SELECTING DISTANCE LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES INTERACTIVE TOUR
According to Example 2, the history teacher has several objectives for the Instructional Designer to meet; 1) showcase new exhibits being held at two prominent New York City museums; 2) tour each museum and interact with the museum curators; and 3) the teacher will choose two pieces of artwork from each exhibit and have students participate in a group critique of the individual work of art.
According to Paul Boag, choosing a CMS can be tricky. Without a clearly defined set of requirements, one can be seduced by fancy functionality that will never be used (Boag, 2009). As the Instructional designer, my first step would be to talk to the teacher to better understand the objectives, learning outcomes, available equipment, time constraints, budget constraints, hardware and software resources, and the groups experience using distance learning or components thereof (e-mail, group discussion boards, and multimedia). It is also necessary to understand whether interaction with museum curators should be synchronous, asynchronous, or both. Synchronous distance learning is same-time, different-place education whereas asynchronous distance learning is anywhere, anytime learning (Simonson pp10). This is critical because of the three-hour time difference between the West Coast and East Coast. A visit to the website of each museum and contact with the person in charge of school/group tours would be next. All prominent museums in New York City have interactive tours and lesson plans for teachers on their websites. The image below depicts the Resources for Learning Web Page from the Museum of Natural History.
Teachers can investigate various topics and gather information to assist in developing their project. The last step would be contacting the museum to explain the project and determine what "distance services" are available (live chat vs. e-mail, video messaging). These steps are critical because they determine what can be done, how it is to be done, and what modifications, if any, are needed. When the correct media is selected, it maximizes efficiency and makes available more resources for other learning experiences (Simonson pp115). For this assignment, the following assumptions were made:
Although the EduTools and Tech Evaluation Center (TEC) websites provide impartial, online evaluation of CMS, they were not used for this determination because they are designed for businesses and large-scale institutions, not a class. The evaluation was based on the free course management systems provided by Walden University.
The key to successful distance learning education are the design, development, and delivery of instruction, and are not related to geography and time (Simonson pp9). Based on the availability of online tours and the need for two-communication, SchoolRack and Voice Thread are recommended. The primary CMS would be SchoolRack. Voice Thread is provided as an option for the view and critique part of the project. The justification for each is provided below.
A. Tools that enable a synthesis of existing theories is preferred. Perraton's theory of distance education is composed of elements from existing theories of communication and diffusion, as well as philosophies of education (Simonson pp44). It incorporates key features required by the history teacher, specifically effective group discussion, anytime-anywhere access, interaction, multimedia use, and feedback.
B. All prominent museums in New York City have online, interactive tours and lesson plans for the teacher. For example, the Museum of Natural History's (MNH) website contains a wealth of information on a current exhibit entitled Brain: The Inside Story. Click the link to see a short presentation about the exhibit. MHN-The Human Brain.
C. Computers are equipped with hardware and software resources that enable, live chat, video and audio recording, Instant Messaging, and email. These features provide the widest range of options for the teacher when deciding which distance-learning activities will be synchronous and which will be asynchronous. It will also enable students to provide feedback in a variety of ways.
D. SchoolRack is recommended as the primary Course Management System. The website is free, easy to setup, and easy to manage. The Dashboard, shown below enables the history teacher to add content, create groups, manage groups, and hold discussions.
The added benefits of this site is that it was designed for use by teachers, students, and parents; email messaging enables private conversations with students and their parent; and a password is needed to access the webpage.
E. Although SchoolRack enables the teacher to post images for review and critique by students, the postings are linear (straight up and down). Voice Thread is a free, online service that places the image at the center of the screen with comments posted around it as shown in the image below.
Students can critique the artwork using text, audio, or video. Other students and the teacher can review their post and provide additional comments. Teacher Training Videos, Inc. provides an online training that takes approximately one and one-half hour.
In conclusion, by understanding the skill set of the teacher and students, learning outcomes, available hardware and software resources, and researching the offerings of prominent museums in New York City, distance-learning technologies that provide the best learning experience for students, flexibility for the teacher, and monitoring by parents was recommended.
RESOURCES:
Boag, P. (2009).10 Criteria for Selecting A CMS. Retrieved May 21, 2011 from http://boagworld.com/technology/10-criteria-for-selecting-a-cms
Simonson, M., Sandino, S., Albright, M., Zvacek, S., (2009). Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education (4th Ed).Boston, Ma.
Museum of Natural History. Resources for Learning. Retrieved on May 22, 2011 from http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/
Museum of Natural History (2010). Introducing the Human Brain. Retrieved on May 22, 2011 from http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/brain/
Museum of Natural History (2011). ABC News Video. Retrieved on May 22, 2011 from http://www.amnh.org/news/tag/abc-news/
SchoolRack (2003). About SchoolRack. Retrieved on May 20, 2011 from http://www.schoolrack.com/about/
SchoolRack (2010). Understanding the Features. Retrieved on May 20, 2011 from http://schoolrackwiki.pbworks.com/w/page/15034104/Understanding-the-features
Voice Thread (2007).Voice Thread Overview. Retrieved on May 21, 2011 from http://voicethread.com/about/features/
Voice Thread. National Museum of Women in the Arts. Retrieved on May 22, 2011 from http://voicethread.com/?#q
Teacher Training Videos. Voice Thread on-line training videos. Retrieved on May 22, 2011 from http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/voiceThread/index.html
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