During the last seven weeks of my learning journey with digital tools, I have read a lot about how students have fundamentally changed and how the way we teach must therefore change (Prensky, 2001). While I acknowledge that the industrial model of education is for a bygone era, I think the way we teach is changing and this course is evidence of that evolution.
As a digital immigrant with a very thick accent, I have been challenged and stretched to develop new skills with ICT’s. What I have learnt through this process is that regardless of which new flashy gadget you use, the focus must always be on the learner’s needs, interesting and developing significant academic content. We are not merely teaching about ICT but through them to enhance the learning experience. Engagement and motivation are not created in our students by just teaching them about the world, but by partnering with them to help them to discover ways to explore their world (Prensky, 2010). Digital tools are a significant element within their world and as such are an important resource for learning managers in 21st century education.
The digital tools I have evaluated have been assessed and categorised using the Big6 information processing model (Eisenberg & Berkowiz, 2010). I have done this to reinforce the value and purpose of each tool within the classroom. All of these tools can be used to enhance students information seeking and problem solving skills at several of the information processing stages. These skills have become increasingly vital within today’s information age as they empower students to control and direct their own learning. Through skilling and motivating students to connect with their world using current technology we are developing lifelong learners.
The Big6 stages of information problem solving:
Task Definition using Digital Concept Maps
Concept maps created through programs such as Bubbl.us facilitate a student’s ability to deconstruct and define the key elements and issues of a task. They are a metacognitive tool which allows students to develop their understanding of concepts by creating a visual representation of the hierarchical interrelationship between the concepts (Ku, 2007).
My initial perspective on this digital tool was tainted by my frustration with technology due to my own low digital literacy levels. However, after discussions with my peers and further research I discovered the true potential of this tool. By creating the visual representation of their understanding, students can: explore the topic, engage their prior knowledge, identify misconception, identify areas that need to be researched and compare their understanding with others. This creative process will allow students to work collaboratively to construct and comprehend knowledge.
The process of creating a concept map would not only assist students with remembering, understanding and applying content, but through the process of examining the relationships between the concepts, they would develop the higher order thinking skill of analysing and potentially synthesis (Frangenheim, 2007).
This tool would be particularly useful for engaging visual learners in my class and I would modify the depth of the content required to support or extend students with different abilities and digital literacy levels.
Creating digital concept maps, as opposed to drawing them, would give my students the opportunity to use and extend their digital literacy skills while creating a digital product that can easily be incorporating into other digital class projects such as: blogs, wikis or interactive PowerPoints.
Information Seeking Strategies using On-Line Surveys
Websites such as SurveyMonkey provide users with free access to software that easily creates a range of different types of digital surveys, several options for methods of collecting responses and a program that assists in analysing the feedback.
Within the classroom, on-line surveys could be used by the learning manager for assessment of students’ current or developing understanding or for storing student data for future comparison or reporting. While gathering primary data, students would use this tool to meet the Mathematics Chance and Data requirements of collecting and interpreting data (QSA, 2008) through a fun and authentic context. The process of creating the survey would also be purposeful in developing students understanding of research, types of question and critical thinking skills.
Using on-line surveys to determine sources of information would open my students’ access to more knowledgeable others in the class next door, at home or on the other side of the world. Surveys facilitate a Social Constructivist model of learning as students are able to access a communal knowledge of ideas, understanding, experiences and feelings on a topic. They can then develop their own understanding by compiling the information, identifying trends and reflect on how it measures with their own ideas (McInerney & McInerney, 2006).
Location and Access Information using Digital Videos Storage Sites
Digital Videos can be a powerful resource within the classroom to convey information, emotion, content and context. They provide access to experiences within the classroom that may otherwise be impossible, such as historical film footage, slow motion or sped up actions, animations or simulations and images from around the world. The content on these sites provides quick access to resources on a wide range of topics, opinions and viewpoints all with at very different levels of complexity and credibility. They would be a particularly engaging way to reach students in my class that learn best through visual and audio modes.
To find and use these tools appropriately, it is important for both learning managers and students to have a good understanding of how to safely navigate digital video storage sites such as YouTube, TeacherTube or Google Videos. I discovered firsthand many of the drawbacks with using these sites: inaccurate content, inappropriate content, endless searches if the parameters aren’t specific enough and inappropriate pop-ups. Using TeacherTube can reduce these issues but to ensure the security and validity of the content, learning managers should pre-screen appropriate clips and embed them into a virtual classroom or the school Intranet. This would allow my students to develop their critical literacy and research skills by selecting the most appropriate clips from a ‘safe’ selection of approved material.
Allowing my students to accessing information through digital videos is important as it has been shown to increase student engagement and participation in the learning process (Cocciolo, 2009). It would also enhance my students Inquiring with ICT skills of finding and evaluating information on safe sources (Smart Classrooms, 2009).
Using digital videos to locate and access information promotes a Connectivist philosophy of not having to know everything, instead my students need a knowledge of how to access the information when it is required (Siemens, 2004).
Use of Information through Learning Objects
Learning objects are an amazing resource that I have often used in my class. This tool can be used to engage student with content which allows them to investigate relevant information (Eisenberg & Berkowiz, 2010). When used on an interactive white board or data projector, students are able to explore concepts using problem solving, modelling, experiments, analysis, data manipulation or game based learning. Through this interaction, students become absorbed in the concepts which results in higher levels of: engagement, motivation and met learning outcomes (Evans, 2010).
I have found learning objects to be a useful learning tool whether the students use them individually to explore or consolidate their knowledge or if they are used to explain a concept to the whole class on the smartboard. They have been particularly useful for developing my students’ comprehension of abstract concepts in Mathematics and Science through being able to manipulate representation and simulations.
After considerable peer discussion regarding the use of learning objects in the class, some clear issues arose: limited access to computers, off-task behaviour if not engaged, over use of the tool leading to monotony and spending too long on Curriculum Exchange looking through all the options.
However, I think that a carefully selected learning object allows students to apply their developing declarative knowledge which leads to the shaping and internalising of procedural knowledge (Marzano, 1997). Learning objects should not just be fun games, but should hold academic value that is integral to the learning content and process (Bratina, Hayes & Blumsack, 2002).
One substantial advantage I have found with learning objects is accessing safe corroborated items that have been sourced from Curriculum Exchange. These learning objects could then be placed in a Virtual Classroom for students to access at school or at home. This provides extra support or extension for students on targeted concept areas. The learning objects a usually self explanatory (in true game style) which would minimise the stress on parents of having to assist with extra homework and would increase student motivation.
Synthesis using E Books
Ebooks are an excellent way for students to collate and present the understanding they have developed over the course of a unit of work. Websites such as My EBook offer free access to a ‘library’ of ebooks created by other users or the software for students to create their own.
I found the process of creating an ebook to be relatively easy once I had worked out how to use all the functions. My grade 2 class have developed many of the skills needed for using this program through their experience presenting through other Sythesis tools of MovieMaker and PowerPoint. With scaffolding and support, my students could work collaboratively to create basic ebooks that would demonstrate their understanding of a concept and develop their Creating with ICT skills (Smart Classrooms, 2009).
The benefit of presenting work through a Web 2.0 tool like an ebook is that they increase student levels of motivation and participation as students feel like they have greater control of their learning and are contributing to the world’s communal knowledge (Evans, 2010). Ebooks also give students the opportunity to upload other digital tools they had created such as Word Clouds, images, videos, surveys, Podcasts, PowerPoints and links to other sites.
When using this tool, I would have to ensure that I provide a safe and ethic learning experience by preselecting copyright approved digital images and digital videos that students could upload onto their eBooks. Also I would have to be mindful about where the books are published and who has access to them.
Evaluation using Voki Avatars
While Voki Avatars would make a creative way to Synthesis information through presentations, I also think that it would be an engaging tool to use for student evaluation and reflection. Students could use personal simulation programs, such as Voki or Logitech software to reflect on their learning process, main learnings and areas of future interest.
The use of Avatars to judge the product and the process would utilise a fun reflection tool that would benefit shy learners, low literacy level learners, indigenous learners and non English speaking background learners. These students would be able to ‘hide’ behind their avatar, which may result in higher work stands because of reduced inhibitions.
Programs such as Voki make creating an avatar so easy that my students could easily be assisted through the process. Software such as Logitech would allow me to set up my laptop at the back of the class and give students the ability to create and record their reflections during the course of the day.
As they are a digital tool, Avatars can easily be incorporated into a blog, wiki, website, or Ebook to facilitate and enhance the reflections process and create a digital portfolio of the learner’s journey.
Over the past seven weeks I have been on a very steep learning curve. It has been a challenging journey of investigating a range of ICT tools and analysing them pedagogically, theoretically and through my classroom context.
Throughout this process I have been encouraged by the Connectivist approach to technology. I may not be an IT expert, but I now have a foundation of knowledge that gives me a basic understanding of a wide variety of tools across each of the Big6 areas that can be applied within my class. As a lifelong learner, I will continue to seek out new digital technologies that I can use within my class to engage my students, improve my teaching and assist all learners to maximise their learning potential.
The journey continues.
Lynn.
References
Bratina, T., Hayes, B., & Blumsack, S. (2002). Preparing teachers to use learning objects. Retrieved from
http://technologysource.org/article/preparing_teachers_to_use_learning_objects/
Cocciolo, A. (2009). Using information and communications technologies to advance a participatory culture: A study from a higher education context. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=4&did=1850851681&SrchMode=2&sid=1&Fmt=2&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1282783810&clientId=20863
Eisenberg, M., & Berkowiz, B. (2010). The big 6. Retrieved from
http://www.big6.com/
Evans, A. (2010). Learning for the next generation: Predicting the usage of synthetic learning environments. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.cqu.edu.au/pqdweb?index=7&did=2092672611&SrchMode=2&sid=2&Fmt=2&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1282822538&clientId=20863
Frangenheim, E. (2007). Reflections on classroom thinking strategies. Lodanholme, QLD: Rodin Educational Consultancy.
Ku, W.(2007). Using concept maps to explore the conceptual knowledge of technology students: An exploratory study. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.cqu.edu.au/pqdweb?index=0&sid=2&srchmode=2&vinst=PROD&fmt=6&startpage=-1&clientid=20863&vname=PQD&RQT=309&did=1417812841&scaling=FULL&ts=1282531534&vtype=PQD&rqt=309&TS=1282531601&clientId=20863
McInerney, D., & McInerney, V. (2006). Educational psychology (4th ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education.
Marzano, R. (1997). Dimensions of learning (2nd ed.). Aurora, Colorado: McRel
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives digital immigrants. Retrieved from
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
Prensky, M. (2010). Simple changes in current practice may save our schools. Retrieved from
http://etcjournal.com/2010/07/12/4918/
Queensland Studies Authority (QSA). (2007). Mathematics essential learnings: By the end of year 3. Retrieved from http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/early_middle/qcar_el_maths_yr3.pdf
Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
Smart Classrooms, 2009. Student ICT expectations. Retrieved from
http://education.qld.gov.au/smartclassrooms/strategy/dp/studentict.html
Appendix of Peer Communication
Discussions about Concept Maps
- Thread on Amy Kennedy's blog
- Thread on Michael Hoskin's blog
Discussions about Digital Surveys
- Thread on Paul Schulz's blog
Discussion about Digital Videos
- Thread on Kelly Blood's blog
Discussion about Interactive Learning Objects
- Thread on Michael Hoskin's blog
Discussions about EBooks
Discussions about Voki's
Other Discussions
Interactive PowerPoints
- Thread on Sheena Stokes's blog
Google Earth
Movie Maker
Blogs
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