It’s time for musings!

This podcast is our reflection on digital learning at the beginning of the semester kristineleanne2708.

I have been on a digital learning journey and I still have a long way to travel. How do I incorporate digital technology in my classroom in a academically defensible manner. The rational to use blogs, podcast, wikis, voicethread etc., must be clearly stated so students, parents and colleagues can appreciate the benefits the technology brings to the teaching and learning environment.

Can you see the computer at the middle top of the picture.  Ratio computer to children 25:1.  From this we could perhaps guess what pedagogical practice is taking place in this classroom?  Perhaps to long a bow to draw, what do you think?  Please comment.

Made available under Creative Commons 2.0 Attribution Licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ Available from the photographer

I think this presentation off TeacherTube, Pay Attention, is great stuff.  It succinctly summarises the digital learners (students)  perspective on today’s classroom.  So come on digital immigrants (teachers) we need to explore the technology to deliver academic defensible teaching and learning that will engage and excite our kids in learning.   It will only take 7 minutes to see why this is important.  Take a chance and have a look!

I am reflecting on an essay I’ve just completed on evaluating teaching and learning strategies I had recently witnessed on a day visit to a secondary school.   In the essay I touched on how a teacher was coaching his students to take responsibility for their own learning.  I think setting up a blog for a class would foster a congenial classroom envirnoment where students would be confident and relaxed to reflect upon their learning experience of the lesson.  It would be a valuable tool for both student and teacher – the students reflect on what they have or have not understood and comment on each others’ post.  The teacher can respond to students by bridging knowledge gaps or directing students to appropriate resouces.  You would need to spend say a term coaching the students on the purpose of the blog e.g.  take responsbility for their own learning.  Do you think I am on the right track?  I would love to hear your comments.

Reading the article School wants students to play video games in the class I wonder if Australian schools  will adopt the portable video game console as a key teaching tool.  Japanese students love using the high-tech console for spelling bees in language classes.  The software provides students with instance feedback when the students got the spelling right.  The children and importantly the parents love the new learning tool but Japanese teachers are not quite convinced!  Will Australian teachers share the same view as their Japanese counterparts?  What do you think?

I loved reading the article Powerpoint is evil because I have long thought it’s all glitz and no substance and it feels good not to be alone in this thought!  Tufte makes an excellent point that students should be taught to write sentences and not encouraged to use dot points follow by only a few words.

Are Powerpoint’s days numbered?  What do you think – please comment.

I have just completed a project with a colleague using collaborative editing tools: Webspiration and Google spreadsheets.  The easy accessibility and real time editing features were great.  I wish I had read the article, 7 Things You Should Know About Collaborative Editing Tools, before I started the project.  I now understand the principles of the collaborative editing tools. I really enjoyed having access to free mindmap and spreadsheet software on the Web.  I will use these collaborative editing tools in my teaching and learning strategies in the classroom.  I think students will enjoy using this software for group work assignments because they can produce work and their peers can either add to it or edit it in real time.

I recently read an article in the The Economist and it stated “computing is fast becoming a “cloud”.  I had no idea what they were on about even having read the full article until now.  But thanks to my uni lecturer, Matthew, asking the question, “Did you know the web is now 5000 days old? If you’re interested in the next 5000 days, then listen to this talk by Kevin Kelly.”

It’s a great discussion on where the Web in heading, so please if you can spare 20 minutes it’s well worth a listen.  I  particularly enjoyed the discussion on “co-dependence” of humans on the Web.  The analogy of humans’ co-dependence on the alphabet and writing is crystallising.  Much of our teaching and learning strategies are about learning information and recalling it.  Google can assist us in doing a numbers of these tasks…….so how will “co-dependence” revolutionise teaching and learning strategies in the classroom?  Will students need to remember chunks of information or just Google it? I don’t know…..what do you think?

It was great – Finch’s blog lead me to a thought provoking YouTube video on Ying’s blog and I cannot but help think of Prensky’s Digital Natives Digital Immigrants.  With only a couple of weeks left in our course, Digital Learning for a Digital Generation, I am still struggling to find the time necessary to devote to immersing myself in the technology and discovering constructional/instructional projects that could work in the classroom for my KLA, Business Studies, Commerce and Economics.  I realise technology is an asset in motivating and engaging the digital natives i.e. the students but the challenge is to ensure that there is also academic rigour to the content.

On visiting Miriam’s blog I discovered the Microsoft sponsored 2008 Year’s Innovative Teacher’s Award.  I really loved reading the award winning teachers’ comments about how the technology impacted on the students.  For example  Anne Mirtschin, Hawkesdale P12 College, Hawkesdale, Victoria
states “Students
love blogging. It’s very visual and immediate and when they get a hit
on their blog they feel the world is listening.”  I recommend you go and review what these teachers are doing with technology in their classroom – there’s some good ideas.

Also on Miriam’s blog there is a new way to talk about and share your images, documents and videos called Voice Thread – I went and had a look but nothing so I am looking forward to Miriam’s review.