Description
The digital learning resource consists of a web site in which the student finds information about some of the existing resources available in the Internet, as well as motivational content that aims at encouraging both, the use of such tools on one hand, and the personal reflection on past experiences and current situation of the individual in order to confirm or decide the path the person truly wants to follow.
Learning Goals
The web site will provide the students with a framework to reflect on what the students have accomplished so far, as well as prompts to assess past experiences in a reflective manner. With that insight the students will be motivated and better prepared to make an informed decision about their immediate future.
Intended Audience
The primary audience for this digital learning resource are students finishing high school and about to begin college studies, or students in their freshman or sophomore years. A secondary audience for the tool considers teachers, counselors, and parents lending a guiding hand at youngsters in the challenging process of making an important decision.
Rationale
The digital resource will be available online, and its use shall be promoted among the intended audiences. The counseling service the schools and universities offer the students represent an important point of contact with the primary audience, since the moment students reach out for vocational orientation means they are interested and ready to discover possibilities for taking their studies further. The content of the digital resource will include a brief reading aimed at motivating the student and establishing rapport, which will foster future visits to the web site. The links the digital resource will present to the student will facilitate information ranging from networking to a broad variety of events, as well as diverse training sessions.
Tools
The prototype of the digital resource will be built using the WIX.com which is available for download online at no cost. The basic operational features will be covered with this tool; should additional functionality be necessary, then other digital resources might be necessary to complement the development.
Assessment Plan
The nature of this digital resource does not call for an assessment component since it is designed for personal reflection. However, those supporting the student facing a decision-making situation should be able to notice the benefits the student derived from using the digital resource, as well as further utilization of additional sources of information triggered by this tool directly or indirectly.
Learning Theories & Instructional Design Principles
The learning interactions schemed by Anderson follow (Anderson, 2016, p. 36):
- Student – Student
- Student – Content
- Student – Teacher (* and counselors & parents for simplicity)
- Teacher (*) – Teacher (*)
- Teacher (*) – Content
- Content – Content
The first three are key to the digital resource due to the student being the main character, which categorize the tool as a student-centered digital resource. Furthermore, the second interaction, Student – Content, deserves additional attention because the nature of the digital resource will make it to serve as the “bridge” that will provide the student access to multiple routes to diverse information.
The digital resource coincides with the constructivists’ point of view with regard to the learners learning more effectively when the contextual substance and its meaning are of value to the learner due to their authenticity (Anderson, 2016, p. 38). When using the digital resource the student will actively inquire by clicking the links and options to navigate the content, which will allow the user to look for the information that matches the student’s interests.
Elaborating on the ideas of Siemens about the existence of knowledge and learning outside the human being, Anderson stated that: “A goal of connectivist learning is to create new connections, regardless of formal education systems, to expand upon and build learning networks” (Anderson, 2016, p. 43). The nature of the digital resource alignes with these ideas since the intended results for the student include the building of contact networks, in addition to the reflective analysis and informed decision-making.
The use of the digital resource will put the student in one or more of the three contexts that Drone and Anderson (2014) derived from social networks and interactions within formal learning (Anderson, 2016, p. 44), namely group, networks, and sets. These contexts can be briefly defined as follows:
- Group – is the equivalent of a class in the traditional instructional setting, although now including the online version of it not only face-to-face;
- Network – more fluid than groups, these aggregations expand or contract through time and may exist beyond the formal learning environment that started them;
- Sets – are created by shared interest thus having the affinity as fuel that keeps the companionship going, progressing toward mutual benefits.
Instructions for Use
The access to the digital resource will be done in the usual way when entering any web site: just clicking on the URL will open the Home page of the site. Once there the user will see the name of the sections -in which the content is organised- on the lower part of the screen: Home; LinkedIn; SIGGRAPH; Meetup; Eventbrite; and More.
Plan for Use
The digital resource will be open for use by anyone. This resource will represent a tool for schools’ counselors, teachers, and parents when guiding young adults and adolescents in search of information that helps them identify their passion. It is with a reflective analysis that the students will come in contact with their deep interests, those that will keep them going through challenges and time.
References
Anderson, T. (2016). Theories for learning with emerging technologies. In G. Veletsianos (Ed.), Emergence and innovation in digital learning: Foundations and applications (pp. 35 – 50). Edmonton, AB: AU Press.