☼ Part B ☼ Item 1 ☼ SOUND FILE ☼

mrstevemisskatie_pleaseandthankyou

1. Which learning style(s) does this ICT support?

This very simple but educational song supports the learners at the various learning levels, particularly for the younger years (Early Childhood, Early Stage One, Stage One … and even older years), as it caters for most styles of learning depending on the context they are implemented as and what it is that you are particularly intending to teach.

• Auditory learners will be captivated by the special message that the song offers us. As it is an auditory material students will be benefiting by allowing their imagination to over as they create a visual image of the events on the song at the same time as they listen to this auditory learning material.
• The linguistic Learner benefits from this educational song, as they learn best by: singing and learning the lyrics, saying and commenting about its content, hearing and repeating the principal message with the catchy repetitive chorus of this song.
• Musical Learners will be learning at their best by: rhythm, melody and the music that this fantastic educational song incorporates.
• This particular song allow for intrapersonal learners to work/learn alone and for interaction with the rest of the class. Acting it out will be a good positive resource-strategy for incorporating this type of ICT strategy to suit the different learning styles.

2. How could this ICT be implemented as a good cognititve tool within the learning environment?

By implementing songs as cognitive tool in the classroom the atmosphere will change dramatically. Children absolutely love singing songs! Its something they are even aware of, as that they are part of their learning. The funnier they are or the movement
they have, the more the children like them. They especially enjoy it
when the song contains words that can be shouted or said in a
different voice.

Singing songs, or even simply listening to songs with children helps expose students to various types of genre. The good thing about songs is that they are very common and easy to have access to.

Song-based lessons, projects, and activities are tools that will enable educators to create opportunities for all students to experience success in the classroom. Currently, student self-image and self-esteem will increase as they beging to view themselves as competent and capable learners.

All students can learn, but we must first get their attention.

3. How is this ICT enabling the development of creativity?

Songs are timeless expression of the human experience. They capture the history of events, ideas, and people that have shaped our society. Song lyrics are an excellent teaching tool that will engage and motive our young learners. The creative process of analysing and interpreting song lyrics helps students to develop essential research, writing, critical thinking and media literacy skills.

Lyrics:

☼ PLEASE AND THANK YOU ☼

☼

When I ask my mum for juice

I always say: Please and thank you

When my day reads me a book

I always say: Please and thank you

Please and thank you

So easy to say

Please and thank you

Are the words I use every day

☼ ☼

When my teacher ties my shoes

I always say: Please and thank you!

When my friends help me clean up,

I always say please and thank you

Please and thank you

It’s so easy to say

Please and thank you

Please and thank you

are the words I use every day.

☼ ☼ ☼

Miss Katie: Yes! Mr. Steve!

Would you please go for a bike ride with me later today?

well, I would really love to!

Thank you!

Hey Mr, Steve!

Yes! Miss Katie?

Would you please help me with this puzzle?

I think that would be alot of fun

Thank you very much!

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

Please and thank you!

So easy to say,

Please and thank you!

Are the words I use every day.

Please and thank you!

So easy to say

Please and thank you! …

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

Reference:

“Please and thank you” song By Miss Katie and Mr. Steve – From: Are you ready? Here we go! [Song] Extracted on May 1st, 2009 from http://freekidsmusic.com/music-mn.html

http://freekidsmusic.com/mps1/MrSteveMissKatie_PleaseAndThankYou.mp3

Mr. Steve & Miss Katie
	Please and Thank You from Are You Ready? Here We Go!

« ☼ Rethinking ICT in the Classroom ☼

☼ Rethinking ICT in the Classroom ☼

Teacher Pedagogical Beliefs:

The Final Frontier in Our Quest for Technology Integration?

A critical and Descriptive Reflection on the reading …

Peggy Ertmer’s article has as its purpose to examine the relationship between teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and their technology practices. In his rewiew, he extends the work of other scholars whom have examined teacher’s beliefs in subject-related contexts, as to extend the relationship between pedagogical beliefs and technology use.

It seems to me that what the author is hopping for, is that by gaining a better understanding of what he calls a ‘complex relationship’, educators might gain a greater appreciation for why more teachers are not using technology in ways advocated in literature. This will enable us to facilitate and provide more effective ways of supporting and documenting teacher change.

Previous researchers have noted the influence on teacher’s beliefs on classroom instruction specifiaclly in mathematics, reading and science, and even then not much research has been done to establish a link to teachers’ use of technology. In the reading, Ertmer argues for the importance

Goal:

The goal is to facilitate uses of technology that lead to increased student learning. “Little will have been accomplished if research into educational beliefs fails to provide insights into the relationship between beliefs … and teacher practices, teacher knowledge, and student outcomes” (Pajares, 1992, pg. 327).

Definition of Teacher Beliefs:

teacher beliefs, teacher knowledge and teacher thinking, comprise the concept of teacher cognition. Yet Kagan, (1990) in the concept of teacher cognition, notes: “is somewhat ambiguous because, because researchers invoke the term to refer to different products, including teacher’s interactive thougths during instruction; thoughts during lesson planning; implicit beliefs about students, classrooms, and learning; and reflections about their own teaching performance (pg. 420).

The difficulty in learning teacher’s beliefs is in determining how they differ from knowledge. It is correct to say that humans have beliefs about everything, particularly teachers holding beliefs, whether defined and labeled – about their work, students, subject matter and particularly their roles and responsibilities.

Reference

Pajares, M. F. (1992) Teachers’ beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up messy construct. Review of Educational Research, 62 (3), 307 – 332.

Ertmer, P. A. (2005). Teacher pedagogical beliefs: The final frontier in our quest for technology integration? Educational Technology Research & Development, 53(4), 25-39.

☼ Part B ☼ Item 1 ☼ SOUND FILE ☼ »« ☼ Part B ☼ Item 1 ☼ VIDEO CLIP ☼

☼ Part B ☼ Item 1 ☼ VIDEO CLIP ☼

1. Which learning style(s) does this ICT support?

This interesting YouTube video clip was first presented to me on a lecture at university las year. The video’s challenging themes and its interactive nature supports the learners at the various learning levels and it also caters for all the different styles of learning mentioned as followed:

• Visual learners will be the the learners taking on most of the presented information, as they will be able to absorb the challenging messages by simply watching this video. Student’s static interactions with the visual nature of this video and its interactive form will allow for the stimulation of the student’s brain trough visuals as the video potrays the impact of its message.
• Auditory learners will be captivated by the background song by Fat Boy Slim – Right Here, Right Now.
• The linguistic Learner will be benefitting from this game as they learn best by: reading, saying, hearing and seeing the video clip’s message.
• Logical/Mathematical Learners will be the ones taking on all the percentages as they categorize and classify the video clips information accordingly.
• This particular video clip directly allows for intrapersonal learners to absorb the required information alone as they interact one-on-one as the video clip plays.

2. How could this ICT be implemented as a good cognititve tool within the learning environment?

This video can be successfully implemented as an excellent cognitive tool within the learning environment, so it is important the some highlights of this video clip be done for a better understanding of its implementation as a cognitive tool.

Video Highlights

• If you’re one in a million in China…There are 1,300 people just like you.  In India, there are 1,100 other people.
• The 25% of the population in China with the highest IQ’s is greater than the total population of North America.
• In India, it’s the top 28%.  They have more honors kids than the U.S. have kids.
• The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 didn’t exist in 2004.
• The U.S. ranks only 20th in the world in broadband internet penetration.
• It’s estimated that more unique information will be generated this year than in the previous 5,000 years combined.

This video offers viewers the opportunity to analyse the path that globalisation and our education system is taking now.

When using video clips such as this present one in the classroom setting – from personal experience – evidence of student’s selft analysis and autonomy shows to be strong in the classrooms. When interacting with video clips and incorporaring it as an ICT tool it can be implemmented within the curriculum. Students can also be encouraged to make decisions about many current issues such as:

• What do I think about the present situation
• which strategies to use for problem solving
• How is the current situation affecting me at the moment?
• Or how is it benefitting my life?

As teachers we can encourage the growth of autonomy by providing numerous opportunities for students to make choices and to think for themselves without relying on the teacher to make their decisions for them.

Video clips should be implemented as a good cognititve and interactive tool in our classrooms. The personal interaction obtained from this experiences, enables the students to have an opportunity to express their ideas in a risk-free environment.

3. How is this ICT enabling the development of creativity?

Teachers that are eager to encourage creativity as frequently possible in the classroom, should be in the possition to give students alot of choice and a variety of options when creating a video in the classroom. This is an activity that students are sure to love and enjoy to the fullest.

Reference

Shift Happens [YouTube Video version 3.0]  (2008) – Newly Revised Edition Created by Karl Fisch, and modified by Scott McLeod; Globalization & The Information Age. It was even adapted by Sony BMG at an executive meeting they held in Rome this year. Credits are also given to Scott McLeod, Jeff Brenman. Retrieved May 1st, 2009 from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpEnFwiqdx8

☼ Rethinking ICT in the Classroom ☼ »« ☼ Pedagogical Beliefs and ICT Integration ☼

☼ Pedagogical Beliefs and ICT Integration ☼

Some Thoughts About WebQuests

Descriptive and Critical Reflection

What is a WebQuest?

According to Bernie Dodge’s reading, a WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that the learners interact with comes from resources on the internet. There are two levels of WebQuests:

• Short Term WebQuest:The instructional goal of a short term WebQuest is knowldge acquisition and integration. It is designed to be completed in one to three class periods.

• Longer Term WebQuest: The learner would have analysed the knowledge deeply, transformed it, and demonstrated and understanding of the material by creating something that others can respond to. The long term WebQuest is designed to take between one week and a month in a classroom setting.

Critical Atributes:

Whether it is a long or a short term WebQuest, they are designed to efficiently use up learner’s time. Because there is questionable educational benefit in allowing students to navigate without a taks in mind … to achieve efficiency and clarity of purpose, Dodge believes WebQuests should contain the following parts:

1. An introduction setting the stage and providing some background information.
2. A taks which can be easily done and interesting.
3. A set of information sources that would be needed to complete the task. These set of resources should be embeded in the document, and should include web documents, real-time conferencing, databases, books and all other documents phisically available in the learner’s setting.
4. A description of the process the learners should accomplish. It should be broken down into clear steps.
5. Guidance in the organisation of the information. It can be in the form of question, directions, , completion of organisational frameworks, time lines, concept maps, cause-and-effect diagrams, etc.
6. A conclusion that reminds the learners about the learning they have accomplished, and which encourages them to extend such experiences.

What are some non-critical attributes of a WebQuest?

• Group activities – apply to education or library settings.
• Motivational elements – may give learners a role to play. (e.g., scientist, reporter, etc), stimulating them to personally interact and enact.
• Single Discipline / Interdisciplinary – In designing, an effective interdisciplinary instruction is more challenging.

According to Dodge, longer term WebQuests can be thought about in two ways:what thinking process is required to create them, and what form they take once they have been created.

Fom Marzano (1992) the following thinking skills that a longer term WebQuest might require should include:

• Comparing: Identifying the similarities and differences between things.
• Classifying: Grouping into particular categories based on their attributes.
• Inducing: Inferring consequences and conditions from principles / generalisations.
• Deducing: Inferring unstated consequences and conditions from principles / generalisations.
• Analysing Errors: Identification and articulation of errors in one’s or others thinking.
• Constructing Support: Proff for an assertion.
• Abstraction: Underlying theme or general pattern of information.
• Analysing Perspectives: Personal perspectives about issues.

Bernie Dodge ends his piece of work by stating that “putting results of their thinking processes on the internet serves three purposes:

• It focuses the learners on a tangible task,
• It gives them an audience to create for,
• And it opens up the possibility of getting feedback from a distant audience.

Reference

Marzano, R.J. (1992). A different kind of classroom: Teaching with dimensions of learning. Alexandria VA: Association for supervision and Curriculum development.

☼ Part B ☼ Item 1 ☼ VIDEO CLIP ☼ »« ☼ ICT as a Cognitive Tool ☼

☼ ICT as a Cognitive Tool ☼

What is Meaningful learning?

Descriptive and Critical Reflection

Jonassen et al (2008), on their first chapter explore the concepts of tests, arguing that they “represnt only a single form of knowledge representation, so students are not able to deveop conceptual understanding. Therefore learning to take tests does not result in meaningful learning”.

Critical View: If we want meaningful learning to occur, the task that students pursue should engage active, constructive, intentional and authentic.

Instead of testing innert knowledge, schools are in the responsibility to help students learn how to distinguish and give a solution to problems; schools should also help make sense of ‘new phenomena’ and construct the mental modes of those phenomena. In any new situations new goals should be set to allow for a regualtion of their own learning (as in the learning process). “Taks that require intentional, active, constructive, cooperative and authentic learning processes will result in more meaningful learning” (Jonassen et al, 2008, Pg. 2):

Characteristics of Meaningful learnning:

Active → Manipulative / Observant

Intentional → Goal Directed / Regulatory

Constructive → Articulative / Reflective

Authentic → Complex / Contextualised

Cooperative → Collaborative / Conversational

This particularly interesting reading, in a scholarly type of language attempts to deal with the goals for using technologies as well as criteria for evaluating the uses of technology.

Active (Manipulative / Observant): Meaningful learning requieres learners who are actively engaged in by meaningful task in which they manipulate objects and parameters of the environment they are working in and observing the results of their manipulations.

Constructive (Articulative / Reflective): Learners express what they have accomplished and reflect on their activity and the observations that lessons and activities have to offer. By reflecting on experiences, learners integrate such new experiences with their prior knowledge about the world, or they could also establish goals for what they need to learn in order to make sense out of their own observations.

Intentional (Goal Directed / Regulatory): As stated byScardamalia & Bereiter (1994), technologies have traditionally been used to support teacher’s goals but not those of learners. Technologies need to engage learners in articulating and representing their understanding, not that of teachers. An example would be when learners use computers to every day skillful planning taks, or researching a problem they want to solve, they are intentionally learning meaningfully.

Authentic (Complex / Contextualised): These refer to real-world learning tasks that are not only better understood and rememberd, but that are also more consistently transferred to new situations.

Cooperative (Collaborative / Conversational): In the every day world, humans naturally seek out others to help them solve problems and perform taks. Collaboration requires participation among students.

The three most important critical points that Jonassen et al (2008), make reference to are:

• When learners become part of knowledge-building communities both in class and outside of school, they learn that there are multiple ways of viewing the world and multiple solutions to most of life’s problems.
• Technologies can and should become the tools of meaningful learning.
• Technologies afford students the opportunities to engage in meaningful learning when they learn with the technology, not from it.

References

Shift Happens [YouTube Video version 3.0]  (2008) – Newly Revised Edition Created by Karl Fisch, and modified by Scott McLeod; Globalization & The Information Age. It was even adapted by Sony BMG at an executive meeting they held in Rome this year. Credits are also given to Scott McLeod, Jeff Brenman. Retrieved May 1st, 2009 from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpEnFwiqdx8

Scardamalia, M. & Bereiter, C. (1994). Computer support for knowldge building communities. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 3 (3), 265-283.

Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Movra, R.M., & Crismend, D. (2008). Meaningful Learning with Technology. 3rd Ed. New Yersey: Pearson Education.

☼ Pedagogical Beliefs and ICT Integration ☼ »« ☼ Part B ☼ Item 1 ☼ ONLINE GAME ☼

☼ Part B ☼ Item 1 ☼ ONLINE GAME ☼

Musical number patterns: musical counter

Want to play? → Click here ☼ !

Full details → The following information was extracted from The Learning Federation website: http://www.thelearningfederation.edu.au/

Year level: 1–2

Description: Students develop an understanding that patterns consist of repeating elements or groups of elements, are predictable and can be represented in different forms.

Reference

Shyba, M. (2007). The Spontaneous Playfulness of Creativity: Lessons from Interactive Theatre for Digital Games. Digital Media Laboratory: Canada.

The Learning Federation Website. Mathematics Game. Retrieved on April, 24, 2009 from http://www.thelearningfederation.edu.au/

☼ ICT as a Cognitive Tool ☼ »« ☼ Social Constructivism ☼

☼ Social Constructivism ☼

Translating Constructivist Theory Into Practice in Primary-Grade Mathematics

Descriptive and Critical Reflection

Eight primary Maths teachers (who are constructivist teachers), participated in a study which would determine their constructivist philosophy of teaching and learning mathematics.

1. An investigation was done of the teachers’ beliefs about their philosophy of teaching and learning.
2. Then classroom observations were done to determine if their philosophies did match their classroom practices.

Jody Brewer, the author of this study, made a very interesting point no to be ignored in the topic of teaching philosophies. He states: “Teachers often have distorted the original notion of constructivism simply because they wanted to be perceived as doing the right thing”. Then, he also adds that “teachers have failed to adhere to scientific methodology in their instructional practices” (Brewer, 2002, pg. 146).

Mathematics can be changed drastically if we addopt constructivism. This model of learning and teaching has been besed on Piaget’s constructivist theory of learning. The following definitions of constructivism were given:

• “The theory according to which each child builds his own knowledge from the inside, through his own mental activity, in interaction with the environment” (Kamii, 1985)
• Aditionally, Von Glaserfeld (1990) stated that constructivism is “knowledge is not passively received … knowledge is actively build up by the cognising subject” (pg.22)

Hower (1991) et all, made readers aware that the classroom environment must be risk free so that students can question, exchange points of view, and be actively involved in discourse.

By now we should know that this theory provides a teaching that encourages problem solving, reasoning and comunication in mathematics. However, a critical point raised by the authors, makes ur reflect that by believing in a constructivist theory does not necessarily mean that we are “employing” those respective constructivist practices in the classroom.
Acording to Christiansen (1999), “Once teachers start thinking about their own teaching and ideas about teaching, there are no limits to the potential for development”. Because the teachers in this study used the same philosophy, they were able to support each other and encourage professinal development. By closely working together as a team and maintaining dialog, these constructivist teachers were able to put their theory into practice in their classrooms.

Reference:

Brewer, J., & Daane, C.J. (2002). Translating Constructivist Theory into Practice in Primary-Grade Mathematics, 123 (2), 416-421.

Christiansen, I. (1999). Are Theories in Mathematics Education of any use to practice? For the Learning of Mathematics. 19, 20-23.

Kamii, C. (1985) Can there be excellence in educarion without knowledge of child development? Chicago: Chicago Association for the Young Children.

Von Glaserfeld, E. (1990) An Explosion of Constructivism: Why some like it radical. In R. B. Davis, C. A. Maher, & N. Noddings (Eds.). Constructivist views on the teaching and learning of Mathematics (pg. 19-30). Reston: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

☼ Part B ☼ Item 1 ☼ ONLINE GAME ☼ »« ☼ Using Blogs for Educational Purposes ☼

☼ Using Blogs for Educational Purposes ☼

Descriptive Reflection

on the web article “7 Things You Should Know About Blogs” from www.educause.edu/eli/ August 2005

Blogs are personal online journals that serve to capture thoughts and comments, and post them to a public website for others to read and respond. It is quick and simple to create an entry.

1. What is it?

A blog, according to www.educause.edu – is a shorthand term that means “Web log” – is an online, chronological collection of personal commentary and links. Blogs present an alternative to mainstream media publications, the may lead to discourse between bloggers and generate a strong sense of community.

2. Who’s doing it?

Today, 1000 people use these services. Blogs are showing up in venues ranging from entertainmentand commerce to news and politics. there are group blogs, family blogs, community blogs, and corporate blogs. Students are increasingly using blogs both as personal commentaries and as a required part of certain courses.

3. How does it work?

It can be thought of as a simple online journal. Bloggers enter posts into a blogging application, add formatting or hyperlinks, then you proceed to save the post. The content will be available online when the application adds the entry to the blog, user’s who have subscribed to that blog’s content will be alerted.

Readers can provide feedback by leaving comments on the same blog page or by posting a response on thier own blogs and linking back to the original post – called trackback.

Critical Reflection

4. Why is it significant?

Blogs engage people in knowledge sharing, reflection, and debate. They attract large and dedicated reading. Blogs are becoming an important component of the internet which foster the growth of communities and may provide new ways to evaluate and critique student-created knowledge.

Anita Campbell provides us with good insight on the good and the bad about blogging.

The simplicity of creating and maintaining blogs means that open discussions can be stablished almost immediately.

5. What are the downsides?

Because blogs are often produced and maintained by individuals, they can include biased or innaccurate information. Blogs offer individuals the opportunity to express themselves through their oppinions, ideas and attitudes; which could be acceptable for a personal blog. But when we refer to blogs hosted on an institutional server for example, this may be inapropriate.

6. Where is it going?

As blogs are easy to modify and create, they are promoting high discussions and fostering great interest.

As creators of the article from www.educause.edu/eli/ affirm, Blogs may serve as an educational tool for reflection, knowledge building, and sharing. “Blogs continue to benefit from several years of experimentation and evolution, both within and outside of education”.

If as educators, we carefully evaluate strengths and weaknesses; we will then be learning to set guidelines and expectations to maximise the benefit of blogs to students.

7. What are the implications for teaching and learning?

Blogs can be used for reflection in lessons or even current topics. According to www.educarse.edu/eli/ “blogs offer students and staff a high level of autonomy while creating a new opportunity for interaction with peers. Blogs provide discussions that go beyond the inclussion of culture, politics, and other areas”. Also, students often learn as much each other as from teachers or other relevant texts, and blogs offer another way for peer-to-peer knowledge sharing.

Why should we use blogs?

• They offer our students opportunities for collaborative writing
• Reflective, knowledge and/or learning journals provide ways of teaching and learning
• Critique of creative writing piece
• Assessment responses
• Directed Writing exercises
• Allows students to practice the writing of logs
• Personal diary of events
• General class information sites

Educational Uses for Weblogs (Paul Holland, 2005)

The key idea is to create critical conversation and connections in the learning experience. Weblogs enable more than just a personal writing space, but they invite users to participate in a larger community, to take their place in the information ecology, to learn how to participate in and perform (not just learn about):

• Critical thinking
• Creating a narrative
• Formal and informal discourse
• Research and attribution
• Linking
• Writing for others
• Taking creative risks
• Collaborating
• Participating in a variety of conversations

Why Social Networks are Good for the Kids

by Sarah Lacy on February 24, 2009

Sarah Lacy, on her article “Why Social Networks are Good for the Kids”, makes reference to the interview of neuroscientist Lady Greenfield on social networks, the impact of spending hours in front of the computer and what makes a friend. Greenfield warns social networking sites are changing children’s brains, resulting in selfish and attention deficient young people. Her interview follows

\’Environment influences connections in brain\’

It is only after reading about Greenfield’s topic of interest and after listening to her interview that Lacy’s reading comes together in a more meaningful way. There are a few points to be considered here in general, these are:

• Sarah Lacy dissagrees with Greenfield’s assumption that social networking is devoid of a “cohesive narrative and long-term significance”.
• Lacy adds that Facebook and Twitter are a means to extending ones real identity and relationships online; which is why Lacy believes makes them so addictive. “These sites have made my real human relationships longer lasting and more substantive” (Lacy, 2009).
• There is a concern I share with both authors: Sarah Lacy and Lady Greenfield, and that is that over saturation online leads to a lack of empathy, as well as ‘real world pressures’.
• These issue reminds me of people’s fears that television was going to turn each generation into mindless zombies, a fear which seems to grow with each generation regardless of the fact that the current one turned out ok. And so, it is assummed that these children will be somehow without any social interactions somehow, when surely they will be interacting with their peers and teachers every day at school and with their familes and friends at home for a greater ammount of time in a day than could be spent on the computer.
• Greenfield’s article and interview makes me wonder on what exactly is she basing her arguments on? Nowhere in the article does it mention what research she did (if any). The whole thing is “She said that…”, “She warned that…” “She fears…” After having read and analysed these material, the fist question I informally asked myself was: what kind of a “scientist” is she?

Reference

“7 Things You Should Know About … Blogs” (2005) Retrieved March 10, 2009 from http://www.educause.edu/eli/

Holland, P. (2005). Educational Uses for Weblogs.

Lacy, S. (2009). Why Social Networks are Good fot the Kids. Retrieved March 9, 2009, from http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/24/why-social-networks-are-good-for-the-kids/

The State of Queensland – Department of Education and Training. (2008). About Blogs. Retrieved April 14, 2009, from http://education.qld.gov.au/learningplace/communication/blogs/aboutblogs.html

Wintour, P. (2009) Facebook and Bebo risk ‘infantilising’ the human mind. Retrieved April 14, 2009, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/feb/24/social-networking-site-changing-childrens-brains

☼ Social Constructivism ☼ »« ☼ Part B ☼ Item 1 ☼ IMAGE & GRAPHIC ORGANISER ☼

☼ Part B ☼ Item 1 ☼ IMAGE & GRAPHIC ORGANISER ☼

1. Which learning style(s) does this ICT support?

These particular image and the use of graphic organisers such as the following ones, supports the learning of visual learners greatly.

There are clearly many examples of how graphics / images are beneficial to

visual learners and even other types of learners. They help these students ‘see’ what they are learning. Once that information becomes fixed as an image in their minds, and particularly a sequenced and organised image; they will be able to carry the information forward and use it.

Image 1.1

2. How could this ICT be implemented as a good cognititve tool within the learning environment?

The use of images and graphic oranisers can be used at all times with our students and they exists in many forms in the classroom. Activities that can be implemented  in our classrooms and that benefit visual learners include doing puzzles, sketching, painting, creating visual metaphors and analogies, designing objects, interpreting visual images and creating cartoon strips just like this one (Images 1.1, 1.2 and 1.4). Also, by using this graphic organiser as an example (Image 1.3), I was able to demonstrate more clearly the pros and cos of the ‘digital natives debate’; these are just simple examples. We, educators, need to remember that anything that creates a mental picture will help visual learners retain knowledge. Teachers should offer a variety of options to keep these visusal learners interested in the lesson.

3. How is this ICT enabling the development of creativity?

As educators we are to make our students understand that there are multiple ICT paths that lead to understanding, and one of this could be in the form of images or graphics. Teachers that want to encourage creativity in the classroom should make sure they are giving their students a lot of choice and different options when it comes to use such images in the most creative ways.

Denise de Sonza Fleith (2000) found in her research that teachers encourage creativity by “not imposing too many assignments and rules on students, giving students choices, providing students opportunities to become aware of their creativity, and accepting students as they are.” All students can be creative in some way, and it is the teachers challenging task to provide opportunities for students to develop their own creative thinking.

I belive that it is extremely important to show our students the value of creativity, that you not only allow it but also actively engage in it throught the incorporation of ICT / visual images in classroom opportunities. Children can be creative in many different ways, if they are allowed to follow their interests.

Reference:

Fleith, Denise de Sonza. (2000). Teacher and Student Perceptions of Creativity in the Classroom Environment. Roeper Review, 22 (3) & 148-153.

First day of school [Image 1.1] (n.d.) Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://crossingthedigitaldivide.blogspot.com/

☼ Using Blogs for Educational Purposes ☼ »« ☼ Digital Natives ☼

☼ Digital Natives ☼

Critical Reflection

“Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach” (Prensky, 2001).  Today’s students have not just changed incrementally, nor simply changed their slang, clothes, or hair styles.Today’s students, represent the first generation to grow up with this new technology; they have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, videogames, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other ‘toys’ and tools of the digital age.

According to Prensky (2001), in his research “Today’s average graduate students have spent less than 5,000 hours of their lives reading, but over 10,000 hours playing video games (not to mention 20,000 hours watching TV). Computer games, email, the Internet, cell phones and instant messaging are integral parts of their lives”.

The following image retreived from https://edorigami.wikispaces.com shows how digital natives generally spend their daily hours:

Image 1.5

Today’s students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors. These differences go far further than most educators realize. “Different kinds of experiences lead to different brain structures” says Dr. Bruce D. Perry of Baylor College of Medicine. It is very likely that our students’ brains have physically changed – and are different from ours – as a result of how they grew up. But whether or not this is literally true, we can say with certainty that their thinking patterns have changed.

Unfortunately for us teachers, our students grew up on the “twitch speed” of video games and MTV. They are used to the instantaneity of hypertext, downloaded music, phones in their pockets, a library on their laptops, beamed messages and instant messaging. They have been networked most or all of their lives.

Some other final critical points to considered from Bennett, et al., 2008, pg. 779 are as followed:

• Multitasking is a new phenomenon exclusive to digital natives, but multitasking may not be as beneficial as it appears. It can result in a loss of concentration and cognitive ‘overload’ as the brain shifts between competing stimuli
• Generalisations about the ways in which digital natives learn also fail to recognise cognitivr differences in young people of diferent ages and variation within age groups.
• The claim that there is a distinctive new generation of studetns in possession of sophisticated technology skills and with learning preferences for which education is not equipted to support has excited much recent attention.
• We may live in a highly technologised world, but it is conceivable that it has become so through evolution, rather than revolution.
• Education may be under challenge to change, but it is not clear that is being rejected.
• In collection of all the readings and reasearch it is not to say that young people are not engaged and that technology might not support effective learning.

Image 1.4

References:

Bennett, S., Maton, K. & Kervin, L. (2008). The ‘digital natives’ debate: A critical review of the evidence.

British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(5), 775-786.

Digital Natives Cartoon [Image 1.4] (n.d.) Retrieved April 5, 2009, from http://smustafa.com/?p=39

Digital Natives [Image 1.5] (n.d.) Retrieved April 5, 2009, from https://edorigami.wikispaces.com/file/list?jumpTo=E

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon. MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5.

Spider Wed about The Digital Natives [Image] (n.d) Retrieved March 15, 2009 from https://edorigami.wikispaces.com

☼ Part B ☼ Item 1 ☼ IMAGE & GRAPHIC ORGANISER ☼ »« ☼ The ‘Digital Natives’ Debate I ☼