510: Design of Technology supported learning environments
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Adding to the collage:
ETEC 510, the last of the core courses I took, started to pull together aspects of a number of different courses. In designing my own online learning environment I was able to reflect on the foundations of educational technology (ETEC 511) while applying the different learning theories to my delivery (ETEC 512 and ETEC 530). It also introduced me to fundamentals of design that I would investigate later on (ETEC 565A).
When taking pictures, we choose to keep some, delete others immediately, while some we share with others, in person or online. In designing online learning environments we consider a gamut of factors regarding what we want to keep, delete or share.
The questions in both instances can be quite similar:
* Do I love/hate it?
* It is realistic?
* Will others truly engage with it or dismiss it as cheap and gimmicky?
* Is it memorable or am I posting it just for the sake of doing so?
Strange to see the parallels in these questions, and interesting at the same time.
ETEC 510, the last of the core courses I took, started to pull together aspects of a number of different courses. In designing my own online learning environment I was able to reflect on the foundations of educational technology (ETEC 511) while applying the different learning theories to my delivery (ETEC 512 and ETEC 530). It also introduced me to fundamentals of design that I would investigate later on (ETEC 565A).
When taking pictures, we choose to keep some, delete others immediately, while some we share with others, in person or online. In designing online learning environments we consider a gamut of factors regarding what we want to keep, delete or share.
The questions in both instances can be quite similar:
* Do I love/hate it?
* It is realistic?
* Will others truly engage with it or dismiss it as cheap and gimmicky?
* Is it memorable or am I posting it just for the sake of doing so?
Strange to see the parallels in these questions, and interesting at the same time.
A brief snapshot of 510:
With a nod to ETEC 512, ETEC 510 pulled back the curtain on different learning theories. With a focus on constructivist approaches for the 21st century classroom, explored in greater detail later in ETEC 530, a concentrated effort was placed on effective instructional design. These theories were then applied to practice, in our individual educational settings with the design and creation of our own online learning environments.
With a nod to ETEC 512, ETEC 510 pulled back the curtain on different learning theories. With a focus on constructivist approaches for the 21st century classroom, explored in greater detail later in ETEC 530, a concentrated effort was placed on effective instructional design. These theories were then applied to practice, in our individual educational settings with the design and creation of our own online learning environments.
Serious play - learning from games
Introductory thoughts:
Remember when you were younger and your parents sent you outside to play? At other times, when you got into trouble, you weren't allowed to go play. When your friends were bored they would drop by and see if you could come out to play. It would seem that the act of playing and childhood work hand in hand. Yet, unbeknown to us, in all those instances 'play' was always much more than simply playing a game. This play allowed for learning through such things as risk taking, teamwork and sharing. In fact, in many primary classes a general philosophy of 'learning through play' underlines the educational approach. Today the idea of game play is not just for children but targeted at learners of all ages. Serious Play, as the title suggests, offers learning opportunities to players in the form of a game. In this fashion, the learning takes place almost covertly.
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Immersion is an essential aspect of any educational opportunity. That is to say, for true education and learning to take place, learners must be engaged in authentic and relevant practice of ideas, concepts etc. We see this approach in language classes where groups/learners immerse themselves in the dominant culture where a language is used as a way to assess what they ‘think they know’ and also to learn what they ‘don’t know.’ French ‘Immersion’ students will travel to Quebec to practice and participate in a ‘real’ French experience. The same is true I think for Serious Play to be educational.
From the outset, I think we must be a bit open to the idea that the term educational in this sense does not simply denote the learning of items based in a predetermined curriculum. Like many of the readings we have encountered and most likely our own personal experiences, we know that some of the most important education one can receive happens outside of school.
I decided to take a look at Hay Day and compare it to the first person shooter genre which I’m assuming most of us have had some experiences with. While I had not played Hay Day before, I noticed that many of my adult friends were playing it so I decided to dive into it as part of this assignment.
Hay Day puts the player in the role of a farmer, growing crops, looking after livestock and selling the goods (both primary - carrots etc. and secondary - carrot cake) produced on the farm through orders placed by customers. As the farmer advances through the levels, more complicated goods are ordered and thus more diversified crops are needed, more equipment is to be purchased and more livestock must be acquired. What makes this experience interesting is that once tasked as a farmer, one worries about the state of the livestock and the pressures of filling the orders in a timely fashion. While there is no time requirement to fill the order, the faster one fills the order, the faster the farm advances to the next level and other opportunities are unlocked.
Based on my time in the game I can say that although I did not learn how to farm and look after animals in a real sense, I did get a chance to explore aspects of managing resources, overseeing the expansion of my farm so as to better satisfy the needs of the consuming public, effectively planning the short and long term crop rotation, networking with other farmers to acquire the items needed to satisfy orders when I ran into challenges or flaws with my planning. While this was not a first-person-shooter type game, it did place me in a first-person-role as the farmer and it was my decisions that led to a myriad of consequential challenges or opportunities. In the end I would suggest that a first person point of view is essential to the creation and maintenance of immersion in gaming and that while there is no formal education, I do feel somewhat more ‘educated’ for having participated.
And now, I’m off to check on my cows…
From the outset, I think we must be a bit open to the idea that the term educational in this sense does not simply denote the learning of items based in a predetermined curriculum. Like many of the readings we have encountered and most likely our own personal experiences, we know that some of the most important education one can receive happens outside of school.
I decided to take a look at Hay Day and compare it to the first person shooter genre which I’m assuming most of us have had some experiences with. While I had not played Hay Day before, I noticed that many of my adult friends were playing it so I decided to dive into it as part of this assignment.
Hay Day puts the player in the role of a farmer, growing crops, looking after livestock and selling the goods (both primary - carrots etc. and secondary - carrot cake) produced on the farm through orders placed by customers. As the farmer advances through the levels, more complicated goods are ordered and thus more diversified crops are needed, more equipment is to be purchased and more livestock must be acquired. What makes this experience interesting is that once tasked as a farmer, one worries about the state of the livestock and the pressures of filling the orders in a timely fashion. While there is no time requirement to fill the order, the faster one fills the order, the faster the farm advances to the next level and other opportunities are unlocked.
Based on my time in the game I can say that although I did not learn how to farm and look after animals in a real sense, I did get a chance to explore aspects of managing resources, overseeing the expansion of my farm so as to better satisfy the needs of the consuming public, effectively planning the short and long term crop rotation, networking with other farmers to acquire the items needed to satisfy orders when I ran into challenges or flaws with my planning. While this was not a first-person-shooter type game, it did place me in a first-person-role as the farmer and it was my decisions that led to a myriad of consequential challenges or opportunities. In the end I would suggest that a first person point of view is essential to the creation and maintenance of immersion in gaming and that while there is no formal education, I do feel somewhat more ‘educated’ for having participated.
And now, I’m off to check on my cows…
Closing reflections:
Learning through play is not a new phenomenon. However, the difficulties with linking the term play with learning revolve around the fact that our society believes that:
a. learning through playing games is for children
b. respectable adults don't play computer/online games
c. games are for entertainment only.
My brief foray into Hay Day illustrated that all three assertions no longer apply. Not only do online games range in complexity and maturity of content but they are also designed to promote skill acquisition and learning by constantly challenging the gamers' beliefs and thought processes.
GooGle Design Project
Introductory thoughts:
From online surfing, to gps navigation, movies, document sharing, website creation, photo sharing, phones and tablets, Google appears to have integrated itself into most aspects of our daily lives. So what about education?
Our group proposed that Google's suite of applications could be woven together to create a viable, free, learning management system complete with learning modules, collaborative project-based assignments and assessments. We chose to utilize Google+ Communities, Google Search, Google Images, Google Drive, YouTube, Google+ Discussion and Blogger to make our case for a Google based technology supported learning environment.Our intent was to showcase how this approach, utilizing constructivist strategies to satisfy curriculum outcomes, could be used to deliver a well-designed, learning management system.
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Closing reflections:
Creating online learning modules that promote learning through constructivist strategies is a great deal of work no matter the platform chosen. An unbelieveable amount of time and research is needed in the design, building and testing stages to ensure accuracy, effectiveness and proper scaffolding. To take on such a challenge I would suggest working collaboratively with another colleague(s) as my team of five was more than adequately tasked to complete this project in a three week window.
On the other hand, the finished product is easily altered or updated and can be used by multiple classes at the same time. To my mind, such a resource as an online learning management system, also discussed in ETEC 565A, is a sensible investment as the time spent to create it pays off over the duration of years that it can be used for.
Visual Credits:
EdTechReview. (2013). [How Technology Helps Teachers Manage Their Classrooms]. [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/472- technology-helps-teachers-manage-classrooms
Open Colleges. (2012). Components of a 21st Century Classroom. [Infographic]. Retrieved from http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/infographic/21st_century_classroom.html
Supercell. (2014). [Hay Day Logo]. [Graphic Design]. Retrieved from http://www.supercell.net/games/view/hay-day
EdTechReview. (2013). [How Technology Helps Teachers Manage Their Classrooms]. [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/472- technology-helps-teachers-manage-classrooms
Open Colleges. (2012). Components of a 21st Century Classroom. [Infographic]. Retrieved from http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/infographic/21st_century_classroom.html
Supercell. (2014). [Hay Day Logo]. [Graphic Design]. Retrieved from http://www.supercell.net/games/view/hay-day