Main narrative and synthesis (Part 3)
Continuation of implementation
Day 2 discusses Ethical vs. Unethical behavior. They were again asked to reflect on a pre-activity before reading the topic. For Activity 3, they are asked to identify whether the situations mentioned show ethical use of digital technology or not. The students were supposed to work in pairs so that they may reflect on every scenario on a deeper level. Nevertheless, all of them received high scores. Appendix H shows a sample of an answered learning module by a student. Meanwhile, below is a graph of students’ assessment results.
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(It’s worth noting that only 12 students were able to submit the finished Self-Learning Module upon deadline.)
The students were also asked a bonus question: “What would you do if you receive a suspicious email pretending to be your bank and asking for your card details?” to which they had meaningful answers that possess higher levels of learning. Below is a sample answer by one student.
The topic on the Self-Learning Module for Day 3 is Respectful Internet Use, which details the 10 guidelines for “Netiquette.” The final activity asks the learners to create a personal digital ethics oath, which contains concrete actions of how they will use the internet to be more respectful, informative, and productive. Comparing their new oath from the personal goal they wrote at the start of the topic, one can observe an improvement in their learning. There is a common theme among the students who went from initially aiming to learn about digital ethics, specifically social media use, to promising to become responsible users of social media and the internet in general.
Finally, on June 4, 2022, we held the live group session via Google Meet. While only 12 students submitted the Self-Learning Module, 16 learners were present in the online class. Everything went according to plan since I advised the teacher to go about the session the same way they usually do. Doing so will ensure that any result provided by the implementation is all because of the changes in instructional materials instead of the changes in the online session.
The short session started with the teacher summarizing the topic and asking the learners if they have questions about Digital Ethics. Mrs. Marilou Merino didn’t give a complete lecture since the distance learning materials should have been enough. Instead, she went back to the four activities and gave a recitation to synthesize the lesson. The class was participative, even sharing personal experiences of cyberbullying, fraud, trolling, etc. The teacher also made class announcements unrelated to the topic.
One highlight of the group learning session was when my gatekeeper mentioned I am the first to develop an instructional material for ALS learners in Imus, Cavite as all their resources are given by DepEd. This inspired me to continue raising awareness regarding the need for reforms in non-formal education. The involvement of the private sector in the Alternative Learning System, when done in fairly and equitably, can make the students' quality of learning much better, giving them more opportunities outside education. (See personal thoughts and experience on my 5th eJournal entry).
Below is a complete video of the live group session.
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Evaluation
Aside from the results of the learning activities on the material, I also developed an evaluation sheet based on Kirkpatrick's Model, which the teacher answered post-implementation (See Appendix F). The Self-Learning Module also includes a short self-assessment that the adult learner can use to know the extent of their knowledge and improve upon them. Here's my analysis of the results
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1. Reaction
The satisfaction of the teacher and learners with The ALS Learners as Ethical Digital Citizens was measured through the evaluation sheet and the informal questions asked by the teacher during the live group session. The teacher ticked "Strongly Agree" on all items under the Reaction section, implying that her reaction to the learning material and teacher's guide can be deemed positive. The inclusion of estimated study time, a conversational tone, the opportunity to write personal goals, and self-assessments were considered relevant to the needs of the adult and distance ALS learners. She also strongly agreed that the learning outcomes and content were correctly structured.
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When the students were asked about their reaction to the learning material, they mentioned it was quite easy; this is also evident in their punctuality when submitting. The teacher then mentioned that the design of the materials is an adequate alternative to the teacher's presence during the first three days. The positive reaction, therefore, can be attributed to the elements of the online and distance learning material that guided the students into making their own goals, processing the content, reflecting on them, and answering the activities.
Only less than half were able to participate in the program, but this is not necessarily because of any negative reactions toward the instruction. This situation may be related to one of the characteristics of adult learners which states that they only choose to learn when they are ready to learn (Knowles, 1973). The teacher also mentions that the majority of her students have been inactive lately but should not be a problem because it's the result of their flexible schedule.
2. Learning
Student learning was measured through the results of the learning activities, evaluation sheet, and self-assessment at the end of the learning material. As seen above and in Part 1 of the Narrative, the students were able to showcase what they learned in digital ethics. The final activity for Day 1 asked students to share why digital ethics is important in their life. Some common themes observed in their answers include "helps in proper social media use" and "helps find jobs that use digital technologies." The same themes were also seen in Activity 4: Digital Ethics Oath, highlighting the avoidance of "trolling" and "bashing" on Facebook.
These concepts were related to but not explicitly mentioned on the topic of Netiquette, proving that adult distance learners can construct their own knowledge and practice higher levels of learning through distance learning materials. It also shows that they can utilize their knowledge through daily life experiences because adult learners are more goal-oriented than traditional learners or schoolchildren. This information is also supported by the teacher's evaluation of the instruction, as she believes the learners adequately met all the intended learning outcomes.
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Self-assessments are vital for self-directed adult learners. According to the short assessment, all the learners "Strongly Agree" that they can now distinguish ethical vs. non-ethical digital behavior. They also stated that they are ready to recite and practice their digital ethics oath.
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3. Behavior
The behavior was measured through the evaluation sheet in terms of their ability to practice digital ethics. When asked whether there are noticeable changes in the students' use of digital technologies, the teacher agreed. Such enthusiasm for being ethical users of digital technologies can also be reflected in the students' attitude during the live group session.
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Unfortunately, this section was not able to evaluate whether the students started having more efficient study practices over the next topics because their school year was already over. Instead, the evaluation sheet asked the teacher to compare their study practices or interaction with the material I provided with their previous learning materials from DepEd. She strongly agreed that the learner finished my instructional material more quickly than they do with their typical modules, and that she spent less time assisting the students during the instruction.
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4. Results
This level focuses on the evaluation overall goal of the instruction, which is to create an instructional material for ALS Imus City for the learning strand Digital Citizenship. The instructor deems the material an effective introductory module for the subject and strongly agrees that it will pave the way for the implementation of LS6 in their division. She also strongly agreed that the adult and distance learning principles embedded in the materials were effective. For now, it may be impossible to completely revolutionize ALS learning materials because decisions are made in a centralized manner. However, she mentioned that she will start practicing these approaches over the next school years by treating learners as adults who are self-reliant and independent. Adding supplementary resources and being more active in group chats for follow-up questions are also her solutions for practicing distance learning principles.
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See last eJournal entry for my personal thoughts and experiences during the evaluation phase.