Synopsis

Throughout this course I have gained an understanding and appreciation of the importance for Learning Mangaers to integrate technology into the classroom environement as it enhances the success of students in their learning experiences. This means that as a Learning Manager I need to not only know how to operate these technologies, but also be able to put them into practice throughout my teaching (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). Prensky (2001) states that Learning Managers how are unable to effectively enhance learning through the use and incorporation of technologies are ‘digital immigrants’. What does this mean for our students? This means that in a classroom full of ‘digital natives’ that they are quickly going to become un-engaged, or ‘enraged’. To ensure that students stay engaged and find success, as Learning Managers we must embrace, train, and engage in digital technologies ourselves, so that we can integrate them into our classrooms (Prensky, 2005). This integration is what the TPACK framework is all about; integrating Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge. All three elements are as fundamental as the other in a 21st Century classroom. Our digital native students require access and enhancement in their learning through technologies just as much as they need the content, and pedagogical strategies.

My prior experiences were believed to have been limited on beginning Managing E-Learning. Through exploring and experimenting with digital tools I have begun to see that I have had more experience than I first thought. In reflecting on the the idea of digital natives and immigrant, I think that I am borderline. I am familiar and competent in some areas, but in others I am very unfamiliar.

 Digital Tool 1 – Space/Online Tools

These tools are all engaging and effective resources for use in the classroom. They have the potential to scaffold learners through tasks, content, research, and learning experiences in ways that Learning Manager’s cannot do on their own. Or at least, not in such an engaging way. These tools allow Learning Managers to links valuable resources, such as video, audio, imagery, and links to external resources in one place. Blogs, wikis, websites are all effective space and online tools for use within the classroom.

Online tools allow students to connect with content information, peers, and higher order thinking through scaffolded and engaging pedagogy within a digital environment. 

The Mobile Phone Wiki allowed me as a future Learning Manager to connect with my Managing E-Learning peers to collaborate, reflect on ‘the use of mobile phones within the classroom’ by promoting Higher Order Thinking. Practice Quiz Wiki My engagement with creating a wiki was from a previous subject throughout my university study. I was able to design a wiki to scaffold students through an investigation of the Technology Practice Cycle.   This wiki was created for use within the Technology KLA, but wikis have the potential to be used within any, and every KLA.

An important thing to remember about online tools such as blogs and wikis is that to ensure that they are set up to be password protected for private viewing. This is important for the personal safety of the students accessing and contributing to them.

Digital Tool 2 – Visual, Video, and Audio Tools

These tools are so vast in their scope. They range from editing and creating images, creating audio and video files, and creating resources which combine a number of these. Movie Maker is a digital tool which is effective in creating resources which incorporate visual and audio elements. My experience with Movie maker was experienced in high school and was the making of a documentary. Podcasts are a great tool for making video and audio resources. For a university assignment I created a podcast to respresent a live feed in a presentation. Both of these tools could be used effectively within the classroom by students to present their work, and to create presentations.

Digital Tool 3 – Presentation Tools

Presentation tools are greta way to engage students in learning; however, the most commonly overused presentation tool is PowerPoint. Many Learning Managers believe that putting their information and a few pictures onsome PowerPoint slides in engaging with, and integrating technology into their classrooms. It may be, but its only a start. I enjoyed playing around with the online presentation tool Glogster. This tool allowed me to make visually inviting and engaging presentations. The example that I made was a photo pinboard for a student in my Sunday School class.  This Glogster was then emailed via a private link to the student’s parent.

One important consideration in the use of Glogster within the classroom is that this tool in an online tool rather than a software (such as PowerPoint). This means that students are not able to sign up with their own login. One option here is to set up a private class login that can be accessed and monitored by students, parents, and teachers of that class.

Glogster has the potential to be used as an introduction or summary in any KLA. It is also a great visual tool for showing a child’s progress through learning experiences. Glogster is a multimedia tools that can incorporate imagery, audio, and video sources into one resource.  

Digital Tool 4 –Animation and Simulation Tools

There is so much potential for using and working with animation and simulation tools within the classroom. As this was a new area of digital tools for me I started simple by experimenting with Voki. Voki has the potential for Learning Managers to introduce ideas using audio, and embedding it into a class blog, wiki, or website. Students would also love to create their own Vokis, however to allow this a class login would need to be created as students are not allowed to create their own account. Vokis allow you to create an speaking avatar. An avatar is an animated representation of yourself. These avatars range from life like cartoons, to monster and animals. You are then able to type or record speech for you avatar to say. Due to technology restraints at the time of experiementation, my voki only has a ‘computer chosen’ voice to speak my typed text. With the correct equipment you are able to record your own voice speaking.

Bubble.us is another effective simulation tool. Bubbl.us is an online concept mapping tool which allows you to collaborate, save, and add more ideas online. I experimented by creating concept map for ideas for a school garden. This would be an effective tool for use within the classroom; however, it is important to consider that it does not enhance learning if simply used on its own. This tool must be incorporated into further teaching, expanding, and refining or ideas and concepts. Another consideration is that this tool, if used for a whole class to add to, has the potential for students to change and remove other's ideas.

Through engaging and exploring a range of digital resources, I, as a future Learning Manger, feel more confident and competent, in integrating technologies into my classroom. I have gained a thorough understanding of the importance and effectiveness of integrating technology with content and pedagogical knowledge when designing learning experiences. In the 21st Century technology is just as an important an element as the content and pedagogy that is applied to teaching and learning. It is not an add-on, it is a fundamental element.  

References

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon, 1-6.

Prensky, M. (2005). Engage Me or Enrage Me - What Today's Learners Demand. Educase Review, 60-62.

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge. Teachers College Record, 1017-1054.

Podcasts

In LM in 2010 my group and I made a mini podcast as a part of our oral presentation. Our podcast was filmed at the beach and showed one of us using sand as an analogy for pedagogy. For our presentation we presented it in the form of a live television show. We used the podcast as though crossing live to Noosa Main Beach. I have been unable to source this podcast amongst my files, and unfortunately I haven't been able to contact former group members.

I found the experience challenging and exciting as we filmed the podcast and explored the best way to show it in our presentation. This same use of technology could be used to enhance learning within the classroom. Filming an experiment or experience at outside of the classroom for children to engage in can allow for experiences that would otherwise be unattainable within the school or class environment. Students could also create their own podcasts at school to show peers, parents, and the community their learning. 

As always, it is important to consider how these are viewed and displayed, as permission and private viewing are important for ensuring ethical, safe, and legal behaviour.

Bubbl.us

I Played around using bubbl.us to create a digital mind map for ideas for a year 5 garden. I got the idea as the year 5 class at one of the local primary schools is generating ideas for their own garden at the moment. The students were asked to all write their ideas onto slips of paper and post them in a box. The teacher then bluetacked the ideas onto the whiteboard to create a mind map on ideas.

Bubble.us has the potential that if a class login was created each student could log in adn add their ideas to the mind map. When all the ideas were added the final collaboration of ideas could be shown using a projector.

Bubble.us can not be used signgularly on its own for learning, but can be used as a tools to enhance it. P - Bubbl.us can be saved and more ideas can be added at a later time. It is a great tool for collaborating one person, or many peoples ideas in one place. As a digital tool bubbl.us can be saved and accessed again in years to come, without risk of paper copy being lost or ruined. Colourful and engaging.

M - Can be difficult to navigate for students without prior instruction. Students could potentially remove other peoples ideas

I - In refelction this tool is a great ways to brainstorm ideas for many different uses. One thought is to gatehr ideas for different paragraphs of an essay, or persuasive text.

Ethical, Safe, and Legal Practices

It is important to consider and implement safe, legal, and ethical practices when using and teaching digital technologies for use in the classroom. Students need to be aware of both the dangers and advantages of publishing and using digital tools. Private logins for blogs and wikis are a great way to reduce this risk. It is important that parental permission is sought before childrens' work or photographs are uploaded and used in these technologies. It is also important to consider copyright when using imagery and other resources that are not your own.

Glogster

I experiemented using Glogster by creating a Pinboard of images of one of my Sunday School students. I found Glogster easy to use, and a great way to display images, text, and ideas in general. Glogster would be an excellent digital resource to use to introduce a topic. Its bright colours and funky displays are eye catching, and a lot more  engaging than using PowerPoint. There is also the option to embed video into your Glogster.

S - I found that Glogster would be an excellent tool to use in the classroom both by myself, and by students. It is a fun and engaging way to publish a series of photos, text, videos, and ideas, other than using the over used PowerPoint.

W - I found that most of my photos that I had taken with my digital camera were too large to load correctly into GLogster. To overcome this difficulty I used MobaPhoto to resize my photos. If I was to get students to use Glogster in the classroom I would need to either instruct them on using MobaPhoto to resize their photos, of resize them myslef first.

O - Glogster has the potential to be an online photo Album of children's work, a story board, paert of a project, or to engage students in a new topic. .I found that most of my photos that I had taken with my digital camera were too large to load correctly into GLogster. To overcome this difficulty I used MobaPhoto to resize my photos. If I was to get students to use Glogster in the classroom I would need to either instruct them on using MobaPhoto to resize their photos, of resize them myslef first.

T - A major consideration to keep in mind when using GLogster is whether it is shared as a Public or a Private resource. The Glogster that I designed below was saved as a Private Glog and can onl be viewed by those who have the URL. When children create Glogster they would need to be shown and monitored on how to ensure they save their Glog as a private resource. A class longin would also need to be created as students are not allowed to create their own accounts.

Movie Maker

Movie Maker is a program that I have previously used in high school. As part of one of my assignment I had to make a documentary on what it means to be a True Blue Australian. For this, my group and I focused on Ned Kelly. We videoed oursleves interviewing people and re-inacting scenes. We also had on and off screen narration, and photos we had sources in our research.

After gathering all our photos and video clips we were able to use movie maker to arrange them into our preferred order, add narration, titles, and transitions. I found the experience confusing at first, but with help from a school friend who was good with computers I started to become confident with the process.

Through this experience I feel that I would be confident to use Movie Maker both as a teaching tool, and to teach students in my class to use. Movie Makaer would be a great tool for dispalying, and creating students work.

VOKI

P - This tool has the potential to engage and introduce students to a topic or task. It also would be a great tool for students to use to introduce themselves, portray ideas or points of view, or to present short compositions of written work in an oral way.

M - I found voki relatively easy to use, however lack of appropriate software limited my experience to typed speech with a 'computer generated' voice. It is important to remember that students are not allowed to create their own accounts. A class account would be needed for students to use this tool.

I - I would like to play around with voki again in future using recorded speech of myself.

My Journey so Far

In reflecting on my learning journey so far in MeL, I am starting to see that I have previously had experience with digital tools where I didn't initially recognise. Most of these are elements of Microsoft office programs such as word and powerpointThe new tools that I am learning to use through this course I have found challenging to begin with, but I am slowly becoming more competent and confident.

Creating and Using Wiki

I found engaging in the MeL wikis both challenging and useful. I found that having the opportunity to work through the practice quiz wiki with fellow students was very rewarding. Not only did it probe my understanding and ideas, but it allowed me to collaborate and learn from my peers. 

I found the Mobile Phone wiki to be a little more challenging. It required me to think more deeply, and to really analyse my preconceptions and ideas around the use of mobile phones. I found the use of De Bono's 6 thinking hats very useful in this activity.  Not only did in require for me to recall my knowledge about prior use, it made me probe into what preconceived feelings I have, what would or wouldn't work, what the potentials are, and also to look at my thinking in comparison to that of my peers.

Overall I found my experience working in wikis to be rewarding, and it enhanced my learning. I am convinced that having wikis that students can engage with is a valuable tool for enhancing their learning.

I have previously created a wiki in my study at CQU. For Technology we were required to make a digital tool that would enhance learning. I used weebly.com to make wiki to assist learner's through the technology practice cycle.

Technology Digital Resource

I found Weebly to be very easy to use as it seemed to step you through each step in its creation. I can see how the use of a wiki, such as weebly, can be used to enhance learning as a digital tool for scaffolding learner's through tasks, as well as to guide their journey through exploring a particular topic.

TPACK

TPACK (Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge) is all about integrating technology, pedagogy, and content together in your teaching. That is, the WHAT, the HOW, and the TECHNOLOGY. Many teacher believe the simply 'taking on' technology on the side is using technology effectively. But it is important to remember that it is more than that. Technology should be taught, experienced, experimented with, be engaging, and enhance learning. Without all these critical part, technology simply become an object on the side, only there as a requirement.

I can understand the trepidation that teacher have in regards to using technologies in the classroom. I myself have difficulties with technology all the time. and that's only the real basic things!! I think it is important to remember that their is always room for improvement in our own learning, and we can also learn from our students. As digital natives they will often have tricks, tools, and technological knowledge that we don't have.

I found this clip useful for reflection.

MobaPhoto

I downloaded the MobaPhoto software and had a go at resizing images. I have already found this software useful. I am a Sunday School teacher and each week I email photos of the kids to their parents. Smaller image sizes means that these photos are easier sent and received via email.

In the classroom photos can be uploaded onto a private class blog of the students (with parent permission), or of artwork, etc.

N.B This photo of my brother is from my Sunday School lesson was uploaded with the permission of the child's parent.

The joys of Technology

Thought I was being really technologically savvy by posting via my mobile due to lack of pc internet access at home. Somehow I managed to not publish my posts and they are nowhere to be found. After discussions with a friend who knows a lot about blogging via mobile I have downloaded the blogger app. This app is foolproof :-D

Unfortunately I have had difficulties using wordle. In talking with my computer savvy friend I have discovered that my computer does not have something which supports it. I will have to play with it at a later stage.

21st Century Learners

I think that the ideas of digital natives and immigrants is so fitting in regards to engagement with technologies in the 21st Century. Many Learning Managers would identify with feeling like a digital immigrant. That is, they are slowly being introduced to digital technologies and are learning on their feet. Our students who are 21st Century learners however, are digital natives. They are being born, raised, and being exposed to digital resources continuously. They are familiar, competent, and reliant on them.

The idea of our learner's becoming engaged or enraged is a relevant one. If our classrooms are not integrating with the digital technologies that students are using outside of the classroom then they are going to quickly become disengaged. As Learning Managers we need to be life long learners who are learning to use and integrate technologies into our learning experiences. Technology should not be an add on on the side, but a fundamental part of initial planning.  

My first blog

I am finding the prospect of working with a blog both daunting and exciting. I am looking forward to learning about different ICTs and how I can use them in the classroom to enhance students' learning, but uncertainty of my skills base at present is making this a little scary.

I have found the setting up of this blog relitively easy, so this has given me hope that this course won't be as daunting as I first thought.

Bring on E-Learning!!