EDITURE - EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
One of the most important issues of ICT education is including curriculum requirements within VELS. It is too easy to see ICT education as simply learning how to use technological equipment. When planning to use ICT within the classroom the teacher must have an educational aim in mind. I must admit that when I first began this course I believed that the content of ICT education would be teaching students how to use computer programs. Now, towards the end of this course I have learned that ICT is much more than using computers, it involves multiple aspects of technology, design and critical thinking. Therefore, when I use technology in the future I must remember to have an educational purpose in mind which may be aimed at any part of the curriculum within VELS (http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/). I believe the activities we undertook in this weeks workshop do this well. However, even though technology is so important these days, I must also remember to use it wisely. Technology should not be used just for the sake of using it. It should not replace other forms of 'hands on' activities such as scaffolding, modelling and games. These are just as important when learning how to live in today's world.
KEY CONEPTS FOR ICT EDUCATION AND EDUCATIONAL USES
In today's lecture we heard about computer programs which have educational or teaching foci. They are like small games catered to a certain learning focus. They are based on 4 teaching principles; learner focus, content integrity, usability and accessibility. They are engaging, interactive, based on constructivist learning and make meaning from topics of inquiry. Greg showed us some samples from the Learning Federation website: http://www.thelearningfederation.edu.au/
This is an image of a game from the Learning Federation site. The game is titled 'Direct a Robot' and as the student plays they learn to use the concept of measurement.I have used two games from the Learning Federation during my practicum and found them to be very useful. I had Prep students placed in different groups during a reading session and had one group play the Learning Federation game at a time. The students were excited, engaged and were able to explain to me at the end of the session all of the things they had learned. I would definitely use these again in the future, although I believe using them with a small group was easier than a whole class. I wouldn't base a whole lesson around one single game, I would use it as I did on placement where different groups in the class are working on different activities.
I think the use of integrating ICT into other domains is very useful but should not replace more effective and valuable tasks in the classroom. For example, simply reading a book may be more effective in teaching reading strategies than playing a computer game. The use of ICT in this situation may in fact impede on the learning. I also believe that although it is important to learn about using ICT, it is also very worthwhile to learn using other skills as technology cannot always be relied upon.
The main educational ICT concepts we looked at during the workshop this week were using Microsoft Excel, Inspiration software and finding information in websites or video clips. We used Excel to develop educational ideas about data from within the Mathematics domain. We used Inspiration to develop ideas about concept mapping and story board techniques. We used the ABC website to find information about Aboriginal dreamtime stories, which also included short video clips.
During our workshop we spent time looking at dreamtime stories. The stories were found on the ABC website (I have placed the link below) and I would describe them as a mini movie or cartoon, almost like what you find on 'You-Tube'. The website offered background information for teachers, links to pdf documents and even lesson plans. Each movie contained sounds as well as pictures along with links to related information regarding the dreamtime story being watched. I decided to watch the dreamtime story named 'Morning Star'. After watching this, I tried to figure out what meaning was behind the story. I thought it may have something to do with life and death, and after accessing information via links on the same page I was able to learn all about it. The story was about life and death however, the main focus was in regard to the mourning process of the Aboriginals and how they celebrate the passing of a person within their tribe.
http://www.abc.net.au/dustechoes
Victorian Essential Learning Standards and especially the new Australian National Curriculum have a big focus on Aboriginal history. I did not have the privilege of studying any Aboriginal history at school so I found this website to be really educational. I learned so much just by looking at one short movie. I will definitely use this website to educate my future students. I have seen books that describe dreamtime stories but I think watching these movies is so much more interesting. If children were to watch these they would be able to get a sense of how the Aboriginal population passes down their stories and the reasons why they do this. To the students, it may almost feel like they are having the information passed down to them so that they can pass it on to others. I think this is a very authentic and valuable learning experience. I will definitely use it in my future classrooms.
As a follow up to reading about my dreamtime story, I cut and pasted images from the story into Inspiration software under 'create diagrams' to retell the story (This is a great comprehension activity for students):
I didn't have time to finish it but I had started linking the images together and would then have written a little synopsis with each image in order for the story to be told. I would have set it out in a tree. I think this activity would engage students into developing their own Dreamtime stories which they could show each other. The activity as a whole would be of great use in History, Humanities, English and ICT domains within VELS. It would be a useful activity for those students who learn visually.
Using 'You Tube' video clips could also be an interesting way to show or teach information in the classroom. I would definitely plan which clips to use prior to showing it in the classroom because I would not want students exposed to anything harmful. I could use clips that instruct students how to do something (such as how to make a spread sheet, found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twRRneQd8W0) or I could use clips that explain a process, for example the life cycle of a butterfly. I believe certain students who require extra scaffolding or who learn visually may find this form of education very effective. The students could also produce and upload their own video clip as an assessment task.
The second activity we attempted in the workshop was based on using Microsoft Excel and M&M's. We began by discussing the outside packet of the M&M's, made a prediction about how many of each colour could be in the bag and whether one bag could have more of one colour. Then the packet was opened and we used a chart to sort them into columns of colours. We were able to then colour the chart. I have a photo of my chart below.
After counting the M&M's in each column we inserted this information into an Excel spreadsheet with colour in the left column and number of each on the right column, as shown:
This was my end product.
If I had done this activity with a class of my own I would have then had the whole class discuss, share and compare the results. Education may need to be provided to younger children on using Excel and making a graph from the spreadsheet. I have found video clips on the Microsoft website that show how to use the program (http://support.microsoft.com/?ln=en-au). Education may also be required for producing an appropriate graph to interpret results. Then, using the M&M's website www.m-ms.com/, I cut and pasted images into the excel spreadsheet to make it appear engaging. The website also contained information on statistics of M&M colours and all sorts of mathematical information.
I really enjoyed this activity and believe it would really useful in engaging students in Mathematics lessons. An enormous amount of mathematics could be covered including chance and data, whilst also learning about ICT (using MS Excel and using websites to gain information). I believe this activity could be used at any level within VELS depending on how in depth the teaching goes.
Some ideas I had to add to this activity are:
- (Mathematics) Working on percentages. For example, what percentage of red M&Ms are in one packet?
- (Health and Physical Education) What is an M&M made of? Discuss healthy foods and the food pyramid. Use the M&M website to find this information.
- (Mathematics) Measurement. Learn about grams and kilojoules. Use the M&M website to find measurements.
- (Mathematics) Use this same activity with other objects of food that the children enjoy to
make the task engaging and hands on.
- (Mathematics) Make a survey within class about food then graph the results.
- (Mathematics and English) Show the student a un-labelled graph and have them make a story about what they think the graph is telling them. This would be a great way to assess the students analytical skills when it comes to interpreting graphs. Are they able to explain what a graph tells us?
- (Mathematics) Each student makes a different type of graph (Pie, Bar etc) and compares them as a whole class. Which graph was he best to use? Why?
This activity is a great way to show students that maths is related to objects in real life. It shows them that even to make lollies, manufacturers rely on mathematical thinking. However, the teacher needs to be aware to ask the right questions when getting students to do an activity such as this. The students need to respond to these questions in order to show they are learning and not just producing another graph. For example, "What do the numbers down the left hand side of the graph mean?" "What is this graph telling us?" "Why are all of our graphs different?" "How do we find out how many of each coloured M&M's we have?"
PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Of course at the end of a lesson such as this the students should get to eat the M&M's! It wouldn't be very nice to have them use a packet of M&M's without getting to eat any. The biggest worry I would have as a teacher in doing this activity would be peanut allergies so I may choose a different lolly such as jelly beans. I would also be concerned about the cost of printing all of their graphs at school, not to mention the impact on the environment using all of that paper!
Implementing Aboriginal history into the classroom would have to be done sensitively. Students who have Aboriginal backgrounds may be upset by other children in the room who make fun of dreamtime stories or who display cultural prejudice. Hopefully, introducing the dreamtime activities increases awareness and appreciation of cultural differences without making Aboriginal children feel singled out. Culture is an extremely sensitive issue and the teacher will have to monitor students reactions and behaviour when educating the whole class.
Technology in the classroom requires students to develop critical thinking skills. ICT can be used to facilitate critical thinking and reflection. Through discussion, writing or concept mapping tools I would take students through certain steps to practice their critical thinking skills. Using the dreamtime stories or the bag of M&M's students are given an engaging question; What is this story about? How many of each coloured M&M is there in a bag? I would then introduce some sort of doubt such as; Could the story be telling us something else? Are you sure there are only five colours of M&M's? This would lead the students into making a hypothesis. I would then ask students to list their assumptions and prior knowledge used to make their hypothesis. Once the students had listened to the dreamtime story or counted the M&M's, the students would be given time to reflect and make revisions of their original assumptions. Using ICT in this way promotes higher order thinking and does not simply expose students to using a computer.
Computers and technological equipment have become involved in the everyday life of students. We do not know how technology will evolve in the future. We need to be able to teach students to be able to think critically and to learn to adapt to changing circumstances. Developing higher order thinking skills ensures that the future generations are able to cope with any technological advancements that become available.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Greg Powell (2010), Critical Thinking and Problem Solving with ICT Tools, downloaded on 17/10/2010 from: http://webct.latrobe.edu.au/webct/urw/lc9140001.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct
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