I'm BAAAAAAAACK!

Hey, what do you know, I needed a space to voice my ideas for a classroom activity and this is the first place I thought of coming to :)

I have a 1st yr subject that I teach (Applied Anatomy) in which students are taught to identify specific bony and soft tissue structures on each other as well as on x-rays. After 9 sessions, I have now started preparing for the final revision session of this particular subject. The thing is, I've tried different methods of engaging with the students, but it gets kind of difficult to help 56 people in the few hours we have for each lecture. It even went so far, that I had a revision session in which I divided up the class into three groups and ended up spending 6 hours straight teaching!

Now my mind tells me that I should do something totally different, if only to ensure that the revision session makes the work stick in their minds.
My idea is to do one of two things:
1. Surface anatomy charades/30-seconds (students have 30 seconds in which to describe a structure, the name of which they will draw out of a box/hat, and by identifying the structure on their team members in the 30 seconds provided, they will move forward on the game board. I will then confirm that they are correct at the end of the game by going back to the class slides.

OR

2. Write the names of different structures onto post-it strips. Stick these strips onto each students head. Students then try to identify what structure they have stuck to their head by asking a fellow classmate to identify the structure on their body.

I've got a few days left before the class, so hopefully I'll figure it out SOON!

Happy Learning!

Annie

Continuing the journey....

Not sure who of my fellow MPhil enthusiasts are still following this, but hey, gonna say something anyway!

I'm busy finishing my BIG research assignment for the MPhil program and have to share the fact that the e-learning module inspired me to add some e-learning aspects into the recommendation paragraphs in my conclusion.
I'm going to see what the possiblity is going to be of getting some funding for a project for next year to investigate the educationa benefit of the official application of e-learning in one of our modules. Looking for one or two of my fellow academics to join in the party!

Give me a shout!
Li

Our deepest fear

I've come across an excerpt a few years ago that Nelson Mandela used in his inaugaural speech and use it as my desktop and pasted on my wall above my PC at work. I've found that at times when I'm either starting something new, or finishing something off, I think of it or read it. Through the process of all the assignments and now with the last part of the thesis to be completed, I'm reading it a few times every day. I'd like to share it with you, fellow e-learners, because I believe that in some way, no matter what the situation is that we're in, it can apply to us.
So now, as we end of this module, try to remember the fear you felt (and yes, I think we all had some fears at the start of the MPhil last year) and those that still linger. However, think of it in the light of what we've acomplished here, we've created a place for 'our intellectual light to shine'


Our Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson from A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”


Annie signing off on this chapter.....or maybe it's a prologue to the next one! L

Bittersweet ending....

I'm done with my assignment....a true bittersweet ending to this process. Sweet because it is the last one for the MPhil modules (apart from theBIG one of course) but bitter/sad because I am feeling that not being able to implement this project is a bit of an anti-climax. On the plus side, a lot of the planning is done for actually implementation while in a negative light, I will miss the community we've built here.

What are the chances of continuing this blog for the purpose of building this community of academics venturing out into the world of e-learning?

I'm sure I'll come back and post my final 'module blog post' on Tuesday, but I thought it'd be a good time to finally show my hand.

Here's a link http://challenge.massey.ac.nz/to the Challenge Workbook (previously known as Challenge FRAP). It's free to download and has a very nice help section that takes you through the entire process. It's a really a nice, easy tool to use and I can't wait to use it with my students.

Annie signing off.....

Frustration and success

In attempting to finalize the assignment I have met with a lot of frustration which at times made me wonder whether or not I was on the right track. Simple formatting issues almost drove me insane in using the tool I've chosen for implementation into our curriculum. After successfully firguring out what it is that I was doing wrong, I had one of thos 'eurka moments' and realised that acutally using the tool I'm expecting students to use is a way of executing the evaluation of it. Let me clarify that, finding problems within the fairly simple tool has highlighted areas that I need to bring to the attention of students and staff during the design and development phase. This once again illustrates the inter-connectivity of the ADDIE model and also shows how important it is for staff to become 'well-versed' as it were with the product they're punting.

Another issue I have been faced with is realising how never-ending the evaluation process and subsequent cycle of the ADDIE process can become. At what stage do we stop the process, if any? When have we evaluated something to death?????????

Therefore, though frustrating, I think I've succeeded in harnessing my frustration and converting into learning points, which is what I hope the students will do as well!

Investing in the implementation

Ok, so it's been a while. Admittedly, I've been postponing blogging about this particular step. It feels a bit hollow for me as I'm not actually able to implement the module with our students due to time constraints. At the same time, I've had a very interesting e-learning experience of my own in the past two weeks. First I attended a demo of a very interesting software package that will hopefully be available at our University soon (got me so excited, I've already half promised to do some research into it's educational value :0). Second, I participated in a blog linked to an academic article on e-learning in SA physiotherapy education as a peer review process. Finally, though not really an e-learning experience, per se, I was part of a presentation on PBL on main campus, where I discovered that the tool I've selected for this assignment is actually something that many other faculties could benefit from!

These experiences have brought me to a point where I'm motivated to complete the implementation (theoretically) and put an evaluation plan into action. I really need to do a lot more reading into e-learning, as I honestly think this module has allowed us to just start getting our toes wet in the sea of knowledge available on e-learning. If I have even a remote chance of real implementation, it will require investment of my time and mental resources to ensure its academic scrutiny.

AAAARRRRGH!!!!!!

Ok ppl, we have a few more days to go. This post is more of a venting space regarding implementation. I would have really, really, really loved to have implemented or at least tried out the tool in the time we've had with this project....but SERIOUSLY WHERE IS THE TIME?????? I was all gungho about getting a few students to try it out and see what they think, but in retrospect, this was a very idealistic mindset to have had.

I think, just like so many other good ideas, it's going to take time and investment of resources (human and technology) to get this going. So I guess all I have to do is ensure that WHEN this is presented to the Undergraduate Program Committee in our Division, no one can say "lack of planning has constituted an emergency on my part"

Ok, venting done, now to invest in the implementation (at least in theory) before executing the evaluation!

Oh, here's a clue to the tool: "It's previous name had the first part of the name of a warm, coffee drink"

Delving into the development

Ok, so it's mostly downhill from here. Just two more weeks to go and then the finished product should be there for all to see!

Just a quick recap.....
I am using the ADDIE model to facilitate the process of introducing e-learning into the 3rd year curriculum in a formalised manner. The ultimate goal is for the current PBL module, i.e. Applied Physiotherapy, to build on the constructivist and collaborative learning environment already created and use the e-learning tool to allow for a clearer understanding of the cognitive processes involved in developing learning materials.

So, how is this going to be developed in a very full curriculum, one in which students are already struggling to adapt to the shift from didactic lecture-based learning environments, to a PBL environment?

As I see it, the issues which need to be addressed are:

1. Who is involved? (all stakeholders)
2. What content is included?
3. Where does this fit into the curriculum?
4. What is the roll-out plan?
5. How is this going to be assessed?
6. What is it going to cost?

I've been struggling with this step, as what I've seen in my reading is not as helpful as the literature has been on the other steps of the ADDIE model. The articles all seem to describe this component almost in a basic "business plan" type of language. Something like, 'this is done by so-and-so, using that to do this which costs that for this or that purpose.'

My biggest challenge right now, is how to present this proposal for an e-learning tool............. Maybe I should just use the tool to put the entire ADDIE process to those who need to see it? Now to get them to put the necessary software onto their pc's so that they can all be amazed at how simple e-learning can really be :)

De-mystifying the Design

After a really heavy week at home and at work, I've finally had some time to reflect on the Design aspect of the ADDIE process. I have come to the conclusion that the incorporation of an e-learning component into the curriculum requires us to use both the theories of teaching and learning along with the prinicples of change management. It has been a really enlightening experience to realise that so many of the modules we have already completed in the MPhil program are finally being incorporated into one, aptly dubbed (I think), T & L tool which can be seen as the way of the future. So, in de-mystifying the design, it is necessary to include all stakeholders, adopt an Appreciative Inquiry approach in the change management plan to the constructivist pedagogy of the PBL module into which the e-learning tool will be integrated into the curriculum!
LOL, that was a mouthfull, even for me!
I think I'll stop there before I hurt a brain cell :)

Addressing the Analysis.....

Ok, so I think I've come up with my 'A' in the ADDIE-of-it-all.....or at least what I'm able to do in the time we have available.

In order to incorporate an e-learning component into the Physiotherapy curriculum, it is necessary to firstly analyze the who, what and why of the proposed endeavour. The 'who' involved are the staff and 3rd year students within the Physiotherapy program at Stellenbosch University. The 'what' concerns the APT and/or CPT modules incorporating the use of an e-learning tool in a PBL format. They 'why' relates to the fact that PBL has been reported to encourage the use of self-directed, deep level processing in understanding the work (Moust, Bouhuijs & Schmidt, 2007). This is not however clearly demonstrated in the feedback from students currently enrolled in the module.
The initial analysis of the situation yielded the following challenges:

• 3rd year students are in a transition phase from didactic lecture-style instructional approach to a PBL instructional approach and clinical/practical learning
• Students have begun to understand the importance of group work, but still struggle to adapt to the new level of responsibility required with self-directed learning.
• The possible difficulties that students are having in this transition phase can result in extra resistance to a completely foreign instructional tool in an e-learning module/component.
• Staff members may be resistant to the resources (time and personnel) needed for the new tool to be implemented within the program.

Further analysis of these challenges has lead to these possible solutions:

• Incorporate the style of the APT module with the learning in the clinical area.
• Keep the group work rationale, while encouraging deep level processing from each
  individual in order to produce the final product.
• Use a learning tool that is not completely foreign in terms of current technological capabilities and what the students are used to, i.e. MS Office, e-mails and basic internet researching.
• Staff members might be less resistant to the resource requirements once they are informed of the benefits of a simple, easy-to-use tool which could solve the currently conceived problem relating to the students' engagement with learning material.

These challenges have illuminated the necessity for literature confirming the assumptions and for guiding the way forward.

To effectively introduce e-learning into any curriculum, an understanding that e-learning is simply a means of using technology to meet society's learning needs (Cohen & Nycz, 2006). This statement implies that there is a need from students for academic staff to adapt their methods of instruction. This has been found to be true in Physiotherapy courses elsewhere (Willett, 2004).
Problem-based learning has been used in a hybrid format in the Physiotherapy curriculum at Stellenbosch University since 2007. The APT module requires an increased level of student responsibility for their own learning as they address clinical problems in small groups in order to generate their own learning outcomes and materials. Currently, the level of interaction that the students have with technology within the module are directly linked to the research they are required to do in order to source their learning materials and specifically in assessment via
multiple-choice questions via the WebCT program. Using e-learning together with PBL has been found to have a positive impact on students learning outcomes (Taradi, Taradi, Radic & Pokrajac, 2004). Students have also had a reported high satisfaction rate and usage rate of e-learning tools in PBL programs implemented in medical schools (Gurpinar, Zayim, Ozenci & Alimoglu, 2009).

Ultimately, students and staff alike have found that e-learning enhances both teaching and learning (Rulz, Mintzer & Lelplzg, 2006) and though neither are expected to abandon classroom or group work learning environments, both groups can benefit from exploring the possibility of the benefits within Physiotherapy (Willett, 2004).

So here we go.....Time to De-mystify the DESIGN :)

Putting the "P" in PBL

So as with most of my assignments I'm once again using our hybrid-PBL module as my playground for this module assignment. As I'm already doing my thesis on the module, I've found a number of problems/areas that could be addressed to make the module more user-friendly. The issue I'm faced with though is that the majority of our staff-compliment are fairly resistant (to put it lightly) to any form of E-learning....maybe as a result of the fear of the unknown.

So now, in analyzing my proposed topic, I've come to a few conclusions:

1. This needs to be done on a VERY small scale to make the introduction of e-learning as problem-free as possible.
2. This cannot be initially implemented directly into the PBL module due to time and resource limitations.
3. A much smaller group of students (than the 30 enrolled in the module) will have to be part of the initial project.
4. Initial literature searches support using multi-media in PBL for improved/increased transferrability of learning, this means that I'll need to summarize this literature in order to make a presentation to staff and students to sell them on the idea.

So, that's where I am right now on putting the "P" or problems into perspective in terms of using a PBL format for my e-learning experience.

The journey continues......

Li

mE-Learning????

Ok, so what now? I'm knee deep in work, the results chapter of my thesis and now we need to start applying our minds to the E-learning module! I honestly don't know how I'm going to do it! Firstly, there's going to have to be quite a bit of reading and re-reading of the contact week "notes" just to remind myself of what exactly this ADDIE model is....cause honestly, I'm clueless right now.

On the plus side, I actually kinda know what it is that I'm going to do for my e-Learning module! So, hopefully, at the end of these four weeks, I can say....E-learning = mE-learning!

Time is...

Ok, so I made the decision to choose the E-learning module. The contact week is over and now it's back to reality!
I am feeling a bit freaked out knowing that I only have 7 months in which to do my entire research project and write it up! At the same time we just have a few more days left before we move back to our own house!

In a way, I'm just feeling as if I have way to much to concentrate on and get done in too little time. I know that this overwhelmed feeling will come and go, but right now I really don't need it!

I've arrived!!!!

Here goes nothing! This is my first attempt at blogging....even if I am only starting this as part of my MPhil. Not sure if I'm actually going to use this often, I guess it depends on whether or not I actually take this e-learning module as my elective. I actually have an idea for an assignment for both elective modules, so it's decision time!!! Question is, which one is going to keep my attention 1 month before my final research has to be submitted???????????

Good luck with the rest of the year to all my fellow classmates!!!!

Li