The following blog includes a podcast interview with Dr. Waddell on the use of technology in learning and teaching. Further down there are also comments on two texts
- Educational uses of podcasting (Harris and Park, 2008)
- Pedagogical uses of Flickr (Chu and Dusen, 2008)
Podcast Interview: This podcast shows how an auditory medium can be used to learn about technology use in the classroom through the experience of Dr. Daniel Curtis Waddell.
Dr. Waddell http://www.altoona.psu.edu/now/search_alpha.php?value=W earned his doctorate at the University of Cincinnati and is currently an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Penn State Altoona. I chose him for this interview, because of Dr. Waddell’s innovation in helping students learn and present material through Web 2.0 technologies.
Podcast interview of Dr. Waddell about using technology to facilitate student learning:
Interview Reflection: The interview went well, Dr. Waddell is an excellent speaker. There were several good practices that I learned through the interview. One good practice of technology that I would adopt is how Dr. Waddell engages students through videos of experts or demonstrations using an iPad. Another practice that I agree with is his view about keeping technology simple and focused on learning activities, rather than using too much technology which could distract or overwhelm students.
Do you think blogs or wikis promote feelings of isolation and apathy for some students? Dr. Waddell’s concept of web “isolation” is an interesting topic revealed at the end of the interview. He describes that students may feel isolated through online activities, affecting their personal motivation. I agree that some students may feel isolated and this could lead to a lack of motivation. In my opinion transactional distance caused through online learning through blogs and wikis can cause self doubt by not knowing other people’s perceptions in real time. This damage in self efficacy from a lack of feedback could lead to motivation problems in distance learning.
What types of trends do you see in the ways audio and still/video media are being used to support learning?I used the two articles to help me determine the trends in using audio and still photos in supporting learning. In the article “Educational uses of Podcasting” by Harris and Park (2008) mentions that current podcasting usages are driven mainly by four characteristics: teaching, service, marketing and technology. These trends include using podcasts to disseminate information in a quicker manner then text could accomplish. Podcasts can be used to summarize lectures, broadcast new information, give tours, recruit students, and to learn new methods of teaching or using technology.
In the article “Pedagogical uses for Flickr” by Chu and Dusen (2008) mentions that still/video media can support student with their language skills, geography, heritage, and visual information (art and fashion). Students can improve their grammar and vocabulary if they comment or critique on photos posted. Students can also use photos to tell a story or assist in adding meaning to blogs or articles. Photos can show information in a way that crosses cultural and language barriers. They can be used to disseminate information about different environments or architecture in different parts of the world, this helps students learn about geography and heritage. Flickr can also help students learn about art or fashion by seeing visual photos of different styles and modes of design.
NOTE** I attended Stevie Rocco’s session on “Copyright and Creative Commons” at the TLT symposium 2014 http://symposium.tlt.psu.edu/ and learned that Flickr is a great place to find material without copyright restrictions. Here is the address to her site with resources linking to media that can be used “freely” http://learning.signpostwebdesign.com/?q=node/2
Specifically, how do you see these media enhancing participatory learning within the Web 2.0 context beyond that possible by text media? I see audio and still/video media being helpful in the web 2.0 context in that it can promote a two-way dialogue between people that can be quicker in discussing information compared to text media. Web 2.0 photos and videos can help others learn about geography or cultures that would be hard to learn through text written in a different language.
How do you see the experience of creating and using the podcast yourself affecting your thoughts about media for learning?
After making the podcast and exploring the site about “Teaching with Technology Podcasts” http://powertolearn.typepad.com/teaching_with_technology/ I can see that audio can be a quicker method to learn about a specific topic. In general I think audio and visual information is easier to process cognitively compared to reading and interpreting textual information.
References:
Hi Dana, I don’t think I can add anything more to all the thoughtful responses of your peers — I agree with all their assessments of Dr. Waddell’s use of technology– I think I noted pretty much the exact same things they did, including: engaging students, harnessing student’s knowledge of technology to engage them in the classroom, keeping things simple and only using what is really needed to motivate and get students to their goal, practice before you use something, but then know that you can go with the flow and students will be forgiving, and show students how to get good information on the web.
To address the question of isolation, I agree with Katie here — I don’t think younger students feel isolated in the sense we think of it. There is quite a bit of research about this and one of the sources I could point to is a book by Ito et al, titled, “Hanging out, messing around, and geeking out”. The fundamental idea there is that kids learn and socialize in ways that we don’t traditionally see as learning or socialization, but that they have rituals and practices that emerge from these engagements that lead to this notion of community.
Thanks for a great interview — I enjoyed listening to it.
Dr. Waddell seems like a great chemistry teacher! I had a statistics professor who used her iPad to solve problems and it was nice that she could put her notes easily right onto the PowerPoint with her stylus.
I think he is exactly right about keeping technology simple and knowing what works well and will engage the students without distracting them. The question becomes when do you introduce a new technology? How do you know it is better than a different form you may have used? Even if you think it will work one way it may not turn out to work the other way and how often to change up the technology is important. Research has shown that students need more than one session to get past the learning curve and see the learning benefits from using a technology, but how much they need, etc. is still up in the air.
Another good point he brought up is the issues with technology not working. I have been in the position of teaching and trying to do a webinar with a scholar from another country to get her perspective of elearning in their country and Skype kept freezing! It is so awkward and having a back-up plan in the event of technology failure is essential.
Engaging students is often the first key in thinking of science teaching and how to pull students into a subject. Drawing on their interests and prior knowledge can help them to relate to possibly novel subject material.
Nice Interview Dana! And great to meet you at TLT 🙂
Dr. Waddell is certainly a very good speaker and brought up many good points throughout the interview. I appreciate his comments on using technology as “a” method and not the only method of learning. It is too often that technology is pushed in the classrooms with very little training or clear purpose. When selecting technology we must make sure it is the best tool to accomplish our goals. He mentioned that too much technology can overwhelm students or distract from the learning. This is very true and I might add that if an instructor is not comfortable with the technology themselves, the lesson may not come across well to the students. His comments on simplifying what we are doing with technology can be addressed throughout our teaching experience. So many times I have had to adjust a lesson because it is too complicated or too much for my students. He seems to have a very sound teaching philosophy that demands respect from his students.
To speak briefly about your comments regarding Flickr, I agree that it can be an excellent resource for students. Anytime we can bring authentic, real life visuals into the classroom it will have a positive impact on understanding. Flickr can provide an important visual to further discussion and learning. As you said, it also provides a much quicker method of learning than the typical analyzing of text.
Oh man do I agree with you about recording my questions first. I have a new found respect for Katie Couric after this. It’s rough.
I’d like to address the concept of isolation here. I almost feel like that is a sort of an outdated notion regarding the perception of youth and media today. Technology has become a means of communication and connection among learners in today’s generation. They don’t feel isolated by it; rather social networking, blogging, etc. encourage a sense of community.
For me, and I feel like I’ve been harping on this a lot lately so forgive me, the issue of disconnect can come into play when the technology is not implemented correctly. For example a teacher can use Facebook in the classroom. I have heard of language teachers using it and having students communicate on it in the target language– as a French teacher I might have my students make a French Facebook page. This can work wonders… if I treat it with a laissez-faire sort of attitude and watch their interactions unfold.
Students seem to rebel against the requirement to engage with technology… the concept that anything that one is forced to do is work. I think that students start to feel disconnected when their interactions with the technology are forced and regulated. They withdraw from the technology, stifling any conversation, and creating a rift.
That’s my interpretation at least… thoughts?
Also – loved the fact Dr. Waddell mentioned importance of finding good resources when doing research or just learning. I forgot to put that in my initial reply. Sorry..
Greetings Dana!
I discovered one thing while listening to your interview – Dr. Waddell speaks my language! The one word that really caught my attention to the reply of your first question was ENGAGE – social media and Web 2.0 tools need to be used as a way to engage students. I also loved how he explained how he demonstrated either using an app or used the iPad to do a demo for students in class. It’s my opinion as an instructor that is one of the best ways to teach – demonstrate what you are talking about. Even better yet is if they have iPads/iPhone/iPod in their hands so they can also try it. He also mentioned YouTube videos. Honestly, that’s one of the first places I go when I have no idea or want clarification on how to do something and want to see a demonstration of something done.
I also liked his advice about keeping things simple with respect to how much technology you use. I tend to live by the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle when I design online learning objects. I like to use consistent technology so the end user knows what to expect with respect to how the learning object will look, feel, and function.
I totally agree with him regarding his sentiment about practicing the technology you are going to use for a class BEFORE you use it in class. I do that all the time. As my son is now doing his student teaching, I recently played the role of student for him while he was practicing how to use some Web 2.0 tools and Socrative was one of them. I bet we played around with that one tool for over an hour. It was honestly fun! He’s going to give it a whirl in class this coming week, so, I’m anxious to hear how his class responds to what he has prepared for them in Socrative.
Heard lots of good stuff in there – engaging students, keeping things simple, practice using the technology, and don’t bombard them (students) with technology. I refer to that last element as “sprinkling”. A little here, a little there….and it’s all good.
Thanks!
Keith