Horton- E- Learning by Design (Reflections)

DESIGNING E-LEARNING (CHAPTER 1)

  

     E-learning means using electronic technologies to make learning possible. E-learning varies in many forms such as;

1) Standalone courses: Courses are taken by a solo learner.

2) Learning games and simulations: Learning is done with simulated activities and these activities aim to explore and discover something.

3) Mobile learning: Learners use mobile devices in classrooms.

4) Social learning: Learning is done through with a community of experts and fellows. It is based ın social networking.

5) Virtual classroom courses: Learning through reading assignments, presentations via social media.

 Design is so important. E-learning could be bad or good, it depends on its design. Design controls what we do, it involves judgement and creativity. There is instructional design which is so important, as well. When you have bad design, it means you have bad instructional design. So design must be applied to every phase of E-learning. E-learning has six phases which are hierarchically ordered. The topmost phase is curricular which is composed of courses and the undermost phase is media which includes the words, pictures, voice, music.

 The key points to achieve effective E-learning are;

- You should start with good instructional design which requires selecting, organizing the learning experiences to teach somebody.

- Instructional design should be simple, quick and informal.

- Instructional design determines everything so before buying technology you should design your instructional.

- With a good design you can avoid common failures.

- There is no guarantee of successful learning.

- Design must be suitable for all levels.

Learners' needs and abilities should be known. And the most important capabilities and traits are;

a) Motivation for learning

b) Psychomotor skills

c) Attitude and mindset

d) Mental discipline

e) Communication and social skills

f) Talents and intelligences

g) Media preferences

h) Background knowledge and experience

ı) Learning conditions

i) Locus of control

j) Style of prior education

k) Digital fluency

Good learning goals are clear and precise. You should think about learners, subjects, situations and requirements. The time you have determined what goals to teach, you need to decide the order in which learners will achieve these goals. There main sequences are;

1)  Bottom up: Teach prerequisite objectives before objectives that require these prerequisities.

2)  Top down: Start learners at top objectives as if they have all the prerequisities. It is good for experts and it's used for efficiency.

3) Sideways: Let learners discover the subject freely. It is a good choice for learners who like discovering.

By looking at what knowledge the learner need, what the learner should do with knowledge and how the learner will connect the knowledge to his work and life, you should turn goals to learning goals.

Tests are another maing part of the object since a learning requires learning activities and tests. Tests tell you how well your design is and help learners observe their own development. By developing tests first, you can save time and money and your teaching becomes more effective.

Effective development is a cycle so it is cumulative. You should re-design, build and evaluate but not repeat.!

Image retrieved from http://theithacan.org/news/millenials-fail-to-meet-expectations-as-digital-natives/

ABSORB-TYPE ACTIVITIES (CHAPTER 2)

     Absorb activities consist of informations that learners take to understand the knowledge from that info. Absorb activity learners are physically passive but mentally active. The content (the teacher or the writer of it) is in charge.

     The most common types of Absorb activities are;

• Presentations (learners listen to slide shows, demonstrations)
• Readings (learners read online)
• Stories by a teacher (learners listen to a story told by the teacher)
• Field trips (learners visit museums, historical sites)

There are six types of learning objectives to common types of Absorb activities which are listes below.

In brief, Absorb activities supply info to learners. In Absorb activities, learners read,watch,listen and wander. In well-desgined Absorb activities, learners also consider, select, collect information.

Image retrieved from https://elearningbydesign.wordpress.com/weeks/week-4-absorb-type-activities/

DO-TYPE ACTIVITIES (CHAPTER 3)

    According to William Horton, there are three different types of activities in e-learning. We mentioned about the first one before. The second one is do type activities. These activities make you start act, explore, discover, practice, refine and perfect knowledge and skills. Do type activities cover practice, discovery and playing games.

    Practice activities give learners experience applying information, knowledge, and skills then receive feedback. They improve learning. Drill and practice, hands on, guided analyses and teamwork activities are important parts of practice activities section.

Types of Practice Activities

• Drill-and-practice activities    -     are the repeated application of a series of similar, simple tasks. They help learners automate skills and improve fluidity of application.
• Hands-on activities    -     allow learners to perform tasks with real tools but with guidance. They teach real tasks and help learners apply theory.
• Guided-analysis activities    -     lead learners through an analysis task with step-by-step instructions. They strengthen a learner’s ability to perform a complex cognitive task.

    Game and simulations apply skills in a safe environment. Gain insight and confidence solving realistic problems in and entertaining context. Quiz show games, puzzles, adventure games, personal response simulations, mathematical simulations and environmental simulations are some materials and techniques for game and simulations section.

     Discovery activities involve experimenting and exploring. The goal is to lead learners to discover concepts, principles and procedures on their own. Virtual laboratories, case studies and role playing are needed in discovery activities.

Types of Discovery Activities;

• Virtual laboratories    -     where learners interact with a system to discover principle and refine thinking. Virtual laboratories are useful for hard knowledge.
• Case studies    -     where learners analyze a complex, real event or situation to understand its underlying causes and concepts. They then draw conclusions, abstract principles, or make recommendations.

     In all practices, interactions are student to student, Do type activities are connected to absorb and connect type activities.

    Last but not the least, Horton says that "While Absorb activities are the nouns, Do activities are the verbs of learning. They put people into action. 

Image retrieved from http://week4assignmentbernardini.blogspot.com.tr/

CONNECT-TYPE ACTIVITIES (CHAPTER 4)

Connect activities integrate what we are learning with what we know. They don't add so much new knowledge related to previously learned skills and knowledge. They add higher-level knowledge and skills. To understand the connect activities, we need to ask the purpose of the activity. If the purpose is to teach something new, it is a Do or an Absorb activity. If the purpose is to link to something already known, it is a Connect activity.

Common types of Connect activities;

·        Ponder Activities   -    require learners to think deeply about a subject. They require learners to evaluate examples, summarize learning and brainstorm ideas.

·        Questioning Activities    -    let learners fill in gaps and resolved confusion by asking questions of teachers and fellow learners.

·        Stories by Learners    -    require learners to recall events from their own lives.

·        Job Aids    -    are tools that help learners apply learning to real-world tasks.

·        Research Activities    -    require learners to discover and use their own sources of information.

·        Original Work    -    requires learners to perform genuine work and submit it for critique.

Connect Activities must be used when;

·        Application is crucial.

·        Application is not enough.

·        You teach a general subject.

·        Learners doubt applicability of material.

·        Learners cannot make connections by themselves.

Connect activities make sure that people can apply what they learned. They don't usually teach knowledge, but make known-knowledge more useful. Connect activities range from a simple questioning to work projects. To form effective Connect activities, a person has to start with a specific idea of what he wants to connect.

Image retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/gregaloha/connect-activities

GAMES AND SIMULATIONS (CHAPTER 7)

     When we’re talking about games and simulations, actually we’re talking about learning by playing. Games and simulations can be individual or more like group works. They are so funny activities that the teacher can attract the students’ attention by using these activities . Listeners are not passive actually, because the games that are played in the classroom need active interaction. In games and simulations, as we already indicated in other chapters, design is so important. One may ask “Why do we use games for learning?”, the answer is obvious; games let learners make mistakes without suffering permanent consequences, they encourage learners to pause, reflect, and revise, and they simplify complex situations. And the reason why we need to resort to games is there are a lot of people who must be educated.

Here are some types of learning games;

·        Quiz-show games

·        Word games

·        Task simulations

In brief,

     Games and simulations can provide practice and test learning. They can serve as Do activities,tests,topics and lessons. Design is so important. 

Image retrieved from http://www.educationnews.org/technology/playmaker-school-brings-gamification-to-the-classroom/

SOCIAL LEARNING (CHAPTER 8)

     Social learning involves learning by communicating with other individuals. This interaction is an active process. The interaction may be via the direct exchange of messages, such as e-mails, blog entries or even simple tweets. Interaction can occur through slide shows and interviews, as well. Social learning brings us feedback from others, dialog with our superiours, collaboration on a single project...

     Social learning doesn't mean only using social media or social networking. Social learning can happen everywhere. And the aim of using social learning is to make learning more reliable, enjoyable, to teach difficult subject and to implement learning quickly and inexpensively.

      There are a lot of patterns of interaction. These are used as building blocks to create rich social learning activities and lessons. Such as; presentation pattern, question-and-answer pattern, post-and-comment pattern, group-discussion pattern etc.The main tool of the social learning is discussion. It is the lifeblood of social learning. Discussions provide technology, procedures, and guidance to produce productive conversations.

Image retrieved from http://www.emergingedtech.com/2011/06/7-reasons-to-leverage-social-networking-tools-in-the-classroom/