Reflections for Session 5: E-facilitation (Practicum): WEEKS 9-12

Hi Dear ED403 Bloggers!

This is my Blog for the final session in ED403 which is Session 5: E-facilitation (Practicum): WEEKS 9-12

(Please have read and feel free to comment. Thanks.)

The E-facilitation (Practicum) gave us the opportunity to design a fully online course. It has been a great 3 weeks watching, learning and also facilitating as my group members and also Jonassen and Aristotle ran the show for Efacilitation Practicums. My groups, i.e group Illich topic was “Elements of Successful Online Learning in the Pacific Context.” Also, Aristotle groups topic was: “Online Learning in the Pacific Regional Context” and Jonassen groups topic was: “Being Inclusive: Role of Culture, Gender and special needs in Online Learning in Developing countries.”

This session reflected on group learning. Each group showcased their own curriculum design skills and used Moodle features for student learning. Online discussion forums were used - captured critical points and personal experiences, online quizzes to test our understanding of the course content, reflections, concept maps, videos, articles etc. Facilitator for each day got a chance to coordinate an online course and explore his/her own online skills. I helped in compiling lesson content for my group and was the coordinator for Session 5: Teacher Presence - Support and Communication. I participated in the other two groups practicum weeks and completed the quizzes, the forum discussions and assignments as well.

All the groups used assessments. Both formative and summative assessments were used and discussions went beyond Moodle whereby groups used Twitter to further discuss key issues. We have learnt that feedback is a critical component of teaching and learning and all groups did a marvelous job in capturing this and providing it to students for better engagement.

I used the Moodle course analytics for the first time to create feedback report for students.

There is a number of things that one could easily take from this session. It is about team effort and I can really see how beneficial efacilitation practice is and I would highly recommend it for any educator deciding to move into elearning.

Cheers!

Thank you for reading 😊

This concludes my last blog in ED403

Stay tuned for further posts in near future.

Cheers

Sheemal

Reflections for Session 4: eLearning Practices in Higher Education - WEEK 7-8

Hi Dear ED403 Bloggers!

This is my Blog for Session 4: eLearning Practices in Higher Education
(Please have read and feel free to comment. Thanks.)

A. MicroLED and Microteaching
Session 4 allowed us to work on MicroLED for our teaching course. I teach PHRM 203 which is a pre-clinical course in the MBBS program. This was the first encounter for me to produce a MicroLED video for one of my lessons. At first it was a struggle because prior to ED403, I have had no experience of creating a video for my lecture delivery. But I discovered an online tool during research in OER assignment so I was able to make one. This MicroLED activity has helped me to familiarise with teaching online tactics.

Also, the feedback I received from my fellow group members has enabled me to better prepare for Micro teaching. One member commented, “Your MicroLED video was very clear and well presented, I liked the way you incorporated concept maps. The of MCQ's is an effective way of assessment, also maybe in future you can consider adding True/False questions as well depending on the relevancy. Your information provided was in depth and well designed.”

My MicroLED Video can be accessed at https://youtu.be/m5mjNgA8KR8

The Microteaching session went very well and I got to learn a lot from my peers in my group by being their student. It helped me reinforce my methods of teaching. I made notes of ways in which I can be a better teacher.

B. eLearning Case Study

For our eLearning case study, my Team Illich decided to investigate on the topic “(Re)imagining eLearning within higher education: Explorations in the Pacific.”
These are our individual topics:

Gurmeet Singh - Use of Online Discussion Forum for Case Study Analysis as an E-assessment Tool for Formative Assessment in ISP21 Course

Sheemal Shareeka - Introducing e-assessments via BYOD in the Medical Pharmacology course at University of Fiji.

Maca Stephen - Peer Assessment as Formative e-Assessment in UU204

Evelyn Kumar - A Case Study on Formative e-Assessments in A Pacific Island Dental School Using Open-Source Learning Management System’

Avin Prasad - Substituting field practical experience with Virtual learning during a Pandemic

David Fa’avae - Future of eLearning spaces using augmented and virtual realities

This paper explores how online learning can be understood within the Pacific context and across diverse learning disciplines. The paper is structured into two main sections. The first section (1) explores the nature and context of eLearning, specifically in relation to the global challenges associated with face-to-face and blended modalities; and the future of eLearning spaces using augmented and virtual realities. The second section (2) explores the use of e-assessment as formative practice across various disciplines; challenges and benefits in the development and sustainability of e-assessment systems; and the use of ‘Bring your Own Devices’ (BYOD) for e-assessment, and the impact of peer assessment on eLearning.

I must say that the process of researching and writing my case study paper required a lot of hard work and I hope you will like it when you read it.

I also hope our group’s final paper has turned out well and will be enjoyed by the ED403 cohort.

Thank you for reading 😊

Till next and last session blog …

Cheers
Sheemal

Reflections for Session 3: eLearning Trends in Higher Education - WEEK 5-6.

Hi Dear ED403 Bloggers

This is my Blog for Session 3: eLearning Trends in Higher Education - WEEK 5-6.

(Please have read and feel free to comment. Thanks.)

In session 3 we learnt about and engaged in discussions on new trends emerging in Higher Education such as Learning Analytics, Bring Your Own device (BYOD), VR, AR, Makerspaces and e-Assessments.

So, to begin with, I would like to share my personal experience with you all regarding BYOD. During staff meetings in past few years I have seen some lecturers complain about students being on their mobile during lectures and how it has disturbed their class and they were wondering if students were listening actively or not? I would also think similar sometimes because I wasn’t sure if students were doing something constructive or playing games and/or using social media. In fact, some of us do not allow students to use their mobile phones during lecture. However, I’m ok with students making use of their smart phones during tutorials and small group discussions because they can use OERs and certain medical related apps. So, I would say that m-Learning can be very useful in Higher education.

Before this session, I did not know much about Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. From here, I learnt that VR and AR are perhaps the way of the future with many possible benefits. It could break down the distance barriers; imagine your students in other parts of the Pacific sitting there in front of you as holograms or projections of themselves and in real time. It may also prove to be cost-effective and economical.

Moving on to e-Assessments, I would say that I have very little experience with e-assessments because my course is taught in face-to-face mode only. However, during this session, through research and readings, I have learnt that Moodle can be well utilized for e-Assessments. I can use e-Assessment for formative assessment so that the students can be given some feedback on how they are preforming and what improvements they ought to make. I can make use of Moodle quiz for assessment methods such as Multiple-Choice questions, short answer questions etc.  I think this is a good way of allowing students to learn at their own pace and be at peace. When learners sit for short test, they often feel stressed but allowing this e-assessment to be taken at their homes or their comfort zone does give the student that extra push of thinking critical before answering. However, I am still not sure whether e-Assessments will be appropriate for summative assessments in my course.

This video Link is an example of an e-assessment via iPad with the Examplify app at University of Leicester Medical School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msvafm12kkA

Finally, I would like to say that there’s a lot learnt from this session and I am sure I can integrate most of what I have learnt into my course.

Thank you for reading 😊

Cheers

Reflections for Session 2: Learning Resources and technologies - WEEK 3 and 4

Session 2: Learning Resources and technologies - Week 3 and Week 4 Reflections

In this session, we focused on online tools and technologies, social media in higher education, Intellectual Property and Copyright and Open Educational Resources.

I must say that I before this session, I had little knowledge of open educational resources (OERs) and the different licenses needed to make a resource open. I enlightened myself further on these through my research online and also by taking the online course of understanding OERs using Technology-enabled learning lounge.

Session 2 looked at the use of learning technologies, Web 2.0 tools and OERs etc. The technological tool I found to be useful for my course was Facebook. All my students have accounts on Facebook and I generally feel that by using a technology they know and are comfortable with, by making me bit more approachable and real and by linking their classmates via the web, we end up making the social interaction more engaging, interesting and meaningful.

The other tools shared by the rest of the class was enlightening as well. Several of the other tools mentioned by them include, Mindomo Desktop, Google slides, Flickr, Animoto, GroupBoard etc. Most of them were completely new to me and from the members discussions, I got to see how beneficial they are for their courses and that I could also incorporate them in my course as well. Moreover, for the first time ever, as part of the learning task 2, I created a video about using Facebook as an educational tool and uploaded it on YouTube. You may view this video at this link =  https://youtu.be/iy1ObCt1vwo

Furthermore, the session had a discussion on OERs which I think is the new direction for teaching in higher education. I got to explore a plethora of various OER resources applicable to my field of teaching. With Open access of teaching materials, educators and students are in for a treat to make the learning experience meaningful, insightful and educational. I know for sure how well these will be accommodated in my teaching career from now.

Thank you for reading.

Please feel free to comment.

Stay tuned for more reflections soon.

Have a blessed day

Cheers 😊

Reflections of Session 1: Technology enabled Learning and Future of Learning in Higher Education - WEEK 1 and 2

Reflections of Session 1: Technology enabled Learning and Future of Learning in Higher Education - WEEK 1 and 2

Week 1

For week 1 discussion topic, we were to pick any point/question from the chapter 2 in the eBook and discuss it in the forum. I talked about one major problem that I am facing with my classroom teaching which is that the students come from a diverse background and have different learning styles and so, how can I make my teaching personalized so that students at all levels of ability can succeed in my courses? Through my readings, I shared that ‘Differentiated Instruction’, may be an answer to this problem. I posed a question in the discussion forum that how can differentiated instruction via online teaching and learning be most effectively utilized?

One of my group members commented that he is making his course more personalized by giving local examples for better understanding of concepts. I ‘am also doing this in my course and I think it is quite beneficial.

Dear colleagues, I m still open to suggestions to help find effective solutions to this problem.

Week 2

For the learning task in week 2, we were to discuss new knowledge gained from reviewing the various videos and other resources from the introductory session and to explore how learning technologies which will influence learning and the future of Higher Education globally and regionally.

The readings by Garrison (2000) and Vaughan et al (2013) was indeed very informative and the videos were interesting to watch. I understand that the TPACK framework offers several possibilities for promoting research in teacher education, teacher professional development, and teachers’ use of technology. I hope my University would think and invest on implementing this approach in the near future.

From my own readings and after reading the discussions and comments by some ED403ers, I have learnt that Information and communications technology (ICT), has been employed as an education enhancement in higher education. Furthermore, M-learning or mobile learning is very popular. It is convenient in that it is accessible from virtually anywhere and it can replace cumbersome resources such as textbooks, visual aids, and presentation technology. Mobile devices are also used in online settings to enhance learning experiences.

The implementation of learning technologies both globally and in the PICs has it challenges such as gender, social, and geo-political barriers to educational access. At the universities, students may face barriers to quality education, such as teacher competency, training and preparedness, access to educational materials, and lack of information management. My own experience at the university is lack of teacher interest in using new technology, for e.g., many older lecturers refuse to use MOODLE as an e-learning tool.

In my personal view, as an educator, I am open to embracing advancements in technology because it makes the learning and teaching environment easier and enjoyable.

Thank you for reading.

Please feel free to comment.

Stay tuned for more reflections soon.

Have a blessed day

Cheers 😊
#ED403

INTRODUCTION

Hi there,

I am Sheemal Shareeka and I welcome you to my blog. The blogging world is completely new to me and I am introduced to it because of the course ED403 of the PGCTT online program offered by the University of the South Pacific. Through my blog I will be sharing my personal reflections of each session in the course ED403: Innovation in Learning Technologies and Professional Practice.

I hope you will enjoy reading and I humbly invite and request you to provide comments.

Thank you!