Reflection – Mobile Phones

Reflection on own learning

The activity for week 2 was to look into the use of mobile phone in education. Initially I looked at this and though about all the trouble that schools go to, to enforce mobile phone policies because of the class distractions they cause and also the privacy issue in regards to camera phones. However, once I got into a bit of the reading I started to see the advantages of mobile phones being used in education but still was unsure about the insecurity of it all and the possible problems that arise not to mention the expenses. We used De Bono’s 6 Thinking Hats to generate different views on this topic and I believed it was very successful. I have used De Bono’s Hats before and think they are a great learning tool.

Reflection on potential

This approach brought out lots of different views on the topic and provided a great involvement within the group. This approach also provided anonymity which enabled students to post without revelling who they were  and enabled a great group discussion

Constructivism 

The students were active in the discussion sharing what they had learnt and learning from what others had posted.

Cognitivism 

This activity enabled the students to sort through their ideas and the information they were given from the readings and put them into the 6 categorises of the hats.

Behaviourism 

Not sure on this one? There was no feedback from the lecturer although there was from other students in a way that if someone posted something similar to them they do have that shared opinion which provided positive reinforcement (May be totally off track with this).

Connectivism 

There was a diversity of opinions within the sections of De Bono’s Hats which shows connectivism, also the students were looking at alternative information sources for their discussion not just the ones that were provided.

Diversity

I don’t believe this activity supports a diverse range of students because it was a clear cut activity

eLearning and Digital Pedagogy

I believe the De Bono’s Thinking Hats are a great way of engaging students to explore different ways of thinking, by having it set out as a discussions students could add their thoughts and also looks at other students ideas to gain further understanding and different ideas.

Note: Each week I am learning more about the different Learning Theories and am realising that my original statements/definitions were either incorrect or need tweaking/adding to.

Engagement Theory & Blooms Taxonomy

Ok so, I spent quiet a bit of time on this topic research and asking questions then research and ready some more however, i think i have done what i think is what was asked.


Firstly to have a quick brief on the Engagement Theory (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999)

• Emerged following time spent teaching student in electronic and distance educaiton
• Students must be engaged in learning activities through interaction with others in order to learn
• Uses technology to enhance the learning of students
• Uses the constructivist learning theory because when working with distance education student they have a variety of experiences that the student may have already had a large amount of knowledge about
• Incorporates activities that occur in a group context, are project-based and have an outside focus.

Secondly Blooms Taxonomy (http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html#cognitive)

•          It identified different levels of complexity from simply to complex
•          3 domains of education
•  Cognitive (knowledge)
• Affective (attitude)
• Psychomotor (Skills)
•          Multiple layers of learning

Ok from here we were asked to put them together to be used when working through a unit of work (well i think anyways, that is how i interpreted it). This is what i came up with...(the blue is from Blooms Taxonomy and the Purple is from the Engagement Theory)

• Determine what type of class we are teaching, fully internal/distance education/electronic
• Engage the students in a class discussion regards to upcoming lesson
•  Can the student recall data or information on the topic
• Uses the constructivist learning theory because when working with distance education students they have a variety of experiences that the student may have already had a large amount of knowledge about.
• Does the student understand the meaning of the problem, get them to read it back to you in their own words
• Use the internet to research more about the meaning
• Can the student use the concept in a new situation.
• Can the student determine the organisational structure of an object by separating the material or concepts into component parts.
• Incorporates activities that occur in a group context, are project-based and have an outside focus.
• Can the student put parts together to form a whole, creating a new structure
• Cant the student explain, justify and make judgment about the value of ideas or materials.

Reflection – Learning Theories

Reflection on own learning
We were to get in pairs for this activity and do a PMI for a chosen learning theory. For me to understand a concept I feel I need to have a set definition for what I am learning. I struggled with the Learning Theories topic as I could not find one distinct definition for each theory. However, after reading some literature and having a look at the contribution from other classmates in the wiki forum I came up with;

Behaviourism – is a strategy where teachers reinforce positive behaviours until the positive behavior changes the students attitude and the positive behaviour becomes automatic.

Cognitivism – if the teacher can understand the mental processing of the student then they can work toward understanding them and enabling them to learn

Constructivism – that a student’s knowledge is based upon their experiences, no two learners are the same

Connectivism – learning through the resources available on computers and the internet.

Reflection on potential
My students could benefit from this in the same way I did, working in pairs you get to see the difference in opinions and work together to get an answer. Also by looking at what other groups did to learn about the other topics that the student did not focus on.
Constructivism
This was used in the pairs because no one learner is the same different opinions were shared.
Cognitivism
no
Behaviorism
no
Connectivism
I learnt about the learning theories through resources that were available on the wiki, the course information and using the World Wide Web. 
Diversity
Yes, because we were given the opportunity to pick our partners and our topic
eLearning and digital pedagogy
It encourages discussion and provides different opinions within the class to be shared 

Reflection – Profile Wikis

Reflecting on own learning
Well this was another new thing that I had never heard about, I’d heard of Wikipedia but never a wiki... So it took a while to navigate around the page and figure out what it was i needed to do. It will help me as a learner to find people with similar interests in my class to work with. In terms of scaffolding as i learner i found it easy to follow the steps provided on the Moodle site to create my wiki. I believe it is very important to have the scaffolding for learners to be able to follow a set of instructions when starting something new. However, this maybe just specific to my learning style as a sequential learner as discovered by completing the Felder and Solomon online questionnaire. 
Reflection on potential
This could support the learning of my students in the same way it has support me in my learning. I could be at task set in the early stages of the class coming together, this would enable them to form groups amongst themselves to work within.
Constructivism
I guess it does in that we are sharing out experiences.
Congnitivism
Only unless the student added something to their profile which may demonstrate the mental processing of the students.
Behaviorism
no
Connectivism
Yes by using the template that was given to complete (which i had trouble within putting into my profile wiki).
Diversity
Yes, it have us the option of using the template or just writing the information we wanted published. 
eLearning and Pedagogy
By enabeling students to fill out their information for other students to look at and decide whether they would work well together in a group situation. 

21st Century Learners

• What is your belief and understanding of the nature of today's learners? Is there substance to the "engage or enrage" argument?

After reading Prensky’s (2005) article on engage or enrage I agree with firstly with his break down of students. In my schooling year I would have been a student who went through the motions. I was there because I knew i needed to be otherwise i wasn’t going to get anywhere in life without my senior certificate. I remember witnessing the engage and enrage plainly that if the teacher does not have the attention of the student or the class, and the student didn’t feel as though they were there for a reason or learning anything then they would get enraged and act out.

I believe using ICT’s in classroom is extremely important in 21^st Century Learning not only because of its ability to engage students but also because it can provide so many different learning avenues and experiences that will engage students a great deal more than listening to a teacher lecturing them.  

However I can also understand why Margaryan and Littlejohn (2008) criticises Prensky’s (2005) approach purely because most students would have some knowledge regarding ICT’s however would only be restricted to the basics such as Word, Google and social networking sites.

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0553.pdf

http://www.academy.gcal.ac.uk/anoush/documents/DigitalNativesMythOrReality-MargaryanAndLittlejohn-draft-111208.pdf

Multiple Intelligence Test

My Multiple Intelligence test shows that I am quiet music smart, I enjoy listening to music and used to play a couple of instruments but not to flash at them anymore. I’m also nature smart, I enjoy being outdoors, and I love animals. I enjoy doing soduko which is why I am number smart and am word smart in a way that I enjoy reading and talking to people however my spelling and vocabulary needs some work. It shows I’m Intrapersonal and Interpersonal at the same level which I think is correct I love spending time within groups of friends and family members but also enjoy having time out for myself. I guess my weakness is Kinaesthetic and Visual/Spatial, which I’m not quite sure agree on. I think of myself as Kinaesthetic in that I am active and I enjoy sports. As for visual, I enjoyed doing art in high school and some of my works still hang on the walls in our house so I’m not sure I agree with this either however I would agree that I don’t do allot of arty stuff much before besides scrapbooking. Interesting!

Learning Styles

     Learning Style Results

 Results for: Danielle Howse

      ACT                      X                            REF

           11  9   7   5   3   1   1   3   5   7   9   11

                              <-- -->

      SEN      X                                            INT

           11  9   7   5   3   1   1   3   5   7   9   11

                              <-- -->

      VIS                      X                            VRB

           11  9   7   5   3   1   1   3   5   7   9   11

                              <-- -->

      SEQ          X                                        GLO

           11  9   7   5   3   1   1   3   5   7   9   11

                              <-- -->

1.       What is your learning style? What sorts of learning experiences would suit you best with your learning style?

After taking the Felder and Solomon Learning Styles test it’s evident that in regards to active and reflective learning and visual and verbal learning my result seem to be fairly well balanced on the two dimensions. However, in both my sensing and intuitive learning and my sequential and global learning have very strong results to one end of the scale

My sensing and intuitive learning score of 9 strongly tending towards sensing shows that I like learning the facts as opposed to finding new ways to solve a problem (http://www.jcu.edu.au/tldinfo/learningskills/learningst/sensing.html). When looking at my sequential and global learning styles it shows that I am more inclined to learn sequentially, thus meaning, I learn better by looking at the steps that are taken to find the solution. On the other hand, global learners can solve problems quickly by using randomly learnt knowledge to grasp the big picture or solution (http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/earlycareer/teaching/learningstyles.html).

To bring all my learning styles together using the results from the Felder and Solomon Learning Styles test, I enjoy working in groups however at times like to take some time out to focus on my learning without and distractions, I find learning from both visual stimuli and spoken explanations very beneficial. I learn better when looking at the facts and not making assumptions and I find it easier to reach a solution to a problem if I follow a number of steps along the way.

2.       In a traditional classroom of 25 students, how would you support the range of learning styles each lesson?

It is important for teachers to insure they use a range of learning styles in addition to traditional teaching. Incorporating hands-on experience, group discussions and visual imagery with the traditional teaching styles will enable students who learn in different ways to become involved (http://www.cirtl.net/node/5455). Where possible find the learning styles within the classroom and group them together for different learning activities.

3.       With your current knowledge of ICT, how could your design and digital pedagogy support your learners better?

By incorporating hands-on experience with a computer or interactive whiteboard as well as providing the students with time to reflect on what they have learnt by themselves. A range of ICT’s could be used to provide discussion topics in which the student must discuss as a group and use a form of ICT to present their finding from their discussion. Also by providing visual aids to students when learning in the class room via power points, photos ect.

4.       What sorts of profiling questions would you be asking about your learners to ensure you cater for everyone's preferences?

First of all by asking the student to fill out a learning styles quiz similar to the Felder and Solomon Learning Styles test to find out what learning styles you have within the class. Then use a variety of the learning styles in conjunction with traditional teaching and assess the student regularly. If they are not at the acceptable learning level it is important to take some time out with the student and ask them about how they learn, I might be that you are focusing too much on hands-on interaction and not providing enough quiet time.

For student who are in lower grades and are unable to complete such quizzes maybe you could have your own quiz with used a couple of props and ask them question. For example, do you prefer reading in a group environment and quiet reading tasks at your desk? Do you learn better about shapes by making them with plasticine or looking at them in pictures?

5.       How does ICT support differences in learning styles?

Firstly by doing online quizzes such as the Felder and Solomon Learning Styles test to see the different learning styles and learn what learning style the student is. Also by using visual aids on computers, power points, interactive whiteboards to enhance what is being said. Using hands –on learning on computers to search for ways to solve problems. Enable students to work within a group environment (4 to a computer) as well as individual research (1 per computer).