Podcasting

It took me quite a while to get through all the podcast info from our readings and as usual finding relevant info on the internet wasn't easy. I really feel like I am on side with the connectivist learning theory at the moment. The internet opens up a can of worms and knowing where to find the information and which information is relevant and accurate is so important. A) because it drastically cuts down the amount of time spent on finding what you need and B) because it distinguishes the good from the bad.
After spending most of a day looking around, I found quite a bit of info that really got me excited about podcasts. I particularly loved the idea of doing interviews with students and also the opportunities for students themselves to take charge and create their own interviews and projects.

Here are some links to podcasts different types of podcasts done with students:

1. This podcast was adapted from a phone interview - great idea!
http://hw.libsyn.com/p/3/5/c/35ce0f7806bf019d/PA_Ep_21_June_2009.mp3?sid=52ca46d40039898e52e266da7cb193bb&l_sid=21149&l_eid=&l_mid=1970782

2. This one is a vodcast that is about a character named 'bloby' that a student created. Great for encouraging creativity and lots of fun!
http://richmondroad.podomatic.com/player/web/2008-09-22T19_40_50-07_00


3. This podcast is also a 'vodcast' and is quite advanced - it will be a while until I can create something like this with my students! Great way of communicating information in an authentic way by using images, narration and videos of students in the class.
http://podfreaks.com/view/nasaeclipsourworld


Here is a quick PMI (Plusses, Minuses, Interesting) followed by a podcast that I made with my son. He is reciting some songs that were taught to him by his teacher to help them learn the alphabet.

P -
* Free to use and easy to set up
* Students can create their own podcasts
* Can create vodcasts so learning can be multi-modal
* Can subscribe to podcasts and be updated when new episodes are available
* Can be accessed and listened to repeatedly which means students can go at their own pace and teachers can focus on other things rather than repeating info
* Only need computer (with mic which most have now) and the internet
* Students can share learning experiences with others around the world which makes podcasting authentic and meaningful
* Great alternative to reading text which is still the dominant medium on the internet
* Can be downloaded onto ipods or MP3 players so listeners can access podcasts anywhere, anytime
* Great for content that is purely aural - interviews, music, opinions, etc
* Music can be used to backup what is being said and often conjures up emotions like happiness, sadness to aid deeper thinking and comprehension.

M -
* No comments or editing can be made so does not allow interaction after the podcast has been made
* Dial-up or slow internet users may have difficulty downloading podcasts
* To make a quality podcast it may require extra equipment, editing software, quiet room, good voice for audio, etc
* Great for content that is purely aural - interviews, music, opinions, etc
* Only good for short topics
* Requires a clear, concise audio voice (accents, mumbling etc may make learning difficult if other students can not understand what is being said)
* Podcast series are not set in stone and can be removed or no longer added to if the makers choose to
* Difficulties in finding up to date and relevant podcasts

I -
* Students can listen to explanations repeatedly without asking the same questions and fear of forgetting important information
* I read that at one school they put up a podcast of a phone interview with a celebrity. I thought this was a fantastic way of interviewing celebrities or people the class is studying, etc as it requires much less effort than having them attend a class, etc
* The extensions of podcasting like vodcasting - podcasts with video!
* When podcasting includes video I thought it seemed very similar to You Tube. The pros with You Tube are that searching is easier but with vodcasting being able to subscribe means that it is more like a program with updates rather than one random entry

Ways that podcast could be used in the classroom:
- Interviews
- Students could talk about the latest school events
- Students could discuss issues related to the KLA's (critique art, talk about current events, discuss themes of a book, talk about what healthy living means to them, etc).
- Teachers could use podcasts to discuss assignments, class issues.
- Students could read stories they have written - this allows them to improve their reading by listening to their fluency
- A way of allowing parents insight into classroom activities
- As a reflection tool, evaluating activites, lessons and ICT's used in the classroom
- They could talk about their lives and culture and then exchange podcasts with children in different parts of the world


References:
- http://www.brighthub.com/internet/web-development/articles/34767.aspx
- http://www.educause.edu/blog/dianao/PodcastingintheClassroomEDUCAU/165531
- http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/audio/articles/78924.aspx
- http://mwtl.blogspot.com/2010/08/pros-and-cons-of-podcasting.html

Digital Video - I finally got there!

This is my digital movie created through iMovie. Please be kind, I know it's very amateur but it took me ages!

After reading Miss Meddles blog I read about how she used powerpoint to create slides and then saved them as images and transferred them to moviemaker. Inspired by these videos I set out to make a movie about shapes. My idea was to introduce some shapes and show how they can form pictures and the aim was to get my classroom thinking about how shapes can be found in many things we see everyday. I wanted to add in some funky music to make it more engaging and a little person so it was a bit like a story too.

This idea seemed easy enough but once again I managed to get in way over my head! I initially had to teach myself how to use powerpoint. I googled "how to use powerpoint" and went from there. Google is my best friend these days! I realise that a lot of the websites have tutorials and help bars but to be honest I find most of them extremely boring and I prefer to google my specific problem and get straight to the point. The most important thing that I learnt for this particular powerpoint was how to duplicate slides. This meant that I didn't have to cut and past each image that I drew and I am sure it saved me half a day in time. I went about my way adding in the shapes and text and my next problem arose when I wanted a girl in the picture. I decided to draw her in "Paintbrush" (a mac program) and imported her. I had some issues with fitting her in front of and behind the shapes (I wanted her to go in the door, not behind the house!) but in the end I just did what I could with the little knowledge I had. I then saved the powerpoint as images and then had to import them into iMovie. I know that Macs are great for a number of reasons, but I have found it very difficult during this course because a lot of the info is related to Microsoft and so I have to figure it all out for myself. I know in one sense that being forced to talk control of my learning is great, but on the other hand I am wondering if I am learning things the right way or the looooooong way?!

After finally figuring out how to get images into iMovie (the macmost.com website has been a godsend) I then had to decide on the music. I found a song I liked, purchased it from iTunes (had never done this before!) and then googled how to loop the start of the song. I ended up using Garageband (another Mac application) and googled how to create a loop. It took me ages to figure out a loop that flowed thanks to my total lack of musical intelligence! Then I saved it to itunes and uploaded it in imovie. I transferred it onto movie but there is one bit where it didn't flow that well but I have no idea how to fix it and have spent enough time on this now. If anyone else knows send me a message please!

Phew. So by making a digital video I used:
- Powerpoint
- Paintbrush
- iMovie
- iTunes
- Garageband

All things I had never used before! Then I wanted to upload it here and the only way I could figure out how to do that was by putting it on You Tube and then embedding it. So I now have a You Tube account as well.

I think in a classroom using Digital Video would be a great way to engage students in authentic learning. By being able to use photos and video footage students can document and evaluate their findings in relation to class tasks, projects and topics. They can also use animations and be totally creative in the way they portray their message about a topic to their class. Videoing footage of classroom happenings also provides teachers and students with an opportunity to watch and review on how procedures went and evaluate the lesson.

"...video production in the classroom enables the development of media literacy, higher order thinking skills, project based learning experiences, real world relevancy experiences, and a deeper connection to the curriculum being explored. But while all this is essential, it represents only half of the potential of using video in the classroom.

The other half to all the skills and experiences being developed is the experience that students receive in communicating their own original ideas to others, and in listening to others communicate their ideas to them. It’s that speaking and listening thing." Nikos Theodosakis, 2002 (as sited on http://edtech.guhsd.net/video.html)

One of the main downsides I see is that making movies can be very time consuming. The other is that in the process it can be easy to lose sight of the message you are trying to convey! So pedagogy and learning outcomes need to enforced throughout the process. One more downside is student and teacher privacy. Ensuring that permission to film students, etc is needed and editing may be required to ensure the footage is appropriate. Schuck & Kearney (2006) addressed the idea that teachers also need a supportive school environment in order to successfully implement digital video in the classroom.

All in all it was fun and definitely something I would love to get better at!

Some class ideas:
- create learning resource video clips (for use by students or the professional development of staff)
- prepare educational segments on safety issues (e.g. on roads, in playground, at home)
- assist in a variety of ways with the learning of other languages
- preparation of mini documentaries, interviews or news reports
- record students role playing difficult social situations
- record school performances, excursions, special events, field trips, visits by specialists, etc.
- collect video of authentic workplace situations that can be analyzed in maths or statistics classes
- use frame by frame analysis techniques to accurately record rapid change in experiments or sport
- compile still images over a long period to produce time lapse movies
- use frame grabbing software to record and analyze critical events
- increase student awareness of manipulative techniques used in advertising (this could be done by looking at a video without spoken words, and using a see, think, wonder thinking routine)
- develop greater critical literacy skills by comparing television or movie segments with own creations
- view difficult, dangerous or expensive experiments or activities (recorded with specialists)
- assist in the introduction of disabled students into mainstream classes
- show skills that are quicker to learn by observation (e.g. sewing a French seam)
- record and analyse student or teacher presentations
(http://www.zardec.net.au/keith/digvideo.htm)

You can view my thoughts on Digital Video, scaffolded by De Bono's Six Thinking Hats here.


Referencing:
Schuck & Kearney - http://www.ed-dev.uts.edu.au/teachered/research/dvproject/pdfs/ReportWeb.pdf
Miss Meddles blog -
Song on Video - "Young Folks" - Peter, Bjorn & John

ARGH! A new MINUS of Blogs...

I just discovered the "next blog" function on this blog site. I clicked on it yesterday and it was about a guy who labelled himself "the dirty hippy". It was bit odd to be frank. I thought that it always went to the same one but clicked on it again before and it is someone new! A High School girl. Lots of swearing and writing about love lives and how crap life is. Hmmmmmm for me this is a MAJOR minus of using blogs in the classroom. How do we stop kids from clicking that tempting little "next blog" link?? Beats me.

tornado in parker

tornado in parker, a photo by FOTO(GRAF) fka Das Viking on Flickr.

I found this photo on Flickr when I typed in Tornado

OH NO! I typed out a big reflection on this and then my computer crashed and the auto save on my blog must not have been working:-( Just as I was really getting excited about all this technology this has happened... goodbye last hour of my life! Another lesson learnt. Very frustrating though and I would be very upset if this happened to my students.

Ok so here we go...

I accessed Flickr and opened my account which was very simple. That was last week and today I decided to do a specific search. I searched for Tornadoes and found this image. I think it is AMAZING! In the short time I have been using this program I have loved the authenticity of it all. Obviously images as incredible as this are available in books, etc but I love the idea that a real person spontaneously took this shot while being amongst the action! Of course, this may not be the case - he may have intentionally set up the shot, he may be a 'storm chaser' or the like, but the way accounts are set up on Flickr, you feel as though you are getting sneak peeks into parts of peoples lives that they find special enough to share rather than just random images.

As soon as I saw this image I instantly thought of the See, Think, Wonder thinking routine that was mentioned in our course readings. Here is my reflection:

I see a Tornado roaring through farmland

I think about how powerful the tornado looks and how scary mother nature can be. I think about how I hope I never encounter a tornado in my whole life and I also think about how close the photographer must have been to the tornado to get a photo like this.

I wonder about how Tornadoes start and in what cities they occur most. I wonder about how people stay safe during a tornado and if the photographer was hurt or had his possessions damaged in any way. I also wonder about the cows and if they were ok!

I think that Flickr could be a great tool in the classroom because it is simple to use and the quality of images is incredible. Images are a great supplement to lessons and discussions and being able to access photos on nearly every subject makes this a fantastic program for projects, etc. When I wanted to use this photo in my blog I discovered that I could set up a direct link so that any photos I chose could be added to my blog without any copy and paste. This is a very helpful tool that students could use if they had blogs as well.

I had quick look at Tag Galaxy too. My first impression was that the layout and graphics were really cool. I love the idea of using tags and can see how this could foster class discussions on which key words are useful in finding a certain image as well as labelling any images added by the students. The downsides to this program that I have found though are as follows:
- If there are a lot of images it took a long time to load them on my computer
- The images are small and sometimes hard to make out
- In some instances I saw inappropriate images so that is an issue for classroom teaching
- Sometimes the narrowing down of tags went on and on.
- On Flickr I also saw some comments that were not appropriate for students to read.

Here is a snapshot of Tag Galaxy. I looked up "painting abstract".

Fun times with Picnik!

Loved using this tool! I can see a lot of fun could be had using this in the classroom:-)

Here is the original Mr Kangaroo. The photo was taken at the Wildlife Park near Yeppoon - he was the biggest Kangaroo and my kids called him Russell because they love Hooley Dooley's who sing a song about "Russell the Muscly Kangaroo"!

Here is my "picniked" version. Spot the enthusiastic photo editer...

How I could use it in the Classroom???
I think this tool would engage students because it is very simple to use and fun! My first thoughts were that students would love the doodle effect and being able to make people and things look silly but from an educational point of view I can see it being effective also. I had a read on the Picnik blog and there were a few great ideas which included holiday decorations, making a picture book, postcards, weather collage, spelling lists, student profile/placement cards, classroom newsletter, labelling parts of photos such as body parts, etc and using a blank canvas to create a picture using shapes which would tie in well with maths curricula.
It provides a way to further grab the attention of students by adding brighter, bolder colours or focusing on the key image in the photo. The ability to write, add detail, etc means it could be great to use in projects and to help with spelling. The ease of use with this program means that students are able to create their own edited photos which means they are gaining technical skills and have full involvement in the process! With the amount of advertising thrown at everyone these days, creating an ad poster would be another great way to implement an authentic focus.

Reflection on Blogging as a tool for the classroom

I think blogs are great. I really do. BUT another weakness that I thought of after making this chart was that they are very time consuming. Filling in my own takes enough time and effort but reading others is even more so. I love to read what others have to say and I could easily spend my 10 hours per week allocated for this course just doing that and nothing else! However because of the workload I unfortunately do not have enough time to do that:-( I also feel that you need to have a natural love of getting your voice out there and being heard... along with little self-consciousness. Oh wait - that could also be a positive - blogs help to open those who like to stay closed off and I guess that what is said is only limited by how much you are willing to say. So therefore privacy is in the hands of the writer. Hmmmmmmm. I think I have recognised this already on the few blogs I have been following... some have chosen to confess every high and low of their learning journey's while other have kept it very academic and done only what is required. I wonder if this can relate to their learning styles and intelligences??

How Blogs could be implemented in the Classroom:
- Teacher setting up a class blog to display class activities, homework lists, reminders, etc.
- Class blog where Teacher sets up homework activities with scaffolded questions that students have to answer in the comments box.
- Introducing students to professional blogs online from people related to class topics, projects, issues, etc
- Individual student blogs where students can discuss class activities, document learning journey and write up assignment. This type of blog requires stringent scaffolding to ensure students are focusing on the right questions and develop useful thinking routines.
- Class blog where that documents class happenings but that is created and updated by the students. The benefit of class blogs is that parents can be followers and keep up to dat with what their children are learning and build on this at home.
- Class blog extended to global collaboration whereby one class links with another somewhere else in the world and they share information and ideas on a specific topic.
- Students could critique and comment on a topic within a professional blog- this allows an authentic focus.

After reading Stephen Downes' article about Educational Blogging, I have summarised a few points that he made:
He breaks the "virtual space" of educational Blogs up into 3 sets:
- Classroom Web Space where announcements are displayed and work of common interest is posted
- Public, personal communication zone where students post results of work or reflection
- Private, personal space, reserved for student thoughts and teacher guidance

He states that "blogging is something defined by format and process, not by content". This mimics the idea that Blogs enhance learning about learning and not so much learning about content. It is the process from lower order thinking to higher order thinking that makes Blogs such a useful tool in classroom. It aids students in their ability to reflect, recite and evaluate (not in any particular order). Of course scaffolding is required to ensure that students stay on the right track.

Downes discuss the 5 major uses in Education as being:
1. To replace web pages - this is because they are reverse chronological so the latest posts are easy to find and Blogs are easy for both students and teachers to use.
2. Hyperlinks - enable easy links to extra material and information
3. Organise class discussions
4. Organise seminars and provide summaries of class content
5. Writing individual blogs

He also mentions a few pitfalls and pros of blogging, some of which are similar to those mentioned in my SWOT analysis.
Pitfalls - lieblous content, conflict between writer and institution (ie School), risk of copyright and protected info
Pros - gets students writing, breaks down barriers (can read blogs of professionals, class mates, etc), good blogs based on merit rather than origin.
The last point means that people who write blogs that become well known or followed by many do not have to be those of professionals, celebrities, etc. They can be someone who simply writes quality postings that are of value to certain readers.
Downes' also references Richardson who adds more positive points on blogging that include the ability to reflect, to write about a topic over a sustained period of time and to engage an audience which encourages quality postings and thought.

Safe, Ethical and Legal Issues
- As blogs are a part of the "blogoshpere" and open to everyone, students need to be aware of maintaining their privacy and not saying specific names, addresses, personal information. Using avatars like the Voki's is useful as well as nicknames. They are also able to use privacy settings on the blog so need to be informed on how to use these effectively.
- Teachers need to ensure that students are aware of issues such as cyberbullying, copyright issues, stranger danger, inappropriate language or images, securing passwords, and they need to know how to go about reporting any of these issues if they see other students who may be breaking the rules.
- Here are some great website on how to stay safe, ethical and legal when using Blogs:
http://www.netsmartz.org/Blogging
http://education.qld.gov.au/smartclassrooms/ictstudents/p-3-ethics.html - the link here is for classes p-2 so it is the most basic way to create awareness, with links to other helpful websites.
* It is important that Teachers not only introduce students to ethical, safety and legal guidelines but that they frequently assess their knowledge so that it becomes clear what students do and do not know about these issues so the teacher can fill in gaps at keep these ideas at the forefront of all Web 2.0 use. Behaviourist quizzes embedded in a blog and Collaborative constructivist postings in the blog could be useful for this.



Reference:
McKeands, Nancy A. (2006) Random Thoughts about teaching, learning, technology and life. http://namckeand.blogspot.com/2006/03/and-yet-another-favor-to-ask.html

Conclusion

E-learning involves improving teaching and learning using instructional strategies enhanced by technology, especially computer technology.(CQU, 2011, para 9). This course frames the learning theory of collaborative constructivism. As Prensky (2005) asserts, students are becoming less engaged and by moving away from the traditional teaching methods and towards a more collaborative and meaningful framework, teachers may better design lessons that accommodate the needs of their students. By participating in the activities throughout the ICT's for learning design so far, students have not only gained an insight into the ways they learn best, but are actively collaborating with peers by participating in the wiki's, blogs and online discussion forums in Moodle. For some students this has been a difficult journey, fraught with issues of privacy, social rejection, and lack of ICT application knowledge.

To overcome these issues intrinsic motivation and engagement has been key and scaffolding throughout the course has been fundamental in sustaining both of these internal factors. "Scaffolding is a process of guiding the learner from what is presently known to what is to be known" (Murphy, 1997). Teachers become managers of learning. Vgotsky's zone of proximal development is related to scaffolding and central to this idea is the notion that when you assign a task, if the students successfully complete it without help, they could already do it. They have been taught nothing (Wilhelm, 2001). The ability to go off on tangents when online means that scaffolding must be carefully constructed to not only guide students towards learning outcomes, but to ensure that there is a balance between mediated learning and self-directed learning. This is where Connectivism comes into play also, as it is imperative that students know where to get information that is appropriate and accurate. The wiki's included a profile wiki, a mobile phone wiki and a learning theory wiki. The scaffolding was initially explicit in the profile wikis with direct questioning and the remaining two wiki activities used thinking tools PMI and De Bono's thinking hats "to look at decisions from a number of important perspectives. This forces you to move outside your habitual thinking style, and helps you to get a more rounded view of a situation." (http://www.odi.org.uk/RAPID/Tools/Toolkits/KM/docs/Six_thinking_hats.pdf) I felt that behaviourism was evident in the wikis as I learnt the process of accessing and editing the wiki's through repetition. There was however little positive reinforcement which is prescribed to be the motivator of learning in Behaviourism. Growing up in a behaviourist environment meant that this was difficult to comes to terms with and I found that not knowing if I was right or wrong diminished my motivation. This needs to be taken into consideration in the classroom as some students may thrive on competitiveness and individual success. Knowing not only what your students need to learn but how they learn best is fundamental in creating an elearning design that will engage and motivate all students. The learning styles test (Felder and Soloman) along with the multiple intelligences test (Gardner, 1983) provided not only an understanding of our own abilities and preferences, but also highlighted the fact that every student is an individual and can not be expected to gain knowledge in the same way as someone else.

The wikis strongly fit within the frameworks of Blooms Revised Taxonomy (Clark, 2010) and Engagement Theory (Kearsley & Schneiderman, 1990, 2010). Blooms Taxonomy focuses on a progression of learning from remembering to understanding, applying, analysing, evaluating, and creating. Wikis require remembering how to edit information, understanding how to answer using the thinking tools, applying this understanding by answering the thinking tools, and then evaluating in our blogs. This process was well scaffolded with a tutorial for visual and auditory learners, online IT support, and the thinking tools, making it a reasonably simplistic way to introduce students to collaborating online. The final 'creating' objective was achieved in the e-learning design framework task which was the product of our journey from lower order thinking to higher order thinking. Engagement Theory stipulates that students are engaged in learning and focuses around three components, Relate-Create-Donate. Students related by way of pairing up in the learning theories wiki, learning was created with purpose as the wiki content was relevant to our teaching practices and the donate component will come when we are able to put our knowledge into practice with our students. Becoming equipped with problem solving skills by way of thinking tools will also help with cognitive learning as we create schemas of tools to be used in the workforce and beyond.


The wiki activities did not always result in positive learning experiences. The many technical issues dealt with left students feeling overwhelmed and under supported. This proved that while technology can enhance learning, there needs to be efficient IT support and alternative methods of teaching content if problems arise. In the profile wiki the benefits gained out of the exercise depended on the amount of information students were prepared to expose. The learning theories wiki left many students without a partner and feeling isolated as well as behind in the course work. The mobile phone wiki was the most successful and I feel this was because of the anonymity and lack of pressure at bouncing ideas of someone else first. The blogs, while excellent as a reflective tool also left me feeling lonely as I gained few followers and only one comment. The forums proved useful for some students but I personally gained little value from them. Interestingly, some students were too embarrassed to post questions for fear of asking silly questions which I would have thought would be less of an issue in an online environment which enables students to think before they speak and not be instantly ridiculed if the do ask something 'simple'. I found the workload to be overwhelming and as the course has required a lot of reflective work, this puts pressure on students to absorb the material quickly. Ironically, despite the self-directed learning dimension to the course, the workload has resulted in hurried responses from me and some of my peers who need time to think things through. The assessment, whilst an evaluation, has appeared behaviourist to me as I am negatively reinforced to rush through at a pace faster than my ability or I may fail.

I found it comforting to see another side to the use of blogs and forums that reflected a collaborative constructivist nature. I participated in a forum of support for a student who was struggling with the workload and family commitments. Many students related to her situation and posted inspiring messages to help her through a tough time. Being in the forums, it can referred to time and time again if she is feeling overwhelmed. Being open about the ups and downs of the learning process can foster close relationships and trust within a community of learners and could be excellent in the classroom environment to combat bullying.

Another fantastic functional aspect to this course is that evaluation, both formal and informal, allows us (teachers) to learn from and improve on current practice (Commonwealth of Australia, 2008). By reviewing the learning styles and intelligences of students teachers can construct lessons that reflect these preferences. By looking at reflective blog entries teachers can follow the progress of students and provide extra support if they feel it is needed. By engaging in forums they can efficiently respond to any misunderstandings or further scaffolding that may be required. They also can gain constructive criticism in evaluations such as this that may highlight issues with the course.

E-learning is relevant in the 21st century as teachers try to engage students through the use of technology and by approaching learning in an holistic, constructivist fashion. By implementing scaffolding students will better progress through their learning journey and aspects of scaffolding such as thinking tools will guide them in being able to solve problems and gain social skills by way of collaboration. The design framework also needs to be well balanced by incorporating a range of resources and learning theories to ensure the needs of every student are met. As a teacher who will be educating students in a digital age, I believe this will help create an ideal e-learning environment in which students thrive as higher order thinkers.




References:

Mergel, B. (1998). Instructional Design & Learning Theory. Retrieved from http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/mergel/brenda.htm

Murphy, E. (1997). Characteristics of Constructivist Learning & Teaching. Retrieved from
http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~emurphy/stemnet/cle3.html

Wilhelm, J. (2001). Strategic Reading: Guiding Students to Lifelong Literacy. Retrieved from http://www.myread.org/scaffolding.htm

CQUniversity. (2011). Week 1 readings: active learning, learning diversity and the theory. Retrieved from CQUniversity e-courses, EDED20491 ICTs for Learning Design, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/course/view.php?id=17135

Mind Tools, see: www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_07.htm.

Felder, R., & Soloman. B. Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire. Retrieved from http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html

Gardner, H. (1983) Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Retrieved from http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks1/ict/multiple_int/what.cfm

Clark, D. R., (2010). Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains, Retrieved March 2, 2011 from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html#cognitive

Kearsley, G. & Schneiderman, B. (1999, 2010). Engagement Theory: A Framework for Technology-
based Teaching and Learning. Retrieved March 9, 2011 from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Commonwealth of Australia. (2008). Australian Flexible Learning Framework. Retrieved March 15, 2011 from http://designing.flexiblelearning.net.au/assessing/f_evaluate/index.htm

Technical Difficulties...

Have no idea how to publish a table from Word into my blog and it is too late at night to ask for help!

Maybe my creation won't make it into the blog after all...

UPDATE: Managed to download Paintbrush, screen capture it in the word doc, post it into paintbrush, adjust paintbrush screen size to accommodate table, save it as JPEG and load it into blog... after an hour of trying to figure something out - now that's dedication!!

Who said I wasn't tech savvy?!

P.S Very grateful for the option of googling everything I need to know (aka Connectivism)

P.P.S Sorry anyone that tries to read it - get out your magnifying glass;-)

E-Learning Design Framework

Designing my own Framework for elearning has been challenging. I have read over the multiple frameworks included in our course, as well as related frameworks that I have discovered on the internet, and it has left me confused and wanting to include every possible dimension so as to ensure that my students have the best possible learning experiences!

I have chosen to focus on three important frameworks and combine these to create a framework that not only enforces higher order thinking, but engages students and recognises that as 21st century leaners, ICT's are integral to furthering their education.

These frameworks are:
Bloom's Revised Taxonomy - A classification of learning objectives designed to help teachers plan "units that incorporate low to high-level thinking activities" and allow "for student thinking at all levels". http://www.kurwongbss.eq.edu.au/thinking/Bloom/blooms.htm

Engagement Theory - A framework that contextualises learning and is based around the idea that learning is best achieved when it ENGAGES students by means of collaboration, project based activities and and authentic focus. It is also "intended to be a conceptual framework for technology-based learning and teaching", as they believe that technology further facilitates effective learning in the digital world we now live in.
Engagement Theory revolves around three core principles:
1. Relate - "emphasises team efforts"
2. Create - "makes learning a creative, purposeful activity"
3. Donate - "making a useful contribution while learning"

I have also employed aspects of the unit plan we were given at our residential school in Rockhampton, as well as components of effective e-learning design as subscribed by the Australian Flexible learning Framework. Despite the fact that I am aiming to teach in a classroom, I felt that this website provided solutions to many of the issues that arise when dealing with an interactive, collaborative environment. I was particularly interested in how assessment was implemented as well as the support that teachers provided for students.

I have tried to design my framework on the basis that effective learning design needs to encourage students to create. Creating is the top category of Higher Order Thinking in Bloom's Taxonomy.

I believe I need to start my learning design by addressing the key learning areas, my intended learning outcomes and the assessment. From there I need to focus on the individuality of my students:
What do they already know?
What are their intelligences?
What are their preferred learning styles?

To cater for a diverse range of students the learning design framework needs to be balanced. This is achieved by ensuring that:
A range of learning theories are implemented
ICT's cater for all types of learning styles such as visual, auditory kinaesthetic.

In order to learn, Prensky claims students need to be ENGAGED. This is the central focus of this framework because if students are not engaged they lose motivation and struggle to progress to a level of higher order thinking.

In order to engage students, I am adhering to the Engagement Theory and believe that students learning needs to be:
Project based
Collaborative
Meaningful (Authentic Focus)
It also needs to be technology based (ICT's)

Once students are engaged, they need to progress from Lower order thinking to Higher Order Thinking (HOT). This is achieved by scaffolding. Scaffolding supports students through their learning journey and encourages HOT by using strategies to drawing out their ideas.

In an elearning environment, it is important that I remain aware of the strategies relevant to this particular environment. I need to decipher what type of scaffolding will suit them best, based on all other aspects above, as well as what level of face to face or online interaction there will be, how self directed the courseware will be, and how this will lead them to excel in the assessment.

Here is my finished product which will is open to transformation as I progress through my own learning journey. How fantastic it is to have created something!

This will blow your MIND HOLE! (anyone else addicted to How I Met Your Mother?)

I was after some inspiration and motivation and knew that Ken Robinson was the man to turn to (sorry Mike!). I searched his name on You Tube and found this amazing video. Talk about engaging! The facts, the jokes, the drawings... I could go on.

Very excited to be a part of all this change:-) Sounds like we have got a lot of work ahead of us but imagine the potential if nearly every child could fulfil their potential and be doing what they love, instead of doing what they "have to" or "because the money is good". Zzzzzzzzzz.

P.S Despite the stress, I know I am learning heaps! I am totally fearless about trying out new technology now and have spent the day making a concept map (albeit a little dodgy), figuring out how to download you tube vids on to my blog, and I am now sorting out my framework and learning how to add rows into tables, etc (yes I am a true novice!). I truly believe that my motivation is fuelled by the fact that I have the support of my classmates and teachers and I know I can add to the forum any time I am in need of advice or help - as Ken Robinson said, "collaboration is the stuff of growth"!

Mobile Phones Wiki

To be honest when I first saw this activity I thought it was going to be all about how we best get RID of mobile phones and draw students attention AWAY from a device that has become an extension of their hand. Apparently my mind had time warped back to the early 90's (sooooooooo long ago, haha). It only took me a few more moments before I realised WOW, I am doing a course on utilising technology in a way than can engage digital learners, not a course on how to stamp out technology (not to mention a device that they seem to love so much!) That's when the the lightbulb sprung on in my head and I thought "students are going to love this, they are obsessed with cellphones!". I felt the 'real world' context was there before I had even clicked on the readings link. So here is my reflection on the journey from "NO Cellphones" to "PRO cellphones"!

I am going to have a go at a concept map. Not sure if this is a good idea or not, but might as well give it a go! I am bored of writing line after line and now I know that there are plenty of online resources out there to engage me I need to hunt them down!

I googled concept map and found a website called Free Mind which I downloaded. Read a few help topics and FAQ and this is what I came up with (very higildee pigildee beginners map!):

Wow there's a whole world of resources out there!

Final Reflection (before the process begins again!): Learning Theory Wikis

I felt waaaaaay behind on this activity before I had even begun(hmmmmmm... I am noticing a pattern here). At the Residential Schools in Rockhampton I met Sarah and we discovered we had a bit in common: both living in Gladstone (and doing FLEX study), both studying Primary part time and both trying to juggle education and a young family - no easy fete! When res school was all good and done we decided to exchange phone numbers and it was from here that we made contact in Week One and decided to pair up for this "Learning theories Wiki". This activity instructed us to pick a person who we felt compatible with and then do a PMI on one of the learning theories.

SO, the initial stage of "choosing a partner" was nothing like what we were instructed to do - the profile Wikis didn't come into the equation at all. Our compatibility was judged on good old face to face interaction... just how us digital immigrants like it:-)

The value of this activity to me as a learner?
Initially I found the activity offered little value to me as a learner. We organised to pair up through text which was I was happy with because I didn't know about the profile wikis yet and had no idea what was involved. When this was arranged Sarah had chosen the reading and posted her points. I totally applaud her for being so proactive (if only I could be that organised!) but I felt all my old "group work demons" rearing their ugly heads: Am I way behind? What if my opinions are similar and I have nothing else to add? What if they are different... is it rude to disagree? What if one person does more work than the other? If she finds this easy and I don't does that make me an idiot? If I don't address this activity straight away will she think I am a slacker? If only my mind had an off switch!
After I got past this I decided the best approach for me was to do the reading, write down my points and then read what Sarah had written to see if I had something different to contribute. Most of it was the same (said in one way or another) and so I googled a few more websites to see if I could find some info that might spark a few extra thoughts. In this sense I connected with the outside world, just not my peers. I found a few things and added my PMI to the Wiki and that was it. DONE.
What I did find really helpful was the PMI (Plus Minus Interesting)tool. I had never heard of a PMI before but after reading about it I thought it sounded like a very clear and simplistic way of grasping a theory. Finally something straight forward!
I found reading my peers PMIs and constructing my own helped my understanding of the learning theories and I now feel reasonably comfortable in distinguishing one from the next.

How could this strategy be used to support the learning of your students?
The concept of building knowledge in peers that have been self chosen is great as students can bounce ideas off each other, form connections with peers and still maintain a sense of creativity and freedom of choice. The PMI tool would be great in classroom as it provokes deep thinking in students as well as maintaining a sense of structure to focus their thoughts(aka "scaffolding"). The 'interesting' part helps the teacher become aware of any unresolved questions the students may have as well as offering more ideas for other students when shared. It's also "one of the most effective cooperative strategies for promoting responsibility within each of the students in the team." (http://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/qi/tools/jkl/jigsaw.htm)
Flaws - some students may not be picked to pair up which can generate discrimination. In a pair one may do all the work while the other sits back. If students are pairing with someone they are compatible with, that may lead to a lack or diverse ideas.

Any visible signs of learning theories?
Constructivism - Selecting a partner from Profile Wikis identifies each student as unique individual. Social interaction of group work helps construct meaning. Choosing partner, reading and PMI's = actively involved in learning process.
Behaviourism - Stimulus = select a partner. Response = found a compatible partner (if all goes to plan!)
Connectivism - Connecting with others via networking to find a partner. Different forms of communication with partner through text, email, conversation, etc to construct wiki. Ability to learn from different views and contribute and then contribution can help others learn more and so the cycle continues.

Does it support a diverse range of students?
The way in which partners can communicate supports diversity but the activity of reading an explanation of a theory and writing up answers using a PMI does not. Although I guess you could say that a PMI offers structure for logical, sequential learners as well as freedom for global and reflective learners.

E-Learning - connect students on a global scale.

Blog Blog Blog: Reflection of blog as a journal

When I read that we had to start a blog I didn't know what to expect. I had never blogged before and my only knowledge of blogs was that they were a type of open journal. To be honest I never really understood the hype - why would everyone want to nosey in on strangers diaries?! Who cares what complete strangers had for dinner or how much they hate their Mother-in-Law?! After doing a bit of research I realised I had been wrong about blogs. Blogs that exposed personal lives were like never-ending novels (and we all have one book out there that left us feeling 'lost' for weeks on end after we had finished it). The other blogs were those that pointed to specific topics. People could relate to like minded people by going on line and hunting down an idol or mentor... someone who talked non-stop about something they were interested in!
At residential school many of us felt a bit apprehensive about homework that exposed our ideas to others - what if our ideas were "stolen"? Never mind we were told, plagiarism programs will sort that out.

1. What was it's value to me as a learner?
* This activity engaged me. As a visual learner I was very excited about getting to set up my blog design and I spent far too many hours trying out different colours, layouts and text fonts, which I knew how to do all thanks to the video tutorials provided in the scaffolding. I was so engaged that even in my current technologically inept state I felt compelled to click on different things and see what I could do to make my blog look even better. I was in heaven when I discovered the gadgets feature. For me the blog allowed me to express my creativity. Then there was a turning point and my 'engagement' waned when I realised that I had spent approx 3 hours just setting it up! I then began to feel frustrated by nagging questions: Why was it taking so much time? What was I expected to say - was it meant to be informal or formal, lengthly or to the point? Who would read it and how did I want people to perceive me? The teacher mentioned us learning from each others perspectives... did this mean I would have to read 99 blogs every day in order to be the best learner I can be?
I have slowly figured out the answers to these questions along the way but the frustration has not eased and I think this is down to the impending assignment "hanging around like a bad smell". I understand that there has to be some sort of assessment involved but the fact that it was addressed so early in this process feels to me as though it has over shadowed my reflective journey and I am constantly aware of the assessment criteria rather than taking time to process my thoughts. I feel completely overwhelmed! On the flip side, blogging has allowed me to rant and ease a bit of this distress and I love the edit function:-)
A few other issues I have struggled with:
* Scaffolding. I tried my best to follow the instructions but found it difficult to navigate my learning path when I felt like every link was leading me to more links and so on. I got lost a few times and confused about what exactly it was that I was supposed to be focusing on and I constantly felt like I was missing something. I also found the activities frustrating because I couldn't see all the work material in front of me and I would reassure myself that I was nearly through this weeks activities and then one link would lead to 50 pages of reading to cover!
*Being a reflective learner - as someone who naturally thinks a lot I have found documenting what goes on in my head to be lengthly (I struggle to write less than 1000 words per entry!) and as a learner who struggles to turn my brain off I have found the learning journal to have exasperated the problem by making me think about what I am thinking.
I guess this has all been part of the learning process and I can say that I have learnt a lot. I now know how to create a blog, change features, add new posts, follow others blogs and upload voki's and other images. I found reflecting on my test results helped me to realise that there are ways of coping with this journey in accordance with my learning preferences and intelligences .
* Having very few followers and comments has made me feel lonely and the exercise seem a bit pointless.

2. Reflection on potential for my learners (how could this strategy be used to support the learning of your students?)
Blogging could be used to promote reflective thinking and document the learning process for each individual so that teachers can better understand their students and students can better understand themselves. It also encourages self directed learning and students can access this resource any time that they are near a device that has the internet. This also means that students can blog in environments suited to their learning preferences (ie, quiet room at home) where they may feel more comfortable. Another great thing about blogging is that there are so many fun features within blogging sites that engage learners and cater for all learning preferences (you tube videos, quotes, wriggling fish, etc as well as the infinite number of features) that can be uploaded on to the blog. Knowing that others are going through the same thing can be comforting and reduce isolation and panic in students who feel they are not 'getting' the course material.
One negative I would recognise from my own experience is that blogging is very time consuming and unless you are really motivated it can be difficult to keep it up regularly. This is in line with constructivism which suggests that the "responsibility of learning should reside increasingly with the learner" (Glasersfeld, 1989).
It can feel a bit like talking to a brick wall if you don't have a following.

3. Constructivism
Does this activity have any visible elements of constructivism?
Blogging as a journal encompasses constructivism.
* It allows students to actively engage with learning process and relate their new construction of knowledge with prior experiences, learning preferences, etc.
* Encourages students to engage with the perspectives of their peers and support each other.
* Give students the freedom to be creative at a pace that suits them.

4. Cognitivism
Does this activity have any visible elements of cognitivism?
* Students can make mental connections easier by using gadgets and devices relevant to them.
* By relating new information to prior knowledge and experiences they can better organise and the recall the new information in their memory.

4. Behaviourism
Stimulus - Instructions on how to set up blog.
Response - Blog setup accomplished and the address posted on the wiki blog page.
Beyond the initial stages of setting up the blog, and the instructions that may be followed to add gadgets, etc the blog journals do not fit in with behaviourism because they encourage opened ended thought rather than programmed responses.

5. Connectivism
Students can look at each others blogs and feel connected to other learners writing comments and "following" their blog. They can explore diverse perspectives within the journals of peers and can also be connected to more information through their use of links, video bars, etc. They can use different devices within their journalling to express ideas (whether it be audio or visual) and this helps connect people from all kinds of backgrounds.

6. Diversity
Caters for every student as the blog entries are completely subjective.

www = Wiki Wiki Wiki(?): Reflection on Profile Wikis

Week 0's activity was to create a Profile Wiki. I did not realise this activity even existed until week 1. Great start! SO, now that I have finally figured out what to do and how to do it, here is my "reflection" :-)

1. Reflection on own learning with this activity – what was it's value to me as a learner?
The reason I initially didn't know that we had to do this was because when the ICT's for learning design moodle site came up my eye was instantly drawn to the big bold Week One label. It is clear to me now that both my naivety and visual preferences were to blame. I have never even heard of Week 0 activities before... surely you can't ask students to do course work BEFORE Uni has even started? Apparently you can. So this wiki was born after I had spent many days mucking around with my blog and was already feeling the full wrath of those Ally McBeal visions. Surprisingly I found it quite easy. I had read a few emails about other students having problems with it so I went in prepared for another technological mishap, but everything was fine and dandy. I was pleased there were questions with suggestions for answers and I found this part enjoyable. I am not shy about disclosing facts about myself whether they make me sound amazing or like a complete idiot! For me the most valuable thing I got out of this exercise was reading about my peers. I love finding out about others lives because there are an infinite number of experiences out there and I think you can learn a lot of valuable life lessons by sharing stories. On a personal level I often struggle with self doubt. I hate to admit it but I am a a bit of a quitter. I know I have the mental ability to achieve my goals but I am laid back and like to cruise through life without too much stress. Because of this I often find ways of weasling out of things when I think they may turn my life upside down. This course is no exception, every second day I have thought that now isn't the right time ("the kids are still young", "I don't think it's very easy to get a job these days" "I am not sure I want to stay in QLD for another two years") the list goes on.
My Point: Reading the profile Wikis inspired me to keep going. Some people have it so much tougher and if they can do it, so can I.

2. Reflection on potential for my learners (how could this strategy be used to support the learning of your students?)

In a classroom setting I guess this would be useful in a similar way to websites like facebook. It is a great way for students to expose a side to them that their peers may not know and it can draw on certain compatibilities in likes, dislikes, struggles, etc. I find this particularly relevant for students who are shy and may not be extroverted enough to voice their opinions verbally. Like Facebook, it also offers a chance to "think before you speak". This avoids stumbling over words or not knowing what to say (which has often happened to me in traditional "let's introduce ourselves" activities *cringe*) and offers students more time to reflect on who they are. It is also a great tool for teachers and provides a more informal setting where teachers can get to know the person behind the student. One concern I have with Wiki's is that the details can be edited. With the amount of bullying occurring in schools these days, it worried me that a "bully" could enter a "victims" profile and change it to say something nasty.

3. Visible elements of the Learning Theories (Constructivism, Behaviourism, Connectivism)?
Constructivism -
* Exposes some of the previous experiences, beliefs, personality traits that may have an impact on how they interpret the course material.
* Scaffolding was used to guide us through this activity

Behaviourism -
* The instructions we were given to set up the Wiki then being rewarded with a page to share with our peers. We worked on our profiles individually.

Cognitivism -
* Provided a page that can be retrieved to assist with the organisation of information in our working memory
* By reading what our peers had to say and finding people with similar interests, etc we can attach certain people to our schemas that they relate to. We are also able to group types of people together in order of similarities to each other (and perhaps people we already know) in order to remember them.

Connectivism -
* By reading our peers profiles we are more aware of their specialty skills and strengths and weaknesses which will help us to know how to go to for help and the profile page had provided us with where to go to get this info.

3.Diversity (learning preferences, contexts etc)
Does the design of this activity support a diverse range of students? How?
Yes. It supports sequential learners who prefer following step-by-step guides the video tutorial supports visual and audio learners. Being able to describe yourself is favourable for those who are word smart and reflective. Despite the in-depth descriptions I still felt that not being able to put a face to the name was confusing and I would have preferred to have these profile questions answered in the blogs.

4.eLearning and digital pedagogy
How could the design of this activity, as an online e-Learning strategy, support learning?
Teaches students new internet skills, connects students with their peers and encourages reflective thinking.

I think I am starting to sound like this...

Note to self: Must try harder to trim writing to the bare essentials!

21st Century Learners...

Wow. What can I say? That was quite a read! Sounds like the traditional image of a Teacher that inspired most of us (by that I mean me) to enrol in this course will be a thing of the past... my dreams of bossing and writing on the board are over! ;-) To be a part of the transformation occurring to accommodate the digital learner sounds like a fascinating (albeit challenging) journey.

After reading Prensky's Digtial Native or Digital Immigrant article I pondered my belief and understanding of today's learners. He categorised 'Natives' as being multi taskers who worked collaboratively, processed information quickly and required instant gratification and frequent rewards. Digital Immigrants were the polar opposites: slower learners who liked to learn one step at a time and by themselves. I would say that I am on the cusp of being a digital native. For as long as I can remember there has been TV and video games and I remember getting our

first computer when I was 10 years old and my first cellphone when I was 14. Despite this I still consider myself a digital immigrant at heart. I have an "accent" and I definitely fit the bill when it comes to silly immigrant acts like printing out pages, mainly because I like to read without getting a headache! Because of this I think that today's learners aren't necessarily one or the other and that the issue is more complex than this. I had the native "environment" and yet I chose to stay out of it and focus more on the real world rather than the virtual one. The online resources that I have become involved in now are mainly social networking. I would say this goes for most digital natives I know. Social networking is an easy way of keeping in touch with friends and getting the gossip on acquaintances. Being involved in texting and social networking does not mean you are only engaged by ICT's and discount all other forms of learning. Or does it? Maybe I am further from the cusp than I thought. I still think that teachers need not assume that ALL students from the digital generation are passionately about technology.

Prensky highlighted a really important point about students today though: they have changed. In a world where entertainment saturates our everyday lives, I can see how traditional teaching would offer little stimulation. I can honestly say that when I was at school I was bored. Nothing was as exciting as the TV I watched or the text messages I giggled about at dinner while ignoring the table manners my Mum was attempting to enforce. But teachers didn't know better did they? They were teaching the only way they knew how. Prensky mentioned teachers (who he assumes are immigrants) "grousing" more than once in his article. Maybe they are just terrified of blindly directing students learning experiences using methods they themselves have not been educated on. Yet.

The idea that "edutainment" is the way into the future is exciting and valid. I definitely think that ICT's have a lot to offer digital natives AND immigrants. Having fun is integral to learning and creating a meaningful experience. It is a blessing that students have found fun in something that can be brought into the classroom and used to educate them in accordance with the curriculum!

Prensky's article "engage or enrage" ties in with what I have already mentioned. I know the feeling of being underwhelmed by the school environment, however I think that there is a difference between being "enraged" and being disinterested. "Enraged" suggests that students care about school enough to become enraged by their lack of engagement. However Pensky states that the majority are students who "are convinced that school is totally devoid of interest and totally irrelevant to their life." This is where construcitivism comes in. I think that many students today have home environments that do not encourage a love of education and do not signify its importance. Many are also caught up in peer pressure and think it is cool to act out... this is how they gain acceptance from peers. So do they have any interest in actually being engaged? I am not sure. I think the group that Prensky talked about as the students who "play school" and "go through the motions" are the ones most likely to be enraged because they do the work and still don't understand what relevance it has to the real world. This is the main issue for me: Kids are not being taught things that they can relate to the real world. My friends and I were always wondering WHY WHY WHY about everything we were taught at school. I frequently moaned about not ever needing to know algebra in my future career and in a world where people skills and financial skills seem to be the key assets in success, why are these subjects not being taught?

His proposal that games are the answer was interesting to me. I can see how at a surface level its a good answer because it's fun and innovative but I feel there needs to be a balance. Kids still need to get outside and talk face to face! A world where students played games all day at school and then went home to play them in their free time seems odd to me. Hmmmmmm... I am only 26 and already I sound old fashioned!!

Hands up if you have a frazzled brain?!!

Mike is awesome

Ok, so I cheated - I got my partner Mike to help me upload this image. In return, he got to choose the title. Modest isn't he?!
The first thing that I took from this test was that it is flawed. As others have mentioned different day = different result. In my total lack of IT know-how I managed to delete the results twice before I asked Mike for help. This meant that I had to sit the test three times and every time was different. For me the changes weren't so much related to the day or mood but the events I recalled. For example the first time I was asked about learning outdoors the event that popped into my head was a time when I was sitting on the grass with my peers and there were prickles digging into my bum and mosquitos going to town on my legs as the teacher talked about different types of clouds. In the subsequent test I thought of camp and the team learning done while we rafting down the white water rapids! Much more fun to me:-)

The test results show that I am a visual learner which for me is a no-brainer. I am so strongly visually minded (can i say that?) that when I am registering in my mind which day of the week it is I have a vision of the names of the days all lined up (with Saturday and Sunday curving around to line back up with Monday) and then I zoom in on which day it is. The same goes for months of the year. It looks a bit like this:

I also spell by seeing the word in my head. If I have not seen a word before then I absolutely struggle to spell it but otherwise I consider myself to be a good speller (well, pre baby brain days anyway!). The results of this test show me to be quite body smart. I am very clumsy (so much so that people cringe when I am in the kitchen with knives, etc!) and I would say I am average at sport but I remember best by doing. I understand something best by seeing it explained visually and then by demonstrating this understanding I remember it. I have never been good at linguistics and I often get tongue tied. It seems I have pretty good interpersonal and intrapersonal skills. I would say yes and no to this one. In some areas I know myself well and in others I find it difficult. I can be very self deprecating and find it much easier to point out my weaknesses than my strengths. As for intrapersonal, it all depends on the depth of my social relationships. I am fascinated by others life stories but I find that in such a busy and private world we live in now, it is hard to build relationships with people that go beyond surface level.

I definitely recognise the merits of this test in bringing to light some of my intelligences and allowing me to adjust future learning and study techniques to those that may better suit my needs. It is good to know that if I don't 'get' something instantly I am not 'dumb'... just a little challenged in that domain.

I think that from a teaching design perspective these test are a good way of singling out extremes. Like those who are are visual Einstein's but are much weaker in all other areas. These are the types of students who will struggle if their needs are not met. That's what is so awesome about the prospect of ICT's dominating the classroom - hopefully everyone can be happy!

Learning Styles Results

Results for: Kyley Cleary ACT X REF 11 9 7 5 3 1 1 3 5 7 9 11 <-- --> SEN X INT 11 9 7 5 3 1 1 3 5 7 9 11 <-- --> VIS X VRB 11 9 7 5 3 1 1 3 5 7 9 11 <-- --> SEQ X GLO 11 9 7 5 3 1 1 3 5 7 9 11 <-- -->

If your score on a scale is 1-3, you are fairly well balanced on the two dimensions of that scale. If your score on a scale is 5-7, you have a moderate preference for one dimension of the scale and will learn more easily in a teaching environment which favors that dimension. If your score on a scale is 9-11, you have a very strong preference for one dimension of the scale. You may have real difficulty learning in an environment which does not support that preference. What is your learning style? What sorts of learning experiences would suit you best with your learning style?  According to this test I don't have too much of a preference for active or reflective learning, I am slightly more a sequential learner than a global learner and I am all about intuitive and visual learning.  If you put all of these specific preferences together my perfect learning experience would be one where I had time to think but also got to actively participate.  I wouldn't mind being in a group but would prefer to work on my own.  The lesson would involve talk of concepts, relationships and theories and would be innovative and non-repetitive. Anything spoken would most likely be forgotten or misunderstood so a lesson full of colour, pictures, maps, and diagrams and videos would be sure to get my attention and help me grasp the learning outcomes.  A learning experience that was taught in fairly logical steps would help too, but going off on tangents and exploring other avenues that related to the topic would be fine as well. Phew!  Turns out I am a very fussy learner...

In a traditional classroom of 25 students, how would you support the range of learning styles each lesson? Hmmmm, let me think.  Ok well I would start by testing their learning styles and preferences to get some idea of how diverse these preferences were in my class and if they could be grouped during activities.  Then I would find out what they are interested in.  Being able to relate what you are teaching with something that students are interested in out in the "real world" will hopefully help them grasp ideas more easily.  The lesson would begin with something attention grabbing.  A video clip or a funny joke... something that may not be completely relevant to what they NEED to learn, but something that will help engage them in the rest of my lesson.  From my days at school, as soon a teacher had lost my attention I was no longer learning the intended outcomes, whether the lesson was taught to my learning preferences or not.  I would include in my lesson plans strategies that encompassed all learning styles, some at different times and some simultaneously.  I found it interesting that it was mentioned that all learners have a preference towards visual learning and that neither sensory nor intuitive learners find it easy to learn in a traditional lecture.  With this in mind I would include an array of visuals in my lessons and keep each step along the way interactive so that boredom didn't kick in. I would plan something along the lines of overviews with learning outcomes at the beginning, handouts, group activities, diagrams, working alone time in the middle and then questions and summarising at the end. Maybe even a question for those reflective learners to ponder. With your current knowledge of ICT, how could your design and digital pedagogy support your learners better? I still feel as though I have very little knowledge of ICT's and how they can support learners but what I do know is that in an increasingly digitised world, utilising ICT's would be very helpful in aiding the learning experience of students who are already so familiar with technology.  Using computers, Voki's, You Tube, IWB, discussion forums and other digital resources would provide a diverse range of learning experiences as well as enabling students to take charge and lead their own learning journeys. What sorts of profiling questions would you be asking about your learners to ensure you cater for everyone's preferences? What is your favourite activity at school? At home? Who likes working in groups?  Working alone? Do you like using technology at home? Computers? TV? Cellphone? Video games? What do you think you are good at?  What would you like to get better at? Do you like it when places are noisy or quiet? Who likes to work fast and then do another activity?  Who likes to work a bit slower and take their time? Who thinks it is ok to make mistakes?  Who doesn't like making mistakes ever? Who likes to have big talks about different ideas and made up things and who prefers to learn about facts? Who likes to try new things?  Who prefers to do things that they already know how to do? How does ICT support differences in learning styles? It allows a number of different resources to be used simultaneously within one lesson, therefore allowing each student a maximal amount of time to learn according to their individual preferences. ICT's also allow teachers to demonstrate their point in a number of ways that accommodate all learning styles in a short space of time. Question: How do we revolve our lessons around certain learning preferences when there are so many variables in the way people process information? How do teachers get through the curriculum when there is so much time spent setting up and explaining how to use ICT's?

Shaky Beginnings...

Well here it is - my first blog entry!  I know the 'first entry' event has been marvelled over by many already, but it really is exciting... already I am in my happy place knowing that I have learnt something new and can tick it off the never ending activities list. Bliss. I will stress however that this was not an easy process for me.  I only have to click on the internet icon on my computer and at least two hours of my life has vanished.  Time consuming is a word that comes to mind.  So does patience.  While trying to figure out what on earth I was supposed to be doing, I lost focus of the whole thing and ended up having Ally McBeal-esque visions of my computer in a fight with a sledge hammer (and losing).  Getting beyond this frustration was an incredible feeling though, and as a result my first lesson in learning was born:  Motivation is key, especially when perseverance is required.  Now to figure out what approach to teaching best sustains and enhances motivation in students...