Too much freedom
I can't totally agree with all that was said in this module in regards to allowing students to access information in various forms. In my experience, too many, if given the opportunity to use the internet in class, will usually end up,very quickly, on socail sites etc that have no relation to course content. Perhaps it is the 18-25 year old groups I usually deal with but that is the majority of post secondary education is it not? Hyper links are OK as you can control the area acessed to some extent but to allow them to decide where they want to go to get more info usually leads to being distracted into other areas. It is too easy to "link off" into never-neverland. If time was no object they could be free to pursue information at whatever pace worked for them but in college time is an object!
Justice,
Remember that focus is an ongoing challenge for all students and being able to stay focused takes time and determination. It is a great challenge for some students who have processing challenges. It was always a challenge, however, for students ...and teachers have always been trying to find ways to address this with or without technology. Trust me, even in a class room where there is no technology being used and every student is looking right at the teacher, at least 30% if not more, are thinking about what they need to do as soon as class is out :)
Dr. Ruth Reynard
Dr. Reynard when your class requires use of the computer for class, for instance a Photoshop class without technology to prevent access to the Internet students venture away to social media. In my experience even with a well laid out lesson plan that is full of content for every minute of the class time you will still have students that decide checking the status update on Facebook is more important than what is going on in class. One way I limit that in my class is to be up and walking around during lecture and lab time. It also provides me an opportunity to see if students are having problems with the assignment and give one on one instruction if needed. If they know I'm going to be coming around and talking to them it may deter some from blatantly surfing the web during class.
Hi Andre, I agree with your assessment. I typically work in a computer lab when on campus where students have access to Internet and I can attest that a majority of the students will have Facebook or YouTube or other social media sites up. When I first started teaching early 2000 we had technology that allowed the instructor station to see what the student stations had on the screen. That prevented some of what you are talking about, we also had the ability to lock the stations so if I was lecturing or doing a demonstration I could lock the student workstations so they couldn't do anything. It is funny that 15 years ago that technology was around when fewer social media sites were available and today on my campus we have 4 computer labs and we don't have any software to manage the systems.
Ralph,
Success in an online environment takes a lot of self motivation on the part of the learner. As instructors, we can facilitate as much as possible, however, students have to also "kick in" with their own motivation just like in an on ground environment.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
I teach non-traditional adult learners.
Most have jobs, families and face a day full of life's challenges. Many are recently returning veterans. They struggle with all the inputs and are sometimes distracted at first. Most in the class (like me) were not taught in the internet age and dealing with the technology is a challenge as is the chance to "wander" around the net.
I think part of my job is to ease them into this environment and guide them to the sources of information and inputs that they may not have known existed while staying on point of the subject matter. I find myself learning new methods as I try to share them with the class.
I think the freedom to explore is a good thing as long as it advances the main goal of learning the subject matter.
Ralph Fornari
I have weekly Live Chats in my courses, and I am generally limited to a WhiteBoard and PowerPoints. Only for one school do I have screen sharing access. Does anyone know of free screen sharing software that I could use for a situation like this?
Ann Marie,
Freedom of choice and direction does not mean that there cannot be structure. The idea is that the instructional design is flexible enough to accomodate increasing learner autonomy as the process continues...
Dr. Ruth Reynard
I agree. I think that as they start to build autonomy, they will focus more on the task at hand and not other things that can be done later.
Robert,
Live chat is an awesome tool for students in a blended as well as fully online environment. It increases the level of immediacy and interactivity instantly!
Dr. Ruth Reynard
I think this could be a great tool to use maybe chat with the students or have them chat with others about the lesson.
Melanie ,
Where Bluetooth and wireless are available, the mobility means that students can be connected even at their tables :) also computers change to become phones, handhelds, tablets, laptops etc which means the configuration of the room space can be more creative and conducive to collaborative learning.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
I think that the freedom to use the Internet in a classroom setting can be managed by how the classroom is set up. If you have computers around the perimeter and desks and/or tables in the center of the classroom, then you have the best of both worlds.
Even when students are on the computer, an instructor can easily see all of the computer screens and what is being pulled up on them. It also provides an environment where large group instruction (eg. introducing a project, concept or task) can take place, as well as smaller group collaboration.
I realize that this will take a lot of convincing for campus operations to make these kinds of changes but I feel it is well worth it.
Dana,
This is only due to "down" time which also happens in a class without technology - without focus, students will find other things to think about if their attention is not being engaged. The idea is not just to hand out laptops but to have the design of instruction be in place so that work is expected and the Internet is just a tool within the context of learning.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
In my experience, too many, if given the opportunity to use the internet in class, will usually end up,very quickly, on socail sites etc that have no relation to course content.
Interesting, Sylvia. So how do you think your could integrate the "chat" and real time energy of your younger students more effectively in the actual course and work time? As you think about this, think about the instructional design of yoru course - perhpas you could insert some real time work during class...?
I agree with you. My student's ages range from 18-40. The younger students when allowed on-line wander off topic and chat. Where my older student respect (Time) and do the research needed to finish a project.
Which is more effective, Mitchell, imposing system blocks or teaching students how to find useful information and how to apply that information relevantly?
A managed IT department can help settle some misguided web use, by filters etc.
I have the same problem in the classroom for a class that is entirely on ground and for a blended format where I want to interact with the students face to face during the classroom portion of the course. I find that several of the students would rather be on the computer doing the online portion while in the classroom instead of participating in the live discussions and activities. After the first two on ground class meetings this quarter, I have requested that the remaining on ground meetings be moved out of a computer lab into a regular classroom to take away the temptation of irrelevant (or relevant) use of the computer during the time that has been set aside for face-to-face interaction.
