Reflective Synopsis

To define E-learning in its most simplistic form is, effective learning enhanced by the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) combined with productive pedagogy. Knight and O’Neill (2007, p. 44) describe the term E-learning as a term that ‘has emerged as a description of the work teachers will do to combine new technologies into learning design and is the force behind what educators now determine as ‘thinking digitally’’. But what is behind ‘thinking digitally’? It is far more involved than just inserting digital tools into lesson plans as I have discovered. It requires considering pedagogical framework, student engagement, scaffolding underpinning the e-learning, relevant learning theories, the prerequisite educational standards and working safely and ethically, all of which I intend to explore further followed by a reflection on my own future practices as an educator evaluating all that I have learnt to date.

During my personal e-learning journey I have experienced a range of technologies but the true learning came from the learning theories and frameworks supporting these digital tools, the first of which I would like to explore is technological pedagogical content knowledge framework or TPACK. TPACK is the starting point for designing e-learning. It combines pedagogical knowledge, content knowledge and technological knowledge to produce a balanced approach to learning with elements of knowing what to teach, how to teach it and most importantly, how to deliver it. Following this concept ensures as an educator you have provided your students with the most effective learning experience possible. For further information on TPACK please click on the links to my previous blog post on TPACK http://engagemeeducation.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/week-2-reflections-on-tpack-and-digital.html or this link http://www.tpack.org/ which will direct you to the official TPACK site, full of wonderful information.

Bloom’s Taxonomy is another framework which considers the different levels of thinking and in what succession, therefore is best used in conjunction with TPACK since Bloom’s tackles where the learner is achieving and TPACK tackles how to get them to next level of thinking, the ultimate goal being the learner achieving high order thinking skills. This earlier blog post will provide additional information on the significance of Bloom’s taxonomy http://engagemeeducation.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/week-2-blooms-revised-taxonomy.html.

Including pedagogical framework is a vital foundation to all effective learning experiences but another factor which is often overlooked is student engagement. The role of student engagement cannot be taken lightly as Prensky (2005) notes, educators need to provide relevant engagement for the generation before they ‘power down’ unable to absorb educational content. Before teachers can deliver any kind of education to students we first need their attention and the best way to do that is to engage them in content by incorporating ICTs. Students today prefer receiving information fast, enjoy multi-tasking, prefer graphics before texts, like networking, thrive on instant gratification and frequent awards and prefer games to serious work, all of these are characteristics of ICTs and by accommodating to these needs provides the highest chance of successful engaging students in effective learning (Prensky, 2001).

It is not enough to simply add technologies to a class, for effective learning to take place, ICTs must be introduced with productive pedagogy and scaffolding, as argued by Knight and O’Neil (2007, p. 44) ‘an important skill for the learning manager is to develop the pedagogical strategies that ensure that learning is at the centre of any e-learning activity’ and scaffolding is one of those core strategies. When engaging with a variety of digital tools each week, I scaffolded my learning with a plus, minus, interesting (PMI) chart which enabled me to achieve a level of higher order thinking by analysing the tool from multiple angles (see this post for an example of this http://engagemeeducation.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/week-5-powerpoint-prezi-and-glogster.html). For other ideas on scaffolding to create a structured learning experience follow this link to Global Education http://www.globaleducation.edu.au/resources-gallery/resource-gallery-templates.html.

E-learning encompasses all learning theories on some level, however the dominate theories would be connectivism and constructivism. Connectivism is an obvious choice considering it is the learning theory for the 21^st century, embracing the use of ICTs for the future  of learning. The element of constructivism which is of most importance is constructing collaborative learning. Collaborative learning provides students with an opportunity for peer-assisted learning which ‘enhance critical thinking, conceptual understanding and other higher order thinking skills’ (O’Donnell et al, 2012, p. 389). For a basic run down of the learning theories and what they represent, please visit my previous blog post on learning theories http://engagemeeducation.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/week-1-learning-theories.html.

As professional teachers we will also be bound by educational standards provided for the benefit of students by such government initiatives as Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (Acara) and Australian Institute for Technology and School Leadership (Atsil). It is of utmost importance that teachers refer to and abide by these standards to provide a consistent level of education which comprises of an expectation of learning using ICTs  for all learners in the nation. Follow the links to Acara for curriculum requirements of ICTs http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Information-and-Communication-Technology-capability/Introduction/Introduction and Atsil to see the expectation of standards for technology based learning http://acce.edu.au/sites/acce.edu.au/files/TTF%20-%20Graduate%20Teacher%20Standards%20-%20ICT%20Elaborations%20-%20200411.pdf.

During exploration of every tool, the issue of working safely and ethically arose. As teachers and adult supervisors we are responsible for the safe and ethical treatment of students in the physical and mental sense and this now carries onto the digital world. Not only is it our responsibility to protect them but also to educate them on how to behave in a digital society and how to make mature choices. At the end of the day, for the continual use of beneficial ICTs in the classroom we need to create a safe learning environment for all learners. Education Queensland have a Risk Management page allocated to a diverse range of safety and ethical issues for further reference http://education.qld.gov.au/web/schools/riskman.html.

When I began this e-learning course I had expected to encounter temperamental technologies that I would need as tools to ‘keep up’ with the kids I will be teaching in secondary school. Being what Prensky (2001) would describe as a ‘digital immigrant’ I thought this exploration would be a long and arduous task, the reality was EVERY tool was accessible, offered endless affordances to learning and dare I say… fun! In addition, the weekly pedagogical content offered supported the tools and made me consider the effectiveness of implementation of them and what I can help my learners to achieve. What I intend to take forward into my future practices as a teacher is not only the individual digital tools I have practiced nor only the supporting theory, but also the notion that as a future educator it is my responsibility is to prepare my learners for the 21^st century that they will be living, learning and working in.

As always, thanks for reading,

Nicole Ryan.

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References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). Information and communication technology (ict) capability. Retrieved from:

http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Information-and-Communication- Technology-capability/Introduction/Introduction

 

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (n.d.). National professional standards for teachers ict elaborations for graduate teacher standards. Retrieved from: http://acce.edu.au/sites/acce.edu.au/files/TTF%20-%20Graduate%20Teacher%20Standards%20-%20ICT%20Elaborations%20-%20200411.pdf

Education Queensland. (n.d.). Risk Management. Retrieved from: http://education.qld.gov.au/web/schools/riskman.html  

Global Education. (n.d.). Templates. Retrieved from: http://www.globaleducation.edu.au/resources-gallery/resource-gallery-templates.html

Knight, A. & O’Neill, P. (2007). E-learning: a catalyst for a futures orientation. In B.A. Knight, D. Lynch & R. Smith (Eds.). Learning Management: Transitioning teachers for national and international change. (pp.44-56). French Forest: Pearson Education Australia.

O’Donnell, A., Dobozy, E., Bartlett, B., Bryer, F., Reeve, J., & Smith, J. (2012). Educational Psychology, (1^st ed.) Minton, Queensland: John, Wiley & Sons.

Prensky, M. (2001). On the horizon. Retrieved 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 from:  http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0553.pdf 

 

 

 

 

Week 6 - Google Earth, Gapminder & Dipity

Week 6 and the final group of digital tools, group 4 animation and simulation digital tools. This particular group of tools (and there is quite a few on offer) add depth to the learning experience we provide as teachers, as well as a variety of study options for students to pursue to understand the content being delivered to them. Whilst group 3 presentation tools provided a fantastic foundation for delivering educational content, by combining appropriate elements of group 4 tools, the content can be taken to the next level and a better understand can be achieved by the learners as an outcome. I have been lucky enough to see how some of these group 4 tools have been used effectively during my embedded professional learning (EPL) in a secondary school geography class in years 7, 10, 11 and 12. As I explore each tool that I have chosen, I will include any experiences with the tool I have had in a real-life classroom in conjunction with a PMI chart.

First up… Google Earth.

Kind of obvious for a geography class I know, and although I knew Google Earth would be valuable in a geography class, I had not expected it to the extent I witnessed whilst on my EPL days. Whenever students could not visualise a place or a concept, my mentor teacher would locate it on Google Earth to give a real-life representation to help them understand a range of geographic detail from the conurbation of Brisbane/ Gold Coast/ Ipswich/ Caboolture to the Andes in South America.  All this is made possible by the zoom function which provides details as minute as a bore pump in a backyard of a Central Queensland home shown to a Year 7 class learning about artesian aquifers. Watching a concept be introduced to a class of blank, confused faces, transformed into ‘I get it now’ faces by simply accessing Google Earth and zooming into the detail which will provide the most relevant educational benefit, is something I intend to replica in my own teaching practices. Of course, this education journey is a two way street and as always students can do their own research on Google Earth, however I believe the teachers content knowledge to know where to find these examples is a key factor with this digital tool. Additional features worth mentioning other than the zoom function are, entering the name of the place you want to locate into search and it will zoom automatically; also if you zoom in enough a topographic simulation of ground view will appear. One last function worth mentioning is street view, which as the name suggests presents a virtual street map which can be followed as if really walking the streets of the world. Check it out if you haven't already http://www.google.com/earth/index.html .

Plus	Minus	Interesting
- Free        - Zoom function       - Amazing amount of detail          - Easy to use for teachers and students          - Ground view function          - Street view function          - Adds visual aid to content	-  Need internet to access - Some images may be outdated and not represent current infrastructure	- How Google have collected such comprehensive images - How much value this tool adds to a geography class

 

Next… Gapminder.

Gapminder is an interactive graphing simulation which is layered with multiple data options for the X and Y axis, creating an expansive list of graph options. With a simple click of a button you can compare the world’s water infrastructure compared to dollar per capita (as I have created in my snipped image below) and compare how each country in the world rates. I can then choose to select certain countries to compare if I wish to further refine my data. Gapminder is easy and free and there is a lot of helpful information on the site http://www.gapminder.org/for-teachers/, even a section just for teachers. By downloading the graph you can present it to the class without needing internet access. Having completed basic column graphs with a Year 7 Humanities class, if I had used a Gapminder graph as a hook for the lesson I believe it would have made the class a lot more interested in the potential of graphing. In saying that I think all year levels would appreciate the interactive, simplistic nature of Gapminder and it could really start productive class discussions by just changing one of the axis selections. A great feature is if you hover the cursor over the coloured dot, the name of the country which it represents will appear.

 

Plus	Minus	Interesting
- Free - Easy to use - Information presented in a fun format for class - Hover for information function - The work is already done for you - Can download the graph and not need internet to present it	- Only minus is that not every topic will have data collected on it	- The potential discussions that could come from different axis selections

 

Finally and briefly… Dipity.

This timeline tool I have not witnesses in use, however what I have noticed is the higher order thinking students often complete set work before other students in the class. Dipity would be a fantastic tool to use as an additional task for those who have completed work yet still need to be challenged until the end of the class. For example, year 11 geography were discussing the rise of the motor vehicle and how that affected infrastructure, some students were struggling with all the additional data and required assistance. Dipity could be introduced for the advanced students as a supportive task to timeline events and then that timeline could be utilised to show the struggling students a simplistic representation of facts. Dipity’s timelines could also have many uses within english, creating timelines of famous poets and author’s lives for example. Dipity is free and easy to sign up for, then simply add events of your choice to the timeline which images can be added to. There are many extra features of Dipity which I have yet to fully explore so hopefully someone will choose this as their tool to explore and I can learn it from them! Or else check out this clip of a Dipity Tutorial...

 

Most of group 4 tools are going into my resources kit as a pre-service teacher (if not it is because they do not relate to geography or english) and I intend on keeping my lessons fresh and engaging by mixing up all the tools that are on offer as I endeavour to deliver effective learning experiences.

Thanks for reading,

Nicole.

Image and Video acknowledgement:

Google Earth: SSEC, http://www.ssec.wisc.edu

Dipity YouTube clip: Dipity Tutorial #1 (A Basic Overview) - Dipity Tutorials http://youtu.be/8slBz1dtgXM