Technology to Transform Learning

It is hard to believe that such a useful framework (SAMR Model, developed by Puedentura) could remain untapped for so long while still remaining so relevant in a world that technologically has changed so dramatically, so quickly. This week has given me the opportunity to start exploring some of the possibilities that Web 2.0 tools can afford the formal education environment. From the materials presented for our consideration, there was a common thread: that developing technological tools allow us the opportunity to create global citizens with the 'need to inspire students to question and create' and promote the 'curiosity rather than providing the answers' in order to create lifelong learners (Michael Wesch,  'Michael Wesch on Knowledgable vs Knowledge-able retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z56SNAQNOqs&list=PLA3FB753E843A762D&index=2).
In order for lifelong learners to be created in the current era, the necessity for learners to be actively involved is absolute in order to engage successfully with the ever growing array of technological advances. But I would question whether 'being online' and feeling comfortable with the Web 2.0 tools necessarily automatically equates to being an active learner, as is suggested in the 'Voice of the Active Learner-Education from a Digital Native's Perspective' video (Blackboard TV, http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CZ5Vy9BgSeY
From personal experience, I have witnessed the need to teach 'digital natives' how to engage with many of the available tools rather than just 'use' them to complete an assignment or class task.
Sir Ken Robinson was very inspiring in his 'Changing Paradigms' presentation. I found myself stopping the clip and jotting down my thoughts as so many of his main ideas were very important for us all to consider. One of the most pertinent points shared in this presentation is that 'the ability to think divergently decreases with age'. (Sir Ken Robinson, Changing Paradigms, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U&feature=player_embedded) If we are to create active learners, we need to allow our students to be involved in experiences that promote divergent thinking rather than extinguish it.
The SAMR Model is an excellent reflection tool that I could use to actually provide learning experiences that promote collaboration and divergent thinking so that my students remain actively engaged. The voice thread task is an excellent example of a collaborative tool. I found it very useful reading and listening to the ideas of others and found that even though some were presented with a different teaching context in mind, I was finding that I was then trying to work out how that suggestion could be used in my context. This was extremely useful as some of the suggestions were ideas I wouldn't have previously considered.
My 'take-away' from this task is that just providing a vast array of online tools does not automatically create an environment that allows for active and engaging learning in order to create students that will be classed as '21st Century Learner'. As educators, we need to provide learning environments that utilise these Web 2.0 tools so that our students can take a more active role in their own learning and become learners for the future.
I came across the 'Padagogy Wheel' as did Dana. She has uploaded this into her blog. An excellent reflection tool when considering which online tools (mainly iPad apps) would suit various outcomes.
Some personal reflection: this week I spent a fair amount of time researching the SAMR Model, looking for examples of this model in action, viewing youtube clips, watching prezis, reading documents and so on, so that I felt I had a good understanding of how to apply the modify and redefine stages. I had taken notes and bookmarked endless pages. I had listened to and read the comments in the Voicethread which I found invaluable for my own reflection and growth. I had decided that I wanted to add my comments as audio, as even though I still felt uncomfortable with this idea, I thought I needed to challenge myself. I was already to go, I added my 1st audio comment..........and....... it never saved properly. I attempted this several times but eventually gave up and added my comments as text, feeling frustrated that my audio comments wouldn't save. My reflection from this......it doesn't matter how well we have modified or redefined the learning experiences, if the tools don't work, the learning outcomes won't be achieved.

Learning theory Mind Map

Even though there are 3 distinct learning theories represented in my concept map, meaningful learning environments would apply elements of each of them depending on the desired outcome. It may be appropriate to apply behaviourism principles or a constructivist approach without drawing on principles of the other theories, but at times it may be best to apply the principles of a couple of the learning theories in conjunction to achieve the best learning outcomes.

Context Matters!

When considering which approach is best suited to designing learning environments and educational tasks, I believe that the concluding statement from Jonassen's paper is crucial. The need to consider the context of the learning 'outcomes' is one of the most important elements that will determine the most appropriate approach. In my teaching context, there are learning outcomes that are best achieved by applying a behaviourist approach, such as the development of basic literacy and numeracy skills. If the desired outcome is for students to be apply their understanding of a concept, the constructivist approach would be best suited to achieve this. I believe that my goal as an educator is to develop in my students the ability to become life long learners, that it is essential for them to be able to problem solve across a variety of learning contexts. With this in mind, in an ever changing learning environment, I need to be able to employ a range of learning approaches depending on the context and best suited to the student's abilities.

Cognitivism in CQ

As I’ve been reading through and reflecting on the materials provided on the cognitivist learning theory, as well as doing some further reading on this topic, I find myself drawing parallels between this learning theory and Explicit Teaching theory, which the Central Qld EQ region is currently investing a lot of time, money and energy embedding throughout the region’s schools. 

Gagne’s 9 conditions for learning align very well with the framework of the explicit teaching focus: 

Warm up-                                     gain learner’s attention

                            stimulate recall of previous information

WALT/WILF (learning intent/outcomes)-     inform learner of objectives

I Do-                     present stimulus material

                            provide learner guidance

We Do-                    elicit performance

You Do-                    provide feedback

                           assess performance

Ploughback-                    enhance transfer opportunities

In my own school and with evidence from other schools using this approach, it is very evident that this approach is very valuable in giving the students the opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge that provide an excellent base upon which to build through the use of collaboration, repetition and hands on activities to transform their knowledge. This approach is extremely useful when it is appropriate to provide structured, guided learning such as when new skills and concepts are being introduced. As the approach is very structured, when learning outcomes are to be more of an investigative nature, this approach is not the best suited.

Courtesy of Andergrove State School

This poster, developed by Andergrove State School, clearly defines the explicit teaching structure as well as the teacher and student roles in this process. An excellent tool when chosen with the correct goal in mind.

Week 3 Behaviourism Engagement Task

Reading the course materials about Behaviourism and Cognitivism learning theories takes me back to my days at teacher’s college. I recall initially thinking that these theories would have little impact on my ability to ‘teach well’. As I had more opportunity to engage in tasks that required me to reflect on these theories, it became evident that these approaches would most definitely be of value, depending on what the learning outcomes that are desired.

‘Behaviorism is primarily concerned with observable and measurable aspects of human behavior. In defining behavior, behaviorist learning theories emphasize changes in behavior that result from stimulus-response associations made by the learner. Behavior is directed by stimuli. An individual selects one response instead of another because of prior conditioning and psychological drives existing at the moment of the action (Parkay & Hass, 2000).’

This definition highlights the relationship between positive reinforcement (stimulus) and the desired outcome (response). In the educational setting, the desired outcome could range from appropriate classroom behaviours to the recall of knowledge or skills. As behaviourists measure learning in terms of the change in behaviour and not with regard to the mental processes applied, this approach is best suited to learning that is best achieved through drill and rote learning (such as number facts, sight words and other factual knowledge) and that can be broken into manageable chunks to be built upon. This approach is also very useful in developing and reinforcing appropriate and desirable classroom behaviours. The use of reward systems as positive reinforcement are a form of behaviour modification that is based on the behaviourist learning theory.

As a Support Teacher: Literacy and Numeracy, I predominantly work with students who require assistance to access the class program. Quite often these students need more time and opportunity to develop the basic literacy and numeracy skills that form the foundation upon which to build more advanced and deeper knowledge. The behaviourist approach to learning is useful for this type of content and learning outcome, as positive reinforcement used for rewarding increased success of the recall of specified knowledge, such as basic number facts, increases the chances of the retention of this knowledge. There are many websites and apps that use this approach successfully. Study Ladder, an Australian website, uses points as reward that the students are able to use to purchase items to personalise their rewards room and create their own avatar. Hungry Fish is a maths apple app that awards points for answering basic number facts correctly. Students can then use these points to personalise their own ‘hungry fish’. Both of these websites use the behaviourist approach of stimulus-response to for learning outcomes.  Increasing the automaticity of such things as the recall of number facts and sight words allows more mental processing capacity needed for more difficult and higher order tasks.

As the success of the use of behaviourist principles relies on the knowledge to be learned to be of a factual nature, it is not reasonable to use this approach when the expected learning outcome is for the students to be able to transform their knowledge. This would require a degree of interpretation of new knowledge which is not acknowledged by this approach. There is definitely a place for the application of behaviourist principles in my teaching context, while recognising that this approach is best suited to learning outcomes that require one particular response.

http://edtechundergroundrevolution.blogspot.com/2010/09/behaviorism-in-practice.html

Parkay, F.W. & Hass, G. (2000). Curriculum Planning (7th Ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. 

Retrieved from http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Behaviorism

So what is the future of the book?

For quite some time now I knew that it would be inevitable that I would need to utilise the social networking tools, such as Blogger and Facebook. I have resisted using these tools by believing that, in my personal and workplace life, there was no great benefit to me spending my time sharing my thoughts or issues. That is not to say that I haven't benefited from other people sharing their thoughts or resolutions to problems they have encountered. It was just that I always justified my lack of using these tools by saying that I was too busy to learn how to navigate 'another online tool'. So please be considerate of my lack of experience using this mode of communication.
One of my biggest achievements for me as a teacher was the day a student of mine with Down's Syndrome successfully tied his own shoelaces! The look of sheer joy on his face made all of the hours spent sitting with 'Ben' completing this task one step at a time worthwhile. As a Special Education Teacher, my focus when working with my students, was to assist them to develop skills to become as independent as possible in their daily lives. This often meant that many hours were spent developing task analyses of skills that most of us take for granted, and then teaching these skills backwards and building on success until the task can be completed successfully without adult support. My focus was on personal/social knowledge that would result in the outcome for the student that they would be more independent, require less adult support and achieve to their fullest potential. Even though I now work as a Support Teacher: Literacy and Numeracy (ST:LaN) and even though I am still working with students that require additional support, my aim as a teacher still remains to assist students to achieve to their fullest potential.
The past several years have seen my practice as an educator evolve greatly. Professional discussion has provided many opportunities for us as educators to reflect on what we value and the attributes of successful learners. My understanding of 'knowledge' has evolved from being that of a skill set that is used to complete certain tasks to encompassing the development of skills and attributes that allow the learner to be active participants in their own learning and development. I believe that the use of many different tools and mediums can be a part of this process but that our understanding of 'knowledge' will continue to evolve.
Driving home from work this afternoon listening to the local ABC radio, I heard about a fascinating project that is underway at the moment. As I was listening to this article, I couldn't but help reflect on some of the articles that I have been reading already as part of this course, challenging our understanding of what is e-learning and how our own context will influence this understanding.
A representative of the Queensland State Library was being interviewed about an online project
Memory Makes Us challenging us to think about what is the future of the book and how our current understanding of 'books' has changed from being ink printed on pages and bound with thread to a fluid concept that allows for the sharing of ideas through the use of various mediums and modes. "On 9th July, celebrated Canadian author Kate Pullinger will write a new work live and in public in the knowledge walk at State Library of Queensland. Kate will use as her inspiration ‘memories’ collected from the if:book site—short texts and images submitted by the general public—as well as contributions from visitors on the day." http://memory.futureofthebook.org.au/about/
This concept of a live online sharing of the writing of a book using the shared memories of people from all over the world, epitomises the ability of the benefit of the digital world to only be limited by our imagination.