Reflective Synopsis

The purpose of this blog has been to reflect upon the various information communication technologies (ICTs) that are available for educators and learners alike. Throughout the course Managing E-learning, we have learnt about the different learning styles of individuals and the change in learner needs of today's generation compared with the needs of generations past. Prensky (2001) identifies the current generation of learners as the digital natives, those who were born into and have grown up with digital technology.

It is important that current and future educators begin to and continue learning about digital technology in an effort to produce learning experiences that are engaging for the current generation of learners. Kearsley & Shneiderman (1999) state "...technology can facilitate engagement in ways which are difficult to achieve otherwise." The Learning Engagement theory (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999) stipulates three basic principles for learning tasks and assignments:

1. Relate - learners are given the opportunity to collaborate with others, communicate, plan and manage the task


2. Create - tasks are 'messy' and require learners to define the context of the task


3. Donate - giving the task an authentic purpose and stresses the importance of quality by identifying a client the task is for.
   

The various technologies that have been explored in this course compliment the learning engagement theory by providing opportunity for collaborative learning through forums and comments, enabling learners to define tasks and producing quality work that is viewable by a larger audience. Technologies that have been discussed include animation and simulations, avatars, blogs, Interactive White Board (IWB) technology, picnik, podcasts, powerpoint presentations, youtube and wikis to name just a few. These technologies used singularly or in combinations can be used to create tasks that meet the three criterion of the learning engagement theory.

Blogs and wikis enable learning that is collaborative and interactive. Educators and students are able to contribute to each technology with learning material, resources, reflections and comments. Blogs allow students to reflect upon their learning in an environment that is viewable by their peers, parents and the learning manager. As students are able to comment on each others work, this provides a means for building knowledge together. Blogs enable the learning manager to assess the level of engagement each individual has made with the course content and view participation of learners in collaborating knowledge via comments on each others blogs.

Wikis create an opportunity for group work by allowing a number of people to contribute, change and edit the content and presentation of information on a webpage. Wikis and blogs allow a person to upload pictures, video and weblinks in addition to text. This creates a more interactive and resourceful learning space for all who participate.

In order to keep track of blog updates and newsfeeds, I have found that RSS Aggregators are very efficient in collating this information into one easy to read account. The RSS Aggregator that I chose to use and found very effective was Google Reader, however there are others available to choose from. This online syndication of information proved to be great for saving time browsing every blog that I follow for updates.

Animation and simulations, avatars and picnik provide an opportunity for both learners and educators to be creative and more practical in their learning. Animation and simulations enable learners to practice skills or procedures when resources are not available to them. Avatars are a fun way to record a message or speech for others to hear. An avatar may be used in a blog or wiki to present direction, information or an important notice in an interesting way. This is especially useful for students to use and create their own avatars to make learning fun. Picnik allows users to upload and edit pictures. This is a useful tool for educators and learners for cropping, resizing and editing pictures to share and use in various settings. These ICTs that can all be used in blogs and wikis to create a more stimulating learning resource that caters to the needs of individual learners.

Interactive White Board technology, podcasts, powerpoint presentations and youtube are just some of the technologies available for educators to use when creating interesting learning experiences. Learners are engaged and participate more in classrooms that effectively utilise Interactive White Board (IWB) technology. The IWBs facilitate learning that would not have been possible otherwise as it takes learning beyond the scope of the traditional classroom. There are many functions and uses for IWBs that I would personally like to explore as IWBs bring all the different ICTs into the classroom.

IWBs also enable educators to use powerpoint, podcasts and youtube effectively as additional means of presenting learning material to students. Podcasts and youtube allow educators to extend learning beyond the time constraints for formal lessons as learners are able to access these materials at any time.

These are only a few of the ICTs that have been presented in the Managing E-learning course. I have selected and discussed the technologies that I have connected with personally and found easy to us. These are also the technologies that I wish to embed into the learning design for my future learners to empower them to use technologies for their own personal learning journeys.

Throughout this and all other university courses, we are required to use Learning Management Systems. Learning Management Systems (LMS) like moodle and blackboard facilitate course delivery and learning by providing a central access point for learning materials, discussion forums, assignment submission and documentation. These systems make learning possible for students who are geographically displaced from the learning institution.

Discussions that have occurred in forums for this course have helped to extend my personal knowledge about the different technologies and potential applications in the learning environment. Forums allow people to respond in their own time which facilitates higher quality responses.

In summary, there are a number of information communication technologies that are available for learners and educators to use. They provide a means for learning design that caters for all learning styles and extends learning opportunities beyond the "chalk and talk" of the traditional classroom. These technologies are simple to use and should be combined with traditional teaching strategies to achieve learning outcomes.

References:

Kearsley, G., & Shneiderman, B. (1999, April 5). Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved December 16, 2009, from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Retrieved November 26, 2009, from Marc Prensky: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing

Animations and Simulations

Animations and simulations provide an effective learning tool when the real situation is not available. There are a number of different animations and simulations that can support curriculum material and are accessible for those who may not have the real situation or equipment, or that live in remote places.

The picture above is of an electrical circuit Gizmo from ExploreLearning (2009). Students are able to select different components and create a circuit. They are able to measure the current, resistance and potential voltage of the circuit. This particular Gizmo simulation provides students the chance to engage further and discover how to build an electric circuit, learn about the different components and the effect of changing the components.

There are many other animations and simulations available on the internet for different subjects. These provide students with practical skills and are available at any time for learners to use. I will personally use this particular simulation during learning experiences to allow students to deepen their knowledge of electricity.

Reference:

ExploreLearning (2009). Circuits Gizmo. Retrieved December 17, 2009, from ExploreLearning: http://www.explorelearning.com/index.cfm?method=cResource.dspDetail&ResourceID=398

Picnik

Picnik is a useful website that allows you to upload and edit photos. Creating an account is easy and absolutely free, however by upgrading to Picnik Premium there is access to a greater number of editing options. Particularly useful are editing options that allow photos to be cropped, resized and reduction of red eye.

This web application would be a great tool to introduce students to as they would be able to edit photos and pictures for assignments and take greater pride in the presentation of their work. Photos and pictures can be used in student blogs, wikis and hard copy assignments.

Learning managers (teachers) can also use Picnik to edit photos of class projects and activities. In science students are always excited about performing experiments and constructing models, learning managers may decide to photograph and edit pictures of students actively participating in class as evidence for parents and reflection for students. Pictures of an experiment set up or constructed model is very useful for students to add into their written assessment pieces like a laboratory report or logbook. As some pictures are usually very large, Picnik enables cropping and resizing to produce a smaller picture file making it easier to send, download and use.

This application is one that would be very useful for creating a more asthetically pleasing learning environment for the visual learners. Encouraging students to use the application themselves will inspire them to become more creative and involved in producing quality work. As Picnik is so easy to use, all learning managers could be using this application in any subject area.

Podcasts

http://meaghersclasses.podomatic.com/entry/eg/2006-10-09T16_26_59-07_00

Check out the above podcast, its one of the many reasons why anyone falls in love with Chemistry!

Podcasts are an amazing educational tool. They are digital media files, either audio or video, that provide an excellent additional learning resource for learning managers and students (Wikipedia, 2009). Just like the above podcast, there are many others available for educational as well as entertainment purposes.

Podcasts can be used as an additional resource for learning both inside and outside of the classroom. Unlike everyday school lessons, students can return to view podcasts as many times as they need as the information is stored online. This also enables a learning manager to refer students to a specific podcast or series of podcasts to compliment the work that is being taught in the classroom. Students could also be encouraged to search for other podcasts to view to further extend their knowledge, teaching them to be lifelong learners.

Reference

Wikipedia. (2009, December 6). Podcast. Retrieved December 17, 2009, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasts

Interactive White Board technology

Before my first year teaching prac, I had only ever heard about Interactive White Boards (IWBs). I had no idea about just how quickly a person can learn to use an IWB or about the diverse functions that it could perform before my first time using one 10 minutes prior to teaching a class.

Within those 10 minutes, I learnt how to use the technology, display a powerpoint presentation and easily flick between screens. During the lesson with my students, I quickly discovered how to stop the powerpoint presentation and draw all over it to highlight important information. This was the most engaging and rewarding class that I have taught as the students were so excited about the learning and the technology. The multiple purpose and functions of the IWB is astounding as it provides unlimited resources for teaching in the classroom.

Promethean Planet, an online community for interactive whiteboard learning, contains a number of ready made lesson plans, resource material and information for learning managers to access for free. Learning managers can also upload their own lesson plans and resources to share. After browsing this site for a couple of minutes, I was able to find some very exciting resources that I would love to use in senior Chemistry and Physics classes.

One exciting piece of technology that I found while browsing the Promethean Planet website was a device that is very similar to a mobile phone. With the vast majority of student's today possessing a mobile phone and sending hundreds of text messages per week, imagine how useful it would be to have a device in the classroom that resembles a mobile phone, where students can text their answers or solutions to the IWB!

Visit http://www.prometheanplanet.com and have a look at the number of learning resources that are available for interactive white boards.

This technology has major implications for teaching and learning. It provides a fun and interactive system for students and enables learning managers to showcase a broader range of learning material quickly and effectively. This is technology that all learning managers should be using whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Digital Natives

We can all agree that people learn best when they are actively engaged in tasks that are meaningful, interesting and challenging to them. The current generation of students in the knowledge economy are well immersed in technology. They access the internet for social networking, shopping, entertainment and information on any topic in mere seconds. These students have been coined the Digital Natives. Those who were not born into the digital world are known as the Digital Immigrants and are just learning to use technology (Prensky, 2001).

The learning needs of the digital natives have changed dramatically to those of the digital immigrants. Today's learner is accustomed to flashy graphics, instant reply, information at their finger tips and continuos socialising with friends on the latest networking sites. With instant access and sensory overload surrounding these digital natives, education needs to transition from teacher-centred, textbooks, exercise pads and primarily individual learning, to tasks that speak the digital language and enable collaborative learning. The impact on the new generation of learners for educators is massive and indicates there needs to be a mergence of the digital language with learning tasks and curriculum.

The learning manager (teacher) is now confronted with the issue of how to engage learners. Students need to be engaged or they will be enraged as Prensky (2005) states it. I agree with this statement completely, learners who are engaged in a lesson are more likely to make learning gains and less likely to misbehave. Just like a television program or movie, students will not engage with a subject if it is not relatable and has no entertainment value for them. Unlike television and movies, students can not change the channel when they become bored with school.

So how can we engage our learners? Simple. We learn to speak their language. Our students are well versed in ICTs (information communication technology), so the key message is to effectively thread the use of ICTs such as blogs, wikis, podcasts, powerpoint presentation, avatars and videoclips throughout learning experiences and engage learners.

References

1) Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Retrieved November 26, 2009, from Marc Prensky.com: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/

2) Prensky, M. (2005) Engage Me or Enrage Me. Retrieved November 26, 2009, from Marc Prensky.com: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/

A Blog like this...

Another ICT that is useful in extending learning beyond the classroom is a Blog (web log) just like this one. The applications of a blog in the learning context might include reflective journals, short essays, group presentation or a learning resource site. The user is able to upload videos, animation, photos and weblinks in addition to posting text.

Creating this blog was very simple. In just a couple of quick steps I was able to create an account and begin posting blogs that are viewable by anyone. I am also able to subscribe to other blogs and receive updates of new entries that have been posted. This tool has been very useful in creating one place for me to view the latest blogs that my fellow course members have posted.

This technology is definately something that I would like to use for my future students as an ongoing course participation requirement. Students can create their own blogs to post reflections on key learning material that I have posted on my own learning manager (teacher) site. They can also comment on each others posts and upload interesting photos, videos, their own avatars and any other interesting resources. This will effectively produce a collaborative learning environment outside of the classroom.

When using blogs for class activities and assignments, the learning manager will need to make sure that expectations for conduct and language while using this technology have been established agreed upon by all learners.


Reflection:
What sort of expectations or rules would a learning manager need to establish to make this technology an effective learning resource?

YouTube

YouTube has become a very well known and visited website since its beginnings only a few years ago. This is a place where anyone can find a short video on just about anything and covering many topics of interest. This website that provides youth with hours of entertainment couldn't possibly hold anything of real educational value, right?

WRONG! While the media is busy showcasing video clips from YouTube that contains wild, crazy and dangerous stunts, what they fail to show is that on YouTube there are thousands of video clips that serve as short tutorials in almost every subject and hobby. From sewing to quantum physics, there is a YouTube clip available to provide additional support and information. These video clips are usually less then ten minutes in length and would provide a great additional resource for teaching and learning that also contains the entertainment factor.

Below is a YouTube clip that my year 7 students watched with our introduction to elements and the periodic table in their chemistry unit.




There are many YouTube clips available that might compliment a topic being covered in class and will only take a few short minutes of a lesson.

Wiki What?

A wiki is a website that enables the easy creation and editing of any number of web pages and is often used to create collaborative websites (Wikipedia, 2009). The educational value of a wiki provides the opportunity for a learning manager (teacher) and students to create a collaborative website for their studies or assignments.

Wikis have been used by classes to create an online textbook that is viewable by the world. Creating a task where students are required to collaborate together, define the focus of the project and produce a wiki as either a whole class or in smaller groups for the world wide web. This sort of task exemplifies the learning engagement theory where group tasks are comprised of three components; Relate, Create and Donate (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999).

Creating a Wiki site was as simple as creating an account at www.wetpaint.com and entering some details. Defining the focus of the website is a little bit tricky when you are unsure of your target audience and taking into consideration that the whole world will be able to view your webpage. From here, friends, colleagues and peers who are subscribed to the site are able to view, edit and add to the wiki web page.

This is a very useful resource that should be encouraged for group work as the members of the group can all log into one place to plan and work collaboratively, without losing vital pieces of information. There are many possible uses for this application in classroom tasks and assignments.

I am most interested in using a wiki with my students to create a place where they can post notes from class and links to relevant sites for their peers to access. A wiki site is excellent for encouraging collaborative learning and increasing the opportunities for students to learn and take control of their learning.


References

Wikipedia. (2009, November 29). Wiki. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki

Kearsley, G. & Shneirderman, B. (1999). Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Version 4/5/99