Teaching Stuff!!!

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!