Module 5 responses

I responded to Thomas, Margaret, K C Davis, and Amanda's blogs.

Module 5

Briefly describe a situation in which you have encouraged people to use a new technology and have been met with resistance or disappointing results. What attitudes did these people exhibit? What behaviors did they demonstrate?

Using Keller’s ARCS model, describe how you could change the motivation of these people, or learners, to encourage success.

Many years ago I was ecstatic to find out that my district was going to provide a way for teachers to have class web pages. Being that I have always found technology interesting I volunteered to go to the trainings offered to learn HTML code and the program that we would be using. This of course meant that I would be the webmaster for my school. How hard could it be?

So I went to the trainings and felt very out of my element for I had never taken a class on HTML and thought to myself that I was a bit in over my head. None-the-less I pressed on and began to develop my page as a prototype. I came back to school with a new excitement on ways we can reach our students and parents and showcase the successes of our classroom.

I was asked to present to the staff on the web page, how to use it, and the "rules" needed to follow for the safety of our students. Upon presenting to the staff I was received with less than smiling faces as I proceeded to go over what could and what could not be on this pages, the protocol for getting a page posted, and the districts views on outside web pages to be used.

Needless to say teachers were not knocking down my door to get their pages up and running. The overall attitude was, "Is it required?" Since it was only suggested many teachers forgot the information meeting even happened and continued throughout the school year. At that point I went to those teachers that had a tendency towards technology and asked them if they wanted their page up and offered my assistance to make it as easy as possible. With the resistance and irritation subsided for a few teachers that year, I worked on those pages.

Looking back at that school year and using the Keller's ARCS Model, I may have been able to get a few more teachers on board. Listed below is a table of ideas that could have helped.

Attention
*showing varying web pages that were good and poor examples
*having teachers work in small groups to list characteristics
*changing groups and reevaluating the list to see if there were others to add and/or change

Relevance
*explaining the need for teachers to move forward with technology
*providing a commonality to education that web sites help solidify

Confidence
*asking teachers to work in pairs of varying levels to create what they would want on their web page
*providing a basic template for teachers to work form, eliminating the complexity
*providing mini-workshops for teachers to receive one: one help

Satisfaction
*providing a contest to see the best web page
*having a presentation to students to showcase their teacher’s work
*showcasing a different teacher’s web page at staff meetings
*providing information to parents through the newsletters of the school and classrooms

Module 4 responses

I have responded to: KC Davis, Margaret, Kiana, and Amy's blogs.

Module 4-Connectivism

Reflection:
How has your network changed the way you learn?

My network has changed how I learn in that I can get the information I need quickly and with relative ease. Instead of relying on personal contact for my information, I can now search globally for personal contacts that can help facilitate my learning or use digital books and web sites to satisfy my curiousity.


Which digital tools best facilitate learning for you?

The digital tools that faciltitate learning for me are Google and my graduate connections through the Walden University portal. These tools are a daily partof my learning both personally and professionally.

How do you learn new knowledge when you have questions?

When I have questions about a topic I turn to the internet for my answers. I do a general serach for the topic and determine then if I need to search further, redefine my search, or seek alternative research methods. More times than not, my answer can be found through my general searching.

Module 3 comments

I have replied to Krista, Margaret, and Eric's blogs.

Module 3

Do you believe that humans have a basic instinct to “interact and work as a group,” as Rheingold proposed in his discussion of the evolution of Wikipedia as a collectively developed encyclopedia? How can technology facilitate collaboration among learners based on constructivist principles?



Over time humans have worked to establish towns and communities all over the world. Men have come together to build houses, churches, railroads, and more. It seems that by looking at the path humans have taken over time that I believe there is a basic instinct to interact and work as a group. Technology can now help people interact all over the globe in order to reach a common goal. It is no longer important to have the builder, plumber, and owner in the same place at the same time per say. Meetings can be held via Skype and e-mails take the place of long meetings going over specifics.



Technology has the power to bring together more people to acheive a common goal. Constructivist prinicples focus on the learner making connections to their own background and building upon it. They also focus on the learner having an authentic experience in order to gain a true understanding of the material being presented. With this in mind, technology can provide a hands on experience for people to engage in virtual simulations that will allow them the experience without ever leaving their home or office. With this new wave of learning available people can now take their learning to places never thought of before.



Reference:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer) (2008). "Way-New Collaboration." featuring
Dr. Howard Rheingold [http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard rheingold on
collaboration. html.]

Module 2 Comments

I have commented on Kiana, Margaret, Rhonda, Evonie, and Eric's blogs.