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
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