[Spring 2011] Reflection Paper 3_Revised: A New Learning Framework for 21st century – Extended Version

I was asked by my professor to revise and extend my reflection paper 3. The fact was that all the students were asked either to rewrite or to extend all 3 reflection papers again and I was the only lucky one who just needed to extend one paper among the 3!

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In this revise paper, I would elaborate more on what kind of new learning framework that we should has for 21^st century education system. As mentioned before in my reflection paper 3, in my opinion there is no one definite learning theory that we can 100% sure that it should be applied in 21^st century learning environment but instead I will say that we need a new learning framework which includes all the above learning theories. I gave some examples where ET scholars should not just focus on which theory is the best to use but instead we should try to apply the learning theory based on different context, learners and environment such as in elementary education, behaviorism and cognitivism should be applied whereas in high school and university all the learning theories can be applied based on different situation and context. I believe that there are lots of scholars and researchers in ET fields had conducted lots of experiments to prove and validate different models or theories in different learning condition and learning situation but I found out there is one issue which is to date, there is still no proper guideline for both instructor or teachers on how we can apply the new learning framework in 21^st century teaching.

Future of Educational Technology

So what is the future of educational technology? Many ET experts are publishing books on how to integrate technology into education, and last year, the United States, announced their latest National Education Technology Plan which title is Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology[1]. Besides, according to Dr. Charles Reigeluth from Indiana Univeristy, United States, a new paradigm should be developed and introduced for the current education change and Dr. Charles even suggested that a new platform should be developed to adapt into the transformation of education. But to date, we only see there are lots of “presentation”, “talks” and “proposals” on how to change or transform our education but not many success cases/proofs or guidelines are published.

Well, I was asked to provide some guidelines or elaborate more on what is the new learning framework should be looked it. For me this is really not an easy task. Since I am in my 1^st semester in ET even though I am a doctoral program student, but then I am still filling up the gaps that I have in ET with my IT background. So I might not be able to give a proper guideline now on how to develop a new learning framework, but then if I am the one who would like to develop a new learning framework, first I will understand the details of all the education technology history, theories and evolution. Then I will suggest a new Instructional Design model which should include not only the senders (instructor/SME/teachers) and receivers (learners) but also parents. Besides, at the same time, I would also look into the learning theories, communication theories, and media theories that can be fitted into the ID model and explained in details. Finally, besides models and theories, the most important things that should be included are real cases either success of failures should be given so that instructors could get a better idea on how to use the new learning framework. For me, most of the ET models or theories books are too “difficult” for teachers or people not from the field to understand so easier version without much jargon should be included.

For the new learning framework, ET experts should do a proper analysis on the use of different technologies or Media in teaching & learning process. Everyone is talking about technology these days in education even most of the national education plan in most of the countries around the world, want to stress technology as one important factor in the coming future for education because the most influence country such as U.S.A is talking about this too but then the problem is if we simply blindly adopt technology into education without considering others factors then I am for sure the newly education system will fail no matter how.

As for the new learning framework that is in my mind, it should be a dynamic model that could suit all people. Or maybe it should not be a framework nor model but instead it should be the combination of all current models and current theories and instructors should just choose based on their knowledge and experience. Instructors should not be boned in a “box”. They should be creative, and should be able to try and use different models and theories in designing instruction and not just bond to the theories or the trends in education. In this case, then I would say, the current teaching system should be change! Current teaching system which is just feeding all the knowledge and information (theories) to the students in the classroom should change to provide and supply more case studies regarding real world to the students so that they could “learn” from the real world cases. Maybe ET department courses should be taught like Business schools where lots of real cases or case studies are studied during the semester and real world situation are simulated in the classes. With this, only the students could learn better and have better understanding on how to apply different models and theories base on different situation and context.

Conclusion

In conclusion, for me, the new learning framework should be the combination of all the current models and theories in Educational Technology field whereas instructors should use them creatively and effectively based on different context, environment, learners, and contents!

References

DanieA. Craig. (2008). Changing Theories of learning. Retrieved May 20, 2011, from http://www.slideshare.net/danielcraig/learning-theories-presentation-826427

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[1] http://www.ed.gov/technology/netp-2010

[Spring 2011]Reflection Paper 3: A New Learning Framework for 21st century

While preparing for our team presentation which talked about “Learning Theories”, since then I start to think what kind of learning theory we should apply to the current education system. Among the 3 most popular learning theories in the field which are behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism, however, I am still thinking whether is there other NEW theory has started to develop base on the NEW learning environment nowadays. According to Dr. Mohamed Ally from Athabasca University, he stated that “The world has changed and become more networked….what is needed now is not a new theory for the digital age, but a model that integrates the different theories to guide the design of online learning materials”. I kind of agree with him so I think, learning theory nowadays should be a learning theory framework that suits the enlightened parents, enthusiastic teachers and autonomous learners of 21st century.

Transformation of education

To date, our education has transformed from formal education which is teacher centric to learner centric and since the existing of Web 2.0, scholars try to focus on constructivism and in 2005, Siemens started a new learning theory which is connectivism. The extension of that meaning now our learning has move from learner centric to connection centric which learners, mentors, content and conversation all connect together to form a learning network.

Learning Theories

Learning theories attempt to explain how learners learn. The field of education has seen many learning theories come and go over the years, but a few have survived and still influence the design of instruction today, namely: Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Constructivism. Recently, a new set of networked theories of learning have emerged to attempt to address social and technological realities that may influence and even change the ways that we learn. Current popular theories will be briefly described and compared and contrasted with the developing theory of Connectivism (Siemens, 2005). So in this section, I will briefly describe the four theories.

The most prominent learning theory will be the behaviorism theory by B. F. Skinner (1953) and to date its influence is still strong in the field of education especially in kindergarten education, elementary education or language teaching. This theory holds that learning is the result of an event which is stimulus, the reaction to that event, and the consequences for that response. Learners therefore build knowledge through everyday experiences in a trial and error approach to knowledge building and each successful cycle leads to the next.

Cognitivism is most often associated with Piaget (1952) was popularized as a response to Behaviorism. Cognitivists faulted Behaviorism for a difficultly in accounting for higher order thinking skills and a lack of focus on the mind in learning. Cognitivists are concerned with "how information is received, organized, stored, and retrieved by the mind on the learners”. For me, cognitivism are closely related to constructivism.

Constructivism is often associated with Vygotsky (1978). For me, both cognitivism and constructivism are overlapping to each other. First, we need to become cognitivist in order to become constructivist.

According to Duffy & Jonassen (1992), knowledge is a process of developing understanding of something in a very personal way through situated activity so we cannot assume that two people understand in the same way. Learners create meaning from their own experiences that are separate and different from the meanings developed by others, even those participating in the same experience. Understanding is based not just on current experiences but the aggregate of all experiences, thus each person brings with him/her a cache of experiences that are brought to bear in a particular situation and this how connectivism start to develop.

Siemens (2005) establishes Connectivism as a learning theory for the digital age, since previous theories were developed in a time when learning was not impacted by/through technology. Siemens stressed that knowing how to find information is becoming more important than knowing the information. He defines Connectivism as:

Connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos, network, and complexity and self-organization theories. Learning is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting core elements – not entirely under the control of the individual. Learning (defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within an organization or a database), is focused on connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing.

Connectivism places learning as social process and knowledge as an external entity just like constructivism. However, in a Connectivist framework, learning occurs not just through social interactions, but through interactions with and between networked nodes (people, places, devices, etc.). Hence, while a Constructivist would likely see the network solely as a social medium for interaction, a Connectivist additionally sees the network itself as an extension of the mind (Daniel A.Craig, 2008). Learning is a process of connecting networked nodes and information sources (Siemens, 2005, 2006) to inform individuals’ understanding and application of concepts and processes.

Connectivism is still a new theory for learning and there has been little substantial crictism of the theory. Some argued that connectivism is not a learning theory but rather a view of 21^st century skill sets (Verhagen, 2006) and some argue there is no learning process, some argue that a wild transfer of connectivism to school would lead to think that by putting students on net is enough to produce knowledge which is not true (Antonio, 2008) and etc.

Conclusion

From the explanation of learning theories above, in my opinion, there is no one definite learning theory that we can 100% sure that it should be applied in 21^st century learning environment but instead I will say that we need a new learning framework which includes all the above learning theories. ET scholars should not just focus on which theory is the best to use but instead we should try to apply the learning theory based on different context, learners and environment such as in elementary education, behaviorism and cognitivism should be applied whereas in high school and university all the learning theories can be applied based on different situation and context. Finally, with the exiting of Web-based learning 2.0, social learning is possible and it seems really easy to fill the “gap” of what you need to know by using knowledge of your network/connections and which also lead to lifelong learning. In this case, connectivism which starts to get attention these days might be a good starting point for ET scholars to investigate, discuss and to find out more on whether we should develop a new Theory that can be applied to 21^st century or instead a new Framework that can be mix around using the current learning theories!

References

Antonio Calvani.(2008). Connectivism: new paradigm or fascinating pot-piurri? Journal of E-learning and Knowledge Society. 4(1), 247-252.

Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A Learning theory fo the digital age. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning.2 (1).

Siemens, G.(2006). Connectivism: Learning theory or pastime for the self-amused. Elearnspace. Retrieved May 20, 2011, from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism_self-amused.htm

DanieA. Craig. (2008). Changing Theories of learning. Retrieved May 20, 2011, from http://www.slideshare.net/danielcraig/learning-theories-presentation-826427

[Spring 2011]Reflection Paper 2: Which Instructional Design Model should we use in 21st Century?

During the Media Theory & Media Literacy class, Teams 2 presented ADDIE and ASSURE models where as in Instructional System Design class, Professor Hahn introduced the brief history of ID and different ID and ISD models. After attending the above 2 classes, I am always wondering, with all kinds of existing ID models nowadays in the field, which one is the best suit for current education and for the coming future?

Instructional design models are based on years of research on how best to present learning materials. There are over one hundred different models, each with their own benefits. However, with the ever changing technology trends nowadays, should we still adopt the existing ID models and how can instructional designers choose the most appropriate model for ID? In order to answer all the above question, in this paper I will discuss in details about some ID models and follow by conclusion.

ID Models

In this paper, I choose two models which are ADDIE and ASSURE to discuss in more details. I choose ADDIE because it is the most classic model of ID and many other models are based on ADDIE original or are variations of the model where as ASSURE is based on the most recent research and is especially useful for designing courses with technology especially for online education. And to dates, there are lots of debates by educators on which is the best model to be applied in 21st century?

ADDIE model was developed since 1960’s and had been adopted since then and according to the literature, over 100 different ISD models today are based on the generic of ADDIE model which are Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation. Nowadays, most teachers start to realize that integrating technology into the curriculum is one of the best ways to make a positive difference in education. The ASSURE model which was developed by Heinich, Molenda, Russell, Smaldino (1999) is an instructional model for planning lesson and technology. The ASSURE model contains six steps which are Analyze learners, State Objectives, Select Methods, Media & Materials, Utilize Media & Materials, Require Learner Participation and Evaluate & Revise.

The ADDIE model is designed to analyze, design, develop and evaluate students on the gaps that a student has in one subject or topic. For me, this model is great for finding outcomes of behavior and knowledge of skills. However this model is too linear and does not account for concepts such as social skills and the environment that the learners live in. The ASSURE model helps plan and develop instruction based on the learning environment. This model is more appropriate for the learner and the model develops the most appropriate learning style for his/her environment. In short, ASSURE model take more concern on the selection of materials and Medias based on the learners’ environment instead of development and more towards constructivist theory. So which is the best? In order to find out the answer, I tried to do a Google Scholar search on the latest trend in ID models, and found out that, most of the scholars still using ADDIE as the reference model and made some modification or expand the ADDIE model to fit into today’s learning environment where as for ASSURE, there is not much scholars using or discussing on it.

Erkan et al (2008) refined the ADDIE model for the use in ubiquitous learning environment which they blended the five steps of ADDIE with four hierarchy levels of services which are 1) infrastructures for connectivity and distributed environments, (2) Web-based services, (3) coordination, and (4) pedagogical scenario for mobile learning to make a better model for the use for Ubiquitous learning environment. In addition, with the increasing use of serious game learning and virtual world in education field, Atsusi et al (2010) tried to figure out how to prepare instructional designers for game-based learning and concluded that the ADDIE model explains the process used in games design and in fact many other professions like architecture and performance improvement are using the ADDIE model too. In addition to that, they also mentioned another example from ID that help in design the instructional games lies in Gagne’s (1965) nine events of instruction. They stated that many people often look at these events as a sequential laundry list but good instructional designers should know that these events are recursive and may vary in frequency and sequence throughout the instruction. Gagne specified only that all nine events are present in effective instruction but not how often they occur or whether they occur in a rigid, linear sequence.

Conclusion

In conclusion, with the ever changing technologies in education field, instructional design nowadays, is not only to design the contents of one subject or one topic but instead at the same time it is also designing and developing of the learning environments. I do not think either model is great, however I think a hybrid model between the two or the modification or expansion of both the models like the one mentioned by Atsusi et al (2010) and Erkan et al (2008) would be good for instructional design these days. The kind of model one chooses really depends on what a teacher's outcome is for the learners. Does a teacher simply care about his/her test numbers and scores? Or does the teacher care about the students needs to excel in their own learning environment and their competency and performance and etc.? Besides, instructional designers should also analyze properly the context, target learners, contents, learners’ styles, learners’ characteristic, learning environment, culture background and etc while developing instruction. With the ever changing world, I believe that all ID models just act as a reference for instructional designer and we as instructional designer should apply them base on our knowledge and experience and not just blindly follow what we have learnt from the books or in the class. For me, there is no best ID model to be followed, it all depends on the experience and knowledge of the instructional designers on how he/she could maximized the ID and learning process to enhance the performance and competency of the learners based on different factors and criteria. Nevertheless, the basic knowledge of ID which is the ADDIE model is still important for all instructional designers that are why till now most of the ET scholars still use ADDIE as the base for their instructional design. However, at the same time instructional designers should also be creative and updated to the latest technologies, issues and trends in ET so that they could design the most appropriate instruction to enhance the learners’ performance and competency in 21st century.


References
Atsusi Hirumi, Bob Appelman, Lloyd Rieber, Richard Van Eck. (2010). Preparing Instructional Designers for Game-based Learning: Part 1. TechTrends. 54(3). 27-37

Erkan Tekinarslan, Melih Derya Gürer,Ridvan Kagan Agca.(2008) An Instructional Design Model for Ubiquitous Learning Environments. 8th International Educational Technology Conference of Anadolu University. 98-102.

MIA for 5 months

After ignoring my blog for almost 5 months, I am back again to record down my journal in ET. Last five months for me was like in the rat race for everything!!

By attending 24 hours per week of lectures ; 12 hours for Korean Language course and 12 hours on my major courses and with mountains of assignments from all subjects had made me no energy to continue writing this blog. And what made it worst was with my 2nd level Korean Language skill I was forced to take 3 major courses in Korean Language!! OMG, it was really a nightmare for me!! I had been thinking I would definitely failed all the subjects but luckily, all the professors were nice enough to teach me after class hours! But because of the language problem, I needed to spent double or even triple of my time to just understand what the professors were teaching in the class!

So conclusion, to study in an environment that don't speak your language is really not that fun! However, still I am glad I passed with good scores for my fall 2011 semester!

And finally in Jan 2012, I had a great and relax vacation back home for a month after all the stress.

Semester 3 ( Spring 2012) , I am coming and I hope I could learn the best I can for this 2012 since my supervisor is going to supervise me alone -- 1 to 1 every week!

Happy 2012 and Happy Learning 2012!