Group 8 - Project Information:
Learning Management System and Student Response System Technology Supported Learning Environment
ETEC 510 Assignment 3: Course Project Implementation
An Educational Technology Support Middle Level Project Design
by Group 8 Doug Jones, Glenn Pellegrin, and David Wood
Project Summary | Development Schedule | References
Project Summary:
The learning challenge to be addressed by this project proposal is to make learning relevant and meaningful to a new generation of student arriving at the steps of post-secondary institutions now. These students have integrated the latest technologies into their everyday lives and expect to utilize these technologies within their learning environments. These same students also tend to lead very busy lives where education is but one important focus. Efficiency and effectiveness is important to them and the flexibility and adaptability provided by a hybrid learning model is expected to address these important concerns.
The target group amongst this new generation of learners is predominantly adult learners entering the field of information technology, engineering and computer sciences. For the most part these learners are mature with strong self-motivation however Vygotsky (1978) notes an Actual Development Level is at work that is a function related to, but not dictated by, age. Therefore the instructional design needs to facilitate participation and engagement of the students to address insufficient personal motivation by creating a meaningful learning environment and putting in place external motivators.
The underlying epistemological models for this instructional system are cooperative and problem-based learning. Within the face-to-face classroom environment students will be actively engaged in the learning material by means of a personal response system. This system encourages student participation by ensuring anonymity and incorporating peer instruction strategies in conjunction with "clicker" technology to create a cooperative learning environment. Practical hands-on skills are developed in a laboratory setting where students are faced with realistic problems that they must solve. Both the face-to-face and the laboratory component rely heavily on a Learning Management System (LMS) that provides reference material, simulations and video "how to's" as well as asynchronous and synchronous student and instructor led discussion forums.
Learning itself will take place in two primary locations: the classroom and laboratory in face-to-face settings and in the learner's preferred space. The classroom and laboratory sessions necessarily need to follow a fixed schedule but the LMS allows students to engage in learning activities in their own time while nonetheless following a tightly regulated curriculum schedule. Students will first become familiar with new material through the LMS and then will use the on-line assessment quiz to reinforce their familiarization before the more difficult concepts are reinforced in the classroom through peer instruction techniques as described above. The problem-based laboratory exercises will also be supported through the LMS by means of reference material and discussion forums.
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