Improving student learning using information technologies

1. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals Improving student learning using information technologies

2. Why e-learning? • because it’s ‘cool’ • to enhance the quality of teaching • to meet the needs of millennials • to increase access and flexibility • to provide the skills needed in the 21st century • to improve cost-effectiveness What’s your reason? © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

3. What is e-learning?(Bates, 2005) distributed learning • face-to-face blended learning lap-top pro-grams mixed mode (less face-to-face + e-learning) dis-tance edu-cation class-room aids no e-learning fully e-learning © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

4. Making choices For any course or academic programme: Where on the continuum of e-learning should this course or programme be? If blended or hybrid learning, what should be done face-to-face and what done online? © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

5. Deciding on the role of e-learning e-learning a tool, not a panacea need to identify where it will bring most benefit depends on type of students, nature of topic Taking account of students/topics, need to design course to make best use of e-learning © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

6. Students Three technology issues regarding students: • market and demographics • technology access • learner ‘psychology’: learning styles, motivation, experience © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

7. Who are the students? Demographics Who is your target group? Demographics: • age • gender • location (where do they live; where will they study?) • part-time/full-time (working or not?) © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

8. Who are the students? Technology access What technology can they access on campus? When? Line-ups? What do they own themselves? Internet access from home? How ‘literate’ are they in using technology for study purposes You need this information © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

9. Who are the students? Learner ‘psychology’ Dependent or independent learners? High ability or mixed ability? Motivation Preferred learning styles (listeners, talkers, watchers) Do your students need to be actively engaged to learn? © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

10. Who are the students? Common learner profiles Novice undergraduates: 18-20; straight from high school; full-time; dependent learners; low ‘subject’ motivation; mainly campus-based; demand high ‘personal contact’; computers as a study aid © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

11. Who are the students? Common learner profiles Mature undergraduates: 20-25; working part-time; relatively independent learners; high ‘subject’ motivation; partly campus-based; confident technology users © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

12. S: Who are the students? Common learner profiles Mature graduate students: 25 - 40; working full-time; independent learners; high ‘subject’ motivation; mainly distance learners; heavy technology users Most courses will have a mix of students – how to cater for this diversity? Alternatives © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

13. Prior strategic decisions to be made Same students as before or reach out to new students? mandate? 100% face-to-face or blended or fully distant – or all three? What technologies to use? Who is to provide the technology for students? © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

14. Knowing your students Who is the desired target group? Describe the current enrolments: demographics/technology access/learner psychology Is there a gap? Could technology delivery help? © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

15. Students and the mix of teaching Identify market: Identify best delivery method: © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

16. Teaching functions Link choice of technology to desired learning outcomes Choose best pedagogical approach to achieve desired outcomes Two aspects of learning outcomes: • content • skills © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

17. T: Teaching functions Content (knowing): • facts/ideas/principles/relationships/formulae/problems/opinions • choice of media: what is best way to represent this knowledge? • e.g. use of colour, graphics, animation • media excellent for moving between concrete and abstract © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

18. T: Teaching functions: skills Skills (doing) • comprehension/analysis/synthesis/ application/evaluation/critical thinking/collaborative learning/problem-solving • choice of media: what technologies facilitate the required skills? e.g. social media for discussion/analysis/group work © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

19. I: Interaction Four kinds interaction: • instructor – student(s) • student – other student(s) • student – learning materials • reflection (student with himself) Interaction = feedback + hypothesis + knowledge construction: ‘deep’ learning © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

20. I: Interaction Cultural issues: will students share/collaborate/discuss/challenge instructor? Technologies vary in the way they facilitate interaction Design is important: interaction can be ‘built in’ or can ‘evolve’ © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

21. What teaching roles are suitable for online learning? What is best done online? What face-to-face? • transmitting information • collecting data/finding information • preparation for lab work • designing experiments • doing experiments • discussing best ways to do things • problem solving……. © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

22. Group work Identify course Identify teaching activities © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

23. Meeting the needs of 21st century learners © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

24. Different economies Resource-based: agricultural, mining, fishing: land/sea-based, local Industrial: manufacturing:urban, factories, hierarchical, economies of scale, specialist skills Knowledge-based: financial, bio-technology, ICTs, telecoms, entertainment: ‘virtual’, global, networked, multi-skilled All three economies in parallel © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

25. Meeting the needs of 21st century learners Main reason for using technology in teaching: • to develop the skills needed in a knowledge-based society • not just IT literacy: embedding use of IT in teaching and learning • also developing knowledge-based skills © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

26. Skills of knowledge-based workers • • problem solving, critical thinking • • communication skills • • computing/Internet skills • • independent learners • • entrepreneurial, initiative • • flexibility • • team-work/networking • AS WELL AS subject expertise © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

27. How can we use information technologies to develop the skills needed by knowledge workers? © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

28. Current proportion of different types of e-learning in North America + Europe 56% Propor-tion of courses using each type of e-learning 24% 10% 8% <1% No tech- nology Class-room aids Lap-tops in class Hybrid Fully distance © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

29. Current teaching models Learning management systems Commercial: • Blackboard (includes WebCT) • monopoly (patent) • high licensing fees Open source • Moodle, Sakai • ‘free’ (but operating costs) Teacher/institutional controlled © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

30. The transmissive model of teaching Predominant teaching model: • lectures, seminars, lab classes Students study by: • listening in class, reading, discussion Assessment by: • tests, essays, lab work © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

31. Current, dominant teaching technologies • Powerpoint/pdf • whiteboards/projectors/screens • lecture capture/clickers • learning management systems (Blackboard, Moodle) • computers/wireless on campus • Internet access on/off campus

32. Transmission of knowledg Technology is mainly being used for transmissive model of teaching Learning management systems: • instructor posts content (lecture slides, readings, urls), assignments, sets up discussion topics © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

33. New technologies: 2005 - user-created content: blogs, YouTube social networking: MySpace/FaceBook mobile learning: phones, MP3s virtual worlds: Second Life emerging publication: wikis, e-Portfolios multi-player games: Lord of the Rings simulations: MyPhysicsLab.com synchronous: Skype, Elluminate © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

34. What is Web 2.0? Educational implications • learners have powerful tools • learners create/add/adapt content • personal learning environments • power shift from teachers to learners • ‘open’ access, content, services © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

35. How to mobilise Web 2.0 in online teaching Within programmes: • group work • projects and cases • outside experts and content • field work • language teaching • multimedia assignments/e-portfolios • ……… © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

36. Examples • History (web quests) • Business management (geo positioning, Google) • Medicine • Education (e-portfolios) © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

37. Conclusions • Different students, different educational outcomes • New tools give learners power to create and demonstrate knowledge • New designs and organization of teaching needed • Only limitation: our imagination © Tony Bates Associates Ltd

38. Thank you! © Tony Bates Associates Ltd