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Welcome to Catherine McGowan's 538 Wikispace!

I recently completed the requirements for a Master's in English Literature, and I am currently working on my Master's in Adult Education. Literature is my passion, but I realize that this is not the case for many people, especially young adult and adult learners. I plan to design a learning space that can be used to teach a unit on Victorian Literature and Culture. Making the reading, research, and writing process more interactive is something that English professors will need to get on board with in order for their teaching to be viable in the context of 21st-century fluencies and skills. I want to get a jumpstart on the process. It is my hope that in learning more about using current Web 2.0 technologies and how they can enhance learning in the context of 21st-century fluencies, I will be able to add a layer to my instruction that promotes greater student learning and introduces some fun in the process!


 * __Learning Model__**

I will be using the Problem-Based Learning model as the foundation for building my learning space. The underlying principles PBL promote a constructivist theory of teaching and learning that allows students to gain new knowledge while accessing existing knowledge in order to solve real-world problems.

Here are a few highlights of PBL that I feel will work well with the learning space I am going to create for my students:

1. It allows for interactive and collaborative problem-based learning 2. Projects are presented in real-world contexts, which works well for adult learners 3. It accomodates a variety of learning styles 4. It allows students to develop, analyze, test, and reflect on their own learning process 5. It is student-centered; that is, the teacher takes the role of facilitator, allowing students to control, at least to some extent, their own learning 6. It is cyclical in nature, allowing for a continual process of learning 7. Students can apply what they learn to a variety of life contexts


 * __Framework for analyzing and evaluating media__**

I will be using the TAP model for analyzing and evaluating media when designing my learning space. I think it is simple and easy to use, both for my students and for me. The model has three categories for analyzing and evaluating media:

1. Text--what is the text's language and style? what are the conventions/traditions of the text (this works particularly well when working with literary texts) what is the medium? the genre? 2. Audience--what is the target audience for the media being analyzed and evaluated? How well does the media consider its audience? 3. Production--Who created the media and for what purpose? Is it part of a larger communication company or privately produced? This is helpful when looking at such sites as the "tree octopus" website we looked at in class.

It is important when gathering information that students are able to discern between accurate and inaccurate information. As with the "tree octopus" example given in class, it is important for students to be able to contextualize what they are seeing and reading because the senses can sometimes be deceiving. This sort of analysis and evaluation process is important for students to gain a healthy skepticism when interacting with all kinds of media. With the wealth of "unfiltered" information available on the Internet, it is important for students and instructors to analyze and evaluate information with a critical eye. This particular model is useful, I think, in building 21st century fluencies in the areas of information and personal skills.


 * __Guiding Questions__

Part 1

1.** Much of our teaching and learning is still based on the old "business" factory model of the Industrial Age. However, we now live in the 21st century, so it is imperative that new ways of teaching and learning are implemented in order to meet the needs of the Digital Generation. There needs to be a paradigm shift from the Industrial Age to the Information Age. Instead of top-down, cookie-cutter style teaching tactics that place the teacher at the center of learning, instructors of the new millenium will need to foster individualized, learner-centered classrooms that allow students to explore the world around them using the tools of the 21st century. As instructors, we need to lead the revolution to reenergize and redirect teaching and learning toward 21st-Century fluencies.

2. To be fluent in the 21st Century means to be armed with the knowledge and skills to solve the problems of an swiftly changing world. Many of us are preparing our students or our own children to prepare for jobs that don't yest exist. Therefore, students of the 21st Century will need to be flexible, willing to make rapid changes, and evaluate the world around them with a critical eye. This means that teachers must also understand the fluencies of the 21st Century. Students will need enhanced reading, writing, technical, media, information, personal, and collaborative (group) skills that they can use in a variety of environments, including online and in a traditional classroom.

3. Learners of the 21st Century are critical thinkers who can "think outside of the box" in order to solve problems in a variety of real-world contexts. They have the problem-solving skills to face the challenges of a rapidly changing world. They are also techno and media savvy. They must also be self-disciplined and self-motivated. Instructors of the 21st Century are active listeners, have the ability to utilize new technological tools, and excellent communication skills. Instructors will need to "sell" what they are teaching as education becomes more of a commodity.

4. Constructivist learning environments are learner-centered, collaborative environments that encourage creativity, cooperative (group) learning, and individualized instruction. Teachers are facilitators rather than disseminators of information and facts. Building cognitive skills is also important. Higher-order, critical thinking skills are learned and employed in problem-based learning situations.

5. Three identified instructional/learning models: Cognitive Apprenticeship, Problem-Based Learning, Discovery Learning

6. The TAP model will work well for my learning space design, as students will be using online sources and will need to analyze and evaluate media based on its reliability, usefulness, etc.


 * Part 2**

7. Web 2.0 tools are the innovative tools of the 21st Century that enable students to engage in constructivist learning environments. They allow students to interact with a wide variety of media (both audio and visual) and work in online collaborative environments. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Screencasts are all Web 2.0 tools that enhance and support a constructivist learning environment.

8. An effective learning tool elicits the desired student learning outcomes and addresses the learning objectives of a course of instruction. Technology is an excellent vehicle for the delivery of learning and the enhancement of learning in 21st-Century learning environments. Some criteria that could be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a Web 2.0 tool include: Cost, Ease of Use, Instructional Worth, and Safety/Security.