Reflective Synopsis

Teaching and learning has been required to constantly adapt to the influences, advancements and trends of an era or generation. It is apparent that guided by a technology driven era, learning environments are encouraging more frequently and at greater scales, the incorporation, development and demonstration of ICT and digital technology in the classroom. In a learning environment ICT’s can assist students in developing ideas, finding resources and information, constructing and creating, analyse and become more independent life-long learners. Exposure to Information Communication Technologies from such a young age provides adolescents a solid framework to develop their skills and scaffold their abilities, and will also retain attention and be more engaging to younger generations. It is important that not only is the technology available to students and teachers alike that it is developed. Dr Newhouse states “in order for the full potential of education technology to be realised, it must be viewed more as a process rather than just the implementation of educational tools.” (2002, pg.22) This means that educational technology must begin with identifying a problem or an absence of technology rather than the fact that the technology is there.

This blog has provided a description of many current digital tools prevalent in the learning environment. Perhaps the most common and suitable for a standard classroom and providing the most benefits for students would be Concept Mapping, PowerPoint Presentations, Blogs, Learning Management Systems and Learning Styles. Not only are these tools easily accessible to Learning Managers and students, they are simple to use, effective and provide skills transferable to further careers and endeavours. There are many current theories and frameworks which support the concept of ICT use in the classroom and the students can become more engaged with the content and the world around them. “a powerful computer learning environment is characterized by a good balance between discovery learning and personal exploration on one hand, and systematic instruction and guidance on the other, always taking into account the individual differences in abilities, needs, and motivation between students.” (Newhouse, 2002, pg.9)

Ideas, thoughts and concepts created within the brain are developed through linkages to prior knowledge and relative ideas. Concept Maps display this thought process in a diagram and display a hierarchical procedure characterising the main elements and relationships in a physical and visual sense. When developing Concept Maps, many theorists explored the difficultly for some people to create linkages and relationships between new and old information. “The fundamental idea in Ausubel’s cognitive psychology is that learning takes place by the assimilation of new concepts and propositions into existing concept and propositional frameworks held by the learner.” (Novak & Canas, 2006) In the digital era, technology provides programs and websites specifically created to generate concept maps and diagrams, which can be very useful when planning lessons and activities. This helps to not only cater to more learning styles but also make knowledge meaningful. They can particularly relate to Dimension 4, Use Knowledge Meaningfully which helps students to develop Complex Reasoning Processes and transfer them to real life situations. There are many ways which digital concept maps could be incorporated into a classroom exercise. I would incorporate them through a brainstorm activity with the students using a Digital Whiteboard, this not only includes students in the thought process, it also identifies the linkages and demonstrates how to construct a Concept Map using particular programming. Although digital concept maps are very convenient and aesthetically pleasing, I would note that it is still just as effective and just as easy to write a concept map on the whiteboard or have students construct in their notebooks.

An important tool used in seminars, presentations and demonstrations is a PowerPoint presentation. PowerPoint’s provide a chance for the creativity of a student to be explored with various functions. This easy to use program caters for many learning styles including auditory (use of music and speech), visual (incorporation of pictures and movies) and informational content can be seen as well as heard, all which is very useful when teaching a diverse classroom of adolescents. They are also an engaging tool for adolescents who have grown up with technology, who are able to interact with their learning and identifying key elements of the information. In the classroom the teacher can incorporate PowerPoint presentations to make content more engaging, and also to break down large pieces of information so that students understand key concepts and ideas. Assessment programs are also integrating PowerPoint presentations into the students’ work, particularly in oral presentations as it gives students the opportunity to interact with the audience in a new manner, and also elaborate on their speeches. Giving students the skills to understand, use and create a PowerPoint presentation is a skill which they will use in their future careers and learning.

A blog is a versatile online journal which allows users to construct and publish their thoughts or information on a particular topic or on their own experience. Blogs are fast becoming a very popular outlet in the world of technology provides an avenue to get an opinion or experience displayed for anyone to view and follow. In the learning environment a blog allows students freedom to create, analyse and synthesise information and use their knowledge and understanding of ICT’s to create their own webpage which they can access from any computer at any time. This can provide a lot of fulfilment and satisfaction in students’ assignments, offering the opportunity to show family members and friends their hard work. It also allows for interaction between class members with online comments and threads developed through accessing each other’s pages. Being able to access peer pages helps to expand prior knowledge, create new concepts, and be open and diplomatic to the thoughts and opinions of others creating an inclusive environment. A blog is a very useful tool in the classroom as it allows freedom of speech encourages independent opinion and work and incorporates ICT in an inventive style.

All students are individual in the way they act, the way they dress, the way they interact and also the way that they think and learn. As a Learning Manager it is essential to understand that each students brain is wired differently and that they must create an inclusive learning environment and a positive learning experience for each of their students. "Many schools still rely on classroom and book-based teaching, much repetition, and pressured exams for reinforcement and review. A result is that we often label those who use these learning styles and techniques as “bright.”" (Learning Styles Online, 2007) With the knowledge and research on learning styles students can recognize their personal intelligences and work accordingly. The use of Learning Management Systems is particularly prevalent in tertiary educational facilities. The use of programs such as Blackboard and Moodle are very common in university level education for their ease of use, cost, and accessibility from a large range of students from varied locations. These systems provide an avenue for course information to be accessed including content, links, readings, assessment, forums, and contact information. This is a very useful online tool as it creates a forum for users to become independent learners, to develop their learning journey at their own pace and gradually filter through set work, and also have discussions with other students undertaking the same course. At secondary level education these programs could also be in place for students to interact with each other on a technology based level. I would incorporate this technique if students where working with a school overseas on the same subject, giving them the opportunity to gain new ideas, feedback from other students with a different background and have general conversation accessible online.

In the twenty-first century it is inevitable that ICT’s for learning will gradually become more prevalent in the world of education. Students must learn to adapt to life with technology as it begins to consume the world around us and careers ahead. That is why it is important to integrate ICT as frequently as possible and begin giving students the opportunity to become independent life-long learners as the ability to adapt to change and access information and research are key skills which are transferrable in any area of work or study. As found through this synopsis and through the blog entries thus far, there are many digital tools which are available to Learning Managers which are free of charge and generally user friendly, providing many opportunities for use as educators to familiarize ourselves also to an ever-changing technology environment, as change in teaching and learning is already evident.

Comment was made on Rebeccca Munns blog regarding how E-Learning supports student learning. A full reading of the blog and discussion can be found at http://rebeccamunns.blogspot.com

Nicole Kling said...

Technology is a very large part of the current generation in schooling, I think you are correct in saying that they "talk the language". I agree that an important aspect of ICT is collaborating and analyzing. Information is readily available to students but they have to learn how to synthesize, find the relevant information and bring it all together :)

August 26, 2010 10:00 PM

REFERENCES

Learning Styles Online (2007) Overview of Learning Styles, viewed 26 August 2010, http://www.learning-styles-online.com/overview/

Newhouse, P (2002) The Impact of ICT on Learning and Teaching, viewed 24 August 2010, http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/downloads/pd/impactreview.pdf

Novak, J & Canas, A (2006) The Theory Underlying Concept Maps and How to construct them, viewed 24 August 2010, http://cmap.ihmc.us/publications/researchpapers/theorycmaps/theoryunderlyingconceptmaps.htm

Digital Tool 8: Digital Video

Digital Video is an innovative approach to more traditional viewing of videos such as VHS or DVD movies presented on a television. The internet creates a refreshing new avenue to users giving them the ability to access information from any area of the world on any type of information imaginable.

YouTube is a website which enables people to upload videos and share with users of the World Wide Web. In the classroom Youtube videos can be effective in some aspects, providing a different perspective, engaging the learners as they can relate to the technology easily, and to break up a lesson. The video must be selected very carefully though as they are primarily ammeter videos and it can be difficult to find a video which is relevant to the content of the lesson, is age appropriate and the information is reliable.

Windows Movie Maker is a program which has been created as an advancement of Microsoft PowerPoint. In this program users have the ability to create their own movies, inserting text, video, music, pictures and audio. This program has been incorporated more and more frequently into school assessment programs who encourage students to display their creativity and ability to use a wide range of technologies. Students develop the skills to use a video camera, acting in front of the camera, editing video and and presenting to their audiences.

Students who take part in creating and using video presentations and productions gain many positive learning experiences including metacognitive, higher order thinking, communication and presentation, literacy, organizational and teamwork and moviemaking skill development.

This is an example of a video which can be embedded from YouTube

Digital Tool 7: Images and Podcasts

All students learn in different ways, as can be found in the Learning Style Matrix. It is important to cater for each of these styles, to ensure that all students have a positive learning experience. Visual and Auditory learners are two of the most common learning styles and can be catered for through images and podcasts.

Images can be uploaded and edited on many digital tools such as PowerPoint presentations, webpages, wikis, and Learning Management Systems. Online the main formatting for these images is GIF or JPG.

Teachers can incorporate images in order to engage their students, provoke emotion, create interesting effects, and create an interactive and exciting material. They can also add pictures of work that students have done and access pictures from other students or learning environments.

There must be some care taken when adding pictures from outside sources and when uploading pictures of students and adolescents as there are copyright and permission laws which are applicable.

Flikr is a website which provides viewers with a large selection of pictures which they are able to upload and can be edited in programs such as Picnik.

This is a picture provided by Flikr.

This is the picture once edited by Picnik.

Podcasting is an audio file which uses MP3 formatting and can create a new dimension to a lesson plan. This is particularly for auditory learners, and is a different type of learning as instead of just listening to the teacher, students have another influence and voice to listen to.

Podcasting can be used for:

1. Self-Guided Walking tours - Informational content

2. Music - Band promotional clips and interviews

3. Talk Shows - Industry or organizational news, investor news, sportscasts, news coverage and commentaries

4. Training - Instructional informational materials

5. Story - Story telling for children or the visually-impaired.

These Podcasts can be accessed through programs such as Itunes or on websites like ABC, SBS, Discovery school, BBC etc.

Digital Tool 6: Learning Management Systems

Learning Management Systems are an interactive forum which enables users to management their assessment, derive content, have discussions with fellow students and contact their Learning Manager if any difficulties were to arise. This Learning Management Systems are generally only available to the students within the course or lesson studied therefore need a password to be accessed. It fives students in a learning environment to access information and other students from across the world, creating an opportunity to link schools from anywhere in the world. This linkage could promote cross culture sharing of information and discussion and opinion forums broadening a students' horizon.

There are two main types of Learning Management Systems; Proprietary and Open Source.

Proprietary: are generally expensive and lack flexibility, but they do come with good documentation and back up support. An example of this could be Blackboard.

Open Source: are much cheaper and more flexible with many functions available to users, but can sometimes be insufficient with documentation and buck up support. An example of this is Moodle.

Blackboard is promoted by Education Queensland enabling students to take part in content, discussions, quizzes, and assessment by a click of a button.

Ellis (2009) states that Learning Management Systems should be able to function as follows:

• Centralize and automate administration
• Use self-service and self guided services
• Assemble and deliver learning content rapidly
• Consolidate training initiatives on a scalable web-based platform
• Support portability and standard
• Personalise content and enable knowledge reuse.

Learning Management Systems can be very beneficial to learning environments as they create a functioning forum for students to communicate and access relevant information with ease. There may be issues however, if students have difficulty access computers and the internet or initial costs in starting up one of these systems.

Digital Tool 5: PowerPoint's and Prezi's

Microsoft have developed a program known as PowerPoint enabling users to create presentations for a variety of purposes. This program allows users to insert text, images, transitions, music and speech to enhance a normally verbal presentation and create an aesthetically pleasing visual aid for audiences.

In a learning environment PowerPoint presentations can not only be incorporated for the use of teachers, but also students in assessment tasks. This can greatly benefit visual, kinaesthetic and auditory learners in the classroom as they can see, and hear an information in a new format with the aid of images and sounds rather than the traditional teacher centered classroom.

The incorporation of PowerPoint presentations into assessment tasks can develop students skills in ICT and also speaking to an audience. Not only do the students gain skills in creating and developing the presentation but also learn how to use the PowerPoint to enhance an oral presentation and interact with their audience.

PowerPoint presentations give teachers an opportunity to engage their students and involve them with their own learning. The twenty-first century demands a focus on the use of Information Communication Technologies used by adolescents as this is the way of the future and this is an opportunity for students to practice this.

An example of a PowerPoint presentation can be found on my Wiki at http://nicoleemma90.wikispaces.com/Dimensions+of+learning+PowerPoint

Prezi is an innovative more advanced version of Microsoft PowerPoint. Prezi is a storytelling tool which allows creators to develop a non linear presentation for audiences where the links between ideas can be identified. Photos, videos and text can be incorporated into the presentations. However this is a much more advanced option and may be difficult to incorporate into the classroom as they can be difficult to understand and also time consuming to create. For an advanced level classroom or an ICT class the program Prezi could be very useful to test the ability of its users.

Digital Tool 4: Website

The World Wide Web has a vast and endless array of websites on any topic you could think of, plus more. It is the development of websites which have changed the teaching resources and activtities available dramatically and enabled information to be accessed at the click of a mouse. The difference between websites in comparison to blogs and wiki's is that the creator decides what information gets published, the content and the structure without giving the public the access to change edit or modify information.

This makes a variety of activities available to the teacher and the class as resources can be downloaded, students can research, interactive activities can be incorporated and students gain skills in surfing the web which are vital in the twenty-first century.

For this activity Weebly was used to create a website with the URL, http://nicolekling.weebly.com/. This site enables users to create their own website, editing the layout and structure of the page, the ability to edit and add content and also music, PowerPoints and movies. This is a user-friendly website which could be incorporated in the classroom for students to provide an ICT based pedagogical component.

Digital Tool 3: Wiki's for Collaborative Learning

A Wiki is an online forum where not only the creator adds information and tools but online guests and followers are also able to add, edit, modify and removie information with various editing tools and programmes. According to http://wiki.org the key features of a Wiki include;

• Open
• Incremental
• Organic
• Universal
• Observable
• Trust
• Fun
• Sharing
• Interaction
• Collaboration
• Social Networks

In a collaborative classroom setting a Wiki could be incorporated for students to share their views and opinions on a subject matter and gather ideas from other students to expand on their own thoughts. Being an online resource allows students to interact and link up with classrooms from across the world and gain a cultural experience or with other schools in the same area to form better working relationships and partnerships.

The link for the Wiki which I created is http://nicoleemma90.wikispaces.com/

Digital Frameworks

The following is a concept map outlining the main outcomes and strategies in the Big 6 Framework:

When developing and implementing E-Learning strategies and activities into a lesson plan there are a variety of Digital Frameworks which can be used to ensure that the students receive the most relative and engaging lessons possible. Some of the more popular and common Digital Frameworks which could be incorporated into an ICT lesson include the TPACK framework, the Learning Engagement Theory, the Big Six Framework and even the Dimensions of Learning Framework and the QCAR Framework outlines which ICT information and skills the students must use to inquire, create, and communicate.

The TPACK framework will be focussed on for the purpose of this blog, through an analysis of the benefits of the framework and through a Concept Map outlining the positives and negatives of this particular framework.

The TPACK framework creates a link between the Pedagogical Content Knowledge to technology resources which can be accessed on the web and by students. The links can be identified in the Concept Map below, where the Content, Pedagogy and ICT are all interrelated and in the center is the TPACK Framework.

The following is a concept map outlining the main outcomes and strategies in the Big 6 Framework:

Memlatic Learning Styles

The Memlatic Learning Styles quiz, is a researched based program which can be undertaken by people who wish to discover their personal learning style and how they learn best. This information can be used personally to maximise study success or can be used in a classroom so that the Learning Manager is able to create engaging learning programmes to suit their classroom.

After taking the quiz, it was discovered that my personal learning style is primarily social, physical and aural.

According to Learning Styles online;

Having a strong Social Learning Style: "you communicate well with people, both verbally and non-verbally. People listen to you or come to you for advice, and you are sensitive to their motivations, feelings or moods. You listen well and understand other’s views. You may enjoy mentoring or counseling others.

You typically prefer learning in groups or classes, or you like to spend much one-on-one time with a teacher or an instructor. You heighten your learning by bouncing your thoughts off other people and listening to how they respond. You prefer to work through issues, ideas and problems with a group. You thoroughly enjoy working with a “clicking” or synergistic group of people.

You prefer to stay around after class and talk with others. You prefer social activities, rather than doing your own thing. You typically like games that involve other people, such as card games and board games. The same applies to team sports such as football or soccer, basketball, baseball, volleyball, baseball and hockey." (Learning Styles Online)

Having a strong Physical Learning Style: "it’s likely that you use your body and sense of touch to learn about the world around you. It’s likely you like sports and exercise, and other physical activities such as gardening or woodworking. You like to think out issues, ideas and problems while you exercise. You would rather go for a run or walk if something is bothering you, rather than sitting at home.

You are more sensitive to the physical world around you. You notice and appreciate textures, for example in clothes or furniture. You like “getting your hands dirty,” or making models, or working out jigsaws.

You typically use larger hand gestures and other body language to communicate. You probably don’t mind getting up and dancing either, at least when the time is right. You either love the physical action of theme park rides, or they upset your inner body sense too much and so you avoid them altogether.

When you are learning a new skill or topic, you would prefer to “jump in” and play with the physical parts as soon as possible. You would prefer to pull an engine apart and put it back together, rather than reading or looking at diagrams about how it works.

The thought of sitting in a lecture listening to someone else talk is repulsive. In those circumstances, you fidget or can’t sit still for long. You want to get up and move around." (Learning Styles Online)

Having a strong Aural Learning Style: "you like to work with sound and music. You have a good sense of pitch and rhythm. You typically can sing, play a musical instrument, or identify the sounds of different instruments. Certain music invokes strong emotions. You notice the music playing in the background of movies, TV shows and other media. You often find yourself humming or tapping a song or jingle, or a theme or jingle pops into your head without prompting." (Learning Styles Online)

From this information it is evident that learning experiences which require social interaction, hands on learning and also working with sound or music. This information can also be used to identify that these are my stronger teaching areas and should be used to my advantage. On the other hand the weaker aspects of my teaching strategies can be identified and improved upon.

In a large classroom it can be difficult to cater to all learner types to ensure that the learners receive the education that they require. The key is to provide a variety of activity motivating all senses and develop a blended lesson plan provoking the use of all types of learning styles. Students will then be catered to for their particular need and be able to respond and improve their ability to learn through other styles. A digital style pedagogy encourages a variety of learning styles as there is often text to read, pictures and colourful graphics, sounds, videos and interactive activities which responds to the majority of the learning styles outlined in the Memlatic Learning Style activity. It also provides the opportunity for students to work independently or collaboratively encouraging a wide scope when details lesson plans.

Digital Tool 2: Concept Maps

The second digital tool is a Concept Map. Concept maps can be developed in a variety of ways to visually plot a concept or idea. Johnston (n.d.) states that "Concept mapping is a technique that llows you to understand the relationships between ideas. It allows you to see connections between ideas and connect new ideas to the knowledge you already have." In the concept map displayed, the concepts relating to Multiple Intelligences has been explored as to how different people learn and the characteristics of each of these learning styles.

In a classroom Concept Maps could be used to help students to understand new ideas or make a correlation between ideas which have been learned previously particularly students who are visual learners.

Johnston, C, n.d., Concept Mapping, The Teaching and Learning Unit, date viewed 08 August 2010, http://tlu.ecom.unimelb.edu.au/pdfs/concept_maps.pdf