Thursday, May 6, 2010

Synopsis

Effective learning is influenced by many different factors in society and the learners themselves. It is the responsibility of the Learning Manager to actively engage all of their students using the resources that they have available to them in their learning environment. Technology is developing rapidly in the modern world with many new and exciting teaching and learning resources becoming available.

The 21st century encompasses a range of cultures within schools and thus for effective learning, Learning Managers must be aware of this learning diversity. There are also digital natives, who have grown up with technology, and digital immigrants who are introduced to the new technologies as there is a lot of netiquette they are unaware of. As well as this culture diversity there is also a difference between the ways in which students learn. Some of these include visual learners, kinesthetic learners, linguistic learners and audio learners. It becomes the responsibility of the Learning Manager to identify the learning styles of all of their learners so they are then able to plan a lesson which will actively engage them in their class. Cennamo and Kalk (2005) state that there are three general categories, behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism, to Learning Theory each with its own perspectives that ultimately influence the pedagogy of a Learning Manager. Each of these must be considered, however, by also engaging with Siemens (2005) he describes that “learning can reside outside of ourselves, it is focused on connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing,” that is our schema. As a Learning Manager it is important to have a constant update of ones’ schematic knowledge and the knowledge of technology that is growing around the world.

There is a lot we are yet to learn about technology, although advances in Information Communication Technology (ICTs) are occurring rapidly and as a result, contemporary learning design frameworks are emerging. Through growing up in a technological era, young learners are digital natives and at some stages in the learning process may know more than their Learning Manager. Learners are surrounded by a specific language and syntax around technology, from the beginning, thus the Learning Manager must learn to engage with them as Prensky describes “if you cannot engage young people in education then you will enrage them.”

Technology and the Internet are very powerful and fast resources, however they do contain risks about safety. Net alert is a guide for teachers on Internet safety and details different points of concern, such as exposure to inappropriate material, physical danger, harassment/bullying and privacy. The Walled Garden approach is another safety guide to protect students and is used readily in schools.

Not everyone has the same equality. Some students come from disadvantaged backgrounds or families, they may have a physical or linguistic disability or may have limited access to resources. The Queensland Government has developed multiple programs which make inclusive education possible. Learning Managers must engage all of their learners in the learning experience as Kearsly and Shneiderman (1998) illustrate that to “truly engage all of your learners in an ICT environment you must RELATE the problem to the real world, CREATE solutions and then DONATE the solutions back to the real world.” Therefore, all of the learners are engaged in what they are learning and develop the motivation to ultimately create a strong schema surrounding ICTs.

“Schools today need teachers who are ICT savvy,” thus upcoming Learning Managers need to learn how to integrate ICTs into their learning design process. There are many different ICTs now available, including Digital Pedagogies such as Wed Based Journals, Avatars, Powerpoint presentations and Interactive Whiteboards, Web Sites, photo editing and Digital Storytelling. Digital Pedagogies offer different ways of communicating to further advantage students while engaging them in the learning process. These include Web Based Journals, such as Blogs, which are used to share experiences with others. These encourage students to record their ‘own learning journey’ and share with others their achievements. Monitoring other blogs is also possible through an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) aggregator. WIKIs are another form of digital interaction or collaboration and provide opportunities to publish ideas individually or corroboratively. By building an individual blog or wiki students are actively engaging in the learning process, while also being able to reflect and post their own thoughts and ideas.

Learning Managers can gain from using this technology as it ‘allows you to save a wide variety of file types’ which they would then be able to access when needed. As an upcoming Learning Manager it would aid in developing a teaching portfolio and hopefully lead to opportunities in the future. Avatars are another resource used to deliver course material and thus aim at targeting all different learning styles. Cartoons, animals and people become the avatar to engage learners in the learning process and are simple and easy to create. By using humour as well as educational material, students become more interested in listening and become involved in the lesson and what is being taught.

This engagement can also be gained through the use of Powerpoint, a great presentation tool for teachers and students. Interactive Whiteboards are also another application teachers and students may use to communicate directly through a screen rather than keyboard and mouse. As most students are digital natives and teachers may be digital immigrants, students have the chance to become actively engaged as they assist their Learning Manager with technology thus showing ownership for their learning. By using ICTs, engagement may also aid behaviour management issues as all of the learners are involved in the learning process.

The web has an unlimited amount of educational material and technologies which can aid in teaching and learning processes. Websites such as YouTube, Google Earth, WIKIPedia and Slide Share are effective educational sites that may enhance teaching and learning efficiency and enable students to actively engage in the learning process. They are all covered under copyright agreements to ensure the information is accurate and reliable, then enabling it to be communicated correctly.

Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of intelligent communication with historical and cultural knowledge and understandings. Digital Storytelling allows learners to access technologies in which they can bring their stories to life, being consistent with Kearsly and Shneiderman’s theory of engagement as they RELATE, CREATE and DONATE their ideas. This is also similar to Scenario-Based Learning as it proposes to RELATE the problem to a complex real world task, CREATE a solution valued in the real world and DONATE the solution into a real world context for feedback. ICTs can assist Scenario-Based Learning in that the scenario is delivered in an engaging way, such as using an avatar. By using ICTs students can share their products, find appropriate team resources and provide self and peer assessment as they are actively engaging in the learning experience.

Through the use of different technologies Learning Managers can actively engage their students in the learning journey, while also engaging all different types of learners. Learning Managers must “engage, enhance and extend learning in flexible and innovative ways, now and in the future” (Waterhouse, 2003) .


COMMENTS

A E Learning Adventure Google Earth by Laura
Trish's Learning Journey week 7 by Trish
Different Learning Styles and Personalities
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Amy's learning journey week 7 by Amy


REFERENCES

Kearsley, G., Shneiderman, B. (1998) Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning, Retrieved March 28, 2010, from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkrearsley/engage.htm

Gardener, H. (1993) Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic.

Cennamo, K., Kalk, D. (2005) Real World Instructional Design. Thomson Wadsworth, Belmont: CA.

Siemens, G. (2005) A Learning Theory for the digital Age. Retrieved April 7, 2010, from http://www.connectivism.ca/

Prensky, M (2001) digital Natives Digital Immigrants – A new way to look at ourselves and our kids. MCB University Press: Yale

Waterhouse, S. (2003) The power of e-learning the past, the present and the furture. Retrieved March 30, 2010, from http://www.shirleywaterhouse.com/book.htm