Looking back on the past years of my primary and tertiary education, ICT in the classroom has developed from pen to paper to interactive software such as computers and tablets. The technological world has definitely experienced a growth spurt. Is ICT effecting children’s futures ? or are their more factors to consider? Not to say that the rapid growth of technology has been the main reason the Earth has consumed so much energy, but is effectively contributing to the sustainability of our world? The impact of education and the growth of ICT is all explained in this article.
Month: March 2016
RAT Framework: developing an effective ICT lesson plan
In Zoe’s Blog, she breaks down the RAT Framework and described her personal interpretation . Zoe described that she has trouble understanding this framework to begin with, but after reading many blogs posted by her peers she learned a lot more. I experienced the same thing, as I believe the concepts were hard to grasp. My personal interpretation of the RAT Framework is similar to Zoe’s, as I believe that it is a guide for integrating ICT effectively into the curriculum. By using Replacement, Amplification and Transformation, teachers are able to judge whether the lesson will be an effective one.
NAPLAN & ICT: Good or Bad Mix?
Lara’s Blog, explained the effect of Information Communications Technology has on certain standardized testing, such as NAPLAN. Although, I am a strong advocator for ICT in enhancing the educational opportunities for young people, but are the new marking techniques for these tests appropriate for literacy development? Lara read an article which stated by 2017 the written component for NAPLAN will be marked by a computer. I researched this article and Les Perelman, previous director of writing at MIT explained that computers cannot measure emotions and feelings of a story, because a computer doesn’t have these human functions.
New Literacies: Is ICT challenging the real meaning of ‘What it means to be Literate’?
SO WHAT DO WE REALLY MEAN BY LITERATE?
In Jane Edward’s blog Jane ‘Are Digital Technologies Diminishing Student’s Hand-Writing Skills’? Jane reflected on her own personal journey through ICT and how her life was impacted since the rapid development of technology. Jane researches an article which explained- since New Literacies has become more frequently used in the classroom, emoticons and slang seem to be creeping into children’s work. Personally, I believe that technology plays a large factor in many literacy issues in politics and the media today. Spell Check and such technologies provide us with an invisible safety net which we seem to take for granted. This got me thinking…
How does this effect teachers and their ability to teach?
Along with Jane, I decided to do some research of my own. I stumbled upon an interesting article called ‘Technological Change and its Impact of Literacy Learning’ .This gave me an insight into New Literacies and how ICT is challenging what it means to be a literate person. Today, what does it mean to be literate? This is an ever changing question because of the constantly changing digital world.
Looking Back to Look Forward !
WHILE PRAC IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER ! ! ! !
I was reading through Zoe’s Blog, and she mentioned a question asked in the ‘Week 2 Learning Path’ which was, ‘What is the best learning experience you have ever designed (or at lease you can remember)’? Looking back at my knowledge of ICT before EDC3100, I feel quite accomplished as I have learned so much regarding how ICT really does shape the curriculum and assists teachers in providing an enriching learning experience. This made me think of my previous experiences while on prac and how ICT was integrated into my lesson plans.
It was a Year Two Maths Lesson….
I was asked to build on a beginners knowledge of ‘standard’ and ‘non-standard’ partitioning. From the get go, my mentor stressed the importance of ICT and how this really helps the Year Two’s with concentration. I decided to use the Smart Board to create a visual picture for the children, alongside their own blocks so they could play along with me. Once students got the hang of it with their own materials, they were asked to demonstrate ‘standard’ or ‘non-standard’ partitioning using a three-digit number on the Smart Board. Students did this by using the mouse to drag the various MAB blocks into different place value locations.
On reflection of the lesson, I knew that incorporating ICT in this lesson really helped the children understand the written and visual side of place value (representing numbers with blocks). Students hands shot in the air when they were asked to use the Smart Board. My mentor commended me for this lesson as it was difficult to teach.
The link below shows a brief tutorial on the Smart Board and give you an insight on how children can be eager to learn using this material. (This video focuses on Literacy)
Is is too hard to communicate face-to-face?
At the start of the Week 3 Learning Path, we were given a question which related to whether we thought technology has made us anti-social people. I clicked TRUE as my answer, as I believe that in today’s society we would rather send instant messages and communicate on social media than relate face-to-face. In Nicole’s Blog, she stated that the use of technologies in this era are making us anti-social. This was a good read, as I completely agreed. Then I started thinking…..
Haven’t we always had some form of communication which isn’t face-to-face? Such as, writing letters and speaking over the phone. Why has society only now thought this is damaging to genuine human connection? Wouldn’t these means of communicating still be classed as anti-social behaviour? I believe that it is inevitable to stop developing, we have just created new ways to easily communicate with the world around us.
Ana Nogales article Facebook vs. Face-to-Face raised an interesting point about the detrimental effects of communicating online. Aside from safety, which has already been mentioned throughout my blogs, lack of emotion and expression comes into play. Although it is quick and easy to send a message, often things can be miscommunicated. But hasn’t this always been the way?
JUST AN APP DISCOVERY !
First off, before I dive into the nitty gritty, I would like to quickly thank Gabrielle for her latest blog which mentioned the reliability of ICT. It raises an interesting point that teachers that rely heavily on ICT material for the foundation of their pedagogy can be effecting student learning because of the faults/errors in technology.
Today, I was thinking about the ICT that I had the opportunity to observe throughout my previous professional experiences in the past. The first aspect that comes to mind are the interactive online activities that students participate in as a school, such as reading eggs. From observation, students are given a personal username and password to play and beat personal records. I believe that this is very effective for a child’s development in numeracy and literacy skills. The ‘Pro Connect’ App is an ICT which is very similar to Reading Eggs, as the students have their own personal account and they play games. But what I found very interesting that I could incorporate into my own personal teaching of ICT is that teachers have an account in which they can create ! Teachers can create quizzes on what they choose, for example, a unit review. Thought I would share this, as I found this very useful.
KIDDLE: Is it really all that?
So far, all of my blogs have seemed to convey positive inputs based around the integration of ICT to provide an enriching and safe learning experience. Today, I have decided to write about the complete opposite, which surrounds the idea of the various flaws in ICT. These flaws can inhibit these enriching and safe learning experiences that we do our best to provide our students.
Rachael’s Blog, ‘Let’s Kiddle It’ was an interesting and well written review about an ICT called ‘Kiddle’, which allows students to independently search the Internet in a safe manner. To summarise, it is a children’s version of Google. After previously writing about child safety in my first blog, ‘Let’s go back to what seemed like the Stone Ages’, I was very interested in exploring this ICT to possibly use in my future teaching. TO MY SURPRISE! The first link I discovered when researching ‘Kiddle’, was an article written by Richard Weatstone called ‘The Child-Friendly Search Engine which returns Worrying Results’ which I strongly suggest all my readers to glance at.
‘Confusion’ and ‘Concern’ were words used to describe this ‘child-friendly’ ICT. You are probably wondering by now what I mean by all of this ranting and raving. Below, you will see a slideshow image of two searches: Khloe Kardashian and Vanessa Hudgens. These two celebrities are quite popular today, and I wouldn’t be surprised if students searched these names. Headlines such as ‘Vanessa Hudgens Naked Picture Recipes’ and ‘Khloe Kardashian Confirms She Made a Sex Tape’ doesn’t seem to measure up for a safe learning experience for children. Wouldn’t you agree?
‘Enhancing Learning’ or ‘Another Brick in the Wall’?
After thoroughly reading into ‘The Big Three Framework’, Kirschner and Wopereis (2003) had stated that the rapid growth of digital technologies assists students in developing future workplace skills. This viewpoint made me question the motives behind integrating ICT into the curriculum. Are we more concerned with the future? Or are teachers using ICT and technology for the here and now? After reading over Claudia’s latest blog, she described the idea that students less exposed to ICT throughout their educational journey may fall behind in the future.
Claudia’s statement was very hard not to agree with, as the rapid development of technology has become a demanding factor of education today. Personally, I believe as though there has been more emphasis on catering for the needs of the learner rather than using ICT to prepare students for the workforce. This viewpoint by Kirschner and Wopereis (2003) takes me back to first year when I was learning about the teaching style based around ‘Another Brick in the Wall’. The way in which the sentence was written made me feel as though that by teaching technology students will be ready for the future, but we need to enrich students by using ICT as a tool in their growth.
BARRIERS to Effective ICT Integration !
Looking back at my previous professional experiences during my first and second year of study, it is evident that ICT has become a large influence to my personal teaching technique. Although, I have had many prior experiences with digital technologies, incorporating them into a school setting was a whole new ball game.
The third year of my teaching degree has begun, and I am beginning to understand the importance of ICT integration to enhance learning. I was pondering a particular article called ‘Barriers to the Successful Integration of ICT in Teaching and Learning Environments’ and what I had learned was that communication barriers were separated into two parts, extrinsic (the digital technology itself and the inner workings) and intrinsic (regarding personal values and beliefs of technology). This article expanded my knowledge of ICT and the barriers teacher face when incorporating these into learning experiences to provide an enriching lesson. For example, CONFIDENCE is a major barrier in effective teaching. Teacher that have had a positive experience and understand technology would have more confidence than a teacher who has had little to no experience. In Sarah’s Blog, her statement that to have an effective experience with ICT you should be confident on how to use it, I agree completely !
Previously I have stated that I have a knack for digital technologies, but re organizing these technologies to suit the needs of the individual learner became the most challenging aspect on Professional Experience. Here is a YOUTUBE CLIP on getting to know you’re smart board, as these are common in every classroom.
Hannah Wolff 