Double Whammy!

I have decided to dedicate a post to one of my recent EPL observations due to the extreme nature of the lesson in relation to lesson success and potential disaster based on ICTs.

When I arrived at my Learning Site (LS) one morning recently, I was greeted with the same warm reguard as usual by my MT (Mentor Teacher).  It had been a long morning as my MT had been up since 3am doing final preparations on the lesson for the day's Year 9 SOSE Class.  Yet, she indicated that it was no problem to run through it together.  The current Unit of Work for this Year 9 class is based on Democracy and the day's Learning Experience (LE) involved looking at the world'd governments. 

The students had previously been introduced to the World's Map of Freedom, where they could gain information on different countries in the world and distinguish such traites as who was free and who was not, that the predominantly "not free" countries were poorer and why, which countries were not democracies and what this meant. 

In addition to this, my MT had organised some websites for the students to visit to gain relevant information which they had to put into a table.  Once they had completed this task, which could be done in pairs, the students were then to open an account with Google Maps and chart the information onto a world map.  They were taken through the steps of how to access Google Maps and how to create an account. 



Importantly, my MT pointed out some important rules of engagement for the use of ICTs by the students. 
1. They were instructed to NEVER USE THEIR SURNAME.  And only use their first name if they had to.
2. Always use their school email account.
3. The map they would create had to be made unlisted and not public.

I was impressed to see this part of the lesson for a couple of reasons.  In the first instance, I strongly beleive in the extreme importance of my duty of care to these students at all times as their teacher. They are minors and I am responsible for their learning and safety.  My MT's delivery of this information also prompted me to recall the importance of Netiquitte and Rules of engagement in a professional sense, something that Scot Aldred (my lecturer for ICTs for Learning Design at CQ Unversity) had highlighted  in Residential School in February for the GDLT course and also in the first week of course work of this course - ICTs for Learning Design.

I was in awe at this time about how the learning experience was going.  The students were so engaged and the lesson plan was just amazing, a true model of Learning Management where content focus and teacher-centricity had been replaced with pedagogical focus, student centred learning and achievement of successful outcomes (Smith et al., 2003).  I could clearly identify how my MT had planned for procedural and declarative knowledge (Marzano & Pickering, ).  Also, the different teaching stategies were clear and concise, for example; where MT was placed in the room, introduction to the lesson, instruction stragegies and variations, scaffolding, group work, class focus and behaviour management, to name a few.  It was also very interesting to see explicit strategies for classroom management in the computer room (Hoareau. 2004. p7). 

And then ...

We were only half way through the lesson, with still 30minutes remaining when, during MT instruction on the Data Projector, things started to slow down considerably.   Then, students were beginning to have problems - and yes, THE LIGHTS WENT OUT.  That is to say, the Internet Service went down.  There was nothing further that could be done.

Alas, in true professional and experienced style, my MT had prepared for the following lesson and, due to the full reliant nature on ICTSof this current lesson, had brought it along as a Plan B.  Ever so smoothly, under the insruction of the MT, the class abandoned computers for the time being and threw themselves into a reading and group answering task based on a hand out that the MT had prepared earlier.

What a lesson!  I have experienced the high and the extreme opposite of use or reliance of ICTs in the classroom.  I believe that a better learning experience could not have been planned, but due to the full reliance on ICTs, it was open to outside forces.  The expertise of my MT made sure that a disaster did not occur however, through her confidence and complete understanding of ICTs, the possible dangers of total reliance and good planning.   I was grateful to have experienced this lesson and have seen the power of ICTs in engaging learners, giving them immediate information, and allowing them to learn about the world at their fingertips.  It has encouraged me even more to open up more possibilities to my learners through use of ICTs in my pedagogy as I was so engaged in the lesson myself.  I am confident that if the lights were to go out on my lesson, it will not be the be all or end all.  I will be prepared!

Kylie B

Google Maps My Maps:  http://maps.google.com.au/  

How to Create My Maps in Google Maps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TftFnot5uXw&feature=player_embedded

Horeau, R. (2004). Excellent Web Edventures: An introduction to online learning. Curriculum Corporation.  Carlton South. Victoria.