Academic Papers

7

Academic Papers

7
Essay 1:  Pedagogy in the Age of Web 2.0

This paper discusses the impact of Web 2.0 technology and internet memes on learning design and learning.

Key takeaways:

  1. Imitation is a fundamental part of language acquisition and human development. ​
  2. Memes are units of cultural transmission or imitation that can be replicated and spread through imitation. ​
  3. Internet memes are memes that have evolved and mutated in the digital age, and can be deliberately altered and spread through human creativity. ​
  4. Web 2.0 technologies, such as social media and online communities, have had a significant impact on culture, society, politics, and education. ​
  5. Digital literacy is crucial in the age of Web 2.0, as it allows individuals to navigate and understand the power and potential dangers of internet memes and online communication. ​
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Essay 2:  From Objectivism to Constructivism

This paper is about the evolution of a blended multimedia writing course from traditional design to constructivist learning design.

Key takeaways:

  1. Impact of Web 2.0: Web 2.0 technologies have significantly influenced all aspects of life, including education, by enabling rapid cultural transmission.
  2. Evolution of Memes: Internet memes, evolving from Dawkins’ original concept, are powerful cultural transmitters shaped by human creativity.
  3. Cultural Inversion: Web 2.0 technologies enable deep connections despite physical distances, leading to significant societal changes.
  4. Digital Literacy Challenges: Integrating digital literacy into education is essential to help students navigate online risks and develop critical thinking skills.
  5. Technological Competence in Education: Re-educating reluctant teachers in digital literacy is crucial for helping students understand and use digital tools constructively.
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Thought Papers on Objectivism, Empowerment, and Constructivism

Classroom Management Effectiveness

Are behaviourist classroom management techniques effective for higher level learning?

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Can Neuroscience Empower Teachers?

Does a basic understanding of neuroscience really increase the potential for empowering teachers?

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Truth, Knowledge, and Constructivism

Do good test scores that result from behaviourist pedagogy relate more to training or learning?

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A Comparison, a Critique, and a Research Proposal

Provincial eLearning Comparison

Comparing Two Provinces: Postsecondary eLearning in Ontario and Alberta

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Lesson Plan Critique

Should lesson plans be so precious that they are written in stone or should they live?

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Research Proposal

How should in-person classes be redesigned as Blended Learning courses in Higher Ed?

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Three Thought Papers on Objectivism, Empowerment, and Constructivism

Classroom Management Effectiveness

Are behaviourist classroom management techniques effective for higher level learning?

Download PDF
Can Neuroscience Empower Teachers?

Does a basic understanding of neuroscience really increase the potential for empowering teachers?

Download PDF
Truth, Knowledge, and Constructivism

Do good test scores that result from behaviourist pedagogy relate more to training or learning?

Download PDF

A Comparison, a Critique, and a Research Proposial

Provincial eLearning Comparison

COLLABORATION – Comparing Two Provinces: Postsecondary eLearning in Ontario and Alberta

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Lesson Plan Critique

Should lesson plans be so precious that they are written in stone or should they live?

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Research Proposal

How should in-person classes be redesigned as Blended Learning courses in Higher Ed?

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Research Proposal

Academia Meets Real Life

While working on one of my master's courses (ETEC 500 - Research Methodologies in Education), I was blessed with the opportunity to base my final assignment on a real life project that I had recently undertaken while employed at Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea.

The project involved redesigning and co-teaching a Basic Academic English (BAE) course. The final assignment was a research proposal that focused on the challenges and implications of converting in-person classroom courses into Blended Learning models. It proposed some specific research methodologies and included a sample Screening Questionnaire for faculty and students.

Screenshot: Basic Academic English - Online

Evolving Reflections 

As often happens in life and learning, our views and opinions sometimes change as we acquire new knowledge. That is exactly what happened with my research proposal, as the two separate reflections (below) will illustrate:

Reflection #2 (July, 2015)

My Second Thoughts (after some new knowledge acquisition):

This second, more recent, reflection is entirely the result of new knowledge that I have acquired while working on the MET course ETEC 520: Planning and Managing Technologies in Higher Education. As a result of now being aware of the reality that universities are usually dominated by a collegial culture in which it is a "given" that faculty needs for autonomy and research pursuits are to be respected--and, at all costs, protected--I have found myself needing to do some serious rethinking about my earlier position while preparing the research proposal. In other words, I now realize that the course redesign project that is considered in the proposal has most likely evolved in the best way possible, given the fact that my university is, like most others, currently undergoing a period of change that is seriously challenging its collegial culture.

Among many other factors, a combination of cost cutting measures, technological advancements, and student demand for quality education, has prompted this change and the institutional leaders who manage the university's operation have recognized that a major shift towards Blended Learning (BL) could significantly lower costs in the long term. To design, redesign, and implement more BL courses requires the cooperation and collaboration of both managerial staff and instructional staff.  However, managerial staff culture is very different from the faculty's collegial culture. In fact, according to higher education e-learning thought leaders, they are often very much at odds with each other.  Therefore, if the shift to BL courses is not handled with great care, such cooperation and collaboration between the two cultures may not be possible.

Now, in retrospect, I have a better understanding of why the decision makers for the proposal's redesign project took the minimally interactive approach to BL  that they did.  Had they directed the redesign team to make the online portion of the course fully interactive immediately in its first iteration, they would have been ignoring the concerns--and collegial culture--of many faculty and probably increased their resistance to the use of educational technology and the entire BL initiative.  That is why, before submitting it to my university, I would need to seriously rethink and rework the entire proposal.

Because this ePortfolio is intended to document my learning and professional development, the first reflection that I originally composed several months ago, is posted below, inside the other toggle.

Reflection #1: Original Reflection

Please Note: The following reflection was written before I had a clearer understanding of how collegial and managerial cultures co-exist in higher education and my views have since changed considerably. It is posted here solely as a means of tracking my professional growth and, as stated in Reflection #2, I now believe that the entire research proposal needs to be redeveloped according to my new understanding of how higher education institutions function.

Reflection #1

This reflection is being posted more than 18 months after completing this assignment. It was not posted immediately because, when I took this course, I was less than half way through the UBC MET Program and had not yet completed enough scholarly work to feel confident about defending this paper, should it ever be necessary. However, now that I am literally just weeks away from receiving my Master's with a solid A+ average--and continuing to enjoy respect from my UBC peers and UBC professors--the time has come to go ahead and confidently publish this work, knowing that it is thoroughly researched and well supported.

The proposal is based on a real-life situation at my current place of employment--and it accurately describes a series of events that may cause some discomfort for the decision makers who were responsible for those events.  But, more importantly, my research proposal also involves a much wider scope than just my immediate workplace and deals with an almost universal dilemma in higher education: how to implement instructional design changes that are pedagogically beneficial to students without being excessively problematic for effective and dedicated instructors. Please note that, although the proposal itself was very highly regarded by my UBC professor and UBC cohort collaborators, it was, for reasons that will be articulated in a future reflection, not possible to implement it at my current workplace. Regardless of that, I present my ideas here and now because they have relevancy and value that should be considered as we search for viable solutions to some increasingly complicated and challenging issues in higher education.