Running Head: ASSIGNMENT 1: A VISION FOR E-LEARNING 1

Assignment 1: A Vision for E-Learning

Jose Bill Colorado
Student #: 24011108
University of British Columbia
ETEC 520 Section 65A
Submitted to Dr. Tatiana Bourlova
June 23, 2013







A VISION FOR E-LEARNING 2



The Context
D.W. Poppy Secondary is a public high school located in a rural area of Langley, British
Columbia. Curriculum is mandated by the B.C. Ministry of Education and D.W. Poppy is one of
six high schools located within School District 35 (SD 35). The Science Department at D.W.
Poppy consists of 8 instructors one of whom is also the Science Department Head. Science
courses offered at this school include the following: Science 8, Science 9, Science 10, Biology
11, Biology 12, Chemistry 11, Chemistry 12, Earth Science 11, Physics 11, and Physics 12. Half
of the Science Department only teaches science courses while the other half work in other
departments such as math, PE and learning support. During this year the total teaching and
administration team consisted of 51 members. Teaching staff and students were further
supported by 12 special education assistants (SEA). The responsibility of the SEA is to work on
a one-on-one basis or with small groups of students who have been diagnosed with learning
disabilities, behavioural problems and motor skill deficiencies.
As well as their regular academic and physical education courses, students at Poppy have
a choice of many elective courses in industrial education, business, information technology, life
skills and fine arts. Perhaps one of the biggest draw at the school is its extensive musical theater
program which is both demanding and rewarding. A well-rounded student also has the choice in
being involved in many extracurricular activities and all sports offered at Poppy are open to both
males and females. This includes basketball, swimming, track, basketball, ice hockey, golf,
rugby and wrestling. Many academic and elective courses are further supported by clubs that
focus on a specific discipline.
The catchment area of Poppy is rather spread out and student population reside in a rural
or suburban setting with a small group living on the McMillan Island First Nations Reserve
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(D.W. Poppy Secondary, n.d.). In the school year of 2012-2013 approximately 950 students from
Grades 8 to 12 made up the student body with 3 % designated as ESL learners (D.W. Poppy
Secondary, n.d.). The economic background of these students varies from upper middle class to
low income status.
Environmental Scan

Before implementing a new initiative or direction for an institution it is important to
analyze the current situation and determine all the possible factors that may affect the new
initiative. A thorough analysis will result in the identification of potential complications that
may arise during this shift. This would allow administrators and planners to recognize multiple
scenarios and outcomes. In this paper we will look at factors that the institution controls
(internal factors) and factors that are outside of the institutions realm (external factors).
Internal Factors
At D.W. Poppy the existing technological infrastructure has been described as the
foundation for a shack which is trying to support a skyscraper. The wiring and Wi-Fi system
cannot sufficiently support the demands of the increasing number of Wi-Fi devices within the
school. Recently, teaching staff have been using Apple TV to connect their iPads with their
LCD projectors to enhance their teaching. Unfortunately this has caused the Wi-Fi system to
slow down and/or crash which has ultimately affected the entire school. This situation is further
affected by the fact that every teacher in the school was recently given an iPad to aid in their
instruction. Currently there is a part-time computer technician on staff who looks after repairs
and maintenance. He is shared with a nearby high school that is in the same district.
As well, many of the computers within the school have been donated by business
institutions who have upgraded their own computers. Although this charitable act has provided
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the school with technological resources for student use they lack the capability to meet the
demands of some new software and online applications. In total, there are 3 computer labs
within the high school but the best computers are reserved for the IT classes.
As this is a high school one has to consider the maturity of the students who range from
12 years old to 18 years old. These learners would be described by Prensky (2001) as digital
natives due to the fact that they grew up with the internet but there will still be a vast range of
computer literacy within this range. Some learners will have simply used computer for gaming,
Facebook and YouTube while others will have learned to create content with Web 2.0
applications and become familiar with html coding.
In contrast, the majority of the staff is aging and the average age of the science
department is over 40 years old. Certain staff may be unwilling to comply with what they
perceive as radical change. Further complicating this issue is the fact that all teachers are
autonomous instructors who are members of a union. This is not to say that staff would oppose
change but there is that potential. A force that would contribute to an e-learning vision would
be a small group of staff who have volunteered to be part of the technology committee.
Collectively this group would be advocates for technological advancements who also possess a
good understanding of the possible advantages and deterrents that might accompany this change.
Currently all science classrooms are equipped with LCD projectors and Hewlett Packard
(HP) tablet computers. These computers are equipped with a stylus that allows the instructor to
draw, write and highlight directly onto any document. A consensus within the science
department is that the HP tablets are more functional than an iPad but the tablets are over 5 years
old and it is difficult and expensive to replace the stylus if it is broken. In the past year, several
of the HP tablets broke down and during that time certain teachers had to modify their
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instruction. One staff member switched to using his whiteboard during this time and did not
switch back once his HP table was fixed. He lost faith in the reliability of this piece of
technology. The Science Department has also set a goal that focuses on authentic assessment. In
the next few years they will be critically reviewing all digital test banks and contributing new
questions. Although this goal is pedagogically sound, it will require many collaborative working
hours for the science department to complete. Some staff members may consider this too
demanding of a task when it accompanies their regular workload.
External Factors
Just as there are some factors that staff and administration of a school have some control
over, there are other factors that they do not. Examples of these factors include new legislation,
district wide initiatives, change within the community and fluctuating demographics of students.
______________________________________________________________________________
Table 1: Projected enrollment at DW Poppy Secondary over the next 5 years.
School Year Project Student Population
2012-2013 918
2013-2014 923
2014-2015 916
2015-2016 936
2016-2017 929
2017-2018 945
Note: data for this table was obtained from School District No. 35 (2012). Long Range Facilities
Plan: Appendix B, p. 3.
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Using data from D.W. Poppy feeder schools, School District No. 35 (2012) has projected
student enrollment to increase slightly in the next few years. This would result in increased
funding to the school which could be directed towards the technology plan. Current enrollment
for next year has also recognized an increase in the percentage of learners with learning and
behavioural challenges. Many of these learners will be on Individualized Education Plans
(IEPs) and technology could be used to accommodate these IEPs. Class composition may also
be further affected by the passing of Bill 22 which allows an increase in the number of students
with IEPs per classroom as well the number of total students per classroom (British Columbia
Public School Employers Association, n.d.). This potential change in class composition could
increase the demands of the instructor. It is likely that a teacher would be faced with more
classroom management issues and the extra task of creating alternate resources that are adapted
to a learners IEP. E-learning activities that are engaging and accommodate different learning
styles could reduce off-task behaviour and some of the stresses that teachers may face.
As mentioned earlier, the economic status of the learners at Poppy is not equal and thus
there will be varying exposure to computers and other technology. This will result in different
levels of technological literacy coming into the classroom as well as the possibility of students
who cannot access online resources. A teachers plan to flip his/her classroom to focus on
authentic problems and project work during class time may result in deeper learning but if the
daily homework requires students to access YouTube this may not be fair to the less fortunate.
Alternate solutions may involve creating two streams for a particular course or increasing the
number of available computers within a classroom.
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In the next year all members in the school district will have to deal with a new email and
online conferencing program as FirstClass will be phased out. Budgetary cuts and different
available options have resulted in this decision. The current attendance and marks program,
British Columbia enterprise Student Information System (BCeSIS), will also be abandoned. This
change will be welcomed by some as they see this as an opportunity for improvement, while
others may find it an arduous task to learn two new systems. These negative feelings could be
minimized by offering professional development days to train staff.
Vision for E-Learning
Integrating e-learning should have a pedagogical purpose and direction; it should not be
imposed on instructors simply for the reason of staying relevant. The direction of my vision is a
blended approach that incorporates constructivism teaching strategies but is also adaptable to the
needs of both the learners and the instructors.
Bullen and Janes (2007) and Bates and Sangria (2011) suggest that e-learning can
accommodate flexible instructional practices which are a need for todays learners. Teachers
who are able to communicate to their students effectively via the internet will give their students
more opportunities to succeed. This is especially true for students who lead busy lives away
from their academics as well as those who are chronically ill. The method that teachers select for
this communication can also relate to their effectiveness. Many students already use different
types of social media such as Twitter and Facebook thus it would make sense to use these web
applications or ones that are similar. Facebook is currently blocked throughout SD 35 because
teachers cannot moderate all student activity. Without the feature of moderation there is a
potential for off-task behaviour, inappropriate posting and cyber-bullying. Fortunately there are
web applications like Edmodo and Schoology that have a similar interface to Facebook but they
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also afford teacher moderation. These cloud-based learning management systems (LMS) also
help to organize teachers and their learners. Both of these LMS provide learners the opportunity
to interact and manipulate a computer interface by writing online quizzes, completing
assignments online and participating in small or large group discussions. As technology evolves
the prospect of an enhanced learning experience grows and so will the direction towards blended
learning.
Integrating e-learning in a blended classroom will also provide opportunities for 21
st

century learners to hone their technological skills and adapt to their unique learning styles
(Bates, 2000). Moreover, this would allow for learners to develop their digital literacy while
critically assessing situations and collaborating with others; skills that are believed to be
advantageous for the future workforce (Partnership for 21
st
Century Skills, 2011). Todays
learners are also used to the immediacy of the internet as well as sensory rich digital media and
engaging experiences (Bates, 2000). Thus the multiple learning options that computers offer
could be used to aid varying learning styles and students with IEPs. Teachers could also
effectively assist students who wanted to set the pace of their learning. Accommodating student
learning needs is important but the use and activities should be deeply rooted in sound
pedagogical practice.
Constructivism is a learning theory based on the principles of Piaget, Bruner, Vygotsky
and many others and some of its principles have already been mentioned; social collaboration
and experiential learning (512-Constructivism, 2013). Jonassen (1999) supported constructivism
in his opinion that a learner constructs or internalizes knowledge in relation to his/her own
experiences. Virtual experiences are experiences and in the learning process they should be
active and student-centered, not passive and teacher-centered (Smart, Witt, & Scott, 2012). If
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possible these experiences should also be situated in tasks that are authentic (512-
Constructivism, 2013). In order to make the learning effective, teachers would consider these
aforementioned ideas when planning e-learning lessons
In this plan teachers would be supported and encouraged to make changes that fall under
the e-learning vision. Funded professional development options could be used to further educate
teachers towards effective e-learning practices and e-learning leadership positions within the
science department could be offered to help motivate innovative teaching strategies. By the end
of this five year vision it is hopeful that some of the teachers will have collected and created
enough resources to launch a course that is completely online. The experience from this plan
would allow teachers to make a smooth transition to the online format of instruction.
Implications
Even though implementation of an e-learning vision will affect many, the target in mind
is the learners. During this 5 year transition the science students at D.W. Poppy will be exposed
to small group e-learning environments where they will be required to work collaboratively
online. Assignments will be designed to give students options but still be requiring them to think
critically. Graduates will have gained the skills which will give them the confidence to enroll as
well in future online courses, thus giving them more options to reach their career goals.
As mentioned in the Environmental Scan the most important step in this plan is an
upgrade of the existing infrastructure which is dependent on funding as provided by the district.
An upgrade to the Wi-Fi system will allow students to effectively use their electronic devices for
the focus of learning. Classrooms will also be upgraded to have several computers per classroom
allowing less fortunate students to have continuous access to e-learning activities. During this
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time funding will also be allocated to the training of teaching staff so that they can redesign
lessons and become proficient and effective teachers in the field of e-learning.
Instructors will shift their style of instruction to one of a facilitator who uses constructive
teaching practices when applicable. The Science Department will form a professional learning
community (PLC) which will all allow them to collaborate on pedagogical practices with
technology in mind. The PLC will serve to evaluate the e-learning vision as well to create
common learning resources. Discussions on the use of a common LMS will allow for effective
communication and sharing of these resources which will reduce preparation time in the future.
The current departmental goal of creating a test bank with reliable summative assessment
questions will be supported by the PLC.
Success of an e-learning vision at the departmental level will be affected by support from
an administration team that is willing to accept change in their respective roles (Bates and
Sangria, 2011). Administrators will need to support students and staff with respect to their e-
learning and e-instructional needs. Their leadership will invite members outside of the science
department to become involved in this strategic plan and motivate all staff members to contribute
to the plan thus ensuring the acceptance of change. Administrators and members of the e-
learning PLC will continue to analyze the internal and external factors that affect the e-learning
vision which will be communicated to staff. The technology committee and the resident
computer technician will work together to analyze new technologies and web applications. They
will suggest alterations to the vision and offer ideas if the technology is not working. According
to Bates and Sangria (2011), continuous evaluation and restructuring of an e-learning plan will
result in its increased success.
Conclusion
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It is of interest to note that the Grade 8 students of next year will commence their studies
at D.W. Poppy at the beginning of the 5 year plan and they will graduate with the culmination of
said plan. An exit survey of these students could help to evaluate the five years that passed and
provide insight to future e-learning plans. The structure of future e-learning plans will be
affected by changes in technology and other varying internal and external factors but the
approach will be similar. Administrators and teachers will need to work collaboratively to
identify ways to enhance learning. Together they will need to develop a compelling vision with
purposeful yet flexible objectives.
















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