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 :-)