Flexible Learning Environment

Learning Outcomes: challenge yourself to attain the following:

1. Described a flexible learning environment and the different platforms used

for flexible learning
2. Recognized how innovative teachers use online resources and educational
sites and portals for online distance learning
3. Reflected on the use of technology and on its relevance and appropriateness

D istance learning is a method of learning without a face-to-face interaction with

the teacher and delivered via telecommunications. Earlier, this involved
correspondence course wherein the student related with the teacher via mails.

With the advent of newer technologies, distance learning is delivered via

computer – based media thus called online learning or e-learning. This made
classrooms borderless and learning boundless.

Online Distance Education and

Communities of Learners

Learning nowadays is observed differently. The present generation of students

has access to facts and information at a click of a mouse. The instructor is no longer
seen as basically the dispenser of knowledge but rather as one who facilitates or
expertly directs students to take their own track in searching and examining for
answers to questions raised inside the teaching space or classroom.

Learning space is every chance or corner. Learning takes place anytime and
anywhere and this adds to the concept of flexibility in the learning environment. With
technology, learners can possibly remain to join class sessions even if they are not
physically around. The learning space becomes virtual (cybernetic) or mediated
(facilitated). The library is not just only a physical structure but has also become
virtual.

Online distance learning is not a new model. Some schools, higher education
institutions in the country, and educational agencies such as the Southeast Asian
Ministers of Education Innovations in Educational Technology (SEAMEO-INNOTECH)
provide mode of learning. It allows flexibility in learning to a certain extent (Bilbao, et
al., 2019).
The Different Platforms

The flexible mode of learning used a platform such as

Moodle, Google classroom, Edmodo, Schoology , etc.
These are free programs designed for educational
purposes, it has features that are patterned after the
instructional activities of a professor in a physical
classroom.

Moodle stands Modular Oriented Dynamic Learning

Environment which is an open source software created
by Martin Dougiamas, founder and CEO of Moodle. It
is a Learning Management System (LMS) that
supports teaching and learning.

Google Classroom and Edmodo Google

Classroom is a free service for teachers and
students. It is an LMS (Learning Management System)
platform that is accessible google account. You can
create and perform your roles and functions as a facilitator of learning.

In 2008, Edmodo was created by Nic Borg Jeff O’Hara and Crystal Hutter. Martina
(2015) compared Edmodo and Google Classroom, despite of its commonalities, there
are apparently differences but with technology, things evolve in so short a time. What is
clear is that they were created as apps that can integrate well with classroom activities.

Schoology is another LMS founded in 2009 by

Jeremy Friedman, Ryan Hwang, Tim Trinidad and
Bill Kindler.

You can create your own online distance education learning system using any of these
platforms.

Another recent modality to learning is the Massive Open Online Course/s (MOOCs).
MOOCs is a model for delivering learning content online to any person who wants to
take a course. This modality allows one to pursue learning even outside of university or
higher education formal structure.

EDUCAUSE is a non-profit association with the mission is to advance higher education

through the use of information technology. Please view this URL below for more
information…
(https://library.educause.edu/topics/teaching-and-learning/massive-open-online-course-
mooc)
SYNCHRONOUS AND ASYNCHRONOUS

In the flexible learning mode, the undertakings or activities can be done in two
ways: (a). synchronous and (b). asynchronous.

An online chat at a real time is a Synchronous session. Course participants

meet in a virtual classroom and converse a topic in the lesson as per agreed on a
scheduled session. So wherever they are situated in the world, they log in to join the
live class.

Asynchronous session is when questions, activities or tasks are posted and

course members answer the questions or post their reply at any time most suitable or
convenient to them. Members can still participate in the discussion by replying later to
the post. One advantage is that you can take your time when replying.

BLENDED LEARNING

Another way of handling flexible leaning is combining modalities of instructional

delivery. Blended learning is a combination of learning activities wherein a part of the
lesson is delivered online while the other part is handled in real or actual physical
setting of a classroom.

Kinds of Blended Learning Model

 Face to Face Driver Model
 Rotation Model
 Flex Model
 Online Lab Model
 Self-Blend Model
 Online Drive Model
 Figure 1. Six models of blended learning
Source: http://www.oamk.fi/epooki/2016/rise-blended-learning/

Online Communities of Learning/Social Networking

In teaching and learning situation, you work on data or information, collaborates
with friends, classmates, professors, colleagues and other members of society, then
social networking can also be employed as an educational tool. Now a day, we consider
online networking by having Facebook account and use this platform to communicate.
Networking – is the action or process of interrelating with others to
interchange or exchange information and develop professional or social contacts. It is
the joining or linking of computers to allow them to activate interactively.
A network is a group of individuals who communicates and associates or
connects on a regular basis. If a person has a personal network of friends or people, he
or she can tap on the potential contacts for educational, social and professional
purposes.

Social Networking Platforms

 The use of dedicated websites and applications to relate with other users, or to
find individuals with similar interests to oneself is called Social Networking.

A social networking service is an online platform which people use to create

or build social networks or social relationship with other people who share similar
special/personal or career interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections.
Social networking services vary in format and the number of features.

Social networking services can be done mainly in 3 ways:

 Social Networking websites
 Instant Messaging Services
 Video Calling
Social Networking websites
A website that enables users to create public profiles with in that Web site. It is
used to form relationships with other users on the same Web site who access their
profile. Example: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Google+. Commented [AA1]:

Instant Messaging Services

The interchange of typed messages between computer users in real time via the
Internet. Now available as a feature in most of the Social Networking websites like
Facebook, Google+ and etc. Independent Instant Messaging Services are Yahoo
Messanger, Gtalk, MSN messanger, Meebo and etc.

Video Conferencing
Communication between two individuals at different sites by using computer
networks to transmit audio and video data. A webcam and a microphone are required.
Some of the common Video Conferencing Platforms are Skype, Yahoo Messanger and
LotusLive.

Common Social Networking Platforms

Facebook – the biggest social networking site founded in February 2004. Facebook
was founded by Mark Zuckerberg. It is the most used and popular
social network service by worldwide monthly active users. It allows
users to post their profile, blogs, pictures and videos. It lets one share
status updates, news articles with friends.
 Twitter – Dorsey introduced the idea of an individual using an SMS
service to communicate with a small group. The original project code
name for the service was twttr. Founded in 2006. Twitter does not
only provide social networking service but it also gives online news.
Twitter is the site where users post and interact with messages called
“tweets” restricted only to 140 characters. Friends may tell that they
saw the breaking news on Twitter.

Google+ is a social networking and identity service owned and

operated by Google Inc. It is designed to be a total communication
social network launched in 2011. Users can make friends and
remained up to date with old friends without leaving their Gmail
account.

LinkedIn is easily one of the most common or popular professional

social networking sites or apps for work and is available in over 20
languages. It is used across the globe by all types of professionals and
serves as an ideal platform to connect with different businesses, locate
and hire ideal candidates, and more. The website lets one upload his
educational qualification, work history, skills and relevant experiences.

YouTube is an American website and the world’s largest video sharing social
networking site that enables users to upload, view, share
videos, comments and like them. This social network is
available across the globe and even enables users to create a
YouTube channel where they can upload all their
personally recorded videos to showcase to their groups,
friends, families and followers.

Instagram is a unique social networking platform that was

completely based on sharing photos and videos. This photo sharing
social networking app thus enables you to post photos with captions
allowing followers to like or comment on one’s post. It is the best
social networking site for photography.

Instagram allows you to apply multiple filters to your photos and you
can easily post them to other popular social networking sites, such as
Facebook and Twitter.

Pinterest is a photo sharing and visual bookmarking social

media site or app that allows you to find new ideas for your
projects and save them. Founded by Ben Silberman, it
was designed as a catalogue of ideas or project ideas. This
is an excellent choice for those who have passion for creativity.

Myspace is a music-focused social

networking site that provides an interactive
and user-submitted network of friends.
Members can make friends, post blogs,
personal profiles, pictures, videos and so on.
It is a fitting social networking website for music.

Tumblr serves as a social media cum micro blogging platform

that can be used to find and follow things that you like.
Having been owned by Yahoo since 2013. You can also use it
to post anything like quotes, music, links, including
multimedia, to a short-form blog. Moreover, it gives you the
flexibility to customize almost everything.

Skype is one of the most popular communication-based social

networking platforms. It is owned by Microsoft. Skype allows you to
link or connect with people through voice calls, video calls (using a
webcam) and text messaging. You can even conduct group
conference calls. And, the best part is that Skype-to-Skype calls are
free and can be used to communicate with anyone, located in any
part of the world, over the internet.

Flickr is another highly popular photo-sharing website

created by Ludicorp in 2004. It serves as a display
place to upload numerous high quality images,
especially people who love photography. It is also an
efficient online photo management and sharing
service.

TikTok is a social video app that permits its users to

share short videos. There’s plenty of stickers, filters and
augmented reality features to add to your videos. It was
the 4th most downloaded app in 2018 and looks like it’ll
top that list in 2020.

TikTok is known in China as Douyin, which means

“Vibrating Sound”. Available on iOS and Android,
TikTok is popular for creating short music videos of between 3 and 15 seconds. You can
also produce short looping videos of between 3 and 60 seconds.
Reasons of Social networking sites popularity:
 Free of Costs
* They do not charge to create an account, update status or to upload pictures
and videos
 Find & make new friends
* help you get in touch with those people whom you no longer meet in your
everyday life such as buddies from school, colleges or work
 Easy to use
* It’s a user friendly platform
 Lots of features
* Uploading videos, sharing photos, playing games, chat with friends and etc.
 Commercial use
Ads targeted for people belonging to certain area have eventually helped
the companies in maximizing profit.
Marketing: moreover, it helps in dissemination or spreading the word all
over the world.
Most of the companies are turning towards these sites for advertisement
purpose.
The geographical information about a person is known.
Use of these sites for the purpose of targeted ads and publicity.

Dangers that a user should take into consideration:

Phishing - is the attempt to obtain confidential user information by camouflaging as a

trustworthy entity in an electronic communication, usually in the form of an e-mail or
instant messenger. This is where URL spoofing comes into play. Electric
communications substituting as messages sent from companies such as eBay, PayPal,
Youtube and online banks are a common camouflage for scam artists. The infected e-
mails or messages usually direct a user to enter confidential information into an
illegitimate website, where the attacker can easily gain access the user’s details.

Cyber stalking - is literally harassing and following another person online. Social
networking sites open up many doors for cyber stalking.

URL spoofing - is when one website poses as another website for malicious reasons.
This assail involves the cloning of a legitimate web page, such as a bank site. The
cloned site is created on another server under the control of the scam artist and is
created to deceive users into believing they are on a trusted site. Users then proceed
using passwords or account details on this cloned website, allowing the attacker to
happily steal and utilize the information for illicit reasons.
Safeguarding Oneself when Engaging in Social Networking Sites
(Bilbao, et al., 2019).

 Social networking account has passwords and log-in details. Secure passwords
and keep the private.
 Log out every time you use public computer.
 Regularly check privacy settings of social networking websites.
 Online posts are saved and may become a permanent part of their online
reputation.
 Do not accept invites from contacts unless you know them personally.
 Seriously consider the effect of possible posts on others before deciding to do so.
 Using appropriate language is essential.
 Better be safe than sorry.
 Where there is an indication of harassment or abuse, it is advised that you report
this by clicking the report button of abuse.
 Bullying takes place even in social networking websites.

Cyberbullying uses the site’s messages, updates, and other functions to harass,
intimidate, taunt, humiliate, or pick on individual.
When this happens, you can do the following:
 ignore the behavior by not responding at all;
 block the person;
 click the report button or abuse; or
 talk to trustworthy adult about it.
Online Resources, Educational Sites
and Portals
“When you know, what you know and do not know, that is true knowledge”
- Confusius

O nline sources, sites and portal suggest tools and describe how they can be used to engage
learners. Below is the image of iPad apps, android apps and web tools which you can use in
the teaching and learning process.

Source: http://selectedreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Digital-Storytelling-wheel.png

Digital Storytelling Wheel

iPad apps Android Apps Web Tools

 Lego Friends Story  Pic Collage  Thinglink
 Adobe Spark Page  Comic Creator  Google Slides
 Puppet Pals HD  Book Creator  Tiki Toki
 Tellagami  Animoto Video Maker  Timeline Creator
 30hands  Story Dice  Little Bird Tales
 Toontastic  Comic Strip It  Capzies
  Tell About This  Flipagram  Zimmer Twins
 Zooburst  Video Editor  Storyboard That
 Shadow Puppet Edu  Voice Thread

Educational Sites and Portals

The net is loaded with a lot of information which you can use in the teaching and
learning process. There are parties that host educational services through websites and
portals that opens room for tools, applications, activities, and articles that provide ideas
and suggest ways on the use of technology tools.

One of the best portals that can be explored is Educational Technology and
Mobile Learning. It consists of tools, applications, edtech charts, books, links and many
more are found in categories arranged by subject area and competency.
Source:https://www.educatorstechnology.com/

The administrator of this site allows users to download, print, share the materials
just as long as proper citation is done and that the materials are shared free of charge.
If you are interested in implementing Free Educational Technology in the classroom, the
administrator highly encourages you to share this blog (Bilbao, et al., 2019).
In the digital era, the teacher should have:
The right mindset or way of thinking how tools ca be effectively integrated in the
lesson.
One who has the openness to learn and continuously study the features of the
tool for technology-enhanced lesson productivity.
Have the positive attitude to learn by nurturing curiosity and sustain the passion
to improve practice.
Persevere as he/she learn to adapt to the evolving digital tool.
Source:http://selectedreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/The-Profile-of-a-Modern-Teacher.png