Category: LRNT 526

Here is the log of events and research that took place during the course…

DATE	ACTIVITY
April 13	Complete Unit 1 Activity 1 – team, modality & presentation date selection Team: May Bahador, Sean Doyle, Jason Keddie, Alfonso MacGregor & Klaus Rimke Modality:  On line learning  Khan Academy  (*) Instance:  Khan Academy  Intro to HTML & Intro to CSS  (*) Link: www.khanacademy.org Team’s name: “Khan Artists” Presentation date: Sunday, May 13, changed to May 19, 2018 Begin participation in your team’s chosen modality and instance COMMENT:  I was a late-arrival to the team, and they all welcomed me nicely.  I had no problem adopting the modality that was already chosen. (*)  These concepts were clarified with the instructor one month later, a week prior to our team’s presentation date.
April 14	Team members exchanged information and opinions via Google Docs. COMMENT:  Through the MALAT programme, Google Docs has proven to be of high value to collaborate simultaneously as well as asynchronously.
April 15	Team description of modality chosen submitted. COMMENT:  The modality of Khan Academy was clearly understood by all the team members.  The instance was not clear as such although we agreed to take a couple of courses to familiarize ourselves with Khan Academy.  We did not think the agreement as the instance until the instructor told us that was it.
April 15	Initial summary of modality & approach to critical inquiry submitted. COMMENT:  The team collaborated to put together the summary, and it was posted in Klaus Rimke’s blog.  Khan Artists received useful feedback from the instructor which was incorporated in subsequent pieces of work.
April 16	Began work on Assignment 1 Part 1
April 19	Began work on Assignment 1 Part 2
April 20	Complete Unit 1 Activity 3 – individual blog post COMMENT:  When I posted this work I was still considering the modality and the instance wrongly.  I was also regarding Khan Academy material an OER, which later was rectified to refer to it as Online Educational Video.
April 29	Submitted Assignment 1 Part 1 | Individual Learning Plan
May 6	Submitted an outline for Assignment 1 Part 4 | Critical Reflective Paper COMMENT:  The outline mentioned the opportunity that having construction sites in several campuses of a school district represented for applying the students’ learning.  Some clarification was done via e-mail with the instructor, and he approved the idea of localisation as a good proposal to develop.
May 11	Attended DEE GEEs Presentation @ 7:30 PM / PST COMMENT:  One, if not the most, important contribution the DEE GEEs did to the class was being the first team to present.  Their experience shed some light on the “mystery” of what the instructor was expecting from the class.
May 12	Provided feedback to the DEE GEEs team
May 14	Attended MOOCtastic Presentation @ 7:00 PM / PST COMMENT:  The MOOCs immersion we had with the MOOCtastic team was extraordinary.  They did an excellent job researching and reporting the outstanding features of the MOOCs.
May 15	Provided feedback to the MOOCtastic team
May 15	Attended TEDdy BEARS Presentation @ 7:30 PM / PST COMMENT:  The TEDdy BEARS presentation revealed interesting aspects regarding not only the cost, or absence of it, of some educational resources but also the “certify-ability” of them.
May 16	Provided feedback to the TEDdy BEARS team
May 18	Attended AWESOME SAUCE Presentation @ 7:00 PM / PST COMMENT:  This team’s session included a nice dose of sense of humour which made the presentation extremely enjoyable, without diminishing the interesting information they presented.  The Awesome Sauce team made a clever use of their name playing with words and ideas to convey their content.
May 19	Provided feedback to the AWESOME SAUCE team
May 19	KHAN ARTISTS Presentation @ 7:00 PM / PST COMMENT:  Being the last team to present represented also a challenge since the audience was already “trained” on what to expect.  There was enough difference in our modality and content in relation to the other presentations that the audience welcomed the novelties with interesting questions and positive feedback.
May 21	Received feedback for the KHAN ARTISTS team
May 22	Submitted summary of reflections and comments on feedback received

 

Last Minute Change

While working on Assignment 1 Part 2, I thought I had my presentation well under way since I had exchanged comments back and forth with the instructor, and we both coincided in that Localisation was a good and interesting approach.  It was indeed outlined in the preliminary work of Assignment 1 Part 4, required as a draft for which I received useful feedback.  The term Localisation usually refers to accommodating content to cultural and/or national boundaries (Amiel, Squires, & Orey, 2009, p. 29).  My presentation used Localisation to incorporate local elements that reinforced the learning from the Khan Academy’s videos selected as the instance for the assignment.

And speaking of instance, during our team sessions, a doubt appeared concerning what the terms instance, issue, and aspect mentioned in the directions meant.  We could take the usual meaning of those words but they seemed to be used interchangeably, which caused some confusion to the team.  We needed to be on the safe side because our team’s video was still to be produced and the clock was ticking.

The instructor’s clarification came as a much needed directive:  All team members must work on one and the same instance.  This did not affect my colleagues’ work but, in my case, I was doing the Localisation of a supplementary Geometry resource to the Khan Academy online educational videos, so I had to shift the focus to the instance of the Introductory courses to HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) (Khan Academy, 2018).  In the end it worked out fine, although the extra time the change required could have been used to do some final fine-tuning.

Summary

The teams’ selections provided a diverse set of presentations allowing the audience to gain some insights to a variety of modalities.  Among these were the Massive Open Online Curses (MOOCs) which, honoring their name, are widely dispersed throughout 196 countries and across multiple networks.  Their content offerings cover a vast range of topics, and being open and online have helped them gain popularity among both universities and individual learners alike (Adamopoulos, 2013).  Coursera and edX belong in this category, and their specific weight in the trend comes from large universities and organisations including them in their staff development options (Daniel, 2012; Noer, 2012).

Another modality was the curated video library represented by Lynda.com.  This case’s story precisely depicts what being in the right place at the right time is, besides posessing the knowledge people needs to learn at hand.  Having started with the topic of how to develop a web site, triggered by the absence of accessible resources in the market, Lynda.com then grew not only adding topics but also going through uncertainty, both financially and technologically speaking (Porter, 2015).

To summarise the sampling, the infographic Khan Artists prepared illustrates how the modalities selected by the teams fit in the grid comparing competency versus course based, and paid versus free options.

It is interesting to see that Khan Academy’s online educational videos contrast with the rest by being competency oriented, which corresponds completely to the origin of these tutorials: Sal Khan aimed to help his niece to become competent on specific topics (Bhatt et al., 2014).

Conclusion

The vastness of resources available in the education field is impressive.  One of the best approaches an educator may take is to be open considering as many resources as feasible to give the students access to learning.  Such variety of options might as well help solve the need of differentiated instruction, which at times can be challenging for the teacher.

References

Adamopoulos, P. (2013). What makes a great MOOC? An interdisciplinary analysis of student retention in online courses.Retrieved April 12, 2018 from http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~padamopo/What%20makes%20a%20great%20MOOC.pdf

Amiel, T., Squires, J., & Orey, M. (2009). Four strategies for designing instruction for diverse cultures: Context and localization of learning objects. Educational Technology 49(6). 28-34. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/44429738

Bahador, M., Doyle, S., Keddie, J., MacGregor, A., & Rimke, K. (2018, May). Khan artists. Presentation prepared in fulfilment of the part 2 of assignment 1 of the LRNT526 course, MALAT programme of Royal Roads University, Victoria, CA.

Bhatt, Grozdev, Hackney, Love-Davis, Stankiewicz, & Walters. (2014). Student case study: Khan Academy. Retrieved from http://fletcher.tufts.edu/~/media/Fletcher/MIB/pdfs/B236%20Student%20Case%20Studies/Khan%20Academy%202014.pdf

Daniel, J. (2012). Making sense of MOOCs: Musings in a maze of myth, paradox and possibility. The Journal of Interactive Media in Education. Retrieved from https://www-jime.open.ac.uk/articles/10.5334/2012-18/

Khan Academy. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/

Noer, M. (2012). One man, one computer, 10 million students: How Khan Academy is reinventing education. Forbes. 1-8. Retrieved from http://www.prisim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/One-Man-One-Computer-10-Million
-Students-How-Khan-Academy-Is-Reinventing-Education-Forbes.pdf

Porter, J. (2015). From near failure to a $1.5 billion sale: The epic story of Lynda.com. Fast Company.  Retrieved May 30, 2018, from https://www.fastcompany.com/3045404/from-near-failure-to-a-15-billion-sale-the-epic-story-of-lyndacom

A Different Kind of Localization

As mentioned in part I, the domestic elements in this particular case are not of the typical nature related to the language nor the cultural framework.  The basic elements -because there are several kinds involved- are circumstancial and they might represent a unique opportunity to reinforce the learning process.

The Basic Elements

The basic elements originate from an important bond  approved for the school district, which enable them to proceed with major construction projects at six of their thirteen campuses.  Construction sites serve as the basis to generate interest and curiosity in any community.  Being these sites in campus the students would have their thought-provoking wells right there, which teachers shall translate into novel paths for learning.

The Second Element in Line

So the foundations for the localization effort are the schools’ construction sites.  The second element required comes in the form of the curriculum-related aspects the teachers would guide their students to focus on in order to work on the third and fourth elements.  These could include writing,  science, mathematics, or social studies aspects that the students shall be able to investigate with regard to the new facilities being built or renovated.

Elements Three and Four

Using the curated video library of Khan Academy provides the third and fourth elements which would be dealt with side by side.  The reason for this being that the third element consists of the Khan Academy courses Introduction to HTML and Introduction to CSS, while the fourth element is what the students learn completing exercises and challenges while watching the videos.

The Fifth Element

Finally, the localization effort would represent the fifth element, and it would require the teachers’ creativity to ask their students their ultimate challenge: To use the knowledge  acquired on HTML and CSS to include content in the web pages they created, that would cover specific aspects of the construction projects like the physical dimensions of the new auditorium, the functionality of the new gym, the appearance of the new classrooms or labs, and so forth.

Added Benefit

The school district would have the option to include in their official web pages at both district’s and schools’ levels the work produced by the students.  This could be managed in various ways ranging from district-wide schools contests to school-based committees doing the selection.  Either approach would benefit all by giving exposure and recognizing the students’ learning and achievement.

Final Observation

The localization effort described above aims to capitalize on special circumstances present at the time.  The effort could be applied in a setting that does not involve a construction site.  If any other special circumstance is in effect, it can be considered as it better serves the goal.  Otherwise, it can be used under the regular operating conditions of any school district or campus.

The First Impression

Signing up for the Khan Academy (KA) was exciting since it was the first time I was going to try it.  The preconceived ideas of what I would find in their sessions were in my mind like templates waiting to be filled up.  The reason for this was the simplicity I have read was one of the main characteristics of KA’s material.

Once the registration steps were done I was ready to start, and I was not disappointed because what I was presented with was indeed simple.  Additionally, I was surprised by the way the video motivated me to do my part.  It did not appear as a template but rather it actually flowed like an interactive session, furthermore the prompts shown when the learner made a mistake encouraged the student to understand the concept, try again, and get it right.

Potential for Localization

Openness in educational resources has made their access easier for many people and institutions which happen to find the contents in a popular language or culture that, in some cases, may not be the best fit for their learning goals.  Localization provides the contents with domestic elements or features needed, without altering the core, in order to be effective (Amiel, Squires, & Orey, 2009, p. 28).

Is it possible to increase the effectiveness of a resource with easy-to-learn content?  The simplicity achieved in each KA session, which is the result of breaking down a topic in smaller pieces of instruction, make it also suitable for localization as will be explained in the next blog.

References

Amiel, T., Squires, J., & Orey, M. (2009). Four strategies for designing instruction for diverse cultures: Context and localization of learning objects. Educational Technology, 49(6). 28-34. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/44429738

LRNT526 U1 a3 – Academic Reflection on Khan Academy and a Specific Issue Exploration

Our team, Khan Artists, selected the Khan Academy as the Open Education Resource (OER) to experience and work with on this course.  Individually, I will explore the possible effects and consequences of adding a local complement to what a specific Khan Academy resource offers to the students from the standpoint of their regular curriculum.

Kami Thordarson thought Khan Academy’s to be a helpful resource to supplement her fifth grade instruction at an elementary school in California, US (Thompson, 2011, p. 2).  Khan Academy is a non-profit organization that actually offers short lectures in the form of YouTube videos available to the public through the Internet (Kaplan, 2010).

The outcomes that Thordarson reports after a few months of introducing Khan Academy to her classroom are impressive.  The results refer to students’ self-motivation on the one hand, and with increased individual performance on the other.  These aspects are perfectly aligned with the self-determination theory (SDT) which, as stated by Deci and Ryan (as cited by Chen & Jang, 2010, p. 742) explains from the standpoint of a general theory of motivation the dynamics of the human needs, motivation, and well-being with regard to the social context surrounding the individual.  SDT, as coined by Deci and Ryan (as cited by Chen & Jang, 2010, p. 742), implies the experience of choice as a core piece of human functioning.

Furthermore, SDT as a theoretical framework puts together elements of online learning such as autonomy, relatedness, and competency as determinants of motivation (Chen & Jang, 2010).  And last but not least, three elements correspond to fundamental aspects of online learning: flexibility for learning; computer-mediated communication and social interaction; and the challenge of developing or acquiring technical skills along with the content being taught (Chen & Jang, 2010).

As part of our team warm-up activity, each member signed-up in Khan Academy and took the first two introductory courses on how to program a web page.  The experience allowed us to confirm the simplicity and friendliness of how the content is presented, as well as the elements that keep the student hooked on using the resource.

The specific aspect that I chose to explore refers to the localization of a resource that would be complementary to the Khan Academy.  Without pretending to compete with Khan, the addition of the local resource aims to increase the student’s sense of ownership due to familiar elements that would be incorporated with the local resource.

It will be interesting to learn the effects local elements would create on the students, and if those elements actually favor the learning in the audience.  The setting would be as follows.  After completing a Khan video the student would see the corresponding local video that will cover the same content, and this time several features of the local environment in which the student lives shall be included in the lesson as well as one of the local teachers conducting the session.

Thank you for taking the time to read my work.  I will appreciate the feedback I receive from instructor and peers, since it will contribute to my further researching the topic and learning deeper with this assignment.

References

Chen, K. C., & Jang, S. J. (2010). Motivation in online learning: Testing a model of self-determination theory.  Computers in Human Behavior 26. 741–752. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/32717732/Chen_Jang_CHB_%282010%29.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1524290148&Signature=5bvLt2pL2XXwe%2Fl6d8%2F2txOxTko%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DChen_K._C._and_Jang_S._-J._2010_._Motiva.pdf

Kaplan, D. A., (2010, August). Innovation in education: Bill Gates’ favorite teacher. Fortune. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20101223035558/
http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/23/technology/sal_khan_academy.fortune/

Thompson, C., (2011, July). How Khan Academy is changing the rules of education. Wired Digital. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents
/40764790/Khan_Academy_technology.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYY
GZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1524258037&Signature=6nHI8vA7MOFFH49qhUZMPjrdbpw%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DKhan_Academy
_technology.pdf