This posting is a reflective look and summary of what I have learned during my first 8 weeks of the Graduate Diploma in Learning and Teaching (GDLT), specifically about the use of ICTs in the classroom and digital pedagogies. One thing I would like to point out before I go any further is that it is not so much which digital technologies we use that is important, but that we are indeed using them. The technologies available will be forever changing and teachers will need to keep up with them. The digital technologies or ICTs I mention in this synopsis are just some examples that can be used in the classroom.
It is important not to forget what our goals as teachers should be. We need to remember that we are living in a knowledge society where technology is changing more rapidly than ever before and that the students of today need the skills in order to survive in this society in the future. Our society needs people who can create, who can innovate and who are able to learn and make value out of information with the new technologies that are constantly being introduced. In essence we need life-long learners and not just students who can read, write and perform mathematical calculations.
Digital technologies provide the framework for students to be creative and to develop their own creativity. During my first week of observations at school I have seen firsthand how disinterested students are with pen and paper. I have seen how disinterested students are with teachers writing text and diagrams on a whiteboard. On the other hand I have witnessed a classroom where each student had their own computer and were able to use a program that allowed them to draw graphics, to animate and to program instructions. The students were able to create, to experiment and try new things and to learn from each other. They consistently went beyond the task that they were presented with to discover what else they could do and what they could create.
Technology provides tools that we can use to engage our students and engaged students are students who are learning. Kearsley and Shneiderman write that the fundamental idea of engagement theory “is that students must be meaningfully engaged in learning activities through interaction with others and worthwhile tasks” (1998). Dale’s Cone and the Learning pyramid also support this theory by showing us that the average retention rate increases with group work, collaboration and peer-teaching. Wiki’s (which I discuss in this earlier posting) provide an excellent framework for engaging students in online collaborative based learning. Being web-based means that they also provide a way for students to “donate” back to the community and make their projects worthwhile activities.
Blogs are another tool that I will try to use as much as possible as a teacher and that I reflected on in an earlier posting. Blogs are a great way to encourage creative writing amongst your students. Whilst blogs are created and posted to by an individual, they do encourage collaboration amongst peers with the comment facility. I believe they also provide a platform for students to find their own voice and voice their opinion in a non-threatening environment. Students who may be too shy or nervous to speak up in class can easily do so by posting an article on a blog.
In this earlier posting, I discuss the uses that e.Portfolios can provide to teachers and students. On further reflection I believe that e.Portfolios are also ideal for project-based learning. They provide a framework for storing the resources that are collected as part of a project and in addition the tools or framework for presenting the finished product.
Blogs, Wikis and e.Portfolios all provide a framework for publishing content developed using a whole host of other digital technologies. The multi-literate society that we now live in requires us to make meaning from texts that are communicated via a range of modes and media. “The visual, gestural, audio and spatial join the linguistic as equals in text design.” (Healy, 2008, p 9). Students not only need to be able to read or make meaning from these multi-modal texts but they also need to create them. Digital technologies are necessary for students to participate in creating and communicating their ideas. One such technology that I have experienced during my own learning is the ability to create avatars that can be incorporated into a web page such as a blog or wiki. My article, Enhancing lessons with avatars, discusses them in more detail. One great advantage of avatars is that they use both audio and visual to communicate, which helps in providing for a diverse range of learning styles.
I have previously discussed the use of PowerPoint in the classroom from a teacher’s perspective in this posting. PowerPoint also provides a great tool for students to communicate what they have learned back to their classmates, their teacher and also the wider community in and outside the school. It provides a way for students to summarise and reflect on what they have learned, encouraging the third dimension of learning, Extending and Refining Knowledge (Marzano & Pickering, 1997, p. 114).
Digital imagery will be an important tool to both engage students and to inspire their creativity with the use of tools such as Flickr and Picnik, which I have discussed here. Photos can help to explain real-world problems that need to be solved and aid in creating an authentic scenario to introduce a learner-centred project. Photos and images can also be very helpful in communicating to students with special needs, such as those diagnosed with Autism or Asperger’s Syndrome, who relate much better to visual communication than verbal or textual.
The final piece of technology that I would like to mention in this synopsis is that of video. In my posting on using video in the classroom, I describe why I think it will be so important to include in the classroom and an example of how I have seen it used.
By using a range of ICTs in our classrooms in an effective way, we can start moving closer towards the learner-centred and engaged learning that will inspire the kind of innovation and creativity that our students will need to be successful in life.
References
Healy, A. (2008). Multiliteracies and Diversity in Education. South Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Oxford University Press.
Kearsley G, & Shneiderman B, (1998). Engagement Theory A framework for technology-based teaching and learning, retrieved from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm
Marzano, R. & Pickering, D. (1997). Dimensions of Learning. Teacher’s manual (2nd ed.). Aurora, Colorado 80014, US.
The Albiene Christian University Adams Center for Teaching Excellence. (2000). Why use active learning? Retrieved April 24, 2010 from http://www.acu.edu/cte/activelearning/whyuseal2.htm
Postings that I’ve commented on from the blogs of my peers include:
http://abbysejournal.blogspot.com/2010/04/confronting-my-fears-and-establishing.html
http://learningjourneycaro.blogspot.com/2010/04/theres-glog-in-my-blog.html
http://samslearningblog2010.blogspot.com/2010/04/apple-tree-from-flickr.html
http://samslearningblog2010.blogspot.com/2010/04/creating-powerpoint.html
http://sallyjames2010.blogspot.com/2010/04/interactive-whiteboards-student.html
http://andrewsblog2teach.blogspot.com/2010/04/embedded-professional-learnning-day1.html
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