Mouza Al Ali H00235384

E-learning Resource Project

Educational systems have changed rapidly over the last decades. Thus, “E-learning

management systems” have become fundamental tools that many teachers use. As a

developer of an e-learning resource, I could see the reasons that pushed teachers to

use these systems. The purpose of this essay is to show you some of these reasons, the

outcomes, and to give you useful information about my e-learning resource “Explore:

the world of stories” that I have created.

The Need of the E-learning Resource

Integrating electronic resources has become a need for today’s students who are

known as digital natives (Prensky, 2011). They are born into a technological world

and so they prefer to use computers. E-learning is a flexible tool which can be

available for students all the time. Because of this, students who need more work and

help on certain aspects of the lesson will feel more comfortable of being able to

access the materials whenever they need. Moreover, the self-esteem of shy students

would increase because of the capability of expressing their thoughts and sharing their

ideas without having to speak out in the class. Indeed, teachers have to push students

to improve such skills, and e-learning could help in this by providing appropriate

activities for students like dialogues and speaking activities. Besides, it saves

students’ and teachers’ time by having everything prepared and ready to use which is

a need that teachers have to match not only to move the lesson smoothly, but to let

students feel relaxed as long as their teacher is well prepared. Overall, I have

developed this resource to fill the gaps and match these needs.

The Target Learning Community

To understand the content of the resource, there should be a clear vision of students’

profile and their context. The e-learning resource that I have developed, which I

called explore, focuses on English language arts and targets grade 5 students, 10 years

old. It could be used in a multicultural class or in a class in which students are locals

only. The first lesson aims to develop students’ skills in reading and writing. Grade 5

students would have a good level of reading and writing. However, writing a story

could be a new experience for them so that their level could improve.

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Learning Outcomes

As a developer, I aim to provide students with a flexible tool to encourage them to do

the work. Therefore, they will be motivated and have the willingness to learn.

Furthermore, as a teacher, I believe it is important to develop students 21 century

skills and knowledge. This particular outcome will benefit the students significantly

because it is not for what they are studying at the moment, but for being a successful

person in life and in future job (Framework for 21st Century Learning, 2011). In

addition, e-learning provides many opportunities for independent learning, which

creates space for each student and, therefore, allows for creativity and self-fulfillment.

All of these outcomes are important, and achieving them means achieving the success

in creating a learning environment that is full of opportunities.

Justification of the used Approaches

I have used different approaches in my e-learning resource. In the beginning, I have

used an electronic worksheet which asks students to brainstorm to activate students’

schemata and for the teacher to understand their prior knowledge. According to

Bruner, as we construct and build on student’s knowledge, there are more chances

that students will learn better and faster (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010). After that,

students are going to read a story and think of several things that are related to the

story. This is useful in terms of engaging the students’ ideas when they are going to

write their own story in the next stage. Besides, they will be able to understand the

lesson better as they’ll have the opportunity first to discover the structure of the story

by themselves. Another approach is the quiz, which applies one of Bloom’s

Taxonomy skills as it is an enjoyable challenge for students’ memory. I have also

used some pictures to stimulate students’ visually.

Overview of the Development of the Project

I started doing my project by choosing my domain and then installing the software

application which is Wordpress. Then, I chose a theme that supports one of my main

aims which is providing a relaxing environment for students. After that, I chose the

subject and the lesson, planned for my lesson and chose the activities that I will use. I

did many changes in the activities to make sure they are suitable for grade 5. Finally, I

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added some quotes and useful links in the home page to show students that it’s not

restricted to their lessons only.

The Project’s Evolution Details

In the first activity, students are supposed to predict what the story, which they’ll read

in the next stage, is about. This activity will reflect their ideas and thoughts about

stories in general which will give the teacher a clear vision about their prior

knowledge. According to constructivism theory, it is better to link the old knowledge

of students with the new knowledge so they can absorb the lesson easily (Pritchard,

2007). I’ve added the brainstorm wall at the bottom to motivate students, and it is

helpful for the teacher too because s/he can check as they are writing. Bruner has

suggested that the “motivation” will increase the students’ will to learn (Bruner,

2006). The worksheet has been designed this way (see figure 1.b) so students know

what to think about when predicting and it might help in understating the lesson.

Moreover, doing it in groups is helpful in terms of developing communication and

collaboration skills. In addition, as Krashen suggested in his theory, Acquisition-

Learning Hypothesis, the interaction between students in the target language will

develop students’ acquisition of this language (Freeman & Freeman, 1998).

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Figure 1.a Figure 1.b

Mouza Al Ali H00235384

This activity will develop students’ level in reading. Giving an example and let them

discover the structure before teaching it will contribute in students’ success and will

move the lesson in a good pace. Thinking critically about the problem-solution in the

story is going to develop students’ skills in critical thinking and problem solving and

these are important skills in 21st century. Moving on, the main activity is to use the

chart to analyze the story and find the parts. Students will understand what each part

includes. In this activity, I have given students the opportunity to add their critical

thinking writing in Facebook. This is because I want my students to see what others

might say about their thoughts, and to provide an opportunity for a communication

that is unbounded (Trilling & Hood, 2001).

The third activity is letting students to write a story. They have to

practice writing to deepen what they’ve learnt. Furthermore, it

allows the teacher to assess their understanding and match the needs

of the students who need more help. The teacher will guide students,

and scaffold them whenever they need so they can reach a higher

level as suggested in Vygotsky’s theory of ZPD (Boettcher &

Conrad, 2010). As the teacher is observing, s/he can give

feedback so students know what areas to work more on. This

type of assessments is called “Formative assessment”, while in the

next stage students will have a quiz about the story and about the

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Figure 2.a Figure 2.b

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structure of the story which is a “Summative assessment”. By the

end, students will do a project presenting their work in

Power Point and they will be assessed by their peers and teacher.

Recommendations for Future Projects

If I will do this project again, I will consider the auditory learning style as I didn’t

provide an activity that focuses on listening except for the first activity where they

have to discuss in groups. I would also try to include more materials for independent

learning.

To conclude, I’ve developed this resource because the students’ today need interactive

materials that can encourage them and increase their curiosity to learn more. This

resource which links many theories together seems to be very effective in teaching

this new generation. The applications in this field are huge, and each teacher has his

creative method of designing it considering students’ and teaching’s contexts.

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References:

Boettcher, J. V. & Conrad, R. (2010). The Online Teaching Survival Guide: Simple and Practical Pedagogical Tips. (1st ed.). San Francisco : Jossey-Bass

Bruner, J. S. (2006). The will to learn. In Search of Pedagogy: Volume 1. 1st ed. New York: Routledge

Framework for 21st Century Learning. (2011). Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 202(3), 12-6429. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/1.__p21_framework_2-pager.pdf

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Pritchard, A. (2007). Effective Teaching with Internet Technologies: Pedagogy and Practice. California: Sage Publications Inc.

Tricomi E. T. (1986). Krashen’s Second-language Acquisition Theory and the Teaching of Edited American English. Journal of Basic Writing, Vol. 5, No. 2, 1986. Retrieved from http://wac.colostate.edu/jbw/v5n2/tricomi.pdf

Trilling, B. & Hood, P. (2001). Learning, technology, and education reform in the Knowledge Age or 'We're wired, webbed, and windowed, now what?'. In C. Paechter, R. Edwards, R. Harrison, & P. Twining, Learning, Space and Identity. London: Sage Publications Inc.

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