Reflective Summary 2

Question 1:

The CSILE case study from CSCL 2 (2001) is used to illustrate the use and role of technology and the role of the teacher or instructor and instructional strategies needed to determine what technological tools can do and how these tools require support from teachers and instructional strategies. The CSILE case study consisted of one teacher with two separate attempts using CSILE two years apart and the lessons learned. This CSILE study illustrates how changes in student outcomes can happen by reviewing instructional strategies and the role of the teacher in relation to the technology used in the classroom.
According to Hewitt (2001) Knowledge Building Communities allow for knowledge to be built from the collaboration of the participants as opposed to information only coming from the teacher. Students in this atmosphere must play a participatory role in gathering information thereby making learning the goal instead of simply completing a task and possibly learning from the assignment. This format allows for the focus on intentional learning (Hewitt, 2001), in that the learning is the goal as opposed to it being an incidental outcome of projects.
According to Hewitt (2001) the instructional strategies used during the second trial included: “Placing a greater focus on problem-centered collaboration” (p. 27); “Guide student toward educationally productive queries.” (p. 29); “Make student thinking focal.” (p. 30); “Make evident the iterative progression of learning.” (p. 32); “Encourage substantive collaboration.” (p. 35); and “Stress understanding.” (p. 35). These strategies were developed after reviewing the CSILE project and identifying specific problems.
The use of the technology, CSILE, provided a tool for students that would: record ideas, allow for viewing by peers, enable students to comment on peer’s ideas, provide the ability to link ideas/comments, and provide tags to organize ideas. The relationship between the use of technology and the strategies used during the second trial allowed for greater success. Simply using the technology available without proper instructional strategies to guide students through the process of building knowledge was found to be unsuccessful. The students, with additional instructional strategies, were directed to begin with a problem statement as opposed to a topic and were provided with a format to list the information in the database. This change in instructional strategy allowed for a more focused research and increased collaboration. (Hewitt, 2001) The collaborative tools available in CSILE coupled with the instructional strategies increased the level of collaboration among students and changed the activity from a task-based assignment into a knowledge building experience (Hewitt, 2001).
The role of this technology is to allow the student to input ideas and solutions into a database in order to involve students in learning and understanding new concepts and relationships. The role of the teacher is to provide initial instruction of the technology, emphasize understanding, encourage collaboration, and guide the learning process from knowledge gathering to knowledge building (Hewitt, 2001).


Question 2:

The learning community that I would like to develop is a hybrid VLC designed for an online post-clinical conference for practical nursing students. This VLC would incorporate face-to-face meetings with online activities. The technology to be used to support the online activities is Moodle. This technology provides the tools needed for communication, group work, collaboration, and reflective journaling. According to Wikipedia ( 2009 ) Moodle allows for a constructivist or social constructivist approach to learning in that the students are encouraged to contribute to the educational experience. The construction of Moodle is set for a modular format, this format can be developed in a weekly platform that will assist with the online post clinical conference.
The design of Moodle provides the scaffolding for communication through the use of forums that provide the opportunity for asynchronous discussions, a chat feature that provides the opportunity for synchronous discussions, and e-mail for additional communication. Jones & Bronack (2007) mention “an effective learning environment is one that supports the transmission of information by providing a context for people to communicate.” (p. 101) Collaboration is supported in Moodle through the use of wiki’s and databases. Reflective journaling is supported through the use of a journal activity built into Moodle. According to Dunlap (2006) journal writing is a technology that can enhance critical thinking, as well as record changes in the student’s perception during the learning event.
Instructional strategies for this VLC include guide discussions, encourage collaboration, provide examples, and stress understanding. The discussion boards (or forums) will provide the environment and opportunity for students to reflect on the information they learned during the clinical setting and use the guiding questions to further expand and build on their current knowledge. Bonk & Zhang (2006) note that discussion boards or forums allow for a delayed response to questions or statements, allowing for a more in-depth discussion. The opportunity for a more in-depth response and how it relates to the clinical experience can assist to build on the student’s critical thinking in the clinical context. Collaboration will be encouraged during the guided discussions as well as during projects using the wiki tool built in to Moodle. The projects, such as developing a patient teaching plan or concept map, will allow for additional collaboration as students work in groups to build on their knowledge in these areas. Examples will be provided to students as they begin the activities to provide a framework for their projects.
The teacher’s facilitation is provided in guiding the face-to-face meetings directly following the clinical experience to allow the students a debriefing time and answer questions that may have developed during the experience. Facilitation is also evidence by providing guiding questions and projects to allow the student to develop and build their knowledge concerning the clinical portion of their nursing education. The teacher will also model behavior that is expected in the clinical setting as well as on discussion boards and activities by providing timely feedback and assistance to finding answers as students require the additional help.
The theory that supports the use of Moodle for providing the online post clinical conference is a constructivist theory, Morrison, Ross & Kemp state that Vygotsky’s theory states, “. . . that social interactions can facilitate learners; progression to more advanced ways of thinking and problem solving.” (2007, p. 355) The constructivist theories of learning emphasize the student’s active role in the learning process, participating in the learning experience as opposed to simply memorizing the information. This theory is appropriate for the online post clinical conference, because it is the cultivation of knowledge and the application of that knowledge that is used for the clinical experience and to build critical thinking.

References:

Wikipedia, (2009). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moodle

Bonk, C. & Zhang, K. (2006). Introducing the R2D2 Model: Online learning for the diverse learners of the world. Distance Education, 27(2), 249-264.

Dunlap, J. (2006). Using guided reflective journaling activities to capture students’ changing perceptions. TechTrends, 50(6). 20-26.

Hewitt, J. (2002) From a focus on tasks to a focus on understanding: The cultural transformation of a Toronto classroom. In T. Koschmann, R. Hall, & N. Miyake (Eds.). CSCL 2: Carrying forward the conversation. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Jones, G. & Bronack, S (2007). Rethinking cognition, representations, and processes in 3D online social learning environments. In D. Gibson, C. Aldrich, & M Prensky (Eds.). Games and simulations in online learning: Research and development frameworks. (pp 89-114). Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing.

Morrison, G., Ross, S., & Kemp, J (2007) Designing effective instruction. (5th Edition). Chennai, India: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.