Throughout this e-learning journey I have experienced moments of frustration, feelings of exhilaration, satisfaction, success and a whole lot of learning. When I first read the course profile and explored on Moodle I felt confident that being a digital native I would be competent enough to complete the task successfully. However, I soon discovered that this course would lead me along a journey of digital discovery, exploring the big wide world of technology. I feel I can finish this course having achieved my goals and expectations.
What I have learnt along this journey is that there is a wealth of resources and endless possibilities through the use of technology. The digital tools I explored for this assignment can be effectively utilized in the classroom. From image manipulation to the more complex pod/vod casting, a Learning Manager can engage their students on a whole new level. Sure some of the tools were tedious and at times frustrating to use but most were relatively user friendly. As an extra bonus they were all free to create an account, making them accessible to ALL.
We live in an ever changing technological world, and if we are to continue to grow and learn, we need to evolve along with it. We the digital natives and evolving digital immigrants are the ones who need to embrace and utilise these resources and develop. E-Learning will play a key role within education for my students to become lifelong learners, develop transferable skills and become meaningful, contributing citizens of society. This is why I need to fashion and arm myself with the skills to pass on to my students. If educators have limited knowledge of the digital age and the vast collection of gadgets it brings with it they can only pass on limited knowledge. Just in all areas of teaching and learning educators need to make the effort to reach and advocate for their students.
'To effectively participate in this future, students are required to be lifelong learners, develop transferable skills that enables them to contribute to a meaningful society (Qld College of Teachers 2006).'
Prensky (2001) explores engaging students. He suggests that today’s students are being presented with stale Learning material from the past. What I gathered from what Prensky was trying to say was educators are preparing students for yesterday instead of readying them for tomorrow. Students of today need to be engaged at their own level in many areas of learning including the curriculum (Pensky, 2001). We as Learning Managers need to find ways to engage learners and this most defiantly includes e-Learning. Technology is all about engaging the learner to the world around them. The internet has made the big wide world accessible to almost everyone. Why not use such a powerful tool in the classroom.
The Big6 (2007) considers student involvement in cognitive processes such as Task Definition, Information Seeking Strategies, Location and Access, Use of Information, Synthesis and Evaluation (Eisenberg, 2007). This in turn connects with the Productive Pedagogies and Dimensions of Learning (Marzano & Pickering, 1997) in that lifelong learners develop into complex thinkers, creative individuals, active investigators, effective communicators, reflective and self directed learners, participant in an interdependent world and a knowledgeable person. This is achieved by engaging students and motivating them to learn through the use of meaningful, authentic activities and learning environments based on the Big6 six step processes.
My Ultimate Classroom
During this assignment I have learnt and used many technologies. Some I would not use in my classroom without further exploration and understanding. In my ideal classroom I would incorporate the use of ipods for enhancing learning with the implementation of pod and vod casts. I would most definitely have an interactive while board and a number of up-to-date classroom computers and a printer/scanner. . I would use a classroom blog, wiki or website to support and encourage communication and partnerships with my students, their parents and other important stakeholders. Research has show that family involvement in the classroom increases student achievement (Caplan, 1998). Vygotsky (1978) confirms that relationships and cultures impact on a learner’s cognitive development. By engaging the students in relevant and reflective experiences, students will extend and refine their knowledge and understandings (Marzano & Pickering, 1997). So as an active Learning Manager I anticipate encouraging interactions and partnerships between the classroom and home environments.
Some of the technologies that I have found worthwhile and valuable for future use in my classroom are the following:
-Blogs There is many uses for blogs it all depends on what the need and purpose is. Classroom blogs are an engaging and valuable tool to boost communication between student and parents. Blogs are a way of connecting the students to others and incorporating collaborative learning experiences. Classroom blogs allow teachers to post learning material for students/parents to access and provide students with the chance to include, express, reflect, evaluate and further explore their classroom tasks.
-Wikis Like blogs, Wiki’s encourage collaborative learning in the classroom. A classroom Wiki provides parents, students and other stakeholders the chance to contribute to the Wiki content contributing to and enhancing the learning journey. However this is where the teacher must be careful in checking the information for safety, appropriate and credible reasons. When used effectively Wiki’s enhance development skill such as teamwork, drafting, editing, collaborative writing and negotiation. Wiki’s would be a valuable tool to employ when constructing and displaying a unit of work in progress in the classroom (mapping out the learning journey).
-Podcasts Podcasts would be a valuable tool to implement in the classroom having many purposes. Being in audio form they would cater for those auditory learners, it is also possible to access or create vodcasts which would cater for both audio and visual learners. There is a large selection of educational and other types of pod/vodcasts available on iTunes, so no need to re-invent the wheel, but re-creating a whole new pod/vodcast is also possible depending on the intention. Podcasts can be uploaded to classroom blogs, wikis and websites, making them accessible to parents and students (those who have access to those digital tools where they can effectively contribute to the learning content. Podcasts could be used when assigning and explaining homework/assessment tasks and offering optional and or additional learning material for those fast finishers and extra support for more complex concepts.
-Avatars (Voki) Voki’s are a marvelous gizmo they can be quickly created to make those less intriguing lessons much more engaging. Learning Managers can use Voki’s to present learning material to hook their students in. Teachers can use avatars to commune with students via blogs. Students can use voki’s to assist in situations such as public speaking, creating characters and online privacy and safety issues.
-PowerPoint The trusty PowerPoint has multiple purposes in the classroom. PowerPoint can be used to present information, tutorials, displays and photo stories just to name a few. PowerPoint is a very simple program to use and majority of students will be familiar with and have access to it at home and at school. PowerPoint presentations can also be uploaded to blogs, wiki’s and websites by way of a simple online program called SlideShare.
-Digital Video (Movie Maker & YouTube) Videos allow the Learning Manager to engage, explain and illustrate tasks to students to help them develop clearer understandings. By providing students with the opportunity to create their own digital videos the teacher is encouraging higher order thinking and catering for different learning styles. Videos can have many functions within a classroom environment for instance they can be used for creating learning resources, supporting non-English speaking students, recording assessment pieces, experiments, performances, special guests and events. Videos can also be uploaded to the classroom blog, wiki and website.
I am aware that these digital tools are only a speckle in a very large digital galaxy, but at this point in time I feel I could successfully incorporate these in my teaching. No doubt I will incorporate many other wonderful technologies in my teaching career.
As with everything there are always some disadvantages. The major drawback with this kind of technology is availability to students. The school may have adequate facilities but what do students have access to at home? We need to take into account different learners within our classroom, and the available resources. There is also a risk when allowing students to access the internet and safe websites. With many concerned about how to protect students when using the internet at school, the Australian Government has developed The National Safe Schools Framework and is already addressing these issues.
Our attitudes and perceptions greatly influence our learning. Positive attitudes and perceptions means our learning is enhanced; learning suffers when our attitudes and perceptions are negative (Marzano & Pickering, 1997). I do however believe that incorporating e-Learning should not just stop with the Learning Manager it should also be just as much an important responsibility of the whole school community, the state education system and the upcoming national curriculum.
This e-Learning journey has made me realise that I have so much more to learn and I am intrigued and eager to continue learning. On a more professional note I am aware that my open mindedness and enthusiasm to continue learning will enhance my teaching and enhance the engagement of my students, thus ensuring their success.
So with all these fabulous tools literally at our fingertips and made available for use in the classroom education almost seems like fun for all.
Along this e-learning voyage my knowledge and understandings has been enhanced through shared online learning with other e-Learning students. Below are the links to my collaborative learning:
Comments posted on others blogs:
Barry
Digital Immigrants Diary
Digital Immigrants Diary
e-learningwendys
e-learningwendys
e-learningwendys
e-learningwendys
Comments made by others and myself to my blog:
PowerPoints - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Talk about a Digital Immigrant....
My Weebly Website
The Big6 Learning Design Framework
Mind Map Madness
Begining my E-Learning Journey
References
Caplan, J. (1998). Critical Issue: Constructing School Partnerships with Families and Community Groups. Oak Brook, Illinois: North Central Regional Education Laboratory.
Eisenberg, M. (2007, October 9th). What is the Big6? Retrieved August 22nd, 2010, from The Big6 Information & Technology Skills for Student Achievement: http://www.big6.com/what-is-the-big6/
Marzano, R. J., & Pickering, D. J. (1997). Dimensions of Learning (2nd Edition ed.). Aurora, Colorado: McRel.
Prensky, M., 2001, Digital natives, digital immigrants, On the horizon, vol. 9., no. 5., October 2001, University Press.
Queensland College of Teachers, 2006, Professional standards for Queensland teachers, Queensland College of Teachers, Brisbane, QLD
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