The introduction and globalisation of a wide range of digital technologies has had an immense impact on the world of education. The children that are entering today’s classrooms are a new generation of learners that have new and diverse learning styles. These students are representative of a generation of students that have been raised around this new technology (Prensky, 2001). These students are often referred to as ‘Digital Natives’ as they are have been surrounded by technology throughout their life and as such find they are able to communicate quite freely using the language that is required to converse within these technologies. As a result of digital technology being so prevalent within our society educators need to recognise the potential of this new resource and integrate them within the classroom. Introducing technologies such as Wikis, Blogs or Prezis into an educational setting appropriately improves the learning experience of students (Waterhouse, 2005). Some of the benefits that are evident from incorporating digital technology within the classroom are connectivism, constructivism and cognitivism. These benefits however, will not be reaped by just embedding the technology within the classroom. These tools need to be implemented appropriately and highly scaffolded to ensure the maximum rewards. Successful and effective teaching needs to understand the subtle interplay required between technology, content and pedagogy (Mishra, & Koehler, 2006). For a more inclusive look at how the intertwining of technology, pedagogy and content within a classroom setting can provide an advantage for students read the blog titled ‘What TPCK can do for us?’. Some teachers might wonder what this new technology has to offer for their students that is not already achieved by their more traditional methods. The reason the new technology has the potential to be advantageous is that today’s students find the language and tools found within 21st century literacy far more engaging and are able to relate to them in a way that is not achieved with older pedagogical approaches (The New Media Consortium, 2005).
Wikis and De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats:
By including the critical analysis tool of De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats this wiki’s academic standard was dramatically increased. The Six Thinking Hats activity provides not only a platform for the viewer to voice their opinion but also encourages them to view a topic from all perspectives. Ensuring that learners are viewing a topic from all sides not only increases higher order thinking but also extends their learning as it would be very rare to hold in-depth knowledge about a topic from all angles (Frangenheim, 2010). Fragenheim also suggests that by providing the Six Thinking Hats activity students will be more comfortable in sharing their opinion and will therefore garner more out of the activity. By providing this scaffolding the teacher increased the chance that each student would develop their knowledge and understanding (McInerney & McInerney, 2006). Another advantage of implementing this wiki is it ensures that students experience social constructivism. As evident in the sheer number of group activities implemented by teachers and lectures worldwide there are distinct advantages that students experience when learning and interaction with their peers are combined. This topic will be addressed further within the synopsis. Both the Wiki and De Bono’s thinking routine are examples of successful pedagogy that increase the learning outcomes achieved by students. These resources could be embedded into any Key Learning Area (KLA) or topic and are extremely beneficial tools within the classroom. These tools will prove to be advantageous when implemented within future practices. When used appropriately there are a variety of technology that enriches social constructivism within students (Snowman, Dobozy, Scevak, Brer, Bartlett & Biehler, 2009) and one such technological tool that does just that are Wikis.
Group One Tools – Wiki:
Throughout the research of Wikis, Blogs and Websites numerous advantages were discovered for each tool; however Wikis were determined to be the most beneficial due to several reasons. The first being the ability of Wikis to provide an interactive, creative and higher-order thinking tool and the second being the social constructivism associated with Wikis. Wikis are an online interactive resource that is constructed by the designer. This allows students to exercise high levels of creativity. As they have artistic licence to design the site how they would like generally the product will be of higher quality than had they been told what to do. By creating their own product students are not only displaying their knowledge and understand of a topic, they are also taking risks, experimenting and becoming fluent in the technology being utilised (The New Media Consortium, 2005).Wikis support the concept that “21st century literacy is multi-modal” (The New Media Consortium, 2005)as they involve the use you written vocabulary, videos, audio and images. The way in which a Wiki is implemented would determine the level of social constructivism experienced by the students. Designing this activity as a group project that required all students to contribute to the Wiki would increase the learning outcomes derived from this activity. Social constructivism involves students constructing their knowledge through peer collaboration which extends their learning further then would have been individually (Snowman et al., 2009). Providing students the opportunity to share their knowledge with their peers and therefore develop and extend their own knowledge ensures that learning is undertaken at a high level. From the experimentation with the above four resources it was conclusively found that Wikis hold the most potential for social constructivism. Another factor that would impact the decision of which tool to implement would be the learning manager’s level of comfort and self-confidence with each tool. To view a more in depth look at Wikis and the list of benefits as well as a brief look at websites associated please visit ‘Whether Wikis Work’. To view an evaluation on the use of blogs within education please visit ‘To blog or not to blog’.
Group Two Tools – Digital Images:
Images are an amazingly powerful tool. They can be interpreted differently from one person to the next; however they all carry information or a meaning. Recent technological advances have made creating, sharing and using images much easier. This freedom that comes with new technology still has some restrictions. All learning managers should ensure that they have comprehensively taught students about legal, safe and ethical use of images and that they themselves follow the same guidelines. When using images certain considerations need to be thought of. Checking for copyright of an image is essential. Images with a Creative Commons license are able to be copied and distributed. To research creative commons click here. The following website also provides a more holistic view on copyright in general. Another consideration when using or uploading images is that permission must be granted by the subjects of the images. Once these steps have been followed images are an amazing resource within education, especially for the new generation of learners. 21st literacy includes the ability to use imagery to transcend cultural barriers and evoke emotional and academic responses (The New Media Consortium, 2005). Students and teachers are able to create, reflect, inquire and explain facilitated by images. The process of incorporating images within an educational setting will need extensive scaffolding for students as it is not just enough that they use or view images, they need to be able to critically analyse the image to understand the message and ensure higher-order thinking (Giorgis, Johnson, Bonomo, Colbert, & al, 1999 as cited in Bamford). Further information on this topic as well as the concepts of videos and podcasting is available on the blog titled ‘Video, Audio or Images?’
Group Three Tools – Prezi:
Although all three tools, Power Point, Prezi and Golgster have the possibility to be highly beneficial, after exploration and research of all three the advantages that a Prezi could bring to students outweighed those of the other tools. Prezi is a great multi-modal resource that allows students to personalise their presentation by uploading images and videos. Constructing presentations using Prezi allows students to practice their skills of recognising and utilising the power that images and sounds have, manipulating digital media and publishing presentations to a wider audience (The New Media Consortium, 2005). Students could use this technology in conjunction with any KLA to present information and convey meaning. Communication for today’s students is “multi-dimensional, engaging, and increasingly unbound to text” (The New Media Consortium, 2005). Further information on all three tools outlined about can be found at ‘Power points, Prezis and Glogsters – what are we talking about?’
Group Four Tools - Google Earth
The concepts for most of the resources investigated in this group were developed quite recently. Programs such as Google Maps or digital story books are relatively new yet it was Google Earth that was examined further due to its potential. This resource is innovative and serves to connect students to not only a wide range of information but also essentially the entire world. Connectivism is epitomised in this tool as it connects students to people, places and things around the globe. Providing students with the opportunity to experience connectivsm is vital as, forging connections with people and information sources is how 21st century learners derive their knowledge and understanding (Siemens, 2004). For a 21st century look at connectivism click here. Not only does Google Earth provide opportunities for learners but it has also provided a resource for teachers to access to gain the most out of this resource as possible. For a list of how this resource could be implemented within the classroom please consult ‘Group Four Tools’.
The safe, legal, ethical and appropriate implementation of information and communications technology (ICTs) within classrooms has been found to have profound benefits on the learning experienced by students. For a list of resources on legal, safe and ethical practices please consult ‘Let’s be legal, safe and ethical’. The world around us is rapidly changing and the advances of science and technology immense. Learning managers need to ensure that they are lifelong learners and that they are continually developing their knowledge and understanding of digital resources and implemented them appropriately within the classroom (The New Media Consortium, 2005). Tools such as Wikis, images, Prezis and Golgsters, as well as the many other technology resources outlines within this synopsis can provided a variety of benefits for all involved. They provide a platform for students to enhance their knowledge through connection and engagement as well as ensure that they are conversant with the language that 21st century literacy consists of.
REFERENCES:
Bamford, A. (2003). The visual literacy white paper.Retrieved from http://wwwimages.adobe.com/www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/educati on/pdfs/visual-literacy-wp.pdf
Frangenheim, E.(2007). Reflections on classroom thinking strategies. Loganholme, Qld: Rodin Educational Publishing
McInerney, D., & McInerney, V. (2006). Educational Psychology: Constructing Learning (4th Ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia
Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: a framework for teacher knowledge. Retrieved from CQUniversity moodle FAHE11001 Managing E-learning, http://www.moodle.cqu.edu.au
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20- %20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
Snowman, Dobozy, Scevak, Bryer, Bartlett & Biehler. (2009). Psychology:Applied to teaching. Milton, Queensland: John Wiley & Sons Australia
The New Media Consortium. (2005). A global imperative. Retrieved from CQUniversity moodle FAHE11001 Managing E-learning, http://www.moodle.cqu.edu.au
Waterhouse, S. (2005). The power of eLearning: the essential guide for teaching in the digital age. Pearson Professional: Australia
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