Web 2.0

In my own words, Web 2.0 allows for people to use the internet to communicate, share, explain, teach, learn, etc., etc…

This is awesome. Technology has made the world smaller (figuratively). Just about anything I want to learn about, I can with a click of the mouse. I remember doing country reports in fifth and sixth grade and having to go to a library to borrow encyclopedias and books that were accurate at the time they were written, but not neccessarily accurate at the time I was looking at them. Now, I can find out the population of a country now and have it be accurate. I could find videos and pictures depicting a country’s traditions and culture. I can know in a matter of minutes who the political leaders of a country are. I have access to more information than I am ever going to need.

At the same time, this much information on the Web can be scary. Especially with facebook, myspace, and other social networks. If I am not careful with what I post, other people can learn more information about me than I would ever want them to know.

Media vs. Method? Is that the debate?

In this weeks class discussion, we are discussing the arguments  between Robert B. Kozma and Richard E. Clark over the influence of media on learning. As I’ve been reading and discussing these points of view, I’ve been wondering if they are even arguing over the different sides of the same coin or if they are arguing over two different sides of two different coins that are completely unrelated. It seems to me that Clark is arguing over mere instruction. To him, media cannot teach. Media can be created by someone for the purpose of enhancing a lesson. That would make it part of the method of instruction, but not the actual instruction. I can see Clark’s point in this. Any instruction that is presented by way of media was created by someone for the purpose of teaching. Therefore, it is part of someone’s method of instruction.

On the other hand, can information be learned by means of media where no intention of learning is present? Are there things that you can actually learn from media that is not part of other instruction?

I have been working on my drumming using the website www.freedrumlessons.com. Now the question is, am I learning from media or was the media created by someone as their method of teaching? I’m getting confused on these ideas.

Video – A good teaching tool?

I personally love using video for personal use on “how to’s.” I have tried to use video with some of my teaching and it rarely goes well. Honestly, I think students enjoy video mostly for entertainment purposes more than learning opportunities. Maybe I’m just not using the right kind of video or maybe to video clips are too long. Maybe my video presentations aren’t related enough to what I’m trying to teach or maybe I’m trying to let the video teach too much. If I’m going to use video, I need it to be useful and to supplement any direct instruction that I am giving.

The Analysis Document

As Wade, Matt and myself were working on our analysis document for our term project, I kept wondering if we were getting everything right. There is a lot of information and a lot of thought that needs to be put into the analysis. Dr. Monson kept saying that we needed to get to the point where we were asking ourselves the silliest and most basic questions about our learners and about the project itself. I think that we got to that point.

All in all, it was a great experience for me. I haven’t worked much with other people. During my first teaching position, I was pretty much left to my own devices to figure out what type of program I was going to have. Since I was one of maybe two music teachers in the entire district, I didn’t have much in the way of mentoring. So, it was good for me to work in a group and see what other ideas that people can have. I was also nice to be able to correct each other as much as we did. We kept having to ask each other what was the best way to word each sentence or statement. I kept seeing that there is always a better way of doing something.

Analyze, Analyze, Analyze

I am absolutely amazed at all the different ways there are to analyze a problem. I think that all the information is great that I am reading about different methods of task analysis, but I’m also feeling very overwhelmed. Then in the book, “The Systematic Design Of Instruction” (Dick, Carey, and Carey) it talks about hierarchical analysis and I keep wondering how I would use that in my final project. Or, if I have to use this type of system for the task analysis.

For our final project, I have suggested that we create instruction on understanding computer adaptive testing. I was reading ksl.com about computer adaptive testing and many of the comments people were making showed that they had little understanding as to how these types of tests work. If the entire group agrees on this topic, we need to start the analysis. It will be interesting to see what questions we come up with.

“Audio” as a form of technology

I’m currently in class, watching one of our groups present information on audio technology. As they present different audio formats, I keep thinking of the advancements that have been made to make audio technology more accessible.

We were asked in the syllabus to define technology. I think that I would define technology as any mechanical advancement designed to improve the quality of life. Does it always improve the quality of life? Not in my opinion. In the case of audio, with CD’s to Mp3’s, it has made getting media a whole lot easier to get.  But it does create a problem in the classroom when the students are listening to their music instead of instruction.

Some of the points being made right now in class are how can we use the audio technology in the classroom? If all the students have ipods, what can we do to have them incorporate that technology in the classroom?

Holy Cow! Why don’t they teach this stuff in undergraduate education courses?

I’m reading chapter one in “Understanding by Design” by G. Wiggins and J. McTighe and I’m wondering why I never learned any of this information in my undergraduate studies. I remember doing a lot of lesson plans, but I never really learned anything on how do design curriculum. What the authors are saying about “backward design” is logical. While I was reading, I was trying to think of ways that I can implement it.

I keep thinking of my different ensembles (band, orchestra) and how I have tried to improve them in the past. There really wasn’t any direction. We would work on the music and I would try and fix problems as they would occur. I could use “backward design” to learn music. The overall goal is for the students to play the piece of music well. There are different standards we use to determine how well we have learned a piece of music. By analyzing what I want them to learn I can break up the music into different parts for assessment.  I could then create different exercises and instruction dealing with the most difficult parts or the parts that I plan on assessing. Granted, this is a very basic plan. But, it’s a start and a road map for me to try.

Hello world!

Long time reader, first time blogger. Actually, I’ve never been much into the blogging scene. I had to ask my wife to help me set this up. She is a long time blogger.

Anyway, the reason for this blog is for the master’s program I am in at the University of Utah. I am supposed to keep thoughts on the things that I learn in the class and in the readings.

The truth is, when I applied for the IDET program the only thing that I was thinking about was getting my technology and multimedia endorsement. I wasn’t thinking about the instructional design part of the program. Actually, I wasn’t even sure what instructional design was? As I was reading “The Systematic Design of Instruction” (Dick, Carey, & Carey)(2009), I started to understand what instructional design is and how I can use it in my own teaching. Then I remembered sitting in a music educators conference a few years ago. The clinician was talking about goal oriented instruction. The diagram he was using was similar to the one in my reading. At the time, I didn’t understand how I would be able to implement what he was talking about into my teaching. I’m still not sure how I’m going to use it, but I’m excited to try and find out.