I find that my learning occurs in surges in my life. For ages, I’ll mark time, just working pretty hard, and mainly reinforcing what I presently understand about an issue. And then, all of a sudden, I’ll have a few days where it all takes off again. And these surges are generally sparked off with a specific trigger eg a brief conversation with someone; or maybe a hard-hitting blog that I read; or even an Aha while I’m watching a sunset.
I’ve had one of those surges this week. Thank you in part to Jo and David (amongst others) at Benowa State School on the Gold Coast for this. And it’s all to do with what we could call Digital Pedagogies.
The title has been around for a while. It’s just that the impact has now hit critical mass in everyday classrooms. Including ones in which I’ve been teaching over the past few weeks. We’re not talking ‘integration’ of ICT into learning, either. We’re talking a seamless alignment of our learning experiences with what can be offered through ICT. No more ‘let’s do the ICT lesson now’. It’s not an add-on. It’s a natural flow of learning with 21st century tools.
And it takes new ways of thinking, which are sometimes referred to as paradigms. Essentially, they’re a set of glasses through which you view your world. If you’re an educator (read: teacher / parent / principal / lecturer), you are going to need some new glasses pretty soon.
George Siemen’s theory on Connectivism sparked a chord a few years ago with the techno-intellectuals in terms of new learning theories. If you haven’t read this before, it’s worth a quick look. In short, most earlier theories focused on what you knew, and on how you would acquire it. Connectivism focuses not on what you know, but on how you can find it out when you do need to know it. F’instance, through your networks (offline and online).
However, while the theories are great for establishing solid understandings, I’m very much into the practical. How does this so-called ‘digital pedagogy’ and ‘e-learning’ translate into everyday schools and classrooms?
Now, I need to facilitate quite a few workshops and keynotes over the next few weeks; and I intend to build some e-learning ideas into those sessions. So, as I steadily prepare for them, here’s my thinking (to some degree) right now.
I propose that e-learning can be further segmented into four areas, namely:
e-curriculum / e-pedagogy / e-assessment / e-reporting (OK, so the E’s are a bit full-on. Still, bear with me here, with one at a time).
e-curriculum. Curriculum is WHAT you teach. Rich content is still critical in great learning. However, what really are the essential learnings needed in the 2nd decade (and 3rd. And 4th) of this century? Which content is truly worthy of inclusion in a packed day and year? Does an historical study on Second Life become more important than a study of WW2? Is it more worthwhile to teach children how to resolve an argument with their friends, rather than how the first white settlers negotiated with the indigenous custodians of your country? Is it either / or anyway?
e-pedagogy. Pedagogy is HOW you teach. The Ed Qld Productive Pedagogies are still one of the best frameworks in the world. Copies abound everywhere. Yet how do elements such as ‘Substantive Conversation’, ‘Social Support’ and ‘Deep Understanding’ translate in a campus environment (or global for that matter) in which primary students are accessing the ‘lesson’ from a remote device? I love good processes within a classroom. However, I’m still pondering how I can build an academic controversy (one of my many favourite lessons. Click on to Handout 2) into such a learning environment.
e-assessment. Up to now, assessment has been segmented into summative (class test-based), formative (self-monitoring) and diagnostic (individual analysis). If a 14-year-old is constructing an online gaming environment as an Assessment Task, how specifically do we measure its quality? What if a 9-year-old has created a two-month alliance with a team of five different 9-year-olds from all over the planet, and is co-creating a musical performance ? What if she then intends to publish it online, and begin her own business with the sales that are generated?
Maybe the assessment could be based on the number of hits that are received for their performance? Perhaps even (shock horror) the amount of money that she makes. Which she could then donate to charities for children in poor countries. And this, of course, opens up some even more intriguing options with assessment. If she wants to make a difference to the world, does that count for something??!
e-reporting. And after we finally work out how to assess for the quality of the work, how do we report to parents, let alone to the students themselves? Will teachers eventually be employed predominantly to monitor and support and report on the ongoing viability of these projects? Will tracking devices and mini-cameras constantly record, and then edit, the ongoing efforts into a succinct online report?
And after all of that, how do we retain our deep humanity? How will we maintain our core values, the ones that have served great educators for so long?
In a way, it’s simple. Treat ICT as a wonderful servant, but a lousy master. They are superb tools, and can categorically advance the quality of the learning experience when we consider them as our servants. Unfortunately, they’re a dangerous master, and can suppress and even twist our true personality.
Just remember to retain your humanity (and theirs). Revel in being alive. Experience the sunsets and sunrises in your life. Focus on core values that have always been a foundation for your existence. Values such as: Trust. Responsibility. Diligence. Courage. Excellence. Gratitude.
If we each and all can manage to do that, then this new paradigm of e-learning will lead in to the most astonishing and life-altering era in human history.
Johnny Lee has developed an astonishing little piece of technology. I’m not sure that any SmartBoard manufacturers are going to be impressed. He marries a modified Wii handheld device, with a standard data projector, and creates an interactive whiteboard that works (nearly) as well as the full-blown versions.
I’d love some feedback from the technophobes out there. How viable is this? The implications for school budgets are significant. It also makes me wonder what else will soon be supplanted by vastly cheaper technologies. Will we end up getting everything for free?? See Open Source and Creative Commons if that concept interests you.
Video of Johnny Lee goes for 6 mins.
If you wish to download his free software for getting this to work, you can find it here.
Sitting with my resident psychoanalyst at dinner last night, and we got to talking about the capacity of younger children to use a computer keyboard effectively.
Now, have you ever gritted your teeth as your 7 or 9 year-olds (let alone 15 year-olds) labour for ages over finding one letter at a time?
Not an issue, I said. Let’s just rush out the latest in voice recognition technology; and then they won’t have to worry about that painstaking style that requires an entire morning to print out 3 sentences.
Sharon (the psychoanalyst) gently pointed out (she always does. Gently, that is) that voices under the age of 10 are usually not consistent enough in their pitch and tone, to be able to use that voice recognition software very well.
So, for now, they need to either handwrite, or they need to learn how to type. Given the latter, here’s a program that lots of kids really like. We head across to the UK for this one; and you’ll find it at http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/flash/stage1.shtml
Have a go yourself. It actually got me into using more than two fingers. Impressive!
Tony Ryan is an Australian learning consultant who is obsessed with two things:
1. His own learning; and
2. Everyone else's learning
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Edinburgh Festival finishes 2nite with a huge fireworks display, + a full choir from on top of E'burgh Castle. My timing is immaculate!!
Which superhero could YOU be?? Develop your own, and then set out to change the world! Just love this concept. www.reallifesuperheroes.com
Thank God, no casualties in Christchurch. The e'quake is big news over here in the UK. My best wishes and total support to all involved.
Edinburgh is just beautiful. But wow, it must get cold here in winter. 2 days into autumn, and it's already down to 6 degrees at night.
Digital Pedagogies
I find that my learning occurs in surges in my life. For ages, I’ll mark time, just working pretty hard, and mainly reinforcing what I presently understand about an issue. And then, all of a sudden, I’ll have a few days where it all takes off again. And these surges are generally sparked off with a specific trigger eg a brief conversation with someone; or maybe a hard-hitting blog that I read; or even an Aha while I’m watching a sunset.
I’ve had one of those surges this week. Thank you in part to Jo and David (amongst others) at Benowa State School on the Gold Coast for this. And it’s all to do with what we could call Digital Pedagogies.
The title has been around for a while. It’s just that the impact has now hit critical mass in everyday classrooms. Including ones in which I’ve been teaching over the past few weeks. We’re not talking ‘integration’ of ICT into learning, either. We’re talking a seamless alignment of our learning experiences with what can be offered through ICT. No more ‘let’s do the ICT lesson now’. It’s not an add-on. It’s a natural flow of learning with 21st century tools.
And it takes new ways of thinking, which are sometimes referred to as paradigms. Essentially, they’re a set of glasses through which you view your world. If you’re an educator (read: teacher / parent / principal / lecturer), you are going to need some new glasses pretty soon.
George Siemen’s theory on Connectivism sparked a chord a few years ago with the techno-intellectuals in terms of new learning theories. If you haven’t read this before, it’s worth a quick look. In short, most earlier theories focused on what you knew, and on how you would acquire it. Connectivism focuses not on what you know, but on how you can find it out when you do need to know it. F’instance, through your networks (offline and online).
However, while the theories are great for establishing solid understandings, I’m very much into the practical. How does this so-called ‘digital pedagogy’ and ‘e-learning’ translate into everyday schools and classrooms?
Now, I need to facilitate quite a few workshops and keynotes over the next few weeks; and I intend to build some e-learning ideas into those sessions. So, as I steadily prepare for them, here’s my thinking (to some degree) right now.
I propose that e-learning can be further segmented into four areas, namely:
e-curriculum / e-pedagogy / e-assessment / e-reporting (OK, so the E’s are a bit full-on. Still, bear with me here, with one at a time).
e-curriculum. Curriculum is WHAT you teach. Rich content is still critical in great learning. However, what really are the essential learnings needed in the 2nd decade (and 3rd. And 4th) of this century? Which content is truly worthy of inclusion in a packed day and year? Does an historical study on Second Life become more important than a study of WW2? Is it more worthwhile to teach children how to resolve an argument with their friends, rather than how the first white settlers negotiated with the indigenous custodians of your country? Is it either / or anyway?
e-pedagogy. Pedagogy is HOW you teach. The Ed Qld Productive Pedagogies are still one of the best frameworks in the world. Copies abound everywhere. Yet how do elements such as ‘Substantive Conversation’, ‘Social Support’ and ‘Deep Understanding’ translate in a campus environment (or global for that matter) in which primary students are accessing the ‘lesson’ from a remote device? I love good processes within a classroom. However, I’m still pondering how I can build an academic controversy (one of my many favourite lessons. Click on to Handout 2) into such a learning environment.
e-assessment. Up to now, assessment has been segmented into summative (class test-based), formative (self-monitoring) and diagnostic (individual analysis). If a 14-year-old is constructing an online gaming environment as an Assessment Task, how specifically do we measure its quality? What if a 9-year-old has created a two-month alliance with a team of five different 9-year-olds from all over the planet, and is co-creating a musical performance ? What if she then intends to publish it online, and begin her own business with the sales that are generated?
Maybe the assessment could be based on the number of hits that are received for their performance? Perhaps even (shock horror) the amount of money that she makes. Which she could then donate to charities for children in poor countries. And this, of course, opens up some even more intriguing options with assessment. If she wants to make a difference to the world, does that count for something??!
e-reporting. And after we finally work out how to assess for the quality of the work, how do we report to parents, let alone to the students themselves? Will teachers eventually be employed predominantly to monitor and support and report on the ongoing viability of these projects? Will tracking devices and mini-cameras constantly record, and then edit, the ongoing efforts into a succinct online report?
And after all of that, how do we retain our deep humanity? How will we maintain our core values, the ones that have served great educators for so long?
In a way, it’s simple. Treat ICT as a wonderful servant, but a lousy master. They are superb tools, and can categorically advance the quality of the learning experience when we consider them as our servants. Unfortunately, they’re a dangerous master, and can suppress and even twist our true personality.
Just remember to retain your humanity (and theirs). Revel in being alive. Experience the sunsets and sunrises in your life. Focus on core values that have always been a foundation for your existence. Values such as: Trust. Responsibility. Diligence. Courage. Excellence. Gratitude.
If we each and all can manage to do that, then this new paradigm of e-learning will lead in to the most astonishing and life-altering era in human history.