Fulbe Songs

Instructional Design

It's not an easy task to design an online material for instructional purposes. A designer needs to have specific knowledge and skills about the subject matter. However; Iam starting to design an online course in History and I have no such a skill or knowledge. Learning thinkers, especially, Behaviorists, like Skinner and Thorndike were using rats and cats in teaching these animals to get food in boxes. In either cases learning happened by trial and error. I will be designing an online course in History of Fulani and Culture for grade 12 High schools. The course aims to realize the following goals &objectives:
Goals:
By the end students will be able to:
* Demonstrate awareness and adherence to Fulani history and culture
* Prepare themselves to address future issues & cultural diversity
Objectives
Students will be able to:
* Understand historical events
* Derive lessons from the study of history
* Demonstrate an understanding of various cultures in the world through knowledge gained about their countries and other countires.
* compare
Also answering the following Essential Questions:-
* What is the essence of the history?
* What are the purposes of studying history?
* To what extent does the history reflect the development of society?
I will be following the California standards for History as well as, the steps of ADDIE models and Backward Design stages. Backward design is a great shift in instructional process as it starts to design the assessment before teaching a unit. Thus will help me to go towards a clear destination for the unit, consequently, I will be able to create the best road map to get there ,choose learning materials that I should teach , how I should be teaching such materials, and how I know my students¡¦ understanding. I will start to create assessing tools such as rubrics, quizzes, outdoor activities (field trips), formative and summative tests to measure observable outcomes. To this extent, I will be able to determine and prioritize what my students need to know and do and how. The course will be very flexible to allow integrating different technological tools to enhance students learning and engage them in challenging learning situation that instigates them to rethink, explore, explain, apply, share and evaluate knowledge. Students also will be able to evaluate themselves by doing projects, participating in PowerPoint presentation and involve in daily activities. They will collaboratively be assigned to work in small groups, individual and large groups basis in an attempt to meet their individual needs, furthermore, students will be individually motivated for extra credits to extra assignments. Thus, might help me to follow up their academic progress during the course for feedback and adjustment of the plan and instructional process according to their needs. Details follow in the Unit plan.

Fulani Songs

Instructional Design & Technolgy (ADDIE Model )

The Text Book uses different definitions for Instructional Design and technology
over times, just like an overview of historical developments of instructional
technology. The early definition during 1920s was focused on media used to
present that Instruction as the result of advances in such media as sound recording,
radio broadcasting, and motion pictures with sound , the focus of the field shifted
from visual instruction to audiovisual instruction. This shift was clearly seen in
1960s -1970s and most likely the definition focused on the design and the use of
message which control the learning process, including planning, production,
utilization and management. It’s a systemic way of designing, carrying out and
evaluating the whole process of learning and teaching. During the 1990s- 1994s the
definition of instructional technology is defined as the theory and practice of
design, development, utilization, management and evaluation of process and
resources for learner. The latest definition provided by this book (Trends and
Issues in Instructional Design and Technology) is the study and ethical practice of
facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing
appropriate technological process and resources. The use of such long definition is
to cover all the aspects of technology in learning and teaching as follows: The field
of instructional design and technology encompasses the analysis of learning and
performance problems, and the design, development, implementation, evaluation,
and management of instructional and noninstructional process and resources
intended to improve learning and performance in a variety of settings, particularly
educational institution and the workplace. The professionals in the field of
instructional design and technology often use systematic instructional design
procedures and employ instructional media to accomplish their goals. The
instructional Design .org definition is: the process by which instruction is
improved through the analysis of learning needs and systematic development of
learning materials. Instructional designers often use technology to enhance
instruction. ADDIE model uses these steps;
• Analyze
• Design
• Development of materials
• Implementation( delivery)
• Evaluation( many tools used)
1. Backward design is a great shift in instructional process as it starts to design
the assessment before teaching a unit. Thus will lead both teachers and
students to a clear destination for the unit, consequently the teachers will be
able to create the best road map to get there and what learning materials
should be taught and how they must be taught and how the teacher knows
students’ understanding. The two definitions used the same steps.
However; the backward design changes the order of these steps by starting
with the evaluation. Teachers can use any model to achieve the setting
goals. Both models are applicable at defense language institute as the
students have to take formative tests during the unit and at the end of each
Unit as well as the end of the course of 63 weeks Defense Language
Proficiency Test (DLPT) DLPT5. DLI Classrooms are well equipped
with the multimedia to help teachers prepare their lessons to engage
students in different activities, simultaneously meet the individual needs of
students. I will be very flexible to conduct an interim evaluation through the
course for any adjustment according to the student’s survey feedback,
teaching/ learning situation requirements, and formative tests. The problems
need to be tackled are some students came to study Arabic language
according to the Defense Language Aptitude Battery results (DLAB),
not by their choices. Teachers need to work very hard to change this attitude
and encourage such students to like the language and help them towards
achieving proficiency. finally, I need my students to master the Arabic
Language and get the highest scores in listening, Reading and Speaking that
qualify them to succeed in DLPT5 Tests. Watch this video

Technology Proficiency

I chose this standard II as I have learned how to design a web site, lesson, and Unit plan online. It's an exciting experiment. I think this portfolio which Iam preparing is one of the standards that we learned to apply. It's a kind of planning and designing learning experience using different technologies and pedagogies for learners. It also a platform for both teachers and students to share their experiences within an educational environment intentionally set by a teacher to achieve intentional goals. During the courses of Eduu 551,552, 563 and 564, I prepared a unit plan to teach five lessons, after having being completed the unit of study, I prepare an example assignment for my students to follow while doing their project. I use three technological tools to show the students the required work to complete their project.
I used Publisher to create a website, PowerPoint for the project as well as the instructions to students about the project and where they can get the required information. The instructions, steps, process and evaluation (rubric Standard IV) were prepared on web quest. According to this experience Iam sure I will be able to prepare more than one Unit plan online using different supporting technologies such as podcasts to make my unit very interesting to learners. I am also able to prepare a listening material with text using adobe acrobat accompanying each passage with multiple choices questions and with ULead I cut the long listening to short sentences that enable my students to listen and transcribe the Arabic sentences then translate them into English (example of this work in Standard VII under word document file Students copy2).
The best standard demonstrates my ability in using technology is Standard VIII is demonstrating my ability in conducting a research, as well as my capability to measure the effectiveness of technological tools in teaching/ learning a language. The whole research about the effectiveness of using technologies is located in standard viii. It is not one artifact that enhances my proficiency, it’s an integration of many artifacts that working collaboratively. But I will summarize the five steps as follows:-
Selected artifact:
I chose for Standard (1) the following artifacts, my resume, training sessions, my website and my blog. The previous artifacts demonstrate my real ability in understanding of technology concepts’ and operations. The experience of creating website and blog has helped me a lot. I was really able to communicate with my students through my website or their blogs.
Description:
I feel that I was able to provide assistance to teachers in identifying technology systems, resources, and services to meet specific learning needs. In addition to that the feature of the blog expanded my opportunity to share experience and knowledge with my colleagues. This is really improved teaching quality. Besides that, the parents have an opportunity to be in touch with the school and to update their information about their kids’ performance. The second artifact included my training sessions and workshops.
Why this artifact:
This artifact reflected my continual growth and development. The training sessions maximized my potential and provided me with more confident to deal with different technology tools and assisted me to remain proficient in the use of technology to improve my students’ achievement. I feel now more competent and full of confidence, especially after joining the Instructional Technology Program at Chapman University. The third artifact I chose for this standard is my resume. The main purpose for updating my resume was to increase my opportunity for a new job or to be promoted at my recent job.
Improvement
It will happen through continual training g and sharing experiences with others. studnets also have got excellent results in last final exam languse proficiency is called Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT5, the examnee is required to get level II in listening/ Reading and level 2+ in speaking, Oral Proficieny Interview(OPI) to get associate degree after successfully completion 63 week- Arabic Basic Course.
Impacts:
Technology has great potential impacts on teaching and learning for its ability to same time , make teaching enoyable to both teachers and studentsin additonmto the enhancemen of studnets' acheivement.Technology becomes an inherent part of education which helps reaizing the life skills of 21st century.

Why the Phone village in Africa?

Village phone in Western Mali
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBb8mto_xIk
Iam starting my discussion to say, it is a pre-time phone village in African and what is the Village Phone Program? It is an innovative initiative that aims to extend access to telephones to rural areas while at the same time promoting entrepreneurship (a source of doing business) and creating jobs. The program is under way in Uganda, Cameroon, Rwanda and Nigeria. Village Phones offer a viable strategy for increasing teledensity in developing countries and helping the poor lift themselves out of poverty. Most Village Phone participants are women living in remote areas. The notion of Phone Village came with the help of Grameenphone; Grameen Telecom operates the national Village Phone programme, alongside its own parent Grameen Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), acting as the sole provider of telecommunications services to a number of rural areas. I think according to the video I watched and other literature on the net on the same topic, the programe now is doing very well in Uganda and Rwanda because it gives an opportunity to remote areas to communicate with urban areas. However; the question is: Is it a solution to Africans communication problems. Is the problem in Africa is a village phone? I know Africa very well. Majority(90%0) of the population is living in or under poverty line in the remote areas where there is a non- existence of tangible /real infrastructure, starting from getting a pure potable water, a physician in a clinic for treating a headache and ending by getting a lorry to load your local organic products to consumers. The village phone can make an easy virtual community that reduces/ lifts the burden of communications among the relatives in disperse far areas. Just look at Africa from North Egypt straight south to South Africa Republic, then turn right to Senegal on Atlantic Ocean and then left to African Horn on Indian Ocean. African governments are required to adopt outreach programs to provide the rural areas with real infrastructures, not only DSL cables, infrastructures, like transportation (tarmac roads), education, health, electricity, shelters- and water. Imagine! Travelling by local buses or Lorries in sub-Saharan Africa is nearly a mystical experience. If you want to taste the "real Africa", this will be your baptism. As a rule, buses in Africa are old, full and stop in every group of huts on the way. African still needs real communication more than virtual community which helps mobile phones providers, like Mobile Telephone Networks South Africa (MTN) to make money on the shoulder of the poor in a pretense of getting connected with world, living in small world village and disseminating information. MTN is conquering Africa by building lots of Towers, using fiber optic cables in very remote areas as a way to promote their business there. The world as a community is living in an imbalanced situation of those who have lots and those who do not have any. The balanced situation can be obtained when the whole community come together to help each other to shorten the divide across the globe. The well developed countries should provide huge assistance to underdeveloped countries, such as releasing the huge debts and helping in sustainable rural development. Otherwise they will be left behind to communicate with deprived continents and Phone village is a not yet programme. http://www.janchipchase.com/blog/archives/2007/01/village_phone.html