Reflection 4 - Description of intervention

As can be seen from my previous reflections I have reflected on how I am currently using a blog.

Feedback from students (positive):
1. Keeps a connection with the lecturer and the student when they are away from class
2. They can always go back to information to reference the feedback given when corrections needs to be made.
3. The peer review factor is invaluable, getting different peoples views on your work makes you see it in an entirely different view and your see a more holistic manner.
4. Having the pictures of your practical work makes it easier to have a different 'look' at it, it also seems that you can see more when viewing the pictures than when looking at the actual case.
5. 

Feedback from students (negative):
1. Students find that commenting on each post is time consuming and sometimes they forget to check the the blog and receive some of the information late.
2. Sometimes it is difficult to find information, so they would have liked it if the blog could have tabs, like Facebook, so that it is easier to find certain posts, pictures and videos.
3. Some students are not too keen on posting their views or comments on the blog as they are shy/affraid of what the other students will think (spelling, grammer).
4.

Feedback from practicing Dental technicians and Dental technologists:
1. They recommended that they only post one comment as an overview of a specific group of cases posted and not on each case as this would be very time consuming and they might not do it very effectively. They would then look at all the cases and post one general comment on all the work and not each individual case. General mistakes made by the entire group of students.
2. This is a good idea as this will give them easier access to the students work without having to sacrifice their time away from the laboratory.
3. They would make recommendations on what I can include in my teaching and especially provide feedback to the student on how they can improve.
4. They also recommended that I could get one or two dentists to comment on what they like in their work and also provide some feedback to the tudents

Reflection 3 - Established practice and Affordances

I have gone through literature which supports blended learning and which would most effective for my intended outcomes and I have decided that the use of a Blog would work best. I have been using a blog for almost 2 years now, initially just posting questions to the students via this media. Initially I wanted to just forward information and create interest in topics discussed in class for that day.

I would post topics to discuss for each student to discuss and provide feedback to each one and the other students could engage once i provided my initial feedback. In the beginning the students wanted to know if any of the topics discussed would be covered in the exams.

I started using the blog with the second, third and forth year students and did have difficulty getting everyone to interact with the posts on the blog. I had the best interaction with the forth year students, while the second year students were sceptical of the benefit to them by using or posting on the blog.

This Year:
My class group range from 32 (largest) to 15 (smallest) students in a class. The larger of the class groups are out First year students. This is more difficult to create an exercise for them as they know nothing of the theory or practical. I find that they would not necessarily be able to engage or interact with the activities as I would hope necessarily hope for. A way to overcome this could be to create an activity that would only require them to identify and not explain as yet and try to develop the explaining (reflecting) exercise.

For the present Second year group of 21 students, I have used my blog on which I initially posted questions and asked them to answer. This worked fine unless there was a student who happens to answer the entire question and defeats the entire purpose of the exercise, which is to allow other students to interact/engage with the question or comments. I have also found that students are more willing to interact if they are not the first person that has to post information. In order for them to overcome this fear, I post pictures of my own cases fabricated during class or that of previous students. I then ask them to identify errors or characteristics that they would change. I have found that this makes them feel a little better about themselves publicly through their work.

I have also asked students to produce their own demo videos of work we are busy with in the class, calling it 'a demo from a students perspective'. I feel that this makes them feel part of the teaching and learning process. I also post one of my own 'non professional' demos, to show them it does not need much to produce; just a few strategically chosen photographs or a short video clip, to make their own demo using their own work, irrespective of what it looks like as an end product. This has worked well and have received positive feedback from students.

For the third year students I will use similar exercises and ask them to engage with the material at a different level also try to integrate some material manipulation into discussion regarding the practical cases.

For the forth year students I am thinking of using/posting a problem situation on the blog (post pictures of models, models are a gypsum representation of the patients mouth). I will then ask each student to tell me what dental appliance they would design on their respective models as well as materials they think would be most effective and affordable, they would also need to motivate their decision with relevant literature.

I take this as a work in progress and develop new methods to encourage interaction. I find that the blog would work best for me as can have dental technicians from the profession interact and provide the students with feedback on their work as well as give the students advise on how to fabricate a denture using a different method but still following the principles as per department instructions or give them some short cuts (but this would mostly be for senior students).

I feel if I develop a few means of engaging the students I can get them to interact with the material and cases in a constructive manner.

Reflection 2 - Literature review

Looking back on reflection 1 and input from the facilitators, I have come to realize that I would like to bring to our students attention the fact that practical is not the subject they should enjoy the most because they can be creative at their desks/workbenches. It is something that they would be able to do with so much more enthusiasm and drive because if they interact with the theory while doing the practical, they would be able to think 'outside the box' better. It would allow them 3 dimensional thinking.

The focus of Dental Technology is the practical because a Dental Technician fabricates dental appliances. The one thing both qualified and training dental technicians tend to loose focus of is that the Theory and the knowledge of the dental materials make us better all round dental technicians. With technology I hope to enhance student learning. A difficulty would be to design appropriate learning activities for our students that would emphasis this need and assist with its development.

As stated by Veletsianos (2005) blended learning/education focuses on cognitive concerns, as how to best structure learning materials for effective and efficient retention, which we all want for our students. The activities should be student centered or it will be rendered pointless because students will refuse to interact with the technology. Activities done in class should not be duplicated using the technology but should be adapted in order for the student to be able to interact or engage with the material covered in class. The value for them to complete or participate should be clear, this view is confirmed/ acknowledged by Veletsianos, 2005.

The aim of such an endevour should always be to meet higher level objectives and outcomes. Rutherford 2010 calls the use of technology user driven social media platforms and say it can be on informal professional development. Couros (2010) also suggests that technology can be used to create a connection with the student and the current profession within your own discipline, in order to create online communities.
This would lend itself to creating an online area where past students can refer back to work that they have done or that current students are engaging with. It is important that students be introduced to the dental communities (Dental Laboratory owners and Dental Technicians), before entering the workplace. Possibly introduce the wider community to critique students (Btech, 4th year) engagement with regards to the process followed for the fabrication of a dental appliance. This could be an integral part of the students learning process, to see how other professions perceive their work and the level the quality is at. What is the value of a learning activity if it's not memorable.

Mason and Rennie (2006) also advocates putting the students needs first, possibly ahead of the context. When wanting to implement the use of technology within your teaching programme it is important to look at whether there will be adequate technical support and that the lecturer would be able to provide fast feedback to students (Tabor, 2007). By using technology as a tool to interact with students outside the classroom should also not be perceived by students as a reason to not attend class. It could serve as a tool to develop a more responsible student with better time management skills.

Glogoff (2005) recommends logging as an instructional tool which will and could promote interactivity and which is student centered. Blogging allows the participant to say what they think and to receive feedback quickly. It also promotes extended dialogue about topics dicussed in class or continues from blog posts. Blogging can be used to lead students through developmental concepts of the discipline's knowledge domain. Glogoff (2005) is also of the opinion that guest users can respond to students comments and cases presented on the blog and that this allows the student to analyse the deeper structures necessary to make sound decisions when evaluating information. It creates the concept of the community of inquiry and community practices. It can also emphasize the importance of social and peer interaction as a focus of the student group.  Blogging can be used to lead students through the foundations of that discipline in order to contextualise real experiences. The role a blog can play for me is; I am the instructor and I lead students toward identifying appropriate conceptual processes and solving real-life challenges.
It will also develop receptive learning by encouraging students to acquire information and report on what they have learned.

Conclusion:
I feel that blogging can be a valuable technological tool for the purpose I intend to use it for in which I use my expertise to guide and instruct students on information and cases they are presented with. It will allow students to partake in discussion and receive guided feedback which will aid in their progress and academic development to the appropriate level of thinking.

References:


Couros, A. (2010). Developing Personal Learning Networks for Open and Social Learning. In G.
Veletsianos (Ed.), Emerging Technologies in Distance Education (pp. 109-128).
Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press.


Dunlap, J. C., & Lowenthal, P. R. (in press). Learning, unlearning, and relearning: Using Web
2.0 technologies to support the development of lifelong learning skills. In G. D.
Magoulas (Ed.), E-infrastructures and technologies for lifelong learning: Next
generation environments. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.


Glogoff,S. 2005. Instructional blogging: Promoting interactivity, student-centered learning, and Peer Input. Innovate  1 (5).

Mason,R. & Rennie, F. (2006). Elearning: The key concepts. London: Routledge.


Rutherford, C. (2010). Facebook as a Source of Informal Teacher Professional Development. In
education, 16(1). Available at http://ineducation.ca/article/facebook-source-informalteacher-professional-development


Tabor,S. (2007). Narrowing the distance: Implementing a hybrid learning model for information security education. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education,8 (1), 47 - 57.

Vaughan,N. (2007). Perspectives on blended learning in higher education. International Journal on Elearning,6 (1), 81 - 94.

Veletsianos,G. (2011). Designing Opportunities for Transformation with Emerging Technologies. Educational Technology,51 (2), 41 - 46.