Learning About Learning: Evaluating and Identifying Online Resources

I’ve been learning a lot about learning lately. Specifically, how the brain encodes, stores, and retrieves information and how different learning theories help us, as the learner, process this information. I’ve also thought about technology and how it aids our learning so for this weeks blog post I’ve found two articles that discuss both topics.

In the article “A Project-based Digital Storytelling Approach for improving Students’ Learning, Motivation, Problem-Solving Competence and Learning Achievement”, Hung, Hwang, and Huang (2012) conduct a quasi-experiment with 5th graders in Taiwan. The 5th graders were assigned a project-based learning group for science about energy and global warming. One group presented their information through a PowerPoint Presentation after collecting the data they needed while the other used an interactive tool called Photo Story 3 after gathering data and producing examples in their own life. According to Hung, Hwang, and Huang (2012) “digital storytelling has been employed to develop the learning tasks as a project-based learning activity, including taking pictures with digital cameras, developing the story based on the pictures taken, producing a film based on the pictures by adding subtitle and a background, and presenting the story.” Sound familiar? We might have some future instructional designers on our hands. The result was the group using the digital storytelling approach out-performed the group using project-based learning in learning motivation, problem-solving competence, and achievement. Scholars have identified that storytelling is an effective instructional strategy for promoting learning motivations and improving the learning performance of students (Schank, 1990).

Why didn’t both groups use PowerPoint? The article is about digital storytelling learning versus project-based learning not about one technology versus another. I have many examples of how I lower energy consumption in my own life that I could use a digital storytelling format for by using PowerPoint. By using the same technology the authors could have highlighted the differences in learning and not technology.

The next article “The Brains Behind Brain-Based Research: The Tale of Two Postsecondary Online Learners” McGuckin and Ladhani (2010) write about online learning and its relationship with the brain. This article was especially interesting to me because my brother and I are both currently attending school online. How does online learning impact encoding and storage of information? McGuckin and Ladhani (2010) point out that “in online courses, there is often the opportunity to teach our classmates about a particular theory or topic.” I have found this to be true having already added books to my reading list that were recommended to me by my fellow online classmates. The article also points out that “those who design online courses need to ensure that the abilities and knowledge that their students are asked to master continue to change” (McGuckin & Ladhani, 2010). I think this is a great point. If I am required to take the same eLearning course every year about medication administration the core concepts should be presented in a different way in order to challenge the student to encode, problem-solve, retrieve, and store information every year. This article has helped me identify a need at my own job to recreate the four eLearning lessons we require our workers to take every year.

After reading both of these articles I’ve realized that my future instructional designer self must be careful in how I use technology for my learners. Technology can definitely aid in our learning but the content and the learner must be the first thoughts in how I teach concepts and new ideas, not how cool an animation will look.

References

Hung, C.-M., Hwang, G.-J., & Huang, I. (2012). A Project-based Digital Storytelling Approach for Improving Students’ Learning Motivation, Problem-Solving Competence and Learning Achievement. Educational Technology & Society, 15 (4), 368-379.

McGuckin, Dawn & Ladhani, Mubeen. (2010) The Brains behind Brain-Based Research: The Tale of Two Postsecondary Online Learners. College Quarterly, v13 n3.

Schank, R. (1990). Tell me a story: Narrative and intelligence. Evanston, IL: Northwestern  University Press.

The Doorway to Professional Learning Communities

When I first started dabbling in the world of Instructional Design (ID) I came across two great blogs that helped me figure out what all of this eLearning business was about. The only past experiences I had had with online learning consisted of the health requirement for the college I had attended (I wrote papers about different health issues and exercises and almost lost my faith in the education system along the way) and the riveting OSHA courses I had taken at my previous employer. These weren’t the best examples of what is possible in the ID world and to say I was excited would be a flat out lie but, by golly, I was going to try my best.

The first great blog I discovered was The Rapid eLearning Blog which is hosted by Tom Kuhlmann who runs the community for Articulate. The blog covers everything from designing the right course to audio and visual tips. Tom also recommends different resources for ID’s to check out including books, webinars, and conferences. I’ve used this blog many times for layout inspiration. Don’t let the affiliation to Articulate scare you if you don’t use their products because this blog is not Articulate exclusive. It is written for anyone who is trying to create great eLearning lessons.

The second blog I started using as a resource was the Allen Interactions eLearning Leadership Blog. While I mainly use the Rapid eLearning Blog for design and graphic creation tips I use the Allen Interactions blog for planning process tips and resources. This blog, written by Allen Interactions professionals, gives its reader things to think about when creating eLearning lessons and some of the theories behind online learning. Because the blog is written by different Allen Interactions professionals it not only gives the reader a unique viewpoint of other ID’s but also of their media artists, strategic relationship managers, and the quality assurance specialist. What a great resource for those professionals who work for companies where they are all those positions in one (like me) or for professionals who own their own business and work from a home office.

My third go to is a more recent discovery. I was on facebook and a lovely young woman I have not seen in some time posted a link to her blog about eLearning. Her name is Allison Nederveld and you really need to check her out. There are many reasons I have enjoyed this blog and have found it useful; the main reason is her process of taking the reader through her eLearning designs and explaining how and why she created it a specific way. Reading about her thought process for creating different projects has helped me think about my own process for creating courses. The other great thing about this blog is that she highlights different tech applications and programs and explains what they do and how you could use them. She also does a great job of mixing in a little learning theory here and there to add some spice to our food for thought.

Last but not least, I also use Lynda.com for great tutorial video’s about everything from time management to creating great audio. Lynda video’s are done by professionals in all different fields with thousands of videos that you can choose from. The advantage being a virtual classroom that you can access anywhere and on your own time. The only catch is that you pay a membership fee to have access to all the videos but it is well worth the $40.00 a month and is cheaper than going to a conference or two day training on the same topic. If you have the means to do so I highly recommend it.

I am very early on in my journey to becoming a good instructional designer (like haven’t even left the station yet) but all four of these resources have helped me break out of the unknown to see the computer screen light of what great instructional design can be.