“Students are ICT-skilled and hold positives views about ICT in education. Most students own PCs, increasingly laptops. Students see ICT as a positive feature in teaching and learning. Most students have rather limited experience of ‘well-developed or sophisticated’ e-learning”
(Haywood, Macleod, Haywood & Mogey, n.d., p.4).
“E-learning refers to formal and non-formal education that uses electronic delivery methods” (Ministry of Education, 2009, p.1) These electronic delivery methods are now almost endless, this vast array of resources allows for, I as a teacher to cater for and engage all students in my classroom. The incorporation of ICT in the classroom aims to enhance learning, to engage students and to boost motivation levels. It needs to be understood that e learning is not just computers but a whole range of digital devices. This vast array of devices supports numerous teaching strategies. ICTs should be a replacement for another tool not an addition. This means that utilising e-learning tools, shouldn’t be an added pressure to the teacher it should instead be a relief, a tool not just for learning but to simplify teaching as well.
Technology plays a major role in current and future student’s lives. As a Bachelor of Learning Management Secondary student it’s important to me to explore the contexts in which I can improve student’s learning experiences. The way I incorporate ICT into my classroom will differ completely to that of how an Early Childhood teacher would utilise these educational technology tools. The tools and their application need to be suitable for the age and level of the learners. Garrison and Anderson (2003, p.34) define educational technology as those tools used in formal educational practice to disseminate, illustrate, communicate or immerse learner and teachers in activities purposively designed to induce learning. The only aspect of this definition I would alter is the “or” I would replace this with “and”. As a teacher I want to achieve all of these aspects, not just one and ICT will allow me to do this.
Although there are limitations and barriers with utilising e-learning, the positive results far out way the challenges. ICT allows for the breakdown of classroom walls. It allows for greater links to the outside world and promotes greater engagement in learning. A major challenge of teaching secondary school students is their motivation or lack thereof; many students at this age lack in motivation and therefore do not engage in the learning. As a teacher it is my responsibility to encourage the development of this motivation and ICTs aid in accomplishing this. For example in a Business Studies lesson, students are learning about office equipment and the procedures associated with them. A non ICT lesson would involve filling out worksheets, a decontextualised strategy. Brophy (2004, p.200) theorises that as a result of principles and skills being taught in circumstances far removed from the context in which they will be used the intrinsic motivation potential from school learning is removed. This potential can be recaptured through creating classroom tasks that resemble the situated learning that occurs in out of school settings. Incorporating a greater level of ICT allows this lesson to be contextualised, to create the real world experience. Using a Voki as a client entering the office and needing to leave a message, provides great contextuality than a written paragraph on a sheet of paper. Utilising this ICT does not only improve the engagement level of the students but also the quality of the learning. Without the use of the Voki and this technology, the level of quality could not be achieved.
As teachers we can only incorporate as much ICT into our classroom as the environment allows. For example I cannot utilise a PowerPoint presentation in a typical classroom, due to hardware restrictions or I cannot demonstrate the steps to creating a bubbl.us mind map without an internet connection to the classroom. So although incorporating e learning into a lesson is the teacher’s responsibility, as teachers we can only go as far as the infrastructure, resources and classroom architecture allows us. In addition to architecture providing a barrier for e learning other issues including firewalls provide another challenge. You Tube can also be used an engaging learning tool. Endless how to and information based short clips can be found here, the only problem, Education Queensland blocks this site for use by students. Student’s level of ability also provides another limitation to the use of ICT e learning tools. In a class of thirty, there is the very real possibility that there are thirty varying levels of ICT ability. So as with all teaching strategies, it is difficult to choose a tool that will suit all
As a result of the first seven weeks of E Learning I have chosen four tools which I believe are most beneficial in my context as a BLM Business Studies and English teacher.
Concept Maps
Concept Maps no longer require butcher’s paper and a pen, e-learning tools such as bubbl.us and Text to Mind Map are the new and improved version. In my Blog on Concept Maps, I defined this tool as a visual set out of ideas. My definition of Concept Maps is supported by Novak and Alberto (n.d., p.4) who states that they are a power knowledge representation tool. The visual nature of this tool allows for students who work well visually, to see ideas differently. It allows them to link one concept to another with just a line, Novak and Alberto (n.d., p.4) calls these cross links. This use of bubbl.us, also promotes engagement to students who need to work kinaesthetically, it allows students to be actively involved. Marzano and Pickering (1997, p. 210) recognise the benefit of using a graphic organiser, such as a concept map to aid in problem solving. Concept Maps allow for the layout and development of knowledge or a skill. Bloom’s hierarchy of six levels of cognitive domain knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation as explained by Isaacs (1996, p.2) can all be laid out and linked in a Concept Map. Bloom’s Cognitive Domain Hierarchy also links closely to that of the Year 11 English Syllabus which states that students will learn to “interpret, analyse, evaluate, respond to and create a wide range of texts” (QSA, 2010, p.5.)
PowerPoint
PowerPoint although somewhat an overused ICT tool is still beneficial to learning. As explored in my Blog PowerPoint’s do not have to be the usual slide with notes. Instead PowerPoint is a program which allows for interaction and engagement with students. PowerPoints can also be used as whole class collaborative activity rather than lecture notes. For example I created a PowerPoint which was used in a Business Studies class where we had no access (in this particular lesson) to actual equipment, so this provided information on how and when to use equipment. This PowerPoint was opened on each students’ computer and each slide was read to the class by one of the students. When it came to the activity each student worked independently. In this case PowerPoint was an introduction to a topic. It focused on the first level of Bloom’s hierarchy building knowledge, “the recall of specific terms”, for later application (Isaacs, 1996, p.2). Using a PowerPoint such as this helps students understand how specific knowledge is valuable. This PowerPoint explains “to students how this information will be useful to them later” (Marzano & Pickering, 1997, p.30)
Blogs
In my Blog I reflect upon how Blogs are used in a learning context. The main context in which a Blog should be used in a classroom is as a reflective and evaluative tool. Reflection and evaluation are two important skills that need to be developed and therefore students of lower year levels may not have the ability to utilise this e-learning tool effectively. The best way to improve these skills is to practice, and receive feedback. Blogs provide a space for both practice and feedback. Blogs allow for the development of the three highest skills on Bloom’s Hierarchy, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Blogs support reflective thinking, which in turn supports the development of identifying relationships between concepts, pulling together concepts and making judgements on the value of concepts and ideas (Isaacs, 1996, p.2). Marzano and Pickering (1997, p.56) recognise that is it is important for student to discover new information for themselves. Blogs allow students to do this by reflecting and then linking knowledge and concepts.
Voki
A Voki is basically a personalised, animated avatar. An example of a Voki can be found in my Blog. This e-learning tool allows a teacher to speak to students without the need for the teacher to physically “speak”. The ability to personalise the Voki also allows for this tool to be used in a number of different teaching circumstances. An example I gave before explained how a Voki can be utilised as a client coming into an office in a Business Studies class. In this situation the Voki could be dressed business like and would speak in an appropriate manner. Another example in an English context when studying a novel and focussing on characterisation, a Voki character from the novel could be created by each member of the class, with the physical and verbal characteristics of their character. The use of Voki in the classroom either by the teacher or the student’s works well within Bloom’s Taxonomy. This tool can develop all six levels of Cognitive Domain whilst also encouraging interaction with the Affective Domain elements “receiving, responding, valuing, organisation and characterisation” (Isaacs, 1996, p.2). Voki assists in creating authentic tasks, “that is, related to life outside of school” (Marzano & Pickering, 1997, p. 31). Marzano and Pickering (1997, p. 31) theorise that students who clearly see the relevance of tasks are more likely to be engaged by them.
These are four tools of many that are beneficial to student’s education. The following links are to three constructive comments I have made to my classmates’ blogs.
Gary's Blog Comment
Rebecca's Blog Comment
Belinda's Blog Comment
This course, Managing eLearning has allowed me to gain experience with a number of different ICTs, most of which I had no prior experience with. This new knowledge will allow me to incorporate these tools in my classroom and provide a more engaging learning environment for the students.
References
Brophy, J.E. (2004). Motivating students to learn. Mahmah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc
Garrison, D.R., & Anderson, T. (2003). E-learning in the 21st century: a framework for research and practice. London, UK: Routledge Falmer
Haywood, J., Macleod, H., Haywood, D., & Mogey, N. (n.d.). The student view of ICT in education at the University of Edinburgh: skills, attitudes & expectations. Retrieved 24 August 2010 http://homepages.ed.ac.uk/jhaywood/papers/studentviews.pdf
Isaacs, G. (1996). Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. Retrieved 23 August 2010 from http://www.teqi.uq.edu.au/downloads/bloom.pdf
Marzano, R.J., & Pickering, D.J. (1997). Dimensions of learning. Aurora, Colorado: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning
Ministry of Education Tertiary Section Performance Analysis and Reporting. (2009). Profile & trends: finding out more about tertiary education. Retrieved http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/series/2531/54560/2
Novak, J.D., & Alberto, J.C. (n.d.). The origins of the concept mapping tool and the continuing evolution of the tool. Retrieved 22 August 2010 from http://cmap.ihmc.us/publications/researchpapers/originsofconceptmappintool.pdf
Queensland Studies Authority. (2010). English senior syllabus 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010 from http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/senior/snr_english_10_syll.pdf
