Final Culminating Blog Post

My initial thoughts about learning technologies and ICT in education prior to the study of this course were quite basic. My understanding was that, ‘teachers use technology in the classroom to retrieve information,’ and, ‘students like using computers, so teachers should use them as a behavioural management tool.’ In retrospect, the potential of ICT and learning technologies in the classroom is much more complex than recognised.

The world in which we live thrives on technology that is constantly being upgraded and customised according to the needs of its users. These constant changes have brought and will continue to bring an ever-changing curriculum and manner of teaching and learning. Groundwater-Smith, Ewing & Le Cornu (2011) write that the purpose of a learning experience is always changing. Each generation brings or develops, “a greater access to information” (Groundwater-Smith et al., 2011. p. 126). Therefore, the role of teachers is reshaping from being those that “know about” to those that “know how”.

Technologies have the potential to create what Herrington, Oliver & Reeves (2012) describe as, ‘authentic activities,’ and what Jonassen (2008, p. 2), describes as ‘meaningful learning’. These are activities that have relevance to reality, allow interdisciplinary learning and require students to construct their own knowledge and understanding from a variety of resources (Herrington et al., 2012). Throughout tutorials and subject readings it has become apparent to my cohorts and I that an authentic learning experience is informed by certain key attributes. I have discussed these in 'Post reacting to "Learning Technologies" by Annie Agnew', 'Flexible Learning Tasks', 'iPads for Kindergarteners', and 'Interactive White Boards in a Pedagogically Informed Manner'. They are pedagogy - the creation of a learning environment; and content – the intellectual integrity of what is being taught. However, the employ of technology in the classroom setting brings forth another dimension to the creation of a learning experience, which is why fellow pre-service teachers and I have been studying our weekly content closely with TPACK (Koehler & Mishra, 2006). TPACK is the collaboration and aim for ‘Technological, pedagogical, content knowledge.’ In addition to this concept, I have developed a thorough understanding of how teachers can use learning-technologies to reshape the 21^st century classroom. By constantly scaling the use of learning technologies in terms of ‘SAMR’ (Puentedura, 2006), I have come to the conclusion that we should not use technologies to make things merely ‘easier’ and ‘faster’, we should use technologies to redefine the purpose of our pedagogy and content.

Having said the above, I also need to voice my concern for the growing dependence and usage of technology by children of all ages. In week 8 we discussed the issues of duty of care and child protection in relation to technology, and I can understand why this was a mandatory part of the course. While the broadening of the learning environment by means of technology is without a doubt beneficial, it also has its consequences. By allowing our students to venture into ‘cyber-space’, we need to take extra caution, extend our duty of care, and educate students about their safety and the safety of others in this new dimension of the environment (Basset, 2003). In week 6 our topic of discussion was ‘equity in education,’ which is also a relevant topic. As the Vision 2020 (2008, p. 1) reading states, ‘education is central to the future of all Australians to have a successful to the future of all Australians,’ it is clear that in Australia we have a value in education and it is essential to the life of a child. Here we are at university, with an entire subject designed to shape our understanding about dear and fragile technology. Meanwhile in certain communities in our nation, and certainly many across the globe, students are grappling with what resources they have, let alone schools and teachers. I have addressed this issue in relation to indigenous education in my blog titled 'Equity? Or lack of?' These are very relevant issues when studying the use of learning technologies. Where they are used and the manner in which they are used should shape your understanding of their practise in a wider context.

My future use of learning technologies will continue to be informed by the topics within my tertiary study. However, the discourse of this subject has especially shaped my understanding of learning technologies in a multifaceted and pedagogical sense. Apart from the insights that I have written above, my practical teaching block has also accumulated my professional experience. I have described these in my blog entries 'Observations of classroom ICT use' and 'The Tech-Savvy Classroom Teacher'. It is the experiences and observations of this practicum that have made relevant the importance of what Watson and Prestridge (2003) deem as, ‘a networked learning community approach to sustain teacher ICT professional development.’ As a final statement, technology doesn’t necessarily mean ‘better’, it is how one uses it that will translate whether the task has been ‘redefined’ or ‘substituted’. As teachers, we have the responsibility to deliver k-6, diverse and engaging learning experiences that create meaningful learning. By ‘redefining’ the learning experience, and doing so in a pedagogical and content informed manner, we can ensure that we are creating meaningful learning experiences for our students of the 21^st century.

Reference List:

Basset, G. (2003). A school’s duty of care for students to whom it gives access to cyberspace. Retrieved 1 June, 2012, from

http://www.netsafe.org.nz/Doc_Library/netsafepapers_grahambassett_duty.pdf

Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R. & Le Cornu, R. (2011). Teaching: Challenges and dilemmas. Sydney: Thomson.

Herrington, J., Oliver, R. & Reeves, T. C. (2003). Patterns of engagement in authentic online learning environments. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 19, 59-71. Retrieved June 10, 2012, From http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.lib.uts.edu.au/fullText;dn=124158;res=AEIPT.

Jonassen, D. (2008). What is meaningful learning? In D. Jonassen (Ed.). Meaningful learning with technology (3^rd ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education.

Koehler, M. & Mishra, P. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: a framework for teacher knowledge. Teacher College Record 108 (1054-1017). Retrieved April 9, 2012, from UTS E-readings.

Puentedura, R. (2006). Transformation, technology and education. Retrieved April 11, 2012, http://www.hippasus.com/resources/tte/

Save Our Schools. (2008). A Vision for 2020: Achieve equity in education. Retrieved 10 May, 2012, from http://valuesineducation.org.au/pdf/sos0804.pdf

Watson, G. & Prestridge, S. (2003). A networked learning community approach to sustain teacher ICT professional development. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 19, 227-240. Retrieved 11 June, 2012, form http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.lib.uts.edu.au/fullText;dn=129386;res=AEIPT

BLOG COUNT:

Green - 6

Blue - 6

Orange - 8

A reaction to Charlotte Fewtrell's blog post:

I recently read Charlotte Fewtrell's blog post titled 'The Digital Divide'. Unfortunately I can't quite figure out how to comment on this post, so I will write my entire reaction here.


Charlotte posted this video on her blog. She watched in during her tutorial, but I did not so I found it quite interesting! Charlotte describes that watching the video with her tutorial class was interesting and resulted in a great discussion... and now i can see why...





The presenter says, 'finally children growing up in poverty have the opportunity to click on their potential and log into a brighter future.' This is a really beautiful and inspiring video as it really shows the potential of learning technologies in education. While watching this video, I am reminded of constructivism as the presenter reminds us that the children were usually left without supervision during use of the computers. They were left to construct their own understandings of the hardware and softwares, and acquire information from the world wide web at their own discretion.

Practicum Reflection: The Tech-Savvy Classroom Teacher

When you were a primary school student, what did your teacher do and achieve with technology in the classroom? When I was in primary school my classrooms usually had two computers in them, but during class learning experiences the most that we could use would be an overhead projector, or if our teacher had planned and booked a 'computer pod room'. 


As it has been suggested that I blog about the ICT attributes of my cooperating teacher, I did have the opportunity to ask her a few questions. She rated her computing skills quite highly, but admitted to not have acquired these naturally. She had to attend a lot of course and engage in a lot of personal use to keep up with the evolving technology that can be used in a classroom. For support, there is an ICT Executive who runs planning days and professional development days and sessions as planned by the school principal. Apart from this, teachers are made aware of any extra courses or seminars that can be undertaken outside of school hours. Teachers are able to make use of the school intranet and a space similar to UTS's 'blackboard learning' website. On these websites teachers are able to share resources and communicate amongst each other. My cooperating teacher also told me that computers and learning technologies are often the subject of much discussion in staff meetings. Topics such as distribution of resources, appropriate usage by students, and censoring of websites are all common topics.


Our discussion has led me to another dimension of teaching. I really do admire my cooperating teacher for being so proactive in ICT education. I know this won't be as much of a challenge to my cohorts and myself, but hopefully we will be able to keep up and continue to grow in our professional development beyond our tertiary education.

Practical Teaching: Observations of Classroom ICT Use

Last Thursday I started my third practical teaching block at a school in the Canterbury region in Sydney. Due to my assignment to a stage 3 years 5 & 6 composite class, I have to admit I did feel extremely nervous and a little discouraged. Having done some work in after school care with year 6 students, I automatically had this perception that, 'the kids know more about technology than I do.'


 With five days left, I am currently half way through my practicum. In contrast to my first day, I really love and have enjoyed teaching stage 3! It is very different to teaching earlier stages in 'content', but the pedagogy and management aspect is quite similar. In regards to my students and technology, most of them do know more than me. However, this isn't a 'bad' thing. Students might use technology more than I do, but as a student-teacher it is I that needs to implement it as a learning technology in a pedagogically informed manner.


The classroom I am in contains the following technologies:

• IWB with its own hard drive
• 1 x Mac computer
• 4 x mini laptops
• 2 x large laptops
• 1 printer

The classroom itself seems to revolve closely around the IWB. I mean this literally. There are five lots of tables - each seat six groups of students. All the tables face the IWB, so that when engaged in lessons the teacher can easily access the IWB and computer and students can interact with these too. 

To be honest, I've hardly observed my cooperative teacher. On my observation day I was with a casual, and since then I have taught most classes. During the lessons I have watched, she does use the IWB but more as a white board as she no longer has an 'old-fashioned' board. I do know from discussing with her that she does use technology quite a lot. Photography for art; editing programs such as adobe, Garage band and iMovie for ICT; and like I said the, IWB for most lessons. She also sends all her students their homework via email, and the students send their homework back to her via email for marking. I have also observed her write reports via an online school program especially for writing student reports. The school has an intranet space for sharing resources and communication of other staff concerns. 

It's quite clear that this class, especially being stage three, engages in learning experiences that are often parallel to technology. It is my assumption that this is quite appropriate for the stage/age level of these students, as they no longer require learning that is constructed from concrete material. They have moved on to a formal operation of learning.

Post Reacting to Annie Agnew's Blog

My tutor, Annie Agnew, writes very engaging blog posts. One of her recent posts is about immediacy and technology. Agnew poses ideas that reflect the concepts of TPACK and SAMR. This is the idea of using technology to transform or redefine what you are doing, not substitute. Agnew contrasts apps that 'do/help' and apps that 'achieve/impact'. Agnew uses three examples of these. I will give my own:


'Achieve/Impact':
I am teaching an art appreciation class about Aboriginal art. My class and I want to research how Indigenous Australians create their art, and from what meanings. We google indigenous artists together, view their artworks, make inferences and give subjective responses. We watch youtube videos to view the long and meaningful process in Aboriginal art-making. To discover what an artist is representing, we may google him/her to get obtain a personal response.


'Do/Help':
We search 'google images' for Aboriginal art.


In conclusion I'd like to refer to the saying, 'faster doesn't always mean better.' Just because you can type and click to retrieve information promptly, does not mean you are delivering a better learning experience. Having said this, if you can type and click quite quickly, you have the potential to create a highly engaging learning experience that incorporates learning technologies with pedagogy and content.

Week 8 Tutorial Learning Experience

Before I forget, I'd like to recount my Week 8 tutorial learning experience with Glynis Jones. Week 8's reading was about the duty of care a school has to a student in cyberspace. Our tutorial was based on our discussions. This was engaging as we had the chance to hear the thoughts of not only Glynis but fellow class members. We discussed cyber-bullying, student behaviour on social networking websites, misuse of the internet, stranger danger and even teacher behaviour on social networking websites. 


As I posted in my previous blog, a reaction to Neilofar's blog, I think that often these dangers are not posed to students until stage 3 and beyond. Often this is too late. I believe that as immediately as technologies are introduced to a classroom learning environment, so should the dangers and risks that are stapled to them. 


In regards to teacher behaviour, I can't quite formulate a solid opinion. On one hand I believe that teachers are role-models and should act accordingly; on the other I believe that teachers are 'people' not 'supermodels' and should also act accordingly. Upon discussion about teachers who have been called upon for their certain 'behaviour choices' or 'lifestyle choices', I couldn't help but think about the audience that influences how a school community reacts to teacher behaviour. For example, religion, school policies, laws, cultures, and especially the views and perspectives of parents. 


In conclusion, 'duty of care' is a part of becoming a teacher. If the NSW DET is acknowledging 'cyber-bullying' as an official form of bullying, then duty of care must extend to the complexity of cyberspace. Teachers are role-models, and their choices beyond the gates of a school should not affect their ability to teach.

A Reaction to Neilofar's Blog

My good friend and fellow student-teacher, Neilofar Morabi, wrote an interesting blog this week about the week 8 tutorial topic - 'Duty of care in cyberspace'. I made a comment on her blog about the positivity and reinforcement of the world wide web and the usage of it across homes and schools globally. It has all this information, and all these fantastic social networks, and these blogs and photo-sharing sites and so on. As Neilofar notes in her blog, '[students] must be cautious, aware and informed of any acts that can negatively effect the negligence of the [cyber] space,' I noted in my comment that at times it isn't until stage 2 & 3 that students are made aware of the dangers and risks that are involved with activity in 'cyber space'. The definition of cyber space itself is quite intimidating; it is, 'total interconnectedness of human beings through computers and telecommunication without regard to physical geography.' Click here to view Neilofar's blog post about cyber space, and my comment on it.