Thematic Analysis of the “Games” Students Play in Asynchronous Learning Environments

Thalia MacMillian – Empire State College

Michele Forte – SUNY Empire State College

Cynthia Grant – Concordia University Chicago

This study examines the dynamics of the student-student relationship with the asynchronous online classroom. Based on the results, strategies have been discovered to demonstrate techniques which instructors can use. Creating awareness among students of potential issues, diversity of students, and ways to facilitate intellectual growth are the summary focus.

     The authors’ introduction points to how technology is improving lives. The use of technology and online classes had increased at the time of the study to over 6 million students, one-third of all college students. The introduction goes on to point out that some instructors feel they should employ traditional pedagogies, while others feel the environment needs a new set of skills. The online asynchronous classroom has benefits as well as challenges. The social, cognitive, and affective presence of students has potential to effect course discussions both positively and negatively.

     One particular challenge is the inability of the asynchronous instructor to provide immediate feedback.  In order to be an effective class, there needs to be a sense of a safe environment. In addition, a sense of ownership and control is necessary. The authors attempt to determine what type of interactions are the most positive in online asynchronous learning. One essential component is the students need to interact with other students and this needs to be expressed by the instructor.

     In conclusion, the authors point out several conclusions and suggestions:

·         If students pay too much attention to each other, they may lose track of the discussion prompt.

·         One way to avoid this is by establishing instructor presence.

·         Instructors should probe to elicit ongoing dialogue.

·         Socratic questions is a method to explore students’ perspectives.

·         Instructors should prompt for contextual meaning.

·         Provide consistent formative feedback.

·         Provide a rubric for discussion boards.

     An instructor who is actively engaged in the class can gather valuable insights into the needs of the students. He should keep in mind that as the instructor he is the content expert. It is the instructor's charge to provide a safe and effective online teaching and learning experience.

MacMillan, T., Forte, M., & Grant, C. (2014). Thematic Analysis of the "Games" Students Play in Asynchronous Learning Environments. Journal Of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 18(1),

     

Group Learning Environment

Linking Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning

Toshihiro Hayashi, Yoshinari Nakanishi and Yukuo Hayashida

Saga University

The study discusses the transition in computer based education from individual to group learning. In addition, the authors are developing an education system – Leaning Environment with Agent or LEA.

     The learning style using computer based educational systems has changed from individual to group, cooperative, and collaborative environments. Asynchronous learning is accomplished by using communication tools such as electric mail, electric bulletin boards, and web conferences. Students in an asynchronous class do not have the burden of managing their schedules to a fixed class time. This the authors point out is what makes asynchronous classes superior.

     Group learning utilizes discussions amongst the students. In group learning, students can use the knowledge of others as a resource. This leads to the conclusion that a student can learn more effectively in a group learning environment.

     LEA is the system and model the authors present to bridge the gap between synchronous and asynchronous learning. An essential point in the success of the system is the students’ personal understanding of their own learning skills, and in this model, understanding the skills of others in the group. The model promotes a shared virtual space and the use of student agents. An agent supports students, asks questions, and participates in the group when the student they are working with is absent.

     LEA is an intensly collaborative supportive environment. It involves a complex structure of groups, fields, subfields, and the main hall. This is also a reflection of the Japanese highly organized response to learning. In theory, this sounds very positive. It would be interesting to see this plan in action with American students.

Hayashi, T., Nakanishi, Y., & Hayashida, Y. (1998). Group Learning Environment Linking Synchronous and Asynchronous Learning.

Blog: Gaming in Education

           The quest required reading two articles: “Situated Learning in Virtual Worlds” and “Immersive Simulations and A Literature Review of Gaming.” There were also two videos: Future Learning a Mini Documentary and Gaming Can Make a Better World.  These resources provided several different aspects of gaming which are positive to education. Beginning with the articles, the point was made that there are correlations between goals of traditional instruction and the motivations and outcomes of children immersed in gaming. A sound and productive learning environment can be attained with gaming, as well as the importance of play integrated with education was the first point. In my observation in a middle school class, I saw this in action. The children were “playing” Kahoot, a multiple choice framework enabled by their personal tablets. In fact, they were studying for the social studies test scheduled for the next day. The children were challenged and at the same time having fun. I remember my son, who is now 22, playing a world civilization game on his play-station. I thought he was wasting time until he explained to me the evolution of ships from trireme through the Spanish galleon. This leads to the second point - gaming provides personalized instruction. He was challenged: but his goals were also achievable, therefore he persisted. The third point – engagement. Engaged with his quest, he pursued the relative information necessary to complete the task with repetitive practice. The fourth point – 21^st century skills is a given; computer skills are second nature to the younger generation as well as researching required information. The final point – relative assessment is also apparent when a student is progressively achieving different levels by meeting goals. The whole game is inherently an assessment. Problems addressed were technical in nature - connectivity glitches and the ability or lack thereof to type fast enough. Broadband access is solving the problem with glitches and repetitive practice is the answer to lack of typing skills.               

      The videos provided reinforcement on these points. Starting with the mini documentary, Professor Mitra points to traditional teaching strategies being outmoded which were based in the Victorian Era. The answer as he sees it is in self motivation. He contends that almost anything is possible with access to a computer and enthusiastic reinforcement. Merrill interjected the blurring line between playing and education. He emphasized the importance of a relaxed mind with stress causing the brain to shut down. Another aspect discussed is the universal participation in a gaming scenario. I personally experienced this with online classes where students who would normally not participate were encouraged by collaboration on Moodle site to give impute in a blog format. One of my undergraduate classes was entirely the role playing game, Fiesta. The class was Sociology and the purpose was interaction and collaboration inside the virtual framework of the game.
     Reading comprehension, an all important element in education, is obtained not by class drills or assignments, but by the engaged student pursuing personal goals inside the created environment. Minecraft-edu is an excellent example of this line of reasoning. Students in the three short videos were shown working individually with an educator who was only encouraging the child by asking questions on methods and goals while verbally encouraging with comments based on admiration of the outcomes that were being constructed in the context of the game.              

     We were also required to go to three educational gaming sites and play. Going back to essentials, some of the sites failed to load; others provided information but no access to the game. I chose: Geography Games, Submerge, and Educational Gaming Commons. In Geography Games the game Metropolitan Areas was to properly identify major cities around the world and another Geogussr was to guess a location based on a panoramic interactive picture from Google Earth. Submerge provided a Jamestown Colony Adventure. The task was to land, decide on the appropriate interaction with Native Americans, and choose which crops to plant for the survival of the colonist. Penn State’s Education Gaming Commons offered elementary school games. The one I played encouraged sharing and how that might be reciprocated. I had a sixteen year old collaborator who played the Metropolitan Areas and Geoguessr. He immediately became engaged and after completing the tasks, was motivated to replay both games. In Geoguessr he was able to move further in the sites and pictures than I thought possible. Of course he did this without reading instructions. He also showed determination to find his location without time constraints incorporating many different strategies: types of cars, language on signs, and topography to come to his conclusions. He scored very well. 

My Jamestown score

Learning to share

My Geoguessr

Taylor's Geoguessr - He beat me!

My score on Met. Areas

Taylor's Met Areas- I won this one!

It took him a few more attempts.

Hole in the Wall TED Talk and CUE 2015

Blog Post: Hole in the Wall TED Talk

            Wow! In my Emerging Web and Mobile Technologies class, I was required to watch Sugata Mitra’s 30 minute Tedtalk on “The Future of Education,” which won the Ted Award for 2013. This conference lecture was so captivating and inspiring I went further and watched the follow up “CUE 2015” lecture on the same subject, and additionally, included the development of Professor Mitra’s “School in the Cloud” program which was financed by his award from Ted Talk. Sugata Mitra is Professor of Educational Technology at the School of Education, Communication, and Language Sciences at Newcastle University, UK.                                          

      The lecture began with his explanation of a study he called “Hole in the Wall.” Basically he installed a computer in a wall in one of the poorest hamlets in southern India, three feet off the ground. The height was important because it is the height of a child. Within days, the children who did not speak any English were surfing the web. The children worked together unsupervised in groups. In time, they asked for a more powerful processor and a better mouse. This eventually spurred Professor Mitra to look for ways to assist the children but not formally teach them. Thus began the Granny Cloud. Asking for volunteers, one hour a week, he received hundreds of volunteers. He jokes, “I know more English Grandmas than anyone on the planet.” Using only encouragement, as a grandmother would, these retired educators and health care workers and others interacted with the children doing things like answering questions and reading poetry but not teaching. The results were amazing. Children learned to speak English in a year. One was a young girl, who he played a video discussing her aspirations to become a lawyer, in English. One young man came up to him at the CUE convention and said he was a “Hole in the Wall” child who now was on a full scholarship to Yale doing research on Environmental Biology. Professor Mitra calls this SOLE (Self Organized Learning Environment). He believes what is necessary for this success is broadband access, collaboration, and encouragement. He now has expanded on this, using the Ted Talk prize, to include five schools he titled, Schools in the Cloud. During his lecture, he also addressed the ban of technology in assessment tests. Noting that this is the one time children are not connected to technology, he suggests the questions should be reworked. Instead of “How tall is the Eiffel Tower,?” a question easily answered with a Google search within seconds, a higher level question should be asked such as, “Why was the Eiffel Tower built?”  

       The implications to the current and future classrooms are in how we enable children to learn; how to facilitate the collaboration efforts that made these studies such a success. The use of encouragement in the grandmother mode and the availability of broadband connectivity for all students are part of the essentials for the future of learning.                                                                 
       I was, as I stated, captivated and inspired by these lectures. I hope my brief summary does justice to Professor Mitra’s efforts.  I encourage all educators to view these lectures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpcEpmNbHds&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-e9WRMWcdI

Blended, Flipped, or Personalized?

Blog: Blended, Flipped, or Personalized?

     The two concepts of “Flipped” and “Personalized” learning are both viable methods of instruction for my students. Actually, they both could be worked into my pedagogy in class simultaneously with some students.  Beginning with “Flipped” learning, this can alleviate two predicaments of an educator: one of these is students following through on homework assignments; another, parental supervision and the ability to help their child. By adapting a “Flipped” learning strategy, preparatory work would be done at home, and the sometimes tedious and constructive process of reflection and writing reflections would be accomplished in class with supervision and assistance provided in the classroom setting. As an example, research and reading for a particular subject in history would be the pre-class assignment, while writing a reflection would be done in class. One aspect of this is the reduction of the parent’s responsibility for making sure their child is doing homework. In addition, parental knowledge of the subject or the method of writing the assessment would not be required. During the writing process, the student would be in class and I would be available to answer questions and assist in formatting the final written result.

   “Personalized” learning can be implemented with a student who is excelling in the classroom coursework; left alone she may become bored and unmotivated. The goal would be to construct a personalized rubric, which includes individual interests and self directed methods of demonstrating mastery, taking into consideration learning styles: auditory, visual, logical, kinesthetic, social, and solitary. At one time, this was called “Independent” study.                       

  Both approaches can work simultaneously in the scenario of the pupil who is developing an independent study or personalized learning plan, researches the topic outside of class, and develops his method of demonstrating mastery during class time. This could include the rest of the students during a presentation where the class is the audience. Another option would be a role playing scenario involving other members of the class with the personalized learning, directing, and heading up the team of students as an end result. Peer review with two students and collaborative learning can also be built on these concepts. Leading and learning by example is a very effective way to retain information. 

http://mrosterholt.weebly.com/



This is my classroom web-page.

Taking a spin with TPAK

My quest was to video myself making a tiny bridge out of cling wrap. 

Completing this quest required learning how to upload a video to the computer. Splicing two videos and then uploading to YouTube. The TPACK framework argues that effective technology integration for teaching specific content or subject matter requires understanding and negotiating the relationships between these three components: Technology, Pedagogy, and Content. A teacher capable of negotiating these relationships represents a form of expertise different from, and (perhaps) broader than, the knowledge of a disciplinary expert (say a scientist or a musician or sociologist), a technology expert (a computer engineer) or an expert at teaching/pedagogy (an experienced educator). This was the purpose of the exercise- To expand and combine content, pedagogy and technology. 

The TPACK framework highlights complex relationships that exist between content, pedagogy and technology knowledge areas and may be a useful organizational structure for defining what it is that teachers need to know to integrate technology effectively. (info on TPAK from Wikipedia)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeWpeK2cKA4