Teaching Stuff!!!

Research Report Final

Abstract

This project considers the possibilities 5 educational technologies afford for sharing student learning with family/home and the wider community within a K‐6 context.
5 educational technologies were divided into 2 categories (informed by Howard, 2008). 2 educational technologies (Audacity and Wordle) were categorised as Product Creation Tools: technologies students use to develop artefacts that represent their learning. 1 educational technology (Twitter) was categorised as a Communication and Collaboration Tool: technologies that allow an educational, industrious exchange of information among people. 2 educational technologies (Storybird and Edublogs) were deemed to straddle both of these categories.
Alongside a desire to present an interesting and balanced glimpse of educational technologies, the criteria employed to choose the particular technologies (also informed by Howard, 2008): Inspiring, Engaging, Educational; Likely to Be Used; Popularity; Promise/Innovation; also largely made up the evaluative model used to appraise them. New elements were added to the evaluative model: Communication/Interaction to allow an in‐depth appraisal of how sharing of learning might occur in relation to Communication and Collaboration Tools; Practical Examples of Use/Sample of Product to demonstrate how the Product creation tools might be used to develop artefacts that represent student learning; and how these might interact with the Communication and Collaboration Tools appraised.

Findings, implications, directions for further research and limitations of the research project are reported within the body of the report.

http://www.ideastoinspire.co.uk/wordle.htm

Even just a colourful class name list for my internship would be nice!

I particularly like the students strenghts, and the creation of a unique gift (e.g. mother day wordle).

I also like the film clip using wordle and movie maker (for my own stuff really).

This one about overhead projections of Wordles is good too:

“Wordle a collection of words that represent parts of speech. Change the colors to white words on a black background in Wordle and print on an overhead transparency. Project the Wordle onto a large sheet of butcher paper and ask the kids to come and color nouns a certain color, verbs a different color, etc.  An extension of  this would be to Wordle Characters and Character traits, print overhead transparency and project. Use a color to connect characters with their specific traits.”

and this…

Write each child’s name on a separate sheet of paper. Circulate each sheet around the class so each pupil writes at least 1 nice/+ve attribute about every other pupil. They can repeat words others have used. Collect the sheets, type each pupil’s list of attributes (editing where necessary!) with their name x10 & Wordle the result. The pupils can use them as exercise book cover art, and will treasure them forever.”

http://langwitches.org/blog/2010/01/09/its-not-about-the-tools-its-about-the-skills/

I’ll have to check this out later…

Abstract

This project considers the possibilities educational technologies afford for sharing student learning with family/home and the wider community within a K-6 context.

8 educational technologies were divided into 2 categories (informed by Howard, 2008). 2 educational technolgies (Audacity and Wordle) were categorised as Product Creation Tools: technologies students use to develop artefacts that represent their learning. 4 educational technolgies (Facebook, Google Wave, Twitter and Podcasting) were categorised as Communication and Collaboration Tools: technologies that allow an educational, industrious exchange of information among people. 2 educational technolgies (Storybird and Edublogs) were deemed to straddle both of these categories).

Alongside a desire to present an interesting and balanced glimpse of educational technologies the criteria employed to choose the particular technologies (also informed by Howard, 2008): Inspiring, Engaging, Educational; Likely to Be Used; Popularity; Promise/Innovation) also largely made up the evaluative model used to appraise them. New elements were added to the evaluative model: Communication/Interaction to allow in depth appraisal of how sharing of learning might occur in relation to Communication and Collaboration Tools; Practical Examples of Use/Sample of Product to demonstrate how the Product creation tools might be used to develop artefacts that represent student learning, and how these might interact with the Communication and Collaboration Tools appraised.

Findings, implications, directions for further research and limitations of the research project are reported within the body of the report.

Having withdrawn from the subject associated with the research project last semester I have now begun a new project along a similar vein. My new research project is called: Using Educational Technology for Sharing Student Learning with Family/Home and the Community.

This project considers the possibilities educational technologies afford for communicating student learning with family/home and the wider community within a K-6 context.

The educational technologies will be divided into 2 categories (largely informed by Howard, 2008, pp. 31-52). Firstly, Product Creation Tools: technologies students use to develop artefacts that represent their learning. Secondly, Communication and Collaboration Tools: technologies that allow an educational, industrious exchange of information among people (there are some educational technologies that straddle both of these categories).

The Aims of the project are to:
•Attempt to expand the knowledge of the possibilities educational technology affords for communicating student learning with family/home and the wider community within a K-6 context.
•Develop and apply a simple evaluative model to a selection of educational technologies.

I will be keeping a record of my progress here over the next week or so until it is handed in. Will probably publish the final report here too. “Yay!” I hear you scream and shout.

Designing Electronic Collaborative Learning EnvironmentsPaul Kirschner, Jan-Willem Strijbos, Karel Kreijns, Pieter Jelle Beers. Educational Technology, Research and Development. Washington: 2004. Vol. 52, Iss. 3;  pg. 47, 20 pgs.

Kirschner et. al elaborate on the effective design and implementation of electronic collaborative learning environments. They explain that this requires not only consideration of the technological prerequisites required to allow collaboration to occur, but also to the educational (Employing a pedagogy which account for the characteristics of the media), and social prerequisites (enhancing the chosen pedagogy by supporting features found in face to face teaching and learning contexts i.e. group formation and group dynamics).

Within this article Kirschner et. al present a framework for designing collaborative environments based on these technological, educational, and social prerequisites before proceeding into greater depths exploring three “nonsurface-level” educational factors central to collaboration, (a) task ownership, (b) task character, and (c) task control.

This framework could also provide a tool for investigating the potential of ICT resources particularly those which are intended to feature collaboration.

I need to include at least 10 journal articles in my literarture review (due in 2 days, weeeeee!!!). Here is the first, and my comments upon it.

A generic model for guiding the integration of ICT into teaching and learning

Qiyun Wang

Innovations in Education and Teaching International; Nov 2008; 45, 4; ProQuest Education Journals

pg. 411

This paper acknowledges that the integration of Information Computer Technology (ICT) into the curriculum is becoming an essential competency for teachers.

Teachers need to plan thoughtfully before they begin to integrate ICT into a curriculum. For example, choosing the correct tools for particular outcomes and contexts, modifying existing resources, developing new online learning environments, or developing scaffolding strategies.

Qiyun Wang states that while there are various instructional design models intended to help integrate ICT into a curriculum, research indicates that even teachers who are trained in the use of a particular instructional design model often find them impractical to use in authentic planning settings. Qiyun Wang attempts to move away from these linear instructional design models and present a generic model for guiding teachers in effective integration of ICT into teaching and learning built on three key components of a technology enhanced learning environment; Pedagogy, Social Interaction and Technology.

The following two diagrams my serve as a scaffold to aid the development of a means with which to present my findings:

The article also includes an interesting comparison of blogs and discussion boards.

Many of the experts on, and experienced practitioners of, blogging publish their anecdotal findings and share their expertise within blogs…

Of course much formal journal published research also exists, and this is the material with which I am required to justify my project.

Much ongoing umming and ahhing about my research question, currently:

How can Information Computer Technology be integrated into K-6 teaching and learning contexts, and what is the pedagogical rationale for doing this?

I need to design a question which will allow me to look at and appraise various ICT resources (largely website based software), as this is what i am interested in doing.

I would like to look at communication with home/reporting through blogs as one rationale.

Another interesting direction is to look at something such as Xbox live groups which may allow kids to share some school work at home (many kids at schools i have been to have Xboxs and Xbox live accounts but no PC at home.

Hi!