Educator's Voice

Vol 9, Issue 1
January 23, 2008

Formula for success or boredom?

Can media-based learning better engage your students?

In the 1990’s, online learning began to take root.  Starting as a medium for professional development, it soon became obvious that there were educational opportunities as well.  Estimates started to come out saying every learner would use the Internet for classes by 2010 and that computers would soon take away jobs….as with all new paradigms, futurists were over-zealous.  But the promise of eLearning was significant all the same.

However, during that time, a number of models for eLearning began to emerge.  Educators wanted to know how to build a better online class, schools needed to know what would draw in tech-savvy students, and Instructional Designers were in demand like never before.  And so models like ADDIE (http://ed.isu.edu/addie) began to take center stage.  Good development practices were based on models like this and eLearning began to gain some credibility.

But, during a time when courses were transferred from on-ground to online, several ‘best practices’ were shopped around with moderate success.  One of those best practices involved standardization.  In fact, a number of for-profit schools hung their hats on standardization.  Think of this time as the Pong era of eLearning.  Two lines went up and down while a dot zipped across the screen and it was intoxicating to traditional board game players.  In fact, you could add a few lines on each side, call the game “hockey” and WOW, you’ve got an entirely different game!  Standardized eLearning did the same thing.  Create three to five ways to present content, deliver that content the same way week after week, unit after unit, and WOW, you’ve got an online course!

Before standardization gets a bad wrap, it’s important to note that some degree of standardization is a very good thing.  Naming conventions should not “surprise” anyone from content item to content item.  In other words a student should know exactly what “lecture” means when they click it!  It’s a positive thing for every class at an institution to have a Library link or a calendar link.  It’s also great if these items are found in the same place every time.  

As well, standardized instruction made development easy.  It was simple to apply development and design models like ADDIE against, it created a uniform look and feel, and it made teaching simple.  Standardization was an excellent way for instructors to cut their teeth online.  And it could be argued that students were successful with the approach of doing the same thing week in and week out.  However, there is one problem with the end of this story.  Pong became Atari which turned into Sega and evolved to the point of Xbox and PS3 with games like Halo and Guitar Hero.  eLearning, however, didn’t go anywhere.  Sure, we may have added some video elements, a cool FLASH graphic, or maybe even a Javascript re-direct.  But, typically these were simply plugged into the formula and called good.  It should also be noted that simply providing access to content is not the same as teaching!

Enter a new paradigm: media-based learning.  Some call it a methodology; others like Chris Dede of Harvard call it a learning style.  (The learning style aspect is intriguing – it begins to look at learning from a commonalities perspective rather than focusing on learner differences!)  And like all new paradigms, it is struggling to find footing against the incumbent.  But I believe it will gain more and more ground as people see how powerful it is.  Already, articles can be found talking about it and research is starting to come out, even when referred to by different names.  

Media-based learning / Project-based learning / Technology-based learning / Inquiry-based learning: these are all getting at the same idea.  Media-based learning is experiential, based on real world activity, is authentic in task and assessment, often involves gaming elements, and typically needs technology to help facilitate or drive it.  Within the construct of media-based learning are several elements.  Multiple formats for engagement are used, competition between players (learners) is encouraged, multiple coaching models are provided (live coaches, group coaches, peer resources, self-checking, etc.), participants are drawn along the technology continuum learning ancillary (but pertinent) skills, and a new value can be found in the observation side of a learning experience.

How is this being done?  Simulations (http://muve.gse.harvard.edu/muvees2003/), group work, serious games, alternative reality games (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_reality_game), case studies, debates, narrative, projects, themed units, are just some of the ways media-based learning is infusing itself into curricula.   Teachers who embrace media-based learning encourage students to evaluate peers, collaborate on long-term projects, leverage the Internet, develop formulas, interact in real-life scenarios leading to complex and meaningful tasks or outcomes, etc.  

So what does this mean for you?  Why should the average educator worry about a new paradigm of learning before it becomes main stream?  Let me try to give you a few important reasons.

1. Media-based learning empowers creative thinking.  I believe we are moving into the age of creativity.  We will need to teach our students how to be creative and how to manage creativity.  One important way to do that is modeling!  And creativity is like a snowball on a hill.  Once you find moderate success with a small project, it can lead to much bigger things!
2. Media-based learning prepares our students for life.  When math is no longer just math, but is seen as a vehicle for keeping a checking account, doing taxes, understanding buying power…suddenly math is important, real, and necessary.  You should teach your subject as if it’s the most important thing taught at your school and making sure your students “get it” in ways that are authentic, ensure that can happen.
3. Media-based learning requires freshness.  I know that updating your class is time consuming.  It is a nice feeling to sit back one semester and just let the class use all of your previously created stuff.  But as real educators, we know the value of keeping the instruction fresh and meaningful for our students.  Using an election year to discuss politics or communication is relevant.  Changing our modern history course to include last year is exciting to students who actually remember the events.  Including a debate on cloning for medical reasons is valid for today’s student and tomorrow’s citizen.  

So…do some searches!  Open your favorite search engine and see what others are doing.  Type in your subject matter and the word ‘simulation’ or ‘flash’ or ‘game,’ etc.  Utilize a lot more group collaboration on assignments.  Create projects that encourage use of multiple disciplines to be successful, thereby rounding out your student’s education.  Be creative!  Talk it over with your peers, at home, wherever, but try to find just one creative, media-based way to deliver content to your students.  You still have to think about outcomes or standards.  Assessment still has to be authentic and consistent.  But it frees you up to think about learning from a different perspective.  You can ask questions about the relevance of this particular lesson and how it will legitimately be applied by your students to their lives.  

You want a formula for success?  Throw away the formula.  If every unit of content you have delivers content the same way, assesses outcomes the same way, and provides the exact same type of student to teacher interaction, then it might be time to drag out the old Pong game and see how long you can play it before you break out Guitar Hero…  

– Jeff Borden, M.A.
eCollege, Director of Academic Training and Consulting

Instructor’s Tip:

Teams can be a powerful learning tool, but they need to be facilitated correctly. If teams don’t function well, they can be a source of frustration and anxiety for students and instructors. Here is a short list of suggestions from various articles and discussions by some of you who have participated in our eCollege online courses.

1. Create small teams — assign a small number of students (four or five) to a team to help ensure cohesiveness and the ability to communicate readily. One option is to assign teams based on the mix of student abilities and/or interests.
2. Facilitate a team atmosphere — often there is a lack of informal interaction online, so you’ll want to create opportunities for students to get to know each other—perhaps with an ice-breaker activity. Ideally, students will have some knowledge of each other due to participation in an “introductions” discussion site during the first week of the course.
3. Provide sufficient time — realize that it will take longer for the team to develop cohesion and reach the point of critical thinking due to the asynchronous format, build in extra time accordingly for your online team assignment or project.
4. Provide detailed, extensive instructions — give your students explicit guidelines and specific objectives for their assignment so the level of confusion is minimized. You might also want to provide specific team roles descriptions, depending on the level of your student’s experience.
5. Set short-term deadlines — break a large assignment into many small deadlines (milestones) to allow yourself the ability to check on team progress and keep teams on track. It’s a good idea to require team members to place outlines and drafts in Doc Sharing where you and other team members can review the material.
6. Remind students of available tools — when the teams are created the team designation automatically flows to the Email, Doc Sharing and Chat communication tools. It’s a good idea to set up a Team Project discussion page where teams can organize and continue to carry on a dialog. Allow students to choose the tools that work best for their needs and styles.
7. Model the behavior you expect — if you want a friendly, informal tone to help facilitate team discussion and participation, demonstrate appropriate responses yourself in the team discussion sites and in your e-mails or announcements.
8. Provide privacy, but be available for help — allow the teams to function without your outside assistance, but be readily accessible for consultation and help. It’s a good idea to have an Office discussion page under Course Home where students can contact you with course-related questions, as well as using the e-mail tool.
9. Celebrate team accomplishments — remember that your short messages of encouragement (e-mails or announcements) can help with team motivation. Monitoring discussions and chats as well as materials posted in Doc Sharing will guide you in sending appropriate, timely messages to teams or team members.
   
   – Ken Switzer, Ph.D. 
   Sr. Academic Training Consultant
   

Related Links:

>> Educator's Voice Archive