Week 4 – QR Codes

In the lesson we had a look at QR codes which are being used more frequently by people own a smartphone because of software that can use the camera to identify these codes. A quick description of QR codes from the website whatisaqrcode.co.uk can be found below to give an idea of how they can be used.

“QR or Quick Response Codes are a type of two-dimensional barcode that can be read using smartphones and dedicated QR reading devices, that link directly to text, emails, websites, phone numbers and more!” (What is a QR Code, n.d)

For more information on QR codes such as how they can be used you can visit the website at http://www.whatisaqrcode.co.uk/
 
However in 2014 the creator of the QR code Masahiro Hara stated that with the advances in image recognition software could make the QR Codes unnecessary in a few years because of the possibility of image recognition software and the algorithms that they use.

To read this story for yourself you can visit the telegraph website at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10911122/The-QR-code-has-a-decade-left-to-live.html
 
Overall QR codes could still be used even after other technologies are out, I think this is because QR codes can still be used as a teaching method in classes to share documents and other digital learning material online and quickly.

One possible type of software to replace the QR codes could be image recognition software, for example Blippar could replace QR code in use of advertisements for businesses because people can read the image and obtain information as opposed to finding the QR code.

“Blippar is an augmented-reality mobile app and advertising platform that connects brands with highly targeted consumers. Blippar takes everyday products and transforms them into content-rich, consumer-centric interactive experiences. The app is available on iOS, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone.” (Angeles, 2013)

For more information on Blippar you can visit the website at http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5627-blippar-app.html

References

Angeles, S., 2013. Blippar: Augmented Reality App Turns Everyday Products Into Interactive Experience - See more at: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5627-blippar-app.html#sthash.vYxLMN0A.dpuf. [Online]
Available at: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5627-blippar-app.html
[Accessed 23 February 2016].

What is a QR Code, n.d. What is a QR Code?. [Online]
Available at: http://www.whatisaqrcode.co.uk/
[Accessed 23 February 2016].

Week 3 - Moodle

In the lesson we were covering Moodle which is used for virtual learning environments in many schools.


Below is a quick summary from the website moodlerooms.com which tells people about what Moodle is as well other additional information that they may want.
 

"Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) is a free open-source learning management system or e-Learning platform, that serves educators and learners across the globe. It is the most widely used LMS in the world and currently has over 68 million users world-wide (and growing!)." (moodlerooms, n.d)

The Link below take you to the moodlerooms website and provides you with additional information about moodle such as how to self-host moodle.

http://www.moodlerooms.com/community-initiatives/what-is-moodle 

Also, Moodle has a channel on youtube which has videos that tell viewer what Moodle is as well as having videos on how to use Moodle. Below is a link to the channel that you can see for yourself.

Link to Moodle's youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/moodlehq - Moodle Channel

References

moodlerooms, n.d. What Is Moodle & What Is it Used for?. [Online]
Available at: http://www.moodlerooms.com/community-initiatives/what-is-moodle
[Accessed 16 February 2016].

 

Ideas for Assessment 1

At this moment in time I am currently thinking about creating a VLE to help young school children with their maths skills.

I am thinking about this area because I have had experience with maths doing a course on the subject at A-Levels, I have also learned from maths based VLEs during my time at school and finally, I fell that by designing this for a younger audience it can allow me to have more creative freedom when making ideas for this.

At this moment in time I do not know what age group should be targeted for this.

Week 2 - learning theories

Skinner Rat Box Experiment (1948)

In the lesson we were covering many different learning theories and how they can be applied. During the lesson we were put into different groups to cover 3 different Behaviourism experiments, the group I was in covered B.F Skinner's rat box experiment which was about Operant Conditioning.

B.F Skinner's experiment showed the effects of Positive Reinforcement and Negative Reinforcement i.e being rewarded for good behaviour and punished for bad behaviour. When the rat pushed the lever the rat would obtain food during the Positive Reinforcement part of the experiment. However during the Negative Reinforcement part of the experiment the rat would get an electric shock for not pushing the lever.

For more information on B.F Skinner's experiment refer to the Links below:
http://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html
http://www.psychologistanywhereanytime.com/famous_psychologist_and_psychologists/psychologist_famous_b_f_skinner.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-lgMnvPDQ0 - Operant Conditioning - Skinner box experiment - VCE Psychology

Bobo Doll Experiment (1961)

Later in the lesson we explored another learning theory proposed by Albert Bandura which was the result of the Bobo Doll experiment, which involved children observing how an adult's behaves around the doll and then seeing how the children reacted when their where left with the doll alone.
The result showed that the group who observed the aggressive models mimicked their behaviour and the groups who observed the non-aggressive or no models showed less aggressive behaviour.

Generally because the experiments are in lab conditions this may impacted the validity of the result.

For more information on the Bobo Doll experiment refer to the Links below:
http://www.simplypsychology.org/bobo-doll.html 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=128Ts5r9NRE - The Bobo Beatdown - Crash Course Psychology #12

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zerCK0lRjp8 - The Brain: A Secret History - Emotions; Bandura Bobo Doll Experiment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjTxQy_U3ac - Bandura and Social Learning Theory, also gives questions to the viewer  

Based on the Bobo Doll experiments Bandura formed his theory on social learning and vicarious reinforcement

"vicarious reinforcement is our tendency to repeat or duplicate behaviours for which others are being rewarded."

For further information refer to the link below:
http://study.com/academy/lesson/vicarious-reinforcement-definition-lesson-quiz.html

Horizon report 2015 Review

I have read a few sections of the Horizon 2015 report, and the section I will be looking at is the "Personalizing Learning" portion of the report.

While reading thorough the overview I got to the understanding that the topic was about making learning as approachable as possible for student, by tailoring the experience to a way that the student enjoy more than a standard method. This is done by using portable devices that the student has access to.

Overall I think that Personalising an individual's learning experience being able to help a student learn by using a method that suit them best is a great idea, and has become easier to do in today's education system due to the increase in ownership of smartphones and tables giving people access to the internet anywhere they go.

However for the report this is a "Difficult Challenge: Those that we understand but for which solutions are elusive". I think that the difficulty comes from how people learn differently making it harder to create a personalised learning experience for each individual as some can learn better studying on a computer where as others learn better from first-hand experience. Overtime I believe that we will be able to overcome these issues and be able to create a personalised learning experience for each individual much more easily.