The likelihood of using technology as a teaching resource to support a new pedagogy in remote Queensland has excited me and I am sure would be an exhilarating innovation for all early years educators like myself. The learning I have experienced, I intend to share with others who may have more ideas and technologies to add to the benefit of our students across the state. When it is introduced to the TAFE remote teachers, the possibility of remote students being able to learn from others and connect as a community of practice will most likely inspire those teachers to promote digital learning to their cohorts as well.
My personal learning experience has evolved into a positive one. Using a PMI scaffolding strategy in the first Wiki helped my understanding of the topic. But more importantly, the social constructivist aspect supported by my partner, had me thinking more deeply after reading her analysis on the same topic. My partner also scaffolded my learning when she noted ‘It is interesting how our prior learning and social/cultural understandings highlight different, and similar, aspects of the same reading’ (Studders, Z., 2011). Zoe’s comment supports Vygotsky’s (1962) social development theory where cognition is developed through social interaction. In my Blog 8.7.11 the benefits of this framework is explored more.
My participation in the Mobile Phones wiki certainly opened my eyes to the creative learning and the many perspectives that can be shared within a community and in particular, a digital classroom. Here, my digital ‘accent’ (Prensky, 2001 p.2) became apparent to me because although I was able to contribute, I had problems with fonts and colour. Being a Digital Immigrant, the last five weeks have been an amazing learning experience and I have had to take it step by step. This is unlike the Digital Natives who Prensky, (2001) believes can multi-task and process parallel information.
In my Blog I write about the collective wisdom and how I could encourage a similar tool with my remote students. Using a social constructivist approach, I would support my students with problem solving, collaborating with peers, thinking critically and creativity. Emotional support and the feeling of being part of a learning community is also essential while the overall benefits of receiving reciprocal teaching and instruction on a more regular basis would be evident in time. These students like myself, need to relate to what they are learning. Their reality could be discovered and develop into richer knowledge as each student creates meaning through their interactions with peers (Shunk, 2000, in Beaumie, K., 2000).
Over the past weeks, I have been transformed in my thinking about literacy to include digital literacy. I now see the necessity of promoting ‘higher order thinking skills’ (Marcus, S. 2005, n.p.) and have given but a few examples in my Blog where the students can use all literacies to include visuals and aural technologies. My adult students work at a functional level and introducing new media to their learning will encourage their creativity and trust in themselves. I hope they will play with visual and aural literacy and invent new ways of learning and sharing their individual ideas and experiences. This collaborative learning would also support the evaluation of work practice where comparisons and links can be made to legislative and early educational framework requirements.
Having such a digital classroom would allow individual students to be ‘engaged on multiple levels’ (The New Media Consortium, 2005, p. 8), and better support the multiple intelligences of the cohort. Like the Mobile Phones Wiki, questions can be commented on and analysed by the cohort. They could be supplemented and emerge and grow into something different and original in a space that encourages diversity and acceptance of many ideas. In this Blog I have written about the benefits of using a Prezi. It also links to my Wiki page 2 where another link takes the participant to a Prezi. I found this resource very creative and useful as an assessment tool.
Participation in a Wiki would correspond with the real need for more diversity in early education as well as the need for more creativity. It would be alright to be wrong in this space. Sir Ken Robinson (2006, p.2) states in his Do schools kill creativity presentation, ‘if you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.’ This originality was evident in the parallel thinking process we students participated in by analysing a question using De Bono’s six thinking hats. This certainly became a productive pedagogy where each individuals past experiences with mobile phones brought them to their own conclusions. In my Blog I have associated my own experience with how it could be for my students as well as the benefits explained.
When using a digital classroom, I would need to be very mindful of my early childhood students understanding of using legal, safe and ethical practices. Following this instruction, the use of a Blog for reflection would be excellent in helping these students to evaluate their learning. Certainly it has been this for me, and beneficial to reflecting on the use of various technologies for teaching purposes. I write about the lack of available technology tools in my Blog for my remote students, but I believe now that those obstacles can be overcome. This may be possible through the use of mobile phones which in The Horizon Report, (2011) , the authors write how having mobile access also means that a full range of information from the network can be with you wherever you go (Johnson, L., et al, 2011).
Now that I am more familiar with Blogs or blogging, I, as a single author, personally enjoyed using it as a reflection tool. For my students, using it for this purpose would require me to visit each blog individually and scaffold their reflection by suggesting a thinking tool such as a SWOT analysis as in my Blog. A Blog could be used to reinforce procedures showing a sequence of steps in written or photographic mode. Using these steps in early childhood is required by legislation, and supports behaviourism theory where the students could master the steps gradually until the procedure is learned (Mergel, B., 1998). They could also take a video of the mastered procedure to share with others reading their Blog. I could use the video for their assessment in a unit of competence. However, a blog can also be supportive of constructivism theory in that reflections are individual, read by others, comments are posted and can be unrestricted.
In my Blog it shows how videos can be used to stimulate emotions or comments from students. This video was chosen because of its powerful message of connectivism, and in support of Marc Prensky’s (2005) ‘Engage Me or Enrage Me’ article. I believe the message was the same, but it delivered without reading a lot of text. Using videos also supports visual learners with keywords and movement.
Like the Blog, a Wiki can be used for similar learning. However, I think a Wiki will support the conventions of constructivism more due to the cohort being able to edit and add to the Wiki. More importantly, the learning is active and knowledge is built from each participant’s experiences and interaction with the world they live in. It promotes open-ended learning where my students could come to their own conclusions from others points of view and have their own creative ideas shared with their peers. An example exercise for my students supporting this theory with a visual and instructions is in my Wiki where I have used Blooms Taxonomy (1956) to walk students through the exercise.
When using images, students would be able to critically reflect on what is happening in an image or digital video and how they can improve their own work practice through knowing how that practice should look. I would scaffold students learning, especially when they are comparing views on one particular subject. The use of a Six Hats scaffold would be influential here to promote parallel thinking processes where together the students could ‘explore all sides of an issue’ (De Bono, E., 1985). This Blog shows how I have re-sized images.
An example of a Digital Video that I made, and another I embedded is in my Wiki. I especially like using these and when combined with music or voice over, they are a powerful tool for an emotional response. Students who work in early education learn best when a situation feels real to them and helps them connect with the content. I would encourage students to make their own videos or power points to share with others.
In creating a website, I was delighted with how easily information could be categorized into particular subjects. For my students, finding information and publishing it into sections would be a comprehensive way of storing information. Neat and tidy, students could access a wealth of shared perspectives focused on a particular content. For example, many ideas could be shared for early literacy and numeracy. Blog 22.7.11 links to my website where on the page of the same name, I have linked directly to the legislative body who licenses early educational services. Using links can send learners to videos, images, and text to support their work practices.
In comparing all the tools, I believe that for TAFE students, the Wiki would cover all aspects of learning including all learning theories. I will be using all the tools and would most likely let the students decide what best supports them in their learning.
References
Bloom, B., 1956. in Big Dog & Little Dog’s Performance Juxtaposition, retrieved 15th July, 2011 from Central Queensland University http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html
De Bono, E., 198. in The de Bono Group, LLC, for Advanced Practical Thinking Training,(r) Inc. Official Edward de Bono Thinking Methods, retrived 17th August, 2011 from http://www.debonogroup.com/parallel_thinking.htm
Felder, R. M. & Solomon, B. A. (n.d.). Learning Styles and Strategies, retrieved 6th July, 2011 from http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/syyles.htm
Johnson, L., Smith, R., Willis, H., Levine, A., and Haywood, K., 2011. The 2011 Horizon Report. The New Media Consortium, retrieved 19th July, 2011 from Central Queensland University http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2011-Horizon-Report.pdf
Marcus, S.,2005. The New Literacies: What Is Basic Education Now? Retrieved 2nd August, 2011 from Central Queensland University, Digital Technologies 2, Group 2 technologies at http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=186321
Mergel, B., 1998. Instructional Design & Learning Theory, retrieved 8th July, 2011 from Central Queensland University http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id+186311
Prensky, M., 2001. Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, retrieved 12th July, 2011 from Central Queensland University, http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
Prensky, M., 2005. Engage Me or Engage Me, What Todays Learners Demand, retrieved 4th July, 2011 from Central Queensland University http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/Pdf/ermo553.pdf
Shunk, 2000, in Beaumie, K., 2000. Social Constructivism, in M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved 2nd August, 2011 from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/
Studders, Z., 2011. Communities of Practice, fahe11001, Central Queensland University, retrieved 10th August, 2011 http://fahe11001flex.wikispaces.com/Communities+of+Practice
The New Media Consortium, 2005. A Global Imperative, The Report of the 21st Century Literacy Summit, retrieved 2nd August, 2011 from Central Queensland University, Digital Technologies 2, Group 2 technologies at http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=186321
Vygotsky, L.S., 1962. Thought and Language, retrieved 6th July, 2011 from Central Queensland University, http://tip.psychology.org/vygotsky.html
