Integrating Technology into a Multi-National Exercise

The interview that I conducted is with Capt Phil Alvarez. He is responsible for developing a multi-national exercise that is heavily reliant on technology. In the interview he discusses the four phases of the exercise and how the technology relates to the phases. He covers the different types of technology that he is using and some of the challenges that he is faced with. The specific technologies are not discussed due to the open nature of the assignment.

Podcasting

Podcasting, like any other technology, is a tool that can be integrated into educational curriculum. Podcasting allows instructors and educators to develop and maintain content that is easily accessible to students in an asynchronous format. One podcasting advantage that King points out is the ability of instructors to maintain “library” of lectures and classes that can be used repeatedly for other courses. Podcasting is particularly valuable for auditory learners, the capability to review difficult parts of the lecture material makes it easier for students with an auditory learning style to listen to content multiple times.

A challenge with podcasts is that they are not interactive. No matter how the material is broken up or delivered, the student listening to the podcast cannot ask real time questions to the instructor. This shortcoming can be mitigated by integrating a podcast with another type of technology for course delivery. One solution could be combining the podcast with a wiki. The sequence might go like this; the instructor creates a podcast and a wiki site that is scaffolded with several different sections for questions. The students then listen to the podcast and begin asking questions on the wiki site but rather than waiting for the instructor to answer all of the questions, students are encouraged to address the questions asked by other students. This creates an interactive setting that allows students to research and demonstrate their understanding of the material. (Also makes it easier on the instructor.)

Updated wiki Lesson Plan

The purpose of this weeks blog post is to update last weeks lesson plan based on the Case Study example in West's Chapter 5. Updates to last weeks lesson plan are in Green text.

Use a Wiki to Develop an Identification and Treatment Plan for Cold Injuries

Task: In a small group, students develop an identification and treatment plan for cold injuries and evaluate a treatment plan for each injury that is or used to be commonly accepted but has since been shown to be non-therapeutic or harmful.

Lesson Duration:

8-10 contact hours

Target Audience:

Students who are working in field that requires knowledge of first aid or who will be living or working in cold environments

Objective Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the lesson learners will be able to:

1. Identify the five different types of cold injuries
1. Chilblain
2. Frostbite
3. Immersion foot
4. Snow blindness
5. Hypothermia
2. Identify the symptoms and causes of the injuries
3. Identify the correct first aid and treatment procedures for the injuries
4. Utilize and edit a wiki to conduct a collaborative learning event
5. Conduct basic research on a directed topic
6. Evaluate the quality of a source for research purposes

Materials Required:

Computer with internet access, students must be made aware of this requirement prior to signing up for the course.

           

Presentation/Procedure:

1. Instructor should develop and provide an icebreaker for students. The icebreaker should require pictures and some (limited) personal information from students in order to provide a better understanding of group structure.
2. Instructor will introduce the topic to the learners and provide a link to the wiki site that will be used during the lesson.
3. Resources for developing a wiki should be made available for students, some examples are:
1. http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/34248/how-to-create-a-wiki-without-any-technical-know-how-using-google-sites/
2. www.wikispaces.com/
3. http://www.wikihow.com/Start-a-Wiki
4. Instructor should provide a basic scaffolding to provide basic research and format ideas for students. Students should be encouraged to provide pictures and descriptions for each type of injury as well as develop a small practical exercise to assess learning outcomes. Instructor must refrain from editing students work, advice may be provided if sought but all edits should come from students.
5. Students will develop an identification and treatment plan for each cold injury listed. Group members will also identify and review one treatment plan that was previously accepted but has now been identified as either non-therapeutic or harmful.
1. The identification portion should provide pictures and written descriptions of each injury and focus on identifying the injury.
2. The treatment portion of the assignment should focus on two phases of treatment, immediate first or buddy and longer term medical care.
3. The "debunking" portion should describe a formerly accepted treatment (ie: rubbing ice on a frostbite injury) and describe why it is no longer accepted as a treatment of the injury.

Suggested Learning Activities:

1. Students should utilize established, reviewed publications and references for their site. Exampes are
1. FM 4-25.11 (FM 21-11) First Aid
2. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1278523-overview
3. www.marines.mil/unit/tecom/fmtbn-e/.../Cold%20injuries.doc
2. Students should build multiple pages to address the different cold injuries.

Rubric: 20 Possible points from categories listed below.

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Sources	Source information collected for all graphics, facts and quotes. All documented in desired format.	Source information collected for all graphics, facts and quotes. Most documented in desired format.	Source information collected for graphics, facts and quotes, but not documented in desired format.	Very little or no source information was collected.
Content	Covers topic in-depth with details and examples. Subject knowledge is excellent.	Includes essential knowledge about the topic. Subject knowledge appears to be good.	Includes essential information about the topic but there are 1-2 factual errors.	Content is minimal OR there are several factual errors.
Organization	Content is well organized and presented in a clear and logical manner.	Content is organized but is not clear and intuitive.	Content is logically organized for the most part.	There was no clear or logical organizational structure, just lots of facts.
Workload Sources Evaluated	The workload is divided and shared equally by all team members. Students review and evaluate multiple peer reviewed or otherwise authoritative sources to provide accurate information	The workload is divided and shared fairly by all team members, though workloads may vary from person to person. Students review and evaluate multiple non- reviewed sources to provide  information	The workload was divided, but one person in the group is viewed as not doing his/her fair share of the work. Students provide data from single non-substantiated sources	The workload was not divided OR several people in the group are viewed as not doing their fair share of the work. Students fail to utilize or cite resources.

Wiki Lesson Plan

I have never built a "lesson plan" but have developed training for Soldiers on other occasions. The Army has a terrific methodology for developing and assessing training. They use an online resource called the Army Training Network. (I would include a link but it is access protected) The training is broken into hierarchys with individual tasks supporting small unit collective tasks which support larger unit tasks. Each of the tasks comes with a pre-loaded Tasks, Conditions, and Standards that makes training development and evaluation very simple and effective. It also has the advantage of ensuring that all Soldiers around the world are training to the same standard and the same conditions. 

 

When I started looking for a wiki subject this one seemed to fit very well. I also used some of the principles discussed by West and West for effective wiki utilization. The rubric is from Rubistar (rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=NewRubric ) which is also discussed in the West text.

 

__________________________________________________________________________________

Use a wiki to develop an identification and treatment plan for cold injuries

Task: In a small group, students develop an identification and treatment plan for cold injuries

Lesson Duration:

4-6 contact hours

Target Audience:

Students who are working in field that requires knowledge of first aid or who will be living or working in cold environments

Objective Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the lesson learners will be able to:

1. Identify the five different types of cold injuries
1. Chilblain
2. Frostbite
3. Immersion foot
4. Snow blindness
5. Hypothermia
2. Identify the symptoms and causes of the injuries
3. Identify the correct first aid and treatment procedures for the injuries

Materials Required:

Computer with internet access, students must be made aware of this requirement prior to signing up for the course.

           

Presentation/Procedure:

1. Instructor should develop and provide an icebreaker for students. The icebreaker should require pictures and some (limited) personal information from students in order to provide a better understanding of group structure.
2. Instructor will introduce the topic to the learners and provide a link to the wiki site that will be used during the lesson.
3. Resources for developing a wiki should be made available for students, some examples are:
1. http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/34248/how-to-create-a-wiki-without-any-technical-know-how-using-google-sites/
2. www.wikispaces.com/
3. http://www.wikihow.com/Start-a-Wiki
4. Instructor should provide a basic scaffolding to provide basic research and format ideas for students. Students should be encouraged to provide pictures and descriptions for each type of injury as well as develop a small practical exercise to assess learning outcomes. Instructor must refrain from editing students work, advice may be provided if sought but all edits should come from students.

Suggested Learning Activities:

1. Students should utilize established, reviewed publications and references for their site. Exampes are
1. FM 4-25.11 (FM 21-11) First Aid
2. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1278523-overview
3. www.marines.mil/unit/tecom/fmtbn-e/.../Cold%20injuries.doc
2. Students should build multiple pages to address the different cold injuries.

Rubric: 16 Possible points from categories listed below.

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Sources	Source information collected for all graphics, facts and quotes. All documented in desired format.	Source information collected for all graphics, facts and quotes. Most documented in desired format.	Source information collected for graphics, facts and quotes, but not documented in desired format.	Very little or no source information was collected.
Content	Covers topic in-depth with details and examples. Subject knowledge is excellent.	Includes essential knowledge about the topic. Subject knowledge appears to be good.	Includes essential information about the topic but there are 1-2 factual errors.	Content is minimal OR there are several factual errors.
Organization	Content is well organized and presented in a clear and logical manner.	Content is organized but is not clear and intuitive.	Content is logically organized for the most part.	There was no clear or logical organizational structure, just lots of facts.
Workload	The workload is divided and shared equally by all team members.	The workload is divided and shared fairly by all team members, though workloads may vary from person to person.	The workload was divided, but one person in the group is viewed as not doing his/her fair share of the work.	The workload was not divided OR several people in the group are viewed as not doing their fair share of the work.

 

Wiki's in Adult Education

Wiki’s present a very interesting capability for online collaboration. The first iteration of the internet was designed by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) as a redundant communications system in case of a nuclear strike. Several universities identified this communications tool and began to use it as a collaborative research and information exchange tool. The development of wiki’s and other collaborative tools are a natural outgrowth of this creative nature.

 The ability to review, edit, and add to others work is provides a terrific opportunity for students and learners to work together to extend their knowledge and improve their understanding of topics. Wiki’s also “can empower students by giving them a chance to express their views” Hazari et. al. Expression of diverse viewpoints on wiki’s allows for a greater depth and breadth of topic discussion.

Some challenges for wiki’s are discussed by West and West including security and administration of the site. The security issues are common to all web based sites, these include access by unwanted parties as well as the availability of personal information. The texts list ways to mitigate this including password protection and version control. Another major challenge with the use of wiki’s is the time and effort required for administration of the site. This can be more or less significant depending on the number and types of users and the desired outcome of the course.

 Overall, wiki’s provide a significant asset for collaborative exercises and adult education activities. As with all types of web based activities, they are only one tool in the tool kit and should be used in conjunction with other types of instruction in order to best achieve the desired learning outcome.

Is blogging the same as discussion board activity?

Blogging and discussion board activities are very similar but not exactly the same. Blog posting allows for more creativity in design with the ability to create and personalize individual blog space. The fact that the blog is hosted internet wide also provides a different feeling to the discussions; it has a more open, unhindered feeling. It is too early for me to tell if there will be a practical difference between the two forums. Professor Santos summarizes the situation when he says “Utilization of blogsites as a supplement to the traditional method of teaching is a welcome innovation for most students”.

The open internet blog has several advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include the ability to link readers who are outside of the traditional classroom setting to a practical and useful format. Blogging is also already familiar to some students, there are clearly a number of participants in this course who are veteran bloggers. Utilization of a blog vice a discussion board also allows for carryover of skills from the classroom to practical application.

One of the most significant disadvantages is the fact that all of the posts are open to the world. This is not an issue for many learners, especially ones that are already accustomed to blogging. Personally, I do not blog and have never even opened a Facebook account. I remain concerned with the levels of privacy provided by online social media. 

Overall, integrating blogs into the course provides an excellent opportunity for learners to develop and integrate new skills.

Life Lessons

WARNING: this video has very little to do with adult education, unless you are an adult who thinks that it is a good idea to stand where someone has decided to park a JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition (bomb)).

Just playing with the Youtube embed.

Chip