PLO 4

Apply research to support learning in a technology-enhanced environment.

Program Learning Outcome 4 is applied for research to support the learning in a technology environment.  While searching on the Ashford library, I came across an article that focused on a school which tried many different ways to help their students interact and socialize more with their peers. The school began by using Facebook as a way to get the students to socialize with one another. The school did not require them to use Facebook, but those who had Facebook accounts were not using their accounts to socialize with their classmates. Most of those students were using Facebook to play games and connect with people outside of their class. The school tried for a few years a new program called Ning that only gave access to students to connect and socialize with only their classmates. The students used this software to create tutoring groups to help one another out. The teachers were able to use the software to give assignments and give feedback to all students. After the students had used the program, the school polled the students, and they found that students felt that they can express how they felt and connect with other classmates. They also found that this software helped students ask more questions to the teachers because they were able to ask questions discreetly.

I think this is an excellent article about the program learning outcome four because it shows a school that notices a deficiency and acts to fix the problem. This program gives the students sense of ownership and lets them express themselves while socializing with their peers. I had the opportunity to use a Learning Management System in my previous class that I taught for special education students and found that 95% of my students socialized more using the Learning Management System (LMS) than in a traditional classroom. I have students now that will answer a discussion question and interact with peers because they do not need to speak in a public setting area. This is a great tool for the "shy" student, who wants to participate but doers not want to talk in public. I think this is a great way to get our students to socialize more with their peers.

The PLO 4 activity involves research, exploring, and supporting information needed to help increase the technology environment for online education.  The activity encourages learners to search popular articles and evaluations to reach a conclusion on the effect of collective websites.  The PLO 4 is used to help the educator research for answers, incorporate statistics, data and analysis information throughout the MATLT program. 

E-Learning Mind Map 

This activity will cover Program Learning Outcome 4 “to apply research to support the learning in a technology-enhanced environment.”

Learning in a Technology-Enriched Environment

References

Barbour, M., & Plough, C. (2009). Social Networking in Cyberschooling: Helping to Make Online Learning Less Isolating. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 53(4),56-60. doi:10.1007/s11528-009-0307-5

Felder, R. M., & Brent, R. (2005). Understanding student differences. Journal of Engineering Education, 94(1), 57-72. Retrieved from 

http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Papers/Understanding_Differences.pdf 

Hall, T., Strangman, N., & Meyer, A. (2003). Differentiated instruction and implications for UDL implementation. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Retrieved from http://aim.cast.org/sites/aim.cast.org/files/DI_UDL.1.14.11.pdf

TED. (2006). Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity [Video]. Retrieved from TED Talks: http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html