Managing E-learning is a very different, yet increasingly
important concept which we, as future teachers, need to incorporate into our
classrooms to give our learners the best possible learning experience. Managing
E-Learning is a concept which could be confused by many as simply using ICT’s
in the classroom, however, e-Learning is the way in which you use ICT’s to
assist learners in their learning development and the way you implement these
ICT’s to scaffold future learning.
It is know the 21st century where we see
technology becoming a dominant aspect of society. Old teaching practices, seen
in the industrial era, do not have the same effectiveness, as the children of
today have adapted to the technological changes and changes in society. As
future teachers we need to consider the changing world and the realisation that
every student has individual differences which need to be catered for to
achieve successful learning for all learners.
This reflective synopsis outlines the importance of ICT’s
being best used integral to learning. As future teachers we need to make sure
our learning experiences are engaging, interactive, collaborative, and provide
an environment where extended learning is achieved. This reflective synopsis
provides my opinion on ICT’s being used in the classroom, ways they can be used
to scaffold effective learning, and links to my blog postings, as well as the
literature, to provide appropriate evidence.
I believe that ICT’s should be used integral to learning in
all classrooms. This is the knowledge error, where technology plays an
important role in society. Teaching practices need to expose students to the
technological developments and develop their skills to prepare them for their
after schooling life. In the last 5 weeks we have had to investigate digital
tools that could be used, a long side digital pedagogy, to provide students
with a learning experience which is collaborative, interactive, engaging and
up-to-date with their technological beliefs.
If you look at my blog postings; blog! blog! blog!, it's week FOUR!, and week FIVE is finally here! you will see that in all of them I have either embedded
or linked photo’s, videos or even audio. In most of my posting I have embedded
YouTube videos that give examples of how the digital tool could be used
effectively in the classroom. With all of my blog postings, and the digital
tools, comes the topic of working legally, safely and ethically. When
publishing information on a webpage, such as a blog, teachers and students need
to consider conflict of interest, breach of legal implications (copyright etc),
ineffective resource usage, and/or breach of duty of care (Department of
Education, Training and Employment, 2002). If Blogs, Glogster, Audioboo or
YouTube editor were to be used integral to learning in the classroom, we as
future teachers, have to ensure that our students are working under safe conditions
and that no breach of copyright, intellectual property or privacy are met.
These digital tools have to be used with strong rules and regulations to allow
the students the best possible usage.
As well as the need of strict rules and regulations, ICT can
only be effectively used in the classroom if current and appropriate
pedagogical strategies are implemented to achieve successful learning.
Pedagogical strategies are the teaching strategies which are implemented so
that ICT’s are used in the best possible way and used to scaffold extended
learning. Pedagogies such as the four dimensions; recognition of difference,
social support, intellectual quality and relevance (Department of Education,
Training and the Arts) should all be used to ensure learners are accommodated
for as individuals, and not a class as a whole. Pedagogical strategies would
need to be used, when looking at the four digital tools I investigated, to
provide the students with a chance to reach that ‘create’ stage of Blooms
Taxonomy and so that higher-order thinking is achieved.
Teachers need to provide their students with effective and engaging
learning experiences. ICT provide a very collaborative and interactive
environment which caters for all learning needs. All of the digital tools I
investigated encourage creative thinking, encourage collaboration, promote
interaction and encourage higher order thinking. They work in with the learning
theories of behaviourism, constructivism, connectivism and cognitivism and
scaffold a learning environment to ensure students have the opportunity for
collaborative learning and to enable students to have a positive
interdependence with their fellow class members, and members of society (Roger T. and David W. Johnson, 1994).
Retrieved from:
As a pre-service teacher I am going to work towards the
positive use of ICT in my classroom. Society is developing and the learning
outcomes required by students upon finishing school are becoming higher. I
believe that it is my responsibility to give my students the best possible
learning experiences. I need to ensure that my students have multi-modal
resources that are available and that support all learning styles. I need to
ensure my students have the opportunity for collaborative and interactive
learning. I believe that ICT can provide my students with an environment that
will be engaging and give the students the determination to succeed. The
digital tools I investigated and the blog postings I created provide ideas of
how the digital tools could be used to assist learning in the classroom. Of
course rules and regulations have to be monitored and strictly implied;
however, ICT use in the classroom is the thing of the future and will provide
students with a learning environment where they can achieve optimal learning
outcomes.
REFERENCES:
Department of
Education, Training and Employment, 2002. Risk
Management. [online]
Retrieved from:
http://education.qld.gov.au/web/schools/riskman.html [Accessed: 15 Aug 2013]
Department of Education, Training and
the Arts, unknown year. Productive
Pedagogies Reflection Tool. [online]
Retrieved
from: http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=146081 [Accessed: 15 Aug
2013]
Roger T. and David
W. Johnson (1994). An Overview
of Cooperative Learning. [online]
Retrieved from: http://teachers.henrico.k12.va.us/staffdev/mcdonald_j/downloads/21st/comm/BenefitsOfCL/OverviewOfCoopLrng_Benefits.html
[Accessed: 15 Aug 2013]
