Moving Toward Dynamic Technologies
Personally, I'm well over toward the dynamic limit of the spectrum. I really like to interact with others and try new things that offer a more creative perspective to distance education. Let's face it, taking this course is also aimed at a more dynamic view and experience.
This must be tempered, though, with the understanding of the principles of education and how they apply to distance education. Workability and practicality is very important.
In my work, therefore, in distance education, I tend to be more conservative, using only tried technologies with a good track record. In science education, it's easy to lose students. The material has a fairly high learning curve and it pays to stay on track with proven "learning objects" if we can extend that definition to include standard text books and laboratories.
I see this as different communication patterns. You read a textbook or watch a video and then you share an opinion or reply to a question. The cycle occurs over a longer period than in a chat or video conference. It takes longer to generate new ideas. You ruminate for weeks or longer at times and then express some new opinion, some hypothesis of your own. Scientists did this a centuty ago. It was very time consuming, but it produced very good results. Today, and with faster communication systems, the process is streamlined. The exchanges are quicker. In science, it's still faster at the research lab - but the technology helps enormously to gather information and to communicate. I've never seen new ideas generated so quickly or enthusiastically as in a room full of students who have warmed to the subject. The trick would be to produce those same dynamic effects using the new techology tools.
References:
McGreal,R, and Elliott, T. (2008). Technologies of online learning (E-learning). In Anderson, T. (Ed.) The theory and practice of online learning (2nd ed.). (pp. 333-365). Edmonton, AB: AU Press, Athabasca University
Moller, L. (2008). Static and dynamic technological tools. [Unpublished Paper].
For Module 5, I responded to the following 2 blogs:
Christine Rand: http://walden-crand.blogspot.com
Chris Wallo: http://www.cwallo.blogspot.com
Bill,
ReplyDeleteI think you are correct, we need both ends of the spectrum: static and dynamic in education. I am interested to know, seeing as you teach science, how do you employ technology tools in your lesson plans? I’m not asking for every tool or every lesson, but can you quickly give an example of one dynamic tool you now employ in your teaching that you never did before?
-Christine
I agree with your comment about leaning to more dynamic techologies than static. I feel that both are still needed in the classroom. I feel that the interaction made available with the dynamic technologies may be a little more higher order. What is your thought? I wish we had alot more money to get the technology in the classroom.
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