My Reflective Synopsis
For as long as human have existed education is for all where we learn literacy and numeracy as that were the main subjects we needed to face our challenging lives. Students were learnt with the teacher at the front of the classroom, writing on the blackboard with chalk while students sat at their books and pencils to memorise our learning.
Schooling has hasn't changed a lot since the 19th century because the school system is failing. Students aren't learning the information that is needed to be learnt that will help them adapt to the outside world. Students aren't being challenged and not taking responsibility to learn something they may face later in their lives. The purpose of an education for young students, teachers are to prepare them in the best way possible that would help them throughout their lives and I believe teachers are to attempt reforming the education system that is fresh and is more suitable for generation y and alpha to learn and adapt to their society.
The new generation is helpless with the current education system, the schools aren’t adapting to the changes that is happening in our society. New technology is developing different cultures are becoming involved in the Australian school system so students are lacking the new knowledge that can be reformed from the old to new. Therefore, students are missing the skills that will help them achieve their life long goals. Students adapting well to technology as they are digital natives while teachers may be digital immigrants. Therefore there may be some frustration with blackboards and books being thrown out while technology takes over the classroom so students are able to adjust well into the real world of using technology in the workplace.
According to Waterhouse (2003), ‘e-learning involves improving teaching and learning using instructional strategies enhanced by technology, especially computer technology (p. 3). At a very basic level e-learning is using information communication technologies (ICTs) to engage, enhance and extend learning in pedagogically sound, flexible and innovative ways.’ Teachers in the 21st century are slowly adapting to the idea of using technology in the classroom as another resource where students would participate in the learning. Technology gives the teacher the opportunity to explore different resources that would allow them to expand their learning method as every individual has a different learning style to adapt to the learning in the classroom.
However, it is difficult for all teachers and students to adapt to the new technology due to their experience in technology itself. According to Prensky (2001) ‘suggests that learners can be categorised as digital natives or digital immigrants.’ So what is a digital native and digital immigrant? Digital native are born or have grown up using technology while digital immigrants have been forced to adapt to technology. So who are the digital natives and digital immigrants, as in generation? Baby boomers and possibly the ‘early’ gen x are more likely to be digital immigrants as in their time when they were attending school, their only resource in learning were the blackboard with the teacher at the front and books to take notes or read to expand their knowledge. Digital natives are likely to be the ‘latest’ of gen x, gen y and gen z as they had the opportunity to use technology in various subjects at school and with more people using computers at home, they were able to develop new skills while using the computer!(See blog ‘Wiki, blog or weebly’ http://reneeb22.blogspot.com/2011/07/wiki-or-blog.html)
For teachers who had limited knowledge on using technology, they had the opportunity to attend trainings provided by the education department or undertaking courses at Tafe or university, or mostly the best option would be to be taught by the students who would have the highest knowledge in using technology and other tools that are available to use on computers. After all, teachers and students are going to be learning how to use different technology tools together in the classroom and they would both be achieving new skills together.
It is important for teachers to know how learners will learn. Every individual has a different learning style to achieve the best they can in the classroom. For teachers to help students learn, teachers are able to use the learning theories; Behaviourism, Cognitivism and Constructivism. What are the meanings of each learning theory and how can it be useful for teachers? Behaviourism is the attitude to the students learning, or in other words, student’s attitude to wanting to learn. (See blog, ‘Behaviourism- learning theory’ http://reneeb22.blogspot.com/2011/07/behaviourism.html) Cognitivism understands how the brain works and how the brain would help us learn. Constructivism understands how the learner will understand things and what learning style they use. So for teachers to use the learning theories, it would help them understand the student’s individual needs and how to help them learn by seeing what learning style they need.
One of the great tools that can be used to help students use their brain to learn and how they can understand a particular topic is ‘Online Concept Map’ or in other words, the mind maps. The tool will help students and teachers expand their mind to share information about the topic. There are two different mind maps that I attempted to use in an activity in e-learning, ‘text2mindmap’ and ‘bubbl’. Both were easy to use and very creative that students and teachers can use to make the presentation more inviting and great to learn from. (See blog, ‘Mind Maps’ http://reneeb22.blogspot.com/2011/07/mind-maps.html)
Another tool that students and teachers can use to create a brainstorming format is called ‘word cloud’. There is a wide range of software where you can create your word cloud. It is more inviting for students to want to learn about the particular subject. It’s a great way for students to expand their words for literacy or another option where they can use a word and find the definition of the word by brainstorming. (See blog, ‘Word cloud’ http://reneeb22.blogspot.com/2011/07/word-cloud.html). The De Bono thinking hats can help also help students use these tools to brainstorm on a particular subject. It is also a great tool to use in a group discussion when learning as a class. (See blog, ‘De Bono Thinking Hats’ http://reneeb22.blogspot.com/2011/07/mobile-phone-wiki.html).
So how and why should technology be useful in the classroom, in the 21st century? Digital pedagogy is another resource where teachers can interact with the students to learn. It’s a way where we can use our higher thinking to learn and support our knowledge by using different technology in the classroom. It’s a new way of learning in the 21st century because technology is developing something useful everyday, which can be used in the classroom. TPACK, known as Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge, is a way of teaching a particular subject and selecting different technology to teach it to the students. Blooms taxonomy supports the understanding of why teachers have chosen the particular resource to teach to the students. (See blog ‘TPACK and Blooms Taxonomy’ http://reneeb22.blogspot.com/2011/07/tpack-and-blooms-taxonomy.html).
It is important that when teachers are using technology in the classroom that they are also to teach to the students the legal and safe ethical guidelines when using the internet. It is important that teacher role model that to the students when using resources from the internet as a learning tool. It isn’t a good thing that students are using the internet and not understand why they need to be safe and ensure that they are using the internet appropriately and not exchanging private information. Students should have a guideline of using the internet so they don’t put themselves at risk, personal and ethical reasons. Students may not understand why these guidelines are in place but with teachers ensuring they have the right information about using the internet for education purposes and following the guidelines, they will be able to adjust to the guidelines early in their lives rather than coming across guidelines in the workplace. (See blog ‘Legal and safe ethical guidelines’ http://reneeb22.blogspot.com/2011/08/legal-and-safe-ethical-guidelines.html).
To use technology in the classroom, there need to be ways where teachers and students can access to the outline of the learning material. There are a number of websites that can be used privately or publicly and have great use of adding information and uploading images, audios, videos, etc to attract the students to want to learn in the classroom. The websites aren’t very creative but it does the work of creating a class lesson online where teachers can use it in the classroom itself or online if students are absent and need to catch up with the learning. Blog, wiki and weebly is a place where the teacher or student can create the page. Blogs and webbly is a place where students or teachers can create a reflection on the learning material for the class and can upload many things. However, only the author or owner of that page can edit it but others can add comments. Wikis can similar to blogs, however anyone can edit the page! Students can also use it for assessments or homework where other students and teachers can access to the page.
There are a number of things that students and teachers can upload onto their learning page to support the information they add onto the page to help students expand their knowledge on particular subjects. There is a major factor when using different materials to upload onto their page and that is ensuring the material isn’t copyright or have permission to use the material particularly when it involves other people in the images or audio. Images and videos are a great resource where they can prove the information teachers and students have provided with the information in the blog or website. (See blog, ‘Digital videos’ http://reneeb22.blogspot.com/2011/07/digital-video.html). Digital videos and voice audios is another way to have the students be more involved in the class and another way for the teacher to communicate with the students in the classroom. Podcast and voki is a great technology tool to use to upload to use audio for a number of things such as, reading, interviews and sharing of information. (See blog, ‘Podcasting’ http://reneeb22.blogspot.com/2011/07/podcast.html).
Another way to do presentation in the classroom for students to learn from through technology is using a number of software programs that can be found on the computer (PowerPoint) or downloading various programs from the internet (Google Earth/Map, Globster, Dipity Timeline, Prezi) which is a great way where teachers and students can create a presentation similar to using websites and blogs. The only downside of using other software is that you would need to upload onto a website or blog if wanting to have students and teachers access it online. Most of the software teachers and students are able to upload many things that can still have a class lesson attracting and students wanting to learn. (See blog, ‘PowerPoint” http://reneeb22.blogspot.com/2011/08/powerpoint.html).
Overall, getting ahead in time with the 21st century and following the digital natives, using a number of different tools in technology, teachers have the ability to continue teaching their class lesson by using technology. Teachers are able to follow the individual learning style by using different materials to help the understand and achieve the knowledge that is being taught. Students are able to expand their skills in developing their assessments and homework by using a number of technologies available for them to use. 19th century, classrooms were about blackboards and books, 21st century, classrooms are about technology, perhaps, students and teachers will have fun learning the modern knowledge!
Reference:
· Central Queensland University, “E-learning-Week 1” 2011. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=186311
· Central Queensland University “E-learning-Week 2” 2011. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=186314
· Central Queensland University, “E-learning-Week 3” 2011. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=186317
· Central Queensland University,”E-learning-Week 4” 2011. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=186321
· Central Queensland University, “E-learning-Week 5” 2011. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=186325
