Thinking back on a few of my best HRD instructors. Their curriculum
development had a hidden message. The curriculum enhanced our lives, not
just by the assignments, but by the sources we use to complete the
assignments.
Instructional Technology is an area that has
millions of tools and millions of ways to use those tools. How do we
choose? What works? We set out to learn, we have a book, we have
reading assignments. Yet, without trying the instructional tools, we
still cannot fully relate to what the tools are and how they can help
us.
The "rage of the age" is texting, tweeting,
LinkedIn, Facebook. How do we use this for learning, not just
communicating with friends? With so much going on in our lives, would
we prioritize learning these tech tools? Through the curriculum we have
been given,
it is mandatory that we use these tools. If using these tools in a
repetitive, scheduled, curriculum, we learn what they are. We learn
their benefits as well as their drawbacks. Most of all, we are
supported in our efforts by classmates and our instructor.
Participating
in using these tools, hand in hand with our classmates, it is not so
scary. We can see that not everyone is familiar with instructional
technology. Those that are familiar with some of the instructional
tools help the rest of us learn. In additional to the instructional
tools, hands on training, we learn to teach others, we learn to listen,
we learn that we all can fall, we learn we can get up and we can learn
from that fall. We gain knowledge and confidence in our personal lives as well as our professional lives.
They have honed their teaching and tools and we are lucky enough to benefit from their "Hidden Messages".
I think the key point you bring out- What technology to use, in the vast array of what's out there. When I think back about my learning experiences, it started with traditional classroom format.
ReplyDeleteThe teacher would stand in front of the class, hand out mimeographed sheets of things, lecture at the chalkboard (occasionally scratching their nails on the board), give out homework, and we were done. We'd get tested weekly and then we'd roll through a mid-term and final exam to get our grades.
When I started doing some college classes in 1983, same thing. Then in 1987, I started in a reserve program with the Anchorage Police, and then a full time Academy in 1990. By then, instead of mimeographed handouts, we had Xerox copies of handouts, but essentially nothing was really different from my days in elementary school. With one exception, we were starting to see some scenario based training.
Fast forward to today, and there are tons of tools and way's to teach in the classroom. The trick is to filter through all the stuff out there and come to some definitive thing that works. But, that's the key point- what works?
I have looked at the training class I do. I use a mix of video (from Vimeo), with some reading materials, followed by an online test. Once they've completed that, they come to the classroom where they get several hours of lecture and video (YouTube stuff). Then they do some break out sessions and plan scenarios.
I've tried thinking of ways to include some of the social media stuff and I am not sure how to integrate that yet. Are you teaching something that requires use of different mediums? How are you filtering out the excess?
The videos I use were selected to provide an overview of very specific topics. It was an introduction, if you will. The videos were uploaded to Vimeo by a University, so I had not choice in the delivery system. Same with the YouTube videos. I selected them because they made a point, but again, I had not choice on the delivery method.
The reading materials, I selected, but they are case laws, medical information, and legal summaries. I did not produce the materials, I simply attached them.
Now, because I chose those items, there is technology used in the training. The students must be able to access Vimeo and download an Adobe pdf file. They then must be able to access a Wiki site for testing. Once they get to class, they see PowerPoint and YouTube stuff, but that's the end of the tech aspect.
Unless you're building specific content, then the choice of the delivery tool may not be completely up to you. If you are, then trying to filter through the tons of tech tools will be a problem. I think getting access to different things, such as we are in class, helps introduce stuff, but I think it will boil down to ease of use and compatibility with other tools you're using.
I have found it hard to find the extra time to keep up with it all but also have learned so much and like you feel that there is more than one way to do things, more ways to gain perspective, we can learn so much more when we communicate with each other and share what we have learned. Last night i was looking a some VoiceThreads and there was one on the great depression that a 5th grade class put together it was very basic but very informative and all i could think of was this would be great to us in my own teaching. Thanks for you ideas
ReplyDeleteGerald,
DeleteI bet the 5th graders perspective on the depression was invaluable. It is great to hear that you are able to take home some great ideas and information to use in class.
Technology certainly has a diversity of ideas.
techtooljule
#techhrd