Elearning, many may think its just using computers, but it's far from it. Elearning involves using all sorts of technology, and it's our responsibility as the next wave of learning managers, to ensure we are confident in using various types of digital tools. Some of the digital tools that can be used in all types of classrooms involve blogs, Wiki's, websites, digital videos, PowerPoint, podcasts and images. Some of these technologies are relatively new, well, at least to me they are, and will take some time to be fully confident using them, but I'm sure in time, they will become second nature, as they are a valuable tool in the classrooms of today.
As a soon to be learning manager, I decided to focus on the area of science when evaluating these digital tools, as it is not an area that is commonly thought of as using as many digital tools as my other subject area, which is English. From my experience, English is an area which has been incorporating digital tools for a few years now. When I was in year twelve English, we looked at images, websites, digital videos and PowerPoint, and although there is certainly room for improvement, the only digital things we did in science was watch out dated videos from the school collection! After completing the practical activities within the course content, I now realise that there are so many opportunities to incorporate digital tools into a subject area that seems to have become quite flat, from what I have seen while I was on Prac in various schools. I am now more aware than before why it is so important to use technology!
I have also chosen to look at the engagement theory, as present by Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999). The engagement theory is outlined in my previous blog. "While in principle, such engagement could occur without the use of technology, we believe that technology can facilitate engagement in ways which are difficult to achieve otherwise" says Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999) which is why I believe that this framework is the most beneficial to students.
YouTube videos can be used to demonstrate content, I found a video from an American conservation group that explains very easily how to complete a transect count which is a major part of the field study in senior biology. Although the content does not directly relate to what the students would be studying, it presents the information in an easy to follow way. The video and my thoughts can be found here. One of the negatives of using YouTube is that if students are searching for videos themselves, it is easy to get caught up in the garbage that is on there also. There are a massive amount of videos on YouTube, and even I found myself looking at other things when I was meant to be researching for my previous blog postings! Another downfall of using videos from YouTube, is having to search through all the irrelevant videos to try and find one suitable. Many are aimed at higher level students, which is less of a problem for myself, who is looking at senior biology, bit I think it could be a problem for learning managers looking for science centered videos for low primary level classes. By using videos in the classroom, students can see how the outside world applies what they are learning, which is a large part of the engagement theory, as stated by Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999) when they say "the third principle stresses the value of making a useful contribution while learning". Take the video shown on the above link, while it a group of various aged children, possibly within a youth group, learning about the butterflies, they are conducting the study in a public place to try and learn more about the habits of the butterflies for conservation. This shows the children applying their findings to their community, which is something the my students would be doing on their field study. The productive pedagogy of connectedness to the world "describes the extent to which the lesson has value and meaning beyond the instructional context, making a connection to the wider social context in which the students live" (Department of Education, 2002, p. 23). By combining the videos with their field study, students have the opportunity to see how their actions will have an impact on the wider community.
Another digital tool that can be used in the science classroom is Wiki's. "A wiki invites all users to edit any page or to create new pages within the wiki Web site" (Wiki ,2010), making it easy for group projects to be worked on while students are at home, school or wherever they may be, as long as they have access to a computer and the internet. Field studies in senior biology are often done as group projects, as there is generally a lot of work involved with them, therefor a Wiki would be an ideal place for students to collaborate and synthesize their information. One of the problems I think that Wiki's would present, is that they can be edited by anyone at all, so there is no stopping some random outside person from adding there thoughts. Also if students put photos of themselves conducting their field study onto the Wiki, there may be a privacy problem, as anyone can see them. By students participating in their own Wiki, they are working in groups and collaborating their information, which encompasses the Engagement theory in that students are working in teams that must plan, manage, communicate and work on social skills (Kearsley and Shneiderman, 1999). By working on a Wiki, and working in teams, students are also engaging in substantive conversation, which involves "considerable interaction among students" (Department of Education, 2002, p. 4). "The difference between engagement and interactivity reflects the shift in thinking about computers in education as communication tools rather than some form of media delivery devices" (Kearsley and Shneiderman, 1999). Wiki's align perfectly with this statement describing the engagement theory, as the Wiki used for the above mentioned project is all about communication and collaboration of ideas within a groups of students.
It has also been suggested that Wiki's be used to facilitate communication between parents and teachers, and although I do think this is a good idea, I also think that there would need to be some education for parents and teachers for that matter, in how to use this technology. I know it was all a bit daunting to me when I first saw it in the course content, and I think that I am fairly up to date with computers. The other problem with using Wiki's for communication, is that some families may not have a computer in their household. Therefor I think the use of these sorts of technologies, and expectations of the amount of work that students would be assigned to complete at home, would depend on the economic culture of particular communities. Some of the limitations of Wiki's and communication were discussed here.
Websites would be another useful tool in the area of science. There is a lot of great information on the web, including from websites such as CSIRO and Queensland Museum . These websites have heaps of great science/environmental related information available, and are reputable sources. Students know how to search for information, therefor if the learning manager set up a website for a particular subject, with links to websites containing useful information, students may learn to differentiate between the reliable websites and the 'home made' sorts of ones that people have just made up. Also, questions could be put up on the learning manager's website, with links to other websites that students need to read in order to answer the questions. Assessment tasks could be uploaded to the website for students to complete. Students could even create their own websites to upload their work to, as well as show their parents what they are doing at school. I do think it may become very time consuming however, if students had a website for every subject they were enrolled in in secondary school, and if websites were a big part of class content, then every students may need access to a computer every lesson. I think that based on this, websites may be more beneficial in primary school, where they have one website, not up to seven! Websites are something that are in our every day life, therefor, students are learning how to use a digital tool that not only helps them at school, but they can then go home and create their own personal website if they wish to. Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999) state that "since learning takes place in an authentic context, students learn skills and knowledge with higher transfer to work (or in this case, personal) settings". building websites not only engages students, but is also a valuable life skill.
PowerPoint would be quite beneficial in schools also, and as far as I have seen, is something that is already used in some subject areas, but only minimally. Some of the ways that PowerPoint could be used in the classroom can be seen in my blog post about PowerPoint. PowerPoint can also incorporate digital images, podcasts, vodcasts, and YouTube videos, as well as quizzes and practical tasks. In science, images could be incorporated into the PowerPoint presentations to demonstrate the real world application of the content students are looking at. Topics like velocity and flight may sometimes be a little difficult to demonstrate in the classroom, whether it be due to time restraints or facility restraints, however there are some useful images and videos that could be placed within a PowerPoint so that students can actually see up to date applications of the content learnt. Students can see how what they are learning has connectedness to the world, as they can see how the concept they are learning is used in real life, as students can see what they are learning has meaning to the world wide community (Department of Education, 2002, p. 23). PowerPoint is one digital tool that is probably the most readily accessible, as discussed here. There is a fantastic video about how some people get caught up in the details of creating PowerPoint presentations, that would be beneficial to my senior students, as it details what not to do, and is quite enjoyable to watch.
Technology has come a long way in the past few years, and with the digital natives that are now inhabiting our schools, we as learning managers need to identify the specific needs of these technologically savvy students we are now teaching. While this involves using many different types of digital tools, we still need to closely tie it in with the pedagogical frameworks and concepts. Biology and science is an exciting area that has endless opportunities to utilize the digital tools that are available to engage students and ensure they are learning effectively. Who knows where the future will lead us and what innovative new technology we will encounter!
References
Wikipedia. (2010?). Wiki. Retrieved 25 August, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
Kearsley, G. & Schneidman, B. (1999). Engagement Theory: A Framework in Technology-Based Teaching and Learning. [http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm]
Department of Education. (2002). A guide to productive pedagogies, classroom reflection manual. Brisbane, QLD: Queensland Government.
Blog comments
Wikis and blogs
YouTube in schools
PowerPoints
Concept Mapping
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