Reflective Synopsis
Managing E-Learning has shown me I am classed as a
digital immigrant (Prensky, 2001).
I have not grown up naturally knowing and learning about ICT’s, but I have to
adapt to using them in a classroom. If I do not keep up with technology then I
am just going to enrage my students not keep them engaged (Prensky, 2005). To
help the digital natives in my classroom it is necessary that I develop my
skills in technology and make lessons as interesting as possible. It can be
very time consuming but I am enjoying playing with many different options and
ideas. When I have created something new I find myself thinking about the
possibilities for the students and how much they would love it. I don’t have
reservations about using ICT’s but I
need to be confident in what I am teaching if I am going to equip my students
to be confident ICT users and communicators in a technological world. Using productive
pedagogies is a helpful tool in the classroom as it gives
students scope to add to what they think should happen and discuss. The learning tool of teaching a child how to
tie a shoe lace by examining ways of teaching a topic I found interesting. It can be as simple as you like or can create
higher order thinking. It can lift my pedagogy from me telling them what to do,
to working in pairs for collaborative thinking on the subject. You could choose
a Narrative for explaining how to tie shoelaces or take it to higher order
thinking what do students in Japan do? If my shoe lace is too short what will I do? The
next step for me was to use a snipping tool and take a picture of the tool and
then pasting it in paint, saving it as a gif, then pasting it into my blog.
This was something new for me. While it is fun and exciting using these
technologies I still have to teach my students safe
practice when using the internet. As a teacher I need to model and
teach ethical and legal behaviours in this regard to my students. When using technology if it is not your work
you need to reference whose work it is. The Learning
Theories we looked at in week 1 I think all have their place. They help
us to realise that learning theory is vital to understanding how our learners
learn. Pavlov, Watson, Thorndike and Skinner believe that we learn through Behaviourism
which is responding to conditioning, students learn through practice (Mergel,
1998). This is helpful in online quizzes and practices as we have to learn the
information to answer the quizzes. Constructivists
theories like Vygoskys, teaches us that we learn through social interactions
(Snowman, 2009). However social interaction alone may not incite learning. It
is also the theory that supports strategies of scaffolding thinking through SWOT
analysis and PMI’s. Using PMI’s thinking about
the positives and negatives and possible implications that might arise through
using technology. This helps students to bounce around ideas and draw out their
thoughts. Through teachers setting up wikis like the ones in week 1 and 2 they
can see every student’s thought process. They have a permanent account of the
collaborative work of the students. Cognitivism
is how we mentally process the information (Mergel, 1998). By participating in
the wiki I can take in the information I want and then dismiss the information
that I do not want. Hopefully the really important information will stay in my
long term memory. But I do think Connectivism
relates to the 21st Century because we seem to collaborate with each
other on all different topics (Mergel, 1998). This way we don’t have to have
all the answers and we can take less time to research topics. Sharing information is a good learning
process
Reflection on the Wiki
In our second week of the course we were asked to
contribute to a wiki about our views of mobile phones in the classroom. The
wiki was set up using Edward
De Bono’s 6 Thinking Hats. I thought this was scaffolded in this way to get
us to think about not just one point of view but many. I was confronted with many different thought
processes not just a positive or a negative one. It was confronting having to put my thoughts
out there for everyone to see, but at the same time I could see others
perspectives and it challenged the way I was thinking. It raised issues I had
not thought of and in doing so was building my knowledge. Using a framework that gets the students
building on their knowledge by higher order thinking connects to Connectivism
and how we are learning in the 21st Century through social
interaction.
Tool 1. Creating a Blog
I enjoyed creating a blog as
I had not done it before. It seemed to be pretty straight forward and I
navigated my way around the site. Each time I would sign in I would find
something new I did not know before, like the design, the editing, the colour, following
someone else, the html button, view posts, new posts, insert image and publish.
It has started me on a journey of networking and connecting with my fellow
students. People can read my blog and be
critical or reflective of something I have posted just as I can read and gain
insight on what to do with a particular technology if I am unsure. Blogging
sits in the Constructivism
learning theory where students construct their own meaning through interaction
of others. In a classroom students could set up blogs for project work, using
ICT’s, History inquiry, Geography inquiry. Students could set up a blog
throughout the year to demonstrate their reflection on their learning process
of certain new topics. They could
analyse and evaluate their work but most importantly develop higher order
thinking of their work. They could work collaboratively in groups by creating
and responding to posts.
Tool 2. Movie maker 2.6
I first made a movie on Movie Maker which I had on
my computer. Then I could not embed it in my blog. I read that you could not
put a movie in your blog. So I decided to download 2.6 as I thought it may be
different icons to use. It is a better version than Movie Maker. Movie
Maker 2.6 and had a storyboard and was more
professional. Where Movie Maker was a bit like Powerpoint. Both are fun to use.
I need to keep playing around with them. I created my wiki and uploaded my
movie onto my wiki thinking I could put a link to my blog. I finally did it but
I still do not think it was right. When I go onto my wiki I have to press
download and then it comes up. I tried again and this time I used the add movie
icon on my blog and it worked. I put in
2 different pieces of music and a voice over.
I need to work at it but that is the fun of using technology. Using
Moviemaker 2.6 you just grab what images you want then up load them. It is fast
as yu can upload as many photos as you like at one time. Then you can drag the
photos you want down onto the movie line. You can add music and do a voice over
if you want to. You can add animations and words to your movie strip. The types
of activities that Moviemaker 2.6 could support
is anything with pictures. Students could make a travel movie if they were
learning about another country. They could create an album about their life so
far they could give to Mum or Dad for the end of year project in year 7. Using
technology that interests students you are connecting to their world. You could
introduce students to Powerpoint, Moviemaker, Voicethread or Slideshare and then
they could choose which one to use.
Tool 3. Basic Powerpoint
Power points
are an interesting tool to use. I enjoyed working with this and creating a
little presentation on making a Power point. You can insert pictures or clip
art. You can add text, make it large or small, use lots of colour, have
pictures and text move in different transitions and have different effects such
as opening like a checkerboard. I find Power point to be an effective tool, but
I am still trying to get the music right and I found through Slideshare that I could up load it to my blog but I do not know how to get it to play.
It is one presentation tool which is very visual for the learner and
used as a backdrop for oral presentations. Power points are used extensively in
schools by teachers and students. They are an effective way to display
information but sometimes they can be disengaging as there is not much
interaction going on, only by the presenter. I found Voice
Thread to be very engaging although I have not used it a lot. It is a tool
for having conversations around media, images, videos, documents and
presentations. Voice Thread can capture and hold a group of people’s attention
participants can add info while the presentation is on and this can be more
engaging. The voice Thread on my blog shows more buttons you can use for
interaction.
Tool 4. Concept Mapping
Creating Concept
maps is a great way of getting down ideas and moving them around. I created a concept web for Global Science to
do with the Food Web or food chain of certain animals. I used Microsoft Word
and the Smart Art Graphic Organiser. It was beneficial as it showed me where to
start and then I could add on with information as I found it. There were many
different ways to create a template. Another
tool found useful was Bubbl.us.
This I downloaded to my computer. It
seems more flexible than Smart Art as you could start with one bubble and
create your own concept map the way you wanted to, by stretching out the
attachments to the bubbles and move them around to where you wanted them to go.
This would be helpful for students when researching a new concept. It gives
them a place to start and then they can add on to their ideas. This could be
excellent for a Narrative. You could have the Story Title in the middle then
use the bubbles around for ideas, for example who is going to be in the story
or where they went and so on. You could use it for using a method of making a
cake by adding the ingredients around the outside. Then by numbering 1 to 10
how to go about making it.
In conclusion the
ICT tools I have explored during this course so far have helped me broaden my
knowledge bank and skills in technology. I want to continue learning in this
area. I can appreciate their usefulness
and that they can support my pedagogy and content knowledge when trying to
engage students in the classroom in many subject areas. It is important to model
safe and ethical practice and to scaffold the learning in my classroom so my students
and I can feel a great sense of accomplishment.
ReferencesPrensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. Retrieved from
Prensky, M. (2005). Engage me or enrage me. What today’s learners demand.
Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0553.pdf
Mergel, B. (1998). Instructional design and learning theory. Retrieved
from
#The%20Ba sics%20of%20Behaviorism
Snowman, J.,
Dobozy, E., Scevak, J., Bryer, F., Bartlett, B., & Biehler, R. (2009). Psychology applied to teaching. Milton, QLD: John Wiley & Sons
Australia.
