Learning, students, and technology make three

I learned a lot from my classmates and the technologies they introduced us to during this class. There were many to pick from as favorite but the three below speak to me personally as an online adult educator for various reasons.

eEtiquette Quiz from Nancy Brown

This application tests and helps people learn about Netiquette. Netiquette is basically online guidelines to socially acceptable communication in the digital setting. Netiquette tells us the USING ALL CAPS is yelling, for example. I spend a lot of time online and the majority of the people see daily that break Netiquette are adults. Many adult think all caps online makes them seem more authoritative or that it will bring extra attention to what they say. This is true to a degree as using all caps will get people telling you to calm down and relax, and to speak in ‘normal tones’ instead of shouting. For many adults this concept of yelling through caps doesn’t make sense, but it really doesn’t have to make sense to them as they are immigrants to the world of online communication and sometimes we just need to adapt policies others approve of for the sake of fairness and being socially acceptable. When in Rome, that sort of thing. As someone that wants to teach online adult learners I would love to use eEtiquette to help my learners find and use good communication skills through the online medium.

Mobile Learning from Beverly Russel

I am a huge fan of mobile learning. I have four kids between the ages of 15-19 and my younger sisters are 12 and 15 years younger than I am. The differences between my education and all of theirs is like day and night. They use their mobile devices like they are simply extensions of themselves without a second thought. If they need information, out comes the devices and they quickly find their answers. They shop, schedule, and plan even recreational activities using their mobile devices. One of my sisters simply does not use her phone to talk into but uses it constantly for communication regardless and this is perfectly normal to her generation. Mobile learning allows for formal or informal learning virtually anywhere a connection can be established (. In fact, I wrote part of this blog while in the car while my husband ran our errands and the rest I wrote stretched out in bed recovering from surgery because I cannot sit at my computer desk like I usually do. Without mobile learning potential I couldn’t even do my assignments this week!

TeacherPal from Yanmei Meng

This application looks a bit grade school-like but as with many things looks can be deceiving. This application is perfect for teachers to use to keep individual notes for their own usage about each student. An example from this class would be the grant project we did. With TeacherPal I could make notes about the topic each presented, things to watch for or comment on and it would allow a way to keep many projects sorted and tied to the student it belonged to. It is a digital organizer, note keeper, and grade tracker all in one. Even through online higher education settings that use learning management systems this application is, for me, a cleaner and clear way to keep notes about each student for the benefit of us both.

References

Deutsche Telekom Ag Products (2012). eEtiquette quiz (1.0.1) [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from https://itunes.apple.com/us.

Mobile Learning. (2014). Retrieved from http://hypecycle.umn.edu/hype-cycle-technologies/mobile-learning.

TeacherPal - Instructional Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/hpusoeit/teacherpal---maier.

Digital Citizenship Technologies in Education

Digital citizenship only exists because of technology, and like technology it spans every space humans and our technology can reach. Artificial intelligence is even entering the digital citizenship arena. Recently Microsoft ran an artificial intelligence test of sorts in the form of Tay, an AI chatbot who was supposed to chat and entertain people on Twitter. Tay is an AI program designed to communicate with and learn from those around her for fun and entertainment. 

However, this backfired when Tay began learning and listening to those around her on Twitter, and she became increasingly racist and rude (Hunt, 2016). Sadly, Tay had to be turned off because of the things she was learning and Tweeting. What Tay AI and those she learned from needed are some digital citizenship lessons. Digital citizenship is just like a country or nation citizenship in that it conveys rights and privileges to the digital citizens and is intended to help keep things civilized. However, not everyone follows the general rule of the internet ‘don’t be a jerk’ (ok a different word is typically used, but let’s stay civilized here).

Digital citizenship is often broken down into nine themes or elements as created by Michael S. Ribble. The question in adult education becomes how do we best teach and demonstrate these themes to our learners to help them become effective digital citizens? The easiest way is using the technology itself but what form? There are websites, multimedia, software, tutorials, and apps but which might be best and why?

The Humble Search Engine

We use the search engine to find the pages, information, software, applications, and cat videos that we demand and desire and yet it is rarely considered when talking about learning technologies. To me that would be like not counting the library catalog when trying to find a book about a specific topic at the library. It would be like cooking with no hands! The search engine is the lifeblood of the internet and its technologies. With the Internet and proper search techniques, there is virtually nothing we cannot learn. This makes the search engine the number one tool when trying to teach or learn about digital citizenship, ethics, and netiquette.

I believe that with good digital literacy skills learners of all ages can learn to effectively and efficiently find virtually any information they seek. This includes finding out more about good digital literacy skills, netiquette, ethics, and the technologies to help. Using search engines, we can learn to THINK while using the Internet.

Websites

Websites are the ultimate destination of most search engine results. They go hand in hand but not more so than any other technology if used correctly. Web sites can tell us more about apps, software, topics, products, and much more. There are many sites devoted to helping people become better digital citizens such as Netiquette, Digital Citizenship, and Education World. There is a website for every interest out there and for things that should not be interested too, which is why it is so vital to use technology, the Internet, and educational sites to help all learners, regardless of age, learn the ways of the Internet. One of the most useful sites on the Internet for information about how to use search engines better is YouTube. There you can find videos that can quickly help improve your digital citizenship skills. Here is an example from YouTube illustrating good search engine practices to help you find the websites you are looking for!

References

Ribble, M. (n.d.). Nine elements: Nine themes of digital citizenship. Retrieved May 30, 2012, fromhttp://www.digitalcitizenship.net/Nine_Elements.html.

Open and Distance Education Technologies

In his video Open Education for an Open world, Charles Vest says that the role of universities is to create opportunities. Our world is globalizing at a speed that is almost breathtaking when you step back to see it all in motion. A single corporation can have a bad day and it can impact the markets of the world. Opportunities, of any kind, can now come from nearby or around the world. Education is supposed to create opportunities that make the student ready for a global market where working in an office is becoming as common as working from a mobile location. Education itself has become mobile in the guise of online education now that schools of all kind and level are beginning to offer. Knowledge has become fluid and uses the Internet to travel around the world. There are many open education resources and outlets from schools that offer free courses, some even have certificate options like those found at edX, to vast repositories of materials that anyone can access like MIT Video. I would use and include materials from either of these resources as were applicable in my classes.

        edX is best described using their own words from their site, “Open edX is the open-source platform that powers edX courses and is freely available. With Open edX, educators and technologists can build learning tools and contribute new features to the platform, creating innovative solutions to benefit students everywhere.” This section found in the ‘About’ section of their site includes every key to open education: open-source, freely available, benefits students everywhere. Open education has no walls or barriers outside of internet access in some form. edX is a site where higher education institutes all come together in one virtual location to offer courses for free to those interested. One aspect I really like of edX is that most of the courses offered have an option where you can get a certificate of completion if you wish for your credential, for a small fees. While I was on a break from my education here for half a semester I ended up signing up for a course from HarvardX through edX called Super-Earths and Life (below).

Super-Earths and Life

       The materials and platform they used impressed me greatly and it was hard to pull myself away from there to resume this degree. It did make me passionate about how schools are presented and work after seeing what a free course could offer. I have this current class and two more before free course sites like this become my new academic home.

MIT OpenCourseWare offers thousands of videos, lectures, textbooks, and courses for free to anyone interested. These materials can be used by others much as the video they offer called Open Education for an Open World was free for us to view at Walden University. We were able to see a presentation by a well-respected and experienced man who is no longer with us because of this advancement in open education. 

One Step Closer to Fusion Power

I think my favorite thing about this site is it has a sense of humor also. Alongside videos about the latest discoveries in fusion technology (above) it also has videos about Why We Fart (below), as education truly has no bounds and learning should be open minded. Any education that equates this bodily function to a brewery cannot be bad! Enjoy!

Why We Fart (Science Out Loud S2 Ep3)

If you watched that I have to ask, aren’t you glad for open educational resources now?! 

References

MIT TeenTV (Producer). (2010). Open education for an open world [Video file]. Retrieved fromhttp://video.mit.edu/watch/open-education-for-an-open-world-5788/.