Week 2 Reflection

Closing in on our week 2 learning materials was a pleasant experience, 14 hours of reading about learning theory, countless crashing of websites, difficulty logging into the blogger program whilst having my uni account logged in. It seemed like this week would never end! Within the tutorial our student teacher assigned us with a task, collaboratively work with our peers on the university wiki space. Our topic, mobile phones in classrooms, the context, defining this controversial topic under the 6 de Bono thinking hats. The thinking hats ask the participant to think about the topic from all points of view, including all positives and implications. The hats are as follows, Black Hat- Negative, Blue Hat- Process, Green Hat- Creative, Red Hat- Intuitive, Yellow Hat- Positive and White Hat- Objective. Initially listening to the description of this task I thought it to be quite interesting and relatively simple. Find information that supported our viewpoints and share them on an online collaborative interface. Writing up my opinions and about to hit 'save' an uproar began in the classroom, distraught cries of work being deleted over the top of others work being the cause. It appeared that with all the people editing and saving the current work was not being kept. Feeling very grateful that I had not yet saved, I copied my work into a word document and saved it for later editing. The theory behind this activity is quite effective, social contructivism comes into play with learners brining forth their own beliefs and experiences about the use of mobile phones in the classroom. Connectivism is also a major learning theory being implemented here, students first put forth their own beliefs but then are asked to find examples or information regarding this topic. Discovering this new information for themselves gives the learner the skill of understanding where to find information that supports their theory. Discussing the situation from all viewpoints allows the students to think and express their thoughts extrinsically, as all students need to consider all viewpoints it limits the possibility of students being criticised for their beliefs. completing my second week of Managing e-Learning I am still struggling to comprehend the technology aspect of the course but in regard to the learning theories we are covering I am really enjoying expanding my knowledge base!  

Week 2 Engagement Activities

Engagement Activity 1- Productive Pedagogies
Here we were asked to create a process of a learning task for our learners. Me being the 'typical' English/History mind chose to... evaluate a source!! I know you are all sitting on the edge of your seats! With this process we were then to link it to the elements of productive pedagogies. Creating a task that meets all the pedagogies is near impossible, but this exercise showed me that if I have the processes and elements in the forefront of my thinking it is simple to alter what seems to be a simply linear task into something engaging and inclusive for the students.

Here is the diagram of my process to the productive pedagogies, sorry about the format I am still learning how to make everything look 'pretty'. 

Engagement Activity 2- TPACK in plain English

The next task bestowed upon us was converting the rather technical pedagogical framework, TPACK, into plain English terms so even novices of Education could understand it. Now I consider myself a novice, so I wrote it in a way that was easy for me to understand. Hope this works for everyone else. 

TPACK: Without all the technical mumbo jumbo

Technological, pedagogical and content knowledge, or TPACK for short, is a teaching structure that incorporates effective teaching strategies with the use of appropriate ICT. TPACK’s basic principle is that teachers must first start with a solid content knowledge, having extensive information in a specific field is valuable in informing the learner, it makes the teacher the expert. Secondly a comprehensive understanding on how best to teach the knowledge is a must, this is the pedagogical practice, knowing what techniques and strategies to employ in the classroom so learning is completed is quintessential to success in education. Lastly TPACK’s specialty element is employed, what is the most effective and appropriate technology to use that will not only support the learning but also enhance it. It cannot be as haphazardly as asking students to submit their responses to a task through an online interface the learning experience must be built upon the use of ICT, where the lesson would not deliver the same richness of content without it. Supporting the TPACK framework is Blooms Taxonomy, it supports the leaning manager in deciding what level of thinking students will be engaged in. The TPACK framework assists teachers in creating a 21^st century classroom, where students are taught the skills to become lifelong learners, to adapt to the ever changing technological world around us and to think with higher order thinking skills in and outside of the classroom. 

Engagement Activity 3- Working in a Wiki- See Reflection 2

Week 1 Engagement Activities

Engagement Activity 1 Learning Styles
1.1: According to Felder and Solomon my learning style is predominantly visual, things that would benefit me in the classroom are visual aides such as video clips, diagrams, maps, graphs, pictures and charts.
1.2: To support different learning styles in the classroom I would present the same information through different modes, provide resources that cater to the learning styles and ask the students how helpful they found the materials and if they have any suggestions. Structuring different working environment, i.e. group work, working with computers.
1.3: I currently do not hold a wide range of knowledge in regard to using ITC in the classroom and how it could support my pedagogical practices. During my first lecture Wendy demonstrated just how innovative the SmartBoard is! Learning more about the features of this board is an ultimate goal for me. Using this Blogging tool is also showing me how beneficial it could be to use it interactively in the classroom, providing a different platform for ideas and information to be shared. Also jump starting my ITC education is using Twitter for the first time! At first I was sceptical as to how it enhanced my learning but now that I have seen my own and my classmates 'tweets' be created and responded to each other I understand that it is an amazing tool to share ideas and build on ideas.
1.4: Profiling is a major part in creating effective lesson plans, to gain a clear understanding of what students are in my classroom I would use various profiling strategies. Directly asking students about how they prefer to be taught is a very effective strategy. I would possibly take questions from the Felder and Solomon quiz to ask my students, but at a very basic level I would be asking what they feel they respond to best in the classroom, graphs, charts, videos, working on the task with their hands, constructing models, etc.
1.5: ICT supports differences and learning styles through the extensive range that is on offer, in one presentation you could be presenting a visual clip that vocally teaches students to construct a model out of materials they have in front of them! Targeting multiple learning styles with one activity extends the barriers of learning in the classroom.
Engagement Activity 2 Multiple Intelligences
2.1: I took the Multiple Intelligences test at www.bgfl.org and my results indicated that I learnt mainly through visual and musical. I had an inkling this would be the case. The code for my results is jcn45w93584v.
2.2: In a broad sense if I was to get my students to take this quiz I would cater to their learning needs, making sure within my unit plan I structured activities and learning opportunities that targeted my students learning needs.
Engagement Activity 3 Reflection on Prensky's ideas
3.1: Prensky has extensive ideas on how to best teach 'modern day' students, accessing their capabilities and fast paced ways of learning. His understanding and research into the topic is useful to teachers because it gives us an insight into the ways these minds work. Growing up in a completely different era where information is only a mouse click away or where they are constantly being engaged and then becoming bored of new things. I myself find it amazing seeing my little brother as an infant, he could be amazed with one toy for hours on end and now looking at my nieces and nephews rip through a wild assortment of toys becoming increasingly bored as each new item is presented to them. My nephew at 6 years old owns an iPad, feeling a little jealous of him I went out and purchased my own. This purchase was not without needing guidance on how to set it up and download 'aps' from him. At only 21 the difference in technological comprehension between myself and the younger generation is astounding. Prensky outlines the idea of digital natives and immigrants, being born with technology verse being inducted into a technological world. He even goes as far as to ascertain that these different generations are 'wired' differently. Natives being bought up with the ability to network constantly, gain access immediately, multi task and have everything around them work faster. I would consider myself in limbo between both these stages, I was certainly bought up with technology but I was not completely immersed in in throughout my whole childhood. Trying to think about the ways in which my students see and want information presented to them will be a continual challenge for me in the classroom, forgoing my own preferred style of learning, step-by-step learning supported with a text that I can read at my own pace and taking hand written notes, as opposed to what my digital native students would prefer, focused more on the end goal ass opposed to process, having information presented in a rapid format through various ITC mediums and creating learning environments that are engaging for their minds. Although Prensky has some innovative ideas in regard to technology related intelligences his ideas are very generalized and do not account for many students who have not been in contact with ICT. It is however a good starting point for a teacher to try and understand what is happening in their classroom.
3.2: Today's learners are becoming increasingly disengaged in the classroom, in my two short years of being inside the classroom I have seen countless looks of boredom and disengagement. It is purely due to the fact that lessons are not created to incite passion with the students. The lessons follow the old format that no longer work, I have only seen a handful of classes that worked brilliantly and within these classes the students were kept engaged by presenting the same information in a wide variety of formats and changing the format frequently and systematically so the students attention did not waver. Another great distraction in the classroom is the use of personal technology, students hiding mobile phones in pencil cases or laps and their school issued laptops being used for games. This shows me that the teacher can not think they are fulfilling the needs of their students purely by letting them use a laptop in class, the lessons have to be built on engaging ICT where the lesson would not be the same without it!
3.3:  Prensky's Engage or Enrage argument is very straight forward, with students becoming more technologically dependant within the classroom often the curriculum is boring and hard to understand which then leads to frustration in the classroom and ultimately no learning is taking place. The general idea of this theory is substantial in the fact students are changing and if the curriculum and the way its being taught does not shift then our education system is failing the students who need more from it. The way he depicts such a broad and definite model of change though is stereotypical, within a classroom there needs to be give and take. Not every activity can be displayed in a new whizz bang ICT feature, at some stage a textbook will need to be read and students will need to comprehend. Its all about give and take.

Week 1 Reflection

Sitting down for the first time in my Managing E-Learning tutorial was a nerve wracking experience. Being in my second year of my degree I had spoken to students who had already completed this class and stories of 60000 word blogs were haunting me. Considering the fact I only had a basic understanding of what a blog is and had no idea what a wiki was I felt my skill set was lacking. During the first lecture Wendy demonstrated many interesting and innovative ways to structure lesson plans with ICT. Wendy showed us how to target and enhance students learning based on their different learning styles. Moving on to the tutorial our class was led by student teachers, these final year students had completed this course with high marks. I have never had this type of learning experience. Almost immediately into the tutorial the first challenge with ITC was explicitly discovered. Due to the high number of students registering for Blogger the website logged our IP as spam and many students, including myself, were unable to register their account. This hiccup demonstrated exactly why as learning managers we always need to have back up plans in case something in our lesson fails us. Unable to create and get started on my Blog I decided to look into the course work for this week. It was clear that the focus of this weeks material was on learning styles and theories and how they impact the learner and the learning environment. Learning theories play a prominent role in the modern classroom, they underpin the frameworks students are taught on. Trying to understand the way students learn and how best to teach them in this format in beneficial to the Learning Manager, the problem is deciding which of the many theories is the 'right' one for your classroom. Outlined in this weeks study guide was a focus on four learning theories, Behaviourism, Cognitive, Constructivism and Connectivism.These theories all have a clear focus in the classroom and how to enhance students learning. After reading into these learning theories it is difficult for me to differentiate which one is 'better' to use in the classroom. All four theories have solid foundations with ideas that would be beneficial for learning. Behaviourism having a solid reliance on behavioural psychology discusses the technique of conditioning students into automatic correct behaviour, Cognitivism looks more at the way in which the brain works and how memory is stored, focusing on the Sensory Memory, Working Memory and Long Term Memory, Social Constructivism ascertains that learning is primarily influenced  by ones experiences, beliefs, mental structures, social influences and social interactions and finally Connectivism values the ability to identify and fund knowledge as opposed to holding and storing all knowledge. These learning theories are four among many, they all hold valuable techniques to harness students learning and for myself I would aim to use elements and ideas from a range of learning theories within my classroom. Every classroom and student is drastically different so the idea of holding true to only one way of teaching or presenting knowledge is unrealistic. When deciding how to construct lesson plans that are built on learning frameworks it is essential to not only coincide with the curriculum but also gain an in depth understanding of your learners and how they will benefit from learning theories in the classroom. Through a rigorous process of profiling, understanding leaning styles and creating lesson plans that engage my students I believe I can create an innovative class environment.