Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Engaging Learners with New Strategies and Tools


click image to enlarge
The curatorial teacher sets the stage for learning to take place. Learners are now comfortable with using technology, but can download information faster that they can interpret and use it. The curatorial teacher must make sense of all of the tools that are readily available to learners and create an environment for authentic problem solving.

The teacher should be sure to introduce a detailed syllabus at the start of the class to guide instruction. He/she can also use online lectures, videos, research databases, and journal articles to build content knowledge.

Creating comfortable interactions between stdents and the instructor is one of the most important aspects of the online classroom This can be done through blogs, chat rooms, wikis, email, peer-based learning, a discussion area, and an FAQ area.

There are many tools available to nurture authentic, collaborative problem soving such as iPods, wikis, smartphones, and learning communities. These can promote interaction and effective group assignments.


Take this poll or post your comment on the question of whether or not online learning can be as effective as classroom learning.


View this article which discusses the importance of effective communication in online education. Data is taken from a study at Drexel University for this article.

References
Durrington, V. A., Berryhill, A., & Swafford, J. (2006). Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an online environment. College Teaching, 54(1), 190−193

Siemens, G. (2008, January). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. ITForum.

4 comments:

  1. Kiana,
    You take the cake on creative with that Graphic organizer!
    I have a problem with putting the greater emphasis on the instructor and not on the students. Are we not more responsible than the instructor for our education?

    Marcia

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  2. I like your graphic organizer. I think having a syllabus and rubric is very important when collaborating. We don't use a syllabus very much in elementary grades. It is a little difficult because sometimes you don't know what you will be teaching because the standards sometimes change as does the curriculum map(timeline of what will be taushgt in the year). Parents are given a sketch of what will be taught throughout the year. So I don't think the expectations are always clear.

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  3. Vanessa,

    Don't you have yearly expectations though?

    Marcia

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Marcia,
    Yes, we are very responsible for our learning, but the focus of the week was on how to engage learners, which definitely is the responsibilty of the teacher as the leader or "curator".

    ReplyDelete