Digital Pedagogies

This week I have been exploring a range of online tools that can be used through education. I have created a PowerPoint presentation which has been uploaded to my Wikispace. Please follow the below link to access it. Feel free to add comments or views about the PowerPoint tool.

http://carlascoursewiki.wikispaces.com/Digital+Pedagogies+

Personal Temperament Report

This week I took the test provided on our Moodle site to test my personal Temperament. I found the questions very relevant on determining my attitudes and values. It was interesting to see my "Temperament Result" and I found myself relating to and agreeing with a lot of the explanations. I would encourage everyone to take this test even to view the result themselves it really does put a perspective on things. My results showed that my personality type is that of a “Guardian”.

“Guardians can have a lot of fun with their friends, but they are quite serious about their duties and responsibilities. Guardians take pride in being dependable and trustworthy; if there's a job to be done, they can be counted on to put their shoulder to the wheel. Guardians make up as much as 40 to 45 percent of the population, and a good thing, because they usually end up doing all the indispensable but thankless jobs everyone else takes for granted.”

 

After reviewing my results from the Temperament Test I determined my personal learning style by using the Silver-Hansen-Strong Learning Styles Inventory.  I found that I use the sensate-feeling (SF) learning style. The key word associated with this learning style "interactive". Key terms are: sympathetic, friendly, group harmony, cooperative learning, jigsaw, group investigation. SF learners need to be involved in face-to-face communication in interdependent and collaborative ways to achieve a common goal or outcome determined by themselves or by the instructor.

I found that I do relate to this, I work best collaboratively and with visual things. I like to either work with a team and bounce ideas and issues off each other or lead a team towards achieving a goal. It is understandable that everyone is an individual and has their own personal learning styles.

Contribution to Discussion on Wiki

Hi All,
I have posted a table discussion on the topic based around advantages and disadvantages on using wikis as online learning. Please participate towards this discussion as I, and many others would love to see a variety of views and opinions on this area. You can access the page at: http://carlascoursewiki.wikispaces.com/Using+Wikis+in+Education

Learning Design

Blooms Taxonomy

"Over fifty years ago, Benjamin Bloom developed his cognitive taxonomy that is still used widely in education today".(Bloom's Taxonomy in the Classroom: Differentiated Instruction Using Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy http://www.suite101.com/content/blooms-taxonomy-in-the-classroom-a193162#ixzz14f0Vqla7)

 

Blooms Taxonomy is a framework that classifies knowledge from a low level (Knowledge, Understanding and Application) to higher level (Analysis, Evaluation and Synthesis). This framework identifies three domains of learning: Cognitive, Affective and Psycho-Motor. It provides a basic sequential model for dealing with topics in the curriculum and also suggests a way of categorising levels of learning.

v  Cognitive: the most-used of the domains, refers to knowledge structures (although sheer “knowing the facts” is its bottom level). It can be viewed as a sequence of progressive contextualisation of the material. (Based on Bloom, 1956)

v  Affective: the Affective domain has received less attention, and is less intuitive than the Cognitive. It is concerned with values, or more precisely perhaps with perception of value issues, and ranges from mere awareness (Receiving), through to being able to distinguish implicit values through analysis. (Kratwohl, Bloom and Masia (1964))

v  Psycho-Motor: Bloom never completed work on this domain, and there have been several attempts to complete it. One of the simplest versions has been suggested by Dave (1975): it fits with the model of developing skill put forward by Reynolds (1965), and it also draws attention to the fundamental role of imitation in skill acquisition.

This image was extracted from Google Images

Applying this framework to today's learners

Bloom’s taxonomy provides a guideline for creating assignments, discussion questions, and assessments that address the kinds of skills that students must develop to be critical thinkers and learners. The first and second steps of the taxonomy are often where teachers spend most of their time, but the last four steps are where critical thinking is developed.

References

Nickel, J. (2010 , January 23). Bloom's Taxonomy in the Classroom. Retrieved November 7, 2010, from Differentiated Instruction Using Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy : http://www.suite101.com/content/blooms-taxonomy-in-the-classroom-a193162

Blogs Vs Wikis

This week I have been exploring the concept of Wikis and their comparison to Blogs.  I have created my first Wikispace, please click on the following link to view it. http://carlascoursewiki.wikispaces.com/  

A Wiki has an open style which can be constructive for collaborative projects. A Blog mainly aids general discussion or brainstorming. With both in mind they can be used to appropriately suit educational purposes.  

A Wiki limits which users can login and edit the content. The main difference between a Wiki and a Blog becomes the layout and organisation of content and resources posted. A Wiki is continually modifiable and an easy-access web page, while a Blog contains a more journalistic format which categorises dates of content so the views can see the expansion of ideas related to the Blog topic in question.

Both Wikis and Blogs range vastly in the area of educational usage. You can create a Wiki for class attendance sheets, information research tasks, discussions for class assessment material, etc. Although both Blogs and Wikis are extremely practical for schooling environments, the construction of a lesson needs to be engaging and some teachers can create a magnificent lesson with all students engaged in a positive learning experience without using any form of technology.

Please visit this excellent resource: 50 Ways to Use Wikis for a More Collaborative and Interactive Classroom, to enhance your understanding of the benefits Wikis can bring to education. http://www.smartteaching.org/blog/2008/08/50-ways-to-use-wikis-for-a-more-collaborative-and-interactive-classroom/

References:

Teaching.org, S. (2010). Smart Teaching. Retrieved November 7, 2010, from 50 Ways to Use Wikis for a More Collaborative and Interactive Classroom: http://www.smartteaching.org/blog/2008/08/50-ways-to-use-wikis-for-a-more-collaborative-and-interactive-classroom/

How would a Blog be useful in your teaching context?

A Blog is a website, usually maintained by someone who updates with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or graphics, videos, etc. This website obtains the ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive form of communication. This concept would be rather useful with teaching, as Learning Managers can post an idea or a concept relative to an area currently being studied. Then they are able to track understanding of students who reply with statements and input towards the original blog.

This is a great tool for enforcing collaborate learning within a school environment. Students would build relationships by participating in discussions with one another. Numerous researchers have found that students work more effectively and have a higher understanding of material when taught in a collaborative environment (Brady, 2006). Using a Blog in any teaching context would also enable cognitive learning which once again would benefit the learners.

Prensky (2005) claims that “if you cannot engage young people in education then you will enrage them”. What is more engaging to a young person then using the internet to discuss things with other young people? With technology vastly becoming a vital aspect of life, it is essential that students are given the opportunity to learn about computers and the internet and are taught how to use these resources effectively. By using a Blog in a teaching context, you would accomplish a valuable and productive way of learning.

References

Brady, L. (2006). Collaborative Learing in Action. Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education Australia.

Prensky, M. (n.d.). Engage me or Engrage me. Retrieved 11 3, 2010, from http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2008/02/28/engage-me-or-enrage-me-educating-todays-digital-native-learners-2/