Week 8 - Reflective Synopsis

The emergence and continual radicalisation of digital technologies and ICT require teachers to understand and implement e-learning and digital pedagogy into their classrooms to develop students’ technological competencies and give them the tools to strive in our modern society. This posting provides an overview of the particular e-learning theories and digital pedagogy explored over the last seven weeks that can be used to support, enhance and transform student learning within the classroom, and also presents a detailed plan for the legal, safe and ethical behaviours and use of digital technologies and ICT within the classroom.



Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-AOz4S4TfBC0uzq5Cp7mxpSrrgK85mtsDNpaOyO9G5C2m_mwmbrFfaTEdqnT-gXmX3AL_iu08hf5JhkCmDqxa3WH9bqWd6vxohfIfQKBOVhBVB9bx99e7NOH7SGdUrF49_UFbczGWkvA/s1600/ict-solution1.jpg

In the realm of e-learning theory, several models and frameworks have been identified and explored, which in their implementation have the ability to support and enhance student learning in the classroom. De Bono’s six thinking hats help inform decision making and provide different perspectives in the classroom. There are six different coloured thinking hats and each denotes a particular type of mindset or skill. The SAMR model is a transformative framework for implementing digital technologies and ICT into the classroom. The model includes four distinctive levels; substitution, augmentation, modification and redefinition. The European Creative Classroom Framework are creative classrooms that embody digital technology and ICT to enhance and enrich students’ learning experience. The nature of audience and purpose is also an important consideration in education as it ensures that presentations are highly reflective of their type of intended audience (the students) and the aims in which they convey (the content).

In the realm of digital pedagogies, multiple types of e-learning spaces and tools have been identified and explored that have the power to enhance student learning and outcomes within the classroom. Online learning spaces such as websites display and present resources and information in a simple, easy to use interface to prompt student engagement in the classroom. Digital Tools such as videos are used to display and present information in a multi-faceted interacted way to students in the classroom. Presentation tools such as PowerPoints are integral to be able to enhance learning experiences and display and present information quickly, easily and effectively for students in the classroom. Interactive learning tools such as Google Docs allow teachers to use interactive online documents a devices which facilitate collaborative learning and help to engage students in the classroom.

Source: http://www.bctec.co.uk/Images/education-ict.jpg

Teachers need to also be aware of the legal, safe and ethical issues that are associated with the use of digital technologies and ICT for learning in the classroom. These issues could include plagiarism, though the unauthorised replication of other students’ work or of sources accessed on the internet, cyber harassment and cyberbullying through social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter or internet chat rooms or through e-mails, the accessing and sharing of inappropriate material located on the internet, such as sexual content or pornography or extremist or violence websites and privacy concerns, such as leaking of personal information or material through social networking sites, other websites or to other students such as usernames and passwords, confidential employment or personal financial information.

To reduce the negative and detrimental effects that can these issues can produce; the following is a detailed plan of actions to promote legal, safe and ethical behaviour and use of digital technologies and ICT in either an accounting or english classroom context.

· Use originality and plagiarism technologies and programs to check students’ work and assessment tasks such as Turnitin or Plagium.

· Follow the relevant sector (catholic education or state) or associated school’s policies and guidelines for ICT use and protocols for bullying and harassment in the school environment

· Monitor students’ use of ICT when completing activities in the classroom using technologies and programs such as SychonEyes or UserMonitor.

· Monitor students following common guidelines for safe and acceptable ICT use, such as students not sharing or distributing their usernames or passwords.

· The implementation of lessons and learning experiences on appropriate content to be accessing on ICT and the internet and the nature and degree of personal information that is acceptable to share on the internet.

· Advise students on the actions to be taken if they believe they are being cyber bullied or harassed using ICT and digital technologies.

· Model legal, safe, ethical behaviours and use of ICT in the classroom to set a positive example for your students to aspire to and follow.

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/sites/digital-agenda/files/Women_in_ICT_brunette.jpg

Overall, the maintenance and participation in the blog has been a very informative and enlightening learning experience for me and has helped me to improve not only my technological capabilities, but has also transformed my teaching philosophy and rationale and beliefs and values associated with implementing and incorporating digital technologies into the classroom and undoubtedly improved and enhanced the way in which I will be able to use digital technology and ICT as a transformative learning pedagogical vehicle to improve student learning and outcomes within my future classrooms.

Week 7

Introduction

In our modern world, digital technology and e-learning has revolutionised education. Throughout the course of the term, in preparing and publishing blog postings for EDSE12024 – Digital Pedagogies in Secondary Schools, I have had the opportunity to interact and engage with fellow students and learners in a digital learning environment, Blogger. This limited online collaboration provided a number of benefits and successes, drawbacks and failures and learning experiences and outcomes, including:

Benefits and successes:

• The ability to read and gain ideas from other people’s thoughts and reflections
• The ability to gain a variety of viewpoints and perspectives on shared issues
• The ability to express opinions and provide feedback on other’s works and blogs
• The comments from others provide feedback and ideas for improvement on future work and blog postings

Drawbacks and failures:

• The nature of the tasks meant that collaboration was not really necessary to complete them
• The viewing of other’s blogs invites the possibility for illegitimate use or plagiarism
• Collaboration with others was not heavily monitored or facilitated, but instead learner-owned which meant that interaction and engagement was either not carried out at all or only minimally by some members of the learning environment

Experiences and outcomes of limited online collaboration:

• It built my technological knowledge and skill set, using the new and foreign type of digital technology, Blogger
• It built my professional knowledge base of other digital tools that I can use in my teaching through viewing and engaging with other’s blogs
• It helped me to gain an idea of how to work with and interact with others in an e-learning environment

Reflection of theory and experiences in relation to pedagogy and e-learning design

In the context of digital online learning environments and communities, there are two different types of learning approaches; cooperative learning and collaborative learning. Cooperative learning refers to “the process of working together to [achieve] the same end” (Morrison, 2012). In contrast, collaborative learning means “to work jointly on an activity to produce or create something” (Morrison, 2012). Cooperative and collaborative learning generally use different levels of cognitive processes and skills; application, planning and development as opposed to analysis, synthesis and problem solving respectively (Morrison, 2012). Group work, whether it is through cooperative or collaborative learning has the ability to help support student learning and outcomes in e-learning virtual classrooms or environments. According to Weimer (2013), it has the capability to generate five key learning outcomes, including:

1. The ability for students to learn and develop mastery of content and materials more effectively
2. The ability for students to learn the content at a deeper level using higher order thinking skills and processes
3. The ability for students to learn how a group or team functions effectively and productively to complete an activity or task
4. The ability for students to make better decisions and generate better solutions than if they were to work individually, through the sharing of greater knowledge, ideas and perspectives
5. The ability for students to learn how to work effectively with others, particularly others who may have different backgrounds or experiences to them, others who are unfamiliar to them or others they may disagree or dislike

This theory and experiences have influenced and impacted upon the pedagogy and e-learning design that I will implement and use as a teacher.  Morrison (2012) demonstrates the difference between cooperative and collaborative learning; both of which are approaches I can implement into my e-learning design to help engage students in their learning in digital online e-learning environments. Weimer (2013) has also enlightened me to the real value in group work in digital e-learning environments, whether it be through cooperative or collaborative learning, for improved student learning and outcomes. Finally, my experiences have aided me to improve my e-learning design and shown me that cooperative or collaborative learning in e-learning environments is likely to be more successful if:

• Students have the ability to view and provide comments and feedback upon others’ learning
• Collaboration is a necessary component for students to complete tasks and activities effectively
• Collaboration is well managed, supported and monitored in the learning environment with discussion questions or prompts to facilitate interaction if required

References

Morrison, D. (2012). Online groups – Cooperative or collaborative? Retrieved from: https://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/online-groups-cooperative-or-collaborative/

Weimer, M. (2013). Five things students can learn through group work. Retrieved from: http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/five-things-students-can-learn-through-group-work/