Category: Digital Age Teachers

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LMS: Everything You Need to Know

This is an acronym for Learning Management System, e.g., Blackboard, which functions chiefly to help educators provide educational instructions to students while assessing them via online means. An LMS can be personalized/adapted to suit the needs of the educator and students alike.

Using an LMS offers a multitude of benefits in a school setting. Some important ones include the following:

Efficient distribution of class materials: By using an LMS to share class materials, all students – whether they’re learning remotely or in class – can have access to the lessons, including resources, objectives, and activities. Textbooks can also be shared online through software applications.

Availability of resources in different formats: Educators can disseminate resources in a diverse range of formats. They can gather multiple resources on a skill or topic that will help students understand the content in a way that suits them.

Parental access to assessment dates and class schedules: Parents and guardians can access their kids’ assessment dates, class schedules, class outlines, etc. This creates opportunities for meaningful conversations between teachers and parents/guardians regarding students’ performance and activities.

Diverse assessment options: Teachers can conduct assessments in multiple formats using an LMS. Multiple choices, short quizzes, etc., provide the opportunity to offer immediate feedback. Educators can also reference external sites to use topics or questions from them. Students can upload their work in different formats, including videos, podcasts, or screencasts.

Transparent feedback: Feedback from educators for summative and formative assessments can be easily shared with students through an LMS. Feedback can also be sent to parents and stored in the LMS so students can easily access them later.

Tracking student data: Teachers can use the LMS to store data from student attendance and assessments. It helps them easily identify the students who need additional support. Similarly, they can identify gifted students and those who are talented in multiple subjects.

Cost-effective strategy: Schools can save a substantial amount of money in the long run by implementing an LMS. While the price of the solution goes up depending on the scale of a school’s system, it helps to cut costs in several aspects.

Deeper insights: An LMS provides deep insights that help educators and schools make informed decisions. It also gives deeper insights into students’ overall performance – much more than attendance, grades, and performance reviews. The system can analyze students’ past records and extracurricular activities and generate detailed reports, which help schools and educators track the students’ overall progress.

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ADDIE Model: Everything You Need to Know

This is an instructional design model, which requires the effective implementation of technology in one’s classroom as an educator.

The model comprises five steps, namely: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. In the Analysis phase, the educator must specify the goals of instruction and then design/plan class activities and lessons around the achievement of these goals (this is the Design Phase).

The next step the educator must take in this model is the development of lesson ideas/plans into a cohesive & organized lesson. Once the lesson has been implemented, an evaluation process must take place. This includes the answering of questions, such as:

·         Was there a noticeable improvement in student learning with the introduction of technology?

·         Was the educator able to achieve the laid-out instructional goals and objectives?

·         Was this process so beneficial that the educator would like to keep doing it in the future?

·         Are there any amends that could be made so this model is more effectively wielded in the future?

The ADDIE model comes with both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages include:

·         The on-point nature of the structure helps instructors know what action they should take before moving to another one.

·         It’s great for offline, online, and blended learning.

·         Trainers can evaluate objectives and results to identify which areas of the course require further attention.

·         In an industry filled with technicalities, ADDIE puts design into the core creating process, engaging more and more students.

The disadvantages of the ADDIE model include:

·         The time-consuming nature is probably the biggest disadvantage of the ADDIE model.

·         In the ADDIE model, instructional designers need to deal with a cycle concept. This means that if one part of the cycle is negatively impacted, they’re probably going to worry about the entire thing.

Many modern learning professionals think that the ADDIE model is outdated because of its linear process and rigidity. Outdated or not, it’s still one of the sought-after learning models in higher and corporate education. While the model was actually developed to be hierarchical, today, it’s frequently used with a continual iterative approach. It means all the five steps are first followed in order. Once done, the model can be restarted from the analysis phase to continue enhancing the end product. Those looking to gain a detailed understanding of the ADDIE model can choose to join the fully online ADDIE for Instructional Design Certificate program.

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Connectivism: Everything You Need to Know

Connectivism is a theory which deals with digital age learning, and it was advanced by George Siemens. Based on this theory, the formation of networks and connections leads to learning.  As such, teachers need to aid students in forming connections between previously acquired knowledge and newly acquired knowledge while identifying the gaps in their current knowledge.

Technology has made it relatively easier for students to gain as much information as possible on specific topics of their interest. Indeed, this form of in-depth search and self-driven learning needs to be encouraged. Connectivism emphasizes the concept that the process of learning isn’t a wholly internal process, and it helps students find the link between ideas and knowledge while engaging in their own self-directed search for knowledge. Technology also increases the ability to connect with others and engage in bi-directional knowledge sharing. 

Connectivism in the classroom can benefit both the educator and the student. The benefits include:

It creates collaboration: Within connectivism, learning happens when peers are connected and share viewpoints, ideas, and opinions via a collaborative process. Connectivism lets a community of individuals legitimize what they’re doing, so knowledge can spread more quickly via multiple communities.

It supports diversity: Connectivism supports the diversity of opinions and individual perspectives, theoretically providing no hierarchy for knowledge’s value.

It empowers teachers and students: Connectivism transfers the learning responsibilities from the educator to the student. It’s up to the students to develop their own learning experiences.

Some ways to introduce connectivism in the classroom include:

Gamification: Gamification takes activities and assignments and incorporates them into competitive games to make learning an interactive experience. There’re many instructional technologies and learning-based apps that teachers can use to add a component of gamification to the classroom.

Simulations: Simulations engage pupils in deep learning that enables comprehension as opposed to surface learning that only needs memorization. They also add fun and interest to a classroom.

Social media: Educators can implement connectivism is via the use of social media in the classroom. For instance, a Twitter account for the class can be used to engage in discussion, announce homework tasks, or share information. This can help improve class engagement and open the channels of discussion among teachers and students.

Incorporating some or all these examples is an excellent way to provide the students with more control over the content and pacing of their learning. It also generates opportunities for individualized learning to suit each student’s unique strengths and needs.

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TPaCK Framework: Everything You Need to Know

In the TPACK, or Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge Framework, teachers need to recognize the relationship between content and pedagogy. A solid understanding of the interconnectedness of technical know-how, pedagogical know-how, and knowledge of the material itself/content is critical to the active utilization of edtech. The framework was introduced by Matthew J. Koehler and Punya Mishra n 2006.

The TPACK framework has three components. These include:

Technological knowledge: It helps teachers utilize and combine technology with teaching. Teachers can use their knowledge and comprehension of tools to teach.

Pedagogical knowledge: It stands for the art and practice of teaching. Pedagogy not only stands for the accuracy of knowledge but the teaching’s effectiveness on the student’s learning. A teacher might know everything but doesn’t know how to teach.

Content knowledge: It refers to the teacher’s knowledge of the subject matter to be taught or learned. This knowledge will include knowledge of ideas, concepts, frameworks, and theories.

TPACK is a crucial element of the education system today as it includes the increasing demand for the utilization of technology in the classroom and continuing the focus on the content and the way educators teach it. Therefore, it sets both education and the students up for the future.

The teacher must be fully knowledgeable and up to date with the curriculum and the elements of TPACK to successfully incorporate it into their lessons. Students of the millennium perform better through technology and quite often find direct teaching and the content stale. Therefore, by adding the technology element to the already present PCK model, educators can make the students more engaged in their learning.

The TPACK approach doesn’t view the knowledge areas in isolation. Instead, it emphasizes the intersections of the knowledge areas as the following:

·         Technological Content Knowledge (TCK): Understanding how the technology tools available to teachers can transform or enhance the content, how it’s delivered to pupils, and how the students can interact with it.

·         Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK): Knowing the best practices for teaching particular content to particular students.

·         Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK): Knowing how to utilize the technology tools as a vehicle to the learning experiences and outcomes teachers want.

Probably the most obvious benefit of the TPACK framework is that it allows teachers to reflect on and examine their practice and the way technology is integrated into the classroom. It also recognizes the crucial intersections between tech, pedagogy, and content.

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Actionable Advice for Educators to Move to ELearning

Suppose you are an educator who has just made a move from physical schooling to online teaching. In that case, you are probably aware of how different the two forms of education actually are. For this reason, most educators are scared to transition from one format to the other. 

There are ways in which you can make a move easier for yourself and your learners. We will be examining three ways educators can make the transition from physical schooling to online teaching much easier. 

Stick to the Curriculum

Sometimes the curriculum can make instruction a lot more complicated than it has to be. For instance, use the video if the curriculum tells you to teach a work section using an online worksheet, but you find a video explaining the lesson perfectly. You must make these decisions based on whether or not they will save you time and how your online learners will react to the teaching method. 

Don’t Skip the Question and Answer Sessions

Answering any questions that your learners may have is an essential part of teaching. This is especially true when it comes to eLearning. 

In eLearning, learners do not get the chance to raise their hands if they are confused. Learners can search for answers, but the answers that they receive are not customized. For this reason, question and answer sessions become vital in an eLearning setting. 

These meetings are also a great way for educators to understand where their learners are when it comes to working. Educators monitor the learners’ classwork in physical schooling to understand what sections they struggle with and where they may need assistance. They then modify their lessons based on this fact. In online schooling, Q&A sessions should be used to plan future lessons.  

Conclusion

Becoming an online educator can be quite an adjustment. There are many ways in which you can make your job easier for yourself and your learners. 

For starters, stay to the curriculum, but know that you can take shortcuts when needed. You must offer your learners Q&A sessions. This will help them alleviate their confusion, but it will also help you understand where your learners are in their school work. Finally, use teaching resources, such as Pedagogue and YouTube, when possible.

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Making a Case for M-learning

Most educational institutes thought they had time to implement an m-learning strategy. They got a wake-up call in March of 2020. Learners and educators scrambled for remote ways to finish their curricula. Even if life goes back to normal, there’s a case of form-learning. Let’s look at the benefits it offers.

1. Provides a Safe Learning Environment

M-learning will continue to provide a safe learning environment; be that protection from contagion or disruption in conflict and disaster areas. Young people and women will be saved from unsafe commutes. 

2. Democratizes Learning

The pandemic also spotlighted the vast discrepancies between affluent and inner-city schools. M-learning can democratize learning to provide disadvantaged learners an equal chance to succeed. Quality content can be shared at a low cost. Platforms like YouTube already make some of the best educators available to anyone in the world, completely free. 

3. Personalized Learning

Feedback from the Speak Up K-12 Schools research initiative reports that learners want personalized learning. Every learner approaches a task with a different set of knowledge and skills. Now, tech enables us to bypass the “one-size-fits-all” approach to conventional education. Personally-targeted instruction that engages learners can be derived from data. And flexible content prompts learners to reflect and take ownership of their progress. 

4. Gives Immediate Feedback and Saves Admin

Educators confirm that grading is both arduous and time-consuming, and it’s left to the end of the day. Crucial feedback is being constructed just when the educator’s energy is lowest. Automated feedback is not only automated but can be immediate. It enables the learner to proceed on a trial and error basis while still engaged with the content.

5. Builds New Communities

Among educators and learners alike, we are seeing these LSM’s building new communities. Educators from opposite ends of the world are collaborating on shared interests. And learners who may never physically meet are free to communicate and exchange ideas in safe, moderated environments. 

6. Supports Disabled Learners

Finally, m-learning allows special-needs learners to participate alongside able learners. Assistive tech allows the physically disabled to integrate seamlessly. And information can be presented in different ways for those with processing issues. 

The empowering effects of this involvement for disabled learners must not be underrated. For most, m-learning is giving them a “voice” for the first time.

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Pedagogical Documentation: A Tool for Teachers

Documentation and data collection are important parts of the job of teachers. The information gathered helps teachers make plans on how to help individual students and the entire class.

Pedagogical Documentation is a method of collecting data that will be used to understand and improve the learning that is taking place in your classroom. By using photography, videos, voice recordings, and notes, educators get as much data as needed to make a record of activities conducted, get to know each student, and track their progress.

How to Collect Information 

Plan your data collection well. Decide what to focus on—will you focus on one particular student? Will it be a small group of students? Are there any students who are isolated?

Aside from taking photos of the activity, take some close-up shots of students doing specific activities such as writing. Are they holding the pencil using the pincer grasp? Is their handwriting legible?

Collect data with a plan in mind. The point of this exercise is to get as much data as possible, but you want to make sure that the data is useful. 

An Example of Data Collection

A weekly collection of data is highly recommended. Map out all activities that will happen throughout the entire school week and determine while data collection method is best for which activity.

If you plan to conduct outdoor activities, you may want to take photos and videos. It might be best to take notes or make voice recordings to avoid distracting students in intimate class activities. It is up to you, the educator, to decide which documentation method is appropriate. The important part is to get enough data.

Some Considerations

·                      Before the start of the school year, make sure to inform the parents and guardians that you will be gathering data, which may involve taking photos and videos of their child. Assure them that these will be kept confidential and will only be used for internal documentation. If possible, have them sign a waiver.

·                      Be mindful of students’ behavior when you’re gathering data. You want to make sure that you are taking photos of people and activities as they are happening naturally. Some students might feel uncomfortable, while others might feel the urge to strike a pose instead of participating in the activity.

·                      Take a pause. Decide on a day wherein you will take a break from pedagogical documentation. Use this time to reflect on the events and activities that you have recorded during the week.  

Final Thoughts

Pedagogical documentation is different from ordinary documentation. Pedagogical documentation has the goal of gathering data to get to know the students and the overall learning environment in the classroom. This documentary information can be used when planning individual interventions. Pedagogical documentation encourages collecting detailed information about students and activities throughout the school year. With this effort, educators may be able to track students’ progress and be able to identify concerns that need to be addressed to create a conducive learning environment.