • ICTs used, along with instructional method would seem to have an influence on learning. • E-learning seems to be very effective in developing learner and learning-centered educational environments.

4. Learning capabilities of ICTs • It is generally accepted that by using ICTs in educational process, students gain significant learning benefits, as opposed to conventional instruction. • Contemporary ICTs afford a wide range and variety of opportunities to re-think and re-engineer the nature of teaching and learning practices. • Clever use of media can serve to motivate learner’s interest. • Certain media (such as video) has attributes that are especially valuable for capturing authentic contexts and situations from the real world and represent real-world scenarios. • ICTs can be used to develop e-learning environments that could serve particular educational strategies. • Skillful integration of media and teaching methods is critical in the optimization of learning. • This integration can be achieved through learning theories and various pedagogical designs.

5. Conventional learning theories and e-learning • In conventional education instructors must explicitly know the principles of learning and how students learn. • This is especially true for online learning, where instructors and learners are separated. • There are many learning theories for conventional education, but no one is used exclusively to design e-learning courses and materials. • As there is no single learning theory to follow, e-learning educators use a combination of theories to develop online learning materials. • Usually, past learning theories have been adapted to address new and changing e-learning contexts. • So, educators should be able to adapt existing learning theories for the digital age. • To select the most appropriate instructional strategies, the online developer must know the different approaches to learning.

6. 1st Flash Activity • Αναφέρατε τι είναι μια θεωρία μάθησης και τις βασικές θεωρίες μάθησης που γνωρίζετε. 6

7. Learning theories - Behaviorism • Behaviorism is a theory of learning based upon the idea that all behaviors (thus thinking) are acquired through conditioning that occurs through interaction with the environment. • According to behaviorism, learning is a change in observable behavior caused by external stimuli in the environment (Skinner, 1974). Observable behavior indicates whether or not the learner has learned something. • This school of thought suggests that only observable behaviors should be studied, since internal states such as cognitions, emotions and moods are too subjective. • Learners should be told the explicit outcomes of the learning, must be tested to determine whether or not they have achieved the learning outcome and must be provided with feedback.

8. Learning theories - Cognitivist school of learning • Cognitive theorists claim that learning involves the use of memory, motivation, and thinking. • So learning is an internal process and the amount learned depends on the processing capacity and depth, the amount of effort and the previous knowledge of the learner. • Cognitivists look at learning from an information processing point of view. • The learner uses different types of memory during learning. • After the information is processed in working memory, it is stored in long-term memory.

9. Learning theories - Constructivism • Constructivism is a new learning theory that attempts to explain how learners learn by constructing knowledge for themselves from the learning experience. • Learners interpret the information and the world according to their personal reality. • Learners learn by observation, processing, and interpretation, and then personalize the information into personal knowledge. • Knowledge is not simply transmitted from teacher to student, but actively constructed in the mind of the learner. Learners don't get ideas; they create (construct) ideas. • The learner is the centre of the learning (learner - centered), with the instructor playing an advising and facilitating role.

10. Behaviorism - Strengths and Weaknesses • Weakness - the learner may find themselves in a situation where the stimulus for the correct response does not occur, therefore the learner cannot respond. - A worker who has been conditioned to respond to a certain cue at work stops production when an anomaly occurs because they do not understand the system. • Strength - the learner is focused on a clear goal and can respond automatically to the cues of that goal. - W.W.II pilots were conditioned to react to silhouettes of enemy planes, a response which one would hope became automatic. (Schuman, 1996)

11. Cognitivism - Strengths and Weaknesses • Weakness - the learner learns a way to accomplish a task, but it may not be the best way, or suited to the learner or the situation. For example, logging onto the internet on one computer may not be the same as logging in on another computer. • Strength - the goal is to train learners to do a task the same way to enable consistency. - Logging onto and off of a workplace computer is the same for all employees; it may be important do an exact routine to avoid problems. (Schuman, 1996)

12. Constructivism - Strengths and Weaknesses • Weakness - in a situation where conformity is essential divergent thinking and action may cause problems. Imagine the fun Revenue Canada would have if every person decided to report their taxes in their own way - although, there probably are some very "constructive" approaches used within the system we have. • Strength - because the learner is able to interpret multiple realities, the learner is better able to deal with real life situations. If a learner can problem solve, they may better apply their existing knowledge to a novel situation. (Schuman, 1996)

13. 2nd Flash Activity • Με βάση τις παραπάνω θεωρίες μάθησης που αναπτύχθηκαν ποιο θα πρέπει να είναι η σχέση Educational material and learning theories? • Ποιες είναι οι βασικές strategies to teach “what”, “how” and “why” according to the basic learning theories? 13

14. Educational material and learning theories • Behaviorism: The learning materials must be sequenced appropriately to promote learning. The sequencing could take the form of simple to complex, known to unknown, and knowledge to application. • Cognitivism: Since working memory (short-term) has limited capacity, information should be organized or chunked in pieces of appropriate size to facilitate processing. • Costructivism: Learners actively collaborating with the medium to construct knowledge. So learners should interact with instructor, with other learners and with educational material (which must have this capability).

15. Strategies to teach “what”, “how” and “why” • Behaviorists’ strategies can be used to teach the what (facts). • Cognitive strategies can be used to teach the how (processes and principles). • Constructivist strategies can be used to teach the why (higher-level thinking that promotes discovery of knowledge, personal meaning, and situated and contextual learning).

16. Learning theories – instructional design perspectives

17. Conventional learning theories at a glance • Behaviorism: Based on observable changes in behavior. Behaviorism focuses on a new behavioral pattern being repeated until it becomes automatic. • Cognitivism: Based on the thought process behind the behavior. Changes in behavior are observed, and used as indicators as to what is happening inside the learner's mind. • Constructivism: Based on the premise that we all construct our own perspective of the world, through individual experiences and schema. Constructivism focuses on preparing the learner to problem solve in ambiguous situations. (Schuman, 1996)

18. 3rd Flash Activity • Ποια είναι κατά τη γνώμη σας η καταλληλότερη θεωρία μάθησης για το e-learning και γιατί. 18

19. Which learning theory for e-learning? • The design of e-learning course and e-materials could include principles from all three schools of thought (after all, ideas and principles overlaps exist between learning theories). • There is a shift toward constructive approaches, as learner-centered teaching is more appropriate for e-learning by exploiting ICT’s capabilities. • Forms of learner-centered pedagogical designs are situated learning (learning takes place within the context of realistic educational settings) and learning by doing teaching environments. • Scenario/goal/problem/role-play/case-based learning are well-known types of situated learning and learning by doing. • ICT can afford us opportunities to capture and/or represent real-world scenarios for use by learners.

20. Scenario-based learning • Scenario-based learning is a methodology which aims to promote learning by involving learners in real life situations. • Learners are forced to consider a wide range of factors, make decisions and reflect on the outcomes and what they have learned from this. • A scenario may be a case, problem or incident that is commonly encountered in the workplace. • SBL design places the learner or a group of learners in a role, or roles that will require them to deal with the situation or problems caused by the event. • Attached to these roles, will be goals that learners will be required to achieve through various assigned tasks and activities (some of them assessable) . • SBL is more meaningful in professional education.

21. Connectivism • Unlike the three broad learning theories, connectivism is directly impacted through technology. • Connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos, network, and complexity and self-organization theories. • According to connectivism, learning is based on the premise that knowledge exists in the networked world rather than in learner’s mind. • So appropriate use of the Internet is an ideal learning strategy, as it is expanding education into a global classroom. • In the rapidly changed information society environments, the learners have to unlearn what they have learned in the past, and learn how to learn and evaluate new information. • Learner must have the ability to identify important information from unimportant information and to recognize when new information alters the landscape. Decision-making is itself a learning process. • Connectivism aims to prepare learners to function in the digital and networked age.

22. Assessing • One of the most challenging tasks for the instructors is finding effective ways to determine what and how much their learners are actually learning. • Assessing learning outcomes is the determination whether or not learners have acquired the desired type or level of capability. • A measure of learning outcomes requires learners to complete tasks, which demonstrate that they have achieved the standards specified in the learning outcomes. • A major purpose of assessment in education is the improvement of learning. So it must be related with learning outcomes. • Assessment of learning outcomes is most effective when it is continuous and grounded in sound educational principles.

23. Measuring learning achievement • Criterion-referenced measures require learners to demonstrate presence of learned capabilities in relation to specified criteria. • Norm-referenced measure compares a learner’s performance against that of other learners in the cohort. • Oral/written responses and actual performance in real-life situations are the most common ways to measure learning achievement. • Assessment procedures that focus on processes of learning, perception, and problem solving such as: logs , critical reflections and portfolios could be used in collaborative environments. • Assessment must promote and support learning and become a continuous part of the learning process, either during or at the end of a course.

24. Assessment & e-learning • Computer-assisted assessment: The application of computers to assessment processes, including delivery of tests, capture of responses and marking by either computer or human marker (JISC). • Authoring tools and assessment software offer possibilities to design various assessment procedures. • Virtual educational environments (VLE, LMS, LCMS) come with built-in assessment tools which allow the development of questions and surveys. • But most of these environments, are still lagging behind in the provision of effective assessment tools that can be used for a range of complex assessment activities. • Major threats to assessment practices in e-learning include the increased risks of security and plagiarism.

25. Feedback • Qualitative information given to learners after an assessment about their performance. • Feedback is aimed at correcting errors in understanding and performance. • Usually it is designed to inform learners about the quality and/or the accuracy of their responses, but it can also designed to understanding of subject matter content or to influence affective learning outcomes such as motivation. • Researchers recommend immediate feedback for conventional educational settings. • ICT can deliver feedback directly to the learners. • Assessment activities are most effective when they are accompanied with feedback.

26. 4th Flash Activity • Τι κατανοείτε με τον όρο “Moderation of the learning process” • Τι είναι και πως σχετίζεται με το e-learning? 26

27. Moderation • Moderation of the learning process comprises supporting learning with the help of a variety of instructional interventions. • It is often carried out by teachers and tutors as well as students themselves serving several educational purposes such as provision of feedback. • In e-learning setting, where the teacher and learner are separated (place and time), moderation takes on an added degree of importance. • E-moderation refers to the acts of managing, facilitating and engendering group based computer-mediated communication (CMC) synchronously or asynchronously. • E-moderation skills are critical in supporting students who are studying online and often they have to be taught how to take advantage of the opportunities that ICTs afford.

28. Salmon’s 5-stage model (2000) • Each stage requires participants to master certain technical skills (shown in the bottom left of each step). • Each stage calls for different e-moderating skills (shown on the right top of each step). • The “interactivity bar” running along the right of the flight of steps suggests the intensity of interactivity that you can expect between the participants at each stage. • At first, at stage one, they interact only with one or two others. • After stage two, the numbers of others with whom they interact, and the frequency, gradually increases, although stage five often results in a return to more individual pursuits.

29. Synchronous / threaded asynchronous discussion E-Primer Series – Online Discourse, Mark Nichols, 2009

30. CMC applications • E-mail: one-to-one communication • E-mailing lists: one-to-many communication • chat: one-to-one and one-to-many communication • Instant messaging. • Electronic bulletin boards: one-to-many communication. • e-forums. • Blogs / wikis. • Audio/video--conferencing: one-to-one, one-to-many, communication. • Shared desktop/whiteboard • Virtual worlds (second life).