Welcome to my other blog.
This is related to the Masters module ICT and e Learning in the Curriculum. I have used pages feature (the titles across the top) to set the blog out so that each section has its own area. Hopefully this will make it easier to navigate. Simply click on the page to read the posts under that section.
Setting this up you would assume would be quite easy. After several Google searches and Youtube tutorials I finally got it cracked. I just hope I can remember how to do again! Maybe I should try and include pages on my other blog!
Saturday, 18 June 2016
Podcasts
Podcasts have always been of interest but I have yet to create my own. Maybe the sound of my own voice is putting me off! A podcast is digital audio file (although they can be video or text) which is available on the internet for downloading and is often in instalments or a series. These files can then be listened to on mp3 players or online as many times as required. They also have the anytime anywhere tag which makes them ideal for students with busy lives (Nesi 2016). Podcasts have been around since 2004 and were linked into Apple's iTunes a year later. By 2007 they were being produced by a range of people and organisations. In this year over 250,000 people downloaded a podcast by Ricky Gervais. It was around about this time that Audacity was being 'pushed' into primary schools as a free piece of software to create podcasts with or capture children's spoken words as speaking and listening was a huge agenda from the government. With just a microphone, a laptop and a script audio files such as the following could be produced.
BARNSLEY POEM
Halsey, S 2007, 'Embracing Emergent Technologies and Envisioning New Ways of Using Them for Literacy Learning in the Primary Classroom', English Teaching: Practice And Critique, 6, 2, pp. 99-107
Nesi, CJ 2016, 'The power of podcasts', Education Digest, 7, p. 42.
The beauty of audio recordings is that they capture the spoken word in the same way that pen and paper capture writing. Without the recordings the words are gone forever. Allowing children to hear how they speak has proved to be a powerful tool for developing their spoken language (Halsey 2007).
The reason why podcasts have made it onto the portfolio are firstly because as previously mentioned they have been of interest for a while and secondly the ability for students to revisit them and relisten to them could be extremely beneficial for the selected purpose. The plan is to create podcasts which describe in detail and expand upon the assessment criteria for assignments. The thinking behind this is to allow the students to have a source which they can return to again and again which will, hopefully, answer their queries about assignments. Although obviously there will still be the need for assignment tutorials and students will expect these, it should mean that there will be no confusion over what the assignment expectations are. As the podcasts can be listened to online it is expected that there will be minimal technical issues with the students accessing them.
The reason why podcasts have made it onto the portfolio are firstly because as previously mentioned they have been of interest for a while and secondly the ability for students to revisit them and relisten to them could be extremely beneficial for the selected purpose. The plan is to create podcasts which describe in detail and expand upon the assessment criteria for assignments. The thinking behind this is to allow the students to have a source which they can return to again and again which will, hopefully, answer their queries about assignments. Although obviously there will still be the need for assignment tutorials and students will expect these, it should mean that there will be no confusion over what the assignment expectations are. As the podcasts can be listened to online it is expected that there will be minimal technical issues with the students accessing them.
Creating podcasts is not difficult but they are 2 key things to remember. Plan out what you intend to say and find a quiet room to record it in (Sprague & Pixley 2008). Once created the podcasts can be listened to nearly anywhere as most smart phones will play them. There are no skills set needed by me to create the podcasts as there are already acquired although some of the editing might be time consuming. Lynda.com has a 'Producing a Professional Podcast' course which would be beneficial and highlight some other potentials pathways to explore such as screen capture.
The initial plan is to create the first podcast for the Teaching Primary Mathematics module which is taught to the BA (Hons) Teaching and Learning in the Primary Phase Year 1 students. Last year there was a great deal of uncertainty about the assignment and questions were being repeatedly asked via email or in person which it is possible could have been avoided had the students had a central reference point. As this module is taught in semester one it will allow for feedback from the students to be taken before another podcast is used for other, as yet undecided modules which are taught in semester two.
References
Halsey, S 2007, 'Embracing Emergent Technologies and Envisioning New Ways of Using Them for Literacy Learning in the Primary Classroom', English Teaching: Practice And Critique, 6, 2, pp. 99-107
Nesi, CJ 2016, 'The power of podcasts', Education Digest, 7, p. 42.
Sprague, D, & Pixley, C 2008, 'Podcasts in Education: Let Their Voices Be Heard', Computers In The Schools, 25, 3/4, pp. 226-234
Tuesday, 14 June 2016
The use of Web2.0 and technology and its impact within teacher education.
I will now critically evaluate the use of Web2.0 and technology within the Initial Teacher Training sector of Higher Education (HE), focusing mainly upon my own experiences with colleagues and students. I currently teach across a range of Initial Teacher Training courses such as the 3 year undergraduate course, the PGCE route as well as the 2 year Top-Up course of which I am the course leader. Teaching mostly Primary Mathematics and Computing I have ample opportunities to integrate technologies into my sessions which I believe I do.
The use of ICT in Maths can have positive effects and although many teachers may have been inhibited by their lack of knowledge and confidence using these technologies it was still seen to have a positive effect on the level of engagement between pupils and teachers (Becta 2003). This lack of confidence that many teachers have using technologies is one of the main drivers for my integration of them into my sessions. I do not want the next generation of teachers to be left behind with their use of technology as a tool to support teaching and learning.
Things are not that straight forward though and there is the problem of the speed at which the technology is developing. Technology is ever changing and teachers will always struggle to catch up because it is in a constant state of change (Ertmer and Ottenbreit-Leftwich 2010). There is however a need for change. The education system needs to catch up with the way that technology is being embraced by society. Then students will experience an education which will help them to develop skills worthy of a 21st century workforce from an education system which is modern, relevant and customised (Simms 2014), So there is a gap between how technology is used within education and how technology is used outside of it. As Alan November spoke about when I heard him in Barnsley; children 'power down' for school that is to say they turn off their phones, iPods, and laptops as these are not deemed as learning tools by education.
However the gap may not be a large as it is possibly perceived and it certainly is one which can be bridged. Students entering higher education may be very adept at using technology but they are not placing demands upon the way that they expect technology to be used within HE which HE institutions can not reach (Jones and Shao 2011). Furthermore it is worth noting that the HE tutors are in control of the gap's size by the way in which they are integrating it into their courses (Jones and Shao 2011). From my own experience working within HE this is very varied and depends greatly upon the passions and skills of the individual tutor.
Many students now take the lead when it comes to utilizing Web 2.0 technologies within their course though. Facebook and Whatsapp groups are commonly used to communicate and update peers on HE issues as well as sharing and supporting each other around assignment time. These communities of practice are quite wide spread; I know of at least 3 examples where Whatsapp has been the primary communication method for students with its instant messaging service allowing rapid responses from an organised group wherever the students are based as well as a sharing and creating resources collectively.
However there are issues which need to be discussed within this area such as the access and engagement with Web2.0 tools by both the students and the teachers. There is an expectation that both will use these tools within and outside of the institution and this requires time and self-efficacy as well as a skill set. To access the information, knowledge and research which is shared through these Web2.0 tools such as Moodle, the trainee will need to develop their own learning skills or be prepared to complete some CPD to enable full engagement with the tools. Communities of practice can help greatly in this matter by sharing knowledge and expertise. Without the CoP though, the trainee is forced into a form of self determined learning called Heutagogy, which has its practice and principles rooted in andragogy, where the learners are highly autonomous and self-determined to develop their own capacity and capability so that they are prepared adequately for today's workplace (Blaschke 2012).
Alongside the issue of trainees accessing the technology there is also the issue of the teachers or tutors and how well they use technology to teach with. The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model refers to the knowledge required by the teacher to integrate technology into any content area and is shown clearly by the image below.
Teachers need to model and share effective use of technologies so that trainee teachers can learn how it can be used to facilitate learning across the curriculum. When fully integrate it into their classroom practice meaningful and skilled teaching with technology will take place (Koehler n.d.).
All of these factors are worthy of consideration but it is important that ITT courses get the balance right. Too much technology may scare some potential trainees off after all teaching children is about interacting face to face with them. Not enough and they will not be equipped sufficiently for the job as more and more resources are now present online and forums such as TES or twinkl are vital CoP for teachers and trainee teachers. The key is using research based evidence as the drivers for change to ensure that the trainees and their children get to reap the maximum potential from technologies.
References
Becta (2003) What the research says about using ICT in Maths Available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/15014MIG2799.pdf (Accessed: 13 June 2016)
Blaschke, L. M. (2012) ‘Heutagogy and Lifelong Learning: A Review of Heutagogical Practice and Self-Determined Learning.’ Oldenburg University and University of Maryland University College (UMUC) Available at: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1076/2087 (Accessed: 14 June 2016)
Ertmer, PA., Ottenbriet-Leftwich, AT. (2010) ‘Teacher Technology Change: How knowledge, confidence, beliefs and culture intersect’. Journal for Research on Technology in Education. Vol. 42, No 3, pp.255-284. USA/Canada.
Jones, C. and Shao, B. (2011) The net generation and digital natives : implications for higher education Available at: http://oro.open.ac.uk/30014/1/Jones_and_Shao-Final.pdf (Accessed 13 June 2016)
Simms, Z. (2014) Education Needs to Change as Fast as Technology Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/techonomy/2014/05/23/education-needs-to-change-as-fast-as-technology/#116bf580749a (Accessed 13 June 2016)
The use of ICT in Maths can have positive effects and although many teachers may have been inhibited by their lack of knowledge and confidence using these technologies it was still seen to have a positive effect on the level of engagement between pupils and teachers (Becta 2003). This lack of confidence that many teachers have using technologies is one of the main drivers for my integration of them into my sessions. I do not want the next generation of teachers to be left behind with their use of technology as a tool to support teaching and learning.
Things are not that straight forward though and there is the problem of the speed at which the technology is developing. Technology is ever changing and teachers will always struggle to catch up because it is in a constant state of change (Ertmer and Ottenbreit-Leftwich 2010). There is however a need for change. The education system needs to catch up with the way that technology is being embraced by society. Then students will experience an education which will help them to develop skills worthy of a 21st century workforce from an education system which is modern, relevant and customised (Simms 2014), So there is a gap between how technology is used within education and how technology is used outside of it. As Alan November spoke about when I heard him in Barnsley; children 'power down' for school that is to say they turn off their phones, iPods, and laptops as these are not deemed as learning tools by education.
However the gap may not be a large as it is possibly perceived and it certainly is one which can be bridged. Students entering higher education may be very adept at using technology but they are not placing demands upon the way that they expect technology to be used within HE which HE institutions can not reach (Jones and Shao 2011). Furthermore it is worth noting that the HE tutors are in control of the gap's size by the way in which they are integrating it into their courses (Jones and Shao 2011). From my own experience working within HE this is very varied and depends greatly upon the passions and skills of the individual tutor.
Many students now take the lead when it comes to utilizing Web 2.0 technologies within their course though. Facebook and Whatsapp groups are commonly used to communicate and update peers on HE issues as well as sharing and supporting each other around assignment time. These communities of practice are quite wide spread; I know of at least 3 examples where Whatsapp has been the primary communication method for students with its instant messaging service allowing rapid responses from an organised group wherever the students are based as well as a sharing and creating resources collectively.
However there are issues which need to be discussed within this area such as the access and engagement with Web2.0 tools by both the students and the teachers. There is an expectation that both will use these tools within and outside of the institution and this requires time and self-efficacy as well as a skill set. To access the information, knowledge and research which is shared through these Web2.0 tools such as Moodle, the trainee will need to develop their own learning skills or be prepared to complete some CPD to enable full engagement with the tools. Communities of practice can help greatly in this matter by sharing knowledge and expertise. Without the CoP though, the trainee is forced into a form of self determined learning called Heutagogy, which has its practice and principles rooted in andragogy, where the learners are highly autonomous and self-determined to develop their own capacity and capability so that they are prepared adequately for today's workplace (Blaschke 2012).
Alongside the issue of trainees accessing the technology there is also the issue of the teachers or tutors and how well they use technology to teach with. The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model refers to the knowledge required by the teacher to integrate technology into any content area and is shown clearly by the image below.
(Reproduced by permission of the publisher, © 2012 by tpack.org)
All of these factors are worthy of consideration but it is important that ITT courses get the balance right. Too much technology may scare some potential trainees off after all teaching children is about interacting face to face with them. Not enough and they will not be equipped sufficiently for the job as more and more resources are now present online and forums such as TES or twinkl are vital CoP for teachers and trainee teachers. The key is using research based evidence as the drivers for change to ensure that the trainees and their children get to reap the maximum potential from technologies.
References
Becta (2003) What the research says about using ICT in Maths Available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/15014MIG2799.pdf (Accessed: 13 June 2016)
Blaschke, L. M. (2012) ‘Heutagogy and Lifelong Learning: A Review of Heutagogical Practice and Self-Determined Learning.’ Oldenburg University and University of Maryland University College (UMUC) Available at: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1076/2087 (Accessed: 14 June 2016)
Ertmer, PA., Ottenbriet-Leftwich, AT. (2010) ‘Teacher Technology Change: How knowledge, confidence, beliefs and culture intersect’. Journal for Research on Technology in Education. Vol. 42, No 3, pp.255-284. USA/Canada.
Jones, C. and Shao, B. (2011) The net generation and digital natives : implications for higher education Available at: http://oro.open.ac.uk/30014/1/Jones_and_Shao-Final.pdf (Accessed 13 June 2016)
Koehler, M (n.d.) TPACK Explained Available at: http://tpack.org/ (Accessed 14 June 2016)
Simms, Z. (2014) Education Needs to Change as Fast as Technology Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/techonomy/2014/05/23/education-needs-to-change-as-fast-as-technology/#116bf580749a (Accessed 13 June 2016)
Friday, 10 June 2016
Socrative
The next Web2.0 tool to be reviewed is Socrative. Socrative is an online assessment and student response tool. The newest version of it was released in July 2014 and it is a device agnostic tool which means that it is independent of any machine. On a practical level that means that students can accessed it through a range of devices such as tablets, smart phones or iPads. Many teachers are discovering that smart phones are very versatile and useful in supporting students learning as students use them well and they encourage independent and collaborative learning (Kolb 2011). The teachers would probably access Socrative in the more traditional way of using a web browser.
In a way Socrative is the next step from earlier classroom voting systems such as Promethean's Activote or SMART's Response. Having worked with both of these systems and supported teachers to use them, Socrative is much easier and quicker to set up. Both the Activote and Response were quite time consuming and initially unintuitive for teachers to use. These meant that teachers were less likely to use them without support. In fact in one Barnsley school they become nothing more that very expensive dust collectors!
Socrative is very intuitive and the latest version has a very simple and easy to access interface, and it's free.
The reasons for the selection of Socrative are :
As can be seen from the dashboard navigating the site is very straightforward. Creating quizzes is also easy to do just enter the title and the site guides you through the different types of questions you can create either multi choice, true/false or short answer. It really has been simplified to make it very user friendly and quick to set up.
Early class voting sets were not all bad and major positive that was noted when supporting schools with Activote and Response was the increased level of student engagement that they generated. The students found them appealing, fun to use and it gave everybody the chance to answer the question (or you might say it forced every one to answer the question posed). Socrative has been found to engage and motivate pupils in the same way and it made students aware of their knowledge and thinking (Méndez Coca & Slisko 2013; Deichman 2014). The discussion generated from either the immediate feedback or teacher led feedback create excellent opportunities for the students to become actively involved in dialogues about their answers or opinions.
Recently Socrative was used with a small group of undergraduate QTS students who had recently completed their second teaching placement. It was used to firstly demonstrate the resource and how easy it was to use but also to capture their knowledge about the current computing curriculum in primary schools. From the answers given, the initial input was then able to be pitched at the right level, any misconceptions quickly clarified and all the students started from the same knowledge base. This was very beneficial for both the tutor and the students. Further opportunities to do these quick initial assessments would only strengthen the argument for all taught sessions to use this tool. It could also be used at other times of the session to capture the learning and bring to the surface any misconceptions especially when the students become withdrawn and quiet.
Potential drawbacks of the tool are students not having a smart phone with them (which is highly unlikely but still a possibility), the internet connection being lost or other technical problems. Obviously poorly phrased questions would not help gather any relevant information, and it would be the tutor's job to ensure that the quiz was appropriate for the taught content.
References
Deichman, J 2014, 'Socrative 2.0', Knowledge Quest, 43, 2, pp. 72-73, Education Research Complete
Kolb, L 2011, 'Adventures with Cell Phones', Educational Leadership, 68, 5, pp. 39-43, Education Research Complete.
Méndez Coca, D, & Slisko, J 2013, 'Software "Socrative" and Smartphones as Tools for Implementation of Basic Processes of Active Physics Learning in Classroom: An Initial Feasibility Study with Prospective Teachers', European Journal Of Physics Education, 4, 2, pp. 17-24
Ozdeniz, DM 2012, 'Apps for Learning with iPads', Perspectives (TESOL Arabia), 19, 3, pp. 28-30, Education Research Complete.
In a way Socrative is the next step from earlier classroom voting systems such as Promethean's Activote or SMART's Response. Having worked with both of these systems and supported teachers to use them, Socrative is much easier and quicker to set up. Both the Activote and Response were quite time consuming and initially unintuitive for teachers to use. These meant that teachers were less likely to use them without support. In fact in one Barnsley school they become nothing more that very expensive dust collectors!
Socrative is very intuitive and the latest version has a very simple and easy to access interface, and it's free.
(screen capture of the teacher dashboard from Socrative)
The reasons for the selection of Socrative are :
- detailed feedback from students responses
- ease and simplicity of use
- motivation and engagement of students
- opportunities to develop active learning (Méndez Coca & Slisko 2013).
The detailed feedback can very quickly by displayed on the screen for the teacher to analyse (see image below) and it clearly shows how successful in the answering the questions the students have been. The student's names can be hidden as well which is a very handy feature to limit the potential embarrassment for some quieter, less confident students. The scores can also be exported as MS Excel files. Activities can be either teacher-paced (for use during a class discussion) or student paced (for use as a more traditional quiz). As well as these settings there is also an immediate feedback option for the students so that they can assess how well they have done individually (Ozdeniz 2012). The 'Space Race' feature allows teams of students to compete against one another to launch rockets into space. This feature can help to promote competition and collaboration within the class as well (Deichman 2014).
(screen capture of the student's score)
As can be seen from the dashboard navigating the site is very straightforward. Creating quizzes is also easy to do just enter the title and the site guides you through the different types of questions you can create either multi choice, true/false or short answer. It really has been simplified to make it very user friendly and quick to set up.
Early class voting sets were not all bad and major positive that was noted when supporting schools with Activote and Response was the increased level of student engagement that they generated. The students found them appealing, fun to use and it gave everybody the chance to answer the question (or you might say it forced every one to answer the question posed). Socrative has been found to engage and motivate pupils in the same way and it made students aware of their knowledge and thinking (Méndez Coca & Slisko 2013; Deichman 2014). The discussion generated from either the immediate feedback or teacher led feedback create excellent opportunities for the students to become actively involved in dialogues about their answers or opinions.
Recently Socrative was used with a small group of undergraduate QTS students who had recently completed their second teaching placement. It was used to firstly demonstrate the resource and how easy it was to use but also to capture their knowledge about the current computing curriculum in primary schools. From the answers given, the initial input was then able to be pitched at the right level, any misconceptions quickly clarified and all the students started from the same knowledge base. This was very beneficial for both the tutor and the students. Further opportunities to do these quick initial assessments would only strengthen the argument for all taught sessions to use this tool. It could also be used at other times of the session to capture the learning and bring to the surface any misconceptions especially when the students become withdrawn and quiet.
Potential drawbacks of the tool are students not having a smart phone with them (which is highly unlikely but still a possibility), the internet connection being lost or other technical problems. Obviously poorly phrased questions would not help gather any relevant information, and it would be the tutor's job to ensure that the quiz was appropriate for the taught content.
References
Deichman, J 2014, 'Socrative 2.0', Knowledge Quest, 43, 2, pp. 72-73, Education Research Complete
Kolb, L 2011, 'Adventures with Cell Phones', Educational Leadership, 68, 5, pp. 39-43, Education Research Complete.
Méndez Coca, D, & Slisko, J 2013, 'Software "Socrative" and Smartphones as Tools for Implementation of Basic Processes of Active Physics Learning in Classroom: An Initial Feasibility Study with Prospective Teachers', European Journal Of Physics Education, 4, 2, pp. 17-24
Ozdeniz, DM 2012, 'Apps for Learning with iPads', Perspectives (TESOL Arabia), 19, 3, pp. 28-30, Education Research Complete.
Thursday, 9 June 2016
Web 2.0 Potholes - Gamification
Reading the Web2.0 Potholes Direction pages made me reflect back to my previous role as a Local Authority School Consultant. One of the projects I was involved in was working with a team of colleagues from across the service and outside organizations to create a MUVE (multi user virtual environment) called Barnsborough. This was designed to act as a stimulus for raising boys' writing attainment. The project was aimed at engaging children, especially boys, in learning to write using a fun, engaging games based environment.
Overall the project was a success although there were many barriers which we had to overcome initially such as major technical problems getting the browser to work across the tightly locked down schools networks, teacher's concerns about the resource and lack of confidence using the environment.
The children absolutely loved it and wanted to use it all of the time. So much so that they tried to access it at home. Some claimed to have found it on the internet which lead to widespread panic about e safety issues as the children could potentially be chatting to anyone of the internet unsupervised. The children could not access the environment at home as they needed to install a browser which was only available to schools. However they could access the Active World browser and access other MUVE online. We also had incidents of inappropriate text chatting taking place in the world and so we set up a 'bot' to record all of the chat as a monitoring system.
It was interesting work with Professor Guy Merchant from Sheffield Hallam University on the project as he was very interesting in the way that children used the MUVE to communicate. He commented to me that it was shame that the system had to be so locked into attainment and that it was not apply to be used in a much more creative and improvised way. He published an interesting paper called Literacy in virtual worlds on the project in which he discussed many of the issues such as esafety and how the traditional lesson was transformed as well as highlighting the need for a considerable amount of time teachers needed to become confident with the environment rather than feeling exposed by their lack of knowledge (Merchant 2009).
References
Merchant, G 2009, 'Literacy in virtual worlds', Journal Of Research In Reading, 32, 1, pp. 38-56
Overall the project was a success although there were many barriers which we had to overcome initially such as major technical problems getting the browser to work across the tightly locked down schools networks, teacher's concerns about the resource and lack of confidence using the environment.
The children absolutely loved it and wanted to use it all of the time. So much so that they tried to access it at home. Some claimed to have found it on the internet which lead to widespread panic about e safety issues as the children could potentially be chatting to anyone of the internet unsupervised. The children could not access the environment at home as they needed to install a browser which was only available to schools. However they could access the Active World browser and access other MUVE online. We also had incidents of inappropriate text chatting taking place in the world and so we set up a 'bot' to record all of the chat as a monitoring system.
It was interesting work with Professor Guy Merchant from Sheffield Hallam University on the project as he was very interesting in the way that children used the MUVE to communicate. He commented to me that it was shame that the system had to be so locked into attainment and that it was not apply to be used in a much more creative and improvised way. He published an interesting paper called Literacy in virtual worlds on the project in which he discussed many of the issues such as esafety and how the traditional lesson was transformed as well as highlighting the need for a considerable amount of time teachers needed to become confident with the environment rather than feeling exposed by their lack of knowledge (Merchant 2009).
References
Merchant, G 2009, 'Literacy in virtual worlds', Journal Of Research In Reading, 32, 1, pp. 38-56
Ted Ed
The first Web2.0 tool to be reviewed and reflected upon is Ted Ed. Ted Ed is the educational initiative of Ted (Technology, Entertainment and Design) and it was launched in 2012. Ted Ed's aims is to share the ideas of teachers and students around the world and how it hopes to achieve this is through an interactive platform where videos can be used as the focus for online lessons created freely. The videos can be paired alongside questions in a range of formats to allow students to create and share thoughts and discussions online. The lesson creator can also guide the student to extra videos or reading through the supplementary information or dig deeper section. The image below shows what a typical lesson may look like.
Ted Ed builds upon the flipped learning concept which is a type of blended learning and was originally piloted by 2 high school chemistry teachers in 2007 (Bergmann & Sams 2012). Flipped Learning is a teaching approach which reverses the traditional lecture and homework elements so that the student is guided by the teacher to study in individual learning spaces, often their home, rather than in a group situation. It is often simpified to 'school work at home and home work at school' but it is much more than that.The following video gives a overview of how a flipped classroom can work.
So there are 2 main components to a flipped lesson; the interactive group activities within the classroom and the computer-based individual study activity outside the classroom however for the session to be truly flipped it must include The Four Pillars of F-L-I-P. These are
F - Flexible Environment
(flexible learning spaces where the students chose where and when they learn as well as flexible expectations with regard to timelines and assessment of learning)
L - Learning Culture
(a learner centred approach where the classroom is spent exploring the learning in greater depth)
I - Intentional Content
(where the teachers determined what content the students explore on their own and what they need to teach)
P - Professional Educator
(during the classroom time, students are observed, provided with feedback and have their work assessed by the teacher (educator))
(Flipped Learning Network 2014)
Having previously used video clips from Ted Talks in sessions, it appeared logical and a natural progression to try out using some video clips in a more structured way. The intention is to use create a lesson each week for the Maths Subject Specialism module which is taught for the Year 2 and 3 QTS undergraduate course. The same lesson will be created and shared with both cohorts as they will both be quite small groups of between 8 and 10 students.
Ted Ed is very easy to use and setting up a lesson only takes as long as watching the video and thinking about some questions and /or discussion points. The lesson is then shared via a URL as below.
https://ed.ted.com/on/QGwBmlYR
This is the first lesson which will be shared where Professor Edward Frenkel talks about why maths is not loved and how we can change people opinions about. Two questions have been posed about the video followed by a discussion about it.
With the student able to watch the videos on a range of devices such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops or traditional desktop PC, the aim is that they will do so some time between the sessions which are on a Monday morning. They will then be the focus for a discussion at the start of the session. One of the great features of Ted Ed is that videos from other sources such as YouTube can be added very easily in to the lessons. Having used a range of video clips on YouTube this opens up an extensive range of mathematical video clips such as lesson observation, calculation procedures or mathematical problems which can be integrated in to the Ted Ed lesson to create a more flipped learning approach.
Some of the potential benefits of using Ted Ed include developing the use of informal learning (Downes 2010). As the students have mobile devices to access the content they might watch it whilst on a bus or train or whilst relaxing at home. Informal learning, which is learning that takes place as a result of daily activities related to work or home life, is more likely to be successful if Web2.0 characteristics such as collaboration and communication are available (Song & Lee 2014). As Ted Ed has discussion features included it allows for collaboration and communication. For some students using Ted Ed may help them to develop some vital ICT skills which will also assist them to access a range of other instruction content through the internet.
There is also evidence that flipped learning modules have raised student performance and interest in their learning when video podcasts and pre and post course surveys have been 'flipped' (Pierce & Fox 2012; Chen & Summers 2015). The hope is that the Ted Ed sessions will promote discussion, collaboration and develop an interest in finding out more about mathematics and the teaching of it. The students have chosen the Maths Subject Specialist module because they have an interest in teaching maths and learning about it. These inter-sessional activities will kindle that passion for the subject as well as help them develop a CoP. If the lessons on Ted Ed prove to be successful within the Maths Subject Specialist group, as YouTube clips can be incorporated into them, lessons will be created for other groups and modules as a meanings to develop communication, collaboration and subject knowledge. After the initial session using Ted Ed, feedback would be taken from the students about how they liked or disliked the activity and any ways which they could see that it could be improved.
(Taken from http://www.inhabitots.com/ted-ed-clubs-encourage-students-to-become-the-next-generation-of-public-speakers/ted-gordonville/)
Concerns about using the lessons on Ted Ed would have to be that no-one accesses them and so they are created for no users. Access may also be last minute for example late on a Sunday evening before the session on Monday so not allowing any thoughtful discussion to take place. The discussion may go off topic and the discussion section simply becomes a sounding board for other course related issues. Another consideration is the access to technology that the students have. There is an assumption that they are able to access the internet although most of our students do have an multitude of devices which they can access the internet with, this could affect some groups of learners more. Considering other groups of learners, especially younger learners, pushing the learning into the time at home might not be viewed too favourably by some people and could eat into the precious family or friends time. However with the students all being used to Web2.0 social media, there is a strong belief that it will be successful.
References
Bergmann, J., & Sams, A. (2012). Flip your classroom: reach every student in every class every day. Washington, DC: International Society for Technology in Education.
Chen, H-S., & Summers, K. (2015) Developing, Using, and Interacting in the Flipped Learning Movement: Gaps among Subject Areas International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 16, 3, pp. 41-64
Downes, S. (2010). New technology supporting informal learning, Journal of Emerging Technologies in Web Intelligence, 2(1), 27-33
Flipped Learning Network (2014) The Four Pillars of F-L-I-P(TM) Available at: http://flippedlearning.org/cms/lib07/va01923112/centricity/domain/46/flip_handout_fnl_web.pdf Accessed: 16 June 2016
Pierce, R., & Fox, J. (2012) Vodcasts and active learning exercises in a 'flipped classroom' model of a renal pharmacotherapy module. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 76(10) Available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3530058/ Accessed: 16 June 2016
Song, D, & Lee, J (2014). 'Has Web 2.0 revitalized informal learning? The relationship between Web 2.0 and informal learning', Journal Of Computer Assisted Learning, 30, 6, pp. 511-533
(Taken from http://www.coolhunting.com/culture/ted-ed)
Ted Ed builds upon the flipped learning concept which is a type of blended learning and was originally piloted by 2 high school chemistry teachers in 2007 (Bergmann & Sams 2012). Flipped Learning is a teaching approach which reverses the traditional lecture and homework elements so that the student is guided by the teacher to study in individual learning spaces, often their home, rather than in a group situation. It is often simpified to 'school work at home and home work at school' but it is much more than that.The following video gives a overview of how a flipped classroom can work.
So there are 2 main components to a flipped lesson; the interactive group activities within the classroom and the computer-based individual study activity outside the classroom however for the session to be truly flipped it must include The Four Pillars of F-L-I-P. These are
F - Flexible Environment
(flexible learning spaces where the students chose where and when they learn as well as flexible expectations with regard to timelines and assessment of learning)
L - Learning Culture
(a learner centred approach where the classroom is spent exploring the learning in greater depth)
I - Intentional Content
(where the teachers determined what content the students explore on their own and what they need to teach)
P - Professional Educator
(Flipped Learning Network 2014)
Having previously used video clips from Ted Talks in sessions, it appeared logical and a natural progression to try out using some video clips in a more structured way. The intention is to use create a lesson each week for the Maths Subject Specialism module which is taught for the Year 2 and 3 QTS undergraduate course. The same lesson will be created and shared with both cohorts as they will both be quite small groups of between 8 and 10 students.
Ted Ed is very easy to use and setting up a lesson only takes as long as watching the video and thinking about some questions and /or discussion points. The lesson is then shared via a URL as below.
https://ed.ted.com/on/QGwBmlYR
This is the first lesson which will be shared where Professor Edward Frenkel talks about why maths is not loved and how we can change people opinions about. Two questions have been posed about the video followed by a discussion about it.
With the student able to watch the videos on a range of devices such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops or traditional desktop PC, the aim is that they will do so some time between the sessions which are on a Monday morning. They will then be the focus for a discussion at the start of the session. One of the great features of Ted Ed is that videos from other sources such as YouTube can be added very easily in to the lessons. Having used a range of video clips on YouTube this opens up an extensive range of mathematical video clips such as lesson observation, calculation procedures or mathematical problems which can be integrated in to the Ted Ed lesson to create a more flipped learning approach.
Some of the potential benefits of using Ted Ed include developing the use of informal learning (Downes 2010). As the students have mobile devices to access the content they might watch it whilst on a bus or train or whilst relaxing at home. Informal learning, which is learning that takes place as a result of daily activities related to work or home life, is more likely to be successful if Web2.0 characteristics such as collaboration and communication are available (Song & Lee 2014). As Ted Ed has discussion features included it allows for collaboration and communication. For some students using Ted Ed may help them to develop some vital ICT skills which will also assist them to access a range of other instruction content through the internet.
There is also evidence that flipped learning modules have raised student performance and interest in their learning when video podcasts and pre and post course surveys have been 'flipped' (Pierce & Fox 2012; Chen & Summers 2015). The hope is that the Ted Ed sessions will promote discussion, collaboration and develop an interest in finding out more about mathematics and the teaching of it. The students have chosen the Maths Subject Specialist module because they have an interest in teaching maths and learning about it. These inter-sessional activities will kindle that passion for the subject as well as help them develop a CoP. If the lessons on Ted Ed prove to be successful within the Maths Subject Specialist group, as YouTube clips can be incorporated into them, lessons will be created for other groups and modules as a meanings to develop communication, collaboration and subject knowledge. After the initial session using Ted Ed, feedback would be taken from the students about how they liked or disliked the activity and any ways which they could see that it could be improved.
(Taken from http://www.inhabitots.com/ted-ed-clubs-encourage-students-to-become-the-next-generation-of-public-speakers/ted-gordonville/)
Concerns about using the lessons on Ted Ed would have to be that no-one accesses them and so they are created for no users. Access may also be last minute for example late on a Sunday evening before the session on Monday so not allowing any thoughtful discussion to take place. The discussion may go off topic and the discussion section simply becomes a sounding board for other course related issues. Another consideration is the access to technology that the students have. There is an assumption that they are able to access the internet although most of our students do have an multitude of devices which they can access the internet with, this could affect some groups of learners more. Considering other groups of learners, especially younger learners, pushing the learning into the time at home might not be viewed too favourably by some people and could eat into the precious family or friends time. However with the students all being used to Web2.0 social media, there is a strong belief that it will be successful.
References
Bergmann, J., & Sams, A. (2012). Flip your classroom: reach every student in every class every day. Washington, DC: International Society for Technology in Education.
Chen, H-S., & Summers, K. (2015) Developing, Using, and Interacting in the Flipped Learning Movement: Gaps among Subject Areas International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 16, 3, pp. 41-64
Downes, S. (2010). New technology supporting informal learning, Journal of Emerging Technologies in Web Intelligence, 2(1), 27-33
Flipped Learning Network (2014) The Four Pillars of F-L-I-P(TM) Available at: http://flippedlearning.org/cms/lib07/va01923112/centricity/domain/46/flip_handout_fnl_web.pdf Accessed: 16 June 2016
Pierce, R., & Fox, J. (2012) Vodcasts and active learning exercises in a 'flipped classroom' model of a renal pharmacotherapy module. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 76(10) Available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3530058/ Accessed: 16 June 2016
Song, D, & Lee, J (2014). 'Has Web 2.0 revitalized informal learning? The relationship between Web 2.0 and informal learning', Journal Of Computer Assisted Learning, 30, 6, pp. 511-533
Wednesday, 8 June 2016
Dan Brown's Rant
I enjoyed looking at this video and found many of the points that Dan raises interesting. I will expand on these now.
The comments about memorization of facts are valid and what is the point of learning facts if they can be so easily found via the internet, which is now accessible very easily. Perhaps it is interesting to note at this point that the new National Curriculum, which was introduced in 2013, has been seen by many as a step backwards. In an article on the BBC website by Sean Coughlan, Alex Kenny, from the NUT, compares the curriculum to pub quiz in the way that information is learnt by the pupils and they are passive learners of information and knowledge (Coughlan 2013). In a world where so much information is available at our finger tips, surely education is better focussing upon how to access this information, teaching learners how to verify its accuracy and how to use it appropriately.
On another point I sympathise with him for his experiences in University as I had similar experiences when I started a degree course in Engineering at Nottingham Trent University. Having experienced this I am very aware of the need to make my taught session interact and create opportunities for discussion and I make a conscientious effort not to use PowerPoint as I feel that it can place a structure which is not flexible enough to go with the students thoughts during the session.
References
Coughlan, S. (2013) 'Pub quiz facts curriculum' opposed Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-21985441 (Accessed: 8 June 2016).
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