Audio/Video / Podcast: Pros and Cons for Adult Learners

Interview with Ray Schroeder, Associate Vice Chancellor for Online Learning and Director of Center for Online Learning, Research and Service, COLRS

Please make sure you enable captions. Thank you!

References

  

COLRS. (2013). Retrieved September 10, 2013, from Center for Online Learning, Research and Service: http://www.uis.edu/colrs

Lyric Contest – New UIS School Song. Retrieved September 29, 2013, from http://www.uis.edu/music/about/lyriccontest/ 

Schroeder, R. (2013). Online Learning Update. Retrieved September 10, 2013, from Online Learning Update: http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/onlinelearning/blogger.html

Schroeder, R. (2013). Professional, Continuing, and Online Education Update by UPCEA. Retrieved September 10, 2013, from Professional, Continuing, and Online Education Update by UPCEA: http://continuingedupdate.blogspot.com/ 

Ray Schroeder, (2013). Retrieved September 10, 2013, from https://sites.google.com/site/rayschroeder/ 

Woods, B. (2012). People @ Illlinois Springfield. Retrieved September 10, 2013, from Ray Schroeder named Innovation Fellow by National Association:  http://spotlight.uis.edu/2012/02/ray-schroeder-named-innovation-fellow.html

 

Definition of Podcast

 

According to the Macmillan Dictionary, a podcast is a multimedia file that can be downloaded or streamed from the Internet onto a computer or mobile device. The method of publishing these files is called podcasting. 

As the editor of the Online Learning Update blog at the University of Illinois at Springfield, Ray Schroeder, stated that mobile learning would grow considerably over the next few  years.  He related this growth to “podcasting” the New Oxford American Dictionary's Word of the Year in 2007. Ray predicted that e-learning would expand with podcasting being used on mobile devices. E-learners will no longer be attached to their computers; they will be learning via smart-phones, small tablets, and other devices while they are hiking in the mountains, strolling on the beach, or jogging along a city street (Corbeil & Valdes-Corbeil, 2007).

Corbeil, J. R., & Valdes-Corbeil, M. E. (2007, January 1). Are You Ready for Mobile Learning? EDUCAUSE Quarterly) | EDUCAUSE.edu. Retrieved October 7, 2013, from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/are-you-ready-mobile-learning

podcast - definition of podcast by Macmillan Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved October 7, 2013, from http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/podcast

Retrieved October 7, 2013 from http://podcast-marketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Image2.jpg

 

 

Pros of Podcasts

Students can go back over a lecture they have saved on a podcast to find difficult information and information about their instructor. This information can be accessed anywhere and anytime since it can be saved for viewing later. A podcast also makes it easier for audio/visual students to learn since video and images can be added to it unlike a discussion board. This type of teaching seems to engage students more.

Cons of Podcasts

 

When creating your own podcast, a person must be aware of copyright and legal issues. You have to get permission for utilizing copyrighted material. The audio on a podcast may be somewhat garbled depending on the ability of the person creating the podcast. Do they have a clear voice and are they easy to understand? If not, the audio portion can be inaudible and uninteresting and will not draw the listener to it (McDonough, 2010).

 

King, K. & Cox, T. (2011). The Professor’s Guide to Taming Technology. Charlotte, NC: 

Information Age Publishing. 

McDonough, M. (2010, May 11). What are the Pros and Cons of Podcasting? Understanding the Uses of Podcasting. Retrieved October 7, 2013, from http://www.brighthub.com/internet/web-development/articles/34767.aspx 

Lesson Plan for 6th-7th Grades: A Journey with Lewis and Clark

I have created an example of a wiki on my blog. Please click the link below for the example to be utilized with the lesson plan.

Wiki Example Link created on my blog.

Introduction

Students will focus on the challenges faced by Lewis and Clark and their crew and the path they followed.  Also, included in this session will be the saga’s effect on American history.  This curriculum will emphasize reading comprehension, writing, and map skills.

Target Audience

All of the activities (links, map, and worksheet) are geared towards Grades 6th-7th grade History (Integrated Technology) Class.

In this curriculum, students will learn how different the United States looked and was mapped in the early 1800’s.  They will discover how it took the Corps of Discovery (Corps of Discovery) to travel thousands of miles experiencing lands, rivers and peoples that no Americans ever had before.  The challenge for students is to understand how different travel, communication and land mappings are in their time.

Learning/Training Objectives

The Lewis and Clark web curriculum aims to understand the early geography of the United States and how it was mapped. The significance of the adventurers and their desire to collect plant and animal specimens for science is also addressed. One of the most important aspects of this session is the development of relationships with the American Native Americans.

Students will map the journey of Lewis and Clarks

Students will understand why President Jefferson chose who he did for the journey

Students will understand how the American landscape is different today than in the early 1800s

Students will understand the changes of the lives of Native Americans today

Students will be able to correlate the differences between travel today and how you would prepare for such a journey in the 1800s

Students will understand how different history would be if Lewis and Clark had failed

Materials Needed

PowerPoint presentation and PowerPoint software

Computers with word processing software

Internet Connection

Wiki site to work on and for posting it

Quiz

Printer

Lewis and Clark Worksheet

Instruction Procedure/Learning Procedure/Class Outline and Methods

Curriculum web will take four, 45 minute periods to proceed through along which is all contained in the PowerPoint presentation

Seven, 45 minute periods to create a wiki

Students divided into groups of four to work on Wiki. One student will be the typist but all students will input information. That way the wiki is not overwritten.

Worksheet is worked on in groups of two

In each group of two, the students will map the route

When done with mapping and worksheet, students will write a paragraph on the expedition

Evaluation (rubric, grading criteria, etc.)

Students will be graded on the worksheet which evaluates their thinking skills about exploring new surroundings

Students will be asked to list the hardships of life in the early 1800s

Students will integrate the life of the Native American into their wiki

Students will describe mapping and about the geographical terrain of the early 1800s

Suggested Learning Activities

Create a map of the Lewis and Clark journey

Create a group wiki with links, video, references, and information on the journey

Take quiz after completing PowerPoint webinar

Discuss the journey in groups and incorporate it into their wikis

Week 1 - Introduction to Lewis and Clark - 42+ minute video
Go over PowerPoint presentation on Lewis and Clark with students. This includes everything that will be taught and incorporated into wikis.

Week 2 - Flash Journey Log and Mapping

• Introduction to a wiki

Week 3 - Start Wiki projects
Students will create logins and passwords

Week 4 - Introduce students to placing video into a wiki.

Students will search for appropriate Lewis and Clark videos
Students will learn giving proper credit to video and references

Students will learn about www.tiny.url and https://bitly.com/

Week 5  -
Students will search for interactive journeys of Lewis and Clark to incorporate into their wiki.
Students will learn about President Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, and mapping.
Students will search for websites of the states that Lewis and Clark went through

Week 6 -
Students will learn about how the US looked in 1803 as compared to current day

Students will map journey of Lewis and Clark
Students will incorporate all of the information into their wikis.

Week 7 -
Students will learn about Native Americans whom Lewis and Clark met on their journey
Information about Native Americans will be incorporated into their wikis

Week 8 - Finish groups of two handouts and short quiz on lesson                

References

Idaho.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2013, from http://www.accessidaho.org/

Lewis and Clark Map. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2013, from http://www.businessculturearts.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/13-lewis-and-clark-map2.jpg

Lewis and Clark Map. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.businessculturearts.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/13-lewis-and-clark-map2.jpg
Missouri State Website. Retrieved September 24, 2013, from http://www.mo.gov/

Montana's Official State Website. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2013, from http://www.mt.gov/National Geographic: Lewis & Clark—Journey Log. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lewisandclark/journey_intro.html

Nebraska.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2013, from http://www.nebraska.gov/

North Dakota Tourism | Official North Dakota Travel & Tourism Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2013, from http://www.ndtourism.com/

South Dakota Tourism – Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, Crazy Horse, Badlands National Park, Deadwood, Black Hills. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2013, from http://www.travelsd.com/

State of Oregon: State of Oregon. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2013, from http://www.oregon.gov/

Washington State travel | experiencewa.com. (2013, September 24). Retrieved from http://www.experiencewa.com/

Using Wikis in Online Learning

TO WIKI OR NOT TO WIKI; THAT IS THE QUESTION!

Pros of Wikis:

A student who is exposed to online learning may have the chance of learning about and using a wiki. Wikis are cooperative efforts that help build a community like environment among students within an online course. A wiki is an open-editing method and according to a recent essay called Essay on Teaching Excellence, a wiki provides the possibility of utilizing Bloom’s Taxonomy which describes higher order thinking (“Pros and Cons”). 

Wikis give students the opportunity to develop critical thinking skills, to learn from each other, and to work cooperatively in groups. This can be compared to a face-to-face class where an instructor divides students into groups and they brainstorm on a subject or idea. They create knowledge instead of just consuming knowledge (“Bloom’s Taxonomy,” 2013). A study also indicated that students worked and learning was more effective. They also felt it was much easier to organize for exams (West and West, 2009) (“Wikis Center for Teaching”).

 

Cons of Wikis:

It is not recommended for instructors to build an online course totally around a wiki. It is better to combine all of the online course tools such as a wiki, blog and discussion boards. This gives students the opportunity to experience all of the asynchronous and synchronous tools of an online course. As an example, students would be able to introduce ideas on all three platforms by listing and referencing issues on the wiki, comment their agreements or disagreements on a blog, and summarize the issues on a threaded discussion. This could not be done with just utilizing a wiki (“Pros and Cons”). 

Students in a study complained that course information was spread out over multiple locations: in syllabi, modules, blogs and wikis. They found it more difficult to locate needed information. Students wanted instructors to list instructions in only one area not listing it all over the course site (“Pros and Cons”).

 

Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains. (2013, May 1). Retrieved from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html

 

Pros & Cons of Course Blogs & Wikis. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2013, from http://assett.colorado.edu/pros-cons-of-course-blogs-wikis/

 

West, J. and West, M. (2009). Using Wikis for Online Collaboration: The Power of the Read-Write Web.  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

 

Wikis | Center for Teaching | Vanderbilt University. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2013, from http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/online-education/wikis/

 

The Meaning and Characteristics of Wikis:

 

The word wiki derives its meaning of quick or fast from the Hawaiian language which means that a team can cooperatively and quickly create a wiki web site. Text, links, graphics, audio, video and animation can be incorporated into a wiki. Authorized users of the wiki can add and delete any content. Sometimes a moderator is selected to approve any changes before posting (Lamb & Johnson, 2007).  

Wikis have five, distinct characteristics:

 

1.      Wikis are unique because they provide the chance to share original content.

2.      Wikis are collaborative because they create an online area to share original content which has many contributors.

3.      Wikis are able to be open edited. This means anyone can add to a wiki anytime of the day or night.

4.      Wikis provide the ability for simple coding similar to a word processor.

5.      Wikis are evolving because they are always going through changes.

 

Lamb, A., & Johnson, L. (2007). An information skills workout: Wikis and collaborative writing. Teacher Librarian, 34(5), 57-59,71. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.er.lib.k-state.edu/docview/224877656?accountid=11789

 

Blogs vs Wikis vs Forums

How I see it is publish blogs, work together on wiks and converse on forums!

Blogging: Pros and Cons for Adult Learners

http://tinyurl.com/mwfzrqc

http://tinyurl.com/p67y4a3

A blog is a website with entries that are in reverse chronological order. All blog entries can be assigned tags by the creator of the blog. These tags are called labels which can help in the search, archiving and categorizing of posts. The term Weblog was conceived in 1997 by John Barger to describe an emerging method of Web-writing (King & Cox, 2011). Nowadays, the majority of colleges and universities use an LMS (Learning Management System) to enhance or deliver their courses.  

A Learning Management System is a web-based application whose objective is to assist instructor in delivering their courses to their students. Blackboard is he most popular and used learning management system; however, some colleges and universities are creating their own LMS. There is also the open-source learning management system, Moodle that is used by many school districts to supplement junior high and high school courses (Machado & Tao, 2007).

Within the Learning Management System is the ability to create a discussion board. It is an instructor’s tool to enhance a face-to-face class, support a hybrid course or use for an online course. It provides experiential learning opportunities for students and encourages critical thinking. A discussion board can be as simple or sophisticated as an instructor wants to make it. (Magnuson, 2005).

Is learning centered on an individual’s environment? Does it matter what a person observes and experiences for it to have an influence on how they assess information? According to advocates of the social learning theory a person’s environment, observations and experiences impact attention, retention, reproduction and behavior. All of this is crucial to how and what a person learns.

How does all of this relate to online learning? A virtual world is much different than face-to-face interaction. If blogging is to be utilized, instructors must expand beyond student discussion boards. Students must be thoroughly engaged and connected in an online course and if blogging is incorporated correctly, this will be accomplished.

Students believe they are more involved through blogging. It feels more like a community because it is more personal and they can apply the course material to their lives, beliefs and experiences. Blogging produces more personal writing because students write with their own voice. They can connect their learning experiences to other students.

Discussion boards tend to be less personal and more academic and it is similar to being in a standard classroom where the instructor dictates the knowledge and students seldom participate. It is less social, personal and encouraging. The lack of community between students is apparent because students do not engage as personally as in blogging ("Blogging vs Threaded Discussions").

 

Blogging as reflective practice in the graduate classroom. (2011). In K. P. King,& T. D. Cox (Ed.), The professor's guide to taming technology (p. 90). Charlotte, North Carolina: Information Age Publishing. 

Blogging vs Threaded Discussions in Online Courses | Connected Principals. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://connectedprincipals.com/archives/6431

Brooks, L. M. Blogs vs wikis vs forums. Retrieved from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubdhy4oOMcM Inc. 

 Machado, M., & Tao, E. (2007, October). Blackboard vs. Moodle: Comparing user experience of learning management systems. In Frontiers In Education Conference-Global Engineering: Knowledge Without Borders, Opportunities Without Passports, 2007. FIE'07. 37th Annual (pp. S4J-7). IEEE. 

Magnuson, C. (2005). Experiential learning and the discussion board: A strategy, a rubric, and   management techniques. Distance Learning, 2(2), 15-20. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.er.lib.k-state.edu/docview/230714208?accountid=11789