Top Ten List: Number Six

From the Library Technology Conference, in reverse chronological order:

6. E-learning: Tips, Tricks, and Tools of the Trade, Susan Kane, Harvard Office of Information Systems

• Susan Kane presented a wide range of tools and approaches to online instruction. She began with a brief introduction, asking which tools attendees had used in the past (see list below), to get a sense of our backgrounds/levels of experience. Then she dove into the "why?" questions. While there is nothing wrong with teaching face-to-face, particularly if instruction is an accepted and promoted part of your institution's culture, there are sometimes barriers to instruction delivery. They include scheduling conflicts, poor attendance at sessions when offered independent from a class (particularly when not tied to grades), and users may prefer to have things available online to be viewed and reviewed at their convenience. The benefits of online instruction are the flexibility of when the content is delivered (at user's convenience), reusability of tutorials when applicable, users may go a their own pace (supporting multiple learning styles when well done), instructor consistency (when delivering in-person instruction to multiple sections, some information may be accidentally excluded, creating inconsistency), and ease of standardized scoring, and that these technologies and the way information is presented is becoming more and more native to today's users. Drawbacks include a disconnect between students and librarian, potential for learner distraction (i.e. checking other web pages or doing other things while the instruction session is happening), watching tutorials can be boring, high-speed internet is usually required to successfully run online tutorials, computer proficiency, software updates "fix" or cement content (making it harder to update content). There is a trade-off between face-to-face instruction and online instruction. Face-to-face may require complex scheduling, man power, and cooperation from faculty, etc. Online instruction may be perceived as time-saving; however, production and maintenance is quite costly when examining the staff time it takes. An interesting figure presented was, for every hour of training you are trying to convert to online presentation/format you will spend between 49-127 hours in production. 49-127 production hours/1 hour of product. Making content reusable can help alleviate some of this strain, but then you risk lowering the relevance or context which may make it less valuable to the user. Kane recommends being as specific as possible within your goals for reusability. By determining what does and does not need to be taught in context, you are allowing for the potential of greater reusability.

Planning and Pre-production

• Determine what you are starting with. Notes from an in-person lecture? PowerPoint slides? A website or other documents? Nothing?
• Determine your goals. Does everyone agree (what are others' expectations)? What are your limitations on staff time or policy objectives? Service objectives? How much content is presented and how interactive will it be? What are the key objectives (choose one or two).
  
• Do you have the tools to accomplish what you want? The hardware, software, staff time (assumption is that this will save time, but people often forget about the behind-the-scenes work in producing the content), expertise, and delivery platform?
  

Other helpful things to keep in mind when producing online instruction content

• Will you need to convert the files to another format in order to deliver the content (i.e. post to Moodle, etc.)?
• Why reinvent the wheel? Will some of your older content work with your new software (i.e. pulling in PowerPoint slides)?
• How easy is it to add audio, what is the quality like, and how can you edit as necessary?
• What are the costs associated with what you are using? Several options are free or quite reasonable, but do the free products offer you the flexibility you need? Are the more complex programs too complicated and clunky? Find that balance.
  

Resources mentioned throughout:

• Snag It
• Jing
• Adobe Presenter
• Adobe Captivate
• Articulate Engage
  
  • Example Articulate tutorial from UW La Crosse
• Audacity

Video Discussion: Digital Media - New Learners of the 21st Century

PBS Video. (2011, Feb. 13). Digital media - New learners of the 21st century [Video file]. Retrieved from http://video.pbs.org/video/1797357384

The video I watched earlier (see the post from Feb. 5) peaked my interest in how we are shaped as digital technologies continue to change and emerge as parts of daily life. This video concentrates on digital media and education. The video visits five institutions emphasizing digital literacy and integrating technology into their teaching practices.

"If we teach today's students as we taught yesterday's, we rob them of tomorrow." -John Dewey

Emerging technologies have a prominent place in students' lives. Texting, tweeting, gaming, virtual groups, online videos, and Facebook all are means through which students define themselves to others. These technologies also lend themselves to education by giving them ways to interact with experts, giving them new ideas, and providing educators with new tools. Finding a balance between stimulation to the point of distraction and usefulness of them as education tools is key.

At Quest to Learn, in New York, elementary students are immersed in a school designed for digital kids. Students use technology in hands-on projects, primarily gaming learning, system-based thinking, and design. This trail-and-error, game construction model helps students think of the big concepts. "Tinkering brings thought and action together," one of the people on the video said, emphasizing the often-overlooked power and importance of play in learning. One of the challenges for educators is that, because technology changes so quickly, they are preparing students for a future to use technology that does not yet exist. By teaching problem-solving skills, students are able to transfer their knowledge to a variety of situations.

Some may be skeptical of such a technologically integrated curriculum. Throughout the building, students are using wireless internet on laptops, creating digital artifact or using technology to create physical objects, and participating in games. Students are assessed using the same state standards as other schools in New York, but are also tested on additional competencies, including technologies and social learning standards. While there are some concerns students may become overly competitive with or dependent on their games, the educators are careful to maintain a balance. Also, the video made an interesting point about how society interprets enthusiasm for reading versus enthusiasm for gaming. The example they gave was: if a child stays up late reading a book, s/he is rewarded and praised for being an avid reader, but if a child stays up late playing a game, that child is addicted (even though learning is taking place). It's an interesting comparison and, if the game is promoting certain skills that can be transferable to real-life situations, I might agree with the speaker, that there is a double standard or educational bias against technologies.

"If I can't access the place where I like to practice my passion, then where do I go? It's pretty much a dream differed." -Student

At the Digital Youth Network, in Chicago, a place was created where middle school and high school aged students go to learn digital media. It began as an after-school program and expanded into an in-school media-arts program. They have collaborated with the Chicago Public Library to offer spaces, strictly for youth use, that help provide the tools and inspiration. By incorporating the tools children are interested in exploring, this program helps students not only develop the skills for direct application but also a passion for life-long learning. Instead of digital media detracting or endangering reading and writing, it builds upon traditional literacy. As was the case in New York, students connect and collaborate through their projects at the Digital Youth Network. They are even given a chance to grow from students into instructors, leading their own classes and workshops for younger students.

The filmmakers visited UC Irvine's Digital Media and Learning Social Science Research Center, where more is being done to study the impact of digital media as well as the home environment/parental involvement. At the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. students participated in a workshop to create a scavenger game for teenagers to play using text-messaging (see examples here). Cultural institutions are working to be sure they appeal to changing patron needs; this project is intended to be more appealing and exciting to younger patrons. Another example is using smart phones to guide students through neighborhoods to find out about history and current use of various buildings. They interviewed people in the area to learn more about old businesses and how developments may have impacted the area.

Everyone wants to be seen and heard; they will make more of an effort if they think outsiders will see it.

At the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, students use technology to create their own assignments and assessments, and incorporate digital media and social networking into instruction. Technology is incorporated as necessary and seamless. Students choose the right presentation method (i.e. podcasts, digitized artwork) for the projects they choose, and incorporate media literacy and evaluation of resources (including Google Scholar and various primary sources). Ways they communicate, on top of traditional methods, include email, online forums, and chat rooms.

The true question when incorporating anything new into the classroom is: what do we want schools to be? The video emphasizes that including technology is not about replacing instructors with technology; rather technology is a tool, a resource. So, how does that impact what we do in the library? By allowing ourselves to explore new approaches, we are doing a better job of meeting students where they are comfortable. Whether it's using additional features in the school's online course management software (i.e. forums), instant messaging, text messaging, Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, or incorporating technologies students can use to show their learning and creativity (i.e. videos, podcasts, blogs, edited images/artwork, games, etc.), libraries can help patrons be more comfortable in the spaces, and more connected to the information within.