Facilitating Deep Learning in the Adult online Learner, Fabio J. Chacon, Ph.D
I'm sure Kathryn has included this paper just for my benefit so when I reflect upon the hows, whats, whens and whys, I will have a platform to help me express this. This article most closely reflects what Kathryn has constructed in ED4134 for all of us to learn, and then be able to develope and use in the classroom when plan programmes and lessons. Learning to do all our work on this blog site has helped me understand "the concept of accomodation" a little better. I am learning something new and I consciously feel that my knowledge structures are adjusting.
Now I hope that I am right in how I am seeing this. Because of all this new awareness that I am experiencing; I can see some really exciting ways that I can engage students through the use of technology to be creative and have fun while they are learning (don't tell them that they are learning, you can do that later). I also see how technology will give all the students, with all different learning styles, a chance to really engage in deep learning that will develope their metacognition.
The development of the process of unstructured/ structured will be a most useful process for me to develope in my teaching skills, because I teach creative areas Visual Arts and Textiles and design, you need the structured elements. But the unstructured processes are utterly vital to developing creativity, and ones own expression. Through my own experience of this unit so far, I have felt the powerfully creative force that is released through the use of technology. The ability of the mind the do so much latteral thinking and quantum leaping, just using the world wide web is exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.
I had a little chuckle to myself when reading "Discussion Patterns of Online Students" as I had attempted to do my Dip Ed through U.N.E. last year and I saw this happen frequently, I have also experienced it in class discussions with my Visaul Arts students, at all levels. I find as a teacher if you are listening carefully you find the words that you can use to pull them back on to the topic, and this chit-chat can actually develope their individual schema. I do get a bit overloaded with all this infinitesimally analysed process of how everything goes in and how it is processed and what happens when it is processed. So I hope we have more discussion about this in one of our classes.