Assessment 2 - Learning eJournal Synopsis

The start of ICTs for Learning Design has also marked the start of my learning in the use of ICTs. My history with technology starts and ends with emails, internet searches and administration databases. I seem to be one of the few who find constant involvement with computers a burden rather than a blessing. Having been forced out of my comfort zone into the world of ICT, I have found that it is not as daunting as I thought and can actually be fun. I can see the use of ICTs in the classroom as an invaluable resource to educators to engage students. Modern children are comfortable and intrigued with ICTs and using these technologies to attract their interest and involvement is imperative. The use of ICTs supports a student centred pedagogy and the principles of both Engagement Theory and Active Learning. As a learning manager, I will need to use mediums which will be relevant and interesting to my students to engage them in the lessons.

A framework for technology based education is Kearsley and Schneiderman’s Engagement Theory (1999). This consists of three principle components “Relate-Create-Donate” and implies that learning activities occur in a group context, are project based and have an authentic focus. My understanding of engagement theory is that when students are collaborating in small groups working on a project for which they can see a purpose in the real world, they will be more interested, enthusiastic and motivated to learn. Therefore they are engaged and will develop a stronger understanding and retain more of the information they have learnt. This is also supported by the theory of Active Learning and Dale’s Cone, which states that the most effective method of learning is the use of direct, purposeful learning experiences. The use of ICTs such as emails, blogs and wikis allows students to be involved in teamwork, regardless of location, and having their work posted on an open forum, such as a blog or YouTube, provides them with a real world focus.

As part of our coursework, we have been exposed to a variety of different ICT programs. I will discuss some of these which I feel will be most relevant to my teaching. These are all programs which can assist the teacher in their professional career, but are by no means an exhaustive list.

Blogs are online journals and are a great tool for communication between teacher and student, and student and their classmates. The use of blogs promotes literacy and encourages the use of technology. It also encourages students to develop their own voice, encouraging critical deconstruction of material and ideas. Blogs also allow communication between students from around the country and the world, fostering a world view and an insight into diverse cultures. They would also be a great resource for teachers in rural areas and distance learning, such as we have used in the GDLT program to date.

A Voki is a talking avatar. They could be used as a tool to engage learners with different learning styles with a topic, as they are both a visual and auditory cue. I have embedded my own Voki in my blog. While this is a very simple introduction; I can see teachers using these as a ‘hook’ in the classroom. They are creative and fun, which is also important in maintaining student’s interest.

Wiki’s have great potential as a classroom tool for student collaboration. They can provide a platform for group project work which enables students an open forum for discussion. They enable students to show written examples, images and audio to provide evidence for their views. This is also another opportunity for students to work with children from different areas or countries online. As I discussed in my blog post Creating Wiki this would improve engagement due to the principles of Relate-Create-Donate, as the learning activity is a group project implemented on a public medium (Kearsley & Schneideman).

Flickr allows teachers and students to find pictures and files online which can provide emphasis and detail to the presentation of information. Teachers can use these for lessons, and students can use these for projects and presentations. Photo editing and image manipulation can also be done online at Picnik. Another well-known repository of images is YouTube. These videos can again provide a valuable resource for teachers and students for lessons and projects, providing knowledge and instructions in an entertaining format.

I have discussed these further in the following blog postings: Flickr and image manipulation, Picnik and Teaching with YouTube

There are many more resources available and it is easy to see the benefits to using ICTs in education are numerous. As part of my placement, I have yet to see any ICTs in use in a classroom, however in theory I can see that computers, interactive whiteboards, etc. would encourage a higher level of motivation and involvement from the students and provide great opportunities for learning managers. As we are living in a digital era, the roles children will grow to be employed in may not even be created yet, therefore we have to encourage children to develop critical and analytical thought to be able to evolve in a world of constant change. By using the Dimensions of Learning to foster effective habits of mind, we will encourage critical thinking, creative thinking and self-regulated thinking as described by Marzano & Pickering (1997). These will allow students to be effective lifelong learners. The ongoing development of new technologies is changing our world and our classrooms. As educators, we must also be lifelong learners, willing to adapt and be open to implementing these innovations for the benefit of our students.

References:
• Kearsley, G. & Schneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement Theory: A Framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.html
• Marzano, R. And Pickering, D. Et al, (1997). Dimensions of Learning: Teacher’s Manual (2nd Edition), McRel.
• Active Learning. Retrieved from http://www.acu.edu/cte/activelearning/whyuseal2.htm

The following is a brief sample of my interaction with fellow GDLT student’s blogs:
http://anjalidatar.blogspot.com/2010/04/blog-post.html
http://nataliearthurgdlt.blogspot.com/2010/04/what-to-do-with-those-constant.html

Google Earth

I have used Google Earth before to see street locations. My son loves the site as he is able to see where we used to live, his friend's houses, school etc. This could easily be used in the classroom to complement a geography or environment lesson. It allows children to explore and gain a greater understanding of their environment and its topography.

Teaching with YouTube

I had considered YouTube only as a form of entertainment, so I was surprised to see the educational applications available. In my EPL class, the children are currently looking at the phases of the moon. A YouTube video, such as the one above, could help support their learning by giving them a visual depiction of the orbit of the Earth and moon. This is a great resource for assisting in capturing the students attention while providing them with the information they need to learn. The negative of YouTube that I can see is the sheer quantity of videos available. I was originally looking for a piece on Camping, however I came across many videos which were either inappropriate for small children or for use in the classroom. This could also be an issue with children searching for videos and images for projects.

Picnik

Above is a before and after image of a general photo I took at the beach at Mooloolaba. I was able to alter the image with Picnik. Picnik is easy to use to edit or manipulate your photos. I will definately use this often, and I believe it will also be fun and easy to use for students. Personally, both Flickr and Picnik do raise a concern with me as I do worry about putting pictures of my family on the internet for open viewing. If students were using these programs for school work, I think that their posts would need to be monitored to make sure that they were appropriate and were not leaving them vulnerable to a large audience.

Flickr

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Originally uploaded by Angie_Kay

I just been introduced to Flickr through my ICT course. It is fantastic - thankyou Scot! This has to be my favourite site so far - some of the pictures available are stunning. This is a great resource for both teachers and students. Having recently moved to the Sunshine Coast, I looked for local beach scenes. I feel that Flickr could be of great use to students for projects, and to gain their interest in a subject with clever use of images.

Creating a Mahara E-Portfolio

As part of our course, we have to set up an online portfolio on Mahara. Yet another web program I have never heard of! It is an interesting program which allows you to create a portfolio including resumes, pictures, video, links and text. I can see the value as a professional resource to provide potential employers with examples of your work. As a primary school teacher, I see this as a resource for teachers and parents, rather than students. One example I can think of is that the teacher could provide a journal of the class, with individual portfolios for each student, including examples of their work. As a parent, this would be a wonderful way to keep a history of my child’s education and development.

Creating a Wiki

As part of our ongoing assessment for EDED20491, we needed to create a Wiki. This was an entirely new concept to me. I have seen Wikipedia, but had no idea what a Wiki was, or that you could create one yourself. I was quite overwhelmed and feeling lost, however once I experimented and looked at the examples, I was able to see tha this could be a useful tool for group project work. Engagement theory provises that learners are engaged when when work is based on collaboration, project work and providing authentic focus (Kearsley & Schneiderman). Once I thought about how I could provide a real world focus, I was able to relate this to an interest that I already had and I found I was able to start creating the Wiki site. I am a member of a book club, and I have created my Wiki site to be a place where we can have online discussions and reviews. This will allow us to keep in contact and provide an open forum for dialogue. In the classroom, I can see that a Wiki would be very useful for students to provide them with a site for collaboration on project work, school activities, creating online textbooks, etc. They could discuss their work and provide images, audio and/or links to further information.

Reference:

Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning.
Greg Kearsley and Ben Schneiderman.

http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.html

Dimensions of Learning Textbook

Finally! My wait for the Dimensions of Learning textbook (aka the holy grail of GDLT) is over, I have received my copy of the text. Hooray!! I have never been so excited to have a textbook, or so daunted by the thought of trying to catch up on the last few weeks of neglected study in the next week. To be honest, I had considered deferring my study for the semester. It does make me pause and think that if I could consider giving up because of a lack of a book, how does a lack of resources impact on a child?

The kids are asleep - back to burning the candle at both ends.