The comments I provided

 

Blog name	Post link	My comment
Nazokat's blog	https://mhhmhhm.blogspot.com/2022/03/hi-there-my-name-is-nazokat-and-i-teach.html#comments	What an interesting journey you have been having.
Innovating Learning	https://zulfiyateacher.blogspot.com/2022/01/introduction.html	PG Cert i T&L is indeed a rewarding experience. Good luck!
SHAHZODA KA	https://shahzodaka.blogspot.com/2022/04/about-me.html	Looking forward to learn more
WELCOME TO DILFUZA'S BLOG	https://blogsaboutteachingearlyyears.blogspot.com/2022/04/nline-course-on-google-classroom.html?showComment=1649787728402#c2879553522298183569	I chose Google Classroom too. Keep it up!
WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY	https://abdulsamiphysics.blogspot.com/2022/03/my-name-is-abdul-sami-and-i-am-physics.html?showComment=1649787883977#c3732985932585033210	I SEE
BLOG ON INNOVATING LEARNING AND TEACHING	https://shahzaibilt.blogspot.com/2022/02/introducing-myself.html?showComment=1649788005539#c525446566821339318	Nice introduction
Academic librarian's blog	https://kamolalrc.blogspot.com/2022/03/review-of-article-read-and-discussed.html?showComment=1649788152439#c7519860938055487074	A very comprehensive review of the topic

About the choice of the LMS and Course Details

Choosing a LMS is quite an interesting yet time-consuming and challenging task. It is now that we directly link the words Learning Management Systems with digital solutions and involvement of internet. But the LMS were introduced almost a centrury ago with an invention of first teaching machine that could administer multiple choice questions (Carmen, Davis & Wagner, 2009).  

LMSystems have gone number of innovation cycles ever since and right now are represented through the web-based, cloud-based platforms and they are facilitating the learning via provision of documentations, tracking and overall delivery of the courses.  

With abrupt changes caused by Covid-19 outbreak it has become critical that education institutions were not fully prepared to continue providing educational practices. The need for LMS has become obvious due to that as well. 

Personnaly, I was skeptical about the essense of such systems before 2020 and found it to be optional and a good addition to whatever has been established at the workplace. At WIUT, we used to utilize LMS only as a storing place, repository of some kind. It is remarkable, how the institution has reevaluated the need for a proper LMS and redesigned previous system to respond to the challenges brought by the pandemic. 

Nowadays, as we move on from the pandemic and online studies back to normal face-to-face provision of classes, one might expect the decrease in the need for LMS. Nevertheless, in reality, more and more academics realize the power of using LMS to foster better and effective learning environment: from evaluation capabilities to enabling creation and administring new materials, teaching methods. Just as an example, majority of assessment submissions remained on LMS instead of paper submissions as it is convenient, more environmentally-friendly and excludes the chances for human error while processing.  It is not that it is all shiny, and there are also some disadvantages of LMS: having LMS as the major and only source for studies might disencourage struggling students, who would benefit more from traditional class setting. It is also quite costly to maintain or to purchase LMS as a service. Might require training for academics as it is not always very clear how things are to be set up (eLearning Guild, 2007). 

During my studies on Innovating Learning and Teaching I was introduced to numerous available LMS and after exploring most of them (Moodle, Canvas, Google Classroom) with all the advantages and disadvantages they have in functionallity, pricing and ease of use, I decided to create a short course on Google Classroom called "Understanding Projects". 

I am a certified Project Management specialist and enthusiast. Being such a person, I tend to believe that a little bit of project management doe not hurt anybody and everyone should have the basic understanding of it.  With that in mind I worked out a nine hour course that consists of three teaching events of three hours. Although I would love everyone to be interested in the course, it is not appropriate for all the learners as the activities are encouraging high-order thinking at could be relevant to final year undergraduate students and beyond. However, there is no restcriction regarding the educational background as project management is relevant accross all the industries. 

The course includes diverse range of activities and includes the flipped classroom aspects (see Lecture 1) and exposure to use of digital technologies (Quizzes activity in Lecture 2) and other collaborative teaching methods (role play, group discussions).  

I prefered Google Classroom to others mentioned above due to its simplicity and accessibility. Almost everybody now has a google account and the registration process could be instant as well. As the course will have the tasks with deadlines attached, students will have those deadlines already in their calendars, which is quite handy. 

I could not find any restrictions or limitations caused by being free, as opposed to other LMS one might find on the market. Those systems provide best features only for through subscriptions. One can also find Google Classroom to be more reliable, as it is product of Google and is maintained by them. 

Disadvantages could be that you are to have a google account to join the class, not much of features provided and maybe being too simplistic and not providing more aesthetic touches. 

I do hope that the reader will find my course helpful and gets more interested in learning project management despite possible hurdles in getting into class (having a google account).

 

References: 

Carmen C, Davis B & Wagner E D (2009). The Evolution of LMS: From Management to Learning. The eLearning Guild, Santa Rosa, CA. 

David, Solomon Arulraj. (2013). A Critical Understanding on Learning Management System. A Quarterly Referred Journal on Dialogues on Education. 2. 4-12. 

eLearning Guild (2007). Learning Management System: The good, the bad, the ugly and the truth. eLearning Guild, Santa Rosa, CA. 

(800 Words)

Reflection on the module and blogging.

As I have already created a few posts in this new blog of mine, I will have to admit - this has been fun: I do enjoy teaching as I am given some freedom to utilize my creative side via introduction of new teaching methods and activities into the classroom. Blogging has been a great platform for me to share my thoughts and findings. It is of course not certain that my students would find it useful to read my blog, but my peers hopefully would. As a self-reflective person this type of an assignment has been a revelation for me. I do believe that I will take this concept of blogging further into my practice in the future. 

When it comes to the module itself, I missed the first 3-4 sessions due to not actually being part of the module. Taking this module was not in my plans but I am glad that all turned up like this. Initially, I had some struggle understanding where I was when I joined the group. From my mind innovating learning and teaching is beyond integration of digital technologies or frequent use of it. Innovation is about making something better over and over again. However, from more pragmatic side I can agree that nowadays those improvements are primarily thanks to the technological progress. I have been teaching and working at University at different capacities for more than five years, and hence am quite well-aware of the teaching and learning theory and trends. But the module did bring me a new perspective - the learning theory of connectivism. I was a believer of the commonly known theories (behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism), but the situation caused by global pandemic has made me rethink the whole teaching and learning. Once I was introduced to the concept of connectivism, the puzzle was solved for me - this is a new thing, and should be taken into account. 

Now as I am finalizing my assessment, I really understand what was the purpose of such an assignment and really find it creative and relevant. However, I could not say so during all the sessions we had in the module - honestly speaking, I was not sure of what to do and how the materials we learned were useful in writing the assignment. My motivation to study was not growing if not declining as the time passed. For starters, why not to make all the new tech we learned be a preparation for the class and have a more meaningful set of activities during the class. 

Unfortunately, I do believe that there is a huge need for syllabus reconsideration and better constructive alignment in the module. The success criteria for this assessment seem to highly depend on one's ability to write and less on the practical aspects - there is no clear guidance or information on the value of the online course that needs to be created. Only those who want to grow, take the criticism constructively and I do hope that we have such a case here. 

(508 Words)

Connectivism - Article review

 Over the course of the semester, we have learned about many interesting findings in the area of innovative teaching and learning and blended learning through research articles. I decided to review the one which is in the center of the all - connectivism (by George Siemens). 

This article underlines the nature of changes in the learning theories and discusses connectivism as a new progressive learning theory - the paradigm shift happening thanks to or due to the technological advancements in the world. The know how is being supplemented by with know-where which is making the ability to find information more important. 

Now considered conventional learning theories (behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism) all to certain degree agreed that knowledge is to be acquired via personal experiences and social constructivism being the latest of the three takes more individualistic approach and acknowledges the complex and unpredictability of knowledge acquisition. 

As Siemens mentions "Learning theories are concerned with the actual process of learning, not with the value of what is being learned." In our current reality where there are infinite sources of knowledge and information, the way how the needed information is processed becoming vital. Hence, finding connections and patterns between information sources is now critical and the means of getting the relevant information with the help of technology are key for effective learning in the modern era. 

In his article Siemens highlights 8 major principles of connectivism whereby there is not a single learning opportunity, rather it depends on different opinions and learning might be happening with the help of non-human appliances.

As the article was written in 2005 it does not fully foresee the impact of technology that we have in teaching and learning nowadays. We are exposed to so much information in different contexts and the learning is happening in a chaotic manner and it is the ability to connect the dots among the patterns what is making the learning happen. 

As an academic I have not been introduced to connectivism as learning theory prior to this module and it was one of the major discovery for me.   

(345 Words)

Digital Technologies in my practice (Examples)

As a considerably young academic I can still recall my experience being a student and this helps me in consistently working on my module, e.g. delivery of the relevant content, interaction with students. The latter is of the highest priority in my teaching philosophy and I am seeking for the ways to make the sessions both seminars and lectures be as interactive and engaging as they can get.

COVID Pandemic has impacted and changed the world dramatically. Education as well as other critical areas of economy had to adapt and carry on. The need for educational institutions to embrace the digital technologies and work on digital solutions for students was already highlighted decades ago (Delich, 2005). Also, being digitally literate has become a prerequisite for effective teaching (Kennedy, Latham, Jacinto 2015) and in current circumstances critical. As a lecturer, I have immediately faced the biggest disadvantage of online education – lack of interaction with students and opportunities to facilitate a learning process. The research shows that interaction with students is vital as it increases the students’ motivation to learn considerably (Meguid & Collins, 2017).

Universities try to get rid of unnecessary overloaded lecture notes and slides and focus on delivery of key ideas during the session and encourage participation and discussion. However, in the conditions of a pandemic, these lecture notes and slides have become the only effective means of lecturing due to the fact that there is no real possibilities of interaction via Video Conferencing.

Such an approach will affect the student experience directly as with no interaction the sessions’ value to students will drop considerably. Instead of being present in the session, students may well watch the recorded session any time later. On the other side, no interaction might demotivate the lecturer as well – why to bother getting well prepared if there are no questions or discussion during the session or there are no students at all.

Keeping the above-mentioned points in mind, it is easy to visualize the session where the lecturer is simply delivering the information using power point slides and sharing the screen. On the other end students ‘watch’ the lecture often being distracted by other devices, e.g. staring at their smartphones and chatting online.

The solution that I have found out for my sessions derives from the worst scenario of a session described above. If students are set to be distracted by their devices, why not to make it a useful exercise – get the voice of the student heard during the session and adjust the session as it goes to make the best of it for those students who participate in the class.

I found the platform for interactive presentations called Zeetings. The features it provides are quite interactive for live sessions in front of the big audience. Although the concept initially was not considering the online sessions it perfectly meets the requirements of the online audience as well. Unlike the majority of the online solutions, Zeetings is not only free for educators, but also provides all the functions and there are no limitations.

The concept of the platform is as follows: during the presentation (lecture, seminar) the speaker will be delivering certain content and will have the opportunity to survey the audience along the way: it can be a multiple-choice question, agree or disagree type question, idea gathering using wordclouds etc.

Such input from audience (students) can be vital as it:

• Shows how effective the session is
• Provides the opportunity for the speaker to adjust the presentation
• Students will have more opportunities for reflection

With multiple choice questions and the results the speaker can instantly understand whether the information delivered is also perceived correctly. The lecturer can focus more on what is important to the specific audience using the results of the interactive options during the lecture. Providing questions which generate different views can be a facilitator of a good discussion points and allow the students to express themselves to certain degree and have a proper learning environment.

Just as an example, as one can have a different approach in using the platform based on the needs, I would like to tell about my experience with Zeetings. As this platform is meant to facilitate the lecture, it cannot substitute the need for Video Conferencing required to have contact with students. I tend to believe that Video conferencing is only required to give the chance to students to see the lecturer – it is not the place for lecture slides and notes to appear.

All the important information together with the interactive options are to be gathered in Zeetings and sent to students prior to the session so that students can have it on their device of choice at a good quality (screen sharing usually lags and is limited to device connected). I mix the lecture notes and slides with the interactive options and go on narrating the lecture and using the Video conferencing only for letting students see me – I can use other tools effectively during the session when it is needed, for example draw something on the whiteboard. Below I am providing some screenshots from a short session about Quentin Tarantino prepared for my colleagues to demonstrate the possibilities of Zeetings.

 Collecting ideas as wordcloud at the beginning of the session.

Checking the progress (Student’s view)

Asking for opinion from students to discuss the topic further on

Providing options to choose and shape the lecture

Focusing on students’ needs (Student’s view)

 

Using the interactive options provided by Zeetings both the students and the lecturer will be more encouraged to be active and it will make the lectures lively.

Unfortunately Zeetings is no longer available due to financial issues. Hovewer, there are number of alternatives to choose from if one wants to make teaching more interactive and agile. The one I actually started my exploration of digital technologies in teaching is caled Polleverywhere. Although Zeetings is more superior as a platform, allowing the integrations with presentation and provide instant reports, Polleverywhere had most of the features of Zeetings already back in 2017. 

As I started my lecturing career and had the pleasure (and stress) of lecturing a cohort of 200+ students, I found it quite difficult to get students involved in the lecture: first, there are too many of them, secondly, students were not used to providing inputs during the lectures. So I decided to make certain changes and explored the web for digital solutions. Once I used Polleverywhere and tested the features myself, I decided to take it to my class. It was a great lecture in the end as students did creat a wordcloud and then prioritized the features and once revoted it was evident that the results might differ if there is a limited number of possibilities to choose (priorities change). Below are the snapshots of that lecture (Operations Management, Academic Year 2017-2018). 

References

Abdel Meguid E, Collins M. Students’ perceptions of lecturing approaches: traditional versus interactive teaching. Adv Med Educ Pract. 2017;8:229-241

Kennedy G, Latham G and Jacinto H: Education Skills for 21st Century Teachers: Voices From a Global Online Educators’ Forum, SpringerBriefs in Education, Springer, 2015

Delich, P. Pedagogical and interface modifications: What instructors change after teaching online. Malibu, CA: Pepperdine University. 2005

Official website of Zeetings: https://www.zeetings.com/

Official website of Polleverywhere: https://www.polleverywhere.com/ 

(1210 Words)

 

About me

 

Hi there! Welcome to my blog about teaching and learning. 

Briefly about me: 

My name is Ulugbek Islamov and I am Senior Lecturer at Business and Management Department of Westminster International University in Tashkent. 

I have never thought or dreamt of becoming an Academic or teaching per se. Truth to be told, there was no evidence of having talent for that either. But as it always happens in the life - you get a chance to try somethng out and then it becomes part of your life. It was like this for me with Running (I started having health issues due to being overweight): I was told to run, and for the first time I made myself go out and jog a bit and I really enjoyed it - now I am regular runner with 4 Half Marathons done and aiming at running full marathon this year. 

When I returned from Germany, where I spent 5.5 years of my life studying Project Management, learning German and working, I was lost a bit - did not know what I could possibly do in Uzbekistan. Having some interesting endevours in different business segments in Tashkent, I finally thought to be settling in Advertising as a Managing Director. This position was allowing me to utilize my creative ideas at the same time applying precision, efficiency I inherited in Germany. As I mentioned before, there comes a chance to try something new. 

I got an opportunity to teach 4 hours. As I walked into the classroom and started talking about the topics I have knowledge of, it struck me again - I love it! 

Having had many many lectures and seminars by diverse group of Academics both in Uzbekistan and Germany, I have made a promise to myself: be such a teacher that you missed while you were a student - open and honest, agile, interactive, up-to-date, well-equipped and open-minded. 

I started this journey more than five years ago and so far I seems I am going in the right direction. 

More information on my experiences will be followed in future posts. Stay tuned!

Best, 

Ulugbek 

(350 Words)