Final Questions

I took this course in the hope of finding ways to provide my clients with the assistance they need to sustain their AmeriCorps, VISTA and Senior Corps projects in a format that is as effective as the face-to-face consultations and trainings that my employer, Campaign Consultation, Inc. has been offering for many years. while the assistance was always well received and considered valuable, due to the high cost of travel, it was available only to those programs that could afford it. Distance consultation will probably be the norm now, at least for the forseeable future. As I come to the conclusion of this course, I am left with three questions:
1. Will distance learning ever be as effective as face-to-face interaction?
2. Since distance learning is becoming the standard for CNCS trainings, how can I make them more effective?
3. Are there delivery tools that I have not yet mastered that I need to explore?

Question #1: Will distance learning ever be as effective as face-to-face interaction?

I doubt it. Distance learning is fine for imparting information, but it lacks the ability to inspire. Teachers/leaders have to reach all of their students, no matter what mood they may be in at the moment. A computer screen can't see the scowl on someone's face that says, "I don't really believe this is going to work. I'd like to know more, but if I ask a question I don't believe anyone is going to respond."

Question #2: Since distance learning is becoming the standard for CNCS trainings, how can I make them more effective?

I have found that the more often I present webinar trainings, the better I become at it. I design my webinars to take advantage of every possible opportunity for interaction. Campaign Consultation, Inc. workshops and trainings have always been designed around adult student-centered learning. This approach honors the life experiences of those who have gained a wealth of experiential learning that needs to be shared with others in their field. My job is to create opportunities and a framework for that experience. I need to be constantly aware of opportunities to incorporate the experience of others into my webinars and I need to look for tools tht will allow that to happen.

Question #3. Are there delivery tools that I have not yet mastered that I need to explore?

I am intrigued by virtual world platforms. These platforms allow members to create an avatar to interact with other avatars in a simulated community. While these avatars are "fake people" and there is an element of inauthenticity, they seem to have some potential for distance learning. One of the most sought after workshops I presented was "How to ask for money." In my face-to-face workshops we do role playing where someone will act as a potential donor and another participant asks them to make a gift to their program. The rest of the group then critiques the role play and gives suggestions for how it might be different. Why couldn't we set these same situations up in a virtual situation?

The Future Does Not Compute

I have a very good friend who taught English for many years at a private girls' school before retiring. She has a continuing passion for education. When I told her I was taking a class on educational technology she said with disdain, "I hope you don't think computers have anything to do with education." If she had not been such a lady, I think she might have spit on me! I need to pass Talbott's readings on to her. I think they would comfort her some and allow me to speak with her about distance education again.What my friend feared would be lost to education through the use of computers was passion, and she is right.

One of Talbott's criticisms of computers is that they are dependent upon the past to predict the future. Computers function by algorithms that are based on past experiences. If we can place past events, experiences, happenings, into neat pockets, then we can expect the patterns that result to continue indefinitely. However, algorithms lose cohesion when they hit a bump that disrupts their patterns. Algorithms do not account for passion, introspection or curiosity. they don't even acount for some of our baser personal instincts. (Can we blame our current financial crisis on computers that based their predictions on the future performance of stocks and markets on past performance, yet failed to take greed into account?) Truly remarkable results have occurred when a human being disrupts their patterns through incredible commitment to change.

Talbott talks about social isolation that results from over-reliance on "Knowledge Machines." Instead of teaching to the natural instincts of children, as Seymour Papert described in The Children's Machine, Talbott claims they rob children of the nurturing that comes from the personal relationship with a teacher who understands them. Talbott criticises the "supercomputer animations of subatomic transactions a video images of strange, unseen interiors (that) possess a certain wow factor, but...do not foster in the child either an understanding of the world or a more eager pursuit of scientific discipline." This technology fails, says Talbott, because what a child really really wants is someone who will respect his/her interest in a subject and not just provide the facts. "The respect and reverence with which a subject is treated, the human gestures with which it is conveyed, the inner significance the material carries for the teacher--these are infinitely more important to the child than any bare, informational content."

It seems to me, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Hasn't an inspired and devoted teacher always been more successful than the dry, boring lecturer who may have a boatload of degrees and credentials to validate his learning? Technology is not the villain in education...uninspired teaching is. When computers are emplyed by creative teachers, they have ability to enhance learning as any other tool.

I have a feeling my friend the retired teacher possessed her own "wow" factor that could never be duplicated or replaced by a machine. Her power was in her passion for her subject (literature and writing) and especially for her students. She still keeps in contact with her students. I never heard of anyone keeping in touch with a computer.

The Read/Write Web

I was intrigued by Richardson's Toolbox this week. I have been pondering expanding ways to reach my clients that would be more interactive and replace some of the face-to-face time that is now priced out of range. I publish a twice a month training and technical assistance tool called On-the-Go eTA (http://onthegoeta.net/mail/.) It includes articles, tips and ideas to enable nonprofit programs to become sustainable. The issues usually have something to do with fundraising, since that is the biggest sustainability concern for nonprofits, but I also write about board development, communications and marketing, volunteer recruitment, and other issues relavent to nonprofits. This publication is sent as an email to approximately 3,000 subscribers who are primarily AmeriCorps, VISTA and Senior Corps program directors. I have been producing this journal for 3 years, now. I have added a few bells and whistles to make the publication more usable. A print view option has been added and there is a mechanism to enable readers to add friends and colleagues to the distribution list.

What is missing, however, is a satisfactory way to get readers to respond to what they have read. I have tried to get some dialogue going without success. The way I do this is to ask a question and give readers the option of responding to me at a dedicated email address (LeadLine@CampaignConsultation.com.) I get very few responses. What I would like to do is provide an option for people to respond right at the bottom of the publication, and make the comments accessible to everyone who is reading the training tool. I want it to perfom like a blog. Can I send my publication to a dedicated list as a blog? If I just invite people to read the blog, they will never do it. The publication works because the information is handed to the clients by means of an email. These are "digital imimigrants" (Richardson) who avoid technology unless they are forced to use it. I'd like to figure out how to expand my readership and also give readers the opportunity to participate in the learning.

Week 3

Rose and Meyer claim that digital media is superior to traditional media because it is more flexible and can circumnavigate the barriers to learning that occur when the brain's networks fail to act in a fully functional manner. While I agree that digital media offers many benefits when working with diverse learners, I think Rose and Meyer overestimate it's power when they state, "In the years ahead, however, it is clear that text only instuction will give way to a more deliberate application of multimedia. (Rose and Meyer.)" In the first place, very little instruction takes place today as text only media in any classroom. Readings are discussed; visuals are presented; classrooms are rich with suppemental learning activities.

I question how digital media differs greatly when my own assignment consists of reading ten+ pages of text on a computer screen. The presentation of the material for this assignment did not differ much from any traditional media presentations. There were some aspects of the presentation that were helpful, i.e. having links to definitions for terms only a click away. However, as far as the brain's function, it seems that the same recognition, strategic and affective networks were employed. If I were a student who had difficulty with word recognition in a book, I would have had that same difficulty with an onscreen presentation of text. Learning activities are going to need to look very different if they are going to replace traditional media. And, as far as literature...I just can't see taking a good computer down to the beach to read on a summer day.

Week 2

This week's assignments include three selections to read and discuss. I am able to access the first, as a link is provided on the assignment sheet. (I can follow links really well.)

Funderstanding: Twelve theories of how people learn were outlined. A definition of the theory and a discussion, or expanded explanation of the how the theory worked and sometimes some background information was provided. This was followed by a brief one or two sentence explanation of how the theory impacted such aspects of learning and teaching as curriculum, instruction, and assessment of what is learned. Most of the examples given were directed toward teaching children in a classroom or group setting.

As I read each theory and its explanation I had several thoughts: Can I remember what theories were in play when I was a student? What kind of learner am I? What are the implications of these theories for adult learners? Do adult learners respond better to one or another theory? How does each theory of learning play out in distance learning?

As a very young student, I remember one exercise that caused me great grief. In third grade we were required to complete arithmatic "speed tests." We were given a number of problems to solve in a difined time. When we completed the test within the time frame, we moved on to the next speed test at a higher level. I assume these "tests" were to measure how well we memorized common responses to number combinations. These tests made me very anxious, and even though I knew the answers, I often was tripped up by panic and wrote the numbers backwards. There was no recognition that understanding the concepts of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division did not necessarily correlate with the speed with which I could write the numbers.

Next I will figure out how to access the two readings on e-reserve. I wonder what e-reserve means? Do I have to go to the library? Can I access them using my OneCard? Are they on Blackboard (I've got to register for Blackboard. That is it's own challenge.)

Whee, I accessed the next two readings!

Theoretical Foundations...: This selection introduces Student-Centered Learning Environments. I write and deliver curricula to adults. I am called a "learning facilitator." I am a "mediator." I do have knowledge of subject matter, and I can use that knowledge to craft learning experiences. My responsibility is to develop the setting and questions that are conducive to knowledge sharing. Much of the work is done in small groups where shared experiences create a body of knowledge. It is up to my students to work with that material until they come to a point where they can carry it back to their work settings and craft it into their own. My adult learners and I create Student-Centered Learning Environments.

Media for Learning...: I am beginning to suffer from definition overload. "Constructivist," "cognitivist," "behavioral..." Should I be writing these down to memorize? This seems contrary to current student-centered constructivist learning practice.

Behaviorism and Instructional Design Systems (IDS) for adult learners seem contrary to my experience of adult learning. I do include learning objectives in my curricula, however. My contract with CNCS also requires that I provide an evaluation about the effectiveness of the learning experience toward accomplishing those objectives. My learners are also asked, however, how they plan to use the learning when they return to thier programs.

This past year, in an effort to reach more programs, I have been developing curricula to be presented as "webinars." Thus, I am paying close attention to the cognitive psychology principles presented in this reading and trying to avoid the traps presented in the criticism. One challenge of this tool is how to provide opportunities for cooperative learning and collaboration that are an important part of my on site consultations. I guess that's why I am taking this course.

End note: This stuff is fascinating!

Week 1

My early experience in classroom technology was premilenniel. In elementary school, teachers used mimiographs and spirit masters to create thier own lessons and evaluations. (We loved sniffing the ink.) On rainy days we went to the auditorium to watch movies (film projector) instead of going outside for recess. In my undergraduate experience, We looked at slides in art appreciation and listened to records (yes "records") in music appreciation. Classical music is my passion and I was introduced to Tchiakowsky through records. In every era, teachers have sought out ways to make lessons interesting and relevant for their students. New technology was always welcome.

In my current situation, I facilitate learning for adults. I do not call my self a teacher. My work takes me around the country working with clients, usually in groups of ten to a hundred, to help them make their nonprofit programs sustainable. I conduct workshops and lead seminars for AmeriCorps, VISTA and Senior Corps around such areas of concern as fundraising, board development, marketing and communications, and more.

My company is trying to find ways to bring training and technical assistance to more people, especially those who lack funding or resorces to pay for travel and it's attendant expenses. Often these clients lack technological resources, or they live in isolated parts of the country that make travel even more expensive.

To reach clients at a distance I present via webinars: I publish an online newsletter; and I consult with clients using email or the telephone. Our company has developed a set of online learning tools that distance learners can access. You can see them at www.CampaignConsultation.com/gizmos.