MOST

When I first read about MOST, I was very glad to see a method that is used for at-risk students.  So far, none of my graduate courses have discussed students with learning disabilities or those who are at-risk. I believe that literacy is important and this method is useful as a way to meaningfully engage at-risk students in learning.  It is very necessary to capture the attention of these students at an early age so that they can have a bright future.

The only limitation I see is that, if the videos are poorly planned and produced, they will only be a source of entertainment for the students rather than a content-rich resource.    The instructor must ensure that the videos support the content and instruction.

I like this method, but don’t think I will use it because I don’t have any at-risk students.  If I ever need to use MOST, I will not hesitate to do so and I am glad that I know of its existence. 

I could see this method being used to teach language.  I lived in Germany for six years and attempted to speak the language in three ways. 

1)      Immersing myself in the environment-didn’t work so well.  The Germans didn’t seem to understand me, though I do speak fluent restaurant German.

2)      Taking conversation courses-Was good for learning basic grammar and how to structure a sentence.  Some of the practice conversations were kind of contrived.  For example, “My name is Karen. I come from the USA.” does not come up in many conversations.

3)      Watching German TV-I learned a great deal the few times we were on tour and I got to watch German tv, especially one particular show with a lot of drama.  I could understand even more by turning on the closed captioning. 

The point of all of this is that I believe meaningful video with text works for language acquisition and basic literacy.  MOST is the equivalent of me watching German TV with the closed captioning turned on so that I can learn to speak the language. 

There are many ways to use MOST with technology.  I imagine that schools with at-risk students generally don’t have good budgets so low-budget or free might be the best plan.  If the students need to create their own online book to tell a story, Bookbuilder is something they can use.  I have managed to do a lot of things with Microsoft products as well.  For example, I can take clip Art in a Power Point saved as a JPEG and turn it into a movie with Windows MovieMaker.  For the narration you can either use Audacity, a free audio recorder, or a text to speech program.  I have found some free text to speech programs, although the voices don’t sound as natural as the paid programs.  You can always upgrade and they have voices in different languages.  Here is a link to one I used last week.

http://www.spokentext.net/login.php

Star Legacy

Once again, a method I have studied in class has helped me to create training for work.  I really needed some divine inspiration for an Equal Opportunity class I have to give next month and I certainly found it in this week’s lesson.  I will be using this method to present training on racism and sexism.  This topic is not new to anyone who has been in the army longer than a day so it is hard to think of new ways to make the subject matter interesting.  Here is how I will use the five areas of the Star Legacy to give training:

1-Challenge-I will present two problems-one on racism and one on sexism.  These problems will be presented through video scenarios.

2-Thoughts-I will give the students two different index cards( one for racism and one for sexism) and ask them to write the definition for each topic in their own words. They will then go to the poster board to write their phrase which will be read out loud to the group.

3-Perspectives and Resources-I will then give the definitions and characteristics of racism and sexism.

4-Assessment-We will review the scenarios and discuss key terms.  Then we will, as a class, answer five questions in the Power Point Quiz

5-Wrap-up- I will ask everyone to look at their card and write how their opinion has changed on another poster board.   We will discuss these changes with the entire group.

The only problem I had with creating this lesson was getting my topic in the order that it is presented in the lecture.   I really wanted to have the students write down their thoughts before they watched the video because I want to gage what they already know.   The video will help to provoke thoughts on the topics.

Many technology resources can be used with Star Legacy.   I am using videos to present the scenarios.  If I wanted to present this training online, I could replace the index cards and poster board with a blog and use an online quiz for each individual instead of quizzing the group using Power Point.

Anchored Instruction

At first it was hard for me to distinguish Anchored Instruction from Problem-Based Learning or Goal-Based Scenarios. A lot of these systems share some similarities, but if you look below the surface, you will find that each is different in subtle ways.

As with a lot of other methods, Anchored Instruction involves a lot of time.  The instructor has to find resources to embed and come up with cover stories.  The only solution I see to this problem is to use Anchored Instruction less often.  This limited use gives the instructor more time to come up with fresh ideas and keeps the students from getting bored with overuse of the method.

If I can find a way to use Anchored Instruction, I will.  I am a proponent of any method of instruction that involves the application of inert knowledge in real-world situations.  Why study clarinet if you aren’t going to play in a concert?  I find it appealing that Anchored Instruction has the information embedded into the cover story.   This embedded information is perfect for younger students who need more scaffolding.  

So far, I haven’t come up with a solid idea for implementing this method.  I think I could best utilize Anchored Instruction when I have a video to present.  Since I am required to give classes with no test at the end of the instruction, keeping the audience engaged is a major problem.  I am constantly looking for new ways to check for understanding.  Perhaps I can pass out some sort of learning guide with questions and problems before I present the video.  The audience will have no choice but to pay close attention to the details of the video.

The best way to utilize Anchored Instruction is through web quests.     According to Skylar, Higgins, and Boone, with web quests, students are given:

• a structured environment,

• specific steps for completing the task,

• a list of appropriate Web sites, and

• instructions for compiling data for the research

project.

All of these points fit perfectly with Anchored Instruction.

Reference:

Skylar, A., Higgins, Higgins, K, & Boone, R. (2007).  Strategies for Adapting Web Quests for Students With Learning Disabilities.  Intervention in School and Clinic, 43(1), 20-28.

Goal-Based Scenarios

For some reason, I looked at the printed notes for the lesson before I watched the screencast.  The first slide about children learning because they are motivated really caught my attention. I agree with every statement on the first few slides and it is a mystery to me why some students (myself included) enter kindergarten with a strong desire to learn, but become turned-off to education by the time they reach middle school.  I often wonder what occurred during those years to create such a change in attitude.   It’s like an educational black hole. I believe that Goal-Based Scenarios will help students remain interested in school and in learning.

 The major challenge to Goal-Based Scenarios is that it appears to be time-consuming.  An instructor would have to think of a scenario for each subject and some less- creative instructors would have a difficult time with this task.  The solution to this problem would be to use only a few Goal Based Scenarios.  Perhaps they could best be used as a fun way to review material before a test. A less creative instructor could also “borrow” ideas from their peers.

I will probably use this method at some point because I am always looking for creative ways to present training.  I just need to figure out what motivates adult learners.  Each place I am stationed will have different groups with different motivations.  In my last army band, the average age was around 35.  In my current army band, the average age is much younger. Whatever the age, I must quickly assess the group and determine what their interests are.  I have always believed that most people are interested in themselves so I would try to make the scenarios personal to the students by including their interests.

Technology can be utilized to greatly enhance Goal-Based Scenarios.  Web sites are the best way to present the scenarios.   Interactive games are a perfect way to capture the students’ interest and teach them a set of skills.