With technology evolving every day, it’s time that we challenged traditional approaches to learning and our assumptions about the classroom. Sadly, many people fear that the progress of technology and its growing presence in the classroom are ridding children of traditional literacy skills that are essential in life. When in reality technology is offering alternative ways of approaching literacy and adding additional 21st century skills that are rapidly developing to be a necessity in society. Technology rich learning environments not only benefit the students but also the teachers, by creating an innovative way of learning, in which the students are engaged and most importantly motivated to learn. However contrary to popular belief, an innovative classroom doesn’t purely mean having the technology; it’s about how we choose to use it. We could sit a child in front of a laptop screen for hours, does that mean they are learning, no, therefore it’s our jobs as teachers to think of ground-breaking, original ways of using these great sources of engagement. Previously I’ve mentioned concepts such as wikis, tweets and blogs as all great ways of creating a technology rich learning environment. For some they can be seen as quite daunting and advanced, therefore let’s take a step back and look at some simpler forms of using technology in the classroom.
Podcasting and Vodcasting are pretty self explanatory, traditionally they’re known as a series of audio files podcasting & vodcasting a series of videos, both which you can subscribe to. However as technology has evolved they’ve become more loosely known as an audio & video file. So how can these be used in the classroom? Well we could sit our children down in front of a computer and have them watch a vodcast or listen to a podcast daily; but is that really an innovative way of teaching? Yes it is using the technology but the student is a passive recipient of knowledge so why wouldn’t we instead have the child become actively involved in creating their own casts. A great way to introduce these concepts is through collaborative class work, such as creating a weekly vodcast on the students learning that is uploaded to the classroom wiki, that parents and other classes within the school have access too, with the aim being each child would eventually create their own vodcasts about their own individual learning journey once they have grasped a better understanding of how to use the programs. Although simple, it’s a great way of using the technology and connecting with parents and peers. Podcasts have evolved even further be allowing people to use an online animated character for service delivery. To the child, too afraid to voice their opinion, or who has trouble articulating their thoughts, this type of podcast enables students to adopt an online persona that can present, report or even just communicate with the class which is an engaging and motivating way of gaining student participation.
Storytelling plays a very important role in education; so does it have a place in the digital era? Like all forms of literacy, its role is even more significant than before. The most basic form of digital storytelling comes in the form of PowerPoint with audio attached; although simple it is presenting a more engaging and motivating way in which students can deliver their stories. Web 2.0 however offers a platform for students to publish their own storybooks, create virtual interactive timelines, design and deliver multimedia posters and most importantly it encourages students to “write more, more often and better” (Silvernail, 2004, Warschauer, 2005).
One idea that Web 2.0 introduced was the concept of social sharing. We are all too happy to orally discuss content or recommend sites and books to one another but how often do you forget what was said or loose the page number. This notion of social sharing enables the virtual world to connect people on a deeper level and encourage collaborative learning to the highest degree. With a significant change to constructivist ways of teaching and learning, sharing is at the forefront of education, therefore having the ability to share quotations, images, websites, slides and annotations is essential in this digital era. The ability to share information with different classes within the school or on an even more innovative scale, with people with different cultural backgrounds from around the globe, offers endless educational possibilities and the chance to learn on a much more intellectual level.
“My goal in life is to find ways in which children can use technology as a constructive medium to do things that they could not do before..
..to do things at a level of complexity that was not previously accessible to children”
Prof. Seymour Papert 1998
Wow, that's a remarkably comprehensive and clear overview of the technologies we were talking about on Tuesday, with your own opinions neatly woven in throughout. Of course, with so many possible technologies to choose from, many teachers feel a bit overwhelmed.
ReplyDeleteWhat advice would you give to teachers who feel overwhelmed and who don't know where they should even begin with all these tools?
I think the concept of technology is extremely overwhelming for the technological illiterate teachers out there, especially when it's presence in the classroom is becoming a necessity and not only do they need to know how to use ICT but they've also got to teach 20 odd pairs of staring eyes how to use it as well.
ReplyDeleteI think the best advice that you can give to someone who feels daunted by technology is to research. Like I mention at the top of my blog, “Research is a key aspect to seeing the possibilities out there within technology. To create the classroom, where children are given every possibility to reach their highest potential, we as teachers need to be aware of all that is available to us. It is essential that teachers don’t see emerging technologies as a threat, but rather as a necessity for great education”.
The amount of programs and initiatives that are there to help support teachers in creating innovative classrooms is endless. Microsoft is a great initiator in training and alerting teachers to the possibilities that are out there; for example the Microsoft School of the Future World Summit is a great way to explore ground breaking new technologies with other teachers. There are also countless professional development seminars that look at specifically training teachers to use technology in the classroom or as mentioned below online universities like Microsoft’s Professional Development Innovative Schools Program.
Essentially though what it comes down to is a need for teachers to WANT to learn these things and WANT to create innovative learning spaces that yes, may initially be time consuming, but in the long term will be enormously beneficial for their students and themselves. If they don’t know where to begin, it’s as simple as turning on the computer and exploring, playing with the technology in front of them, talking to fellow teachers, asking for help, all the things that they tell their students to do every day when they approach something new. Once you’re over that initial daunting hurdle, the possibilities are endless.
Rom, I agree that providing students with a multitude of technology, without teaching them how to use it can be quite ineffective. Although students are proactive and will most likely adapt to new technologies much faster than their teachers. Teachers must also become involved in the process and learn HOW to utilise and engage with new technologies and also become excited with the concept of discovering something new. I think that it is also important that students and teachers are learning collaboratively together. Teachers can pose a technological challenge to their students and can guide them through their group problem solving, teachers don't need to have all of the answers.
ReplyDeleteRom I love your suggestions for using pod/vodcasts for staying in touch with parents. Also I agree that the technology can seem very overwhelming, not because it's complicated or difficult, but because there is so much available! In response to Mark's point, I think a teacher should try one new tool at a time, maybe one per term, rather than trying to tackle everything in one go. Rather than feeling overwhelmed, we should embrace the choice that is offeed to us.
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of good suggestions in this discussion thread. As Rom said, colleagues can be a great resource - that's the principle that underpins the notion of the 'viral spread' of info/skills, where teachers learn by observing what other teachers are doing in their classrooms. Of course, there are plenty of formal courses you can take as well.
ReplyDeleteAs Lexie pointed out, teachers can also learn from students in a partnership where the teachers provide most of the pedagogical expertise, and the students provide (some of) the technological expertise. And finally, as Liz said, it's a good idea to start small - begin by becoming comfortable with one main tool, then you can branch out and extend your repertoire. It definitely gets easier as you go, because there's a lot of common ground between common web 2.0 tools ...
Holy moley, Rom, I think we will all have to visit a classroom of yours to see how to integrate these elements into the classroom. Well done to you. I am one of those overwhelmed persons when it comes to introducing ICT as I would love to ensure that it is done well and would be loathe to think that there was not valuable learning occurring. The idea of beginning small has stuck with me. When I think back to prac and other voluntary work that we have done, there are ways we could start small. I remember "newstime" being a big deal in the classroom, we could even begin with something like that being pod/vodcasted!!! I also love the use of these services to include parents. So often, in this time poor world, they just don't get the opportunity to come and meet with teachers to discuss how their child is getting on. What better than being able to see what your child is doing on a weekly basis with some simple uploads of work completed. Once again, starting small - love that concept and now a little less overwhelmed!
ReplyDeleteMary, perhaps you could even make the podcasts/vodcasts available to parents - it would be a way of including them in the activity, and it would potentially give them a lot to discuss with their children.
ReplyDeleteOMG Rom! What a post! It is like a mini-essay and so well written. You have covered everything and your response to Mark's question was very comprehensive.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Mary as being from the older generation (you are way younger than my daughter)I am very much a digital immigrant and having to learn all these digital tools as well as all the other everyday things teachers need to know (programming, lesson plans, etc) it can be very overwhelming.
I agree with Mark that other teachers will be a great help to us when we first start out, possibly more than structured PD sessions as the teachers have had the practical experience in the school we are in.The visit from Erin highlighted this as she has taken on the role of mentor to those teachers in her school who are 'technology challenged'.