Course Reflection - The end? or is it just the beginning?

I've finally made it to the end of the e-learning web 2.0 course. A great example of learning anywhere, anytime- and sometimes it seems 'not enough time' or 'too much time' - depending on how sleep deprived I've been.

I have found it both interesting and at times challenging but with persistence have acquired both new knowledge and skills and got to share the experience with colleagues (over coffee)and students who unknowingly were used as my lab mice.

Though-out the course I have signed up (thank goodness my last name isn't common-actually in the white pages all listed are related- insert wiki new page[]chuckle) and navigated many applications, and quite enjoyed it, some of which I would find useful to use in the classroom.

I like the idea that continues to be highlighted in that E-learning is boundless, occuring anywhere, anytime. Our students are already engaging in this type of learning (school time / home time) whether they realise it or not, from their use of social networking sites, video/music sites and other applications, and it certainly makes sense to harness this as an avenue for engaging them.

It adds to the handy toolkit of teaching and learning strategies. The role of the teacher always has been to facilitate though 'meaningful activities'.
The 'meaningful' activities are the key- its not just about 'doing the activity' but about 'doing the right activity' to suit the individual student with enough variation to achieve the outcomes.
This is where the revised Blooms taxonomy model comes into the equation- allowing options so students can choose their own 'learning adventure.'

The tools highlighted in this course, together with a teacher acting as facilitator, can provide a 'e-framework' for students- ie using a medium that 'engages' (many are quite savvy with) and one in which they are not afraid to attempt new challenges. Using some of these applications can provide a non-confronting learning environment.

By harnessing these web 2.0 tools e.g. google docs,wikis, journals, blogs, vodcasts/podcasts etc students are provided an opportunity for collaborative learning, questioning, discussing, reflecting, analysing and creating-and we know just 'how' creative they can be (perhaps not always in the most appropriate way?) and the beauty is, that they don't even realise that they are working up the ladder of higher order thinking skills.

In evaluating e-tasks, students will do this throughout their journey sharing their experiences through discussion and probably more so, because they can see visually their own 'instant' results, and that of their classroom colleagues', both as part of a 'work-in-progress' activity and as a completed task.

I'm not saying that these are the only tools that a teacher needs in their 'bag of tricks' and that they should replace all other tools in their kit, but we as educators need to continue to update our own resources and evaluate our own lesson strategies and incorporate 'new and improved model' activities to best meet the needs of our students.

Only in doing our own reflection and evaluation are we are following 'best practice' pedagogy. We have already made the commitment to 'life long learning' and this is another stepping stone in our own journey.

N.B. Blog comment on http://peterfindlay.blogspot.com/ course reflection

Module 10: Wiki I will, Wiki I won't!

Before I start, last Saturdays Herald Spectrum article ' Geeks, Tweets and bums on seats' (Elissa Blake-July 10, 2010) gave a refreshing insight on how the arts sector has successfully harnessed twitter to bring performance artists closer to their audience. The 'instant' reviews given on twitter have provided 'instant' feedback to the artists and given that twitter requires a connection between users it has been viewed as successful in building creative communities.
Check out the article it's certainly worthwhile a read to broaden general negative perspectives on using twitter.
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/theatre/geeks-tweets-and-bums-on-seats-20100709-103g8.html

I have used many a wiki with junior classes on a range of topics from conflict and Australian Prime Ministers to confirmation and beyond. A good tool for writing information reports and other text types and having the page links, complete with web links makes it a little more interactive for students then a straight word document. (A bit like a web page) Everyone is familiar with wikipedia and despite the fact that we, as educators seem to 'harp' on the fact that anyone can edit the material, perhaps we should focus more on teaching students to cross reference their data with other sources to determine reliability and authenticity. The very idea of wikipedia mirrors the movement from web 1.0 to web 2.0 in that the more users there are the better an application/ operating platform will be and the sharing of information allows greater freedom in who delivers the content.

Living with the in-laws has opened up many a surprise package. I decided to start a wiki on the bathroom cabinet. When you share something as intimate as a bathroom the contents are on display for all to see. This is where the surprise package really starts.

Page one- Introduction - 'Open the glass fronted hinged door slowly to reveal bathroom toiletry contents. It could almost be a slow moving Alfred Hitchcock scenario in a close up frame with accompanying suspenseful music.
The camera slowly pans the bottom shelf and we see assorted toothbrushes, razors and shaving cream. Insert [] brackets around toothpaste to start a new page: Colgate sensitive for the clean with the brightest beam, soft and kind to your gums, the complete shine.
The camera pans slowly upward and we see aftershave, perfume - [Armani] new page: always in style...'a soft feminine fragrance that reflects the individuality of the modern women. Insert picture to highlight.


Now the highlight of this anecdotal example comes when the camera pans to the top shelf. Starting from the left we pass cotton buds, hairbrushes and then wait for it....don't forget [] insert new page....Callington in-flight cabin insecticide spray. Isn't that just what every bathroom cabinet contains? Well this house certainly does - perhaps something was omitted from the hand-luggage of the summer time fun Greece jet-setters.

We're almost moving from Alfred Hitchcock now to James bond. Imagine circa 1960 Sean Connery: (and appropriate web links to highlight)...he's shot the bad guys, grabbed the girl, high-jacked the plane and just before take-off...'wait...let me just use my callington's spray to rid the aircraft of any post passenger infections......he sprays,...the mist prevails and Sean being Sean sneaks in for a 1960's kiss behind the thickening mist....end scene...end wiki.
Now there's a wiki grand finale!!