Category: Uncategorised

Socrative: An Excellent Web 2.0 Tool For increased Student Learning

A comprehensive video overview of Socrative courtesy of  Technology for teachers and Students.

I have chosen Socrative, which is a web 2.0 application that allows for a variety of activities to help students engage with content explored in a traditional, or non-traditional classroom setting. It is powered by a website, but also has an app available for both Android and IOS platforms. This tool ranges from basic multiple choice, or true and false questions through to more in-depth questions that allow the teacher to create basic quick answer questions that you might use as an exit ticket on a daily basis to check for understanding. The teacher dashboard gives you access to a wide range of diagnostic tools to analyse the data you collect from your students, and can also allow you to display responses anonymously, which is great for class discussion. In accordance with higher level thinking, as prescribed by cognitive learning theory, the user can upload content for students to reflect and respond to. The depth to which students can respond to stimuli is unlimited, and can foster some great intellectual discussion, and collaboration. Continue reading Socrative: An Excellent Web 2.0 Tool For increased Student Learning

Reflections on Research

I had often wondered what prompted researchers to pursue research as a career, and while that question was not specifically addressed in George Veletsianos’ podcast, I did appreciate the exploration of the process of getting started, something I will have to at some point become familiar with.

I found it interesting, in that it reaffirmed much of what I thought I already knew about the process of researching. In particular, the discussion related to formulating the question and then determining who has already asked the question and what answers they arrived at and then looking at ways in which the questions can be improved upon. I appreciated also, that there was not a singular way to begin a research project, or that at least that Mr. Veletsianos acknowledged a variety of methods for starting depending on the project. I found this to be comforting as my mind is always scattered and has many things going on at any given moment. To realise that there is not a definitive “way” to begin, and then conduct a research project is heartening. But, then at the same time, my type-A personality craves structure and direction at times and may find the open nature of research a challenge.

The fact that the journey becomes the research I also found interesting. I had always assumed that academics entered into all research with a pre-formulated concept of what they were going to do, and how they were going to do it, and that research projects don’t get started in a vacuum, but rather are ideas that are tossed around the research will change as new knowledge and understanding is achieved (Veletsianos, 2017). From this I will take away a new understanding of how I will approach my future research projects for this course, as I have already started to narrow my focus of interest. To prepare for this, I will endeavour to do as much reading as possible on the topics I am interested in, s that when the time comes, I will have a good foundation of knowledge to start from.

 

Veletsianos, G. (Author). (2017, August 10). George Veletsianos on Research [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://moodle.royalroads.ca/moodle/mod/page/view.php?id=245247

 

What makes a good research question?

Ultimately a research question should guide your research. It is the question you are seeking to answer, but many factors lie behind the creation of a good question. To begin with, a research question probes a specific area of interest to the researcher the question must be broad enough to allow for varied research, but focused enough to yield specific qualitative and quantitative data that will either inform future action, or provide new answers on the topic.

In my classroom, we used a version of the Socratic method to drive critical thinking. I present a topic, and then I ask the students to come up with as many questions  about that topic as possible. We then turn those questions into statements as possible and rank them in order of importance to our interests. We have a fair bit of discussion as a class and in smaller groups especially when we get to the open ended statements. Through this process, you can ultimately arrive at a deep thinking and purposeful question that can guide further inquiry. This inquiry can and is often supported by the dozens of questions you had asked previously to get at to the final question. Gradually the more questions you ask, and answer the more narrowed your focus becomes to the point where you can hone in on a specific topic.

At this level, you will need to consider the type of research your question will yield, and what methods you will employ. I have already come to the realisation that primary research, may be a challenge for me just because I may have difficulty getting ethical approval for research in Colombia, so this too will have an impact on the type of research question I pursue.

These are my perceptions so far at any rate, I expect I will learn more and expand my understanding and alter research questions accordingly.

Reflections on Academic Writing

After being out of the higher learning sphere for nearly a decade, it did take a bit of time to hit my stride as an academic writer. It is probably more accurate to say that I have not yet hit it, but am stumbling toward the straight direct line that such writing requires. In my writing for LRNT 521, I had a tendency to wax poetic in my blog posts, and be more philosophical in my writing. I suppose I had hoped to distil some profound understanding of the world of e-learning networks that no one had ever considered in quite the same way I had. Ultimately, I discovered, I was mostly rambling along the same lines as everyone else. It is hard to be original. It is more difficult still to be a quality content creator. I found the feedback from my various cohort members and my instructor for LRNT 521, Elizabeth Childs, to be especially helpful and encouraging in the development of my writing. My cohorts because of their complimentary comments on my blog posts, and Elizabeth because of her pointed critique of my academic assignments that both pointed out strengths and highlighted areas for growth in a way that made complete sense, and I hope from assignment 3 to 1, made for slight improvements to some aspects of my writing. Writing is a journey, and in just nine weeks I honestly do feel like I have come a long way. Continue reading Reflections on Academic Writing

Reflections of a Digital Content Creator – Video Diary

Below is my synopsis of the journey I have begun as a MALAT student. It is not the flashiest as far as production values are concerned, but echoes much what my fellow MALATers have already said. I will be interested to look back on this video in a year’s time to see what has changed.

Video Reflection

The Connectedness of Being

I wasn’t really sure what I expected to find when I mapped my online network. I was also unsure of which network to focus on. I decided against trying to visually represent my largest network, Facebook, because it is not as important to me as a professional. The people I connect with on Facebook I do not want to have impacting my digital reach as a professional, though in saying that I suppose I am a bit naive to believe that to actually be the case. I have a digital voice as an everyday person, and I have a voice as a professional. I have also, on occasion, made that voice heard on Facebook, though I am now wilfully trying to stop this practice, hence its seclusion here. Continue reading The Connectedness of Being

Organising and Citing Scholarly Research Using Chrome Extensions: A Video-tutorial

Hello fellow #RRUMALAT cohorts!

Although only a couple of weeks in, I am already finding the need to get myself organised as far as my research and citations go. I am already bogged down with article storage and citations, but I have a hack.

I have created this video-tutorial that outlines the usage of two Google Chrome extensions that I have found useful. I hope you find it useful! I welcome any feedback, happy researching!