A Year of Investigation, Thinking & Learning

A Dream Year

My fellowship year is coming to an end and my journey investigating the digital world of today's learners and how digital technologies can be a powerful tool within the classroom environment, has been intriguing.

Terms about today’s learner and environment, proliferate – n-gen, digital native, digital divide, social networking, wikis, web 2, blogs, podcasts, digital learning objects, online learning management systems, RSS feed, twitch speed, widgets – to name a few. There are endless sites to assist teachers in understanding what these are and providing ideas for using them as tools in the learning process. Suzie Vesper offers a comprehensive site with a New Zealand flavour.

An Example of Her Work -

 An overview of web 2.0 and then a more detailed look at wikis and blogs and the tools you can 

use with them.

Blogs, Wikis And Web 2.0 tools in Education

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: k12 ict)

SlideShare Link

I have used the internet extensively to search for viewpoints, studies, research and examples to expand my understanding and investigation.

Learning is ongoing in education – especially in this information rich world – for the student and teacher alike. Marc Prensky believes that learners today are sophisticated visual learners and provides interesting discussion on ‘graphics first v text first’. Digital technologies are 21^st century tools that create visual media and information. They mediate much of the world we live in today and will continue to emerge and change. As educators we must adopt these technologies and use them to transform our teaching as applied to current curriculum – but always with sound pedagogy underpinning learning activities.

 There are exciting innovations in some schools around the country. Where this is happening there is huge support (in time and money) by school management and leaders. Staff work cohesively and consistently to integrate e-learning into learning activities. 

Futurelab-innovation in Education (www.futurelab.org) challenges us to explore how we can ensure our students are not just digitaly literate operators but, rather, “transformational thinkers” as a result of their digital literacy.

 Evidence strongly supports the value of e-learning. The ‘Becta Report’ (published Sept 2008 –http://becta.org.uk) provides evidence to support the benefits of Web 2.0 tools when used in classroom learning. Their findings show that children are prolific users of wikis, blogs, social networking and interactive games outside of the classroom. Teachers using such tools innovatively within the classroom are seeing better engagement and participation, a sense of ownership and learning extended outside of the classroom.

My investigation echoes Marc Prensky’s statement that the younger generation sees digital technologies in different ways. If we are to encourage learning in a manner that makes sense to their generation, we need to ”communicate, transfer needed information, and build desired skills via the media they willingly engage in – such as computers and digital technologies.”

He questions how older generations can relate to and help younger generations when they see digital technologies in different ways.

A solution is that those of us who are perhaps 'digital immigrants' (not born into the digital world), need to "seek and offer resources that make sense for their generation" We need to "communicate, transfer needed information, build desired skills via the media they willingly engage in - such as computers and digital technologies..".

One interesting suggestion is that technology is changing culture - the technologies are causing a culture shift and the older generation are set apart by their preference to use familiar technologies to enhance their culture. They do not want the 'youth culture' of buds hanging from ears, non-stop music and video games. They prefer to social network face to face than 'face-book'! [Diana Oblinger, President of Educause]  

There is also a lot of discussion about the 'Myth of the Digital Native'. This discussion is ongoing(the link is comments made in 2006) but when you read Blogs like gee.ky by Melissa Skonyer on being a digital native, I do believe the gimmicky term needs to overlooked for the truth behind the idea.

Check out this latest research from the United States. Click on image for link.

 New Zealand does follow these trends and we need to take note. 

The New Zealand Council for educations Research appears to have research from 2006 - it is hoped there is a more recent initiative to provide data from our own schools and children that will assist teachers with planning the integration of such technologies into teaching and learning. 

We need to know that there is sound research data that shows learning is enhanced beyond the learning of skills in using technology - rather that technology provides exciting portals that allow minds to grow and apply technologies to communicate, expand horizons, share and celebrate learning.