Week 6 | Digital technologies - mobile learning

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Is it time to use mobile phones in the classroom?

To consider this option schools must critique the value of these devices. They must also mentor and prepare students for using these devices responsibly (The New Media Consortium, 2011).
Mobiles enable ubiquitous access to information, social networks, tools for learning and productivity, and much more. Mobile devices continue to evolve, but it is the increased access to affordable and reliable networks that is driving this technology now. Mobiles are capable computing devices in their own right — and they are increasingly a user’s first choice for Internet access.” (The Horizon Report: 2011 Edition, p5).

But. Is there room for another electronic device in the classroom?

In her paper, Chronaki (2000) cites (Negroponte, 1995, Windschitl, 1998) that ICT or new technologies promise fast access to information and a new way of communicating, networking, teaching, learning and researching. Mobile phones would appear to be the next level in accessing this information. According to an article written by Wei and Leung (1999), research found that the classrooms are among the least acceptable places to have or use mobile devices, Campbell (2004) found similar results. What makes this so? could it be our perceptions? most likely yes!

The current view is that mobile phone are a distraction. Period. Most of us are frustrated when a phone rings in class or people need to 'duck out' to make or take a call. Really our views are set, mobile phones for communication only, and NOT! for advancement or redefinition of classroom tasks. So what we need is a change of thought; a different perception. Mifsud (2003), as cited in the Department of Communication Studies (2005) writes that some people noted the potential of the technology to support anytime, anywhere learning, and it will be researchers like this that could get the ball rolling. But not only them, but us as teachers. We need to realise that technology is not segregated anymore, it is integrated. 

Source: Google Images

What do I mean by this. Technology is no longer, mobile phones or laptops or iPads. It is the software or programs that drive them. The internet. Microsoft. What device this is accessed through is irrelevant. 

Listed below are just some of the ways that mobiles can be supported in the classroom; and when you view these applications, think about how similar or different they are, when used in another type of device.

• Calculators (standard and scientific)
• Podcasts
• PIcture to text recording of information (evernote/onenote)
• Digital storytelling
• Science data recording (graphs)
• e-reader apps
• Vocabulary and word definitions
• TImers
• SMS as reminders for homework, materials to bring, or lessons cancelled

Are there concerns about privacy and safety, you bet!

Concerns about health are another issue raised by Miller (2011). Whilst the Education Departments do not discriminate between mobile phones and other devices (for instance the South Australian Department) the perception still remains that mobile phones are more dangerous for children than other internet-enabled devices, and strong guidelines are in place in most schools forbidding mobile phone use. 

In my synopsis, this week Bianca Hewes who teaches 9th grade english at Davidson High School, NSW, talks about work spaces but also contained in the video is a brief mention of the use of mobile phones in her classroom. The information begins at 2:55.

Week 6 Assessment | Reflective Synopsis

What is the purpose of the SAMR model?

Each type of technology whether it is an application, program or other, are useful for classroom learning, their value, however must be monitored by some type of scaffolding tool. In this case, the SAMR model (Refer to week 1 blog). The design of this framework helps teachers and instructors manage the level of value each type of technology has. Beginning at the substitution level and ending at the redefinition level. 

The design of the SAMR model suggests that every type of technology used, from word processing to global collaboration with the internet, in learning sits at a particular level; as a substitution/augmentation/modification/redefinition, regarding its usefulness and productivity, either in the classroom, or in the workplace. 

Source: Google Images

All technology is useful, but not all technology is beneficial, especially in the classroom environment. Teachers need to know what technology is going to affect their student's learning in ways that allow students to understand topical ideas that are presented to them. In the Australian Curriculum, students develop ICT capability as they learn to use ICTs effectively and appropriately to access, create and communicate information and ideas, solve problems and work collaboratively in all learning areas at school, and in their lives beyond school. The capability involves students in learning to make the most of the digital technologies available to them, adapting to new ways of doing things as technologies evolve and limiting the risks to themselves and others in a digital environment (ACARA, 2014).

The AITSL lists a number of standards (7 in fact) that teachers must use to guide them in effective classroom practice; 1. Know your learners, 2. Know the content and how to use it, 3. plan for and implement effective teaching and learning, 4. create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments, 5. assess and provide feedback and report on student learning, 6. engage in professional learning, and 7. engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community

ICT Elaborations for Graduate Teacher

What are the requirements for 21st century learners? 

Bianca Dawes discusses how ICT's are included into her classes and how the Australian Curriculum supports these new types of learners.
Bianca Hewes is an English teacher at Davidson High School, NSW. She utilises project-based learning in her classroom in order to promote the general capabilities in a 21st century environment. In this video, she discusses how her approach enriches student learning.

   

Knowing current legislation is paramount to ensure student privacy and safety. Each school needs a 'cyber team' that monitors and revises cybersafety behaviours, codes of conduct and policies, curriculum resources updates keeping parents and students in the loop about risks and solutions. Check out what I had to say in my week 2 blog on classroom tasks: Ethics/Legalities/Safety

So what other fundamentals contribute to 21st century students?

Understanding the cognitive thinking. 

Source: Google Images

In my week 2 blogs, I reflected on one of the different learning styles 'Connectivism'. This is where learning occurs through special nodes of information in a network or is socially and technologically enhanced through patterns. Click on the link to view this blog; Week 2 reflection blog But is this all we need? It would appear that this is just the 'icing on the cake'. 

Source: Google Images

Classrooms can not survive on just scientific results to drive classroom learning. Knowing how students think is a great tool, but how do teachers incorporate these findings, into classrooms for learning and assessment?

Source: Google Images

DeBono, might have hit the nail right on the head with his six coloured thinking hats! 

How did the scaffold support the collection of a range of perspectives? Using De Bonos thinking hats provided an effective scaffolding tool as it gave the thoughts and ideas I had formed, a direction. Blooms taxonomy is fantastic to produce next level thinkers, however unless those questions are embedded or directed into a framework or, they provide inadequate learning for students. The thinking hats work in two ways, they provide a brain stimulate, in the form of colours (black, red, green, yellow, white & blue) and imagery (the hats), which research is showing, produces a higher, effective and foundationally sophisticated student (Hall, 2014). 

***Read further about the activity using De Bono's hats here.

So how does all this shape up? 

Learning and thinking, reflecting and so on. Well the combination of the SAMR model, and Bloom's revised taxonomy and all this technology would look like this:

Source: Google Images

In a world where digital technology is commonplace, it is no longer acceptable for teachers, parents and the community to bury our heads in the sand. We must know our learners - how they think and respond, and guide them in appropriate behaviours and knowledge them in safety. We must know the legalities - legislations that inform our policies and procedures, and finally, we must know the technologies we are using in the classroom so that we, as teachers, get the best from our students - as the SAMR model suggests, transformative learning only takes place when a task is redesigned and is only possible through the use of the internet. Teachers are no longer the leader to teach technology - most of the students already know what we know. But we are facilitators that guide, coach, support and research current and new technologies that become available to students. 

Week 5 | Group 3 tools - Powerpoint/Prezi/Glogs

Source: Google Images

Source: MS Powerpoint slide

Each type of technology, whether it is applications, programs or other, are useful for classroom learning, their value, however must be monitored by some type of scaffolding tool. In this case, the SAMR model helps teachers and instructors manage the level of value each type of technology has.

This week, grouptools list and examine three different types of presentation applications; Powerpoint, Prezi and Glogster. Included in my blog this week are ways that you could include these programs in the classroom, to create transformative learning for students.

The above slide is a Virtual 3D room (Valley, 2006) and is a creative, albeit, time consuming way for students to brainstorm, categorise and display informative ideas on any given topic. 
These rooms at this stage are static (non-interactive), and multifunctional, meaning that they could be applied cross-curriculum and throughout all! grade levels. 
As a cross-curriculum use, they would originate in an arts' class, then cross over to any of the other subject areas of maths, english, science etcetera. 
As a constructing exercise, these 3D rooms would work best at a year 5 level. However, in saying this, they would work just as effectively as an instructional tool for prep right through year 12.
Below is a virtual 3D museum that students can use to display information about topics they have researched. The example I have used is the grand entry template, containing 5 rooms, and this will also be the way in which I will display weeks 6's assessment. 

To view this room and interact with it, click on the link below. The second link is the embedded static version.

Virtual 3D room_Museum of e-learning journey

For a video tutorial click here

GrandEntry_VirtualMuseum e-learning

PLUS	MINUS	INTERESTING
Very Engaging	Time consuming	Might consider using this for the week 6 assessment.
Creative	Takes work to add in information	Can I do this? Yes I can!
Effective way of organising information	Some pictures do not format well in the design squares.	This will collate all my images well.
Effective tool for assessments	Needs time to collate and organise information. Students might get lost in the creation. Space for text is also an issue. This style has character limits, and information may not include all necessary parts.	This will collate all my learned knowledge effectively.
Visually stimulating	Too, stimulating. Information may be lost in the design and become disinterested.	Well this is what it is all about.

It can also be used creatively as a whole class interactivity tool (see Mouse Mischief. Mouse Mischief allows you to use multiple mouses (up to 25 if using Vista or Windows 7) in a single interactive PowerPoint. And it is VERY easy to do. There are even downloadable lessons for you to use (Central Queensland University & Fasso, 2014). Using the same concept as the 3D virtual rooms, some other ways that powerpoints can be used, for transformative learning are;

• Bookshelves  - Using a bookshelf concept, students place pictures of their recently read books on their home slide and provide synopses or personal recommendations about the books on the linked slides. Example: VIrtual bookshelves (Valley, 2006).

• Book reports - Using simulated book tabs, students declare their knowledge of concepts such as plot, setting, characters, genre, and vocabulary as it relates to their selected books. See an example of a Nevada Report using this technique (Valley, 2006).

• Timelines - (PPT version/HTML version): Using pre-existing timelines or based on self-created timelines, students create links to information about each node on their timeline (Valley, 2006).

• Maps - (PPT version/HTML version): Using an exiting map, students create and place buttons over different locations on the map.* These buttons, then, link to pages referencing each of those locations.

Photo to Pencil

One of the drawbacks of PowerPoint is that it is linear. For your sequential learners this is ideal. For your global learners this is frustrating. Prezi allows you a global perspective on your material whilst allowing you the ability to add minute detail not possible in PowerPoint.

***Hot off the press: Up until recently, because it is flash-based, Prezi could not be viewed on an iPod, iPhone or iPad. There is now a Prezi app available (Central Queensland University & Fasso, 2014).

Why would it be useful? 
Prezi are useful because of the way the can move and zoom. Students who have a lot of detail in their presentations can zoom into specific detail that is not visible in a normal vision range. 

How can you use Prezi to incorporate movement, images, video, audio, text?
Prezi has changed immensely since my use of it in 2012. There are many more graphics and templates to choose from, so the inclusion of images, video, audio, text are easily added by hovering the mouse over a window or icon and clicking.

Maths Prez (I am unsure if this link will work)

Source: PosterMyWall

Glogster EDU is an online platform for digital learning enabling more than 14 million students and 1.5 million teachers worldwide to adopt modern principles and methods of learning by using the interface of Glog® and K-12 qualified content from Glogpedia.

Our easy-to-use platform with proven results empowers students and educators to recapture enthusiasm and motivation for learning while having fun.

Glogster identifies a range of learning benefits in using glogs

Source: PosterMyWall

My presentation using a glog:

Science Glog

Week 4 | Group 2 tecnologies - images, video and audio tools

This week is discussing images, videos and audio mediums for enhanced learning. 

Source: Pickaface.net

Curriculum and assessment have always been driven by theories of reading and writing print based text (Walsh & IGI Global, 2009), with further research needed around the effects of readers using various visual, aural, spatial and textual modes, separately or simultaneously, in digital texts. One question that Walsh and IGI Global (2009) ask is; do students read digital text for meaning the same way as they read print-based text? The answer, according to Wolpert (2009) is no!

Wolpert suggests that while technology is playing a bigger role in people's lives increasing our visual skills, the skills of critical thinking and analysis have declined. She writes that, research noted changes in student's learning as a result of their exposure to technology, like video games and television, but that the enhancement in thinking which engages imagination that is gained through reading for pleasure, is lost. However, not all! is lost, and images in moderation within classroom lessons can actually enhance student learning. "See-Think-Wonder" questioning is purposeful not only in general learning that takes place in the classroom, but also in assessments where students need guidance and support to complete tasks efficiently.

So what is See-Think-Wonder? its purpose is to emphasise observation for thinking and interpreting images found in books and online. “Seeing” provides the opportunity to look carefully, to more fully observe, and to notice before interpreting. The placement of “Wonder” as the final step of the routine ensures that learners have had time to take in new information through careful observation, think about and synthesize this information, and then identify additional wonderings.


To read further about this scaffold technique click here

A main reason Wolpert states as the issue is, most visual media are "real-time" media and therefore do not allow time for reflection, analysis or imagination. Studies in this area confirm her theories stating that reading develops imagination, induction, reflection and critical thinking, as well as vocabulary. But it is reading for pleasure that develops these skills and not other types of reading, such as reading to learn a new skill or attribute.

This could be the reason that blogs will almost always fail, because the idea is, that blogs are meant for reading pleasure including many images, audio files and video content, but they are inherently digital, and more often create attention diversions in learning because the internet is a bigger distraction.

The use of technology in the classroom is neither good or bad, but needs to be monitored and scaffolded for effective student learning. There is balance that needs to be maintained so students get the most from technology. And, as the global market progresses there are new roles yet to be filled and current jobs being filled where the specific skills of visual intelligence are required - an example is of this is laparoscopic surgery.

Source: Picture to people

Video blogs, relatively easy to create given you have a webcam, and let us notice, how they are built into laptops and other electronic equipment. Used everywhere now to reflect, and turning up regularly in reality tv shows and competition programs like House Rules, The block and My Kitchen Rules. 

Above is my own sample taken whilst in Melbourne on practical, it runs only for a couple minutes and the quality is poor, but it was great to have a go and seems to suit this weeks blogging topic quite well. As technology increases, and sites such as YouTube, Facebook and blogs emerge in popularity, we are becoming our own designing, creating and authoring publishers. The introduction of Web 2.0 (interactive internet) has allowed students to participate in, not only their own text, but the text of other students. This is where wikis and padlet, can begin teaching students how to interact with ICT's, whilst growing in confidence to use other forms of multimedia. 

Source: Photo to Picture

The use of videos have become a valuable tool in reaching out to some students to convey understanding of ideas and concepts. Because programs like Youtube allow many different types of authors to upload content, many learning styles can be discovered and matched to assist in understanding. This YouTube video is one I also had a go at. I became the creator, editor and publisher of this video, which I did for making ice cream without a freezer. I am not great at editing so it was filmed pretty much as you see it using an iPad. 

What is a podcast?

A podcast is a series of regularly-updated audio or video files that can be played on a number of devices (either portable, such as mp3 players or mobile phones, but 
also static, such as desktop computers) and are distributed over the internet via a subscription service.

Podcasts are a great tool for auditory learners, as teachers can record and playback lesson content for students. Files can be added to usb's, emailed home and added to music devices, this means that students are no longer stationary but kinesthetic in learning. 

Podcasts are also able to free up time within lessons to teach content as the preparatory time is completed through the podcast, then when students attend classes, that time is used for teaching the lesson content. 

Easi speak mics are a fun-and-easy wireless recorder that encourages students to speak up! Just one button to record, then simply play back and listen (up to 4 hours of audio). This had extended uses across the curriculum, and include, oral language, fluency, phonics, speech therapy, intervention, math facts, podcasts and more. It comes with built-in USB to charge via your computer and download (PC, Mac). And it can be uploaded in WAV or MP3 files to digital portfolios for authentic assessment, or share with other educators or parents. The integrated speaker also offers quality playback for instant self-assessment. These microphones are also portable and come in many colours retailing for around $75AUD. 
See more at: http://www.learningresources.com/product/easi-speak--8482-+usb+recorder.do#sthash.f3N34v6h.dpuf



References


Pickaface.net. (2014). Avatar creator. Retrieved July 2014, from http://pickaface.net/

Picture to people. (2014). Free online photo editors and text generators. Retrieved July 2014, from http://www.picturetopeople.org/

Walsh, M., & IGI Global. (2009). Pedagogic potentials of multimodal literacy. In Handbook of research on new media literacy at the K-12 level: Issues and challenges. Australia: IGI Global (701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Hershey, Pennsylvania, 17033, USA.

Wolpert, S. (2009, January 27). Is technology producing a decline in critical thinking and analysis. Retrieved July 2014, from http://newsroom.ucla.edu

Week 3 | Digital tool 2: Wikis for Collaborative Learning

Source: Pagemodo

Until now wikis to me, have been tumultuary and claustrophobic. Which is to say - not entirely successful. I was successful at creating a wiki once, that was before they decided to change the format of them and hit the user-friendliness of it out of the ballpark. 

Source: Google Images

Although, through researching ways that wikis can be used inside the classroom, I might well be on a home run. 

Source: Google Images

Wikis, by definition are editable pages or to liken to, an endless supply of butchers paper. How they are used in the classroom, and their effectiveness is entirely up to the teacher and to assist in ideas, here are some ways that would benefit student learning. 

• Collaborate on projects - Products of research projects, especially collaborative group projects: war battles, artistic movements, the Australian electoral process, diseases and prevention, etc. Remember that the products do not have to be simply writing. They can include computer files, images, videos, etc. Creating an organizational structure for the content is an important part if the project.

• Share information - images, data etc - An FAQ (or NSFAQ- Not So Frequently Asked Questions) wiki on your current unit topic. Have students post KWL entries and continue adding questions that occur to them as the unit progresses. As other students add their “answers,” the wiki will evolve into a student-created guide to the topic. Example: Civil War FAQ or Biomes FAQ. You may find that the FAQ process can entirely supplant traditional classroom activities, especially if you seed a few questions as the teacher. This would also depend on whether you have consistent computer access on a daily basis, a luxury many schools do not have.

• Technical information - Study Guides made by student groups for themselves and peers.

• Free expression - Articles by students who miss school for family trips,  written about their travels on the class wiki, relating what they see to concepts learned before they left: mammals I saw on the way to Disney, geometric shapes in the Magic Kingdom, the most cost-effective lunches while traveling, etc. Remember: hotels usually have Internet access. Make the world a part of your classroom!

• Professional development workshops - What I Think Will Be on the Test wiki: a place to log review information for important concepts throughout the year, prior to taking the “high stakes” test, AP test, or final exam. Students add to it throughout the year and even from year to year.

• Regular student participation - Vocabulary lists and examples of the words in use.

While these points mimic a blog there are some differences;

What is the difference between a wiki and a blog?

 A blog, or web log, shares writing and multimedia content in the form of “posts” (starting point entries) and “comments” (responses to the posts). While commenting, and even posting, are open to the members of the blog or the general public, no one is able to change a comment or post made by another. The usual format is post-comment-comment-comment, and so on. For this reason, blogs are often the vehicle of choice to express individual opinions.

A wiki has a far more open structure and allows others to change what one person has written. This openness may trump individual opinion with group consensus. (The Source for Learning, 2014)

So in a snap shot, wiki pages evolve because they can be added, changed and deleted by the people who are given permission, but a blog is only evolving if people post comments on specific posts, of which can not be changed, other than by the individual who wrote the post. Used in this way, wikis can become a transformational level of learning for students, whereby, modification allows for collaboration and shared feedback on ideas and work tasks, and at the redefinition level, where students could connect to another classroom in another state or country to write narratives about historical or current events using written, video or audio which is then embedded into the wiki page.

Source: Pagemodo

Week 3 | Digital tool 1: Blogs for learning

This week's first reflective blog is about the use of the weblog tool to enhance classroom interactions.

Firstly to be a successful blogger, you must enjoy reading. Because blogging is first, and foremost about reading. As Stephen Downes writes,

"blogging isn't really about writing at all, but rather more the end result of the process". 

Blogs provide a way for students to reflect, expand and carry on with a topic or idea, to engage and encourage other audiences to write and think. In his article, Educational Blogging, Downes (2004) writes about five ways that blogs can enhance education in classrooms;

Source: Fodey.com

So

However, while blogging is a fun way of engaging students in creative writing, it can have its minuses. The P.M.I chart below provides some of the advantages. disadvantages and interesting bits researched.

Note: This PMI chart was created in word, then snipped and saved as a jpeg file, which can be inserted into blogs.

The real drawback I notice in using a blog is the lack of student interaction with them. After all, don't we write so people will read them! and then respond with their own thoughts? (as in, we want people to know what we are thinking, and then tell us they feel the same or not) And if people are not reading them, why would they want to comment. This is where blogging is losing the interest of would be journalists everywhere. I therefore see blogging as an enhancement tool at the augmentation level, and nothing more than a substitution (pen to keyboard) tool with some functionality (being able to share it with others and auto save).

 Remember: Reflection is a complex process for students and requires significant skill in analysis, evaluation and synthesis. Therefore, if you are asking your students to journal in a Blog, consider ways to scaffold their thinking to reflect the learning they are required to demonstrate, such as De Bonos six thinking hats, or Blooms revised taxonomy questions.

This week I have also experimented with adding gadgets to the blog. This was fun, although frustrating at times, especially when trying to find placements and  adjusting the size. I continue to experiment with different tools and images to add flair to the blog and hopefully capture readers.