Professional Experience Update

What a busy three weeks! I am now in the final days of my EDC3100 Professional Experience and can’t even begin to explain how wonderful my time has been! But now let me refocus – ICTs!

I have found the incorporation of ICTs challenging in some ways and easy in others during my professional experience. The year 2 class that I was placed in already utilised ICTs in a number of different ways. iPads are utilised as part of the students’ reading group rotations, with students participating in spelling and other literacy based educational games. The engagement of students when using the iPads is phenomenal. As soon as their headphones are plugged in, and games are ready to go, they are absolutely engrossed in the activity. It just goes to show how digitally minded children of today are, and how much they enjoy engaging with technology. This was an important observation for me. Students want to engage with their technology in the classroom, and I saw first-hand the motivation it gave students in their learning.

ICTs are also heavily utilised in terms of behaviour management. The year 2 class has a ‘Class Dojo’ system in place where students are given merit or demerit ‘Dojos’ based on their behaviour in class and on the playground. Parents have the ability to access their child’s account via a mobile phone app and can therefore track their child’s progress – whether they are earning or losing Dojos, and for what reason – during the day. The method was extremely effective in this classroom, and children took gaining and losing Dojos very seriously.

In terms of what I have brought to the class in the way of ICTs – the students and I played interactive mathematics games on the Interactive Whiteboard, engaged with educational videos explaining maths concepts and created historical timelines. I feel that these experiences all allowed students to learn with ICTs. I also had elements of learning from ICTs in some areas of my lessons, but these were incorporated to Amplify the learning experiences. For example, I used PowerPoint in Amplification of writing on the board on some occasions.  I found it was useful when students needed information displayed on the board, but allowed me to move around the room and assist students, instead of being restricted to the front of the room writing.

Additionally, during their allocated computer time I taught students how to use the basic functions of Microsoft Word, such as importing images and formatting the document to create posters for their HASS presentations. It was remarkable how tech-savvy some of the students were, considering their young age.

There is so much that I’ve missed, but I’m going to stop now or I never will!
Abbey

Pros and Cons of Tech in the Classroom

Hi again all!

After reading a fellow pre-service teacher’s blog post, I am considering the fact that there are both positive and negative aspects to utilising technology in the classroom.

This course, and the learning that we are engaging with, focuses largely on the pros of incorporating ICTs in the classroom. I found Laura’s post regarding the ways in which we can handle technology failures in the classroom very insightful and helpful. Having encountered many moments in my own life where I have found technology failing me, I believe it is important to consider how we as teachers deal with these types of situations in the classroom.

Her points about preparing for the failure of technology – always having a backup is an excellent approach. Additionally, the point that we as teachers need to be problem solvers is excellent. These are the attitudes we aim to instil in students, so we should certainly be demonstrating them ourselves in the classroom.

I highly suggest you follow the link above and read Laura’s post, it provides some great insight!

Thanks for reading,
Abbey

HOTS

I have discussed in an earlier blog post, the difference between constructing and transforming learning, and the importance of these across all subject areas. I feel that through the Week 11 content, I have gained an even deeper understanding of these concepts. In this post I will be talking more specifically about how constructing and transforming learning align with Lower and Higher Order Thinking skills and where ICT integration fits in these models.

Moving students from constructing knowledge to transforming knowledge is essentially moving them from utilising Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS) to Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS). As can be seen in the diagram, the LOTS of Remembering and Understanding align with constructing knowledge, in which students can recall information, facts or procedures. Transforming knowledge involves students’ making meaning of their constructed knowledge by applying, analysing, evaluating or using it to create. This type of transformative learning, utilising HOTS, is a constructivist approach, meaning that students are active participants in constructing their own levels of understanding.

For students to gain the most out of their ICT experiences, it is important that a constructivist approach is taken and the opportunity for students to develop their HOTS is considered when developing learning experiences. Students require opportunities to engage in these HOTS through open or problem-based tasks because this is where transformational learning occurs. When they utilise HOTS in their learning, students are developing the skills to become creative and critical thinkers.

Hope you enjoyed, and best of luck to everyone going on prac!
Abbey

 

References

Bloom’s Taxonomy [Picture]. (2012). Retrieved from

Prior to Professional Experience

Reading the Overview of Professional Experience has left me feeling a mixture of excitement and nerves! So, even though it’s still a few weeks away, this week’s post will be an insight into my thoughts and feelings prior to prac!

This semester’s Professional Experience is going to be slightly different to my previous pracs. With the added focus of ICT incorporation in lessons, I am excited to see what opportunities present themselves over my three weeks. I understand that although this is referred to our “ICT prac”, there is more to it than simply throwing up a PowerPoint on the Interactive Whiteboard and calling it a day. This course, being “ICT and Pedagogy”, obviously also places great importance on pedagogical approaches in the classroom and developing my own personal pedagogy as a pre-service teacher.

I am eager to explore the ways in which I can extend myself, the curriculum learning opportunities and students’ understanding through providing ICT focused learning experiences.

I’ll keep you posted on how I go!
Abbey

Considering ICT based assessment

Collins et. al (1993) outlines that utilising technology can enrich the way that we, as teachers, educate students and assess students. This week’s Moodle book outlines the ways that ICTs can enhance assessment, and track student progress. This is something I hope to incorporate into my assessment two task.

Feeling inspired by this course, and the use of blogs to connect with other pre-service teachers, I plan to include a blog in my learning experiences for assignment two. I believe that a class blog would be of benefit to students as it not only allows them to interact with peers and experience others’ views, but also to receive feedback from their classmates. A class blog would also be useful for the teacher, as a method of formative assessment, to track students’ progress with their assessment task.

I would love to hear your thoughts!
Abbey

 

References

Collins, A., Hawkins, J., & Frederiksen, J. (1993). Three different views of students:
The role of technology in assessing student performance. The Journal of the
Learning Sciences, 3(2), 205-217. Retrieved from
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327809jls0302_3

Learning FROM vs learning WITH ICTs

One of the readings from the Moodle Books, Finding ICT-enriched Learning Experiences, touches on a concept about ICT integration that I found rather interesting. The different types of learning that can occur from the integration of ICTs, in the classroom, is not something I had considered a great deal prior to engaging with the content in this course. The reading outlines that students can learn both FROM or WITH ICTs, a concept I first experienced when learning about the RAT Model, earlier in the course. The idea of technology Replacing, Amplifying or Transforming students’ learning aligns well with the perspective of learning FROM and WITH ICTs.

Learning FROM ICTs refers to learning where students learn from ICTs in the same way they would the teacher, through such activities as watching a YouTube video or Voki. Essentially, this type of learning could be viewed as ICT Replacement. Students’ learning occurs in much the same way as it would without technology, as concepts are explained or demonstrated in a way that could be achieved by a teacher and a whiteboard.

Comparatively, when learning WITH ICTs, it is expected that students’ thinking, working and learning is changed in some way and critical thinking approaches are encouraged (Jonassen & Carr, 2000). This aligns more closely with the Amplification and Transformation elements of the RAT Model,, in which students’ learning is enhanced in some way or completely transformed by the integration of ICTs. This type of learning helps to create both tech-savvy and critically thinking students, as they are required to apply their understanding to new situations. This type of learning allows students to experience learning experiences that would be otherwise impossible without technology. In the digital age we now live in, I believe that learning WITH ICTs is an important experience for students to have in the classroom.

I would love to hear your thoughts on learning FROM and WITH ICTs!
Abbey

Constructing and Transforming Knowledge

us of this week’s learning was constructing and transforming knowledge, in preparation for our assessment tasks. Understanding the difference between these two types of knowledge will assist not only in the development of EDC3100 assessments, but also in creating lessons and tasks, in the future, that ensure students are able to demonstrate their understanding and utilise the skills they learn in the classroom.

Concepts, facts and procedures constitute constructing knowledge and is more about recall of information (McCormick, 1997). Transforming knowledge refers to students applying the skills they have learned in unfamiliar and new situations (McCormick, 1997).

It is critical in learning experiences that students learning with both types of knowledge. It is important for students to be able to recall facts and procedures in their learning, but it is also important that they are given the opportunity to practice putting their learning into practice. Understanding the need for both constructing and transforming knowledge ensures that my planning and teaching practices will be more effective in future.

References
McCormick, R. (1997). Conceptual and Procedural Knowledge. International Journal of
Technology and Design Education, 7(1-2), 141–159. doi:10.1023/A:1008819912213

 

Day to Day

Since the last post I have been thinking about ICTs and how they are incorporated into my own everyday life.

In my workplace, ordering and stock levels are managed electronically, staff pay is handled electronically and the store’s security is managed using cameras and electronic gates. Additionally, at the Point of Sale, customers’ loyalty details can be retrieved from the nation wide loyalty system and the vast majority of customers pay via Electronic Funds Transfer Point of Sale (EFTPOS). When considering this I realise that without technology the workplace could not function and operate. The world that students are entering is brimming with ICT, that is rapidly advancing, and therefore it is critical that they are exposed to it in the classroom through ICT rich learning opportunities.

Outside work, I use a number of different digital platforms to complete my university studies. Study Desk, online research databases and word processing applications are a fraction of the programs I regularly utilise to complete studies. This doesn’t even touch on social media and the ways in which ICT is utilised for personal and recreational purposes. I’ll leave these for another day!

It is truly incredible how much we rely on technology every single day!

Thanks for reading!
Abbey

 

ICT and Me

This week we have been introduced to an online mind map creator called Bubbl.us. In utilising the website, I recognise its potential use for brainstorming and planning in the classroom. The ease with which the ‘bubbles’ can be manipulated and edited makes the planning process much easier, and allows you to change your mind throughout the process. The limitations that exist for a pencil and paper mind map, such as running out of room or the mind map becoming confusing as more ideas are added, are eliminated with this tool. It is absolutely fantastic!

Here is a mind map I created in class about ICTs and Me.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my EDC3100 blog!

This is an exciting step in my ICT learning journey, as this is the first blog post I have ever written!

I’m excited to learn more about integrating ICTs into learning, and I’m sure that much of this learning will come from experimenting with new platforms within this course. I look forward to expanding my repertoire of knowledge, and hope you enjoy this journey with me.

Thanks for reading,
Abbey