In today’s world, students want and need engagement in their learning (Prensky, 2001). Due to the increase in Information and Communication Technologies outside of school, there is a push to incorporate it into the curriculum, not by merely teaching different digital tools but instead facilitating opportunities for students to learn through different technologies. In this synopsis, I am going to highlight a range of digital tools, all of which I have reviewed and see great potential for their usage within the classroom. I will be looking at these technologies through a lens such as Bloom’s Taxonomy or the Dimensions of Learning and will be explaining the benefits of these tools in regards to pedagogy within the classroom.
Firstly, after my examination, I believe that there are many tools in particular that allow for students to access information, one of which being a Blog (see My Initial Thoughts – Blogging and discussion with peer). According to Downes (2004), educational blogging can be a success in the classroom because it provides students with a space for collaborative learning to occur along with reflective analysis between peers. With a carefully constructed Blog, students can access educational information and engage in learning when they want and where they want. Pedagogically, there are different Habits of Mind (Marzano and Pickering, 2006) that can also be cultivated through the use of a Blog. For example, students could respond accurately to feedback and by doing this, participate in self and peer assessment when using a Blog. In response to this, regardless of the context, a Blog can be used to enhance student learning and help students to engage in online journaling.
Another digital tool that mediates student learning is a Wiki or website (see Weebly Blog posting and Wikis Blog posting), both being ICTs that allow students to analyse and access information. From my analysis, I have realised that a Wiki is a great way to encourage collaborate work, a notion that takes on a Vygotskian perspective. Vygotsky (1962), a Social Constructivist who created a theoretical framework, states that students learn through social interaction with others. He also states that students gain the most from learning when their Zone of Proximal Development is stretched through full collaborative work along with scaffolding of learning experiences. In response to this, a Wiki could be used as a tool which not only allows students to dabble in technology but also learn in a social atmosphere. Tools can be incorporated into a Wiki or website such as a SWOT analysis or PMI chart to prompt students into analysing and categorising central concepts from a range of perspectives. Along with this, other pedagogical elements can be incorporated into these digital tools including specially crafted Higher Order Thinking questions which help students gain deep knowledge and understanding.
Another digital tool that I encountered during this learning journey was a concept map which I created using Bubbl.us. (see my Concept Mapping Blog). I found the concept map to be a wonderful way to help students synthesise, collaborate and refine information in a simple yet effective way which I have since used in my classroom practice (see discussion with peer). Concept mapping can be seen to take on a Cognitive approach as it links new information with prior schema making it easier to remember (Mergel, 1998). Ausubel (cited in McInerney and McInerney, 2006, p. 144) states that advanced organisers such as concept maps can help students extend and refine their pre-existing knowledge when given to students before new concepts are learnt. In response to this, I have found that concept mapping is a pedagogically sound tool that promotes a variety of learning opportunities for students with all learning styles, visual in particular, and helps them to discover new information. Higher Order Thinking skills such as analysing and synthesising (Dalton & Smith, 1986) can be prompted in students as a result of concept mapping. For instance, students can be seen to analyse the chosen topic before creating new ideas around it, followed by synthesising the information when deciding on what is most relevant.
Other Information and Communication Technologies can be used for different purposes and to help students obtain and display different skills. I found the Big 6 Skills framework to be an excellent way to scaffold students by mediating learning through an ICT. I found it very easy to follow and liked the way that it promoted Higher Order Thinking (see The Big 6 Blog posting and discussion with peer). From my perspective, the Big 6 Skills framework appears to guide students carefully through each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy (cited in Dalton & Smith, 1986), first by asking students to gather knowledge followed by using the information found before evaluating on their findings. From my research of The Big 6 Skills framework, it appears that this tool can be used over a range of Key Learning Areas and also promote lifelong learning as the skills taught within the framework are easily transferable into an every day context.
The Big 6 Skills framework also aligns well with the Dimensions of Learning. It covers every dimension by requiring learners to acquire and integrate the knowledge that they have discovered into a given task, extend and refine this knowledge by synthesising and analysing it, along with using the knowledge meaningfully by generating a product or process (Marzano and Pickering, 2006). Along with this, I have identified many Dimension one and five attributes that are transferable with the Big 6 Skills framework with almost all Attitudes and Perceptions, and Habits of Mind being easily aligned with the process. Not only are specific tools used to help students analyse and transform their knowledge, there are also digital technologies available to present and display data.
Different tools can be used to cater for different audiences. Within the classroom, there are likely to be students with a variety of different learning styles. Gardner (cited in McInerney and McInerney, 2006, p. 73) has devised a range of multiple intelligences that can be used to explain the way that different people learn and what particular intelligence they rely on during this learning. There are many different tools that cater for a range of intelligences, one of which being the presentation tool of digital video (see Digital Video – MovieMaker Blog, Digital Video – Youtube Blog and discussion with peer). In my opinion, digital video was one of the most effective learning tools that I encountered because of the various applications that it has within the classroom. If included effectively into learning experiences, it can cater for a range of different intelligences such as kinaesthetic, linguistic and visual.
Along with this, Kearney and Shuck (2004) mention many benefits of digital video usage within the classroom such as student engagement. They state that videos provided a different and new task for students which makes them highly interested and very engaged in what they are doing. In response to this, I believe that digital video could be used to motivate students who are normally off-task due to the different nature of creating through a tool like this. Digital videos from such places as Youtube and Teacher TV (see Teacher TV Blog and discussion with peer) can also provide wonderful tools to stimulate students and support their learning. Fodey and Voki are other great digital tools that can help students display their information in an exciting way (see Fodey and Voki Blogs). This supports Prensky’s (2001) notion of engagement for learning. Students would be participating in Higher Order Thinking and learning without even being aware of it as well as engaging in critical thinking through validating the source the data.
Kearney and Shuck (2004) pose another valuable point in that digital video can be created by students in an individual or collaborative manner. Students could work on a project together, each having different roles in creating the video, a notion that supports Vygotsky’s (1962) concept of collaborative learning. In my opinion, digital video can provide a range of learning experiences and through students using and creating through this tool, they can gain a sense of pride and ownership of their work.
Most of the tools mentioned above can be seen to align with other frameworks as well, one being the Productive Pedagogies manual, a set of points that can serve as a reflective tool for teachers to evaluate their practice (Department of Education, 2002). I believe that there are many Productive Pedagogies which can be embedded into the use of these tools, some being Higher Order Thinking, Substantive Conversation, Social Support, Academic engagement along with a myriad of others. These pedagogies guide students to engage in life skills and helps to put the learning into context, rather than students gaining a superficial knowledge relating to a task.
Ultimately, the above digital tools that I have evaluated can provide platforms for students to analyse, evaluate, gather and present knowledge in a variety of ways. Instead of being used as the main content for learning, I have found that these tools mediate the learning, as it is the pedagogy linked to the tools that is most significant. These tools also support Twenty-first Century learners in the way they are engaging and interesting for students to learn through. All of the tools mentioned have great potential in the classroom as they all align in some way to the Dimensions of Learning and also promote Higher Order Thinking, making them valuable learning devices for use in the Twenty-first Century.
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