I was intriqued when confronted, finally, with Learning Management Systems (LMS). I say "finally" because I now have no where to run and bide my time as I ponder over how I am going to keep up with my children, little own the rest of the world! Just briefly looking on a wider scale, I have been guided into the reality of the 21st century. And I love it. Engaging is a wonderful thing and I hope I can share this gift with my children and my learners.
The reason intrique is a term I have used here is because not so long ago, I was attending Parent & Citizen(P&C) Meetings at my children's previous school and ICTs (in particular Interactive White Boards - IWB - example here) were hot on the agenda at the time. I recall being excited by the idea of IWB, not through what I knew about them or their impact, but simply through the experience and enthusiasm of the Principal and Teaching Staff. They were so excited and passionate about the integration of these IWBs and ICTs in general, into our small community school . I am glad that I am no longer ignorant on this (and many other) topics and my confrontation with this inovative tool is intriguing to me as I look at it now from a professional stand point.
I base my newly acquired knowledge on having viewed the videos provided in the course work and having read the information enclosed there also. It has made me feel a little more informed to make a judgement. I additionally sought information through journal searches and came across an academic article about Technology Tools which was written by Mike Kennedy from the American School & University, which I found worth relating to here.
This article set me to thinking specifically because it brought me back to ground roots and challenged me to look at things in persective - in essence, reflect. The article describes Communications systems in a then and now fashion:
"A classroom with a telephone was a rarity not so many years ago. Schools could not afford
the cost of all the lines that would be needed to provide phones to every classroom and office in a
building. Often, a building intercom system that delivered messages from the principal's office was
the only way a classroom could receive communications. Now, technology makes it possible for
schools to end the isolation of teachers and students in classrooms, connecting them to the rest of
the world." (Kennedy, M. Vol. 77, Issue 7).
This prompted me to recall my first position within the Queensland Education system (as the 'office lady' mind you!) where I worked in a school of approximately 1800 high school students at the time. The school was only five years old, but only a handful of classrooms had a telephone and there was no intercom system installed. You guessed it, as the office lady I had to deliver any messages or retreive students from class on foot! Believe it or not, this was only 10 years ago, at the same time that the reading "futurework" was written!
This is where my reflection began as this article helped me to put things in perspective on an issue that I had not felt qualified to comment on prior to this. I do believe that IWB are an asset to our learners in so many ways. I do need to expand here at a later date. But in brief, I was stimulated by a simple proposal that Kennedy (Vol. 77, Issue 7) put forward, which I had not properly digested in other presentations. his was that with IWB ... "Students can use a pen or their fingers directly on the touchscreen to add handwritten information." In essence, I was able to tie the use of IWB not only to the engagement theories of learning management, but also to declarative knowledge and the construction of meaning as outlined in the Dimensions of Learning Stage 2 - "Acquire and Integrate knowledge". Use of the senses is important in constructing meaning and certainly touch is part of this, along with listening and sight. This helped me to put things in perspective (organise and store) this information and I look forward to shaping it, thus expanding on this blog in particular, in the near future.
Kylie B
References:
Aldred, Scot. PowerPoint Presentation http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=44474
Marzano, R., Pickering, D. (2006) Dimensions of Learning: Teacher's Manual 2nd ed. Hawker Brownlow Education. Victoria.
Title: Technology Tools By: Kennedy, Mike, American School & University, 00030945, 20050301, Vol. 77, Issue 7
Hi Kylie, I think that you hit the nail right on the head concerning using ones sense during learning. I was not aware of how much we actually use these atributes whilst learning. I have an Asbergers student in my LE class, he certainly utilises his senses to a different degree to the other students. Interesting blog Kylie.
ReplyDeleteMichael Rhodes
Thankyou for your comment Michael. As a wonderful example of senses in learning process, it was just last night that I my sister informed me of an obseration that my niece made recently. My niece is only 18 and currently a first year student in dentestry at University in Bendigo. She and some of her peers were given the opportunity to volunteer at a local Special School. Their visit involved taking their coates, gloves and equipment in to show the students. My neice marvelled to my sister how much more advanced she thought the Special School Facilities were down there in coparison to those she had experience in Queensland. This is a general comment I know, but to cut to the point, as part of their classroom facilities, she witnessed a "mood room" in which the students could go and have a sensory experience. It was completely black and when the students walked into the room, different coloured lights came on depending on their mood. What an amazing sensory experience!
ReplyDeleteYour comment on Aspergers is interesting as it is so prevelent in our classrooms today. This highligts that we really do need to be aware of such things as Gifted and Talented, Aspergers, Autism, Hearing and/or Sight Impairment (to name a few) in addition to the theories and frameworks of how different learners learn when planning our learning experiences.
Kylie B