EDEL20002 Assignment 1: Reflective Synopsis

My Experience

Over the last several weeks I have explored blogs and wikis (constructing my own online spaces), and digital media such as images, audio and video. My blog reflections show evidence of development in my technological knowledge through the inclusion of artefacts that I have produced or located. My content knowledge has played a minor role in my reflections with mention of specific key learning areas and tasks to illustrate my application ideas. Each blog reflection discusses how ICT can be used in my pedagogy in alignment with my pedagogical framework (what I believe is important in my classroom). The reflections incorporate all three domains of the TPACK Framework which I now try to be conscious of when designing learning for my students. I based my reflective thinking around the affordances of technology on the Bloom's Revised Taxonomy, the Productive Pedagogies and the DiAL-e Framework. I felt the  DiAL-e Framework warranted investigation because it was referred to by Sandy Shannon and Kylie Joyce in their recent blog posts, as well as by Wes Heberlein a fellow eLearning student. I found it a user friendly framework to guide my thinking.

I have revisited my pedagogical framework on completion of these explorations and altered a little based on recent experiences and knowledge developed.  I would consider my teaching practice to have been largely transmissive in the 80's, mostly generative for the next 20 years and slowly growing to include more transformative pedagogical episodes - in line with my continued professional development. This observation of my practise is based on the terms used by Joan Wink, 2004.  Wink has also termed a transformative model of education as "critical pedagogy". This aligns closely to my pedagogical belief that higher order thinking skills (including critical thinking) are an essential 21st Century requirement, as supported by the Australian Curriculum General Capabilities statement.

More specific consideration to the SAMR model (Puentedura, 2009) for future Web 2.0 tool explorations would prompt me to stretch my technological and pedagogical skills, outside my comfort zone, when planning for student learning. Recently (this week in fact) Puentedura placed a slide presentation in his blog further exploring TPACK and SAMR and expanding on his earlier work. This reinforced the significance of understanding both concepts to ensure the focus of what the learner does (how and why) with digital artefacts is more important than the artefact in isolation. As per the visual below the ICT must be embedded in the curriculum not as a stand alone or add on to curriculum design.

Affordances of Technologies

"The nature and scope of ICT capability is not fixed, but is responsive to ongoing technological developments. This is evident in the emergence of advanced internet technology over the past few years and the resulting changes in the ways that students construct knowledge and interact with others."
ACARA 2014

This quote emphasises the need to constantly explore, assess and utilise the technology we have available to us to provide students with authentic learning experiences with current and emerging ICTs embedded. With regards technology assessment I considered the Wikis but have selected the affordances of Blogs as my focus analysis because I used this web space constantly during the last few weeks. I also explored audio and video media technology however, my more detailed affordances analysis is that of images.

Blogs

A blog is an online web space where users can create, share, provide feedback, embed other's artefacts and network with a like minded community. It is a flexible, user-centered space that can contain content in an audio, visual or text format. Content can be added directly or linked to outside sources.

As stated by Dron, 2011, "Soft technologies (of which a blog is) are flexible, supporting creativity and change because the gaps inside them have to be filled with processes constructed by people". Uitilising blogs for collaborative learning is a strategy grounded in social constructivist theory. The content is crowd generated.

Images

An image is a visual representation of someone's thinking (e.g. a concept, emotion, belief or experience).

If considering the IMPACT model of instruction (grounded in neuroscience) the first step "I for Inspiration" can be bought about through the use of images in innovate ways. The brains conscious sorting of input according to the DIPI criteria as per the video below means interesting images, positive and negative, can ignite emotion in the viewer.

Limitations of the brain from SentisDigital on Vimeo.

Once attention has been gained through interest the viewer will then try to make sense of the image by identifying the structure and organisation (visual syntax) and  by making connections to prior knowledge (visual semantics). Dr Ann Bamford's work, "The Visual Literacy White Paper" elaborates on the syntax and semantics of images . This learning can take place individually or socially if the image is situated in a group context (in a physical or online environment). The importance of visual literacy cannot be downplayed in today's image filled society. It is every teacher's responsibility to include image utilisation and image creation at all levels and in all content areas of education.

21st Century Teaching and Learning

Teaching is by design a complex and dynamic process. No two lessons, students or in school experiences is ever the same. The nature of current and emerging online technology presents similarly - complex and dynamic. Examining ones own pedagogical framework is difficult at best when trying to incorporate vast amounts of systemic push. Add to this mix the (unquestionable) need to embed technology into pedagogy and it all becomes quite a complicated process.

Developing a way of managing my thinking around technology and pedagogy - through exploring the affordances of a sample of tools and through further reading of academic discourse - has allowed me to expand my knowledge in both domains. This in turn equips me to better cater for the needs of the learners I am responsible for educating for their future. If I am to successfully facilitate learning by today's children a student-centered and interactive approach to teaching and learning must include digital technologies built into learning design to ensure active and highly participative learning.

Affordances of Images in Pedagogy

Images are a vital component of social communication. Visual literacy is necessary for us to comprehend images. The use of images in pedagogy offers many affordances. I have suggested but a few in the table below. The DiAL-e Framework helped guide my thinking so I have included a short YouTube video (of a Prezi presentation)from the website as an overview of what I kept in mind.

Video in Learning

A recent and interesting paper by Henderson, M. et al. (2010) Students Creating Digital Video in the Primary Classroom states "Student-created digital video is not a new idea but it is taking a remarkably long time to be integrated into the classroom as a common tool across the curriculum". This paper, accessed through the Australian Council for Computers in Education site, goes on to suggest this slow uptake may be due to hardware cost and teacher training but these issues are fortunately being eroded. I am in agreeance with the authors and over the last few years particularly have seen a significant increase in video production (by students) at my primary school. Personally as a Teacher Librarian, I have been an avid consumer of online video but a reticent producer. This week's analysis and exploration of media technologies has boosted my confidence in this aspect of my pedagogy to the point I believe I could now instruct students to create digital video artifacts.

This is my first attempt at placing personal video on YouTube. It is a snippet of my recent dolphin encounter. I used Screencast-O-Matic and played the DVD on my desktop to copy. I added music in YouTube.
It took me HOURS, but boy didn't I learn a lot after many failed attempts during all stages of the process.
Video recording of experiences by students allows later reflection and analysis of the event.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj2a3XT0tys&list=HL1397367980&feature=mh_lolz

A plethora of instructional video can be located on the net with YouTube being the most popular in my home. My husband has replaced 4 iPhone screens using YouTube How-To! The advantage being he could pause and replay as many times as needed to be successful. In the classroom context this affordance is of high value in catering to the various learning pace of different students.

The University of Queensland discusses the Flipped Classroom as a way of shifting learning from the passive to the active so class time focus can be on around the higher order thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation. I feel as long as the learning from the video is used to scaffold and support more complex tasks it is a valid tool.

A quick example of how video can be utilised prior to in school learning.
Year 4 Food Chain studies from the Science curriculum.
The majority of students have the misconception that the food chain begins with plants. Assigning the viewing of the edTed video Dead Stuff as a homework task prior to a field excursion to locate brown matter in the school grounds would allow students to come to the task with some background knowledge they may not have otherwise had. The problem of ensuring the school gardens contain brown matter is a real life issue at my school.Students could produce educational video around the production of brown matter at the school (worm farming)to encourage other students to sort lunch litter correctly into bins to be recycled by the worms.

An easy way for students to create video is to convert a PowerPoint slide presentation to movie as I have below. I have taken one persons experience as a real life example to stimulate a problem based project.
This application of a Web 2.0 tool for storytelling allows the learner to make decisions in relation to their audience at all stages of the process. A reflective cycle of thinking would be repeated throughout the process of production.

The affordances of video are a combination of those associated with images and audio however, the combination of moving images with sound makes it a strong pedagogical tool. Through video recording students can relive moments and events to later reflect more critically. People around the globe are learning through video at home, in the workplace and in educational institutions. Digital video makes learning for all possible.

Sandy Shannon in her blog post Media 6.3 Video has demonstrated how video (around Top Level Reading Structures) can reinforce prior learning through revision. These videos would be great as part of a warm up routine in a reading session.

Audio in Learning

Audio in learning is certainly nothing new. I remember listening to audio tapes and stories on LP record when I was in primary school. My key memory is we listened we didn't produce.
Now the capacity for audio production and dissemination on the world wide web is truly limitless. People can share their thoughts and music to a global audience with the click of a button.

Websites such as PodOmatic provides millions of podcasts from all over the world. A few I found interesting were  The Learning Pod and Kids Biz.

The Learning Pod reviews online applications for education. Great professional development for time poor teachers. Just download and listen while you are driving. Discover new apps and follow up the ones of interest.

 Using Audacity software to record, I created a podcast as an example of a class news media task. I then embedded this in the Wiki I have set up. A page for podcasts was added to organise this type of content. The news podcasts could be made into a series students create to share with family and the school community. As I was unable to place the audio in this blog you can access it from the JustyC Wiki (User JCwiki01, Password JCwiki1).

Audio is a unique media if used without image. It requires the listener to visualise in their mind from what they have processed through auditory reception. For individuals with poor text decoding skills it is a means of obtaining information to help them construct knowledge. The production of music is a creative outlet for people with interest and strength in this area. Digital audio tools provide access to music making previously not possible due to cost and space constraints. Audio production tools have allowed masses worldwide to get their message (be it podcast or music) out to a global audience and in turn receive feedback.

Images in Learning

Sharing, explaining, illustrating, demonstrating, highlighting, discovering, exploring.... Use of "the image" within a learning context is limited only by the pedagogical designers imagination. Providing learning tasks that require students to view and create images by them using their higher order thinking skills will equip students for this 21st Century in which they live. Students will need to master images to succeed in s digital environment.

 As identified on the Fluency 21 website images are a vital element in effective communication.

 

I would use Flickr - Photo Share as a repository for images for sharing with students, it is easy to use and allows for logical organisation of artifacts. Other members can be followed, groups set up or joined and topics and themes searched (made possible by tags). Exploring and uploading to Flickr (whilst thinking out loud) is a great way to illustrate to students how crowd generation of content enhances the learning experience.

I have placed a photo here via my Android phone that I saved in my Flickr web space. It is in relation to immigration and multiculturalism (part of the Year 7 curriculum in Queensland).
The children are my nephews  - Samoan/Australians who support the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team.
It could be a See-Think-Wonder stimulus leading to search and production of images by students to express their thoughts on the topic. The image would also lend itself to discussion around cybersafety and images of children on the internet.




Within Flickr I am also able to locate and collect images created by others.
In a study of the novel "Boy Overboard" by Morris Gleitzman the topics of poverty and recreation emerge early in the text. What do children with almost no material possessions do for fun? This image provided much discussion around what my students could create a game around without making a purchase and by using basic materials in the home or community.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/unhcr/4931082597/in/faves-123060977@N06/

Visual literacy has come into its own with the introduction of the web 2.0 tools.
Students need to understand images and be critical consumers of them. They need to be producers of images that get their message across, to their identified audience, to meet a specified purpose.

To share their community and environment with other students (in school and globally) the app 360 Panorama is great for placing the consumer in the producer's shoes. From these interactive images compare and contrast discussion can be had so knowledge of the place in the panorama can be built in a socially constructive way.

This is my street.


Virtual tours such as Louvre Museum (in France) allows students to experience unique educational places in other countries. 360 panoramic images in exhibitions provides visual access more effectively than flat photographs. In this example double clicking on museum objects allows the viewer to gain further information depending on interest.

Wix Website

I heard an ad on TV (yes heard because I never have time to watch TV) last week for a website building website.
As I become more adventurous in my online spaces exploration I decided to try it out. Well I signed up to
Wix and after checking out heaps of templates was struck with the though. Oh My Gosh what would I call it, what would my overall theme/content organising idea be, what would I put in it????

I will ponder this conundrum over the next few days while I am swimming with dolphins and bush walking.

Perhaps I will have an epiphany. 

Any ideas? Any experience with Wix? Please share.

Affordances of Wikis - Wiki Spaces Classroom

I set up a Wiki Spaces Classroom (Education - Free)to analyse the affordances of this online space as a pedagogical tool. I am now converted to this approach to student driven content and have been planning how to implement this tool as part of my Teacher Librarian role (student research tasks) which I will return to in July. It is much easier to manage than I anticipated. The table is by no means a final product: below but it is my first response after using the tool. I already know it would be better with more specificity around activities so feel free to make suggestions! The table is in my wiki as well video, images and soon I will add a link when I find something awesome. One thing I would have liked to do was be invited to another student's wiki to compare and contrast', from a member's perspective..... Hint Hint. I found setting up my wiki I was more aware of writing for the future members, "them", whereas setting up and writing in this blog is more about the "me". If you would like to be a member of my wiki and have not yet received an invite please let me know and I will make sure it happens.

The Affordances of Blogs - Blogger

Consider my blogging expertise doubled! An examination of the Blogger blog site has taken quite some time because each time I discovered something new you could do I would be off on a tangent trying it out. The table below analyses the affordances of blogs (based on this blog tool)and how it links with my pedagogical framework. I have used a table because I prefer to analyse on a structured format. I considered a mindmap but found it too "messy". T

The embedding of blog use in learning design is all about social communication around student AND teacher generated content. It enhances learning by providing students with a web space that can contain various types of digital artefacts. Learning is transformed when students must be critical when reflecting on their own work and the blog posts of others. Reflective thinking is how students grow their mental capacity. Blogs allow for the students to present ideas creatively through the embedding of original images, sound and audio. Blogs are an essential component of eLearning.

Blogger - Did You Know?

SlideShare ... got it!