Delivering a MOOC using a social networking site: The SMOOC design model

This paper articulates a design model for a SMOOC or Social networking site situated MOOC. A noncredit open online course entitled Social Media Tools and Supporting Your Professional Learning (AUSMT) is one example of a SMOOC that the researchers have designed and delivered. The course was delivered within a social networking site (SNS) group and the learning activities utilized social media tools for content delivery and student engagement. A secondary outcome of the course is a persistent “group” repository of resources and activities for students who have access to the specific SNS. The AUSMT course can be characterized as a type of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) as it has similar organization and delivery of learner activities/engagement. Developed using the Networked Learning Framework (NLF), this course is an example of an implementation that makes use of a SNS “group” as an organizational structure and virtual meeting place for learners. One challenge identified in the literature with respect to MOOCs is the lack of control that may be needed for pedagogical or organizational reasons. The SMOOC model addresses this challenge and provides other benefits which make the concept useable in more formalized learning. Additional research detailing the specific student activities and resources resulting in student learning in a SMOOC, as well as how these can be assessed for more formalized learning are topics identified for future research

Seeking Connectivist freedom and Instructivist safety in a MOOC

Many MOOCs rely on instructivist pedagogies, in which teaching follows a top-down transmission model. Whether they follow a behaviourist, cognitivist or constructivist path, teachers guide or dictate activities as well as provide information that learners use in learning. In most cases, learners are not treated as sources of knowledge but as recipients or, at best, constructors of it. This is a waste of the vast pools of skills and knowledge that inevitably exist in any large collection of learners and is diametrically opposed to the principles behind earlier but now less commonplace connectivist MOOCs (cMoocs). Such cMOOCs, at least in principle, benefit from scale – they gain value the more people there are engaged in them because, though they coalesce around shared events and resources that resemble the instructivist patterns of publication, learners generate and design their own learning paths, discussing, debating, sharing their learning in rich networks and clusters of networks. As part of a strategy to explore different approaches to MOOC delivery, we developed a site using the Elgg social media framework in order to attempt to gain benefits of social sharing to support learning. Participating in the Digital Age, a six-week Australian MOOC (PDA MOOC), self-referentially was concerned with learning to be a digital citizen while using participatory tools to do so. In this paper we report on the theoretical foundations of the design, its technical implementation, and the benefits and disadvantages of the approach when the course was run

Applying Constructionist Principles to Online Teacher Professional Development

This report explores the first iteration of a teacher professional development courseletgrounded in constructionist theory and activities. This online teacher professional development(oTPD) courselet provided opportunities for teachers to engage in just-in-time, ongoingTPD within a social networking site for educators. The topic of the oTPD was Roboticsand Hands-on Activities in the Classroom. The courselet was designed for teachers who areinterested in integrating constructionist pedagogies into their practice. Key findings of thefirst delivery of the oTPD courselet point to a need for flexible access, sharing of resources,and support for constructionist pedagogical activities as a PD value for participants. Findingsfurther support the potential for an ongoing online community of practice around roboticsin the classroom. The approach taken in this oTPD courselet of study continues toinform a model of oTPD delivery within a social-networking-enabled environment

Digital Badges in Education

Digital badges provide new affordances for online educational activities and experiences. When used with points and leaderboards, a badge can become a gamification element allowing learners to compete with themselves or others, and to know how close they are to accomplishing a goal and acquiring its accompanying reputation. In this role, badges motivate continued engagement, which increases time on task and supports skill acquisition through performance. Learning outcomes signified by badges can also be displayed in an e-portfolio or on web sites and are highly transportable to social media sites. In this role they summarize achievement and signal accomplishment. With these characteristics, digital badges have the potential to become an alternative credentialing system, providing visible recognition in digital symbols that link directly via metadata to validating evidence of educational achievements in public displays. This paper will trace the brief history of digital badges, define what they are, give examples of their use, and discuss their educational affordances

Use of Mobile Phones for Interaction in Distance Education

Distance education is a widely adopted technology in many developed parts of the world where educational agencies are constantly considering new technologies that can serve as a medium for instructional delivery and interaction. Mobile phones are one of the most recent technologies to gain much consideration and use. This brief paper outlines the current state of distance education, delivery mediums, and instructional approaches that foster interaction to promote effective learning. Particular emphasis is given to the potential for mobile devices to be used as effective instructional tools in distance education in Pakistan and other underdeveloped countries. The proposed study will measure the willingness of instructors and learners to adopt the use of mobile technologies for interactive distance education. The proposed research design, sample size and selection, instruments, procedures, and analysis are open for discussion and critique

Mobile Teaching and Learning Technologies: Ukrainian Dance Instruction in Canada

This paper explores the process of introducing iPods into the context of Ukrainian dance instruction. In particular we focus on how one teacher incorporated these tools to support student and instructor learning. Further we explore the affordances of the tool identified by the teachers to support dance instruction and learning. In this research, the teacher identified a focus on demonstration and mobility strategies as a meaningful starting point for the use of the technology. They acknowledge that dance choreography and composition are complex and often identified as difficult to teach. The incorporation of iPods solved many long-standing challenges for the teacher who incorporated these within meaningful educational experiences. However, the planning and incorporation of these in educational contexts was a long and challenging process. This paper explores this planning and implementation process and the challenges it overcame to support the incorporation of the technology within the dance class context

External Professional Development Organization Supports for K-12 School Initiatives: A Leadership Study

This paper presents initial findings of a qualitative study exploring K-12 leadership approaches that utilize external professional development (PD) support. The pilot study consisted of 19 questions asked in a semi-structured interview. Results of the study indicate that school administrators find a cooperative leadership approach utilizing teacher professional development valuable for the implementation of non-mandated school wide initiatives. The study results confirmed that professional development supports for school initiatives are an integral part of a school initiative implementation plan. Administrators identify key external PD organization supports for an initiative as: provision of “big picture” information for administration, opportunity for staff to participate in PD opportunities and discussions, provide implementation resource materials, and where possible provide ongoing, scaffolded training. The role administrators take on with external PD organizations can be described as a project liaison. Further research on the effectiveness of PD organization support resulting in a change in teacher practice is needed

The iPad as Mobile Teaching Device: Multimedia Database Access in a Classroom Context

The problem presented in this action-based research paper is “How can a multimedia database be utilized as a teaching and learning technology in the classroom?” This paper describes uses of the iPad as a mobile handheld delivery device for multimedia database components. Teaching strategies, utilizing the iPad as a teaching and learning tool, benefit from several key affordances over previous iPod generations: ease of interaction (touch screen), increased screen size, controllable multimedia playback, significant volume, and WiFi access. The teaching strategies described in this paper include the leading of mobile small group demonstrations, leading large group demonstrations, and student-directed playback-and-practice activities. An overview of the processes used to create a video database on an iPad is presented as a component of successful use. Further research exploring iPad utilization in other educational contexts is needed

Designing learning activities in a social networking environment: Challenges, successes, and lessons learned

This paper reports on the design and delivery of a non-credit self-directed online course entitled Social Media Tools and Supporting Your Professional Learning (AUSMT). The primary impetus for the course was to provide practice in and support of student use of the social media tools available in social networking site environments for learning. The learning activities were designed to engage students in professional learning using interactive social media tools such as: microblogging, forum discussions, blogs, wiki pages, social bookmarking, and social media resources. Findings of this active research project indicate that this type of learning design results in students: learning about social media use, leaning how to improve professional material sourcing, and learning what the social media landscape consists of, while still retaining the feel of a controlled environment. Motivational factors and the facilitator role when future students navigate this open course are topics of further research

The iPad in the K12 classroom: Implementation and professional development support for integrating digital storytelling activities

This paper presents successes and challenges of an iPad implementation project in five rural K-12 classrooms. A need to connect what was happening in these schools, with regards to supporting 21st Century skills integration, to the larger community had been identified. The incorporation of digital storytelling activities supported by iPad2 technology into classroom practice was identified as a pedagogical implementation that could, over time, meet this need. Classrooms involved in this project were provided with: a “teacher” iPad2, 4-8 “student” iPad2s, digital storytelling Apps and iTunes accounts, face-to-face professional development sessions, socially networked professional development support, and direct classroom activity support during the first half of a school year. A key finding is that in order for digital storytelling to be successful in the classroom, a simple repeatable workflow for story creation is required. Other findings include teacher insights regarding mobile technology, engagement of students with iPad2 devices, use of mobile apps, and challenges with device management. Further research on how to support teacher sharing at a distance as well as developing a learning community for technology implementation is needed. Additionally, further examination of the theories underscoring strategies meant to tie communities to school and 21st Century curriculum is needed