Being thrown in the deep end is an apt description for my learning journey through the first few weeks of this course. I read the assessment brief before starting and didn't quite understand the terminology and had to look up what a wiki was. I was excited about the content though, and ploughed on, figuring I would cross that bridge when I came to it. It seemed far enough away then. Having completed what was required of me through the course content; created a blog, contributed to wiki's, participated in forums, designed frameworks, read readings and extended myself further than I thought was possible, I feel I am able to reflect on my learning experience. Whilst I may not be swimming yet, I feel as though I at least have my head above water.
After familiarising myself with the basic outline of the course, my first task was to create a blog and use it to reflect on my learning through the course. After initial hesitation the blog was fun and a little addictive. Reflection in the blog allowed and encouraged me to consider more than what was offered in the course work. Checking out other students’ blogs was informative and interesting. Even though we reflected on the same course work our interpretations were varied and our personalities were reflected in the design of the blog and its content. It was fun – although time consuming and frustrating - creating the avatar and exploring the multiple applications available on the net. I felt unsure about following others blogs and commenting but also nervous about people visiting mine. I missed some opportunities here by not participating as fully as I might have with other student’s blogs and the discussion forums. This is a lesson for me in recognising different learners and different dimensions of learning as described by Mazzano and Pickering (1997 pp4-5). People’s perceptions and values affect their learning and engagement in various activities as well. Some people embraced both communication styles wholeheartedly, others hesitantly and others maybe not at all. This, I assume, is also reflected in traditional classroom but maybe more obvious as the teacher can identify and apply different strategies.
Next task was to profile myself into a wiki space and then check other students profiles and select one or two that resonated with me, and then pair up to work on another wiki collaboration. Whilst simple enough in itself, it raised a few questions. What do I want to share? How will others perceive the information I post? What of my family – do I include them and what of their privacy? What if no-one wants to be my partner? What if I can't relate to anyone? Do I choose someone I know? These are real concerns and raise ethical and legal issues which require addressing, especially when using technologies as highlighted in `Smart copying the official guide to copyright issues for Australian schools and Tafe’ (2008). These issues were again highlighted in sharing in a blog context; it seems like such a personalised space, just you and the computer. People who use social sites like Facebook may be used to putting quite personal or intimate details in a semi public space forgetting that some spaces are open for the world to see and comment (Boyd & Ellison 2007). The issues of legality and ethics were again raised in use of statistics and authenticity of material on the net. After all anyone can post anything onto the net, so how do we ascertain what is true or authentic and what is not?
The wiki contributions were frustrating, not because of the content but because of the failure of the system to allow me to post my contributions. As a novice computer learner – a digital immigrant – (Prensky 2001) I was not sure if it was something I was doing or something wrong with the system. Another worthwhile learning experience as I had to decide whether to give in to my frustrations, seek help or move onto the next task. I sought help and moved on, whereas in the past I might have given up in frustration and quit the computer for awhile or reverted to pen and paper. In applying this learning to the classroom I realised that it is really no different from any learning situation, often times when students can’t `get it’ they give up, get frustrated but don’t necessarily have the ability or opportunity to move on. eLearning may be able to resolve some of those frustrations for a student as they can seek help from a group, seek help from the course facilitator, from cyberspace or go back and have another go later (Kearsley & Shneiderman 1998). These strategies are not generally available in the traditional classroom. Salman Khan (2005) designed what became a worldwide free web based learning resource based on the ideas that students could learn at their own pace, move backwards and forwards through the material and that was fun and engaging; true higher order thinking and encapsulating the essence of learning engagement theory in relating, creating and donating (Kearsley & Shneiderman 1998). This modeled a type of eLearning and teaching that can actively be used in any classroom situation.
I moved on from simple wiki contributions to a more complex analysis of mobile phones in classrooms using a scaffolding tool, namely De Bono’s hats. Having used the PMI tool previously for wiki learning theories I found De Bono’s hats to be an excellent way of not only organising my thoughts but extending them beyond the immediate. It was interesting and informative to read other students contributions to this wiki and compare and contrast them with my own. The SWOT analysis was also another effective tool but more useful I feel as a collaborative tool and therefore suitable for group work to extend and refine ideas. Wiki spaces and the use of these scaffolding tools, encourage group work and participation, culminating in a synthesis of ideas and thoughts, where we can learn from each other. The challenge for a teacher using them in a class is to ensure everyone gets to contribute. One of the issues with eLearning is lack of contribution by a student and this maybe for various reasons, shyness, and unfamiliarity, not having done the work or other reasons. With wiki spaces this can be monitored and the facilitator might explore with the student the reasons for lack of contribution. The ultimate challenge is to combine all the elements of good pedagogy with sound elearning principles to make the learning experience authentic. Underpinning the wiki’s and blog reflections was the exploration of learning styles and multiple intelligences (Felder & Solomon). Working out what sort of learner I am was an interesting and fun exercise however it has serious implications when managing the learning of a class. It also made me reflect on what sort of teaching style I might develop and how this would affect the students I may have. eLearning may cater for the different styles as it can be self paced, suit a variety of learners and is an arena for expression of creativity (Fasso 2011). It can be interactive, collaborative or individual therefore catering to a wide variety of learners. I related quite well to Prensky’s (2001) digital immigrants/natives concepts with myself being the immigrant and my son the native. While not convinced totally by Prensky's (2001) arguments, school children today have greater access to technology than previous generations and don’t view it as an add on. The implications for this means that modern day teachers need to be familiar and comfortable with using technology to enhance learning as the “technology provides an electronic learning mileux that fosters the kind of creativity and communication needed to nourish engagement” (Kearsley& Shneiderman 1998).
The exercise in designing my own framework was huge and taxing. I knew what I wanted to do but not how, nor had I developed enough skills to present it in a way I liked. I wanted to revert to my old tried and true methods, my default mode. I recognised that the learning was not embedded and that I needed to go through the process to create the framework I wanted. Discussing the framework with others led me from one idea to another and eventually creating one that reflected my take on eLearning framework design. I recognised that most of my previous learning was underpinned by the behaviourist model (Skinner in Learning Theories) and this course has an underlying constructionist model. The constructivism theory states that learners construct their own reality (Jonasson, 1991, cited in Mergel, 1998) however it took me awhile to realise this as I was rallying against `not being told what exactly to do.’ The structured framework and the use of scaffolding enabled me to work through this with Wendy Fasso’s (2011) design becoming the basis for my own. I felt at times there wasn’t any feedback so I was unsure of the path I was on (was I on the `right’ path?) This was challenging however I wasn’t engaging enough with the forums or blogs where I might have got feedback that would have been useful: again another lesson to be applied to a future classroom.
Eventually it dawned on me that the course was structured using Blooms Taxonomy (1956) starting out with simple tasks and moving onto more complex tasks. The three domains of Blooms Taxonomy were activated; I have more knowledge, skills and a different attitude to eLearning thanks to the experiences involved in the course so far. Learning engagement theory (Kearsley& Shneiderman 1998) which states that the learner needs to be engaged in a meaningful and worthwhile way was also apparent. Whilst I did feel I had been thrown in the deep end, I also felt excited and keen to master the activities; I was engaged and intrinsically motivated as Kearsley& Shneiderman (1998) suggests that engaging with the learning rather than interacting with the activity was sound basis for ICT learning.
The lessons I will take with me on my journey are;
Be aware of and cater to the variety of learners and the multiple intelligences within a classroom of students. To use eLearning to excite students and extend. Understand and model sound ethical, legal and moral practice in relation to ICT. Develop and apply models and theories of learning, especially Learning engagement theory and Blooms Taxonomy to substantiate sound practice. Utilize tools of like SWOT analysis, PMI and Ranking tool to extend and organise thinking within the ICT framework. To promote collaboration and peer support. Underscore and check all design with the TPACK Framework (Mishra & Koehler 2006) to ensure and develop a sound and authentic collaborative learning experience.Reference List
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