Synopsis s0176023

Synopsis

In today’s world, students want and need engagement in their learning, (Prensky, 2001) therefore it is important that teachers are catering for their needs and constantly analysing new and effective ways to engage their students. As society eventually becomes a knowledge-based economy, more emphasis is placed on the role of information, technology and learning, because they are now considered the drivers of economic growth and productivity. (OECD, 1996, p. 5) Because of this, the incorporation of digital tools within classrooms is now being encouraged to create opportunities for children to understand and apply knowledge using technology and become more engaged with learning. As Prensky (2001) discusses in his text, children in today’s society are constantly surrounded by the latest technologies from the minute they wake up to the minute they go to sleep. This is certainly having an effect on the students that have ‘digital immigrants’ teachers because students are going to school and simply not engaging or relating to the work. ‘The big difference from today is this: the kids back then didn’t expect to be engaged by everything they did. There were no video games, no CDs, no MP3s—none of today’s special effects.’ (Prensky, 2001)

With this in mind, Managing E-Learning is such a vital course to engage in as the teachers of today’s society are now being expected to incorporate ICT in the classroom in a way that enhances learning and engagement. Throughout this synopsis, I am going to analyse my journey over the last several weeks and some of the digital tools I have explored, the important role they can play in an educational setting and the benefits this can create. When I first read through the course profile, I immediately felt nervous and anxious about my future performance in this subject due to lack of prior knowledge on what exactly e-learning was. This was because I had never really taken the time to stop and think about the important use of technologies in the 21st century and the reasons why ICT should be included within the classroom. After engaging within the modules for this course, I can now say that I now am much more aware of how to incorporate ICT into the classroom appropriately.

One of the first tools I came to be familiar with was a blog.(Functionality of Blog and Wikis and Blogs) According to TTOJET (2010) creating blogs are not only used for enhancing writing-reading skills, analytic, critical thinking skills, supporting interaction, communication and discussion, but also for sharing and publishing artefacts like e-portfolios. TTOJET (2010) also believe that online blogging encourages expression and development of relationships which is certainly positive for those students suffering from social skills. Personally, from using a blog for this course, I have really come to value that it is a page where only I can post on my own opinions, thoughts and learning’s whilst still being able to view the work of other students. I think this would be a positive for students as well and I will be sure that I incorporate blogs into my classroom. Another positive with using blogs is the integration of various Habits of mind. (Marzano and Pickering, 2006) By students collaborating on blogs, it is giving them the opportunity to respond accurately to feedback and participate in self and peer assessment which all contributes to enhancing their learning.

 Another tool I explored which is similar to a blog was a wiki. (See Wiki and Blogs) Although I did not use my wiki as much as my blog, I can certainly see the benefits it can create- especially with the ability to have multiple authors. This could encourage collaborating as a class to engage within tasks such as an exam review page, vocabulary page, debates, a virtual reality, scrapbooking and specific tasks such as creating a story etc. I have come to realise that wiki’s are a great and effective way to encourage collaboration between students, a concept that Vygotsky (1962) agrees with also. One of the main principles that Vygotisky (1962) believed was that “full cognitive development requires social interaction” therefore making wiki the perfect place for this to occur. Educause (2005) states that ‘Educators and students, as well as amateurs and professionals(artists, writers, collectors), have found wikis useful in expanding community involvement and interest in their subjects and activities’ which therefore proves that wiki is an engagement learning tool. There are endless possibilities when using wiki and they all encourage students to get involved, collaborate and share ideas and opinions.

 Another digital tool I encountered during this learning journey was a Weebly. After going to www.weebly.com I was able to construct my very own website. I found this similar to making a blog in the way that as the owner of the website, I was entitled to choose what content goes on the page and how it is displayed. The use of a weebly could also be used as a class which once again aligns with Vygotsky’S (1962) perspective that ‘cognitive development requires social interaction’. A positive aspect about weebly is that according to Purdue University (2010) ‘there are several privacy options to further protect students and teachers alike. The teacher can set sites to only be viewable by users from that class.’ This is definitely a positive aspect as it allows teachers to have control over what students are able to access making it far safer and more productive for both students and teachers. Another positive as stated by Purdue University (2010) is that with the drag-and-drop interface is still used, making it easy for those with little computer experience to jump right in. This is encouraging to those who are still referred to as ‘digital immigrants’ as Prensky’s describes them.

Another digital tool I explored and used was a voki. As I hope to be an early childhood teacher, I found this tool would be very suitable to use with the earlier years because it is fun, easy to use and very engaging. Using a voki would be a great idea to introduce a topic or to play a specific role in an area of work. (Squidoo, 2010) Because there are such a wide variety of voki designs, a teacher could even use an animal wiki to play a role and speak specific facts in a unit of work based on animal. According to Squidoo (2010) using voki’s are effective for those students who are more audio visual learners. They are also a great way for students that lack in social skills to become more involved and to share comments and opinions with other students.

PowerPoint’s are yet another digital tool that I explored during this journey. This digital tool is certainly one that I was very familiar with due to using it all throughout school. Microsoft PowerPoint’s are free, easy to use and easy to access. The positive aspect about PowerPoint is the large amount of reasons they can be used for. Because they hold music, videos, pictures, animations and a whole lot more, they are very much suitable for any situation and if created properly can be suitable for nearly all types of learning styles such as aural, visual and verbal. PowerPoint’s can also hold digital tools such as podcasts, vodcasts, digital images and links to wikis, blogs or weebly websites. (Please refer to PowerPoint’s) which once again encourages more ICT within the classroom. For example, if students were engaging in a unit of work on the sun, the Learning Manager could include real life images in the presentation which is then encouraging authentic learning. PowerPoint’s could also be used as an assessment task for learners to either display their knowledge in a presentation, their ability to use digital tools or as an assessment task for a particular topic.

 Another digital tool I used was a mind map, also known as a concept map. These tools are particularly effective in encouraging higher order thinking and creativity. Creating Mind Maps encourages students to make meaningful links between different information- connecting new with the old. A positive aspect about Mind Maps is that students are able to create a visual representation of what they understand and are able to view it at a later date. With easy access to online websites that allow users to create their free maps, students can easily do this in the school environment or as homework. I would use concept maps when new information has been learnt or as a reflection on knowledge learnt throughout lessons and as stated earlier- connecting new with the old. These would be more suitable for the older grades as they would be able to understand and appreciate it more however concept maps could maybe be created in the younger years as a class task.

Other tools such as Podcasts, videos for learning, image editors, Google Earth and MovieMaker’s  are also useful digital tools to be used within the classroom. Each individual tool has its own benefit to enhancing students learning when used in the right context for the right students.

Because the implementation of digital tools is going to play such an important role in my classroom, I thought it would be important to research some of the legal, ethical and safety precautions when engaging in e-learning to ensure students are provided with a secure environment and I am responsibly using digital tools. Refer to Operating safely, legally and ethically when using e-learning. With the recent push for Learning Managers to incorporate ICT in the classroom it is important that I know how to do it safely, legally and ethically and I thought it would be useful for myself to do some of my own research. (Refer to Operating safely, legally and ethically when using e-learning)

After engaging within this course, I have come to realise the large range of complex technologies now available in today’s society. Ultimately, the tools that I have analysed and evaluated are the technologies suitable for the needs of students in the 21st century. With a productive pedagogic system linked to the incorporation of these tools, students learning will definitely be enhanced. With a large range of students now classed as ‘digital natives’, it is important that we as Learning Manager’s are catering for these students needs and incorporating ICT within the classroom. When I become a Learning Manager, I will certainly be implementing each of the technologies I have learnt about into my learning experiences throughout any grade or class.  Although I have learned how to effectively use these digital tools, I realise that technology is constantly expanding and it is up to me as a life-long learner to continue to enhance my knowledge around e-learning. This course has been a fun and knowledge filled journey and as a Learning Manager it is my responsibility to continue building my appreciation for technology to ensure I can cater for the ‘digital native’ students allowing them to actively engage within my lessons.

Comments to other students

PowerPoint's

Wikis and Blogs

Learning Design Frameworks

Google Earth

Reference List

Marzano, R.J& Pickering, D.J. (2006) Dimensions of Learning: Teachers manual (2nd ed) Heatherton, VIC. Hawker Brownlow Educationb

The Turkish Online Journal of Education Technology (2010) Investigating the usage of blogs in educational settings from multiple intelligences perspectives. Volume 9, Issue 2. Retrieved August 25 from http://tojet.net/articles/9215.pdf

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (2008) Learning Online.
Retrieved August 25 from http://www.education.vic.gov.au/management/elearningsupportservices/www/default.html

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Retrieved July 23, 2009, fromhttp://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Vygotski, L.S (1962). Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Purdue University (2010) Information Technology at Purdue: Weebly. Atlassian Confluence. Retrieved August 26 from

Educause (2005) Learning Initiative: 7 things you should know about Wiki. Retrieved August 26 from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7004.pdf

Effective Teaching with PowerPoint: A Learning Theory Approach (ID: SWR0417)

https://wiki.itap.purdue.edu/display/INSITE/Weebly#Weebly-education

Squidoo (2010) Voki- Avatars in Education. Retrieved August 25 from
http://www.squidoo.com/voki

MovieMaker

MovieMakers are a fun, easy and free tool to use. I quickly created this short movie to give a basic example of what the program 'MovieMaker' allows you to do. In the classroom context, students could view previously made movies by the teacher as a hook to engage the learners. Whilst this is occuring students could write down notes or dot points on the movie and the lesson could expand from there. Some positives of using 'Movie Maker' in an educational setting.

POSITIVES
- it is free
- can be used to engage students or a hook
- relatively easy to use
- is a greate and effective assessment task idea
- provides stimulation for visual and auditory learners
- allows students to synthesise their ideas by gathering information and displaying it through one presentation
- could be used as a hook

NEGATIVES
- may be difficult to use in large classes because their are many functions that need to be learned
- teachers need to be careful that it has relevance to what the students have been learning.
- risks students drifting off task

Engagement Theory VS Big6

After browsing through Kearsley and Shneiderman's text 'Engagement Theory' and Eisenberg and Berkowitz (2001) text 'Big6 Theory' I have come to the conclusion that I really value aspects from both learning frameworks. I believe the 'Big6' theory is certainly a great example of what occurs when students are learning but on the other hand, Kearsley and Shneiderman's theory focuses on engaging the learner's whilst using technology- based teaching, which is what needs to occur if productive learning is going to take place to begin with.

Because of this, I can not see any reason why Kearsley and Shneiderman's 'Engagment Theory' could not be used in conjunction with Eisenberg's and Berkowitz 'Big6' theory. To me, the 'Big6' theory is what commonly happens without thinking because that is what needs to occur for the learner's to understand. I believe before any of the Big6 theory 6 steps can occur however- (defining the task, seeking strategies, determining all possibilities, locating and acessing, using information, synthesising and evaluating students) (Eisenberg, Berkowitz 2001) Learning Managers need to be creating lesson plans that engage students to their full potential by working in groups on project based learning with authentic focuses. (Keirsley and Shneiderman, 1999)
When I become a Learning Manager, I am sure that my learning experiences will be based around both of these frameworks as they both have very important aspects within each of them. In today's society however, technology based learning is being pushed into place because it is how the students of the 21st century are engaging more within their work. My final thought is that if students aren't engaged in the first place then there is no point following through the Big6 theory steps because students won't be learning to their full potential or interested in what they are meant to be doing.

Reference List
Eisenberg, M. Berkowitz, B (2001) Big6 Theory, Skills Overview. Retrieved August 26 from
http://www.big6.com/2001/11/19/a-big6%E2%84%A2-skills-overview/

Kearsley, G. Shneiderman, B. (1999) Engagement Theory. A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved August 26 from
http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Google Earth

Besides the fact that Google Earth is an effective tool to use in learning experience plans, it is also a lot of fun. After engaging with the tool at http://earth.google.com/, I was able to see my house and many known parts of Gympie which I found extremely interesting and fun. Using this in an educational setting would be ideal in the KLA of SOSE but really could be incorporated into other areas if needed. Ideally I believe this would be more effective for the older students compared to early grades because they would appreciate the idea more and understand the technology side of it a lot easier. If it had to be used in a grade 1 classroom, as a class students and the teacher could search specific places and look at the different ways to view them. Google Earth is an effective tool and I am sure it will be implemented into my classroom at some point in time no matter what year level I have.

Google Earth. (2009). Google earth. Retrieved August 14, 2009, from
http://earth.google.com/thanks.html

Videos for Learning

On today's world wide web, there are thousands of videos that can be easily accessed that would be very effective to use in a classroom across all key learning areas. Using a video as a hook is a great idea because children will immediately become drawn to watching a video.Video's can also be used to enhance other tools such as a blog or wiki. Because videos can be easily accessed online, it is important as a Learning Manager to ensure that safety precautions are in place to ensure students do not view any inappropriate content.

Here is a video taken from www.youtube.com that would be effective in engage and further students knowledge on the sun.



Reference
NASA- Sun for Kids (2007)
Video retrieved August 26 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK4a7kWb6Ro

Operating safely, legally and ethically when using e-learning

As a future Learning Manager it is our role to ensure the safety of our students at all times- this includes when accessing the web also. In today’s society there are many things that need to be taken into consideration when students are online such as responsible use of digital technolgies and cyber safety. As this is such an important part of being a Learning Manager, I thought it would be useful to do some research on ways to ensure e-learning is undertaken safely, legally and ethically. After browsing the web I came across another Australian Government website that covers these areas and gives some effective ideas.
Through browsing through this website, I feel teachers can gain an understanding of their expectations in the school environment and how they can promote this to others and around their school. If anyone would like to browse cybersafety and the responsible use of digital technologies, the link is
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/management/elearningsupportservices/www/default.htm

Weebly

Making a weebly website was certainly very straight forward and simple to create. By following the instructions included on moodle and the straight forward website I feel that I have a basic understanding of how to create a website effectively. My website can be found at http://kimsweebly.weebly.com/

STRENGTH
Easy and straightforward to use
Students have the ability to create their very own personalised website with their own ideas and creations
Free to use
Can be accessed from any computer- not just in the classroom
Can be shown to parents in home environment which encourages students to feel more valued to have their work acknowledged

WEAKNESSES
May be hard for all students to have access to a computer with internet outside of school time
Depending on age and ability of students, more than one teacher or helper may be required in the classroom
Can lead to students being distracted by other websites whilst using the internet

OPPORTUNITIES
Gives students opportunities to further their ICT knowledge
Allows parents to view childrens work and become more involved with their learning
Can be used in any subject

THREATS
Lack off access to internet
The website does have a cost for some uses

Overall I found using weebly very effective and I will certainly be using this in the classroom when I become a Learning Manager. With the many positives, I feel it would only be beneficial for the students and encouraging for students to create their own personalised website with their very own ideas and design.

Voki's

Using a voki enables people to create their own digital person that can represent one’s self or another character. After going to http://www.voki.com/create.php, I followed the easy steps to create my own speaking voki! First I chose my character, edited her hair, makeup, clothes etc, then I simply recorded my own voice and uploaded it to the page. After these few simple steps I had my own digital character. I believe using a voki would be very effective in an educational setting as it could be used to introduce a new topic of work or for online classrooms and learning. As the voki will speak either an uploaded recorded or a typed message, using a Voki in a blog or wiki would be an excellent way for students and teachers to communicate using voice. Although I have never previously used or created my own voki, I found the website made it very straight forward and easy to create from the easy layout and instructions. This would be ideal to incorporate into an educational setting.

PowerPoint's

I believe PowerPoint’s are certainly one of the most recognised and popular way of presenting information in the world. I can remember using PowerPoint’s throughout Primary school and the enjoyment and satisfaction that came with using this simple tool. I believe in an educational setting there are a lot of positives that using PowerPoint’s can create. These include:

• By using a PowerPoint during a speech or lecture helps to add value to the speech whilst helping children to engage more and stay interested
• Using a PowerPoint as a hook will immediately draw in the children attentions- especially when video links, pictures and animations are used
• Students using PowerPoint’s as part of classroom work or assessment will further their knowledge on ICT, engage them more and enrich their work. Students could create PowerPoints as part of group work or individual assessment
• PowerPoint's are extremely easy and effective to use therefore is a great idea for children to create to boost their confidence in using ICT's.

Personally, I always enjoyed whenever my teacher used a PowerPoint as it was certainly more engaging then listening to a boring and repetitive speech. With the use of special effects such as sounds, pictures, motion pictures, videos and links it certainly is one of the most effective ways to bring some life into your classroom.
When I become a Learning Manager, I will certainly ensure that the use of PowerPoints is evident and commonly used within the classroom as they are extremely beneficial for both the students and myself. There are certainly no limits to using PowerPoint and a range of endless possibilites which I look forward to engaging with in the future.

Wikis and Blogs

Wikis are used to display content such as results, ideas and information. They can be used by any person that has access to a computer with an internet connection and will continuously grow with content. For educational purposes, wiki's can be used for communication with students' parents or questions regarding assignments.

A blog is a website that is usually constantly updated with diary-type commentary and links to other articles and websites. One of the differences between a wiki and a blog is that a blog is usually a single author and a wiki may have multiple authors that have the ability to edit the page at any time.

Personally I would prefer to use a blog as I find that using a blog is clearer  to understand with an easier straightforward layout, however in saying this, I can certainly see the positives using a Wiki for educational purposes.  In a classroom setting it would really come down to the the task and the individual abilities of the children wether or not I would use a wiki or blog. If the children were working on a specific topic, a Wiki may be more effective to use as the children could collaborate and contribute to the page through a discussion.

As a lifelong learner and a future Learning Manager, I realise that I will have to start engaging within my Wiki  more and not favour the use of a blog instead because I realise they will both be just as important as eachother within the classroom context in the future.

Mind Maps

Mind maps are a great and effective tool to encourage creative and critical thinking. The concept map above shows some of the main ideas I have learnt about in e-learning as of yet. Although I have never used a Mind Map in the past, it was still extremely easy to create and it did not require any software usage. After finding the link through other bloggers, I went to the website (http://bubbl.us/) and was able to create my own mind map of this course- starting with the central idea of e-learning then the links to other areas of learning- collaboration, learning styles and the learning theory. I believe the map above could easily be expanded with more thinking but at the moment shows a basic idea of the course.

Mind maps are a great idea for students/teachers to use as it shows the links between different areas and encourages deeper thinking to engage students. I will certainly be including this within the classroom when I become a teacher.

Learning Styles

After undertaking the online quiz at http://www.learning-styles-online.com/, it can be seen that my two preffered learning styles are Social and Aural. This therefore means that learning experiences that involve lots of group work, interaction and social activities would be more effective for my learning in the social context and for my aural, using lots of sound, rhyme and music in learning experiences would also be effective.

Although it is simple to plan a learning experience around a couple of students' with similiar learning styles, when the number of students in a class can reach up to 30, it becomes a little more difficult for teachers to cater for the different learning styles. It is hard to say exactly what a teacher could do to ensure that all learners are in their preffered learning style environment, however their are a few ways that could enhance the learning experience by catering for diversity. These could be- finding the most common learning styles and incorporating them into lessons, holding group work/single rotations- with each rotation focusing on different learning styles, offering tasks that give students a choice of what context they want to do it or ensuring each learning style is included within the learning experience at some stage. These are some basic ideas to help cater for all students however I am sure solutions would vary depending on the new the class and each individual student.

Functionality of a Blog

Until I engaged within the Modules for this course, I must admit that I had never previously used or created a blog and didn't actually know the context in which they were used for. Thanks to the several links provided on using blogs and being able to view the work of other students', I feel that I have now gained a basic understanding of  how to prepare and use blogs effectively. I understand that creating a professional blog address is not only simple and straightforward but is also very beneficial in a variety of educational settings for students and teachers to engage and collaborate. With blogging being fairly straight forward, I also believe it would be very effective for 'digital immigrants' who have little or no understanding of the use of technology in the 21st century.

Blogging is useful because it allows students and teachers to easily communicate amongst eachother without relying on a specfic place or time as opposed to face-to-face.  They allow users to express their points of view and ideas in an environment that is fun and relatively easy to use, whilst encouraging  interactaction between others. 

I look forward to engaging within this course to find out the never ending list of possibilites blogs can create and the implementation of technology within classrooms.