Looking Back, Looking Forward

Prior to this course, I was familiar with learning management systems, YouTube, podcasts, and social media.  However, I gained insight into using RSS readers.  I didn't actually know that this was a technology that I was already using, by subscribing to others and having updates consolidated into one site.  I always saw the RSS logo and Facebook's newsfeed serves to display who I follow, so I gained insight into how RSS sites worked and the convenience of that technology.

Although I have used blogs in the past, it was not a tool I kept up with or tracked statistics of.  I gained insight into formatting the blog and that it is important to post often.  By blogging, I read other blogs outside of this course and saw that it isn't just opinions and rants.  We actually had to provide references.  We can also customize and format the settings so that it is easy for viewers to see who we follow and what they blog.

As an online teacher, I know that students are nontraditional, adults who have various reasons as to why they take courses online.  I gained insight into how my online presence influences them, such as if I don't reply to emails, give feedback on assignments, send out announcements, then they will reflect what I portray.  If my teacher is online, giving advice, then I have to rise to the occasion and improve my work.  I also gained insight into how just advising to buy a textbook and read the notes does not help students.  Yes, andragogy is about self-directed learning but if someone doesn't learn by just reading, then what does text on a screen or in a book help?  I have to verbalize or explain more via supplemental notes to better prepare students for exams.

In the future, I will ask my deans and authority figures about what podcasts, blogs, and videos are appropriate, or in general, what company or people are appropriate to reference information from.  I do have a blog for my course, I just don't use it aside from the first day's information.  So, I can use it more for posting helpful study links, this way the information is reusable for subsequent classes. Upon discovering that there's YouTube EDU, Glogster EDU, and TeacherTube, which are classroom-appropriate, I will use those types of sites to share media with my students.  This avoids the privacy or inappropriate content I fear will pop up with regular social media and open access sites.

Sustaining Smartphone Technology

Smartphones are widely used devices for not only communication, but searching the Internet and can be used as assessment tools. Smartphones are very applicable because they sync with instructor and student schedules.  For example, our learning management system can be subscribed to on mobile calendars, automatically updating, and letting students know what we are doing in class.  Smartphones are useful for accessing the learning management system's app.  In teaching science, visuals are important for understanding microscopic or invisible processes (Valanides, Efthymiou, & Angeli, 2013).  Therefore, smartphones are useful in quickly accessing videos.

Although smartphones increased motivation and independent learning, not all students may be used to the technology or proper netiquette (Backer, 2010).  In a community college setting, the student population is diverse and so may be technology skills.  There is always a risk on what is being shared or posted and privacy with GPS and social media.  Sustaining technology use for students must address privacy and appropriateness, therefore the use of classroom-safe apps and websites should be used.  To sustain usage with faculty, professional development, training, and learning communities are important, as we cannot assume that today's instructors are fluent in Web 2.0 and smartphone technology (Kenney, Banerjee, & Newcombe, 2010).  Adequate instruction and tutorials should be shared with teachers and students to prolong usage, otherwise we would isolate those that need aid.

Despite risks of smartphones, many people use them.  Teaching a student, let's say someone from a different socioeconomic status or nationality or even gender, who faced some form of oppression, can lead to a positive change.  This person may take joy in learning a new technology, thus proving to themselves that they are competent (Laureate Education, 2013).  It is not hard to find adult learners who think they are too old to learn a technical skill. However, the goal is to sustain usage of new skills, thoughts, processes, and organizations, in hopes to pique their curiosity, interest, and excitement in learning (Laureate Education, 2013).

References

Backer, E. (2010). Using smartphones and Facebook in a major assessment: The student experience. E-Journal of Business Education & Scholarship of Teaching, 4(1), 19–31.
Retrieved from http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elisa_Backer/publication/228968058_Using_smartphones_and_Facebook_in_a_major_assessment_the_student_experience/links/0046353311345311be000000.pdf

Kenney, J. L., Banerjee, P., & Newcombe, E. (2010). Developing and sustaining positive change in faculty technology skills: lessons learned from an innovative faculty development initiative. International Journal of Technology in Teaching and Learning, 6(2), 89-102. Retrieved from http://www.sicet.org/journals/ijttl/issue1002/1_Kenny.pdf

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013). Dr. Tony Bates: Using technology to engage students and assess learning [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu