Assessment 1, Reflective Synopsis

REFLECTIVE SYNOPSIS

Over the past 6 weeks I have been writing blogs detailing a few of my favourite ICT tools and their uses from the groups provided in each of our topics. This blog will take the ideas from my previous six blogs and summarise how their uses - as well as other ICT tools - can be effective in a classroom environment specifically in relation to the Social Contructivist learning theory.

E-learning in its simplest form is just Electronic Learning, incorporating the use of electronic devices and technologies into a learning environment. It is how these devices are then used within that learning environment to enhance and “transform” the learning experience (for each student) that is important.

Almost all of the tools that I used specifically focused on Social Constructivism, as this is the learning theory that I believe is most beneficial within a Music and Drama specialist environment.
“Constructivist theory has its roots in a number of disciplines, including philosophy, anthropology, psychology, sociology, and education… In a constructivist learning situation learners bring unique prior knowledge and beliefs and knowledge is constructed uniquely and individually, in multiple ways, using a variety of tools, resources, and contexts.” Paily (2013)
Music and Drama require a different collaborative skill set than say, Mathematics or History, Music and Drama require students to work very closely with each other. The specific content taught in the subjects, and the practical aspects, make it absolutely necessary that students be able to work together in either small or large group environments, creating/composing performances and pieces that would otherwise not be possible with only one person. Therefore, it is essential that students acquire these skills through different activities during their schooling years, and there are many methods and tools to really contribute to this particular skillset.

As I said previously, the tools that I have written about previously are some of my favourite tools for ICT Learning Design, and they have a very strong social constructivism link. The following link will take you to one specific example of Digital Media as an ICT in the classroom, and how it is particularly effective at utilizing the effectiveness of Social Constructivism Theories. http://missmelomaniac.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/week-4-reflection-3.html  

It is important with ICTs and the many different tools that we use, that we keep updated with new technologies. Young students in this particular day and age are getting much more technologically savvy earlier and earlier in life, and I genuinely believe that being able to implement the right ICTs well in a learning environment can engage learners more, and keep them interested for longer, regardless of the topic being taught. If, as the teacher, I am using an outdated technology, there is no way that I will be able to hold the students attention for any extended length of time (e.g. a 70 minute lesson) – especially if they know that there are many other technologies out there more exciting and interesting than the one on display for them at that moment. Teachers need to be life-long learners, I need to be continually finding NEW ways to captivate my learner, or ensuring that the technologies that are extremely effective in captivating my learner are always kept up to date, along with my skills.

“When ICT was effectively embedded within a subject, project teachers embraced learning for them- selves and used ICT tools to transform their own knowledge of their subject areas and develop, expand and adjust their teaching repertoire.”Sutherland et al. (2004)

Savage (2007), states that teachers“…saw it [ICTs in the classroom] as a positive opportunity to encourage pupils to move towards a greater degree of independence in their learning. They described this shift from teacher- dependence to learner-independence as accompanying a shift in their teach- ing role from instructor to facilitator.”
Independence in learning is incredibly important when students move into their senior years of secondary schooling; as this is the time when teachers need to be preparing them for a certain necessary independence after graduation. By using these different ICTs in a more “learner-independent” directed experience, the teacher is able to do this. Although it is important too, for the teacher to emphasise just how imperative it is to be safe, and socially and morally ethical when using these tools both in and outside the classroom. It is far too easy for these tools to be abused and along with them, other students/teachers/parents etc. It is the teachers responsibility to educate their students in the legal, ethical and moral standards of Cyber space, and the consequences/effects it can have on the people and the world around them, including themselves, if used incorrectly.

The QCAA Lower Secondary Subject Guidelines state that,
“Active and informed participation in this world requires citizens to be adaptable and self-directed users of information and communication technology. They need to work analytically and creatively, behave ethically, be socially responsible and work collaboratively.”
… As teachers, it is our responsibility to ensure that we do as much as we can to use and LEARN these skills not only to enhance our learners experience, but to completely TRANSFORM it - to open them up to a world that they would never normally be exposed to without ICTs and E-Learning. Being able to have a web conference with scholars/students in different countries; having the opportunities to go on Virtual Excursions/tours of places that schools/parents simply cannot afford to actually send them to; and also (specifically for performance subjects) to be able to collaborate and create with professional artist from a distance, to enhance their assessment pieces beyond anything they could normally create without these tools.

I leave you today with QR code that I created, as suggested in our coursework, that will demonstrate to you an incredible use of technology in a music classroom.

It is this kind of Educator that inspires and creates environments for students in which they are motivated to be involved, their minds are stimulated, and their lives enriched. This is what we should all be aiming for when we create learning experiences within our classrooms, no matter what the subject - not just in Arts classes, where to some it seems "so easy" to incorporate this.

REFERENCE LIST

Education Queensland (August, 2008) Smart Classrooms Bytes: E-Learning for Smart Classrooms, http://education.qld.gov.au/smartclassrooms/documents/strategy/pdf/scbyte-elearning.pdf (accessed 24 April, 2015)

Heeley, P. Creative Music Technology in the Classroom, (2012) youtube video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rexxum-urLY accessed 24 April, 2014

Lipshitz, A. R., & Parsons, S. P. (2008). E-learning : 21st century issues and challenges. Nova Science Publishers Inc, 2008. 

Paily, M. U. (2013). Creating Constructivist Learning Environment: Role of "Web 2.0" Technology. International Forum Of Teaching & Studies, 9(1), 39-50.

Queensland Studies Authority, Information and Communication Technology: Lower Secondary Subject Area Guidelines (November, 2011) https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/p_10/p9_lssag_ict.pdf

Savage, J. (2007). Reconstructing music education through ICT. Research In Education, (78), 65-77.

Sutherland, R., Armstrong, V., Barnes, S., Brawn, R., Breeze, N., Gall, M., & ... John, P. (2004). Transforming teaching and learning: embedding ICT into everyday classroom practices. Journal Of Computer Assisted Learning, 20(6), 413-425. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2004.00104.x

Week 6, Reflection 5

This is a pretty exciting topic in terms of technologies and what there is to use in the world, ALSO, what is still yet to be created, or even just the upgrades and advances on the current tools that are already being used! There is a plethora of incredible tools out there for you to use, some specifically designed to be best used with certain subjects, some designed for use ONLY on one or two particular subjects, and others that can be used for anything you wish them to be used for!

Bubble.Us is one of those tools! As you can see from the concept map at the beginning of this blog, it is a very easy map to look at; it is fun, creative, colourful, and SO EASY to create! I have no doubt that even the least technologically advanced people can enjoy creating one of these concept maps. They would be great to use in a brainstorming session in your class - up on an interactive whiteboard, so the students can see their ideas come to life and extend on the ideas in front of them, taking a little bit of time to look at other students/teacher's ideas and develop on those with things they hadn't even previously thought of! You could even add names to each bubble as you add it, to show whose idea it was and give them credit for it. These concept maps can then be printed out & used a resource in class, either on an A3 page to hang in the classroom, or printed as numerous smaller copies to give to the students. This is a great tool to enhance Social constructivism in your class - getting everyone working together in a fun way! It could also be used for brainstorming tasks individually or in small groups.

Google is a ridiculously incredible empire that just keeps expanding and growing EVERY DAY! It has so many tools that you can use just through the one company, and is an amazing search engine to just kick everything off. As we all know very well, if we don't know something "Just Google it"!

The trilogy presented in our group 4 technologies tools are specifically quite good for educational purposes when connecting with other people nationally/internationally. To show my students different birthplaces of famous playwrights or where they lived and put on their plays; addresses and locations of famous/popular/unknown performance spaces (Google Maps!).

You can then follow on, and extend from this idea with Google Maps, and use Google Earth to show real time (well, satellite time) footage of these places and performance spaces. It is actually so very incredible that we can broadcast an ACTUAL English Theatre in the Rounds to our students without going on a Drama/History camp to another continent!

Google Docx lets you connect and share information, either created by you and your students, or by the other people - wherever they are in the world - e.g. scholars/actors/students. Specifically tying it back into Maps/Earth, you can show the people who now work at these places, or someone can literally give you a virtual tour of a modern space. This also allows the students to collaborate and create with outside influence! AMAZING!!

Finally! I found that using this cool little tool, Zooburst - while great for working with younger primary students for digital storybooks - could also be used in a Drama class as a drafting method. If students were to have a unit of work that revolved around puppets, and they needed to put on their own Puppet show, this could be used as a terrific tool for creating their draft of the show; making it interactive and fun to create, view and share! This may also be a lot more interesting and attention captivating for some students that aren't particularly interested in physically drawing the puppets and pictures themselves. This is just one option that Zooburst could be used for!

I quite love a lot of technology, and I love exploring and playing with it all when I have the time, I know that there is no doubt in my mind that children work better with these kinds of tools implemented in their classrooms. When used correctly, they can be extremely effective - and interactive! - learning and teaching tools. Technology - when it works - really is AMAZING!!! We just need to learn to use it correctly and most effectively for our particular students.

Week 5, Reflection 4

Glogging Away!!

Hey there guys! So, who had fun doing this week's activities? I certainly did! Although I found Glogster was a little bit hard to use at first... I just couldn't figure it out! Thankfully, I'm a little bit technologically savvy and I like playing with these things, so I finally got the basics down-pat! Here is the link for you to have a little look at what I played with this week!

ICTs for Drama and Music Glog

As I said, I actually found Glogster a little hard to use at first, and once my free trial runs out... Holy Expensive!!! I hope I'm not the only one thinking this, maybe it's just me as a student teacher still trying to struggle to pay my way through uni, but I looked at those prices and almost fell over - and if I wasn't sitting down, I may well have done just that! After I got used to the program though, I quite like it! It's a lot more fun to create funky looking pages, and it's all there for you in the one place. 

The above statement refers to the ridiculously old, outdated - but still sometimes useful, I guess - Microsoft Powerpoint! I've been creating slideshows on Powerpoint since I was in primary school (all those many moons ago!) and to be quite honest with you, there's not much that's new and exciting about it. While powerpoint is great for lectures at university, where people are there for themselves to learn specific coursework - if you are trying to stimulate an overactive, easily distracted mind, you're definitely going the wrong way about it. It's nothing they haven't seen before, too many times, and to be quite frank with you, it will be plain old boring for a teenager who has an almost limitless range of technology and exciting new games and software available to them. Sorry Microsoft... Time to come up with something new. You're putting us to sleep.

 

Prezi is quite a fun software to play with also, and while it wasn't new to me, it still gave me more to play with than Powerpoint did. I very much prefer Glogster as a fun and interactive tool for students to create their own Glog each, whether for assessment or homework purposes. It is handy that you can upload the Digital Video that you've worked on previously for assessment - or from the year before and on the same page, post another video to compare to the previous one, write a little bit of feedback, post some cool pictures, make it look interesting and exciting, and still have EVERYTHING right there on the ONE PAGE ! There's no "next slide", "previous slide", "Back 5 slides", "whoops, that's in the wrong order", "where did that sound effect come from!?". It's all there, right where you can see it, in a fun and different sort of format.

I personally think that Glogster would be a fun way for Junior drama classes to make a subject like Shakespeare a little bit more enjoyable. By taking a classic Shakespearean piece and adding it to a Glog, then including some "real world" translations that have helped them understand what they are reading, what the students themselves thought it meant originally?, maybe a short video clip of them, a YouTube preview from the Blockbuster movie we all know exists, or a voice recording of the student. It takes something that a teenager might originally find quite dull (even though we drama teachers know very well, it is not!), and puts a modern twist on it that will HOPEFULLY make it more enjoyable for them!

My only tip... Make sure you know what you're doing with the program before you try and get your students to work it. It will be much more beneficial to them if you can give them a step-by-step example of how to add photos, videos, text etc! It will also make it a much faster process!

Until next week!! Get away from that Powerpoint presentation, and go have some real fun!!

Week 4, Reflection 3

DIGITAL VIDEO IN THE CLASSROOM

Did you enjoy that? I hope so! Just a little tidbit I found when searching Youtube for different ways to use Digital Video/Media in the classroom. It's only a basic introduction of what you can do and use when creating a digital story, but there is so much more beyond the 3 minutes and 35 seconds of this video that you can share with your students, and even explore yourself for your presentation of lessons!

"...Multimedia is one modality of learning that can help students learn more efficiently when applied properly, because convergence–or sensory input simultaneously combined with new information–has positive effects on memory retrieval. But too much sensory input can lead to cognitive overload, the report cautions, so educators must be careful to use multimedia appropriately." Stansbury (2008)

The three different media tools we focussed on this week in ICTs for Learning Design were; Images, Podcasts and Video. All are very effective tools in any classroom, although some may pose a more 'dangerous' ethical situation than others - e.g. posting images of students on social media, or having students bullied because their photo is on a page that all students in the class can see and comment on, needing specific permissions from Parents/Guardians to use images of students taken in the classroom (or out), for any public/school viewed project. None of these should really be a concern if the teacher has monitored the projects properly however, ensuring all permissions are received for each student, and making sure that no posts by students can be published without first being approved by the teacher, so as to weed out (& essentially block) any volatile/hurtful comments before they reach the rest of the students. Also, if students know that the space is monitored and approved/published by their teacher, they are more likely (I would hope) to not be unethical.

I believe that of the three Media tools Digital Video would be the most effective in both of my areas of teaching - Music and Drama. I know from personal experience that Podcasting would also be useful in Drama when studying Radio Plays, as you can actually create, record and stream your own personal radio play as a podcast online! Very cool, and very fun and interesting for all students!

You could possibly also use this in a music class for students to record their own music, or give an instructional podcast on how to play their individual instrument for a lesson. Podcasts are great because they can be streamed and shared with anyone in the world, as can most media that can be put on the internet. The sharing capabilities of Web 2.0 and the range of interaction opportunities this gives us with people all around the world is absolutely incredible. 

We are able to redefine the previous classroom and record information to share/compare/analyse/reflect with work/pieces that classes have done on the other side of the country - or the globe for that matter! Helping students, and teachers, to "describe the role of drama in different cultures, [and to] learn and share music using practices from different cultural traditions." (Australian Curriculum, General Capabilities, The Arts) This does open up a few more doors for ethical issues here, and both students and teachers need to be careful of multicultural diversity, ethical guidelines of the people they are sharing their information with, and also the laws and general guidelines of the other group as well. Again, I can't express just how important it is to get PERMISSION to use images etc. of your students. Otherwise - Connect and Learn away - with different cultures all around the globe!!!

Digital Video can be used in classrooms most effectively in Drama, I believe. Video can be used by both teacher and student to document improvement; share many performances from professional and amateur performers all over the country/world - especially of the individual pieces that the students need to focus on - they can then compare and analyse the differences between them; to show specific usage/implementation of different dramatic techniques; and also, to synthesise ideas to communicate a message in video form through a particular technique. Video is also very useful in terms of assessment, for both the teacher and student (yet again), as the student has the chance to re-record their work, and really analyse and critique what they are doing before they hand it in to be marked. The teacher also gets the opportunity to see the piece more than once, being able to watch fully the first time (whilst taking a few notes), then marking it the second time ensuring that they did not miss anything. Digital Video recording is also great for teachers for live student performance assessments, as they can do a similar thing, go back and re-watch the piece for a more complete and concise mark.

An example of some assessment ideas using digital recording are as follows; "Students could be given the opportunity to video at least one of their performances during each academic year of their secondary schooling. Students would then produce a written evaluation after a group feedback session in which the teacher would provide a skills' checklist as guideline." (Moore, 2002) In this particular type of assessment the students are able to reflect critically and creatively, both on an individual and group level, about their previous and current performances. Whilst watching previous performances and comparing this with what they will do/have done in the current years class, they can communicate and share their thinking with the class, and also self-assess their improvement over the time -while listening to what others may believe (STRICTLY constructive criticism only).

I will leave you this week with an example (below) of how iMovie/Digital Video can be used for assessment purposes in the Drama classroom - this is an actual assessment piece that I used for my Bachelor of Theatre (specialisation Music Theatre) degree. This particular assessment was used as an acting for camera piece for a theatre class, but could easily be adapted to suit a similar monologue piece in a senior drama class, either one they have written/adapted to relate to the topic of the term. This uses specific creative higher order thinking skills, especially when asked to decide on the topic and create and perform the monologue, as well as analysing which video angles, shots, music etc. would be best to portray the particular emotions/moments of the piece.

RESOURCES

http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/drama/drama.htm, Moore (2002)

The Methodological Dilemma: Creative, Critical and Collaborative Approaches to Qualitative Research, Gallagher, K (2008), New York, NY, USA

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2008/03/26/analysis-how-multimedia-can-improve-learning/2/?, M. Stansbury (2008)

Week 3, Reflection 2

ICTs in the Classroom

Working through this week's topic, I am quite surprised by the resources out there for the different ICTs and how to use them, especially for specific classes. There are so many different options out there with ICTs, and I guess the only way to figure out which one really works for your class specifically is to test them out!! If you've got the time, it's certainly fun to have a play with them yourself - remembering who your target audience is, and how they will be able to USE the technologies to LEARN.



First thing's first - I am totally not a VOKI fan! I've seen so many blogs with them on, and it's awesome, but I just can't seem to develop a liking for them. To me they seem so outdated and SO ridiculously computerised (especially when not using a recorded voice of your own), and to be completely honest - quite uninteresting. Personally I prefer a more realistic avatar, that moves more realistically, and actually looks like it's talking to you! This may be just a liking that I have, but as I am the teacher, I guess I'm allowed to experiment with these different things, and see if my students feel the same way! I did create a VOKI however, just to ensure that I wasn't being biased to the poor little guy. I've also found a new software called Crazy Talk7, it takes real photos and turns them into avatars, and you can record your own voice behind it, and animate it how you like, and I'm SUPER EXCITED, to really get into that & see what I can do with it! Here's a quick (& friendly!) example below.

I spent some time creating my website on weebly - http://missmelomaniac.weebly.com - and actually had some fun doing it! I think this would be a great tool for a secondary drama class, as they could each create a different website for a specific play, or playwright and let everyone view it. You could also embed a link to a video of you/your group performing a piece from that particular piece, as well as interesting facts and fun things about your chosen piece/person! I find that a website is the more useful tool for this, being that you can embed different things into them, and it isn't somewhere that can be changed by just anyone, and it's also not a place JUST for personal opinions, which I find is what blogs seem more to be. A blog is a great tool to use for a reflection on these websites, or for a reflection on your process through a performing piece.

Although only one person can technically use a website, if it is a group assessment there is still the opportunity to share the login/URL editing information to each member of the group and have it edited by more than one person that way, it is possible that an individual assessment would make better use of this tool though.

It is definitely MOST important to ensure that whatever ICT tool you use, it is effective and engaging for your class and their learning. It may be fun for you to play with, and to use for showing information to your class, but if they can't actually USE it, then it is USELESS as an ICT in the classroom. It can be tough to figure out which tools are going to work best in your classroom, but with some experimentation, hard work, and a little bit of creativity - and knowing your learners and their interests - you'll get it right, the students will really enjoy a very valuable learning experience... and you may even have fun doing it as well!!

Finally, below is an interesting Youtube video I found online of some great ideas for using different ICTs in a Drama classroom, my area of teaching! It is called: What's my iPad Doing on Stage? - Dr Rachel Perry ... Enjoy!

RESOURCEShttp://crazytalk.reallusion.comhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-4D5_qclNgshamymanic.wordpress.com

Week 2, Reflection 1

Pedagogical Principles

Pedagogy has multiple definitions, many of which have been explained to us numerous times over the last 3 weeks or so. It has been put most simply though, as the art/science of teaching – The HOW to teach, not the what.

Of the pedagogical principles listed on the moodle site for, ICTs for Learning Design, there are a few that strike quite a chord with me. Based on my own personal learning experiences, and what I have learnt so far regarding teaching and learning, my favourites of these pedagogical principles are as follows;

·      Supporting students in knowing how they learn best…

When you know how your students learn individually you can cater to them better as a group! Knowing that out of 20 students, 13 of them are predominantly kinesthetic learners - and the other 7 a split between Visual and Aural learners – you can plan your lessons very specifically, ensuring that you’re choosing appropriate activities to keep them engaged and focused. I know that when I have been in a class that has been ALL focused towards an Visual kind of learner, I start to disengage – visual learning for me is the type I least connect with, so ALL learners really need to be taken into account in your classroom.

·      Planning learning that is problem-based, and situated in real life contexts – Is socially supportive, engaging AND Is relevant to students…

I have found in previous learning environments, that if I didn’t think that a subject or particular topic of content was relatable to me in my every day life, I switched off. Students of a High School age need to know that whatever they’re doing at that moment is completely beneficial to them as a person, and HOW they can use that particular information or skill. I want to try and relate as much as I can, of the information taught in my classroom, to what the students can use in real life - if it's not directly relevant to THEM, I need to make it seem that way or they may switch off. Trying to keep it social, focused and RELEVANT.

·      Supports learning that is owned, controlled and managed by students themselves…

Having read up on a little bit of Ragnar Purje’s book and research, I am intrigued (and quite literally sold) on the idea of Responsibility Theory. I genuinely believe that if a child/student is taught to OWN their own learning, and they know that they are almost completely in control of the outcome, that they will focus more on the things that are beneficial to them (provided that I, as the teacher, have outlined why and how they are beneficial) and work harder to achieve this. But it needs to be taught, and if we don’t actively help them with this way of thinking then the neuroscience of it all goes out the window, because it will not have been repeated and used enough for the brain to create the connections that will then create a long lasting impact on the student’s brain, and life.

What seems to be a common factor in teaching though, is that using any one of these principles, theories, or learning types etc. by themselves, will NEVER be as effective as using a combination of them. A well thought out and deliberate combination, that caters to the specific needs and learning types of your students, will ALWAYS be a better option in your lesson plan - as well as adhering to the necessary information that is needing to be communicated in the classroom, of course! J

Mobile Phones in Education Wiki

This Wiki activity was quite interesting to take part in. It is reflective of all of the learning theories, I believe, as it requires you to "put on different hats" and used different thinking methods, and also tries to challenge your thinking by making you think of both negatives and positives of mobile phones in a classroom - even if you have a very staunch opinion of them, as I did. 

My own personal participation in the Wiki was possibly very one sided. I have a very strong opinion that mobile phones, for whatever reason, should not be used in a classroom; and even though the different DeBono's hats forced me to try and think of a positive light, I struggled with it. It did help being able to see others' answers and see the way they were thinking differently to me, not necessarily swaying my opinion on the matter though, that was definitely a benefit. A MAJOR issue here is that it is so very easy to completely wipe out another person's answers on this, and lose it completely. If that other person has not saved their work somewhere else, e.g. in a word document, it may be that they would have to completely rewrite the information losing all of their references/resources and information that they had previously stored. It is also relatively difficult to monitor what it being posted before it becomes public to the rest of the class - this makes ethical responsibilities & managing bullying etc a hard and somewhat dangerous task as a teacher.

It could definitely be beneficial to use this in a classroom environment, to contribute to the learning of the students. I feel like it would be more useful to use IN a classroom setting, or as a homework assignment that is then discussed in the classroom. I feel like the activity in itself, while it does get the students to think in different ways, is useless if it's not then implemented in the classroom and discussed with the teacher and other students (Social constructivism) even bringing more new ideas to the table and the teacher highlighting great ideas from students to encourage them with their thinking, learning and further research (great for connectivity!).

All in all I do think it is an effective activity, but not as a stand alone task. It needs to be integrated correctly into the classroom, and discussed/debated, with new ideas and further research encouraged, along with being monitored as strictly as it can be to ensure that students are following and adhering to specific guidelines, and not hurting the process in that way at all.