Session 2 - Learning Resources & Technology

Bula Vinaka All,

I just wanted to share with you my experience with online teaching using a new simulation platform that was introduced to us during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021-2022.

In my teaching field, I am a convener for the Environmental Health students who are enrolled in the bachelor and postgraduate programs, and as part of the programs, students are required to participate in lab sessions for practicals. 

During this lockdown, we were introduced to Labster - a virtual simulation platform where students are given virtual scenarios on environmental-related projects and are allowed to participate (as per instructions given in the platform) to identify, determine, assess, and evaluate certain risks and even to participate on quizzes online through this platform. This was altogether exciting and challenging considering the infancy of the platform and also the geographical, technological, and network issues that students face to be able to access the platform online.

The experience learned and gained from this would be the realization that such tools and educational learning platforms play an important role in the delivery of education and also in ensuring that communication and participation of students are maintained irrespective of whether the delivery is through live participation or on student-paced.

Ever since the beginning of this course, ED403, I have been very excited to learn more about the use of learning technologies and integrate them into the delivery of my course content. Learning resources and technology are transforming education, making it more accessible, engaging, and effective than ever before. By providing a wide range of tools and platforms, such as online courses, interactive simulations, and collaborative tools, educators can cater to diverse learning styles and preferences. This flexibility fosters a more inclusive learning environment and enhances communication and collaboration among students and teachers.

As part of my learning through this session, I was able to enroll in an online course on Open Educational Resources by the Commonwealth of Learning and this has actually broadened my understanding of the use of OER and even its licenses and different conditions.

As a learning activity for this session, we are required to identify five (5) OER materials that we can use or apply in our learning and teaching activities, and from these five (5), I identified two (2) applicable OERs that would be the best materials that can be used for my teaching class, EVH 511 Foundations of Environmental Health.

1. Video Lecture on 'An Introduction to Global Health - Climate Change and Health'

The lecture explains dramatic changes brought about by climate unpredictability and change that are currently posing a threat to our planet and human systems. These include alterations in the dynamics of the environment and people that influence health. Therefore, it is believed that the largest threat to human health in the twenty-first century is climate change. The effects on health might be direct, usually linked to extreme weather events; indirect, linked to environmental damage and modifications brought on by climate change; or including social disturbance, war, and relocation. Several instances of how changes in the social and environmental determinants of health can have either positive or negative effects on health are given in this presentation. These effects include infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, and mental health, which are particularly significant in vulnerable urban and rural environments and among vulnerable community groups exposed to fluctuations in precipitation and temperature.

This video lecture would be a good OER that can be used in my class on EVH 511 on Foundations of Environmental Health where it discusses how human activities contribute to climate change and then result in health impacts that can arise from such changes. This course mainly introduces the students to anthropogenic activities in general to meet the needs and wants for survival but at the same time, considers their impacts on the environment and in turn, affect human health.

If this will be used as a resource material in my class, it could serve as a learning and teaching resource for students to listen to and learn about how climate change (caused by human activities) affects human health.

License:  Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC-BY-NC-ND)

Source: OER Commons – Environmental Health Collection (https://oercommons.org/curated-collections/724)   

 2.     Textbook: Environmental Biology by Mathew R. Fisher

This book was published by Open Oregon in 2018 through the Open Textbook Library and is an open textbook that covers the most salient environmental issues, from a biological perspective. The Open Textbook Library is a repository where schools, faculty, and students can find free Open Educational Resource (OER) textbooks. The text is designed for an introductory-level college science course. Topics include the fundamentals of ecology, biodiversity, pollution, climate change, food production, and human population growth." The book is organized into 11 chapters.

This book would be a very useful resource for my EVH511 students, who are in Year 1, studying Foundations of Environmental Health where students can refer to the book when learning about the current pressing environmental issues. The book will also help the students to grasp the scientific foundation of environmental topics so they can better understand the world around them and their impact upon it.

License: Creative Commons - Attribution (CC-BY) 3.0

Source: Environmental Health Sciences Libguide – Benedict College (https://benedict.libguides.com/c.php?g=1107292 )

Bibliography

1. Peter Furu. (2017). An Introduction to Global Health - Climate Change and Health. University of Copenhagen.
2. Fisher Openstax, M. R., Doršner, K., Geddes, A., Theis, T., & Tomkin, J. (2017). Environmental Biology. https://libraries.etsu.edu/research/guides/environmentalhealth

Session 1 Technology Enabled Learning (TeL) & Future of Learning Higher Education

This session introduces the theoretical underpinnings of technology-enabled Learning and how technology is changing the way we learn in Higher Education and the future. Relatable resources were made available in this session, which included videos and reading materials. 

This blog is part of the learning activity that we need to create, as ED403 students, to provide a brief reflection on the session.

Session Discussion Topic:

Discuss what new knowledge you have gained from reviewing the various videos and other resources from the introductory session. Explore how you think learning technologies will influence learning and the future of Higher Education globally and regionally (Pacific Islands context).

Week 1:
Reading through the resources online on the use of technology made me rethink my way of teaching. When considering using new technologies or an alternative delivery method, it will allow me to rethink my teaching, perhaps to be able to tackle some of the limitations of classroom teaching and to renew my approach to teaching. 
One of the ways that I believe would help me in the rethinking process is to think of how I can build a rich learning environment for the courses that I teach. This may include:
1.     Integrating design principles within a rich learning environment
2.     Learner characteristics
3.     Managing content
4.     Developing skills
5.     Learner support
6.     Resources
7.     Assessment of learning

Reading through the three (3) theoretical frameworks that focus on learning and teaching, several benefits have been gained from their applications:

Community of Inquiry:

• Collaboration

• Open Communication

Source: University of Buffalo

 
TPACK:

• improving teacher competency facilitates active learning, enhances student engagement, and integrates pedagogical, content, and technological elements in teaching and learning processes.

     Source: edtech-class.com 

 
TIM:

• a harmonious relationship among curriculum demands, student needs, and technology integration.

                                Source: Florida Centre for Instructional Technology

 
Week 2:
 
In the past decades, it is clearly understood that the integration of learning technologies in teaching and learning has increased within the higher education sector. Such technologies would include the use of Microsoft software, hardware like PCs, computers, laptops, multimedia projectors, and the use of internet applications or search engines like Google, Wikipedia, Twitter, etc.

For students, I believe that incorporating learning technologies into the classroom helps students gain capacities in information assessment, cooperation, communication, and problem-solving.

    Source:fordhamram.com 

For educators, the utilization of technologies can enhance the caliber of instruction by giving educators access to possibilities for professional growth. Furthermore, instructors now have flexible online learning options and the chance to modify and customize information to fit their teaching styles thanks to disruptive technologies like Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).
Most educators think that incorporating learning technologies into their lessons would greatly improve their effectiveness. More precisely, they emphasized that incorporating learning technologies into their teaching methods would provide more opportunities for student engagement, which means that educational technology gives students opportunities to grow creatively and improve their critical thinking, reasoning, communication, and other higher-order thinking abilities.

                                                            Source:edWeb.net 

Technology integration improves both student and faculty flexibility in terms of learning modes while also enabling teachers to accommodate individual diversity in students' accomplishments, learning styles, and skills. The incorporation of technology into the classroom not only gives students and faculty greater freedom in terms of learning techniques, but also enables instructors to accept individual differences in students' successes, learning styles, and talents.

Hope you enjoyed reading my blog on Session 1 reflections. 

Reference:
Haleem, A., Javaid, M., Qadri, M. A., & Suman, R. (2022). Understanding the role of digital technologies in education: A review. Sustainable Operations and Computers, 3, 275–285. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susoc.2022.05.004