Assessment 2 Summary

Introduction

I have now worked my way through over 20 new technology tools designed to enhance learning outcomes. Most of these tools can positively affect learning outcomes by presenting content in ways that will engage learners and elicit higher order thinking. At their best, these tools create unique learning situations that could not be replicated any other way with outcomes that deliver critical thinking at its best. At their worst, the tools; become overly complex; fail to work; are not compatible; endanger the students; or do not really support desired learning outcomes. The critical factor with each of these new technologies and their related applications is that at the end of the day they are just a means to get to the desired goal of learning. They are not a replacement for a well-planned lesson with clear objectives for learning outcomes: they become the tools that will most effectively, safely, and efficiently assist the teacher and student in achieving those goals.   

Group 1 Technologies – Blogs, Wikis, and Websites

This group of technologies explored online spaces and how they could be used as a platform where ICT’s could be integrated into learning. I found all three tools interesting and useful. Blogs and Wikis, unlike websites give the students the ability to add content to the space. Websites are more static and tend to act as a repository of information for the students to access. I chose to concentrate on Wiki’s because I feel websites and to a lesser extent blogs create some potential legal and ethical problems.

A teacher created website would be outside the school initiated platform and would leave a school without the ability to control or even oversee the content. For this reason I would be surprised if a website like the one I created would be allowed by a school. Similarly, blogs created off the school site create a potential problem for teachers, students, and schools. Inappropriate content could be added that could place children at risk without the teacher or school having the ability to constantly monitor the site.

Wiki’s that are password protected and approved by the school offer unique eLearning opportunities for students. The ability to work anytime anywhere on a collaborative project is a great feature of Wikis. I have created a PMI for Wikis, as well as greater detail on blogs and websites (See Appendix A). The use of Wikis could be beneficial in both my subject areas of business and manual arts. I can imagine using a Wiki in business to transform a lesson about leadership into a collaborative and constructivist critical analysis about the effectiveness of different leadership styles on individuals depending on the type of work they do. I believe Wikis have a major advantage over other forms of ‘online homework’ in that they create a collective constructive forum. To add content to a higher order thinking routine Wiki (like DeBono’s Hats, SWOT analysis, or a PMI), students will need to critically analyze the subject and are influenced by the answers other students have previously posted. An exercise like this could be done as a discussion in class but I think it is more efficient to do this online. This helps students who might be reluctant for whatever reason to contribute in class to have a voice in the class discussion. Additionally, a Wiki ‘discussion’ is not constrained by specific class time and can accommodate students who were unable to attend class.

Group 2 Technologies – Images, Video, and Audio

This group of technologies concerns the management of digital images and sound and their value as a learning tool.  I really could not find a great deal of critical thinking skills that would be supported by image manipulation software like iPhoto or MobaPhoto. They can make a presentation look better but I do not see how this contributes to higher order thinking. My investigation of Flicker revealed content that was clearly inappropriate for schools and I would not feel comfortable using it (See Appendix B).

I found both digital video and podcasting to be an innovative way to deliver content to students. I believe both tools support higher order thinking in that I could ask open questions in these media that would require analytical thinking. As discussed in my blog (See Appendix B) these tools could be used to expand the availability of the teacher to serve slower or faster learners by providing targeted content to review or extend. I chose to focus on podcasts because I am more familiar with them and I do not have the ability to generate video content beyond adding pictures to a soundtrack, which is not even remotely using the application to its potential.

Unfortunately my podcast fell prey to technological issues. I used the recommended site and found it impractical to download a usable product. I tried to add images to a soundtrack but each image would take approximately 10 minutes to load. A simple podcast would take days to create and load. Others in my class had similar problems. Despite the difficulties I believe the tool is one that I could use to transform the classroom to an eLearning classroom, where it is possible for the teacher to give different lessons at different times in different places.

I have some concerns about the use of digital video and still cameras in a school setting. Images could be used for cyber-bullying or distributed outside the school setting. This for me raises some legal and ethical issues (See Appendix B) as well as duty of care. Before I considered letting the students have access to cameras I would want to discuss my concerns with school officials.

Group 3 Technologies – Information Presentation

PowerPoint, Prezi, and Glogster are examples of tools designed to enhance information presentation. I was particularly impressed with the interactive dimension of PowerPoint, which I have used often as a presentation device. I think including PowerPoint in this group somewhat diminishes the use of it as a versatile learning tool. Of the three presentation tools I chose to explore Prezi, which I had no experience with but I felt was a more useful program for my subject areas.

Prezi presents information in a way that can help visual learners ‘see’ the connections in subjects. A Prezi in manual arts could transform a list of shop tools to a visual tour of the facilities; complete with video clips that demonstrate how each tool works and how it will be used in the project they will be undertaking. Students who take this tour with Prezi could skip tools they are familiar with and zoom in for more information on others. If I were conducting the lesson Prezi gives me the ability to move in a non-linear way to accommodate a change in focus in ways that PowerPoint cannot. This ability would allow lessons to range off-topic and allow discussions to move in unexpected ways. This opens up a level of spontaneity that can engage learners by making lessons more personal. Prezi’s flexibility means the same presentation could be used by the teacher or as a stand-alone lesson for the students. Additionally, I could imagine having the students create their own presentations using this tool.

Prezi is perfect for visual learners and I think combining Prezi with a graphic organiser would make this tool a critical thinking tool that would appeal to all students. I could import a mind map and use Prezi to visually highlight the connections between ideas. A PMI exploring Prezi (See Appendix C) lists some of the disadvantages of using this presentation tool.

Group 4 Technologies – Miscellaneous

This technology group contained a wide variety of tools with no set theme. A complete review of these technologies is located in Appendix D. I think Google Documents is probably the most valuable tool in the group. It introduces Cloud computing that I think will be the next major innovation in ICT’s and will have significant ramifications for education and a major impact on distance education. I believe this technology will transform education in the years to come. I was unsure how to model the use of this technology so have chosen instead to focus on Online Concept Maps.

I believe concept maps possess the ability to compel students to think critically. Of all the tools, I feel that this one will have the greatest impact on my ability to develop critical thinking skills in my students. Concept maps support student understanding of the ‘big picture’ and how the individual components of a subject relate to the whole. Creating a concept map, like a mind map, involves analyzing a thing or idea and then using critical thinking to break it down to understand the individual components. Doing so will also help students understand how those individual pieces relate to the makeup of the whole subject.  

I created a basic mind map (see Appendix D) covering the parts of a lathe. Showing this to my students would help them better understand the machine by seeing it as four basic components each of which has a number of sub-components. This creates a visual picture to support student understanding. Having my students create their own mind map of the lathe will require them to analyze the overall function and then determine which components contribute to that function and in what way. In this way I think concept maps have the ability to transform the way students think about things. Looking to the components will help students better understand the subject and concept maps help develop the skill and routine to do that.

Legal and Ethical Considerations

Throughout all of my postings (Appendix A, B, C, D) I have made note of the legal and ethical issues involved with each tool. The greatest threat to the students comes from the use of the Group 1 and 2 technologies. I have some concerns about the ethics of allowing the students access to these tools and would want guidance from school officials before I requested that my students use them. The Group 3 and 4 technologies do not inherently present many legal or ethical issues. These tools are more information processing and presentation and the ones I have chosen could be used off-line.

Conclusion

The key to using theses new technology tools is that they are only tools. By themselves they teach nothing. It is what they can do in the hands of a competent teacher that transforms them into critical thinking tools. The tool must be carefully considered for the outcomes it can support. Carefully chosen, the proper tool can be the solution to a problem, otherwise it is just a solution in search of a problem.

References

Appendix A  Waller, D. (2011). Week 3 Group 1 Technologies. Retrieved from http://tryingisthefirststeptowardsfailure.blogspot.com/2011/04/week-3-group-1-technologies.html

Appendix B Waller, D. (2011). Week 4 Group 2 technologies. Retrieved from http://tryingisthefirststeptowardsfailure.blogspot.com/2011/04/week-4-group-2-technologies.html

Appendix C Waller, D. (2011). Week 5 Group 3 Technologies. Retrieved from http://tryingisthefirststeptowardsfailure.blogspot.com/2011/04/week-5-group-3-technologies.html

Appendix D Waller, D. (2011).  Week 5 Group 4 Technologies. Retrieved from http://tryingisthefirststeptowardsfailure.blogspot.com/2011/04/week-5-group-4-technologies.html