All of you should be proud of what you have achieved and learned over the last couple of weeks during this module! This e-Learning module differs a bit from the other modules in that it incorporates a great deal of self-exploration in the learning process, and also because it asks participants to become comfortable with something new. Apart from that it asks for reflection during the module (which is a difficult although meaningful discipline) and not just at the end, and the process (as mediated by the reflections on the blogs) is also evaluated. Then there is also the coming up with something real and tangible in the form of a learning project, that does not have to exist as a final product, but does have to exist in a theoretical design space. It asks of participants to be scholarly and integrate a lot of the general learning principles into the design of the learning intervention.
eConcern :(
"I wonder wheter JP could recommend us/me to tackle something that is still missing or we should be familiar with before uploading the big assignment at the blackboard. Any ideas?" Quoted from Mirta's blog.Two of the participants' posts contains the word "Concern" and reveal a feeling of aloneness or that something is missing. Although I have tried to explain exactly what the module is al about (i.e. what one has to do) it seems that there are still lingering doubts as to exactly what is expected of participants - especially with the assignment becoming a reality for starting/finalising/ submitting before 10 August on Webstudies.
I guess this feeling comes from having to explore a very broad field of knowledge. e-Learning as a broader concept is very diverse, and one could literally have a whole module for the different kinds of e-Learning available for medical education. From blogs to wikis to social media, to multimedia, to online facilitation to blended learning to podcasting to webconferencing etc etc. Maybe the following pointers will help you to focus and relax into the final few days of the module:
- The module is a broad introduction to e-Learning in HSE and will therefore feel very wide and woolly at first because there is so much to experience and learn.
- Having said that, however, it is imperative that one tries to focus on one or two technologies or e-learning modalities and gain some sort of deeper experience with them. This is why I have encouraged everyone from the start to try and choose a do-able and specific project. This helps to narrow the scope to what interests you very immediately (relevance).
- All of us have gained some experience in the use of a blog (a very useful skill/adventurous journey I hope you will agree) and blogging therefore became one of the common specifics of the course (which some of you will incorporate into your own projects.
- The module framework document (available on Webstudies) does spell out what you have to do, and gives assessment criteria for both the assignment and the blog reflection. There is also more than enough material and links to get "into" the world of e-Learning and to gain a scholarly perspective on e-Learning.
Ideas ideas ideas ...
Mirta asks if I have any ideas that we could tackle? Well ... I have a lot of ideas that we could still discover together, but I am afraid that it will create more confusion for many participants. I think we should call it a day with the official elements already covered (ADDIE, iSpring, Blogs, LMS type designs ... and of course the other technologies that different participants will choose).
We were introduced to new ideas like Twitter (sparked by Worst Case Scenario-Yo), Screencasting, SlideShare, Wikis and the like. These "extras" are dynamic interesting things that grews out of a need to communicate and teach and not as "official" additions to the module curriculum.
Actualy, what we are trying to do here is create a space for a more open learning experience. More self-directed, more integrative, more exploratory - yet with a clear goal or end point.
I might add one or two new things (for fun) into a last few posts, but I want all of you to be finalising your assignments, and writing your last reflections on your blogs.
Please let me know if I can assist with anything.
Ideas Ideas...
ReplyDeleteThanks JP for your support, I have been worried because actually some of those "new ideas" you mentioned as possibilities have been somehow touched by one or another of our posts and every time I come across with a new one I am blown away into discovery, exploration and reflection ... and there had been times when I started considering that I was lost into such a wide world of e-things but I could not stop anyway. So, every now and then I was just going back to the description of the assignment to convince myself that the e-world is so huge that I can only get a wide overview now, get the principles, start with chewing a piece for the practical exercise and then explore other possibilities some time ahead. I must say that some of the ideas, at least for me, have been initially shocking and required a lot of analysis and reflection before I could really accept them. Definitely this module has been an illimited and continuously widening view to the e-learning.
I am glad it helped to contain things a bit. This is indeed one of the greatest dangers of embarking on e-Learning - that one can become adrift in the great ocean of the internet with all it's thousands of new ideas, technologies and silver-lined sites.
ReplyDeleteI like your description of "discovery - exploration - reflection". This is a helpful way of looking at what we do when we immerse ourselves in a new world such as e-Learning.
Thank JP for the support, and the nice atmosphere in which we share our views. I think this e- learning module, although very overwhelming due to excessive amount of unknown things, has immerse us in a lot reflection and action. We as educationalist most encourage more reflection on our learners, sometimes due to time constrain in the curriculum or in our formation as teachers we may not have learn how to engage the students in the process, we do not support it. It is well established that we learn more when we do and reflect about the activity.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, thanks, JP. Still the odd, awry feeling, but I hope I'll survive. Your help and guidance have been very valuable and I will always remember (also planning going back to you, should I need some other related guidance).
ReplyDelete"See" you soon!