Tiffany Watson S0135141

1. Tiffany WatsonS0135141 Synopsis of the technologies researched Assessment Task 1 Professional Blog Weighting: 50% Due Date: Friday 21st August, 2009 Lecturer: Wendy Fasso

2. Contents of Powerpoint Slide 3 – Aim of Synopsis. Slide 4 – Principles of Netiquette. Slide 5 – Tools I have researched. Slide 6 – Theoretical Perspective. Slide 7 -10 Selected tools for pedagogy. Slide 11– Who can use ICT’s? (location) Slide 12 – Course reflection & Cooperative learning. Slide 13 – References.

3. Aim of synopsis It is a well known fact that the responsibilities of teachers within today’s society have greatly increased as apposed to the teaching practices of the past. During the 1960’s our classrooms began to change in reference to the responsibility of the teacher. Within the past teaching was seen as a ‘lonely, isolated endeavour in which teachers jealously guarded their lesson plans and this has undergone significant change.’ (Serber, 2008). As technology changed, the availability of resources contributed to the merging of classes, collaboration between teachers and more importantly collaborative learning between students. As we move into the twenty-first century, meaningful instruction and catering for all walks of life including physical, cognitive and sensory impairments, is a strong focus which provides and encourages maximum learning opportunities for all students. However, these responsibilities still lay, as it always has, in the hand of the teacher. Hargreaves (1998) quotes: ‘A prerequisite of the way forward is to work with the grain of the psychology and experience of teachers by ensuring that they themselves actively contribute to better professional practices’. So, with such a prerequisite in mind, I as a pre-service teacher have recently engaged within an Information Communication Technology (ICT) course at CQUniversity. If we are to provide meaningful instruction to our students, it is our responsibility to know and understand modern technology. As we are currently seeing computers and interactive whiteboards etc into our classrooms it is obvious where we are heading, and I for one, do not wish to be one of the many teachers left behind. The following slides aim to inform the reader of the many tools that have been discovered, experimented, reflected on, and some which have been carefully placed into my back pocket of teaching strategies. We will also look at theoretical perspectives of such tools and how these link to the pedagogies of teaching. Another expectation of this course was to work with our colleagues by responding and collaborating through each others’ blog’s, so this synopsis will also reflect on these conversations.

4. Principles of Netiquette Today the implementation of a risk assessment is critical for all schools. It is common knowledge that in today's ever-changing society we need to be legally covered in all aspects of our lives. Today we are all accountable for our own actions and the consequences can be life-changing. In previous times the school has held the sole responsibility for the actions of their teacher’s. Today however, the new term on all teacher’s lips is ‘accountability’. We, as teacher’s are responsible for our own actions, we are being monitored and are required to face the consequences of the rules are breached. In terms of ICT’s there are many safety ethics which need to be abided by. A teacher needs to know how much he/she can download, where it came from and how they are allowed to present the information. Some sites allow for bigger downloads if it is for educational purposes. For example: A teacher may want the students to create their own blog or wiki whichis a fantastic learning opportunity for students. However the teacher will need to know what the school allows for wikis and what the safety rules are.

5. Tools Researched From the following list I have selected several tools which I have found to be most rewarding in terms of pedagogy. I look forward to using these tools within my classroom. I have highlighted the tools that I have reflected on: Blogs Animations/Simulations RSS Aggregator Quizzes Wiki YouTube E-Portfolio’s Podcasting Voki Google earth/Maps PowerPoint Web Quests LMS Wikipedia IWB Slide share Video Media fire Static Websites Incompetech Flickr Voice Thread Image Manipulation Delicious Ning Digital Storytelling Bubble_Us

6. Theoretical Perspectives • Constructivist authentic learning environments are defined as those learningenvironments whose design is consistent with the principles of the more recent constructivist tradition on how people learn. As Herrington and Oliver (2000) point out, such learning environments typically provide authentic contexts and activities, access to expert performances, and support multiple roles and perspectives. In addition, such ICT environments also support collaborative construction of knowledge and promote reflection and articulation. • These hands-on authentic experiences succinctly line up with the 'Learning Engagement Theory' which has a group, project and authentic focus. This theory refers to learning environments and how our students need to relate to real-world, authentic problem-solving and then donate the solution back into the real world. This donating approach forms a rich task for students in which they can be engaged in authentic and real-life situations. (Kearsley and Shneiderman, 1998). • The constructivist view of learning has its foundations in Piaget (1975) who believed that learning is not transmitted passively, but attained through well-defined stages by active participation of a learner. Vygotsky(1980), presented similar ideas but focused on the importance of socio-cultural activity in learning in addition to introducing flexible stages of development. (Zualkernan, 2006). • The Connectivism Theory is the integration of principles explored by chaos, network and complexity and self organisational theories. (Siemens, 2004, p.25-27). This theory implies that learning can reside anywhere and that it is the recognition of these connections that is important. • The learning Design Model adapted from Oliver, 1999, suggests that learning tasks should be sufficiently broad enough to ensure that all learners have sufficient opportunity to engage with the content area. Secondly we need to consider the resources they will need. Finally, he recommends finding supports to ensure the student completes the task.

7. Selected tools for Pedagogy Blogs/Wiki’s As a pre-service teacher I am certainly interested in opening the communication barriers within my classroom, so is this the way to go about it? Here I have posted my thoughts on some of the strategies as to how blogging can be incorporated into the classroom. • Students’ can read up on school/classroom information for example a weekly newsletter. • Interesting news reports can be posted where students’ can respond with their thoughts and ideas on the topic which can ideally be linked to their current unit of work. • Blogging can be used to enhance communication and promote self/peer reflections and feedback. • Encourage students to post their ideas for topic choices of study and as a class decide scaffold their own learning. • Individualise student blogs where student’s progress can be discussed and monitored by the teacher. • Students can post assignments on their blog and share ideas with other students’. A study, as carried out by Stephen Downes who is a researcher with the E-Learning Research Group in Canada, quoted a student’s view on blogging to enhance learning. The fifth grade student said: 'The blogs give us a chance to communicate between us and motivate us to write more'. (Downes, S. 2004). Wiki's as Active Learning and the Learning Pyramid:According to Dale's Cone (learning effectiveness), collaborative discussions make up 50% of our learning retention. This is a considerable jump as apposed to the 5% of information we retain within a lecture. It also shows that audio and visual activities have a retention rate of 20%. Through the implementation of a class Wiki, students participate not only within an on-line approach to learning but construct and control their own learning.

8. Selected tools for Pedagogy Web Quests A Web Quest is an inquiry-oriented online tool for learning. This means it is a classroom-based lesson in which most or all of the information that students explore and evaluate comes from the World Wide Web. Beyond that, Web Quests: • can be as short as a single class period or as long as a month-long unit; • usually (though not always) involve group work, with division of labor among students who take on specific roles or perspectives; • are built around resources that are preselected by the teacher. Students spend their time USING information, not LOOKING for it. (Educational Broadcasting, 2004), WebQuests and Constructivism: • Constructivist authentic learning environments are defined as those learningenvironments whose design is consistent with the principles of the more recent constructivist tradition on how people learn. As Herrington and Oliver (2000) point out, such learning environments typically provide authentic contexts and activities,access to expert performances, and support multiple roles and perspectives. In addition, such environments also support collaborative construction of knowledge and promote reflection and articulation. • These authentic experiences succinctly line up with the 'Learning Engagement Theory' which has a group, project and authentic focus. This theory refers to learning environments and how our students need to relate to real-world, authentic problem-solving and then donate the solution back into the real world. This donating approach forms a rich task for students in which they can be engaged in authentic and real-life situations. (Kearsley and Shneiderman, 1998).

9. Selected tools for Pedagogy Google Maps As I developed knowledge of this tool, I started to think of many uses for Google Maps within the classroom. Below I have listed some effective strategies in incorporating this tool into the classroom. • View the location of a field trip in Google Earth before you actually visit.. • Embed media in Google Earth from web sites like Youtube, Voicethread and Slideshare • Use the Line and Path measurement tools to find distances that are challenging to measure.This is a great section of the tool.For visual students the Line and Path measurement places a real-life perspectives on the distance they are measuring. • Use the KML data file of the leaf colour in the UK for your science lessons. Track the colour as it changes throughout the seasons • A great collaborative assignment would be to have students plan and construct the next great city in Google Earth. Find a massive area of undeveloped land within GE, and let the fun begin. Situated learning encourages learners to construct their own meaning from knowledge and information in the learning process and places an emphasis on interaction and socialisationamong learners. The application of this approach to learning suggests theneed for a revised framework to reflect the processes involved in flexibleand technology-based learning. In such a setting, the critical elementsnow appear as the content, the learning activities and the learning supports (figure 1). While these three elements still reflect aspects of the separate stakeholders, they emphasise more the activities of each in the learning process. (Oliver, 1999). These elements provide a strong framework for instructional design, and highlight the importance of planning specific roles for learners, the teacher and the technology in the learningenvironment.

10. Selected tools for Pedagogy Making Movies I have found that making movies with students is a highly motivating activity and it can access all curriculum areas. I am assuming that the majority of my students would be have a interest in movies so a unit of work involving movie-making would value student’s existing knowledge of film genres and styles, and involve students in a range of literacy processes. I then thought that it would assist in developing social skills as collaborative learning would be a strong focus due to time and resource availability. Connectedness to the real world is also a benefit as students can transfer their new knowledge and skills of movie-making to many areas of their lives. It can be a small, quick project or a longer, more complex activity and uses resources already existing in most schools. • Critical and Creative Thinking - Bloom's TaxonomyWhat are critical thinking and creative thinking?Critical thinking involves logical thinking and reasoning including skills such as comparison, classification, sequencing, cause/effect, patterning, webbing, analogies, deductive and inductive reasoning, forecasting, planning, hyphothesizing, and critquing. Creative thinking involves creating something new or original. It involves the skills of flexibility, originality, fluency, elaboration, brainstorming, modification, imagery, associative thinking, attribute listing, metaphorical thinking, forced relationships. The aim of creative thinking is to stimulate curiosity and promote divergence. (CQU, 2009). • How are the domains of learning reflected in technology-rich projects? Domain Attributes: interpersonal relations, emotions, attitudes, appreciations, and values accept attempts challenges, defends, disputes, joins, judges, contributes, praises, questions, shares, supports, volunteers

11. Who can use ICT’s? • No matter where the school is situated, all school children would benefit from the engagement within ICT learning. Real-world contexts are formed when students are engaged, enthusiastic and provided with such opportunities. We do not need 20 computers in a single classroom to be effective faciliatators of technology. • Florida, (2002), talks about the modern day classroom as a ‘creative class’. He defines this as students engaging in work whose function is to create meaningful new forms. • As teachers we need to remember that effective learning comes from enjoyment and not repetition as apposed to previous times. ICT’s are available to everyone regardless of where we live, it is what we do with these resources that defines the learning that takes place.

12. Reflection Previous to this course I was of the understanding, due to my lack of experience, that as a teacher I would slowly delve into incorporating ICT’s into my classroom. Now, as I am planning for units of work for other assessments I immediately look at topics in which ICT’s would enhance the learning capabilities for my children. This incorporation has become a priority for me as a new teacher and I believe this will maximise my employment opportunities in the near future. This course has promoted a strong focus on cooperative learning which has been very effective in terms of the blogs and the communication that took place between myself and my peers. These tools were easily connected to many of the frameworks that I have previously researched and their effectiveness to learning is endless. I am proud and excited to now be confident with such technologies and feel that I am becoming a teacher who moves with technology and thus will be an important element of my teaching career. Below I have found a reading to be inciteful and applicable to the art of Technology. The best teaching lies with what Squires (1999), called the paradigm problem. He claims there are several paradigms to the best practices and one of these effectively sums the creative classroom up. It defines teaching as a pure art and teaching as a common sense activity. Its most explicit formulation is that of Eisner who states: ‘ it is sometimes performed with such skill and grace that it can be described as an aesthetic experience; it involves qualitative judgements based on an unfolding course of action; it is contingent and unpredictable rather than routine; and that its outcomes are often created in the process.’ (Eisner, 1985, pp. 175-6).

13. References • D. Hargreaves, 1998, Creative Professionalism, The role of teachers in the knowledge society. London: Demos • Zualkernan, I. A. (2006). A framework and a methodology for developing authentic constructivist e-Learning environments. Educational Technology & Society: Retrieved 17th August, 2009, from: http://www.ifets.info/journals/9_2/16.pdf • Educational Broadcasting, 2004, Concept to classroom; What is a Web Quest? retrieved 17th August, 2009, from; http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/webquests/index.html • Dodge, B, 2001, International Society for Technology in Education, 5 rules for writing a great webquest. Retrieved 17th August, 2009, from; http://edWeb.sdsu.edu/Webquest • Central Queensland University. Course studyguide: Engagement Theory: Retrieved 10th August, 2009, from; http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/course/view.php?id=134 • Oliver, R. (1999). Exploring strategies for online teaching and learning. Distance Education, 20(2), 240-254. • Teacher Tap:Professional Development Resources for Teachers and Librarians: Retrieved 11August 2009 from:http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic69.htm • Florida, R, 2002, The Rise Of The Creative Classroom. And how it’s transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life: New York: Basic books. • Turner-Bisset, R, 2001, Expert teaching; Knowledge and Pedagogy to lead the profession. London, The Cromwell Press Ltd