Learnings and Findings From Week 4

Introduction

The week’s studies introduced us to the concept of multimodal learning which is using various digital communication technologies to construct meaning in the classroom. It stresses the importance of teachers knowing how to use multimodal texts and how to develop multimodal learning environments to enhance student learning. Thus, this week’s studies continued to build on multimedia, how to locate, use and create our own resources and encourage our learners to become media literate

We were introduced to three digital tools to add to our teaching repertoire; images, audio and video, which if applied appropriately to verbal instruction can result in significant gains in basic or higher order thinking. We were required to analyse and explore the features and functionalities of each mode, and experiment with creating one to include in our weekly reflection.  In learning how to create images, audio and video files we gain the necessary skills to implement them in our classroom and to teach and encourage students to utilise these tools to further develop and support knowledge and understanding. However, to enable our students to effectively design and communicate meaning through potentially complex texts, we need to enhance their multimodal literacy knowledge and skills.
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Images

With images all around us, it is vital for students to have the ability to interpret them meaningfully. All images, whether it be photographs, paintings, drawing, films or maps convey information and ideas. Students need to gain the necessary skills to see, to understand, and ultimately to think, create, and communicate graphically to become visually literate. Images should only be utilized in the classroom to support, enhance and encourage visual literacy. With this being said there are multiple ways digital images can be used in teaching and learning materials to support learning.  For example; to illustrate concepts, inspire discussions of a topic, enhance visual communication skills, document an event and to build reference collections, just to list a few.

I think we as teachers should not only utilise images in our materials but encourage students to gather images to support learning. They can help students build references which can be used to develop a deeper understanding of information. An example of this could be simply encouraging students to take photos on a school fieldtrips to support assignment content or reflections. I really liked the example provided in ‘Pedagogic Potentials in Multimodal Literacy’ where kindergarten students went around the school taking photos of objects that resembled the shapes they were learning about in class. To build on this idea, maybe students could take photos of signs around the school to support learning about different signs or hazards.

Images could also be used to encourage critical thinking. A skill I gained back in week one from Judy Wills is to ‘Advertise’ by introducing a possible unpopular topic a few weeks prior to prepare students and encouraging them to guess what the topic will be about. Images can also encourage creative thinking. Have students draw a title or cover page of a book they just read or draw of story board highlighting and reflecting on the events within a story.

I think images are a fantastic digital communication tool and one I would certainly utilise in my primary classroom environment. Besides being a tool for teachers to utilise to engage students in learning, students can utilise them to support their own learning.

To further develop my skills, I experiment with the resizing and modifying of images. This will benefit my teaching experience because it avoids the long painful downloading process during class which could result in restless and disengaged students. Below is an example. This image is also an example of an image that could be used to 'advertise' the topic of fractions.

Iceberg- Kimberly Emerson
www.kimberlyemerson.com 

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Podcasting

Podcasting is a digital communication technology that enables a range of modes to be used in the production of a multimedia experience. It can be defined as the preparation and distribution of a multimedia digital file available for download on the internet, computer or on mp3 device. They are created by individuals or companies on computer devises with appropriate software and hardware which can then be uploaded to a server allowing visitors to download the file.

Podcasts can be an effective, convenient, creative, intimate way to produce and deliver content that could engage and motivate students to learn. Podcasts stimulate learning through creative means and opens up a new channel to communicate. Podcasts also open up many opportunities for creative higher order learning with the ability to access a wide range of educational podcasts to support learning, and the ability to invite quest speakers or arrange interviews to further develop learning.  They can be used to create lectures, audio books, announcements and presentations facilitating the educational goals of the teacher or student.  If an educational class website is established teachers could utilise podcasts to record lessons for student reflection, post school news and class updates, share students work, upload class discoveries (interviews etc.),  or simple to make students smile or laugh by uploading appropriate music or jokes.
Prior to this reflection about podcasts, I had a strong belief that podcasting would enhance student learning if utilised by teachers, but would not enhance learning if utilised by students. After much research, I discovered that encouraging students to create their own podcasts can enhance personal learning. It can help develop literacy skills by improve listening skills and the ability to communicate coherently. It allows students to share their work with a wide audience and enables online interactions with the ability to send and receive comments and valuable feedback about their work. I really connected to the idea present in ‘Pedagogic Potentials in Multimodal Literacy’ where grade three students were engaged in a range of literacy tasks of researching, planning and writing texts for broadcasting. Another idea may be to encourage students to record an audio book to present to prep students. This could be a tool to build on literacy; speaking or reading. Stress the importance of voice inflictions, vocal colour, vocal light and shade as a means for engaging students.

In reflection to my findings about podcasting, I now believe it is not only a tool I can use to build knowledge and understanding, but a tool I can encourage students to use to build their own knowledge and understanding. It is a creative and unique way to engage students in learning and enhance learning by targeting each child’s interests.

With podcasts being a new concept for me, I decided to partake in the engagement activity of creating my own and as well as experiment with creating a Voki. This will provide me with the necessary skills to both implement podcasts in my classroom and to teach students how to create their own. As an extension on creating a podcast, I chose to create a Minicast to incorporate various images along with the audio. Please see below to view my Minicast and Voki creations


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Video

A video is simply the recording, reproducing, or broadcasting of moving visual images. Videos, just like images, are a huge part of our lives and are increasingly becoming a huge part of our classrooms. From television to movies to video games to YouTube, videos provide endless learning materials and learning opportunities.

In addition to being fun, engaging and motivating, videos provide many powerful opportunities for teacher to enhance student learning and for students to express learning. Videos allow teachers to add depth to learning by showing examples of content. For example; if students are learning about volcanos in class, teachers have the ability to show videos of volcanic eruptions, which can further develop student’s knowledge and understanding of the topic. Sometimes videos can even explain things better then teachers. Using common craft videos complex concepts can be explained with a simple approach. I experienced this first hand in last week’s studies when trying to understand the concept of wiki’s. The common craft video provided ‘Wikis plain and simple’, cleared up any questions and uncertainties about the new concept.  With a wide range on video sources available it opens opportunities to gather various perspectives from experts and can provide the ability to arrange conference calls and interviews. Another idea for teachers to gain ‘brownie points’ with parents is to record students oral presentations and share online in an established learning site for the parents and the public to view. Parents love to be involved and included in their students learning and celebrating students achievements is an effective way to building students confidence. With the ability to share videos online, comes the ability to interact online. Offering and gaining feedback is a great way for students to strive for excellence and be the best they can be.  
 

Besides the advantages that come with the ability to show videos in the classroom, many benefits come from the ability of creating videos in the classroom. Video projects teach students to plan, organise, write, communicate, collaborate and analyse as well as teaches them the basic technology skills of filming, editing and publishing. Some examples of video projects could include creating book trailers, public service announcements and advertisements or re-enacting scenes from books, script or movies. Students could also express creativity by creating their own common craft videos or RSA animate videos where someone is filmed writing words or ideas and drawing pictures which is then speed up.
 

It is however important to ensure that conceptual development related to curriculum outcomes is relevant and maintained as the core focus. The following is from a blog I stumbled across in my research that provides a list of ‘50 ways to use videos in the classroom’ (Deubellbeiss, D. n/a).  

 

50 ways to use video in the English language classroom from David Deubelbeiss

 

Videos are definitely a tool I would both incorporate and encourage in my classroom. Videos take learning to a different level and provide a fun, creative way for all year level students to engage in what they are learning. I think it is important that teachers have the necessary skills to utilise videos in the classroom and create, edit and produce video in the classroom so that they can teach students how to create, edit and produce them.  I do not yet feel I am technically capable of creating my own video, however this is a goal I have set for myself. Once I have gained the necessary skills to create, edit and produce my own video, I will upload it for your viewing.

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Summary

Sorry about another long blog. I just can’t help myself there is so much I have learnt that I want to share. In reflection to this week’s study, I believe images, audio and videos are an essential for student learning and tools I would undoubtedly utilise in my own classroom environment. I have now learnt the necessary skills to incorporate these tools in the classroom which could result in more focused, motivated, multimodal and multimedia literate students.

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Reference List

Thacker, C. (2007). Podcasts in Education. Retrieved from http://www.macinstruct.com/node/43

Walsh, M. (2009) Pedagogic Potentials in Multimodal Literacy. Retrieved from  http://www.acu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/195676/Chapter_3_Multimodal_Literacy_M_Walsh.pdf

EdTechTeacher (2013). Video in the Classroom. Retrieved from http://edtechteacher.org/index.php/teaching-technology/presentation-multimedia/112-video

Deubelbeiss, D. (n/a). 50 ways to use video in the classroom. Retrieved from  http://community.eflclassroom.com/profiles/blogs/50-ways-to-use-video-in-the-classroom

 

 

Learnings and Findings from Week 3

Overview

This week’s studies introduced us to three tools; blogs, wiki’s and websites. We were encouraged to create and explore the features and functionalities of each tool and discuss and reflect on how they can be utilized in the classroom as a direct way to transform student learning.

Creating a Blog | Reflection

The process in creating a blog proved to be a challenging task that was way out of my comfort zone. Firstly, I had no idea what a blog was, secondly I had no idea what the purpose of a blog was and thirdly I had no idea how it was relevant to this course. After much confusion stumbling though the set up process and grasping the operating, everything began to unfold and make sense. The purpose of creating a blog for this course was not just to track our learning journey, but to introduce us to a learning tool that we can use as a resource for future reference.

Upon creating this blog it was unclear to me what we were required to include and how we were supposed to layout and express our work. After exploring other people work it became clear that there is no right or wrong way to blog. My blog needs to be my personal creation and my personal expression and with the use of the blog features I can customise my page to my ideal layout, and present each blog in a way that reflects my own personal learning journey. The blogging features provides the opportunity to embed various forms of media in our reflections helping us to further express our work and broaden knowledge for fellow bloggers.

Blogging can be an effective teaching/learning tool because it not only allows us to record, share and reflect on our own learning journey but to explore and compare other personal journeys, reflections, thoughts, findings and understanding which can help develop a higher understanding of content. Different people have different perspectives, opinions, ways of thinking and ways of explaining things and having access to various blogs has proven (in my case) to be a learning benefit.

Blogging can come with many learning benefits in the classroom but unless used and managed correctly it can also prove to be a flop.

The following table is an example of a strategy that encourages critical thinking though the use of blogging. Through the use of a PMI chart we are able to analyse objectively the possible benefits and dangers of a particular topic or situation. In this particular case I will explore the positives, minuses and implications of using blogs in schools.

PMI chart

Positives ·       Encourages students to reflect on content which can help internalise what has been learnt ·      Encourages students to collaborate online allowing them to learn from others, deepening their understandings ·       Easy way for students to upload/construct assignments and allows teachers and peers to offer feedback ·       Easy accessible for parents. It’s a  ‘window into the classroom’ allowing them to be more involved in their child’s education ·       Allows students to have further discussions with teachers and other students after school hours ·       Strengthens connections between home, school and the world ·       Encourages students to become more ICT literate (an essential skill in the 21st century) ·       Enables a global connection with bloggers around the world

Minuses ·       Requires around the clock access to the internet (may be difficult for some at home) ·       Some may not have access to the required resources at home (computers, ipads, phones) ·       Some parents may not approve of collaborating online with strangers

Implications ·       May be hard for teachers to monitor to ensure its being used appropriately ·       It could open doors to potential harmful predators   ·       Can allow nasty, hurtful feedback from peers resulting in possible bullying issues

From this personal analysis, it is clear to me that there are many more learning benefits then there are possible dangers or implications. I found it very difficult to think of minuses or implications beyond that of safety issues. I think blogging is a very valuable scaffolding tool that can benefit and heighten, broaden and deepen student learning in a variety of ways.

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 Creating a Wiki | Reflection

Being introduced to a wiki was a whole new concept for me and despite having step by step instructions it proved to be an even bigger challenge and even further out of my comfort zone. Initially I had no clue what a wiki was, what a wiki entailed and what a wiki was used for until this week’s study provided us with a fabulous, I’d say ‘wiki for dummies’ YouTube clip.   Click here to view this video

I definitely feel like a dummy. It could not have been explained any simpler. From this YouTube clip I gathered that a wiki is a website where users and visitors can freely create, edit, modify, add or remove content using various editing tools. The purpose is to share creative processes and products, with many, and by many, through constant collaboration.

I have not yet taken much time to explore the features of my wiki page and so far my only wiki experience has been De Bons Six Thinking Hats which proved to be a very beneficial learning activity. From my understanding we have the ability to insert, edit or erase text, images, tables, files and hyperlinks as well as create new pages and crosslinks between internal pages.  

Wiki’s provide teachers with a tool to create interactive online activities, present course information and resources such as external links, project information and frequently asked questions. It provides students with a forum to collaborate with other learners obtain information and share their knowledge and understandings. It enables each learner to express their personal opinions and ensures each person’s perspectives is included and acknowledged.

As previously discussed, the use of technology in the classroom should not be used as a substitute for learning. We as teachers must utilise it as a tool to transform learning. Using the SAMR model I will explore and discuss whether using wikis in the classroom will enhance student learning or transform student learning.

Model	Use of Wiki’s in the Classroom
Redefinition Tech allows for the creation of new tasks, previously inconceivable	·       Students can learn way beyond the classroom by collaborating with the worldwide web. ·       Students have the ability constantly edit/modify work of their own and work of others to establish the best possible learning and outcome
Modification Tech allows for significant task redesign	·       Students can embed links and upload files to support their knowledge and understandings of information ·       Teachers can create interactive online activities (such as De Bons thinking hats) ensuring all students opinions and perspectives are considered and acknowledged. ·       An effective way for teachers to ensure all students are participating and including themselves in online group activities
Argumentation Tech acts as a direct tool substitute, with functional improvement	·       Students can interact with other students creating strong networks with fellow learners ·       Students can continue to collaborate online outside school hours   ·      Students can easily upload assignments, create lists, plan study sessions etc.
Substitution Tech acts as a direct tool substitute, with no functional change	·       Creating a wiki as a substitution for communication. They can collaborate online instead of in the classroom ·       Creating a wiki page for uploading assessments or reflections

From my own analysis, I believe the wiki space can not only enhance student learning but can transform student learning. In saying this I do not believe it’s a tool I would utilise in my own classroom. I feel that the wiki tool would be more appropriate and more beneficial in a high school setting/environment. I do not consider it a very engaging/inviting tool for primary school students as pages are quite text heavy and the navigation of the site could prove difficult.

Although the wiki tool provides many learning and teaching benefits, it also can bring to the surface some issues regarding online etiquette. My concern and possible hesitation towards the use of wikis derives from the fact that anyone has the ability to edit, modify and possibly erase published work from other people. In erasing or merely editing someone else work whether it be an innocent act or personal attack, it can leave students feeling ‘wrong’ which can result in a lack of self-confidence and self-esteem especially with younger students. The concept of a wiki being never ending online sheet of butchers paper providing opportunities for collaboration, assessment submission, online forums, planning and listing is a fantastic way to include and engage student. However, for it to be successful in the classroom, restrictions and rules need to be established to ensure all students work is treasured not tarnished.

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Creating a Weebly | Reflection

The third and final tool we were introduced to this week is a Weebly. Another new concept to me. A Weeby is simply a website building tool. Twenty First World states “it is designed for ‘non techies’ and offers a simple step by step website developing process that literally anyone can use to its fullest potential”. (Twenty First World, 2010). Weebly capitalises on a ‘drag and drop’ feature making inserting, linking and uploading files, images and texts easy.

 From my understanding, a more involved example of a Weebly would be the Moodle site we use for university. Through Moodle teachers/lectures have endless opportunities to provide content, documents, external links, discussion forums, assessment information, podcasts, lectures; the list could go on. The Weebly tool provides teachers with the opportunity to create just this in their classrooms.
After exploring the Weebly features, I discovered that this was an ideal tool for primary school students. I was drawn to this tool mainly because of its simplistic approach. It proved easy to navigate, manage and operate which is an added benefit for younger students. The set up process was clearly outlined and with the ability to customise themes, colours and layouts enables us to personalise our page to suit our learners. We are provided with an array of gadgets to embed such as texts, images, videos, documents, maps and have the constant ability to update, edit, modify or remove content.

The opportunities a Weebly website can provide are endless and are not only beneficial for teachers but can also purely benefit students. Some creative ways teachers could utilise a Weebly page include uploading content and documents, inserting videos and images to support content, create online interactive activities, arranging parent teacher interviews, uploading excursion permission slips and uploading finished assignments to parade for parents and the public.  Students have the ability to reflect back on content at any time, submit assessments, view assessment examples or templates, collaborate online with students and teachers in online forums and more.

The following table is a SWOT analysis exploring the possible benefits of utilising a Weebly webpage in the classroom. It will look at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that could come with creating a static webpage.

Strengths ·       Students have constant access to content and resources ·       Students can collaborate after school and ask questions that couldn’t be answered during class ·       Students can easily upload assignments ·       Teachers have complete control over the page and its content ·       Teachers can upload content in a variety of ways (such as videos, podcasts) that will engage students ·      Teachers can embed links to support learning such as links to educational games ·       Teachers can provide students with assessment examples and templates ·       It can save paper by no longer needing hand outs

Weaknesses ·       Students require access to internet outside of school ·       Students require access to equipment such as computers/laptops/ipads. ·       Student work may be compromised if the server is down

Opportunities ·       Teachers can create new exciting ideas such as interactive online activities ·       Teachers can involve parents in student learning but uploading assessments ·       Teachers can upload permission sheets to avoid students loosing hard copies

Threats ·       Student privacy may be jeopardised ·       Discourages face to face communication with students and teachers ·      Teachers may find constant planning and maintenance time consuming

From my personal analysis, there are far more strengths and opportunities for students and teachers that come from creating a static website then there are weaknesses or threats. It allows me to create a website purely for my students in a fun, creative, unique way which will engage students in their learning. Happy students, happy parents and happy teacher.

                                                SMILES ALL ROUND!

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Summary

Sorry about the extremely long blog post, I will quickly sum it up! In response to this week’s findings and understandings, I believe the tool that would most benefit learning in my classroom would be the Weebly webpage. Although wiki’s and blogs provide similar opportunities, Weebly’s can take student learning to a whole different level. It is more suitable for younger students as it is easy to operate and navigate and provides me with tools to create fun, new, engaging activities and opportunities for students to maximise learning.

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References

Twenty First World (2010). Weebly- Simple website creation http://twentyfirstworld.weebly.com/what-is-weebly.html

Common Craft (2007, May 29) Wikis in Plain English [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY&feature=player_embedded

 

Week 2 Activity

 

De Bons Six Thinking Hats Reflection

 

 

This week’s task had us participating in an online wikki activity based around De Bons Six Thinking Hats. This task required us to collaborate online with our fellow educators and express our personal opinions on whether or not we believe mobile phones should be introduced in the classroom. The purpose of the wikki activity was to introduce us to an effective teaching tool to keep under our belts for future reference.

De Bons six thinking hats are a positive and creative teaching tool that ensures a higher order of thinking. It is an effective technique that facilitates productive critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity skills. The six thinking hats are an effective learning tool that helps learners analyse information or a given situation from a variety of perspectives. It enables collaborative thinking and ensures each person’s point of views and opinions are included and considered which avoids arguments and infinite discussions. It provides a framework to help people think critically, creatively and clearly by separating their thinking into six distinct categories, each with their own metaphorical coloured thinking hat – Black hat cautions, yellow hat benefits, white hat facts, green hat creativity, red hat feelings, and blue hat process.

I found the De Bons wiki activity to be an extremely effective tool to analysis various sides of the great mobile phone debate. It not only allowed me to express my own personal view points and opinions, but helped me recognize and understand my college’s views and opinions which forced me to question mine, opening my mind to a different level of thinking. Initially I had a very strong reaction to the question ‘should mobile phones be introduced in the classroom’ and the answer was ‘NO’.  However after breaking down my thoughts and being forced to look at the different sides of the matter it resulted in a slight shift in my perspective.  

A lot of the time I think we make judgements and assumptions about things without really looking at the broader picture. I think the six thinking hats are a great way to explore the different angles of a topic, the positives and the negatives, and make a decision knowing you’ve looked at all the contributing factors. On top of this new way of thinking and learning, when you add collaborative thinking and learning, you can create new and excited perspectives and idea that enable an even higher order of thinking.

In reflection to the activity my final answer to the topic still happened to be a no. I do not think mobile phones should be introduced in the classroom, however it did force me to open my mind and explore not only my own perspectives but other people’s perspectives also. I think De Bons Six Thinking Hats are a very effective learning tool and not just in the classroom, but in everyday life. Instead of making judgements and assumptions, we should open our minds to exploring different perspectives.  The De Bons tool incorporates ‘social constructivism’ in the classroom whilst enhancing critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creative skills. It demonstrates an example of good pedagogy and creates not only a new tool for teaching but a new tool for learning. The De Bons tool is definitely a teaching tool I have added to my ‘bag of tricks’ which will assist me on my teaching journey.





Learnings & Finding From Week's 1 & 2

It has been an overwhelming two weeks figuring out how to study independently and how to manage my time wisely. As stressful and terrifying the last two weeks have been, I feel very overwhelmed with excitement, fascination and engagement with what I’m studying which goes to show me that this is what I want to be doing.

My first two weeks of study introduced me to an overview of how the brain works, the importance of knowing our learners, the four learning theories, good pedagogy and digital pedagogy, two frameworks and a taxonomy and working legally, safely and ethically online.

The main key learning point I have taken from the last two weeks of study is the importance of ‘personalisation’, knowing your learners. Understanding that every person learns differently and we as teachers need to accommodate each individual’s best way of learning. ICT’s is an effective way to cater for each individual learner as it offers infinite combinations of individual and collaborative work, social networking, visual, auditory, and interactive resources, colour and multiple formatting opportunities all which enhance the learners overall education experience. To help educators understand how different learners learn, four learning theories have been developed– behavioural (observable change in behaviour), cognitivism (mental processing), social constructivism (learning is social) and connectivism (learning with computers and internet).

We as teachers need to find ways of making learning exciting to ensure the information we are passing on is actually being absorbed into the reflective brain.  If students cannot connect or relate to the given information it travels to the lower brain and enables a state of ‘fight’, ‘fright’ or ‘freeze’. After watching the video Edutopia by Dr. Judy Wills I learnt that the most important way to encourage information to be absorbed is to reduce stress. Dr. Judy Wills shared various techniques to engage students in learning and ensure the information is being absorbed. The main technique that stood out for me is “SURPRISE!” which is incorporating elements of colour, music, costumes and movement in the classroom.  This approach probably stood out to me because I am a dance teacher and believe all these elements capture student’s excitement and interests. Another technique that stood out is “Kid Watching” which involves learning about your learners; what sports they like, what their pets name is etc. and using these as examples and narratives throughout the lesson making learning here/me/now. I also learnt that it is important to acknowledge SYN-NAPS (overused memory) and break up the lesson by throwing in some movement or ball games. Another import point Dr. Judy Wills stressed is “don’t let students shut down”. Offer constant encouragement and prise, acknowledge and understand difficulties and recognise student’s struggle to learn when tired or stressed. One technique that I found to be very endearing was the classroom pillow. Allowing students to regain focus by first relaxing and letting go of stressful or distracting thoughts.  

All these techniques are examples of good pedagogy (the art of teaching). Effective pedagogy is using a diverse range of teaching strategies that support intellectual engagement, collaborative learning, ‘real life’ connectedness, personal relevance, independent learning and supportive classroom environments across all key learning and subject areas. The current ultimate goal for education is to promote higher order thinking, such as analysing and evaluating rather than just remembering facts.

Two models that support complex ways of thinking (higher order thinking) are Blooms Taxonomy and the SAMAR model. Blooms Taxonomy is a classification of different ‘learning objectives’ which are divided into three domains; cognitive, affective and psychomotor. Its purpose is to motivate educators to focus on all three domains, creating a more rounded education. The Substitution Argumentation Redefinition Model or SAMR model was designed to help educators integrate technology in the classroom. It aims to enable teachers to design and develop learning experiences that utilise technology enhancing higher levels of achievements for students. ICT should be approached as a transformative tool, rather than a substitute or enhancement of normal learning tasks.

With digital technologies comes the issue of working legally, safety and ethically online. As teachers we have to be aware of copyright guidelines and child safety. We have to model and teach ethical online behaviours.  In regards to copyright basic ethics suggest that all materials used are referenced unless they are yours. The use of internet provides students with a powerful resource to learn and research but with that power risks arises leaving concern for internet safety. These risks can include exposer to inappropriate materials, physical danger, harassment and bullying and privacy issues. Our job as teachers is to keep our students safe and in doing this we need to monitor what students are accessing online.

In conclusion to the discussion of digital technologies in the classroom came our week 2 online wikki activity based on the topic ‘should mobile phones be introduced into the classroom’.

Stay tuned for my reflection of this activity…

My Introduction

I am currently living in Mackay and have just commenced my first year in the Graduate Diploma of Learning and Teaching program. In 2012 I completed by Bachelor of Theatre (Specialization Music Theatre) at Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music and have since then been working as a dance/music theatre teacher at a local dance studio (Mackay Fame Talent School). I have been student teaching in the dance environment since 2007 but since having completed my Bachelor gained a part-time position teaching a variety of jazz, tap, hip-hop, drama and musical theatre to a variety of ages ranging from 2 years-16 years.  Having taught at Fame for the past 5 years I gained a substantial knowledge base regarding the behaviour and specific learning outcomes of children and my interest has moved towards primary school education. So here begins my new and exciting journey.

The biggest challenge for me will be studying independently (externally) via distance education because I am a kinaesthetic learner and process information best through “hands on” experiences. Being distance education (online) the most suitable learning theories to apply to my studies is Social Constructivism (learning is social) and Connectivism (learning with computers and internet). By using computers and technology (Connectivism), we have access to a wide variety of resources available on the internet supplying us with an unlimited amount of information. The information we gather can then be shared with our fellow colleges through the use of blogs, wikis, collaborations and discussion forums (Social Constructivism) which enables further discussion and perspectives resulting in a deeper and clearer understanding of the information.

I am very fortunate to have founded a strong social support network and access to online resources which will maximize my learning and help me significantly on this new learning journey.

Stay tuned as I update you on my recent findings and understandings from my first two weeks of study!