My journey over the past five weeks of exploring the ICT
(Information Communication Technology) tools identified in this course has been
not only a rollercoaster ride but a huge learning experience. It has exhausted me no end. I have had to
face and overcome many challenges throughout my learning experience and
although sometimes it ended in frusteration and tears I have learnt alot. I didnt realize how technologically challenged I was. Also that of my quite old computer. Along with the tears and frusteration there
has at times been feelings of excitement and achievement when a particular tool
has been at least partially understood.
I have come to realize, through my exploration, the
importance of integrating the use of ICTs within a students learning
environment in order to prepare them for our ever-changing global society which
is driven by technology and communication developments. The use of a
range of technologies will not only engage students of the 21st century but
also encourage positive interaction amongst students both locally and on a
global level and will foster productive learning. The youth of today have been
described as digital natives, and are growing up with computers, mobile phones,
the internet and video games. As a
result, the technological tools available to students are familiar and
appealing to them as they connect life to their world outside of the learning
environment.
In order to use the tools effectively the educator needs to
have the ability to choose the right tool for a specific learning experience in
order to provide the best possible learning outcomes for each and every
student.
Due to the flexibility of ICT tools it is easy to apply
appropriate pedagogical practices and scaffolding to support a diverse range of
learning experiences. Through exploring these tools I have been given the
opportunity to reflect and analyse my own learning experiences and how
different tools could be implemented in the classroom. In this synopsis I will
draw together the threads to help visualize the completed picture of the
importance and integration and exploration of ICT’s within the learning
environment.
The first group of technologies we were introduced to was wikis,
blogs and websites. I have always been familiar with websites and blogs,
although I had not created either one, however wikis were not something I had
ever heard of or used for that matter. Through examining these tools, creating my own website and wiki, taking
part in Week 1 and Week 2 wiki activities, reflecting in my blog and creating a
website I found these tools would be a great way to get students to explore,
collaborate and reflect on topics. I also took part in some Wiki Activities in this course. One of the Activities was using deBono's Thinking Hats which was an exciting engaging way to encourage critical thinking..
Wiki’s in particular I believe could be used
as a base for learning due to the flexibility and interactivity they provide.
Wiki’s are able to be created to provide information for students to not only
read, but to provide a collective group of interactive activities, ideas and, thought
provoking material for students. Wiki’s can be a space where students are able
to reflect, ask questions or add extra information to collaborate with one
another and come to a conclusion which can then lead to further questions and
investigations thereby creating a learning continuim. Use of the Wiki can help to support
higher order thinking, substantive conversation, academic engagement, student
direction, social support and connectedness to the word which are some of the
essential pedagogical practices teachers need to ensure are incorporated into
their teaching strategies. These strategies also foster constructivist learning.Wiki’s provide a great base for students to work
from and if combined with face to face learning in the classroom the overall
learning experiences would be much more effective and guarantee more effective
learning outcomes.
Group 2 tools focused on digital multimedia tools
such as videos, audio, podcast, images and image enhancing tools. According to
A Global Imperative (2005) 21st century literacy is the set of
abilities and skills where aural, visual and digital literacy overlap. These
include the ability to understand the power of images and sounds, to recognise
and use that power, to manipulate and transform digital media, to distribute
them pervasively, and to easily adapt them to new forms.
Whether it is watching television, playing video games,
listening to the radio or walking down the street society witnesses these types
of technologies everyday making their presence in the classroom vital.
Incorporating these tools into the learning environment helps to enhance
students visual and auditory learning styles and helps them to explore and
reflect on different learning experiences visually making it more engaging and
exciting for students
Images is my focus within these group of tools.
We are in a multimedia age, it
is critical that everyone is visually literate. Consequently, students need to
be able to work with images in a number of different ways and purposes for
their educational benefits. As today’s students view and analyse a range of
different types of images everyday including, in newspapers, magazines, on
television, on the web, paintings, story books and on billboards, which make
students individual ability to read images a vital skill. For that reason I
think it is imperative that educators today are teaching students visual
literacy skills including ‘reading’ images in different contexts to develop a
sense of understanding of the meaning and purposes of images and to also
communicate the meaning behind images.
There are two ways that images are likely to be used in the classroom including student created photographs or online with students work and also other work available online (Fasso, 2012). The connectivism learning theory supports the use of images as students will be working with computers and the internet to identify and upload images for educational purposes. Students may take digital photo graphs of their art work and upload their photo graphs online to blogs, wikis and websites to demonstrate to peers, parents or educators their work. Also images could be used within the context of science investigations with students and rather than drawing or sketching diagrams of investigations (which takes a considerable amount of time) students could take digital photographs of their investigations.
Group 3 tools included presentation tools Prezi,
Glogster and PowerPoint. These tools provide teachers the opportunity to
present information in an interactive way which is entertaining, meaningful and
engaging for students. The tool I am going to focus on this time is Glogster.
Again this was a new tool for me but I thoroughly enjoyed learning and
exploring all its features. It really is a tool that takes presentation tools
to a whole new level. Glogster EDU provides a collaborative online learning
platform for teachers and students to express their creativity, knowledge,
ideas and skills in the classroom. The opportunities that exist with using
Glogster makes it a prime example of the 21st century learning tools
and how technology is becoming more and more advanced. Glogsters are able to be
creatively constructed and provide visually appealing information where images,
videos, podcasts, animations, web links and text can be added to complement the
topic being covered. It provides the chance for teachers and students to work
together and construct knowledge as a team. I believe Glogsters would be a
great tool for students to use to explore, construct and document their
learning as it transforms student learning and provides the opportunity for
students to reflect and incorporate their own learning style into it.
Group 4 tools include a variety of different ICT
tools and are best referred to as miscellaneous tools. Some of tools that were
available to explore but weren’t limited to included animations and
simulations, interactive learning objects, Adobe Flash, concept mapping, online
timelines and Zooburst. The tool I chose to explore was Google Maps.
Google Maps provides the ability to look at and study
different locations around the world. Due to the highly specialised nature of
this tool it can provide great enhancement to students learning experiences.
The MyMaps option gives students the chance to create their own personalised
maps where they are able to embed images, videos and descriptive text to make
the content exciting and engaging. It also gives them the option to share their
work online making it also a useful collaboration tool.
.
From what I have learnt about safe, ethical and legal
guidelines in online classroom environments is that Educators need to model
appropriate behavior. When teaching in the online environment it is important
to clearly communicate your expectations for appropriate behaviors and model
these behaviors at all times. As students today are involved with many online
social networking environments including face book, twitter, MySpace, and
e-mail, they may not be aware of the behaviors that are unacceptable in an
online educational environment. Therefore, it is up to Educators to model the
correct behavior when following the guidelines, including ensuring that
students appropriately reference all materials unless belonging to the
student.
The first principal to be aware
of is that the normal copyright guidelines for education apply in an online
environment. Therefore, the use of materials such as text, images, videos and
audio clips online can be restricted according to the owner’s wishes.
Furthermore, child safety needs to be taken into
consideration by Educators to ensure that while students are working in online
learning environments that they are involved with safe intentions. Children face the risk of exposure to a range of different
material that can be pornographic, sexually explicit, offensive, hateful,
violent and that encourages activities that are dangerous or illegal. Therefore
it is important that both Educators and students are aware of the types of
information that are forbidden in the educational setting to ensure everyone’s
safety in an online learning environment.
Providing guidelines for students to follow not only in the
classroom but at home as well will help to lower the risk of students coming in
contact with inappropriate content and foster confidence in dealing with any
issues of exposure. Learning does not only happen in the classroom so I think
it is important that everyone is made aware of these practices. Before any
elearning takes place these issues need to play a vital role in lesson planning
strategies.
Conclusion
After reflecting on the use of ICT tools in the classroom it
is easy to see that the implementation of these tools into the classroom is
essential in ensuring our students are prepared for the contemporary world in
which we live. Students live in a technological world where information and
communication technologies (ICTs) are integral to everyday situations. ICTs allow for flexibility which enables Educators
to provide a variety of learning experiences and learning outcomes and enables
them to incorporate appropriate pedagogy and scaffolding to support these
experiences. Educators must however always ensure the correct legal, safe and ethical practices are followed to ensure the protection of students.
Being from the "the old school generation" I still feel it is important to incorporate "traditional type" learning resources as well for example decorating the classroom with maps and hanging mobiles.
Although
I found this subject so far very exhaustive I feel it is just the
beginning. I look forward to continuing
this journey as a Teacher and having more time to discover all of the technological treasures available now and in the future.
Appendix
References
A Global Imperative. (2005). The Report of the
21st Century Literacy Summit
Retrieved from
Felder and Soloman (n.d.). Learning styles and strategies.
Retrieved from
Glogster poster yourself EDU. (2012). Retrieved from
Google Maps (2012). Retrieved from
Prensky, M. (2005). "Engage me or enrage me". What today's learners demand. Retrieved from
Various Readings. (2012). EDED20491: ICTs For Learning Design. Retrieved from CQUniversity
http://moodle.cqu.edu.au
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