The Power of Social Learning: How to Incorporate Social Learning in Your Classroom

People learn by watching other people. Social learning theory states that we learn from anyone we come in contact. Humans can learn from anyone, including family members, coworkers, and celebrities! The same concept can be applied in education. Students learn through social interactions with other students. As students interact with one another, they also learn from each other. 

We will explore how you can use social learning in your teaching strategy.

Social Learning Benefits

• Retention: when learners discuss how they have applied what they have learned with each other, this helps to enhance content retention.

• Participation: learners interacting with each other helps improve learning and increases participation.

• Collaboration:  improves collaboration by allowing learners to collaborate and share ideas.

• Expanded perspectives:  can expand learners' perspectives by exposing them to different viewpoints and experiences.

Way to Incorporate Social Learning in Your Class

Use social media!

Learners can connect to do assignments, share resources, or discuss topics.

1. X (formerly known as Twitter) - students can research different topics by using hashtags or keywords

2. LinkedIn - students can research different topics, create a LinkedIn group for students to learn from each other, or create their profile and build their network.

3. Facebook - create discussion topics so students can communicate with each other and the instructor. You can also use it to send messages or reminders.

Online Discussion Forums

Online discussion forums can be used to facilitate social learning. Learners can ask questions, share ideas, and collaborate with each other. You can use the discussion tool in your Learning Management System, like Canvas or Blackboard, to encourage student communication and collaboration. 

Benefits of discussion forums: 

• creates a community

• encourages classroom participation

• allows students to contribute better to the discussion by giving them time to formulate their responses

Group projects 

Learners can work together to complete a project and learn from each other. Students can share ideas, collaborate, and build on each other's strengths by working in groups. 

Benefits of Group projects:

• Encourages students to take ownership of their learning and develop essential communication, problem-solving, and time-management skills 

• Helps students develop a sense of community and belonging within the classroom, which can improve the overall learning experience

Peer Review

Learners can review each other's work and provide feedback, enhancing learning and collaboration.

Benefits of Peer Review:

• Encourages learners to engage with and critically evaluate each other's work can help them identify gaps in their understanding and deepen their knowledge

• It can help learners develop critical thinking skills by requiring them to evaluate and analyze each other's work, which can help them develop the ability to assess arguments and make informed decisions

Sample Peer Review Assignments:

• Essay peer review - students can be assigned to read and provide feedback on each other's essays

• Group project peer review - students working on a group project can be asked to provide feedback on each other's contributions and overall performance within the group.

• Presentation peer review - students can be assigned to watch and evaluate each other's presentations.

• Code review - for computer science or programming courses, students can be assigned to review each other's code and provide feedback on style, readability, and functionality.

Mentorship

Learners can be paired with a mentor who can provide guidance and support.

Benefits of Mentors:

• improved grades - guide students on test-taking strategies

• increased self-esteem - having someone who believes in them will make them more confident in their abilities

• creates a feeling of community - introduces students to new experiences and ideas and to people who share similar interests

• increased connection at school

• career guidance - support students in their careers by providing them with job search strategies and networking opportunities

Social learning allows your students to engage more with you and each other, creating more communication and collaboration, leading to more memorable learning experiences. Creating a sense of community is important for supporting learning, especially in online or remote teaching environments.

Effective Course Design with the ADDIE Model

When designing a course, the most important part is ensuring the course is effective and meets the learners' needs. The ADDIE model of instructional design is commonly used for course design to create instructional materials and experiences that are well-organized, engaging, and meet the course learning objectives.

The ADDIE model consists of five phases: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation.

Let's review how using these five phases will help design your course!

Analysis

During the analysis phase, you identify the learners' needs and determine your course's goals. This also includes analyzing who your audience will be, the learners' learning styles, and identifying potential learning barriers.

For example, some questions you can ask yourself will be:

• What do you learners need to learn?

• Do your learners need to know specific skills to take your class? Are there any technical requirements necessary for the class?

• How will the class be structured? Do you plan to use weekly modules or by chapter?

• How will you assess your learner's performance?

• How do you envision their learning environment, and how will this affect their learning? 

• What kind of content will you be designing to engage your learners? For example, will you use graphics, videos, text, or audio?

This phase helps you understand your course needs and how you will measure success.

One way to achieve this is to use the backward design model to identify the learners' needs and determine your course's goals. The backward design model helps you to start with the end goal in mind, which is the desired learning outcomes, and then work backward to create instructional materials and activities that will enable learners to achieve those outcomes.

You can identify what learners need to learn, what skills they need to acquire, and how you will measure their learning outcomes. You can also identify potential learning barriers and determine how to overcome them.

For example, if you are designing a course on project management, you can start with the end goal of the course, which is for learners to be able to manage projects successfully. Then, you can work backward to identify the specific skills and knowledge learners need to acquire to achieve that goal. You can also identify the best instructional materials and activities to enable learners to acquire those skills and knowledge. Lastly, you can determine how to assess the learning outcomes and address any potential obstacles preventing learning.

Design

In this phase, you will create a course outline that includes the following:

• Learning objectives - for your course and modules

• Course materials - content, videos, and audio or other course materials will you be designing for your course or plan to use

• Assessments - assignments, quizzes, projects, or other assessment methods will you be using to measure learning outcomes.

For example, a graphic design instructor might design learning objectives that include learning how to use design software, understanding design principles, and applying them to real-life design projects. The graphic design instructor will use video tutorials to teach learners about design software and hands-on design projects to apply the concepts learned in the course. The instructor will also use quizzes to test the learners' understanding of design principles and assess whether or not they can apply what they have learned to real-life design challenges.

This phase is also where you will decide the most effective delivery methods for the course, such as face-to-face or online instruction.

Development

The development phase is where the actual course materials are created. This phase includes developing course content, creating multimedia elements such as videos or audio, and assessments. During this phase, you must ensure that you create course content accessible to all learners, regardless of their abilities.

For example, a photography instructor during this phase will create course content that consists of videos, audio, and different assessments to ensure that our learners have a well-rounded understanding of photography.

The content will also be accessible to all learners. The instructor will use closed captions in their videos to ensure that learners who are hard of hearing or deaf can still understand the content. He will also provide transcripts of the audio lectures for learners who prefer to read the content. Lastly, he will make sure that course content meets accessibility standards, which include providing alt tags for images and making sure that any external website used in the course can navigated by learners who use assistive technologies.

The photography instructor will create various materials for course content to engage the learners and cater to different learning styles. For example, he will develop interactive quizzes to test learners' knowledge of photography concepts and provide hands-on exercises to allow learners to practice their photography skills. The instructor will also create video tutorials that demonstrate specific techniques and provide examples of how to apply these techniques in real-life situations.

Implement

After developing the course, it is time to implement it. During this phase, the instructor delivers the course to the learners who take the class. Any necessary adjustments are made based on feedback from learners and instructors.

For example, a history college instructor recently developed an online course for their students. The professor implements it by giving their students access to the course materials. As the students go through the course, the professor receives feedback regarding the content, the format, and any technical difficulties they may have experienced. The professor uses this feedback to adjust the course, improve the experience, and meet the needs of the students. For example, most students need help understanding a particular module. In that case, the professor may create additional resources or provide more detailed explanations to help the students better understand the material. Similarly, if there are technical issues with the learning platform, the professor may work with the IT department to resolve them and improve the overall user experience. By making these necessary adjustments, the professor ensures that the course is effective and engaging for their students.

Evaluation

Lastly, the evaluation phase is where the success of the course is evaluated. In this phase, you want to analyze how effective the course materials were, the learner's performance in the class, and identify any areas for improvement.

For example, if you were a high school physics teacher who recently designed and implemented a new course on electromagnetism. You would collect student data and feedback during the evaluation phase to determine the course's effectiveness.

Some ways to collect feedback is to use surveys that ask questions such as:

• Did you find the course materials engaging and useful?

• Were the learning objectives clear and achievable?

• Did the assessments accurately measure your understanding of the material?

• Were you able to apply the concepts learned in the course to real-life situations?

• How can the course be improved?

Based on the feedback collected during the evaluation phase, you can identify areas for improvement and make necessary changes to the course to help future students have an even better learning experience.

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In conclusion, by following the ADDIE model, course designers can ensure that their courses are effective and meet the needs of learners.

Virtual or Augmented Reality in Instructional Design: A Guide for Educators

The world of instructional design is constantly evolving, and virtual or augmented reality (VR/AR) is one of the latest trends in the field. Both of these technologies allow users to engage in immersive learning experiences and allow for some exciting possibilities for learning different content.

Difference between VR and AR

Virtual Reality allows the user to immerse themselves in a computer-generated environment that appears natural. In comparison, Augmented Reality provides a real-world experience of visual elements, sounds, or sensory stimuli delivered through cutting-edge technology. Both have unique benefits and challenges in instructional design.

Let's go over these benefits and challenges.

Learning Objectives

VR/AR can be a powerful tool for creating an engaging and enjoyable learning experience. However, it's important to consider whether the technology is being used to support the course's learning objectives or simply using it for the sake of using it. It should also aid in providing students with hands-on experience and a better understanding of complex concepts.

VR/AR platforms 

Various VR/AR platforms are available, from simple mobile apps to complex headsets. Choose the platform that best suits your learning objectives and budget. For example, Adobe Aero allows you to create immersive AR without coding, which is excellent for beginners. Adobe Aero will enable you to add 2D images from Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Another example is Google Tilt Brush which is great for artists and a great VR design software. It allows you to paint in 3D using different brushes and interact and walk around your artwork.

Realistic Scenarios

The latest AR/VR technologies are revolutionizing how students learn and explore. With immersive learning experiences, students can now travel through time and witness historical events firsthand or explore the human body in remarkable detail. These state-of-the-art tools are opening up a whole new world of possibilities for education.

The power of VR/AR lies in its ability to create realistic, immersive scenarios that textbooks cannot offer. Learners can hone their real-world skills in a secure and structured setting. Whether it's hands-on training or simulated scenarios, these experiences can help learners gain confidence and expertise without the risks associated with real-life situations.

For example, you can create VR scenarios such as medical procedures or visiting Michelangelo's David in the Galleria dell'Accademia without flying to Italy. You can also use AR overlays to view the night sky. For example, SkyView allows students to view the universe and identify stars and planets.

Challenges of using AR/VR

It's worth noting that AR/VR technology can come with some challenges. For starters, it can be quite costly and requires a fair amount of technical resources to maintain. Additionally, some users may experience fatigue or anxiety when using AR/VR due to the high cognitive demand placed on them. It's also important to acknowledge that while AR/VR can be affordable to use in some instances, there are, unfortunately, some educational organizations that may require assistance to be able to afford this technology.

Support and feedback

VR/AR can disorient some learners, so providing clear instructions and feedback is important throughout the experience. Ensure learners know what they are expected to do and allow them to give feedback on their experience. With feedback, you will be able to gauge the effectiveness of the technology.

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To sum up, implementing AR/VR technology in education can revolutionize how students learn by providing immersive, lifelike experiences that translate into improved comprehension and retention of critical concepts.