Enactment

‍‍Basically, the pedagogical strategy used in the design of this prototype online learning activity was aimed at supporting both behaviourist and constructivist based learning models. These basic assumptions are rooted in social constructivist theories, which are amalgamated from Dewey’s (1925/1981) Pragmatic Social Behaviorism, Vygotsky’s (1978) theory of social cognitive development (Lambropoulos, N & Zaphiris, P 2007). Hence modeling and social interaction were the key components of the design process. Through this design process, the designer aimed at promoting authentic learning activities which would eventually lead to self directed learning (Dabbagh & Bannan-Ritland 2005). According to Dabbagh & Bannan-Ritland (2005), an authentic learning activity engages the learner in a realistic and meaningful task that is relevant to the learners’ interest and goals. This allows the learners to see the implications of their actions and to apply the knowledge they gain to real world situations (Wilson & Cole, 1996; cited in Dabbagh & Bannan-Ritland 2005:208). Hence the prototype was designed with the aim of solving a real world problem, specifically the problems 1st year Masters students who enroll in the M.Ed (ICT) course face during their meeting sessions using Adobe connect. Taking this into consideration, the ten attributes of authentic learning as identified by Reeves, Herrington & Oliver, 2002; cited in Dabbagh & Bannan-Ritland 2005:205. ‍  All these were made possible in the design by ; ‍  Three main pedagogical or instructional strategies were included in the design in order to promote these authentic learning activities as proposed by Dabbagh & Bannan-Ritland, (2005). ‍**Exploratory Instructional Strategies:** This was made possible by the use of a screencast of a typical Adobe Connect interface which the learners would encounter during actual meeting sessions. Exploration was aimed at providing instruction and guidance to the students.Exploration encourages "Students to try out different strategies and hypotheses and observe their effects" (Collins,1991,cited in Dabbagh & Bannan-Ritland 2005:211). The ICT tools used in this Online Learning Activiy (OLA) to support exploration are;
 * ‍ Authentic activities should have real world relevance.
 * Authentic activities are ill defined, which requires students to define the task and subtask needed to complete the activity.
 * Authentic activities comprise complex task for students to investigate during a sustained period of time.
 * Authentic activities provide the opportunity for students to use a variety of resources to examine the task from different perspectives.
 * Authentic activities allow learners with the opportunity to collaborate.
 * Authentic activities provide students with the opportunity to reflect and involve their believes and values.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">Authentic activities can be applied and integrated beyond different subject areas and extend beyond domain specific outcomes.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">Authentic activities are seamlessly integrated with assessment.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">Authentic activities create polished products valuable in their own rights rather as preparation for something else.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">Authentic activities allow competing solutions and diversity of outcomes.
 * ‍<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Using screencast in order to make the graphical representation of adobe connect bring a real world relevance to the learning activity.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">Also the voice of the learning developer made the explanations more authentic.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">A power point presentation in the design pointed out the contextual factors which are real world problems the affect the use of adobe connect in developing communities.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;">The availability of Chat, Comment and Review options allowed for collaboration and multiple perspectives.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">Multimedia e.g Screencast that helps in supporting student exploration.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">A Google search engine was also provided that enabled students to search and explore web resources.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">Exploration was also made possible by providing a chat feature in order to support interactivity.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">The 'Follow by Email' link also provided opportunity for asynchronous collaboration between the students and the content provider.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">**‍Dialogic Instructional Strategies:** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">Dialogic Instructional strategies in this design were aimed at promoting collaboration and social negotiation (Dabbagh & Bannan-Ritland 2005:217).This was aimed at promoting interaction between different learners in order to maximize learning from one another. The ICT tools that were <range type="comment" id="91735">implimented in this OLA that enhanced collaboration are;
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">Life Chat feature to encourage collaboration.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">The 'Comment' section under the blog post were aimed at promoting articulation through online discussions.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">The review feature of the blog was aimed at promoting reflection by encouraging students to reflect on their understanding of the blog post.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">The Google search engine also helped in promoting multiple perspectives because the students can seek information from the web.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">**Supportive Instructional Strategies:** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">Supportive instructional strategies were aimed at promoting Modelling and explaining. This was the behaviourist part of the design because it was aimed at modelling a particular behaviour from the students. This was greatly facilitated by the screencast video explaining how Adobe Connect should be used during online meetings.The digital audio and video did help to capture the experts' performance with the aim of enacting a particular behaviour from the students.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">Dabbagh 2005 ,Intersection and alignment of Instructional Strategies that Support Constructivist Based Pedagogical Models. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: justify;"> In general, a blog was used as a platform for the OLA because it is fairly stable and provides features for other ICT tools to be embedded into the blog and also it can be accessed through mobile devices considering the most students in developing <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">communities have <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 23px;">access to mobile phones. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">Bower (2007),gives an important classifiction that matches learning task with technology.A blog affords;
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">Media affordance: Video and images can easyly be viewed and audio can be listened.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">Spacial affordance: It is easy to resize objects within the blog and also move elements within the interface.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">Temporal affordance: The blog can be viewed anytime and anywhere that has internet connectivity.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">navigation affordance: It is easy to browse through the blog.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">Synthesis affordance: Using a blog, it is easy to combine many tools together in order to create a rich learning environment.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">technical affordance: The blog can be used on various platforms.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">Aesthetic: It is possible to design an interface tha appeals by its appearance.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">Reliability: Google is fairly stable hence eblogger is a stable platform to use as a blog.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"><range type="comment" id="523969">**References:** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;"> Dabbagh, N., & Bannan-Ritland, B. (2005). // Online learning: Concepts, strategies, and application //. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">Dabbagh,N & Bannan-Ritaland,B (2005) Chapter 6 Instructional Strategies and their role in designing authentic learning activities foe online learning. Online learning: Concepts,strategies and application.pp 200 -231. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson

<span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">Dewey, J. (1925/1981). Experience and nature. In J. A. Boydston (Ed.), John Dewey: The later works, 1925-1953 (Vol.1, pp. 1-326). Carbondale/Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press.

<span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: justify;">Lambropoulos, N & Zaphiris, P (2007). User centred design for online learning communities. Information Science publishing.