Sound files support students with an auditory learning style. In saying that, they are still effective for visual and kinaesthetic learners because they can be fun, exciting and engaging.
How could this ICT be implemented as a good cognitive tool within the learning environment?
There are many different ways for sound files to be used in order to improve a student’s cognitive understanding of a topic. If for instance you were teaching a lesson on the sounds animals make, you could use a sound file like chimp to aid you. Teaching a lesson on this particular subject without having sound clips as a resource will not only make it harder for you as a teacher to teach the students, but also harder for students to understand the concept being taught. Sound clips may also be used when teaching students about different countries and languages so that students can actually hear that particular language.
Music lessons will benefit greatly with the use of sound files. Students may be asked to listen to a piece of music and name some of the instruments that are playing in it. Students could also listen to a variety of music (fast, slow, flowing, jumpy, etc music) and say what animal the music reminds them of and explain why they chose that animal. Ultimately this improves their understanding of a topic and makes their learning more meaningful.
How is this ICT enabling the development of creativity?
There are many creative ways that sound files can be used in a classroom. Students can listen to a piece of music and reflect on it, create a picture based on how the music makes them feel. They can even write a story about the piece of music.
Students can also listen to a section of a piece of music and on musical instruments or even by singing they can create their own ending to the song. All of these types of activity help develop creativity within the students.
This weeks reading was about the relationship between a teachers beliefs and their technology use in the classroom. Today teachers have greater access to different ICTs and more opportunities to gain technology skills (Ertmer, 2005). However, teachers seem to be using technology for tasks such as word processing and research rather than tasks that require higher order thinking skills (Ertmer, 2005). The reading suggests that teachers may be hesitant to teach and demonstrate ‘high level’ uses of technology in the classroom because of their beliefs which were formed from their past experiences with technology (Ertmer, 2005, p. 26).
Teachers need to feel confident and comfortable using technology because ‘the decision regarding whether and how to use technology for instruction rests on the shoulders of classroom teachers’ (Ertmer, 2005, p. 27). Therefore their beliefs concerning technology are going to have an effect on these decisions. In order for the teacher to feel more confident and comfortable with using technology, they should be gradually introduced to the different uses and applications of said technology (Ertmer, 2005).
Ertmer (2005) states that ‘the further a new practice is from existing practice, the less likely it will be implemented successfully’ (p. 31). Therefore a teacher could begin by using technology for a purpose they already value. Once they are familiar with that technology and value it, they can start using it to accomplish more tasks (Ertmer, 2005). For example, to successfully implement the use of ‘email’ in the classroom, the teacher should use it to communicate with parents and colleagues prior to introducing it to the class. This enables them to be familiar and comfortable with the technology and they will be more likely to allow students to use email for many different purposes (Ertmer, 2005, p. 26).
Therefore, I believe that it is extremely important for teachers to become more confident and comfortable using technology because today’s society is becoming more technology orientated. Students need to know how to use technology for various purposes and teachers need to be able to effectively teach this. I will definitely give my future students the opportunity to use technology on a daily basis in my classroom.
References:
Ertmer, P.A. (2005). Teacher Pedagogical Beliefs:The final frontier in our quest for technology integration? Educational Technology Research & Development, 53(4), 26-37.
Speech Teacher Uses Technology by Old Shoe Woman (flickr).
This weeks reading was on the topic of WebQuests. According to Dodge (1997), a WebQuests is an ’inquiry-orientated activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the internet.’ There are two types of WebQuests; short and long term. Knowledge aquisition and integration is the instuctional goal for short term WebQuests whereas the instructional goal for longer term WebQuests is extending and refining knowledge (Dodge, 1997).
To ensure that students are using their time efficiently whilst competing the set task, WebQuests should include: an introduction, a task, resources, process, a guide on how to organise the information and a conclusion (Dodge, 1997). It is important for these components of the WebQuest to contain questions that ‘require original thought’ (McKenzie, 2000, p. 1). This means that rather than simply gathering information to answer a question, students need to reflect and put some thought into the answer (McKenzie, 2000).
Whilst completing a WebQuest, students should be using higher order thinking skills such as ‘comparing’, ‘classifying’, ‘analysing’ and ‘constructing’ (Dodge, 1997). Questions such as ‘why?’, ‘how?’ and ‘which is best?’ (McKenzie, 2000, p.2 ) allow students to use these higher order thinking skills.
Therefore, I believe that WebQuests are valuable tools in the classroom. If the right type of questions are asked, students can use their higher order thinking skills which in turn leads to meaningful learning. I will defininely be using WebQuests in my teaching as I think they allow students to complete a task in a fun, creative and effective way.
References:
Dodge, B. (1997). Some Thoughts About WebQuests. Retrieved March 18, 2009, from The University of Notre Dame Portal.
McKenzie, J. (2000). The Question is the Answer. Retrieved March 18, 2009, from The University of Notre Dame Portal.
The second reading for this week was on the topic of Elearning. Elearning is where teaching and learning takes place online. It is ‘anywhere/anytime’ learning meaning that students can learn in an environment of their own choosing at a time that is suitable for them (Cowley, Chanley, Downes, Holstrom, Ressel, Siemens & Weisburgh, 2002). However, due to lack of motivation and self-discipline in the students, this can turn into ‘never/nowhere’ (Cowley et al, 2002).
Elearning requires students to be aware of what they need to achieve, be organised with the management of their work and be self-motivated to complete their work (Cowley et al, 2002). Students also need to be disciplined, self-directed, and be able to use a computer and the other ICT involved with elearning.
I do not believe that elearning is an effective teaching and learning method. I believe that it does not take into account the varied skills students have with ICT and I do not think that it effectively caters for their different learning styles. Also, due to all the teaching and learning taking place online, there is no face-to-face interaction between student and teacher. I believe that face-to-face interaction between student and teacher is extremely important as it allows students to ask questions and receive clarification immediately (Cowley et al, 2002) and on a more personal level.
Therefore, I believe that elearning will not be an important part of my program as I think face-to-face interaction between student and teacher is more important. While I believe that it is important for students to become self-motivated, organised and disciplined, I do not think elearning is the only way to achieve this.
References:
Cowley, J., Chanley, S., Downes, S., Holstrom, L., Ressel, D., Siemens, G. & Weisburgh, M. (2002). Preparing students for Elearning: Elearning course. Retrived March 16, 2009, from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/Preparingstudents.htm
Day 223 – Learning to use computers by LShave (flickr).
Video clips can be an effective tool in the classroom because they can support both visual and auditory learners.
How could this ICT be implemented as a good cognitive tool within the learning environment?
There are many different uses of video clips within the learning environment. They can be used to clarify and strengthen the topic being learnt in a fun and creative way. Also, because they support both visual and auditory learners, they can involve the majority of the class in the learning process. Teachers can use video clips to add variety to a lesson and make it more interesting for the students.
Along with being an effective way of transmitting information to students, video clips can also be used to improve student’s research and technical skills. Students can independently search for video clips to improve their understandings of a topic and become more familiar with the different ICTs that are available for them to use in their learning.
How is this ICT enabling the development of creativity?
Video clips give students the opportunity to be creative in their assignments and presentations as they can use them to clarify certain points and to make the presentation more interesting for the audience. In saying this, the teacher would need to model the creative use of video clips in presentations and inform students where to get these video clips beforehand in order for students to use this ICT effectively and creatively.
Video clips also allow teachers to be creative in their teaching. Teachers can use video clips to support written information in a creative and fun way for the students. This engages students more in the subject and helps them gain a better understanding of the topic.
One of the readings this week described the concept of meaningful learning and how technology can be used to support it. It begins by talking about using standardised testing as a form of assessment and how this does not foster meaningful learning. Standardised tests assess skills and knowledge that are out of context, and do not encourage collaborative learning; all of which decreases the level of meaning the students gain. Students are not fully engaged in this process and make no attempt to fully understand the knoweldge being tested because they are more concerned about achieving a passing grade. (Jonassen, Howland, Movra, & Crismond, 2008).
I agree with this argument that standardised tests are not a meaningful activity. Generally, when students are preparing for a test they focus on memorising facts and figures, rather than understanding this information. When the test is completed, they are not likely to retain this information because it holds no meaning to them.
The reading goes on to discuss what meaningful learning involves. According to Jonassen et al (2008), meaningful learning is when students choose to be engaged in a task that employs ‘active, constructive, intentional, authentic and cooperative activities’ (p. 2). When technology is used to engage students in these types of learning, students will be able to make more meaning (Jonassen et al, 2008).
Technology can be a powerful tool in the classroom when students learn with the technology rather than from it (Jonassen et al, 2008). This means that students should use it to ‘represent what they know’ (Jonassen et al, 2008, p. 6) in a way that is meaningful for them. When used in the correct way, technology can get students to think and reason. This is meaningful because ’students learn from thinking’ (Jonassen et al, 2008, p. 7).
The video below shows several ways that technology can be implemented in the classroom to support meaningful learning:
Therefore, it can be seen that using technology is extremely important for creating meaningful learning for students. This is because when ’students use technologies to investigate, explore, write, build models, build communities, communicate with others, design and visualise, they are engaged in deeper levels of thinking and reasoning’ (Jonassen et al, 2008, p. 10). I believe that teachers should aim to make technology a significant part of their teaching and use it in fun and creative ways so that students will get the most out of it.
References:
DSC_8855 by lord mayhem (flickr).
Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R.M. & Crismond, D. (2008). Meaningful Learning with Technology (3rd ed.). New Jersey: Pearson.
Online games are an extremely effective tool in the classroom because they cater for all three learning styles; visual, auditory and kinaesthetic.
How could this ICT be implemented as a good cognitive tool within the learning environment?
There are many different ways that online games can be implemented as effective tools within the learning environment. They allow students to physically explore and experiment with the concepts in the topic being studied in a fun and interactive way. They can also be used to consolidate the student’s learning and be used in a way that promotes a constructivist approach to learning. That is, online games allow students to actively build their own knowledge from their prior knowledge and interact with peers whilst doing this.
How is this ICT enabling the development of creativity?
Online games give students the opportunity to use their imagination during the learning process. Students may be required to take certain roles whilst playing the game which also helps them become more creative.
Resources:
Games at the Library by NJLA: New Jersey Library Association (flickr).
This weeks reading was on the topic of social constructivism. It spoke about a study that was undertaken to see what some teachers thought constructivism was and if they actually implemented a constructivist approach to their teaching.
Constructivism can be defined as “the theory according to which every child builds his own knowledge from the inside, through his own mental activity, in interaction with the environment” (Kamii, 1985, as cited in Brewer & Daane, 2002, p. 417). This theory recognises that the child actively builds their knowledge instead of passively recieving it (Brewer & Daane, 2002).
I believe that adopting a constructivist approach to teaching is beneficial to the students. It encourages students to use their prior knowledge in order to increase their understanding of a new topic; that is, they are building their new knowledge upon their prior knowledge. It also encourages students to be autonomous learners and make their own judgements instead of “accepting what everybody said or what the teacher said” (Brewer & Daane, 2002, p. 418). Students are also given the opportunity to learn from each other and share their thoughts through peer interaction, group work and class discussions (Brewer & Daane, 2002).
It is for these reasons that I think that students can benefit from constructivism in the classroom and I will certainly aim to implement this approach to teaching in my classroom in the future.
The link below is an example of how ICT can be used in a constructivist approach to teaching. It is a link to an online game where students have the opportunity to actively build their knowledge and build on their prior knowledge.
Obviously graphics and images support visual learners. They allow students to understand and comprehend what is being said in a text to a greater level as they have a visual representation of the information.
How could this ICT be implemented as a good cognitive tool within the learning environment?
Not only can graphics and images enhance a student’s understanding on a given topic, but they can also be used to make the text they are reading more interesting and fun. Graphics and images can be used to capture the attention of students and keep them focused on the information being presented.
Students can also explore and experiment different ways of using graphics and images in their own work in order to make it more engaging and interesting to themselves and their audience.
How is this ICT enabling the development of creativity?
Graphics and images give students plenty of different opportunities to be creative with their work. For students who are less computer savvy than others, there are some simple, creative uses of graphics and images. This can include experimenting with different colours, positions and shapes of graphics and images on a page, or even creating a collage. For the more advanced students, they can explore and experiment with different image editing softwares such as ‘paint’ and ‘Adobe Photoshop.’
Reference:
Your Drawing Tool: Paint done in Paint by tyger_lyllie (flickr).
Inspiration is a graphic organiser which allows you to visually represent your thoughts and ideas onto a concept map. Inspiration supports visual learners, that is students who learn visually and benefit from the use of visual aids. By using Inspiration and representing and organising their thoughts and ideas visually, students will be better able to understand the content being taught.
How could this ICT be implemented as a good cognitive tool within the learning environment?
Inspiration can be used as an effective cognitive tool in a variety of ways. It is an alternative way for teachers to transmit information to their students, a way that is especially effective for visual learners. As mentioned previously, it allows the teacher to organise information and ideas visually onto a concept map which can then be shared with the class. this gives variety to the lessons and also makes learning more fun for the students. If the class has an interactive whiteboard, Inspiration could also be used for collaborative learning. Individual use of Inspiration allows students to represent information in a creative and more meaningful way hence a greater cognitive understanding of a topic.
How is this ICT enabling the development of creativity?
Inspiration allows not only students, but also teachers to be creative in their work. Within Inspiration, there are many different images and shapes that students can use to organise information in a fun, creative and also meaningful way. These images can be used to represent written information or add to its meaning. By using Inspiration, teachers can become more creative in their thinking. As Inspiration can be used as an alternative way of transmitting information to the students, the teacher can use it to model creativity. That is, the teacher can model the different ways that students can be more creative in their work.
