Let me start a little off topic.  I must say that I am having issues with the whole blogging thing.  I am finding that I have ‘lost’ some of my comments to my fellow classmates.  If I have commented on your post and you replied only to be met with silence, then I apologize.  I must admit that, as I initially feared, I find blogs much harder to keep up with than bulletin boards.   Anyway, just wanted to throw that out there in case anyone thought I was ignoring a comment.

Now on to what you’re here for!

The main purpose of my wiki will be to allow instructors to use newly acquired knowledge and to collaborate with other instructors to re-create their training programs.

I believe that one of the main advantages I have in the training course I am looking at is that my ‘instructors’ are also consumers.  For example, one of the participants in my class may be a firearms instructor and another may be a defensive tactics instructor.  The defensive tactics instructor will not only be an instructor, but also a student when it comes to firearms training and the same with the firearms instructor.  This relationship will allow the instructors to not only work with other instructors, but also work with ‘consumers’ of their training.

I think that this relationship will give my students a special ability to make their skills, “…portable and transferable outside of the protective walls of the classroom” (Pg. 101 – West & West).  I also think that this course will allow students to ‘create and do’ (Pg. 101 – West & West).

All of that being said, I did not find a wiki project that I felt fit my desired wiki lesson plan.  So I am turning my blog into a blogiki for the week.  I am asking for some pointers from my loyal (forced) readers.  So far, here is what I found:

Structured Online Critiques (Pg. 98):  I like this as an option for an instructor to put their lesson plan on the wiki and then the others in the group can offer a critique based on the criteria on page 99 (strengths/limitations/conclusions/recommendations).  I know that this is not a perfect fit when compared with the intention of that wiki, but I think it fits good enough for government work, which is what I do.

Collaborative Research Papers (Pg. 88):  Think of this as a collaborative lesson plan instead of a research paper.  On student, the instructor for that topic, would take the lead.  The other group members would take a smaller part since they would also have their own project to take the lead on.  In this format, the other group members would assist by pointing out weak areas  and helping to add new and creative ideas.

Yes I did start this out by saying that I felt my project was better suited for contextual application, so I give you – Team Challenge (Pg. 115):  ‘Developing creative solutions to real-world problems’ sounds like just what I need.  So where does the challenge come from?  Maybe, as the instructor, I could read each lesson plan and throw my thoughts into the wiki in the form of a challenge to get the group thinking about solving the problem.  In this case, instead of the examples given on page 117, my problems may come more in the form of: explain how you could make this training more interactive or more collaborative.  Team members could then use a ‘sandbox’ area to brain storm and help the lead team member find creative solutions which they could then add to the lesson plan.

While I think the team challenge would be more labor intensive for the instructor, I also think it is the best way to draw the entire team into the process.

Roy,  

The assignment this week was to develop a lesson plan for my content area.  One of my main reasons for taking ed classes is to be able to develop an instructor development course to help law enforcement trainers.  As this is my first education class, this is a little early, but I’ll give it a shot. 

Title:

There’s more to training than being a subject matter expert

Target Audience:

Law Enforcement Trainers – Instructor development does not tend to be a priority for many trainers.  This course is designed for those wishing to become better instructors, but lack the time for long classes requiring a significant time and monetary commitments.

Learning Objectives:

Trainers should be able to:

• Identify core principles of adult learning including understanding motivation
•  Identify types of adult learning and ways to incorporate all learning style
• Understand that adults learn best when they can draw from the experiences of peers
• Situations and scenarios should be designed to mirror real life
• Develop and present a training course to peers

Teaching Materials Needed:

Provide handouts explaining adult learning motivators and learning styles.  Provide paper and allow time for class participation to brainstorm ways to make training interactive and encourage creative ideas for encompassing all learning styles.

Provide a class roster with phone numbers and E-mails for group work that will take place outside of the class.

Students will need to provide their own computer with Internet connection for the portions of class that are not ‘on-site’.

Outline:

Trainers will start in a classroom environment for two days of on-site classes.  These days will be spent familiarizing trainers with adult learning strategies, technology requirements for online portions of the class, and most importantly the trainers will be required to get to know each other (especially selected learning groups).  Lunch will be provided and taken in a group atmosphere.

Take home assignment: After the completion of the second day, trainers will be required to start developing a 10 minute training presentation.  They will develop this presentation using a wiki program which all students will have access to.  Each trainer will have been assigned to a small group and they will assist each other in developing their training program.  Group members will review each other’s ideas to provide feedback and ideas.  Trainers will be encouraged to review projects outside of their group, but it will not be required.  (The instructor will be active on all wkis.)

Trainers will meet for a third and final on-site class where they will present an interactive portion of their developed programs to their peers.  Peers will be required to evaluate the presentations in several categories including:

• ·         Interactivity
• ·         Ease of understanding
• ·         Adult learning strategies used

The evaluations will be done outside of the learning groups (Learning group A will evaluate learning group B and so on).  Evaluations will be based on the submitted lesson plan and the presentation; however, evaluators will take into account the limited presentation time allowed.

Evaluation:

Individuals will be evaluated in several areas.

• ·         The amount and quality of feedback given on wiki assignments
• ·         Adult learning principles applied to peer evaluations
• ·         Thoroughness of written lesson plan
• ·         Inclusion of different learning styles
• ·         Group interaction (polite, involved, etc…)

Roy,

It took me some time to get into the wiki program, so I have not had much chance to play with it.  As I have never used the program, my comments are based solely off of the reading.

Before I begin, I would like to start with my ‘constructive modification’ of ‘The Professor’s Guide to Taming Technology’.  On page 126 the author states, “…set parameters on the wiki form the start.”  It’s just nice to know that I am not the only one that constantly types ‘form’ instead of from.

In several places in the text, the various authors have pointed out the importance of allowing adults to have a hand in their own education.  (Pg. 5; “[adults] need to be seen by others and treated by others as being capable of self direction”:  Pg. 91; “…adults have a deeply embedded need to be self-directing...”: Pg. 122; “…when adults are presented with self-directed learning opportunities, the greater their chances are of learning the information.”)

Wiki spaces offer a unique ability for students to, “…actively participate in their own knowledge construction and also participate in co-writing with others.”  (Pg. 122).  I also see a nice tie in with statements on page 11, “…learning environment will be more effective if it incorporates real-life examples of situations that adult learners may encounter…”  I see these wiki spaces as a great opportunity to learn not only the content, but to learn a way to collaborate with a team when not all members can be in the same place.

Now you’re saying “but Roy, in your last post you stated that the technology of blogging may get in the way of learning the core concepts” and you are right, I did say that.  So why is wiki different?  In my opinion, wiki is a technology that does not have an adequate alternative.  The discussion board is, in my opinion, easier to use and just as effective.  According to the authors (my only resource as I have yet to use a wiki), “[wikis] require few technical skills and allow the students to focus on collaboration and information exchange without getting distracted with technical difficulties.”

Another difference is that all members of the group are using the same graphical interface, meaning that I am not required to adjust to multiple layouts, formatting, and color schemes.  Oh, and one other difference; the wiki is secure from the ‘hidden audience’ spoken about on page 123.

In the beginning, I was less than excited to learn the wiki technology, but as I have read about it, I think it will be a good experience.

Roy,

Here’s to hoping I can disagree with technology!

I tried my best to dive into this reading with an open mind.  I have never had much use for blogging, in fact, my opinion about blogging was summed up well in the movie ‘Easy A’: "I don't know what your generation's fascination is with documenting your every thought...but I can assure you, they're not all diamonds. "Roman is having an OK day, and bought a Coke Zero at the gas station. Raise the roof..."  However, since I have had limited (take that to mean no) experience with blogs, maybe this semester will change my mind; unfortunately, this weeks readings didn't.

On pages 16 & 17 of ‘Blogs as a Learning Space: Creating Text of Talks’, Prof. Santos describes the three concepts of the engagement theory: “Relate-Create-Donate”.  As we have all read them, I will not repeat each concept, but  I will state that I agree with those concepts.  In fact, I believe that all of readings made good points about the effectiveness of blog style writing.  I believe that allowing students to share ideas and have open discussions about the material is an invaluable tool.  I agree with Jo Ann Oravec who stated on page 618 of her article, ‘Bookmarking the World: Weblog applications in education’ that “Weblog development can empower students to become more analytical and critical…”  So now you may be asking, ‘if you agree with all of this, what’s your problem with the weblog?’

Ok, I do agree with much of what was said in the readings about the effectiveness of blogging, but I ask this question; is the blog the most effective way of achieving those concepts?

The second question asked was in regards to a blog being the same thing as a bulletin board.   Initially I thought they were the same, but as I read about blogs, I came to realize that they are very different.  In chapter 6 of ‘The Professor’s Guide to Taming Technology’, Teresa Carter points out some of the differences that lead me to believe that a bulletin board is a better place for the learning that Prof. Santos wrote on.

The first difference that I noted was on page 91 where Ms. Carter states that “[blogs] can be as distinctive as each author…”  While is certainly a big benefit to blogs in the ‘real world’; however, in a class of twenty students, I have twenty blogs to read through which are all in different colors and different arrangements.

Another comment that I took note of was on page 93 where Ms. Carter discusses the instructor being able to gauge how course material is being comprehended and being able to see the connections that students are making.  I believe that students should be free to discuss ideas, have conversations, and make mistakes free of concern from how current or future employers may take the information.  Blogs are public, whereas the school’s bulletin board is a private forum open only to those in the class and school staff.

Well, for those of you still here, I thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings.

Roy,