Blogs, Wikis and Websites - Embedded Assessment Task 1

I have decided to complete this reflection on Blogs because I found that this particular digital tool surprised me most by its ease of use and I believe I would probably use Blogs more often when teaching students because it will enable my students to use their creative side and be interactive.

THE TECHNOLOGY ITSELF

A Blog is generally a website that allows usually an individual (or co-authors) to share their ideas and comment on others using a range of stimuli. You can use text, images, links, videos and audio throughout the blog to express your feelings, show your research and present your ideas.  A blog is very simple to set up and maintenance is even easier. I believe only basic knowledge would be required to set up and maintain a blog as everything is laid out in front of you with easy headings and prompts that you can understand (even for a first timer – like me!). The following link will take you to a YouTube video by Chad McGowan that I found particularly useful in setting up blogs.

The maintainer of the page is able to create new posts, update details, view ‘stats’ to show user traffic, change templates, customise their blog and countless other capabilities with a few clicks of a computer mouse or touch screen. Blogs allow creativity because of the range of methods you can present the information and, therefore, appeal to a wide audience. Below shows a page from my Blog demonstrating the ease of changing templates live on the Blog and on mobile devices. You will also notice the many options on the left side, in which are available to the user.

kelseywarmington Blog template set up

As mentioned earlier, Blogs can be individually written or co-authored by simply adding the author in the settings page as shown in this second screenshot. You are also able to choose your privacy settings to ‘public’, ‘private for only blog authors’ or ‘private for only these members’ (you would need to add ‘readers’ or followers for this privacy setting by following the prompts labeled “+ Add Readers). You have the ability to control your comments, receive notifications of activity on the account via phone or email along with general settings of many internet sites including two-step verification, recovery emails etcetera. The possibilities seem to be never-ending.

kelseywarmington Blog permissions set up

IN THE CLASSROOM

Blogs have the ability to support a few learning outcomes in the classroom. From previous courses, I have learnt a great deal about the Melbourne Declaration on Goals for Young Australians and the Australian Curriculum and I believe that by using Blogs in the classroom will contribute to the goals set out and to the ICT competence in the national curriculum. Blogs not only allow students to complete reviews or reflections on their learning, practice writing skills, construct assignment’s along with many other uses, but also assist teachers in monitoring progress of the students learning. The following table shows only some of the activities involving the use of blogs in the classroom, the advantages and disadvantages, and use within the context of my chosen subjects including History and Biology using the SAMR Model.

SAMR Level	Examples of Activities	Advantages/ Disadvantages	Context     (History and   Biology)
Substitution	Students are to complete a quiz or worksheet through a Blog set up by teacher.	No functional change – same as pen to paper. Easier for teacher to monitor student progress and track who has completed the task. Can be done at anytime, anywhere. May become quite ‘messy’ with numerous students participating.	History – use of worksheets and quick quizzes on certain topics Biology – same as History
Augmentation	Using a Blog to present information and discuss these rather than a textbook. Can either be done individually, in groups or as a whole class using smart board/projector.	Functional change. Becomes more interactive for students. Students take ownership and make contributions. Distractions if completed individually. Some students may not work well in groups or would prefer not too. Extra teacher moderation and attention required as some students could fall behind quickly.	History – would become quite useful. Becomes an interactive lesson rather than straight out of a textbook. Easier presentation of information on more involved topics. Biology – Same as History, but would also be interesting to use as a way of presenting information for assignments.
Modification	Students to complete a report on an assigned topic and present using a Blog. Students are then asked to present their blog in small groups and are asked to evaluate and discuss. Topics designated to 1 in every 4 students (if groups of 4).	Significant redesign from written report. Again, becomes more interactive for students. Easier to present than writing a report.   Completed anytime, anywhere. Able to more resources (eg. Video and audio). All students learn about each topic from their peers. Some students may not be fair on others. Distractions and bullying possible.	History – Use when more involved topic. Becomes easier to download all information to children and less time consuming for both teacher and student. Biology – as above. Would be advantageous to present scientific reports also.
Redefinition	Set up class blog where students can post questions, answers, and information or practically anything in the context required. To be used as a tool for discussion and reflection.	Creation of a place for discussion, evaluation and reflection for a whole class. Significant monitoring required by teacher. Students suspect to bullying. Can be used anytime, anywhere. Gives students opportunity to learn from each other.	History – can post questions, answers, and information or practically anything in the context required. Biology – same as History.

Reference

McGowan, Chad. (2013 March, 17). Creating a Blog using Blogger – Tutorial 2013 [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKVQKQxxUlk

The mobile phones debate using de Bono's Six Thinking Hats - Embedded Assessment Task 1

This activity asked us to reflect on the learning design of the wikispace activity on the use of mobile phones in classrooms using the de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats process in order to scaffold higher order thinking.

Personally, I found this activity to be quite interesting. I was very surprised with how well it works. It was clear that the aim of this activity was to expand our thinking and consider a range of perspectives whilst becoming familiar with technology and I can honestly say it did just that. It was very daunting at first but I was so pleasantly surprised with the outcome. I thought it was going to be so much harder than it actually was. The thinking process used and the way of presenting the information prompted me to think beyond what my beliefs are and begin to explore other perspectives, both negative and positive, and also prompted me to discuss and evaluate other student’s perspectives. I found the task to be extremely intriguing, creative and innovative. The topic discussed and the use of de Bono’s hats scaffold in conjunction with the wiki presentation worked excellently.

I think both Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy and parts of the SAMR Model facilitate this activity. The activity used the five different thinking processes of Bloom's Taxonomy including application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, knowledge and comprehension, as it prompted higher order thinking skills whilst analysing and strengthening existing knowledge and then evaluating this knowledge. You needed to prepare, analyse, integrate, defend, identify and report your personal perspective and other student’s perspectives. The SAMR Model is also supported in this activity, particularly the modification and possibly even redefinition levels of technology use. Without the use of technology, it would be very difficult (if not impossible) to allow numerous students the opportunity to present and evaluate their ideas in one place where they can all visit. Previously, students would have had to put pen to paper and then display their ideas around the classroom for everyone to see, they would not have been given the opportunity to really use complex thinking techniques to justify and identify their ideas.

The benefits I identified through participating in the wiki activity include the opportunities of collaboration, discussion, evaluation, innovation, creativity, presentation, input, participation and the ease of use. Although I do believe there to be more benefits then drawbacks or issues with using the wiki, there is an increased risk of plagiarism, inappropriate comments, distractions, discrimination, and bullying. Because of the increased risk of these, teachers would need to be constantly monitoring the site to ensure students are participating in the correct manner. To reduce the risk of these issues, teachers could ask students to post anonymously or give them a number only you and the student would know in which they use to post. This will also allow any students who feel uncomfortable or are shy to participate in the activity without being identifiable to other students.

Using this digital learning tool, I believe it will engage students in learning activities more as it is a 'fun', different way of completing activities and gives them the opportunity to use their creative side. The learning process becomes easier because students become less bored which leads to less stress resulting in a willingness to actively participate and get involved. The nature of the wiki allows students to draw on others ideas and arguments to improve their own understanding and go on to discuss why every student believes in what they do. It also allows students to take ownership and become responsible for their own learning. The scaffold of this activity gives every student the opportunity to develop different perspectives from all angles enhancing higher order thinking. The use of de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats promotes critical thinking and therefore enhances the learning experience.

For me, this has definitely assisted me in making a leap in the direction of supporting digital technologies and ICT in classrooms because of the ease of use and the endless doors it opens for students and their learning experience. I feel confident in saying I will use this scaffold and technology piece in my own lessons in the future. 

Week 2 Reflection

The Nature of Digital Pedagogy

Pedagogy

What it looks like

What it shouldn’t look like

Facilitating deep knowledge through higher order thinking	Teach students how to process information, think analytically, and how to draw their own conclusions. Usage of the SAMR Model and Bloom's Taxonomy.	Using just readings and facts to teach without engaging the students in their own learning.
Facilitating collaborative learning in which conversations are important	Group activities, discussions, debates etc. Allow the students to conduct their learning ensuring all students can equally participate.	Students individually learning.
Supporting students in knowing how they learn best	Personalised learning, use of different teaching techniques in lessons, diverse learning.	Same lesson plan/method of teaching/techniques used repeatedly.
Planning learning that is problem-based, and situated in real life contexts	Provide context and relate to real life situations, challenging and open ended.	Activities with a simple answer with no reason as to why.
Is relevant to students, and connects to their background knowledge	Connect real life situations to all lessons, backgrounds connected.	No group activities and not sharing ideas.
Supports learning that is owned, controlled and managed by students themselves	Participation, opportunities for students to complete activities/learning on their own/groups, ie. Not teacher led.	Distractions, falling behind.
Is socially supportive, engaging, and values cultural knowledges	Inclusive education, promoting a safe environment, discrimination free.	Discrimination, exceptions based on backgrounds, bullying.
Is supportive of the development of active citizenship, and strong group identity	The opportunity to discuss issues happening in the world. Shed new light on the issues, eg. Politics.	Individual learning.

I think these principles are great. However, these weren’t practiced when I was at school and I have a feeling that this is still the case (this is just my opinion based on what students have told me though, I haven’t done any prac so this may not be the case!). I do think these would absolutely help in classrooms though, particularly in engaging students.

Frameworks and Taxonomies

Week 2 of this course has proved to be very interesting and has given me a fair amount of insight into the different models that can used. I haven't found the Blooms Taxonomy or the SAMR model in other courses, so I had VERY little knowledge of both of them, particularly the SAMR model. I heard of Blooms Taxonomy when I was at school and I think (if I remember correctly) the teacher did base some learning of this. After doing some research into both of the models, I feel that both would be so helpful in this learning process and will help when we are teaching in a classroom. It's nice to have something to basically help structure everything and to give you ideas on when and when not to use digital technologies. I definitely will use both models as a way of learning for myself and for my future students as I believe it will help me create lessons and specific activities that enhance the experience with the use of ICT.

Working Legally, safely and ethically

This section was also very interesting. I wasn't aware there was a 10% rule as a copyright guideline. I thought there was no give. The remaining sections didn't surprise me at all. They are something that would always be on your mind as a teacher and probably outside of work also. 

Week 1 Reflection

What is E-Learning

I am considered a Millennial, and even though I only finished high school 5 years ago and a lot of technology was around at that time, I find myself wondering if I was taught anything in relation to digital technologies other than that of film and TV (which was practically all based on computer programs etc) and I can honestly say I don’t believe any learning was e-learning based. I believe that the current generation (Generation X) has grown up with these technologies and advanced with them, learning about all the products or programs and have been using them for majority of their life. I know of year 1 students who use an Ipad! This has shaped the culture around teaching with the use of technologies. There is a much broader access to knowledge, more ways of presenting it and so many avenues. I think it is important for teachers to recognize this and use it to their advantage as it may prove to be more effective than other learning strategies.

Creativity and 21^st Century Learners

The main messages I took away from the video include creating curiosity and sparking an interest in the class, create a safe environment, develop students problem solving and analysis skills, students can become bored (resulting in stress) quite easily so scaffold learning to be engaging, I think the author was really trying send a message that everyone starts with a creative side, but loses it over time and education should bring out the creative side in innovative ways. I think the author has done a great job at describing the 21^st century learner and has made some very compelling points.

Digital Technologies and ICT in a range of contexts

I believe that Digital technologies and ICT could be incorporated into all classes. There are no real limits as to what you could do. Most schools now use Ipads that have downloadable applications that could be used to assist in almost any circumstances. I didn’t get to use much ICT when I was school due to the lack of knowledge and I guess resources at the time also but after seeing what technology can do, I strongly believe I could have done most of it using that to my advantage. So, moving forward, education needs to move with the times and that means incorporating digital technologies and ICT in classrooms. Technology is only going to improve…its not going to slow down.