Assessment 1- Conclusion

It is essential for teachers to understand the diverse ways that children learn within the classroom. Just because there are twenty five children the same age sitting in front of a teacher at around the same learning level does not mean they all are capable of learning at the same pace. Being an active teacher who works hard to insure that all the children’s needs are catered for is the teacher who will become a success in the future, who will become much more than a classroom educator.

So far this term, I have discovered that classrooms have changed massively from the five years ago when I finished school. I also have acknowledged how much work goes into to the study of teaching children. Over the last three weeks the ICT’s for Learning Design course has opened my eyes to the way the world is shifting towards technology in classrooms. ICT does not just mean computers in the classroom it relates to interactive white boards, Ipads, digital camera and e-books.

A method used in teaching to grow a student’s knowledge is called scaffolding. This is where the student’s prior knowledge is relied on to elaborate further. The Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE), explains scaffolding as “the tutorial process where an adult or “expert” helps somebody who is less adult or less expert”. This was used by discovering our previous ICT knowledge and to elaborate on that by creating wikis weekly. Thinking routines have been revised when using scaffolding for this task as they have approached a complex task by breaking it down and elaborating on specific sub-goals which when compiled will reach a single large goal. Also by having steps to work though provided students with various learning styles the same opportunity to finish the task.

Firstly, I created a profile wiki and blog introducing myself to the online world and to peers. A learning styles test was also under taken which demonstrated that I was a kinaesthetic learner and my best way of learning are doing things hands on. By knowing this I can be more aware of how things in life are presented to me and things I need to alter so I can get the most out of the experience.

Week 1, by being told to construct a PMI chart allowed us to, firstly, find a partner which encourages team work and secondly, use our initiative to seek out positive, negative and interesting features on learning theories. Week 2 a discussion on mobile phones was the focus of this week’s topic, De Bono’s 6 thinking hats where used as a template for discussion.

There were varied responses when discussing whether mobile phones should be allowed in classrooms. Personally, I believe they should not be allowed do to privacy issues. As soon as footage has been recorded on a mobile phone it can go vrial within seconds and a classroom should be a safe haven for teachers, staff and students and with phones this will become the opposite.

 A study was done by the University of Nottingham and it found that, students' use of the mobile phone was concentrated on the production of images and video clips: the survey results indicated that 96% of the respondents used the still camera, often to capture evidence of activities in class; 22% also used the video application (Hartnell-Young & Hayn, 2009). This proves my statement that inappropriate footage will be shot in classrooms if phones are made acceptable. Children need to feel comfortable within the 4 walls of a classroom and if anything was to happen, whether it be an accident where the teacher falls over, a child does something embarrassing or if it’s a form of bullying the public should not be able to access such footage.

Creating these blogs were difficult at the beginning as I was acquiring new knowledge and had never done anything like that before. However using learning theories that can relate to the task came in very helpful. Creating wikis were a great way to provide students with learning tools required.

There is a number of learning theories that is used to demonstrate methods of education. The first learning theory is connectivsim, this is used in a way that everyone who is enrolled has a blog and therefore can access peer’s blogs, this way they can learn off each other, share thoughts and ideas and use networking strategies to accomplish the task while meeting new people. This was very successful in this task as we have met peers and been able to bounce off ideas from each other while working outside our comfort zones.

Another learning theory used is behaviourism, this is relevant in the way that to pass this course we must submit assignments, therefore providing us with assessment pieces due on  a specific date makes us liable. If we don’t hand in assignments the consequences are that we will not pass the course. Congnitivism is another learning theory. Learning Theories Knowledgebase, 2011 believes that learning is defined as change in a learner’s schemata. Richard Mayer refers to A cognitive theory of multimedia learning based on three main assumptions: there are two separate channels (auditory and visual) for processing information; there is limited channel capacity; and that learning is an active process of filtering, selecting, organizing, and integrating information. In this learning style we got to use our own understanding and skills to reflect on our blog topics.

The final learning theory is constructivism, this was demonstrated throughout these blogs and wikis. Our learning was scaffolded thought the course work up a moodle for us to follow. By using our thoughts and adding them for others to view gave us topics to debate on and there construct more knowledge.

Digital Pedagogy is defined by Education Queensland as the convergence of technical

skills, pedagogical practices and understanding of curriculum design appropriate for digital learners. By creating a structure for our twenty first century learners to excel in the technological world eLearning will be an asset to society. eLearning is very new to me and seems very challenging but with time spent exploring and reflecting on eLearning framework and pedagogy things will become more clear. By having our learning scaffolded gives us a lead to assist us in learning thought online recourse. Creating and using our wikis and blogs to base our course framework for learning on gave us more knowledge and understanding to use in the future.

Recommendations for myself when participating in eLearning would be to take part in all class reading and activities, understanding the first step before continuing to the second and finally, because I am a kinaesthetic learning, creating study group with nearby peers.

When designing eLearning we need to be creative, need to be able to engage children for extended periods of time and assist them to use critical thinking. Also be confident that the messages are being understood by children and delivering the knowledge to a diverse range of learning styles.

 Overall, the wikis were a great way to introduce students to learning styles, learning theories and eLearning and pedagogy design. There is much more to learn but I am feeling like I have just started on my journey to discover what else is out there to learn in this course. 

Bibliography

Austalian Association for Research in Education. (2001). New Frontiers for Education Research. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from http://www.aare.edu.au/01pap/chn01046.pdf.

Education Queensland. (2008). eLearning for smart classrooms. Retrieved March 17, 2011, from http://education.qld.gov.au/smartclassrooms/pdf/scbyte-elearning.pdf

Hartnell-Young, E & Haym, N. (2009). Mobile phones and students learning in secondary schools. Curriculum Journals, 26 (7). Retrieved March 16, 2011, from http://cmslive.curriculum.edu.au/leader/default.asp?id=28526&issueID=11897

Learning Theories Knowledgebase. (2011). Cognitivism at Learning-Theories.com. Retrieved March 16, 2011 from http://www.learning-theories.com/cognitivism.html

Learning Theories Knowledgebase. (2011). Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (Mayer) at Learning-Theories.com. Retrieved March 17, 2011, from http://www.learning-theories.com/cognitive-theory-of-multimedia-learning-mayer.html