Managing E-Learning.
Introduction
Unless you have been hiding under a rock we are living in the 21st century which has been dubbed the Digital Revolution. The students that are entering the classroom today are digitally native. Prensky (2001) states that digital natives are "born into and grow up enveloped by digital technology. Therefore they develop specific language and syntax around technology". To these students computers aren't technology but a life experience in the background. These students have been labelled Generation AO (Always-On) by Janna Quitney Anderson at Elon University To read more about her click here. "The children of Generation AO are being born into lives in which they have instant access nearly everywhere to nearly the entirety of human knowledge. They have incredible opportunities to connect, create and collaborate. But with great power comes great responsibility. If they aren't socially conscious and aware of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, they may squander it all by spending most of their time in empty, shallow pursuits".I agree with Janna Anderson in regards to students squandering technology on trivial pursuits. Not all students are digitally active and those that are, aren't involved in meaningful learning activities (Margaryan & Littlejohn, 2008). Most students only use word processing, PowerPoint, YouTube, Facebook and Google. As emerging teachers it is our responsibility to provide learning opportunities that incoroporate the uses of ICT's (Information and Communication Technologies). ICT's are not limited to just computers. We have a wide range of learning devices at our finger tips, such as scanners, hand-held devices, Ipads, camera's
As teachers we must select the most appropriate tool for the learning environment, year level and student, to achieve the best possible learning outcomes. This e-learning course has shown me a wide range of learning tools (ICTs)and technology that I can use, in conjunction with pedagogy and content, to engage, enhance and extend learning in a flexible and innovative way. (Fasso.W, 2012).
Wiki's
The first tool we explored was the use and effect of a Wiki. A wiki is an online space where users and guests can edit, modify, add, remove information with intuitive editing tools. I have only used Wiki a few times as communication tool for University assignments. Click here to see a PMI regarding Wiki's. The learning preferences of the 21st century learner is to work as a team in a "structured environment that affords a fair amount of flexibility" (Holzen.R, 2006). For an example of a structured environment please Click here. As you can see from the Quiz Practice 7 the four students, including myself, were able to work collaboratively by viewing and discussing different opinions and perspectives. In another Wiki we were asked to participate in, the de Bono hats regarding the use of mobile phones, students were also able to offer their different opinions on the matter. ( Click here to read my opinions on cell phones in the classroom) We were then able to combine all perspectives to make a decision (Fasso.W, 2012). This is accessing High Order Thinking, in particular, Blooms Taxonomy - Synthesis. Synthesising is the ability to "put parts together to form a new whole" (More information). Wiki's, when accompanied with appropriate scaffolding, are an effective educational tool.Podcasting
I particularly like the idea of using podcasting in the classroom for those students with the preferred audio learning style. Podcasts can be accessed online and created by anyone. As a learning manager I would rather the students create their own podcasts than just listening to delivered information. Students can create their own music or speech performance and upload and save it onto the computer. I particular like the use of podcasting for those students who do not handle oral presentation well. This is something I can relate to as I 'froze' when standing up, out the front, in front of my peers delivering a Shakesphere oral. I felt I could do better and achieve a better grade if all the students left the room. Students are able to record their speech and the learning manager can listen to it. It also allows for students to reflect on their work. This link provides uses for podcasting within education Click here.To see a PMI of Podcasting please Click here
PowerPoint
I do not know PowerPoint as intimately as I believe I should. I have used PowerPoint a million times but merely as a tool to aid oral presentations. My limited capabilities go as far as inserting text, images, sounds and videos. PowerPoint in fact is so versatile for the creation of learning objects and games. A plus for the learning manager is that they save and revisit the PowerPoint and re-design it with respect to the learners. I would not use this as a stand alone ICT to teach my students but would teach them how to use it.Bubbl.us
Bubbl.us is an online concept mapping and brainstorming tool that is free to use. Concept mapping and brainstorming on butchers page or on the black/white board is a pretty old and boring strategy. Bubbl.us allows students to collaborate online by sharing and adding ideas. I find when creating a concept map by hand my ideas go off on different tangents and what I'm left with is a lot of bubbles, words and arrows. Bubbl.us creates bubbles that are easy to move around and in different colours depending how deep your ideas go. I really support this tool as it is a great way to organize students and the class's ideas into one bubble. I think this is a great tool for individual work and group work.Working legally, safely and ethically online
Safe practices are an integral part of technology use within the classroom. A safe classroom is one where student’s privacy are protected and they feel safe being there. Children face the risk of exposure to material that is: pornographic, offensive, violent, hateful (bullying) and activities that are dangerous and/or illegal.As a learning manager, when using the above tools I will ensure to adjust the privacy settings accordingly to stop others (stranger danger) from viewing the students' work. I will also endeavor to teach the students about image copyright practices but sometimes this can be hard to monitor so I will teach them to take phones from such websites are Photobucket and Flickr where there aren't any copyright issues.
Conclusion
E-Learning has exposed me to a whole new range of ICT devices that can be used in the classroom. The above mentioned ICT are just the tip of the iceberg. I am very excited about the endless possibilities when using pedagogy, content and technology (TPACK) effectively in the classroom. I am also excited to be able to challenge myself to keep up to date with this AO Generation so that I am familiar with the tools and gadgets they use so that I can make learning relate-able to them. And a lot of these ICT allow for collaborative learning which is a preferred learning style of this generation. I have all ready learned so much from this course that I am looking forward to continuing studying and stretching my knowledge in this course. :)References
http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/course/view.php?name=FAHE11001_2122
Holzen.R, (2006) "21st Century Learners" University of Wisconsin, URL: http://depd.wisc.edu/series/06_4168.pdf
R.Holzen
Prensky, M. (2003). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=12562
Unknown Author, (2011) Teaching Effectiveness Program, 2011 “Blooms Taxonomy” URL: http://tep.uoregon.edu/resources/assessment/multiplechoicequestions/blooms.html#synthesis
No comments:
Post a Comment