21st Century Work Skills and Learning Environment - Essay Example

Discuss how your 21st century work skills have developed as part of your experiences in this unit as a consumer, producer and sharer of online sources of information. Name Course & code Instructor Date of submission Introduction Comparing my current learning environment and the traditional learning environment shows a significant shift in the 21st century, such as from creating to sharing information and knowledge. For instance, knowledge today has become more specialised. Knowledge also expands exponentially. In other words, there is no doubt that information technology has transformed our learning processes in the classroom alongside the manner in which we conduct work and create and nurture social relationships. Indeed, as Bodey et al. (2016), observes, greater speed, collaboration, and information sharing characterise today’s learning environment. Compared to the traditional learning environment, I can accomplish the class assignment, share them and submit using technologies. This paper examines how my 21st-century work skills have developed over time as part of my experiences in this unit as a consumer, producer, and a sharer of online sources of information. The focus is on how the development of an informational resource and my work on the discussion board, has enabled me o understand how to evaluate the credibility of online sources in an academic environment. Also considered include the aspects of the online world I have come across in COM10003 (Blackboard Collaborate) and how they have enhanced my ability to collaborate, or made collaborating more difficult. At this stage, I have identified some of the advantages and limitations and reflected on how you might exploit advantages and overcome the limitations. Fundamentally, I can identify three key areas of interest that I believe permeates today’s learning environment and which have necessitated a need to change the way we learn. The first includes the desire for 21st-century skills that would furnish students with the basic tools needed to succeed in the new world of globalisation. This implies learning how content knowledge can be accessed effectively and efficiently to obtain evocative, flexible, and integrative problem-solving skills. Next is the need to develop collaborative, creative, innovative and communicative learners with attributes like been globally aware, ethical and culturally sensitive. The last area is the desire to equip learners with digital literacy skills to enable them to be at pace with the current digital world. In my learning scenario, there is clear evidence that technology has facilitated curricula development, increase our problem-solving and collaborative skills and lead to a rethinking in the learning paradigm to encourage innovation and creativity in all forms of learning. Certain aspects of the online world that come across in Blackboard Collaborate have significantly enhanced my capacity to collaborate. It allows me to share and show off my work both visually and in auditory forms. In my view, Blackboard Collaborate has done much to increase how we embrace online modes of learning. I have become more engaged in online activities and more innovative and responsive to the course design despite the geographical distance and psychological distance from my peers and teachers. This can be explained by the Transactional Distance Theory. According to Transactional Distance Theory, learning is at a distance, as there is clearly the considerable geographic distance between learners and instructors (Murphy & Rodríguez-Manzanares 2008). The distance is also linked to the difference in knowledge, perception, and understanding. Hence, communication space and psychological space exist (Falloon 2011). In fact, definite complexities I have numerously encountered in the online teaching environment include the diverse online students who lead to greater engagement, specifically during online discussions. For instance, I have come across certain students have returned to university after having long breaks from learning while some like me who only recently joined the university. These have greatly influenced my online educational experience and capacity to engage with the learning resource. This is advantageous, particularly in the 21st Century globalised word, as it has improved my ability to collaborate with other in diverse teams and listen to them with an open mind. It has also enabled me to be more accountable for what I share, as I believe that sharing un-researched or unverifiable content during chats or discussion sessions may lead to sharp disapproval from others. The theory of Connectivism is relevant at this stage. The theory underscores cognitive development and contends that learning starts when learners collaborate in a learning community, where they share knowledge through discussions, and collective thinking (Crawford 2009). While learning to use the resource, I must admit that lack of experience with online learning did at the outset contribute to my poor engagement. I was also less motivated to engage in the learning experiences. However, subsequent experiences, including the ability to interact with teachers and other students and share knowledge were greatly useful in transforming my attitude. What is even motivating was the possibility of self-regulation, whereby I could independently decide what to learn or what topic to explore. I have over time become more satisfied with Blackboard Collaborate and feel that it offers great learning opportunities. I attribute this to the possibility of synchronised learning activities, learning resources and communication, such as the capacity to access recorded lectures content, access digital learning content and engage with other students on the discussion boards. I believe that these experiences have enabled me to improve my critical thinking, critical analysis, and collaborative skills. For instance, when it comes to critical analysis skills, I have gained the capacity to determine credible learning resources and which resources I can use for learning. I have learned that to determine the credibility of a resource, the depth of empirical research plays a crucial determinant factor, along with whether it has relied on primary or secondary resources, the research methodology used and whether it has been peer-reviewed. Still, while I may praise asynchronous communication to have greatly improved my learning outcomes as it has improved my critical thinking skills, I have been upset severally by the instances of delays in feedback, which is particularly demoralising when you are interested in exploring a certain topical issue yet you are stuck and need speedy feedback. Therefore, I must also acknowledge that Blackboard Collaborate has such a significant limitation, which has significantly reduced my engagement in online learning. Obviously, therefore, it cannot meet all my learning needs or improve my learning outcomes. On the other hand, synchronous discussions, collaboration, and communication have greatly facilitated my learning outcome, as it has particularly enabled me to collaborate with others in ‘real time,' especially as it provides a possibility for immediate feedback. I feel that to improve students’ experiences and engagement with the resource, greater modes of interaction with the teachers or instructors should be encouraged, as this increases the chances of speedy feedback. In my experience with Blackboard Collaborate, I have observed several benefits, such as the greater capacity for connectedness and interaction. This is because of the tools like live chats that have enabled me to ask my peers or even facilitators questions on certain disturbing topical issues and to discuss often to complete satisfaction. In fact, they have seemed to be like a normal classroom where you can freely interact when you have an opportunity. It brings the feeling of being part of something concrete and an assuring feeling that you are not always alone, no matter how difficult a topic may be to explore particularly because of the ability to share and read from others. Another benefit I can identify is that Blackboard Collaborate has more often supported course content, which has made learning to be extremely interested and engaging. For instance, there is always a likelihood of accessing a step-by-step instruction complete with an explanation on what to do with the learning content. It also provides greater learning possibilities as I have numerously had to expand on my readings by using suggested readings and lecture notes. In brief, it is quite informative and allows us to understand explore subjects in-depth. However, I have also encountered several shortcomings. The first includes the technical issues that often characterise the learning resource. For instance, whenever a teacher drops out, it often brings in a demoralising effect. It also becomes unhelpful and waste of time when many people have to lead the discussion. Information overload is also unhealthy, particularly when many people in a session have to suggest ideas. In such cases, I have ended up getting confused. To improve the learning resource, I would recommend that it should offer some etiquette guidelines or protocol for learners to ensure that only relevant chats are seen in any session. There is also a need for conciseness and concreteness of the information shared as this avoids instances of information overload and chaos during discussions. Conclusion Information technology has transformed our learning processes in the classroom alongside the manner in which we conduct work and create and nurture social relationships. Certain aspects of the online world that come across in Blackboard Collaborate have significantly enhanced my capacity to collaborate. It allows me to share and show off my work both visually and in auditory forms. It has done much to increase how we embrace online modes of learning. I have become more engaged in online activities and more innovative and responsive to the course design despite the geographical distance and psychological distance from my peers and teachers. I have also developed greater collaborative, innovate, creative, problem-solving and digital literacy skills. References Bodey, K, Ravaga, V & Sloan, S 2016, "Preliminary exploration of student use of Blackboard Collaborate in fully online course," ASCILITE Show Me Learning, Adelaide, Nov 27-30, 2016 Crawford, J 2009, Learning Theories that Encompass Distance Education, viewed 10 Feb 2017, Falloon, G 2011, "Making the Connection: Moore’s Theory of Transactional Distance and Its Relevance to the Use of a Virtual Classroom in Postgraduate Online Teacher Education," Journal of Research on Technology in Education, vol. 43 no. 3, pp. 187–209 Murphy, E & Rodríguez-Manzanares, M 2008, "Revisiting Transactional Distance Theory in a Context of WebBased High-School Distance Education," Journal Of Distance Education, VOL. 22, No. 2, 1-14 Read More