The Empathy and Define stage did not cause as much anxiety as this stage and also pushed me to test to narrow down the ideas. The choice of the right tool is vital to the learning outcomes and impact on the students. I found it interesting to review the different theoretical frameworks to aid in the selection of digital tools for the creation of a digital learning resource (DLR).
- RAT assesses the value of the tool based on whether it replaces, amplifies, or transforms instruction and learning goals.
- SAMR assesses technology, similarly to RAT, based on whether it substitutes or augments existing technology and modifies or redefines (recreates) the current learning tasks.
- SECTIONS considers the following factors: students, ease of use, cost, teaching, interaction, organizational issues, networking, security and privacy.
- TPACK explains three levels of knowledge needed for instruction, technological (mostly digital), pedagogical (learning strategies), and content (subject matter expertise).
I’ve decided to work with the SECTIONS model by Bates (2015), which offers a list of elements to approach and guide the creation or selection of any analog or digital learning resource based on principles founded in learning theory and research. The model helped me to narrow down my solutions from the brainstorming step and made me realize that not all what I had in mind would be possible options at this time due to the lack of resources, time and cost.
Criteria: Students
Bates (2015) considers three key factors in this area; differences in how each student learns, their demographics, and their access. The web development program (WDCP) students are adult learners, their ages range from 18 to 50, mostly between 23-40 with the occasional right-out of high school participant or more mature student. Most of them are in career transition with a few years of work experience, with different educational and cultural background, gaining competitive foundational knowledge to get an entry-level job in the web development (WD) field. Each user will have full access to participate in the Portfolio Website module (PWM) and the accompanying tool without any additional challenges. Navigating the communication tool (Slack) will not present difficulties for any of the participants. By the time the learners reach the PWM, the system/communication tool is being used already, the barriers and challenges have been, for the most part, taken care of. Differences in how each student learns along with demographic can present some challenges, but that needs to be mitigated with the help of activities and used additional tools/apps.
Criteria: Ease of Use
Bates (2015) states that the use of technology in teaching is a means, not an end. Clark (1994) argues that a medium has no influence on learning outcomes and considered it a vehicle to convey instruction. While Kozma (1994) describes that matching it with learners and goals can result in a more effective learning experience and emphasizes the impact of its attributes over the media itself as they allow for real-life and simulations to be more effective on the learner. Schramm (1977) suggests that “learning is influenced more by the content and instructional strategy in the learning materials than by the type of technology used to deliver instruction” (as cited in Ally, 2008, p. 15). However, in this situation the tool is both means and the end, a vehicle and a learning goal, as using Slack for team communication is not only a convenient way to collaborate, but based on the feedback from numerous Greater Vancouver web developer agencies, it is the preferred method in the WD field (BCIT School of Computing and Academic Studies, 2018), as well as at numerous large corporations (Woyke, 2018). Bates (2015) mentions that students should be studying within 20 minutes of logging into a technology, suggesting that spending significant time on how to navigate within the environment is not acceptable. By choosing a method known to all potential participants, it is estimated that very little will be required to orient students to this tool. The survey and the in-person session in the Empathy phase also revealed the satisfaction with the use of Slack as the collaborative communication tool for the industry project where both the learners and the instructors valued the quick, informal nature of Slack over emails as well as the seamless integration of the industry-specific tools in it. Slack and the available third-party apps are accessible 24/7 and on laptops as well as on different mobile devices.
Criteria: Cost
Cost and time are always a concern. The free version of the Slack app was introduced as the primary communication tool last year in the program for only the collaborative industry project. Should the program consider switching to the paid version, it is still reasonable with the offered 85% discount for educational institutions. The development of the module materials, the testing of the different tool integrations, the maintenance of the environment is time-consuming, there will be some overhead costs, but similar costs would arise without this DLR. Some of the activity ideas what I listed can also have additional expenses or some workaround can be found.
Criteria: Teaching
Teaching and media selection are vital and Bates (2015) covers a lot relating to the design of media in this section. My focus will be on keeping the DLR simple. I plan to integrate some of Mayer’s principles based on the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, as described by Bates (2015) such as coherence (remove distracting, irrelevant material), signalling, redundancy avoidance, segmenting, multimedia, modality, personalization, pre-training, image and voice to ensure the cognitive load on the learners are balanced (cognitivism). Halpern et al. (Halpern, Graesser, & Hakel, 2007) adds dual-code effect (using both verbal and pictorial), using stories and example cases to capture attention and engage, feedback effect (the benefit of personalized and timely feedback), applying desirable difficulties, considering discovery learning (guide and scaffold to help discovering principles). Based on the student demographics, the Adult Learning Theory will also guide the creation of the DLR. According to Merriam (2014), there is no one adult learning theory but several prevailing theories (andragogy, self-directed learning, experiential learning, transformational learning) that explain from different perspectives how adults learn. All of them have one primary goal to help to create effective learning experiences for adult learners (Merriam, 2014).
Criteria: Interaction
Along with teaching and media selection, interaction is vital for any DLR. The learner must be intrinsically motivated to interact with the DLR to absorb the curriculum and reach the learning outcomes (Bates, 2015). The use of Slack and the integrated third-party apps will allow me to incorporate several types of interactions for the users, such as polls, one-on-one discussions, fun gifs, receiving and sending notifications, etc. The designed and inherent interactivity of the tools and apps will provide for interactions between the students, the teacher, the technology, and the content.
Criteria: Organizational Issues
The institution only suggests the use of LMS for content delivery and not forcing it within the different programs. The WDCP is a recovery-based program (not government funded). It is a full-time and fast-track providing opportunities for people to redefine and reskill themselves by focusing on the core field-specific competencies, the various coding languages and employing project-based learning to engage students’ in real-world cases. The goal is to use tools what the learners will use in their future work environment. Basically, get in and get out quickly and get a job.
Criteria: Networking
This DLR is not designed for traditional networking in case of the PWM, as only the class and the instructors will be part of it. Some of this DLR’s in-person activities will provide and aid networking, such as information interviews and Q&A sessions with industry people.
Criteria: Security and Privacy
The institution set guidelines for how to use third-party apps and tools. There will be no social media or public elements of this DLR. Slack, Google or any of the web developer tools (GitHub, Bespoke, CodePen…) cannot guarantee to keep the stored information on Canadian servers, and the future web developers cannot even expect that. For security and privacy, no student IDs or any official grade or feedback will be shared or stored in the DLR. All the content will be related to assisting in the creation of the portfolio website.
By going through the SECTIONS framework, I can see where the strengths of the DLR shines and when can be potential challenges. Overall, I think SECTIONS has shown that the DLR can accomplish the purpose of assisting students in their quest of developing a professional portfolio website for the after-program career goals.
The illustration is created by the author.
References
Ally, M. (2008). Foundations of educational theory for online learning. In T. Anderson (Ed.), The theory and practice of online learning (1st ed., pp. 15–44). Retrieved from http://aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/01_Anderson_2008-Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf
Bates, T. (2015). Teaching in a digital age. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/
BCIT School of Computing and Academic Studies (2018). Program review – Industry survey results. Internal BCIT report: unpublished.
Clark, R. E. (1994). Media will never influence learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 42(2), 21–29. Retrieved from http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~bmann/0_ARTICLES/Media_Clark.html
Halpern, D. F., Graesser, A., & Hakel, M. (2007). 25 learning principles to guide pedagogy and the design of learning environments applying the science of learning: What we know about learning and how we can improve the teaching-learning interaction. Retrieved from http://psyc.memphis.edu/learning
Kozma, R. B. (1994). Will media influence learning? Reframing the debate. Educational Technology Research and Development, 42(2), 7–19. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.167.4904
Merriam, S., & Bierema, L. (2014). Adult learning: Linking theory and practice (First edition). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, a Wiley brand.
Woyke, E. (2018). Slack hopes its AI will keep you from hating Slack. Technology Review, 121(2), 12–14. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/docview/2023697381/fulltext/2FD1BA6BDBDB4508PQ/1?accountid=8056