Throughout my e.learning journey I have investigated, trialed, observed, analysed, given my opinions and reflected on ways that each of the digital tools mentioned can be used to help enhance and engage today's twenty-first century learners. But what have I actually learnt? I would like to give a brief outline on what I think I have learnt in reference to my blog entitled, “Managing E.Learning 2010”.
Firstly, I would like to reflect on how e.learning can be used to support and enhance how students learn, what they learn, and where and when their learning takes place. Today’s twenty-first century learners expect more than their predecessors (Prensky, 2005.) The role that today’s Educators (Learning Managers) play in supporting and enhancing students’ learning needs to meet their expectations, which are in accordance to the current world climate, one that is fast-paced, constantly changing and full of information (Smith & Knight, 2006.)
Today’s Learning Managers effectively need to address ALL learners. This means catering to the varying learning styles and interests of individual students in whole class cohorts (Marzano & Pickering, 1997. McInerney & McInerney, 2006. Smith & Knight, 2006.) As mentioned in my blog, there are seven learning styles; Visual, Physical, Verbal, Social, Solitary, Aural, Logical (Advanogy.com, 2007.)
“The possibility that students may have one or more of these learning styles greatly increases the need for Learning Managers to broaden their methods of implementing learning experiences” (O’Donohue, 2010.)
Linking learning styles and students’ interests to the use of ITCs in classroom learning, addresses students’ current and future learning needs. Today’s students are not just learning content anymore. They need to be learning processes and content combined (Mishra & Koehler, 2006.) This notion is emphasized in my description of a cohort learning about “waste”. Here, there is a problem to be solved and along the way to arriving at a solution, students simultaneously learn how to operate ITCs such as: Power Points, digital cameras, computers, and scanners. This is said to be learning the content and process, not just content alone. Meaning the use of ITCs are effective and the learning content valuable as a real life context. Prensky (2001, 2005.) and Mishra & Koehler (2006.) both confirm this notion, and elaborate on the stigma that many teachers are lacking in their own knowledge and skills of ITCs, and that this could be damaging students’ full learning potential.
Students of the 21st century classroom need to be able to use technology in a real life context. ITC needs to be embedded into the learning either through participating in individual or group activities to investigate, present, design or create something that would help them in their everyday life, or in a real world context (O’Donohue, 2010.)
My statement is supported in Prensky’s (2005. pp. 64) “Engage me or enrage me” where he states that Learning Mangers “have to find how to present our curricula in ways that engage our students - not just to create new lesson plans.” Thus students today do not necessarily learn sitting at a desk in a classroom. They learn when they are engaged, supported and interested. Where they learn has changed dramatically through technology. They can learn anywhere. Some of the methods of these have been outlined extensively throughout my blog, such as on-line through the use of wikis and websites, and blogs, or through power points, digital video and digital images. How students learn depends on the learning approach that Learning Managers implement. I refer again to my blog whereby the use of A2 card has been replaced by the use of power points for presenting investigation findings for example.
So far on my e.learning journey, I have come to the understanding that are a lot of learning theories and frameworks available. Learning Managers need to implement the one(s) that best suit them as a teacher, best suits the students’ learning needs, the content to be learnt, and the ITCs to be incorporated in the learning. In my blog I briefly mention learning theories and frameworks such as TPAK, Engagement Learning Theory and Connectivism, but I keep going back to the Big Six. This is because this approach really interests me. It appears to be user friendly in its step-by-step approach, but also it “addresses the need to facilitate life long learning in today's learners” (Berkowitz, et al, 2001.) aiming to help learners “work smarter rather than faster” (Berkowitz, et al, 2001.) by having learners focus on processes and content. The use of a wiki as a collaborative digital learning tool is a fantastic example of working smarter rather than faster and gaining skills that can be used in the future (Smith & Knight, 2006.) This links to the ideas of Connectivism (Siemens, 2005.) which appealed to me also, as an approach where learning incorporates that students need to know the difference between “important and unimportant information" (Siemens, 2005.) particularly in the current world where there is an abundance of information and it is simply impossible to know everything, but it is “beneficial to know how and where to find the knowledge that is known" (Siemens, 2005.)
Through experimentation and innovation in e.learning, teaching and learning can meet individual learning needs, developing student’s higher order skills and creativity. This has been demonstrated through a fellow CQ University BLM student’s blog, e-learningwendy's posting on, using digital video and YouTube in a school to teach students Auslan sign language. Learning experiences were conducted as a whole school initiative, to include students with hearing impairments. I was very impressed by the use of these digital tools. It really is thinking out of the box. As I stated on e-learningwendy's blog, it is a great way to
“embed the use of video in learning. Not only does it incorporate classroom learning requirements, the learning can clearly be extended to include all students – whole school in fact, and it links to a real world context” (O’Donohue, 2010.)
And the fact that the content and the ICTs are “breaking down the communication barriers” (e-learningwendy's, 2010.) within the school is a big “plus” in my opinion.
As per e-learningwendy's blog (2010), I too found the use of digital video a very useful digital tool. Thinking out of the box I came up with a whole school initiative that would encourage student participation in school sports carnivals. It also aims to incorporate higher order thinking and creativity in students’ learning individually, as class groups, and as a whole school community. Further more it addresses learning theories, including my preferred, Big Six theory of teaching smarter not faster, by linking the learning of content and the processes by using, applying and evaluating information for the specific needs of the learning task (Berkowitz, et al, 2001. Berkowitz, et al, 2010.) Ideally so that knowing how to “use technology as a tool for organization, communication, research, and problem solving" is at the forefront (Berkowitz, et al, 2010. pp. 24.)
Another insightful understanding to the possibilities of how higher order thinking and creativity can be obtained through using ITCs in learning was via Barry Wastie's blog (2010) that raised the question; DS, XBox or Playstation - should they be classed as e.learning? I commented that used appropriately digital games do constitute as e.learning tools, giving an example of educational CD-Rom packages
“whereby students work through problems, such as in math, reading and spelling. After they have worked through five questions they win a reward, the reward being they get to choose a game of their choice to play.” (O’Donohue, 2010.)
This approach keeps the student actively participating in problem solving, and engaged in learning both content and ITC.
How students learn as previously stated, has changed. A creative and useful digital tool is podcasting. As per my own blog on podcasting where I explain how I implemented a music lesson to early childhood students, extending on the traditional content to include; recording the lesson, recording the music, resulting in a final product - a podcast and a song on the iPod. The lesson was engaging, music content was taught as well as the ITC processes, incorporating how we get the music we made onto the ipod and emailed to our families. This lesson exemplified high order thinking and creativity. Hence, as well as having budding musicians, I now have budding DJs.
From my own personal e.learning in regards to podcasting, this is an example of me being a life long learner (Smith & Knight, 2006.) I was at first a little apprehensive as I did not know very much about it, but once I tried successfully at making my own podcast and investigated the ways it can be used in classrooms and in learning experiences. I realised that podcasting and digital recording can be very engaging as digital learning tools, and decided to utilise it in a real life context in my classroom. I think I like podcasting now as much as I like power points!
Another CQ University student's blog, Eva's Blog (2010.) used podcasting effectively by giving instructions on how to make a paper butterfly to early childhood students. Listening to her instructions it was easy to follow along and understand the task and the descriptions given. Podcasting in this way is a great way of engaging in the content and in the use of the ITC, being podcasting and digital recording.
In conclusion, I will admit that before participating in this e.learning journey, I thought myself to be quite computer literate, with sound technology knowledge and skills. However, now that I have delved into learning about digital tools and their related digital learning theories and pedagogies, I now understand that one never knows enough. As mentioned in my blog profile I am from a graphic design background. I have had to keep up with the times in terms of graphic design applications, moving from print based technologies to web-based technologies. Changing careers, I never imagined that I would have to keep on learning about digital technologies as such, as I always considered this to link to particular fields such as graphic design. However, the world today is constantly evolving and technology evolves it or with it. Lately I have learnt that as a Learning Manager, it is important to keep up with these technological changes. Learning Managers teach the students of today that will be the leaders of tomorrow. Ultimately, if Learning Managers do not commit to being life long learners themselves by engaging in digital technologies and their valuable uses in classrooms and in learning, they will hinder students in becoming life long learners. Thus hindering their development in becoming people that will engage, critically think, create and investigate content and processes to problem-solve, not just in the classrooms, but in the outside world of the twenty-first century.
Comments posted on other people's blogs to ensure that I benefited from collaborative learning:
References:
Advanogy.com. (2007). Learning Styles Online: Free learning styles inventory, including graphical results. Accessed July 19, 2010 from http://www.learning-styles- online.com/inventory/
Berkowitz. B., Eisenberg. M., & Johnson. D. (2001). The Big 6 - Information & Technology Skills for Student Achievement: Skills Overview. Accessed July 22, 2010 from http://www.big6.com/2001/11/19/a-big6™-skills-overview/
Berkowitz. B., Eisenberg. M., & Johnson. D. (2010). Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) Skills Curriculum Based on the Big6 Skills Approach to Information Problem-Solving. Accessed July 22, 2010 from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/file.php/4033/LMC_Big6ICT_Curriculum_LMC_MayJune2010.pdf
Kearsley, G. & Shneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Accessed July 22, 2010 from http://home.sprynet.com/%7Egkearsley/engage.htm
Marzano, R. J. & Pickering, D. J. (1997). Dimensions of learning: Teacher’s manual. Colorado, USA: Mid-continent Regional Education Laboratory.
McInerney, D. & McInerney, V. (2006). Educational Psychology: Constructing Learning (4th ED.). Australia. French Forest NSW Australia. Pearson Education.
Mishra, P. & Koehler, M. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge. Accessed July 22, 2010 from http://site.aace.org/pubs/sigs/sig-Mishra-Koehler-TCR.pdf
Prensky, M. (2005). Engage me or enrage me: What today’s learners demand. Accessed July 22, 2010 from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0553.pdf
Siemens. (2005). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. Accessed July 22, 2010 from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
Smith, R. & Knight, B. (2006). The Rise of the Learning Manager: Changing Teacher Education. French Forest NSW Australia. Pearson Education Australia.
