Using technology effectively in learning: My personal journey

Skype: Friend or Foe? The focus of this week's blog is real world experience with using technology in curriculum. I interviewed Shanna Jager, Project Director of Professional Workforce Solutions in the School of Family Studies and Human Services at Kansas State University. Shanna teaches a course at Kansas State University on Global Campus and uses Canvas for students in that course. In addition, she holds monthly webcasts with the Kansas State Department of Children and Families using Skype. I selected Shanna for this interview because she is hesitant to use technology. She refers to herself as "old-fashioned" and isn't comfortable using technology. I wanted to hear her reflections on using technology as a reluctant user to learn more about how she thought it helped or hindered her instruction. Click this link to hear our interview! Thanks for listening!

Purpose The purpose of this project is for students to: ·        gain an understanding of their Gallup Top 5 Strengths, and increase awareness for how the students use them in their everyday lives, and ·        increase understanding on using Gallup Strengths for building effective teams. Target Audience This project will target the social aspect of Millenials, who are “open about themselves, their opinions, and their emotions” (West & West, 2009, p. 25). It will also target working adults and nontraditional students, who will be able to bring in experiences they have had and the knowledge they have learned about themselves, which appeals to their desire to be “respected for what they already know and for the experiences they have already undergone” (West & West, 2009, p. 26). Learning Objectives 1.        Increase understanding of Individual Strengths 2.  ...

Wikis: Pros and Cons for Adult Learners Wikis are online platforms designed "to help groups collaborate, share, and build online content" (West & West, 2009). Wikis are meant to be a space where people can work asynchronously together on a common project. Wikis provide opportunities for team members working on a group project to each contribute to the design. Wikis are accessible by multiple people and anyone can contribute, edit, or remove content. (West & West, 2009). This is different from a blog where typically one person controls the content. Unlike discussion threads, the text in Wikis is not linked or linear, and can appear in varying formats on the wiki page (West & West, 2009). This can allow for more creativity and expression, but less structure if an instructor was wanting a particular template constructed for the Wiki. Warlick (as quoted in King and Cox, 2011), provided three advantages for working with Wikis: 1. Practical for ...

Blogging as a Learning Tool According to the assigned readings for the week, blogging is a useful tool to facilitate learning. Kuo, et al. (2017) cite 4 reasons for this:  1. Students are actively participating and collaborating 2. Students are interacting and supporting each other 3. Students' motivation to learn is increased 4. Students develop critical thinking and reflective skills.  MacPhail (2019) and Witte (2007) both described examples of blogs as effective learning based on student engagement levels. In MacPhail's (2019) article she described how her students engaged "more closely with class materials" and thought "more deeply" about the subject (p. 3).  Witte (2007) described how her students were more engaged when writing for a blog than paper writing assignments. Her study paired preservice college teachers with middle school students and found that collaboration, participation, and supportive feedback were common when...