“eLearning refers to electronic learning and
incorporates all learning contexts that use the new technologies.” (Yelland & Tsembas, 2008)
But I
believe that we can’t just put students in an E learning environment and expect
them to learn in the same way as other students do. There are digital pedagogies,
multiple learning styles, strategies and learning theories to help us (the
teachers) grasp the notion of how students may learn effectively. In our week
one Learning Materials, we determined how to know our learners through Felder
and Soloman’s Learning Styles and ascertain what balance of multiple
intelligences they could possibly exhibit from the works of Howard Gardner. (Click
for Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences) There are also the learning
theories in which clarify a more modern comprehension how learners learn which
consist of Behaviourism, Cognitivism, Constructivism and Connectivism. I have referred to these styles and theories
throughout my blog posts.
Wiki’s Mobile Phone Use – De Bono’s
Six Thinking Hats
Reflecting
back on the Wiki mobile phones exercise, I found myself displeased with the
conception of a Wiki. Yes the activity was scaffolded to a “T” and the activity
was clearly set out, but some details didn't appeal to me. Being a child dubbed
as a “Digital Immigrant” (Prensky, 2001), I found this activity to be strange
and foreign which may contribute to by discontent with Wikis. My group’s
contributions were all valid and I believe we all respected each other’s
participation. Looking back at the Wiki page today, one problem I see is that
the table layout has somewhat changed. I
would possibly suggest modifying it at a later date to maintain a readable
structure for reference. All in all, the mobile phones wiki is well associated
with the productive pedagogies that support online learning spaces and that the
learning is owned, controlled and managed by us (the learners). Even the
scaffolding to support De Bono’s Hats thinking tool has proven to be
successful. Everyone understood and valued the contributions from different
perspectives.
Here you
will find my post reflecting the Wiki activity, the theories it encompasses and
a SWOT analysis.
The
following are reflections on my chosen digital tools. The use of these tools I
have found optimistic and practical in my learning environment.
Group 1 Tool – Blogs
For my group
one tool, I chose Blogs. I quite enjoyed working in Blogger for our course
content and I could definitely see myself using and teaching this digital tool.
It was easy and quick to create a Blogger space and fun to design it with the
freedom to change the design settings at any time I wish. I found you could
follow other students’ blog spaces and add gadgets to your page like Pacman (see to the right). And also adding and
embedding images, videos, links and external online devices were effortless.
Blogs can become an effective tool for teaching. It could allow students to
reflect on their learning or participate in outside learning activities and
comment other their fellow students. This could endorse the students to work
individually and also share ideas with each other in an online setting which introduces
Connectivism (See my post on Connectivism). There are some legal and ethical
practices we should assist our students to abide and respect. Students should
respect their fellow students’ blog spaces and appropriately commenting when
necessary (avoiding the stimulation of cyber bullying and copying off others).
They should also understand the laws of copyright and the correct way to
reference when needed.
Please see
my Blog post for a review on Blogs for Learning.
Group 2 Tool – Images
Images are
used in every KLA and have been used in education for decades (digital and
print). But today in our learning environments, digital images have more or
less taken over. I have chosen this tool because in my KLAs of Music and
Business, digital images are essential in teaching and providing information to
students. Such digital images are predominant sources for Visual Learners.
According to Felder and Soloman (n.d.), these visual learners are able to
retain knowledge better from what they see from pictures to demonstrations.
Digital Images allow not only me to establish and display knowledge, but also
the students to discover and express knowledge through such devices. Safe and
ethical practices should be also be consolidated when creating and using
digital images. Students should possibly have their created digital images
approved for appropriate content. They should also consider privacy and permission
of image subjects and copyright acts if they are using images from the
internet. The use and creation of images in education (classroom or elsewhere),
should always be directed with deliberation on the literacy and copyright
(Christopher, A. n.d.).
See my post
on Images.
Group 3 Tool – Prezi
Prezi is a
very appealing tool in an educational sense. A Prezi is an online tool for
creating more visually engaging presentations. Instead of the boring PowerPoint
presentations (linear navigation), I could use a Prezi (non-linear) to
establish a more attractive and appealing way to engage my learners (definitely
in my KLA of Business). The creation was
easy enough. There were plenty of themes and templates to choose from (as well
as starting with a “blank canvas”). I would love to have had more time to play
around with Prezi to get an idea of different ways of depicting knowledge. In
relation to the TPACK framework and it’s notions towards education, I believe the
pedagogical and content knowledge that Business studies (and other subjects)
provide can be enriched with the use of a Prezi.
See here for
my reflection and analysis on a Prezi.
Group 4 Tool – Transcribe
My last
preferred digital tool is Transcribe. I chose this tool because I found it very
helpful in my studies in music and I would unquestionably use this in my
educational learning environment. It’s
not a prescribed group 4 tool but I believe instrumentalists and music students
would benefit from this tool greatly. The
controls and features are easily located and are efficiently functional. I
strongly believe that students who use this tool should be monitored for
appropriate ethical use. Some students may find themselves distracted with some
of the features Transcribe offers.
There’s no
doubt that I have immersed myself deeper into the digital world of ICTs just by
being in this course. The possibilities are endless in regards to use and range
of digital tools available to us as students and future teachers. I do believe I know and recognise the
potential ICTs have in an eLearning environment. Being a future teacher, I also
identify the safety and ethical issues computers and ICTs can cause. Refer to my
posting on these issues and possible preventions here.
I have very
much enjoyed discovering, creating and using different digital tools for an
educational purpose. I now know I have many devices at my retrieval in
anticipation of my young learners of 21st Century.
References
Christopher, A. (n.d.). Images in education: engaging with
content and building visual literacy. Retrieved from http://clifmims.wetpaint.com/page/Images+in+Education
Fasso, W. (2013). Know your learner. Retrieved from
CQUniversity e-courses, EDED20491 ICTs for Learning Design, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=115325
Felder, R.M. & Soloman, B.A.
(n.d). Learning styles and strategies.
Retrieved from
http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm
Mishra, P.,
& Koehler, M.J. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A
framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108 (6), 1017-1054
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants.
Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
Yelland, N. & Tsembas, S. (2008).
E learning: issues of pedagogy and
practice for the information age. Retrieved from http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1039&context=edupapers
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