Beyond Technology for Technology's Sake: Advancing Multiliteracies in the Twenty-First Century

Borsheim, C., Merritt, K., & Reed, D. (2008). Beyond Technology for Technology's sake: Advancing Multiliteracies in the Twenty-First Century. The Clearing House , 87-90.

The point of this article is to demonstrate that teachers must go beyond implementing technology for technology's sake and consider the evolving nature of texts and the literacy skills associated with consuming and producing those texts.The authors share examples for adapting teaching to the impact of technology, rather than adapting technology to teaching.(Borsheim, Merritt, & Reed, 2008, p.87)They contend that teachers who use a variety of media and technologies in their teaching do more than familiarize students with specific technologies. They are preparing their students for the multiliteracies of the 21st century.
This article applies to all ages and levels of teaching. It is an important concept that we embrace that technology is here to stay. It is not a toy to play with in the classroom to meet a standard, but an important tool to learn how to utilize for learning.
Each writer demonstrated the use of a different technology. Carlin Borsheim project was the traditional research paper unit in which she utilized the internet, wikis, film-editing software and Word.
Dawn Reed utilized podcasting to with her class. After listening to essays, the students wrote their own and then recorded and edited their podcasts, and posted them on a blog.
Kelly Merritt used wikis in her classroom to communicate, share documents, fet feedback, build collective experiences and integrate additional forms of technology into the classroom experience. (Borsheim, Merritt, & Reed, 2008, p. 90)

The Power of Podcasting

Lum, L. (2006). The Power of Podcasting. Diverse Issues of Higher Education , 32-35.

The focus of this article was how a new technology is revolutionizing the way faculty and administrators interact with students. It has been determined that 80 percent of college students own at least one device that can download and play recordings. Given this information, it falls to reason that pod casts would be an excellent medium for enhancing instruction. In an effort to promote podcasting Duke University handed out about 1600 iPods preloaded with orientation material to its entire incoming 2004 class.(Lum, L. (2006). These iPods were used for class lectures, as well as general information about courses. At Mansfield University the administrators did an ongoing series of podcasts exploring student life, especially for freshman. These podcasts explored everything from their favorite Saturday night pastimes to what the seniors believe their most important lessons have been, educationally and personally. This has produced an 11 percent spike in student applications for the fall semester compared to last year's numbers.(Lum, L. 2006)It appears that podcasts are finding more and more uses and won't be going away for quite a while if ever.

After the Bells, Beyond the Walls

Langhorst, E. (2007). After the Bell, Beyond the Walls. Edcuational Leadership , 74-77.

This article discusses the efficacy of the use of podcasts at South Valley Junior High School in Liberty Missouri. Experiments were made podcasting for test reviews which were called StudyCasts.The special education teachers found that the StudyCasts benefit students with reading disabilities. Students can repeat portions of the recorded review or listen to the entire session as many times as they wish. This also helped the teachers use their time more efficiently.(Languorous,2007)
The school also established a Virtual Book Club where the students all accessed a blog where they could discuss the book and listen to interviews by the author of the book. The use of podcasts also added another dimension to the special education population. Their teacher recorded the book which allowed these students to be active participants too.
The author feels that the use of podcasts is an excellent way to address the different learning styles of students. He says that,"blogs and podcasts can more flexibly meet the needs of individual students both in and out of school."(Langhorst,2007)
I appreciated this article because it demonstrated varying uses for podcasts and the effectiveness as well as the benefits that it afforded the special education population.

Podcasts Replace Acceptance Letters

McCafferty, P. (2006). Podcasts Replace Acceptance Letters. Recruitment and Retention in Higher Education , 1-2.

This article describes how Fitchburg State University used podcasts to let students know of their acceptance to the university. The response from the perspective students was positive. They enjoyed sharing the acceptance news with their families and friends.(McCafferty, 2006) "What's important from an admissions perspective is not just the message but the delivery mode," McCafferty said. "It isn't just about the latest flavor and it's not about flash. There's substance behind it. It is about the college as a whole recognizing that technology can improve the way we communicate and learn." (McCafferty, 2006)

I think that this is an important article because it takes the use of podcasting to another dimension. It is not only for classroom or distance learning but can be used in other aspects of the education setting. FSC plans to create a series of podcasts that will help guide students through the entire admissions process and recruiting cycle. In addition they will begin podcasting lecture material as well as class introductions that introduce students to their courses and faculty expectations in those courses before the classes actually begin to meet. (McCafferty, 2006) I believe that this will facilitate the whole admissions and class enrollment. They are using a different modality for teaching which many people will respond to.

Reducing the Effects of Isolation and Promoting Inclusivity for Distance Learners through Podcasting

Lee, M. J., & Chan, A. (2007). Reducing the Effects of Isolation and Promoting Inclusivity for Distance Learners through Podcasting. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education , 85-104.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of podcasting in relationship to the feelings of isolation of distance learners. According to the authors, at most higher education institutions, distance learners have the highest risk of dropping out, and they attribute it to the feelings of isolation.

For this study the podcasts were structured as a series of short, 3-5 minute talkback radio-style segments, with senior students holding discussions on pertinent issues realted to the subject and its content in a relaxed and informal style. (Lee & Chan, 2007) The findings were positive and the students felt much more connected with their class.

I think this is important information for distance education leaders, because by using this information they can insure a better connection with their students and better education. I find it interesting that these podcasts were not necessarily educational but more about clarify assignments, and talking about them so that the students were more comfortable with it. This would be simple to do and according to their research very beneficial.

Podcasting in the Classroom

Flanagan, B., & Calandra, B. (2005). Podcasting in the Classroom. International Society for Technology in Education , 20-25.

The focus of this article was on the inumerable possibilities of the use of podcasting in the education system. The article included instructions on the initial setup for retrieving podcasts, and creating your own podcasts. They make a good argument for the simplicity of creating and retrieving podcasts making it relevant to being used in the education setting. The authors also cite issues that need to be considered which are, having permission to use the materials, monitoring student podcasts, and a dedicated staff willing to help facilitate podcasting in the classroom.

There authors make the point that podcasting is a cost-effective way to deliver instruction and it integrates naturally with audio-dependent courses such as music and foreign languages. Podcasting give students the flexibility of being able to study where ever they are.

The authors conclude that 'podcasting is a new and rapidly developing technology and its potential in the classroom is only limited by the resourcefulness and creativity of faculty, students, and administrators.' (Flanagan & Calandra, 2005)

Instructional Podcasting in Higher Education: Rockingham Community College

Preuss, Michael. Instructional Podcasting in Higher Education: Rockingham Community College Pilot Study. Rep.No. Rockingham Community College. 1-11.

This investigation was undertaken in an effort to understand the usage patterns in instructional podcasting and the impact of instructional podcasting on students and their performance in a community college setting. This pilot study considered both usage patterns and outcome measures. The utilization results described are for faculty and students. In conclusion the author believes that podcasting decreases absenteeism, it may reduce withdrawal rates and may impact instructor classroom practice in such a way that there is an associated improvement in withdrawal rate and cumulative GPA. I am encouraged by the results of this study and am looking forward to more use of podcasting in educational settings. It is an important addition to education for those who are unable to attend the convention classroom.

Intersection of Training and Podcasting in Adult Education

Roy, A. K., & Roy, P. A. (2007). Intersection of training and podcasting in adult education. Australian Journal of Adult Learning , 478-491.

The focus of this article was on podcasting and adult education. It is very useful because it contains the simple basics on how to create a podcast in addition to listing the pros and cons, expenses, useful sites, and what to watch out for. This article is meant for educators teaching adults. The article sites 4 different studies addressing technology and adult learning. I think this is a reliable article, although as fast as technology changes it will be outdated in a few years. There will be better ways to create and distribute podcasts. The author is Assistant Vice-Principal for Finance at Kennesaw State University. He has a Masters in Adult Education and has authored over 52 publications. The author concludes that as part of an overarching coordinated technology strategy, podcasting should be integrated into adult education programs because of its great number of advantages including cost-effectiveness, flexibility and classroom enrichment. I found this article very informative and interesting. I am going to try the free download provided to create a podcast.

Weblog as a Learning Tool in Higher Education

This paper reviews the importance, advantages and results of using weblogs in universities by surveying the projects and research conducted on this subject worldwide (Namwar, 2008). The usefulness of this article is that it reinforces the concept of blogs not only for young students but documents their usefullness at the university level. I see no limitations on the article because blogging is still in its infancy and any information on its usefulness is timely. The audience this article is intended for is anyone interested in using blogging in an educational setting. Although this article addresses the university level the information is pertinent to all age levels. The author sites several studies, the last in 2007, supporting blogging. The author, Yousef Namvar received his B.A. in educational science, and his M.A. in educational science in 2004. Currently he is a PhD student of Islamic Azad University and is also a faculty member. His research interests are e-learning, web-based learning and computer assisted teaching environments. The author feels that blogs and other social software are enabling us to integrate learning as a natural part of everyday life. He also thinks that the boundary between formal and informal learning is slowly becoming blurred as a result. I agree with his assessment that blogging can contribute to an informal learning that happens daily yet is an important education.

Namwar, Y. (2008, July). Weblog as a Learning Tool in Higher Education. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education , 9 . Ardabil Branch, Iran.

Mobile Learning in Developing Nations

Just as North America has been the driving force behind Internet-based distance education, Asia will play a leading role in mobile learning (i.e., m-learning), particularly with respect to education use of mobile phones. (Motik, 2008). This article focuses on the use of mobile learning as opposed to e-learning. U.S. and Canada are the leaders in using e-learning while Asia with the Phillipines and Africa following are turning to m-learning, and argues that it is more benficial for them to do so because mobile phone technology is widespread, easy to use, and familiar to learners and instructors. This article is useful in expanding our vision of other avenues for distance learning. The limitations it may have is that because as is stated, the US is strongly into e-learning, that there may not be much room to try m-learning, although it is successful in Asia. The audience this article was intended for was anyone interested in different methods of providing distance learning. There has been research as recent as 2007 that documents viable interest in distance learning through short message service (SMS) on cell phones in Asia and other countries. The author Scott Motlik, MDE (Masters in Distance Education) and teaches at Athabasca University. The author concludes that Asia will continue to be a driving force in educational uses of the mobile phone owing to its willingness to band together under a unified digital network. Whereas, in North America, the lack of a unified digital network and the reliance on an analogue system has prohibited 3rd generation mobile phone diffusion. The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) allows Asian learners to download "video to their cell phones from pay services, while North Americans are largely scratching their heads over the curiosity of downloading content to a mobile device." (Gizmocafe.com, 2005, p.2).

Gizmocafe.com (2005), Cellular Networks: America's mobile tehcnophobia. http://www.gizmocafe.com/handhelds/cellular-network.aspx
Motik, S. (2008). Mobile Learning in Developing Nations. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning , 9, 1-7.