Enhancing Training with MentorMob and LessonPaths
“Given the increased availability and the use of technology in K-12 settings and the increasing importance of technology in the everyday lives of most individuals, it is important to consider the most effective methods for integrating these tools and resources into instruction, with a particular focus on the tools and resources that student learning and engagement.”
-Robert Reiser and John Dempsey (2017, p. 176)
I have to be honest, there is such a long list of tools to enhance instruction that the amount of choice is overwhelming. There are so many technological approaches to instruction, it is hard to narrow down to one to focus on for this blog post. One tool stood out to me because of its unique development and organization.
I looked through a list of curation tools because they are unfamiliar, yet interesting, to me. MentorMob could be a useful instructional device in the educator’s toolkit. I have not been privy to much discussion about MentorMob, so I decided to discover as much as I could about it to determine its utility.
My introduction to MentorMob began with this short video, which briefly explains its function:
These “learning playlists” that are created with MentorMob facilitate organization of the learning guides that can be found within the files that MentorMob maintains or can be self-created.
Example learning playlist about kite-boarding:
Possible utilization in training:
“Learning is a change in the learner’s knowledge caused by the learner’s experience”
(Reiser and Dempsey, 2017, p. 260)
MentorMob or LessonPaths could enhance training in a variety of ways. They could be used in the flipped classroom, as a platform for content delivery. Both could be used during training as a collaborative document, an alternative to a handout, provided the participants have devices and internet access. Your learning playlists can be embedded easily in a blog or website, facilitating use outside of the training session or classroom. This is made particularly appealing with the information that if embedded, the comments, advertisements, and inappropriate content that might pop up in YouTube are filtered out. These functions eliminate constraints of the traditional classroom and instruction method. This transformation could be the change needed to promote learning.
Development:
MentorMob
has recently split into two different websites with separate purposes.
MentorMob itself is a recreational tool that serves as a personal learning
network. The subgroup that was once called MentorMobEDU has, not long ago,
changed its name to LessonPaths. From basic exploration on the two websites,
differences in layout are evident, but the function is the same. The purpose of
MentorMob remains a service to enhance individual use of information to develop
skills and hobbies, where LessonPaths is a strong educational objective.
Benefits:
Some of the uses of MentorMob include:
A wide range of instructional “mentor” videos and information
Allows for collaboration
Scaffolds information
Organizes websites, clips, images
Tracks progress
Information updated by experts and enthusiasts
A wide range of instructional “mentor” videos and information
Allows for collaboration
Scaffolds information
Organizes websites, clips, images
Tracks progress
Information updated by experts and enthusiasts
Justification for use:
As the paradigm of the instructor’s role changes from the presenter of information to the designers of learning (Johnson, and Johnson, 2005), the impactful role that technology plays becomes more and more evident. Technology reaches the pinnacle of its possible use, the “R” of redefinition in the SAMR model, when it allows “teachers to create new tasks that were previously inconceivable without technology” (Reiser and Dempsey, 2017, p. 177). The collaborative design of the tool MentorMob allows an educator to do just that, to experience information as a community, compiling and organizing a playlist to use as a resource in their own learning.
Follow Up MentorMob resources:
References
Anderson, Alison. (2012, May 31). MentorMob: What's on Your Playlist? [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.gettingsmart.com/2012/05/mentormob-whats-on-your-playlist/
EduKate and Inspire. (2012, November 25). 10 Reasons Why I Love MentorMob. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://edukateandinspire.blogspot.com/2012/11/10-reasons-why-i-love-mentormob.html
MentorMob. (2011, November 20). What is MentorMob? [Video file}. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YwrGoWIZnk
Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (2005). New developments in social in-
terdependence theory. Psychological Monographs, 131(4), 285-358.
Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (2005). New developments in social in-
terdependence theory. Psychological Monographs, 131(4), 285-358.
Reiser, R. & Dempsey, J. (2017). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology. New York: Pearson.
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