The Technological Need for the E-Learning Community - Report Example

Technology Plan Insert Name Tutor Date Contents Abstract 3 1. Introduction 3 2. The e-learning context 4 3. A brief description of the e-learning community 5 4. The technological need for the e-learning community 5 5. The choice of technology to be adopted 6 6. Obstacles to implementation of the plan 7 8. Justification for the technology plan 9 9. Limitations of a framework-based approach for the selection of e-learning technologies 9 10. Assessment criteria 10 11. Conclusion 10 12. Recommendations 11 12. Bibliography 12 Abstract The project is an e-learning community for mathematics teachers from all over the world. Learning for the teachers is meant to take place by discussion through writing where teachers will post on the discussion forums. The tools on the website that will enable teachers share information include the open blogs and discussion forums. Some of the technological needs for this project are covered which include knowledge and a technological infrastructure. I am however expecting various obstacles during implementation of the project in schools especially due to lack of equipments such as computers in the schools and lack of technological knowledge by teachers but I have put in place means to deal with them. In this report I have also given a visual presentation of how the project will look like once completed. 1. Introduction E-learning is the type of learning that is supported by the digital tools and takes place in a technology enabled environment. It involves a form of interaction which occurs online between teachers of a common subject, teachers and the students and also students and their peers. This learning is accessed through the internet and involves use of technological devices. My main task in this project will be to develop a technology plan for an e-learning community whose participants will be mathematics teachers from various parts of the world. An e-learning community refers to a technological context where a group of people who share a common interest and learn by contributing towards knowledge using information technology to achieve their shared goals (Cady, Aydeniz and Rearden 2011). I will therefore be designing a plan on how this community will function. 2. The e-learning context My idea is to create an e-learning community where mathematics teachers will be able to post their ideas regarding some issues concerning mathematics as a subject. The main aim of this community will be to enable the teachers to assist each other in dealing with some of the most technical issues in the subject. This is because most teachers suffer inadequate knowledge due to the limited amount of information which they have access to. The community will also expose the teachers to a global level of knowledge since they will be able to access information that has been posted by many others from other parts of the globe. This will increase the mathematics teachers’ level of knowledge and improve on their teaching abilities (Mccombs and Vakili 2005). This will be a form of discussion but through writing where the teachers will post the topic that they wish to discuss and others who are willing to contribute will also post their view concerning that topic. For example, if it is problem in algebra, the teacher will type the exact question on the site and then other teachers who have the answers or any contribution regarding the question will post their responses. Teachers will be able to challenge each other, give differing opinions and also reach conclusions through these posts. Basically it is an opportunity for teachers to help each other. The benefits to the teachers will definitely be transferred to the students in class through improved teachers knowledge and teaching abilities (Intel 2012). This idea can be best implemented in the high schools in collaboration with the school administration. For instance the schools should be able to facilitate how its mathematics teachers will be able to participate in this community for the benefit of the students. 3. A brief description of the e-learning community This community will only be limited to mathematics teachers. As the designer of the community, my role will be to offer guidance on the enrollment of the participants to the community. Therefore being a mathematics teacher will be one of the qualifications for participation. The teachers will have to first access the website which will be created using resources such as Weebly.com. The website will contain the login site for the participants which they will have acquired during registration for participation (Weebly 2012). This will give them full access to the site where they can post their problem and respond to other participant’s posts. Classroom 2.0 is a good example of how the site will look like (Classroom 2.0 2012). It will be a very simple to use site because of the challenge of technological knowledge that most mathematics teachers may be experiencing. Though this community, teachers will be able to access resources which they will refer to in case they need a reference for some mathematical issues. 4. The technological need for the e-learning community The e-learning community will be a boost in use of technology for learning in high schools. Most schools have for long relied on paper work and books to obtain teaching materials and resources to use in the classroom. These schools therefore need embrace this technology as it will improve on the performance of mathematics by the students. For the e-learning community to function, a solid technological infrastructure will be required (Hitch 2003). However, the participants must also be up- to -date with technology. All the mathematics teachers who are willing to participate in this community must be able to use the computer and also to access information through the internet. However, an institution that wants to achieve this quality teaching for its mathematics teachers must be ready to invest in this technology. Therefore all teachers willing to participate must undertake training in internet use. The institution should therefore provide computers and the internet services to facilitate the access by its teachers. On my side, I will be required to equip myself with adequate knowledge on website creation or seek the assistance of the experts in website design. Since I lack adequate knowledge on software use I will mostly rely on an expert’s assistance. 5. The choice of technology to be adopted I believe that open blogs will best serve this role. Since the learning will take place through posting on the discussion forums, blogs will offer a good opportunity for the discussions. A blog refers to a discussion site that is published in the World Wide Web and mainly consist of entries or posts by individuals arranged with the most recent appearing first (O’Hear 2012). These posts will be written by the teachers who will be registered in that community and they will be themed on one particular subject. For example, one of the teachers will start the discussion or even me as the administrator of the group on a certain topic in mathematics. It may be a question or an upcoming issue in mathematics. The post will bear the writer’s identification such as his or her username and could be a photo. Other teachers will therefore post their comments such that anyone who logs in will be able to see the discussion topic and what others are saying about it as well as posting their views. It will therefore offer a forum for discussion, for critique and for disseminating new mathematical ideas. Still on this site, there will be a link for accessing resources that will help in the discussion. It will be my role as the administrator to provide resources and the links to access them. These resources will contain information on various topics in mathematics. 6. Obstacles to implementation of the plan One of the most expected obstacles in the implementation of my e-learning project is that most schools in Saudi Arabia lack or have poor technical and telecommunication infrastructure which is a key to implementation of e-learning and most schools even do not have computers. The other expected obstacle is lack of adequate funds dedicated to my e-learning project that are required for purchasing the required equipments and also for hiring experts and purchasing software. Other obstacles include the digital illiteracy of most mathematics teachers. Most teachers use books for teaching mathematics and hardly visit the internet to collect information. Such teachers may however be reluctant to participate in the e-learning community. Another expected obstacle may be communication between the teachers. Some may not accept corrections or critique and they may not take it kindly. Some teachers may also want to portray a know-it-all attitude and this may prevent others from participating. However, I will have to find strategies to overcome these obstacles. I will e required to work closely with the school heads and government officials in charge of education to try and inform them of the importance of investing the technology in their schools. This may make them consider improving the technical and telecommunication infrastructure in the schools. I will also try to mobilize funds by looking for sponsors for my project. Regarding the digital illiteracy of the teachers, I will start by promoting digital literacy for mathematics teachers before introducing them to the e-learning community. This will make them become interested in participating in the community. To ensure that friendly language is used by the participants, I will constantly monitor the discussions and delete some posts which may offend other users. This will enable maintenance of discipline by the users. 7. A visual plan for the project Below is how the home page of the website will look like. New members will sign up by registering their details and also obtaining a username and a password. The already registered members will click to log in where they will fill in their username and the password. After they log in they will see a page like the one below. 8. Justification for the technology plan The project is based on an easy to use technology plan. This is bearing in mind that Information technology knowledge might be a challenge for most high school teachers. I believe that they will be able to participate and improve their knowledge. The technology also takes into account the needs of mathematics teachers in that the subject is well learnt through discussion. That is why it offers discussion forum. It also gives a link for the teachers to access reading materials which will provide them with up to date information on various topics in mathematics. I believe that it will be useful to mathematics teachers. 9. Limitations of a framework-based approach for the selection of e-learning technologies Some of the limitations of the framework-based approach include the fact that it can only be well understood in a practical set up. Equipments must be made available for it to be taught since it may be difficult to explain in theoretical terms. Visual presentation of the project can also be better done where the equipments such as the computer are available. Another limitation is that it can only be effective where the required equipments are available. It is not something that teachers can read and apply. They have to be engaged in it. 10. Assessment criteria The project will be assessed based on its main objective which is to improve the knowledge of the teachers and improve their teaching skills. The overall benefits will therefore be to the students through improved teaching by their mathematics teachers. Other factors that can be assessed include the information provided to find its usefulness and relevance. 11. Conclusion An e-learning community is meant to help teachers improve their knowledge for the benefits of their students. Implementing it in schools therefore requires the collaboration of both the mathematics teachers and the school administration. The school should facilitate availability of equipments such as computers and internet connections. However the implementation process is faced with many challenges because most schools lack the technical and telecommunication infrastructure. Nevertheless, if the mathematics teachers and their schools accept the project and understand its benefits, they will be committed to its implementation. 12. Recommendations I recommend that for effective implementation of this project, it will be important for schools to set up a functional technical and telecommunication infrastructure to enable the teachers to participate. I also recommend that e-learning should be incorporated in the education system curriculum so that schools can be able to reap from the benefits it offers. 12. Bibliography Weebly, 2012, The easiest way to create a website, retrieved on 28th August 2012 from http://www.weebly.com/ This resource will be very essential when I will start creating a website. It outlines the steps to follow, it is easy and affordable. Weebly will also allow me to create a blog space where teachers will share their opinions and solve some mathematical problems. Cady, J., Aydeniz, M., and Rearden, K., 2011, E-learning Environments for Math and Science Teachers, Journal of Curriculum and Instruction (JoCI) , Vol. 5, No. 1, P. 17-33. This article has given a lot of insights on e-learning for mathematics teachers. It has defined various concepts of e-learning and this has given me the information I required on how to go about the task. Classroom 2.0, 2012, Web 2.0, Social media &more, retrieved on 5th September 2012 from http://www.classroom20.com/ It is a social media site that will bring together mathematics teachers from various sectors. It a free and community supported and is easy for the beginners to use. This is an example of how I would like my project to look like. O’Hear, S., 2012, E-learning 2.0- how web technologies are shaping education. retrieved on 4th September 2012 from http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/e-learning_20.php This site contains information on various e-learning methods that are used to disseminate knowledge. It also talks about blogging which is a key focus for my project. Hitch, L., 2003, A model for Effectively Supporting e-learning, retrieved on 4th September 2012 from http://technologysource.org/article/6/ This article outlines some of the requirements for a model that will adequately support e-learning. It gives me an insight of what will be required of me during implementation of the project. Mccombs, B., and Vakili, D., 2005, A Learner-centered Framework for E-learning, Teachers College Record Volume 107, Number 8, pp. 1582-1600 This article talks of how to structure e-learning to ensure that it is beneficial to the learner. The article focuses on importance a good learning environment even in the online learning. This is important since it gives me an idea of factors to consider when designing my e-learning community. Intel, 2012, The Positive Impact of elearning-2012 update, retrieved on 28th August 2012 from http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/world-ahead/world-ahead-positive-impact-of-elearning-paper.html This article highlights various benefits of e-learning which I believe my project should be able to deliver. These are the benefits which will guide my project to ensure that I deliver them to the school, the teachers and the students. Read More

Teachers will be able to challenge each other, give differing opinions and also reach conclusions through these posts. Basically it is an opportunity for teachers to help each other. The benefits to the teachers will definitely be transferred to the students in class through improved teachers knowledge and teaching abilities (Intel 2012). This idea can be best implemented in the high schools in collaboration with the school administration. For instance the schools should be able to facilitate how its mathematics teachers will be able to participate in this community for the benefit of the students. 3. A brief description of the e-learning community This community will only be limited to mathematics teachers.

As the designer of the community, my role will be to offer guidance on the enrollment of the participants to the community. Therefore being a mathematics teacher will be one of the qualifications for participation. The teachers will have to first access the website which will be created using resources such as Weebly.com. The website will contain the login site for the participants which they will have acquired during registration for participation (Weebly 2012). This will give them full access to the site where they can post their problem and respond to other participant’s posts.

Classroom 2.0 is a good example of how the site will look like (Classroom 2.0 2012). It will be a very simple to use site because of the challenge of technological knowledge that most mathematics teachers may be experiencing. Though this community, teachers will be able to access resources which they will refer to in case they need a reference for some mathematical issues. 4. The technological need for the e-learning community The e-learning community will be a boost in use of technology for learning in high schools.

Most schools have for long relied on paper work and books to obtain teaching materials and resources to use in the classroom. These schools therefore need embrace this technology as it will improve on the performance of mathematics by the students. For the e-learning community to function, a solid technological infrastructure will be required (Hitch 2003). However, the participants must also be up- to -date with technology. All the mathematics teachers who are willing to participate in this community must be able to use the computer and also to access information through the internet.

However, an institution that wants to achieve this quality teaching for its mathematics teachers must be ready to invest in this technology. Therefore all teachers willing to participate must undertake training in internet use. The institution should therefore provide computers and the internet services to facilitate the access by its teachers. On my side, I will be required to equip myself with adequate knowledge on website creation or seek the assistance of the experts in website design. Since I lack adequate knowledge on software use I will mostly rely on an expert’s assistance. 5. The choice of technology to be adopted I believe that open blogs will best serve this role.

Since the learning will take place through posting on the discussion forums, blogs will offer a good opportunity for the discussions. A blog refers to a discussion site that is published in the World Wide Web and mainly consist of entries or posts by individuals arranged with the most recent appearing first (O’Hear 2012). These posts will be written by the teachers who will be registered in that community and they will be themed on one particular subject. For example, one of the teachers will start the discussion or even me as the administrator of the group on a certain topic in mathematics.

It may be a question or an upcoming issue in mathematics. The post will bear the writer’s identification such as his or her username and could be a photo. Other teachers will therefore post their comments such that anyone who logs in will be able to see the discussion topic and what others are saying about it as well as posting their views.

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