Assessment 2: Analysis of Digital Technologies
I
am going to begin by saying, “when I went to school”…………..So much has changed
with the approach to student’s learning.
Today’s students have technology at their fingertips. They have ICT’s or
Information Communication Technology. Now theses ICT’s are the obvious
computers but they go much farther than that. They are also mobile phones,
Ipads, Ipods, Iphones, digital cameras, digital TV’s, scanners, printers, music
devices and interactive devices that are used to entertain during days of
boredom (DS consoles, Wii). When I went to school I didn’t have this
technology. We started to get this technology when I was in year 8 or 9 and it
began with the old and ancient DOS system which I did not understand.
The
use of ICT’s has many benefits in a classroom. Students are able to engage with
it almost instantaneously allowing them to explore and engage with this
environment not only locally but globally. It promotes a range of learning
experiences by means of communication through email, collaborative working groups,
sharing of information, allows them to explore their creativity, producing
problem solving, investigative and decision making techniques through higher
order thinking (Snowman et al, 2009, p. 255).
ICT’s
provide a range of programs catering to the needs of the visual, kinaesthetic
and auditory learners and provide an inclusive education for the student with
special educational requirements (Hyde, Carpenter & Conway, 2010 p. 339). The
programs available to students assist in their numeracy and literacy skill
levels as feedback is instantaneous: Mathletics, Spelling City (Snowman et al,
2009, p. 237). For the student to have the best possible learning experience
with the technology available to them teachers must have the skills to be able
to teach them. Many teachers are digital immigrants (Prensky 2001) and it is
necessary for them to adapt to the new digital environment and learn the
language of the digital world. In saying that though teachers have many
resources to help them overcome their fears of the digital world such as the
TPCK Framework.
Mobile Phone
Wiki
My
participation in the mobile phone wiki challenged my thinking. The use of de
Bono’s Six Thinking Hats made me re-evaluate my thoughts by crossing into
unchartered territory. I am a Black Hat thinker! I always look at the, what
“ifs and whys” of everything first before jumping straight in. However, upon
looking at the hats again I was presented with a structured approach of adding
my thoughts to differing colours and with the activity accessible through the
online wiki, it enabled me to post my view and check for my understanding of
what was required.
To
use this in a classroom environment would benefit learners because the
questioning allows for higher order thinking. It doesn’t allow for simple
yes/no answers. It allows for the learner to explore their thoughts and
generate plausible justifications of a topic. In saying that though I had my
reservations about posting on the wiki for fear of ridicule of my thoughts. For
this to be successful in the classroom students should be made to feel their
opinions are valued and possibly encouraged to re-evaluate opinions if they are
not satisfactory. There are many “black hat” thinkers and I believe many of us
can be swayed to think more openly on a topic or situation when presented with
a structured approach to learning.
I
know and understand technology is here to stay and it will only get more
exciting with the introduction of new gadgets and devices. The integration of
mobile phones into the classroom as a learning device will need to be fully
understood by teachers on the benefits to the learner and ensuring there are
strict guidelines to its usage. I do not see it as a benefit to the lower
levels of primary yet on the other hand it would benefit the middle and higher
level of secondary as they prepare to transit into their teens juggling the
daily rituals of socialising and employment.
Digital Tool
1: Wix Website Builder.
The
Wix website builder is a great digital tool not just for your student but for your
everyday person. It is great for promoting a service, a product, an event even
art work. The site is easy to navigate with step by step instructions on each
page in an edit box. You are able to adjust the size of each text box allowing
the user to have multiple text on the page. One thing I should stress is to
view the tutorial. I didn’t because I like to play with things. Wix allows the
user to design and create a personalised site. Tab buttons on the side allow
users to design & customise their pages including the addition of various
styles of font, text, images and extra pages.
In
my blog I discussed how we created a site for an assessment for Science
Curriculum and Pedagogy in Term 1. We designed our site with Science in mind
and had to consider digital task cards for all year levels. This was however a
teacher tool and did not allow for the student to engage on a hands on level.
For students to access this would lead to all students trying to access the
site at the same time. This would cause any work added to be lost as only one
person can edit and save at a time. Many students have their own school email
accounts and the best way to “fix” this would be for the teacher to have
his/her own Wix with all the details of lesson. The Wix is great for student’s
projects especially for upper primary where they are required to use higher
order thinking. Each page would allow for an increased level in their thinking
to develop their creativity, problem solving techniques, decision making and
investigative skills.
The
only downside I found with this site is there are no security settings. The
safety aspects of this will depend on the student’s ability to purchase an
upgrade for their site to be included in the public domain.
Digital Tool
2: Moviemaker
Moviemaker
is a tool for the classroom. I found it was easy to use as it is installed on
most computers. It has various animated manipulations for slides, transitions
can be set to view a slide longer, music can be added with faded in and started
at certain points of the movie. One thing I did find is that for my type of
movie I created I could not figure out how to remove background noise. Text can
be added to each slide, you can view as a full screen and I found it was easier
than photostory. Fantastic tool for the creative, visual, musical learner.
To
be used in the classroom once again it would be a great tool to create
projects. Students are able to create a life story on their family, role plays,
dance, drama, end of year graduations for the older students, and at the
beginning of the year to interview students and see how they progressed
throughout the year: possibly as an assessment and reporting tool. For the
younger students as an alphabet sing along; structure how you want and use as
an assistive tool and then have students display what they have learnt by
finding objects that start with each letter.
The
moviemaker program is fully secure as a tool to be just used within a
classroom. Once you begin to publish on youtube, flickr or facebook safety
becomes an issue. Students would need to be conversant with the ethical and
safety side to posting any material that may be damaging to students in the
future. My moviemaker creation I was vigilant as to not include photos I deemed
were not appropriate for all to see. For parents to view it allows the teacher
to burn a dvd of any performeances.
Digital Tool
3: Glogster
I
produced a Glog also for an assessment in Science Curriculum and Pedagogy in
term 1. It was basically a poster of what I myself had learnt whilst
researching conductors and insulators. Fantastic to have the students
demonstrate their learning of a topic and to display their knowledge. It could
be used for sight words, of course the alphabet possibly a script for a small
play. For older kids (high school) it could be used for recipes from the Home
Economics class, science experiments and recounts/reflections of excursions or
book reports. You are able to insert images also so again it is a good tool for
amping up the project for any year level.
Sign
up is also very easy; an email is required so the student’s school emails would
be sufficient. There is a Glogster pro version if you want to upgrade. In
saying that for schools, I do not see the need. The up side to the Glogster
account is you are able to set your privacy level to public or private. The
downside to Glogster is the struggle to embed the code provided onto any other
site. I think when I added the glog to the digital card assessment I copied and
pasted the URL.
Digital Tool
4: Voki
The
voki!!!! The first I heard of it was from my daughter Dany. She had created a
project about Space and embedded a Voki animation into the project. There is
one use. So I decided to try. The voki website is user friendly. The best
feature is the easy sign up.
There
are two types of packages. One is the basic that allows the user to create a
voki however this has no privacy setting so once the voki is published it is
out there for all to view. That is not a bad thing because there is no image.
Unless the student’s voki is created and published to generate some type of
publicity for themselves, then ethics and safety should be addressed. The other
is the Voki for classroom teachers. It is a user pays and it is $22.95 per
year. This allows for class accounts, teachers can manage student work, privacy
settings for student’s pages and names, additional premium characters and the
teachers is able to leave constructive feedback on the students page. The
teacher also has access to lesson plans, the teacher corner and an unlimited
amount of support.
Classroom
uses would be phenomenal, maybe more so in the lower levels of primary. The
voki can be an additional teacher by recording in their own voice what the
lesson is about. It can be used as an art tool to demonstrate what the student
has created, it can recite the alphabet maybe having the students to use their
own voice. For various projects for example on plants a flower voki would be
the exciting partner to introducing a new topic.
Information
Communication Technology: ICT. It has a vast range of uses. From engaging the
students in the classroom through various means to assisting the Special Needs
Student to feel included in the classroom environment. ICT’s do have their
place in the classroom and teachers need to grasp and acknowledge the fact it
is here to stay and evolve. I have learnt greatly from my interactions with
various tools in the few short weeks.
References:
Hyde,
M., Carpenter, L,. & Conway, R. (2010). Diversity
and Inclusion in Australian Schools.
Sydney,
NSW
Oxford
University Press
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital
Natives, Digital Immigrants. From On the Horizon (MCB
University
Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001)
Snowman, J,.
Dobozy. E,. Scevak. J,. Bryer. F,. Bartlett. B., & Biehler. (2009).
Psychology Applied to Teaching (1st
Australian edition).
Milton, Queensland.
John Wiley & Sons Australia.
