What will be next? Is my ongoing question in the world of E-Learning. We currently have a broad variety of exploration tools to provide in our classrooms of the 21st Century, but which ones are effective? Which ones will support the learners journey through understanding and engagement?, and of course, which ones are safe for our children to use, and for us as educators to provide for our learners? Throughout this synopsis, I will be describing these in group technologies 1, 2, 3 and 4 and the possible ways in which it could enhance creativity and confidence in my students learning.
Group Technologies 1
Group Technologies 1 describes the Web 2.0 which is used quite popularly in today’s society. Not just in classrooms or education systems, but in workplaces that involve construction and trade businesses, I.C.T and even the Queensland Government. Web 2.0 provides tools such as websites, wikis and blogs which establish the importance of a two-way tool, to be both the reader and the author (Moodle, 2011b). As I examined the tools of Group Technologies 1, I witnessed the intense collaborative formation in which the tools presented themselves. I particularly, looked into websites, as they provide a sort of ‘base’ for the students learning. Websites are very personally creative and can withhold particular information, but also have professional looking links into both blogs and wikis. Please view my Weebly website for an analytical SWOT analysis of websites in education, and to view my wiki and podcast links at http://nikkiselearning.weebly.com/
In my teaching context, I feel that the Web 2.0 tools can be effective in my classroom for my learners, as they are able to collaborate effectively with their peers through blogs and wikis, but still have a ‘safe base’ of information on a class website, that can enable them to refer to information, or specific links they wish to further investigate. An example of how I could use this in my classroom, is so I can provide homework or class tasks in a visually appealing way, and have the ability for the children to still ‘construct’ their knowledge through Blogs and Wikis linked through the website.
Group Technologies 2
Group Technologies 2 focuses on audio and visual representation tools such as videos, podcasts, audio, images and image enhancing programs. Multimedia is one of the most important affordances of online learning, according to Moodle (2011a). Incorporating these technologies and their tools into any learning environment would be advantageous for a variety of learners and their learning styles. Through these multimedia tools, learners are able to view and process information through visual and auditory ways, which is helpful to suit these learning styles. Through using these tools in the learning environment, students are processing their knowledge through a creative and visually appealing way, and the learning has its way of ‘jumping out’ at the learner. I particularly, focused on podcasts and audio, as I was always familiar with podcasts, but never really used one.
After viewing several podcasts and exploring with the tool myself, I was able to realise the great benefit in which they can have in the classroom. Learners that may struggle at writing and recording, may find it more interesting and simpler, to use a podcast to create their report, or do sound recordings to report information, particularly in science experiments. Relating to myself, I find it hard to ‘write down’ my thoughts, but can explain it verbally, this indeed would be great support for learners that need to communicate to get their points across.
In my teaching context, I would particularly use podcasts and audio tools in a form in which my learners can access these to understand and still ‘construct’ their knowledge. Using programs such as Podomatic (Podomatic, 2011) would definitely increase the innovative tool in a creative sense. Podcasts and audio can be embedded into a website and a blog and therefore can be viewed in several formats. For learners that do not learn through auditory information or processing, I would definitely incorporate vodcasts into my learning environment, which consists of both audio and visual. This way, it would suit the needs of both auditory and visual/spatial learners. To view further information on podcasts and audio in learning, please go to my podcast at http://nikkileerose.podomatic.com/entry/2011-03-27T04_33_02-07_00.
Group Technologies 3
Group Technologies 3 was by far my favourite in the new 21st Century e-Learning pedagogy. I really didn’t have a particular ‘favourite’ of this group, as they were all so appealing in a number of ways. Tools such as Prezi, Glogster and PowerPoint are within this group. To this day and age, many of us are quite familiar with PowerPoint, and how it can be used effectively to interact within the classroom. I, myself was being taught topics at high school with both interactive and non interactive PowerPoints. They were the ‘big thing’ as you could say. I never realised though how in-depth presentation tool in e-Learning had gotten. Prezi is definitely a brilliant program to present information on; being very similar to the idea of PowerPoint presentations, but simpler to use, and very creative. However, I did find that there were limited colour fonts and limited styles to exhibit the creativeness inside the learner.
I particularly looked into the presentation tool of Glogster. I immediately thought, first of all, that it related to the same idea as blogs – simply because it rhymed! As I explored the tool, I immediately had a connection with it. As I am huge on presentation and inspiring my creative abilities, I chose to create an artistic Glogster, but I did find it hard to understand the learning abilities within, until I explored further.
I viewed several Glogs that other people had created relating to specific topics, such as history, the arts, science, maths, and even homework pages that some teachers had created for their classes. What a great idea! I thought to myself. Teachers had used Glogster to construct visually appealing information regarding what topic the students were undertaken. The Glogs had several videos, web links, images, podcasts and animated graphics that really brought the children’s homework to life. When children were creating projects on a particular topic, they were able to visualise their information, create stories, and apply it artistically (Marlow, 2011)
A teacher is able to create a classroom Glogster account, which enables the students and the teacher to collaborate with each other in their topic learning area, as well as constructing their knowledge as a team. As for my own teaching context, I would definitely use Glogster to enhance the learning in my classroom. I would use it often as a substitute for written homework in some weeks, to add variety and show the learners that there are many ways of exploring information, not just through looking in books. I would also use Glogs as a form of the students constructing their own If you would like to view a further analysis on Glogsters in education, please refer to my Glogster poster at http://nikkileerose.edu.glogster.com/glogsterassessment2
Group Technologies 4
The final collection of tools I explored was Group 4 Technologies. I more refer these to a ‘miscellaneous’ area of digital tools, as they are effective and useful, but do not really fit in to any of the particular groups above. Throughout this collection, I explored the tools such as the Google applications – Docs, Earth, Maps, as well as Animations and Simulations, digital storybooks and timelines, and online concept mapping. I found that most of these tools had an excellent purpose in learning, and had collaborative and innovative techniques. I did see online concept mapping as a little bit over rated, as it is just as simple to apply a more creative and visually appealing concept map on a large poster of paper. It would also involve more collaborative work, as you are easily able to sit with peers and construct an ideal concept map as a team. However, if learners are studying through a non face-to-face method, concept mapping would be ideal, but not particularly for an everyday classroom environment.
As for the Google applications, i found these all very sufficient in providing learning for the learners in my classroom. Google Maps and Google Earth are excellent supportive tools particularly for studies of geography, history and the arts. Learners are able to visually connect to places in which they cannot necessarily be, which is a tremendous highlight of this tool. Google Docs is a very sufficient online collaborative tool that learners can access 24/7 and are able to construct learning projects as a group, but be anywhere in the world. The Google applications would be definitely inherited into my classroom environment, as they are allowing exploration for learners, and still provide appropriate information needed.
I particularly looked into animations and simulations, as I wanted to research if they were really a form of learning with students. As Moodle (2011c) states, animations and simulations do not constitute learning on their own, and still need appropriate pedagogy behind it. Gizmos (ExploreLearning, 2011) are an excellent online resource that can transform learning into a whole new perspective. Gizmos provide an exceptional ‘aide’ for learning, particularly in areas of science and mathematics, and provide animations that are relevant to the learning topic. For some learners and environments, some things are not possible to see happening, therefore there is a need for a visual aide. For example, if I was discussing the topic of volcanic lava within my classroom, and the history of Pompeii, there is no possibly way in which we can visit the place. Through animations and simulations, we can! That is what I love about having these in my teaching context for a support of students learning. To view a PMI analysis of animations and simulations, please view this link http://managingelearning123.blogspot.com/2011/04/digital-tools-group-4-animations-and.html
Safety and Ethical Guidelines
Obviously, as an educator, I will be responsible in providing safety and ethical information to my students, both safety of themselves and others. Students need to understand, that through websites, wikis and blogs, and many other online tools, that anyone is able to view these, unless requested no to. Also, it is important for children to understand that any words, information, pictures, videos, podcasts or any other source that is not from them, needs to be acknowledged correctly. As for the safety of the children themselves, it is vital you promote the importance of the learners not to post anything too personal on these digital tools as well as any photographs of themselves or peers, unless privacy is reassured. A good website for students to view before immersing in any online work is CyberSmart (2011). This site also quizzes students into how to be safe online.
Conclusion
Overall, the tools I have explored have been innovative and have definitely demonstrated a difference into which I will provide amazing pedagogy in the future. As we enter a new generation in the 21st Century, we need to provide ‘up to date’ strategies to actively engage our students into the lifelong learning journey.
References
CyberSmart., (2011). Cyber Safety. Retrieved from http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/
ExploreLearning., (2011). Gizmos - Online Simulation. Retrieved from http://www.explorelearning.com/
Marlow, A. (2011). Glogster PD – What is a Glog? Retrieved on April 2, 2011 from http://mrsmarlow.edu.glogster.com/false
Moodle., (2011a) Group 2 Technologies. Course Readings – FAHE11001 Managing E-Learning. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=156839
Moodle., (2011b) Group 1 Technologies: Online Spaces – Web 2.0. Course Readings – FAHE11001 Managing E-Learning. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=156943
Moodle., (2011c) Group 4 Technologies: Animations and Simulations. Course Readings – FAHE11001 Managing E-Learning. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.phpid=156949
Podomatic., (2011) Create a Free Podcast. Retrieved from http://www.podomatic.com/
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