Conclusion

E-learning involves improving teaching and learning using instructional strategies enhanced by technology, especially computer technology.(CQU, 2011, para 9). This course frames the learning theory of collaborative constructivism. As Prensky (2005) asserts, students are becoming less engaged and by moving away from the traditional teaching methods and towards a more collaborative and meaningful framework, teachers may better design lessons that accommodate the needs of their students. By participating in the activities throughout the ICT's for learning design so far, students have not only gained an insight into the ways they learn best, but are actively collaborating with peers by participating in the wiki's, blogs and online discussion forums in Moodle. For some students this has been a difficult journey, fraught with issues of privacy, social rejection, and lack of ICT application knowledge.

To overcome these issues intrinsic motivation and engagement has been key and scaffolding throughout the course has been fundamental in sustaining both of these internal factors. "Scaffolding is a process of guiding the learner from what is presently known to what is to be known" (Murphy, 1997). Teachers become managers of learning. Vgotsky's zone of proximal development is related to scaffolding and central to this idea is the notion that when you assign a task, if the students successfully complete it without help, they could already do it. They have been taught nothing (Wilhelm, 2001). The ability to go off on tangents when online means that scaffolding must be carefully constructed to not only guide students towards learning outcomes, but to ensure that there is a balance between mediated learning and self-directed learning. This is where Connectivism comes into play also, as it is imperative that students know where to get information that is appropriate and accurate. The wiki's included a profile wiki, a mobile phone wiki and a learning theory wiki. The scaffolding was initially explicit in the profile wikis with direct questioning and the remaining two wiki activities used thinking tools PMI and De Bono's thinking hats "to look at decisions from a number of important perspectives. This forces you to move outside your habitual thinking style, and helps you to get a more rounded view of a situation." (http://www.odi.org.uk/RAPID/Tools/Toolkits/KM/docs/Six_thinking_hats.pdf) I felt that behaviourism was evident in the wikis as I learnt the process of accessing and editing the wiki's through repetition. There was however little positive reinforcement which is prescribed to be the motivator of learning in Behaviourism. Growing up in a behaviourist environment meant that this was difficult to comes to terms with and I found that not knowing if I was right or wrong diminished my motivation. This needs to be taken into consideration in the classroom as some students may thrive on competitiveness and individual success. Knowing not only what your students need to learn but how they learn best is fundamental in creating an elearning design that will engage and motivate all students. The learning styles test (Felder and Soloman) along with the multiple intelligences test (Gardner, 1983) provided not only an understanding of our own abilities and preferences, but also highlighted the fact that every student is an individual and can not be expected to gain knowledge in the same way as someone else.

The wikis strongly fit within the frameworks of Blooms Revised Taxonomy (Clark, 2010) and Engagement Theory (Kearsley & Schneiderman, 1990, 2010). Blooms Taxonomy focuses on a progression of learning from remembering to understanding, applying, analysing, evaluating, and creating. Wikis require remembering how to edit information, understanding how to answer using the thinking tools, applying this understanding by answering the thinking tools, and then evaluating in our blogs. This process was well scaffolded with a tutorial for visual and auditory learners, online IT support, and the thinking tools, making it a reasonably simplistic way to introduce students to collaborating online. The final 'creating' objective was achieved in the e-learning design framework task which was the product of our journey from lower order thinking to higher order thinking. Engagement Theory stipulates that students are engaged in learning and focuses around three components, Relate-Create-Donate. Students related by way of pairing up in the learning theories wiki, learning was created with purpose as the wiki content was relevant to our teaching practices and the donate component will come when we are able to put our knowledge into practice with our students. Becoming equipped with problem solving skills by way of thinking tools will also help with cognitive learning as we create schemas of tools to be used in the workforce and beyond.


The wiki activities did not always result in positive learning experiences. The many technical issues dealt with left students feeling overwhelmed and under supported. This proved that while technology can enhance learning, there needs to be efficient IT support and alternative methods of teaching content if problems arise. In the profile wiki the benefits gained out of the exercise depended on the amount of information students were prepared to expose. The learning theories wiki left many students without a partner and feeling isolated as well as behind in the course work. The mobile phone wiki was the most successful and I feel this was because of the anonymity and lack of pressure at bouncing ideas of someone else first. The blogs, while excellent as a reflective tool also left me feeling lonely as I gained few followers and only one comment. The forums proved useful for some students but I personally gained little value from them. Interestingly, some students were too embarrassed to post questions for fear of asking silly questions which I would have thought would be less of an issue in an online environment which enables students to think before they speak and not be instantly ridiculed if the do ask something 'simple'. I found the workload to be overwhelming and as the course has required a lot of reflective work, this puts pressure on students to absorb the material quickly. Ironically, despite the self-directed learning dimension to the course, the workload has resulted in hurried responses from me and some of my peers who need time to think things through. The assessment, whilst an evaluation, has appeared behaviourist to me as I am negatively reinforced to rush through at a pace faster than my ability or I may fail.

I found it comforting to see another side to the use of blogs and forums that reflected a collaborative constructivist nature. I participated in a forum of support for a student who was struggling with the workload and family commitments. Many students related to her situation and posted inspiring messages to help her through a tough time. Being in the forums, it can referred to time and time again if she is feeling overwhelmed. Being open about the ups and downs of the learning process can foster close relationships and trust within a community of learners and could be excellent in the classroom environment to combat bullying.

Another fantastic functional aspect to this course is that evaluation, both formal and informal, allows us (teachers) to learn from and improve on current practice (Commonwealth of Australia, 2008). By reviewing the learning styles and intelligences of students teachers can construct lessons that reflect these preferences. By looking at reflective blog entries teachers can follow the progress of students and provide extra support if they feel it is needed. By engaging in forums they can efficiently respond to any misunderstandings or further scaffolding that may be required. They also can gain constructive criticism in evaluations such as this that may highlight issues with the course.

E-learning is relevant in the 21st century as teachers try to engage students through the use of technology and by approaching learning in an holistic, constructivist fashion. By implementing scaffolding students will better progress through their learning journey and aspects of scaffolding such as thinking tools will guide them in being able to solve problems and gain social skills by way of collaboration. The design framework also needs to be well balanced by incorporating a range of resources and learning theories to ensure the needs of every student are met. As a teacher who will be educating students in a digital age, I believe this will help create an ideal e-learning environment in which students thrive as higher order thinkers.




References:

Mergel, B. (1998). Instructional Design & Learning Theory. Retrieved from http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/mergel/brenda.htm

Murphy, E. (1997). Characteristics of Constructivist Learning & Teaching. Retrieved from
http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emurphy/stemnet/cle3.html

Wilhelm, J. (2001). Strategic Reading: Guiding Students to Lifelong Literacy. Retrieved from http://www.myread.org/scaffolding.htm

CQUniversity. (2011). Week 1 readings: active learning, learning diversity and the theory. Retrieved from CQUniversity e-courses, EDED20491 ICTs for Learning Design, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/course/view.php?id=17135

Mind Tools, see: www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_07.htm.

Felder, R., & Soloman. B. Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire. Retrieved from http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html

Gardner, H. (1983) Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Retrieved from http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks1/ict/multiple_int/what.cfm

Clark, D. R., (2010). Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains, Retrieved March 2, 2011 from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html#cognitive

Kearsley, G. & Schneiderman, B. (1999, 2010). Engagement Theory: A Framework for Technology-
based Teaching and Learning. Retrieved March 9, 2011 from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Commonwealth of Australia. (2008). Australian Flexible Learning Framework. Retrieved March 15, 2011 from http://designing.flexiblelearning.net.au/assessing/f_evaluate/index.htm