9 Dec 2009: Ethics & Morality

This issue of ethics and morality is interesting to me. I read Case #2 regarding the situation in a developing country and oppression of women.

On one hand, I can see that the consultant might be better off executing the project inasmuch as it is one of the only ways for the women in the country to get education. However, it's tragic that the educational programming provided will be endorsing the misogynist regime. It's a difficult scenario to reconcile.

This discussion in class reminded me of my experience doing work in Pakistan for 3 years from 2005 - 2007. I was recruited as a Program Officer for USAID's Education Sector Reform Assistance (ESRA) Program. As I understood the initiative, we were mandated to provide literacy services to 100,000 people - primarily women during a 5 year period.

As I understood it, this program's intent was to educate women - particularly mothers - in order to improve opportunities for education for their children. I wholly supported this idea and I was happy to meet the participants in the program and find ways to document their stories for circulation among government leaders in the USA and in Pakistan.

Later, after I'd been working on the program for some time, I found out that this program was understood in Washington circles as the "Anti-Terrorism Bill." I found out also that the $100 million dollars I knew was earmarked for ESRA was part of a $3 Billion package from US taxpayers to the Pakistani government. Of that, the majority was earmarked for F-16 fighter planes. In reality, this project was to bolster America's strategy for the war in Afghanistan and Iran.

I realized that I was writing warm-fuzzies for the facade of a larger military agenda which wasn't really focused on Pakistani civilians at all. I was involved in just a small component of a much larger plan in that region. It made me question my role and the appropriateness of my work in an ethical and moral sense.

Tbis illuminates the reality of any instructional design endeavor. Education is always political. It behooves me and any other person involved to find out what politics are going on and, if those agendas aren't clear from the outset, to act with integrity according to one's personal morality when confronted with difficult challenges once on the inside.

7 Dec 2009: Presentations on Interviews

I enjoyed watching these videos made by our class members. My overall impression after watching these films is that the breadth of instructional design is vast. Indeed, it is difficult to predict in what ways one might use this IPT degree in the corporate world, in academia, or in the non-profit arena.

It's interesting to learn more about our classmates by hearing them share what interests them. Seeing who folks chose to interview was revealing about the different paths that our own coursemates may take. It was also a great way to see the talents people have with video media technologies. I really enjoyed this activity.

Richard Marwedell:
What's the chatter in the hallway? How do people think/talk about training? You may not be interested in HR if you have great ideas and cannot implement them.

Danny Young:
90% of you will probably do project management if you choose to do Instructional Design for your work. (That's where the money is.) Most people you work with won't have that experience. He coordinates workers in several disciplines. Adaptive expertise - you will find it is easier if you're building from existing knowledge.

Debra Biser:
Change agents and instructional Design. Russ Osguthorpe making impact through meetings and training.

Rob Stephenson:
$40,000 per day for training. Telling stories is his way of training. What about measuring results of the training. (Partners in Leadership.) Focus on culture and accountability change.

When Faith Endures (Vietnamese author)
There are 2 reasons for poverty: 1) there are not opportunities; 2) opportunities are not taken.

Keith Proctor:
Question of face to face vs. virtual trainings
Increasingly virtual world of training

Alberto
Realization that teaching is design?
Depending on the teacher's willingness to change, the CTL can make a big impact.

2 Dec 2009: Moral Dimensions of Education

I enjoyed this reading by Osguthorpe. I resonate with his ideas because I feel he is not only speaking from a life of experience, he is speaking from a life of integrity. I really appreciate the concept of instructor's responsibility to look at students in their wholeness.

I also resonate with the concept presented by Jackson (1986): Transformative education is acutally attempting to change students in a fundamental way. This means that we should not just be concerned about the learning a student gains, but the changes in their character. Isn't this the core of any good education?

While I did graduate work at the University of Oxford (the oldest university in the English world, circ 1000 AD), I learned more about the ancient education practices. I learned that a Masters Degree (or a graduate degree in general) was a degree focused on preparing a student to become a master, or a teacher. I know that, because I have been given much, I, too, must give. This is a fundamental concept of learning. We learn in order to do. All students are also teachers - and we are compelled to build the kingdom by edifying others with what we've learned. This is a higher dimension of consecration. I love it.

Conscience formation transcends the learning of specified objectives.
Conscience of craft (adhering to code of ethics for ones' profession).
Doing instructional design is a mkoral endeavor
The greater impact your design will have, the greater responsibility you have for moral choice

Vocation = vocare (life's calling)
This isn't about the paycheck, it's about the skills and talents we're given and maximizing the ways that we share these.

Conscience of membership
Conscience of sacrifice: Making sacrifices to satisfy the demand of the work you've committed to giving at the highest level of quality.
Conscience of memory
Conscience of imagination

23 Nov 2009: Blended Learning (CALL)

I like learning about Computer Assisted Language Learning. This is a field of study that I think will become exponentially valuable as we move into the 21st century. Increasingly, people need to know more than one language. But, what are the best ways of helping learners to acquire second-language skills?

I believe that there is much merit in considering blended learning tools. Blended learning is defined as learning in a kind of hybrid methodology. It includes human face-to-face time as well as instructional/learning activities supplemented by various technologies. In this way, blended means mixed, flexible learning.

I think it's also interesting to define the term learning. Generally, this means mixing information with interaction. So, how should that interaction look? It could look several different ways, depending on the learners. This is profound and yet so simple: learning should be tailored for and by the learner!

"Learning is a sense-making activity in which the learner seeks to build a coherent mental representation from the presented material." (Richard Mayer)

The quality and quantity of comprehensible input and comprehensible output is essential to effective learning. Effectiveness of instruction is typically connected to high fidelity around interaction between learners and teachers as well as between learners and learners.

11 Nov 2009: EPortfolios in Higher Ed

Debra Biser
EPortfolios in Higher Ed

Issue Discussion Facilitation – ePortfolios in Higher Ed November 7, 2009

biserd @ 9:26 pm

Objectives

• Understand what an ePortfolio is
• Recognize ePortfolio application and uses in higher education
• Review best practices for ePortfolio integration

Readings
Both articles below are from Peer Review (Winter 2009, Vol. 11, No. 1). Please skim the first article and read the second. These are located in the ProQuest database so you will need to login with your NetID and password.

• E-portfolios at 2.0-Surveying the Field
• Electronic Portfolios a Decade into the Twenty-first Century: What We Know, What We Need to Know

Learning Activity
Assemble in groups of three or four, review one of the ePortfolios below and answer the following questions:

- Can you find examples within ePortfolios where student engagement and metacognition is detectable?
- What do you see as you look through these ePortfolios that illustrates learning has taken place? How do you think this compares to traditional methods of teaching such as lecture and assessment?
- What do you know about a student by looking at an ePortfolio as opposed to looking at a transcript/resume?

• Group 1 – Amy
• Group 2 – Jessica
• Group 3 – Patrick
• Group 4 – Phong

ePortfolio Examples

Skim through a few of these (I suggest one in each category) to get an idea of what ePortfolios look like and how they differ based on application.

Student-Centered Active & Enriched Learning

• Assessment for Learning (collect, select, reflect) – reflection, metacognitive skills, integrative learning
• Examples of Use – first-year-to-capstone (for graduation) ePortfolios, leadership ePortfolios

Examples

• Foothill College – Elizabeth Barkley’s ePortfolio
• LaGuardia Community College, CUNY – Risa Itabashi’s ePortfolio
• Rhode Island School of Design – Daniel Zatkowsky’s ePortfolio

Student Showcase

• “Educational Passport” which may include Active Learning activities or be integrated into the Student-Centered Active Learning ePortfolio
• Examples of Use – for future employment, internships, grad school, and to show family/friends

Examples

• San Francisco State University – Mieko Swartz’s ePortfolio
• San Francisco State University – Daniel DeFoe’s ePortfolio

Collaboration

• Peer/faculty review, may be a part of Student-Centered Active Learning portfolios or created for this purpose only.
• Examples of Use – course research (often “owned” by instructor), project/group work to be assessed by instructor

Examples

• Victorian Short Fiction Project – BYU
• Learning in Greece – Project Blog Communicating with Students
• Blogical Minds – 5th Graders’ Class Blog
• Soka University of America – Learning Clusters Vocabulary
• Kansas State U – Michael Wesch – Digital Ethnography

Institutional/Program ePortfolios

• Assessment of Learning – a drop-box or place to store artifacts to be “picked up” by assessors
• Examples of Use – course, program and/or institutional assessment (outcome alignment)

Examples

• Cal State – East Bay Institutional ePortfolio
• Cal State – Sacramento Sociology Department ePortfolio
• College of Humanities – Assessment at BYU

If You Would Like to Know More . . .

Further Reading

• The TLT Groups list of activities that can be supported with ePortfolios
• ePortfolio tag search at Academic Commons
• e portfolio and eportfolio tag search at Educause
• e portfolio and eportfolio tag search at Campus Technology
• eportfolio tag search at Inside Higher Ed

Research Communities

• iNCERP Emergent Findings & Final Reports – These reports are from universities which have worked with the Inter/National Coalition for Electronic Portfolio Research to adopt ePortfolio strategies and solutions at their campus. A number of these reports, especially from cohort III participants, were cited in the Peer Review journal.
• ePortfolio Action and Communiation
• The Association for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence-Based Learning
• ePort Consortium
• The Association of American Colleges VALUE project

What Other Campuses are Doing

• Washington State University
• New Century College at George Mason University
• California State University
• LaGuardia Community College
• Alverno College
• Spelman College
• Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Leading Researchers

• Trent Batson
• Darren Cambridge
• Helen Barrett
• Kathleen Blake Yancey
• Barbara Cambridge
• Helen Chen
• Tracy Penny-Light

Rubric Examples

• VALUE Proejct
• University of Wisconsin-Stout

9 Nov 2009: Storytelling as Instructional Technology

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Change agents = More powerful with story (STICKY)
Learn how to story well and then connect it to the field of expertise
Watch human behavior and create your own stories that you can share to others connecting to stories cognitively as well as emotionally Don't just get people to know something, but to motivate them to change.

Power of narrative to teach principles & morals
Less powerful in teaching processes (step-by-step)

Create a culture of a company through story
Encourage people to share their stories

Sacredness of story (JoanE sharing it as if it were hers)
Owning our own story (e.g. Emily Bates telling my stories)
Importance of memory to life (clones in The Island movie)

Tease out the literary license in stories from the actual facts
There is not necessarily one truth in a story
There is power in many viewpoints (many stories)


Can we be mis-taught by story?
We may glean our own knowledge without all clarity.

Power of story to teach morals and principles
Is story also powerful for step by step?
Could stories also have extra details that don't pertain and could convolute?
Could stories teach the wrong things (e.g. Disney Effect - Pocohantos)
Story telling has power as we tailor it to our audience.
Story has to be relevant
Family history

Can storytelling be an instructional technology?

How do stories enhance instruction?
In what way are stories useful in a class setting?
In what ways do stories help you remember things?
In what way do stories promote learning in individuals?
What are the shortcomings of stories in instruction?

As you read the following material, think about your own experience. How have stories affected your behavior, your decision-making process, your learning, or your schooling? Do you recognize the elements of a good story in any of the instruction practices we are studying?

Abrahamson, C.E. Storytelling as a pedagogical tool in higher education. Education. 118(3). Link to full-text

Most of the great stories follow a common thread which was outlined as a "monomyth". A summary of the qualities of the monomyth can be found here, at this link to a summary of "Hero with a Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell: Click
As you are reading, try to see if you can match the parts of the story to a favorite story of yours. (A movie, a book, a novel.)

Call of Stories: Teaching and Moral Imagination: Click here for link to Google Books preview
This book is also available in its entirety as an e-book by searching the BYU Library catalog. At least read the first chapter. Read more if you have time.

The book "Made to Stick" has a preview on its site and talks about the strengths of storytelling in helping people remember things. We recommend reading the entire preview: Made to Stick

This is an example of how storytelling can be influential in training situations: Click here for PDF
The article of interest starts on page 14.

If you have time to listen to a podcast, this one on design thinking talks about storytelling: Click here

As you read and think about these things, try to recall a story you heard at some point in your life that had a significant impact on you. It could be a novel, a movie, a personal experience shared by a friend, or any other sort of story. Write down the story to bring to class as an example. (You don't have to write out the whole story, just enough so you can remember it when the pressure is on.)

Also, pay attention to the conversations you have and the classes you are in at school or church throughout the next little while. Watch for stories. Jot them down in a notebook as you hear them. Consider their effectiveness for instruction. What makes them effective or not effective?

VoiceThread Links (tutorial)

Jered Borup's VoiceThread

4 Nov 2009: Educause Quarterly

Educause Quarterly
Openness in Delivering Education
Interview with David Wiley
Key Takeaways

Performance Improvement Quarterly
International Society for Performance Improvement