28th October 2008

Tuesday 28th October 2008.

Completed a voicethread video in response to Simon's question "Am I a different learner online to that of a face-to-face learner". I don't think a different learner. I still don't know what type of learner I am.

I feel I am a mixture and not one specific type. What I find is the learning space that I am in, provides me with the type of learner I have to be at that time. May not be the best for me but that space is all that I have, I get on with it.

Simon then talked about being an online tutor. Am I the type of person suited to online teaching? Yes, I think I am. Much more so than in a classroom anyway. I have been reading "Approaching Sociology" by Margaret Coulson and Carol Riddell (1976). In it she likens society to that of a watch because "a watch is more than the sum of its parts". Maybe because I feel more like a teaching support to the children that a teacher's assistant. Meaning that I do not get up and teach small groups at all. I sit at the side of one or two children and help them by reading the questions out loud and encouraging them to complete the work. This I feel is totally different to Jenny or Wendy's roles in school where they delivery lessons for absent teachers. I feel my part would be better suited to online tutoring than face-to-face but as a learner I prefer my role in a classroom.

INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN VERSUS LEARNING COMMUNITIES

Both instructional design (ID) and DLCs can lead to learning. However, other things being equal, we believe that open systems are preferred because they address more fundamental learning outcomes, e.g., self-directed inquiry, learning-how-to-learn, etc., and tend to be more closely situated within an authentic performance environment. The following table presents an outline of variables to consider when choosing between DLCs and designed instructional systems.
Conditions working in favor of instructional design:

--content is stable over time; --content is well-defined or rule-based; --expertise is available; --representation demands are heavy; --mastery of discrete knowledge is valued; --culture is conservative, slow to change.

Try DLCs if these conditions apply: --content is change, new, complex, or ill-defined; --expertise is scarce or distributed across a number of people; --literacy and metacognitive skills are available; --community-directed, situated support for learning is valued; --culture supports risk-taking, innovation.

http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~bwilson/dlc.html