Thoughts and reflections on ICT-based learning designs: Reflective Synopsis

“If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow” John Dewey

INTRODUCTION

The emotional stages of my journey in the last six weeks of this Program could be described with the use of the following words: intriguing, challenging, frustrating and fascinating. As a Digital Native, I initially took the ICTs for Learning Design for granted, thinking to myself: “I know everything about technologies, what else do I need to learn?” The answer to this question appeared relatively quickly while working on my first engagement activity about learning methods in class and Multiple Intelligences (See Appendix A).

Prensky’s work on Digital Natives versus Digital Immigrants with “accents” exposed me to the importance of designing technologically appealing curricula. Further research convinced me that the “Natives”, potential technology gurus, could be superseded by the generally more insightful novices, who already possess the knowledge of “the old” to build upon to achieve a greater understanding of “the new” (See Appendix B).

Theory is necessary for teaching and therefore I had to “reprogram” myself to think like an "Immigrant" learning the whole new language – step by step, from the reading stage to practice. I have come to terms with the importance of knowing the basics and ways to explain them. As an advanced/proficient user of many online tools, I never realised how difficult it could be to “work back”, i.e. split the topic that I am well acquainted with into small bits and pieces, which have to be laid out in a manner understandable to a student in a 5-12 age group. I also discovered that finding the right educational technology could be a cunning task as up-to-date knowledge of the latest developments is required.

SAFETY IN THE 21^st CENTURY CLASSROOMS

Teachers are responsible for providing a safe learning environment in the classroom. Simmon and Hawkins (2009) note that ensuring safety with the use of ICTs in education does not only cover the physical environment (Wi-Fi equipment, projectors, etc.), but also concerns the online space, where cyber-bullying and hacking may occur. Effective integration of TPACK in constructing lesson plans involves careful consideration of the type of online content students will be exposed to (See Appendix E).Thus, teachers should ask themselves: “Does the material I am about to select for my pupils have an educational value? Are there any risks involved in using this particular software/program/application/platform?” Learning managers can set a number of restrictions, including blocking websites on desktops and iPads, however the use of personal equipment, such as mobile phones cannot be controlled. Education Queensland in recently released Digital Pedagogy Framework indicates the significance of “the provision of staff training” and “adherence to legislative, departmental and school requirements” where “student learning, well-being and safe work practices” are top priority ("Digital Pedagogy", 2012). The rich-in-knowledge nature of an online space with its ever-changing content and 24-access from nearly any place in the world, apart from its universally recognised benefits, poses serious restrictions for teachers to maintain the students’ safety on the Internet. Nevertheless, the educators have a duty of informing about the internal school policies on the use of technological devices in classrooms, discussing possible threats and raising awareness about the legal consequences following inappropriate behaviours, such as cyber-bullying or “sexting” (Dunn, 2011). For example, students can be discouraged from engaging in inappropriate activities by being taught on how SMS texting and all social media platforms permanently store personal information. Nobody is anonymous on the Internet, as every comment placed under a blog post, Youtube video or Facebook photo can be traced back to its author via virtually coded device ID.

THE USE OF MOBILE PHONES IN THE CLASSROOM – WIKI ACTIVITY

E-learning applies to the constructivist theory of learning where students apply their prior experiences and beliefs to their current developmental schemes. Appropriately approached e-learning with the use of the scaffolding tools, such as DeBono’s Six Thinking Hats, PMI and SWOT Analysis, lead to the provision of learning through Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy to support higher order thinking, e.g. synthesis and evaluation.

The idea behind DeBono’s unique thinking strategy initially appealed to me as it aimed to “aid effective discussions and thinking by aligning everyone in one of six states of mind” ("Six Thinking Hats", n. d.) represented by different colours. In other words, the focus was maintained through the breakdown of each question and dividing it into specific thinking categories, which would subsequently form a final conclusion. Such approach ensures the accuracy and the presence of high quality content. The concepts of the four learning theories are reflected in DeBono’s suggested routine, which had been thoroughly discussed in the Week 3 post (See Appendix F).

On the contrary, the Pre-Quiz Questions on wiki lacked the scaffolding strategy, which was shown at the very early stage of the “discussion”. The more answers and suggestions that were added to each question, the more confusion seemed to arise. It felt as if “something” was missing and any extra contribution was not helping but increasing the “messiness”.

The appreciation of the presence of the structure (scaffolding) in teaching and learning has become the predominant learning outcome of both tasks. Whilst the first part introduced the concept of scaffolding at its best, the daunting experience with the quiz on the same platform made me realise the importance of using strategies in education to maintain focus on the topic.

GROUP 1

In the first couple of weeks of the ICTs for Learning Design program, the focus was directed at blogs, websites and wikis. Having considered both strengths and weaknesses of the three interactive platforms, the use of a blog as an educational tool appealed to me the most. There are several reasons for which I have acquired this preference over other tools to be used in the classroom environment.

First of all, blogs allow interaction by inviting other users to share their thoughts and opinions about the presented topic. They are also popular amongst social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest, which could easily be embedded into a blogging platform. Websites with their static content nature reject the idea of social collaboration as a result of one-way communication concept. Despite their increasing popularity as a “democratic” tool allowing social contribution through “open editing”, wikis easily breach the rule of freedom of expression. The ability to change or delete somebody else’s work, contributes to the increased level of misunderstanding and contradicts the idea of brainstorming, where everybody’s opinions are equally respected. The issue of absolute freedom on wikis resembling totalitarian regime had been discussed in Week 2 post (See Appendix F).

Secondly, design and navigation were crucial in making final decision on preferred Group 1 tool supporting teaching and learning. In spite of its “sophisticated” appearance and easy navigation, the process of creating a website is overly time-consuming. McFarland (2010) notes that a site may “appear as a gloriously unified whole”, however in reality it is “nothing more than a collection of various files – HTML pages, images, Cascading Style Sheets, JavaScript code, Flash movies, and so on” (p. 635). The more elements a site contains, the more apt one is to misplace or lose them. Blogs are generally easier to set up and manage. As they do not require users to have a knowledge and understanding of a markup language or page formatting, originally called “web-logs” could be efficiently used in the classroom environment to support the modern 21^st century learning.
Prior to introducing my students to blogging, I would ensure they comply with the safety conditions to using the online platform. As a teacher I would be responsible for monitoring conduct on individual students' blogs (or a class blog) in order to maintain a positive learning community. Additional safety could be ensured via selection of appropriate privacy settings, e.g. Blogger provides the "control permissions" function allowing its users for choosing preferred audience - the blog could be open to all readers, authors only or a limited number of readers.
Students would be respectful in their postings and comments, use the appropriate language free of personal insults, racism, discriminatory remarks or threatening. Any moderations to the privacy settings selected by a teacher would not be permitted. In the case of violation of the use of the blog in accordance with the school's Acceptable Use Policy, the violator would be a subject to immediate termination from the blog and disciplinary proceedings through the school's code of conduct.

The importance, benefits and examples of using blogs in education have been briefly outlined in the following presentation - Prezi.

GROUP 2

The engagement activities in Week 3 of the ICT journey focused on the use of digital images, audio and videos in the classroom. Images could constitute two-dimensional artifacts, such as photographs and screen play, as well as three-dimensional statues or holograms. The term ”image” also appears in the context of individual mind thoughts, e.g. Freud claimed to have dreamed in aural-images of dialogs. Exploration of audio and podcasting, as well as video making uncovered the “independence” of images, e.g. videos are fully reliant on the presence of audio function to make sense, whereas audio material without the support of visuals does not convey the message as efficiently particularly in a P-7 classroom. Images on their own can successfully complete the task of delivering an engaging lesson, without the dependence on the Internet which presence is often required to access the online audio and video content. It is certainly possible to download bulky-sized movies/audio files and embed them into a presentation, however this could be a challenging task in terms of storage as videos in particular could take up large amounts of memory, which could subsequently slow down the technological devise that has been used. Images are easier to work with for both teachers and students, and can easily be reduced in size (similarly to audio and video files, however the space is significantly smaller for still pictures). Additionally, image manipulation and uploading various photos onto Flickr or Picasa are not time consuming, and do not require advanced computer skills.
For any image-related tasks, I would ensure the use of carefully selected photos. I would also check all cameras before handing them to individual students to insure no inappropriate images are present.
The examples of image manipulation and resizing had been produced in the Week 4 post (See Appendix I).

GROUP 3

Although, the choice between the three presentation programs was difficult to pursue, I have made the final decision based on my GDLT’s focus area. Thus, having taken into account the needs and skills of primary school students, I have attributed Glogster to be the most engaging tool for grades P-7.

Each of the three presentation programs is equipped with a set of unique features, which could be used in a class by the teacher and/or students.

For example, PowerPoint allows to create a selection of several slides in just a few minutes, each of which could contain text, images and videos. Prezi is used as a “platform for bridging linear and non-linear information, and as a tool for both free-form brainstorming and structured presentations”, where standard PowerPoint use of images and videos is transformed into a “zooming, panning, and moving whirlwind of media” (Prezi, 2013).

I feel that Prezi would appeal more to the middle and upper level high school students for several reasons. First of all, its complexity could be time-consuming particularly for juniors, who by the curriculum are only required to know the basics of the presentation making. Secondly, some commentators suggest that its characteristic zooming user interface can induce nausea, especially in the junior students. Finally, the lack of font and shade options may not spark the interest in the youngest (Johnston and Halocha, 2010). Prezi, in P-7 grades, seems to be a suitable tool for teachers to deliver knowledge, whether it be an introduction, conclusion or a brief overview of the lesson.

Glogster with its easy-to-use interface and a wide choice of colours allows students to express themselves on the level appropriate to their age group.
For the safety purposes in class, I would ensure that any online video clips embedded in my presentation are free of advertising content. Having a separate laptop with work material only would ensure that no personal or inappropriate material could be seen by students in class during presentation on the projector screen.
The examples of using Glogster, PowerPoint and Prezi encouraging the use of multisensory learning, creativity and individualism had been presented in the Week 5 post (See Appendix K).

GROUP 4

Finally, various animations and simulations “offering substantial advantages over print-based material when it comes to complex interactions and abstract concepts” (Moodle, 2013) were to be considered as valuable tools to be used in the 21^st century classrooms. I explored each one of the interactive resources suggested on the Moodle website to develop preference of one based on its suitability and frequency of usage in the lesson plans. Google Earth is a universal tool, which could be utilised to support a wide range of subjects at school. For example, as a part of Science class, students could follow tracks of chimpanzees in Tanzania’s Gombe Forest (Goodall, n. d.). With the use of the Ancient Rome 3D layer, teachers would be able to deliver engaging history lesson on early Rome. In order to investigate a coastal feature or hurricane, the Google Earth software could show students suitable aerial imagery or plotted hurricane path. The use of the interactive simulations and animations in class appeals particularly to visual learners, who constitute 65% of the population (Visual Teaching Alliance, n. d.). According to Burmark (2002) visual aids in the classrooms can improve learning up to 400%. Finally, many intellectually impaired students benefit from the use of visuals over spoken or written word, e.g. many pupils with Autism Spectrum Disorder often require the presence of images to express their emotions (Trevarthen, 1998). This shows the inclusion of diversity.
Other advantages of using Google Earth in connectivist classrooms and examples of different animation/simulation tools had been explored in the following posts - See Appendix M, Appendix N, Appendix O.
In my class I would ensure that the web filtering system is set up on each school laptop so students do not have access to undesirable web content. Any online games of no educational value accessed during the class, would be immediately blocked and appropriate disciplinary actions would be taken.

CONCLUSION

Teachers play important roles in technologically advanced classrooms. The expansion of e-learning, supposedly threatening the importance of human supervision, in reality requires the presence of teachers responsible for designing and facilitating e-learning environments. Technology has a tremendous potential to address educational needs more efficiently. It helps learning managers improve their performance and accommodate different learning styles. The use of interactive animations, online platforms and other e-learning tools can enhance student experience, however it cannot replace the valuable pedagogical content, e.g. interactive games require professional guidance to achieve curriculum outcomes.
I believe that those who cannot adjust themselves to changes stay behind. Teachers who refuse to "move on", do not meet increasingly demanding expectations of the 21^st century model of an educator and therefore are not suitable for the teaching role as they cannot deliver appropriate knowledge in the most effective ways to the students whose learning habits differ from those of previous generations. Subsequently, the lack of knowledge on the threats of certain online behaviours can be very dangerous for both students and teachers. The modern school leaders are part-time interrogators and investigators. I believe that as a teacher I am responsible for eliminating any behaviours aiming to deteriorate school’s reputation, and this includes the teaching body as well as the students. Wrongful activities, such as subscribing teachers/students to inappropriate websites (e.g. pornography), creating fake Facebook accounts and allegations of sexual contact by staff on students sent via email could be tracked down and reduced only with the right knowledge of the powerful means of technology.

Technologies are vital in education, catering for distance, with a 24-hour access, allowing world communication and collaboration at no cost. The ability to make the most out of these tools, makes our lives easier – whether we are single parents looking for work from home (online), students seeking valuable resources for school/university or at last, teachers willing to increase the efficiency of delivering valuable material to support multiple intelligence teaching.

REFERENCES:

Burmark, L. (2002). Visual literacy: Learn to see, see to learn. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Chimpanzees. Jane Goodall. n. d. Retrieved from http://www.janegoodall.org/chimpanzees
Digital Pedagogy. Education Queensland. 19 December 2012. Retrieved from http://education.qld.gov.au/smartclassrooms/developing-professionals/elearning-frameworks/index.html
Dunn, J. (2011, October 24). The Teacher's Guide To Keeping Students Safe Online. Edudemic. Retrieved from http://edudemic.com/2011/10/student-online-safety-guide/
Education: Readings & Reflections (pp. 28-48). Berkshire: Open University Press.
Group 4 Technologies. Engagement Activities: Week 5. 2013. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=115245
Johnston, J., & Halocha, J. (2010). Emotional Development. In Early Childhood and Primary
McFarland, D S. (2010). Introducing Site Management. In Dreamweaver CS5: The Missing Manual (pp. 635-662). Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media.
Prezi. (2013). Retrieved from http://prezi.com/
Simmons, C., & Hawkins, C. (2009). Teaching ICT. London: SAGE Publications.
Six Thinking Hats. Toolkit For Thinking. N. d. Retrieved from http://www.toolkitforthinking.com/creative-thinking/six-thinking-hats
Trevarthen, C. (1998). Where Development of the Communicating Mind Goes Astray. In Children with Autism: Diagnosis and Interventions to Meet Their Needs (pp. 93-117). London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Visual Teaching Alliance. n. d. Retrieved from http://www.visualteachingalliance.com/