We should obtain a constructivist approach when it comes to technology. The learning environments should support multiple perspectives or interpretations of reality, knowledge construction, context-rich, experience-based activities. “Children (and grown-ups) learn best when they actively engage in playful exploration in which, try ideas out and tinker with notions — their own and those of others.”
I want to be a teacher that is confident in all that I do and will be willing to learn and try new ideas. We are heading towards an ongoing battle what the students’ will need to know. What one day may be deemed important and then two years later it may be out of date.

We must have an open mind and enjoy teaching! I have learnt a lot this year and I will definitely be using it through all my years.

I thought I would create own to show you what they could look like. The cartoon shows the advancement of technology where we are at a time where children are teaching adults.

www.toondoo.com

My digital story highlights what kind of teacher I would like to be and the experiences i've already encountered.

‘Want to be my friend? What you need to know about social technologies’, by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson debate about the growing popularity of social technologies as it meets the socialisation needs. They perceive the social networking websites as “computer-mediated communication environments that connect people for co-operation, collaboration and information sharing.”

Today, both children and adults have access to hundreds of websites that encourage online communication and support the sharing of files and pictures.  Weblogs, wikis, forums, instant messaging, and e-mail are all social technologies that facilitate the information sharing and online community formation.

The article continues to discuss how it has become part of our culture. Networking web sites facilitate the creation of informal and formal connections among people with similar interests to form online communities.  It has become a wonderful opportunity for, not only students’ students, but everyone to engage in global discussions, data sharing, and cooperative problem solving. From my own experiences, I agree with this point of view.  I believe that these social technologies enhance students’ communication skills and social awareness. Want to be my friend? What you need to know about social technologies

However, the authors mention the negative side to social technologies, especially concerning young children. The opportunity for student’s to gain a sense of ‘freedom’ and self confidence can also create an opportunity for them to come into contact with cyber-bullies and negative or misinformation. For this reason Lamb and Larry write, “it is important to get students talking about their experiences with social networks. This is a great opportunity to remind students about ethical behavior, the importance of evaluating information, and how to deal with uncomfortable online situations.”

The article raised important issues which I have taken onboard. I found that like most tools, social technologies have “positive and negative applications”. Despite the stories of harmful consequences of social networking, I believe that social technologies provide students’ with a sense of confidence and awareness in creating friendships.  The world is at their fingertip to learn and respond to, they just need supervision to learn from it.

According to Annette Lamb and Berhane Teclehaimanot, WebQuests inspire students to “see richer thematic relationships, to contribute to the real world of learning, and to reflect on their own metacognitive processes.”

I have recently realised the benefits of using a WebQuest. I wasn’t very confident in using computers, so this project was proved to be challenging and exciting. Rebecca and I chose to look at Howard Gardner’s’ Multiple Intelligence theory as we both agreed it was vital for all teachers to be aware of.

It was also great to read other WebQuests and see the creativity of their tasks. One WebQuest I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend reading is Bridie’s and Victoria’s. Their WebQuest, ‘Discover with Me’, looked at an internet based collaboration program between Ireland and Australia.

Click to view WebQuest

Created on ‘Inspiration’

Lamb, Annette & Teclehaimanot, Berhane (2005). A Decade of WebQuests: A Retrospective. In M. Orey, J. McClendon, & R. M. Branch, (Eds.). Educational media and technology yearbook (Vol 30). Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.

Their interactions with the different drawing tools and their reaction to their finished product indicated they enjoyed the experience. The teacher also recommended a website, ‘Art Education Page for K12′, that teachers use to aid the integration of technology with art education. I found this very useful for both prac and the university subject, Creative Art Education.

 This artwork was created on Microsoft paint.

I found that teaching online is very much like, and very much unlike, classroom teaching. The tips he provided summarised the lessons he’s learnt and shows that the critical aspects of learning brain-compatible classroom, learning styles, multiple intelligence, and emotional intelligence don’t vary from online or classroom.

Like Victoria, I too liked the tip about online lessons and that shouldn’t create the feeling of isolation from the teacher or peers, but should be used in a way that it facilitates ‘connectedness’. I felt that this was very important since many students’ usually use the computer individually.

I also liked the ‘Centering Point’ tip. He believes that a classroom is the centering point for traditional students since this is where they go to ask questions, find out where they are in relation to the course objectives, get feedback on work, or generally get clarification on virtually any subject. He then refers to the use of online mediums where he believes that a similar centering point needs to be created. A blog is a perfect example where students’ and teachers can communicate to each other.

The highest objective of education is to improve the quality of life for students and to create a better society. The goal in teaching online is to retain the best of classrooms and improve the worst. As educators this is why we should be aware of and learn from online mediums, as well as encouraging our students to do the same.

I was introduced to ‘Inspiration’, a concept mapping tool, earlier this year. I found the software useful in facilitating visual thinking. Why do it on a piece of paper when I found that using the computer can be more accessible and less frustrating. In the same way that word processing has revolutionised writing, and writing instruction, computer-based concept mapping is revolutionised this important form of visual expression and literacy enhancement.

On prac I found that a lot of students were using this software. The teacher used it as a strategy monitor change in students’ understanding and if they were able to grasp the information.

One limitation the teacher spoke to me about was the difficulty in giving feedback to students. As I observed their maps, I too found it difficult to read unless the student or ‘creator’ could go through it with you. The authors of the article agree with the limitation I found. They say a major problem is “how to evaluate students’ learning or how to give feedback to students on the accuracy of their maps’ concepts and conceptual relationships”.  However, I realised the same problem would occur if students used paper and pencil.

In short, concept mapping in an electronic environment has become a manageable way to integrate the power of the concept mapping process into the curriculum. “As a tool for visualising and communicating, concept mapping helps teachers and students to make the structure of their knowledge more explicit. This process of knowledge construction and knowledge representation is greatly facilitated when additions, deletions and modifications can be made easily and quickly”.

Table 1. The Roles of Cognitive Tools, Examples, and Specific Technologies: The table (adapted from Iyoshi, et al, 2005) lists the 5 roles of cognitive tools followed by examples and specific technologies that demonstrate each role.

Roles of Cognitive Tools

Examples

Specific Technologies

I. Information Seeking:

These tools allow student to retrieve and identify information through learning situations that require the seeking of information.

Databases

Search engines

Google

Yahoo
Alta Vista

II. Information Presentation:

These tools enable information to be presented in a meaningful and appropriate representation.

Graphic Organizers

Concept Maps

PowerPoint

Word

III. Knowledge Organization:

These support students by allowing them to use a tool to establish relationships among information by structuring or restructuring information by manipulating information.

Spreadsheets

Presentation Tools
Notebook Tools

Inspiration

Excel
Word
HyperAuthor

IV. Knowledge Integration:

Such tools allow students to connect new information to prior knowledge therefore students are building a larger array of information.

Mapping tools

Simulations

Online discussions

Teleconferences
Video streaming
Podcasting (LearnOutLoud.com)

This table demonstrates the roles of the cognitive tools. I found this useful when planning lessons on prac as it helped me decide on the best program to support the lesson content and studnet knoweldge. It was taken from ‘Cognitve Tools’ by Brent Robertson, Laura Elliot and Donna Washington.