Advent Calendar

For those of you who are interested in seasonal ICT ideas, here is a great one! It is the ICTmagic Advent Calendar. This is a great way to talk about the season and improve those ICT skills with an engaging, interactive website.

 

The full website can be viewed at: http://ictmagic.wix.com/christmas-2013

Angry Birds in the Classroom

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rovio.angrybirds

I'm sure that you are all familiar with Prensky's ITC decree that as teachers, we need to 'engage or enrage' our students. In his research he cites the use of game based learning by engineers and how successful it was at teaching concepts and encouraging collaborative learning. I don't know about you, but my programming skills are not very advanced, in fact, I feel pretty clever if I can resize a Youtube clip! But we don't need to create our own games and programs when there are already so many out there.

A great example is the work of Brisbane-based teacher Lachlan Hull and his use of Angry Birds in his prep year classroom.  I was lucky enough to meet Lachlan last year at a BCE ICT sharing session. He has now taken his ideas around the world, presenting his ideas in Boston at the 'Building Learning Communities' conference July, 2013. Here is a clip of Lachlan, telling us how he makes it all work:

A Classroom Full of Angry Birds

and an interview where he discusses using Angry Birds and classroom management tool Class Dojo:

Lachlan Hull interview

Pedagogy of Multiliteracies

Don't ever forget about the power of picture books in the classroom!  I regularly use them with all primary school children. They find them engaging and more than entertaining. As students get so much of their information online and very often from Youtube, it is important that their visual literacy skills are up to scratch.

In fact the whole concept of literacy is currently in a state of upheaval. We are moving on from multimedia to hypermedia. This term is derived from hypertext and relates to how today, we not only get our information in a variety of different mediums, but we are now presenting it in multimodal forms: text, picture, videos and any number of combinations of media.  If you would like to find out more here is a very interesting paper on this concept:

Visual Literacy and the Classroom

ThingLink: New Presentation Kid on the Block

Once there was PowerPoint, then there wasGlogster and Prezi.... now they can both move over for the new presentation tool on the block: ThingLink. ThingLink is a new online presentation tool that allows you to embed media into your presentation. Use your own pictures or upload from the web. You can then embed tags which can be seen by others by hovering their mouse over it. Multiple pieces of data can be put together regardless of format.

This programme is a free download from ThingLink



Downloaded from: http://www.thinglink.com/



 For more uses for ThinkLink check out:

Aunty Tech's 

Pinterest

ThingLink in the Classroom

 

 

 

Microsoft OneNote

This would have to be the greatest treasure that Microsoft Office has in its repertoire and yet so few people seem to use it!  Using this piece of the Office Suite, you can capture video, sound files, text and copy directly from the web (and it arrives with a citation!) Best of all it can be password protected and you can sync it with other devices.  It is available as an app for Apple or Android devices, so it can be accessed anywhere.

Downloaded from: http://office.microsoft.com/en-au/onenote/



Other Office files can be embedded into it and then all can be displayed and accessed through Notebooks.  It is the perfect tool for teachers, as students can have their Notebooks syncing into your OneNote so work can be accessed and feedback given at anytime!  To find out more have a look here:

Microsoft OneNote

Digital Storytelling

What is Digital Storytelling? by  Jerome Gratigny

Digital storytelling is an emerging art form of personal, heartfelt expression that enables individuals and communities to reclaim their personal cultures while exploring their artistic creativity. "

- Bernajean Porter

We all have our own story and there are nearly as many ways of telling them!  For a change of pace why not try Digital Story Telling. This can be particularly effective with students because, as digital natives, they respond best to multi-modal constructs.  It has been claimed that digital storytelling can be seen as the new art form for everyone and anyone!

                         

How do we go about producing a digital story with video, pictures, text, music and narration in a school with limited resources, I hear you ask?  You will be surprised what you may already have on hand. Many technologies are probably already present on devices that you have in your school.  For example, if you have Microsoft Office you will have PowerPoint which can have music, text, narration and video embedded into it.  But if you are like me and feel that it has all been done before, here are some other free or inexpensive Web 2.0 options:

Microsoft Photo Story 3 is free from Microsoft and can combine pictures, text and sound for a basic presentation.

Audacity can be used to create, combine and edit sound files.

Windows Movie Maker includes the abilities to edit movie files and add narration and music to your presentation.  While Window Movie Maker 2.6 has been superseded by Windows Live Movie Maker, it is still the preferred tool by many educators as the newer version will not allow the addition of narration.

iMovie would have to be the star of this category.  At around $15 it is not cheap for an app, but compare that to the hundreds of dollars required for Adobe Premier Elements and it doesn't seem so bad!  And by using hand held devices such as iPad, iPods and iPhones, you have the ability to capture image and sound as well as editing it all in one place.

If you wish to find out more about digital storytelling, Microsoft have a great little e-book to guide you on the journey. This book contains lots of great information and resources such as templates for story boarding.

 

For some great stories, check out these produced by QUT students:

 

Digital Story Telling

Assessment 1: Analysis of Digital Technologies

Created from the text below in Wordle: http://www.wordle.net/

In the first five weeks of the ICTs for Learning Design course we have looked at a variety of tools and methods to support e-Learning. But what is e-Learning? In our course readings we are given Waterhouse’s definition where he states that e-learning is teaching and learning using pedagogical strategies involving sound, flexible and innovative use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to engage, enhance and extend learners (Fasso, 2013, 21st Century Learners). Why has this suddenly become so important? Because, from what I have read so far in this course, the world that young people inhabit today is the world of the ‘digital native’ who has been “born to be wired” (Prensky, 2005, pp. 60, 62). With the instant gratification and information that is available to children with ICTs, older methods of instruction no longer hold the attention and interest of children. So many teachers are ‘digital immigrants’ with a teacher’s accent steeped in the days of chalk and talk, not hypertext and interaction (Prensky, 2001, p. 2).

Another issue in our fast changing world is the need for the increased creativity and participation of all citizens in order to enhance the economic and cultural progress of individual nations (UNESCO, 2008, p. 12). Robinson (2006) and a host of other researchers state that arts subjects (the creative ones) are not emphasised as strongly as language and mathematics, thus devaluing creativity with educational focus firmly on standardised testing. For this to be addressed, again a new educational approach is also required.

Of greater urgency are the major world issues identified by UNESCO’s Commission for Education in the 21st Century (International Committee on Education for the 21st Century, n.d.). For this century, the commission has found that collaborative, life-long learning through new technologies is what is required to produce active citizenry to advance the economic and individual rights of all. For teachers, this then means a new pedagogy is required. To address these issues, UNESCO (2008) has created a set of ICT competency standards (See Appendix 1) for teachers. From our readings, I have deduced that in the real world these standards are best captured by the integration of Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) into classroom practices (See Appendix 2).

To me therefore, the core ideas that should guide learning and teaching today are:

• Encouraging creativity
• Self-direction
• Working collaboratively
• Engaging learners with new technological literacy to encourage higher order thinking for real world environments through authentic learning (TPACK)
• Creating a safe and ethical online environment for students

Unlike traditional literacy, the new one has aural, visual and digital skills overlapping, requiring new ways of interpretation and instruction (The New Media Consortium, 2005, pp. 2, 8). For teachers, this means new skill sets and ways of teaching: a digital pedagogy.

 

With the issues and required pedagogy to address them firmly established in our minds, we then turned to tools that could be used in the classroom to implement the TPACK approach to education. The availability of Web 2.0 tools (Appendix 3) that are free or reasonably priced are the perfect option for digital pedagogy. To illustrate this point, our student cohort undertook the de Bono Thinking Hats wiki activity and then posted our thoughts on the process in our Wiki Reflection blog (see Appendix 4). This activity demonstrated a variety of learning styles in the participants and most particularly, the learning theories that had been dominant when they had been at school (Hammond, Austin, Orcutt, & Rosso, 2001, p. 9). By using the de Bono Thinking Hats as a tool for analysis of the question, we were forced to look beyond our prior knowledge and, therefore, extend our reasoning to the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy: analysing, evaluating and creating (Fasso, 2013, Bloom's Taxonomy). 

 

It was social constructivism (Mergel, 1998), the learning theory that embodies collaborative learning, that seemed to be the driving force in this activity. I was surprised that a learning theory could be so self-evident in an activity of this type, but it was clear that students looked at the opinions of others, as well as their own prior knowledge to construct new knowledge. This was then further reinforced in our blog reflection of the activity with interesting thoughts and points being posted both in our blogs and various social networking groups such as Facebook.

 

The next part of our course led us to look at and consider the learning value of a variety of ICT tools and applications. While e-learning should be more about the thinking than the tools, it is important to look and consider how they could be used in the classroom to best meet the TPACK framework. These tools, when correctly scaffolded, can not only give learners the ability to find means to best suit their own individual learning styles and abilities, but also give students the ability to be in charge of their learning (Swisher, 2007, p. 10).

 

The first group that we examined were online spaces: blogs, wikis and websites. When looking at which one I would consider for classroom use I considered several factors. A key one, unfortunately, was the time factor. The second factor to consider is the age of the class I will be working with which is lower to middle primary. As I am quite familiar with blogging in Blogger, I decided to use this tool (see Appendix 5). To me, blogging more than adequately addresses the core ideas for learning that I have identified, in that it can:

• be used for brainstorming to determine prior knowledge
• enhance learning and teaching opportunities for a variety of ICT skills
• enable learning and teaching opportunities through content
• opportunity for cross-curricular activities
• cater for a variety of learning styles and literacy levels by the embedding of multimodal tools such as podcasts, videos and widgets
• with sufficing scaffolding, enable self-directed learning
• offer potential for higher order thinking by being collaborative and the possibility of immediate feedback
• assessment can be inbuilt through activities, quizzes and reflection
• offer learning and teaching opportunities for cybersafety, copyright and ethics

 The next group of tools were the images, video and audio tools. Multimedia tools have the greatest potential in the online learning environment as they can be used together and in an infinite variety of ways, thereby catering to a variety of learning styles, multiple intelligences and abilities. Research on coherence principle shows us that learners who receive instruction via concise multimedia presentations without extraneous material consistently perform better when tested (Swisher, 2007, p. 32). Thus, it is important to understand not only to include multimodal forms of instructions as convergence helps knowledge retention, but to know what to omit to avoid cognitive overload (Stansbury, 2008, How students learn).

 

I could see that all of the group two tools had the potential to suitably enhance e-learning, but I selected audio tools as I have been interested to see how podcasting could be integrated into my own existing online spaces and created on mobile devices (see Appendix 6). I found it relatively easy to do, but my Audio Boo link in my blog tends to work only sporadically. Again, a reminder that when working with ICT a plan B should always be in place! Podcasting allows for creativity as it removes the need for extensive literacy skills, allows children to work collaboratively (interviewing, commenting on other’s work), use this tool with other projects (embedding in blog, wikis, etc.) and, therefore, should move students to higher levels of thought, particularly if used for reflective thinking.

 

Group three tools include those that enable users to present information that can be embedded into other applications. PowerPoint, Prezi and Glogster were selected as they are capable of including interactivity and multimodal (text, audio, images and movies) sources. After looking closely at this group, I selected Glogster as the tool I would focus on (see Appendix 7). I loved the multi-modal possibilities for creativity that this tool offers. Basic ICT skills such as resizing images or the creation of movies can be taught while progressing though Glogster activities. With a template to work in, creativity is still encouraged, but the scaffolding that this offers should keep the learning focused and self-directed. Sharing the finished Glogster, either in class or online, allows for further discussion and helps move students through the processes of Bloom’s Taxonomy. If Glogster is used in association with another online tool such as a blog, wiki or website, it can address all my the core learning ideas.

 

The final group was a brief sampling of what else is out there in the current world of ICT. I say small sampling as the opportunities are almost endless! Of the tools listed, I chose online timelines, due to my interest in history (Appendix 8) and their ability to graphically depict time, places, people and events. Once again, I was reminded of the importance of having an alternate plan if technology fails, as the tool I originally planned to use, Dipity, was not cooperative and an alternative had to be found. Online timelines have much that can engage a large variety of learning types: visual, kinaesthetic, spatial and mathematical. And with more interactive versions of these tools available, the inclusion of sound and video can cover nearly all levels! As tools of this type can be worked on individually or in groups, they offer possibilities for collaboration. If well scaffolded and when they are embedded into other online spaces, they too, virtually meet my entire core learning aims.

 

Looking at this last group of tools reminded me that more possibilities for ICT in the classroom are evolving all the time. Prensky gives the example of games that have been created for engineering students to give real world examples for their learning (Prensky, 2001, pp. 4-5). More inventive still, I feel, are teachers who are using existing games such as Angry Birds to create whole unit plans covering all areas of the curriculum in a variety of ways (see Appendix 9).

 

In my reflective blogs, particularly the wiki reflection, I have been able to experience firsthand the power of collaborative learning placed in the framework of ICT and have been given a real world example of constructivist learning theory. From this course so far, I have learned that as an educator, I will have a responsibility to integrate technology into my classroom practices. Not just the tools that I have discussed here, but I must remain in touch with the tools and trends of the future. To further this end, I must be willing to be an advocate for the bridging of the digital divide and the availability of high speed broadband for all Australians regardless of socio-economic, cultural or community group, to accommodate the findings of the UNESCO report. With the ongoing use of technology and my understanding of my own learning and teaching styles, I hope to be able to engender a sense of wonder and engagement to help create a generation of lifelong learners.
 

Bibliography

Fasso, W. (2013, February 21). EDED20491. Rockhampton, Qld, Australia:
           CQUniversity Australia.

Hammond, L., Austin, K., Orcutt, S., & Rosso, J. (2001). How people learn: Introduction to learning theories. Stanford: Stanford University.

International Committee on Education for the 21st Century. (n.d.). Learning: The treasure within. Retrieved from: http://www.unesco.org/delors/delors_e.pdf: UNESCO.

Mergel, B. (1998, May). Constructivism. Retrieved March 30, 2013, from University of Saskatchewan: http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/mergel/brenda.htm#The Basics of Constructivism

Prensky, M. (2001, October). Digital natives, digital immigrants. Retrieved from On the Horizon 9(5): Retrieved from: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/prensky%20-%20digital%20natives,%20digital%20immigrants%20-%20part1.pdf

Prensky, M. (2005). "Engage me or enrage me": What today's learners demand. Educause, 60-64.

Robinson, K. (2006, February). Do schools kill creativity? [video file]. Retrieved from: http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html.

Stansbury, M. (2008, March 26). Analysis: How multimedia can improve learning. Retrieved March 24, 2013, from eSchool News: http://www.eschoolnews.com/2008/03/26/analysis-how-multimedia-can-improve-learning/

Swisher, D. (2007). Does multimedia truly enhance learning? Moving beyond the visual media bandwagon toward instructional effectiveness. K-State at Salina Professional Day, Kansas State University. Salina: Kansas State University.

The New Media Consortium. (2005). A global imperative: the report of the 21st century literacy summit. Austin: NMC: The New Media Consortium.

UNESCO. (2008). ICT competency standards for teachers. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Appendices:

Appendix 1: ICTcompetency standards

Appendix 2: TPACK

Appendix 3: Web2.0 tools

Appendix 4: WikiReflection blog

Appendix 5: Blogging

Appendix 6: Podcasting

Appendix 7: Glogster

Appendix 8: Online timelines

Appendix 9: Angry Birds

Web 2.0

Downloaded from: http://webbizconsultants.com/social-media/improve-sales/

Is Web 2.0 just another buzz word or is it a tool or better yet, a new mindset that empowers people and really give individuals the ability to change the world?  The term was originally coined at a Media Live conference when discussing the dot com bust that how instead of diminishing, the internet was actually growing in momentum.  The difference? New tools, websites and formats were appearing that no longer needed enormous technical skill to operate. With WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) technology now available to everyone, anyone can be a publisher.  New tools and a willingness to share underpinned by mutual trust has given the individual the ability to be seen and heard in ways that have never before been possible. With hand held mobile devices with Android and IOS platforms, many commentators have started talking about Web 3.0!

Downloaded from: http://www.taringa.net/posts/info/6675145/Evolucion-de-la-internet.html

As educators, this new range of tools gives us potential to empower our students in a way that chalk and blackboard users would never have dreamed of!  And with a plethora of wikis, blogs and websites to direct us, we can not only use these tools, but match them to learning styles or organise them according to Bloom's Taxonomy!

WebTools4U2Use

Differentiate Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0 Tools

Web 2.0 for Teachers

Web Based Versions of Bloom's Taxonomy

The tools we have been looking at in our course are many and varied and too vast in number to possibly remember, so I have created a Diigo page to archive them:

My Diigo Library

UNESCO ICT Competency Standards for Teachers

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001562/156210E.pdf

Screen clipping taken: 7/04/2013 12:33 PM

In 1993UNESCO commissioned a report to be drawn up on Education for the Twenty-fist Century, summarized in Learning: the Treasure Within. This report looked world issues, such as poverty, the rights of minorities and women, international co-operation to name but a few and how education can help overcome them. The findings of this report have been refined into The Four Pillars of Education. This report looks at the importance of creation of life-long learners, capable of moving from basic skills to great competence and working collaboratively to create active citizenry. UNESCO has identified the need for greater ICT skills for all educators if we are to meet the educational needs of young people for the 21st century.  To this end they have created a set of guidelines that read as follows:

• a common set of guidelines that can be used to identify, develop or evaluate learning materials or teacher training in the use of ICT in teaching and learning
• identify a basic set of qualifications that allows teachers to integrate ICT into their own teaching and learning that will help advance student learning and their own professional abilities
• advance teacher's skills in pedagogy, collaboration, leadership and innovative school development using ICT
• develop a common language for the use of ICT in teacher education (UNESCO, 2008, p. 5)

This UNESCO ICT Competency Standards for Teachers Project is based in a greater policy context to encourage educational reform and sustainable development internationally.  It endeavours to show that education should be a central function of all nations and should address the following goals:

• instilling core values and cultural heritage
• aiding the growth and development of all people
• encouraging democratic process and active citizenship especially for females and minority groups
• the promotion of cross-cultural understanding
• the peaceful resolution of conflict
• the improvement of health care and the welfare of individuals
• scaffolding the economic development of nations to reduce poverty and encourage general prosperity (UNESCO, 2008, p. 6)

Bibliography:

International Committee on Education for the 21st Century. (n.d.). Learning: the treasure within. UNESCO.

UNESCO. (1999). The four pillars of education. Retrieved from UNESCO task force on education for the twenty-first century: Retrieved from: http://www.unesco.org/delors/fourpil.htm

UNESCO. (2008). ICT competency standards for teachers. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved from: http://www.unesco.org/delors/delors_e.pdf

Timelines

Copied from:
http://vrroom.naa.gov.au/records/?ID=19541

Looking at all of the Group Four tools, while I can see great value in all of them, it is the Web 2.0 timelines that I feel would be most useful to me in the lower to middle primary school environment. There are many online timelines, each offering slightly different functions, but all are basically graphic organisers that can be used as a visual tool for inquiry learning. They can be used to look chronologically at family history, student biographies or history topics that may span centuries. Timelines offer much to a variety of learning styles, but particularly the visual, mathematical and kinaesthetic intelligences. By using timelines, research tells us that students get a better understanding of the chronology of events and help them situate the people, places and dates they have learned about. It will also help activate prior knowledge. Seeing the information visually also helps students grasp the concepts of cause and effect between events (Fillpot, 2013).

I originally planned to use Dipity, but for whatever reason, I could not get anything to upload to it. I tried different browsers, different computers and even an iPad, but it did not like me! Which just goes to show that when using ICT it does always pay to have a plan B, e.g. sheets of paper, markers and rulers to make a more traditional timeline!

So, I used Tiki Toki to make my timeline. It did not have all of the same features as Dipity, such as being able to embed video and audio, but maybe that saved some viewers from 'attention blink' due to cognitive overload (Stansbury, 2008)! Options for creativity still exist as different templates can be used and pictures uploaded.  Creating a timeline, is also a good way to discuss the purpose and legalities of copyright and the use of tools such as the Creative Commons and Flickr.

For older users I would also recommend Fake Book.  While not strictly a time line, it does allow for the sequential addition of information in the format of FaceBook. This has the added bonus of giving ample opportunity for the teaching of online etiquette in a controlled environment.

Here is my finished Tiki-Toki product (well, work in progress!)

Ned Kelly

Bibliography

Fillpot, E. (2013). Teaching with timelines. Retrieved April 6, 2013, from Teaching History.org: http://teachinghistory.org/teaching-materials/teaching-guides/24347

Stansbury, M. (2008, March 26). Analysis: How multimedia can improve learning. Retrieved March 24, 2013, from eSchool News: http://www.eschoolnews.com/2008/03/26/analysis-how-multimedia-can-improve-learning/

 

Learning Principles for Multimedia

Copied from:http://www.e-learn.nl/2012/12/16/do-we-need-another-mooc

While looking though our readings on multimedia in learning, I have been stuck by several important ideas.  Short-term memory is limited to around 4 objects at a time in spatial or visual memory with around 7 objects in verbal memory.

Sensory memory degrades very quickly and the more sensory input there is the greater the risk of overload, thus limiting long-term memory.   However, research shows that convergence (sensory input combined with new information) can have positive effects on the creation of long-term memory and the human capacity for long-term memory is virtually unlimited.

I thought that I would compile a list, based on empirical research, of the ways that multimedia can  help students learn when used correctly:

·         multimedia principle: words and pictures help knowledge retention

·         spatial contiguity principle: having words and pictures next to each other rather than on separate pages works best

·         temporal contiguity principle: words and pictures work best together when presented simultaneously

·         coherence principle: unnecessary words and pictures should be excluded

·         modality principle: animation and narration work better than animation with text embedded in it

·         individual differences principle: low-knowledge learners benefit from more design effects, while high-knowledge learners require less

·         spatial learners benefit from design effects

·         with more complex material, increasing the direct manipulation will help increase of knowledge gained (Stansbury, 2008)

Bibliography

Stansbury, M. (2008, March 26). Analysis: How multimedia can improve learning. Retrieved March 24, 2013, from eSchool News: http://www.eschoolnews.com/2008/03/26/analysis-how-multimedia-can-improve-learning/

Blogs in the Classroom

Educational Blogging from:
http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM0450.pdf

As Education Queensland and the New Australian Curriculum both call for the use of ICTs to create quality learning experiences for 21st century learning, it is imperative that all teachers increasingly look towards improving their digital pedagogy (Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment, 2013). This should include tools that can let students inquire, create, communicate, operate with ICT as well as give opportunities for learning about the ethics and issues of the online environment as indicated in the general capabilities of the Australian Curriculum (General capabilities in the Australian Curriculum, 2013, pp. 49-50).  Blogging has the ability and flexibility to meet all of these needs. After trying several of the group one digital tools (Weebly and Wikispaces) I decided that a blog would be the quickest and easiest one for me to start with in the classroom. As class groups can be created in Blogger to keep students safe and secure while online and having used it before, I opted for this particular blog.

Using blogging in the classroom can have many advantages and possible draw backs as I noted in a previous blog post where I conducted a SWOT analysis. This can be viewed here: Creating a Blog.  However, most of the negatives can be easily overcome with appropriate scaffolding.

If, for example, one was to create a blog for a year three class the following considerations would have to be met:

• Safe secure environment
• Adequate instruction to students on ICT skills required
• Engaging activities such as the creation and embedding of multimodal tools
• Suggested websites if research is required
• Suitable  age appropriate picture, video and audio sources
• Cybersafety
• Explanation of copyright and Creative Commons sources
• Permission from parents or guardians if images of students are to be published
• Age appropriate responsible ICT use agreement between students and school (Department of Education and Children's Services, 2009)

In a blog students can have both monologue and dialogue, working individually or collaboratively (O’Donnell, 2006, p. 8). Brainstorming can begin in a blog and they can they can then link to and add information that they find. Cross curricular activities can be created, e.g. a blog on a science experiment may cover science, English, visual art and media studies. Assessment can be built into blog tasks via quizzes or assignments. Students can follow the blogs of experts and gain real-world experience. Widgets can be added and a variety of multimodal tools catering to all learning styles and literacy levels can be embedded, e.g. Voki, soundfiles, You Tube clips or add their own movies, thus enabling students to present their finished work in the blog.  Having the possibility of a worldwide audience often inspires students to see the importance of their own work. Feedback can also be given by both student and teacher in a blog, thus enabling the deep learning cited in Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Downes cites many reasons as to the benefits of blogging in the classroom which I have mentioned in an earlier blog post: Benefits of Blogging in the Classroom (Downes, 2004)

Blogs must guide to writer to reflective analysis and cannot be just a way of delivering instruction. Above all, blog activities must meet TPACK requirements, that is, through the combination of content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and ICT knowledge create real world learning to guide students to the highest levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy and become lifelong learners for the 21^st century.

There are many examples of great blogs in primary schools.  Here is one:

4KM and 4KJ @Leopold Primary School

Bibliography:

General capabilities in the Australian Curriculum. (2013, January). Retrieved March 30, 2013, from Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Pdf/Overview

Downes, S. (2004, September/October). Educational Blogging. Retrieved March 6, 2013, from EDUCAUSE Review: http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/educational-blogging

O’Donnell, M. (2006). Blogging as pedagogic practice: Artefact and ecology. Asia Pacific Media Educator, 17, (5-19).

Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment. (2013). Digital pedagogy. Retrieved April 2, 2013, from Smart Classrooms: http://education.qld.gov.au/smartclassrooms/developing-professionals/elearning-frameworks/index.html

Productive Pedagogy

Pedagogy is the art of teaching: that is the interaction between the teacher and the student and the resultant learning. Productive pedagogies are those that result in the best learning outcomes and should include:

• deep knowledge through higher order thinking
• collaborative learning where dialogue is imperative
• enabling student to discover their learning styles
• real life learning through problem-based, inquiry learning
• relevant to students lives and cultures
• students can be in control of their learning
• engages students
• supports individual students group identity and their development as an active citizen

Productive Pedagogies from GerryC

Bibliography

Fasso, W. (2013, February 21). What is pedagogy? EDED20491 ICTs for Learning Design.

Bloom's Taxonomy

From: http://juliaec.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/blooms_taxonomy.jpg



In education it is essential that a system or taxonomy is used to classify the evaluation processes and educational objectives (Veal & MaKinster, n.d.). Bloom's taxonomy is the most widely used in education as it was created to give educators and researchers a common language in which to discuss curriculum and evaluation.

This taxonomy refers primarily to Bloom's Cognitive Domain and it is important for educators to recognise the differences between simple knowledge such as observing, listing, naming and the higher order thinking skills required for assessing, analysing, comparing or judging.  This will not necessarily be a linear process but one where the student will use and grow his own knowledge by using opportunities offered in his learning to hone his higher order thinking skills.

When looking at tertiary education, it does well to use Bloom’s taxonomy to see the level of thinking that is required to complete assigned tasks.  If we look at the table above, noting that the bottom level of the table, knowledge is one and the top is six, we need to understand that university level assessment should require student to perform at the third level and above (Chapman, 2008). 
Bibliography

Chapman, L. (2008). Curriculum mapping: The aligned curriculum. Retrieved April 1, 2013, from University of New England: http://www.une.edu.au/gamanual/staff/the_aligned_curriculum.pdf

Veal, W. R., & MaKinster, J. G. (n.d.). Pedagogical content knowledge taxonomies. Retrieved March 12, 2013, from College of Education: University of Nevada: http://wolfweb.unr.edu/homepage/crowther/ejse/vealmak.html

SWOT Analysis on Wiki Mobil Phone Activity

A SWOT anaylsis can be used to help define student knowledge on a topic.  This can assist discovering what a student knows about a topic, misconceptions, obsticles to learning and what needs to be reinforced.  Here is one that I created for the Wiki activity:

Strengths ·         Allows all individuals to participate including those who may be normally too shy to do so in class ·         Collaborative ·         Flexible ·         Real world use of ICT ·         Ongoing ·         Allow for higher order thinking ·         Reflective ·         Analytical ·         Easy to use ·         Safe environment ·         Information can be altered but previous versions in history ·         Trust ·         Teacher can track individual student participation through history ·         Assessment can be built in ·         Supports TPACK

Weaknesses ·         Need ICT knowledge ·         Need suitable hardware ·         Students may not have internet access at home ·         Computers may be ‘offline’ at times ·         Can be fiddly, e.g. tables ·         Teacher can’t be in control at all times ·         Security needs to be firm

Opportunities ·         Real world learning and teaching ·         Students can use their creativity by embedding multimodal tools ·         Excellent opportunities for safe digital citizenship experiences: cybersafety, copyright, netiquette ·         Get to know and understand your students ·         Students get to know each other

Threats ·         Inappropriate behaviour ·         Breaches of copyright ·         Student resistance ·         Lack of ICT skills