{"id":323,"date":"2019-10-25T06:00:55","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T14:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/?p=323"},"modified":"2019-12-17T10:51:43","modified_gmt":"2019-12-17T18:51:43","slug":"moving-through-the-continuum-of-technology-based-learning-environments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/moving-through-the-continuum-of-technology-based-learning-environments\/","title":{"rendered":"Moving Through the Continuum of Technology Based Learning Environments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a recent chat with a colleague and friend, he asked \u201cwhat is the difference between the different labels for online learning, for example the difference between hybrid and blended and when does it meet criteria for fully online.\u201d His question reminded me that for some this confusion about terminology alone is intimidating and a barrier to engaging with technology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does it matter how we describe what we are doing or just that we make change to meet the demands of teaching in the digital age. I think it matters, but only a little. Common language helps us find resources, support others and communicate what we are doing. It is part of how we build our confidence and competence to embark on this journey with technology. Technology supported learning environments have been described as a continuum. The graphic below represents this continuum with technology enhanced learning on the left and fully online learning on the right. The literature indicates the associated mixture of face to face and online activity and these are indicated as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Technology\nenabled learning (TEL), or digital supported learning is essentially referring\nto the use of a Learning Management System (LMS) and majority of instruction is\nstill provided on campus. In its most basic use the LMS provides the course\noutline\/syllabus for easy reference, links to department and university policies,\nfacilitates communication and provides access to course materials is digital\nand accessible throughout a semester. \nIdeally, every course would use Moodle. It provides easy access to\ninformation that students can read on the go while commuting on public transit,\non their break at work, or while supporting family commitments. If you used\nfully, it supports a flipped classroom approach where students prepare for\nclass independently and creates a space for post class activities such as\nlearner reflection or further dialogue.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

TEL can also\nrefer to the use of digital tools in a traditional classroom, in this case they\nare used to build interaction, engagement, and inquiry in a variety of learning\nactivities. This includes the use of student response systems, personal\ncomputer devices for in class activities and tools such as Kahoot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n


\nAcross the middle of the\ncontinuum the term used is less relevant – \nblended, hybrid and partially online all refer to a purposeful\ncombination of two learning modes (face to face and online) to facilitate a\nmeaningful learning environment. From my perspective this is the sweet spot! Marrying\nthe digital world and traditional classroom approaches facilitates meeting the\nneeds of learners, while simultaneously maximizing use of facility space and\nproviding flexibility for faculty and students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Fully online courses are exactly as described. All of the\ncontent and interaction occurs in a computer mediated environment. This works\nparticularly well for upper level courses, inquiry based capstone courses or\ngraduate programs. At this stage of a learner\u2019s education journey they are more\nprepared to work independently, seek support as needed and collaborate with\nother students with less guidance.  Even\na fully online course can have some synchronous elements using web conferencing\nsoftware tools to enable connection of a group of learners in a virtual class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In determining the best place to be on this continuum you\nneed to consider the complexity of the material, the developmental stage of the\nlearner, your comfort with technology and the supports available to you. I\nwould suggest that for undergraduate students we progress slowly across the\ncontinuum, adding independent inquiry as they grow as learners in this\nenvironment. As you move toward re-design activities or entire courses to\nincrease technology or move to the digital environment there are many resources\nthat can help you. Check out the growing collection of books in the tlcommons\noffice in A2400 and the kpu library collection, or visit the online learning consortium<\/a>, or resources<\/a> on Tony Bates blog. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tools and terminology for the pedagogy and teaching\nstrategies used in these digital environments will be addressed in future\nposts. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a recent chat with a colleague and friend, he asked \u201cwhat is the difference between the different labels for online learning, for example the difference between hybrid and blended and when does it meet criteria for fully online.\u201d His question reminded me that for some this confusion about terminology alone is intimidating and a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":325,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","iawp_total_views":139,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[78,44],"class_list":["post-323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-educational-technology","tag-higher-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":329,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323\/revisions\/329"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}