Category: digital literacy

The Future

On By Margaret SimkinIn Collaborating, Connecting, digital literacy, effective teaching, INF532Leave a comment
Knowledge and Wisdom
Knowledge and Wisdom

 This course has continually reinforced our school motto!

 

Transforming knowledge to wisdom
Transforming knowledge to wisdom

It has challenged me to think about the difference between Knowledge and Wisdom and this slide from http://www.slideshare.net/timbuckteeth/the-changing-face-of-digital-learning sums up the challenges inherent in this intellectual exercise.

The past:

(an imperfect piece from a tertiary student, but it sums up the overall journey of my teaching career – which spans several decades)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pp47qGZhHk

My blog posts for INF532 sum up the position I now occupy in terms of my teaching and resource provision. Where to next?

The future of learning:

may look like that envisioned by 2Revolutions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoSJ3_dZcm8

or like this from AITSL:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoSJ3_dZcm8

Either way I feel that I am now able to participate in more meaningful ways than I knew existed at the beginning of this year.

 

Types of Learning

On By Margaret SimkinIn blended learning, Collaborating, digital artefacts, digital literacy, effective teaching, Flipped classrooms, INF532, ReflectionLeave a comment

Personal development of instructional design for my students:

As our students are equipped with devices whole new ways of learning open up to us. Over the last few years I have exposed my students to PLN construction through offering lunchtime introductions to Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as using these tools, Facebook, and access to learning materials in online spaces.

In our region Internet provision is patchy and until recently I have used this as an excuse not to develop too much online material. Aaron Sams in:

Bergman, J. & Sams, A (2012) Flipped learning founders set the record straight in T.H.E. Journal. from: http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/06/20/flipped-learning-founders-q-and-a.aspx , offers a range of easy to provide solutions to the issue of Internet access: provide the content on a flash drive, CD or DVD for example.

For a number of years, I have experimented in a somewhat ad hoc manner with flipping my classroom using a class wiki and exporting lessons from my interactive whiteboard software and adding links to other materials. In the last two years, as senior students in my History Revolutions class have had access to devices I have given them blogging as a means of accessing and reflecting on material.

In the last 12 months, in addition to student technology, there have been a number of improvements to Microsoft Office products that have sped up the process of adoption. The most impact has been achieved with the collaborative OneNote app, which, as a Microsoft school, allows me to seamlessly add my students to a class notebook. In image 1 below you can see the different sections, and part of the name of my first student, with the rest of the class along the top in alphabetical order. The notebook offers me a space to create their “textbook” type materials, (teacher notebook) and each one of them gets their own “exercise book” for working in (you can see Harry’s tab), and we all get access to a collaborative space where I can set up work for them to do together.

In the collaborative space you can see who has added or altered which contribution by the colour-coding, and the student’s initials which automatically appear.

collaborative OneNote
The options within a collaborative OneNote notebook

 

Collaborative space
Collaborative space

 

Sharepoint home page for History Revolutions
Sharepoint home page for History Revolutions

 

Using Sharepoint I have been able to set up a Mosaic Live Tiles page (which still requires work) that is like a website but is only accessible within the school. This gives me the option of collecting any video clips I make and add to YouTube; any photographs that I have taken, and podcasts I create. This is a space that I am still conquering but which will allow seamless collection of data for student access.

Office Mix, an add-on for PowerPoint, which I investigated as an option for my artefact: http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/msimkin/2015/04/28/artefact-design/,  will be very useful for converting my interactive whiteboard  flip-chart exports from previous years into film to support students through the subject timeline.

The learning from INF532 has pushed me to develop a greater range of supporting materials to assist my students to master their material. Referring to the table below I can now see a holistic and valid reason for using as many combinations of the different types of learning models in order to assist all learners and learning styles.

An approach to developing new learning
An approach to developing new learning

Adapted by June Wall from Michalowski, A. (2014). Planning for blended learning environments and measuring progress. Retrieved from: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-289794-dt-content-rid-651236_1/courses/S-INF532_201530_W_D/module6/6_3_Instructional_design.html

As with all learning, the critical process is the designing the materials which will support students to develop their understanding. http://www.instructionaldesign.org/ is a very useful resource which collates all the theories, concepts and learning domains into a series of hyperlinked definitions and gives a ready reference to understanding the processes involved. http://www.slideshare.net/MikeKunkle/basic-instructional-design-principles-a-primer Adds some simple summaries which are of use as a quick reference.

Another easy to apply process is the ADDIE model (ADDIE Model, n.d.)

Instructional design supports the processes promoted to us at our school, such as Grift and Major’s Teachers as the Architects of Learning (Grift & Major, 2013).

The critical issue now is having the time to complete resource creation – a common complaint of teachers everywhere.

References

ADDIE Model. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2015, from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADDIE_Model

Grift, G., & Major, C. (2013). Teachers As Architects Of Learning: Twelve Considerations For Constructing A Successful Learning Experience. Moorabbin: Hawker Brownlow Education.

 

 

Fis(c)hbowls etc.!

On By Margaret SimkinIn blended learning, Connecting, digital literacy, effective teaching, Flipped classrooms, knowledge networks, Reflection1 Comment

Module 6: Curriculum and learning design in a connected world.

The title for this post comes from Julie Lindsay’s blog and her follow up comments in another post. It was, therefore, imperative to find out what fishbowl technique actually is, and whether the concept might be useful for C21st educators to apply to their real or virtual learning experience design.

There is definitely a place for such a tactic in student-focused classrooms and also for adult participation in professional learning experiences. Designers of meaningful lessons based on Mystery Skype or Skype and author use a similar technique – allocating roles to participants to enable the process to unfold smoothly for the connected groups, and sharing the workload in a collaborative fashion. Fishbowl structure presents domination of any one individual during a debate or discussion.

The spelling in the title of this post is based on a pun of Julie’s during the development of her post when she believed that Karl Fisch was the creator of the technique. Knowledge networking resulted from this mistaken belief, with Karl participating in the online debate about the technique – and other connected learning experiences.

Further learning stemmed from this presentation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO9V9xvRPds&feature=youtu.be&t=6m12s

Theory and practice of connectivism in flat, global classrooms, are clearly dealt with real-world examples of different types of activities referenced. At about the 7-minute mark, Julie uses a new word: GLOCALISATION to sum up the type of knowledge networking involved. Cultural sensitivities must be considered when engaging with classes overseas.

At about the 10-minute mark, Julie comments that going global is a mindset, not a plane ticket.

Google I/O 2013 – Building an Online Education Platform using Google Technologies:

This video shows the range of considerations and developments Google has been working on to enable blended or flipped classrooms. The basis for driving this agenda come from the belief that the art of lecture is lost – we now have the ability to go back; lots of things about a book are better than a lecture; video production for supporting learning allow the luxury of rewinding and replaying until the process demonstrated or information presented is fully understood.

Jen Jonson explains what makes learning blended:

These terms are considered further in my next post.

Play & learning:

On By Margaret SimkinIn Connecting, digital literacy, effective teachingLeave a comment

Tom Barrett in his short and engaging book Can Computers Keep Secrets? How a Six-Year-Old’s Curiosity Could Change the World, poses a number of examples of the engagement of children in posing “what if” questions, and exploring imaginative possibilities as a way of developing understanding of the world (Barrett, 2013). He advises all of us to consider the role of playfulness in learning.

Many teachers introducing knowledge networking experiences into their classrooms and building on this concept of engagement, adding a layer of serious skill development and giving their students an authentic voice. One educator who exemplifies this is Silvia Tolisano, who blogs about her experiences in working with technology to enable her students to develop knowledge networks (Tolisano S. R., 2015).

The case studies she shares indicate the planning that must take place before starting this type of learning journey in order to gain the maximum benefit.  Skyping an expert from any field requires preparation with the individual concerned, and also with the students.  Most skyping experiences work best if the students have specific roles in both facilitating and recording the processes involved (Tolisano S. R., Amplifying Learning Opportunities: Part III of Literature Circles:, 2013). Using a service such as https://education.skype.com/partners/14-penguin-books teachers can link their class to an appropriate expert to provide authentic discussion.

Having experienced a mystery Skype lesson as an adult, the excitement of the challenge, the online “conversation” and the desire to beat the others to work out the solution are powerfully engaging (https://education.skype.com/mysteryskype). Setting this up in advance as the teacher, and allocating roles to the class members ensures all are involved and the learning is central to the process (Tolisano S. R., Framing a Skype Learning Experience, 2011).

Tolisano provides a framework for teachers to use to assess the desired learning outcomes from such an experience (Tolisano S. R., Amplifying Learning Opportunities: Part III of Literature Circles:, 2013)

She has analysed the learning that arises from a Twitter experience:

Langwitches assessment of learning from Twitter
Langwitches assessment of learning from Twitter

This ensures that learning is assessed against rigorous expectations. A rubric for teachers to use when assessing such skill sets can be found here (Evidence of Learning in the 21st Century Classroom, Classroom Observation Rubric To Guide Leadership for Learning by Instructional Leaders, 2008) .

Other educators are also blogging about a wide range of activities which go beyond just linking up with other locations and contacting an author. Shannon McLintock Miller’s Rainbow loom project, for example, contains links to schools in another country as well as within the students’ own country (Miller, 2014). Again the entire project has been carefully weighed up in terms of learning outcomes.

Such educators provide crucial skill development across a broad spectrum of education for the students in their care. Their wok deserves emulation in a wide range of classrooms.

References

Barrett, T. (2013). Can Computers Keep Secrets? How A Six-Year-Olds Curiosity Could Change The World. Edinburgh: No Tosh.

Evidence of Learning in the 21st Century Classroom, Classroom Observation Rubric To Guide Leadership for Learning by Instructional Leaders. (2008, July 13). Retrieved May 22, 2015, from Gallileo Initiatives: http://www.galileo.org/initiatives/publications/21st_century_classroom_rubric.pdf

Miller, S. M. (2014, January 28). Our Rainbow Loom Research Project Is Going Global and Bringing A Whole Lot Of Happy With It! Retrieved May 22, 2015, from Van Meter Library Voice: http://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/our-rainbow-loom-research-project-is.html

Tolisano, S. R. (2011, February 6). Framing a Skype Learning Experience. Retrieved May 18, 2015, from Langwitches Blog: http://langwitches.org/blog/2011/02/06/framing-a-skype-learning-experience /

Tolisano, S. R. (2013, November). Amplifying Learning Opportunities: Part III of Literature Circles:. Retrieved from Curriulum 21: Mapping the Curriculum of the Future: http://www.curriculum21.com/2013/11/amplifying-learning-opportunities-part-iii-of-literature-circles/

 

 

 

PKM

On By Margaret SimkinIn Connecting, digital literacy, effective teaching, knowledge networks, ReflectionLeave a comment
This post assesses the ways in which personal knowledge management works according to Jarche, H. (2013). PKM in 2013 [Blog post]. Life in perpetual beta. Retrieved March 8, 2014, from http://www.jarche.com/2013/01/pkm-in-2013/ viewed 9 May 2015

“This is not a linear process, as in from information we get knowledge, which over time becomes wisdom. Gaining knowledge is much messier than that. …

Even today, we cannot become complacent with knowledge and just store it away. It has a shelf life and needs to be used, tested and experienced….

Knowledge shared inflows over time can help us create better mental pictures than a single piece of knowledge stock, like a book, can ever do.”

 From <http://jarche.com/2013/01/pkm-in-2013/>

Scott Anthony, author of The Little Black Book of Innovation, identifies four skills exhibited by innovators: Observing; Questioning; Experimenting; Networking. These directly align with the PKM framework of Seek, Sense, Share. It is quite likely that innovation in organisations can be improved with individuals practising PKM.

Enhancing serendipity

Collecting and curating knowledge is only part of the equation. In order for knowledge to become wisdom it must be used, compared against other sources of information related to the same topic, experienced. Developing a sense of knowledge flow within a classroom, school, or business can assist all co-workers to create a better understanding of the issue at hand.

This sense of creating a knowledge network (or ideas network, or a community of practice) will lead to enhanced serendipity and increase the value of personalised information seeking and understanding.

Goals or opportunities, what are your drivers?
Goals or opportunities, what are your drivers?

This diagram is interesting because it  indicates that some modes of information sharing may be more valuable to organisations.

Collaboration is seen by Jarche to be goal oriented and structured, communities of practice combine collaboration and cooperation; social networks are more informal and are based on cooperation. Jarche contends that innovation thrives in environments where social connections are weak and diverse. Strong social ties, on the other hand, enable the sharing of complex knowledge.

Some critical questions to consider: Are innovation and goal orientation mutually exclusive?

1. Are innovation and goal orientation mutually exclusive?

2. Are innovation and goal orientation mutually exclusive?

3. Does being driven by opportunity preclude innovation?

K. C in a C. A

On By Margaret SimkinIn Connecting, Curation, digital literacy, INF532, knowledge networks, ReflectionLeave a comment

Knowledge Construction in a Connected Age:

 How is knowledge constructed?

“Knowledge is not a lean-back process; it’s a lean-forward activity” (Popova, 2011)

Knowledge development, as well as knowledge management, is a social and connective activity that is no longer easy for organisations to control. In this digitally connected world, anyone can gather content, curate it according to their own needs and share it with others regardless of where people live or work. Company (or school) control over information is almost impossible to achieve, even if it is still seen to be desirable.

Collecting and Connecting
Collecting and Connecting

Source: McInerney & Koenig. p. 10

For most schools the situation varies from classroom to classroom, teacher to teacher and subject to subject. Traditional learning/teaching models fall very strongly into the top left-hand space, and the continuing dependence on textbooks, and focus on content, ensures that this will continue for many colleagues and their classrooms.

Giving students the power to find and evaluate information results in a much richer learning environment, in which the teacher becomes a co-learner, both modelling information that is considered reliable and ethical, questioning what makes such sources valuable; and additionally, it allows for the vibrancy of serendipitous encounters.

Reference:

McInerney, C. R., & Koenig, M. E. (2011). Knowledge management (KM) processes in organizations theoretical foundations and practice. San Rafael, Calif. (1537 Fourth Street, San Rafael, CA 94901 USA): Morgan & Claypool. Retrieved from: http://reader.eblib.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/(S(gviqgukar2zhosdvwh11anqt))/Reader.aspx?p=881112&o=476&u=75%2bPOA257%2f1ZaNWG7TLUwA%3d%3d&t=1395028466&h= ABCC76461B2C7E39317217DE63C2FE194451C0E9&s=21866167&ut=1443&pg=1&r=img&c=-1&pat=n#

Filter Bubbles

On By Margaret SimkinIn Connecting, Curation, digital literacy, INF532, knowledge networks, ReflectionLeave a comment

The digital artefact:

Beware online “filter bubbles” by Eli Pariser

Published on Mar 22, 2013

examines these issues closely.

Retrieved: http://youtu.be/4w48Ip-KPRs viewed 9 May 2015

Relevance?
Relevance?

0.28

Invisible algorithmic editing of the web.

Personalisation or control???

There is no standard Google anymore:

Collecting information
Collecting information

2.20

Controlled consumerism?
Controlled consumerism?

3.58

These concepts present us with a great learning idea – having students search the same keyword and comparing what they get back could be very powerful.

Where is your personalisation coming from?
Where is your personalisation coming from?

4.35

Problem with filter bubbles problem is we don’t get to choose what gets in and we don’t even know when things are being collected.

Should we be grateful or concerned?
Should we be grateful or concerned?

6.20

How do we decide?
How do we decide?

6.54 We are now back in 1915 on the web because we are being exposed to a selection of information over which we have no real input.

Information curation and knowledge networks could either enable filter bubbles or break through them.

It is our role to educate our students so that they know how these websites work and what they collect and present to each one of us separately. The way in which our actions are summarised and utilised differs  depending on the website we are using. Comparing this to the way in which our library catalogues respond is a worthwhile educational exercise. The speed at which information is being added to the web in combination with these mining algorithms is a critical C21st skill, and one we should be including in our overall education programs.

To balance information or to personalise it?

The issue of who has control is the answer to this question.

Khan Academy

On By Margaret SimkinIn digital literacy, effective teaching, INF532, knowledge networks, ReflectionLeave a comment

Khan Academy, digital artefacts and The One World Schoolhouse

One of the best-known names in terms of digital artefacts and education is Salman Khan. His book: The One World Schoolhouse: Education Reimagined, presents his vision for an education that is free, world class and available to anyone working anywhere in the world (Khan, 2012, p. 1). In its 257 pages, it outlines the events and experiences that led to his development of the Khan Academy as a theory and in practice. It has resonated with my study of Knowledge Networking for Educators in many ways; starting with one of his selected opening quotes from Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali poet. This sums up one of my concerns when observing the preparation and presentation of colleagues over the years I have been teaching: “Don’t limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time” (Khan, 2012, p. vii).

Using a range of digital resources made available to twenty-first-century educators, or specifically created by them, or presented by their students, is one of the most positive aspects of access to technology and Internet connections. Such resources enable a range of teaching goals to be met through media that can be easily personalized, incorporate feedback mechanisms and be accessed anytime, anywhere, as often as required by the learners who use them.

While teachers must meet the requirements set by a mandated curriculum and assess within a standardized structure, they must also accept that no two learners are exactly the same (http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/index.aspx). Standardizing works with curricula but not with the human brain (Khan, 2012, p. 52).  Changing the system is difficult because it is the normality to which we are accustomed (Khan, 2012, p. 61).

Sugatra Mitra believes our current education model was designed in an era where civil service was a desired career, hence the skills were designed to assist with passing the entrance examinations. His proposed alternative, based on his wonderful hole in the wall experiment is described by him here:

https://embed-ssl.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_shows_how_kids_teach_themselves.html

Khan compares it to the Prussian model, which he acknowledges as revolutionary in in its time, but partly designed for the purpose of turning out tractable citizens who were imbued with the value of submitting to authority (Khan, 2012, pp. 76 – 77).

Mitra and Khan both consider teachers as integral to the learning process due to their unique gifts (Khan, 2012, p. 74). The difficulty for teachers in terms of avoiding the “Swiss Cheese” effect (where students have gaps in their earlier learning that cause them to “hit the wall” later) is their inability to provide sufficient time for all students to develop deeply functional understanding, due to the pressure of needing to have students ready to take scheduled tests (Khan, 2012, pp. 86-89).

How do teachers fulfil the needs of the students and those of the curriculum at the same time? What is the role of homework in this equation? Khan quotes a student who says, while he gets less homework than at his previous school, he spends more time working on harder tasks and feels a real sense of accomplishment when he completes the tasks (Khan, 2012, p. 107).

Khan’s video library academy has successfully provided access to learning materials that have been used successfully by students all over the world. While not designed with the intention of supporting “Flipped Learning” models, it has been used in this manner, which Khan sees as a double edged sword (Khan, 2012, p. 117). Despite the focus of flipping being to free up class time to delve into topics in a more stimulating manner using the advantages of face to face interaction, it is still based on the basis of the Prussian model of age based cohorts moving through topics within a set time frame (Khan, 2012, p. 118).

In his reflection on the differences between pedagogy and andragogy, Khan considers the importance of the emphasis. In the former, it is on the teacher; in the latter, the learner (Khan, 2012, p. 175). The key difference between the two, is, of course, the focus on choice: adults who want to learn are making that choice for themselves. Sugata Mitra, in his hole in the wall experiment, has demonstrated the power of children pursuing something because they want to know about it. Khan also poses the question: is andragogy appropriate for everyone (Khan, 2012, p. 176)?

Khan presents a broad view of the value of technology, nominating an enlightened approach as crucial (Khan, 2012, p. 123). He rightly emphasises the need to alter the whole learning process: the methods, goals and assessments and thereby liberate teachers from the mechanical chores and replace them with human to human interaction (Khan, 2012, p. 123). If school is to continue as the place where education occurs, it must offer something beyond what can be done from textbooks or online; the obvious difference is the face to face social interaction which teachers in classrooms can facilitate. Davidson, C. N., & Goldberg, D. T. (2010) consider some of the aspects of this in their work focussing on the way in which institutions should be different in this digital age.

There are some schools which are challenging this paradigm of education: Templestowe College Bridgemary Community School in Gosport, Hampshire, UK, and Hodgkins School, Adams County, USA, are examples of this. Unfortunately, the effects of such changes will emerge over time and for many in leadership the risk is too big a requirement. Hybrid models which are enthusiastically recommended by those who have set up such learning programs, occupy the middle ground. Northern Beaches Christian College in Sydney is an example of this.

Templestowe High School, Melbourne’s Principal, Peter Hutton describes the teaching and learning program as:

“We have deliberately removed many of the restrictions that “traditional” schools place on students, such as year level structures, single age classes and authoritarian hierarchy structures. We do have a vibrant and productive learning atmosphere, scheduled class times, a uniform which is worn with pride and very high standards of respect shown for one another”. They are still meeting the curriculum requirements for the Australian Curriculum Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.).

http://www.templestowec.vic.edu.au/principals-message.aspx 

Bridgemary Community School in Gosport, Hampshire currently has classes with mixed age ranges based on ability. Currently, this is based on a two-year age gap. Head teacher, Cheryl Heron states:

“This is stage four in a five-stage process which we hope will end with the school open 365 days a year, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. We want it to be a true centre of learning for this community and this is just a step along that path. Eventually, this school will be open to adults and youngsters offering them courses and lessons they want to do when they want to do them.”

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/dec/14/schools.education  

Adams County School District moved from age-based grouping to standards-based learning, three years ago. This belief is founded on the principle that every child learns in different ways. Hodgkins School Principal, Sarah Gould, states:

“Every single student is getting an individualized education. We are giving our kids exactly what they need when they need it.”

CNN televised a report on this process with the unfortunate title: School lumps by ability not age:

http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed_edition&videoId=us/2011/05/03/feyerick.gradeless.school.cnn

Northern Beaches Christian School in Sydney has created a model that is somewhat hybrid, falling ideologically between the examples above and the traditional model of school. Their Principal, Stephen Harris is proud of the project based learning embedded into their curriculum, describing students as authors of their own learning journey, co-creating their learning with teachers as mentors, experts, and guides.

In all these examples, the issue of effective teaching (dependent on a combination of attracting the right people, and successful teacher training) is paramount. The following table indicates the skills and practices required:

table

Source http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/11-habits-effective-teacher 07/05/2014 http://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/principles-of-effective-teaching/

Khan proposes a change to the way in which teachers are deployed, not a reduction in teacher numbers. His solution to the loneliness and isolation of conventional classroom practice is to see teaching as a team sport and facilitate this by placing between 75 and 100 students in a large space with 3 to 4 teachers (Khan, 2012, pp. 197-198). He also postulates that school would better serve its purpose of educating young people if it became a perpetual offering, much in the manner that Cheryl Heron foresees at Bridgemary Community School. The fluencies of C21st learning are well suited to this type of model (Crockett, L., Jukes, I., & Churches, A. 2011). Khan is putting into practice some of the theories postulated by those such as Lemke (2010).

Where does all this leave teachers debating the value of digital artefacts? Like any resource, there is a time, place and student whose learning will benefit from viewing such a production. Effective teachers will apply their skills to selecting artefacts recorded by others and making appropriate examples themselves. As with any other tool, digital artefacts will provide an addition to a personal toolbox developed since these teachers began their professional training.

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability. Retrieved from Australian Curriculum: F-10 Curriculum: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/information-and-communication-technology-capability/introduction/ict-capability-across-the-curriculum

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

Davidson, C. N., & Goldberg, D. T. (2010). The Future of Thinking: Learning Institutions in a Digital Age. Cambridge: MIT Press.

De Saulles, M. (2012). New Models of Information Production. Information 2.0: New Models of Information Production, Distribution and Consumption., 13-35.

Higgins, S., ZhiMin, X., & Katsipataki, M. (2012). The Impact of Digital Technologies on Learning. Durham University. Durham: Education Endowment Foundation. Retrieved from Education Endowment Foundation: http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/uploads/pdf/The_Impact_of_Digital_Technologies_on_Learning_(2012).pdf

Khan, S. (2012). The One World School House: Education Reimagined. London: Hodder and Staughton.

 

Lemke, C. (2010). Innovation Through Technology. In C21st Century Skills: Rethinking How Students Learn (pp. 243-274). Bloomington: Solution Tree.

Social Media

On By Margaret SimkinIn digital literacy, INF532, knowledge networks, ReflectionLeave a comment

Reflecting on Social Media in the Classroom:

As a possible topic for Assignment 1 and a basis for my artefact I am considering promoting Social Media. The work of Rheingold and his Attention, and Other 21st-Century Social Media Literacies (Rheingold, 2010), which contrasts effectively with Reclaiming the Students – Coping With Social Media in 1:1 Schools (Andersson, Hatakka, Gronlund, & Wiklund, 2014) is providing much food for thought.

In many ways the classroom can be seen as a marketplace, with multiple seductive attractions from the online world competing with physical presence, and the issue of teacher-managed circumstances is certainly critical, as Andersson et al discovered in their interpretive research based on content analysis obtained via surveys and interviews (Andersson, Hatakka, Gronlund, & Wiklund, 2014, p. 40). In their findings 42% of students and 74% of teachers indicated that social media (particularly Facebook) were a distractor requiring management (Andersson, Hatakka, Gronlund, & Wiklund, 2014, p. 42). Management ranged from the punitive removal of devices to suggestions for self-management (Andersson, Hatakka, Gronlund, & Wiklund, 2014, pp. 45-46).

Rheingold’s first focus: attention, reinforces this issue but examines it from a more positive perspective. He begins by highlighting the issue of Attention: affected by multitasking, or “continuous partial attention” or attention-splitting, or “hyper attention” (Rheingold, 2010).  Wirelessly-webbed, always-on media presents a constant smorgasbord of options with which students can be distracted, in the same way many of their teachers may also be lured off task or topic (Rheingold, 2010). Rheingold’s solution is to model and promote focused attention when necessary, additionally acknowledging that there are times when it is truly beneficial to task-switch (Rheingold, 2010).

We are currently teaching the first generation of young adults who have been raised with connective media devices since an early age, whose parents are also learning the concepts and parameters of such connectivity. Social mores for mobile phones in public spaces are still evolving and protocols for social media in public versus private settings are also in an emergent stage. This adds a degree of urgency to the debate about using such media as teaching tools and resources, which are now so much a part of the world beyond school, including work.

Participation is the next aspect Rheingold addresses. While acknowledging the amount of facile blogging and tweeting he also promotes the value of online participation in social media: “When you participate, you become an active citizen rather than simply a passive consumer of what is sold to you, what is taught to you, and what your government wants you to believe. Simply participating is a start” (Rheingold, 2010).

Inherent in teaching students to participate is the need to define the rhetorics of participation, to ensure that there will be sufficient numbers of well-educated citizens who are proficient at accessing and interpreting information allowing productive communication of their opinions in concert with other citizens – a literacy of participation (Rheingold, 2010). 

The next discussion revolves around Collaboration. It is important to note the distinction between collaboration, and collective action, something educators find difficult to construct lessons to really address. The 21st Century Literacy project defines Collaboration as one of five fluencies that today’s students need to master. Microsoft have developed an app which enables teachers to assess the degree to which a planned task is truly collaborative and not just “group work” (Moffitt, n.d). Collaboration offers educators a very powerful tool with which to engage students in some real world learning from experts beyond the classroom walls.

Moffitt's Microsoft app for Windows 8
Moffitt’s Microsoft app for Windows 8

Network Awareness

Online social networks are a relatively recent addition to something which has always been an essential part of being human,. No longer do teachers have the physical limitations on which people and how many people we could include in an educational network.

David P. Reed , cited by Rheingold, noted that there are at least three kinds of value that networks can provide:

  1. the linear value of services that are aimed at individual users,
  2. the ‘square’ value from facilitating transactions,
  3. and the exponential value for facilitating group affiliations(Rheingold, 2010).

It is the third value that offers the greatest learning opportunities for educating students to appreciate the notions and nuances of reputation and diffuse reciprocity, which are increasingly important online (Rheingold, 2010).

On her blog post about back-channeling in the classroom, Edna Sackson refers to the case of teacher Silvia, who is introducing Today’s Meet to her class as being their own chat room; once the lesson has progressed she “switches to the ‘front channel’ to discuss what’s going on in the back channel” (Sackson, 2015).  Teachable moments arise when students post inappropriately, which Silvia happily seizes ion by educating her students about audience and purpose. (Sackson, 2015).

Critical consumption

“Critical consumption, or what Ernest Hemingway called “crap detection,” is the literacy of trying to figure out what and who is trustworthy—and what and who is not trustworthy—online” (Rheingold, 2010). The critical need is for education in assessing validity, accuracy and authority. Collecting and curating information is another vital tool that must be modelled and incorporated.

Darren Draper, with some sadness, comments in relation to the much touted technological education adoption model SAMR the “In SAMR-ry,5 I think many of us in education are frustratingly stuck in Gartner’s trough of disillusionment, trying to understand why million dollar purchases are only being used as textbook and bubble sheet alternatives (SAMR’s beloved S!) (Draper, 2014) “.  Many educators await the day when research catches up with vision, and greater enlightenment more fully translates into more meaningful transformation of classrooms into spaces that are opened up by access to devices for enhancing learning activities with meaningful connectivity well beyond the local community (Draper, 2014).

References

Andersson, A., Hatakka, M., Gronlund, A., & Wiklund, M. (2014). Reclaiming the Students – Coping With Social Media in 1:1 Schools. Learning, Media and Technology, 39(1), 37-52. doi:10.1080/17439884.2012.756518

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

Draper, D. E. (2014, February 22). That Time When SAMR Gets Us Into Trouble. Retrieved March 21, 2015, from Drape’s Takes : Openness, Education; Technology: http://drapestak.es/that-time-where-samr-gets-us-in-trouble-2/

Moffitt, L. (n.d.). 21st Century Learning Design App. Retrieved from http://windows.microsoft.com/en-au/windows-8/apps

Rheingold, H. (2010, October 7). Attention, and Other 21st-Century Social Media Literacies. Retrieved March 21, 2015, from Educause: http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/attention-and-other-21st-century-social-media-literacies

Sackson, E. (2015, March 14). Back-channelling in the Classroom. Retrieved March 21, 2015, from What Ed Said: https://whatedsaid.wordpress.com/2015/03/14/back-channelling-in-the-classroom/

 

Critical reflection

On By Margaret SimkinIn digital literacy, knowledge networks, official blog post, ReflectionLeave a comment

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:

Summary pf my learning
Summary pf my learning

 

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

 

 
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:

Twitter connections
Twitter connections

 

Facebook interaction
Facebook interaction
The most powerful of all - the blog roll
Resource sharing Resource sharing with Diigo
The most powerful of all - the blog roll
The most powerful of all – the blog roll

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.