Week 5

TPACK


As I have come to realise in week 5, Technological, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, or TPACK, is much like a complicated recipe, one that contains careful and precise measuring of all ingredients. As Jason rightly said on Monday, it takes somewhere up to five years to bake an expert. The moral of the story: TPACK is no piece of cake. Pun intended.


So which pedagogical approach to choose. Thankfully, Jason suggested narrowing our focus down to three: behaviourist, constructivist, and instructional. I'm inclined to ignore the latter... not completely! But I like a challenge. The million dollar question is this: How can I use these pedagogical approaches to help students thrive in this digital age?


The 'Learning to Teach with Technology' reading (Gimbert, Zembal-Saul, 2002) was quite compelling. 
"Seldom are students asked to create lessons using technologies or practice teaching with technological tools" (U.S. Congress, as cited in Gimbert et al, 2002). Well, this certainly runs true as far as professional experience practicums go. However, when it comes to university, I would beg to differ. More and more we are asked to use technologies in every teaching focus, rather than separating 'computer time' as a focus on its' own. On PX3, I have taken to using an interactive online digital clock as a preventative strategy in behaviour management, I must say it helps to keep the dawdlers up to speed. I've also recorded students during public speaking, and helped them to upload this onto the class computers to send home. Parents love to see their little gems speaking so proudly about Koalas, and the students like seeing themselves and self-evaluating their stellar performances. As for me, I just love the effect it had on the entire assessment focus. Suddenly the boring speeches become a dramatic performance with home viewers. And why should students make a paper and glue class newspaper, when a professional and efficient format is available online? 


So take that TPACK. In 5 (or maybe a little more) years time, I'll have conquered you!

References: 

Gimbert, B., & Zembal-Saul, C. (2002). Learning to teach with technology: From integration to actualization. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education [Online serial], 2(2), 204 -217.

Harris, J., & Hofer, M. (2009). Instructional planning activity types as vehicles for curriculum-based TP ACK   development. In C. D. Maddux, (Ed.). Research highlights in technology and teacher education 2009 (pp. 99-108). Chesapeake, VA: Society for Information Technology in Teacher Education (SITE).

Week 4

On the Horizon

What are digital literacies? According to Jason Zagami, digital literacies aren't just a means to an end, but the means of survival in today's technological climate. I won't comment on my own survival in the 4001EPS tutorial group, because it's irrelevant, and harmful to my ego. But what can we use in classrooms to ensure each student will leave competent in digital, visual, and multicultural literacies by the end of their primary education?

The Horizon Report offers examples of several cutting edge technologies that are sure to come in handy come graduation day for us third years. Being a digital immigrant myself, it's hard to wrap my wee mind around the proximity of  such technologies... some not 5 years away. In fact, one is already here. And by the time I do toss my graduation cap away, it could be old, used, and put to bed... 

Cloud computing is already seen in some schools everyday. I myself use it already in Google documenting and video tutoring. So there. The Horizon Report says that cloud computing paves a connection to students in remote communities all over the world. Suddenly, conceivably, a lack of resources will soon be no longer an issue.  

Game-based learning. I admit, I judged a book by its cover. My initial reaction was that games were already said for in schools. Teachers use various games everyday to engage children in learning. But no, Stacey, board games just won't do it anymore. Game-based learning is said to be collaborative, open ended, challenge based gaming. Essentially it is an example of a constructivist pedagogy. Think of how many students go home to play a video game for hours on end. What is it about digital gaming that so enthralls them? And why hasn't this secret been uncovered and implemented in schools?  In a few years, it may well be.

The 2010 Horizon Report states that "Augmented reality has strong potential for...contextual learning". Imagine observing a student reading a book, and then scanning his reading records, scores and areas for improvement simultaneously. No need for extensive planning of all student's special needs or level of skill. Augmented reality will allow teachers to cater for everyone almost immediately. What will it mean for history, art, SOSE and science lessons when augmented reality aids a school excursion. I can't imagine walking around a city and viewing a layer of information about everything you see simultaneously. It's like an external brain of trivial information, and I, for one, am rooting for this technology to take off.  

The 2010 Horizon Report gives endless evidence that it is not about the technology, it's about how we use it to teach students, and teach students to use it. 

References:

 Johnson, L., Smith, R., Levine, A., and Haywood, K., (2010). 2010 Horizon Report: K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.

Week 3

The Classroom Computer. 

Approximately two computers in each classroom. Sound familiar? It does for my peers of 4001EPS and I. How about one computer... per student. How much would a classroom change? How much would the unit, lesson, and behavioural planning have to be moderated to make room for that much exposure? Perhaps more than most teachers can handle. Where would all the text books and work sheets go? 

2M, a remarkable year 2 class run by one: Mrs. M, provided us with an opportunity to peek into such a classroom. 2M is a classroom where online blogging is used frequently as a tool for reading and writing. A very large stretch from the Writing Assisted Instruction method from prehistoric times (Luehrmann, 2002). Student self assessment and synthesising strategies are conducted on an iphone, to review one's oral fluency.  

How many teachers conduct tutorials of how to run a word processing tool, rather than how to use that tool to better communicate ideas, issues etc.? Mrs. M may be outnumbered, but she's certainly not alone. 

A drastic educational shift on the horizon tells us that it is no longer sufficient to use computers as a substitute teacher, or more likely, a teacher aid. In 2M for example, the six-going-on-seven-year-olds use technologies in ways which go beyond that of any other class in their school, arguably. Mrs. M is actively moving the focus away from the ICT and technology KLAs  as a means to an end, and pushing the need for integration in all other teaching focuses. How's that for "Professional Knowledge"? Yes, sir, she does it effectively. How long before we see a large movement in teachers shifting their teaching styles to embrace ICT (Bork, 1980)? 

An interesting video in Week 3's tutorial relayed some intriguing facts. Wikipedia is now arguably more accurate than Encyclopedia Britannica. There is a lot to be said for automatic uploading of collaborative thinking, or if you like: one billion heads are better than two hundred. Considering the rate of technological renewal, in 10 years, computers will fit inside a blood cell. What will it mean for those who are still learning to use a keyboard? Not to discourage the old pedagogies, which are of course effective in many ways... but it's a scary thought, isn't it?

References:

Bork, A. (1980). Interactive Learning. Cited in Taylor, R. (1980). The computer in school: tutor, tool, tutee. Columbia University, New York.

Luehrmann, A. (2002). Should the computer teach the student, or vise-versa? Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 389-396. 

Week 2

Professional Development

It's true, I am in desperate need for professional development if we're talking ICT. Don't worry, I'm on it, and so far on my quest to gain better knowledge and pedagogies for ICT, I've come across one explicit skill needed if I'm going to teach for the rest of my life, as I plan to. It just so happens that this skill is also a "professional values" descriptor:

"Identify sources of professional development and implement planning where ICT is integrated," (Zagami, 2011). 

Or if you aren't as up to speed with... well, everything... as Jason Zagami is, basically I need to be capable of finding ways to gain professional development.

I really wish that googling "professional development" was still sufficient. Apparently it's not anymore, go figure. Lecture two (Zagami, 2011) makes me think that I'm going to need to dig well beneath the surface if I want to better my ICT capabilities. So, as an example, I'm going to experiment with a particular quest for PD (professional development). At the same time, I'll search for something that I actually need, which is this:  how to use google more efficiently.  That's right, I refuse to let go of google. It's been saving my education since I was 12, so it's time a gave it the attention it deserves. 

I now have 2 gmail accounts, a youtube log-in, 16 subscriptions on google reader, 2 google sites, 2 google group subsciptions, and a partridge in a pear tree. And do I really know how to use any of these? not really. So I took Jason's advice and youtubed online tutorials for google apps... which might have worked if I knew what on earth these people in the audio where talking about. My tech terminology is not great. 

My greatest lesson of this week was not gained from readings... it actually came from engaging with the technology. I found that the greatest source for PD came from my peers. Google groups and Gmail have been  my best friend when it comes to developing my knowledge and capabilities of all google apps. While I'm engaging with google tools, I'm also finding valuable information posted and discussed by my peers, and I identified that...so there. 

More on this story as it develops.

Reference:

Zagami, J. (2011). 4001EPS: ICT and Pedagogies, Lecture Two. Retrieved March 7th, 2011, from: www.zagami.info

Week 1

ICT and Pedagogies.

It’s sometimes hard to imagine running a classroom that differs from the one I both loved and loathed in my own primary school years, but how arrogant of me to think that the way I was taught was the best way. Perhaps it was the best way with consideration to technology limitations at the time. Despite the fact that I was only exposed to one hour a week for which to explore the wonders of the library computer lab, I cannot ignore that I was (or so it would seem) denied the opportunity to truly engage with information and communication technologies, and still receive the same ‘content transmission’ and more from my teachers.

It seems that years ago, technology led us to a road where almost any device could be used as a learning tool. The fact remains that schools never took advantage of these tools, for fear of breaking down the system that was education. That leaves me and many other teachers with an ocean of old and new information, and a second ocean of ways for students to interact with it. Constructivism, constructivism, constructivism. You can’t say it enough if you are planning to one day teach middle years students.

Week one’s tutorial addressed a vast amount of devices that provided valuable, interactive and engaging learning opportunities for students. Imagine running a classroom of truly engaged, empowered children at any one time. As our trusty convenor (Dr. Zagami) made us very aware of on Monday the 28th, the path to this haven isn’t as complicated as we may think. Give the kids what they want; bin the textbooks, and load the video games.

Ok, no, it isn’t as simple as that, but it’s a good start. I’m vowing to find a thousand better ways to teach children and in so doing create self-sufficient learners for life, and it won’t involve textbooks, worksheets, or any other tool for direct information transmission. Let’s face it... it doesn’t matter what cartoon from google images we paste onto spelling homework, it’s still boring.