Hey!
I am just beginning to work my way around the Mahara site and am finding it amazing what we can now do and share through technology.
Mahara Site: Students will be able to gain from using such technology as it allows you to save a wide variety of file types which they would then be able to access when they needed. This is also marvellous technology for me to be aware of and use, as an upcoming Learning Manager, as it will aid in developing my teaching portfolio and hopefully lead to opportunities in the future. Children of this era have a great understanding of technology as they are digital natives, however it is not always readily available to them. Not all schools have large amounts of computers or do all children have access to the internet outside of school. As a Learning Manager I would aim to give all students equal time on computers and with these programs, while also keeping in mind who has the technology outside of school.
Avatar: Avatars are another resource to deliver the course material and thus focusing on different learning styles. Cartoons, animals and people become the avatars to engage learners in the course. By using humour as well as educational material students may be more interested in listening and become involved in the lesson and what is being taught.
I am currently creating my own avatar and will upload it as soon as I am finished :-)
Monday, March 29, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Week 3...
Hey!
Schools today need teachers who are ICT savvy, hence as upcoming Learning Managers we need to learn how to integrate ICTs into our learning design.
Digital pedagogies give different ways of communication to further advantage students while engaging them in the learning process. Web based journals such as Blogs, can be used to share experiences with others, like the blogs we are all currently creating. There is no limit to blogs, only that of your imagination. Blogs are a great way to encourage students to record their 'own learning journey' and to share with others their achievements. You can also monitor other people's blogs through a RSS (Really Simple Syndication) aggregator. Which allows you to see when someone has posted a new blog or updated an older one.
WIKIs are another form of digital interaction or collaboration, and provide opportunities for people to publish their ideas individually or collaboratively.
By getting students to build their own Blog or WIKI they would be actively engaging in the learning process while being able to reflect and post their own thoughts and ideas. As well as read that of other students and their understanding of the learning process. This would accommodate for the different types of learners, for example; linguistic learners would be able to write their understandings where as visual learners may find powerpoints to watch or diagrams to demonstrate what is being said.
As a kinaesthetic learner I have found it very helpful to create my own blog and be able to read the thoughts of others and how they have interpreted the information.
:-)
Schools today need teachers who are ICT savvy, hence as upcoming Learning Managers we need to learn how to integrate ICTs into our learning design.
Digital pedagogies give different ways of communication to further advantage students while engaging them in the learning process. Web based journals such as Blogs, can be used to share experiences with others, like the blogs we are all currently creating. There is no limit to blogs, only that of your imagination. Blogs are a great way to encourage students to record their 'own learning journey' and to share with others their achievements. You can also monitor other people's blogs through a RSS (Really Simple Syndication) aggregator. Which allows you to see when someone has posted a new blog or updated an older one.
WIKIs are another form of digital interaction or collaboration, and provide opportunities for people to publish their ideas individually or collaboratively.
By getting students to build their own Blog or WIKI they would be actively engaging in the learning process while being able to reflect and post their own thoughts and ideas. As well as read that of other students and their understanding of the learning process. This would accommodate for the different types of learners, for example; linguistic learners would be able to write their understandings where as visual learners may find powerpoints to watch or diagrams to demonstrate what is being said.
As a kinaesthetic learner I have found it very helpful to create my own blog and be able to read the thoughts of others and how they have interpreted the information.
:-)
Week 2...
Hi all!
I am realising that there is a lot that I am yet to learn about technology. Advances in Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) are occurring rapidly all around us and as a result, contemporary leaning design frameworks are emerging. Our young learners are growing up with this technology, thus being digital natives, and yes at some stages may know more or understand more than us as the Learning Manager. We must learn ourselves, to engage with them because as Prensky describes "if you cannot engage young people in education then you will enrage them." E-Learning is about using ICTs to "engage, enhance and extend learning in flexible and innovative ways, now and in the future" (Waterhouse, 2003), thus we can learn from our learners as they have been surrounded by this specific language and syntax around technology from the beginning. Using technology and internet for studies is a powerful and fast resource, however, there are risks about safety and well being. Net alert has been developed as a guide for teachers on internet safety and details different points of concern. These include: exposure to inappropriate material, physical danger, harassment or bullying and privacy. The Walled Garden approach is also available and is used readily in schools to protect their students.
Not all students have the same equality, as some come from disadvantaged backgrounds or families or may have a physical or linguistic disability. This can make it hard for students to engage with E-Learning online if it is not available to them, thus the Queensland Government has developed multiple programs that make inclusive education possible.
As a Learning Manager we have to engage all of our learners in the learning experience. Kearsly and Shneiderman (1998) state that to truly engage all your learners in an ICT environment they must "RELATE the problem to a real world, CREATE solutions and then DONATE the solutions back to the real world." In doing this all the learners will be engaged in what they are learning and develop motivation to ultimately create a strong schema.
Amy :-)
I am realising that there is a lot that I am yet to learn about technology. Advances in Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) are occurring rapidly all around us and as a result, contemporary leaning design frameworks are emerging. Our young learners are growing up with this technology, thus being digital natives, and yes at some stages may know more or understand more than us as the Learning Manager. We must learn ourselves, to engage with them because as Prensky describes "if you cannot engage young people in education then you will enrage them." E-Learning is about using ICTs to "engage, enhance and extend learning in flexible and innovative ways, now and in the future" (Waterhouse, 2003), thus we can learn from our learners as they have been surrounded by this specific language and syntax around technology from the beginning. Using technology and internet for studies is a powerful and fast resource, however, there are risks about safety and well being. Net alert has been developed as a guide for teachers on internet safety and details different points of concern. These include: exposure to inappropriate material, physical danger, harassment or bullying and privacy. The Walled Garden approach is also available and is used readily in schools to protect their students.
Not all students have the same equality, as some come from disadvantaged backgrounds or families or may have a physical or linguistic disability. This can make it hard for students to engage with E-Learning online if it is not available to them, thus the Queensland Government has developed multiple programs that make inclusive education possible.
As a Learning Manager we have to engage all of our learners in the learning experience. Kearsly and Shneiderman (1998) state that to truly engage all your learners in an ICT environment they must "RELATE the problem to a real world, CREATE solutions and then DONATE the solutions back to the real world." In doing this all the learners will be engaged in what they are learning and develop motivation to ultimately create a strong schema.
Amy :-)
Week 1...
Scarey! Ok so I didn't know until week 3 that I was doing this course hence my minor 'freak out' because I was 3 weeks behind already. But, I have caught up and am now keeping on track :-) As I am a digital native and have grown up engrossed in all of this technology it has helped me to understand and catch up quite quickly. However, I am coming to realise that in some instances I am a digital immigrant as there is a lot of Netiquette I am unaware of, just making this course all the more interesting.
I am a visual (pictures etc) and active (doing) learner so I am finding it helpful to discuss what I am studying with my family and other students. The forums are very helpful for me as I am able to talk to students about how they have interpreted the information and what they are learning. As a Learning Manager we must become aware of all the learning styles and also recognise that they will be different from our own. This will enable us to be able to plan classes and activites which engage the entire class. For example, I might begin my class talking about what we are going to do, the move on to a hands-on activity, then maybe so 'chalk and talk' and finish with a discussion on what we have learnt. It will be my responsibility as a Learning Manager to identify the learning styles of all my students so that I am able to actively engage them in my class.
As Cennamo and Kalk 2005 state, there are three general categories to the Learning Theory, each with their own perspectives which will ultimately influence our pedagogy as a Learning Manager. I agree that we must not discard any of these theories, however, I am drawn to engage with Siemens (2005) as he quotes "Learning can reside outside of ouselves, is focused on connecting specialised information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing." As to me this is detailing a constant update of our schematic knowledge as a Learning Manager and thus becoming a 'Life Long Learner'.
I am a visual (pictures etc) and active (doing) learner so I am finding it helpful to discuss what I am studying with my family and other students. The forums are very helpful for me as I am able to talk to students about how they have interpreted the information and what they are learning. As a Learning Manager we must become aware of all the learning styles and also recognise that they will be different from our own. This will enable us to be able to plan classes and activites which engage the entire class. For example, I might begin my class talking about what we are going to do, the move on to a hands-on activity, then maybe so 'chalk and talk' and finish with a discussion on what we have learnt. It will be my responsibility as a Learning Manager to identify the learning styles of all my students so that I am able to actively engage them in my class.
As Cennamo and Kalk 2005 state, there are three general categories to the Learning Theory, each with their own perspectives which will ultimately influence our pedagogy as a Learning Manager. I agree that we must not discard any of these theories, however, I am drawn to engage with Siemens (2005) as he quotes "Learning can reside outside of ouselves, is focused on connecting specialised information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing." As to me this is detailing a constant update of our schematic knowledge as a Learning Manager and thus becoming a 'Life Long Learner'.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Hey all :-)
Hey guys :)
I have never made a blog before so all of this is very new to me! I thought I was a digital native but am beginning to realise that there is so much more to learn and new things that are coming about, blogs being one. I am enjoying doing this course although it is a little bit difficult for me to understand sometimes without the teacher interaction, so I would love to hear any feedback or ideas that you have!
Good luck to you all :-)
I have never made a blog before so all of this is very new to me! I thought I was a digital native but am beginning to realise that there is so much more to learn and new things that are coming about, blogs being one. I am enjoying doing this course although it is a little bit difficult for me to understand sometimes without the teacher interaction, so I would love to hear any feedback or ideas that you have!
Good luck to you all :-)
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