Technology+in+search+of+a+Problem

Education, and particularly distance education, has always involved "technology", and with it, the temptation to use the newest, slickest, geekiest tools available, simply because it could be done. For some, this temptation is justified by taking a more literal view of the Greek word //tekhnologiaa,// which mean a systematic treatment of an art or craft, with a special emphasis on scientific method. This has led to some common definitions of educational technology that are too broad for practical use, such as the 1994 definition from the Association for Educational Association for Communications and Technology:

//the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources in learning (Seels & Richey, 1994:129, as quoted by Garrison & Anderson, 2003, Location 899.)//

For me, Garrison & Anderson's approach to defining technology in education as focusing on tools rather than techniques, seems practical, something that I can envision using in my work as a content/instructional developer.

//those tools used in formal education to disseminate, illustrate, communicate or immerse learners and teachers in activities purposely designed to induce learning (Garrison and Anderson, 2003, Location 916.)//

This definition allows me to consider a wide variety of tools - like paper and pencil or a printed handout - not just the "cool tools" such as those found in Web 2.0. This definition also encourages me to consider the "learning problem" first, and avoid the temptation to just pick a tool that might be slick but not deliver the opportunity for inquiry that I want.

Community of Inquiry
Layered onto Garrison & Anderson's definition of technology as tools, I also want to consider how the tools I choose foster and promote a community of inquiry. "Community of inquiry" is a conceptual model, originally introduced by Dewey, and adapted by Garrison & Anderson for 21st century distance education, which considers the social, cognitive and teaching presence of learners and teachers in the online environment. This community of inquiry works by melding the private world of meaning-making with the public world of knowledge. Learners read and reflect, and then bring their experience to the community where new knowledge is shared, explored, and integrated back into their own lives.

Social Presence, as part of the Community
A key component to a community of inquiry is social presence - the ability for a learner to make themselves known as a 'real' person, without the use of the normal visual cues used when we communicate with each other. This ability is important because a community of inquiry requires a conversation among learners who respect each other. For it to be a quality conversation, it must move past the 'pathological politeness' (Garrison & Anderson, 2003, location 1319) common in online discussions, and reach a point where challenging questions and dissenting opinion are accepted without personal affront.

What tools promote this social presence? This is challenging, given that we rely so heavily on visual cues. Garrison & Anderson (2003, location 1253) argue that text-based communications (email, discussion forums, group/individual chat), especially in an asynchronous environment, support the private ↔ public worlds that comprise a quality community of inquiry because text is more reflective, explicit and precise (2003, location 1259.) Within a text-based communication, learners can use typography (CAPS, //highlights//, etc.), word choice, and an open and cohesive writing style to bring their personality into 3-D.

Teaching Presence, as part of the Community
A facilitator's role in a community of inquiry really takes on the mantel of the 'guide on the side' instead of the 'sage on the stage.' Probably one of the most important steps a facilitator takes is by beginning the class with Introductions. This begins to create the Social presence, described above, and sets the climate for the class. In my experience, this side-by-side paradigm has been a somewhat unexpected pleasure. I find that I see myself as more adult, rather than a plebe, which is congruent with the rest of my life. This has encouraged me to construct my own meaning and contribute to the community, rather than simply open my mouth as a fledgling expecting to be fed. My best experiences with facilitators have been when the facilitator provides a strong high-level review of the week and demonstrates their own engagement in our learning. I have been frustrated by facilitators who take on the attitude "it isn't my content, I didn't create the class", although I recognize that many times they, in fact, don't have much control over the content. Still, a facilitator who engages and brings their enthusiasm for learning will win the day for me over one who wrote the class.

Facilitators may have limited input into the choice of tools used to deliver the main content in their course. If the class is 'pre-written', they may have the option of adding additional resources (such as learning objects, current events, etc.) via weekly announcements, via the forum, etc. My opinion, based on my experience as a learner, is that the best facilitators - those who can create the climate necessary for a thriving community - will have exceptionally strong writing skills. They should be willing to contribute thoughtful assessments and forum posts, not just copy/paste from a rubric.



Community
Of course, the whole purpose of a community of inquiry is the cognitive outcomes - the changes in our knowledge and the meaning that we can make that affects our lives. This is why we choose to engage our time and efforts in an educational experience. Cognitive presence means facilitating the analysis, construction and confirmation of meaning and understanding within the community of learners through sustained discourse and reflection (Garrison & Anderson, 2003, location 1359.)

Core to cognitive presence is reflective thought - the higher order process involving reflection and conversation that includes creative, critical, and intuitive thinking. As illustrated in the image above, each "action" taken in a community of inquiry is based in some type of reflective thinking. It also involves both private (individual) and public (group) thought.

Tools that support the reflective thought process involved in cognitive presence are really limitless in my opinion. Although the public discourse will likely be limited to text-based communications, which as Garrison & Anderson have shown are appropriate and sufficient for a community of inquiry, the private acts of information gathering, reflection, and meaning making can support any type of tool the learner finds helpful. This supports an individual's learning style, and gives the facilitator an opportunity to be a bit creative with the use of learning objects. If given the appropriate latitude to seek out their own information, a learner may choose to search YouTube instead of the Virtual Library, or to draw their own concept map instead of creating an outline while reading a text.

Conclusion
In my practice as an online content/instructional designer/developer (you know, one of those jacks of all HTML trade :-) ), I am concerned with creating the best opportunity for my learners to gain the knowledge, skills, and context to do their jobs correctly and safely. To do this, I must understand the nature of this knowledge and how to present it. I must also understand the nature of learning and how to create the climate where it can flourish. The role of technology in this climate requires that I carefully consider which tools, how many tools, and in what situations I use these tools, so that they support the learners in their community of inquiry. It is the learning that is important, not the tools. Garrison, R., & Anderson, T. (2003). //E-Learning in the 21st century: A framework for research and practice//. Taylor & Francis e-Library. NY, NY.

Instructor comments:
The main solutions you discuss are the technologies we use at CSU-G: discussion boards, announcements, etc. While these solutions are certainly grounded in the readings, this is your chance to be creative! You’re definitely focusing on the right things in this assignment (the problems, the role of the instructor, etc.), but I’d like to see you have a little more fun too as you discuss possible solutions. Think of instant messaging, video/audio conferencing, podcasts, blogs and wikis, Google Docs, social bookmarking, text chat on cell phones…the list goes on! What innovative solutions might you propose to help combat the problems you’ve identified? And, what is it about these technologies that make them so uniquely suited to addressing the problems?

My reflection on these comments:
I'm not sure which set of "problems" this assignment is asking me to consider. Is it the problem that I've identified as part of my final project (for this is the title of the assignment), or is it the "problems" faced by facilitators for developing social, cognitive, and teacher presence? I think that this assignment was meant to answer the later question, but the instructor's comments leave me thinking that I should have been thinking about my final project.

As for having fun or being creative in my choice of tools, I agree that my examples (as I don't really have any opinion that one tool may be more successful over another) lacked any thought about collaborative tools such as wikis or social bookmarking. These are tools that aren't appropriate for my students in the Certificate Program, so they don't come to mind very often. Collaboration tools are generally synchronous, and my students are all self-paced learners. Additionally, I used very generic terms to describe tools. Group/individual chat includes instant messaging and video/audio conferencing. Text-based includes blogs, wikis, and Google Docs and text chat on a cell phone.

(Soapbox comment: I wouldn't want to be the parent paying THAT cell phone bill...to me it seems a bit inappropriate somehow. Don't kids need to put down their phones and pick up a bloody book on occasion? It's like turning off the TV and going outside to play for a bit. There needs to be a technology "off-switch" somewhere!!)