INF530 has presented wide ranging, far-seeing, ideologically challenging and educationally inspiring material. The content modules have provided extensive opportunities for professional growth.

A summary diagram of this course might look like this:

 

Each segment draws  together my learning from the subject modules.. The interweaving and interaction of the various topics  has combined into a powerful ideology of knowledge networks and digital innovation applicable to my practice. The pedagogy within each module has been delivered in a multimodal manner, where the modality has resulted in an ensemble of connected parts, in comparison to the linear mode of traditional academic discourse  (Kress, 2010, p. 93).

References and key learnings for this diagram:

Rationale for the digital:   Nathaniel Bott   School is boring  (21st century learning: Nathaniel Bott at TEDxLaunceston, 2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI9TiuVHc0A&feature=youtu.be   John Seely Brown: Teachers need to create epiphanies for kids (Brown,    2012) http://youtu.be/fiGabUBQEnM   Preservation is vital (even for Tweets!) (Allen,    2013) http://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2013/01/update-on-the-twitter-archive-at-the-library-of-congress/   Curation needs teaching (Conole, 2012, p. 48)

Exploration of the innovative:   Virtual worlds:   Student  metaverse experiences versus ours (O’Connell    & Groom, 2010, p. 40)   Digital Blooms:  ties it all together (Iowa State University Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, 2011) http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/RevisedBlooms1.html   Creativity (Bellanca & Brandt, 2010): referred to by most contributors.   Noodle tools (Abilock,    2014)   C21st education (Crockett,  Jukes, & Churches, 2011)

Necessary Skills:   Curation (Conole, 2012, p. 48)   Coding: “The next Darwin is more likely to be a data wonk” (Weinberger, 2011, p. 195)   Gamification: the ultimate conversion of C21st skills  (O’Connell    & Groom, 2010, p. 48)   Collaboration  ubiquitous recommendation (Bellanca    & Brandt, 2010) (Crockett,    Jukes, & Churches, 2011)

Organisation:   Learning design: Compendium LD etc. from Chapter 9 (Conole, 2012)   Effective use of technology: focuses on the desired outcome http://blog.williamferriter.com/2013/07/11/technology-is-a-tool-not-a-learning-outcome/  (Ferriter, 2013)   Learning analytics and big data: powerful combination for refining learning experiences and outcomes

The Internet  provides a pivotal platform for innovative teaching, yet too many teachers are not investing in a meaningful manner. Effectively utilising this limitless and powerful resource would solve Nathaniel Bott’s boredom at school (21st century learning: Nathaniel Bott at TEDxLaunceston, 2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI9TiuVHc0A&feature=youtu.be and enable the development of C21st skills: collaboration, creativity, digital literacy, solution fluency and information fluency (Crockett, Jukes, & Churches, 2011, p. 16). However, the new should not be confused with the effective: http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/msimkin/2014/05/17/confusing-the-new-with-the-effective-brabazon-dear-greene-purdy-2009-p-170-blog-post-4/

This reluctance to implement technological solutions in the classroom is leading to a professional “digital divide” which is of enormous concern as discussed at: http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/msimkin/2014/03/22/a-very-big-hurdle/ . Further investigations within the learning modules indicated the range of tools available to teachers to design, plan and deliver meaningful C21st lessons (Abilock, 2014). Ultimately, education needs to develop a philosophy of practice based on the new paradigm: a digital pedagogy.

 

 

Choosing a digital essay topic

 

 

 

Digital essay: http://pedagogyfornow.weebly.com/

The practical application our learning has resulted from participatory practice: blogging, forums and collaborative curation. The subject has enabled transfer of developing skills to the range of work places represented by the student body. The power of the INF530 professional learning networks can be demonstrated by these screen shots of our networked practice:

 

Taking such infinite issues and converting them into one digital essay has been a challenge, and the end product is controlled by the restraints of the chosen medium (Weebly) and the word limit. The same frustrations arise with preparing this critical reflection.

These are the realities we, in turn, impose on our students. The opportunities for immersion in one sphere of inquiry, the need to brush off the skills of referencing and citing, and the need for sustained reading of a range of information has all promoted personal growth, as can be seen in the peer to peer “discussions” and the development of my skill set as evidenced within my thinkspace blog. The challenge now is to apply my newfound knowledge to improve education beyond my  own teaching, because I have been given some wonderful keys to unlock the potential of C21st students.

 

References

21st century   learning: Nathaniel Bott at TEDxLaunceston. (2013, December 5).   Retrieved March 10, 2014, from You Tube:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI9TiuVHc0A&feature=youtu.be

Abilock, D.   (2014, January 29). Information Literacy. Retrieved March 23, 2014,   from Noodle Tools: http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/1over/infolit1.html

Allen, E. (2013,   January 4). Update on the Twitter Archive. Retrieved March 16, 2014,   from Library of Congress Blog: http://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2013/01/update-on-the-twitter-archive-at-the-library-of-congress/

Anderson, M.   (2013, September 8). ICT Evangelist. Retrieved April 24, 2014, from   Teacher Confidence In Using Technology:   http://ictevangelist.com/teacher-confidence-using-technology/

Bellanca, J.,   & Brandt, R. (Eds.). (2010). 21st Century Skills: rethinking How   Students Learn. Bloomington, United States.

Brown, J. (2012,   September 18). The Global One Room Schoolhouse: John Seely Brown (Highlights   from JSB’s keynote at DML 2012). Retrieved March 16, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiGabUBQEnM&feature=youtu.be

Conole, G.   (2012). Designing for Learning in an Open World. New York, United   States of America: Springer.

Crockett, L.,   Jukes, I., & Churches, A. (2011). Literacy is Not Enough, 21st-Century   Fluencies for the Digital Age. Corwin.

Ferriter, W.   (2013, July 11). Technology is a Tool, NOT a Learning Outcome.   Retrieved May 26, 2014, from The Tempered Radical:   http://blog.williamferriter.com/2013/07/11/technology-is-a-tool-not-a-learning-outcome/

Iowa State   University Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence. (2011). A Model of   Learning Objectives. Retrieved March 17, 2014, from Iowa State University   Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence: http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/RevisedBlooms1.html

Kress, G. (2010).   Multimodality, A Social Semiotic Approach To Contemporary Communication.   Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge.

O’Connell, J.,   & Groom, D. (2010). Virtual Worlds: Learning in a Changing World.   Camberwell, Victoria, Australia: ACER Press.

Weinberger, D.   (2011). Too Big To Know: Rethinking Knowledge Now That The Facts Aren’t   Facts, Experts Are Everywhere, And The Smartest Person In The Room Is The   Room. New York, New York, United States Of America: Basic Books.