Managing e-Learning Assessment 2 Synopsis

Week one was intimidating and rather overwhelming coming face to face with the world of information technology. I remember one of the first questions was for the group to name various sources of ‘technology’ used in the 21st century. I thought I was doing well with my inclusions of ‘GPS, smartphone, and Youtube’. It then appeared that I was in a foreign language class. Words I have never heard of were being mentioned like Wordle, Prezzi. These were familiar to many of the students but alien to me. I did, however, learn a new phrase which I could identify with, ‘digital immigrant’. Mark Prenski (2001) mentions that digital immigrants (those who are new to digital technology), have a different language to digital natives (those who have grown up with modern technology). As a digital immigrant it is vital for me as a learner manager to improve my knowledge of digital tools to be able to teach in the 21st century. In order to understand the importance of ICT (Information Communication Technology) I needed to appreciate that the world cannot hide from technology and neither can our students. Mishra and Koehler (2006) explain how the impact of digital technology extends beyond the classroom into the homes and social environments of the students. In my most recent blog I reflect back to a clip on Youtube ( 2007) that was shown in class about the death of education and the birth of knowledge. I found this a very profound and relevant statement as we the phrase ‘Google it’ seems to be the generic answer to most questions nowadays. There is no doubt that the ICT allows for a numerous avenues for teaching and learning. I found that although I found some of the tasks difficult at first, I found that I began to explore other options to achieve the objective. I use an example of a ‘wordcloud’. I battled for some time to create this with Wordle, a recommended ‘wordcloud’ site. I began to get frustrated and this delayed the task. After several failed attempts, I trusted my own ability to gather information and found another site that worked perfectly well to create a ‘wordcloud’ as shown in the post (31 July 2012) – There are always other alternatives. Marzano and Pickering (1997) speak of having positive attitudes and perceptions to learning and creating good learning habits. This is done through gaining and using knowledge that has been gained. This was one of those situations. De Bono (1987) uses the theory of six hats and was a question posed on Wikispaces where we asked to post our thoughts on the use of mobile phones in the classroom as learning tools. I found this task useful and reflected on this when I was getting frustrated. I initially had the negative black hat on and then took that off and put on the creative green hat. I feel that my green hat will stay on for a while although there may be some ‘wardrobe changes’ along the way. In my current role as a fitness trainer and teacher, I realised that I do use a reasonable amount of technology. I realise that there is not just one option, but many ways to use technology to achieve a result. An example of this is the concept of mind maps as a brainstorming or thinking tool. There are a lot out there and after collaborating with other students and lectures I found that Bubbl.us was an excellent tool that I would definitely use in my classes for various activities by having blank ‘bubbles’ where students can put their answers or ideas. An example of this would be a mother bubble with a title ‘muscles’, child bubbles titles ‘leg’ and ‘arm’ and then several sibling bubbles left blank for the students to fill in the muscle names. An example of a Bubbl.us mind map is recorded in the blog post (5 July 2012). I work in a learning environment where internet is not accessible. The use of what I would call ‘static’ web based tools (ones I can print off rather than interactive web based tools) is what I use most of, however, I have also been able to utilise snapshots of various sites to at least give my students a visual interpretation of what a particular site looks like. The use of podcasts and Powerpoint presentations is permitted although I am governed by various sections of legislation including the Corrective Services Act 2006 and the Information Privacy Act 2009 regarding Centre procedure and disclosure of personal information. This has implications regarding sharing of information literature, images with students and the use of personal information. I refer to this in the blog post (24 July 2012) – The Fear of Technology. This simply means that as a teacher, I need to be inventive with the use of technology as a learning tool. My preferred method of using technology for my cohort is Powerpoint. I recently downloaded the 2010 version which has allowed me to embed audio and video onto a presentation, an example of a Powerpoint slide is in the blog post (14 August 2012) – Powerpoint 2010.. What I find interesting about the concept of e-learning is that it encapsulates what 21st Century learning is all about. The educational psychologist Lee Shulman initiated the concept of pedagogical content knowledge or PCK (Shulman, 1986) which, with the inclusion of technology is a recognised educational framework commonly known as Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Mishra & Koehler 2006). This framework reinforces the inclusion of technology in the 21st learning environment. The current available and developing technologies allow what seems is an endless source of educational tools for the learner manager. From wikispaces and other forums for collaboration and discussion which encourage higher order thinking. This is level of thinking which does not rely on simple knowledge but encourages lateral thinking and discussions when learning. Blooms Taxonomy (Bloom, 1956) used words like ‘creating’ and ‘evaluating’ to describe higher order thinking. I found a great picture which I have attached to my blog (17 August 2012) - Higher and lower order thinking, that succinctly describes the concept of this in relation to technology. Rather than me explain, viewing the image makes it easier to understand. In the context of technology, higher order thinking uses wikispaces and collaboration as highlighted previously. French, Walker, Shore (2011) states that this is an important part of learning and I have found that this is the case in my work as a fitness teacher. When I am asked a question by a student, I often research using online forums and sometimes through social media sites like Facebook. Although it is important to check the validity and currency of the information, the collaboration is valuable in analysing and evaluating learning. 21st Century learning in the digital era is based largely on connectivism which allows access to information through various ‘networks’ that connect the world through technology and the internet, as described by Siemens (2008). Instead of gathering information from a small group in a classroom, the world is a classroom. I can find out anything about anything using the internet. The challenge is to sift and examine the information one receives. Youtube is another fine example where anyone can share their ideas, thoughts and expertise to the world. If you want to know how to do almost anything or fix anything, there will be a Youtube clip to assist you. Connectivism, however, is not about the amount of information one can source, it the more about the amount of channels are available to access information. I feel, however that there is a downside to the fact that the spectrum of digital information is so vast. There is the obvious threat of internet security which has been rectified in part by various security software and the ability to password-protect or filter sites. I believe this only goes half the way to protect the internet user. Computer savvy teens and young adults have are often not restricted to supervised or pass-word protected sites. I reflect on an incident some years ago when a niece of mine, then aged about 12 years old typed in ‘hotmale’ instead of ‘hotmail’ and received some surprising images. I do not feel the internet is absolutely secure and the ability for storage of personal information online through internet access seems to be a continuous challenge. There is also a tendency for children (and adults) to become somewhat addicted to the fun side of digital technology, particularly games on computers and smartphones or tablets. A fine example of this presented itself at a recent eLearning lecture with a self admission from a staff member of the addictive properties of an iPad game. Fun, engaging, educational, interactive…………..all good. Addictive, antisocial, time consuming, reducing activity and excercise………………….maybe not so. In conclusion, there is no doubt that all types of digital technology are beneficial to 21st Century learning when used in the right context with the appropriate monitoring and supervision for children and young adults. The internet, in particular, can be used in a positive, educational and well meaning way but as educators we must be aware that the free access to everything can and will be used in a negative way. As an adult I can be my own filter but it is the duty of all adults to attempt to be the filter for the younger generation and it is vital that all governments keep up to date with technological advances to create legislation regarding the internet. It is good to see one Mt Garrett implementing a strategy for dealing with cyber bullying using social media as posted on my blog entry Technology black hole and cyber bullying (4 August 2012). References De Bono, E. (1987). Six thinking hats / Edward de Bono. London : Penguin, 1987, c1985. French, L.,Walker, C., & Shore, B., (2011). A theoretical context for examining students’ preference across ability levels for learning alone or in groups. High Ability Studies, 22(1), 119-141. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13598139.2011.576082 Marc Prensky, (2001) "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1", On the Horizon, Vol. 9 Iss: 5, pp.1 - 6 Marzano, R. J., & Pickering, D. (1997). Dimensions of learning : teacher's manual / Robert J. Marzano and Debra J. Pickering, with Daisy E. Arredondo [et al.]. Alexandra, VA : Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development ; Aurora, CO : Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory, c1997. Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054. Siemens, G. (2008a). About: Description of connectivism. Connectivism: A learning theory for today’s learner Retrieved from http://www.connectivism.ca/about.html Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4 - 31. Learning to change changing to learn Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wGpSaTzW58