The Entire Education System and Subjects for the Benefits of the Students - Assignment Example

Learning Contract Insert Name Tutor Date Introduction E-learning is a form of learning and teaching that is electronically supported. The process is implemented through information and communication systems which may either be networked or not. It is basically the computer enabled method of transferring and sharing skills and knowledge. This method of learning and teaching can be very effective especially when used for Mathematics either by teachers or both the teachers and the student. This report is about my project of designing an e-learning community for the mathematics teachers. Professional background I am a high school mathematics teacher with five years teaching experience. Presently I am taking a master degree in e-Learning which is equipping me with knowledge and technical skills for designing a just-in-time e-learning portal for the mathematics teachers. It is also helping me identifying the e-learning needs of mathematics teachers. E-learning community for mathematics teachers My main task in this project will be to develop an e-learning community whose participants will be mathematics teachers from various parts of the world. An e-learning community refers to a technological context where a group of people who share a common interest and learn by contributing towards knowledge using information technology to achieve their shared goals (Cady, Aydeniz & Rearden, 2011).. This idea is based on the theory of social constructivism which points out the role of social interaction, discourse and language in enhancing understanding. Therefore in this community, learning will take place through communication and participation within an online community. In the same way teachers make careful choices on the activities and instructions to use in the face-to-face learning environments, they must also consider a technology that will allow the same but in an online environment. The technology involved in the e-learning community will however offer a social space that will encourage the participants who are the mathematics teachers to communicate freely. Basically, Teachers will use the community for sharing knowledge and Ideas, learning some lessons and collaborate with other in this field of learning and research (Mccombs & Vakili, 2005). Some of the e-learning tools that I will use in developing this community include the MathJax which is a cross-browser JavaScript library which displays mathematical equations in web browsers. This tool will help the mathematics teachers to teach mathematics through the web. Another tool that I can use is an open blog where people will share their opinions and discuss some mathematical problems some posting questions and answers. Through these blogs students can ask mathematical questions and those teachers with answers can respond in the blog. Teachers can also seek clarification on some mathematical problems from their peers and will be answered through the blogs. I can also use websites which will act as discussion forums where questions and exercises will be posted which students can use to practice their skills and exchange answers with their teachers. One advantage of an e-learning community is that it will contribute towards improving the relevance of teacher’s content because they will be able to access up-to-date information. It will also be more informative because it will engage several teachers and students and there will be learning from each other. Current technology skills and knowledge To successfully implement this task, I will be required to have adequate knowledge and skills regarding the current technological advancements. This because being an online community, it is wholly dependent on use of technology. Am however relying on various strengths which I believe will enable me to succeed in this task. Some of the strengths that I believe will enable me include the adequate knowledge that I have regarding the current Information Technology practices. This knowledge I have obtained through the course am undertaking in Masters Degree in e-learning. In this course, I have been exposed to various levels of technology which are applicable in e-learning. I am therefore well equipped with knowledge that will enable me understand and explain to the participants on how to go. For example, some of the teachers may not be able to access a lot of online information by use of the search engines. With the knowledge I have, I will be able to assist in this. The other strength am basing on is the teaching experience that I have. Having been a mathematics teacher for five years, am aware of the various challenges of teaching and its requirements will I will replicate in e-learning since I will have become a Subject Matter Expert (SME). I will therefore be able to understand even the challenges that mathematics teachers will be facing in the online community and assist. The experience will also enable me to offers the relevant resources to the teachers that will be beneficial to their field of mathematics. The other strength that I have is the knowledge in Knowledge on theories, models and framework for e-learning community. E-learning theories are divided into associative theories, cognitive and situative. The associative theories defines learning as an activity through structured tasks, cognitive theories defines learning as through understanding while situative theories describe learning as a social practice. These theories will help me in understanding some of the variables that influence learning and teaching as well as understanding how the influence takes place. I also have knowledge on the pedagogical frameworks which describe the broad principles for applying theory into the practice of teaching and learning. The models of e-learning describe the broad principles of applying theory into teaching and learning. One example of a relevant e-learning model is the Salmon’s five stage model which supports effective e-moderating in the discussion forums and also emphasizing on the dialogic aspects of theoretical perspectives. An example of a pedagogic framework that is relevant in e-learning is the Laurillard’s conversational framework which is a practical framework that can be used in designing educational environments (Mayes & Feitas, 2004). The other strength is the awareness of the needs and requirements of an e-learning community. Having been studying e-learning, I have experienced the challenges in it and I have developed ways of dealing with them. For example the main challenge is internet connection which is a major requirement for the running of the e-learning community. Am therefore aware of what will be required and how to deal with the arising issues. There are however some weaknesses that I have experienced which may be a challenge in this task. One of the weaknesses is lack of adequate knowledge in implementing the process. Since I have never implemented one before, I don’t have much knowledge on how I will go about it. However this I can overcome by consulting with a team of experts before I become fully acquainted with the process. The other weakness is lack of management skills which will be required in managing the community as well as bringing teachers together. I however expect to gain them through experience and I believe that I will eventually become a good manager of the community. Consultation and research strategies Carrying out this task will require a lot of consultation from my supervisors, my lecturers and friends who are experienced in the field of e-learning. This will be important in ensuring that I involve them for purposes of correcting me where I go wrong. They will also be able to advice me on the feasibility of my project. I will obtain information from academic sources such as the UTS online about designing an e-learning community. A lot of information is available from the online libraries about e-learning and I believe that this will be useful for my project. Since the task involves online interaction, I must start with creating a website. I will therefore use online sites such as weebly.com for creating the website and also for creating the blog site. Weebly.com is affordable and is easy to use especially for my task (Weebly, 2012). Other online sites that will be useful include Classroom 2.0 and The Horizon Report. Classroom 2.0 is a free and community supported network which offers a forum where different topics will be discussed. This will enable the mathematics teachers take part in the discussion (Classroom 2.0, 2012). The Horizon report involves international experts coming together through the wiki to exchange ideas. This will give the teachers a chance to learn of new approaches to teaching mathematics (The New Media Consortium, 2012). Action plan: learning objectives and specific technology to be learned My learning objective for this task is to bring together mathematics teachers through an e-learning community where they can learn about the e-learning tools and use the tools to teach mathematics, where they will be able to participate in this e-learning community in order to improve their knowledge and better teaching skills for successful learning of mathematics. My role in this learning community will be to facilitate the coming together of various teachers from different parts of the world so that they can share their ideas within the community. This will be aimed at benefitting the students who may wish to access the site from the teacher’s online ideas. Basically I will ensure that there is sharing and use of the available online information. Teachers will be able to consult from the online resources on matters that are difficult for them (Intel, 2012). Teachers will also learn various technologies such as use of search engines to obtain reading materials. They will also learn how to post on the blogs and respond to other teacher’s posts. Basically this community will expose the mathematics teachers to a different world from the face-to-face teaching that they are used to. Teachers will have to create accounts that will enable them to log in to this website and access other teacher’s views as well as share theirs’. A reflection on the task This task helped me to consider and determine my current technology skills and knowledge. Before initiating the project, I have had experience in teaching of mathematics since am a practicing teacher. This has enabled me to understand the needs and desires of students and scholars in this area of education. I will be in a position to meet their demands and the points of need and desire effectively and comprehensively. I am equally eager and ready to learn new skills with open mind accommodating ideas of other people in the area of study. This will allow me to be interactive and integrative of new ideas generated by other individuals in the site. In addition, currently I am pursuing a master’s program in e-learning giving me a rich knowledge in the area. I therefore have advanced knowledge enabling me to implement the project successfully. On the other hand, my weaknesses can be turned into strengths and when I work on them to the positive I will be able to handle the exercises and duties effectively and in a manner that will meet the targets and aspirations set at the beginning of the project. I have benefited greatly from my supervisor and buddies’ comments on my learning contract draft. It was useful to determine my learning objectives and specific technology to be learned and guide me to the right way to complete this task. Research of previous reports equally played a major role in decision making and developing of ideas. I will consider their input and recommendations for the general betterment of the outcome of the project. In addition, this research and sources helped me to increase the technological knowledge that my project required. The project has an obligation to improve on communication, interaction, nurture togetherness, and improve on innovation. The project hence will rely on the explosiveness of the technology environment, inventiveness of the current student generation, hunger for knowledge and the access to internet services in institutions. After a consideration of necessary tools, configurations, platforms and features then the project will face implementation. Criteria for assessment My project will be assessed based on my objectives. This will be done to check on whether I have met all the objectives. Some of the aspects that will be assessed include the ease of use by teachers and the extent to which it allows for participation. The system should be easy to use by the teachers to enable them interact freely. Some teachers may not be having adequate technological knowledge and they may find it difficult to interact online. The system should therefore be friendly and not complicated for the teachers. The other assessment item will be the general benefits in improving the welfare of mathematics teachers. This implies the extent to which the system will improve the welfare of mathematics teachers. This is in terms of providing resources for them and also enabling them get assistance from each other on the most technical mathematical issues. Basically it should make learning and teaching of mathematics become easier than it was before. The amount of information that can be accessed will also be assessed and also the information’s usefulness. This will be done to consider the relevance of the information available and whether it is up to date. For the information to be useful, it must align with the goals of teachers in regard to the subject matter which will be mathematics (Paechter, Maier & Macher, 2010). After being assessed, I will be given the feedback from users and the supervisor which will help me to improve my project. Any deficiency that will be pointed out during assessment will be dealt with. With all these in order, my ultimate goal will have been met. Conclusion All the activities involved in this task must be done in a systematic manner so that I will achieve my main objective. I however believe that with everything in order, the task will be completed successfully and the mathematics teachers will be able to enjoy the benefits. Such a community will be beneficial to the entire education system and can also be applied in other subjects for the benefits of the students. Any benefit to the teachers in terms of knowledge addition is a benefit to the students. Bibliography Cady, J., Aydeniz, M., and Rearden, K., 2011, E-learning Environments for Math and Science Teachers, Journal of Curriculum and Instruction (JoCI) , Vol. 5, No. 1, P. 17-33. This article has given a lot of insights on e-learning for mathematics teachers. It has defined various concepts of e-learning and this has given me the information I required on how to go about the task. Classroom 2.0, 2012, Web 2.0, Social media &more, retrieved on 5th September 2012 from http://www.classroom20.com/ This will be useful in allowing discussion by various teachers. It is a social media site that will bring together mathematics teachers from various sectors. It a free and community supported and is easy for the beginners to use. Weebly, 2012, The easiest way to create a website, retrieved on 28th August 2012 from http://www.weebly.com/ This resource will be very essential when I will start creating a website. It outlines the steps to follow, it is easy and affordable. Weebly will also allow me to create a blog space where teachers will share their opinions and solve some mathematical problems. Paechter, M., Maier, B, and Macher, D., 2010, Student’s expectations of, and experiences in e-learning: Their relation to learning achievements and course satisfaction, Computers & Education 54: 222–229. This article has mentioned various benefits of e-learning regarding both the students and teachers. It has enabled to predict the potential benefits of e-learning and to incorporate various aspects in my project that will ensure that students benefit as well as the teachers. Mayes, T., and Feitas, S., 2004, Stage 2: Review of e-learning theories, frameworks and models, JISC e-Learning Models Desk Study, Issue 1. This article talks about various e-learning theories such as the associative, situative and cognitive theories. It has also explained various frameworks and models for e-learning which I must understand in order to carry out the task effectively. My project must recognize these theories for it to have a positive impact in learning and teaching. The New Media Consortium, 2012, NMC Horizon Project, retrieved on 28th August 2012 from http://www.nmc.org/horizon-project This resource by NMC has described the Horizon Project as a technological tool for which can be used for educational purposes by allowing various educational sectors to exchange ideas and engage in discussion. I found it useful in helping me meet the objective of bringing together the ideas of teachers from different sectors. Intel, 2012, The Positive Impact of elearning-2012 update, retrieved on 28th August 2012 from http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/world-ahead/world-ahead-positive-impact-of-elearning-paper.html This article highlights various benefits of e-learning which I believe my project should be able to deliver. It is from these benefits that my objective is based and all what I want to deliver to mathematics teachers. Mccombs, B., and Vakili, D., 2005, A Learner-centered Framework for E-learning, Teachers College Record Volume 107, Number 8, pp. 1582-1600 This article talks of how to structure e-learning to ensure that it is beneficial to the learner. The article focuses on importance a good learning environment even in the online learning. This is important since it gives me an idea of factors to consider when designing my e-learning community. Read More