A Pastel Approach to Tech Integration

Picture courtesy of px1666

In the north eastern corner of the art store there is a section of colored miniature bricks that my wife understands holds the potential to create images from the well of creativity. Landscapes, characters, and still-life's could be brought into being with a series of purposeful strokes, subtle blends, and dustings of shallow breath. Every one of the colors, shades, and textures has a role as she would craft those images I can only grasp at. She swears that with practice I could breathe life onto the canvas, but I am not sure that I believe her. Every image I have ever tried to create with those pastels is an abstract and nightmarish version of the scenes in my mind's eye. The pastels are not any different in my hand than in hers, the colors are no different, the pressure is the same, the canvas the same, and yet at the end of the session she has a product of beauty and I have a product of twisted, asymmetrical abstruseness. Both images leave me with the same feeling, sublime awe; hers through the unseen vision and beauty, mine through the absolute and utter lack of talent.


The same is true in many other aspects of life. A master can make a product or idea come to life where a layman may make such a misstep as to cause an observer question the validity of the medium as well as the one wielding it. technology integration is a prime example in education. In the hands of a master instructor technology tools and multimedia can make a learner's experience sublime in a good way and add layers of complexity, depth, understanding, and purpose to a lesson. In the hands of an incompetent the technology and multimedia can add layers of discord, frustration, anger, and complexity. Notice that complexity is used in both a positive sense and a negative sense in the example above because for a learner who needs extension complexity is a great concept, but to someone who is overwhelmed and purposeless, complexity can create additional obstructions to the learning experience. So, what then is the role of technology and multimedia in an online course? A simple and yet complex question...

Picture courtesy of px1666

In fact, it is not only a question for instructional designers, but I would argue that it is the question for instructional designers and instructors. As a writing teacher I have instructed my students to figure out their purpose for the piece they are going to embark on before ever putting the pen to the page or the key to the...um...switch? See, setting a purpose and understanding that purpose is the key to having effective and intriguing writing (something I am not entirely sure I have achieved in this piece up to this point). Understanding a technological tool and understanding your purpose for weaving it into a curriculum is also important and will determine the effectiveness and impact of the tool in the course. This is partly because many tools offer a variety of functions and different layers of application. It is much the way that a pastel can have different tones, moods, shades, and hardness of pressure line depending on the hand wielding it. Prezi can be used as a way to make people motion sick, as a substitute for PowerPoint, as a way to collaboratively work with others to create a variety of products, or as a way to metaphorically layer information for impressive and symbolic representations of information. The purpose and depth of the experience will be determined in large part by the instructor's purpose and skill at integrating the tool into the classroom.


This means that the designer/instructor needs to understand the capabilities of the tool within the learning context and in terms of the audience of the class. A tool will only be as effective as the user of the tool whether the tool is being used by the instructor to produce content for the learner or the learner is producing content for the instructor. In fact, Boettcher and Conrad (2010) encourage instructors to chose (wisely) a handful of tools that support their learning goals and focus on those tools until they are well known. This speaks, in some ways, to the idea that instructors need to understand the purpose and functionality of a tool before beginning to use it in a class. While they begin with an overview and analysis of different approaches to technology integration in learning environments McCabe and Meuter (2011) conclude the results section of their paper with a discussion of the waves of technology integration in instructor approaches. They argue that these waves go from the first where the instructor uses the technology to process parts of the class to wave two where the instructor replicates a traditional environment to wave three where the technology adds functionality, depth, and creativity to the learning environment. This must be intentional on the side of the instructor though or it can lead learners to be distracted or overwhelmed (McCabe & Meuter, 2011).

With this in mind, the most important elements that an instructional designer/instructor must keep in mind are the purpose of the tool, the pedagogical use, the expectations, and whether or not the tool adds an essential function to the learning environment (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010). In addition to those items, the instructor's familiarity with the tools and the cognitive load of the tools on the student are important factors according to Boettcher & Conrad (2010). When implemented well, these tools can be used to increase student learning or their perception of their learning (Davis, 2011); as Pang (2009) showed, multimedia can be as effective if not more effective than a face to face environment. This is true when the use of the multimedia is intentional, well done, and provided with clear expectations. Without these qualities the tool becomes the same to a student as the pastel when held in my hand. It becomes a tool with great potential but that is unclear and mysterious. As we look towards the eventual goal of making content and learning experiences accessible to an ever increasing audience, the role of technology will continue to increase especially as it relates to mobile technologies (Johnson, Smith, Levine, & Haywood, 2011). New technologies make content available to a much broader audience than in the past and have increased the functional use of tools in the classroom.

Picture courtesy of verzerk

Of course, this does not mean that all instructors or all students will share the same preferences for the tools available. Just like my wife (as an artist) has a range of tools that she prefers from the art store and is therefore masterful and selective in her approach to the artistic process and the types of pastels that will produce a specific effect, I am selective in my use of tools as a designer and instructor. It is safe to say that if I were given a soft pastel versus a hard pastel versus a pencil pastel versus an oil pastel I would simply use them the same for the job without knowing the specific functions, benefits, drawbacks, and techniques (much to the chagrin of my wife); my wife, if the situation were reversed would do the best that she could in terms of picking the best technology tool for a classroom situation with probably the same approach and probably the same result. We would end up with an abstract version of something that could have been very powerful if we had had a better idea of what we were doing.


That having been said, I would include a variety of technologies in an online classroom. I would use a content management system like Blackboard, Angel, or SharePoint in order to organize course information in a central location and run class discussions. I would also use video hosting from a site like YouTube, TeacherTube, or Screencast.com in order to provide students with videos/multimedia associated with class. Because of the way that blogging and microblogging have changed the face of online publication I would post to a blog on a site like Blogger or Wordpress and utilize Twitter. I would also use demonstration programs like Prezi, Capzles, Brainshark, or SlideRocket to provide students with information in a visual and text based form. Audio recordings hosted on a site like Podbean or Libsyn could be powerful as well. I might even use concept mapping programs like Mindomo to provide students with a single resource on a topic or a site like Delicious or Diigo (I love the annotation features of Diigo) to house collaborative resource libraries that could grow and adapt throughout the course and be available beyond the course's conclusion. I love to include widgets for fun on my sites as a way to engage the learners and would use social networking on a site like Facebook to interact with students on their mediums. This does not include email, the programs I would use to create the images and multimedia (Photoshop, Illustrator, Garageband/Audition, Camtasia, etc.), or the collaborative technologies (like wikis, Cover It Live, Elluminate, etc.). All of this is, of course, dependent on the learning goals, the student proficiency, and access of the students in the course. I am pretty tech savvy though and am probably not the best person to explain the use of technology without a clearly defined audience and course purpose. In any event, the tool is not as important as the intentional use of the tool for the specific purpose required in each specific element of the course. I strongly believe that each technology component in a course should be used intentionally and as part of an overall vision where each piece of technology used strengthens and deepens the learning experience and understanding of the rest of the tools so that each component is not a tool scattered around the garage but is part of a cohesive toolbox.

When I look at my wife's art supplies I am overwhelmed, but when I look at her pictures/paintings I am awed. I can see the strokes, the gentle movements, and the blending. I can appreciate the craftsmanship, the attention to detail, and the artistic vision. When I know the tools that she used and the time that she invested in each piece I can appreciate it more, but knowing the capabilities of the tools that she used is not necessary for me to see past the two dimensions of the original canvas and be caught up in rapture at her creation. That she is an expert and knows the right tools to use and how to use those tools allows me to see a glimpse into the content she works with, the soul of the artist, and her mind. In the same way, technology integration in a class should allow the learner to be caught up in the content, to learn the beauty of knowledge, and to see into the instructor's mind. The tools should be captivating and transparent at the same time unless the tool is the focus of the learning objective. Each tool has layers of application and each tool has functions that make it a good choice or a poor choice for any given educational situation. Each can be used to create a variety of products and a variety of learning experiences; the power of the tool though comes from the intentional use of it by the instructor/designer. If you give me pastels I will make a fool of myself and leave you thinking I am disturbed in significant ways, but I just might be able to leave you reflecting if given a choice of technologies and freedom to create; as always, the biggest impact on a classroom a does not come from the curriculum, the technology or the content management system, it comes from the instructor who is the master artist in the room.











References:

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Davis, R. (2011). Socreates can't teach here! Faculty and student attitudes towards technology and effective instruction in higher education. Review of Higher Education & Self-Learning, 3(10), 1-13. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Johnson, L., Smith, R., Willis, H., Levine, A., and Haywood, K., (2011). The 2011 Horizon Report.
 Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.

McCabe, D. B. and Meuter, M. L. (2011). A student view of technology in the classroom. Journal of Marketing Education, 33(2):149-159.

Pang, K. (2009). Video-Driven Multimedia, Web-Based Training in the Corporate Sector: Pedagogical Equivalence and Component Effectiveness. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 10(3), Retrieved from EBSCOhost.