On reflection of my E-learning journey over the last 5 weeks, I have come to realise that the digital world can be used to support and enhance what students learn, how they learn, and when and where learning takes place. According to Waterhouse (2003), E-learning involves improving teaching and learning using instructional strategies enhanced by technology, especially computer technology. It is also using information communication technologies (ICTs) to engage, enhance and extend learning in pedagogically sound, flexible and innovative ways (Moodle).
The change from web 1.0 to Web 2.0 changed the way we can interact on the web. The introduction of Web 2.0 provided people with access to comment & share thoughts and ideas globally. Individuals and groups can publish, share, network, download, upload to create user-generated content. Suddenly we are all connected in some way, though ICTs. Internet social networking is now part of society and people, especially young people are often immersed in socializing on the internet. Teachers therefore, need to meet the needs of 21th century learners and engage them in valuable learning experiences that appeal to their interests while meeting curriculum outcomes.
Taking part in the wiki about mobile phones in classrooms was very engaging. The wiki provided a platform for learning and engaging in a particular topic. Although I am against using mobile phones in the classroom, and so decided on the black hat by De Bono, it was very interesting to see others thoughts on the issue. Using De Bono's Six Thinking Hats provided an excellent way to scaffold a range of perspectives on the issue.
For teachers a wiki could provide a way to analyze and evaluate student understandings on a topic and assist them to make informed decisions. The benefits of doing this on a wiki is that students do not have to be in a classroom setting to debate and collaborate their ideas. It can be done anywhere!
According to Siemens (2004) we "derive our competence from forming connections” (Siemens, G, 2004. p2). Therefore the connections we made with other students on the wiki provided a deeper understanding of the topic.
Tool One – Blogs
Blogs, like wikis are owned by students. They provide a platform to share and comment on ideas and knowledge. What I really like about Blogs is that they are a reflection tool. Because the posts are in chronological order the learning journey is documented. At the end you have the ability to go back and look at earlier postings and compare them to the later postings and see just how far you have come. When I compare my early blogs to my later blogs I can see just how far I have come in the last 5 weeks in e-learning.
This would be a tool students could use to document their learning journey for a particular topic or assessment. Teachers can assess students learning and level of understandings through their entries and comments. Also, other students or teachers can access your blog, comment, or add extra information. Blogs encourage collaborative learning which enhances student level of understanding because content is viewed in multiple perspectives (Marzano, R, 2007).
Tool Two – Digital Images
Digital images can be used for just about everything. They have the power to provoke feelings and create a response. They appeal to Visual/Spatical learners (Gardner, 1975), add can be added to most online tools such as wikis, blogs and website. They can be used to create videos, storybooks, and presentations. The benefit of images is that students can take photos of their work and uploaded into PowerPoint for presentations. Teachers can take photos of student work samples or achievements and shared with parents, and other students and teachers. Images can be resized, uploaded and shared with others.
Tool Three - PowerPoint
PowerPoint is a tool that is so versatile. I was familiar with PowerPoint prior to this course but I have gained further knowledge about how you can use PowerPoint and its capabilities. For example I have now learnt to embed a PowerPoint into a blog, wiki or website using Slide share or Authorstream which enables you to share information with others. PowerPoint’s can be made into interactive presentations where hyperlinks are added to help navigate around the slides. Links can also be made to websites and you-tube clips. Images and art can uploaded using sites such as Flickr and Morgue files. Pictures can also be scanned and uploaded to a slide and students can create an E-book from a website called Snappy. With Smart Art and Clip Art concept maps, diagrams, graphs and tables can be added to slides. This is an effective way for teachers to construct meaning for students (Marzano & Pickering, 2006).
PowerPoint allows you to embed audio, images and video. Students can create a PowerPoint for standalone presentations, create a narrated presentation using audio & video. This is very beneficial for students who lack confidence speaking in front of the whole class. Teachers can use PowerPoint to scaffold learning, for quizzes and create interactive tasks for students to complete themselves. Often PowerPoint’s are created to highlight specific tasks & topics in a lesson to engage students and to guide the teacher.
Tool Four - Google Earth
This tool provides an amazing insight into the Earth. Images from around the world of places, sites and even your own home can be accessed on site. Lit trips were my favorite tool. It took me on a visually stimulating adventure around Australia through the book "Possum Magic' by Mem Fox.
Google Earth provides both teacher and student resources and can be incorporated into all areas in the curriculum. In Math’s students could calculate the distance from one point to another and in English students can take a Lit Trip adventure. It caters for many learning styles such as Kinaesthic, Linguistic and Interpersonal (Gardner, 1795).
When using such a diverse range of tools it is important to remember the legal, ethical and safety issues that surround working with this tool in classrooms. Children need to be protected and guidelines must be place to ensure they are. Permission must be obtained from parents to take and share images of children. All websites, blogs and wikis must be password protected and sites must be checked before students can access them.
The implication for teachers is to be competent themselves on how to support students to build a network, how to communicate successfully, how to construct new knowledge and share with others. Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge (TPACK) provides a framework for teaching ICT's in the classroom. Using this framework teachers can integrate ICT's into their pedagogy (Mishra, P, 2006) to ensure ICT's are used purposely and meaningfully.
I have created a voki, used Fodey, embedded a you-tube clip and played with many more tools over the last 5 weeks and they are only some of the interesting and engaging ways to include ICT's in the classroom.
I have created a voki, used Fodey, embedded a you-tube clip and played with many more tools over the last 5 weeks and they are only some of the interesting and engaging ways to include ICT's in the classroom.
This e-learning experience has taught me a lot about the positives and negatives of teaching students using ICT's. It has allowed me to gain further knowledge and given me a bank of digital tools to use effectively and assist students to learn effectively.
References
Avenues Nepal. (2008). Web1.0 Vs Web 2.0 Retrieved from http://web-updates.avenuesnepal.com/web-10-vs-web-20/
Bloom B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain. New York: David McKay Co Inc.
Marzano, R, J, (2006). The art and science of teaching. A comprehensive framework for effective instruction. ASCD. Alexandria, VA
Marzano R, Marzano, D, (2006). Dimensions of learning. Teacher's manual. Hawker Brownlow Education. 2nd Ed. Victoria. Australia.
Mishra, P, Koehler, M, (2007). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for teacher Knowledge. Sited at:
