BOOKS
Helen Beetham & Rhona Sharpe; RETHINKING PEDAGOGY for a DIGITAL AGE, DESIGNING and DELIVERING E-LEARNING; 2007, Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon.
Helena Gillespie; UNLOCKING LEARNING and TEACHING with ICT - identifying and overcoming barriers; 2007, Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon.
WEBSITES
www.becta.org.uk/research
www.teachhub.com/how-technology-changed-learning
edtechreview.in/e-learning/352-internet-has-changed-education
Monday 8 December 2014
BARRIERS TO THE EFFECTIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION
The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and Local Education Authorities (LEAs) have become increasingly involved in the process of procuring what schools need to deliver ICT effectively. This has led to a conflict between larger organisations being able to offer economics of scale and schools' autonomy and wish to choose their own ways of providing ICT which best fits their own circumstances. (Gillespie. H. 2007)
In relation to funding ICT, questions were being asked about whether the money spent on ICT is justified by the improvement in pupil attainment? A study, to tackle the issue of how to measure the impact of ICT on teaching and learning, examining both methodologies and data on ICT in schools, was the ImpaCT2 (Harrison, Comber, et al, 2002), the results were that there were clearly differences in attainment associated with the greater use of IC t, this was present in more than a third of all comparisons made between pupils' expected and actual scores in National Tests or GCSE's, these were not large differences. In none of the comparisons was there a statistically significant advantage to the groups with lower use of ICT. (Gillespie. H. 2007)
An ICT sceptic might say that because the improvements in attainment are slight, therefore money being spent on ICT is not having a positive impact on the learning of most pupils. To look at the other side of the argument, with supporters of ICT, they may argue that investment in ICT over a number of years might see more extensive benefits than those indicated in ImpaCT2.
(Gillespie. H. 2007)
In 2003, Becta, the government's lead agency for ICT in education, has been gathering data on the ICT barriers currently perceived by teachers. This data was collected through a questionnaire, available online and also on Becta's stands at the BETT show and Education show.
170 individuals completed the questionnaire, many of them citing more than one barrier, the total number of suggestions was 226. The number of survey responses for each item were :- Lack of confidence - 48; Lack of access to quality resources - 47; Lack of time - 37; Lack of personal access - 11; Age - 4.
As this was only an initial survey, and being a relatively small sample means it cannot be representative of the views of the teaching population as a whole. (www.becta.org.uk)
There will surely always be barriers to the effective use of technology in education because there are always people afraid of change.
In relation to funding ICT, questions were being asked about whether the money spent on ICT is justified by the improvement in pupil attainment? A study, to tackle the issue of how to measure the impact of ICT on teaching and learning, examining both methodologies and data on ICT in schools, was the ImpaCT2 (Harrison, Comber, et al, 2002), the results were that there were clearly differences in attainment associated with the greater use of IC t, this was present in more than a third of all comparisons made between pupils' expected and actual scores in National Tests or GCSE's, these were not large differences. In none of the comparisons was there a statistically significant advantage to the groups with lower use of ICT. (Gillespie. H. 2007)
An ICT sceptic might say that because the improvements in attainment are slight, therefore money being spent on ICT is not having a positive impact on the learning of most pupils. To look at the other side of the argument, with supporters of ICT, they may argue that investment in ICT over a number of years might see more extensive benefits than those indicated in ImpaCT2.
(Gillespie. H. 2007)
In 2003, Becta, the government's lead agency for ICT in education, has been gathering data on the ICT barriers currently perceived by teachers. This data was collected through a questionnaire, available online and also on Becta's stands at the BETT show and Education show.
170 individuals completed the questionnaire, many of them citing more than one barrier, the total number of suggestions was 226. The number of survey responses for each item were :- Lack of confidence - 48; Lack of access to quality resources - 47; Lack of time - 37; Lack of personal access - 11; Age - 4.
As this was only an initial survey, and being a relatively small sample means it cannot be representative of the views of the teaching population as a whole. (www.becta.org.uk)
There will surely always be barriers to the effective use of technology in education because there are always people afraid of change.
HOW TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED THE WAY WE LEARN
The internet first began as a discovery to view and share some private files over an organisation, it's now used for almost everything, including education. It has resulted in many changes in education. (edtechreview.in/e-learning)
The 21st century has shown us, through technology, just how differently things are being taught at educational establishments. Using new tools is becoming part of everyday life, attempting to make learning more interactive and fun.
Starting with textbooks, these are no longer just limited to text and pictures, today's textbooks often have web-based sites that include assessments, animations, videos and other material to support the learning of new subjects.
A powerful way of student learning is through interactive gaming, new program's and web-based tools are teaching students now, where once there were chalkboards.
Voice recognition software has greatly improved in the last few years, and is far more accessible. Children with special needs and limited English proficiency are now able to effectively communicate in language based contexts. (teachhub.com)
Technology enables the ability to extend classroom community by using web-based platforms. Teachers and students alike can use these platforms to discuss homework, post assignments and interact with peers, as they work ob projects.
Even though libraries are still used by students, it is web-based research that enables students to get instant information on their subject.
"When I was in high school in the 1980's, the audience was the teacher. When I started teaching high school in 1988, the audience was the teacher and peers. In the 21st century, it's the WORLD. Blogging, Twitter, Facebook and other online platforms changed our notion of audience".
(Dr. Katherine McKnight; teachhub.com)
The 21st century has shown us, through technology, just how differently things are being taught at educational establishments. Using new tools is becoming part of everyday life, attempting to make learning more interactive and fun.
Starting with textbooks, these are no longer just limited to text and pictures, today's textbooks often have web-based sites that include assessments, animations, videos and other material to support the learning of new subjects.
A powerful way of student learning is through interactive gaming, new program's and web-based tools are teaching students now, where once there were chalkboards.
Voice recognition software has greatly improved in the last few years, and is far more accessible. Children with special needs and limited English proficiency are now able to effectively communicate in language based contexts. (teachhub.com)
Technology enables the ability to extend classroom community by using web-based platforms. Teachers and students alike can use these platforms to discuss homework, post assignments and interact with peers, as they work ob projects.
Even though libraries are still used by students, it is web-based research that enables students to get instant information on their subject.
"When I was in high school in the 1980's, the audience was the teacher. When I started teaching high school in 1988, the audience was the teacher and peers. In the 21st century, it's the WORLD. Blogging, Twitter, Facebook and other online platforms changed our notion of audience".
(Dr. Katherine McKnight; teachhub.com)
Sunday 7 December 2014
THE VALUE OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING AND LEARNING.
Developments in mobile learning could have a significant impact on learning and teaching practices. Mobile learning is decided upon by pilots and trials where technologies are being tested in many different learning contexts. These trials are showing that mobile learning has considerable teaching potential and also that many of the technical limitations are being overcome. Mobile learning is now gradually moving from small-scale, short-term trials to larger, more sustained and blended deployment, but within institutional constraints such as budgetary and human resources, institutional practices, procedures and priorities. (Kukulska-Hulme & Traxler, 2005). Mobile and wireless technologies support designs for learning are personalised, situated and authentic. It is more difficult to design intentionally for learning that will be spontaneous and informal, however mobile and wireless technologies do have affordances that support these types of learning. (Kukulska-Hulme & Traxler, 2005).
Personalised learning :- At Bletchley Park in England, researchers, (Mulholland et al. 2005), decided to use mobile technology to encourage follow-up activities to visitors to Bletchley Park museum. As the visitors look around the museum, they can express any of their interests in particular exhibits by sending text messages containing suggested keywords, using their mobile phones. This information is then used to create a personalised web site for each visitor to use when they get home, they can explore information about their chosen exhibits as well as semantic connections between them.
Authentic and Situated learning :- In a higher education context in the Netherlands, the Manolo project (2006) has amassed a great deal of experience in mobile fieldwork in subjects such as archaeology, biodiversity and vegetation science. Archaeology students used PDAs with GPS for field surveys. This allowed the students not only to collect field data in electronic form but also allowed them to be more involved in the processing and interpreting of the data, something which was not previously possible. The PDAs mobile phone function allowed the students to communicate with their group leader in the field and the texting and email functions for other types of support.
A project which took place at Deptford, (Sutch, 2005), called Mudlarking in Deptford, was aimed at schoolchildren using PDAs to take part in, and to co-produce, a guided tour of the riverbed at Deptford Creek. These handheld devices with GPS capabilities delivered location sensitive information when a child walked into node areas shown on a map. The children were also able to create multimedia content during their tour and alert others to that content. This project aimed o engage young learners in responding creatively to an environment that exacts physical experience with the history of the area.
Another example of the value of mobile technology in teaching and learning comes from the Savannah project, (Facer et al. 2005), a mobile game was devised for use by groups of children moving around in the school playing fields, the aim was to develop the children's conceptual understanding of animal behaviour in the wild. The 'learning experience' involved the use of GPSs linked.to PDAs through which the children 'see', 'hear' and 'smell' the world of the Savannah as they moved around the playing fields, pretending to be a pride of lions. There was also a designated area indoors where they could reflect on how well they did in the game, develop their strategies and access resources to support their understanding. (Kukulska-Hulme & Traxler, 2005)
After reading these studies I think my views on technology in the learning/teaching place may have changed slightly, I say slightly because I am still afraid of the unknown! Basically, how much fun learning must have been during these studies, for both student and teacher.
Personalised learning :- At Bletchley Park in England, researchers, (Mulholland et al. 2005), decided to use mobile technology to encourage follow-up activities to visitors to Bletchley Park museum. As the visitors look around the museum, they can express any of their interests in particular exhibits by sending text messages containing suggested keywords, using their mobile phones. This information is then used to create a personalised web site for each visitor to use when they get home, they can explore information about their chosen exhibits as well as semantic connections between them.
Authentic and Situated learning :- In a higher education context in the Netherlands, the Manolo project (2006) has amassed a great deal of experience in mobile fieldwork in subjects such as archaeology, biodiversity and vegetation science. Archaeology students used PDAs with GPS for field surveys. This allowed the students not only to collect field data in electronic form but also allowed them to be more involved in the processing and interpreting of the data, something which was not previously possible. The PDAs mobile phone function allowed the students to communicate with their group leader in the field and the texting and email functions for other types of support.
A project which took place at Deptford, (Sutch, 2005), called Mudlarking in Deptford, was aimed at schoolchildren using PDAs to take part in, and to co-produce, a guided tour of the riverbed at Deptford Creek. These handheld devices with GPS capabilities delivered location sensitive information when a child walked into node areas shown on a map. The children were also able to create multimedia content during their tour and alert others to that content. This project aimed o engage young learners in responding creatively to an environment that exacts physical experience with the history of the area.
Another example of the value of mobile technology in teaching and learning comes from the Savannah project, (Facer et al. 2005), a mobile game was devised for use by groups of children moving around in the school playing fields, the aim was to develop the children's conceptual understanding of animal behaviour in the wild. The 'learning experience' involved the use of GPSs linked.to PDAs through which the children 'see', 'hear' and 'smell' the world of the Savannah as they moved around the playing fields, pretending to be a pride of lions. There was also a designated area indoors where they could reflect on how well they did in the game, develop their strategies and access resources to support their understanding. (Kukulska-Hulme & Traxler, 2005)
After reading these studies I think my views on technology in the learning/teaching place may have changed slightly, I say slightly because I am still afraid of the unknown! Basically, how much fun learning must have been during these studies, for both student and teacher.
Friday 5 December 2014
Evaluating how applications in this module would work with my students!
Bearing in mind that the students I work with missed out drastically on their schooling, they are at different levels of learning, therefore the carousel form of teaching is needed, this is quite challenging but as the class is not of large numbers it works very well. To most of the students, mainly females, computers were a great worry, we have started introducing work on the computers, such as using 'Skillswise' to get them to carry out tasks including a quiz which suits their learning level. This they really enjoy and it is something they can do at home, even with their children. We have used Wordle whilst working on homophones in their English classes and the reflective Bubbl.us proved to be helpful when they were writing stories and letters.
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