I began this e-learning course as what Prensky (2001) would describe as a 'digital immigrant', with not much previous experience using ICT's. I never used to think much of it until enrolling in teaching, and now this e-learning course has opened my eyes to a whole new world. I now acknowledge that the students I will be teaching will be 'digital natives' (Prensky, 2001) and the way they learn is very different to how I once did. Students today need to be engaged in ways that reflect their lifestyles and future prospects, that is by embracing the new world of technology and all it has to offer (Prensky, 2005). As Siemens (2004) emphasises in his study on Connectivism "technology has reorganised how we live, how we communicate, and how we learn". I believe it is my responsibility as a future teacher to explore and investigate a range of different digital tools that I could incorporate into my teaching pedagogy to support and enhance student learning. This course has made me aware of my own fear and hesitation to delve into the digital world; through its scaffolding and modelling it has given me the confidence to explore and gain competency in using ICT's. This further confirms to me how the constructivist approach to teaching supports students understanding and scaffolds the learning in order to give students the confidence to explore new concepts. I have attempted to adopt this approach myself in my demonstrations by providing scaffolding in both my Wiki and Website. Another reason why it is imperative that teachers embrace technology in their classroom is to engage and target all students learning preferences. Theorists such as Gardner (2001) affirm that we all have individual learning styles and process information depending on our learning preferences, see my preferences, and how they affect my own learning. Technology is a way to promote multimodal learning in the classroom, which is learning that involves two or more modes of communication (Anstey & Bull, 2006). The use of multimodals promote visual, auditory and kinaesthetic modes of learning which supports all students to perceive and process information and therefore enhances overall outcomes (The Department of Education and Children’s Services,
The first tool I used in this course was the group Wiki, where we were encouraged to collaborate our knowledge, ideas and understandings about chosen topics. We used the PMI thinking strategy and De Bono's six thinking hats on seperate occasions. This was a great example of how technology can be used to share and construct knowledge; as Vygotsky's Social Constructivist theory contends interaction between learners can enhance learning and help with the internalisation of new knowledge. This activity also demonstrated thinking strategies in action and how they can lead to a deeper understanding of knowledge and concepts. We live in a knowledge-based economy which requires 20th century learners to be creative, critical and reflective thinkers (Lynch & Knight, 2010). Teachers need to not only give students the information but teach them how to look at it in a range of different perspectives and reflect on how it affects them. Here is my reflection on these thinking tools.
When it come time to choosing my four ICT's to analyse and reflect on I was quite hesitant to decide as I found that I had so much to say about all of the ones I have trialled, and most of them I can see myself using in my future classroom. For the Group One Technologies I chose to focus on my Website- www.mrsbettsclassroom2.weebly.com. I was very nervous when I first heard we had to go and make our own website. Firstly, I always thought that something like a website would cost money to make, and secondly I pictured it as being a very complicated task. To my surprise I had it set up within minutes; I honestly could not believe how easy it was. The excitement kicked in and my creative juices begun to flow, I felt like a new door had been flung open to me. I feel that as a teacher there is so much you could do with your own website, like what I have experimented with you could organise a lesson on it, or go the whole way and do a unit of work. You can embed links to websites of interest as I have done, and you can upload images, youtube videos that have to do with the topic; you can have everything there at the students fingertips to explore and find information. It gives you the option to structure and scaffold your lessons so that students can work individually or in small groups. You are the only one that can add or edit information, so you are able to monitor the sites and materials that students are using on the internet, therefore ensuring students are engaged in legal, safe and ethical practice. This may seem like the student has no input, although like I have shown on my site activities can be listed and links made to a classroom Wiki for the students contribution. It is there in the Wiki where I have established with the input from students the legal, safe and ethical guidelines for using the computer. I got this idea from one of my fellow students. I would also display these class rules next to the computer as a reminder of the students responsibility when using the computers. Please go and view my SWOT analysis that I have done on this tool, as it gives a good reflection of my experience with Weebly.
My Group Two Technologies tool that I have chosen is the Voki; this tool captured my attention with its cute animated characters. I think these could be used in any classroom to present information to students in a fun and engaging way. It provides both visual and aural stimulation, therefore targeting a wider range of learners. I can also picture students using this site to present their own work, or to create their own classroom personality. I made my own Voki to use in a lesson for my Prep class (see it on the side of my blog), the children loved it and were then keen to make their own, although we ran into some technical problems so could not proceed with the lesson. This is one implication I find very common when using technology, due to power sources, internet connection and speed, or just technical problems sometimes it can be a hit or miss for your ICT to work. See my reflection on why you should always have a back-up plan when using technology in the classroom. I have enjoyed making my own Vokis and found the site easy to navigate, although I did find some computers really slow to upload the Vokis. See my SWOT analysis on my Voki experience.
Thirdly, was my exploration into presentation tools. I downloaded gimp, but struggled to understand what to do with this tool. As my intelligence test showed I am not much of a visual learner, hence manipulating photos is not my thing. However, I did enjoy making wanted posters on glassgiant. The tool I picked though, I found by googling Photostory, it is called VideoPad Video Editor and it states that it is for beginners. I support the saying you need to crawl before you can walk. This site is so easy to use that it got a bit addictive. I have used MovieMaker before and found it frustrating as it seemed very fiddly. Now either I have gained a whole lot more confidence in these last six weeks or this sight is just so much more simplier to use. I have made my own podcast, and also two examples of what students could do with this tool which I have embedded in my Wiki. As a presentation tool it has so much to offer, and I truly believe students would be able to use this tool independently or in small groups to publish their work. It is very straight forward to navigate and students have the options of uploading pictures, photos, music, sounds, videos or taping and recording themselves straight of the computer. The one main implication for using this tool is before you can upload your work onto a Wiki or Blog you need to publish it on Youtube, this may have repercussions as to the teacher's legal responsibility for publishing students' work or photos online. See my SWOT analysis on this tool.
My last tool chosen from the Group Four Technologies is the very easy-to-use brainstorming tool the bubbl.us. I believe that the use of brainstorming and concept mapping is an important part of learning. I have witnessed many teachers use the butcher's paper in front of the whole class to collaborate and present ideas and information; the bubbl.us just puts a techno touch to it. Brainstorming aides teachers in making students aware of their prior knowledge and uses it as a springboard to engage students in the topic (Brady & Scully, 2005). You could use bubbl.us on the interactive whiteboard and get students to come up and add their own bubble to encourage interactive learning, or you can encourage students to use it as a planning tool to foster self-regulated thinking habits (Marzano et al., 1997). I have made some of my own maps, one I have used on my Wiki and the other for a Uni assessment that you can view on my bubbl.us blog along with my SWOT analysis of this tool.
My research of ICT's in the last couple of weeks has shown me that they can be an invaluable resource in the classroom that engage students and achieve learning outcomes. As stated in the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority website "Increasingly, ICT's permeates every area of our society and lives". It is important that as teachers we embrace them and equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills they need to use ICT's in their learning and throughout life. In saying this it depends on the teacher's personal pedagogy to how far they go with incorporating technology in their classrooms, and to what extent they use the tools. My view of technology has definetely changed now that I am more informed; at the start of this course I had never even linked a document or website, now I do it without thinking twice as evident in this blog. I believe all teachers need to participate in regular e-learning courses to keep their knowledge and skills up-to-date, as how are we supposed to teach 'digital natives' if we don't know the language!
References
Anstey, M., & Bull, G. (2006). Defining Multiliteracies. Teaching and Learning Multiliteracies: Changing Times, Changing Literacies , 19-55.
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2011). The Australian curriculum: English. Retrieved July 12, 2011, from ACARA Web site: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/English/Curriculum/F-10
Brady, L., & Scully, A. (2005). Engagement: Inclusive classroom management. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson.
Department for Education and Children's Services. (1997). Early Literacy: Practices and Possibilities (Book One). Campbell Town, SA: Department for Education and Children's services.
Killen, R. (2009). Effective teaching strategies: Lessons from research and practice (5th ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Thompson.
Lynch, D., & Knight, B. (2010). The Theory and Practice of Learning Management. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Australia.
Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J., Arredondo, D., Blackburn, G., Brandt, R., Moffett, C., et al. (1997). Dimensions of Learning: Teacher's Manual (2nd ed.). Colorado: USA: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning.
New London Group. (1996). A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Designing Social Futures. Harvard Educational Review , 60-92.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives: Digital immigrants. Retrieved July 20, 2011, from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
Prensky, M. (2005). Engage me or enrage me: what today's learners demand. Retrieved July 20, 2011, from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0553.pdf
Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved July 20, 2011, from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
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