Descriptors

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MEd Reflection

As most of you know I am currently studying for an Education degree, and the end is in sight. Only a couple more courses to go and then I finish in spring. My current class has only a week remaining, and my teacher asked us to write a reflection about our time in the class. She wanted us to talk about our experiences and what we have learned. This is that reflection.

Second Life and EFL

Even before I began to pursue a master’s degree in education, I had heard of the potential the Second Life program had for learning.  Created in 2003, Second Life is an online virtual community of millions which is much like life itself; you can choose to do with it what you will.  You can spend your time socializing, exploring, creating, or learning, and there are many options for each.  Recently I decided to try it out, specifically from the perspective of education grad student and teacher of English as a foreign language.  How could I integrate SL into my EFL class?

Over the course of a few days, I created an avatar, took some tutorials, and figured out how to navigate this brave new world. I took classes within SL on subjects that interested  me and had conversations with the people I ran into.  Within the program, I searched for ways that SL could help my own students.  I also researched some outside sources to find out how others had used SL to teach English.  I kept a list of possible applications for EFL students:

Attend virtual classes – A major advantage of online learning is that teachers and students can be brought together regardless of geographic location.  In Second Life, teachers can broadcast their voices, show streaming video, pass out class notes, and do a variety of other actions that help make these virtual classes as educational as brick-and-mortar classes. Best of all, most of these are free!

Listen to podcasts – There are podcasts on nearly any subject imaginable, so students can choose what interests them.  Interest level is a major factor in students’ success.

Meet and chat with new friends in English – This is perhaps the most valuable opportunity for English learners.  Often my students ask me where they can meet native speakers to practice English with.  If the students have a computer with Internet, then Second Life provides the chance to meet plenty of speakers from around the world, and in an environment that is more exciting than just a box of text.

Explore and experience while using English – Students can practice English while simply roaming through the program’s world, viewing what others have created.  They can practice their shopping language while shopping or their restaurant language while eating.

Play alternate reality games – While SL is not a game itself (it is an immersive environment), it does contain many games within it.  Some of the more involved of these are alternate reality games or “quests”.  Advanced students will have so much fun playing these that they will forget they are even studying English.

How would I use these applications in my classes?  First of all, my students are of all ages, but it seems clear that SL is not for everyone.  The world is intended for only those 16 and above. Computer literacy is also a prerequisite.  There is the concern about inappropriate content, but the site has safeguards built in, and many educational institutions all over the world feel comfortable using it everyday.  So, for my older and more advanced students, there appears to be two options.  They can either use the computer lab at school to try SL with a teacher assisting, or they can connect from home.  Then they can discuss their experiences next time they come to class.

Second Life can be downloaded from its official site.  It is an open educational resource that should not be overlooked. For further information about EFL in SL, read this paper.

 

Wang, C.; Lefaiver, M.; Wang, Q.; & Hunt, C. (2011). Teaching in an EFL program in second life: Student teachers’ perspectives and implications. Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange, 4(1), 27-40.

Digitally Mediated Learning Activity

As longtime readers know, at Interopia we know the value of education.  We are always educating ourselves, and hopefully our resources can educate you too.  We are also interested in how to improve the state of education today.  It is our belief that an informed use of technology can increase learning and open up otherwise closed doors for students all over the world.  That is why 8 weeks ago we began designing a digitally mediated learning activity for our EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students.  Please take a look at the project proposal and let us know if you have any feedback.

Three Types of Classroom: Face-to-face, Online, and Hybrid

For a long time, most of history, the most popular type of formal education was one in which a teacher sat down with students in a brick and mortar building and taught material with the use of textbooks and other teaching aids. Then, along came the internet, which introduced a new possibility, teaching students through computers over long distances. No longer was a common physical meeting place necessary. It was replaced by a virtual one. The hybrid classroom also emerged, combining the traditional and online classrooms in various degrees. Each of these three education scenarios has its advantages. For example, there are many teaching strategies listed on the MERLOT Pedagogy site (link below), and each one might be most suitable in one of three learning environments.

The face-to-face (F2F) learning environment is the one usually associated with traditional formal education. One advantage of this setup is that communication is made easier, as it could be considered more personal than communicating digitally. Teachers and students can read the expressions on each other’s faces, allowing for more information to be passed along than just mere words allow. This allows people to pick up subtleties in language, such as a teacher’s sense of humor, or perhaps a student’s hesitation and lack of understanding. In many cases, students can also get more immediate feedback than they would be able to in an asynchronous online learning environment. All the student has to do is raise their hand or stop by the teacher’s office to get help. The teaching strategy of Problem-Based Learning would probably work best in a F2F situation. In this strategy students are faced with problems that they must solve by working in groups. It makes sense that students should meet in “real life” to solve these real life problems. And group work is also easier to do in person, until the day virtual reality becomes sufficiently realistic and commonplace.

Online learning might lack the aforementioned communication advantage, but it has its own benefits. Of course, online education covers a very wide variety of methods, so it is hard to make blanket statements covering them all. For instance, my online class, an asynchronous discussion-based class, is only one form that online learning can take. This type allows students to create their own study schedule around the other responsibilities in their lives. Online learning can also be synchronous, in which class members log in at the same time and communicate via text, audio, or video. The most obvious advantage that both of these forms have is that students don’t have to be living in the same place. For instance, I am able to study for my master’s degree while living internationally. Other advantages, depending on type of online education, include more access to online resources and possibly less fear of participating and sharing opinions. I think the Writing Assignment teaching strategy described on the MERLOT site would be perfect for an online learning environment. The teacher’s job is to assign a writing assignment which involves critical thinking and then evaluate the student’s work. Because this can all be done through the written word, online education often uses this teaching strategy.

Combining F2F and online learning creates hybrid (or blended) learning, which can also take many different forms. Perhaps the class is mainly taught in a classroom and the online component is used as a supplement to the F2F learning. Or perhaps the class is predominantly online, but meets occasionally in person for activities not possible in cyberspace. Perhaps lectures are in person, but homework is submitted online. The possible permutations of hybrid education are limitless. One advantage of hybrid classrooms is that they can assist students who have trouble staying motivated in a purely online class. However, hybrid classes take a lot preparation time for teachers. For more information about hybrid setups in K-12 schools, including 6 different hybrid models, read this paper, The Rise of K-12 Blended Learning. A teaching strategy from the MERLOT site that might work well in a hybrid situation is Team-Based Learning. This is group work in which student teams retain constant members from week to week. Students are responsible to make their own contribution to the group in each class, based on what they have learned outside of class. By making this a hybrid activity, group members could collaborate both in and outside of class, keeping in contact through discussion boards or team-authored wikis.

Soon I will be carrying out a learning activity of my own design. Its goal is to improve the English of ESL students, namely their grammar and vocabulary usage. Rather than focus on all grammar and vocabulary, my learning activity will address the most common mistakes made by my students. The activity will take the form of a game on a website, meaning it could be incorporated into either an online or hybrid class. Teachers in a hybrid class could choose to either supervise students doing the activity in class, or assign it for homework. Either way, teachers could use the activity to concentrate on the weaknesses they have identified in each student.

Have you ever studied online before? Do you think there will always be a place for face-to-face education?

Horn, Michael B.; Heather Staker. (January 2011). The rise of K-12 Blended Learning. Retrieved from http://www.innosightinstitute.org/innosight/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/The-Rise-of-K-12-Blended-Learning.pdf

Merlot Pedagogy. (2012). Retrieved from http://pedagogy.merlot.org/TeachingStrategies.html.

Improving Education Through Communities of Practice & Professional Learning Communities

Have you ever heard of communities of practice (CoPs) or professional learning communities (PLCs)? They are both forms of collaborative learning and are similar in many ways. Both can be used in various work environments or fields, but are particularly useful in education. Both attempt to improve students’ learning, by sharing ideas and experiences and by giving and receiving feedback. Both can be assisted by information and communication technologies. However, despite their similarities, they are somewhat different.

Communities of practice focus on learners and are based on the idea that learning is inherently social. Not only can students learn from teachers, but they can also learn from each other. The roots of CoP theory began in the 1960s with research by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, who studied the education of tailors in Africa. They noticed that people working together in a community of practice actually learned more from other students than their teacher (“Etienne”, 2011). In a CoP, members are united by a common interest and a common practice, yet each contributes something unique to the group. CoPs serve to educate each individual member while simultaneously increasing collective knowledge. CoPs differ from project groups in that individuals tend to come together more naturally and tend to have different goals. Not only can CoPs be helpful, they can also make working more enjoyable.

PLCs, another type of community, focus on teachers and how they can improve the end product of their teaching…the students’ learning. In order to form a PLC, a school principal or department head will form groups of about 5 or 6 teachers, assigning one of them as a leader. A regular meeting time for these teachers is set. The group uses this time to collaborate and discuss creative ways to improve their students’ learning (Adams, 2009). According to Richard DuFour, teachers collaborating in a PLC need to answer three questions: “What should students be learning?”, “How do we know when they have learned it?”, and “How will we respond to learning difficulties?” (Bray, 2009). At each meeting, group members have the opportunity to address specific problems they have encountered. An advantage of these groups is that they can accomplish more than the sum of their parts.

Recent advances in technology have streamlined the formation and practices of CoPs and PLCs. Now, instead of being limited by geographic location (as the learning communities in Africa were), students and teachers can collaborate with others from all over the world, given that they have Internet access. Technology also makes these communities more customizable. Members of learning communities used to be uncontrollable, but now everyone can choose who they want to be part of their personal learning community, using social networks such as Twitter. These personal learning communities are becoming larger than ever, bringing more and more ideas into the fold. To prevent information overload, users can be selective in choosing whom to collaborate with, much in the same way they should be selective when finding research on the Internet. Besides giving people a way to meet each other, the Internet also gives them a forum in which to share ideas and work out problems. These online communities can be used to supplement and enhance face-to-face PLC meetings.

I’m thinking about starting a PLC at my school. How about you?

References:
Adams, C. (2009). The power of collaboration. Instructor, 119(1), 28-31. Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3752271
Bray, Barbara. (2009). Does your PLN help your PLC become a CoP? Rethinking Learning. Retrieved from http://my-ecoach.com/blogs.php?action=view_post&blog=8&post=8035
“Etienne Wenger.” T+D 65.4 (2011): 96-97. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Dec. 2011.