Blended Learning and Technology Integration Matrix

 

I started this week class by informing Madam Ng that I couldn’t understand the link on technology integration matrix that she asked us to read.After few discussion with her, it was a relief that I finally understand how to read the TIM table.

What is TIM?Who needs TIM? Is TIM applicable in our education setting in Malaysia?

Technology Integration Matrix  is designed to assist schools and districts in evaluating the level of technology integration in classrooms and to provide teachers with models of how technology can be integrated throughout instruction in meaningful ways. The TIM is a guide for teachers to prepare their lesson plan and plan their teaching using technology. It is a good scaffold because teachers will know their roles and this matrix provides examples for teachers in preparing the plan.The TIM incorporates five interdependent characteristics of meaningful learning environments: active, collaborative, constructive, authentic, and goal directed (Jonassen, Howland, Moore, & Marra, 2003). It associates five levels of technology integration (i.e., entry, adoption, adaptation, infusion, and transformation) with each of the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments. Together, the five levels of technology integration and the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments create a matrix of 25 cells. Even though TIM is a complicated table (to me) to understand, I believe it would be applicable to Malaysian setting. All we as educators must do is to take this TIM as positive as we could and try to apply it in our t n l.

Later Chan presented on Blended Learning. Student engagement and interactivity are two important points in Blended Learning. I was mesmerized with the video that she used. It was as if I’m in the cinema watching the Star Wars.Ha ha..as usual there are so many wh questions that came across my mind. And this is my summary..

                                          

What is blended learning?

face to face classroom interaction + computer mediated activities = blended learning

Why blend ?

Blended instructional approach can result in learning outcome gains and increased enrollment retention

Blended learning is on the rise in higher education.

and

How to blend?

The blend of face to face and online materials will vary depending on the content, the needs of the students, and the preferences of the instructor

http://weblearning.psu.edu/blended-learning-initiative/what_is_blended_learning

The second session was about Bloom’s Digital taxonomy by Andre Church.First time heard about it.I didn’t know about this new taxonomy.Shame shame.So, I did more readings on Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy.And this is one of the tables

In conclusion, this week lesson is all about preparing teachers in educating younger generations with the use of technology.Blended learning is a combination of face to face with online technology, an approach that is believed would be able to gain interests of the students nowadays.Technology Integration Matrix will help us in scaffolding our lesson and the Blooms Digital Taxonomy will guide us in preparing questions and knowledge for our students. My question would be are all teachers aware of these new ‘toys’ in teaching. And if yes, are teachers willing to accept the changes and challenges in applying these toys in their classes?

The flipped classroom : an innovation in teaching

 

‘A Flipped Classroom’, a topic given by Madam Ng has flipped my life for a week.When I first read about the title, my reaction was to switch my mind off. The next morning I read again in my facebook account..More questions started pouring into my mind , does she mean  turn the classroom upside down when she said ‘flip’..How?..Why? and then I ended up switching off my lappy and went marketing.. On the way , I couldn’t stop thinking about this idea and the rationale behind it. Oh my..this is very challenging and me …

I started reading on the flipped classroom from the links that Madam Ng gave. My mine was on the flipping classroom should I say day and night.

The experience I gained in preparing the powerpoint slide was very expensive.I spent from morning till night in the library preparing and equipping me on more ‘flip weapons’ as I am going for the battle. ha ha..

On Thursday, after so stressed up with the flipped classroom, I decided to go for a walk at Perdana Siswa and I ended up doing mehdi on my right hand.I haven’t done this for my entire life and I did it now at  this age (???)

My mehdi

 

My friday was spent totally on the flipped classroom from morning till night.I was really indulged with this theory which is not noticeable by many Malaysian teachers including me.

Saturday was the day I’ve been waiting to flip the mind of my classmates.It was not an easy job as the Q-A session began. they started shooting me using from a pistol  to a bazooka.. Ha ha.. And there Madam Ng at the back looking at me and my war..Challenging and interesting battle.Who won? that is not the issue. The issue is that was I able to change their mind into this technology???????????????

What is a flipped classroom?

A flipped classroom is a new way created by Chemistry teachers ,Aaron Sams and John Bergmann to teach students using vodcasting. It started with the idea to give input to students who were absent from classes. Students watch the lecture part of the class at home as homework and have more time in class to work on the assignments.They need to watch the videos before coming to the class. The idea is that students will prepare themselves with the whole concept and by the time they come to the class, they will have some understanding about what they are going to learn. Students will ask questions on the part where they are not clear about and the teacher will revisit the concept in a class.

There have been many arguments about the advantages and disadvantages of flipped classroom which I listed below.

Advantages	Disadvantages
increased time spent with students.	it requires technology that some may not have access to.
students can learn at  their own pace.	students cannot ask questions on the spot.
students can rewatch parts of the lecture	students who have low motivation may not watch the video
mastery learning	teachers need to know how to do the video.
more time to do inquiry

There are also comments that ‘flipped classroom is taking advantages of technology.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2011-10-06/flipped-classrooms-virtual-teaching/50681482/1?csp=34news&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+usatoday-NewsTopStories+%28News+-+Top+Stories%29

Frank Noschese, a physics teacher at John Jay High School in Cross River, N.Y., says anything that gives teachers more face time with students is "a good thing." But he says lecturing, even at a leisurely pace, is still bad pedagogy. "It's just kind of 'Lecture 2.0.'"

 

http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2011/10/five-reasons-im-not-flipping-over.html

I believe there are always  pros and cons on whatever techniques or strategies that we used in teaching and learning. It all depends on the teacher to explore and decide on what is best to be applied for his students. As for me, as long as this technique can make my students enjoy the class, it  will be worth  to give a try.If I can try putting mehdi on my hand at this age, flipping the classroom is just another new experience that I would like to explore.

Even though I am going to apply this technique into my teaching next semester, there are few questions that I am waiting to be answered.Will this technique be approved to be used by my administrator? Do I have all the necessary gadgets to use this vodcasting technique? Will I be able to manage the time especially with my project paper and the video making? and finally Will I be able to make my students enjoy my lesson ?

Whatever it is, I am looking forward for the new year and my new resolution, to change the small world of my teaching.

P/s  The preparation for the flipped classroom presentation has almost make me missed my flight last week, Can’t imagine what else could happen  if I am going to spend my whole semester applying this techniques. Hope I can be as cool as the idea.

Schoology vs Wikispace

 

This week was very exhausting for me.After a discussion with Dee, we decided to prepare presentations on the pedagogical strategies of web 1.0 and web 2.0.As I joined the class quite late, Dee told me that pedagogy 1 means pedagogical strategies used in Web 1.0 while pedagogy 2 would mean the pedagogy used in we 2.0. So I ended up browsing all the presentations of my friends in spectrum so that I have a better understanding of web 1.0 and web 2.0. On the eve of the presentation day, both of us ended up burning the midnight oil.

Unfortunately, when we met Madam Ng in the morning before the presentation, we were surprised that 1 means part1 and same goes with 2..Waaaaaaaaa

Madam Ng decided that I should not be presenting and Dee will be presenting alone. She captured everyone’s eyes when she brought  her ‘schoology’ in, a website which is not  new to me as I have come across it last year but was new to most of the ‘it savvy’ in the class.. At least now I feel I’m not that handicapped as before…..

Frankly speaking, schoology is more user friendly compared to wikispace or facebook,two websites which are popular among the educators. Here are the strengths of schoology that I found in the net.

• Free
  Easy to use as the format is the basically the same as Facebook
  Easy to manage your course and calendar
  Allow schedule any assignments or answer any questions at any time
  Give students spaces communicate on academic areas
  Supports many media forms including audio, video and images
  Several ways to communicate with each other and clarify misconceptions
  Combining social networking with learning managements
  Adjust private settings for all users or create groups/ class by yourself

  but there are also the weaknesses
• Need to be frequently checked for the updates
  Students could misunderstand teacher's post
  Student might lead one and other through posts
  Time wasting with add-on applications

and here are some ideas that a teacher can use in the classroom

• Teacher can use the site to post classroom news letters, assignments and any comments
  Teachers can post recourse for students use at home
  Safe place for students to learn about social networking
  Create different pages/groups for different projects in classroom for the students to be able to utilize
  Create Lounge rooms for teachers and parents' communication

http://wikiatuni.wikispaces.com/Advantages+and+Disadvantages+of+Wiki

http://teachweb2.wikispaces.com/schoology

My question for this week is how are we going to make sure that we choose the right platform for our students if we as educators are still juggling with the platform? Is trial and error the answer ? Are we willing to risks the students time especially when the education in Malaysia is so exam-oriented?

Lecture 8 : Today I Learn, Today I Question

 

I was very tired with the materials to be read for this week as they were all too ‘heavy’ for me. It was very difficult for me to digest and then to reproduce the readings in a layman words.  I entered the class late today (almost 8.00 pm) because I was busy trying to understand the materials that was posted by Madam Ng.

But then, when she recapped or should I say summarised it, the only thing that came into my mind was ..Oh, now I know what does ADDIE stands for. Phew. Finally on my 4th class , then only I know that ADDIE is a model and it is an acronym for Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement and Evaluate.

What I could say is that for a teacher or educator to design a web based learning, he or she needs to do the analysis first. And the best part is there are many small ADDIE in the major ADDIE. There are many processes of designing and redesigning before a web based is created.

On the second part of the lesson, when Jessica presented, I on the other hand was trying to relate what she has done to what Madam Ng has mentioned for. And at the same time, I was trying to relate whether our group assignment has all the criteria mentioned by Madam Ng. Oh my..pity the brain..too much of information processing.

I felt relieved when Madam Ng suddenly asked all of us to summarised all that we have learnt for the past 8 weeks into a graphic. For me it was just four weeks. hu hu. We had some discussion and finally managed to come up with this chart..

We believe that in order for PLE to take place, aspects of web based learning and ADDIE need to  work hand in hand to support TPACK, theories and model of learning in engagement .

My question is : Are we teachers well equipped with all these weapons (the knowledge and also the ability to provide PLE)?

 

shakieera

web design for e-learning

 

What I can say is that ‘internet is unpredictable’ and it is the most important thing when we talk about e-learning.This week we learn about the key features for e-learning. There are so much to consider when we plan our lesson.Even how systematic or efficient your lesson is, everything will go to nowhere if there is no internet access.  Ha ha telling from the experience.huh. Yes, we need to have a back up plan..

We couldn’t do much through online this week as there is a problem with the internet access at UM.But that is not a big problem as Madam Ng has lots of information to deliver to us.Later was a presentation by Yee Hui, which I felt is a very good one.Bravo Yee Hui.What came into my thoughts during presentation was only our assignment 3.

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a   crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze

                                                William Wordsworth

This was my feelings when finally Madam Ng asked Yee Hui to explain to us about wikispace and what are the problems that she encountered while designing, and why she used the particular colours and also the particular font. I even asked her to justify her decision on why she used wikispace and not blog for teaching and learning.

 

For me, based on Madam Ng’s and Yee Hui’s explanation, what I can say is that blog is more like a diary compared to a wikispace where you can put lots of things on it. Wikispace has more storage than a blog, So we (I mean my group) have chosen the right medium for our third assignment.

Except we are so illiterate in using wikispace.As usual Madam Ng provided with few websites that we need to read …Ha ha can’t imagine how we’re going to survive without u, Madam..

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” - Maria Robinson

PLE–what I do without realizing it

 

Personal Learning environment, a new topic or should I say a new concept in teaching (to me) that I found very interesting and the most surprising thing, this concept has become my practice without me realizing it.

I’m very thankful and glad that my 2nd week in pxgt6110 is a very enjoyable one. I learn a lot from the presentation and also the discussion that we had after.Madam Ng started the class by asking us to summarize what we have read about PLE and the best part is we did it via online. Bravo madam.

One thing I do like about this concept is that it allows learning to take place at one’s own pace and can be adapted to one’s need be it the facilitator, the facilities, the collaborations and not to forget the time one needs. Eventhough it is called personal learning , it doesn’t mean that learning only takes place for individuals.PLE also exists in group learning.

As dee said this concept involves the collaborative work from all aspects and what I can conclude is that for this concept to take place, the teacher him/herself need to understand the whole process.

Before I pen-off(keyboard off actually), I find this concept beautiful as I myself is using the PLE at the moment with the help from madam ng.

PLE. anyone

                                                                   

new mode new course new friends..

i believe God will test those who He loves. Last week was a very hectic week since i finally managed to change the mode from dissertation to course work and only received the letter of approval on Thursday. It was really tiring since i registered on Thursday and need to work on Friday and the class is on Saturday. Travelling from Penang is not an easy task especially when you are alone.

i was very worried when i first entered pxgt 6110 class. i worried whether the lecturer will allow me to sit in her class, whether i would be able to follow the class and whether i could meet the expectations and finally whether i could survived in the class. Oh God..too many worries. But the worries slowly decreased when i met madam Ng, a very understanding and supportive lecturer.

then came a problem. I couldn't understand what the presenters were delivering. So i browsed the spectrum. It seemed a lot to be done. First the blog which i finally managed to create one. i guess a very simple one compared to those of my friends.

later dee mentioned about d learning contract..i did read about it but failed to understand how it works. then she asked me to write d analysis which i did but again i failed to link it to spectrum. to make my heart beats faster, madam ng mentioned about d assignment. Oh gosh...phew...i only hope madam ng can give me a bit of time though i shouldn't asked for it...

i planned to get some help from the classmates tomorrow...Help...anybody?

Hi

Hi there,
My name is shakirah and my close friends used to call me shark.I'm not good in technologies but am willing to learn from anybody who can lend me a hand be it my lecturer,colleagues,friends or my students.not to forget I learn a lot from my children especially my elder son, angah.