Group 1 Tools

Online Spaces – Web 2.0

Web 2.0 or ‘read-write’ web sites are created by individuals or groups to share, publish, network, download and upload user-generated content. This content can be text, video audio, images, interactive animations and interactive forums, just to name a few.

The content of this blog will investigate three of the ‘read-write’ tools; Blogs, Wikis and Websites. Throughout the blog I will reflect on the pedagogical advantages of using these spaces in the classroom and analytically examine the potential of each in a teaching context.

Blogs.

Blogs were originally designed to use as personal journals, however the potential for their use in other mediums of communication, eg, exchange of ideas, discoveries and information in specific fields as well as an alternative to mainstream media publications, has seen this of online medium utilised and embraced for many other reasons. So let’s look specifically at the potential use and effective pedagogical teaching implications for this online tool.

Firstly, what is a blog?

Blogs are public web sites where the creator can post information on specific ideas thoughts of other material such as graphics or videos. Blogs can function as personal online journals or provide information, commentary or news on particular subjects. Blogs usually combine text, images and links to other online spaces of media related the blog content. Source: http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog.

How can it be used in the classroom?

An important component of a blog is the interactive format where visitors to the online site can leave comments pertaining to the content of the blog. People from all over the world can respond by using the comment box at the bottom of the blog. This can be in the form of a question, to give you further information or just to say how they enjoyed reading and or learning from the blog. This interaction allows students the opportunity to exchange points of view on a global stage. Blogs created for the classroom can be used to place announcements for students or display work and information on current units or assignments to be used and added to collaboratively by students. They can be used as a learning journal by students and commented by for encouragement and guidance by the teacher.  Blogs can offer teachers and students a support tool to promote reflective thinking, a forum to analyses, exchange and extend knowledge and create a learning network which allows communication.

Core Principle of Blogging:

“We all have something interesting to say about our interests!” Alysha Dominic, 2008.

PMI analysis on blogs.

Pluses	Minuses	In Doubt
·         Worldwide Audience. ·         Knowledge Construction. ·         Enhanced reading skills. ·         Enhanced Critical Thinking skills. ·         Enhanced Writing skills. ·         Collaborative Learning. ·         Cooperative Learning.	·         Author only editing. ·         Web Copyright is traceable and different to Print Copyright. ·         Students can feel their work is constantly on display. ·         Student’s laptops and internet problems can interfere with learning.	·         Unknown Persons Interaction. ·         Students’ anonymity. ·         Demonstration of required learning not always specific.

Teaching Pedagogy and Blogging.

The exact potential for blogs in the classroom lies in the fact that they can be used to engage students in research, investigation and discussion, which in turn, encourages collaboration and peer interaction. The important feature of the blog, the comment box, provides opportunity for feedback, which in turn, supports learners in their struggle to make connections with prior knowledge and construction of new knowledge. Therefore blogs are used in pedagogical practice by: Constructing knowledge, reflective learning, enhancing writing skills and encouraging collaborative and cooperative learning. Social-constructivist pedagogy is evident in this form of online space as communications within the blog can be seen as on-line collaborative activities.

Below are some interesting web sites to assist in the implementation of blogging into all educational environments.

Teaching Every Student. http://teachingeverystudent.blogspot.com/

Making the curriculum accessible to all learners by providing opportunities for struggling learners to demonstrate what they know using principles of universal design, from Karen Janowski.

Free Resources from the Net for EVERY Learner. http://paulhami.edublogs.org/

Educational and Assistive Technology to support Universal Access and Universal Design for Learning from Paul Hamilton.

Teaching Learners with Multiple Special Needs. http://teachinglearnerswithmultipleneeds.blogspot.com/

Resources and ideas for teachers of learners with severe, profound, intensive, significant, complex or multiple special needs from Kate Ahern.

Reference list.

http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/blog/web-links/assistive-technology-blogs/

http://leadingout.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/classroom-blogging-handbookcopyright.pdf/

Central Queensland University. (2011). Moodle site. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/file.php/17114/Week_3.pdf

Wikis.

What is a wiki?

Unlike a blog where only the creator can edit, a wiki is an online space where users and visitors can edit, amend, add, and delete information with in-built editing tools. It is a web site that lets anyone become a participant. It is an ongoing collaboration of sharing and creating a production of many. A famous wiki example is Wiki-pedia, the online encyclopedia which has millions of contributors and editors.

Where are they used?

Wikis are used by people in everyday life for collaborating on projects or sharing things online, eg, family information and photos, technical information for products from sellers and buyers, travel information, clubs and organisations and collaborative projects.

In Education.

Wikis are being used by teachers to follow up professional development programs, communication with parents and ongoing creations and collaboration of students. Students find wikis fun and very interactive. They are ideal for encouraging contribution, teamwork, collaboration and communication. They following web site has a huge collection of classroom ideas when it comes to wikis.

http://www.smartteaching.org  50 Ways to Use Wikis for a More Collaborative and Interactive Classroom.

In the article, “Within the Wiki: Best Practices for Educators”, Barbara Schroeder places the main educational value of wikis as a tool for fostering group collaboration. Schroeder also includes best practice suggestions when using a wiki in the classroom. They are as follows:

·         Creating a culture of trust

·         Educating students about and holding them accountable to wiki conventions

·         Creating a common goal for participation

·         Using the wiki for authentic activities

·         Providing guides for using the wiki

·         Communicating clear deadlines

·         Defining roles for collaboration

·         Clearly stating course expectations

·         Modeling collaborative activities

·         Remaining patient with students when they struggle with the technology

The most important thing in a wiki is trust!

Trust the people, trust the process, enable trust-building. Everyone controls and checks the content.

Wiki relies on the assumption that most readers have good intentions.

Digital Pedagogy?

Wikis are a remarkably valuable tool for getting students more involved in curriculum. The teacher must first consider the context of the learning to be achieved by the students in the wiki and scaffold it accordingly. The learning needs to be scaffolded as the wiki site is not an automotive support for learning but rather a tool to encourage different collaboration of perspectives and organisation of content to extend and refine knowledge.

SWOT analysis on wikis.

Strengths ·         Sharing of information, ideas, knowledge. ·         Great collaboration tool. ·         Easy to create an account and wiki site. ·         Promotes creativity. ·         Students get a sense of responsibility. ·         Online space for brainstorming.	Weaknesses ·         Difficult to authenticate the source and the qualifications of writers. ·         Can be time consuming for the teacher to set up.
Opportunities ·         Everybody can contribute. ·         Visitor interaction. ·         Global networking. ·         Includes multimedia tools. ·         Future classes expand the same wiki, creating a data base of information.	Threats ·         Any reader can edit it as they see fit. ·         Plagiarism and copyright issues, visitors can steal what you’ve created.

Below is a link that will help with ideas on how wikis can be used in the classroom and how to engage students in the collaboration process that wikis foster.

http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/Examples+of+educational+wikis

Useful ways to scaffold learning on wikis can be found at the following site.

http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/globaled/go/pid/1825

Link to my wiki site!      

http://ourclass-spaceforsharing.wikispaces.com/

Reference list.

Schroeder, B. Within the Wiki: best practices for educators. http://kamccollum.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/educational-uses-of-wikis/

http://wiki.org

Central Queensland University. (2011). Moodle site. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/file.php/17114/Week_3.pdf

Websites.

What are websites?

A Web site is a related collection of World Wide Web pages that includes a beginning page called a home page. An individual tells you how to get to their Web site by giving you the address of their home page. From the home page, you can get to all the other pages on their site. The difference between a website and a wiki is that the author is the only one that decides on the content and structure of the site. This means that nobody else is able to edit or add to the created website. Websites used and created in an educational context can be used to improve communication, increase collaboration, and promote active learning among students. The main difference and thing to remember in creating a website is that you're not creating the website for you. You're creating the site for your visitors, so it should contain the content worthy of reading/siting, and be organised in a way that makes sense and is easy to navigate around. 

Teachers need to be thorough in their evaluation of web sites because they will be passing on web site information to vulnerable young minds.  The following table identifies nine criteria to help educators distinguish between the informative, accurate, and well-designed educational web site and the uninformative, inaccurate, and poorly designed educational web site. 

NINE CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING EDUCATIONAL WEB SITES

1.       AUDIENCE ·         Clearly states the academic level of target audience. ·         Contains content and activities that match the academic level of the web site’s target audience. ·         Recognizes that students learn in different ways.

2.       CREDIBILITY ·         Author has appropriate credentials to author the content of the web site. ·         Author’s name, email/contact info, or address/phone number is provided. ·         The educational credentials or expertise of the author is stated on web site. ·         The web master/web designer is credible and provides contact information. ·         Author responds to queries about the web site’s content.

3.       ACCURACY ·         Web site should state the educational background of the author. ·         Web site should distinguish between the author of the content and the designer of the web site because lack of accurate information can be masked by the ‘print’ of an expert web designer or web master. ·         The web site’s information clearly matches the web site’s intended purpose. ·         Web site is free from grammatical and typographical errors.

4.       OBJECTIVITY ·         Content is free from commercial, political, gender, or racial bias. ·         The web site’s stated curricular goals, objectives, and motives should match its content. ·         If the content is based upon personal opinion, the author should make it known to the reader. ·         The content contains a neutral or positive tone. ·         Affiliations with other educational organizations/companies are stated. ·         Check the web site address or URL/domain to locate the organizational source of the web site.

5.       COVERAGE ·         The scope of information is stated. ·         Evaluated links complement the web site’s content. ·         The information is cited properly to allow access to a larger information base.

6.       CURRENCY ·         Web site clearly indicates the publishing date as well as when the content was last updated.

7.       AESTHETIC OR VISUAL APPEAL ·         The use of graphics and colors enhance the web site’s information. ·         There is a balance of text and graphics corresponding to the ability of the audience.

8.       NAVIGATION ·         Home page contains direct links to all other parts of the web site. ·         Useful content is no more than 3 clicks away from home page. ·         All links are kept current and active and the links take user to valid and appropriate content. ·         Each page or section on the web site is clearly labeled.

9.       ACCESSIBILITY ·         Any special software requirements to view web site’s content is stated clearly. ·         Web site has text-only option to accommodate visually impaired users. ·         Web site loading time is minimal/web designer informs the user of length of download time. ·         Access to content should be free ­ user should not have to pay a fee or provide personal information (name, e-mail address) to gain access to educational content.

Link to my website!  http://charactersforkids.weebly.com/

Below are links that you will find useful in planning website based lessons.

Websites for Educational Purposes. http://learningplace.com.au/deliver/content.asp?pid=38761

100 Helpful Websites for New Teachers http://www.teachingdegree.org/2009/06/21/100-helpful-websites-for-new-teachers/

Reference list.

Central Queensland University. (2011). Moodle site. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/file.php/17114/Week_3.pdf

M, Aune, 2000. Web Site Evaluation. http://www.english.wayne.edu/~aune/web siteevaluation.html

A bit of humor.

TPACK and Digital Learning Design

 http://tpack.org/

The TPACK framework articulates the multifaceted relationship between three forms of knowledge: Pedagogical (P), knowledge related to strategies and techniques used in classrooms to ensure curriculum essential learnings are recognised, Content (C), knowledge about unit context from curriculum and thorough understanding of concepts are established by using higher order thinking and high level communication and Technological (T), knowledge of digital and non-digital technology and tools used in the classroom. The TPACK framework goes beyond utilising these three knowledge foundations in seclusion, it describes how Technology, Pedagogy and Content fit together to enable effective productive learning outcomes.

The diagram below highlights the new kinds of knowledge that lie at the intersections between the three forms of knowledge. Considering P and C together we get Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), Shulman’s idea of knowledge of pedagogy that is applicable to the teaching of specific content. Similarly, considering T and C taken together, we get Technological Content Knowledge (TCK), the knowledge of the relationship between technology and content. At the intersection of T and P, is Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK), which emphasizes the existence, components and capabilities of various technologies as they are used in the settings of teaching and learning.

Reflection on Mobile Phone Wiki.

I feel the Mobile Phones wiki forum was a good example of Constructivism in that it was a collaboration of different perspectives. The use of the Six Thinking Hats allowed students to take apart the issue of the use of iPhones in the classroom and explore different aspects of this. The wiki forum then allowed students to see varying points of view, internalise new ideas and develop their own opinion. If you look at the forum as a network of perceptions and ideas on iPhones in the classroom, then you could assess that connectivism has also been an influential learning theory in the planning of this exercise. In this aspect the outside thinking net would be the wiki site, enabling students to learn more than their current level of knowledge on the issue of iPhones being used within a classroom through peer learning. The benefits of this forum were, the Six Thinking Hats learning strategy allowing students to consider the issue of iPhones in the classroom in several different dimensions which encouraged higher thinking skills, and cooperative learning where the learning environment allowed everyone to learn from everyone else which in turn maximised the learning opportunities of all students. My personal learning journey through this exercise was very connective as I had to first draw from several networks, colleagues, internet and the forum itself, to find out what I could about the uses of an iPhone other than texting and calling. I was not able to post a point of view in the varied levels of perception, six thinking hats, without understanding and knowing what an iPhone could do. Once I acquired this information and knew more about the devise I could then post my point of view to the wiki site.

Learning Theories Wiki.

I feel that the learning design of this wiki activity was based on constructivism in that learners were able to learn and extend their own knowledge by collaborating and reviewing other learner’s perspectives on the same issues. This was also a form of peer teaching as learners could add to their own knowledge via fellow learners input into the wiki site on the learning theories.

My personal learning outcome was an understanding of Learning theories as being explanations of how learning actually occurs. They articulate learning as a complex process. Examples of these theories are: Behaviourism – Focusing on observable aspects of behavioural change in the learner. This sort of design does not encourage higher order thinking. Digital tools such as online tutorials, memory games and quizzes are based on Behaviourism. Cognitivism - Focuses on the cognitive or mental processing behaviours of the learning. Broken into short and long term memory capacities ICT uses such as interactive learning sites and drag and drop activities are useful for the short term memory bank and concept mapping tools, retrieval charts and information organising tools are valuable for long term memory banks. Constructivism – Focuses on how learners actively explore and extend on ideas and concepts. Scaffolding discussion forums, wiki sites and blogs are digital devices pertinent to constructivism as they extend and explore learning through social encounters.

As for Conceptual frameworks, I feel they are similar to theoretical concepst in that they interpret examples of learning that we can observe and assess for future learning. For example e5, where students are asked to follow the e5 framework and engage, explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate content, concepts and task throughout a unit of work to conceptualise its relevance.

Learning design frameworks I believe are frameworks for designing learning environments, not so much step-by-step but rather more of an idea generator. An example of this is Bloom’s Taxonomy. This is a guide for selecting the skill level in which you want your learners to achieve and design lessons based on these learning goals and outcomes. 

Connectivism.

Who professes to know everything anyway! I think the journey to knowledge is just as important as the knowledge accumulated and stored at the end of that journey. I think G. Siemens is not that wrong in suggesting that in this day and age students do need to be able to continually draw on outside banks of knowledge to complete tasks. Hasn’t this always been the way though? A students research assignment is an accumulation of gathered data, from different sources, to support and extend on what they original understand about the content or issue researched. Don’t we still rely on some form of phone book or street mapping reference to get to or contact others? The internet is new, fast, technology replacing maps, dictionaries and encyclopaedias.  Taking this into consideration the pipeline and its connections are very relevant but without core or basic knowledge of essential learnings or what’s in the pipeline, information will make little sense and be forgotten quickly with little relevance to the learner.

The Nature of Today’s Learners.

I agree with Prensky, 2005, in that students can now learn in communities, libraries, online, on the bus or at home, yet we still have classroom systems where students are bored because of the amount of technical stimuli they get elsewhere. Today’s students are already literate digital learners. They take the world via the sheltered, not necessarily safe, environment of computing devices. These young, technology competent youths use mobile phones, Xboxes, Wiis and other gaming devices, laptops, computers, and interactive TVs at school, at play and at home. Many are multi-tasking, listening to music while text messaging friends while doing homework. Computers give students a modern medium to think, learn and communicate. I think this technology is a safe and non-threatening forum of communication in the fact that these devices allow students to learn with no pressure, it gives them time to think, reflect, brainwave, research and retract what has been said or written. The new age of technology we are surrounded by gives students a rich content of communication through shared networking, instant messaging and text messaging. They are exceptional communicators of their contemporary devices. Students can now access education through a vast range of environments. If we want engage students we first have to educate ourselves as teachers with the tools to implement exciting lessons with a variety of media to enhance the process of teaching and learning so we can teach students of today how to problem solve, create, demonstrate and collaborate information, technology and networks to secure themselves with life-long learning tools for the future. To prepare today’s students to find their way in the twenty-first century world, they will have to be literate in twenty-first century literacies. To be fluent in multicultural, media, information, emotional, ecological and financial cyber literacies will be commodities essential in their new knowledge based society.

This U-Tube clip shows what students are already doing with their digital devices and the are asking to be engaged, not enraged.

Learning Styles.

Students take in and process information in different ways. This is due to their different perceptions, personalities, prior knowledge, intelligence and worldly knowledge.

It is important therefore to strive for a balance of teaching strategies to ensure a majority of student’s learning styles are accommodated for within each lesson. If students are taught using their preferred learning style they are more likely to be engaged and achieve essential learning outcomes relevant to the specific tasks or units.

 After completing the Felder and Solomon learning style inventory I was surprised with the results. My results showed that I am well balanced with all of the eight learning styles. This could only be beneficial when planning for students learning as I would tend to use a varied yet balanced assortment of learning and teaching strategies. I would teach students to be reflective in what their lesson’s outcomes will consist of and be active learners in planning the implementation of tasks to fulfil these outcomes. Using mind mapping and timeline tools could enhance these activities digitally. Accommodating for the sensing and intuitive learners I would set tasks to ensure students had an understanding of how the subject or unit connects to the real world and then create procedures to further show how important concepts relevant to the unit apply in practice. For visual and verbal learners I would continually show thinking out-loud strategies and encourage students display of word walls and prompt charts or tables relevant to the lesson or unit the class is working on. For sequential and global learners, whole class constructed criteria and to do lists would help the students with sequential learning styles and revisiting or brainstorming to connect with student’s prior knowledge of unit content would assist the students who prefer to learn globally.

Digital pedagogoy allows teachers to use technology to enhance and contribute to the learning of students regardless of their learning style. By using technology to; allow students to work individually or work in groups, encouraging collaboration, visually, auditorally and interactively stimulate, experiment and learn different formatting opportunities, the implementation of technology with in the classroom is really as endless as your imagination. Teachers must become competent in using the new technology first however. You cannot possible develop an exciting, stimulating learning plan without effective knowledge of the content in which you wish to teach.

Week One.

This has been an enormous week of learning and almost blindly setting up this blog site. I will be adding blogs for the various activities I completed throughout the week, but for now I am just thrilled with the fact that I have finally managed to create a blog!!