Designing for Learning: The Pursuit of Well Structured Pedagogy

This article breaks up well structured pedagogy into three categories. First it says that in order to structure content well it must be put together well in the framework of its semantics. This means that when it is being taught to the students through lecture or other routes it can be easily understood. Our author named this portion of well structured pedagogy “teaching.” Second the “learner” is looked at more indepth. The lesson or pedagogy must be able to cater to a specific learner at any given time. This can be generalized to a group of learners but in many situation a teacher must be able to present the information in any given lesson to a specific student in a specific manner in order to increase the students understanding of the material. Last, “Content must correspond with the ‘environmental’ component of the learning experience.” The content must mesh well with the digital world. Organization and structure within the digital format must be taken into consideration when we think about how students may browse through the content and access the information. The article goes on to state that due to the amount of information available to us at any given time we as a society have changed the way we access this information. We must adapt our teaching structure to be inclusive of this technology thus making it more accessible to our students. The structure within the digital world may not be the same as the analog world. Thus, structuring the information accordingly will be of the utmost importance when trying to get students to access and retain it effectively.

I will most likely review the way I present information and lessons if I choose to place them in a digital format or post them on the internet. Children and adults have come to expect certain patterns or layouts in the programs and sites they navigate. To deviate from this norm would be to create a situation in which they could not gain access to the knowledge that was intended for them. To create a digital format for information or a lesson and not be sensitive to the way it is set up would be irresponsible. As a teacher you would be best served by avoiding the digital formats until you are proficient in the structure and language.

Digital Game- Based Learning: It’s Not Just the Digital Natives Who Are Restless

Implementing learning games into the classroom has been attempted since the ’70s with little success. This article outlines some of the reasons for this failure by society to properly implement gaming into the classroom. Part was the development of learning games that did a great job of teaching content but failed in engaging students beyond a few attempts at the game. Another problem that faced advocates for game-based learning was that there was a lack of games that kept kids engaged and that it was hard to get game developers to start making them due to the dismal failure of learning games in the ‘80s and ‘90s. So how can teachers integrate games in the classroom? A few options were outlined in the article. Teachers could develop the games themselves with the help of the students in their classrooms. This would help them get a library of useful games while at the same time teaching students content. Next was having the educators develop the material themselves. And last was using the games that were already available in the stores and adapting them to your curriculum. The last option seemed the most feasible because it would offer the most engaging situation for the students and at the same time left the teacher lee-way in how he or she taught the class or used the software. Our author comes back to proper implementation and use of games in classrooms as the key to getting this digital revolution off the ground. Tech support, teacher training, and proper alignment with the curriculum are all important in making sure that a schools attempt to use games as a pedagogical tool does not fail. Choosing the proper game is also paramount, do not use a game that has little relevancy in your classroom just because you are excited about gaming as a teaching tool. It will most certainly fail and your students will learn little. The article warns that most games you will use in your curriculum will have gaps in the information that is given to the students, it will be your job as a teacher to fill in those gaps.

Gaming in the classroom seems to me that it could be very useful in many subjects. However, as an English teacher I fail to see how it could be properly used in my classroom while retaining its effectiveness as a tool for engaging the students. Most likely I would end up with a game that faultered on having too little educational prowess, or too much entertainment at the expense of content. I am not ruling out the possibility of using games in my classroom, but I will have to be thoroughly convinced of the games ability to be both engaging and useful as a tool for learning. The article does not cover one topic that I found interesting. It leaves out students who do not play video games. As much as we like to believe that every child out there sits in front of a video game console from the moment they leave school it is just not true. Many students would have a hard time getting the handle of the controls in a game and this might hinder their learning experience. The only solution I can come up with for this problem is to pair students up and have the less dexterous students coupled with the seasoned gamers. The point of gaming is to get the content across, this does not mean that every student needs to be a gamer to get good grades.

An Investment in Tomorrow’s University Students

Instead of focusing on the education of today’s high school students about technology this article focused on the use of tech classes to teach in-service and pre-service teachers how to use technology in their classrooms. The problem that technology has had in the classroom is the high expectations placed on it to deliver tangible results. People want to believe that simply having and using computers in the classroom will deliver results in the form of better grades to their students. Nothing could be further from the truth. The real problem is the knowledge of the teacher on how to use these tools for success. Many teachers view computers and multi-media as a fad that will pass and give way to the old ways of teaching once again. Because teachers did not know how to properly use the computers or presentations the equipment was left unused and when it was used the format of the lesson did not highlight the components of the hardware or software that would make it useful. Simply putting together a flashy powerpoint with visuals and sound is no replacement for good teaching, especially if the presentation took too long to put together and leaves the teacher little time to prepare the upcoming lessons. Teachers that have training in how to use the hardware and software properly will be much happier with the results they receive from their students. Teachers should use the technological materials that they have gained mastery of, not get bogged down in trying to use products that will only confuse them. This article is a good look at how technology can be useful, but the people using it need to be taught. Then it can truly make a difference in the way we teach our students and in the information that is retained.

I found this article to be quite true. Being in the middle of our Instructional Technology course right now it is becoming apparent how little I know about the tools that technology provides. Having taken this course I can put together an effective powerpoint for my students, and do it in a timely manner. Not only will this new knowledge of technology make my teaching experience easier, it will also increase my ability to help students that are struggling with technology.

Smart Tutor: Combining Smart Books and Peer Tutors for Multi-media On-line Instruction

Using on-line tutoring programs to supplement tutoring centers at colleges is the focal point of this article. One university in Brooklyn in which the student body is made up of first generation college attendees that have to work in order to support their schooling is the case study we are looking at specifically. The tutoring center at the school had become underfunded and overused, and many of the students could not make it to the center for help due to transportation issues and lack of time. So they began using online tutoring to supplement the center. The program was used to help students with FAQ’s and to map their inquiries and gain a better understanding of the path they took to learning the material. The professors at the college gave feedback and worked with the tutors in order to make the website more user friendly. Much of the information in the courses is available online to the students, they now have access to the information from any place. They can fill in the gaps in their learning simply by posing a question on to the smart-tutor program and it can direct them to an answer. They can also follow links to information within the website and get a linear view of the information they have reviewed. Also tests are available to the students on any subject or material that is offered on the smart tutor site. This will allow students to see where their deficiencies are and work on them. Through a combination of on-line resources and tutoring centers the students at this college can overcome their situation and be given the resources to succeed.

My first reaction to this is “why doesn’t Western have this resource?” It seems like a unlimited amount of information can be put on to these sites and be organized and reorganized to cater to the students learning. Not only does it offer a platform for this information but it personalizes the way that students access it by giving them a cognitive map of their navigation through the site. I believe this would have made my trip through college a much easier one. I like the idea that this site is not the end all of the students education, rather it “fills in the gaps” that are left by a lifetime of missed opportunities due to some peoples financial situations. Always having the feeling like you are the one person who does not get it is something that pushes a lot of people away from colleges with the feeling that they never really belonged there. This could help alleviate that problem and lower the dropout rate of many universities.

MISESS: Web –based Examination, Evaluation, and Guidance

We get a look at an online system that is used to give information and test students through online courses. The system that is shown to us is different from other online courses in that it offers more options to the students involved in the course. The extras options that MISESS offers are that students have a range of time to complete a test rather than a set amount of time on a certain date. The students can logon one day, complete a portion of the test, and restart the test the next day. They only need to complete the test by the date set by the professor. This eliminates situations in which students lose their connection and get an F due to their bad internet service. MISESS also provides feedback to its students from the professor in the form of posted grades and comments. It is also designed to be a supplement to a traditional course set in a classroom. The MISESS system can supplement a classroom setting, making a more flexible situation for many students and professors. The ultimate goal of the MISESS system is to give all students more access to a course of study and to provide a better platform for online courses that gives a better range of responses to the students. It also provides professors of online courses a better range of testing strategies than previous options.

I have not personally taken an online course, I think I would find it too hard to communicate with the teacher. But MISESS sounds like a more complete form of online classroom, especially with the essay tests and teacher feedback. It interests me to know how teachers combat cheating in these courses, who is to say that while taking a test someone’s friend is not giving them step by step direction over their shoulder. But that is not relevant at the moment, all in all I believe that an education should be available to anybody who wants it bad enough. MISESS offers this service to people who might not other wise get it due to their proximity to a university or college. Its work as a supplementary tool to traditional schooling is also excellent.

Probing for Plagiarism in the Virtual Classroom

We are given a brief look at how a virtual classroom may combat plagiarism in this article. The record is set straight immediately in the article; there is no more cheating found in online or virtual classrooms than in a traditional setting. It is not a matter of, if students can cheat they will, rather it is the matter of, students who feel they need to cheat are going to do it in any setting they are in. The article then moves on to tell us of ways that the virtual classroom can work to fight against plagiarism. Methods such as timed online testing, frequent quizzes, discussion boards, and plagiarism detecting websites were just a few of the ways to create an environment that is less conducive to cheating. The issue of buying online term papers was brought up. Many solutions to this problem were presented to us in the article. There are now sites on the web that you can place your students’ papers into and it will run it through a database of “cheating” websites’ papers and come up with a probability that your student is cheating. This was just one example of ways to get rid of plagiarism and cheating, if you are an astute teacher and take even minimal steps toward keeping plagiarism out of your class you will be successful.

I personally believe that extreme measures need not be taken when probing for plagiarism in your students’ papers. When you read through them it is often quite obvious when students use material that they did not create themselves. Many times they are unaware of what constitutes plagiarism and need to be reminded. This could create a teachable moment for a teacher, proper citation could simply be a weak point for a student. I will not look to punish my students as a first option; they will be given a chance to correct their mistakes and make sure that it does not happen again. Blatant plagiarism such as buying papers online or using excessive amounts of other peoples’ work in your paper will have serious consequences. By high school all students have a general idea of what is acceptable and I will make sure that outright cheating is not tolerated. All students may have a weak moment when they feel they are under the gun and need to cheat to get by, but if I as a teacher do not punish cheating I am not doing my job.

The Virtual Revolution

This article covers the array of online classrooms for us. Through this reading we gain a better understanding of what is out there in the realm of virtual schools or classrooms and the different reasons they have come to exist. According to our authors, the virtual classroom can take on many different methods in order to obtain the same result, a good education. Districts and schools have taken on this phenomena with zeal, many of them have programs that are fully dedicated to online activities and web-based readings. Other schools offer a large amount of supplementary materials that the students use in conjunction with the internet in order to get a fuller spectrum of learning tools. More than what these schools are we find out who they are for, we quickly get insight into what students need these online schools and the different reasons for needing them. Some students live in rural areas that do not have AP courses, so they access these AP courses over the internet. Other students (such as military children) are constantly on the move, and rather than switching schools all the time and deal with changing curriculums they can have a steady educational experience.

The virtual classroom has applications for many students; it has applications for students that might otherwise get a lesser education. I myself believe that online schools are a perfect tool for kids that might be far from the nearest school. Online schools are necessary tool in today’s educational system, if we have the ability to help facilitate students’ education with online tools why wouldn’t we.