Today we had our last lecture/workshop for ICT and Pedagogy.
We began the day by looking at a video where teachers and educators spoke about the importance of placing students at the centre of the learning process and opening the door to the fundamental opportunities offered by various technological tools. Centred around 21st century learning, the video explored the concept that the future will hold advanced and evolved career opportunities for the young people of today and therefore schools need to produce collaborative learners who are capable of extending their thinking and learning to the technological needs of the future.
The next video shown to us was really interesting, he spoke about the need to make the classroom fun and challenging for children because children want to explore the world around them rather than sit down, be quiet and listen. He made a very good point by stating that although connectedness through networks can positively influence education, if we become too connected we won't be able to alter small components of the education system without changing the entire system. Therefore educators need to explore how we can integrate social networks and other means of connectedness to create significant learning opportunities for students without altering the whole education system. This, as addressed in the video, would influence a parallel learning system where students can learn through fun, challenging and social means that cater to their individual interests.
Our task for today was to address an educational scenario that we were given. Our scenario concerned the issue of labelling and categorising students, something that is already evident to an extent in many classrooms. We came up with a range of positives and negatives for labelling students and we used these as the basis for our presentation:
Positive:
- Cost effective as it enables teachers to manage their resources
- Can educate students to a level that is required beyond school
Negative:
- Teachers will only educate students to a level that they believe the students can achieve
- Students do not experience success if they feel that they have been labelled as a failure
- Limits potential job prospects and opportunities for students
- Students can be unfairly or inaccurately categorised
Sunday, 17 April 2011
Sunday, 10 April 2011
Week 7
In today's workshop, we looked at the various components that make up a successful, efficient and innovative 21st century classroom.
We began by watching a clip of a Year 1 classroom who utilise digital technologies on a day-to-day basis. The students took photos on the digital camera of events that took place in their classroom. They then imported these photos onto the computers to create a digital storyboard for their very own story. I find it really inspiring to see examples like this where technology is being implemented so effectively into the classroom at such an early stage of education.
We then explored a clip that addressed technology and what role it will play in our lives in years to come. After all, the future is what we must always acknowledge and consider when planning for education. The clip introduced an important concept of economic pressure whereby with the continuous implementation into all areas of life and the cost of life ever increasing, these areas such as school, home, work and leisure are going to eventually merge together. What does this mean for education? Well I believe it can only be beneficial to introduce education into all aspects of our life, as long as the process is conducted efficiently and with the best interests of our children always in our consideration.
As a group activity today, we were given a range of cards that acknowledge different areas of planning and resources in education. Our task was to make a diamond using these cards, ranking them in order from most important to least important. This proved to be a difficult task as each of the nine cards represented an important concept. After exploring the questions posed by each of these cards, our group decided that the most important one was "what sort of education to we want in the future?" because our focus for education should always be the children of the future. The next couple we chose referred to digital technologies and learning relationships because we decided that they were both integral components to an effective and successful classroom in the 21st century.
In the next activity, we looked at various questions relating to education and had to class them as either "present", "with major change" or "irrelevant".
Our group decided that some of the questions are already being addressed in some classrooms including: having more than one teacher in the classroom, making learning environments safe and secure, having flexible time and space boundaries, making learning collaborative and using learning spaces that are part of hubs or learning satellites. This is not to say that all of these questions are being explored in every classroom, but educators are starting to think about them and evidence of addressing these questions can be found in many classrooms around the world.
Some of the questions we decided could be answered and implemented with major change include designing learning spaces to maximise learner control of resources, valuing informal learning as much as formal learning, and learning from remote educators.
Finally, we grouped questions into the "irrelevant" column because we felt that they had no beneficial aspects in terms of education. These include school becoming optional, if classes had learners of any age, and if school was somewhere else.
As a follow-up task, we had to individually choose one of the questions and analyse the various aspects of it in order to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages. I chose "what if we could be taught by remote experts?" From this question, I thought of some benefits and resistances that this it would introduce.
Benefits and Opportunities include:
For the rest of the workshop, groups were asked to contribute ideas from LA1 and ask Jason questions which gave us a great opportunity to clarify our ideas and ensure that we are on the right track.
We began by watching a clip of a Year 1 classroom who utilise digital technologies on a day-to-day basis. The students took photos on the digital camera of events that took place in their classroom. They then imported these photos onto the computers to create a digital storyboard for their very own story. I find it really inspiring to see examples like this where technology is being implemented so effectively into the classroom at such an early stage of education.
We then explored a clip that addressed technology and what role it will play in our lives in years to come. After all, the future is what we must always acknowledge and consider when planning for education. The clip introduced an important concept of economic pressure whereby with the continuous implementation into all areas of life and the cost of life ever increasing, these areas such as school, home, work and leisure are going to eventually merge together. What does this mean for education? Well I believe it can only be beneficial to introduce education into all aspects of our life, as long as the process is conducted efficiently and with the best interests of our children always in our consideration.
As a group activity today, we were given a range of cards that acknowledge different areas of planning and resources in education. Our task was to make a diamond using these cards, ranking them in order from most important to least important. This proved to be a difficult task as each of the nine cards represented an important concept. After exploring the questions posed by each of these cards, our group decided that the most important one was "what sort of education to we want in the future?" because our focus for education should always be the children of the future. The next couple we chose referred to digital technologies and learning relationships because we decided that they were both integral components to an effective and successful classroom in the 21st century.
In the next activity, we looked at various questions relating to education and had to class them as either "present", "with major change" or "irrelevant".
Our group decided that some of the questions are already being addressed in some classrooms including: having more than one teacher in the classroom, making learning environments safe and secure, having flexible time and space boundaries, making learning collaborative and using learning spaces that are part of hubs or learning satellites. This is not to say that all of these questions are being explored in every classroom, but educators are starting to think about them and evidence of addressing these questions can be found in many classrooms around the world.
Some of the questions we decided could be answered and implemented with major change include designing learning spaces to maximise learner control of resources, valuing informal learning as much as formal learning, and learning from remote educators.
Finally, we grouped questions into the "irrelevant" column because we felt that they had no beneficial aspects in terms of education. These include school becoming optional, if classes had learners of any age, and if school was somewhere else.
As a follow-up task, we had to individually choose one of the questions and analyse the various aspects of it in order to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages. I chose "what if we could be taught by remote experts?" From this question, I thought of some benefits and resistances that this it would introduce.
Benefits and Opportunities include:
- Authentic learning experiences
- Engaging students in learning
- Students could interact and learn at any time of day
- Students could learn from experts in specialist areas
Resistances include:
- Availability of technology
- Time differences for international experts
- Cost for the services of experts
After weighing up all of these ideas, I feel that in the future, students could benefit greatly from being taught by remote experts.
For the rest of the workshop, groups were asked to contribute ideas from LA1 and ask Jason questions which gave us a great opportunity to clarify our ideas and ensure that we are on the right track.
Saturday, 9 April 2011
Week 6
In Monday's tutorial we were able to hear what other groups are doing for LA1 and it was really interesting to learn of ideas that people have come up with. I'm hoping we get to watch all the videos because I think we'll all be able to learn a lot from each other.
Our group's ideas are really starting to come together and I believe our video will effectively demonstrate the concept of TPACK that we've been looking at closely in our workshops and in our readings.
With less than two weeks until we submit LA1, it is time to get all of our thoughts, ideas and theories into our video so that in the final stages we can just focus on the editing component.
Feeling confident at this stage of the semester, looking forward to submitting LA1 and focusing on LA2.
Look forward to seeing everyone on Monday for more great ideas on how we can implement this amazing yet challenging concept of ICT into our 21st century classrooms.
Our group's ideas are really starting to come together and I believe our video will effectively demonstrate the concept of TPACK that we've been looking at closely in our workshops and in our readings.
With less than two weeks until we submit LA1, it is time to get all of our thoughts, ideas and theories into our video so that in the final stages we can just focus on the editing component.
Feeling confident at this stage of the semester, looking forward to submitting LA1 and focusing on LA2.
Look forward to seeing everyone on Monday for more great ideas on how we can implement this amazing yet challenging concept of ICT into our 21st century classrooms.
Sunday, 3 April 2011
Week 5
Animation!! I never realised the learning opportunities that animation could offer. In Monday's workshop, Jason showed us several online tools for creating animation and I enjoyed having a little go at making my own. As we learn more about these tools over the coming weeks, I hope to explore the uses and possibilities of animation further.
As we are really starting to get into the "nitty gritty" of our PD video for LA1, I found the reading by Harris and Hofer (2009) very interesting and relevant. The article not only delves into the concept of TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) but also highlights several key learning activities that address different forms of knowledge including convergent, written, visual, conceptual and product-oriented. These activities range from visual presentations to field trips to writing a poem and each suggest possible technologies that could be used to effectively achieve the educational outcomes of those activities.
My group's PD video will really start coming together this coming week and I'm feeling much more confident in the concept of TPACK after reading this article about developing TPACK through instructional planning and activities. Looking forward to next week's workshop where I hope to yet again further my understanding of technology and how it can benefit our classroom experiences and teaching practices.
As we are really starting to get into the "nitty gritty" of our PD video for LA1, I found the reading by Harris and Hofer (2009) very interesting and relevant. The article not only delves into the concept of TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) but also highlights several key learning activities that address different forms of knowledge including convergent, written, visual, conceptual and product-oriented. These activities range from visual presentations to field trips to writing a poem and each suggest possible technologies that could be used to effectively achieve the educational outcomes of those activities.
My group's PD video will really start coming together this coming week and I'm feeling much more confident in the concept of TPACK after reading this article about developing TPACK through instructional planning and activities. Looking forward to next week's workshop where I hope to yet again further my understanding of technology and how it can benefit our classroom experiences and teaching practices.
Friday, 25 March 2011
Week 4
Unfortunately I was unable to attend the workshop this week so I had a good look at the readings that Jason set for us this week.
The one I found most interesting was the 2010 Horizon Report. It was quite astounding to see just how close some of these amazing technologies are to being an everyday component of our classrooms - its very exciting! This Report not only provided an in-depth insight into the technologies but how they can and will be implemented into various areas of the curriculum.
I chose a couple of technologies from the Report that I was most interested in to discuss in my blog this week. They are Cloud Computing, Game-Based Learning and Augmented Reality. The time-to-adoption of these three technologies vary from one or less years, to four to five years - but its never too early to start thinking about the potential role they could play in our own classrooms.
Cloud Computing -
I have already started familiarising myself with this technology, and am currently using Google Documents to collaboratively work on a group assignment. Cloud computing paves the way for endless opportunities for students in remote communities all over the world that have limited access to resources and limited opportunity for collaborative-based learning. Many schools in the U.S. have already embraced this technology and are using it effectively in several key learning areas. In English, students are creating, editing and reviewing each other's writing assignments whilst in History, teachers are using mapping tools to create custom maps of historic battles and events. The possibilities for this technology really are endless and I can't wait to explore it further in my own classroom.
Game-Based Learning -
This technology is predicted to take off within the next 2-3 years. To a certain degree, this technology is already being implemented in many learning environments but educators are yet to discover the true potential of game-based learning. Non-digital games have been around for decades in the classroom and digital games have been gaining popularity in recent times due to their educational features. However, the category of game-based learning that is yet to be widely implemented or explored in schools is collaborative, open-ended, challenge-based games. It is through this technology that researchers believe students will effectively learn to problem solve and construct knowledge through challenging and rewarding games. Some schools around the world are already implementing these types of games such as World of Warcraft - where students are taught skills in areas such as communication, online safety, mathematics and leadership.
Augmented Reality -
Although the concept of augmented reality has been around for quite a lot of years, it is only with the development of widespread technologies such as Smart Phones, IPods and IPads that we are starting to see more of this technology used in various contexts. The 2010 Horizon Report states that "Augmented Reality has strong potential for powerful and contextual learning experiences" and this potential will be put into more practice over the next 4-5 years. Across the curriculum, this technology has potential to be used in History (model objects so that students can envision how things would have looked in past era's), Science (turning a mobile device into a portable planetarium where students can explore the universe), and Language Arts (creating costumes and then became the characters by acting out the play in front of a camera).
These are just a few of the technologies that I am really interested in and that I believe over the next 5 years will be essential tools in providing rich and diverse learning experiences.
The one I found most interesting was the 2010 Horizon Report. It was quite astounding to see just how close some of these amazing technologies are to being an everyday component of our classrooms - its very exciting! This Report not only provided an in-depth insight into the technologies but how they can and will be implemented into various areas of the curriculum.
I chose a couple of technologies from the Report that I was most interested in to discuss in my blog this week. They are Cloud Computing, Game-Based Learning and Augmented Reality. The time-to-adoption of these three technologies vary from one or less years, to four to five years - but its never too early to start thinking about the potential role they could play in our own classrooms.
Cloud Computing -
I have already started familiarising myself with this technology, and am currently using Google Documents to collaboratively work on a group assignment. Cloud computing paves the way for endless opportunities for students in remote communities all over the world that have limited access to resources and limited opportunity for collaborative-based learning. Many schools in the U.S. have already embraced this technology and are using it effectively in several key learning areas. In English, students are creating, editing and reviewing each other's writing assignments whilst in History, teachers are using mapping tools to create custom maps of historic battles and events. The possibilities for this technology really are endless and I can't wait to explore it further in my own classroom.
Game-Based Learning -
This technology is predicted to take off within the next 2-3 years. To a certain degree, this technology is already being implemented in many learning environments but educators are yet to discover the true potential of game-based learning. Non-digital games have been around for decades in the classroom and digital games have been gaining popularity in recent times due to their educational features. However, the category of game-based learning that is yet to be widely implemented or explored in schools is collaborative, open-ended, challenge-based games. It is through this technology that researchers believe students will effectively learn to problem solve and construct knowledge through challenging and rewarding games. Some schools around the world are already implementing these types of games such as World of Warcraft - where students are taught skills in areas such as communication, online safety, mathematics and leadership.
Augmented Reality -
Although the concept of augmented reality has been around for quite a lot of years, it is only with the development of widespread technologies such as Smart Phones, IPods and IPads that we are starting to see more of this technology used in various contexts. The 2010 Horizon Report states that "Augmented Reality has strong potential for powerful and contextual learning experiences" and this potential will be put into more practice over the next 4-5 years. Across the curriculum, this technology has potential to be used in History (model objects so that students can envision how things would have looked in past era's), Science (turning a mobile device into a portable planetarium where students can explore the universe), and Language Arts (creating costumes and then became the characters by acting out the play in front of a camera).
These are just a few of the technologies that I am really interested in and that I believe over the next 5 years will be essential tools in providing rich and diverse learning experiences.
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
Week 3
I really enjoyed the workshop on Monday, especially chatting via Skype to the Yr 2 Gems. It was amazing to see what Amanda was achieving with the children technologically. To see seven and eight year old children using blogs to communicate with each other was really inspiring and has definitely motivated me to implement some exciting methods of ICT in my prac classroom.
I've already designed a website that I plan to use (pending the permission of my classroom teacher) and also a class blog where parents and students can all communicate with each other and myself in regards to class tasks and events.
It's a real eye-opener to see how far technology in education has come in just a few years, and how far technology itself has come since the computers first came out. Bork, A. (1980) discussed the importance of developing new types of technology to assist children in their education. Research back in the 80's was showing that lectures as a means of educating was not sufficient in motivating students. Bork's article demonstrated that without the use of technology the classroom, students are not learning how to scaffold problems but merely given the solution. The vision of educators even back three decades ago, is one that many teachers still see today, and that is that we can "create realms of experience with the hope of enriching the formal learning environment'.
I feel that in order to effectively cater for the range of students we're going to have in our classroom, we need to adapt to the learning styles and individual needs of each student, a point that Bork (2003) makes in an article written twenty three years after his work referred to above. I think one of the biggest challenges we as teachers are going to face is adjusting our teaching approach constantly and consistently to meet the unique needs and learning characteristics of each child in our classroom. One thing however, that will remain constant in most to all of the students, is their ability to use and access various aspects of technology which paves the way for endless teaching and learning opportunities.
I've already designed a website that I plan to use (pending the permission of my classroom teacher) and also a class blog where parents and students can all communicate with each other and myself in regards to class tasks and events.
It's a real eye-opener to see how far technology in education has come in just a few years, and how far technology itself has come since the computers first came out. Bork, A. (1980) discussed the importance of developing new types of technology to assist children in their education. Research back in the 80's was showing that lectures as a means of educating was not sufficient in motivating students. Bork's article demonstrated that without the use of technology the classroom, students are not learning how to scaffold problems but merely given the solution. The vision of educators even back three decades ago, is one that many teachers still see today, and that is that we can "create realms of experience with the hope of enriching the formal learning environment'.
I feel that in order to effectively cater for the range of students we're going to have in our classroom, we need to adapt to the learning styles and individual needs of each student, a point that Bork (2003) makes in an article written twenty three years after his work referred to above. I think one of the biggest challenges we as teachers are going to face is adjusting our teaching approach constantly and consistently to meet the unique needs and learning characteristics of each child in our classroom. One thing however, that will remain constant in most to all of the students, is their ability to use and access various aspects of technology which paves the way for endless teaching and learning opportunities.
Saturday, 12 March 2011
Week 2
This week's readings covered some really interesting aspects of ICT integration and the digital generation.
The concept of TPACK or Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, as explored in the first reading for this week, emphasises the importance of being flexible in the planning and teaching process in order to effectively allow for the interaction of these three bodies of knowledge (Koehler, M.J., and Mishra, P., 2009). The article states that there is no correct way for integrating ICT into the classroom, the structure and design of the integration is influenced by individual classroom contexts. One of the many challenges faced by teachers today is the vast differences recognised between traditional technologies and digital technologies, with the latter being multifaceted, rapidly changing as well as opaque.
An issue that many teachers face in classrooms today is the contrast between the digital immigrants that are often the ones teaching the class, and the digital natives that are the students in the classroom, that have grown up with a rich array of technology in many areas of their life. The article titled "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants" by Prensky (2001) addressed this issue, stating that teachers are struggling to educate students using a language that is becoming increasingly outdated and foreign to the young generation. Prensky (2001) puts forward the idea that using traditional, linear forms of teaching may actually damage the brains of children that have been developed through technology exposure web processes.
The other readings for this week put forward valuable ideas and concepts from ICT teaching strategies aimed at enhancing student thinking and reflection (Henderson, M. 2008), to the multifaceted and multicultural social opportunities that ICT brings (Thrupp, R. 2008), to the high levels of cognitive engagement resulting from interactions with computer games (Henderson et al. 2008). Beverly Head's article titled "Generation Cut and Paste" (2008) shone a different light on ICT integration, exploring the idea that with new and different classroom strategies could lead to students forgetting or never learning to actually "use, synthesise, process, incorporate and retain information". She accentuates the importance of teaching these important skills as students are accessing the information. Head (2008) also states that teachers must not lose sight of the significance of students learning to design, create and express themselves through various means.
The readings for this week as well as our workshop on Monday further developed my knowledge and understanding of ICT and how it is going to, not only benefit me as a future teacher, but the students in my technologically rich classroom.
The concept of TPACK or Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, as explored in the first reading for this week, emphasises the importance of being flexible in the planning and teaching process in order to effectively allow for the interaction of these three bodies of knowledge (Koehler, M.J., and Mishra, P., 2009). The article states that there is no correct way for integrating ICT into the classroom, the structure and design of the integration is influenced by individual classroom contexts. One of the many challenges faced by teachers today is the vast differences recognised between traditional technologies and digital technologies, with the latter being multifaceted, rapidly changing as well as opaque.
An issue that many teachers face in classrooms today is the contrast between the digital immigrants that are often the ones teaching the class, and the digital natives that are the students in the classroom, that have grown up with a rich array of technology in many areas of their life. The article titled "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants" by Prensky (2001) addressed this issue, stating that teachers are struggling to educate students using a language that is becoming increasingly outdated and foreign to the young generation. Prensky (2001) puts forward the idea that using traditional, linear forms of teaching may actually damage the brains of children that have been developed through technology exposure web processes.
The other readings for this week put forward valuable ideas and concepts from ICT teaching strategies aimed at enhancing student thinking and reflection (Henderson, M. 2008), to the multifaceted and multicultural social opportunities that ICT brings (Thrupp, R. 2008), to the high levels of cognitive engagement resulting from interactions with computer games (Henderson et al. 2008). Beverly Head's article titled "Generation Cut and Paste" (2008) shone a different light on ICT integration, exploring the idea that with new and different classroom strategies could lead to students forgetting or never learning to actually "use, synthesise, process, incorporate and retain information". She accentuates the importance of teaching these important skills as students are accessing the information. Head (2008) also states that teachers must not lose sight of the significance of students learning to design, create and express themselves through various means.
The readings for this week as well as our workshop on Monday further developed my knowledge and understanding of ICT and how it is going to, not only benefit me as a future teacher, but the students in my technologically rich classroom.
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