Firstly, what are the technologies or ICT’s (Information Communication Technologies) we are talking about? The list, as we have seen so far, is quite extensive and it’s only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Here are a few of the ICT’s we know are used in education today: Blogs, Wiki’s, electronic white-boards, Avatars (like this Voki), Claymation, Animations, Power Points, Digital cameras and videos, ipods, computer games, web information sources, and of course the internet.
This has really got me thinking. On the one hand I have spent countless hours feeling annoyed and frustrated learning about this new technology, like the ‘Digital Immigrant’ I am, and trying to master it all (quickly), but on the other hand I have been totally and utterly engaged and now consider myself ‘hooked’. Hopefully one day I’ll even be able to pass myself off as a ‘Digital Native!’
I have felt the thrill of publishing posts to my Blog, knowing that someone out there will read it and think or feel something, and perhaps even respond! How amazing is that?.
Blogging provides satisfaction on so many levels. This was highlighted in the course work via this You Tube video which shows how students from Korean International School created their own Wiki-based history text book and Blog. As the narrator said, “images don't animate in textbooks like they do here...Textbooks don't include videos!".
In the end, not only did the students learn all about world history, but they felt the thrill of being publishers, and of receiving feedback from the global audience that had sat up and paid attention to what these students had done. What an amazing learning experience that would be!. I guess that’s what Kearsley and Shneiderman’s (1999) ‘Engagement Theory’ is really all about.
According to Engagement Theory, Kearsley & Shneiderman (1999), students [in order to learn effectively] must be meaningfully engaged in learning activities through interaction with others and worthwhile tasks. They go on to say that in principle such engagement can occur without the use of technology, however the authors believe technology can facilitate engagement in ways which are difficult to achieve otherwise.
Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999), state that engaged learning means that all student activities involve active cognitive processes such as creating, problem-solving, reasoning, decision-making and evaluation. In addition, students are intrinsically motivated to learn due to the meaningful nature of the learning environment.
I can personally understand engagement theory in relation to creating and publishing to my Blog. I am intrinsically motivated (i.e. internally motivated) to succeed and do it well as I enjoy it, I find it a challenge and like the fact that other people may actually read and respond to my thoughts.
Engagement Theory is also based upon the idea of collaborative teams, working on ambitious projects that are meaningful to someone outside of the class (Kearsley and Shneiderman, (1999). Again I refer to the example earlier of the Korean students who created their own on-line text book using Blogs. These students worked in collaborative teams on a meaningful project (Relate), that they could all be involved in designing (Create). It was certainly ambitious but was ultimately rewarding from the point of view that the students’ could (Donate) their work back to the real world and the real world took notice and responded! These students would most certainly have been engaged and experienced the ultimate in learning (heck – life!) experiences – students creating their own text book, which is published to the web and contains moving pictures, videos and links. In my mind that is very student-centred learning.
Moving pictures in text books is all a bit ‘Harry Potter’ really! Speaking of Harry Potter and motion pictures brings me to the notion of ‘suspension of disbelief’. I remember hearing a famous film director, George Lucas I think, talking about the ‘suspension of disbelief’ in films, which is the X factor that really makes us believe what we are seeing, empathise and sympathise with the characters and be transported to another realm. Furthermore, the audiences are truly engaged with what is taking place on the screen, as evidenced by their wide eyed absorption and silence. Anyone who saw ‘Avatar’ recently at the cinema will understand this concept!
Perhaps this suspension of disbelief is quite achievable in education through the use of ICT’s and creating authentic Learning environments? In an article by Oliver and Herrington (2003), they talk about creating Authentic Learning Environments where a suspension of disbelief takes place and assessment is authentic.
Oliver and Herrington (2003) state that "there is increasing evidence that in order to fully engage with an authentic task or problem based scenario, students need to engage with a process that is familiar to moviegoers throughout the world - the suspension of disbelief. For example, consider the suspension of disbelief that audiences must undergo to enable them to become engaged with movies such as Star Wars, Mad Max, The Matrix, The Truman Show, and Back to the Future."
Anyway, in short, Blogs are fantastic!. I love writing and publishing my thoughts and it provides an immediate reward and the opportunity for instant gratification by way of a comment or response. I can see enormous potential for the use of Blogs in classrooms, both at an individual student level and a class level, where students can contribute to a class Blog that is accessible to all members of the school community or publish their own Blog as a way of recording and reflecting on their learning throughout the year. What a great way to keep parents informed of student progress!
Wiki’s, although I am yet to master mine, also have amazing potential to help students to work collaboratively on projects and to retain the information they are receiving. A classroom Wiki could be set up for any numer of projects to encourage students to work together to solve problems or find solutions or simply to share ideas, discuss topics, or create a text book as described above!
This brings me to Active Learning, the multi-directional learning experience in which learning occurs teacher-to-student, student-to-teacher and student-to-student. (ACU Adams Center for Teaching Excellence).
"Active learning is anything that happens in a class that engages students with the material being presented", Felder M., Brent, R. (2004)
Active Learning involves Activity based learning experiences which can take many shapes and include whole-class involvement, teams, small groups, trios, pairs and individuals. They also take many forms and include talking, writing, journaling, discussing, conferring, building, creating etc. In this way, students are more in control of their learning experiences and have opportunities to self-direct their learning. (ACU Adams Centre for Teaching Excellence).Here is a web site with some ideas for activities utilising Active Learning.
Active Learning is supported by research on how students retain information. For example, Dale’s Cone and the Learning Pyramid, which both indicate that students have a higher retention rate of information if they are exposed to many different types of delivery and ultimately, direct purposeful experience (Dale’s Cone) and opportunities to practice by doing, teaching others or immediately using the information (The Learning Pyramid).
I believe activities such as creating and using Wiki’s and Blogs, creating an Avatar (such as a Voki) or using ICT's to facilitate learning, not only involves Active Learning but also leads to a more student-centred or student directed learning experience. The website of Irving Independant School in Texas shows how Primary students have used Claymation technology to learn about cycles of the earth, e.g. the water cycle. My favourite clip is called Wilson's World. Take a look here.
After some initial frustrations I am now seeing the benefits of Mahara – an e-portfolio tool – in the education environment and also as a personal tool for myself. I like the way this on-line portfolio can be your “portfolio for life”, Aldred, S. (2010), and the fact you can store any and all documents you produce including projects, blogs, powerpoints, assessments, ideas, videos, photos of art-work etc. Over time this has potential to be an amazing record of one's learning, work and life in general.
I think Mahara and other e-portfolio tools, are a wonderful way for students to record their learning and keep important files, reports, assignments, projects or artworks they have completed. An e-portfolio could be developed for class groups where each student has their own 'View' to update, or used by an entire class group collaboratively, to record what they are learning along the way. What a great way for a learning site to keep parents informed of student progress.
How can I use ICT’s to engage my learners? Here is another wonderful example of how animation technology can be used used by indigenous students to bring to life their dreamtime stories and widen the interest in the community. The clip below is courtesy of You Tube. Information about other Dreamtime Animations, can be found at this website.
By way of summary I would like to re-state some 'ICT Rules' from Aldred, S. (2010), and concur that ICT’s can make teaching more learner effective (and student-centred), widen the appeal of lessons and activities (and cater to different learning styles and personalities), provide opportunities for home/study, and enrich the learning experience. Furthermore, Aldred, S. (2010)believes the use of ICT’s can streamline teaching practices by enabling paperless management of learning resources (how eco-friendly is that?) use self-marking / objective testing tools (e.g. on-line quizzes) and promote collaborative group work and self assessment.
I can attest to all of the above as I have experienced them first hand in the 'ICT for Learning Design' courseware at CQ University.
I believe the use of ICT’s for the ‘Digital Native’ in our 21st Century classrooms just makes good sense; and utilizing a diverse range of ICT’s and other learning activities will help to engage a wider audience.
References:
Prensky, M. (2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon (NBC University Press Vol. 9, No. 5, October 2001)
Herrington, J., Oliver, R. and Reeves, T. C. (2003). Patterns of engagement in authentic online learning environments. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 19(1), 59-71.
Kearsley, G., and Shneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement Theroy: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning.(gkearsley@sprynet.com)
Felder, R.M. and Brent, R. (2004) The Abc's of Engineering Education: Abet, Bloom's Taxonomy, Cooperative Learning, and so on. North Carolina State University/Education Designs, Inc.
Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition
Aldred, S. (2010) ICT's for Learning Design courseware. CQ University, Rockhampton, QLD Australia
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