Fun Stuff

One of the best things about this course is the enthusiasm from my tutors and peers regarding websites that interest them.  Because of this I created a blog very early on to list these websites http://mrsadamsict.blogspot.com/.  I must admit that I have not updated this for ages simply because I am in the process of building my own website to house this kind of information. The aim for my website (once it is built) is to enthuse staff in my school about these technologies.



Image of my fun stuff blog.



Citeulike V. Diigo

Google Docs

Just been into Google Docs and created a very quick simple PowerPoint presentation which I have invited 4 people from our course to edit. I hope to answer Cheryl's questions at some point over the next few days. Cheryl's Questions are: 1. Blog about Google docs. Can they facilitate interaction and of what types? Could they, for example, promote the kind of metacognition outlined by Feuerstein, or set up interactive feedback loops a la Yacci? 2. Can you relate theories of online community to Google docs? 3. Can you outline a potential or actual use of Google docs in your own practice, explaining its challenges and/or benefits?

3. The National Curriculum for England and Wales provides a framework for describing the qualities and skills needed for success in learning and life. The framework known as the personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS) has been developed and refined over a number of years in consultation with employers, parents, schools, students and the wider public. The framework comprises six groups of skills:

• independent enquirers
• creative thinkers
• reflective learners
• team workers
• self-managers
• effective participants.

The National Curriculum for ICT at Key Stage 3 requires students to gain knowledge and understanding in the following 3 areas: 

§         planning, developing and evaluating

§         handling data, sequencing instructions and modeling

§         finding, using and communicating information

As long as teachers incorporates the above bullet points into their scheme of work (SOW) they have carte blanche to choose their own topics. It is because of this freedom why a teacher should incorporate Google Docs into their topics as Google Docs is an ideal platform to generate most, if not all of the PLT skills.

I have just created a thought shower in PowerPoint to help describe how this could be achieved for one of the PLT skills; team workers.  Click the image to enlarge it.

The challenge of writing Google Docs into your SOW is to remember that not all students (particularly in my school) have access to a computer at home, therefore the only time that students could use Google Docs would be during their lesson time with you.  Another challenge may be that teaching staff using your SOW may not know how to use Google Docs and therefore trainingwould have to be provided. However, once staff realise the potential of Google Docs they, like me, will be applying Feuerstein’s killer questions!

1. Speaking of Feuerstein, in my mind Google docs are there for peer to peer collaborative projects.  I don’t believe Google Docs can promote all of the steps of metacognition outlined by Feuerstein. For example, the first of those steps is to set real tasks and it’s the teacher that sets that first initial step not Google Docs.  However, the other 3 steps would more than likely come in when students are in the interactive process of collaborating on a project during which, the teacher is getting the students to think about Feuerstein's other steps which are reflecting on the completion of the tasks, establishing learning points and bridging.

Twitter

I, like many others, probably first heard about Twitter through news bulletins relating to some political or celebrity scandal. The first time I was given more detailed information about Twitter was on this course in 2010. It was one of the first Saturday classes and I remember thinking at the end of the day I should become a Twitterer but would need to learn how to use the Twitter site, alas, I did not. 

The next time I took Twitter seriously was during an educational trip to Latvia.  During this trip I created a blog and encouraged everyone on the trip to participate in writing the posts, this went well, our famililes/friends back home began to look forward to reading our adventures for the day. One of the participants on the trip told me to set up a Tweet account as this would encourage many others to follow the blog.  I did, and low and behold not only did we get Tweetered by the Latvian Tourist Board, we also got Tweetered by the Latvian Government. At this point you would have thought (ego growing) Tweets would have further fuelled my need for Web notoriety, but nay, it wasn’t to be. Why?

Now at this point I have a rather embarrassing confession to make.  I have a Web 2.0 technology hero/guru that I admire ubiquitously, yes ubiquitously, a strong word I know but it is true.  No one in the world can beat him in his knowledge of Web tools for the classroom.  Step forward Will Richardson who believes that “learning is a continuous conversation among many participants” (Richardson, 2010, p.86).  He writes that since the explosion of Twitter, the implication to online educators is one of the most powerful tools to enhance professional development and communications. Well, guess what, even when I read this from my guru, it made no difference, I still left Twitter gathering dust on the eShelf. Why?

Now, this course, that I am paying thousands of pounds for is forcing me to LEARN, yes LEARN how to use Twitter. When I set up my original Twitter account in Latvia, the Twitter site confused me and still does.  When I read Richardson (2010) this taught me how to use Web 2.0  tools (including Twitter) safely and ethically in the classroom. My efforts then were to concentrate on introducing Wikis and Blogs to Key Sate 3 students in a safe and ethical manner, forget Twitter, I still found the site confusing.

Now at this point in the game I have read an amazing article about a study done on a group of teachers and students who used Twitter to communicate during their course. The study provides evidence that “using Twitter in educationally relevant ways can increase student engagement and improve grades” (Junco, Heiberger, Loken, 2011, p.130). Although this article mentioned limitations such as the type of students they were (pre-health professional majors), the fundamental point this article made was that Twitter announcements created more interaction between staff and students than their Ning site did. This was attributed to the fact that Twitter lent itself more to a conversation between staff and students and Ning was seen more as a notice board.

Does the above article inspire me to LEARN how to use Twitter? No it doesn’t.  However, all of my hard earned money that is paying for this course does. I have created a Tweet that includes the hashtag #hudmud which relates to my portfolio. I really do hope that I come to enjoy Twitter for teaching and learning as much as I enjoy other Web 2.0 technologies such as Blogs and Wikis. How come I found mastering Blogger and Wikispaces a doddle? Why oh why is there a brick wall in front of me whenever I sign into Twitter? Hopefully someone out there will read this post and offer me guidance!

OMG

I have just looked at the stats for this blog.  Check out the countries LURKING me.  So, in my lonely blog world there are people out there! please post me a comment, PLEASE ..... PRETTY PLEASE.... I promise to interact.

More Flickr Stuff

The role that images have in this blog are to usually form part of an hyperlink to a corresponding website or to portray a person that I am writing about.  As yet, with this blog, I do not know if they have any impact on interactivity as no one has posted any comments to this blog. The blog (including video and images) that I have created for a class of year 13 students, has created interactivty between them and me thus, has become it's own little isolated community. The impact so far has resulted in some parents following it, though not posting comments, and other teachers beginning to create their own.

Having seen what Flickr can do/provides, it makes sense for students to have access to this site.  That said, the chance of getting the block removed so that students at Tong High have access is slim, however, it would be possible to set up my own Flickr- like site in a wiki.  A wiki is easy to use and really does encourage interaction and online community given the correct guidance.

For the Portfolio!

Feuerstein's interactivity methods resulted in his students not only being able to teach themselves but also teach themselves to become more intelligent! Fuerestein uses metacognition in his curriculum in a four step strategy.  The dictionary describes metacognition as knowledge of your own thoughts and the factors that influence your thinking which Muirhead and Juwah (2004) describe as being critical in meaning making and construction of new knowledge. Feuerstein's four step strategy comprised of setting real tasks, reflecting on the completion of these tasks, establishing learning points and bridging.

Yaccis content learning output described in the Instructional Interactivity part of his interactive feedback loops describes that when new information enters the cognitive system, it is either placed into existing schema or the schema are slightly modified, or else an entirely new schema is created. This is very much what Feurestein wants the student to think about during the learning process. Asking a student to reflect on how successfulness or unsuccessfulness a real task (schema) had been, asking a student what kind of strategies they used and how they think these strategies can be used in other areas, has been proven to lead to higher attainment levels.

The video below shows Will Richardson describing how students of today need to be taught how to become knowledge able (watch the video to find out what he means by this).  In becoming knowledge able they would surely have to employ Feuerstein’s methods which apparently require special training to teach them! but wouldn’t you agree that most of Feuerstein’s methods are part and parcel of online collaboration and communication?

You Tube

The Wordle image on the left uses words that were used in the biggest You Tube survey ever conducted. The survey wanted to know what the online world thought online communities were. Below is the You Tube video from that survey. It is 8 minutes long but worth the watch, ENJOY!

Cheryl says - Your portfolio needs to include some reflections on the significance of socio-cultural context to our choices as educators when we seek to make our resources interactive and to build online communities of students. Blog your thoughts in light of Wesch’s perspective.

In order for students of today to live in their world, Wesch, in his video, says students need to become knowledge able.  Knowledge able is the ability to connect, organise, share, collect, collaborate and publish online by harnessing the relevant tools. Students need to move beyond seeking meaning to create their own meaning. For this process to happen it would involve teachers finding real life problems that they do not know the answer to. These teachers would work with the students to help them find the answers by teaching them how to connect, organise, share, collect, collaborate and publish online.

I strongly agree with Wesch but I’m restricted by a curriculum designed by others. This curriculum requires students to gain either, higher attainment levels or high grade qualifications in order to prove they are successful students. Their current world is based on an education system conceived in the industrial revolution and the intellectual culture of the enlightenment so described by Ken Robinson in the following RSAnimation:



Like many teachers who are embracing Web 2.0 technologies and implementing them within their own pedagogies, I face a constant battle of blocked web sites, prejudice and ignorance. Although I am seeing slight shifts, the big change can only happen when our Government stops relying on school performance tables to win them votes. When Government realise that students need to be knowledge able in order to be successful in their world then a national shift will occur. If this doesn't happen, the online communities will make it happen by some sort of all out online national collaboration.

On a personal note I believe that the classroom of the future will no longer be based inside building called a school and that the people who once fit into that building will no longer be labelled students or teachers. The school will be the online world where people (young and old) will be known as collaborators, they will be significantly equal to each other and they will be the ones learning from each other.

I don’t know whether I have answered your socio-cultural context question Cheryl, I think I may have gone off on a tangent or rant based on having a really bad head cold!