Swot Analysis of Websites for teaching

I have spent the last two hours creating a very basic website. The speed at which one can do this is amazing. You can see my website  by following this link http://heleendoesteaching.weebly.com/index.html.

Wiki - the Learning Poential

I have created a wiki please click HERE to follow wiki. The wiki is an analysis of wiki in teaching using  De Bono's six thinking Hats (de Bono).

Can wiki's be used to transform student learning
 From my analysis on wiki I conclude that using a Wiki in teaching business and maths has potential. In mathematics and business I would like to see wiki's used to support learning in the following ways:

• Home assignments can be done collaboratively on the Internet, with the wiki serving as an online documentation of the groups work, I would check work and progress and assist if necessary.
• Students can discuss and work on key mathematical concepts with children from all over the world. I would have a mathematical concept and have the children each write ideas and research of where this concept is applied in the world. There may be a vast difference in ideas of the use of statistics in Africa to Australia. Children in Africa may use statistics to investigate how many goats they loose to the local Lion. Children in Queensland may use statistical data to establish whether the river will rise to a level that may flood their homes.
• Wiki can be used to do analysis of business terminology, ie a PMI on each of the different legal business entities that are avoidable to start a new business. The could even request an auditor from an audit firm to assist with their ideas and practical experience.
• A wiki can be used as a presentation tool in place of conventional software, and students
  are able to directly comment on and revise the presentation content.   (Parker & Chao, 2007)

Wikis can be used to facilitate computer-supported collaborative learning, i.e., the development
of collaboration by means of technology to augment education and research (Augar, Raitman, &
Zhou, 2004).


References

Augar, N., Raitman, R. & Zhou, W. (2004). Teaching and learning online with wikis. Proceedings of the
21st Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE) Conference,
Perth: December 5-8, 95-104. Retrieved 14 April from
http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/perth04/procs/pdf/augar.pdf

Parker, K. R., & Chao, J. T. (2007). Wiki as a Teaching Tool. Interdisciplinary Journal of Knowledge and Learning Objects , 3, 67.

The Potential of Blogs

I have done a PMI analysis of the potential of using blogs in the teaching context. It is very clear that we should be using blogs in teaching as I could not come up with many minus thoughts on the subject. Although I do wish to make clear that a blog can not replace effective teaching. It is in my opinion only a pedagogical tool to be used effectively along with other tools and techniques.

Plus	Minus	Interesting
+      Very easy to set up. +      Students can access blog at any time. +      Facilitator can provide students with links to more learning’s. +      Can facilitate learning for diverse students – with revision of days work, extra resources if deeper understanding is required.  More info for gifted students. +      Students can comment on each others work +      Because a posting can only be changed by the author is has some sort of permanency +      Students can keep a journal of their learning +      Care givers can see what students are busy with +      Critical reflections can be done +      Will improve student’s writing skills as they are writing for the WWW and not just for a teacher.	-      Not all students have access to computer at home. -      Some students may have privacy issues.	?       Why do I not see this been used at schools?

How would I apply using a blog in teaching Maths and Business
I would use blogs in the following ways to enhance and support my students learning and in some cases my own learning;

• Reflections - entice students to reflect and keep dairies of their learning on their own blogs. 

• To post class information such as homework, timetables, assignments, events and topics for the week or month. Not only can the students review information here but parents can get an idea what their children are busy with.
• Post work that has been exceptional for all to gain experience from, of course with the students permission.
• Have links to more in depth studies of the topics currently being studied in both Maths and science for those students that feel they would like to extend themselves.
• Explanation of the daily work being done for students that are struggling to understand a topic.
• Post photo's of outings or fun activities that were done in the classroom.

   

References

Duffy, P. (2008). Engaging the YouTube Google-Eyed Generation: Strategies for Using Web 2.0 in Teaching and Learning. Electronic Journal e-Learning Volume 6 Issue 2 2008 , (119 - 130).

180° - The Mobile Wiki

Mobile Wiki in the context of learning theories

When analyzing the Mobile wiki in the context of the learning theories of behaviorism, constructivism, cognitivism and connecivism it is clear that there are elements of each within this learning but  I found the activity to be mainly connectivism and constructivism. The constructivism part of the activity being the six thinking hats which allowed us to analyse and collaborate on a topic which we would normal respond to in one sentence. The connectivism lies in the WIKI part of the activity, learning from many different opinions to one subject. My graphical interpretation of the activity in terms of the learning theories is as follows:

Personal participation

On personal reflection I come to one huge conclusion – I am a hypocrite. I have not been in favour of my children having mobile phones and did not advocate mobiles been allowed to be taken to school. I read the articles for this exercise and my viewpoint did a 180-degree turn. For the first time I thought about how mobiles can be used in schools in a positive manner. The opportunities excited me as I have been in the poorest areas in Africa and the contrast that I have often pointed out is that of children running in the streets with no x-box, no computers, no classrooms, no text books but most of them seem to have a mobile. This must be utilized to bring these children into the world of technology. Is there somebody doing this? And if so can I help? These two thoughts immediately popped into my head and I will research this further. I was blind but now I see comes to mind.

As far as De Bono and his six thinking hats I had ironically given a creative thinking presentation in Czech Republic years ago illustrating this technique and how it can be used in Lean manufacturing implementations. Which brings me to my next point – by using techniques like these we send our students into the working world with tools that they can use to the benefit of their employers. I find the fact that tools that I have learnt in the business world can also be used with students very exciting and I will ensure that my students leave my class having used these analyzing techniques and know how they can be used in their workplaces.

Swot analysis of mobile wiki

The main contribution to a students learning of doing a activity like this is that an activity like this moves a student into the higher order thinking of blooms taxonomy.

In conclusion as Karen Stephenson states:

“Experience has long been considered the best teacher of knowledge. Since we cannot experience everything, other people’s experiences, and hence other people, become the surrogate for knowledge. ‘I store my knowledge in my friends’ is an axiom for collecting knowledge through collecting people (undated).”

References:

Stephenson, K., (Internal Communication, no. 36) What Knowledge Tears Apart, Networks Make Whole. Retrieved March 12, 2011, from http://www.netform.com/html/icf.pdf.

Siemens, G. (2004, December 12). Connectivism. Retrieved March 12, 2011, from Elearnspace everything elearning: http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

E-Learning Framework

MY E-Learning Framework

In the design of my E-learning framework I have used a combination of Blooms Taxonomy and Engagement Theory. Blooms taxonomy is the building block to get the student from zero to hero, zero being no knowledge or understanding of the subject and hero being able to create new ideas in relation to the subject.

At each level of learning the student will relate, create and donate. Relate being with the student’s peers, community and the global world using the most effective ICT to further the learning. Create will involve the students creating their own learning paradigm and then donating the learning to the community.

In my E-learning framework huge emphasis will be given to the global community, at each level of learning attention should be given to collaborative learning in the global community though the use of effective ICT’s.

Though the method of students relating, creating and donating evaluation will take place. As an example students may be asked to design a brochure for a company needing to promote their business. Evaluation will take place by an actual company giving feedback on the brochure.

I believe that this framework will create students who process essential workplace skills such as teamwork, leadership, problem solving, collaboration of ideas in the global community and project management. The student will also already have proof from projects that they have implemented into the community of these abilities.

References

Clark, D. R. (1999, June 5). Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains. Retrieved March 10, 2011, from Big Dog & Little Dog's Performance Juxtaposit: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html#cognitive

Shneiderman, B., & Kearsley, G. (1999, May 4). Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved March 9, 2011, from Sprynet.com: http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Week 1 - Reflections

Painful, very painful!

This past week was painful, my feelings about the activities can be summarized as that I was feeling just FINE (Frustrated, Irritated, Neurotic and emotional).

Frustrated, as I did not seem to have enough hours to do the activities in a manner and depth that I would have liked. 

Irritated, every time I went near the wiki it had changed or my stuff was gone. This did not feel very organized to me and left me wondering weather any testing of the interface we were using had been done.  In my mind it came across as unprofessional and besides that it was wasting my time which I had none spare of. Instructions were not consistent. Links seemed to go all over the show and not consistently to one page.

Neurotic, all this pain was mowing down my self confidence, I felt old , stupid and slow. My ego took a huge beating, here I was struggling with a subject that should come easy to me, I have designed websites, learnt to read SQL, C++, written databases  just to mention a few of my perceived technological genius. It did cross my mind that those who were not as technologically equipped would be feeling even more strain that I was.

Emotional, I never cry and for the first time in years I was ready to cry, I had been cut off from the rest of the world and was communicating with my laptop in a method that I have never particularly enjoyed. I love face to face interaction where I can read the person I am communicating with and know what they are really saying, not their words their bodies, tone of voice, eyes. The visual side in me needed and was craving the visuals. I was lonely and feeling isolated. I tried to reach out but everybody seemed to be as busy as I was and I got absolutely no response.

Reflective questions

As I was going though these activities the following questions kept repeating;

Do you learn more when you are stressed, stretched and at the end of your tether? Interesting to note here that I had no problem with the technological side of the learning I was stuck at the sheer volume and the actual process used to instill the learning. Is it not again a question of different people will learn in a different manner, which leads me to my next question. Will this style of teaching work for everybody on this course? Will some not be so overwhelmed that they will just give up? How can I make sure that I push my students enough but not too much so that the experience builds their confidence?  Does pushing people over the edge leave you with less students but the ones that will now after been broken down be built up to something far greater than the mediocrity of pulling everybody with you? (not an entirely inclusive thought).

On the positive side I felt empowered as I had learnt two new skills, wiki and blogging. I reallised that I would love to know more about how to set up a wiki for my students where this exercise has only taught me how to use a wiki.

Reflections of each activity in terms of behaviorism, Constructivism, Cognitivism and Connectivism

I decided to turn the activity on its head and look at each learning theory and then how this was learnt in each activity. To my surpise I found that elements of each learning theory could be found in each of the activities.  The learning design was mainly constuctivism in nature as by the end of the activities I had found that I was analyzing the activities and had created a new reality based on the readings and course design. Although I started off feeling FINE, I had learnt a valuable lesson and I am now analyzing and changing my behaviour instead of just one of the above.  Here follows my mind maps of how I thought the learning theory had connected with each of the activities.

Reflections and more reflections

	Reflection on own learning with this activity – what was it's value to me as a learner?	Reflection on potential for my learners (how could this strategy be used to support the learning of your students?)	Diversity (learning preferences, contexts etc) Does the design of this activity support a diverse range of students? How?	eLearning and digital pedagogy How could the design of this acitivty, as an online e-Learning strategy, support learning?
Profile wiki	Did not enjoy all the personal probes Fast way to get to know a lot of people and know detail of them – means nothing if I have not met them Interesting to meet people and then go back to profiles Wiki not well set up which caused some frustration – links were not followed thru and pointing in different directions, I was not in control of the situation.	At beginning of the year to introduce learners as the year progresses they can revisit profile Insert arbitrary field like what is your favourite colour out of these 7 choices, Get them to read profiles and sort themselves into those liking the same colour – gets them to have to scan thru profiles fast and organize themselves. Get them to present a person other than themselves - to the class by using profile instead of talking to that person. Person they have to present can be drawn from a hat so that you don’t have people presenting their friends	This activity would support a huge diversity of learners, ADDHD children which are not always neat. Children who find it difficult to talk to others and connect with people can learn about their peers without any interaction.	Students can get to know each other although they are not face to face. The trick is just to get them to read though all the profiles as I felt this step got bypassed in this activity.
Blog reflections as a journal	I had never done a blog before and enjoyed learning how to do one found it relatively easy and self explanatory	2 ways – if you have a blog as a teacher u could post homework listings parents and kids can refer to them. Students can do their assignments on them, imagine if you had a blog with all your school work on it – bit hard to burn though. Would be fun to have a month long activity where they have to daily reflect on their learning at school, most students I speak to seem unable to verbalise what they have discovered in that day. This would then allow them to have	A blog is a wonderful tool for any student to do on a daily basis to digest and reflect upon their learning’s, the can even invite their friends and family to share the journey with them.	Fantastic digital pedagogy.
Learning Theories wiki	Hated it, I did not like the fact that there was no face to face communication. Felt like I was in school hoping to be picked and nobody called I felt like an outcast. I sent emails nobody replied. The course coordinator was a blessing. The activity itself has merit as I learnt to use VYew and once the partner issue was sorted I did get a deeper understanding of the topic by sharing thoughts and bouncing ideas off a partner.	I would use this when try to get students to grasp complex concepts.	By getting students to work in groups learnings get transferred across a broad spectrum of learners with the quicker more indepth students being able to share with other students and some of their ways of thinking are bound to affect the other students.	As an e-learning strategy this works as the students get to spend some time with another human instead of just being dependant on their books, words and computers.

Conclusion

These activities are very powerful in enabling and pushing a student to learn a lot in a very short space of time. For me personally this has been a successful interaction as I have not just learnt how to so I have also in some cases formed a opinion of how I would not go about it.

Student H, beta version

I have really struggled to write my response to the articles:
if you cannot engage young people in education then you will enrage them by Prensky (2005) and
digital natives or digital immigrants by Prensky (2001).  My thoughts on these topics have been all over the place and I am really struggling to pin them down and add some clever citations to them. Here follows my thoughts totally uncoordinated, I am still only a beta version!

• I am enraged that so much time is spent analysing whether ICT's have a place with modern day students when the reality is that millions of children do not even have a school to go to or attend, participate in any form of learning. Scores of other children that have no electricity and yet even more that do go to school but do not receive any education. Are we not wasting our time here surely it is logical that if you can expose students to ICT's and you have the resources to do so you have a moral obligation to. Another random thought and I will have to credit Wendy for this is that even in darkest Africa kids have mobiles.
• Is it a lack of proper pedagogical strategies that is causing the students boredom and longing for their technology which in most cases is as far as their pockets.
• On the topic of digital natives and digital immigrants, I can only say that I do not cope well with labels. Who do they think created all these technologies that the digital natives are playing with. I guess what I take from that is that those doing the creating did not do enough to roll out their creations to their own generation.

In conclusion I am still a beta version but would like to leave you with a few quotes:

"While we use the term ‘digital natives’ to describe the generation born after roughly 1980, not all young people fall into this category. Digital natives share a common global culture defined less by age than by their experience growing up immersed in digital technology. This experience affects their interaction with information technologies and information itself, as well as the ways they relate with one another, other people and institutions.
Reaping the benefits of digital tools, therefore, means more than just being born in a certain period
or having access to a laptop. For adolescents to realize the full promise of new technologies, three
divides must be bridged. The first has to do with basic access to these technologies and related
infrastructure, such as electricity; the second involves the skills needed to use the technologies once they become accessible; and the third stems from our limited understanding of how young people navigate the online world. Each of these divides exists in every society, but their effects are felt most acutely in the developing world."

from The State of the world children 2011  published by the UNICEF

ironically in the section of the paper called "Digital natives and the three divides to bridge" by by John Palfrey, Urs Gasser and Colin Maclay of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvar University,
and Gerrit Beger of UNICEF.

the second quotation is closer to home and involves getting involved.

"CT in Everyday Learning: Teacher Online Toolkit

Following the Australian Government’s commitment of $2.4 billion to the Digital Education Revolution (DER), a number of initiatives have been funded through the ICT Innovation Fund (ICTIF) to support teachers and school leaders to more effectively integrate the use of information and communication technology into classroom teaching and learning."

You can download the ICT project brochure from the AAMT website.

I thank-you for taking the time to read my ramblings, will this metamorphosis make an academic writer out of me? I am not too sure.