Re-purposing Web 2.0 application

VoiceThread

A VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that enables us to create a slideshow of images or video and you and others can comment on each
photo by text, audio or video. It can be embed into any webpage.

Allow interactive group discussions to any website.
Each group can place presentation on blog and feedback, critique can be collected
It is a tool that can be used for reflection and to join classes together on a topic.

We can use it for creating a discussion forum.  We can also re-purpose it as a tutorial class for some students who are weak in learning.  We can circle the keypoints on the notes put on screen so that student can focus on those main points.

Review of Activity - Perspective

I choose Perspective to be my discussion example.

The initial impression is " A simple webpage" but it really discusses a very famous and important topic to designers or artists.

From this webpage, you just need to browse 2 pages and answer a worksheet.

I think the author/ teacher prepared this web-learning tool with domain knowledge and knows the way students will think.

It is a Constructivism learning model with the help of Cognitive tool to help student use their mind to process the domain knowledge required to know what is Perspective.

When I firstly look up the page, it will find a little bit difficult to answer the worksheet. However, when you following the instruction and read through the "learning-objective" Shockwave flash, you will learn what is Perspective, Vanishing point, Horizon line, One, Two and Three point Perspective. By applying these knowledge to the worksheet, you will need to think, judge and categorize images into one of the perspective. It is what the purpose of this page: through self-exploration and discovery.

So that the Shockwave Flash is the Cognitive tool that provide a theory and explanation of what they need to learn. Secondly, knowledge transferred. and students remember the rules. From the exercise worksheet, they use assimilation and accommodation of their knowledge to answer instantly. When they finished the exercise and through discussing with peers, they got the knowledge.

Finally, I think this page is suggestible and will simulate students to learn and explore more on Perspective.

To improve learning with and through technology, I suggest it is not only included the worksheet. Students should search through web to provide more examples on what they learnt. And, depends on which level of school of students, teacher may provide web link, the application on each type of perspectives or even videos. It will simulate students think more on this topic and raise up their interest on this field.

Example of Learning with Technology with Constructivist Models

I take Typhoon as the example in my discussion of the e-learning activity. The learning objectives of the e-learning website are very clear that students learn about typhoon, including, its formation, hazards and how to combat the hazards. The activity is presented in the Active Lessons way.

Active Lessons are engaging, technology-based, student-centered learning activities designed by teachers.( Churchill, 2005) Its idea is to empower teachers to easily create technology-based activities that draw upon variety of existing and new digital resources from Internet, repositories of learning objects and other sources, and require students to use technology and create artifacts demonstrating their understanding. (Churchill, 2005)

The e-learning website provides students with an authentic scenario for learning. Students are required to imagine that they write a disaster management plan for the Philippines government. A variety of resources are provided, such as pictures and URLs. Working templates are also provided to scaffold students’ approach to think and finish the tasks.

I think that it is an example of learning with technology with constructivist models. In this case, technology is acted as a tool in learning activities. The students are required to enquiry and solve problems (tasks). The construction of knowledge involves personal discoveries.

My Comments

‘Typhoon’ provides a clear and sufficient guideline for students to finish the learning activities. I think it is also a good example for teachers how to use technology in their teaching as it involves some basic computer skills (simple homepage, Microsoft Word) that most teachers can handle. No complex computer skills, such as flash and programming involved.

elearning - CCNA

Cisco provided a complete set of learning material on networking such lecture notes in Powerpoint format, similation video, chapter quiz, similation software "packet Tracer".

These materials are self-contain and easy to follow. The company make good use of multimedia element and the self-pace learning mode is ideal for students who is busy at work. The chapter quiz help student to assess the level of understanding towards each topic. The similation video shows how the network operate which make the content much easier to understand.

With the similation software, the cost of purchasing hardware is dramatically decreased. Because no physical hardware is required. The software similate the network environment. Students can configure or perform various different operation on the similated network.

Learning Activity – Learning Theories

Learning Activity – Learning Theories

I am going to discuss the webquest "Learning theories" .
"Learning Theories" is a computer-based tutorial. It uses webquest to enable learners to learn different learning theories. It requires learners to write a proposal to implement the theories in their school, to discuss how learning theories impact thinking, learning and evaluation.

Below is my sharing about how this example related to learning theories:

It applies COGNITIVISM.
reasons:
Learners need to think, transfer the webquest knowledge to their own knowledge through cognitive strategies. Learners need to remember the theories before they do the proposal.

It applies CONSTRUCTIVISM.
Reason:
Learning is an active process that involves learners’ own discoveries through searching information in the internet (web links are provided in webquest). Learners then build their own knowledge and opinions; construct new opinions by collaborating with team members to work out the proposal.


It is a Technology Instructivist Models:
reason:
It is a Computer-based tutorial which obeys Gange’s 9-events of Instruction
- gaining learners’ attention
- informing learners about the objectives,( in introduction, facilitator’s guide etc)
- stimulating learners recall of prior learning( while doing proposal)
- presenting the content
- providing learning guidance(providing the guidelines and resource in ‘Task’ )
- helping learners to elicit performance (practice through making proposal)
- providing feedback
- assessing performance
- enhancing retention and transfer to the job by applying the theories in making the proposal.

It is also a Learning with Technology Constructivist Model.
reason:
It uses Webquest technology as a tool in the learning activity. Learners need to construct the ideas of learning theories by searching the web links provided by webquest. They learn to select appropriate information and form their opinions using their own judgment.
.
It is a cognitive tool.
reason:
It is a computer-based tool that enhances learners’ thinking. It helps learners to organize the inforamtion learnt and present it with their understanding. Learners need to discuss how learning theories impact thinking, learning and evaluation.

Referring to learning activity. It uses psychological tool. The computer-based webquest is the soft artifact. The proposal is the cognitive artifact. The process of learning the theories and writing the proposal is the activity.

Comment about the learning activity
It is fine enough for a learner to learn about the learning theories through searching information from the websites provided in the activity. The structure of the tutorial is simple,clear and easy to follow.

FMY

Review of Activity

Review of Activity - Animated Gifs

The teacher has designed a web-based lesson for student to learn the basic animation concept and to create their own animation gif.

One of the learning outcome is that student can state the six properties of animations after the lesson. Those properties have present in the flash movie in text based with a computer vocal cord. I think this can’t help student to understand the effectiveness of those properties like “frame rate” ,“tweening” and “looping” by just in text form.
Is should better to explain by real animation sample clips to demonstrate the “frame rate” effect the movie‘s smoothness. Since the teacher already use “flash” as the tool, but she mainly use “Flash” like a “PowerPoint “ which have sound added only. I suggest it would be better to add graphic and animation in the flash to explain the properties.

At this lesson state, here only apply the Cognitivism learning Theory since students only remember the points that declared in the tutorial and then answers the MC questions to check they are correct or not to store for long-term memory.

The slide of the flash tutorial at lesson part accidently stops, although the sound still goes on to explain the theory, student can’t follow the tutorial well by this web-based lesson.
_____________________________________________________________

For the activities part, it uses both Cognitivism and Constructivism for student learning.

Cognitivism
The Demonstration Video organize and storage the process of making an animation gifs. Teacher procedures the knowledge and use image (video) to form the mental image.

Constructivism
Since they have to make their own animation gifs, so the knowledge is constructed through assimilate the video and evolved to make their own creative gifs.


Another problem is that the whole tutorial hasn’t taught about how to create a story and how to cut the story into frame which is an important part in animation.
If the main learning outcome is only to make an animation gifs, it should be better to provide the drawn images to student, so they can just follow the Demonstration Video and concentrate to learn how to use the software to combine the images into gifs.

But now the teacher provided the activity worksheet, which the students should draw the frame by frame story themselves, but the concept of how to create a story is never involved in this tutorials. I think this is a mismatch between the learning object, the activity worksheet, and the stated learning outcome.

Mind map - Learning theory