Reflective Synopsis - ICT's can make teaching more efficient and enhance student learning

There is nothing like enrolling in a university program to force yourself to learn new things!

Recently I have learned a lot about Information Communication Technologies (ICT's) and their potential uses in education. Many of these technologies are breaking new ground and truly cater to the needs of the 'Digital Natives' in our 21st Century Classrooms.

Interactive White Boards (IWB's) tick all the boxes in terms of student-centred learning and increased engagement. I was speaking to a Grade 3 teacher recently, and she told me that her IWB is used daily and is central to her teaching.

She gave the example of students asking questions about Japan, where she had recently been on holiday. Using the IWB she was able to pull up the world map and show the location of Japan in relation to Australia. When students showed an interest, she was quickly able to show them information about Japanese culture, food and customs.

This very simple example shows how IWB technology can make the art of teaching more student-centred by enabling the learning journey to follow the natural curiosity of the students. The teacher can answer the students' questions accurately, (see my post 'Constant Questions'), interactively and in an engaging way, whereby students direct their own learning.

IWB technology transforms the relationship between teacher and student to one where the teacher is more a facilitator or learning manager and prepared to be guided by the students in their learning. (i.e. Question 2, of Lynch's 8 Learning Management questions: Where does my learner need/want to be?).

Furthermore, the use of IWB's in the classroom shows students how to source information and determine its suitability. This is very much in line with Mode 2 learning and "The trend toward capability rather than competence". Smith & Mienszakowski (2003). In today's knowledge-rich environment students need to know how to source, identify and evaluate the quality of information to suit their purpose.

IWB's are environmentally friendly, save duplication of effort and make teaching more efficient. My post, 'Can't wait to get my hands on one of these', talks about an on-line community where teachers from around the globe share their resources.

According to Engagement Theory, Kearsley & Schneiderman (1999), "students [in order to learn effectively] must be meaningfully engaged in learning activities through interaction with others and worthwhile tasks, and ... technology can facilitate engagement in ways which are difficult to achieve otherwise."

Interaction with others is easily achieved with the use of a Wiki in the classroom. A Wiki enables students to work collaboratively on projects, they are easily updated and can be accessed 24/7 so that students can interact, create and learn whenever they choose. Wikis are well aligned to Engagement Theory, in particular the aspects of Relate, Create and Donate. This blog post, talks about students who worked together to create a Wiki-based, online history book, which was then donated to the global audience via the Internet. Carolyne Thornton created a Wiki for an authentic purpose and here is my Cyclonic Wiki.

Another way to enhance student learning is through Blogging. Over the past 8 weeks I have grown to love my Blog and the freedom it gives me to express my ideas and share my thoughts in a public forum. This technology can do even more for the students in our classrooms, as detailed in my Blog post, 'Why let our students Blog?'

As a Primary teacher, a class Blog will be an effective pedagogical strategy as it offers an engaging way to motivate students and communicate classroom happenings with the outside world. Students can be creative, articulate their thoughts and practice their writing skills, then share them with an audience as small as the classroom or truly global in proportions. Furthermore, the audience can respond! How engaging is that!

I believe Blogs and Wikis could be Active Learning in it's finest form, as students are creating their own work, reflecting upon it, then posting it to a real world audience. Blogs and Wikis enable direct & purposeful experience and an opportunity to immediately use their knowledge, teach others and practice by doing - which according to Dale's Cone and the Learning Pyramid, are the most effective ways to retain new information.

As we all have preferred learning styles and strategies, it is important to use a diverse range of teaching strategies to engage as many learners as possible.

"We all learn differently, and we learn all of the time.

We learn in quiet reflections, in noisy leaps and in social interactions

that arouse our emotions. A wonderful characteristic of learning is that we learn when we feel secure and cosy and also when we feel challenged".

Randall Fielding - Architect

Powerpoint (PPT) is a great tool, as it can incorporate images, diagrams, charts, graphs and visual aids for the visual learners as well as written information and bullet points for the verbal learners. Animations, music and dialogue ensure that PPT presentations cater to a diverse range of learning styles. They can be easily up-dated, re-used and shared, once again making the art of teaching more efficient.

PPT presentations make an excellent introduction to a topic, an easy way to 'chunk' large volumes of information, (i.e. Dimension 2), or enable a succinct summary at the end of a lesson. Students can also learn the art of creating a PPT to communicate their message, keeping in mind some issues discussed in my post on PPT.

Other technologies that cater to a diverse range of learners are Glogs, Avatars and Claymation.

Carolyne Thornton has posted a Glog created by her 7 year old son, which shows just how creative a primary school student can be with technology. Imagine a primary school project presented in a Glog like this!

Avatars have many uses, including use as a quirky introduction or 'hook' for a lesson, as explored in my post 'Vokis are fun'.

I also love Claymation technology. A class of Grade 2 students at my son's school, so enjoyed using Claymation to create their own mini-beasts, that Claymation technology now forms part of the Grade 2 curriculum. Here is a great example of claymation used in a primary setting, created by students from Irving ISD in Texas.

Digital images (e.g. Flickr), and technologies like Picasa, Picnik and Photo Story add another dimension to learning, as students can learn to manipulate images creatively in their school work. Alicia Clarke and Sam Prior have some great ideas for using images from Flickr in the classroom. My post also has some ideas.

I am excited to be embarking on a career in the teaching profession at a time when a paradigm shift is taking place in classrooms of the 21st Century.


References:

Smith, R., Lynch, D. & Meinczakowski, . (2003). "The bachelor of learning management (BLM) in education capability", Change: Tranformations in Education, (6) (2): 23-37. Retrieved April 29, 2010 from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=44465

Prensky, M. (2001), Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, From On the Horizon (NCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001), retrieved on 29 April 2010 from http://www.hfmboces.org/HFMDistrictServices/TechYES/PrenskyDigitalNatives.pdf

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(EDED20491), CQ University, Rockhampton, QLD Australia.

The Albiene Christian University Adams Centre for Teaching Excellence. (2000). Why use active learning? Retrieved on 29 april 2010 from http://www.acu.edu/cte/activelearning/whyuseal2.htm

Quote by Randall Fielding, retrieved on 29 April 2010 from http://www.designshare,com/articles/1/133/fielding_light-learn-color.pdf

Kearsley, G. & Schneiderman, B. (1999) Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved on 29 April 2010 from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Heath, G. (2001) Teacher Education and the New Knowledge Environment, Paper presented to the Australian Association for Educational Research Conference, Fremantle December 2001, retrieved on 29 April 2010 from http://www.aare.edu.au/01pap/hea01582.htm

Marzano, R. and Pickering, D. et al, (1997), Dimensions of Learning Teachers Manual (2nd Edition), McREL.

Felder,R. & Solomon, B. () 'Learning Styles and Strategies', North Carolina State university, Retrieved on 29 April 2010 from http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm
Sample of claymation technology, 'Wilson's World', Irving Independant School District, Irving, Texas, USA, retrieved on 29 April 2010 from http://www.irvingisd.net/claymation/june2007/Wilsons%20World_0001.htm

A sample of fellow students' blogs I have commented on:
http://learningjourneycaro.blogspot.com/2010/04/another-glog.html

http://samanthasjourney-gdlt.blogspot.com/2010/04/school-playground.html

http://talkintoleesha.blogspot.com/2010/04/flickr.html
http://changing-ideas.blogspot.com/2010/04/google-earth.html - comment made about Chloe's great idea for using Google Earth, however my comment is not visible on her blog.