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Dilemmas of pedagogical innovations: The Technologists Verses the Instructional Designers

Wednesday, 27 Feb 2019, 15:39
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Edited by Tabitha Naisiko, Wednesday, 30 Oct 2019, 14:47

 I do agree Hypothesis 3 which states: “The choice of eLearning tools should reflect rather than determine the pedagogy of a course; how technology is used is more important than which technology is used.”  This is because in eLearning I see technology as a means not an end. In this way, we need to concentrate on the innovativeness in use of technology to deliver, transmit knowledge than the complexity of the technology or tool. Besides, technology in the contemporary technological revolution runs obsolete at a first rate to the extent that if not careful, we would run a risk of knowledge dissemination   crisis if we prioritised them instead on how to use them.

I also agree with Hypothesis 5 which states: “eLearning can be used in two major ways; the presentation of education content, and the facilitation of education processes.” Given time, as a student of MOEDE I appreciate this hypothesis because it directly concerns me. I receive the content, know knowledge, skills, literature etc but I also feel space to explore or train myself as teacher and teach others (my colleagues, practitioners and students) based on the eLearning platform of OU. On e-conference on H818 last year where different students were presenting their researches and innovations, I learnt a lot that was also benchmarked in my practices as a teacher but also a practitioner.

Hypothesis 7 which states that “eLearning tools and techniques should be used only after consideration has been given to online vs offline trade-offs” is also in suitable in my context. For us in developing countries like Uganda where I am based, we have challenges of irregular electricity and internet. The presence of these also vary whereby some places do have at a time while others do not. Therefore, while I prefer to close myself in the house and do my work without disturbance, at times am compelled to town to download assignments or work elsewhere. In this case, if I have electricity but not internet, am able to work in my house. This hypothesis is friendly and practical.

I agree with Hypothesis 8: Effective eLearning practice considers the ways in which end-users will engage with the learning opportunities provided to them. This is because society is dynamic and different, it thus pauses different challenges and opportunities. This hypothesis allows opportunity of life-long, ongoing education beyond the tension of passing Tutor’s assignment. eLearning provides multiple life skills to solve day-to-day challenges within the work environment.  

 Finally, I agree with Hypothesis 9: “The overall aim of education, that is, the development of the learner in the context of a predetermined curriculum or set of learning objectives, does not change when eLearning is applied.” This is because as emphasised in the whole paper, eLearning is just a means to an end, thus the curriculum will be the core in determining the professionalism required from the e-learner; not the mastery of technological innovations. Besides, as I observed, technology especially in the contemporary society runs obsolete so easily, therefore should not be tagged with the content or mar the curriculum because the content in the curriculum will still be relevant even under a different platform or new technology.  

 Consider hypothesis 4 that ‘e-learning advances primarily through the successful implementation of pedagogical innovation’. Then post your thoughts to the appropriate thread in your tutor group forum.

As Nicholas (2003) quotes Laurillard (2002), instructional designers should drive eLearning, not technologists. Those who are innovative educators will be those who maximise eLearning and ensure its further development. Based on Noble (2008) who argues that through automation of education, the objectives of education and the education process has been compromised with ethical quandaries where it has been overtaken by the urge of consumerism. Here, the technicians as well as industry in education tools are the ones guiding the curriculum designs with the urge of selling products. This does not only adulterate education purposes but is burdensome to the teachers and students for they work too much and too late not only learning technologies but also the required educational content. As reflected below by Noble (2008), it will be a mess if innovations in eLearning are left at the hands of the technologists.

  


 


On the otherhand, if eLearning is left to the instructional designers, it is expected that the values, objectives, and outcomes of education as a career will be upheld and all the professional demands required of trainers as put forward by the curriculum will be achieved. In H800, we learnt about learning designs and design narratives. Mor Yishay on the learning design grid, describes design narrative as a process to setting an appropriate pedagogy which comes from critical reflection on problem solving task, basing on extensive information, situation, experiment and research. The process is not conclusive, it is dynamic and based on this, design narratives thus inform practitioners on making the choices about the technologies for their learners. Precisely, pedagogical innovations in eLearning ought to be left to instructional designers than technologists for they can abuse the purpose.


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Tabitha

Emotion-centric financial decision-making and learning, a timely innovation for Uganda

Thursday, 21 Feb 2019, 13:05
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Edited by Tabitha Naisiko, Wednesday, 30 Oct 2019, 14:47
 Having read the website of Xdelia (http://www.xdelia.org/) I was thrilled with their innovative idea as if the website targeted me as an individual and my country Uganda at large. I have been noticing that by virtue of our communitarian culture and upbringing at times we have indefinite number of relatives. However, in a current cash economy, this creates a dependence burden where what used to be social capital is now a formidable social cost. This is mixed with consumerism, now rituals of marriage, burial, child birth rituals, education, technological gadgets are very expensive. Moreover, community makes it imperative to contribute. On a personal basis, I often spend without saving at times even get debts just to help. It is possible to be too kind and give away whatever one has and end up poor to help oneself. In other words, emotions of either fear, love or sympathy overrule us in financial decision-making process. Based on the above, I consider the initiative of xdelia very innovative. For it opens mental windows for us to think sustainably and out of the box. This concurs with Jansen and Weaver (2008) argument that innovation is necessary for sustainability and calls for not only interdisciplinary working but also transdisciplinarity, interagency working and stakeholder engagement. In the same way, xdelia to employs a multidisciplinary approach which includes financial trading, quantitative finance, psychology of finance, learning technology design and evaluation, experimental psychology, neuroeconomics, experimental economics, physio-economics, psychophysiology, sensor engineering, game development, and financial capability. Xdelia thus takes an integrated approach to build people’s potential in the areas of financial management by facilitating behavioral change. This would be a very good innovation in Uganda for we have a lot of resources but have poor financial management right from national to individual level. xdelia innovation would help us get out of poverty caused by financial mismanaged and failure to enable business sustainability. This certainly requires behavioral changes which xdelia starts with to change.
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Tabitha

Openness and Innovation in Education: From “Deschooling Society” to OpenLearn

Wednesday, 20 Feb 2019, 13:40
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Edited by Tabitha Naisiko, Wednesday, 30 Oct 2019, 14:50

According to the Encarta dictionary (2009), innovation means the act or process of introducing something new.  The concept innovation connotes the inevitability of change from how the usual procedures to improvement where there is use of minimal resources to maximize output or services in a sustainable manner. Innovations deals with scaling up, it thus has another connotation of modernity. In the same lane, Jansen and Weaver (2008) argue that innovation in education is necessary for sustainability. This then calls for not only interdisciplinary working but also transdisciplinarity, interagency working and stakeholder engagement.  

In the same lane,  McAndrew and Farrow (2013) reveal an OpenLearn model that befits the definition of innovation in education whereby the Open University adopted the Open Education Resources (OER). In this way, the University, has had a wide-ranging influence, changing the way that the university collaborates with other organizations and having significant impact on mainstream production techniques and on approaches to research. Consequently, the Open University has developed a broader understanding of business models and has demonstrated a willingness to experiment with alternative ways to offer mass learning beyond its existing student base.

To enable the achievement of the above plan,  McAndrew and Farrow (2013) emphasise that some challenges should be addressed and priority should go to: 1) finding out what can be done to improve OER Sustainability, 2) streamlining  the issues surrounding Copyright and Licensing, and how can they be overcome and 3) establishing the best ways to Promote and Advocate educational methods which use OER. I prioritize these three issues as an online student living, working and studying in Uganda; a developing country. The mentioned issues impede availability, access and use of OER. Moreover, the last two issues at times compromise the academic freedom and innovativeness in learning [process] through very strict rules and restrictions. Finally, there is a risk of a student to comply with rules and try to fix in the mold that addressing issues based on her/his context and environment. On the otherhand, with the communitarian ethic where we subscribe to the idea “I am because we are”, I wonder if the issues of copyright genuinely apply in education. knowledge is cumulative based on very old knowledge, skills and experiences that we do not own. This is the true essence of OpenLearn.  Thus, who has the copyright to a book, video or academic credential when many have contributed overtime.  In other words, my argument is that in the learning and learning process, we are all indebted and should thus emphasize good use rather than forwarding pecuniary interests.

McAndrew and Farrow (2013) reveal that OER challenge the conventional assumptions about paying for higher education modules in a way that it deconstructs the education system whereby it supports the adoption of less formal approaches into formal structures and vice versa. In a way, the Open University courses released through OpenLearn are being adopted at scale as the basis for informal learning. This means that there is a collapse of the ivory tower syndrome that higher education modules have been using by personalizing, and mystifying education. Consequently, with OER, Users take advantage of the ability to follow their own path by picking aspects from within structures or by using the content as the trigger for social learning around the content within informal learning groups that sit alongside the attraction of the content base.  In this case, if am to borrow Burger and Ostrom (2001) idea I would add education to the common pool resources that ought to be shared equitably and collectively protected at one’s station.

In conclusion, I concur with McAndrew and Farrow (2013) when they quote Ilich (1971)’s idea of Deschooling society which … “enable the student to gain access to any educational resource which may help him to define and achieve his own goals … [from] Reference Services to Learning Objects….” To me the OpenLearn is benchmarking the idea and this approach is more empowering and gives education its core purpose. Education to me is problem solving not a frame to design people according some ideologies. In this case, education and learning processes, then ought to be contextual based on the given challenges within the environment.

 

References

 

Burger, J., Field, C., Norgaard., R., Ostrom, E., and Policansky, D., 2001, Common-Pool Resources and Commons Institutions an Overview of the Applicability of the Concept and Approach to Current Environmental Problems. In: Burger, J., Field, C., Norgaard., R., Ostrom, E., and Policansky, D., (eds) (2001) Protecting the Commons: The Framework for Resource Management in the Americas. Washington: Island Press, Pp.1-15.

Jansen, L and Weaver, P. (2008) Education to Meet New challenges in a networked society. In: Larkley, J. and Maynhard (Eds) Innovation in Education. New York. Nova Science Publishers, pp. 1-47.

McAndrew, P. and Farrow, R. (2013) Open education research: from the practical to the theoretical. In: McGreal, Rory; Kinuthia, Wanjira and Marshall, Stewart eds. Open Educational Resources: Innovation, Research and Practice. Vancouver: Commonwealth of Learning and Athabasca University, pp. 65–78.

 


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Tabitha

Brown and Adler (2008)’s “Minds of Fire: From DSH Open Education Approach in India, to Karamoja Region of Uganda.

Monday, 18 Feb 2019, 21:12
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Edited by Tabitha Naisiko, Wednesday, 30 Oct 2019, 14:51

In their publication of Minds on Fire: Open education, the long tail and learning 2.0; Brown and Adler (2008) presented multiple approaches, research projects and tool in open education in various parts of the world. I was very keen about the Digital Study Hall (DSH) in India. Anderson and Robertson (2012) revealed that the DSH approach started in the year 2005 as a collaboration between computer scientists and education professional who shared a vision to improve the quality of education in Indian schools. The project recorded digitally live classes by the competent teachers, collecting them in a large database. Thereafter, records of radio cassettes, video tapes and DVDs (audio-visual) materials were made and distributed to disadvantaged schools in rural and slum schools. This was done through a network of hubs and spokes, a mediation-based pedagogy and a technology for sharing community-generated videos.

The above was in attempt to solve challenges of limited number of qualified teachers, empowering untrained teachers with pedagogical skills and bridging the digital gap between the rural and urban schools. The content on audio-visual materials went beyond cognitive education as prescribed in the national curriculum at given class levels to addressing social vices such as abuse of human rights, poverty, poor health, and others. Chutana, & Rothenberg (2011), Deolalikar & Quising (2015) reported about the progress of DSH that by the year 2010, 2000 videos were made, 3800 adolescent girls in 41 schools had benefited. This confirms what Dadsden and David (2009) inform that the DSH project enables a flow of information, tools, people and texts thus minimizing the digital divide across the space which would impede people’s opportunities.

The project is still on-going as seen by the by the awareness march at the KGBV Bhagpat, Baraut, posted on the website on July 20, 2018 by the IDC18Team. Here, the students of KGBV along with their teachers initiated an awareness march in against the vices of child marriage and promoted girl-child education in India. In the same way, UNESCO (2014) also benchmarked the DSH model to monitor the progress towards Educational for all goals. In here, UNESCO learnt that if all women attained secondary education, under 5 mortality rates would fall by 49% in low- and middle-income countries.

The DSH project extended to other parts of Asia in places like Pune, Lucknow, Kolkata and Nepal. Benchmarking from the original ideas of DSH and learning from its challenges, a new project was initiated in a bid to increase learning materials to allow learners get opportunities of learning better through a hands-on experience. Chutana and Rothenberg (2011) writes about an accruing project called MILLEE (mobile and immersive learning for literacy in emerging economics). MILLEE envisaged that the lessons learnt in India will serve as model for enhancing literacy in other developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. MILLEE banks on the effective mediation approach of the DSH which is referred to as the Outside the “education Box”.

We learn that with technological evolution, DSH project or approach that started way back in 2005, has opened mental windows of many scholars, researchers and innovators in the digital education world. Muyinda and Lubega (2010) present their experience about an ongoing research on the mlearning (mobile learning) in Uganda. In the December 2018, nurses in Karamoja one of the remotest areas in Uganda were seen on TV sharing their joys and challenges in studying online and writing an exam online instead of travelling to Kampala like they often did. Among the advantages they claimed this approach was cheap and just. Even in community health education, mobile devices have been used to disseminate information to the people.

In conclusion, with DSH, we learn not only the importance of technology enhanced learning, but we also learn that there is an inevitable educational revolution through technological revolution. We saw DSH starting with supplying audio-visual materials to poor and remote schools, in the due course, we saw the advanced and scaled-up project of MILLEE which even targets a wider geographic space. In the case of Uganda, we see a more advanced form of mlearning which used advanced technology of not only mobile learning but also internet. These are opportunities to extend education for all. However, if no deliberate efforts are made by responsible governments to extend internet connectivity and electricity to rural areas, the communities may not benefit from the education evolutions and revolutions.

References

Anderson, A, Robertson, C and Nabi, E. et al (2012) Facilitated Video Instruction in Low Resource Schools. ICTD ‘12, March 12–15, 2012,  pp.1-12

Bharucha, J. (2018) ‘Learning and social software: exploring the realities in India’, Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, Vol. 16 Issue: 1, pp.75-89, https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-04-2017-0025

Brown, S & Adler, RP. (2008) Minds on Fire: Open Education, the long tail and learning 2.0. Educause Review. 43. Pp. 10 – 32.

Chutana, S and Rothenberg, J.A (2011) Technology at the Margins: How Meets the Needs of Emerging Markets. New Jersey: John Wiley &Sons Inc.

Deolalikar, AB, Jha, S and Quising, P.F. (eds) (2015) Governance in Developing Asia: Public Service Delivery and Empowerment. Massachusetts: Edward Elgar Publishing.

IDC18 Team (2018) India’s Daughter Campaign. Posted on: http://digitalstudyhall.in/idc2018/ Accessed on: [18th/2/2019].

Muyinda, P., Lubega J., Lynch. K., (2010) Mobile Learning Objects Deployment and Utilization in Developing Countries. International Journal of Computing and ICT Research, Special Issue Vol. 4, No. 1, October 2010. 37-46.

UNESCO (2014)., Teaching and learning: Achieving Quality Education for All. Paris. UNESCO.

Vivian, l. Gadsden and Davis, E.T. (Eds) (2009) Risk, Schooling and Equality. Arizona: Sage Publications.

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Tabitha

The opportunities are equal but the ground is not leveled

Tuesday, 22 May 2018, 09:20
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Edited by Tabitha Naisiko, Wednesday, 30 Oct 2019, 14:53
As an Student sponsored fully by the Commonwealth to study an MA Online and distance Education in OU, i thought i will be able to operate to international standards. After all, i have internet access, electricity, goodwill. It was a hoax! For the whole of last week, i was not able to do anything. For 3 good days, I have no electricity in my house and neighborhood. Electricity comes back, internet connection is off! Well this is reality, but since things are back to normal, am now ready to catchup. Yet I will make it!
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Tabitha

Celebrating World Mother's Day in Uganda, anything to do with Miseducation?

Monday, 14 May 2018, 14:42
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Edited by Tabitha Naisiko, Wednesday, 30 Oct 2019, 14:55

Yesterday, we were bombarded with call to celebrate world mother's day. The calls were filled allover our print, TV, Radio and social media. Indeed, it was also colored with a lot of consumerism. Many concerts were presented, songs sung all about mothers. At the age of 45, this is the 4th year am hearing about mothers day. Yet I have a lovely mother who right now, as retired senior nurse is my employee at St. Joseph Health Centre Nakabango and She is also my Landlord in the house I stay. We are see each other often. So when I wake up in the morning to learn of Happy mothers day? I wonder since when did we in Uganda start these celebrations! Are they genuine or a strategy for consumerist to make some money. 

Later, on reflecting, i remembered, I was never in a boarding school at my early age. I came from home to school. The boarding schools disconnect families, kill attachments  but also deny learners chance to  appreciate culture,  environment and work with it. This type of education would justify such celebrations of world mother's day, world breastfeeding day, world environmental day and world fathers' day. We who grew and studied in day schools, it is a given that Mummy and Daddy are part of daily routines at supper together, we know every woman breastfeeds her baby. Even in public like church, it is normal for an African mother to breast feed, after all, at times that is the only option she has. I cannot believe now that a budget is set to celebrate usual things! World environment day when we live in the environment;  use its resources/biodiversity for spiritual, medicinal, food, fuel, leisure; all of which are part of survival and mothers are at the centre. They nature and nurture us in the environment.  May be rather than wasting resources and time to celebrate the obvious, we should start teaching all these the boarding  schools.  

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Tabitha

Baptized in the Open University UK, while seated in my House in Uganda: My Genesis to Technology Enhanced Learning.

Thursday, 10 May 2018, 10:51
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I leant about blogs way back in the year 2009 when I attended an International Summer School on “Human Development and Human Rights” Sponsored by University for Humanistic and the Kosmopolis Institute (The Netherlands) in cooperation with HIVOS, the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society (India), the Centre for Religion and Cross-Cultural Studies (Indonesia) and the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda. We were encouraged to open blogs and post our feelings, opinions. By then, I thought blogs were related to marketing and advocacy, thus limited to business and civil society organizations. Besides, I also felt is so exposing of my personal opinions to the world. By then we saw people who had blogs as bragging. A person deserves privacy, not so? For these reasons, I omitted the need for blog, but felt Facebook tolerable so I reluctantly opened an account and was inactive until 2011, when met a stubborn class. These students could be sometimes rowdy and would challenge my classroom management skills. I was a new member of staff, so I did not know their names. Then I remembered my Facebook account. When I reactivated it, nearly all the students in the said class invited me as a friend. I accepted all invitations, and here I would tag their names to their faces. I would also read their posts, get to know them as individuals and call them by name in class. In a couple of weeks, the class was back to normal. Facebook did not only help me as lecturer but also helped the students for I did not only become a lecturer but a friend and mentor as well. Facebook is now a tool of learning where I have continually supported my students even when they are out of the university. Today, I open and write my first blog ever. The motivation has been the baptism I received in the Open University of UK as a student of MA online and Distance education. In Uganda we are still conventional in education to the extent that until February 2018 when I enrolled as a student, I too had a negative attitude towards open and online education. like others, I thought it is substandard and actually at that time, if I was to employ a person, I would reject the one with an online qualification. Right now, this is the person I would take as priority. The approach is thorough, no hiding space nor negotiating with computer, it is contextual, mental-window opening, student centred, empowering and equipped with learning material but also rigorous. Therefore, by the time one qualifies, he/she has proved and exhibited all round qualities expected from integrated education in terms of cognitive, physical and emotional aspects. One acquires what we call in Uganda “hard and soft skills” required of a good professional. In applying to study MA online course, I was more focused on opportunities abroad especially in Europe and America, lightly Asia. Half way my first module of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) H800, I have changed my view. I need and am needed in Uganda as a change agent towards education and technological revolution. H800 has taught me that TEL will enable us to transcend from conventional education to an updated education that promotes innovations, that allows us to interact with the environment rather than walls in fences. This traditional education concentrates on reproduction of knowledge for marks rather than generation of knowledge for environmental management and innovations. This way our problems of joblessness despite too much work to do in the communities will stop. Besides TEL is open, unlimited to people of any category in terms of age, profession and geographical space. It fulfills the dream of education for all. Right now, as educators, we need to challenge the traditional system and adopt TEL, though this will not be easy. The former has been a business and the latter will be serious investment in a service. This is a government challenge to take up, but government is us the Ugandans. The reality is that with international demands of digital shift to e-learning, e-tax collection, e-registration, e-commerce, e-banking, citizen science, citizen journalism, we must revisit the educational approach to enable citizens benefit and manage the demands of the time. Ever since I started my H800, I have learnt TEL schemas that I learn and read from clouds which I already share with colleagues here and we are already benefiting already. As a lecturer, my mandate is in teaching, research, publication and community service. Before H800, I knew internet helps a lot but still had the traditional belief of not advertising personal matter/achievement to the world! This was self-defeating about my mandate as a lecturer. Right now, I am even writing a blog about my feelings, on my facebook, I put a link for a Community Based Health Organization I established and am directing. It is called St. Joseph Health Centre Nakabango. On the link I call volunteers and interns in areas of social work and human medicine. Guess what, I had an old set of two who graduated, right now I have two interns from among my students at Makerere and once had an American peace corp. With TEL, we live and learn from a global village through its provisions and challenges. Interesting, this experience offered these young people with opportunities to also reach the world and develop their careers. They now encourage me to update the website, for is helpful. It sold them to the current opportunities. For all this I can say, TEL does not only end in class, it goes into authentic learning with practical impacts. Wow! Am thrilled with my first blog that it has turned into an essay. Since it not for marking, we continue with the dialogue. Of course, it was an assignment my Tutor Bob gave, but in the due course, I like it and will continue with the blog. For the assignment, having read a given article by Kerawalla et al, I realized that my motive to keep me on the blog would be for resource network building to link up with people of different interests, skills and potentials so that we can work together to accomplish or tasks and develop our communities together. Now it has gone beyond assignment, reflecting on what I wrote, this is real. Thanks Bob for opening my eyes.
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