Discussion of Benefits for student learning 1. Increase in and an - PDF document

How can student interactivity be enhanced through the use of a blended learning approach? – A Blended Learning Model using Outline 1) Online Survey [Questionnaire] 2) About the Project 3) Experiencing Moodle [Participants online] 4) Moodle Admin Tools 5) Research findings 6) What does the future hold? 7) Discussion & Questions 8) Action Plan – Where to start? 9) Online Survey [Evaluation] Handout: notes & links to all sites/resources What is Blended Learning? My definition: It is the introduction of the best of online learning tools and strategies into a face-to-face learning environment with an emphasis on ENGAGEMENT through increased PARTICIPATION and INTERACTION It Offers: • Access – increasing the availability of learning: anytime, anyplace • Information – opening students up to a whole new world of information • Communication – provides the opportunity to communicate outside the classroom walls and contact time • Reflection – allows students to think about what they are learning in their own time and space • Collaboration – enables the sharing of ideas & learning Blended learning means the building of a learning community It provides a more vigorous learning experience for students which could not be achieved through a fully face-to-face environment Blended Learning using the Moodle LMS Main advantages of Moodle: Content can be presented in an interesting and organised way It is highly interactive There are many inbuilt features – more can be added from the large Moodle development community It is highly intuitive - Give a teacher a blank course and let them run with it. It is also very easy for students to learn to use It is very robust – difficult to break something as a course creator or student Front Page Side Blocks – can add/remove different types of blocks & easily move them around Scroll lessons or collapse to one lesson with a menu for others Administration – You can show/hide whole lessons or individual content 1

My Online Lesson Format Students do an online text book reading Students watch a short video clip – linked to YouTube (optional) Students do a String of Hot Potatoes Quizzes – Different types were: • Multiselect • Multichoice • Short Answer • True/False • Matching (includes Drag’n’Drop option) • Gapfill (can be timed) Student can download notes (word docs) – students were encouraged to find/add images to personalise their own set of notes Additional Resources were made available which included: Podcasts, Primary Resources etc Forum Discussions How they began – “What I know”, “What I want to know” Extended & Developed to questions which stimulated opinion & debate Automated Daily Emails to all participants if new postings were made Admin Tools Participants – Who’s been online? Individual Student Tracking of forum posts, resource views, quiz results etc Activity Reports – Track any day or any resource Grades – Tracking Quiz & other results for all students or all specific quizzes – downloadable in various formats Additional Resources/Tools Glossary with Ratings plus Random Glossary viewed on front page Groups Facility – split students into groups to work on a project, wiki, in a forum etc Messaging (email sent if off-line) Moodle Quiz – Categorised question resource bank to draw random questions from Facility for student submission of assignments – Teacher feedback and marks available online Fun revision activities – Fling the Teacher, Teacher invaders etc Discussion of Benefits for student learning 1. Increase in and an equalisation of engagement Quiz Completion & Results 10 Students Average Quiz Results 83% of all quizzes were attempted (across all students) 8 80% average results for all attempted quizzes Frequency 6 Increase of engagement in class 4 Analysis showed that over half of students were 2 contributing to discussion in each class 0 More students seemed to understand what was being 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 81-90 91-100 discussed In particular lower ability student engagement Average % Score increased in the classroom Online forum discussions helped to increase overall engagement The Regular Classroom Teacher said: I think that definitely the forums meant that a wider range of kids took part and I think as a result of being stuff that they had to write down and see and see their name next to it was quite thoughtful, whereas in class there might be fewer kids that were engaged in sort of taking part in those sort of discussions. An average of 9 forum entries per student An average (median) Forum size of 61 words The number of students involved in the discussion/debate forums grew from 43% to close to two thirds of the class by the end of the 7 weeks 2

2. More information absorbed Students have a greater potential to absorb more information in an online setting. They can take their time and work when they feel at their peak. They can also choose types of information delivered in a mode which suits their particular style of learning . One of the other claimed advantages is that the discussion is not lost and that students can enter into the discussion when they feel informed and prepared . One parent said that: The online learning seemed very effective in capturing [my son’s] attention and enthusiasm. He spent a great many hours watching podcasts and reading online - we often had trouble pulling him away from it! The historical footage undoubtedly made the subject more real for him as well as being more interesting than reading a lot of text on its own. From what I observed, there was a lot of flexibility in that he could choose from a considerable range of options and spend as long on different aspects as he wished - so he could follow up what seemed most interesting to him in greater detail, and he was often drawn from one thing into another. 3. More meaningful learning interactions The forums brought out more diverse views and allowed students to participate in the construction of knowledge and meaning . An analysis of Forums showed that there was an average of 28 new amounts of information or evidence introduced by students into each forum. Who were the students interacting with? 63% of entries in the forums were responses to the teacher initiated question or follow up teacher questions. This leaves 37% of student responses which were to each other – over time the number of interactions between students steadily grew. 4. More reflective thinking Online Forum discussions enable students to put their thoughts into writing in a way that others can understand, promoting self reflective dialogue and dialogue with others. Chen, W. & Looi, C. K. (2007). Incorporating online discussion in face to face classroom learning: A new blended learning approach. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology , 23(3), (pp.307-326), http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet23/chen.html Some Student comments about online forum discussions: • It helped me learn because we had to give our own views on the topic which made us think about it more. • Made you think about it more and learn from what other people write. • Because it helped me to see different viewpoints and to understand different reasons for certain events. • It was useful in a sense that it helped you develop your own viewpoint, and take the time to think about the topic of the forum. What was the quality of student forum entries? At least 80% of forum entries were at a Multi-Structural Level [Blooms Taxonomy] – students were making a number of connections A majority of these were at the Relational Level – students were demonstrating the relationship between connections & the significance of them A handful of these were at the Extended Abstract Level – students were making connections beyond the immediate subject area One Parent said that: I was interested in the online forum. I read a good number of the questions and comments and was impressed by the improvement in understanding displayed by students over the weeks. 3

5. Access was made to wider and much richer sources of information As educators we need to be challenging our students to consider new evidence otherwise we run the danger of perpetuating historical myths. The ability to access and link information into the online course site threw up great opportunities and enormous potential. We are spoilt for choice if we can move students beyond the tatty textbook and limited classroom time and space and into the online environment. Students were encouraged to access wider and much richer sources of information. There is no doubt that there are huge opportunities to excite and challenge students with what is already available online: What does the future hold? The future is increased collaboration using online tools & applications with mobile devices • The NSW Dept of Education this year abandoned its Microsoft contract and signed all students up to Google Accounts including Gmail, Google Docs, Calendar etc: • Other examples are Zoho.com, Adobe’s Acrobat.com and also Sliderocket.com online presentation tools • The market for mobile devices is becoming more competitive making for cheaper and better options. Look particularly at mini- laptops such as the Azus EeePC & mobile phones such as the iPhone and the new T-Mobile (Google phone). Online tools and applications will allow us to blend even further and more naturally with increasingly available online devices – Students will have online access in class all the time – Start preparing for it now!! 4